#the lady on the couch was allergic and the cat kept coming over and i was innocently like 'do you wanna switch to this chair'

[pastafossa]

way back when i made a post about how this reminded me of you and smt about the buttening with @wonderlandmind4

and you know you may have never seen this but i think about that possum picture everyday. went to that dollar store again and they dissapeared since then and everyday i regret not getting one...they look so silly and suspicious....

anyway congrats about the cat!!!! getting approved by stranger cats is a sign you have a super cool feline friendly aura

THOSE EYES THOUGH, THESE ARE ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS! 😂😂😂 And absolutely suspicious and narrow-eyed, jesus that one in the back has me dying, major vibes of don't even think about it. I love when toys come out like this, I have no idea if it's intentional or if whoever designed them just had a sense of humor, but 10 stars of 10, would buy both as a Possum Myself (TM) and as someone who loves the idea of dog toys like this! Thank you for coming to show this, I didn't see it the first time around!

AND ALSO THANK YOU ON THE CAT, I was practically vibrating on the couch when the cat came over, like yes, yes, come be friends with me, look I'll hold really still and pretend I don't see you. AND NOW THE CAT IS MY FRIEND. Next goal: go there often enough that the cat upgrades me to EXTRA SPECIAL LAP STATUS.

[whereisten]

Fuchsia-Colored Sunglasses 

Summary:

Your life is turned upside down when you’re transported into another reality by the enigmatic and mysterious old woman named Cyan. You find yourself an up-and-coming makeup artist whose latest client is the cocky fuchsia-haired rockstar Yuta Nakamoto. You struggle to find balance as Yuta is your most difficult client yet and you can’t seem to stop losing things in your apartment.

Meanwhile, Yuta is at the top of his game with his record-breaking band that’s about to tour and his perfect celebrity girlfriend. But he can’t shake the feeling that something is missing. When he meets you, however, he finally feels..at home.

In a reality where soulmates so rarely find each other, is it possible that the two of you will see the signs?

Pairing: Rockstar!Yuta x female reader

Genre: Soulmate AU, Fluff, comedy, a little smut, a tiny bit of angst

Word Count: 28.5K

Warnings: profanity, minor character death mention, alcohol mention

(A/N: we are so excited to finally post this for you guys!! It is for a collaborative project (A Colours AU) organized by the wonderful @neo-cult-ure . THANK YOU so much for inviting us to do this!! Please visit her tumblr for a complete list of all of the amazing works included in this project that we all worked so hard on❤️ with that being said, we hope you enjoy!! Thank you for supporting us!!)

[colours masterlist]: Click here to enjoy several amazing journeys :) 

——————

It really hasn’t been your day. There was just one problem after the other being thrown at you at work. Books often went missing at the library, but today an entire section was missing romance novels and no one seemed to know where they had gone. So you spent hours collecting them from other sections in the library, placing them on your cart as you moved through each lane. It doesn’t sound like a lot of work but for a library with 16 floors, it was just enough to make your head spin. Your day was long and boring.

And now, you learned that your favorite cafe was fresh out of your usual drink, an iced caramel latte, the perfect drink for a pick me up.

fantastic.

A sigh left your lips as you turned around the corner of the bathroom and walked face first into someone.

smack!

You stumbled back and then felt something wet on your clothes. Great.

“I..I’m so sorry about that.”  A lady’s voice caught you off guard as she quickly tried to clean up the situation.  She reached forward and grabbed your hands. A bit weirded out by the situation, you tried to pull your hands away but she didn’t let go, pulling you in closer so she could look into your eyes and capture your full attention.

“Dear, don’t be frightened, my name is Cyan and I am so very sorry...” Her eyes had a mysterious glow about them that you couldn’t understand. She seemed...otherworldly.

“Let me make it up to you.” Cyan said. “Here, pick a colour and you’ll meet your soulmate. However, you should be aware that each colour represents a different reality, and you only have one chance to bring them back to this reality.”

“Really?” you asked, clearly suspicious of the entire situation.

“Yes, now which would you choose?” she asked as she held out the tablet for you to pick a colour. You tilted your head to the side before just agreeing.

You typically liked to lay low, keep things normal and safe for your sanity. And love? Soulmates? Those were concepts that you never really thought too hard about. If it comes, it comes but you weren’t going to go out of your way for it.

But today was unlike any other day, everything went wrong, so what if...you did things differently for once? What if you took the chance to experience something...new? You had nothing left to lose, right?  

You reached forward to choose.

“Fuchsia.”

^_^

You sat at the kitchen table, your Bluetooth speaker playing your favorite song, “Breeze”. It was by the artist Mountain Man, whose identity was a mystery to the entire world. Your roommate Delilah came in to grab some orange juice from the fridge.

Delilah laughed. “I swear I dream of this song from all the times you play it.”

You replied, “This song is a religious experience. You should be so honored to dream of it.” You took a bite of your Fruity Pebbles.

Delilah joined you at the table as she searched something up on her laptop. “Today’s the bid for the Bulbasaur card I’ve had my eye on. I’m so nervous. I can’t go past eight five dollars so let’s hope my competition is just as cheap as I am.”

You rolled your eyes. “Eighty-five dollars for a trading card? Really?”

Deililah shook her head. “Sixty-five dollars for foundation, y/n? Really?”

You shut your mouth and keep eating your cereal. You and your roommate had your impulses...Well, your passions. Besides, an investment in good foundation only made sense given your profession as a makeup artist.

Delilah scrolled through her phone and frowned. “That’s weird. This looks just like your Hermosa Vida palette.”

That was impossible. You had the only one in existence. Last month, at the cosmetics brand launch for Hermosa Vida, you received a limited edition palette from two of your favorite makeup artists, Sol and Luna, who teamed up for their growing cosmetics empire. They gave you the limited edition trial of the palette before the official palette was released in stores. You were so excited to try it out but misplaced it two weeks ago. You knew you had to clean your room more often.

In fact, you’ve misplaced a lot of things recently: a pair of your favorite My Melody socks, a bracelet from your trip to Jamaica last summer, a pair of your reading glasses, and more. You knew people were bound to lose things but it seemed to happen more often to you. You didn’t think much of it as you were busy applying for your new job.

You stood behind Delilah so you could see the palette on sale for yourself. It was shaped like a clam shell and was rose gold. It even had Sol and Luna’s autographs on the bottom.

Just like yours.

You scanned the description of the product to find the username of the seller: 1026you.

“Wait, I thought I was the only one who owned this palette. It doesn’t make sense. If there was more than one of these palettes in existence, then there would be more on sale. But this one...looks exactly like mine,” you said.

“Maybe it’s a knockoff,” Delilah offered, “You know how people will fabricate anything to get extra cash.”

“The thing is...I lost my palette. It’s almost as if…”

Delilah scoffed. “You don’t think someone broke in and stole it?”

You considered it. “I don’t know, Delilah. I’ve been losing a lot of things lately...I think we should install some cameras in here. Just in case.”

Your roommate nodded. “Fine with me. It’ll make us both feel safer.”

So you and Delilah had cameras installed around the apartment. You hoped your first paycheck with your new gig would come in quickly. You contacted the seller and asked about the palette, asking where they’d bought it and how they had access to it. You asked so you could have some sort of proof that it couldn’t be the same as yours. But it looked exactly like yours. And it bothered you. Unfortunately, there was no response from the seller.

A few days after that, your Siamese cat Totoro disappeared. You weren’t too concerned as Totoro was an outdoor cat and he tended to wander. He would return soon, you thought.

^_^

Meanwhile across your hometown of Los Angeles, international rockstar Nakamoto Yuta stood in his bathroom, dumbfounded to find a portrait of a young woman looking over her shoulder.

Yuta said to himself. “Where the hell did this come from?”

His girlfriend Ashley called from the living room. “What’s that, babe?”

Yuta responded, “Nothing, Ash.” He’d rather not freak out his high-maintenance diva girlfriend.

It was strange how random objects kept popping up in his apartment. He asked Ashley about the palette but she denied it was hers. A bracelet appeared on his nightstand a few weeks ago and Ashley denied again, growing suspicious that Yuta was having someone over. But he didn’t owe any explanations to her.

Yuta always came up short with his security footage. There were glitches with the footage. The objects just...appeared from one frame to the next. This had to be some kind of joke.

Seeing a whole portrait pop up in his bathroom of all places was just part of his daily routine now. Guess I’ve got another thing I have to sell online, he thought.

Then again… He looked carefully at the painting. The woman in the painting was stunning. He wondered what her face looked like in reality. Gorgeous, he was sure of it. The woman wore an oval-shaped ruby necklace. The painting gave him both a sense of comfort and excitement. He couldn’t explain this clearly new but somehow familiar feeling. He decided to hold onto the painting for a while. He could always change his mind.

Ashley let out a blood-curdling scream. “Yuta! Get in here!” She sounded scared for her life. Could it have been the people who managed to break in and leave the painting among all of the other random objects? He ran into the living room to find Ashley standing on his plush couch.

“Is that...a cat?!” Ashley hissed as she looked down at a Siamese cat.

The cat watched her from the ground, swaying his tail back and forth. He simply watched her. When the cat saw Yuta, he walked up to him and rubbed himself against Yuta’s legs as he purred.

Yuta crouched down and pet the cat behind his ears. “Hey there, buddy. How did you get in here?”

“Yuta, you went and bought a cat when you know I’m allergic?” Ashley asked as she sneezed.

Yuta sighed. “I swear to you I have no idea how he got in here.” It was possible he ran in when Yuta opened the sliding glass door to his yard.

“Well...” Ashley sneezed as she grabbed her handbag and stormed out of the multimillion dollar mansion. “You better get rid of that thing if you ever want me to set foot into this house again!”

Ashley slammed the door and Yuta laughed as he sat down on the couch. The cat laid on his lap and pushed his head into Yuta’s hand so that he could pet him.. Yuta brushed his fingers through his fur.

“You know what, I think I’ll keep you.”

^_^

It was your first day of work with the world famous band Skylark. Sky High Entertainment reached out to you when they watched your most popular makeup tutorial. Now, you would be their makeup artist for their future engagements. Your first few weeks would be to assist the band in preparation for their first set of tour dates in Los Angeles for their Heaven on Earth World Tour. You were to meet the group and their team at the Staples Center. You weren’t too familiar with Skylar’s work because you were either fixated on the YouTube MUA community or repeatedly listening to Mountain Man’s music. You arrived early, too excited to start, and the band’s manager Baekhyun Byun told you that you were welcome to watch the group rehearse.

To say that the band was attractive was an understatement. You knew of their names and faces from the occasional Twitter posts. Plus, you had to memorize their names and faces for the job. However, seeing them in person was a whole other experience.

Drummer Johnny Suh’s muscular arms and intensity were reminiscent of Hercules as he twirled one of his drumsticks with ease. Mark Lee was the guitarist, looking like he was about to be cast for the next Spiderman with his sweet and goofy demeanor. He played a random guitar solo with his tongue out to get a reaction out of his cousin Johnny. Dong Sicheng was focused at the keyboard, looking as elegant and regal as a vampire prince. Bassist Jung Jaehyun’s every glance was more seductive than the last as he tuned his bass to perfection.

Last but not least was the frontman with the fuchsia colored mane: Yuta Nakamoto. His walk to the microphone at the center of the stage was unintentionally seductive, considering he was in a black hoodie and sweatpants like the rest of his band. He was at least six feet tall as his long strides made him walk with such grace and elegance. A man that was effortlessly gorgeous was definitely trouble. At this point, your jaw was on the ground. Every man on that stage was a god but Yuta was the frontman for a reason. He was undeniably the cutest of the group. In his all-black attire, he was the emo prince of millions of girl’s dreams: his slender face, his sharp cheekbones, his piercing brown eyes, a smile so bright it could make you go blind, his rockstar piercings which included a navel piercing and caused your thoughts to drift to places that weren’t suitable for the workplace…

From time to time, the band goofed off. Mark made a paper plane from the set list and threw it at Johnny. Jaehyun danced the latest TikTok dance while Sicheng filmed it with his phone. Yuta laughed as he borrowed the keyboard and wrote some notes down in his notebook.

When they got down to business, the boys completely transformed. They channeled angst and heartache when they began rehearsal. You recognized the song as their latest single: “Lost and Found”.

When Yuta sang, goosebumps ran down your back and your stomach twisted. Alarms were ringing in your head but they weren’t out of fear. But out of...excitement? You couldn’t describe this strange sensation.

Yuta transformed into a man who was heartbroken and confused. His voice danced into your ears and hearing it live made the lyrics more meaningful. Every word that left his plump lips lingered in the air. You couldn't get enough and felt your heart squeeze.

Yuta looked out to the audience as he always practiced how he would engage with the crowd. He earned several thumbs up from the staff, as expected. Then he turned to your section and could barely make you out as a silhouette in the darkness.

You saw that he focused on your section as he sang the second verse. Your heart skipped a beat. You’d have to listen to more of Skylark’s music from now on because they were fantastic. And maybe lurk on Yuta’s social media.

After rehearsal ended, Manager Byun introduced you to the rest of the team, including the other makeup artists. He walked you to the dressing room to introduce you to the band. For the first time in years, you were about to freak out like a fangirl.

“Boys, this is y/n. She’s our newest makeup artist. Please, I beg of you, don’t make her run for the hills.” Manager Byun laughed. You hoped he was joking.

The boys greeted you and shook your hand. Johnny was the most outgoing. “Pleasure to meet you, y/n!”

Jaehyun winked at you as he shook your hand. “Hi.”

Winwin gave you a childlike smile. “Thank you for joining us!”

Mark stuttered as he greeted you, “Uh, hi, it’s uh, really nice to meet you.” His cheeks were flushed.

You were overjoyed but knew you had to conceal your excitement. Still, you couldn’t help but hope for Yuta to greet you.

You all turned to Yuta who was busily texting away on his phone in front of his mirror.

Johnny cleared his throat. “Yuta, say hi to y/n.”

Then, you noticed he was wearing his AirPods. Johnny tapped him on the shoulder. Yuta looked up at him. “What? I was on the verge of a breakthrough, and now I won’t get it back. Thanks a lot.” Yuta rolled his eyes and looked back at his phone.

Johnny cleared his throat and you could see his smile twitch from his reflection in the mirror. “Say hi to y/n. She’s our new makeup artist,” Johnny said carefully. He sounded a lot less sweet, then.

Yuta sighed. “Fine.”

He got up from his makeup chair and walked up to you. His sour demeanor quickly shifted to bright and breezy. His megawatt smile appeared as he shook hands with you. “Hi, y/n. Pleasure to meet you.”

It was insincere and you knew it. You didn’t even bother faking a smile. “Pleasure’s all mine.”

It was the smile you’d seen all too often with celebrities and YouTubers whose egos grew faster than their subscriber count. It was the kind of smile they used to please sponsors and fans. A means to an end.

Yuta’s smile faded as quickly as it appeared. He quickly turned away and went back to his chair, put his AirPods in, and returned to his phone. You spoke too soon when you thought Yuta was your favorite member.

Mark whispered, “Don’t take it personally, y/n. Yuta is in his own little world most of the time.”

You weren’t surprised. Chances were one of these boys wasn’t what they seemed. You were disappointed it was Yuta, though.

For the most part, your first day went well. Everyone was warm and welcoming. You shared tips with the other makeup artists. But then, they dropped a bomb.

“You’re assigned to Yuta,” Manager Byun told you as you headed down the elevator. You just came back from a break.

You couldn’t control your initial facial expression.

Manager Byun laughed. “He won’t bite.”

You composed yourself. “Oh, I know…”

He understood. “He’s been working on a lot of projects. Some of which I don’t even know the full details of. So I apologize on his behalf for his rudeness.”

You shook your head. “But Manager Byun-”

He raised his hand. “Please, call me Baekhyun. Manager Byun makes me sound like I’m a father of three.”

You laughed. “Okay. Baekhyun, you don’t have to apologize for him. I get it. He’s a workaholic. I’ll gladly be his makeup artist.” It wasn’t like Yuta insulted you. He just wasn’t what you hoped he would be. Plus, you were there for a job and nothing else. So professionalism was always key.

Baekhyun put his hand on your shoulder. “Thank you, y/n. If he gives you trouble at all, the makeup team will make sure Yuta gets the wrong shade of foundation.”

You and the rest of the makeup team headed back to the dressing room where the boys were sitting in their chairs. They needed to get their makeup done for the filming of their tour diaries entry for this week. Yuta was still glued to technology. This time, he was on his laptop, and he was in the middle of producing a track, it seemed.

You gulped and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, Mr. Naka-” You began.

“Yuta’s fine,” he barked back.

“I have to do your makeup,” you said as you started off with his primer.

“Fine,” he said as he closed his eyes, “Make it quick.”

His tone was even crabbier than this morning. You told yourself to keep it together. You wouldn’t let this diva jeopardize your job. He was a challenge and you would overcome this bastard.

Because Yuta was quiet and as still as a statue, doing his makeup wasn’t a problem. You made sure you were swift but neat. You didn’t want to poke the tiger again. All that was left was his eyeliner. You gave him an elegant winged eyeliner for his left eye. You were halfway done with his right eye when he interrupted.

His voice boomed. “Seriously, what part of ‘quick’ don’t you understand?”

He startled you so much that his liner shot straight up to the middle of his forehead.

You bit back your anger and your tears. You said calmly, “I was almost done, Yuta. If you hadn’t startled me for ten more seconds, I would’ve finished.”

Yuta looked in the mirror, his venomous tone matching the anger in his face. “You clearly lack experience if you let one thing I said get to you. Well? Don’t just stand there. Fix it.”

The rest of the staff and the band stood there, stunned to silence. You swallowed your pride and redid the liner on his right eye. He said nothing when you finished. He left the dressing room first.

You turned to everyone else, feeling humiliated and fearing what everyone would say. “Why is it so quiet?”

“Because you didn’t run for the hills,” Sicheng replied, smiling at you in admiration.

“Huh?” That wasn’t the reaction you’d expected.

Rin, your fellow makeup artist who was working on Jaehyun right beside you, said, “The last makeup artist Lily only lasted a week. Yuta’s been…”

“A stuck up bitch,” Jaehyun finished.

Rin sighed, “His words. Not mine. Before Lily, there was Halle. Halle was Yuta’s makeup artist for three years before she left for another project. Even before Halle left, Yuta was in a mood. No one knows what’s bothering him. He’s not usually-”

“A diva,” Mark added.

Rin applied some setting spray on Jaehyun’s face. “Once again, not my words.”

You worried if you crossed a line by talking back at him like you had. “Was I not supposed to say anything to him when he yelled?”

Everyone laughed. Johnny said, “Are you kidding? We dare you to tell him to stop bitching if he snaps again.”

You thought about it. “I just hope he gets over whatever he’s going through.”

^_^

Days passed and the sixth day of work went just about the same. You were in your element and over the moon with all of the high-end cosmetics at your disposal. Not even your sourpuss of a client could dampen your mood.

During one of your breaks, you sat alone in one of the unoccupied meeting rooms and listened to “Breeze” on your phone as you read some of your emails.

“The breeze made your hair sway. I fell in love that autumn day,” you sang aloud.

Yuta was headed to a meeting with Cartier but at the sound of your voice singing “Breeze”, he froze in his tracks. He pressed his ear against the door of the room you were in. The cracks in your voice were endearing. He smiled to himself.

He peaked through the window and hoped you didn’t notice him. You were seated at the table. Your legs were propped against one of the other swivel chairs. You tapped your fingers against the table. You smiled as you sang. Your smile was lovely. Your eyes were so full of joy and passion as you recited the lyrics, and for the first time, he actually looked at you and took in your features. Your singing voice wasn’t as calm and soothing as your speaking voice, but he still enjoyed hearing you. For the first time in a long time, he felt..something.

Seeing you smile that way made you the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, he realized.

He couldn’t believe how much you loved his song. “Breeze” wasn’t doing as well as he hoped. The company CEO thought about scrapping his anonymous side project all together. He didn’t understand. Had he released the song with Skylark or under his own name would “Breeze” have charted better? It pissed him off. He was so proud of his composition. It was the first time he let himself be so raw and vulnerable. Because he wanted this project to be anonymous, he chose not to tell his bandmates or anyone else, really. The couple of staff members who did know were sworn to secrecy. It killed him that he couldn’t vent to anyone.

When the song ended, you said to yourself, “Oh, let’s just play this on a loop.” You played “Breeze” again and stretched your arms.

Seeing you love the song as much as he did made the dark cloud that loomed over his head fade a little. Perhaps he had been too harsh on you, he thought.

^_^

A few more days pass and you and Yuta seem to be getting closer. He’d actually put his phone down when you did his makeup, watching you as you patted his foundation in. For you, it was strange, but for Yuta he was mesmerized.

“I’m bored..let’s play 20 questions.” Yuta said as you spritzed his face with primer water one day.

“Uhhh..okay.” Your brows furrowed.

“Favorite movie, go.” Yuta asked before closing his eyes.

“Uhhh. Titanic?”

“Ew. Okay favorite group?” He smirked.

“Well..it’s not Skylark..” You huffed.

Yuta took in a sharp breath and held your wrist to stop you. “It’s NOT Skylark? Then who is it, who is worthy?” His eyes were intense, like you hurt him deeply.

“Hmmm...One Direction.” You were just messing with him, but you wanted to see his reaction.

He rolled his eyes and let go, leaning back in his chair and rolling his neck. “You can’t be serious...”

“What? They make good music! And isn't it my turn to ask questions now?”

“Shoot.” Yuta closed his eyes so you could do his eye shadow.

“Hmmm..what’s your favorite color?” You started.

“The color of your eyes...”

You froze for a moment, but then chuckled. “Yuta..seriously?”

Yuta’s eyes opened as he laughed. “I’m serious! They’re beautiful.”

You pouted. “I’m done playing this game if you’re gonna mess with me.”

“Are you going to ruin my eyeliner again because you don’t like my compliment?” He let out in a faux British accent and high pitched tone to mimic the queen. You couldn’t help but laugh and shake your head.

Yuta smiles widely when he hears your angelic laugh, your eyes crinkling and your cheeks becoming so round and full.

What was this new feeling that he had?

^_^

You’d be working with Skylark for a month now and you were enjoying your time with the team. However, it was pouring for the first time in a month in LA. While you would’ve been happy about it in any other circumstance, you were annoyed and on the verge of freaking out. Your second bus was running late to take you to the arena. You decided not to wait for the bus and make a run for it.

Your umbrella was helpful to a certain extent but you were drenched regardless. The rain continued to pour unforgivingly. When you were preparing to cross the street, a black Mercedes pulled up beside you. The passenger window came down and you recognized Yuta.

He was sitting there, looking amazing as usual. Only this time, his long, neon pink hair was thrown into a bun and he modeled a pair of heart-shaped, fuchsia colored sunglasses to match.

The way he held the wheel with one hand made your heart shudder for some reason.

“Get in!” He said.

You hesitated for a second. However, dryer clothes outweighed your pride at this moment. You hopped in, closed your umbrella, and shut the door.

Yuta grabbed your umbrella and put it in the backseat. “You’re soaked. I’m going to turn up the heat on your seat.”

“Thank you,” you mumbled.

Yuta drove you to work. He was surprised he could recognize you through the pouring rain. He had this inexplicable anxiety when he was at the red light before he saw you. He couldn’t explain it. He was doing okay for the most part. His last song for his first self-titled mini album was almost complete. Ashley was a pain but their respective managers were working towards a day when they could announce their breakup. His band was at the top of their game. His new cat was keeping Ashley away.

So what was this feeling that came out of nowhere?

And how did the feeling disappear just as quickly when you looked him in the eyes?

“Thanks for the ride,” you piped up.

Yuta cleared his throat, feeling shy all of a sudden. Very unlike him. “We’re both headed the same way.” That was Yuta’s attempt at sounding cool. He didn’t realize it could make him sound like a tool, you thought.

There was an awkward silence that suffocated you both. The traffic was unbearable so it looked like you would both be late for work.

Yuta blurted, “I don’t think I’ve said this before but...I’m sorry..”

You turned to him as he stared straight ahead. You were shocked that he was apologizing. You figured this man never apologized for anything, especially when he carried on with you at work like he hadn’t snapped at you on your first day. “Are you?”

He sighed as he slowed down. “Yes. I was a jerk and you were just doing your job. I really have no excuse.”

You replied, “Well, as long as you’re aware. Do you promise to keep the sass to a minimum? Or at least until after I’m done with your makeup?”

Yuta nodded. “Yes, I promise.”

You noted how down Yuta looked. Beneath the hostility and sarcasm, there was frustration and sadness. “I forgive you.”

Yuta smiled. “Thank you.”

Another awkward silence followed. And the rain poured down even harder so Yuta drove even slower. He turned up the radio and you both recognized “Breeze”.

You both sat back and listened to the song in silence. Without you realizing, Yuta snuck glances at you as you hummed and bobbed your head to the beat of the song.

“I love this song,” you blurted.

Yuta smirked. “Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?”

“I would give anything to meet Mountain Man. His music is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. No one knows who he is. His identity is top secret,” you sulk.

Yuta beamed with pride that someone could be a fan of his mysterious persona. Without knowing his face or his true identity. It truly made him feel special.

Yuta bit back a laugh. “I know who he is, actually.” He wondered if he would regret telling you this.

You looked at him in shock. “What?”

“I can introduce him to you if you’d like but you have to promise me one thing.” Yuta was elated to see you so thrilled.

“Wait, really?!” You exclaimed as you unconsciously moved closer to him. “You’re not messing with me, are you?”

Yuta shook his head as he finally turned into the arena parking lot. “When we break for lunch, I’ll take you to him. I’ll call him over.” You gaped. “Oh, you don’t have to. He must be so busy. He doesn’t have time to meet me. I-”

Yuta felt a flash of jealousy over your consideration for someone whose face you didn’t even know (even if it was his other persona). “He won’t mind, I promise. Now promise me one thing when I introduce you.”

“What is it?” You asked cautiously.

Yuta put his car in park. “Promise me you’re free tonight. I need to go over some looks for my concept photos next week. I know it’s after work but I’ll buy dinner.”

Yuta did a full 180 on his personality. You were still recovering from the whiplash. And now he was doing you favors and confiding in you? You were on the fence but if you could meet Mountain Man, surely it would be worth it.

^_^

When it was lunch time, Yuta took you to the conference room. “Take a seat, y/n. Mountain Man just texted me. I’ll bring him in.”

You sat down in your unofficial swivel chair and fought the urge to pick at your nails. You were so nervous. To be in the presence of such talent. To be in the presence of the man who touched your heart with a three minute and fifty five second song. You had no idea what to expect.

Yuta came back quickly. With no one. He looked at you expectantly.

You got up to check if anyone was behind Yuta. “Uh, Yuta?”

“Uh huh?” He asked.

“Where’s Mountain Man?” You frowned.

He threw his arms up. “You’re looking at him.”

You got up from your chair and wrapped your arms around your chest in frustration. “Come on.”

Yuta was shocked at your reaction. “You don’t believe me?”

You shook your head. How can such a high-profile celebrity be an anonymous artist?

Yuta rolled his eyes. “Wow, you’re really making a guy work here, aren’t you?”

“I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t you just release your music with Skylark or under your real name? Why the anonymity?” You asked as you went back to your chair and collected your belongings to leave.

“Wait, don’t go,” Yuta pleaded, “I can prove it.”

He offered his notebook to you with lyrics that dated back two years.

“This is your lyric book?” You asked.

Yuta nodded as you flipped through the pages. “Songs I’ve written for Skylark. Songs I’ve written for my solo mini. And songs I’ve written for Mountain Man.”

You sat down and carefully absorbed all of the contests inside. You went to the first pages of the notebook and found the early drafts of “Breeze”, which dated back to a year ago. And right after those lyrics, there were the lyrics for Skylark’s Grammy-nominated song, “Hope and Flame”.

You looked up at him. “You…”

“Yeah,” he said as he put his hands in his pockets. “If you’re not convinced, I’ll take you to the studio and show you how I’ve used a voice modifier. Plus, you’re looking at lyrics of songs that won’t be released until next year. So if you’re willing to wait until then to see your proof, well…”

Well, he hoped those songs would be released next year. He prayed you would believe him.

You choked. “I...believe you.”

Yuta exclaimed. “Really?”

Yuta was acting very childlike today, you observed. You thought it was kind of cute. He may have dropped one of the biggest secrets in the industry but he was still your moody client.

“I can’t believe…you’re Mountain Man…”

Yuta sat down beside you. “You owe me.”

“After you introduced me to...you?” You laughed in disbelief.

He nodded. “You said you would give anything to meet me.” He was smug as he gave you a knowing look.

You scoffed. “I didn’t think you’d use it against me.”

He replied as he leaned back on the chair. “I’m not. I just thought I might impress you.”

“And why would you want to do that?” You teased.

He leaned closer and shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure. I guess I just wanted to.”

You blushed at his proximity and quickly turned away. “There you go again with the teasing.”

Yuta smiled wide. “So what do you want for dinner? Pizza or Chinese?”

^_^

You helped Yuta explore a few looks for his upcoming photoshoot before dinner that night.

You were adding some final touches to his heart-shaped lips. “Your lips are so pretty,” you said without realizing.

Yuta knew to hold still but his eyes opened at hearing you say that. You were so caught up in making up his face that you didn’t realize you were thinking out loud. Yuta chose not to bother you. He owed you that much.

“Okay, I’m done,” you said, “I gave you a more understated look. More neutral tones in your eyeshadow and highlighter. And I chose a brighter shade of pink for your lips. I get more of a romantic vibe from this look,” you said as you looked at his reflection in the makeup mirror.

Yuta looked straight at you. “I love it.” He was impressed with your careful attention to detail and how natural you made his makeup look. Out of all the makeup artists and stylists he’d worked with, you were the most attentive and cooperative. You always surpassed his vision for his look. You asked him for his opinions in case you needed to change anything. Most of the time, though, he was very satisfied with your work on the first go. You were the best makeup artist he’d worked with, he had to admit.

“You don’t want more eyeliner? What were you thinking with your piercings?” You asked.

He shook his head. “It’s perfect, y/n. Every look you showed me is perfect for the shoot. I just need you to be by my side when it starts. No one else touches this face but you.” Yuta explained with no trace of mockery in his voice.

Yuta was so open with you all of a sudden and all you did was breathe. How was that possible? And you felt a little more intimidated now that you knew that Yuta was behind your favorite artist. You remembered that first and foremost you were his makeup artist so you shoved your confused feelings aside. You would panic when you got home.

Blushing and still processing, you said, “Thank.”

“You?” He finished for you.

You blushed even harder. “Yeah.”

He laughed as you tried to compose yourself.

You removed his makeup so his skin could get a break. “What’s next?”

Yuta sighed. “We’re done, y/n. Let’s order something and I’ll drive you home. It’s late.”

You cleaned up your supplies while Yuta ordered pizza. You both liked extra Mozzarella cheese on top.

“So,” you said, “Can I ask you something?” You’ve been dying to ask him questions for hours but you’ve done so well to hold it in. You figured you’d indulge by asking at least one.

“Yeah?” Yuta sat up straight.

“Did you compose all of Mountain Man’s releases?”

He nodded.

“What instruments do you play?” You dared to ask one more question.

“Guitar, piano, drums, violin,” he said as he got up and grabbed his guitar from his case. “Thanks for reminding me. I have a melody stuck in my head, and I want to see if I can make something out of it.”

Yuta tuned his guitar and hummed to himself. He played a few chords.

“Whoa,” you said. “Just like that?”

He chuckled in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You can make something so incredible and unique in an instant?” You asked, clearly in awe.

He shook his head. “I could only get to this point because I practiced every single day in grade school.”

You heard how lonely he sounded, then. “That must have been…”

“A pain in my ass, yeah. I gave up many trips to Chuck E. Cheese just so I could master the piano,” he grumbled.

“And you never gave up on practicing?” You asked, impressed. Had it been you you would’ve given up and found the next hobby.

“My parents pushed me hard from a young age,” he started, “They wanted me to become a world classical musician. Family honor and all.”

“What changed, though? Skylark isn’t exactly classical,” you observed.

Yuta replied, “I didn’t tell my parents but I started a rock band when I was sixteen. Johnny and Jaehyun have been by my side from the very beginning. We rehearsed in Johnny’s garage until we graduated.”

You grinned, just thinking about teenage Yuta rebelling against his family’s wishes. “That’s sweet.”

He laughed. “Yeah, Johnny and Jaehyun claimed they joined to meet girls but I knew they loved music just as much as I did. Johnny’s cousin Mark and Mark’s best friend Sicheng joined us a few months later and we were a force of nature. That was our first band name, by the way.”

You bit back a laugh. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Force of Nature,” Yuta replied, deadpan. “What’s so funny, y/n?”

You laughed, almost falling over in your seat. “That is so cute. You guys thought you were being edgy.”

Yuta grabbed a throw pillow and threw it at you. “I won’t tolerate mockery from the staff.”

You gasped. “I won’t tolerate a DICKtator.” You grabbed another pillow and threw it at him.

You both laughed so hard. Yuta grabbed an eyeliner pencil you forgot to pack up.

“You know, y/n,” Yuta started as he moved closer to you. “You’re alright.” He took your hand and slipped the eyeliner into it.

“You, too, Nakamoto,” you said, “You’re still paying for the pizza, though.”

Time passed as you two talked about your childhoods, your hobbies, and all about Skylark and Mountain Man.

“Man, what I wouldn’t give to go back in time and learn the guitar,” you said as Yuta mindlessly strummed his guitar and produced heavenly melodies.

Yuta innocently offered, “I can teach you.”

You raised your eyebrows. “In exchange for?”

He laughed warmly. “Nothing. Come over here and sit down.” He patted the seat next to him on the couch so you could join him.

You sat down and he placed his acoustic guitar over you. He moved closer to you, moving his arms over you. You could feel his chest against your back. He radiated warmth and your throat almost went dry.

Yuta took your left hand. “Now...you’re going to place your fingers up here. These are called the frets. I already tuned the guitar, okay?” His voice was very close to your ear and for a moment, you held your breath.

He took your right hand and placed it on the body of the guitar. “Let’s try an A chord.” His deep voice lowered even more and you felt your face heat up.

He took your left fingers and adjusted their positions. Never letting go of your hands, he instructed you to strum the guitar.

The chord sounded more beautiful than you’d expected it to be. “Whoa.”

“Nice,” Yuta said, “Then again, I did most of the work.”

You turned your head to him and his face was mere centimeters away from yours. “You are so-”

Yuta moved even closer. “Finish your sentence, y/n. I’m dying to hear what you have to say.”

You retreated. “Irritating.”

Yuta’s phone rang. The pizza arrived and you two fought over the last slice.  He was ridiculous, considering he ate four slices to your three. It was only fair you’d eat the last slice. Yuta got creative and used a plastic knife to cut the last slice in half. You accepted but you were determined to get your revenge.

Yuta drove you home. The night was calm, and the traffic was light.

“You live pretty far if you’re walking to the arena for work, y/n,” Yuta said as he pulled up in front of your building.

“I take two buses. Normally, it’s not a problem. It was complicated today because of the rain,” you said.

“Yeah, I thought we were going to get a massive flood,” he said, “It’s very unlike LA.”

You nodded as you took off your seatbelt. “Well, thanks for the ride.”

Yuta smiled and tipped his imaginary hat. “Thank you for your help tonight.” His smile was at its most radiant, then.

^_^

You wake up the next morning thankful for the weekend but a little sad that…Wait a minute.

You didn’t miss Yuta, you told yourself. The boy gave you whiplash and you were only beginning to get to know him. You had time to do some cleaning around the apartment. Maybe you could find a lot of your missing stuff so you could put that eBay account out of your mind.

It was already 2 PM and you couldn’t find the palette, your primary concern. You sighed. You looked around your spotless room and found some solace in the fact that it was clean and organized. Tidying up was its own therapy.

You called your mom and asked her about her day. You went through your jewelry box.

Your mom chattered on, excited like a schoolgirl, “Anyways y/n, Fred wanted to take me to a costume party tonight so I wanted to know...Do you think the black flapper dress would be better than the mod dress?” Fred was her serious boyfriend of three years. You had a feeling that he would propose anytime now and you were happy for them.

That good feeling quickly dissipated. “Oh, no.” Your most prized possession was missing. You knew it was missing because you always kept it in your jewelry box.

“y/n? Honey, are you okay?” Your mom asked over the line.

You couldn’t tell your mom that your grandmother’s ruby necklace was missing. “Yeah, sorry mom, it’s nothing. I got a little dramatic. Ran out of whipped cream for my sundae.” You lied.

You finished your conversation with your mom. You had no choice but to log onto eBay again. You searched 1026you and your suspicions were confirmed.

Your grandmother’s one-of-a-kind family heirloom was for sale. For one hundred dollars. It was a priceless heirloom that was worth at least ten times as much. You clenched your fists. “Son of a bitch.”

You messaged the seller again but knew he would never answer you. He’s ignored your other messages so what made you think he would respond to this one? You read through the site’s terms and conditions and there was no way to contest that the item was yours. You noticed that the item was up for bid and the bid would end in…

Ten minutes.

The current bid was at $100.

You scoffed. “Why the hell do I have to bid on an item that’s mine?”

You swallowed your pride and prayed that no one else would bid higher.

You placed a bid for $101.

Right away, someone else bid higher. $102.

This went on and on until your competition outbid you and won the necklace for $127.

“Son of a bitch!” You cursed again.

You sent 1026you ten consecutive messages telling them that they stole your necklace and begged them to respond as soon as possible. You knew it was hopeless.

^_^

You knocked on Yangyang’s door. He lived a few doors down from you and Delilah. You used to babysit him when you were in high school and college. Yangyang was a child prodigy, having graduated from MIT with a master’s in computer science at age sixteen. His parents still needed you to babysit when he was acing Physics at age ten. He always insisted he didn’t need a babysitter but you two developed a bond. It was to both of your surprise that he became your neighbor. He had a side hustle as a hacker. You hoped he could help you track down 1026you so you can give him a piece of your mind.

He opened the door. “y/n, what’s up?” He smiled wide. He still had that boyish wonder in his eyes.

“Hey, I hope I’m not interrupting,” you started.

“Not at all, come in,” he moved to the side so you could walk into his messy apartment. Video games were scattered all over his living room floor. He was in the middle of eating a bowl of ramen.

“Yangyang, I know I’ve been relieved from my babysitting duties for a while now but...ramen is not a proper meal,” you said.

“Shut up.” Yangyang laughed. “I’ll grill some meat later. Don’t worry.”

You laughed as you sat at his kitchen table. He gave you a can of Pepsi, knowing it was your favorite. “I need a favor, actually.”

Yangyang rejoiced. “At long last, you need my help. Never thought the day would come. You never let me help you with precalculus, even though you definitely needed it.”

Ignoring his roast for once, you responded, “Well...I need your hacking expertise. I know that this is going to sound crazy but...someone has been stealing things from my apartment and selling them online.”

Yangyang’s smile faded. “What the hell? So that’s why you installed security cameras at your place.”

“I didn’t get into it because I thought I was crazy but my grandmother’s necklace is missing and it’s one of a kind. And now…” You showed him the item that was sold.

“That’s your necklace,” Yangyang replied in shock. He recognized it from having known you for so long. You wore it on rare occasions like birthday parties. You preferred not to be photographed with it because you wanted to preserve it and keep it secret from strangers and acquaintances. You never knew who you could trust.

“Can you help me track down the seller?”

“y/n, that goes against eBay’s terms and conditions,” he replied.

You sighed. “I know but-”

Yangyang chuckled mischievously. “This should be fun.”

Yangyang worked magic on his computer to track down 1026you’s location. He was in Los Angeles, to your surprise. “Can’t get you the seller’s name but will an address do?”

“It’s perfect,” you said.

^_^

Yuta woke up from a nap on the couch. Totoro was sleeping on his stomach. He chuckled as he pet him. Yuta’s phone rang, indicating a notification. He checked his phone and saw that the ruby necklace he put on sale was sold to the highest bidder at the deadline. He also saw a bunch of messages from one account claiming he stole the necklace and he’d better respond to her.

“Crazy,” Yuta said as he ignored the messages.

^_^

“What do you think I should use for today’s luxurious bath, Totoro? The  ‘Cotton Candy’ bath bomb or the ‘Madly In Love’ bath bomb?” Yuta carefully picked Totoro up from his lap and placed him on the cold marble floor before standing up and stretching.

Totoro let out a loud “meow” and walked away from Yuta.

“I completely agree.”

Yuta threw his shirt off and headed to his bathroom, but he jumped once he opened the door. He had completely forgotten about the beautiful portrait that leaned against the counter. He stopped and tilted his head, really taking in the depth of color in the painting. He gazed at the stunning profile of the woman and the necklace she had on. He couldn’t understand how he had this undying urge to remember a memory he never had, to remember the moment he met this strange woman from the portrait.

He shook his head and started to run water for his bath, oblivious to the eyes that watched him through the small opening of the door.

^_^

You watched a shirtless Yuta stare at something for a few seconds. You couldn’t see what it was, but you really didn’t care, for Yuta’s abs were the real star of the show. Your mouth fell open, your heart started to race. Yuta was perfect in every way, and the twinkling piercing in his navel was the cherry on top.

But...wait.

You had to remember why you were here. Yangyang’s research found that this was the address of the person that was selling your precious necklace so you had to work fast. You already got lucky when you found a window in a first floor bedroom that was open.

You were shocked to see that it was Yuta’s house that you would have to break into, but once again, you just had to get your priceless possession.

Was Yuta messing with you? How could he do this and when could he do this? When would he have had time to sneak into your place and steal your necklace? Or was it his girlfriend?

Yuta shook his head before turning it to the side slightly. You jumped out of sight by moving to the side quickly. He interrupted your thoughts, but you had to get moving before he got out of the shower.

You looked around his enormous mansion, heading for what seemed to be his bedroom, for it was the biggest one at the top of the grand staircase.

Surely, there had to be an explanation for how your possession became his possession. Nonetheless, you were pissed that he decided to ignore your message and proceed to sell it. How could he steal something so meaningful to you then sell it? It’s not like he needed the money.

You looked on top of the California King-sized bed and then under it to see if you could just catch a glimpse of the shimmering ruby stone. But you found nothing. You then looked at his black dresser before stopping to gaze at his extensive earring collection. It was incredible.

A case full of hundreds if not thousands of earrings and jewelry stood beside the dresser. Your mouth fell open and your eyes widened. What if he stole jewelry? No-no, you shook your head at the absurd thought. This man had way too much money.

Then you heard him singing in the bathroom beside his bedroom. But his voice grew louder as he exited and entered the hallway to make his way to his room.

“Shit,” you whispered.

Your heart started to race. You're just moments from being caught so you look back to the dresser and spot it.

Your necklace.

It’s next to the small brown bag that it would have been sent in today, but you grabbed it just in the nick of time.

“BABAY!! Why DON’T YOU JUST MEET ME IN THE MIDDLEEE??” Yuta sang in the hallway and thanks to his boastful voice and the large ceilings that allowed for a beautiful echo, you heard him when he was just about to enter. You quickly dropped to the floor and rolled under the bed.

You covered your mouth to muffle your heavy breathing. He was pacing about, walking to and from his closet.

“Nah, don’t like this…” he threw a flannel onto the bed. He went into his closet and grabbed a black T-shirt, the 56th black T-shirt in his collection, to be exact.

“Nice.” Yuta continued to hum while spritzing on some cologne.

Yuta smelled amazing, like vanilla and roses, but you couldn’t help but be worried that you would be late for work if you couldn’t get out of his house right NOW.

“Hey, babe..” You heard a female voice say. It was his girlfriend. “Damn it,” you mouthed. Ashley was known for being one of the most gorgeous celebrities alive today. She had the perfect face with a dazzling smile to match, but rumor had it that she was a complete bitch behind closed doors.

You heard Yuta sigh and you could almost feel his eye roll. He was thinking of how much he hated himself for ever giving her a key to his house.

“What’s up, Ash?” He spoke to her like he was being forced to communicate with an Uber driver.

“Oh, don’t sound so excited to see me…” Ashley responded. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Yuta was fixing his earrings onto his ears when she embraced him. He looked at her through the mirror in front of them and gave a look of annoyance when she tilted her head to lock eyes with him.

“So...where were you yesterday? You missed our dinner date at the Venetian...Do you know how much it cost me to lose that reservation AND call off the paps?”

“I’m sure you can afford it.” Yuta walked away from her and looked at the dresser with a puzzled expression. Something’s missing, he thought.

You watched Yuta’s footsteps as he hesitated for a moment, but then he continued on into his closet.

Your eyes grew. Did Yuta really blow off his date at the most expensive restaurant in the city to be with you? He ditched $1,000 caviar and steak just to eat $12 pizza with you?

“You really like making me beg, don’t you, Mr. Nakamoto?” Her voice lowered as she leaned against the dresser and watched Yuta put his socks on.

“Where were you, daddy?”

Yuta hesitated for a moment. He didn’t like the fact that she thought he had to report his movements to her. She acted like she had to know everything that went on in his life. She was overstepping and Yuta wasn’t about to fall for it.

So he decided to piss her off.

“I was with..the new girl.”

Ashley stood up straight and crossed her arms. You nearly yelped out under the bed and revealed yourself.

“Who’s the ‘new girl’?” Ashley asked and you could just hear the fire in her tone. Even Charizard would be jealous.

“The new makeup artist..she’s sweet, I bought us food and we talked.” Yuta smirked and walked closer to Ashley who didn’t even try to hide her jealousy. Her perfectly plucked brows furrowed.

“I taught her how to play the guitar...she’s lovely, really. We had a great time.” Yuta was definitely twisting the knife and you couldn’t tell if he spoke of you fondly just to piss her off, or if he genuinely meant it. Either way, his words filled your chest with butterflies, and a smile tugged at your lips.

“Yuta...baby, you missed our date at THE Venetian to spend it with some talentless random who probably has a failing Youtube channel?” Ashley pouted. “Let me show you what’s lovely, Mr. Nakamoto.”

Yuta was about to protest, but Ashley held his chin and tilted it down towards her before placing a kiss on his lips.

The sound echoed in the large room and made you roll your eyes. She insulted you without having met you? What a bitch, you thought. No wonder Yuta was miserable.

She then took his hand and led him to the bed, pushing his chest lightly so he’d sit on the soft surface. She dropped to her knees and ran her hands along his thighs.

Oh no...please don’t do what I think you’re about to do. You squeezed your eyes tightly and prayed that Yuta would tell her to wait until later.

Yuta huffed and puffed but indulged her, allowing her to have her way because he just couldn’t be bothered. She unbuckled his belt while looking into his low eyes.

“You’re stressed, baby, that’s why you spent time with a total stranger. But don’t forget you have me.” Ashley licked her lips before taking his pant zipper in between her teeth and dragging it down.

“I can’t wait to taste you, Mr. Nakamoto.” Ashley kissed his pelvis. She was too busy to see Yuta cringe at the name she called him. God, did it feel weird.

“Just...m-make it quick. I have to go.” Yuta licked his lips, letting his head fall back as he closed his eyes in anticipation.

Shit. You mouthed again. You were about to hear the most disturbing sounds of your life and there was nothing you could do, nowhere that you could go. Could you sneak out on the other side without them noticing? Shit shit shit shit.

Ashley sneezed before she could place her mouth on Yuta again.

Yuta looked down in annoyance.

She quickly swiped at her nose then retook her position.

She puckered her lips to lay a kiss on his growing bulge, but she sneezed again.

Several more sneezes followed and Yuta was getting frustrated. He slowly became turned off.

“Damn it, do you still have that ugly cat? I’m suffering here!” She yelled before laying out four back-to-back sneezes.

“So am I.. I gotta go, Ashley.” Yuta rolled his eyes and stood up. He brushed past her, where she still knelt on the floor, and walked towards the dresser.

“Make yourself useful and mail this-” Yuta’s sentence trailed when he didn't see the necklace. The brown envelope was there but the necklace was no longer beside it. “What the hell, I could’ve sworn...”

He looked into the brown bag then onto the floor and the rest of the dresser. Sure enough, the necklace was gone. “So it disappears just as quickly as it appeared? Shit.”

Your brows furrowed. What did he mean by “appeared?”

“Have you seen-?” Yuta was about to ask.

But suddenly, your phone started to vibrate in your back pocket. You quickly reached towards it to silence it so it would no longer make that grinding sound while shaking on the floor.

Luckily, Ashley was still sneezing so it covered up the sound..or so you thought.

“What was that?” Yuta turned and looked about the room for the source of the sound.

Ashley finally stood up and walked towards him. “I’ll just drive with you to work! We can finish what we started...” She gave him a wink before sniffling.

Yuta grimaced and grabbed his keys, brushing past her once again to head out the door.. “Whatever you say, Ash.”

Ashley practically skipped behind him. Finally, the room was empty. You swiftly dragged yourself from under the bed and stood up.

You heard them argue downstairs so you decided that you would climb out from the patio attached to Yuta’s room. Yangyang made sure to deactivate Yuta’s entire security system, including his cameras, so you could enter and leave without detection.

You took a deep breath before jumping from the porch and into the bushes below it. You tried not to scream as loudly as you wanted to. How you didn’t break your legs, you weren’t sure, but you were somehow able to leap back onto your feet and book it for the main road, sliding through the gate while Yuta and his girlfriend waited for the garage door to open so they could drive out.

By the time you got to work, you were covered in sweat, leaves, and dirt. You smelled and looked like you had been camping for at least 23 days in the Appalachian mountains, but it didn’t matter. You finally had your necklace.

“You good, y/n?” Manager Byun gave you a puzzled expression as you hurriedly took your tools out of your kit and placed them on the vanity for Yuta. You were somehow able to get there just minutes before him.

“I’m okay! Had a slightly...difficult time getting here, but I’m ready!” You gave him a smile so forced, you thought your face would be stuck like that forever.

He nodded slowly but still looked confused.

Just then, Yuta entered. His smile was bright and so beautiful. You melted like chocolate in his sunny smile when his eyes were glued to yours as he entered.

But your feelings of admiration soon dissipated when you saw his girlfriend behind him. She held up a compact mirror and was fixing her lipstick as she walked in.

I guess they did finish what they started...

Your smile fell. You didn’t know why you were sad and disappointed. It’s not like your one night with Yuta actually meant anything. He had a girlfriend, and not just any girlfriend. A celebrity girlfriend that was just listed as the person with the second most beautiful face in the world, behind Zendaya of course. Yuta was lucky, there’s no way he’d drop her for you.

You looked away as he walked over. He could feel a shift in your mood immediately. Your eyes were so big and bright when he entered and now you shifted your focus to organizing your makeup and covering a look of sadness that he could clearly see.

Yuta said ‘hi’ to everyone but stepped quickly over to you.

“Hey...y/n...it's nice to see you again.” Yuta gave you a half smile that really tugged at your heartstrings. How could he manage to make you so weak?

“Hey, Yuta.” You gave a short answer, and he could tell you were upset. You weren't nearly as cheerful as you were yesterday. Then..he noticed how disheveled you were.

His face became serious. He touched your arm and it felt like sparks dancing along your skin.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly while the other members and the manager went about their business.

You tried to avoid his magnetic gaze, but couldn't.

Your mouth opened as you looked into his eyes. “I’m-”

“Hi! Nice to meet you, are you the new makeup girl?” Ashley pushed herself in between you and Yuta and obnoxiously smiled in your face to push you further away from Yuta.

“Yes.” You pucker your lips and glance at Yuta who looked beyond annoyed.

“Well, you certainly don’t look like a makeup artist..” Ashley chuckled.

You scoffed. “What?”

“I mean, look at your nails.. Are you sure you want to touch my boyfriend's perfect face when you’ve got an entire ecosystem under your nail bed?” She grabbed your hand without warning and held it up for both you and Yuta to see the dirt that had gotten under your nails when you had jumped off of his patio and held on to the ground for support. You were running late so you didn’t get a chance to go to the restroom to clean up, but of course you would wash your hands before touching his face.

“I-” you started, but she interrupted you once again.

“That’s not very professional of you...”

“Ashley! Stop, don’t you have a photo shoot to get to?” Yuta took your hand from her and lowered it to your side, but he didn’t let it go. He stood beside you and looked onto Ashley with disappointment. Your heart became warm as he squeezed your hand to let you know that he had your back.

Ashley chuckled. “People come and go pretty fast here sweetie..let’s see how long you last.” She rolled her eyes before pushing herself in between the two of you, breaking off your linked hands in the process. How could someone so beautiful also be so ugly?

“I’m so sorry about her.” Yuta turned to you.

You nodded. “She’s right. It's very unprofessional of me to come to work like this.”

Yuta shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, y/n. Things happen..Let me show you where the shower is.”

^_^

Yuta led you to the locker room where the shower was. He handed you a tshirt and sweatpants that he had asked the manager to keep in a locker for him just in case he needed to change after sweating too much.

“Why are you dating someone so...mean?” You asked while you followed Yuta. You didn’t think twice about your question, and really, you had no right to ask him. He was just your client, not your friend.

Yuta chuckled. He turned to you and raised his eyebrows. “I smell some jealousy.”

You rolled your eyes. “Yeah, she’s pretty or whatever, but trust me I am not jealous. I just don’t understand how you could be with someone like that..”

“I’m not a saint either, y/n..we’re perfect for each other..or at least our agencies think so.” Yuta paused. He wondered if he should let you in on yet another secret, but he didn’t notice that his eyes had trailed to your lips, adoring the way they formed a small pout.

You laughed. “You have a point, you weren’t exactly the nicest to me when I first started working for you...”

Yuta grinned when he saw your bright smile and your doe eyes as you laughed again. You were like a breath of fresh air, unlike anyone he’d ever seen. His spirit was instantly drawn to you, for you calmed him. You were just a stranger yet you felt like home.

“I’ll make it up to you...How about I teach you more about the guitar after the shoot?” He stepped closer, anxiously awaiting your approval like a boy that just asked his crush to prom.

You started to blush, his face was so close to yours, you had to look into his eyes.

You took in a sharp breath. “Are you sure your girlfriend will be okay with that? I don’t want you to stand her up again, she’ll probably stab me with an eyeliner pencil.”

“Again?” Yuta’s brows bunched together, but he still gave a teasing smile.

sHIT.

“O-oh i mean, surely you’ve stood her up at some point, right? She’s a total b-”

Yuta burst out into laughter.

You looked at him with worry on your face. “W-what did I do?”

“You’re adorable, but I just can’t take it anymore.” Yuta reached his hand out to the side of your face and gently removed a long vine that was tangled in your hair. He then removed a large, green leaf that stuck out of your disheveled do.

He calmed down. “There we go..much better. Even nature loves your beautiful face.”

Beautiful face.

Your heart began to race for the third time in one day. Too much was happening, you thought you would pass out. Did Yuta really just say that you were beautiful?

He cleared his throat when he realized that the words he was thinking actually came out while the two of you stood awkwardly in the locker room.

“Yuta?”

He smiled, just the sound of you saying his name made him weak for some reason, what was happening to him?

“What?”

“You’re staring..” you chuckled.

“I’m getting inspired.” he gazed at your eyes then your lips as he spoke in a softer tone.

“By what?” You tilted your head.

“By you.”

“Mountain Man, you really have a way with words, I bet you say that to all your groupies.” You rolled your eyes and brushed past him, walking towards the shower.

He spun around and grabbed your hand. Your breath hitched when you turned to look at him, his full lips parted and eyes begging for something.

“I...have to tell you something..”

He looked so serious for once.

“Ashley and I are in a fake relationship. It’s all a publicity stunt that our labels set up. I don’t love her...But I’m telling you because I feel like..I can really talk to you.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised, Yuta.” you gave a small smile. “I’m just your makeup artist, but if you want to talk to me, I don’t see why not. You’ve already told me two major secrets.”

Yuta laughed out at your response, a strand of his beautiful fuchsia hair falling into his forehead, making him look even more handsome than he did before.

He stepped closer.

“Wash up quickly, for me..the shoot starts soon.”

Yuta winked and walked away leaving you a blushing mess.

“Also, remember we have a guitar lesson later.”

For me.

Why did he have to say it like that? Wait, why were you even affected by that? Could your heart calm down when you were around him for more than five seconds?

^_^

You walked into the dressing room in your new comfy outfit and headed straight for your section. The sweatpants Yuta gave you didn’t have pockets, so you had to wear the necklace around your neck. You tucked it under your shirt to make sure that no one would see it on you.

“Wow, I wish I was wearing that instead of leather pants right now...” Johnny pouted when he saw you in Yuta’s Nike sweats.

“You look great! Always remember, beauty is pain,” you gave him a wink and continued to place your tools in order.

“You must be in pain all the time then, y/n.” Yuta exclaimed as he approached his seat.

Everyone in the dressing room let out ‘oooooo’s’ like primary school students.

You blushed but turned away quickly so he wouldn’t see. “Always teasing me, I swear one day you’re gonna pay.”

“Can’t wait for that day.” Yuta relaxed into the chair.

You leaned forward and started to place the concealer under his eyes with a small brush. You took your time and blended carefully, but felt your face become hot when you realized that he was staring at you intensely.

You couldn’t hold it in anymore. You stepped back to laugh and shook your head.

“What’s wrong? Am I making you flustered?” Yuta smirked.

You rolled your eyes then leaned in towards his face. He suddenly sat up straighter, moving forward so that his lips would be just a few centimeters away from yours.

“Stop teasing me. We don’t have time.” You blushed once again and stepped back.

Yuta bit his lips and chuckled. “Oh, so demanding.”

You were doing his eyeliner when you tugged at the collar of the men’s shirt. It was choking you slightly because it was higher than a regular T-shirt. That’s when your necklace popped up and rested on top of the shirt instead of under it.

“Wait...where did you get that?” Yuta leaned back.

“What?” You narrowed your brow, for you didn’t understand why his demeanor became so serious.

“That necklace...”

Shit.

“Did you steal that..from me?”

Then it all clicked for Yuta. You were in his house. You eavesdropped on his and Ashley’s conversation. That’s how you knew that he stood her up the night before. And that’s why you came to work all sweaty and out of breath.

“What are you talking about?” You backed away from him, but he stood up quickly and snatched the necklace from your neck furiously. The sound of the chain breaking frightened you and you became just as furious. This bastard had no idea what he had just done.

“Yuta!”

Everyone turned to you two once your voice rose.

“What the hell are you doing? Give it back!” You demanded.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he examined the necklace, the shape and cut of the ruby stone and the unique gold chain that it hung on.

He compared the necklace to the picture he posted on his eBay account, and sure enough, it was the same necklace.

“You stole this from my house! You stole from me! I thought I could trust you! What are you, some crazy stalker?!”

“Wait, you’re user 1026you! You’re the crazy one! You stole from me so that you can sell MY jewelry online! You also stole my limited edition eyeshadow palette!” Your voices escalated and everyone else in the room became quiet.

“This crazy bitch! Why the hell would I steal from someone like you?” Yuta gave you a look of disgust and looked down on you like you were a poor dog. You really hated his guts now. He towered over you as he yelled, but you weren’t scared. You were just angry that he had the audacity to lie in front of everyone like this.

“I can’t steal something that was already mine!”

“It was never yours! It was in MY house, and I have the proof right here!” He held up his phone as Manager Byun walked over.

“What’s going on here?” The manager was both puzzled and surprised that you were in a yelling match with the member that no one dared to fight.

“This delusional girl that you decided to hire is a stalker! She broke into my house and stole my necklace.”

“YOUR necklace? You’ve really lost your mind! You stole it from me first.” You shouted back.

“Okay, okay everyone calm down. y/n.. Did you break into Yuta’s house?” the manager turned to you.

“No-I mean, yes, but only because he was going to sell it and it’s precious to me. He ignored my messages and blocked me on eBay before I could explain!”

“You broke into my client’s house?” Baekhyun gaped.

“She sure as hell did. Security!! She tricked me and got close to me just so she could steal from me and learn my secrets. How much were you gonna sell this for, huh? But the worst part is that I trusted you like a fool,” Yuta stepped forward as he spewed hateful and untrue words.

Your eyes started to water, you struggled to hold back tears. “Yuta, you know that’s not true. The necklace was never yours! It belonged to my grandmother and means so much to me.”

“Prove it.” Yuta was angry beyond words, he felt betrayed.

You struggled to think of any way to prove that it was yours. The security guards took your arms and placed them behind your back while pulling you away and out of the room.

The only thing that could prove that the necklace was yours would be the painting that your grandmother made of you when you wore the necklace. The painting that you just now realized had also gone missing.

“No! Don’t do this! I’m not a stalker.” You struggled to stay still as the guards dragged you out.

“She’s delusional! How could you hire someone like that? She put me in danger!” Yuta marched off to the bathroom so he could cool down.

“Yuta-wait. y/n...We will be pressing charges, I’m calling the police.” Manager Byun pulled out his phone.

^_^

A few hours passed and the news broke of what happened.

Crazy Stalker poses as Makeup Artist to Break into Yuta Nakamoto’s home!

BREAKING: MUGSHOT OF DELUSIONAL STALKER OF YUTA NAKAMOTO RELEASED

How did she pull off the perfect plan and is Yuta Nakamoto in danger?

You sat on the bench in your cold cell and wiped your eyes. Everything went bad so quickly. Yuta and basically the entire world thought you were a stalker and there was nothing you could do to prove your innocence. Yuta had the audacity to accuse you of stealing something that was never his to begin with.

And now, you could hear his fans chanting hurtful messages.

“She’s a crazy stalker, We will protect Yuta!”

“Yuta, we love you!”

“SHE DOESN’T DESERVE FREEDOM”

You were so confused, but the part that hurt the most was that your most prized possession was gone and probably in the air on some shipping company's airplane being delivered to some oblivious buyer.

What could you possibly do to make everything right at this point?

Yuta, on the other hand, was at home being coddled by his oh so caring girlfriend.

He laid down on his plush, velvet couch and pouted.

“It’s gonna be okay, Yuta. I swear we’ll get the best lawyers. She’ll never see another day outside!” Ashley got up from the couch and paced about.

“I knew I had a bad feeling about her.”

But Yuta disagreed. He never had a bad feeling about you. He thought you were sweet and kind, he thought everything about you was genuine especially when compared to the fakeness that surrounded him in his lifestyle. How could he have been fooled like this?

He told you two major secrets and now he’d probably have to drop the charges in exchange for your silence.

You really got to him because you seemed to be the biggest fan of Mountain Man, you seemed to appreciate his hard work, but now he didn’t think any of your praises were genuine. He couldn’t even go on social media. All the hashtags were ALWAYSHEREFORYUTA, WEWILLPROTECTYUTA, CRAZYSTALKER.

And they just reminded him of how weak he became.

“LOOK! TMZ just got her mugshot! I’m so happy they’re exposing this bitch, I hope they release her address and family information.”

Ashley smirked when she pulled up the picture of your mugshot on Yuta’s phone.

“Ashley...you need to leave...” Yuta sat up on the couch and looked at the floor. He couldn’t take anymore of Ashley’s annoying voice and he really wanted to be alone to relax and decompress after what happened.

“Oh, my poor little meow meow, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.” Ashley sat back down on the couch beside him and tried to take his jaw in her hands but he backed away.

“Not now, Ash..I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Ashley scoffed and slowly got up from the couch.

“Okay...let me know if you need anything.”

Yuta breathed a sigh of relief once he heard the front door close. He could hear tons of fans outside of his front gate cheering for him when she opened the door and it made him sick. He doesn’t feel proud. Because the truth is, the necklace wasn’t his. It just “appeared.” But here he was defending his possession of it and it didn’t feel right.

Yuta bit his lips then looked down at his phone which was still open with the article that included your mugshot.

He looked away at first, but then looked back down when something caught his eye. He looked more closely at the photo.

Your eyes.

He’d seen them before. Of course he had, but this time..they were different. They reminded him of something, someone.

The color of your cheeks and the depth of your beautiful eyes, the tone of your gorgeous soft skin and the curve of your lips. He had seen it before.

It took him a moment to realize.

The painting.

You were the woman in the painting that found itself in his bathroom. You were the same woman that wore a necklace just like the one he sold.

He looked over the messages you sent him on his seller account. It was like clockwork, every time something appeared in his house and he posted it online, you would message him about it to ask that he return it.

She was telling the truth. Yuta thinks to himself. He could punch himself right now. He was so rude to you for no reason. It was your stuff that kept popping up in his house and he didn’t understand why, but he knew that you were innocent. The painting was huge so it’s not like you placed it there by yourself to mess with him.

He threw on his jean jacket and headed out the door to go to the police station.

He had to fight through the screaming fans outside of the station that were waiting for a chance to attack you, the police officers gathering around him to move him through the hectic crowd.

Once inside, he went to the front desk and immediately told the officer that he wanted to drop all charges against you.

“You’re one lucky girl...” The officer said as she opened the gate of your cell.

“What?” You looked up at her questioningly and stood up from the wooden bench that had made your butt sore.

“He’s here for you..you know, the good looking rocker dude.” She unlocks your handcuffs and walks you out of the cell.

You’re relieved but can’t seem to smile, what’s going on?

Yuta was signing paperwork as you walked up to him.

“Yuta..you asshole.”

“That’s no way to speak to the man that just got your ass out.” Yuta looked up and sighed.

You scoffed. “You’re the one that put me in there! And I’m supposed to thank you?” You pushed past him and headed for the door. You started to walk down the stairs, but you were quickly stopped by the officers that stood out front.

“What the-“ you started when you saw the enormous crowd outside of the station. They were Yuta’s fans and paparazzi. They rapidly snapped so many pictures of you, you had to close your eyes and cover your face, the flashing lights being all too much for you. All you could hear were the thunderous ‘boo’s’ of Yuta’s fans.

Yuta was used to noise and flashing bright lights so he quickly came up behind you and turned you around. He held your head and pressed it onto his chest lightly.

You started to cry when you heard the names everyone was calling you over a simple misunderstanding. How could you be a ‘normal’ person after all this? All you wanted was your necklace and now you were overwhelmed by this new and unwelcoming spotlight.

“Shhh..don’t cry, it’ll be okay..I got you.” Yuta whispered into your ear as he patted your head softly.

You relaxed into him more, enjoying the comfort of his broad chest.

“Put your arms around my neck. Just trust me, okay?” Yuta’s soft tone made you shudder even though you still hated him.

But you did as he instructed.

He then picked up your legs and held you in his arms bridal style. The fans roared even louder but Yuta ignored them. He marched down the stairs towards his car while police blocked them from the two of you. He was able to lay you down on the backseat of his Range Rover before jumping into the front seat and speeding away from the madness.

Once the two of you were somewhat safe and far from the police station and his fans, Yuta exhaled.

He turned to look at you when he got to a red light. You were huddled up with your back facing him while you laid down on the surprisingly comfortable backseat. You had stopped crying, but you were still angry.

“Listen, I’m just as frustrated as you are. But we need to talk about this. What the hell is going on?” Yuta let out.

“I don’t know, maybe we should’ve talked before you had security take me away. Then all of this shit wouldn’t have happened. Oh and frustrated?” You scoffed.

“Did you just spend over 8 hours in a cold prison cell for stealing a necklace that belonged to you in the first place?!”

“You’re the one that broke into my house! Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I tried to message you but you insisted on being a jerk to make quick cash off of someone else’s belongings.”

You pulled your phone out of your pocket.

“Have you seen this shit? Your girlfriend just had a press conference and is calling for all makeup brands and agencies to swear to never hire me! I hate you, I can’t believe you put me in jail and essentially, ended my whole career!”

Yuta sighed. “I’m sorry, y/n. I really am, don’t look at social media right now, and your career isn’t over, we’ll get this sorted out.”

“How did you find out the truth anyway?” You asked.

“I recognized you in the painting, you had the necklace on.”

“The painting? Wait, you have that too?” Your eyes widened.

“Yes, and I was stupid to not realize it was you sooner. I—was an idiot, y/n. I hope you can forgive me. As a matter of fact, you can expose me as the Mountain Man if you want, you can expose everything.” Yuta was genuinely sorry for what he put you through. The whole world knew who you were now. You were famous, but not in a good way. Yuta had millions of fans and you were pretty sure you were the second most hated person in the world on twitter right now, behind Donald Trump of course.

“Yuta...I don’t want to get even with you, I want my life back.” You closed your eyes and started to drift off into a deep sleep while he drove.

Yuta cursed himself, he felt a bond being created with you and now he ruined it. And he had to admit that he had started to admire the woman in the painting, the woman he wanted to know even though his soul felt he already knew her. And now, the beautiful woman was right next to him, and yet, so far away.

^_^

When you got back to Yuta’s place, you entered through the garage so no one could see you get out of his car.

Yuta took you to his security room where he could watch footage from all of the cameras inside and outside of his house.

He reached for your hand to guide you through the large mansion, but you didn’t take it this time.

You huffed and rolled your eyes.

“Explain to me why you keep taking my stuff.”

“I don’t take anything. It just..appears.” Yuta walked quickly to the room.

“I'm gonna prove it to you right now.”

Yuta pulls up footage from the night the painting appeared in his bathroom, but every time he fast forwards to the exact moment that the painting appears, the footage cuts out.

“Did you see that? The second that my camera cuts to black is the moment that the painting just magically appears.”

You blink rapidly. “Play it again.”

Yuta replays it and you both watch the unexplainable. Chills run down your spine as you are creeped all the way out.

“I’ll show you the night your necklace popped up in my kitchen.”

It felt like you were watching something from Paranormal Activity and although you were a big fan of horror movies, you sure didn’t like being in one.

The same thing happened. There is a second of footage that is cut out and right after, the footage plays again with the new item in frame. It didn’t make any sense.

Yuta looked at you as you stared at the screen and tried to make sense of what he saw.

You were so beautiful, your long lashes batting slowly, your pursed lips and cute nose. Why was he so drawn to you? The magnetic pull he felt towards you became even stronger now that he knew you were the woman in the painting.

“Where is it now, Yuta?”

“Where’s what?” Yuta was only thinking about your face. For a moment, he forgot what you were even doing there.

“The necklace.” Your doe eyes shifted upwards to his.

Yuta sighed and looked away to the floor. “I—was upset, so I already sent it to the buyer.”

You closed your eyes and let out a slow breath.

“Yuta...we have to get it back, you don’t..you don’t understand.”

“They won’t give it back to me, y/n. They already know that I’m the user that sold it, it’ll be even more valuable now.”

“But it’s priceless to me, Yuta!” You yelled before tears ran down your cheeks.

“y/n..” Yuta stepped forward to hug you, and you let him. His arms held you tightly. “We’ll work this out, I’ll get it back if it means that much to you.”

“My grandmother was a painter, she’s the one that created that painting for me. She was the best..” you sniffled as you rested your head on his chest again.

“She was the one that taught me about creativity, color and believing in your art.. she’s the one I looked up to when I was growing up. I spent most of my time with her when my parents would fight..which was pretty often.”

Yuta smoothed your hair as you spoke.

“But one day, she lit a candle..she forgot to blow it out before falling asleep on her couch and a fire started to spread..”

“y/n..I’m so sorry.”

“The oil paintings allowed for the fire to become huge and made it impossible for her to escape..she died before firefighters could get to her, the only thing that survived the fire was that necklace. She held onto it..for me. She said she would give it to me one day when I was old enough.” You sobbed once more.

“y/n..I promise you I will do everything I can to get it back.”

You sniffled then looked up at Yuta. “Please, Yuta.”

He nodded. “ I promise.”

Just then you felt something walk between your ankles. When you looked down, you were startled to see your cat, Totoro.

“What the hell? Why do you have my cat? I’ve been looking for him everywhere, but he’s old and just kinda does what he wants.” Totoro’s abrupt entrance makes you stop crying.

“What? YOUR cat? He’s in my house, he’s mine now.” Yuta says sternly.

God, why was he so possessive?  

You looked back up at him and pushed his chest away, you suddenly remembered the kind of man Yuta was.

“He’s MY cat, you fool. You didn’t even raise him. You probably lured him in here by giving him food!” You picked Totoro up.

You still hated Yuta, however, it was like a weight had been lifted once you told him about the significance of the necklace.

You turned to leave Yuta’s place through the back entrance you entered through.

“Prove it, prove he’s yours, what’s his name?” Yuta looked hurt that you were taking Totoro away from him.

“It’s Totoro, bitch.” You rolled your eyes and continued walking straight-faced with your cat in hand.

Yuta’s eyes grew, he was left speechless.

The two of you finally got to the garage.

You turned to him.

“You owe me a ride home, and after that, I never want to see you again.”

^_^

Yuta drove you back to your apartment, apologizing multiple times. This day he apologized more times than he has ever apologized for anything in his life. It had to be some sort of record.

You were tired because this truly had been one of the longest days of your life. You wanted a warm shower and to hug Totoro to sleep.

Yuta parked his car in front of your building and turned to look at you. “y/n...”

“Thanks for the ride back,” you muttered as you and Totoro walked back to your apartment.

You looked so dejected and devoid of any emotion. This entire misunderstanding did a number on you. And it was his fault. He had to act fast if he was going to make this up to you.

Little did you know that a pair of serpentine eyes watched you from across the parking lot. Ashley laid low in a car she typically wouldn’t be caught dead in and watched her man drive that freak home. That was when she saw that you were carrying that mangy cat in your arms.

“So it was her cat?” She asked herself. She pulled out her phone as she took pictures of you leaving Yuta’s car and pictures of Yuta’s license plate.

Once you were out of sight, Yuta just idled there. For a little too long. It drove Ashley crazy. How could Yuta be so kind to this nobody? After everything you did?

You were inferior to her in every way, Ashley thought. Yuta was a fool for looking at anyone but her. She had to do something so you could be out of the picture forever.

She would be damned if Yuta left her for an unemployed, disgraced nobody. Ashley pitied you because she wasn’t finished with her reign of terror on you. Not by a long shot.

^_^

A few days have passed since your name became the most searched on all social media platforms. You prayed something juicier could distract the public so you could become insignificant again.

A news article came out that Yuta dropped the charges against you and that you were innocent. Unfortunately, the deranged and delusional members of the public (aka the Yutastans) already made up their mind about you. And today, shit hit the fan once again.

Delilah sat with you on the couch as you binge watched Riverdale. It cheered you up to roast the show with your best friend. Things almost seemed like they hadn’t changed.

Delilah checked her phone and nearly choked on her glass of water.

“What is it?” You asked. “Are you okay?”

Delilah set her glass down as she stared at her phone. “That’s our apartment complex. Fuck.”

“Delilah, what’s wrong?” You had a bad feeling.

“y/n, it’s going to be okay. We will get through this,” she began and you motioned for her to hand you her phone.

Delilah reluctantly handed it to you as you read the article on her phone.

Yuta Nakamoto’s Crazy Stalker Is Actually His Side Chick?

That was the headline and your heart plummeted. There were pictures of you holding Totoro as you got out of Yuta’s car when he brought you home.

“What the hell,” you started, “Who took these?” You demanded.

Someone knocked at your door and you shrunk into the couch. Delilah looked at you in concern and she went to answer the door. You both feared who it could be.

She checked the peephole and exhaled. “It’s Yangyang.”

She opened the door and Yangyang ran in. “y/n, are you okay? I saw-“

Shutting the door. Delilah raised her hand up to stop him. “We just saw the article.”

Yangyang cursed. “Someone leaked those photos to the paparazzi. I‘ll help you track down who did this, y/n.”

You sat there in silence. What could you say? What was the point? It was your word against the public who never believed in you. Not only do they think you stole things from Yuta but they now considered you a homewrecker.

And it was only a matter of time before your home address was leaked.

Delilah and Yangyang looked at each other in concern. Delilah deliberated. “She came home with Totoro that day. It was last Thursday. Around...4 PM?”

Yangyang nodded and sat down at the kitchen table. “It’s been a while since I’ve hacked into the complex’s security footage.”

That got a reaction out of you. “You mean you’ve done this before?”

Yangyang smiled wide, happy to see you react to that. “Someone paid me a hefty sum to catch their cheating husband in his shenanigans. I use my powers for good. You know this.”

Delilah scoffed. “You are such a little weirdo.”

He rolled his eyes at the word “little”. He typed away at his keyboard. He chuckled. “Amateurs. They changed one number in their password. Lazy.”

Yangyang navigated through the parking lot security footage. Based off of the angle of which the photo was shot, he was able to pinpoint where the culprit was hiding.

“A 2019 Lexus,” Yangyang said, “License plate ASHL3Y.”

Delilah let out a sarcastic laugh. “Golly gee, whoever could that be...”

You got up from the couch and checked the footage with Yangyang. “I believe it. She hated me even before she met me.”

“She’s the crazy stalker, if you ask me,” Yangyang said.

You sighed. “What will it take for her to leave me alone?”

Your phone rang. It was an unknown number and you chose to ignore it, knowing damn well it was probably a Yutastan who was going to cast some sort of evil spell on you.

Then, immediately you got a text.

Answer the phone. Unless you want an angry mob to break into your apartment tomorrow. -kiss emoji-

^_^

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me,” Ashley started. “Can I offer you a glass of lemonade? Some Brie and crackers?”

In Ashley’s penthouse suite, you sat with her in the living room. She sat across from you in a leather loveseat while you sat in a massive L-shaped leather sofa.

“What the hell do you want? You want to throw it in my face that you ruined my life and put not only my life in danger but my friends’ and family’s lives in danger, too?” You snapped.

Ashley laughed. Her voice was as irritating as that of any early 2000s socialite. “Don’t be so dramatic. No one knows about your family. Your friends at the complex are safe with some of my best security guards.”

“Gee, thanks,” you said as you rolled your eyes.

“None of this would’ve happened if you knew your place and left my Yuta alone,” she said, “So, how long?” She demanded.

“What?” You asked in confusion.

“How long have you two been screwing around behind my back?” She asked.

It was your turn to bust out laughing. You almost cried. “I helped him with his shoot last Wednesday night. The closest I’ve ever gotten to Yuta was when he gave me one guitar lesson. He drove me home twice. Once from work and the second from when he picked me up from my jail cell. It was the least he could do after selling my stuff and oh...I don’t know...SENDING ME TO JAIL.“

Ashley didn’t believe you. “Right. Well, whatever happened between you two...It ends now. Or else I will keep making your life a living hell and destroy the lives of everyone around you.”

“Ashley, the last thing I want to do is see Yuta. I want to be a makeup artist and go back to the life I had before I met him.” Damn the connection you thought you two had. It would surely fade as quickly as it appeared.

Ashley began, “Which is why I have an opportunity for you.”

You frowned. “What?”

Ashley filed her nails as she spoke to you. “Timothée Chalamet’s new horror film begins production next month in Paris. There is an opening for the makeup team, y/n.”

You coughed. “What are you-“

She interrupted you, “Take the job and your name will be cleared. Your friends and family will be safe. Your dreams of becoming a successful makeup artist will come true...”

You knew she wasn’t finished so you waited for her to continue. She was so melodramatic.

“In return, you never come back to LA and leave Yuta alone forever,” Ashley said.

“I’ll have to come back to the city. You can’t ban me from visiting...That is, if I take the job,” you deliberated.

Ashley scoffed. “If?”

You sighed. “Ashley, LA is my home. It’s a big city.” You figured there had to be a way to compromise.

But you realized you were dealing with an unhinged diva.

Ashley said, “It’s a big city, sure. But as of now, every single person knows you as Yuta’s crazy stalker. It will stay that way if you don’t take this opportunity.”

You kept your mouth shut.

“I think I’m being pretty generous, all things considered,” she said as she flipped her bleached hair behind her shoulder. “You would be stupid to turn this down. Want to stay a jobless pariah? Be my guest.”

Your hands were tied. As much as you despised Ashley for making things so much worse for you, she had the answer to your problems. And since you were done with Yuta, agreeing to never see him again didn’t even feel like a big price to pay. And Timothée Chalamet was a mega Hollywood Star. Participating in his film would surely open doors for you. If Ashley kept her word to clear your name. And Paris? You’ve dreamed of going to Paris for years. Your grandmother told you incredible stories of when she studied abroad and lived there for a few years. It was a chance to be closer to her. The sightseeing and the art were enough to make you giddy.

You refused to let this girl drag your name through the mud and jeopardize your loved ones’ lives because they were associated with you. It wasn’t right. This way, everyone could win.

“Okay, you win,” you said.

“Actually, y/n, we both win,” she said as she clinked her glass of champagne at you and drank from it.

^_^

Ashley’s driver took you back to the apartment. When you unlocked the door to your place, you were shocked to see Yuta seated on the couch with Totoro on his lap.

“What are you doing here?” You asked.

Yuta shrugged. “You break into my house. I figured it’s only fair I break into yours.”

You sighed as you took your shoes off as you sat beside Yuta. Naturally, Totoro left Yuta’s lap to greet you.

He nodded. “Delilah let me in. I had to check up on you.”

Yuta kept in touch with your best friend without your knowledge. You realized that now. You’d have to talk to her about that later.

“Well, that’s nice and all but you have to leave,” you said as you averted your gaze from him.

Yuta ignored you. “Where did you go? I was worried sick.”

“I’m fine. I…went to an interview,” you said. There was no way you’d tell him about your meeting with Ashley. He had the mind to intervene and you didn’t want things to escalate any further.

He stared at you in disbelief. “What? For another job? y/n, I told you that you could come back to work with us.”

You shook your head. “If I so much as go to the same supermarket as you, there will be a bounty for my head.”

He shook his head. “The charges have been dropped, y/n. What happened today was…”

“The second of many hits to my career if we don’t stop this now,” you said.

Yuta replied, “y/n-“

“Which brings me to this…Did you get my necklace back?” You asked. If he said no, then you had the ammunition to kick him out. If he somehow got your necklace back…you would have to get even meaner.

Yuta’s face fell. “No, y/n…I reached out to the buyer and they haven’t responded.” He wondered if the buyer already sold it for more or if the buyer was biding his time to ask Yuta for money. “I traced the buyer’s address but they disappeared without a trace. I am so sorry.”

You sighed. “Okay.” You got up from the sofa and headed for the door. “Then, I guess that’s all that needs to be said.” You opened it and motioned for him to leave.

Yuta got up from the couch. “y/n, please we can fix this. As crazy as this sounds, I think I’m falling-“

You stopped him. “Yuta, we can’t. You need to go. You can’t get caught in this complex again. For your safety. And if you care at all about mine.”

Yuta froze. “I will do everything I can to clear your name. Please give me time.”

You couldn’t respond to his sweet voice. You had to resist. As much as you denied it, you felt something for Yuta. From the moment you heard his song “Breeze”, you connected with him before you even met him. His hard work, his talent, his sense of humor, his admiration of your work, his way with words with you before everything went to shit, even the way Totoro gravitated towards him. There was something special about him. Given other circumstances, you would’ve considered exploring a friendship with him. But even that was out of the question. “Goodbye, Yuta.”

He slowly walked out the door and looked back at you. His captivating brown eyes trying to pull you in again but this time, they were full of hurt and longing.

You shut the door, not waiting for him to walk away.

^_^

A couple of days have passed as Yuta reached out to multiple media outlets to clear your name. He admitted that he accidentally sold your necklace. Unfortunately, he couldn’t explain exactly how he’d come into possession of your necklace. So he said the best thing he could come up with: a family friend bought it at a garage sale and thought he might like to have it. Yuta started the account 1026you to sell the items he found around his home in order to raise funds for the LA LGBT Center. Aside from his regular donations from his earnings, Yuta thought he could sell your stuff to make some extra cash for the organization. Had he known that these random items belonged to you he wouldn’t have done that. Which begged the question:

How is it that you lived all the way across town and your stuff just magically appeared in his house? And why?

It seemed like some kind of divine intervention, if anyone asked him. For you two were connected and he only wanted to grow closer to you.

Except now he couldn’t. He failed to get your necklace. You were still blacklisted no matter what he said to multiple companies. He was thankful that you were still able to get an interview like you told him. He wondered if that company hired you. He hoped you were doing well.

Rehearsals for Skylark’s LA shows were still underway. Lily was rehired and Yuta apologized to her for being so rude. The dressing room wasn’t as lighthearted as it’d been when you were around. It was a short time that you were there but he missed you so much.

With Yuta’s heartache, he used music as an outlet. He thought about the night he first taught you how to play the guitar. There was one melody that lingered in his mind every day since. Now he took his time to work the song out of his mind. It was a song that you inspired him to write and he knew it was his best work. He hoped he could play it for you soon.

Yuta missed Totoro’s presence in his home. He didn’t realize how lonely he was until he lost you and your cat. Ashley popped in every day, insisting she stay over. So he begged his sister Suzuka to let him babysit her cat Thorn. Yuta claimed it was out of his hands to babysit Thorn so Ashley stayed less frequently.

Yuta drank a cup of green tea at his kitchen island. He had the day off before his solo press conference. His management wanted him to promote his album but he would also take the opportunity to clear your name.

He pleaded with his agency to let him cut ties with Ashley but Ashley’s agency wouldn’t budge. If Yuta broke up with Ashley, then Ashley’s agency would cut ties with Sky High Entertainment.

He hoped to convince Ashley to cut ties with him today. It was almost as if she was avoiding the conversation as the minute she came in, she ran into the bathroom to take a bubble bath.

“Yuta! Can you be a doll and rub this shower gel on my back?” She asked suggestively.

Yuta knew she was trying to get him in bed so he wouldn’t be able to think straight. These days Ashley seemed more repulsive than usual. Yuta was getting tired.

“No!” Yuta yelled outside the door. “When you finish up, meet me in the living room.”

She didn’t respond right away. She lowered her voice. “Okay…”

Another hour went by and Yuta still waited in the living room. Ashley was avoiding him. He was fed up and he went to look for her. Surely, she’d be out of the bath now. She couldn’t afford to let her skin prune for that long.

He overheard her laughing in his bedroom. “I gotta tell you, Melissa. You should’ve seen the look on her face when I picked her up from that ghetto apartment complex.”

Melissa laughed over the phone. Yuta recognized those nails on a chalkboard from whenever his band had a fan meeting. Melissa Lee, his fanclub president. Yuta frowned and tiptoed as quietly as he could.

Ashley continued, “All I had to do was offer her a job in Paris. Frankly, I’m being way too nice for my own good.”

Melissa replied, “Well, at least you got her out of Yuta’s perfectly shampooed hair.”

“That I did. So when are you going to post the YutAsh tribute video to your website?” Ashley asked as she fell onto Yuta’s bed.

Paris? What the hell did Ashley do?

He remembered how you were unaccounted for that day he went to see you. She said you had an interview. It was interesting how this interview fell on the exact same day those photos of you leaving his car were leaked. Who followed you two that day?

Of course, it was Ashley. Yuta realized how stupid he’d been. She’d basically conspired against you right under his nose. And he was furious.

But he had to be strategic. There was only one way he wanted to take Ashley down. And it would be in the way that hurt most.

^_^

Yuta’s press conference was at The Grove. Hundreds of fans were lined up from the night before. The media was in a frenzy. Your members and team were also in attendance so this was the talk of the town.

The announcer called you in. “Ladies and gentleman: Yuta Nakamoto.”

Yuta, in a gray custom-made business suit, radiated elegance and lethality, which many of his fans said was his unique charm.

Yuta got up to the podium and adjusted the microphone as he spoke into it. “Hello, I’m here to announce the release date of my first solo mini album.”

The crowd roared while the cameras flashed. There was a lot of talking from the journalists in the front.

He smirked. He was ready to give them something to talk about.

“The album comes out July 15th. Ashley and I have been fake dating and I’m here to say that it’s over.”

The crowd was in an uproar. The press yelled out questions. Yuta’s team was full of mixed reactions. His bandmates cheered and laughed. Baekhyun looked panicked. The company executives looked paler than they’ve ever been.

Ashley, who couldn’t have been more obvious as she gossiped with Melissa, almost fell over in her Jimmy Choos.

Yuta laughed. “I’ll take a few questions.” He pointed to a representative from Teen Scene Weekly.

“Yuta, is your breakup with Ashley because of y/n?” They asked.

Yuta sighed. “First off, Ashley and I dated to strengthen our respective companies. We were friends. We had a good time. For a while now, I’ve wanted to cut ties with her but out of respect for my company, I held on a little longer…However, after I politely asked for a breakup, I was denied. Now tell me…do you think that’s fair? After everything Skylark has given to the company? That we get used this way? I’m fed up with it.”

Yuta knew he only had a minute at most before he was pulled off the stage. Ashley yelled out, “Yuta, please stop!”

He continued, “Which brings me to y/n. She never did anything wrong. As I have gone on record to say twenty times in the past week, she never stole from me. She lost her necklace along with other possessions. Friends and family got these possessions for me from garage sales. That’s all I know. y/n is innocent. I made a huge mistake by having her arrested. She is an excellent makeup artist. One of the best in the business. I should know because I’ve been in this industry for seven years now. So if you’ve blacklisted her, then the joke’s on you. Because she has more talent than most of your employed artists ever hope to have. Lastly, to answer your question…y/n is not the other woman. She never was. I started falling for her but I never acted on it. Until now.”

The crowd was in a frenzy. A lot of the fans were crying and it made Yuta wonder if he had any true fans at all. If they cared so much about who he dated, then they didn’t see him as anything else other than their property.

Skylark’s security guards went to pull Yuta off the stage but he walked out on his own with his hands up in surrender. The guards escorted him to his car.

Yuta got into the driver’s seat and nearly screamed at seeing Ashley in the passenger seat.

“What the fuck?” He demanded.

“I had extra copies of your car keys made,” she said like she knit him a pair of mittens.

“Get out,” Yuta said with clenched teeth.

“You ruined me, Mr. Nakamoto. How are you going to make it up to me?” She asked. Her eyeliner ran down her cheeks. Her critically acclaimed face made her look like the wicked witch from Snow White.

Yuta laughed humorlessly. “I don’t owe you anything, Ash. You ruined y/n’s life and pushed her away from me. You knew I never loved you so why? Why keep this charade up?”

“We need each other We are perfect together. With your music and your bone structure and my beauty and me being a triple threat, we would be unstoppable. We can only help each other. Why can’t you see that?” She traced her fingers over his chest.

“I’ve heard enough. Please leave before I call security,” Yuta said in a low voice.

“Security?” Ashley scoffed. “Fuck off. No one calls security on me.”

Yuta rolled his eyes, already having dialed Tom, one of the security guards. “Yeah, Yuta?” He asked.

“Come back. Ashley broke into my car,” Yuta said quickly.

Ashley grabbed his phone. “Yuta! What have you done?”

Yuta sighed. “What I should’ve done a long time ago.”

He unlocked the door as the guards came running over to pull Ashley out of the car. She put up a good fight but the guards successful got her out.

She yelled out, “Well, you’re too late! Her flight to Paris leaves in a couple of hours.”

Thankful that Ashley always had a big mouth, Yuta backed away from the scene and raced to the airport.

^_^

You were on the plane, happy to have the row to yourself. You had to find some joy somehow. It wasn’t like you were being exiled from your hometown.

Totoro stayed with your mom. Once the shoot finished, you would get him back so you can relocate from LA. It still hurt to leave everyone.

Yangyang and Delilah agreed to move in together so he could save on rent and she wouldn’t have to pay for the apartment by herself. But you had a feeling there was something they weren’t telling you. You couldn’t wait for updates from both of them.

In a matter of eleven hours, you would be at the Charles de Gaulle airport, ready to embark on a new chapter in your life. You put your earbuds in and put your music on shuffle. The first song from the shuffle was ironically “Your Type” by Carly Rae Jepsen. It was a song about unrequited love and you were tempted to skip. Instead, you chose to wallow.

As much as you suppressed it, a part of you held onto thoughts of Yuta. Losing your possessions and finding them in Yuta’s place. You were both confused. Part of you wondered if there was something paranormal about it all. Maybe paranormal wasn’t the right word. Maybe…something magical?

Even so, too much damage had been done for you two to return to the friendship you had for a such a short but sweet time. And Ashley drove an even larger wedge between you two by threatening you. As much as Yuta frustrated you with everything else, you were even more frustrated that he was still with her. If it was fake, why did he keep it up? Didn’t he want to be with someone he loved?

Well, it wasn’t your problem. He was a big boy. He should be able to handle problems like this since he talked such a big game all the time.

So irritating, you thought, but also irritatingly cute.

Unbeknownst to you, there was a commotion on the plane.

“Sir, your seat is in 5A. Come back here!” A flight attendant yelled.

“y/n!” Yuta yelled as he ran down the aisle looking for you. He wore a large beanie and sunglasses so no one could recognize him.

The passengers looked alarmed at the disguised man yelling frantically. Yuta realized screaming wouldn’t help his case so he scoped out for you.

And then he saw you.

Your face was made up but you still looked like you lost many hours of sleep the past few nights. But still, you were the most stunning creature he’d ever laid his eyes on. Your eyelashes brushed against your cheeks as you slept. Your lips slightly parted and Yuta bit his lip.

The flight attendant caught up to him. “Sir-“

Yuta raised his finger and nodded towards you.

The flight attendant calmed down. “You’re assigned to 5A. Why are you all the way back here?”

“Can I switch with whoever is supposed to sit here?” He asked.

The attendant frowned. “Why would you want to-“

“Please,” Yuta pleaded, “Sitting towards the front freaks me out.”

The attendant sighed. “Well, sir, you’re the last one on the plane so that seat appears to be available. Go ahead.”

Yuta smiled genuinely. “Thank you.”

The attendant was stunned and she had a feeling she recognized him. She shrugged it off and resumed her duties to get everyone situated on the plane.

Yuta exhaled in relief as he sat beside you. You looked so cute curled up in your chair but also very uncomfortable. He was tempted to offer you his shoulder but that would ruin the surprise.

Half an hour went by and you turned to your right to see the seat had been occupied by someone in glasses and a beanie. So much for having the row to yourself, you thought.

The stranger beside you said, “Morning, sleepyhead.”

You frowned as you opened your eyes more. “Hi…?”

But when you sat up, you saw his piercings and the curve of his lips. “Yuta?” You whisper-yelled.

He flashed his perfect set of teeth at you as he lowered his glasses. “Hey.”

You laughed in disbelief. “What are you-“

Yuta shrugged casually. “I felt like a trip to Paris.”

“Right…Who told you?” You asked. You dropped your defenses. For now.

“Surprisingly, it was Ashley. She may be a schemer but she’s never been the sharpest tool in the shed.”

You looked at him, noticing how disheveled he looked. He was soaked in sweat. He must have ran through the airport to catch this flight.

“Why are you so sweaty?” You asked.

“I ran,” Yuta said as he realized he must have looked as gross as he felt. And taking off his beanie was almost out of the question since his fuchsia hair dye made him stick out like a sore thumb.

You felt for him so you pulled some wipes from your bag and gave them to him. “That beanie looks uncomfortable so take this.” You handed him a cap instead. It was a Dodgers cap.

“Thanks,” Yuta said as he swapped the beanie for his hat and cleaned himself up.

“Well, good night again,” you said as you turned to the window and shut your eyes.

“I’m sorry, what?” He asked. He mistook your acts for kindness for wanting to talk to him.

“We’re done here, aren’t we?” You asked. “You shouldn’t have come.”

“y/n, I…You can’t move to Paris,” he started.

“I accepted the position, Yuta. I can’t go back from an obligation.” You turned away from him and stared out the window. The attendants were giving their airplane safety spiel. You know you were about to ascend. “Unless you have a schedule in Paris, then you should leave. Before you’re stuck on this flight.”

“There’s no place I’d rather be, y/n,” he said softly.

His voice sent shivers down your spine but you pushed your feelings down. You couldn’t let him get to you. “You hurt me.” You let it out. Maybe if you kept this up, he would leave you alone.

Yuta sighed. “I know and I’m so sorry.”

Upon hearing him apologize, you perked up but you chose to keep your back turned.

Yuta went on to say, “I screwed up. Getting you arrested, fired, and hated by everyone. I screwed up even more by selling your grandma’s necklace. And I hate that I couldn’t get it back. More than anything. I know what Ashley did to you. It was wrong of her. She had no right. I finally broke up with her. In front of everyone.”

You turned to him, worried about the repercussions of the break up. “By everyone, you don’t mean…”

“At my press conference…”

You put a hand to your mouth in shock. “Ashley must be furious.” What did this mean for you now? What if Ashley retracted the offer and then you were truly left without a job or a home?

Yuta chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re worried about that witch.”

You shook your head. “If you broke up with her, then she’s on the warpath.”

Yuta replied, “She’ll find another big name to terrorize soon enough. I’m close to contract termination anyway.”

You gaped. “What?”

“At the conference, I told everyone that Ashley and I were a fake couple. I broke up with her and then…I told everyone how I felt about you. I really like you, y/n,” He turned bashful, putting his hands in pant pockets.

“Yuta, are you crazy?”

He didn’t expect that response.

“How could you jeopardize your career for me? You barely even know me. Sure, we shared pizza and…we had a moment when you taught me guitar…But that’s not enough reason to put everything on the line.”

“y/n, you don’t understand. I feel like we really know each other. I can’t explain it,” he said, “Why do you think it is that your stuff kept popping up at my place? There’s some sort of cosmic connection between us. That’s not something we can ignore.”

He thought the same way you had about the things you lost and later found. But you were scared. Ashley made you a human target and you knew you could end this stress by leaving. You didn’t want to jeopardize anyone you loved.

You didn’t even want to jeopardize Yuta. Especially since he just risked his entire career for you.

“Yuta, we can’t. Being with me will ruin your career,” you said. The plane started moving across the tarmac.

“y/n…”

Now you two were stuck on the plane. You weren’t planning to budge and you prayed that when you landed in Paris that Yuta would catch the next flight back to LA.

Hours passed. You were so exhausted that you nearly fell asleep the entire plane ride.

Apparently, so was Yuta. You woke up finding yourself leaning against his shoulder and his neck was nuzzled against the top of your head. He still smelled like roses and vanilla, even after working up a sweat to get onto the plane. He was a fool, you thought to yourself.

But you were an even bigger fool because you didn’t remove yourself from him.

The pilot announced overhead, “Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Paris. Bienvenue à Paris.”

You realized you’d been awake too long and hadn’t moved away quickly. You felt Yuta move so you pretended to have just woken up from the announcement. You quickly pulled away from him. Yuta rubbed his neck and watched you.

You left the plane with Yuta trailing behind you. You picked up your bags at baggage claim. Yuta grabbed one of your bags.

“Yuta, it’s fine. I have this,” you said as you pointed to the luggage cart.

Yuta relented and helped you put your bags on the cart.

He followed you to the arrivals section where drivers had their posters with the names of people they were picking up. You saw your name and identified yourself with the driver. The driver helped you with your luggage.

“Bye, Yuta,” you said quickly, not about to linger. You turned away when he took your hand.

“y/n, please…” He begged.

“Take care, okay?” You said as you pulled your hand away and caught up with your driver.

Heartbroken but unrelenting, Yuta was about to follow you when someone pulled his hat off.

“Oh my God, it’s Yuta! C’est Yuta. Skylark!” A girl yelled.

Yuta ran for cover, the gears shifting in his head for his next move with you.

^_^

It’s a few days later that you finally get to explore Paris. You haven’t heard a word from the fuchsia-haired boy, but you were trying to get over him anyway so you didn’t mind.

You had to realize that at the end of the day, he had his devoted army of fans and you..only had yourself. He didn’t need you, so surely he’d forget about you soon enough. You two had only known each other for a short time, regardless of it feeling like an eternity.

You breathe a sigh of relief when you get to the Eiffel Tower. It’s kinda cold, but the dreamy sunset draws in.

When you felt a sudden gust of wind, you closed your eyes and remembered Yuta’s warm chest on your back, the way his long fingers comforted and guided yours on the stiff strings of the guitar. His breath dancing along your ear while you shivered and felt goosebumps expose themselves.

The echoing bass in his voice that hit your heart..and other places too.

The sun was slowly retreating from the sky, but it was still bright..as bright as his smile, you missed it, even when he only showed it during his sarcastic, asshole moments.

His lips so full and soft, even the brush you used over them had a difficult time coloring to perfect something that didn’t need perfecting.

Ashley was one lucky girl. It was only a matter of time until she and Yuta got back together.

You looked to the ground and sighed. Why did you have to think of him? Even when one of the most beautiful pieces of art towered over you.

You couldn’t shake the feeling that you were missing something so great in your life now. The connection you felt with him hit you like a train and there was nothing that could compare to it. It was so strong, it could probably compete with the earth’s gravitational pull to your body.

“Yuta..I hate you, I really do.” You whispered to yourself as you clutched your long jacket around your body. You tried to convince yourself that this was true so that you’d finally be at peace. Key word: tried.

In the front of the Eiffel Tower was a board that read the rules, opening times etc.

“Le Jules Vernes Restaurant..’closed tonight for a special event..damn it.” You had planned on treating yourself to a meal at the top of the Eiffel Tower so you could take in the view as long as some fresh air. But lucky for you, it was closed for that evening.

You licked your lips and sighed.

Would you ever have things go your way?

You were about to walk away when you heard a speaker being plugged in. The feedback was obnoxiously painful and loud, and got everyone’s attention. You all turned to see the source.

A guitar riff played soon after and you heard a chorus of whispers from people on the lawn.

“Oh my God..OH MY GOD ITS YUTA NAKAMOTO FROM SKYLARK!” A girl screams as she runs past you with another girl in hand, just barely holding on.

Shit.

You squint your eyes to look at the person that a crowd begins to form around and sure enough, it is your nemesis with the pink hair. He’s smiling widely and saying ‘hi’ to everyone as his bodyguards put their arms out to stop anyone from getting too close. His guitar is in his hands and his microphone has already been set up.

“Time to go back to the hotel.”

You turn and start to brush past all the people running to see Yuta perform.

“Yuta?! What is he doing here?”

“Holy shit! Yuta is about to perform for us!”

“Yuta from Skylark? Aren’t they about to go on tour?”

You overhear some of the comments and the last thing you want is for them to realize who you are, the infamous “crazy stalker,” so you duck and push through.

You don’t feel his eyes peering the crowd and eventually locking into your body as you walk away. His smile fades and he realizes he has to act quickly.

He strums out one chord on the guitar and the girls go into a frenzy.

“This song..is for someone that just entered my life. It’s only been a few weeks, but she’s changed it for the better. She knows me more than anyone else does and I honestly don’t know how I lived without her before.”

Yuta speaks into the microphone, making the growing crowd of listeners go silent.

You slow your pace but still don’t turn around. There’s no way he could be talking about you.

“Who is he talking about? Didn’t he just break up with Ashley?” You hear a few girls whisper.

“She doesn’t know it yet, but I don’t plan on living without her anymore..she makes my head spin, she makes me forget the words to songs that I’ve sung everyday for the past 3 years, she gives me the WORST case of butterflies...she truly is a nuisance, but I need her. y/n..”

You stop in your tracks and stare at the grass below your planted feet.

“Please don’t go..” Yuta’s eyes are wide, he just needs you to turn around and look at him, to give him a second chance.

The people turn to follow his line of vision, eventually seeing your body standing alone and far away.

“Oh my god it’s her.” They whisper.

You start to walk again when you hear the whispering yet overwhelming gossip. You’re just so tired of all of the attention you’ve been getting. Yuta was trying to make some grand statement to get you back, but he didn’t realize that this was the opposite of what you wanted.

“She’s like the rain on summer days when the garden needs some nurturing...” Yuta strums his guitar and sings.

“She’s like a constellation of stars, oh she’s beautiful, and very gorgeous to me.”

You’re still walking but he continues.

“But I don’t even know her name, I only see her in a frame, yet her face is stuck in my mind..she’s the girl in the portrait, the girl with the necklace..the girl with my heart, but the girl I don’t know..I could give her the world, but it’s not like she needs it from me. She’s a work of art, she’s the only thing I see.”

You stop again, this time turning around to finally face him.

“No one knows me like you do, yes, you see the right through..and I know you won’t forgive me, I just hope you won’t forget me..because I know I’ll be thinking of you, yes you, the girl in the portrait.”

Your eyes start to tear up. The Mountain Man, the singer you so adored had written a song about you. And the melody was just as charming as his other songs. Were you that important to him that he created this song for you?

You stood there frozen as ice and stunned, with a thousand eyes on you.

“That was The Girl In the Portrait, I wrote it for y/n, because, well, it’s a funny story actually.” Yuta said as he put his guitar down and stood up. The crowd chuckled and clapped but people were still focused on you and waiting for your reaction.

This was one level above a public proposal and you didn’t know how to feel about it.

“Please..” Yuta said quietly.

You cursed silently. Your heart felt weak and you couldn’t just turn away like your conscious told you to. Your heart told you to forgive him and start over.

Yuta went all the way to Paris for you, he wrote a song for you and ditched his first tour date. He did it all for you. If that didn’t show his sincerity towards you, you weren’t sure what would.

‘I Hate You’ you mouthed before smiling.

Yuta ran towards you abruptly, making his bodyguards scurry behind him to push his fans away from him, they struggled to keep up as he dashed like Bolt towards you.

You braced yourself for impact from the 6-foot something man about to collide into you.

Yuta’s teeth showed brightly as he held out his arms and wrapped them around you. Wrinkles formed at the sides of his eyes.

He’s so filled with excitement, he lifts you three feet about the grace and bends backward.

“Yuta!” You laugh out at the sudden move, but he chuckles and brings you back down.

You breathed in his amazing scent before closing your eyes and adoring his warmth. You felt so at ease in his arms, everything faded away. The cries as well as cheers from his fans soon faded into the background. You rested your head in his chest and exhaled.

You lifted your limp arms that were once at your side and wrapped them around him while he rubbed your back. Having you in his arms tonight made it feel like Christmas Day. He never wanted it to end. Even with all the people staring and all the phones recording, he didn’t want this moment to end. He prayed that you would stay in his arms forever, for you were the only thing that made him feel comfortable and happy. You did for him what music could no longer do.

“y/n...”

“Mhmm?” you hummed, your eyes still closed while you enjoyed his embrace.

“I want to kiss you..”

Your neck nearly snapped when you looked up at him.

“What?” Your eyes widened.

“But not here..up there..will you let me?”

Yuta smirked and tilted his head towards the tower.

“Nice try, user 1026you, the restaurant is closed tonight.”

“For a special event, I know...that’s why it’ll just be me and you.” Yuta chuckled when your brows furrowed.

“Yuta..”

“I’d give you the world if you let me.” Yuta grew serious as he searched your eyes and swallowed hard. He ignored the fact that his bodyguards were having an increasingly difficult time with holding back his fans.

The two of you were surrounded by complete madness, but you felt alone..lost in each other’s eyes.

Your mouth was open slightly, you couldn’t believe that he actually booked the entire restaurant just for the two of you.

“So..You gonna let me give you a night in Paris to remember?”

You laughed and Yuta felt his chest weaken by the sight of your smile.

“You owe me big time..”

Yuta’s teeth twinkled. “We gotta run, ready?”

He took your hand and the two of you hustled to the entrance of the Eiffel Tower.

His fans ran after you two while you laughed and held onto each other tightly.

Everything happened in slow motion, the two of you moved like runaway lovers, chaos surrounded you but it didn’t matter, for you had each other. You looked over to see Yuta’s goofy smile.

The tour guide at the entrance was able to quickly let you in and close the door behind you to stop anyone else from following.

You found the elevator and got on.

Once at the top, you let go of Yuta’s hand to walk around and see the magnificent view. A million tiny lights decorated the streets of Paris. It was darker outside now, but you could still see the large crowd that surrounded the tower start to dissipate.

They looked like ants below you, slowly dispersing from the ants nest to get more food.

You were so stunned by the view, you didn’t notice that Yuta was watching you, your eyes gazing in amazement, your hair blowing softly in the wind and your bright smile that made even the moon seem bleak.

“y/n..” he called your name. There was something he wanted to see.

You turned to look at him over your shoulder.

“Yeah?”

And there it was. The pose from the portrait. You glancing over your shoulder so intensely. Your eyes large with wonder, your lips full and slightly parted, your hair shining in the moonlight. You are beautiful, Yuta can’t describe it, but he knows he is happy to be able to see an artwork come to life.

“Yuta?” You turned to him full and walked over. “What’s wrong? You’re staring again” you giggled.

“I’m happy.” Yuta smiles and looks down at you.

“Well, we’re in Paris at the Eiffel Tower! Of course you’re happy.” You chuckled and turned to look out at the city from a different angle, but Yuta took your hand in his and spun you around.

You tripped and fell onto his chest before looking up into his eyes.

“No...I’m happy because I’m with you.”

He whispered and your body felt weak. Luckily, he was holding you up so you could balance yourself.

He held you close and looked onto your lips which were just a few inches from yours. His breath slowed to match yours, you look into his lips and swallow hard.

“Y-Yuta.”

He leaned forward, placing a small kiss on your lips. Your eyes closed, his kiss made you feel like fireworks had been set off right there in your chest. It was magical even though it only lasted for a second.

Yuta was nervous, he wasn’t sure if you were ready. You held his head in your hands and looked into his eyes.

You then kissed him hard while tilting your head to the side. Yuta finally relaxes in your hands and kisses you back, opening his mouth so that he could lick your top lip.

His lips were fluffy and felt exactly like how you imagined them to feel. Silky, smooth. Even as he pressed harder, you couldn’t help but feel fragile like you’d collapse at any moment, your legs threatening to give out at any moment.

Soon, your tongues found each other and playfully danced while you struggled to keep your breathing stable.

Time slows down once again as you kiss for what feels to be days.

Yuta draws small circles and lines on your back as he pushes your body into his more. He wants more, so much more. He wants to feel you everywhere, and he can’t get enough of your touch, the way your dainty fingers play with the hair on the nape of his neck.

But you have to pull away to breathe.

“Wow..you could’ve gone on for days, couldn’t you?” You try to catch your breath as you look up at him.

Yuta smirks. “I’m a singer, it’s called breath control.”

You rolled your eyes. “It’S cALleD BrEATh coNtRoL.” You mocked him.

The two of you laughed. Yuta took your hand to guide you to a table that had been set for the two of you.

It was weird being so high above the rest of the world. But you liked it. It was just you and Yuta. Nothing else. There was no Ashley, no fans, and no drama.

Yuta rubbed his reddened lips with two fingers.

“Let’s hurry up and eat..I want to finish what you started.”

“What I started? Sir, I recall you being the one that started that kiss!”

“Nah you gave me those eyes..” Yuta was teasing you again.

You rolled your eyes and sat back in your chair.

When you finished eating, you looked into the city again and felt an internal peace. There was something so comforting about being away from the madness. Yeah, your life wasn’t what it was two months ago, but you sure as hell felt all the madness was worth it.

Getting Yuta was worth it.

You leaned forward, placing your jaw on your hands.

“What are you thinking about?

Yuta watched your eyes searching the city again. The moonlight and single candle lit on the table brought out your smooth skin even more, as well as the outline of your nose and lips. He could watch you all night.

“I like the view,” you answered softly.

“You do?” Yuta’s brows raised.

“Yes..” you nodded.

“You’re my best view..” Yuta smiled widely.

You blushed. “Ehh.. I don’t know about that line.”

“Okay how about this one?

“I wish you didn’t have a name..so I could call you mine?” Yuta leaned forward to match your pose and place his head on his hands.

“Oh no..it’s getting worse.” You held your face in your hands, feeling the heat in your cheeks rise. You’re both a little tipsy from the alcohol you had at dinner.

“Are you from Paris? Because Ei-FELL for you..” he smirked and took your hands in yours so he could see you blush.

You laughed and melted into your seat. “Oh God, Yuta make it stop.”

“Okay, okay I’ll stop..but before we leave, I have something to give you.”

You sat up straight and gave a puzzled look.

“I’m sorry again about your grandmother’s necklace. I tried..I even called up your hacker friend YangYang for help, but he couldn’t find it either..I’m so sorry. I know I can never make up for that.”

Your face straightened and you blinked slowly as the reality settled in that you would never see your grandmother’s necklace again.

“But..I did get you this..I hope her memory can still live on through this..”

Yuta reaches into his pocket and hands a small box. When you open it you find a gold necklace with a shining stone surrounded by small pearls as the pendant . The resemblance between it and your missing necklace is strikingly similar. Your mouth falls open.

“My grandmother’s necklace was the only one of its kind...how..how in the world did you find this?”

You looked closely to see that the one difference was the stone in the center.

“I searched online and went to a few antique stores and met this strange lady..what was her name again? Was it Celeste or Cerulean? Hmm..wait! It was Cyan! Yeah I showed her a picture and she found it in her store for me.”

“Yuta..that’s amazing.”

And that’s when you realized what the color of the center stone was. It’s not purple, nor red. Not pink, nor magenta..no it’s..fuchsia.

Yuta was your soulmate..that’s why your things were disappearing. The universe was pushing you to him. You were destined to meet and fall in love. How could you  not realize it sooner? That’s why you felt this undeniable pull towards him.

“What’s wrong?” Yuta grows concerned when he sees your eyes start to tear up.

“Nothing..nothing..it’s perfect, Yuta.” You decided not to tell Yuta because you couldn’t really explain it. Things were finally falling into place and you just wanted to spend time with him, for you didn’t know if you’d have the chance to be with him again..in this universe..or in another one.

“Let’s go home.” Yuta kneeled down and wiped your tears with his finger.

————

Yuta helps you out of the limo once you get to your luxurious hotel. He had the driver take you to a back entrance so his fans wouldn’t see the two of you.

“Thank you.” You let go of his hand and are about to start walking but Yuta grabs your waist and throws you over his shoulder. You yelp out in surprise. Your ass is in the air as you dangle over him.

“Ahh!! Yuta!”

“Shhh we came through the back for a reason.” Yuta chuckles then gives your ass a hard smack with his hand.

“Ahh! Damn it, Yuta!”

You lay out a string of curse words as Yuta gets into the elevator. He only smiles while strangers stare and wonder what in the world is going on.

When you get to the room, Yuta flips you from his shoulder and onto the bed. You plop down and feel your body bounce back up from the plush mattress.

“I swear to-“ you start but Yuta leans down over you, attacking your lips as soon as you open them to make some snarky comment.

He liked hearing you talk back to him, but he liked kissing you even more.

You lick his bottom lip, then kiss his lips again, enjoying the way both of your lips grow wet from each other.

He was just as playful with his tongue, letting it place kitten licks on the soft surface of your lips, he kissed softly, teasingly. It was almost ticklish. You felt your chest rumble.

You closed your eyes and traced your hands up Yuta’s back, pressing him into you more.

The bitter taste of alcohol stayed on your lips and your head felt light, you both felt like you were getting drunk all over again.

Yuta presses into you more, running his hands along your sides before holding your face as he guides the passionate kiss.

You pushed your body upwards and grinded onto Yuta, feeling his member poke through his jeans. You placed a finger into his belt loop, pulling him downwards. You then wrapped your legs around his waist and crossed them over his back to bring his body closer to yours even more.

Yuta took the hint and pushed into you slowly, grinding his covered member against your covered, but increasingly wet entrance.

You moaned into his mouth when you felt him press onto your weak spot teasingly. You trembled under him, hands shaking as they clawed at his back lightly.

It felt like a bouquet of flowers were slowly opening up in Yuta’s chest. You were the most beautiful melody, the graceful echo of godly chords being played in a church organ, you were the angelic singing heard all the way from heaven. That’s what you felt like to Yuta. And he had to write about you, he had a hundred songs already in mind to write about you.

He prayed that you wouldn’t stop kissing him this time, that you wouldn’t have to pull away to breathe.

He didn’t know that you felt the same way, that he felt like a day at Disney that you didn’t want to end. He felt like a birthday surprise happening over and over and over. He was the glass of water after a long run. He made you feel euphoric just from an embrace like this. With the two of you finally being alone together, it was like the stars had collided to create something so beautiful, extraordinary and new.

But still, you were scared. Now that you found your soulmate, would he disappear? What if this was your last night in this universe? You couldn’t remember anything about your life before, but you knew that you were somewhere else before all of this.

And could something this good last? Were you really away from all of your troubles?

You were deep in your thoughts and without realizing, you kissed Yuta so hard, you accidentally bit his bottom lip.

Yuta pulled away. “Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?” He rubbed the blood from his lip, eyes growing wide.

“N-no, Yuta..I’m sorry. It’s just..” you swallowed hard then licked your lips.

“What if..this is it? What if we won’t be together after tonight?”

You played with the collar of his shirt to distract yourself.

Yuta tilted his head then placed his hands on either side of your head to hold himself up.

“y/n..I don’t plan on letting you go..ever. You make me feel..” Yuta didn’t know how to describe it either.

“Amazing.” But that wasn’t enough, it was much more than that. So much more. No word in the entire dictionary could suffice for the feeling he had.

“And if the universe allows..It won’t be the last night. It’ll just be the first of many.” He gave you a wink. “What do you say? Let’s give it a try?”

You nodded and licked your lips.

“And uh..how far do you want to go because I..” Yuta looked down at your linked bodies.

You blushed when you realized what he was looking at. It was the outline of his member sticking out in his jeans and aiming towards the apex of your legs.

You thought about the chances of this being your first and last night together, and knew you wanted to experience it with Yuta. If just kissing him made you euphoric, how would making love feel?

You nodded. “I want you to make love to me Yuta, love me like it’s the last time.” You rubbed his flexed biceps and he grew weak. The combination of your gentle touch and doe eyes while those sweet words left your mouth made him feel like he’d lost all feeling in his legs.

“It won’t be the last time, but it will probably be the best time since we’re in the city of romance. Don’t expect too much from me when we do this again, okay?”

You nodded, giggling as you held his belt again. He glanced down at your hands as they fiddled around.

He chuckled then looked back up at you. “Is your name Paris, because I think my Eiffel Tower belongs in you?”

“Yuta!! I swear to G-“ you started again, but he quickly placed his mouth on yours, taking the air as it left and circling your top lip with the tip of his tongue.

You both ran out of patience, taking each other’s lips in between your teeth. You shimmy out of your jacket and Yuta tosses it to the side. You tug the hem of his black t-shirt and help him take it off over his head, his hair becoming rustled in the process but it gives him a cute, messy look. You can’t help but laugh.

Yuta smirks and rubs his hands up and down your thighs while gazing into your eyes, pressing into the soft squishy skin to massage them.

You bite your swollen lips, knowing that he’s watching your chest rise up and down under him.

“I could stare at you all night.” He whispers.

“I know..but I want you to make love to me first.” You say as you start to unbutton your blouse.

Yuta watches your fingers play with the buttons, allowing for several inches of your skin to be revealed each time. He licks his lips but waits for you to finish and reveal yourself to him, gripping the crook of your knees while he waits.

“Yuta..” you breathlessly call out his name before biting your lips. Your voice makes him dizzy, he wants to hear you say his name over and over again like a broken record, because you just sound so..heavenly. No song could compare.

He leans forward, placing his hands on yours and gripping the bow separated fabric. And it’s like he’s opening his curtains to see a bright, sunny day after a scary thunderstorm.

He opens it slowly, staring at the small space between your breasts that he wants to decorate so badly.

You stare at his neck and then his abs, all the places you want to kiss passionately while listening to his low groans.

Yuta takes the sleeves of the shirt down your arms, his fingertips lightly touching your skin but still leaving an intense rush flowing through your veins.

You lock eyes as he tosses it to the side with the jacket.

He lowers his head to your chest and breathes over it, leaving a steamy breath over your nipple. You shiver under him and let out a moan.

“Yuta..” You arch your back, desperate to feel him on you. Having him inches away from your skin just isn’t enough, especially when he’s shirtless and daunts his stunning body over yours.

But Yuta doesn’t respond. He licks your nipple and looks up to see you tremble once again. He can feel the response from your body under him even though he’s not touching you.

“Please..” you put your hand onto his back and rub it softly to push him along.

He kisses in between your breasts, then sucks hard, biting the skin to leave a mark.

You cry out his name again, this time, your fingers going through his thick hair as he moves on to suck your nipple.

He presses his tongue firmly and flat against it, then pleases a sloppy kiss onto it.

He massages your other breast while his mouth continues to work on the first, sucking hard so he can hear you say his name once again. He circles around the areola with the tip of his tongue at a pace so slow, you start to go insane. He then flicks the tender tip with his tongue as you throw your head back and moan.

You push your body upwards but Yuta pulls away. As expected, he teases you, wanting to draw this moment out for as long as possible.

“Yuta..please touch me.”

He looks into your large eyes as you beg, but then he looks down to your breasts and isn’t satisfied so he pays attention to the other breast, switching between gentle and firm sucking. Your moaning gets louder and louder, and you’re happy that Yuta paid for the suite that takes up one floor.

His large hand cups your breast, his fingers pressing into the skin and pumping it slowly.

His plush lips kiss everywhere, lighting fires of feeling across your sensitive skin.

Yuta then starts to grind down into you. Your opening is still covered by the rough fabric of your jeans, but aching nonetheless. The sudden contact made you jolt upwards. You’re so wet and needy, you’re sure you’re soaking through your jeans at this point.

Yuta quickly drags your jeans down your legs, you start to kick them off and let it fall to the floor.

“You’re so wet, baby.” Yuta stares at your soaked panties and smiles.

He retakes his position, placing his hands on either side of your head again, and sucking on your nipple.

This time he sucks harder, humming as he grinds down into you to hear you whimper loudly. The vibrations allow for a tingling sensation to echo through your skin, you feel lightheaded, your jaw locking, and your vision fading.

“Yuta!”

You say before releasing. Your grip on his hair tightens as he continues to suck on your skin while you cum. You moan loudly and breathe heavily..you slowly start to come back to Earth.

“Oh, you’re loud..but I like that.” Yuta gives you a wink then runs his fingers over your underwear.

“I didn’t even touch you and you came.” He says smoothly.

You jerk at the feel of his fingers parting your folds to collect your essence.

“You cocky bastard.” You say breathlessly.

Yuta only smirks as he walks around the bed and to a wall beside it.

“I forgot to show you this..” he presses a button and looks up at the ceiling.

You kneel on the bed and move to the center of it.

The white covering separates from the center, opening up to reveal a window.

Your eyes widen and your mouth falls open when you see the beautiful night sky, dazzled by twinkling stars. And even though it is late at night, you can still see traces of sapphire blue and small, faint lines of indigo.

There’s nothing like it. You can see why Van Gogh painted Starry Night.

“So we’re gonna fuck in front of the stars?” You ask bluntly, gaining a loud chuckle from Yuta.

“I promised to give you the best night you’ve ever had so..yes.” His eyes squinted when he laughs again.

“Yuta..this is..”

“Amazing? Legendary? Extraordinary? Yeah I know” he put his hands on his hips as he watched you gaze.

You roll your eyes and turn to him. “Come here..”

You head over to the edge of the bed and get on your knees. Yuta walks over to you, watching your hands unhook his belt and tug his jeans down.

You lean back and fall into the center of the bed while waiting for him to kick off his jeans and get on the bed.

Yuta nearly trips and falls as he struggles to take his jeans off while watching you. You start to take your panties down your legs but Yuta stops you.

“No! I wanna unwrap the present.”

“Ugh, you’re so weird.” You hold your face in your hands again.

“Look at me, sweetheart.” Yuta grabs your ankle and squeezes hard.

“Oh!” You yelp out at the pain and look down at him, watching as he crawls over your slowly on the plush bed.

He takes the waistband of your panty in between his fingers and slowly drags it down while looking into your eyes. Your heart starts to race again. He’s so close to your wet and needy entrance, but you feel the sharp, icy slap of cold air once you’re exposed.

“Beautiful..” Yuta adores your naked body below him.

He traces his fingers on the surface surrounding your folds, just pressing shy of them to make you writhe.

“Yuta..please.”

He rubs two fingers along your folds painfully slow, using the side of his long fingers to part them.

Yuta retreats his fingers and puts them into his mouth.

“So good.” He breathlessly lets out. He teases your entrance again, his spit and your essence now mixing as he presses nearly perfect circles into your core.

You can feel the knot in your stomach start to build again. Your mouth falls open as you moan.

You arch your back and hold onto the sheets with a grip so tight, you felt your knuckles become white. You look up at the stars and think to yourself how beautiful it is out there. You feel your spirit start to ascend while Yuta plays with your clit.

Your legs start to shake and threaten to close completely as you grow more and more sensitive to his touch.

Yuta uses his other hand to pump then align himself with your opening.

His length glistens with pre cum, the tip red and veins pumping fiery blood through it.

He’s more than ready now and you can’t wait to take him.

“Open up for me.”

You don’t hesitate to spread your legs further apart so your hips align with his.

He leans down and holds himself over you with both hands, looking into your eyes before kissing you enthusiastically, tugging your lip between his teeth so you can call out his name again.

He pushes into you slowly while you kiss.

Yuta drinks in your moan and groans when he feels your silky walls surround him.

He lets go of your lips and buries himself into the crook of your neck. He breathes deeply, pushing into you again.

“So tight, fuck.” He whispers.

You take a deep breath and look at the stars above you to stop yourself from coming already.

He starts to thrust into you again, but you let out a quiet whimper.

“Shit..I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Yuta. K-keep going.”

You rub his back to push him along.

He begins to rub your clit, your mouth falling open into a silent cry.

He pushes all of himself into you then pulls out, groaning once again when he buries himself back inside.

He grinds against your silky walls while holding you close and rubbing small circles into you.

Your heated bodies comfort each other as they are finally connected, working towards the same goal.

Yuta smells like a combination of amber and musk, but feels like a soft blanket during winter, his muscular arms holding your body still while also hugging you in the most passionate embrace you’ve ever experienced during sex.

His heart beat matches yours, his breath attaches itself to your neck. His throaty moans begin to get louder and louder.

Your fingers run through his hair while you whimper.

You’re so close.

Yuta moves faster, harder, pushing into you so hard, the bed starts to move.

He lifts himself from your chest and looks down at you. Your saddened by the coldness you feel between your bodies now but Yuta is so beautiful. His magenta hair now wavy, some strands sticking to his forehead, leftover eyeliner smudging and bringing out the depth of his eyes.

He grabs your ankles, completely enclosing his fists around them before placing them into his shoulders.

He grinds into your entire body at a different angle now, the pressure on your g-spot increasing significantly. “That’s feels good, Yuta..oh my G-“

You start to clench around him, making him groan and push into you harder.

“y/n..” he whispers while looking into your eyes. “You’re beautiful..in every way.”

His surprisingly sweet words make you smile.

You gaze at the stars, but your vision starts to blur. You can’t think of anything but Yuta, the feeling is so amazing, you can’t describe it. To be filled up by him, to be completely enraptured by him, there is nothing like it. The knocking of the headboard against the hotel wall and the sounds of skin on skin brings you to the edge.

You grip the sheets tightly as your eyes close.

They roll into the back of your head and your back arches. The euphoric feeling takes over and you swear your spirit leaves your body for an entire minute.

Yuta fucks you through your high but pulls out and releases onto your belly soon after, experiencing the same overwhelming feeling in his spirit too.

He collapses onto the bed beside you and looks up at the stars, taking your hand into his and squeezing it gently.

You look over at each other and laugh, it’s as if you were both thinking the same thing. How did you climax so hard?

Several minutes pass and you’re about to get up to get a towel but Yuta holds your hand.

“I’ll get it, just relax, baby.”

He comes back with a wet washcloth and gently cleans you up.

“I love you..” he says quietly.

“Yuta..it’s a bit early for that.”

He nods while cleaning up the strings on your belly. “I know..but I can’t shake this feeling. I think you’re the one..I think you’re my..soulmate.”

You’re stunned to hear Yuta speaking like this. If he realized you were soulmates, what would happen now?

“I mean, I don’t know if you believe in that kind of thing, but..”

“I agree, Yuta..I think you’re my soulmate, which is why I’m scared to lose you..good things never last.” You say quietly and avoid his eyes.

“Don’t say that, we’ll be okay..I know we’ll be okay. Just trust me, okay?”

Yuta crawled over you and gave your forehead a light peck.

You made love again then cuddled all night, but when morning came..so did reality.

————

You jump up at your desk, startled by a harsh gust of wind against your back.

What just happened? Where are you? Where is he?

You look around you and see towering wooden shelves filled with books.

How did you end up here?

“y/n? You okay?” You hear a young voice call to you.

You turn to see Charlotte, the 13-year old volunteer at the library.

The Library

Shit. You’re back.

You hold your head in your hands and wail.

Charlotte rushes over to you, hugging you tightly while shushing you.

“Y/n! Y/n! Be quiet! We’re in a library, you can’t be loud like this!”

You sniffle. “I know! But it was so good! I was so happy there!”

“What? Are you talking about your dream?”

That’s all it was..a sweet dream, an imaginative universe you only had a quick taste of...nothing was real now. How on Earth would you find him? You were back to reality.

Totoro walked across the desk and meowed.

You looked at him and pouted.

You knew who you were..a boring librarian that owned a cat named Totoro..but who was Yuta in this universe?

How would you find him?

“y/n?” Charlotte called out to you. “Do you want to go home?”

Several weeks passed and you slowly started to assimilate back into your old life. You googled his name but found nothing, he was nowhere to be found.

You just had to accept that it was a dream, a dream followed by the nightmare of reality.

You hoped that you would find your soulmate again, but you knew the chance was little to none. So you did what you did before. Work, eat, spend time with your best friend and roommate Delilah, sleep, then wake up to do it all over again.

Love didn’t have a place in your life, could you even come to accept a loved other than Yuta? Damn him for giving you a night in Paris to remember.

———

“The true crime section is in row 13.” You pointed to a large sign hanging from above reading “TRUE CRIME NOVELS.” You wondered how anyone could miss it, then again old people were usually the ones that needed the most help when they came to your library.

You turned back around to your returned-book cart that you were taking books from to stack the shelves with. But you noticed that it was now empty.

You were 75% sure that you didn’t put away ALL of the books before turning to help the senior citizen, yet all of them were gone.

All..except for one that had fallen to the floor. It was open  when you picked it up. When you looked at the page that it was open to, you realized that it was a book of poems.

The poem it was opened to read:

She’s like the rain on summer days when the garden needs some nurturing...

She’s like a constellation of stars, oh she’s beautiful, and very gorgeous to me.

But I don’t even know her name, I only see her in a frame, yet her face is stuck in my mind

You squint your eyes, where have you seen this before?

she’s the girl in the portrait

the girl with the necklace

the girl with my heart

but the girl I don’t know

I could give her the world, but it’s not like she needs it from me

She’s a work of art, she’s the only thing I see

The girl with the necklace..

That’s it! It’s Yuta’s song! He wrote this, he’s out there somewhere. Perfect! Now you could track down the author and find him-

But wait.

You looked down to see the author’s name.

The One in the Middle

“Shit. It’s just like him to not put his real name on his work.”

You opened your laptop and immediately went to google.

“Who is the author named ‘The One in the Middle’?” You said as you typed.

Nothing. Nobody knew who he was. Many asked about his other poems, but there were no answers, only fan groups that praised the mysterious writer. ‘No one knows who he is but that adds to his ‘sexiness’ that’s what their Facebook post stated.

And none of his works were posted or published electronically, so you couldn’t ask someone to track his IP address like you did the first time.

You sigh and hold your head in your hands. “Damn it Yuta, why do you make things so difficult?”

It was comforting to know he’s out there somewhere, but you couldn’t help but lose hope. Was the universe messing with you?

———

A few weeks pass again and Delilah decides to drag you to the opening of a new art gallery downtown.  Normally, she’d take her boyfriend with her, but he had basketball practice tonight.

“Thank you for coming with me, y/n! You know my professor, always making us look at other works for “inspiration” I mean, why can’t I just look at works online?” Delilah spoke as you two walked around. She was a musical theatre student, but had to visit an art gallery at least once a week to pass her art appreciation class.

She didn’t see the point in it, but you always had a connection to art that you couldn’t explain. No one in your family was a visual artist. Unlike in your “dream,” your grandmother wasn’t a painter and passed away before you could even meet her.

Nonetheless, color and technique was something you grew to appreciate.

There were about 50 people in the gallery, all high class looking. You felt underdressed in your black turtleneck, black jeans and jean jacket. That’s one thing that you did miss, wearing color all the time like you did in your dream. Now, you were back to wearing black. It was like a metaphor for how you felt. Your colorful and intense world has turned to black.

The only thing that stood out from your outfit was your necklace.

“I’m going to the restroom, I'll be right back!” Delilah skips away.

You nod then walk around a wall in the middle of the room. When you turn the corner, you see..yourself.

It’s the painting from your dream..the one of you slightly turned around. Your necklace is still in it too except..

You step closer and see that it’s different. The stone isn’t ruby anymore, no..

“It’s fuchsia..” you whisper. You glance down to see that the author’s name is The One with Many Friends.

“It’s funny because I was thinking it was more magenta, but you’re right..it really is fuchsia. You’ve got good eyes.”

You slowly turn when you recognize the voice.

Time starts to slow down. You can’t believe your eyes. It feels as though the world has stopped moving and it’s just the two of you once again after so much time.

It was Yuta.

Yuta smiles brightly when you look up at him, he recognizes you right away as you make the same pose you have in the painting.

“Yuta..” the name barely leaves your lips.

“It’s you..y/n.” He walks towards you, pace increasing with each step before taking you in his arms as all of his memories flood his brain. He had seen your face every night in his dreams but he couldn’t remember who you were. He painted you in an effort to figure out who you were, but it didn’t help.

Now finally, he got his answer.

Everything that was missing found its rightful place.

“I read your poem, but you used a pseudonym..again! I thought I would never find you.” You cry into his shoulder while holding onto him tightly.

Yuta smiles and caresses your hair.

“I told you...just trust me, we’ll be okay.”

[snelbz]

Secrets {Elorcan}

Written, as always, with @tacmc​, aka the LOML.

Lorcan got a dreadful sense of deja vu as he trekked across town in his Jeep.

He was happily downing his second beer of the night, alone in his apartment watching Back to the Future when her text came through. Even though his mind protested, his body was moving toward his front door, slipping on his boots, and grabbing his keys and wallet before he even finished reading her words. 

I need you. Please. 

He knew where she had been all night, knew who she had been with. Now, Lorcan had to go pick up the pieces.

If only she had listened to him to begin with.

The snow was coming down hard. What had started out as some light flurries earlier in the evening had now coated everything the eye could see in a thick, white blanket. He probably should have driven a little more slowly, but he had to get to her, had to make sure that she was okay.

Even if she’d done it to herself.

When he pulled into her driveway, parking behind her little red car, Lorcan could still see the tire tracks in front of her house. He couldn’t have been gone for ten minutes before she had texted him.

Flipping the visor down, Lorcan looked at himself in the small mirror. It wasn’t that he needed to make sure he looked okay or that he needed to impress her. He needed to make sure that he kept his cool while he was in there. She already knew what he was thinking. It was up to him to make sure he didn’t say it.

With a sigh, Lorcan was out of the Jeep and tugging the beanie he wore down over his loose hair. He rang the doorbell and waited. And waited. And waited.

When she came to the door, her eyes were red and her nose was sniffly.

She didn’t say a word.

A second passed before Lorcan sighed and he pulled Elide into his arms, patting her back softly. He didn’t bother telling her all was okay. He didn’t trust his own voice. So, he remained quiet and patted her back until she backed up, pulled him inside, and shut the door behind them, shutting out the cold. 

“I have wine,” Elide said, quietly, as she made her way to the kitchen. “I know it’s not your drink of choice, but you’re welcome to a glass.”

Lorcan stopped in the doorway of her little kitchen and leaned against the frame, his broad arms crossed. “Wine tastes like piss.” 

“Says the man that downs beer like water,” Elide said, meant to add onto his sarcastic comment, but there was no bite to it, nor humor. 

Instead, Elide looked down at her empty glass before filling it again. 

Lorcan said nothing. 

He knew he should say something comforting, but he was having trouble coming up with anything to say. After Elide’s third sip of wine, he settled for, “You okay?” 

Elide set her glass calmly on the countertop. “Honestly?”

“Have I ever asked for anything other than honesty from you?” Lorcan followed, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible.  

Elide slowly shook her head. “I’m almost out of wine.”

“Then it looks like we’re going for a drive,” he said, simply. “Come on.”

Elide didn’t argue. She just nodded, pulled her boots on and grabbed her coat. They walked out into the snow and Lorcan opened her door before helping her up into the passenger seat.

The ride to the liquor store was quiet. The music played softly in the background, but neither of them were really listening. Lorcan wasn’t sure if Elide was even paying attention to anything as they drove through the town. When they parked, Lorcan was out of the truck before Elide could even unbuckle her seatbelt. After a few minutes, he returned with three bags. One held Elide’s wine, one very clearly held a six-pack of beer, but the third was a mystery.

Looking back at the bags in the backseat, Elide chuckled quietly and said, “You need to be drunk for this, too?”

Lorcan glanced over at her, but his eyes were back on the road a second later. His silence was answer enough.

Elide said nothing more. Her eyes simply drifted toward the window, at the snow slowly and silently falling from the heavens. 

“Are you going to stay quiet all night?” she asked, as Lorcan turned onto her street.

“No,” he replied, simply, even though he said nothing more. 

“You’re mad,” she said.

“Why would I be mad?” he replied. “I’m not mad.”

“You sound mad,” she whispered.

Lorcan sighed. “I’m not mad, Elide, I just want to make sure you’re alright. You’re my best friend, I need you to be alright, so I’m here.” The Jeep idled in her driveway, but neither of them made a move to get out. Elide just stared at her hands in her lap. Lorcan took a deep breath and cut the engine. “Come on. Let’s go inside. You need to tell me what happened and I need a drink.”

He didn’t wait for her reply, just opened the door and was retrieving their bags as Elide slid down from the seat and made her way up to her front door. She unlocked it and was heading back towards her bedroom as Lorcan took the drinks into the kitchen. After kicking off her boots and grabbing an enormous, oversized hoodie - one that she’d stolen from Lorcan at some point in high school - her sock-covered feet were shuffling into the kitchen. Lorcan had already settled in the living room with a beer in hand, so Elide was surprised to find a full bottle of whiskey next to the wine on her counter. 

“Looked like you needed something stronger,” he said, shrugging, refusing to meet her eyes even though the TV remained off.

“Don’t act like whiskey is for my benefit,” she said, even though she poured herself a shot and tossed it back before filling her wine glass. “You know I prefer tequila.” 

Lorcan let out a humorless snort as Elide stumbled into the living room and settled on the couch beside him.

“So,” he began, clearing his throat. “What happened?”

Elide shrugged. “He came here, picked me up, we had dinner. He tried to come in, I told him he hadn’t been invited, that I wasn’t ready to take that step again, that I wanted to take things slow. He kept trying to come inside, but I kept telling him no. When he finally got the hint, he stormed off and drove away. After, of course, he called me a prude and an idiot, and thanked me for wasting his time, just like I always had.” 

Lorcan’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing.

“Say it,” was all Elide said, after the silence filled the space between them.

“There’s nothing to say,” he said, cracking open the beer in his hand and putting it to his lips. After he’d drank deeply, he crushed the can and set it down on the side table next to him.

Those four, stupid words hung between them, regardless of the fact that neither of them had uttered them.

I told you so.

When Elide had called Lorcan on Christmas morning, he’d expected her to tell him some ridiculous story of something that one of their friends did after he’d left the bar on Christmas Eve. He expected her to wish him a Merry Christmas and ask what time he was planning to be at Rowan and Aelin’s for lunch.

So when she’d told him she bumped into her ex at the bar, Lorcan was quiet. When she told him she’d agreed to another date, Lorcan was silent as death.

Roland was an ass.

He didn’t deserve Elide.

He never had. 

“I need you to say something,” Elide said, turning her eyes toward him. 

“You need me to say something?” Lorcan asked, incredulously. “Want do you want me to say, El? I want to feel bad for you. I really fucking do, alright? But, I…”

“You what,” Elide breathed.

“I can’t,” Lorcan said, through gritted teeth. “I have no idea why you gave that jackass a second chance. I know that, you know that, it makes no sense to me! We did this same thing a year ago, El. Me, here with you, trying to put your heart back together after Roland was reckless with it!”

“He means something to me,” she said, looking down into her full glass. “He was my first, Lorcan, my first everything.”

Lorcan had to bite his tongue. He was well aware of everything Roland had been to Elide. He’d been around for years, in and out of Elide’s life, until he broke her heart last Christmas. He finally cleared his throat when he felt he was able to speak without snapping again. “I know. I know he was, El. But you promised. You promised you weren’t going to let him do this to you again. And the first opportunity he has, he comes right back and fucks with your head.”

Elide was silently brushing a thumb back and forth across her bottom lip. After a second, she looked up at him. “I loved him, Lor.”

The tears in her eyes nearly broke him.

Without a word, Lorcan wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. Elide buried her face in his chest. “I know you did.”

Lorcan wanted to kill him, wanted to kick his ass for making Elide cry, something she’d promised him would never happen again.

“I’m sorry for snapping,” he said, quietly, once her sobbing grew into silent cries. “I just… I can’t see you like this. Especially when it’s because of some prick that doesn’t deserve you.” 

Elide shook her head, but he knew she wasn’t disregarding what he’d said. She was just trying to get her head straight. “I just need to accept that I’m going to be a cat lady and die alone.”

Lorcan snorted. “You’re allergic to cats.”

“Then it’ll be an early death,” Elide said, voice muffled thanks to where her face was still pressed against his chest. She leaned back and sighed. “I got your shirt wet.”

Lorcan shrugged. “Not a big deal. And you’re not going to die alone. There’s someone out there who’s going to make you the happiest girl in the world.” He paused for a moment and made sure she was looking at him. “And it sure as hell won’t be Roland Havilliard.””

“Then who will it be?” she asked, with a humorless chuckle. “Do share your wisdom, if you know that fact to be true.” 

Lorcan just shook his head as he watched her. If only she knew, if only he could tell her of what he would never tell her. Lorcan believed what he had said, that there was someone out there who would make her the happiest girl in the world.

Little did she know that he wished it were him.

He knew it wasn’t, though.

He wanted that person to be him, but Elide Lochan deserved better than a bastard who couldn’t control his temper, who drank too much and felt too little. Yes, he loved Elide, more than he could ever love anyone, ever again. But she deserved better than him. 

So he’d take his love for her to the grave. 

[vegalocity]

(I’m probably gonna send you a few of these so brace yourself) Hugs #35. Hunter experiences his first ever cuddle pile when he hangs out with Luz and Her friends. - Pixel Anon

affection meme

35. cuddle pile

Pixel (adnd basically anyone lol) send me as much as you want, my computer is busted rn and i can't draw writing is all i've got.

sooo you wanted like a shitton of words about Hunter being touch starved yeah? Good here's the Extended Friend Group (Extended to include the Former Detention Kids) having a sleepover

--

Luz called him touch starved. He thought the idea was ridiculous when she'd first said it; as people touched him all the time, He had the scars to prove that people touched him all the time.

But when he'd come down the stairs of the Owl House to see her and her friends (and girlfriend) spread out along the sleeping bags and cushions, and the girl with the glasses gently placed a hand on his upper arm to keep him from bumping into her as she called back to the others that she was going to go check on the Moon Lillies Eda had let her keep here, and it felt like lightning across his skin. But like... good lightning? It made him jolt and gooseflesh rose up on his skin but it wasn't unpleasant. It felt nice... Like... really nice.

The faintest whisper of her fluffy hair brushed his shoulder as she passed him and his heart was pounding in his chest. He didn't even remember the girl's name and for a moment he was sincerely convinced he'd fallen in love with her. The moment passed and he'd recovered from his temporary insanity, but the memory remained.

Luz called him over, claiming the lot of them were having a sleepover tonight, and if he wanted to join he was welcome.

'Lot of them' was at the moment Luz, King, her friend with the glasses, a younger boy, her girlfriend, a girl with her hair tied up in a bramble scrunchy, a taller boy whom towered over him, and a four legged demon whom also wore glasses.

He only joined because he had nothing better to do. He was introduced to her extended friend group (those being Viney, Jorbo, and Barkus) Luz going on to the others he didn't remember the names of with 'and you already remember the rest of these guys'

He sat apart from the others and avoided eye contact with the glasses girl (Willow, as Luz called her upon her return) wondering idly if as a plant person she'd somehow doused herself with some sort of plant pheromone to make all boys make fools of themselves around her, but then again, Jorbo Barkus and the younger boy (Gus as he'd spoken in third person for a but while telling a story) all seemed to be unaffected.

Then Jorbo slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer in one arm, Barkus under his other and claimed loudly that 'the guys get to choose the game' and Hunter's brain stopped working altogether until He let him go to insist that Gus doesn't count as 'the guys' because he always sides with Luz and Willow on games anyway. And for another very stupid very insane moment he'd convinced himself he'd fallen in love again.

Though this time he'd barely had a moment to recover from his temporary bout of insanity as the two began to bicker before Barkus sighed and placed a paw on his knee in solidarity and he was sent reeling again.

This kept happening on and off all day, someone would touch him, and his insides would positively lurch and he'd fell at once like he both needed to get as far away as possible, and lean into whatever the touch was and cling to whomever was providing it. But thankfully after those first two his brain had stopped taking the exact wrong conclusions about his reactions, so he'd stopped having to talk himself down from the worry that Luz's friends were all sirens and he was falling for their trap.

But it did mean he was now acutely aware of the lot of them as they continued about their games. Amity and Luz were play acting a scene and Amity dramatically fell backward, her upper half and head resting for only a brief moment in his lap and his knees felt like jelly for almost a full hour afterward.

Gus dramatically leaped in his direction and out of reflex Hunter caught him, and he... didn't want to let go. He was able to get away with carrying Gus around for a little bit, as there were no complaints from him at least, but he let the kid drop before it got suspicious.

Viney pulled him aside and while he was getting used to people touching his arms quickly, he was NOT used to another person's hot breath on his skin as she whispered a plan to prank the others into his ear.

King was perched on his shoulders for the longest time after he'd carried Gus around for a bit, insisting that if anyone deserved to have a personal chauffer it was him. He made sure to play up how annoyed he was, but the warm fur on the back of his neck was comforting.

But Luz, Oh... Luz was the worst. She already knew his reactions to being touched before going into this, so she made sure to do it as much as possible. sitting herself right next to him and swaying side to side so sometimes she'd brush up against Amity, and sometimes brush up against him, and she was single handedly the reason why he was getting used to people touching his arms.

But then she kept upping the game. Dramatically insisting that He was too cool for this or that dumb game that she clearly just wanted him to agree to play, putting a hand on his shoulder and pressing her cheek to his, and wathcing his brain promptly shut off as he reeled over how squishy her cheek was against his. sitting o the couch as he sat on the floor, and grabbing his head, tilting him back so that his head was essentially in her lap and smiling like the cat that ate the screamerfly at his reaction as she told him something or another he suddenly couldn't pay attention to. She even got Eda involved when she appeared briefly downstairs! She called in some sort of 'owe' and Eda pulled him aside, looking put upon and sighing.

And he didn't almost cry when the Owl Lady wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him to her chest. He didn't. Her gem dug into his forehead and her nails were long and sharp as she gently brushed them through his hair, and he'd somehow never felt so protected in all of his life, the downy feeling of feathers that still clung to her dress and the soft silver hair that brushed against him in odd places, and he only put his arms around her middle and squeezed back because it was the polite thing to do. Her chin brushed the crown of his head and-.... he just didn't know he was allergic to feathers until then, okay? It just also happened to feel really really good and he didn't want to let go. That was unrelated.

Hours had passed, he'd been shocked with physical affection enough times today that he could barely remember what they'd been doing the entire night, his memory only clinging to those moments where his brain had been so thoroughly flooded with endorphins that the rest of the night was a blur.

And he HAD to go back to is room. He wouldn't be able to sleep at all in the little 'cuddle puddle' Luz and the others had arranged. If he was so distracted by which body parts were in contact with other body parts sleep would elude him entirely, and sure he used to rarely sleep at all, but that was by choice back then!

But he-

He couldn't detangle himself.

Willow used his stomach as a pillow, he watched her head rise and fall with his breaths and felt the whisper of her fluffy hair against the smallest sliver of skin where his shirt had ridden up a bit. Gus and King were curled up to one side, Gus using his shoulder as a cushion and King beside his head. Viney had grabbed his arm in her sleep and clung to it like a stuffed animal. Barkus curled up in the space between his legs and Jerbo was using HIM as a pillow. if he even moved either of his legs one or both of them would be disturbed.

And Luz of course was curled up on his other side. a hand thrown across his shoulders and breathing softly into his neck. Amity was cuddled up behind her with her arms on her waist, and she was using his other arm as her own pillow.

He was effectively buried under the entire sleepover.

The pressure of others resting on top of and near him, the softness, the warmth, he didn't even need a blanket for all the heat the other bodies were providing. A shiver crawled up his spine as Luz hummed in her sleep and he could feel it in his chest as she did so. and Hunter had to concede defeat because this felt too damn good to even want to try and pull away.

--

Eda walked in about an hour after to a silent living room save for periodic snoring, she nursed a mug of Apple blood as she inspected the effective dogpile atop of the former Golden Guard.

Wow, it was days like this where it was really damn obvious how young the kid was. She could see even from here the freshly drying tear tracks on the boy's face, all that from just some cuddling? Sure Eda wasn't the best with handling physical affection either but she hadn't cried from something like that.... ever. (though if they managed to save Raine from whatever it was Belos did to them Eda couldn't be certain that that record would keep)

When Luz had approached her about their newest 'house guest' and insisted that Hunter needed a social circle, and probably just needed affection after living most of his life under Belos' thumb, Eda had assumed that would make him cagey and aggressive at the idea of being treated softly. But... eh... She supposed people always had a tendency to surprise you.

"Gettin' soft Owl Lady..." She muttered to herself as she approached the top of the cuddle pile and placed a hand on the boy's forehead, moving just slightly to comb some of his hair from his face. Hunter let out a quiet whimper but didn't stir. She watched as a sleepy smile lit up the boy's face.

--

Send me stuff

[samkat10423]

Moving in Sims

For the past few days, I’ve been moving in Sims and setting up relationships. Among them was that Riddle Sim, from Twinbrook. Because I wanted to move in her niece – along with the niece’s yappy dog – I needed to make a sibling for Anna-Liza. Since I’d already saved that Racket Sim to my bin, I decided to just make him into her brother – after changing his name.  Then I gave him a daughter. This was a win-win for me, since this world comes with a generic graveyard. And I hate no-name graves. Not only did he help establish a relationship, but I got to kill him and add his tombstone to my cemetery! Go me!

Anyway, Anna-Liza is one of the town’s Censorious Triad and the editor of the town newspaper. One of the other two, card-carrying members is Madame Blanche Robichaux (shown here with her son, Marshal and his “no-good, floozy-of-a-wife,” Trixie. And Trixie’s “nasty, little flea-bitten cat.”). Trixie and Marshal were created by Webbymom of the 3 Musketeers, as part of the Sims Daily’s population thread. (She even made political pictures of him, when I whined, so he’s the mayor in this town. His “sainted” mum is CEO of the local business, while his” tart of a wife,” is a renown painter. As you can tell, by her comments, Madame Blanche is NOT a fan of her daughter-in-law or her cat, who are both actually, nice little Sims). The old lady is a Sim I found about 11 years ago, over on TSR. I liked her, because she was so ugly. I also created 2 more Sims for this family – the patriarch and a younger son. But they’re dead and fighting over in my graveyard. Prior to their deaths, the son got himself engaged to an “unacceptable” young lady, and was immediately booted out of the family. But they did bury him in the family plot – have to keep up appearances, don’t you know! - so he and his dad get to continue their feud for all eternity. (BTW, the 2 Sims suspected in their deaths are buried nearby, and all 4 of them HATE each other. So the cemetery is pretty lively at night!)

Then I moved in these Sims – Frederic D’Aimelefric and Fannie Bellefleur. These 2 were created by nengi65 for that hot pink apartment I showed you a while back. I have always liked them, because they’re not your typical “pretty” Sims. Anyway, she had them in the acting career track, but since I replaced the studio with my festival lot, I put them into Showtime careers. He’s a magician now, while she’s an acrobat. And to help them with their careers, I made him clumsy and forgetful, and her clumsy and a couch potato. I would have opted for chronic stage fright, but EA “forgot” to offer that as a trait. Stupid EA. Nengi described him as having rather grandiose visions of his own, non-existent talent, while Fannie was the stereotypical, dumb blonde. I liked that, so I kept it.

Then, replacing Amy Bull as the town fashionista, I made Felicity Plum. Cameranutz II had made a generic Sim by this name for this world, but I wanted someone with a tad more character. So here she is. She has absolutely no artistic ability at all, which will definitely help her career – or not. But since I’m not stupid enough to let her give me a make-over, it’s not my problem.

These Sims all originally came from Bridgeport – they were that Cook family. They are now known as the Thibodeaux family. The creators of this world did make a family for this world with that name, but again, they were typical do-gooder, pudding Sims. Unlike me, those ladies were not into conflict amongst their Sims. So I didn’t bother saving them. Anyway, believe it or not, other than giving these Sims some CC skins (Buckley-Ephemera Fresh skins) and those default replacement hairs that @maryjanesims3 has been so graciously sharing, and nicer make-up, these are EA Sims. (Well, I did give them some decent clothes). The first time I saw the two ladies, with just the new hair, I was shocked at how pretty they really are. So, there is hope for game Sims. The old fart is now known as Judge Roy. He’s still I the political track, and on the take. And his wife – now named Lacey – is still hoping for his early death.

This is a tiny house between the bistro lot and that Chocolate Restaurant. It was made by susieb, but I don’t think she made a family for it. Not that I would have downloaded them. Anyway, I did change out the exterior siding and the porch railing for CC that I have. And inside, I got rid of all the basegame crap and gave them some nicer stuff.

It now belongs to the 3rd member of the Censorious Triad – Muriel P. Finster. She was created by my friend, Alex – aka: Hellfrozeover – back when she was still playing TS3. While I was doing the other 2, I knew they needed a pal, and this Sim came to mind. I left her pretty much the way Alex created her, although I did change some of her traits. Since I made her the principle of my school, I decided to help her with her career, by giving her the “I despise you little rugrats!” trait.

Then, because the house has lots of room despite being on an itsy-bitsy lot, I decided she should have an adult son who’s moved back home. With his cat. To whom Muriel is allergic. Anyway, he’s a genetic resequencer working on a top-secret project. His mother has been frantically snooping through his notes, trying to figure out what he’s working on, but he’s up to her ways and has been leaving a bunch of nonsense laying around for her to find.

Next family I do, will be those Bagley’s from Riverview. I already made Ma Bagley’s husband and oldest son – who now reside in the graveyard. They’re the Sims suspected of killing the 2 Robichaux Sims. Anyway, the living ones will live out in my swamp and be moonshiners. Their houses are done, and I even gave them a still – aka: nectar-making thingie. But that will be another post.

[lovebishoplosamiguelgalindos]

lovebennycolonmiguelgalindo

Run Down: Johnny “Coco” Cruz and Reader . mentions of a common cold and a cranky outlaw biker who just wants his girlfriend to make it all go away. fluff, swearing, smut 18+

Around the same time frame as my story “ She Needs His Arms with EZ’s girlfriend being sick with the same cold . Coco’s is a little bit before hers though. Part One

Even he had off days once in a while. Being a member of an outlaw biker gang and the father of a teenage girl kept life interesting. Especially when she decided to bring the latest cold mutation home from school and infect you with it. Johnny Cruz felt like his head was packed with cotton and he sniffed a little while sitting in Templo. Not a good place to not feel well but here it is. “ You okay Coco?” Bishop asked having heard the sound from the end of the table.

“ Might have a sniffle pres. Lettie had a cold for a couple days and she’s back in school already. “

“ I’d say you definitely have it, you sound like shit.”

“ Thanks.” Coco rolled his eyes a little.

“ Get your ass home to bed, can’t have you infecting the whole damn club.” Then the hammer sounded.

The guys all headed out to prepare for the run they were leaving on in a few hours.

Coco was hanging around inside near his girl Mia.

She walked over to him. “ Aren’t you going on the run baby?”

He sniffed. “ Only place I’m going is the hell home to bed. ,Seems I got Leticia’s cold so I’m grounded.”

She looked at him and exhaled. “ Well then let’s go home so you can get some medicine and get some rest after a hot shower .”

“ Okay.” He sighed softly.

Then they left the clubhouse to head home and the other old ladies were disinfecting everything in the place .

Later at Coco’s house :

Mia went into the bathroom to see what cold supplies they had leftover from Lettie and she found a big box of tissues and some NyQuil for later as well as Vicks Inhaler Sticks that should help open up Johnny’s head. She heard his footsteps in the living room and knew he would curl up on the couch for a while so she gathered the cold things and took them out to the coffee table. He had changed into an older longsleeved shirt and some sweats with a small hole in the ass. “ Here we are, some cold medicine and some tissues . Now why don’t you curl up with Netflix and your cat and I’ll make you some tea and soup.”

“ All right , I was kind of hoping you’d curl up with me though.” He rubbed his nose with a tissue then.

“ Let me make your tea first and then I will come back.” You kissed his forehead. No fever that was good.

“ Okay.” He sprawled out a little under the throw blanket with a pillow and opened Netflix to skim through it.

You thought he had been careful not to get too close to Lettie but apparently not. You started some cold care tea and added honey , lemon and a shot of Jack Daniels to it. Then you took the hot mug into the living room. “ Here you go baby , this will help you feel better.”

“ Never missed a run before.”

“ You’re sick, riding on a bike when the weather is getting colder won’t be good for that Johnny.”

“ I know.” He was quiet again and drank some of the tea slowly. “ Tastes good mama.” His arm wrapped around your shoulders as you sat beside him with his cat Tequila between you . He had found him roaming outside the clubhouse one night a month or two ago and since Bishop was allergic had just taken him home. It was hard to say who was the king of the house, Johnny or the gray cat with green eyes and a black tail.

Tequila purred as Johnny’s fingers ran down his back slowly.

You smiled hearing it . He had a soft spot for the former street cat and it was sweet.

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

Hi! Hope you're having a good day or night depending! For the strangers meeting thing, could you do one for Soul and Maka?

Thank you; you, too! Holy CRAP I haven’t written SoMa in a long time, but I have been binging Soul Eater again, so I’ll do my best. Sorry the formatting is funky; I did it on mobile, and I’ve already had one format fiasco, so....

Young Adult!AU

“I swear to god this cat is gonna be the death of me.” Soul “Eater” Evans grumbled haughtily as he pinned up his last Lost Cat poster and began the weary trek back to his apartment. His brother had begged him to take Blair in last year when his long-time girlfriend, who was painfully allergic to cats, decided the pair should live together before getting engaged. Having no other family to willingly pawn the creature off on, Wes had turned to his bachelor younger brother. Of course, he was the one with the crazy cat lady landlady; she’d even offered to catsit for him.

Honestly, though, as much as he begroaned the circumstances of Blair’s adoption, he’d grown to like, maybe even love, the frisky little black cat. Her hours were as odd as his (night shift jobs screw up a sleep schedule), so they often kept each other company. As long as he remembered to put out her food and water and clean her litter box, she was really a low maintenance cat. Well, unless she was starved for attention. Then she’d rub herself all over him until he acquiesced to stroking her until she fell asleep, usually on his stomach so he couldn’t escape. Or unless she decided to vanish for a week without a trace. A few days was normal for Blair; Soul often suspected she had another family somewhere, but this long was unusual. Hence the posters.

Soul shoved open his lopsided apartment door, a frown pulling at his lips when he realized he’d expected Blair to come bounding over to him; maybe he did love her after all. He sighed and dropped his keys on the small table next to the front door, immediately slipping out of his coat and shoes. He collapsed onto his aging couch, allowing his head to fall back and his eyes to fall closed just as a loud buzz buzz buzz from his back pocket startled him upward again. He pulled out his phone to find an unfamiliar number.

[+1 555-6969]

Hi, you put up wanted posters for a black cat?

[+1 555-7685]

Missing? Yeah.

[+1 555-6969]

Oh. Missing? NVM

“What the hell?”

Another message came through just as he was turning his phone off; another strange number.

[+1 555-6666]

When did you put those signs up?

[+1 555-7685]

Today

[+1 555-6666]

Oh, okay. Good. Your can’t wasn’t with me, but I can’t promise anything from the others in the area. Hopefully she isn’t used.

[+1 555-7685]

Fuck off, weirdo.

He blocked the number.

A few more ominous texts came in and one from his landlady expressing her wishes for Blair’s safe return. A few fellow searching pet owners asked him for leads on their pets, and he exchanged yeses and the same request. Just as he was going to throw his phone after another sick-headed black cat hater, a properly formatted message came through with a kinder message. Finally.

[+1 555-6252]

Hey, I saw your Lost Cat posters. I’m really sorry to hear you lost her. I’ll be keeping an eye out for her; I’m pretty active in the area.

[+1 555-7685]

Thank you I appreciate it

[+1 555-6562]

No problem! I have a cat, too. Crona.

A photo of a small, sweet-faced but timid-looking kitten came through; it’s big blue eyes and stark white fur made him gasp a bit.

[+1 555-7685]

Beautiful cat

I’m a little jealous seems to be the opposite of Blair haha

[+1 555-6252]

Thank you! I just got him. He’s really shy but a good cat. What do you mean? What’s Blair like?I know you said “noisy asshole” on your poster, but…

[+1 555-7685]

Haha gets peoples attention

Pitch black fur

Big yellow eyes

Needy and bossy as hell

Nah really she’s pretty good for the most part

My brother dumped her on me

[+1 555-6525]

Crona has his moments, too, but she sounds like a handful! That’s no good, but it’s nice that you kept her! I hope you find her soon. I’m Maka, B. T. W.

[+1 555-7685]

Soul

[+1 555-6525]

That’s a cool name! Nice to meet you, Soul!

[+1 555-7685]

Maka’s pretty unique too

Back atcha

[+1 555-6525]

Like I said, I’ll be on the lookout, so let me know if there are any updates!

[+1 555-7685]

Will do.

Thanks

-

A few days passed with silence about Blair. And from Maka. Soul didn’t know why he cared about that second one. He usually got bored with texting people, especially girls who talked a lot and formatted their texts perfectly, but something about Maka was the right balance.He shook his head and focused back on his TV. He didn’t even know Maka; how could he daydream about her?

As if on cue, his phone buzzed, and he picked it up, finding himself disappointed that it wasn’t Maka’s number, but his eyes widened when he read the text.

[+1 555-7827]

Hey dude found your cat I think over near the market on Crescent Street she was bugging my girl for something to eat I think while she was waiting for me to get off work

A picture came through of a bright-blue haired young man with a wide grin and a sweet-looking lady with dark hair. The latter gently held Blair who looked up with wide eyes.

[+1 555-7685]

Yup that’s her

Where are you?

[+1 555-7827]

Outside the Limpin’ Imp Tavern on Crescent

[+1 555-7685]

Cool be there ASAP

Soul jogged out the front door and down the steps. “Found Blair, Miss Ortega!” Soul called as he eyed his landlady sitting in her front window.

“Wonderful! I’ll have a treat for her when you return!”

“Thanks!”

He continued jogging toward Crescent Street, thankfully not too far from his house. He slowed when he neared the tavern, easily spotting the couple who’d contacted him.

“Hey!” Soul waved as he approached, eying Blair curled up in the woman’s lap. “I’m Soul. You’ve got Blair.” He laughed and the woman giggled in reply.

“Yeah we do! Totally saved your cat for you, as any good citizens would!” The man erupted, laughing loudly if not unnecessarily.

“Yeah…”

“She’s very friendly.” The woman cut in. “I figured she was a local stray until I saw her collar and Blake saw your posters.”

“Yeah, maybe I should save some time and paper and get her a license with my number on it.” Soul rubbed the back of his neck.

“Not like she’s a dog or anything.” Blake cut in. “Cats are way smarter. Unlike this one. Or maybe she’s just more stubborn.”

“Blake.” The woman rolled her eyes. “I’m Tsubaki, by the way, since you introduced yourself. Here.” She took Blair into her arms and carefully stood. “We have to get going, but I’m so glad we found her.”

“Absolutely. Thank you both so much. Here’s the reward.” Soul handed a wad of bills to Blake and took Blair from Tsubaki.

“Thanks a bunch! We’re off to a great dinner!” Blake laughed loudly and threw his arm around Tsubaki’s shoulders, drawing her against him as they walked away and planting a firm kiss on her head.

“Bye, Soul! Bye, Blair!”

“Bye!” Soul chuckled as the couple made their way down the sidewalk, idly chatting about their evening plans. “Time to go home, Missy.” Soul chided the cat but ran his fingers over her back. “You’ve been gone for too long.”

Blair just sat comfortably in his hold and purred as Soul walked them both home.

-

The evening hours found Soul and Blair lounging on the sofa, Blair curled comfortably on Soul’s stomach as he scrolled idly through Netflix. The companionable quiet was shattered when Soul’s phone buzzed loudly against the glass coffee table top, and he grit his teeth. He needed to take those damn posters down. However, his annoyance simmered out when he registered the familiar number.

[+1 555-6525]

Hey, it’s Maka. Just checking in since it’s been a while. Any luck finding Blair?

Soul stretched back and snapped a shot of Blair sleeping on him.

[+1 555-7685]

Yup

Just got her back a little while ago

[+1 555-6525]

Aw awesome! So cute!!!

Maka sent an above shot of Crona snoozing on her chest, but Soul was fixated on the photographer. Big green eyes, a sweet smile, and smooth skin and hair made his heart flutter, and he swallowed.

[+1 555-7685]

Really cute

[+1 555-6525]

Ugh I know! He’s so peaceful when he sleeps. I love it so much.

[+1 555-7685]

Thanks for checking up on us

[+1 555-6525]

Yeah of course! I’m glad that she’s home! Maybe she and Crona will meet sometime, though he’s still not quite an outdoor cat yet.

[+1 555-7685]

We could arrange it

Soul smacked himself internally. A kitty play date? Really? What was he, a cat dad?!

[+1 555-6525]

True! It could help Crona develop confidence and social skills to meet in a controlled environment. Did you have anything in mind?

Shit. He didn’t really think she’d agree.

[+1 555-7685]

Uh not really

[+1 555-6525]

That’s okay! There’s this cool cat cafe that lets you bring your cat and keep it in a play area. We could try to rent a little space there or something!

This was becoming way more real and serious than Soul anticipated.

[+1 555-7685]

Sounds cool

Though we don’t really know each other

[+1 555-6525]

I promise I’m not a serial killer! Haha!

[+1 555-7685]

You’d meet some random guy? What if I’m a weirdo?

[+1 555-6525]

I’ll change my number. Easy.

[+1 555-6525]

But really it’ll be fine! I trust my instincts if not you. L.O.L.

[+1 555-7685]

Gee thanks lol

[+1 555-6525]

😉

So….Is next weekend okay?

[Soul & Blair]

Sure works for me

[Maka]

Great! See you two then!

Maka sent a snap of an awake Crona and herself making a thumbs up. Soul’s breath stuttered.

-

The weekend couldn’t come fast enough, but when it did, Soul found himself blindsided. Was he ready to meet Maka? They had only gone back and forth for a week, but the exchanges were multiple times daily, and he quickly found himself falling fast and hard for the girl in the photos and videos.

As he opened the door to the cat cafe, he gasped, ignoring Blair’s pitiful cries to be free of her cat carrier when he spotted Maka in the back corner. Her slender legs were folded over each other; her hair was pulled back into a neat messy bun (crazy how that worked somehow), and he could see her eyes quickly skimming over the pages in front of her. Smart and beautiful. He was done for.

“Hey…” He pulled up in front of her and pulled out the chair across from her.

She looked up and beamed, her eyes catching the dim glow of the Edison lights around them.

“Hey!” She closed her book and pointed to a low, plastic door. “The play area is over there. They have some toys in there, but I kept Crona with me until you guys got here.” She picked up Crona’s carrier from its guarded spot between her seat and the wall and led him to set their cats free.

Once they settled back in, Maka handed him a menu. “They have great coffee drinks here.”

“I drink mine black, so it doesn’t make a huge difference to me.”

“I could never. Why, if I may ask?”

“Lactose intolerance.”

“Ah.”

“This is so weird.”

“What?” Maka cocked a brow, a slight shadow of worry passing over her features.

“I dunno. It’s like we’re texting in real life now.”

“Texting is real. Just not in person.”

“You know what I mean.”

She giggled. “I do.”

That giggle confirmed it.

Soul would make sure their conversations were purely words and in person as often as possible.

“So, tell me about yourself. I wanna hear it all.”

Hope you liked it! Thanks for the prompt!

[katherinewilliams221b]

Datura stramonium Part 3: Romania’s secret

Summary: With Vasile and Charlie's help, Kate starts making some real progress.

A/N: All the references I used to write this fic will we posted when the series ends.

Remember this is fiction. If you want accurate facts about History this is not the right place.

Kate sighed disappointed. That morning she had told her friend and co-worker, Vasile, about her research. When she mentioned the hospital records for any evidence that the plant was ever used in healing, she didn’t imagine that the files filled two entire rooms. It was going to be impossible to read every archive in the hospital without knowing exactly what to look for.

Rahela’s voice, one of her co-workers, brought her back to reality. “Diagnose a kid or the woman with a cold?” Kate grabbed a file from Rahela’s hands and read quickly. “I’ll take care of the kid” Rahela sighed in relief and Kate chuckled. “Why do you even ask me if you have a preference?” “Hey, I was just being polite.” Kate rolled her eyes and made her way to the end of the hallway, where a little boy was laying on one of the beds. He couldn’t be older that eight. The woman next to him, presumably his mother, stood up abruptly. “What’s going on? He tries to speak but can’t, and he started swelling up and…” she gasped “Is he going to die?” Kate glanced at the boy. Allergic reaction. Curse. Mumblemumps. Jinx. She put a hand on the woman’s shoulder and smiled kindly. “No, no. No one is going to die here.” She moved beside the boy and touched his swollen throat and neck. “What’s your name?” she smiled. He opened his mouth but only a groan came out. “Ryan.” The mother answered for him with a hand on her chest. Kate inspected his face and it was as red as his neck. “Does it hurt, Ryan?” He shrugged with one shoulder. Allergic reaction. Mumblemumps. Jinx. “I’m going to inspect your stomach, now.” She lifted the shirt he was wearing and revealed a healthy and normal torso. Allergic reaction. Mumblemumps. “Can you open your mouth?” The boy shook his head and looked at his mother. “I need you to try a little bit. I need to see your throat. Lumos.” Ryan’s mouth opened slightly, and Kate pointed her wand to look inside. “Alright, Ryan, you have mumblemumps.” His little eyes widened in horror making Kate chuckle. “You are going to be okay. Your neck and head will be swollen for a couple of weeks, it’s common among young wizards, very contagious.” She opened a pocket from her belt, where she kept most of her potions, and handed the mother a very small flask with a purple liquid inside. “He is going to be uncomfortable for a while. That’s just a sleeping potion. A couple of drops is enough, but only if it’s strictly necessary. It will go away with time, he’ll have to stay in bed the whole process.” She turned to Ryan. “It’s going to be boring.” She leaned in, as if going to tell him a secret but spoke loud enough for the mother to hear. “In my experience, ice cream helps a lot.” His eyes lit up and she winked at him. When Kate looked up, she saw Nougal, her boss, making a sign for her to approach him. “We’re finished here. Come back in two weeks if he is still like this. If by any chance looks worse, come immediately.” She said to the mother who sent her a smile. “Thank you.”

Nougal’s dark face showed a mix of concern and disappointment. “I thought I was clear when I said no personal business while working.” Katie frowned. “What?” Nougal handed her an envelope with her name on it, turned around and left without saying another word. Kate sighed and shook her head. The letter didn’t have an address nor a remittent or a stamp.

Thursday evening. Bucovina.

-          Eleonor.

 She saw blonde hair from the corner of her eye. “Hey, what’s that?” Alina, her hardworking but inquisitive co-worker appeared in front of her. Kate tucked the letter in her uniform’s pocket. “Just a to-do list for the week. I’m finished for today. Did you want something?” Alina didn’t seem fully satisfied. “Yeah, Vasile wanted to see you. He’s upstairs.” “Thank you, Alina.” She tried to escape as fast as she could to avoid questions, she checked out with her healer ID and went upstairs to meet Vasile. The desire of going home to Charlie was growing stronger with every step.

“Katherine! There you are. I know you wanted to keep a low profile on this, but I told Mother about you and…” Kate let out an exasperated huff. “Vasile!” “I know, I know but, remember I told you that the monastery was abandoned?” “Yes, because of the plague.” “Exactly. Apart from the cursed bell legend, there’s another one that says that the ghost of a beautiful woman can be seen in the entrance. She is Ancuta, the daughter of lady Chiajna who ordered to kill her because she ran away with her lover.” Kate shrugged and shook her head, not understanding. Vasile stretched out his hand for her to take. They vanished in the air and reappeared in a dark room. “Lumos” Their wands illuminated stone walls, covered in a thin layer of moist. They were underground, just below the hospital. “The disease was personified as an ugly, old lady and so was…” He grabbed a large cloth and pulled at it, revealing the painting of a woman looking at the distance. “…Ciumăfaie.” Kate’s eyes widened and leaned forward to watch the painting more closely. “Ciumăfaie was the nickname it was given to lady Chiajna, since the effects of the plant when ingested were as horrid and hard as the symptoms of the plague. And she was associated with death, so…” “She wasn’t very popular, huh?” Vasile grinned.

“These are only legends, Katherine, but really interesting ones.”

--

Charlie fell asleep before her that night. She was laying on the bed wide awake, with Charlie sprawled next to her and a leg over her thighs. Staring at the darkness she wondered how could the witches know where to find her? And most importantly, did they know she wanted to see them? The man’s soft snores pulled her out of her thoughts and for the first time she was uncomfortable with his weight on her. She tried to move his leg off her, but Charlie shifted his position and hugged her, now more firmly with his leg and arm. His ginger curls tickling her chin. “Merlin, Charles.” She huffed. She couldn’t help envying his peaceful sleep. Burying a hand in his hair, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing. What did they want to talk about? Well, it would be my chance to know more about Datura. She opened her eyes again and rubbed her face. It was useless to try to sleep. Carefully she grabbed Charlie’s arm and lifted it putting it gently on his side. She winced when he moved, but he only adjusted and turned his back to her, still asleep. She put a jumper on and left the room, closing the door behind her.

She grabbed a thick blanket that rested on the back of the couch in the sitting room and headed to the porch. The night was calm, cool breeze touched her face and she shivered.

After turning one of the lights on, she laid on the little bench that they kept there and snuggled under the blanket. She stared at the clouds in the sky, moving slowly away from her. They revealed the moon, almost full, bright and big staring back at her. She thought of Vasile and wished she could solve all his problems. She was very lucky for having a friend like him. He couldn’t be like the father she never had, because she did have one. But Vasile acted more like a parent than hers ever did. Telling him about her project was the right decision but she wondered if she should have mentioned the three witches that filled her mind.

A light weight was suddenly on her legs followed by a meow. “Hello, Grimoire. Where have you been?” she scratched the cat’s soft head. He purred happily and curled up next to her. “Would you accompany me to Bucharest tomorrow? See the city?” The cat huffed, offended but remained by her side. “I could use some help. Maybe I can teach you how to read, I’m going to do a lot of that tomorrow.” Grimoire’s head turned, and he stared at Kate. “Bill says I’m crazy, but I know you can understand me.” He closed his eyes, clearly bored with the conversation. “Alright, ignore me.” she chuckled and looked at the moon again.

It must have been very early in the morning because she remembered strong arms lifting her in the air. She landed on a soft surface and something warm covered her body. A kiss to her temple made her fall completely asleep again.

 Kate knew perfectly well that she wouldn’t be able to check all the books of all the libraries in Bucharest and that irritated her with no measure. Vasile told her a connection between Datura and Bucharest’s history and even the smallest amount of information would be better than nothing.

When Charlie suggested a muggle library, he didn’t specify which one. Fourteen libraries filled Bucharest and for a moment Kate found it overwhelming. Over lunch, Kate had made a list with all of them and, with Vasile’s help, crossed out the ones related to industry, materials, children, engineering, design and architecture. Leaving Metropolitan Library of Bucharest, National Library of Romania and Central University Library.

She spent three hours untidying the botanic section at the Metropolitan Library of Bucharest, checking every single book she considered it could be useful. Nothing. She was on her way to the exit when she passed the history section, and something caught her eye. Bucharest. Touristic guide. There were a few of them and she picked up the one in English.  She opened it and slid a finger through the index page.

“Come on, come on, come on.”

                      7.3. Myths and Legends

Kate grinned and flipped the pages excited. “Cismigiu hotel, Hospital of Posts, The Orphanage on the French Street, Vernescu house…where are you? Bellu cemetery… Chiajna monastery.”

Is a historical monument on the outskirts of Bucharest’s Giulesti neighborhood, subject of many legends and urban myths.

The construction of the Chiajna Monastery began during the reign of Alexandru Voda Ypsilanti and was completed during Nicolae Mavrocordat’s time, during the eighteenth century.

Legend says that the church was bombarded by the Turks even before consecration. Reportedly, the Turks believed that the church was a military objective and tried to destroy it. All the documents within the church were burned, though the building itself remained standing.

 Centuries ago, the bells were heard in Romanian monasteries when the Turks were visible on the horizon. Today, one can still hear the bells ringing.

It’s certain that several murders took place there. Rumor has it that police forensics said that the respective murders are part of the “Chiajna curse”.

“Alright, but what about Ciumfaie, huh?” she said to herself. After checking some other guides she finally sat down on the floor and wrote a few lines on her journal before going home.

There’re no records of the plant in botanic books.

Metropolitan Library of Bucharest: check medicine and history.

Later that night, Charlie and Kate found themselves in the bathroom, Charlie sat on a stool and Kate with a pair of scissors in hand.

“Stop moving!” Charlie looked at her through the mirror and smiled at her concentrated expression. “I can’t help it if I’m talking…” “Then don’t talk.” She said matter- of- factly. “I told you it’s fine.” Kate grabbed a small mirror and situated it so he could see the back of his head. She arched her eyebrows waiting for his reaction. “Okay, maybe it’s not that fine” he chuckled after seeing the burned ends of his hair and the chunk that was missing. She grinned shaking her head and kept cutting ginger locks. “I don’t even want to know what lead to this…”

“Let’s say we confirmed Hogwarts’ motto.” He said while sneaking a hand behind his back and tickling the back of Katie’s knee. “Charles!” she squealed. After checking she didn’t mess up his hair, she laughed and threw him a mocking face through the mirror.

“So, at what time do you want us to go to Bucovina tomorrow? They weren’t very specific…”

Kate tilted her head. “Us? You have to go to work.” “Yes, but we’re going together afterwards. Oh, by the way, on Saturday I’ll do extra hours…” She paused and looked at him through the mirror. “I’m not going to stay here until Merlin knows when, waiting for you and wondering if those witches poisoned you or something.” After staring at him for a moment, she smiled and nodded, returning to her task. “Besides, two wands are better than one.” “I’ve been alone with them before.” He shrugged. “Still.” Kate grabbed his shoulder “Don’t move!”.  After cutting a few more hairs, Kate removed the towel he had over his shoulders and put the scissors down. “Alright, mister, you’re done. No charge today.” He reached out and touched his neck. “It’s too short!” Kate threw a spell over a broom and it started to get rid of the hairs on the floor. “Well, if you had stood still as I told you, I wouldn’t have needed to even out your hair.” She patted his shoulder and grabbed her toothbrush, starting her night routine. He took the toothpaste and put a little bit on both of their toothbrushes. “We’re going with the portkey we used the first time. It connects both Sanctuaries.”

--

Katie needed a few moments to recompose herself when they landed in Bucovina. Long distance travels made her terribly sick. They walked hand in hand to the village and Kate started explaining where she had bought the children’s book and how Eleonor followed her through the streets. They reached the outskirts of the village and saw the small hut where the witches lived.

Kate raised her fist but before she could knock, the door opened revealing the dark room inside. I don’t like this, Charlie thought. Like she could read his mind, Kate squeezed his hand before letting go and ventured inside.

Suddenly, someone jumped from her left and landed millimetres away from her. “For Merlin’s sake!�� Kate put a hand on her chest and clutched her necklace. Maura, the youngest of the sisters, moved away from her laughing hysterically and disappearing behind a green curtain. “Maura, behave.” She heard Eleonor say. She appeared in front of them and extended her hand to Charlie. “I have to admit this wasn’t planned.” Charlie frowned but shook her hand anyway. “I’ll stay, if you don’t mind.”

“Why did you want to see me?” Kate intervened. Eleonor gestured her to follow her. They approached a wooden table with a flowerpot in the middle. A white flower with big leaves was growing inside. Kate inspected it and saw the inside of the flower was purple.

“Since you were having trouble gathering information we thought we could give you a little push” Kate frowned “What are you…” Eleonor rounded the table and moved the pot towards Kate. “I present you: Ciumfaie.” Kate looked at her with wide eyes. “It grows freely in Romania. It’s everywhere. Generally flowers during summer, but we decided you might want one now.”

“You knew I was investigating it?”

“Of course. She saw you.” Kate turned her head to the old woman on the floor. Rin. The witch that practiced divination. Rin smiled but kept her eyes closed. “I must admit it took longer than it should to discover what was the purpose of your first visit. But now its clear. Sadly, we can’t help any anymore. This is all we can do for you.” Eleonor looked at her more seriously. “It’s time to go.” Kate and Charlie didn’t have time to react when they heard Maura sing “Bye, bye!” and everything went black.

Kate woke up abruptly. She looked around and found herself in her room alone. She touched her forehead. She was sweating. “Please don’t let it be a dream, please don’t let it be a dream.” She got up from bed and ran to the sitting room. Datura was placed on the coffee table, staring at her. Kate sighed, relieved.

“It’s time to reveal Romania’s secret, that’s you, by the way.” She said to the flower.

“Datura stramonium.”

--

Tag List

@eldritchscreech

@garbdump

[sentofighta]

modern verses for [ EINAR ]

------

Basic:

name: einar vilho

age: 24

status: single

occupation: cat cafe owner

family: parents. Uncle [Gustav]

resident: second floor flat [lives with his uncle]

cafe location: first floor flat (to his residency), near the local high school, across a flower shop, next to a maid cafe.

-------

Background:

Einar is the only child for his parents. Being the only kid, he was raised in a good moderate lifestyle condition. As he grew up, he took more interest in cats. He would forget himself whenever he spots a cat. He wanted to raise one but sadly, his father was allergic to them. His father did his best to take medication, be away as possible from the cat when he adopted one for Einar but no use. His father would stay sick for several days until his mother kindly explained that the cat is no good in the house as long as his father gets sick. Einar was not a spoiled child, he personally went back to return the cat but his mother stopped him. She gives him another suggestion ‘why not give it to uncle and every now and then you can visit him?’ the idea was perfect!

 Einar already goes to visit his uncle on summer vacation since he is an ex-soldier who lives on his own. Gustav declined to live with the family saying he got used to being alone and having people around is actually taxing for him. More to say, he is afraid of his own trauma and nightmares. How can he explain he cannot sleep for days to a kid like Einar? For Einar’s sake, he refused to stay with them. So, Gustav lived on his own because it was hard for him to find someone who would accept a broken man like him.

Immediately, the mother calls her brother and asks if they can keep the cat, [ Vitalis] V for short, with him. At first, Gustav said he remains in his antique shop on the first floor so taking care of a cat might be hard for him but he thought about it for a bit and agreed. It is the first favor Einar asks him for (more like his mother but) so he felt like he should act like a good uncle and be there for his nephew. Later that day, Einar with his parents travel to the part of town where Gustav lives in and drop Vitalis to him. Einar was emotional to leave V alone but he gave Gustav the ‘I know you will keep him in good shape’ kind of look, filled with trust and love. 

Since that day, Einar often gets home pretty much late because he travels to his uncle to check on V but with time he got accustomed to not having the cat around and focused on his study. 

Graduating from high school, Einar decided to move into his uncle’s place. He is not a kid anymore and he understood that his uncle needs someone to be with him despite how he says he is perfectly fine and does not want anyone to ruin his ‘party time with the ladies’ His parents supported his decision even his mother thanked Einar for trying to stick with her brother. Gustav was against this because he didn’t want to take responsibility for Einar but he found the boy in the apartment with his stuff whether he liked it or not. Gustav was upset but came around it once Einar lightened up the lonely atmosphere he lived in. The boy kept talking about what he is going to do now he graduated from school, and how much he Vitalis..and him, too. 

Einar enrolled to uni in the upcoming months in physics major. He was smart so he could not just enroll in anything that does not interest him nor pose a challenge for him. Einar did his best to complete his study in a short time. Ironically, he had a hunch that he was not going to work using his degree but find something...for him.

The reason Einar chose to run a cafe, to begin with, is to give a place for people who need a place of their own. A place they can eat, relax, and wind up from their hectic life. A place that can have the things they love--cats! as well as food of course and a good drink. When he was a student, he had to go back home or the uni library to study and honestly, with time, you get bored and mundane. If there was somewhere he could have went to that could provide some peace and entertainment at the same time for him. So, the cafe idea was something he thought about and prepared from it before his uni graduation.  

Running a cafe was not as easy as it sounds. Einar had to take a couple of workshops, between his classes. on how to run a business in order to know the ins and outs of such business. A fool would just dive right in business without looking at from different angles. Seeing that he could startup with a small shop, not extravagant, just ..a home-y like a shop as possible.  

As someone as anti-social as Einar, running a cafe sounds so out of character but he thought about his passion for cats. Any job beside this does not allow him to have enough time to be with his uncle and raise cats. So, in the truth, he just wanted a place he can feel comfortable working in, with his own rules, around cats, and pay well. He wants to be the boss of his own work and not working under someone.

The cafe’s location is Gustav’s old antique shop. Gustav gave Einar the place as a gift since he only opened the shop to fill his time which does not require moving and serving. Einar at first did not accept but Gustav insisted. He told him that a cafe on the first floor is a great idea since they can make sure all cats remain in one place and not constantly move them around from the house to the cafe if Einar decided to buy a new shop somewhere else. In name, Einar is the manager but on papers, it is Gustav because Einar wanted Gustav to feel he owns something and not feel he just rob him from his shop and home. 

Once the cafe was furnished and cats were adopted, Einar opened the cafe doors at the age of 22. As for its name, he reluctant wanted to give it a name but as a property, it had to be named so he left that part for Gustav who named it [Cake and Nyan] partly to get Einar to say ‘nyan’ every time he had to introduce the cafe. Einar was pissed off by the name but it was his fault for letting Gustav name it when he knows he would cook up something dumb like that. The fault is all his. But gradually he ignored it because it was easy for people to remember especially it was a hit for the schoolgirls who liked to ....play dumb and say it over and over in front of his shop while doing the ugly hand movement. As for the logo, his mother scribbled something for him after hearing about the cafe name. It looked silly but Einar accepted it. The cafe for Einar is created by all his family efforts.

The cafe when it started, it only had about 7 tables and the longish counter for customers to sit if they just want to drink and not eat something. As for the cats, there were about 12 of them. It was hard to adopt that many at first but he had the passion to impress the cat care center to let him adopt them all at once. The breeds were different going from Scottish folds, ragdoll, birman, chartreux, munchkin.  

After a year, the funding was not bad to increase the space, tables, cats and even hire a worker to help with cleaning and serving. Essentially, the cafe is the help yourself kind of cafe because einar was not keen on going around tables to get their orders so there are food containers/boxes to the right side where food is neatly and hygienically preserved and the customer. Customer is to choose from which box they want the food by writing down on a paper and then when they finish their orders they leave it in a tiny box and einar comes to pick up the papers and deliver the food based on what is written in the paper. Gustav was and still against this kind of system because it does not allow Einar to talk to people but enforce his ‘I don’t care’ attitude more but he can’t help it. 

Cafe layout (under construction because what is drawing a blueprint?)

From the left to the right:

Food sample corner.

This corner where food is presented, Einar makes sure to change the menu every day to give the customers a variety of choices. The presented food is actually plastic well made by one of his university acquaintances who knew of his little business endeavor. Each box is labeled with number and letter, in total there is 20 box. 10 are light meals, 10 are the snacks and sweets. Each box contain 3 items with (a,b,c) letters. For example, box 3 contains [(a) fruit salad, (b) steak, (c) vegetable soup ] so if a customer wanted steak they will tick down on box 3, letter b and write a number of serves, for one person, two etc, as well tick down the table number. the paper is placed in a box on the counter. Einar will prepare the requests shortly and bring them later on to the table.

Tables area:

Customers can sit there if they don’t want to sit in the Cats area to eat then walk around. 

Kitchen:

Off limit to customers, only workers can be there.

Counter corner:

Customers can sit there too especially if one person on their own comes and just want to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. Einar often the customers on the counter by talking with them though not quite often especially when he does almost everything on his own.   

Couch:

Another comfortable place for people to sit down and watch the cats. Einar might allow customers to nap if there are not many customers around. But that is a rare case.

Cat area:

Filled with all sorts of cats toys, feather, wands, puzzle, electronic, sleeping bags, climb stairs, scratchers, etc. Anything you can imagine for cat entertaining is there. 

Take pic corner:

Is a corner dedicated to customers to take a picture with their favorite cat. Since taking pictures and filming is banned inside the cafe, this is a way for customers to get a chance to take a pic using the cafe polaroid camera. 

The cafe is open at certain hours, depending on the cats actually. The whole theme is for people to sit down and enjoy the company of the cats so if they are asleep and tired people will get bored. So, the cape is open at 7am and closes at 12pm. Cats at this time, eat their second breakfast and tend to sleep. Plus, at this hour, people are still at work so not that many come over and even if someone does, they are either asked to come back in an hour or Einar will let them in if they don’t cause much noise. 

The cafe reopens after 2pm till 7pm which usually most shops around closes. After 7, some students come over to study especially who want to have company are let in because they usually just sit in a corner and mind their business while watching tired and sleeping cats laying around, minus the hyperactive ones. However, Einar might not let them in every time, depend on his mood (and how they can convince him.) 

After the remodeling, Einar gets more cats to have in total 25 cats in there and he is planning to get more different cats. of course, each cat has its own name engraved on a cute stylish collar so the customer can converse with the cats and call them by their names. 

Gustav occasionally comes to play his guitar every now and then and sing if he feels like it, which is often a very popular segment in the cafe, most customers find it lovely to hear live music in the cafe.

List of the cats, names, types and personalities.

The new cats are generally younger than the previous dozen.

Einar remembers every cat names and what they like to eat and what they hate. He often encourages customers to feed the cats the things he personally gives them to bond with the cats. Female cats wear pink collars and Male cats wear Blue collars. A sign in each corner to remind customers that there are cats with disabilities and they should take note of that. Also, how to handle the cats if they don’t know what they should do. Instructions of some sort. Also the list of the cat’s names so customers can know the cats without looking at their collars. Regular visitors often get special treatment like they can take more pictures, eat the special dish for that day, etc.

Einar is very, very adamant about the rules in the cafe. 

no recording whatsoever, or taking pictures. (unless it was for a good reason like report, newspaper, school project, etc.)

hit a cat, and you are banned from sitting one foot in here after being personally kicked by einar.

do not be rude to anyone in here

the cats for everyone, do not monopolize a cat UNLESS the cat prefers you

do not feed the cats!!!!! DO NOT! 

no fights inside the cafe

no date quarrels in the cafe

bathrooms are not for lovemaking

keep the place clean or you will be banned from coming in

Do not sleep in the cafe

and of course, do not try to steal a cat

verse tag: ⌈⌈verse[modern cat cafe]. (einar)

more information when verse is developed!

[quicksilversquared]

How to Fake a Marriage: Ch 21

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20      

(AO3)  (FF.net)

Jagged Stone absolutely loved all of the sunglasses designs Marinette sent him. Adrien listened to the star exclaim over every single one over the Skype design session Jagged, Penny, and Marinette had the second to last Saturday in August. Adrien sat in the couch, just out of sight of the computer's camera, and watched Marinette absolutely glow from the praise. Jagged only had a couple minor requests for changes, and Marinette nodded along and clarified everything, making notes on a pad of paper next to the computer so that she could remember everything.

"And how is the CD cover going?" Jagged wanted to know as soon as they were done discussing the last pair of glasses. "Have you had time to work on it?"

Adrien cringed. Just yesterday, Marinette had ditched her most recent attempt at the cover. He had thought that it looked fine- amazing, even- but Marinette wasn't satisfied. She had assured him that this had happened with every other cover as well- "well, except for the first one. I only made two then because Mr. Ross gave me bad instructions the first time around" - and it was nothing to worry about, really.

"I've made a couple drafts, but none of them feel right yet," Marinette explained. "They don't quite match the feel of the songs you sent me. I'm sure I'll get there, though. I work on it nearly every day."

"No worries, dear!" Penny assured her. "Jagged takes a while to put together his songs- there's always some little thing that's not quite right- so we understand. That's why we asked you with plenty of time this time around."

Adrien made a slight face. Being given plenty of time still wasn't going to keep Marinette from worrying about how much time she was taking to finish. She liked being on top of things (a trait that was apparently largely a side effect of being Ladybug for years on end and never knowing if she was going to have time to finish her schoolwork and projects later on), and having a project drag on like this wasn't her style.

"I've definitely found a few elements that I really want to use in the cover, so hopefully it won't take much longer," Marinette was telling Jagged Stone. "It's just a matter of incorporating them all together."

"I can't wait to see it!" Jagged Stone told her. "But take all the time you need to let your genius work!"

Marinette nodded.

It didn't take long for them to wrap up the call after that, and Adrien bounced up to go hug Marinette as she slumped into her chair with a sigh.

"That seemed like it went well," Adrien commented. "Jagged Stone sounded really happy!"

"I just wish that I had something ready for the CD cover," Marinette admitted. "I did like the last thing I made, but then I looked at it again and realized that I was reusing a lot of ideas from my last cover. It looked cool, but it was way too similar."

Adrien just shrugged. He had thought that the latest cover to be discarded was pretty cool and he hadn't noticed any similarities, but Marinette was definitely more familiar with her designs than he was. If she said that there were similarities, then he would believe her.

"Would it help to take a break from it for a couple days?" Adrien suggested. "Just step away, work on some other projects or watch a movie or take a walk, then come back refreshed. You've been working on this really hard."

"I think that sounds like a good idea, Marinette," Tikki piped up, popping out of the little nest of fabric scraps that she had built for herself on the windowsill. "You've been working really hard both at Madam Rosalie's and with the stuff for Jagged Stone, and you don't want to burn out!"

Marinette worried her lower lip for a second and Adrien waited, patient. If she wanted to keep working on her designs that was fine, but he really thought that she was running herself into a wall without taking a break. Sure, she was designing different stuff at work, and both of them took time off at the end of the evening to hang out together, but it wasn't a long break. If she stepped away, relaxed, and did something else, then maybe those creative juices would come flowing back in.

"Actually, I like that idea," Marinette decided, setting her notes aside. "Let's do literally anything else. I like your walk idea, and then maybe tonight we can go out for a run?"

Adrien grinned and held out his arm. "That sounds like a plan, my Lady."

  Marinette had to admit that stepping away from her designing for a bit was relaxing. She and Adrien simply strolled around the neighborhood, enjoying the mild day and popping in and out of some of the shops around their area. They got distracted for a while in a pet store after Adrien spotted the kittens and immediately made a beeline for their pen.

"They're so cute," Adrien cooed as an orange kitten batted at his finger. "I want to get one, but I have no idea how you're meant to house-train them."

"And we aren't supposed to have pets in the apartment building," Marinette pointed out, amused at how Adrien continued to coo even as the kitten started claw its way up Adrien's sleeve. "And it might be a tad difficult to travel between here and Paris if we had a kitten to take care of."

"Aww, man." Adrien made a face, then had to try to pry the kitten off of his arm before she could make an escape over the edge of the cage. "Maybe once I finish school and we're back in Paris, then? They're just too cute to handle."

Marinette just smiled and tried not to laugh. The kittens were cute, sure, but watching her boyfriend cuddle with the kitten was even cuter. They would definitely have to get a cat once they were settled back in Paris. Maybe two.

"They definitely like you," Marinette commented as Adrien lifted the kitten up to perch on his shoulder. The other cats in the pen were crowding up along the edge near Adrien, mewing up at him for attention. "They would be crawling all over you if you could actually get in the pen."

"Now I wish I could get in," Adrien grumbled as he plucked the kitten off of his shoulder. "I'd love that, honestly. I've always wanted a pet but Father always forbade it. I mean, he is allergic," Adrien added. "He's allergic to cats and dogs and I'm allergic to birds. I'm honestly surprised that I haven't started sneezing yet, but maybe it's because the bird section is all the way across the store."

Well, if she and Adrien wanted to discourage Mr. Agreste from coming over too often and overstaying his welcome once they moved back to Paris, now Marinette knew how. Maybe getting two cats would be a good idea.

Sighing, Adrien put the kitten down. The other kittens crowded around his arm, begging for attention. He gave a little pat to each one, ignoring the way some of them were snagging his shirt sleeves as they tried to climb up his arm just like the orange one had. Adrien looked absolutely enthralled, and Marinette was torn between enjoying the view and diving in to play with the kittens herself.

The decision only took a few moments. Marinette slid in next to Adrien, reaching in to pick up a black kitten with green eyes. It was absolutely adorable...but then again, she could say the same thing about any of the kittens.

Maybe Marinette just had a soft spot for cats.

"Are you looking to buy a kitten?" someone asked, and both Adrien and Marinette spun around. The black kitten dug its claws in to Marinette's shoulder in surprise. An employee stood behind them. "Have you owned one before?"

"Oh, we were just looking," Adrien admitted. "I love cats, but our apartment building doesn't allow them."

"Otherwise he'd probably be leaving with three," Marinette teased. Adrien had a black and white kitten in his arms now, and its tail kept whacking him in the face as it waved back and forth. He clearly didn't mind at all. It was really cute.

"Ah. Well, if you change your mind, or if you have any questions, I'll be around," the employee told them. She headed off, leaving Adrien and Marinette alone with the kittens.

"I think that's a hint that we can't just stay here all day," Adrien joked in a loud whisper. He cuddled the kitten close. "It's a pity. I'd love to be able to take one of these guys home, but I think I might have problems getting homework done once school starts again if there was a kitten running around."

"I don't want a kitten," Plagg piped up, popping out of Adrien's jacket to regard the kitten in his arms. "It would steal my cheese."

Adrien heaved a long sigh. "Plagg, kittens wouldn't want your cheese. They're lactose-intolerant after they grow a bit, anyway."

"It would tug my tail," Plagg complained. "Or try to eat me."

"Plagg, it's just sniffing you now," Marinette pointed out. "It's curious, not hungry."

Plagg grumbled and retreated back into Adrien's shirt with one last distrustful look at the kitten. From the safety of Marinette's bag, Tikki giggled.

They played with the kittens for a few more minutes and then, after noticing the employee floating closer to them again, they patted the kittens good-bye and left the pet store.

"They were so cute," Adrien said mournfully as they headed down the sidewalk. "I can't believe our apartments ban pets. Who could ban a kitten with eyes like that?"

"I couldn't have pets growing up because we lived above the bakery," Marinette pointed out. "We were worried about fur getting tracked downstairs. I wanted a hamster because that wouldn't get fur all over, but then there were concerns about if a hamster could get out of its cage."

Adrien patted her arm. "We'll have to get a pet once we're back in Paris, then."

Marinette was going to hold him to that. She wouldn't mind seeing Adrien covered by kittens every day.

The rest of their walk wasn't quite as exciting (though they did pop into the nearby bakery as they passed for a bit of an afternoon treat), and then they headed back to their building. As soon as they stepped into Adrien's apartment, Marinette had to refrain from picking up the design tablet that she had left on his couch. It was almost automatic, and it was probably not a great habit.

"Movie?" Adrien suggested. "Since we won't have to work on dinner for a bit?"

Marinette eagerly agreed. It didn't take long for them to settle down on the couch with a movie, and Marinette let herself burrow into Adrien's side. The one downside to walking around the city was that they had to keep some distance between them to try not to attract attention from any stray reporters that had yet to get a life. Now, in the privacy of Adrien's apartment, they could get as close as they wanted.

"Ew, I don't want to see that!"

...well, almost. Privacy could sometimes be a foreign concept when there were kwamis around, and especially when one of those kwamis was Plagg.

Adrien sighed as he and Marinette untangled themselves from their kiss. "Seriously, Plagg? Just go into the other room, then."

"But I would miss the movie!" Plagg protested. Marinette could see the devious little grin on his face. Clearly he didn't care about the movie that much.

"Plagg..." Adrien practically growled.

"We kiss all the time," Marinette pointed out before Adrien could start threatening Plagg with bodily harm. "This isn't that much different."

"There were hands in inappropriate places," Plagg informed her haughtily, as though he was some sort of prudish teacher. "It was burning my innocent eyes."

"So you're saying that none of your past Chosens ever dated?" Adrien asked pointedly. "Never married? Never had kids?"

"They weren't as gross as you about it!"

Somehow, Marinette sincerely doubted it. She had heard some stories about past holders, after all, and there were more than a few that had ended up getting married and having kids.

"Fine, we'll behave for the rest of the movie," Adrien sighed, shooting Plagg a glare. "Even if I'm tempted to dial up the gross just to spite you."

Plagg scoffed. Next to Adrien, Marinette turned pink.

  Once the sun set and the city grew dark, Adrien and Marinette wasted no time in finishing up their dishes from dinner and transforming, heading out for the second time that day. Only this time, they could run and jump and swing from rooftop to rooftop. If they really wanted, they could even cuddle and kiss.

"We really should go out like this more often," Ladybug sighed as they sprinted down a row of houses. They had had to wait until it was late and properly dark, but now they could go out without being easily spotted as they ran across the rooftops. The streetlights down below provided just enough light for Ladybug to see where she was going. "It seems like we're not even going out once a week anymore. I miss getting to stretch my legs."

"To be fair, we do have to wait until it's pretty late to go out now that it's summer," Chat Noir pointed out as they slowed down a bit to a stroll. He sounded a little out of breath, but he was grinning as he stretched. "And since we know that we don't have to transform to hang out anymore, the only real reason to transform here is to run around."

"We could also just stroll like we want to," Ladybug said, linking her arm with Chat Noir's so she could snuggle up to his side. "I wanted to do this earlier, but..."

"Same here." Chat Noir twined his fingers around hers. "Of course, it might have been a little warm to snuggle-walk, but still. By the time it gets cold, I don't know how I'll be able to keep my hands off of you outside."

Ladybug laughed. "You're going to be Mr. Handsy again, hmm?"

"That makes it sound bad," Chat Noir complained, but he was laughing as well. "I just meant that I would want to cuddle with you all the time. But you know that, you dork."

They sped up again, leaping over a gap in the buildings easily. They had just started to circle around to head back to their building for the night when a shout from the streets below caught their attention.

"Momma, there's people up there!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir both whipped around to locate the sound of the shout. Ladybug was still squinting around when Chat Noir hissed and suddenly grabbed her hand, pulling her up and over the ridge of the roof and onto the other side and then yanking her flat to the roof.

"It was just a little kid," Chat Noir whispered. "Hopefully the mom didn't see us." His ears twitched and then his expression dropped. "Oh, crud. She spotted movement and now they're sticking around and looking up."

Ladybug groaned and dropped her face to the shingles. This was exactly what they were always afraid of when they transformed and went for a run around London. If they were spotted and word got out that Paris's superheroes were in London, that could endanger their secret identities. People would look to see what Parisians were now in London and which of those people went back to Paris around the holidays, and that would narrow down the field of candidates quite a bit.

And considering that people would also be comparing moving dates with when Ladybug and Chat Noir vanished from Paris, that would really not be good. Maybe there weren't any active supervillains at the moment, but secrecy was always key. They didn't want any would-be supervillains knowing who they were and attacking them while they were off-guard to steal the Miraculous.

Five minutes later, the superheroes were still lying flat on the roof as Chat Noir listened. The girl and her mother were staying around, peering up at the roof. At one point Chat Noir peered over the ridge of the roof and spotted them aiming a flashlight up towards the roof, and he beat a hasty retreat back down to the safe side of the roof.

"Some people are just too persistent," Ladybug grumbled as they waited for the civilians to leave. "Ugh. If we hadn't changed into pajamas before transforming, I would just suggest jumping down and detransforming in an alley and just walking home."

"I think that might make tabloid front-page news if a reporter spotted us doing that," Chat Noir agreed. "Darn it I hate not being anonymous. No one would care if we were just random people. But nooo, the press has to practically work as a free pair of extra eyes for my father while I'm here."

"It is annoying," Ladybug agreed. "So, do you think that you'll stop modeling once you get a job in Physics? Surely the press attention would go away after a bit."

"Maybe, maybe not," Chat Noir told her. He shrugged. "My father is still famous, after all. That's why I'm even getting attention as a model in the first place. And I haven't decided on the modeling. It's a nice bit of extra income, but if my father won't let me scale it back when I'm in Paris, I might just flat-out quit." He grinned at her. "Well, quit Gabriel, at least. I wouldn't mind modeling your designs."

"You'll be the prettiest physicist in Paris," Ladybug teased. She reached over to rearrange his bangs in front of his face. "And the prettiest kitty, too."

Chat Noir grinned and opened his mouth, clearly about to respond, when his expression froze. His eyes darted towards the street below, and then he was tugging Ladybug's arm again, yanking her back up and over the roof ridge before flattening them both down again.

"Wha- Chat Noir?" Ladybug asked as Chat Noir listened intently. She glanced down at the street, but no one there was looking upwards. "What is it?"

"The kid and her mom decided to circle around to look at the other side," Chat Noir reported with a hiss. "I heard them right before they got all the way around. They aren't going to drop it easily." His ears flicked. "And- oh, shoot. They think they saw movement near the ridge, when we flipped over. They don't think it's superheroes, though. They think that there's robbers or something, and now they're going to the door to ask the people there if they know that there's people on the roof."

"We need to move, then," Ladybug decided. "Just keep low and get off this set of houses, and be super-careful for at least a couple blocks. I wish there were more clouds so the moon wasn't so bright, but we'll just have to work with it."

Chat Noir nodded. His ears flicked again as he listened to the conversation down below. "The people from the house are watching the other side now and the kid and her mom are coming back around again. Let's go."

Ladybug nodded, pushed herself up, and, keeping herself bent practically double, she sped over the rooftop. Chat Noir followed close behind, hissing instructions as he listened to the conversations behind them.

"Over the ridge," he instructed, and Ladybug kept herself close to the roof as she rolled to the other side and continued speedwalking. She glanced down at the street, and didn't see anyone looking up. She could still feel Chat Noir's tension as he followed her closely, so she had to guess that they weren't in the clear yet.

"Back over!"

Ladybug followed the instructions immediately. Chat Noir guided her to a section of the roof that was hidden from the rest of the street by a dormer jutting out so they could keep moving.

"If someone looks out of any of these things, we're done for," Chat Noir panted. There was a pause, and then he spoke up again, a grin in his voice. "That might be a little bit of an exaggeration. But Alya would be over here every weekend if she knew we were here, and there would be way too many people prying into our lives for my comfort."

Ladybug just nodded.

"They've called the neighbors," Chat Noir reported as they vaulted over another dormer. "So there might be more eyes. But they haven't spotted us again."

Even once they cleared a couple streets, they were still tense. They waited until there weren't any people on the sidewalk below before making the final jump onto Adrien's balcony and rushing inside.

"Well, that was unnecessarily stressful," Adrien said with a laugh as they detransformed. "We might want to not go to that area for a bit, though. And maybe we should stick to nights that are either overcast or don't have much in the way of a moon. We would have been fine if the moon hadn't been so bright."

"You would have been fine if you hadn't gone out at all," Plagg grouched, flopping on a pillow on the couch. "Unnecessary transformation. Ridiculous. I could have been eating cheese during that time."

"I think it's fun going out!" Tikki protested. "Maybe tonight didn't go as smoothly as usual, but it's nice to transform every once in a while even if we don't have a supervillain to fight."

"Maybe we should just stay in tomorrow," Marinette suggested. She had really been hoping to do another superhero stroll over the rooftops, but after tonight it would be a good idea to sit back and take a break. "We can bake something- maybe croissants or pain au chocolate, those both take a while- and watch movies while the dough chills. That would be relaxing, but we wouldn't have to worry about anything except burning the dough."

"That sounds like a plan," Adrien agreed. He smiled at her. "But right now- bedtime?"

"Hey!" Plagg protested, even as Marinette nodded. "What do you mean you're going to bed already? What about my midnight snack?"

  The rest of the weekend sped by in a flurry of design-avoiding activities, and then Adrien and Marinette both had to head back to work. Adrien slogged through the day, trying not to get distracted by a commotion happening in the rest of the office, and then took off almost as soon as he could at the end of the day. He arrived home from work to find Marinette hunched over her tablet at his kitchen table, frowning as she sketched out ideas for Jagged's CD cover. Several of her previous design attempts were printed out and spread out on the table around her, and she kept glancing over at one as she worked.

Adrien thought they all looked awesome, but Marinette was positive that there was something that just wasn't quite right.

"How's it going, love?" Adrien asked, setting his bag down and crossing the apartment to bend over and press a kiss to Marinette's head. He glanced down at the tablet and grinned. "That looks amazing, Marinette!"

"Thanks! I'm really liking this one," Marinette said, twisting around so she could properly press her lips to his. "I think this is it. It just fits the music so well!"

"I'm glad you're happy with it," Adrien replied with a smile. Then he frowned slightly. "How long have you been working on that? It looks almost complete."

"Oh, I salvaged chunks from some of these designs," Marinette assured him. "Most of this was just a matter of copy-paste and then some color changes so they would all tie in together. I've only been working on it for maybe half an hour at most, and I did some of the moving stuff from previous designs at lunch. I really only just got home."

That was a relief. For a moment there, Adrien had been worried that Marinette was pulling an Alya and neglecting her actual work for the commission.

"Having the break really helped, I think," Marinette continued as she went back to designing. "I felt like I could really just look at everything with new eyes. So thank you for that suggestion."

"No problem," Adrien assured her. "I'm just glad that you've gotten out of the designer's block. It didn't look like fun."

"Not at all," Marinette agreed. "And I wasn't helping things along at all by over-thinking it. So, how was your day?"

Adrien told her about the drama that had broken out in the office as Marinette drew and asked questions whenever he paused for breath. By the end of the story, she had to put her pen down as she laughed.

"I just guess that's the danger in hiring two brothers to work in the same office," Adrien finished. "I'd be surprised that they haven't been fired yet, because they apparently bring their family problems into the office a few times a year, but they're really good at what they do. I think people just learn to ignore it."

"I can't believe that a grown man would threaten to tell their mom on his brother," Marinette chortled. "And while they were at work, too. It's funny, but that's just so unprofessional."

"It makes things awkward, too," Adrien admitted. "I had a few forms I had to run by one of them, but he was still stewing about the fight and about the boss telling them off. And then it turned out that it was a form that his brother was partially responsible for, too, and that practically set him off again."

"Did they get things figured out, though?" Marinette asked, picking her pen back up again. "Like, they aren't going to be all ticked at each other all week, are they?"

Adrien just shrugged. He honestly had no idea. His colleagues hadn't told him that much. He was just a temporary worker, and was treated as such. "I really don't know. I don't think they'll explode like that again because the boss really did tell them off, but unless they resolve things out of the office it could still be awkward."

"Pity," Plagg piped up. "I thought the fight was funny. All I needed was some popcorn, and I'd have a proper show to watch."

Adrien just rolled his eyes at the kwami. Plagg had just liked the fight because it had meant that the brothers were too ticked at each other to notice that their sandwiches had both been strangely devoid of cheese at lunch, and the distraction of the fight itself had meant that only Adrien had noticed him slipping into the break room.

"I hope that they won't explode again while I'm there, though," Adrien said. He stood up and wandered towards the kitchen to see what was there to eat. They had made a large pot of stir-fry the previous day, but he didn't really feel like eating it again right away. "I didn't get as much done as I wanted because the fight was really distracting and then I was a bit rattled. I lost probably an hour of work."

"I'm sure your boss won't blame you for that," Marinette assured him. "You've been working super-hard all summer, and of course unprofessional working conditions are going to affect you. You can't churn out the same amount of work every day, that's just unrealistic."

"I suppose." Adrien ducked his head into the fridge. There were a lot of assorted leftovers, so maybe he should make shepherd's pie. That would be tasty. He started to gather up some of the things that he wanted to use. "I just don't like getting everything I wanted to get done finished."

"We don't do the same amount every day at Madam Rosalie's," Marinette continued. "I mean, if we have designer's block, then we might just spend the entire day whacking our heads against the desk until we get an idea. Or we can spend three days trying to re-draw the same skirt. I know office work isn't the same, but, like, not all forms are alike. Or something."

Adrien muffled a snicker at that.

"D'you want me to help?" Marinette asked ask Adrien started to wash up potatoes. She craned her neck to see what he was doing. "What are you making?"

"Shepherd's pie, and don't worry, I've got this," Adrien assured her. "If you're on a roll with the design, then keep at it. This isn't that difficult to make."

"Does it have cheese?" Plagg wanted to know as Adrien got to work chopping. He floated over Adrien's shoulder, peering at the potatoes and at the leftovers Adrien had pulled out. "I don't see any cheese."

Adrien sighed, headed back to the fridge, and pulled out a round of Camembert so he could cut off a chunk for Plagg. Once his kwami was taken care of and no longer hovering over his shoulders trying to steal from their dinner, Adrien went back to work.

In the living room, Tikki turned on Marinette's music player, and the sound of Jagged's demos filled the apartment. Adrien bobbed his head along to the beat as he worked, and it felt like practically no time at all before he was sliding the pie into the oven and setting the timer.

"Dinner in forty-five minutes," Adrien announced as he flopped back onto the couch. "...ah, bugger. I suppose I should have made a salad or something to go with that."

"Just toss some strawberries on a plate and call it a day," Marinette suggested. Adrien laughed.

"I was trying to be a responsible adult, Mari!" Adrien protested, but he couldn't help but grin. "I was trying to make sure that we got our vitamins and whatnot, but noo, someone is trying to persuade me to just throw that out the window."

"Fruit is healthy!"

Adrien just shook his head, grinning. Marinette was right, of course, and it would be easier to just wash a few berries and toss them on a plate, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to tease her about her lax approach to it.

Picking up his book, Adrien settled in on the couch. He opened it, but instead of reading he watched Marinette drawing at the table. Tikki danced around behind Marinette, prancing and twirling to the beat, and Marinette focused on her drawing. She looked gorgeous like this, relaxed and clearly enjoying herself as she designed. The summer dress she had picked out fit her perfectly, and it exposed her lovely freckled shoulders.

How Adrien had gotten so lucky to get such an amazing girlfriend, he didn't know. He could be himself around her without fear of rejection, the banter was amazing, and she was his best friend twice over. Marinette was brave and spirited and smart and creative, and she always ranged between cute and absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.

"Done!" Marinette announced. She turned around and grinned, holding up her tablet. "I love this! I'm saving it and then sending it to Jagged Stone right away for feedback."

"Congratulations!" Adrien exclaimed. He set his book aside (he hadn't read a word of it anyway) and crossed the room to examine the cover more closely. Like he had suspected from his earlier glimpse of the piece, it was absolutely stunning and had a play of colors that just made it pop. In his opinion, Jagged Stone would have to work super-hard to make the songs live up to the gorgeous cover's promise. "I'm sure Jagged will love it."

Marinette grinned. "He always does," she admitted. "He's never once had requests for changes of CD covers apart from that very first time, and that one hardly counts. I'm always glad when he likes what I did, especially since he never really gives me much direction."

"Right," Adrien agreed. He ducked down for a kiss. It lasted perhaps a little longer than strictly necessary, but then again there were absolutely no rules about limits on kissing time when the kissee was his girlfriend. Marinette leaned up to meet him, and Adrien deepened the kiss with a grin. It was an awkward angle, sure, but he wasn't about to let a little problem like a slightly sore neck (and a slight twinge in his back from being hunched in front of a computer all day) get in the way of his kissing.

"I'm looking forward to having my evenings free again," Marinette admitted once they separated. "I mean, I know I tended to kind of low-key design before when ideas came to me, but it was stuff for myself and I didn't feel like there was any sort of rush. And I like having commissions, but this one just took longer than I expected. Having done several covers for Jagged before hurt rather than helped, I think, because it's harder to come up with something different than what I've done for him before."

Adrien opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the timer in the kitchen going off and he glanced over at it with a frown. Was it time to take the pie out of the oven already? He must have spent more time staring at Marinette than he had thought.

Ah, well, it was time well spent.

Adrien headed off to the kitchen to pull the shepherd's pie out of the oven to cool slightly as Marinette quadruple-saved her design and then saved a copy in a file that she could send to Jagged Stone for approval. By the time their dinner had cooled enough to dig in without burning their mouths, Jagged had sent an email back singing her praises.

"Well, he's definitely happy," Adrien laughed, passing Marinette her plate. "Congrats, Bug. That's a job well done for sure."

[sonofadeanwinchester]

Friends

Summary:  Your parents think that you've been dating Tom for the past three years but when it comes to you going home for your brother's wedding, he assumes you're going to take your ex-boyfriend, Tommy.

Words: 3900

Tom Holland x Reader

A/N 

 Y/F/N = Your Full Name Y/N = Your Name Y/N/N = Your NickName Y/L/N = Your Last Name

Tom flopped down on my couch and sighed. He picked up the TV remote flicking through channels. "What should we get to eat?"

I shrugged, twisting my hair back. "What do you want?"

He chewed his lip. "Chips?"

I cocked a brow, "like chips? Like Ruffles or Lays?"

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "Uh, fries."

I snapped my fingers as if it just dawned on me. "Of course, fries."

He smiled, "I forget that I'm not in England at the moment."

I lazed down beside him, shifting so my legs onto his lap. "Nope. You're in the good old U S of Canada."

He laughed, running a hand through his curly locks. "That makes no sense."

I scrunched my nose and stuck my tongue out. "It does it me."

"Mhmm. So fries?" He ran a hand over my clothed leg.

I shrugged, "I guess so."

He sighed, throwing his head back against the couch. "You don't want fries."

"I never said that, Tom."

He furrowed his brow, "we've been best friends for almost three years, I know when you don't want something and right now, you don't want fries."

"Well, young Thomas, I could really go for some pizza right now but if you want fries, then fries it is." I saluted to him.

I scoffed, "I'm only two years younger than you."

I laughed, or snickered. "Two years is a lot."

"You're right. Cause while I'm young, you're an old lady."

"Shut up." I laughed.

Tom sucked back the fries like they were going to be his last meal. "Jesus Tom, did you even taste them?"

He shoved the final one into his mouth and smiled, his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. "Of course."

I nodded at my food, showing I still had half a container full. "So."

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "So."

"My brother's getting married in two weeks."

"Right, did you tell them that you and Tommy broke up?"

I chewed my lip. "So, here's the thing-."

"You didn't tell them."

I made a face, "they didn't really know I was seeing Tommy."

He snorted, "meaning?"

"Meaning that they think I've been dating you for the last three years."

He choked on his drink and he shook his head. "What?"

I nodded, "as far as they know, I've been dating a big time actor named Tom Holland for the past three years. I have all the pictures with us together for proof and all the times we've hung out when they called."

He shut his eyes, running a hand through his locks again. "So, let me get this straight. Your parents, who I've never actually met, think that you've been dating me instead of your actual boyfriend?"

I nodded, raising a brow. "Sounds right."

"So let me guess? I have to go to the wedding with you, act like we've been dating for three years and not tell your parents that I'm your best friend?"

I pouted, bringing out my best puppy dog eyes. "You'd be a life saver."

I sighed, "it's a good thing I'm done shooting for the next two months."

"Is that a yes?"

He shook his head, "only because you're my best friend!"

I reached across the table and hugged him long and tight. "You're amazing."

He chuckled, "it's been said."

TWO WEEKS LATER

We were two hours into our six hour flight when Tom glanced at me, "so we have to make sure this is convincing, you know."

I nodded, "I know Tom."

He smiled, "I'm an actor, like an actual actor. Like it's what I do for a living."

"Yes Tom, I know." I chuckled as I tried focusing on my book.

"How long have we've been dating?"

I sighed, "three years, two months, six days and let's say three hours."

"That's pretty precise."

I scoffed, "you haven't met my parents."

He nodded, chewing his cheek. "The good thing, I guess, is that they don't know much about me."

I nodded. "You're right."

"So, let's go over what you need to kno-."

"Your name is Thomas Stanley Holland. You were born June 1 1996 in Kingston. You have three younger brothers. Sam and Harry are twins and Patrick is eight years younger than you. Your mother is a photographer and your father is an author and comedian." I said monotone as I focused on my book.

He snuffed, "fair enough. How did we meet?"

I turned my eyes to look at his brown ones. "Whatta mean?"

"I mean, are we gonna tell them the true story of how we met or are we gonna fake it?"

I shrugged, "the truth is nice. We met one night you were roaming around New York in the wee hours of the morning and became fast friends from then."

He nodded, "fast friends." I clicked his tongue. "What was our first date?"

I chewed my lip. "I don't know, you're the romantic."

He chuckled, "very well. I picked you up around seven, I drove you to the qaint little eatery where I had rented out the entire building. We ate salmon and veggies and then shared a huge piece of chocolate cake."

I nodded, closing my book, realizing that he wasn't about to stop anytime soon. "That's sounds ... really nice, actually."

He smiled, a rose color filling his cheeks. "Good."

I sighed, "okay. What do you know about me?"

He cleared his throat, winking. "Your name is (Y/F/N). You were born in Canada. Your parents moved to New York when you were fourteen. You studied at NYU for two years. You are allergic to cats but love dogs. Which is why I like you by the way, you're so good with Tessa." He wiggled his brows. "You have three brother and a sister. Your father is a carpenter and your mother is an interior decorator."

I nodded, "very good."

A few moments passed before he spoke again. "Are we planning on getting married?"

I shook my head, shocked my his question. "What?"

He raised his brows. "Us, as a couple, do we plan on getting married?"

I shrugged, "I guess so. Down the road, maybe."

"Do you think I should propose?"

"Jesus Tom, what the hell?"

He shrugged, "you don't wanna marry me?"

"Tom! We're not even really dating!"

He huffed, "I know that." His words came out soft.

I sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm just nervous about you meeting my parents and-."

He smiled, reaching his hand to rest on my knee as if he'd done that a thousand times before. "It's gonna be fine."

I laughed, "did I mention my dad hates accents?"

We landed at the airport where my brother and his fiancee were holding a sign reading my name. I ran towards Logan and hugged him tightly. Tom followed close behind but gave us our space. We said our hellos, I hugged Grace and congratulated her again on getting married soon. Logan kissed my cheek and smiled. "You must be Tommy."

Tom sighed, smiling. "I usually go by Tom, but yeah, that's me."

Logan chuckled, "British?"

"Uh yeah. London."

I went to Tom's side and laced our fingers together, leaning into his shoulder. "Baby, are you hungry?"

Tom made a face and then chuckled, "I'm starving."

Logan wrapped an arm around Grace and he nodded. "We could eat somewhere if you'd like."

I nodded, squeezing Tom's hand. "We should grab some pizza."

Tom laughed, "only because we had fries last night."

---

We sat around a table and shoveled pizza into our faces. Logan wiped his mouth and smiled, wrapping a arm around Grace's chair. "So, Tom. How did you and my sister meet?"

Tom nodded, chuckling. "We met one night when I was roaming around New York randomly."

Logan smirked, "drinking?"

Tom shook his head, "I had just landed. I flew in from Japan and the time difference messed me up, couldn't sleep."

Grace smiled, "so Tom. You're an actor?"

I smiled, kissing his cheek. "Tommy here is a good actor."

Tom flushed pink, "I try."

Logan snapped his fingers. "Dude! You're the new Spider-Man, that's where I've seen you before."

He smirked, "One of the best things that has happened to me was landing that role. The first here was falling in love with (Y/N)."

This motherfucker was smooth.

I blushed and cleared my throat. "So Grace, are you all set for tomorrow?"

She laughed, kissing my brother's cheek. "I certainly hope so! I'm so happy you were able to make it."

I smiled as leaned into Tom's side, it seemed so natural. "Of course, Logan is my brother and you're his fiancee. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Logan smiled, taking a long drink. "I guess we're lucky that Tom got some time off."

Tom laughed, "well, I'm finished shooting for a while now."

My phone started buzzing in my pocket. "Hello?"

My mother's excited voice squealed from the other end. "(Y/N), my darling, how are you? Have you landed yet? Is Logan and Gracie with you? Please tell me you've brought that secret boyfriend of yours along."

I laughed nervously, "Hi mom." Tom's eyes grew wide and I winked at him. "I'm doing fine. We landed about an hour ago, we stopped for food. Logan and Grace are with me and he's not my secret boyfriend, he has a name."

She laughed, light and fluttery. "Well, Missy, please get your butt home so I can hug your cute little face and meet this special boy."

I sighed, "of course mom."

She gasped, "can I speak with Tom?"

I shook my head, "what?"

"Can I speak with Tom?" She repeated.

I chewed my cheek, "he's actually gone to the washroom at the moment."

Tom made a face and pointed at his chest. I nodded.

My mother sighed, "okay, well then, I guess I can wait till you get here to meet him."

I sighed, relief filling me. "Okay, see you soon."

Grace stood, fixing her skirt and smiled. "Well, we're ready to go if you are. We'll go grab the car and bring it around for you two."

I nodded and smiled, "sounds good, thank you."

When they were gone, Tom sighed and slumped into his chair. "That was terrifying."

I laughed, "you're right, it was but it's about to get so much worse."

"Parent time?" Tom made a face as he asked.

I nodded, "parent time."

The ride to my parents house was awkward. Grace and Logan sat up front while Tom and I were in the back seat. Tom kept his hand on my thigh as if to reassure himself that we were dating. Grace kept smiling at me and commenting on the weather. "I hope it's this beautiful tomorrow."

I chuckled, "I'm sure it will be lovely. You're going to make a beautiful bride."

She chewed her lip, blushing. "Thank you!"

We pulled into the long drive way, coming to slow stop near the house. Logan jumped out, opening the door for Grace and then grabbing our suitcases. Tom stepped out and smiled. "I got it, thank you though."

Logan nodded, "okay. See you inside, bro." He patted Tom's back and grabbed Grace's hand.

I sighed and leaned into Tom's chest as my parents came rushing out the front door. "(Y/N)!"

My mother all but ran to my side and hugged me tight. "Hello, mother."

My father kissed my cheek and winked at me. "Welcome home kiddo."

Michelle, my mother, turned and eyed Tom. "Well, Tom, aren't you a handsome young man."

He chuckled nervously, lacing our fingers together. "Thank you, Ma'am."

She chuckled, "(Y/N), you never mentioned he was British."

I nodded, "surprise, my British boyfriend."

Tom laughed and kissed my temple. "I'm just a boyfriend, really."

Michelle hugged him tight and my father shook his hand. "Nice to finally meet the young man that's captured my daughter's heart."

Tom nodded, "nice to finally meet the man who raised the love of my life into such a beautiful young woman, Sir."

My dad, Ralph, laughed. "Smooth."

Tom smiled, "saying nothing but the truth Sir."

Just then, the three younger siblings came running out. Lucas, being the youngest at four, ran to my side and hugged my tightly. "Hey, buddy!"

The other two, Kohen and Josie, seven and nine, hugged me once tightly and stepped back beside my parents. I kissed Lucas's cheek and smiled. "Guys, this is my boyfriend, Tom."

Kohen made a face, "do you play on movies?"

Tom nodded, "I sure do buddy."

Josie smiled, blushing. "You play Peter Parker."

Tom smiled, nodding again. "Yes, I do."

Kohen's eyes grew wide, "can you show me how to do that flip thing?"

Tom looked at me and I shrugged, "go play, Love."

Tom kissed my cheek and ran away with my younger siblings.

I followed my parents into the house and smiled as I watched my best friend flip around with the three treasures in my life.

My mother smiled, sitting on the couch. "Tom seems like a lovely man."

"He's a sweetheart."

Ralph smiled, "he seems young."

I nodded, "he's two years younger than me."

He made a face, "so that makes hi-."

Tom entered the room, "I'm twenty one sir."

My mother smiled, "are your family in the United States Tom?"

He shook his head, "no, they're back in England."

He sat beside me on the couch opposite from my parents, wrapping a arm around my shoulders. "You have a big family?"

He shrugged, "I suppose so. I have three younger brothers."

My mother clapped her hands, "both from big families! You know, (Y/N) has always dreamed of marrying a man that comes from a big family."

"Mom, stop, come on."

She waved me away. "Do you think there is marriage involved?"

Tom shrugged, kissing my hair. "One day down the road, I'm sure. I'd love you marry your daughter."

Ralph smirked, "when you're a little older, right?"

Tom laughed, "of course. Twenty one is quite young to get married and start a family."

Michelle smiled, "especially with your career blooming."

Tom nodded, "I'm very blessed with where I am right now, life and career wise."

I looked at my watch, it was a little past eleven. I yawned as if on cue. Tom smiled, "time for bed, Love?"

I nodded, "I think so." I stood, dragging Tom up behind me, kissing my parents cheeks before heading upstairs. "See you in the morning."

"So, are we gonna sleep in the same bed or...?" Tom sat on the floor, his shirt removed and only jogging pants.

I shrugged, removing my shirt to reveal a tank top. I crawled under the blankets. "I don't care."

Tom sighed, "no funny business."

I scoffed, "Thomas Stanley, it is you who I should be saying that too."

He made a face, "why?"

"What was with all the kissing today?"

He shrugged, "we're suppose to be dating for a decent amount of time. Couples like that are touchy and show affection. If you want me to stop, then I will."

I shook my head, "I never asked you to stop."

He winked, crawling in beside me. "Good, cause I wasn't going to."

The kids busted into our bedroom around seven am, screaming at the top of their lungs. "Wake up! It's the wedding day!"

I shifted but kept my head underneath the pillow. Tom wasn't beside me, and his spot was cold. My sister chuckled, "Tom went out for a run about an hour ago."

I sighed, nodding. "Thank you, Josie."

Kohen stripped me of my blankets and revealed my tank top and short bottoms. "Ugh, Kohen, it's cold!"

He laughed as Lucas crawled up in bed beside me. "I'll keep you warm, sissy."

I kissed his cheek as Tom entered the room. His hair was covered with a hat and his headphones hung from one ear. He smiled at me, sweat had formed a fine layer onto his face and chest. "Lucas, that's my job buddy."

Lucas made a face, "you're not her husband."

Tom shook his head, "no, you're right, I'm not. Can you cuddle her then?"

Lucas's face beamed as he snuggled in closer to me. "Of course."

My mother came up the stairs, her hair in curlers and her makeup freshly done. "Good morning, love birds. Tom, why are sweaty?"

I chuckled, standing and stretching. I walked to his side, kissing his cheek. "He likes to go for runs in the mornings."

Tom nodded, kissing my hair. "It helps keep my thoughts at bay and it helps with the Spider-Man physique."

I chuckled, "I like the Spider-Man physique."

My mother's face reddened. "Okay, well, Ralph is downstairs fixing up some breakfast if you would like some. Make sure you're both ready to leave by noon, please." She started to walk away. "Oh and Tom, the spare bathroom is at the end of the hallway, there is towels in the drawers. I'm sure Logan left some body wash in their from the last visit."

He smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

As mother scooted the kids out of the room, Tom started stripping his running clothes. "I didn't know you went for a run every morning."

Tom laughed, his face confused. "You didn't?"

I shook my head. "No, you've never actually stayed at my apartment before."

He shrugged, "fair enough. I'll be back, babe, gotta shower the stink away."

---

Noon time came around and everyone was shuffling around like they were chickens without heads. My mother fought with the children to fix their hair and get them dressed fully. My father had finished dressing and was now helping my brother with his tuxedo. Grace and her bridesmaids have left early that morning to get ready. My mother had asked me to go with them and I declined, "I'm not one of the bridesmaid's mom."

She shook her head, "and that is something I will never understand."

I huffed, "she's the bride, she can choose. I don't mind, really."

Tom had kissed my temple, "I'm gonna get changed, babe."

Half an hour later, Tom came out of the bedroom dressed in dark pants, paired with a navy blue suit jacket and a crisp white shirt. "Damn, you clean up well."

He chuckled, "this old thing?" He winked as he fixed his hair.

Michelle stepped into the bedroom and leaned against the door frame. "I cannot wait till I have to do this all over for you two."

My face reddened as I fixed my makeup, brushing some lipstick across my lips. "Mother, come on."

Tom laughed, coming closer to me and hugging me from behind. "I'm sure that day will come sometime."

Michelle's eyes welled up with tears. "You two are just adorable. Tom you look positively handsome."

He smiled, "thank you Michelle, you look beautiful."

She laughed, "my hair is still up in curlers, Tom."

He shrugged, "beautiful all the same."

She walked away, rolling her eyes as blush filled her cheeks. I snorted, "you maybe wanna calm down on sucking up to my mother. She likes you."

He shrugged, "your mother is a beautiful lady."

"Maybe you should date her instead."

He laughed, taking a step back. "Maybe I will."

"Now leave so I can get dressed, Thomas."

He winked at turned away, "by the way, I changed your dress to match me."

I gasped, "you what?"

"I know you packed that dark red one but it didn't really go with my outfit so I took the liberty of buying you a new one to match me."

I laughed, shaking my head. "You better have not fucked this up, Thomas."

He winked again, "just look, Love."

I turned to my dress bag and zipped it down. There was a beautiful navy dress. I slipped it onto my body and admired it in the full length mirror. It stopped just above my knee and flowed out backwards. It was sleeveless and had a silk belt wrapped around the middle. I teared up and Tom appeared in the frame again. "You look beautiful."

"Shut up but good choice on the dress."

He winked and my mother called up the steps. "I hope you two lovelies are ready because we are leaving." She sang the last few words.

Grace had turned this little garden into some of fairytales. It was absolutely stunning. Tom held my hand was we walked up to find some seats. Across the walkway from me was an old friend of my brothers and an old flame of mine back in high school. As Tom talked to my mother about some of the new projects he was working on, TJ slipped across the way and stood in front of me. "Well, hello (Y/N)."

I smiled at him and fished around for Tom's fingers. "Hello, TJ."

He was tall with dark hair and bright blue eyes. His smirk ever so present. "You look beautiful, as always."

I laughed, "right because that's what you said in high school."

He shrugged it away, "high school was forever ago. You've changed, I've changed. All of us have changed, (Y/N/N)."

I sighed and pouted, "you're right, we have all changed. TJ, have you met my boyfriend Tom."

At his Tom spun around and smiled. He stood, offering his free hand. "Nice to meet you..."

TJ laughed, "TJ, I'm an old friend of Logan's."

Tom nodded, "nice to meet you."

"Did (Y/N) ever mention that we use to date in high school?"

Tom chuckled, "she's mentioned briefly about a guy who broke her heart as he cheated on her with her best friend."

TJ stuck his tongue in his cheek and I smirked. "Oh, but we've all changed TJ, right?"

He smiled but his eyes were fixated on Tom's. "Is your last name by any chance Holland?"

"It is yeah."

TJ snickered, "and how did you ever manage to hitch yourself to her?"

Tom stood to his, coming to the same height as TJ. "I love her very much. I'm lucky to have such a beautiful woman to hold at night."

TJ licked his lips and scoffed, "you may be holding her at night but she's held every guy in New York."

I stood, stepping between the men. "TJ, fuck you. Go sit down, I don't even know why Logan invited you."

He laughed, "perhaps it's because Grace is my younger sister?"

My jaw dropped and he snarled. "Have a good life (Y/N), nice to meet you Tom. Keep up the good work." He winked and slipped back into the crowd.

Tom shook his head and sighed. "What a fucking moron."

I chewed my lip, "you didn't believe him about the New York guy thing, right?"

He shrugged, "why should I? I'm not really your boyfriend so should I care?"

The hurt. It felt like a punch to the gut. "Because you're my best friend."

He shrugged, "I can't stop you from sleeping with every guy in the city."

I scoffed, "so you do believe him then?"

Tom raised a hand and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know, (Y/N). He seemed pretty legit."

"Okay, I'm going to sit with-” I glanced around, “anyone other than you."

Tom sighed, "come on, Love. Don't be like th-."

"Tom, just don't." I slunk away from his grasp and marched to the back of the chairs, sitting beside a stranger.

Tags: @221bshrlocked

[regularbeans]

Alright, we sold the house.

This is a post about that house.

Last time I was in that house was on the day of my grandma’s funeral and I remember my mum kept having to go back to pack her stuff and pack out and bring stuff home and she kept having to sleep there because taking the bus there and back on several consecutive days was just a waste of money and I still don’t know how she did it, I couldn’t have.

I said this back when we talked about what would become of that house and I said the house wasn’t the house because of the house, it was the house because of my grandma. And it’s true, it just didn’t feel the same without her but I guess that’s the same with most things that belong together.

I have very old memories of that house. I remember playing there as a really small, tiny kid, with my cousin, my uncle’s son, who for some reason said he’s going to marry me (I don’t think either of us knew what marrying meant, we were like four). I remember the dog, Pepi, the chicken in the back of the yard. I remember these two (then three) neighbour girls I became friends with through the fence, how I kept hanging out with them despite being much older and going over to their place to hang out and they would literally cling onto my waist and I’d carry them around and they were my “holsters”.

For a really long time I had no real idea of just how big the backyard was. It was basically a vineyard and there was this big tree and some junk in the back. I never really played there much, there was this weird bush with some weird fruit on it my mum loves, I think my mum called it gooseberry but I remember small black fruit. Anyway. I stole something when I was in elementary school and I buried it there then I dug it up and broke it with a stone so there would be no evidence left #genius

My grandma was a hairdresser all her life, and she had a salon behind the house. I just picture the door opening and hearing the chatter inside, of old ladies, of the hairdryer, the water flowing in the sink. The smell of hair products, my grandma standing with her hand pressed against her aching back, holding her tools in her other, her hair up in a bun. There were all these old ladies there...

On the mirror was a piece of paper of her prices and I remember I wrote it on our computer in our old house and I remember our ő (or one of the accented letters) was broken at the time (I think I spilled juice on the keyboard) so I left a space where it was supposed to be that letter and she handwrote those. Now I got mad that I don’t remember which letter it was. Maybe á? There was a lot of that latter on there. Now I’m... really angry... I don’t remember. I spent so much time looking at it and I can’t remember.

I loved it when she washed my hair though she was kind of harsh, and it wasn’t very comfortable under my neck but I liked the warmth of the water. I had my hair dyed blonde there in 2012 for the first time, the bleach stung so much. It also took me a long time to find out the salon had a bigger back area with the boiler and so much old crap she horded over the years.

I remember wanting my hair done all the time but not wanting to sit in those chairs for ages. I loved playing with the curlers, put them on my fingers, pretend I had curlers as fingers. There was so much stuff there...

There was a mosquito net door on everything because my grandma was allergic to bees. There was one on the entrance of the house too but there was a square cut in it so we could reach in and unlock this lock... thing... that was on it. The inside door, the real door was barely closed during summers which is when we were there most of the time. I don’t think we ever met my grandma inside the kitchen when we visited her, she always came outside to greet us, that’s where we hugged and kissed, and she would already be cooking something inside, listening to the radio, always the same channel, some old Hungarian thing with classical music and weird religious programmes. I always thought she smelled like a dentist, I don’t know where I got that from, it’s not true.

I was barely in the pantry but there was always so much food there. That’s where I found out you can keep the bread in the fridge. I never liked any of the fruit juices she brought or made. Sorry.

One of the bathrooms opened from the kitchen as well with this huge ass boiler but I remember bathing in that room only once or twice. It was exciting, I don’t know why. The toilet had this flusher that was weird, you had to kind of hold it and wait for a specific noise to let go otherwise it didn’t flush properly.

The kitchen table was close to the door to the living room and a chair always stood in the way, that was usually my place during meals. One time my grandma had this cat, Mici(?), and she kept playing with our feet under the table. My mum hates cats so she didn’t like it but I loved it. When she died my grandma kept luring cats to the yard. She would cuss them out for being so needy but I think she liked having cats to talk to.

The two rooms were otherwise separated by an ENORMOUS ceiling-high tiled stove. My grandma was always very skinny so she got very cold all the time, the air was BOILING HOT during winters.

In the living room where my grandma slept was where the Christmas tree would be set up. The door to the real living room that was this really cold, tiled ~middle room always covered the TV if it was open but when the stove was on she always wanted that door open so the warmth would spread to the whole house. That was the only TV in the house and I remember always wanting to wake up early on the weekends so I could watch the morning cartoons. So often I fell asleep again while watching them. For some reason I remember watching Hungarian talent shows there. And the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony. There weren’t too manny channels on it so we only gathered together there if there was a good movie going otherwise it would just be her and my mum watching telly.

That middle room thing wasn’t exciting. There was a huge dining table there but I remember eating there only once or twice when something fancy happened or when my grandma had guests over? Very rarely. She kept her plants there because it was a cold room but it had a huge window wall so the plants would get a lot of sunlight.

My keyboard was set up there sometimes. God we used to haul my keyboard over there holy shit...

One door from there led to the second toilet that was just a small cubicle with one toilet. For a huge chunk of time it didn’t work properly so if we wanted to go in the middle of the night we had to go through the living room, where my grandma was sleeping, and sneak past her without waking her up, then go potty in the kitchen bathroom. She would close the door then so she could see the TV and that door was NOISY. For the longest time this ashtray stand kept the door slightly ajar but it was made of metal and the ashtray was removable so when you had to move it it required a special set of skills to not make any noise with it, holy shit, I felt like a ninja every time.

When the second toilet got fixed I went there to write my diary in the middle of the night for some reason. There were a LOT of spiders there. 

There was a second bathroom there. The stupidest thing but I can’t remember if I liked that bathroom or not. The sink and the mirror were behind the door and the boiler was above the bathtub and I was always so scared it would fall on me. I don’t remember taking baths there I usually showered. There was a colour-changing toothbrush there. And a small space next to the bathroom, I was once playing hide-and-seek with the neighbour girls and I remember crouching there and putting a towel on myself and I pretended to be a pile of clothes, they didn’t actually find me, I shit you not :D

There was this bedroom opening from the ~middle room that we never used. It was a guest room but my grandma usually kept composts there and aspic cause since nobody used that room it didn’t require heating. Fucking aspic addicts both her and my mum. That’s so weird, why would anybody like aspic, it’s jelly soup, ew.

There was another bedroom opening from there, a smaller one with just one bed. That also had a TV now that I think about it. My mum slept there once my sister became too sensitive to her snoring but I also remember sleeping there sometimes. The neighbour girls were always trying to wake me up in the mornings by calling through the window so I would come play with them. It was endearing until I grew up. 

The last bedroom was the one where we slept in, quite a big one with one bed and another couch-thing-bed where my sister and I slept. There used to be no divide between them and I could just sprawl across my sister but then my grandma rearranged them (I still don’t know how that worked) and there was this wooden divide between them to my sister’s biggest joy and to my biggest disappointment x) I still found a way though. I think there used to be a telly in there but it either never worked or she took it out of there quickly. I’m positive there used to be a telly there.

A perfect place for the floor is lava ngl.

Then once we had laptops I remember spending so much time there... just hanging out and stuff. I remember getting to know so much music there, and just this feeling of freedom and not having to School and Life. My bag used to go right next to the bed in the corner and it was like my little kingdom, nobody could go there, I did whatever I wanted with my little corner, especially hide chocolate and candy there. We all had our own armchairs and everything had its place, whenever we arrived we’d just automatically settle in, like home. I remember when I once slept in the proper bed, I took my stuffed lion lazy, who has a hand-hole in it for puppet reasons, and I put a bunch of clementines inside her and snuck them inside the bedroom and ate them while pretending to be asleep. I don’t know why but it felt like an important mission.

There was some embroidery of a naked woman in that room, I still don’t know why. Also a very pretty drawing my grandma made of a classy woman and her classy hairdo. She was a really good drawer. Once I had my “better phone” that still wasn’t a smart phone there was this drawing app on it and she could draw well even on that.

Anyway, even though the house is on some small street in the butt outskirts of the town whenever the garbage truck came it was loud as fuck. I loved it, for some reason.

I used to have this habit of praying before falling asleep there. No idea why, I just remember praying there.

Outside the house but still in the yard was a pavement, and in the cement is a handprint that belongs to my uncle when he was a little boy. My grandma made this artificial pond out of a huge basin in her front garden. I was always scared of the frogs that would be there but the lilies were very pretty. Her garden was always very pretty, she slaved away in that garden, it was always beautiful. I remember a peach tree but not much else. I don’t think there was a cherry tree.

Outside on the street, I remember this one winter the road was really slippery and we just kept sliding up and down. I love that street. Whenever we would arrive from a night out we’d look at the sky and my sister would like, take note of all the stars and constellations and we would see the huge floodlights from downtown clubs reaching up to the clouds. They stopped one year, maybe they closed that one specific place that did this, I don’t know.

The walk back home from downtown was Long. Especially with a full belly, sometimes I would get so nauseated. I remember in 2008 when the Olympics happened my sister and my mum narrated my rush back home before I threw up like I was one of the Hungarian swimming champions, it was really cool.

Because everything in town was so far, leaving the house was serious business. Even when we just went to the store (and I usually didn’t, it was my mum and my grandma’s morning routine, the daily pilgrimage to the store) if you left something at home it stayed there. And because it was so far we didn’t leave for anything that was shorter than the walk there and back.

I hated the walk but counting the perpendicular streets was fun. Jánoskert, Petőfi (with the ice cream place, we always stopped for an ice cream on the way there), Gárdonyi (apparently there was a playground there and I remember going there once but maybe I imagined it), Báthori, Dobó, and a long walk to the main street there. There was a bookstore close to the main street and I always imagined I would once buy it and make my own store... I don’t remember what I was going to sell but it was going to be nice.

Then the another smaller street with the cabs... then crossing the train tracks, past the train station... good god...

 Luckily there was always a lot of things to do in town. Once we got there this main square with the fountain was full of people and stores and vendors, it was so much fun even though we never bought too much stuff because we weren’t exactly tourists. I would always daydream about having infinite money and buying everything though.

There was this arcade we used to go to when I was little, playing fighting games and riding a jetski, it was really cool. I think we stopped being able to afford it when I got bigger. There was this small cinema too that I was always really excited to go to though it never really had that many movies. It was just the one room, the one building with one movie at a time. It was open air too and right beside the train tracks so from time to time the movie would be drowned out by trains passing by. We watched Mamma Mia there.

I discovered a birthmark behind my ear during that movie and I thought it was cancer.

Don’t ask why I remember that.

There was this place there called Nádas, very popular though slightly out of sight, you had to go behind another store to get there, we Loved going there. I think not one summer passed when we didn’t go there. I always got the same thing, most of the time. When we were smaller there used to be these like, these things you could sit on, put in some coins and you could ride like a unicorn or something. That was the shit. I loved that place... god we spent so much time there.

Going further down the road was where the Wine Week would be organised every year. It was cool when it happened when we were there, it meant MORE VENDORS AND MORE SHIT WE COULDN’T BUY. Also sometimes there would be performers on this huge area to the right of the road.

I don’t remember the last time we got to go to the beach. The weather wasn’t always right, my grandma wasn’t always in the best shape and we didn’t spend that much time there anymore especially after she got difficult. But I loved the beach. There was this huge tree in the middle that most people were aiming for so back in the days we used to set out really early to get a spot there. I don’t quite remember the shore right now... but I remember the slides that I went down on once. We even went to the not-free beach once, I went down the slide there. There was this spinny changing room there. It didn’t have a door it was just a spiral so if you went around enough you were inside and nobody could see in or out. That was fun.

I listened to a lot of music there. Ironically, Nobody’s Listening by Linkin Park comes to mind but... there was a Lot of music there. We ate a LOT of corn too. And ice creams... we tried not to go potty there but sometimes we had to and I hated going cause the floor of the bathrooms were muddy from the wet sand...

We used to watch the August 20th fireworks there. We used to be so close I’d have to duck for fear they would fall on my head. Then we never went that far anymore for fireworks alone and we no longer stayed for one or two weeks.

We used to walk back home then both my grandma and my mum got older so we usually took the cab but most of the cabbies knew my grandma so we got cheaper fares. Once when we walked home my mum and I had to pee so much we actually went in a park. It was dark, don’t worry... I also almost threw up next to the kindergarten. Then my stomach hurt so much my mum thought my appendix burst but it didn’t.

I used to be so sad when we had to leave. It’s a little bitter feeling but once it got difficult to spend more time with my grandma it got easier to leave so maybe it’s lucky that happened so the change isn’t that huge. But it still hurts.

Because we no longer belong there.

I’m going to miss that house.

[imaginetonyandbucky]

Helping Hands

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five| Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve | Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen: Near At Hand

With Lewis’s advice in mind (“Don’t overwhelm the man with big gestures”) Tony had asked, impulsively, what Bucky wanted to do for a date. After they’d stopped making out on his workstation like horny teenagers. Which had involved Tony having to adjust his slacks a few times, because… yeah. 

Despite not liking the phrase, Tony had to admit, Lewis was right. Tony was slumming it. He’d never dated so far outside of his own social circles. Not that most of his best people didn’t come from less than extravagant backgrounds. Lewis herself had worked at a pet shelter, and Pepper had been the executive assistant for a CEO cretin who’d been sexually harassing her. Of course, Ty Stone was a paparazzi and gossip-monger, with a side-order of high-end blackmailer, so obviously people from all walks of life had an equal opportunity to be assholes. 

But mostly, Tony had dated in his social circle, or close to it. Business moguls and the daughters of industry barons, actors and politicians’ sons. A few models. The lead singer of a Top 40 band. And the people, like Ty, who hung on the edge of that crowd. People whose idea of a spectacular date included jetting to Paris or walking the red carpet or blowing a hundred grand in a casino, chasing Lady Luck. 

Bucky had turned adorably shy and asked if they might go to dinner and catch a show on Broadway and had apologized as if the idea was too extravagant, too expensive. 

Tony sent off a quick text to Pepper, asking what shows SI currently had tickets for -- they kept a small bank of seats on reserve at most of the major theaters for the purposes of wining and dining important vendors and partners, or as rewards for enterprising employees -- and discovered that Bucky had never actually been to a live Broadway performance in his life, which just seemed a shame. Concerts, yeah -- and Tony teased him into admitting that he’d been in a band himself, back in high school, though obviously losing an arm made playing guitar a little difficult -- and a few grade-school plays where Steve had played second Octopus, but not one of the full-overboard high theatrics spectacles, like Cats or Hamilton.   

“Wicked, Cirque du Soleil, or Hamilton?” Tony asked, as Pepper returned his text. “Oh, and seats at Balthazar’s for dinner, excellent.”

[Read more here, mobile users be aware]

 Bucky blinked. “How did you do that?” 

Tony waggled his phone. “I have a personal assistant for a reason. And that reason is to make my life easier and save more time for sciencing. Or, you know, partying. Same thing, really. Just I try to science with less booze. It’s safer.” 

“Hmm,” Bucky answered, then leaned over and kissed Tony’s cheek. “Thanks. What time should I be ready?” 

Tony checked the itinerary Pepper had updated for him as soon as they were done texting. “Dinner’s at 6, so, 5:30?” 

“Sounds great,” Bucky said. 

“I don’t get another kiss?” Tony asked, plaintive. 

“After the date, Tony,” Bucky teased. “Wouldn’t want you to think I’m easy, would I?” 

While Tony tried to pick his way through that minefield, Bucky left the lab, the traces of his laughter hanging in the air. 

Tony walked into the living room and Bucky stood up from where he was lounged against the couch. For someone who’d never owned a suit before -- his dress uniform did not count, Bucky had protested -- he wore it well. James Bond in training. 

Bucky also apparently had two entirely different personalities. There was the angry-sullen Bucky that he’d given to Christine for the photo shoot, expressions that made it look like he was considering the shortest route to cutting your heart out, and then there was this one. The date-Bucky, which Tony had nearly forgotten in the last, heart-rending, weeks. The one with the wide, delighted, set-the-room-on-fire smile and dancing blue eyes and quick, loose-limbed gestures. The one who’d kissed Tony stupid and then admitted to being completely overwhelmed. 

And damn, he looked fine in that suit. Tony wanted nothing more than to take Bucky out and show him off, then bring him home and peel him out of that suit. Slowly. With great attention to detail. 

Pump the brakes, Stark, he told himself. 

“Looking good, Mr. Stark,” Wanda said. She and Steve were playing a cut-throat game of Uno at the coffee table, both of them playing two separate hands like they were professional card-sharks. She was wearing pyjama pants with kittens on them and the new Vision tee, a gold diamond with a pair of cybernetic blue eyes just underneath; the album name they were going with was for the title track, “Didn’t See That Coming.” J and Pietro had started cutting some of the initial tracks yesterday. 

Tony had, of course, grown up wearing suits and therefore carried himself much like he did any other day, with calm assurance. He gave Wanda a quick grin. “You’re the absolute height of fashion, yourself, there, kid.” 

Wanda held up one hand, palm out, to shield Steve from the middle finger she flicked at Tony. Tony cackled, delighted. Wanda, he liked. She was unflappable, affectionate, and absolutely and brutally honest. Bucky had called her his Jiminy Cricket once. Even if Tony hadn’t liked her on his own, getting on Wanda’s good side was absolutely essential to keeping Bucky happy. Wanda made it easy to like her, though. 

Wanda played a Skip, Reverse, Skip, Skip, and called Uno, then said, “Hey, the band wants to know if they can come over after rehearsal and chill. Is that okay?” 

“Yes,” Tony said, “but no drinking if you’re going in the hot-tub or the pool, okay?” 

Wanda rolled her eyes at him. “I’m not an idiot.” 

Tony laughed. “Yeah, well, sometimes I am, so…” 

“Steve,” Bucky said, waiting until his son turned all the way around, “you be good for your cousin, yeah? And pretend to eat a vegetable with dinner. Just humor me, okay?” 

Steve pouted as if the idea of eating something that wasn’t chicken nuggets or hot dogs was the worst punishment ever. “Okay.” He got up and hugged his father, rumpling Bucky’s blue shirt. “Are you and Mr. Tony going on a date?” 

“That’s the plan,” Bucky said. He scooped the kid up and kissed his cheek noisily. Steve made a disgusted face and wiped his face off with his sleeve. “God, you weigh a ton, kid. You’re gonna be all grown up before I know it.” 

“Yeah?” Steve perked up. “When that happens, can I have your bike?” 

“No, you may not,” Bucky said. “If you’re really good, though, I might let you tie your shoes all by yourself.” 

“Goodie.” The seven-year-old’s sarcasm was point-on. “Can I brush my own teeth, too?” 

“Don’t get too wild and crazy,” Bucky cautioned. He put Steve back on the floor and the boy ran off to finish the card game, crowing with triumph as he played two back-to-back Draw Fours. Wanda groaned and filled her hand with cards. 

Tony offered his arm, a strange pain in his chest as he watched Bucky interact with his son. “Shall we go? Pepper will murder me if we miss our reservations.” 

“Has she, ever, actually murdered anyone?” Bucky wondered aloud. 

“That’s classified,” Tony said, deadpan. Bucky laughed, throwing his head back and his bangs fell into his face. Tony allowed himself the tiniest bit of hope that maybe, this time, the date wouldn’t end in complete disaster. 

Tony had literally seen life and death decisions made with less deliberation than Bucky was exhibiting, choosing between the lamb rack and the coq au vin. Tony put his own menu aside to watch Bucky agonize, not being able to keep from smiling. He was reminding himself not to overwhelm the poor guy; he pinched off his first suggestion, which was to just get both. His second suggestion was that he get one, let Tony get the other, and they could share. 

His next several impulses were worse, and continued to nag at him; Bucky made him want to spend money, not to impress, but because Bucky was so delighted and amazed by stuff Tony was so used to that it was both painful and intensely fun. For just a moment, Tony held the patronizing thought that this was why people had children -- to watch someone else experience a thing for the first time in some way that brought the joy back. 

Tony started his little mental file; he always had one these days, ever since he’d totally fucked up with Pepper, forgetting her birthday and then bringing her strawberries (which she was allergic to, because damn it, he was a genius, but he could only remember strawberries, and not why they were connected). He’d learned his lesson, finally. If he paid attention, made the little details as important as math and science and engineering… that made a difference. 

Or, so the theory went. Since he and Pepper had split, he hadn’t actually put the theory into practice. Consider this a field test, he told himself. From just dinner, he’d learned Bucky preferred beer to wine, and beach-drinks to beer, preferably with frozen fruit and a rim of sugar. (Note to self: dig out the blender) Also, that he thought calling french fries “pomme frites” was pretentious as hell, and that he would absolutely not eat the last piece of bread in the basket. 

And that he was pretty. Tony had known that already, of course, but he couldn’t quite get over it, kept trying to be casual and failing miserably. So very pretty. 

Bucky had noticed, of course, that Tony was watching him. He looked up at Tony from under those long lashes with eyes that were the color of stormclouds. Bucky worried at his lip with his teeth whenever he was thinking and sometimes when he was talking, he’d rest his pinkie against the corner of his lip, which was damn distracting. 

Bucky also sat with his back to a wall and had the higher situational awareness that put Tony in mind of some of his more fervent bodyguards, especially the ones who’d been around when Tony was younger and went through what seemed like an absolute epidemic of being kidnapped and held for ransom. Apparently, a bunch of really third-rate bad guys had thought that Howard might be willing to part with some cash for his son back. Hadn’t worked out for them, very well. Tony’d gotten pretty good about escaping from restraints and picking locks and building bombs out of kitchen supplies. At least tonight, Tony hoped that high-alert wouldn’t be necessary for anything more than not having a mouthful of food when the waiter came over to ask if everything was to their satisfaction. 

The other thing Tony learned was that Bucky had impossibly long legs and that he sprawled when he sat down, legs carelessly extended under the table. When Tony had kicked him under the table the first time, Tony had apologized and drawn his feet back. Usually playing footsie under the table wasn’t a thing for Tony; at his very tallest (with the inserts in his shoes) was about 5’7”, so there was ample space for Tony’s legs and just about anyone else’s. Bucky, however, had stretched out just a little further, hooked the toe of his shoe around the back of Tony’s ankle and dragged his foot forward a few inches, then pressed his calf against Tony’s. 

That little point of contact, unseen and secret and affectionate, was doing things to Tony. 

The only word that Tony could find to describe his mental situation was captivated. Or maybe smitten. 

Balthazar’s was a popular place, and Tony was unsurprised when his attendance got some attention. A few tech-fans had come over to ask -- very nicely -- if they could get selfies with the man who’d invented their phones, and Tony was happy enough to oblige them. 

And Bucky spotted Scarlett Johansson with her current husband, the advertising mogul, Romain Dauriac. He stared for a long time, almost bordering on rude, but not for the reasons Tony thought. “You know, Clint said so, but I didn’t quite believe him.” Bucky scrolled through his phone pictures and eventually came up with one of Clint with his wife, who did bear a startling resemblance to the actress, except Nat had red hair and ScarJo was usually blonde. 

Dinner was good, and dessert was better. Bucky insisted on feeding Tony a few spoonfuls of his creme brulee, which was actually quite good, but the sharing was better. In the manner of social media and hashtags, Tony and Bucky were a trending topic on Twitter before they left the restaurant. Not shocking, but Tony texted Happy to come pick them up at the door. Even so, one of the rag-journalists grabbed Bucky’s arm before they could make a clean getaway. 

Those stormcloud eyes went flat and angry at the touch, and Bucky shook the man’s hand off forcefully. No, bad, Tony thought. Do not assault the paparazzi. Not that Tony had room to talk, really, but still. Darcy would kill them both. 

“Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark,” one of the gathered reporters yelled, “is it true that --” 

“Oh, come on, now Matthew,” Tony said, giving the man his best press-grin, “you know that nothing anyone says about me is true.” 

“Or everything is,” one of the other reporters shot back. 

“Well, I’ll just leave that to you to figure out,” Tony responded, and shoved Bucky toward the car, hard, with the hand at the small of his back so it looked like an affectionate gesture. Once they were safely inside the back of Tony’s car, Happy at the wheel and on their way to the theater, Tony was able to take a breath and notice how badly Bucky was shaking. 

“Hey, hey,” Tony said. “You all right?” 

“I don’t…” Bucky took a few deep, shuddering breaths and raked his hands through his hair, messing it all up. “I don’t like to be touched when I’m not… when I don’t know the person.” 

“Yeah,” Tony said. “They do that, sometimes. I expect we’ll end up going through another gauntlet on the way into the theater. Unless you want to skip that --” 

“No, it’s fine,” Bucky said. He scraped his hair back again and returned it to the bun, somewhat less smooth and suave than it had been before, which just added to the appeal. “Just…” 

“Did Darcy give you a prepped statement, in case anyone asks you questions?” Tony asked. He had a few fall-back lines of his own, although they’d been in place since long before Darcy had become his social-media maven. 

Bucky actually chuckled and Tony relaxed against the back of the seat. “She tried,” he said, “but apparently, I am useless at delivering a prepared speech. I’ve been relegated to ‘no comment’ until she can get me lined up with an acting coach.” 

They did manage to get into the theater without further incident, although someone with a telephoto lens and too much time on their hands had taken note of the messed up nature of Bucky’s hair after getting out of the car, and the angle of the shot prompted the glibly less-than-140-character post, “Where is Stark’s hand and why is Mr. Barnes smiling?” 

When Tony leaned over before the curtain went up to show the tweet to Bucky, the poor guy went so red in the face that Tony had a hard time not laughing. And since they were right next to each other, when the lights went dim, Tony gave up on resisting his other impulse, and let his fingers rest on Bucky’s thigh for the entirety of the first act. 

Author Note

brace yourself for three weeks worth of fluff (and smut) as their date takes three chapters. wow, I must have been in a really good mood when I wrote it! Enjoy!

as always, @tisfan

[pa-awesome]

Small Lies That Escalated Into “This Is My Life Now”

• Found out a coworker was from the same city I grew up in. He asked what my "old man's" last name was. Being an unmarried woman, I assumed he was asking about my father to determine if he knew my family back home. Apparently he was asking about my non existent husband, so until he quit I carried on the facade that I had a husband from back home.

• My mom gave my sister a chocolate orange about 15 years ago and she kind of embarrassed the family by saying it was gross. I didn't want to make my parents feel bad so I said that I'd eat it. It was gross but I pretended to like it. Now every year for Christmas I get a chocolate orange.

• Pretended to be a girl on World of Warcraft for a solid two years. I didn't actually set out to do it, just never corrected anyone when they assumed I was and by the time I thought to come clean it seemed too awkward.

• I convinced pretty much everyone in my life that I was allergic to coconut at a young age. I simply just didn't like it at all and it was a good way to avoid eating it (logic of a pre-teen mind). My mom played along. It wasn't until about 3 years ago when my mother in law had a surprise birthday party for her husband and she made a german chocolate cake. The kicker here: she did HALF of it coconut and half without so I could enjoy the cake and not have an allergic reaction to it. I broke down. Laughed. Told them it wasn't true and I actually am not allergic. Her face melted. I hadn't realized how long I had kept up the lie until that very moment.

• When I was 12 years old, I lied about my age and made myself older for about 3 years, so I could still be somewhat cool in WoW. Now some of my WoW friends settled over with me to other games, and whenever I meet someone new, they're likely connected to them. At this point it's too awkward to explain that I'm not the oldest, but in fact the youngest in our friendgroup.

• Told one guy i was canadian bc they asked why i apologized so much. That was in 1st grade, im now a junior in highschool and people are shocked when they find out im not canadian

• I dated a guy who's father was a minister. I liked this guy a lot. I knew their church was one of those loud, dancing talking in tongues churches and his parents asked me to come to church with them. The dad did this whole long ass sermon about premarital sex and being saved. The guy I was dating kept nudging me and his family kept smirking so when they asked who felt the Holy Spirit and wanted to be saved I walked up to the front, everyone was jumping around and people were getting popped in the forehead and going into convulsions on the floor. I pretended to feel it. They smacked my forehead, I fell back, I just laid there with a few other people on the floor with my eyes closed wondering if I should twitch or something. Afterwards everyone was hugging me and his parents were crying.....

• I was working at a small company about 10 years ago, around the holidays. It was approaching Thanksgiving, and the ladies in my department had organized a pot luck luncheon. I was adding my contribution to the sign-up sheet when I noticed that one particular co-worker had signed up to bring brownies. She was a nice, single, older woman who had many pets at home (2-3 cats and as many dogs) and was regularly covered in a layer of pet fur. The day of the party had arrived, and everyone was going around filling their plates. There they were on the dessert table - the brownies. I didn't want to eat any of them, but I also didn't want to be impolite - so I told her I couldn't have any because I was allergic to nuts. Fast forward 9 years, and I am out with a friend (who had also been a co-worker at this company) I had kept since that job. After a few drinks, I tell her, tearfully, that I have a confession to make - I'm not really allergic to nuts. She burst out laughing, thinking it was going to be something much more serious than that. She is the only person I have made this confession to.

• A dude I knew was giving this girl some shit and she kicked him in the nuts. Ok, extreme reaction, but such is life. He doubled over in pain, but since he was kind of a douche anyway, no one cared much. The next day (a Friday) his dad took him out of school for some reason. Then when he returned on Monday he learned that the big rumor was that his balls ruptured from the kick, and he had to get emergency surgery. Rather than correcting anyone, he went along with it. This went on for years. People made fun of him, and he just joked about it. There were idiotic songs people sung about him. He laughed about it. Never denied it once, in fact participated in some of the joking at times. Finally, one day about 3 years later he comes clean. She didn't even actually kick him in the balls, just in the gut and it really knocked the wind out of him. After all this time, the dude who got kicked in the balls was basically his identity. Strange turn of events.

• When I was 16, I humored some Mormon missionaries to make my best friend and his family happy (they were Mormon). So after a few home "lessons" about the LDS church I had already showed a lot of fake support and interest. Being awkward, I didn't want to admit to not being interested. When they asked if I wanted to be baptised weeks later, I said yes, imagining I'd eventually back out. I didn't. Became an athiest Mormon. After months of living this double life, attending church, etc, my mom decided to show support by becoming Mormon. I was mortified. My recovering Catholic dad pulls me aside and asks me if I really believe this stuff. I explained everything to him and he thought it was hilarious. I also made him promise not to tell Mom because, again, awkward and too far deep. She asked me to baptise her and I refused. This insulted her. Fast forward a year or so and I distanced myself from church people while still maintaining the close relationship with my friend and his family. It's been 12 years now, and we still hang out weekly and nobody considers me Mormon. I never explained this to him.

• The second or third week of college my freshman year I stumbled into a room where a newly acquired friend and his roommate were playing kingdom hearts. We briefly talked about how much they loved the game, etc. Eventually, I fall asleep on their futon from general college induced exhaustion. An indeterminable amount of time later, I wake up to them quietly talking about what to do with the person napping on the couch. Not wanting to be rude, I tell them "Oh sorry - I wasn't really napping" They call me out on my buffoonery, and I decide to double down that I WAS NOT NAPPING. We get into a pretty heated argument about what constitutes a nap and the specific things that I was doing if it were not napping. I do not back down and start essentially yelling at them that I was not napping. This grew into an uncontrollable inside joke where whenever I would go anywhere with these guys they would say something like "man, its a good thing bendernas doesn't take naps", he'll be the life of the party. Or some shit. This slowly spreads to basically everything we did (small school of ~ 3000 students, where most people had some sort of obscure connection to most other people) and I eventually became known as the person who didn't take naps. (edit: i love naps) A few years later we became roommates and the proceed to wake me up basically every single day whenever I took a nap.

• When I got out of college, I got accepted in an internship. After that internship, they hired me. When they asked about my diploma, I said the truth, that I needed a few more general classes(French and PE) to finish and get my diploma. They said: No problem, but you have to get your diploma. I said(the beginning of the lie): It's alright, I'm already registered for the classes next semester. They said: Ok but make sure you get it soon! Then never asked about it again, even after changing HR management twice since then. I've been working here for 10 years now, never went back for my diploma. I know it's stupid, but let's hope I end my career here or something.

• Living in a College Town, every year around spring graduation there's one or two "I'm here to see my kid graduate, but I haven't been able to locate them" families. Usually kids that stopped going, pocketed their parents money, and/or just gave up and couldn't handle telling the family. It ends sadly sometimes. That's a big lie/deception to deal with and maintain. It almost always comes to a head.

• My first relationship. A few days in, then-girlfriend tells me she isn't ready to go public just yet and if we could just pretend we weren't together for a few days then she would be ready. Six months later, I had lied to so many people for her I can't tell whats real anymore and any time I asked her if we could stop because it was messing with me she refused and argued her way out of it. Looking back on this fucks with my head to this day. Amazing how much things like that can snowball.

• One time someone who I wanted to be better friends with showed me a metal gear solid meme and me being me I pretended to understand it. I then was forced to research all the games and their plots, Easter eggs, quotable characters, and other memes to better fake understanding. I still have never played a metal gear solid game.

• My fiance has a great one. She's a picky eater, and rather than tell her best friend that she doesn't like bananas, she told her "I'm allergic to bananas." For YEARS, her best friend would make sure everything was banana-free. From cakes, to desserts, to even clearing her house of anything banana related. After close to 15 years, my fiance finally told her "Hey, I just don't like bananas." Nervous, thinly veiled hatred in the form of laughter ensued.

• One teacher at school said my name wrong and I was too anxious to correct him. Long story short it’s almost been a year and I’m in too deep to say anything else.

• I live in Cambridge, UK and my go to answer to those "interesting-facts-about-you" moments (you know, corporate icebreakers or interview stuff) is that I got knocked over by Stephen Hawking whilst on the pavement near my house. Partly true as in he lives in the city, travels out and about on said streets. Truth is I just saw him on a path once. I was driving. People love that it's a bit different so imma keep using it.

• A buddy of mine's dad had a funny ongoing joke of sometimes referring to his son's friends by similar, but incorrect names. Trent became Trevor, Scott became Sam, Ethan became Eric. Just silly stuff like that. So in that vein he starts calling me 'Donald' (jesse is my middle name, my first one starts with 'D'). At first I thought he was joking, but he just. Didn't. Stop. Its been years, and now that we're all moved out and on our own I rarely ever see him. But he still calls me Donald whenever I do, and at this point its way too late to correct him.

• This is a small thing, I don't go by my full name but when I sign up for classes at my gym, it's done through an app and shows up on the roster as my full name. I never thought that anyone there would eventually know me by name, so when the instructor would take attendance I just never corrected in. But now I'm a year in and I'm casually friendly with most people there and I'm in way too deep to correct them now. It's not that I mind my full name that much, I have just never really gone by it.

[myselfinserts]

“It’s all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city.“

Marianne sat on the bed of the hotel, taking a moment to enjoy the calm and the quiet as she leaned by the window and looked over the cityscape. The lights sparkled brighter than the ocean some nights. 

It reminded her of home. 

I hope Regi’s alright, she thought. I haven’t heard from Mary at all. I hope she managed to talk to him. 

“Wow, Bel-Town isn’t really much of a town now, is it?”

“And quiet moment is gone,” she sighed. “Why are you here, L?”

Lady L made herself comfortable on the other side of the window, leaving the entire space empty and keeping to the shadows as she leaned by the wall. “It’s all cocktails and glitter up here. This is the real city, huh? The true Elspie experience?”

Marianne rolled her eyes. “We’re just in a hotel in the captial city. No need to get all giddy about it.”

“Not get giddy? This is the Penthouse Suite. I’m surprised you managed to get it.”

“Yeah, well, the owner of the hotel owed me a favor.” Marianne went over to the sofa, letting her hair out of its braids. “If you and I have to share a suite, I want my own room.”

“Wow,” L drolled. “You’re really not into me.”

“Sorry to dissapoint you.”

“No skin off my bones.”

L came over and made herself comfortable in the chair. It was only then that L noticed she was mostly dressed down in civilian attire. She kept her mask on though. It was unsettling. 

“Why do you keep pestering me?” Marianne grumbled.

L shrugged, lightly playing with a piece of yarn in her hands. “Heard Regi finally came out of the lab. Étienne managed to coax him out.”

Marianne’s eyes went wide and she nearly fell off her seat. “He’s okay?”

L gave her a flat look. “He’s fed and finally has food in his belly if that’s what you mean.”

“I mean...He’s responding to someone? He’s actually coming out and interacting with people?”

L opened her mouth, but then closed it again as her face began to soften. There was a light breeze, and Marianne could taste the salt on her lips. She accidentally started using her quirk again. But she didn’t care. Her brother was going to be okay. That’s what mattered.

“He’s going to be okay,” she mumbled.

“As okay as can be,” L conceded. It’ll be a long time, but...he’ll get there.” She pulled out her phone and pulled up a message. “Étienne has been keeping me posted. Apperently he had to chase away his ex-girlfriend earlier. Brought Regi some papaya juice and a clown bear.”

“What?” She took the phone and read over the message. “She knows better though! She knows he’s allergic to papaya, why would-”

“Doesn’t matter right now. What matters is Regi didn’t drink it.”

Marianne handed her back the phone. With a defeated sigh she fell back on the couch, laying down and letting the throw pillows take her full weight while the mini storm cloud floated over her. “Whatever. I’m just glad he’s finally eating and bathing...”

L raised an eyebrow. “You seem oddly...no, wait, you’re just acting odd about this.”

“Shut up,” Marianne grumbles. “Don’t expect you to understand, princess.”

“Oh really?” 

Marianne winced, knowing she probably struck a nerve. But she didn’t care at the moment. 

“Tell me, Mither,” L insisted. “Why the hell wouldn’t I understand? Being worried about a friend locking themself away like that is actually something I’ve got experience in.”

“Not the same.”

“’Not the same.’ That’s your rebuttal.” 

Correction, Marianne thought. I really fucking care.

“It’s not the same,” she stated, sitting up as the cloud became larger. “I practically raised two kids on my own at the age of ten. I made sure their hobbies were paid for. Their bellies full. A roof over their heads. And now, after an argument that has essentially caused one of those kids to cut me out, I’m stuck wandering from town to town. And that wandering has lead me here, at the worst possible time when said kid needs his big sister the most.” Thunder began to roar. “I’m not saying that whatever your friend went through wasn’t bad. I’m sure it hurt a lot for them. But my baby brother isn’t strong enough to bounce back without a proper support system. He needs someone who can take care of him and for the longest time, that was me. And now, I’m clear across on the other side of the island preparing for a new raid mission where I’m babysitting assholes who don’t deserve to have the title of Hero, when I should be home taking care of my baby brother!”

A bolt of lightening shot out of the cloud, flying toward the window and shattering it. Rain poured onto the floor, covering both of them in salt water.

L seemed completely unfazed. “Do you always yell at your partners when you’re emotional, or am I just special?”

Marianne took a deep breath, lightly ringing out her hair when the rain stopped falling. “I’m not used to having partners. Let alone one that’s completely...well, you.”

“Fair enough.” L lightly gathered up the soaked cats cradle on her hands. “I’m starting to see why you’re not welcome in Edinburgh and Glasgow.”

“Hey, Glasgow has a very valid reason!”

“What might that be? Last I checked, punching the police chief was a big no no.”

“The police chief kicked his kid out of the house the night before. He deserved the punch.”

“...He kicked out the kid?”

“Yeah.” Marianne crossed her arms. “He was Quirkless and just came out to his parents. Dad tossed him onto the street and I happened to be nearby. Took care of the kid, putting him up in a hotel like this one.” She smiled, closing her eyes and remembering that night. “He was a sweet kid. A painter. Very talented with watercolors and impressionism. He could embody any emotion with the stroke of a brush.”

“What was his name?” L asked.

“Rory,” Marianne said fondly. “Rory McDonald. Sweet boy. Made sure he’d be taken care of. Being one of the few healing heroes in the region gets you a few perks financially.” She sighed, stifling a laugh. “Next morning I went to get my macchiatto and the chief was in line. Punched him hard enough to knock out a few teeth. Got me banned from doing Hero work in Glasgow but I like to think it was worth it.” Her smile faded. “Had my parents lived long enough, I’m pretty sure they’d have been proud of me for that...I hope they would be...”

L stared at her, and Marianne waited for a snide comment or an eye roll and insult. She’d be used to it.

“Well then,” L said. “I suppose that might earn you a drink.”

Marianne looked at her, shocked. “What?”

L smirked and hurried toward the bathroom. “Come on. Let’s get cleaned up and I’ll treat you to a drink. I wanna hear more about this painter kid Rory.”

Marianne watched her go, slack jawed.

I’m not going to last the rest of the mission with this woman.