#their acting—as in all good romcoms—really fills in the spaces

[itspileofgoodthings]

Crash landing on you is just like *most romantic scene you’ve ever seen in your life, the boys being cute and funny, women supporting women North Korea edition, evillest snake villain of all time, Se-ri’s toad family being toads, most romantic scene you’ve ever seen in your life—

[sweetkpopmusings]

long for you (act two) | h. hyunjin <3

a/n: i've returned with the second part of "long for you!" this is potentially the longest section, but we'll see :^) also ah! if you'd like to be added to the tag list, please reply to this or send me an ask <3 pics not mine <3

♡ find all parts here ♡

content: fluff, romance, fake dating, angst, a happy ending | wc: 7.7k | warnings: mentions of food/eating, a kiss, some crying | pairing: nonbinary!painter!hyunjin x gn!writer!reader | requests: open

synopsis: y/n is a writer with a long-awaited, well-deserved career opportunity. despite the excitement, there’s one major problem: the publisher expects a modern love story, equally romcom-like and authentic, but y/n lacks the inspiration to write something worth reading. through a chance meeting with mutual friends, y/n and hyunjin bond over upcoming deadlines and creative blocks. before the conversation ends, they discover that the ridiculous plot of fake dating might just work to solve their inspirational dry spell.

act two: the lovers 

“sorry we are starting with something so stereotypical,” hyunjin smiles sheepishly as you both slide into your seats with fresh drinks.

“it’s okay! coffee shop dates are a default for me, if i’m being honest.”

they nod, pleased with your answer, “well then, why don’t you tell me about some of your other defaults?”

“meaning?”

“tell me about the music you listen to on repeat, the shows you watch and rewatch, your favorite color shirt to wear, your go-to story to tell at a party…” hyunjin pauses, pink tinting their ears when realizing he’s starting to ramble, “should i give you more examples?”

you laugh, “no, i think i get the gist of what you’re asking. hmm, let’s see…”

hyunjin waits patiently while you gather your thoughts and find a good place to start. it’s always a bit intimidating when you try to figure out the perfect conversation piece for a date. even if you’ve talked with someone over text beforehand, a lot rides on the first part of yourself that you share, even if it isn’t anything particularly vulnerable. perhaps because you’re a writer, you’re always hyper-aware of impressions, specifically the first ones you leave on and have about others. with hyunjin, your nerves dissipated after you walked through the coffee shop doors and waved to them. this arrangement, fake as it is, lends itself to a real comfort from the very beginning. you are not there to impress hyunjin. you’re there to know him for the sake of knowing him, and he’s there for the sake of knowing you.

hyunjin remains engaged with each anecdote you share, reacting enthusiastically at the exciting bits and showing concern at the right times. they even ask follow-up questions, make silly comments, and write down some new content to check out per your recommendation. by the time your drinks are halfway gone, you realize you’ve been the main one talking.

“so, when do i get to hear about your defaults? it feels as though i’ve been talking your ear off this entire time.”

hyunjin smiles, “i haven’t noticed! it’s really enjoyable listening to you.”

a sweet silence fills the space between you as they smile from across the table. you feel heat rising to your face at the tender attention, but, thankfully, it dissipates when hyunjin starts to speak.

“maybe it’s cliché, but i feel like it’s only natural if i start by talking about painting.”

“yes, please! i’d love to know about how that became your focus in art and life.”

hyunjin grins, a visible spark appearing in their eyes, “contrary to popular belief, painting wasn’t the first artistic medium i tried. i actually thought i’d pursue sculpture. there was something about it being so tactile, you know? like being able to feel the artwork with my bare hands, it was like my body movements were a part of the piece itself. and, being a pretentious college student, i loved leaving my actual fingerprint as my signature on each sculpture.”

hyunjin rolls their eyes, and you laugh, “oh, don’t even get me started on the pretentious stuff i used to do with writing assignments in high school and college.”

“oh, we’ll definitely be coming back to that,” hyunjin teases, “but even with my dramatic flair, sculpting started to…not necessarily bore me, but become…mundane. it was as though i hit a creative wall. none of my sculptures inspired me anymore; nothing seemed to go right. changbin reassured me that it was probably just a slump–we all have them, creative or not, as he said–i just knew that it was deeper than that. i was always searching for something in my work, and it felt like i had lost it in sculpting. then, by a stroke of luck or fate or good ole early adulthood happenstance, i attended a painting class. i don’t even remember why i took that particular class. immediately, though, it was like i was on fire with ideas. i remember my friends having to force me to leave the studio and eat, shower, or exist as a normal human being,” they laugh, slightly embarrassed at their former self’s antics, “eventually i calmed down from that initial creative high, of course. the fulfillment and energy painting gave me lasted. even today, even right now while talking about it, i can feel the urge to sketch out new ideas. so, i guess this is a long-winded way of me saying that, after taking a singular painting class, i fell in love with it, and years later i still haven’t expressed all that i need to through it.”

you nod, gratefully absorbing all of the information hyunjin shared with you. you notice there was an electricity in their voice when he discussed painting, hands gesturing excitedly and precisely when discussing how painting made them feel. regardless of your relationship with the art form, hyunjin’s description of it made you want to give painting a go. if you were honest, something about hyunjin’s words left you craving the feeling of a paintbrush in your hand. their words are like magic, and you wonder if all the great painters before had ever spoken so beautifully about the practice themselves.

“that’s incredible, hyunjin. it’s obvious you’re in the right field.”

he giggles, tucking his hair behind his ear, “i’m glad you think so. i always trust the judgment of a fellow artist.”

you giggle in response to their wink, and continue, “if you’re willing, i’d love to see some of your work. i know i could look it up online, but i figured i’d abstain from an internet investigation before our first fake date.”

hyunjin laughs, “i really appreciate that, y/n. i promise i didn’t read any of your writing before this.”

you feel a wave of relief wash over you, surprised that you were nervous about the prospect of hyunjin reading your work. before you could dwell on that mini revelation, hyunjin speaks again.

“rather than just show you some of my paintings, i think there’s something better we could do.”

their smile is playful, and you can’t deny the butterflies that flutter in your chest when you imagine the possibilities of what could be going on inside hyunjin’s head.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

sunlight washes over you, pleasantly warm and gently bright. hyunjin busies themself with the setup of the easels–small ones, so you both could sit comfortably on the picnic blanket he brought–and meticulously arranges the painting supplies. they hum a vaguely familiar melody, and your mind and body relax as you eat fresh fruit and sip homemade lemonade. 

“ah!” hyunjin claps their hands together, “perfect!”

you give him a round of applause, which they respond to with a bow and thank you, thank you.

with two blank canvases in front of you, hyunjin asks, “do you know where you’re going to start?”

“hmmm,” your eyes sweep around the park, observing shadows fluttering in the shape of tree leaves and happy people walking and chatting down the park’s path, “ironically, i’m finding it hard to think of something when this place is so…idyllic.”

hyunjin sighs, more dreamily than in exasperation, “i totally get what you mean. maybe we can find a random prompt online?”

“what, like use a painting prompt generator?”

hyunjin makes a look of disgust, as cute and earnest as a toddler refusing vegetables, “no! i mean look for a list of prompts on tumblr or something and then choose one that sounds viable for us to complete on our date.”

biting your lip to prevent the instinctual smile that would erupt after a beautiful person says something like our date, you reply, “that works for me. why don’t you choose, as you’re the resident artist here?”

hyunjin agrees and gets right to work scouring the internet for the perfect picnic date painting idea. you busy yourself with finding the perfect playlist for your activity, which aids hyunjin in deciding on a prompt.

“how does painting the view from your bedroom window sound?”

“how do you know what the view from my bedroom window is?”

hyunjin’s eyes go wide, and they start shaking their hands frantically, desperate to dispel the thought of knowing anything about your bedroom, so you laugh and speak again before they fall too far down the rabbit hole, “i’m just teasing you, hyunjin! i know you’re not a creep who has previously snuck into my bedroom. that sounds like a perfect idea for our paintings.”

“phew!” hyunjin wipes imaginary sweat from their brow, “i’m glad we’ve cleared that all up. so let’s get started! let me know if you would like any tips along the way. i doubt you’ll need any, but i have made plenty of mistakes while mixing colors and choosing brush sizes to be quite the teacher.”

you both giggle at this admission and soon shout ready, get set, go! as you pick up your brushes. despite the racelike commentary, you both take your time. there is a calmness surrounding you, conversation sparse and ease abundant. much to your surprise, hyunjin asks for your advice a couple of times on their painting choices. you’re honored, which you tell them, and they only give you a look of confusion.

“what’s so strange about me asking for insight? you’re someone with a beautiful mind, and i’d be a fool not to appreciate your proximity.”

“you really know how to butter someone up, don’t you?”

hyunjin shakes his head, “according to changbin, i can only flirt unintentionally. it has to be natural; otherwise, i talk like someone who hasn’t had contact with another human in far too long.”

you laugh, not quite believing him, but you thank them for how they view your creativity. they jump at every opportunity you give them to discuss your painting, each time responding with grace and consideration. while you don’t spend too much of your time talking, you learn that everything hyunjin does with art is full of intention. that, you realize, must be what draws you in so intensely to their words and into the painting they hold before you.

“what do you think?”

hyunjin’s eyes are wide with anticipation as you scan every detail: the blue tint on the walls, the knick-knacks cluttering the desk, the dawn colors in the sky, and the two butterflies, mid-flight, just ahead of the windowsill.

“wow,” you breathe out softly, “it’s beautiful, hyunjin. i feel like i’m at home.”

they beam at your response and say about a thousand thank you’s in the span of about 20 seconds. when you show your painting, hyunjin takes just as much care in viewing yours. his focus is a little intimidating because of the ardor with which they examine your piece, but you trust that they won’t say anything too critical.

“this is stunning, y/n!”

you blush, a little taken aback by the passion, “you think so?”

hyunjin nods vigorously, “absolutely! i love everything about it. the textures, the colors, the items you included…all of it fits together so perfectly. sitting right in front of it makes me feel as though i’m safe from the outside world. it’s…serene.”

your head turns toward your painting, reviewing everything hyunjin mentioned, almost as though you’re looking for evidence of their claims. before your gaze can turn skeptical, hyunjin’s voice breaks your concentration.

“can i have it?”

you whip your head towards them, “huh?”

they gesture to the canvas beside you, “your painting. can i have it? i’d love to hang it above my desk, as an inspiration and a reprieve. i totally understand if you aren’t comfortable with that, or if you want to keep it for yourself, so no pressure! i just…well, honestly, i’d love to look at it and be reminded of today.”

you pretend you don’t notice the pinkness of hyunjin’s ears in hopes that they don’t notice the same flush on your skin, “um, yeah. yes! i’d be more than happy to give this to you.”

they nearly squeal with excitement and beg you to sign it. after your signature is placed in the corner, you hand it over to hyunjin. they stare at it lovingly, holding it with more care than you ever would have. after a little while, they look back up at you.

“why did you choose to paint the sunset at the very end, when there aren’t that many colors left in the sky?”

you can’t say that you thought it through before putting brush to canvas, but you pause before answering. if it’s for hyunjin’s curiosity, you’re more than willing to dig around in your brain for unearthed motivations.

“i think,” you start, not entirely confident but fully honest, “i think that i notice more of the world that’s right outside my room as i’m saying goodbye to the day. it’s like a transition from my public life to my private life, and, even though the night is only beginning, that time of day is when i can safely say ‘see you tomorrow’ to anything that isn’t in my home. that, or i just liked the colors of dusk better.”

you both laugh, and hyunjin sets the painting back on the easel before replying, “whatever the case, i’m honored that you’re letting me into that window of time with you. i’ll cherish this perspective, this moment, forever.” 

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

you fidget with your clothes, tugging them to be sure they’re in exactly the right place, as hyunjin knocks on the door. 

they turn to you and smile, “don’t worry, y/n, you look perfect.”

you smile back, now messing with your accessories, “thank you. i guess i feel extra nervous because i’m not used to going to things like this without felix or jisung.”

you feel a little embarrassed to admit that, but hyunjin shows no sign of judgment. instead, they pat you gently on the shoulder. the right amount of comfort.

“i know what you mean. you’ve got me though! let me know at any time if you need an escape. plus, i’m pretty sure felix will be here, so he can run away with you too.”

a giggle escapes your lips as changbin opens the apartment door, loudly greeting you and hyunjin.

“y/n! so glad you could make it!” changbin grins widely, beckoning you and hyunjin into his place.

as soon as you’re inside, changbin wraps his arm around hyunjin’s waist and places a kiss on their cheek. hyunjin laughs and wipes his cheek with the back of their hand, which earns a complaint from changbin.

“i love you, but i don’t want your cooties.”

“since when is it a crime to kiss the homies?”

“oh my god, changbin, you did not just say that,” a voice of disapproval chimes in from the living room.

you turn to the source of the voice and notice someone with long hair–similar to hyunjin’s, just lighter–and sharp features. before you even need to ask, hyunjin whispers jeongin to you. 

“as in…?”

hyunjin nods, “yes, the jeongin who is ruining my life with his exhibition theme.”

jeongin turns his head so you can see him roll his eyes, “for once, our emo boy can’t come up with something heart-wrenching. i’m assuming that’s where you come in?”

he raises an eyebrow to you, more playful than inquisitive, so you nod, “yep! hyunjin’s muse, reporting for duty.”

you hear changbin laughing from the kitchen, and it grows louder as he returns with your drinks, “please, make yourselves at home! minho is almost done with the food, and felix should be here soon, so get comfortable!”

hyunjin guides you to the living room, and you catch a glimpse of minho working hard on the meal you’ll all devour far too quickly. yet another handsome member of the friend group–dizzying to think about how many attractive people are currently surrounding you–he also carries distinct features, particularly a sharp nose, and holds himself with certainty.

somehow reading your mind, hyunjin leans over to you, “don’t be intimidated. we’re obviously the hottest people here.”

you both snicker like schoolchildren, and you feel your shoulders relax bit by bit. felix’s arrival helps, especially since he engulfs you into one of his classic hugs the second he’s within arm’s reach.

“felix! you act like you didn’t just see me yesterday,” you chuckle, not making a move to break the embrace.

“yeah, yeah, i need to make sure your partner here doesn’t forget who comes first!” 

felix sticks his tongue out at hyunjin, causing them to throw their head back in laughter. almost perfectly on cue, minho calls out to confirm that dinner is ready. changbin rushes around to serve everyone’s dishes, only being slightly micromanaged by minho. the conversation continues easily, while you all enjoy the graciously prepared meal. you learn not just about the new people in the room, but more about hyunjin: how they were in university, endless tales of their clumsiness, his affinity for painting flowers and portraits of strangers, as well as his never-ending love and support for those close to him. endeared only scratches the surface of the warm feeling growing inside you as you discover these qualities of hyunjin’s. if you were honest, you never wanted the conversation to go in a different direction. your heart was full learning more about the person at your side, and you were thoroughly entertained by all the faces he made when his friends embarrassed him. perhaps chasing the same warmth, hyunjin steers the conversation toward you.

“it feels a little silly to ask basic questions,” minho smirks, “hyunjin has already told us so much about you.”

felix giggles, “how could they not? y/n is the best.”

you smile at felix and then at hyunjin, who is trying to convince you that minho is exaggerating. 

“i’ll only accept the best for our hyunjin, so let’s see if you really meet those standards, y/n,” changbin jokingly assumes the persona of a hardcore journalist, ready to get to the bottom of the night’s biggest story.

with that, hyunjin’s friends ask you question after question, sometimes starting with hyunjin told us about this, but we’d love to hear more from you in order to make hyunjin squirm in their seat. hyunjin’s adorableness reduces any anxiety or stress you would have normally felt when getting, for lack of a better term, examined by their friends. with him and felix on either side of you, you feel like you are in on the fun, not trapped in the spotlight.

“okay, okay, i think we can give y/n a break from the interview,” hyunjin puts their hands up in your defense.

changbin sighs, leaning back in his seat, “fine, but only because you asked, hyunjinnie.”

you could almost hear a collection of heart emojis coming from changbin’s mouth. it is funny how flirtatious he is with hyunjin, but you couldn’t deny a twinge of jealousy every time he made hyunjin blush. sure, you are fake dating them. but is it so out-of-pocket to feel as though you should be the one making hyunjin giggle, twirl their hair, and kick his feet? you make a mental note to ask felix that very question tomorrow, crossing your fingers that you were just feeling very committed to the bit and nothing else. 

hours pass in the blink of an eye, and you only realize how tired you feel once felix mentions the time. 

jeongin stretches, quickly standing up from the couch, “well, since changbin promised he would do all the dishes, i vote we all leave quickly so as to not hold him back from his chores!”

changbin yells in protest to no avail against jeongin’s mischievous grin. minho mutters something about “the kids” fighting again as he walks back to the kitchen. you hear the sink running and decide to invite minho to any dinner party you throw in the future.

felix checks his pockets to ensure he didn’t leave anything, turning to you before heading to the entryway, “would you like me to accompany you home?”

you shake your head, “no, that’s okay, felix! we live in opposite directions, and i can safely get home by myself. you go and get some rest!”

“who said you’re getting home by yourself?” hyunjin tilts his head.

changbin whoops from the kitchen, causing felix to laugh and hyunjin to quickly clarify, “i mean, who said that your partner wouldn’t make sure that you arrive home in one piece? it’s the chivalrous thing to do.”

“as long as it’s chivalrous and nothing more…” felix makes an i’m watching you gesture towards hyunjin.

you roll your eyes and wave goodbye to felix. within a handful of minutes, you and hyunjin are saying your goodbyes. hyunjin helps you to put on your shoes, and the two of you have almost escaped when changbin pulls hyunjin in for another kiss on the cheek.

“oh, come on!” hyunjin groans while changbin giggles in pure delight.

“bye, y/n! it was lovely having you here. you’re welcome back any time, with or without them!” changbin smiles at you.

you thank him, and minho, for dinner again. as you and hyunjin step into the hall, you are hit with another wave of tiredness.

hyunjin notices and drapes your coat around your shoulders, “let’s get you home, yeah?”

you nod, grateful that you don’t have to worry about staying awake to get home safely.

the two of you enjoy a comfortable silence as you make your way to your place. here and there, you share a smile, a knowing glance that both of you are quite happy to be there, together. there is a small pang in your chest when you reach your door, realizing that you’ll have to part ways with hyunjin now.

“so, i’ll see you in a few days for our next date?” hyunjin asks, hands in their pockets as they stand in front of you.

“of course! i’m looking forward to it.”

hyunjin grins. you start to turn toward your door, but you notice that they are staring at you.

“what’s up?”

hyunjin shakes his head slightly, as though they’re breaking themselves out of a trance, “nothing! sorry, i was just thinking about something.”

“care to share?” you raise an eyebrow, reenergized with curiosity.

their hand rubs the back of their neck, and they look down to the floor briefly, “i was running through the stereotypical goodbyes at the end of dates like this.”

you nod, only partially following their train of thought. they look back up at you, brown eyes soft yet focused. you’re not sure why, but you feel electricity in your fingertips beneath their gaze.

“in movies and books, nights like this usually end with a goodbye kiss.”

“oh, i see…” your voice fades, unsure of what to say next.

“we don’t have to! it just came to mind. probably an intrusive artistic thought. you know how creative brains live for the drama,” hyunjin jokes.

you laugh softly, somewhat halfheartedly, as you process what they said. you speak again, before they get too nervous.

“i wouldn’t be opposed to it,” you admit, “for the plot, of course.”

hyunjin’s eyes widen slightly in shock, but they nod quickly, “yes, for the plot! we should kiss for the plot!”

that sentence in particular earns a giggle from you, which relaxes hyunjin enough to take the necessary steps toward you. when you’re close enough to feel the heat radiating off each other’s bodies, hyunjin catches your gaze.

“are you sure?”

mustering up as much volume as you can–curse those big, beautiful brown eyes and all their charm–you respond, “yes, i’m sure.”

with that, hyunjin’s fingers delicately grace your chin, pulling you towards them. sweetly, like a hushed voice in a beautiful library, your lips meet. the kiss is quick, nothing too involved, but the sensation of hyunjin being so close to you, right beneath your fingertips, melts you in a way you can’t be sure that you’ve felt before. 

when you open your eyes, you see that hyunjin’s are still closed, despite separating your lips a dozen or so seconds ago. the corners of your mouth lift, appreciating the innocent look on hyunjin’s face.

“wow,” hyunjin whispers, brown eyes observing you with a soft fervor, “thank you.”

oblivious to how much you’re blushing, you reply with a confident, “no, thank you.”

they smile widely, amused by the playful tone of your voice. judging by the look on his face, this is the best ending to the night that hyunjin ever could have imagined. 

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

stretching your arms and groaning, you remove your body from the position it had been locked in for the past couple of hours. you know the knock on the door was hyunjin–it hadn’t taken long for you to memorize what it sounded like for him to be near–so you do your best to open the door quickly and cheerily, despite your aching neck and shoulders.

“so sorry i’m late!” hyunjin exclaims, “changbin wasn’t letting me leave lunch, despite my insistence that i had a very important date to attend.”

you roll your eyes as you step to the side, letting hyunjin into your home, “are you sure you two aren’t dating?”

they scrunch their nose in light disgust, “i am certain. i love changbin, but we are not compatible partners, no matter what he may try to convince you of.”

you laugh, feeling a little more joyous at that admission than you probably should. hyunjin asks you about your day as you collect snacks to share, and he happily chats about anything and everything. whenever together, it seems as though neither of you would ever run out of words.

“so, are you ready?” hyunjin stretches their hands and wrists.

you nod, eyeing the stereotypical leather journal in front of them, “probably not as ready as you are.”

he giggles at the reference to the journal, “well, if i’m going to be in the presence of a real writer, i have to at least look the part, right?”

“what does that make me then, with my laptop on a metal stand in front of me?”

they hum, feigning deep thought before replying, “cute. it makes you cute.”

you scoff at the sly cheesiness, still having to turn your head in an attempt to hide the blush, “all right shakespeare, what do you say we get to writing?”

“i could never say no to you, y/n,” hyunjin replies with a sugary sweet tone and extra honey in their eyes.

with that, you two find your focus. after painting together, you suggested a writing date. admittedly, the suggestion came from your need to work on your novel as much as it came from the desire to spend more creative time with hyunjin. they, of course, jumped at the opportunity, clearly feeling just as fond of your painting session as you. 

save for the low-volume background music, the sound of your keyboard, and hyunjin’s pen on paper, your home is delightfully silent. very quickly after hyunjin’s arrival, you make more progress than you had the entire day. hyunjin notices how in the zone you are, pausing their own work to appreciate your furrowed brow and fixed gaze on the screen. attached to the story unfolding in front of you, you’re not quite sure how long he has been observing you before you feel their eyes on you.

“is there something on my face?” your eyes flit to meet hyunjin’s before returning to the screen.

“just an admirable amount of concentration,” they chuckle, “though i’d hate to interrupt your flow, let’s take a quick break, yeah?”

you sigh, feeling the soreness in your wrists and back from vigorous typing, “okay, i guess we should.”

they’re obviously pleased as they sit up straighter, “yay! i think we deserve some treats, don’t you?”

you laugh, “i mean, i’m literally doing my job here, so i don’t know if that warrants a treat.”

hyunjin frowns, “everything warrants a treat! what do you want? a little bevvie? some food? it’s on me, so dream big!”

you laugh again, sweeter this time, “you don’t have to do that, hyunjin.”

he waves his hand in the air, dismissing your claim, “i do. you’re hosting me and letting me partake in your creative genius. the least i could do is offer you a snack or something!”

you can tell they won’t back down, so you agree to give them your order for your favorite restaurant. when the food arrives, you and hyunjin migrate to the living room, spreading out your spoils and turning on content you both love. it is casual and comfortable, wildly familiar despite this being the first time you two have had dinner like this. hyunjin says so themself, much to your delight.

after the plates have been cleared and the dishes have been cleaned, you two wind up at the table again, writing for hours and talking about random topics during your little breaks. eventually, you feel your brain wearing out, so you suggest that the writing session comes to a close. 

“that sounds perfect to me,” hyunjin agrees, covering his mouth as he yawns, “was it successful for you?”

you hum happily, “yes! i can’t say that i made as much progress as i had hoped to, but i feel like i’m really fleshing out this story for the first time.”

hyunjin grins, “that’s wonderful! i’m so proud of you.”

your heart warms at their admission, and you ask, “how was it for you? come up with any masterpieces?”

they giggle, “i don’t know if i can call any of them masterpieces, but i did write some poems.”

“oh? you’re a painter and a poet?”

hyunjin looks away briefly, again tucking their hair behind their ear, “poetry is my favorite thing to write. i don’t do it very often because i’m not that adept at expressing myself in this way, but i enjoy the process every time.”

“expressing your thoughts with words gets easier with practice, so don’t discount yourself!” you reassure them, pausing to gain the courage to ask, “could i…would you mind if i read something you wrote?”

their ears immediately turn pink, but that doesn’t stop them from nodding and flipping through to a specific page, “here, this is my favorite one from today. please be nice in your feedback, for i am just a girl.”

you giggle at the last comment, and you graciously take the journal they place in your hands. the poem is short and impactful. in particular, you feel a few lines settling deep in your chest: a tenderness on fire / a lightness in your eyes / the unbearable closeness of desire / in the presence of your touch, in the proximity of your potential 

“hyunjin,” you say their name softly, only loud enough for them to hear, “this is beautiful. your voice is captivating, truly. thank you for letting me read it.”

“you really think so?” their eyes linger on you, full of curiosity and wonder.

you nod, “i do. i can’t believe you wrote this while sitting at my kitchen table. i love it.”

hyunjin puts their hand on their chest, over their heart, “that means a lot, y/n. thank you.”

“of course,” you smile, slipping once again into a comfortable silence with them.

hyunjin accepts his journal back, and then fiddles with the page, “you can have this one, if you want.”

your eyebrows raise, shocked and excited, “really? you’re sure?”

they nod eagerly, tearing the page out before you formally accept it, “yes! i have your painting hanging by my desk, so it’d be an honor if you had my poem literally anywhere in your home.”

you laugh at their dramatics, gently holding out your hands to receive their beautiful words, “i’ll hang it on my fridge, so i can see it every morning, afternoon, and night.”

with that, hyunjin trails behind you like a puppy while you place the handwritten poem on your fridge, held up by your favorite magnet. you both smile, admiring the work in your quiet kitchen. the silence is only broken by hyunjin’s yawn, which they cutely apologize for. when you look at the clock, you realize how late it has become.

“oh wow! are you sure you’re awake enough to get home safely?”

“yes, i’ll be okay!” hyunjin assures you, walking toward your table to gather their things.

as you watch them move, you see their body sway with sleepiness in a way that emphasizes their natural clumsiness. there is no way you can let them travel alone, across town, in this state.

“hyunjin, please stay here tonight.”

they freeze, turning their head to you after a few beats pass, “are you–would that be–really?”

you fight the smile at their flustered response, “yes, really. i wouldn’t be able to sleep if i let you go home when you’re this tired. i probably have some clothes you can borrow and an extra toothbrush i keep for emergencies. you can sleep in the bed, and i’ll take the couch.”

“wow, y/n, thank you for caring this much about my well being,” they reply in an incredibly genuine tone.

your expression has to have been one of why wouldn’t i care about your well being? because they quickly speak again, “i just wouldn’t have expected my fake dating partner to be so generous with their home! no way i’m stealing your bed from you tonight, though. i will be sleeping on the couch, and that’s final.”

despite your honest efforts to donate your bed to hyunjin for the night, they truly won’t have it. you make up the couch while they get ready for bed, stepping into the bathroom yourself once they make themselves comfortable in the living room. you feel some nerves ripple inside you as you brush your teeth, but they verge on excitement more than anxiety. it’s strange, being so comfortable with hyunjin so soon. it could be the reduced pressure of your arrangement, or, more likely, it’s their good-natured spirit. you can’t help the warmth that envelops you as they wish you sweet dreams in a velvety, singsongy voice. you also can’t help the way your body sinks into the softness of your bed in an entirely new way, as though you have been introduced to a new kind of safety, a new kind of home that you didn’t know existed. you wonder whether hyunjin feels the same way too.

after a short while, you pad out to your kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. hyunjin sleeps soundly on the couch, blanket perfectly wrapped around them and hands folded under their pillow to prop their head at the perfect angle. you stare, enchanted by the soft curves of their slightly parted lips, hypnotized by the melodic rise and fall of their chest. standing there in your living room in the middle of the night, you discover that your fondness for the person in front of you has blossomed into something much greater than anything you would have expected weeks ago when you agreed to this fake dating venture. for fear that your gaze will pull them out of their slumber, you step back into your room, turning once more at the doorway to ensure they are still peacefully resting. 

it doesn’t take much reflection to determine that you feel something special in hyunjin’s presence. though entirely unexpected and definitely not a part of the original plan, you know in your heart that you wouldn’t want it any other way.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

early in your “relationship,” you and hyunjin joked that, for a two-month anniversary, you should meet for dinner at a stereotypically romantic restaurant. both of you were people of your word, so it was no surprise when hyunjin made a reservation for a bistro in the area. 

you decide to dress up like a movie character going to a date pertinent to the story’s plot–this may not be a proposal dinner, but two months into a three-month fake relationship certainly was worth celebrating. adorning curated accessories and the best outfit you could create, you happily stride to hyunjin at the restaurant’s entrance. 

the space is bustling with people and conversation, but hyunjin’s greeting cuts through the noise with absolute clarity. 

“hi y/n, you look lovely.”

you take a moment to appreciate their outfit–a simple trouser and button-up combo amplified by an embroidered blazer and statement jewelry–and reply with enthusiasm, “hi hyunjin, you look lovely too.”

he offers you a soft smile before guiding you through the front door. the host takes you to a table by the window, and you slip into your usual beginning-of-the-date conversation. hyunjin asks you about your day, tells you about theirs, and you laugh together at stories of your beloved friends doing dumb things. 

getting the basics out of the way, you ask a question that’s been on your mind all day, “how is your painting series going?”

hyunjin lets out a small sigh, but quickly follows it with a smile, “i’ve made significant progress. i still have a long way to go, but, thankfully, i’m figuring out what i want to capture now.”

“oh, good!” you clap your hands, “i imagine the sigh was because of the stress? i know we are both coming close to the deadline.”

they take a sip of their water and nod, “yes, exactly. it’s difficult to appreciate creative breakthroughs when you’re hyper-aware of the clock ticking. how is the book?”

you grimace, “honestly…not as formed as i would hope, given there’s only a month left before i need to hand in the manuscript. the story is there, but i’m just not sure if i believe it, you know? and there’s the matter of the ending…”

hyunjin’s brow furrows, “isn’t it a guaranteed happy ending?”

“yes, thankfully i didn’t have to do the heavy-lifting of deciding whether the characters ended up together. i want to make sure, though, that the ending feels real. the lovers in the story are flawed. they make mistakes, they don’t always choose what’s best, they have big feelings and even bigger questions, and, ultimately, they’re realizing that they barely know anything about real love. i’m stuck trying to figure out how to grant them the gift of true love without losing the readers’ trust in my portrayal of the lived experience of loving someone. i think…i’m worried about whether people will agree that these characters have earned the happy ending.”

“if true love is the ending, then it’s not something they need to earn,” hyunjin muses, “i think everyone deserves true love.”

you let those words hang in the air, rolling them over in your mind. eventually, you smile at hyunjin.

“i’m not sure if that’s a conclusion i can come to naturally, but i think it’s beautiful that you have a romantic outlook on it all.”

they chuckle, “well, i’m sure that beautiful mind of yours will come up with the perfect ending, even if you don’t completely agree with my philosophy on the matter.”

after placing your orders, you both opt for quiet people-watching. the view of the city from that window feels intimate. just beyond a pane of glass is the world where you and hyunjin existed simultaneously before your paths ever crossed. while it’s probably the writer in you, you sit there wondering how many people could change each other’s lives, if only they were given the chance to meet. 

the conversation is minimal throughout the rest of the meal. at times, you catch hyunjin watching you, only for them to quickly look away, seemingly embarrassed. you smile to yourself, unable to resist the cliché cuteness of it all. 

after you catch them for the umpteenth time, you tease, “you know, if we’re fake dating, there’s nothing wrong with you staring at me.”

they laugh, tucking their hair behind their ear like clockwork, “i guess you’re right.”

“mhm,” you nod, leaning back in your seat, “what’re you thinking about when you look at me like that?”

hyunjin freezes, apparently caught off-guard by the question, “what am i thinking every time i look at you?”

“okay, maybe requesting an itemized list of your thoughts every time you look at me is a bit…extravagant, even for us,” you laugh, “so i guess i’m asking what you’re thinking of tonight, while you’re looking at me like that.”

he fidgets in his seat, and you worry that you’ve accidentally crossed a line into real-dating territory. you try not to scold yourself, at least not in the moment, because this faux-pas was bound to happen at some point or another, right? 

you open your mouth to apologize for the weird question, but hyunjin answers, “i think we should end this.”

oh.

your mouth opens a few times before you can finally vocalize the only word you can think of, “what?”

hyunjin runs their hand through their hair, only to spin a ring on their finger over and over again while they speak, “i think we should end this arrangement we have. it’s been a lot of fun, don’t get me wrong, and i know we’ve both benefited creatively from it. i just think it has…run its course, you know?”

this arrangement. that phrase crashes over you like a tidal wave. you know it shouldn’t shock you because this is a fake dating arrangement. but it seemed that both of you started to treat it as something more. at least, that’s the impression you got with the intimate moments shared, the growing comfort between you two, and the abundant sweetness that surrounded you when you were together. sitting at this table and hearing these words, however, is an indication that maybe you were wrong. regardless, you can’t deny the fact that this has always been an at-will situation. if hyunjin wants to break it off, they can, no questions asked.

“i see…” you reply, hoping the pause wasn’t too long, “if that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“i’m sorry if this came out of nowhere. it must feel kind of random since i sort of…blurted it out,” they smile sympathetically, “i just think that it’s for the best. plus, we’ve both gotten what we needed out of this, right? i’ve gotten my paintings, and you’ve gotten your story. we accomplished what we set out to do.”

sure, you’ve gotten what you needed, but had you gotten all that you wanted? it feels as though there’s no use in asking hyunjin. if they wanted the same thing as you, they almost definitely wouldn’t have made the suggestion to end things.

“yeah, mission accomplished.”

you offer a weak smile, unsure of what to say next. a silence falls over you two again, signaling not comfort but the end of the conversation. you both simply have run out of words.

after saying the last thing you would have expected, after compartmentalizing everything you had built and secretly hoped you would never lose, hyunjin reaches out their hand, “no harm, no foul, right?” 

choking back tears and mustering all your strength into keeping it together, you offer them your hand and reply, “no harm, no foul.”

hyunjin removes their hand from yours and quietly gathers their things. when they ask if you’ll be okay getting home on your own, you simply nod. hyunjin believes you, or at least respects your desire for space, so, with a small goodbye–not even a promise to see you soon–he walks out of the restaurant. instinctively, your eyes move toward the street to ensure they’re heading home safely, but hyunjin chooses to travel down a route out of your view. maybe that is for the best. 

almost as though you’re the character in the movie you used as fashion inspiration, you lose track of time as you sit alone at the table. you know you need to go home, you want to get out of here, but you can’t figure out how to. when the waiter asks if you’d like more water, you shake your head and inform them that you’ll actually be leaving. 

“i hope you enjoyed your dinner!” they grin politely. 

“yes, yes, everything was great,” you lie.

“come back soon!” they call after you as you step past the threshold of the building.

you’re on the street. you’re standing where, only hours ago, you told hyunjin they looked lovely. how bitter it is to experience how much your world can change on such short notice. before you get too wrapped up in those thoughts, you will your legs to move, heading in the direction that will take you home. instinctively, you pull out your phone and call felix. when he picks up and says your name, everything falls apart.

“hey, are you okay? what’s going on?”

you sniffle, clear your throat, and beg your voice to do its job, “i don’t know, felix. i’m so confused. hyunjin…”

you hear felix jump to his feet on the other end, “did they hurt you? where are you? i’ll come get you.”

“no, they didn’t hurt me. well, not really. it’s,” a quick sob escapes your throat, muddling your words momentarily, “please come get me.”

“i’m coming. send me your location. i’ll be there as soon as i can.”

feeling comforted by the sound of his door closing behind him, you manage to say, “please bring jisung, too.”

“of course. stay where you are. stay safe. we’ll be right there. i love you, okay?”

“okay. i love you too. thank you,” you whisper, overwhelmed by the tears that stream endlessly.

after sending felix your exact location, you hide from the passersby against the corner of a building. with intense deep breathing and clenched fists, you manage to stop crying, at least enough for people to stop looking at you with concern. 

“y/n!” two familiar voices call out to you from across the street.

you smile when you see jisung and felix running towards you, and that gratitude breaks your resolve, so the tears come falling down all the same.

jisung’s face is saturated with worry, “hey, hey, what’s going on?”

felix, eyes glistening with tears, wraps an arm around you to safely lead you home. 

you stare at your feet, too emotional to look your dearest friends in the eyes while you admit, “hyunjin ended our…they broke…we won’t be seeing each other anymore. i don’t understand why, but…i think…my heart is broken.”

“oh, y/n…” felix laments.

jisung wraps his hand around yours and squeezes gently, “i’m so sorry. i honestly never would have expected this.”

“me neither,” you whisper, leaning even closer into felix, no longer distancing yourself from the truth.  

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

tag list: @velvetmoonlght @tirena1 (<333 tysm)

[performativezippers]

Could you share your thoughts about beats in writing, please?

OKAY HERE WE GOOOOO this is going to be long but honestly it could have been so much longer so oops!

tl;dr: Beats are when things in the story happen.

So in a mystery novel, for example, when does the crime occur? when do they think they've solved it, but they're wrong? when do they realize they were wrong? when is their life in danger? when do they know who did it? when does the reader know who did it? when is the b-plot introduced and when it is resolved?

These typically happen in a similar place in each mystery novel, because of course it wouldn't make sense if it went: (1) you think you know who did it, and then (2) the crime is committed. Right? or if the very first person they suspected did it and they catch them immediately! that's never what happens because then what's the other 200 pages of the book?

so there is relative order, and you know it even as a passive reader, so then the question is how spaced out are those things throughout the fic or manuscript?

in a romance, it's the same. typically we see:

meet cute/first meeting/first canon meeting (the pilot) e.g. alex meets maggie at the airport and they fight over jurisdiction, or jane and maura work a case together as usual but it's the first one where jane is scared, aka a new start to their existing relationship

why aren't they together off the bat? (aka why is this a romance novel and not a romance sentence?) e.g. alex thinks she's straight and they're good friends, or maura dates elon musk types and jane is, you know, not that

complication e.g. alex comes out and then asks maggie to be her gf but maggie says no because alex is fresh off the boat, or maura starts dating jane's dumbass brother

false high (if there is a third act breakup, this is the happy time before that) e.g. alex and maggie get together and are very happy kissing the girls they want to kiss, or maura dumps tommy because her life with jane is more important to her

low point (this is often the 3rd act breakup, but doesn't have to be) e.g. alex freaks out when family conflicts with romance and dumps maggie, or jane kills maura's dad

KISS KISS KISS (aka the happily ever after) e.g. alex apologizes and sanvers stays together forever because the show was cancelled, or jane performs surgery on maura in the woods and then they kiss forever because the show was cancelled

SO, all of those things have to happen, and beats are when. you can of course put your plot points whenever you want them. it's your life and your art and your hobby!! have fun! but if you want to learn "craft" or whatever, or get traditionally published, you need to know when the conventional beats for your genre are, so that you can show you know what you're doing.

You've noticed beats even if you haven't thought about them. Sometimes a fanfic feels like it's going on too long or ending too abruptly, which is because they didn't place their beats carefully. Maybe it's taking forever to get past the set-up, and then the ending feels rushed. Maybe they got to the end of the plot but kept writing little one-shots or vignettes that don't have any tension in them. Almost all pacing problems can be solved by beats!

There are two main beat sheets I use for writing romcoms, Save the Cat and Romancing the Beat. There are book and workshops for both. My spreadsheet I use for every book uses Save the Cat beats, which was originally developed for screenplays. Here's a screenshot of that from the spreadsheet i use religiously:

I try to focus on

inciting incident at 0 or 10% (catalyst)

fun and games 25-50%

mid point high right around 50%

Things get bad from 50-75 until dark night of the soul from 75-80%

Redemption 80-90%, climax around 90%, final snippet less than 1,000 after end of climax

I do the math on my word count and ideal final word count to reverse outline where i am. in my book that's going to be published, i was really struggling with how to fill the 50-75% chunk; it was perfectly paced up until the shattering of the false high at 50%, and I knew what would happen after the dark night of the soul at 75%, but my project was to figure out how i could keep the plot driving forward and interesting while the MC's mood and situation tanked for a full 25% of the book. It turns out in the most recent draft, that stuff is 52-86%, and is stuff i really love. i was able to work in other plot points earlier that had time to breathe and got the space they needed in that portion, as well as find the balance between 20k of boring moping and maintaining tension while the romance was tanked.

it's very very hard to use beats in a fic you're posting as you're writing it (which is most of the fics i post), but even having it in the back of my mind helps. For the Ultimatum fic i'm writing and posting now, i knew before i started posting what the midpoint false high would be, plus the dark night of the soul, plus the endgame. it's important to make sure any b-plots, or in the case other couples, get their shit resolved around the same times as Kacy does, so that we don't need too much wrap up/exposition after the kacy climax.

what other questions or thoughts do you have about beats and plot pacing? send them to me!

[elapsed-spiral]

OFMD fics (so far)

Time to update my fic list again³, check it out under the cut.

This list is getting out of control so I've added some handy symbols: 🎧 = podfic available 💜 = personal favourite ⭐ = fics you may have heard about? Maybe? I don't know, I don't have a sense for this stuff.

Cool collaboration(s) you should read immediately:

🎧💜Work Experience: what if Ed went to meet Stede when the Revenge ran aground? And what if Ed became a member of Stede’s crew? And what if things kept escalating and… Canon AU. Mature. Co-written with Shearwater.

Really no excuse for how stupid these ones are:

Watch Out, Here I Come: what if Stede had been intentionally seducing Ed? Teen

Once More, With Feeling: what if Frenchie just fixed the season 1 finale fiasco because he’s the most capable guy on the ship? Teen

Talent Show: what if Ed was crass about his sexual preferences? Explicit

Capsize on Your Thighs: what if Ed rebounded onto Calico Jack at the end of season 1? Ed/CJ and Ed/Stede (but Ed/Stede is endgame, natch). Explicit

🎧💜Your Feedback is Important to Us: what if Stede started holding open cabin hours to allow the crew to air their grievances (but was also very repressed and horny over Ed)? Explicit

Oh no Ed’s working through gender/class stuff (but make it funny):

Finery: Ed gets to wear a dress, Stede spontaneously combusts. Explicit

Tell More Tales: Stede isn’t the only writer aboard the Revenge. Explicit

🎧💜Lovers and Madmen: Ed is hellbent on marrying Stede. Explicit

AUs no-one asked for:

Novel/novella length

🎧💜Restructuring: modern AU where Stede loses his fortune before meeting Ed, but Ed’s still got more money than you can shake a fucking stick at. Only problem is, Stede lies and says he’s wealthy and Ed lies and says he isn’t. Like the show, it’s a romcom about trauma. Explicit 🎧💜⭐Baddy Zaddy: Bridget Jones’s Diary style, former porn star turned sex shop owner!Ed/still unfortunately landed gentry!Stede. Novel length modern AU. Explicit

💜⭐Prize Every Time: You’ve Got Mail-y secret pen pals but also business rivals. Novel length modern AU. Explicit

Conflict of Interest: lawyer!Stede/businessman!Ed (read: gangster). Modern AU. Explicit

Shorter uns

Intergalactic Tango: Space Waltz AU. Mature

🎧💜Trade Descriptions Act: bailiff!Ed/estate agent!Stede. Identity theft but make it meet cute. Modern AU. Teen

Your Favourite Song: locksmith!Ed/museum curator!Stede. Kinktober fill that somehow isn’t E rated. Modern AU. Teen

⭐Draft Letter to Restaurant Downstairs: Google Docs AU with a (slightly) interactive element. Modern SMAU. Teen

Blind Date: Stede and Jeffrey Fettering go on a blind date at Ed’s restaurant. I think you know where this is going. Modern AU. Explicit

Different Dimension: ficlet that crams four and a bit AUs into 850 words. Modern AU. Teen

Stuck Still: British holiday resort AU feat. events manager!Stede and bartender turned fairy!Ed (it makes sense in the story I swear). Modern AU. Explicit

💜On the Job: “kidnapping” meet cute (but not actually. Again, I swear it makes sense in the story I swear). Modern AU. Explicit

Starring Jason Statham: another weird meet cute, courtesy of Jack and the Fast and Furious franchise. Stede/Jack, Ed/Jack and Ed/Stede (Ed/Stede is once again end game). Modern AU. Teen

West Ham Is for Lovers: Lucius has a new job. It's going fine. Completely, totally fine. A meet cute fic about meet cutes. Ed/Stede but also Lucius/Pete, Lucius/Fang, Lucius/Izzy and Lucius/Olu/Jim. Modern AU. Teen 💜Conventional: back in the 00s, Ed was in a very famous movie franchise. Nowadays, he does the convention circuit. Modern AU. Explicit 🎧💜Proud: Ed attends Pride to get free mum hugs, Stede attends Pride to give free dad hugs. Modern AU. Teen KrakenAir: Stede and the crew are heading to Benidorm to celebrate Stede coming out. That is, if Stede’s all expenses spared KrakenAir flight ever departs. Modern SMAU. Teen Very Poor, Becoming Good: Aspiring Gentleman Backpacker Stede Bonnet is adventure bound when he meets fellow traveller Ed Teach at an empty hostel. Now if they could just find the owner… Modern AU. Explicit

Stolen by the Gentleman Thief: Ed is a lonely gay guy in his late forties whose favourite book is historical softcore porn. Luckily, there's a weird meet cute about to happen. Modern AU. Explicit

Oh no there’s been a containment breach (aka non-Blackbonnet fics):

💜We Do What We Like (and We Like What We Do): A brief history of Ed and Jack. Explicit (Ed/CJ)

Fealty: Stede and Izzy make one another even more miserable. Mature (Stede/Izzy)

💜Contra Proferentem: Ed is a high powered lawyer and Professor of Law at the University of Cambridge. Lucius is not a high powered lawyer but he is a lecturer of English Lit at the University of Cambridge. Stede own a very nice cafe. Explicit (platonic Ed/Lucius, Ed/Stede, no cheating involved)

[hrryfics]

famous reader

Your Love (series) @theydontknowaboutusimagines

Harry Styles is an intern at BBC Radio and Y/N is a member of the world’s biggest and most successful girl group.

Delicate (series) @all-my-love-for-harry

After taking part in one of the most tremendous scandals of all time in the music industry, Y/N returned to her hometown to disappear from the public eye for a while, hoping to drown in her own sorrows and humiliation.

Curious Time (series) @outofsstyles

A story about the years that follow and how time leaves clues that you don’t always see.

Lie Detector Test Part 2 Part 3 @alltheloveflowerh

Y/N is a famous actress getting interviewed by James Corden, and they play a little game.

I don’t believe you’ve met my baby I can hear you in the silence How long do you want to be loved @theharriediaries

actors y/n and harry styles take glamour’s friendship test that brings up old memories, raw emotions, and suppressed feelings that could turn any friendship into something far more complicated. 

Two for the Show @nationalharryleague

Jeff plans for Harry’s new opening act to be more than that. 

The Empowering Hearts @havethetimeofyourstyles

in which you’re a lonely model until you meet a baker.

Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts @harrysgoldenline

Harry and Famous!Y/N play Spill your Guts or Fill your Guts

Famous! Y/N aets asked about Cherry

Famous!Y/N gets asked about Cherry during a radio interview

Leaked Feelings @lesbianrry

where a video of Y/N singing a un-released song about Harry is leaked.

Lock & Key

famous!y/n splits and kinda tells the world she is dating Harry

Don’t Worry Darling @theonewiththefanfics

Falling in love with a co-star is something that can hurt, especially when it seems like they’re talking to other people behind your back, but falling in love with a co-star and being unable to help when they’re sick, is even worse.

Driver’s License @heyyyharry

inspired by drivers license by Olivia Rodrigo

Five Seconds @autumn-sunflowers

In which famous!Y/N and Harry are each other’s celebrity crush

Have You Met Y/N? @sheslostinreality

Actress, [Y/N] [Y/L/N], and Harry Styles meet for the first time at the Oscars. The interviewer and cameras catch the undeniable spark.

Celebrity Crush @inkslingerharry

You and Harry are both famous and it’s revealed that Harry has a crush on you.

Temporary Fix Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 @tokyoharry

you are harry’s opening act and everybody tells you that it’s not a good idea, but tour buses and gucci suits make it too tempting. 

Our First Time @hstyles-1994

In which y/n feels uncomfortable out in public and Harry wants to make sure she’s ok. 

Face It, Tiger @romcom-s

at the after party of your film - which starred you and your ex tom holland - your boyfriend harry, slightly drunk and slightly sad, spills his guts on why he’s trying to find tom in a room full of people.

Floating Through Space @watchmegetobsessed

Y/N and Harry are expected to perform together at the Grammy’s, but she is not quite satisfied with the idea about the performance. Instead, they make a deal to write a song together, but it turns into so much more than just working together. 

Mine Again

You and Harry became lovers on the set of Don’t Worry Darling but broke it off later. Now you meet again doing a promo interview on The Late Late Show.

Crushing

While playing a round of ‘Who’d you rather’ on the Ellen show, your crush on Harry becomes pretty obvious, but during a fitting later, you find out that the feeling is mutual.

Medicine @tpwkay

You’re finally given permission to cover the song you’ve wanted to perform for years and a special surprise during your performance sweeps you off of your feet.

Familiar Love @crowdedimagines

harry and y/n have a hard time staying out of each other’s arms, not that there’s a place they’d rather be

Doubt Us @thinkingoutlouddblog

Harry is less famous than y/n, causing the whole world to believe he’s using her for her success.

Better Now @bopbopstyles

Famous!Y/N and Harry broke up six months ago, but he can’t stop thinking about her. And apparently, neither can she.

Blacking Out and Breaking Hearts @dont-call-me-baby-posts

You are a successful musician, and you’re making an appearance on Late Late with James Cordon. But when James asks a question about your best friend Harry, all of your suppressed feelings threaten to come to the surface. Can you keep pushing them down?

Golden Girl @imagines-all-day-everyday

It’s your first Golden Globes and Harry wants to be the supportive little bean of a boyfriend he is, but doesn’t want to take the attention away from your big night. 

Falling: What If I’m Someone You Won’t Talk About @karimjohnson

You and Harry have been broken up for a couple of months. You have an interview for an upcoming movie you are starring in. You are going on the Late Late Show with James Corden. He asks you questions related to the movie but then he brings up some questions about you and Harry. You haven’t really talked about Harry to the public before, even when you two were still together. So you get really nervous to talk about his post break-up. But James surprises you with Harry’s new music video and song that an anonymous fan requested to play for you. As you watch the video, you notice someone in the crowd but you can’t quite place who it is. But James has an even bigger surprise for you after the show. 

[liquorisce]

In a modern sort of AU, i like to think Eren and Mikasa weren't each others firsts. They try not to think about it but its hard when they know each others previous gfs, bfs, trysts and conquests. Eren can't help but feel even a tiny bit inadequate looking at Reiner; blonde, handsome and built like the hulk. Colt might have been shorter but seeing Mikasa all touchy feely with him vexed him quite a bit too. Jean was every romcom bad guy trope rolled into one and even sexier for it. Next to all these men Eren could not help but feel mediocre.

Mikasa on the other hand was shocked that Eren (her Eren; the perpetually angry punk she eventually fell in love with) could somehow land so many beautiful women. Historia was the pretty blonde cheerleader she claimed to hate as a teenager but secretly wanted to be. Annie had the face of an ice queen but the ferocity and passion of a...particularly sexy ice queen. Even her BFF Sasha claimed she once shifted Eren at a party once ("please don't kill me it was before you met him!")

But Pieck annoyed her the most. The way she acted around Eren really got on her nerves; up close, touchy, warm. Like a cat curling up to her human.

Eren and Mikasa know how to deal with this feeling though; a lovely romantic evening followed by a passionate night. Satisfies their egos and let's everybody know that their days of freewheeling and sowing are well and truly over.

Ah I love this!! Thank you for blessing me with this today ❤️

I think it’s totally plausible when they grow up together as childhood friends they’d have spent so much time brushing off any kind of feelings they had towards each other. And it’s also possible that they didn’t develop feelings for each other at the same time (that’s how I considered it in hsy)!!

I’d like to think Mika had a phase of being really sexually promiscuous and things really begin to shift around then bc previously she used to tell Eren everything. It drives him crazy bc he had to hear about it from everywhere— Jean making elaborate date plans bc “She’s the one, man I just know it,” sounding all dreamy as he thinks about her. Colt admitting all embarrassed that she was really, really good— so good in fact, he had trouble lasting bc Mikasa always made such quick work of him. Even Reiner, with whom Mikasa’s relationship fizzled out the quickest for reasons he wouldn’t openly admit (I’d like to think he prefers men), had such a soft spot for her, he was so protective of her all the time and they had such an easygoing get-in-each-others-personal-spaces kind of friendship post break up.

He swears literally everyone is talking about how good she is, but the little voice inside his head screams to him that it’s nobody’s business but his. But he’s too scared to properly face that voice inside of him, so he squashes it. Buries it so deeply, under cigarettes and underage drinking, and relationships with girls he actually thinks he might be attracted to. Because the rational part of him knows that he’s never looked at Mikasa that way. Mikasa’s just… Mikasa. (His Mikasa, perhaps, but he’s a fool and he’s not ready to accept it.)

I defs think he gives his relationships an honest thought— when I pictured Eren dating Historia in hsy, it was an honest, cheeky, teenage emotion-filled relationship that was fun while it lasted and always doomed to fail. I think there are so many different versions of that that could be so fun to portray!!

I’ve never been into EreAni, but I like what you said, it could be an unravelling of him, an experience he thought he’d never have.

I totally agree that Pieck would annoy Mikasa the most; partly bc Pieck is so friendly even to her, she’s just so comfortable and confident wherever she is. Waltzes into Eren’s room and sidles up to him like she belongs there (where Mikasa should belong), Eren’s fingers playing with her jet black hair, the way they should have with hers. Jealous Mikasa is criminally underrepresented— I love her!

Wah thank you for your headcanons anon! Great stuff 🤩

[greengrayeyeswrites]

shit-faced in love (chapter five)

Title: shit-faced in love

Pairing: Corpse Husband x OC (fem!youtuber!reader)

Word Count: 1,158

Warnings: Mental Health/Mental Illnesses are a big topic in this story. Mentions of depression, bpd and other mental illnesses. Angst, Fluff.

Note: This may be a Corpse x OC story but feel free to insert yourself into the main girls role. If Corpse ever announces that he doesn’t like fanfics about him, I’ll delete this.

Prologue — Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 — Chapter 3 — Chapter 4 — Chapter 5 — Chapter 6

Author’s Note: Hello guys! I am very, very sorry that I didn’t update this any sooner. I’ve had a lot of troubles with my mental health lately, especially my bpd acting up and making me feel so worthless I wanted to punch myself in the face with a chair... But I thought that I need to get my shit back together and post a new chapter. I am really sorry about the delay. All these likes I am getting on a story that I mainly write for myself is overwhelming... so a massive thank you!

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORPSE!

— — —

Imogen ended up being MIA for two whole days. She didn’t update her Twitter after cancelling the stream and didn’t upload anything on her Instagram story and her feed. 

The day after her bad mood swing she stayed at home and Baylee came over. The two girls were spending the day on the couch watching silly old-school romcoms; Buddy sitting in between them in case Imogen needed him.

They were watching movie after movie, falling asleep in between and Imogen felt bad for Baylee. She apologized for being so unmotivated, boring and weird today but Baylee quickly shook her head and told her that it was okay. 

Imogen couldn’t believe how happy she was to have Baylee as her friend, but since she was shifting from black to white thinking and back to black, she couldn’t really feel the happiness she knew existed somewhere. 

All she felt was emptiness and sadness. The episode lasted four whole hours and Imogen fell asleep crying in the middle of it. 

On her final day in Houston, Imogen and Baylee decided to go shopping and Imogen wanted to spoil her best friend. She got her a new computer and a new phone—which Baylee couldn’t quite believe. But Imogen was persistent and wanted her to keep the things.

Imogen then rented a beautiful NCT green colored Jeep Wrangler; which the girls immediately tried out when they were driving to the Space Center Houston for their last day.

„You almost sounded like MrBeast, when you gave me the phone and Macbook“ Baylee chuckled, as the girls looked for a parking lot in front of the Space Center. „I mean I’m meeting him and the crew next week for the first time, so I have to practice“, Imogen grinned, feeling way happier then a few days back.

„D’you already know what you’re doing with them?“ Baylee asked, but Imogen shook her head, when her phone rang with a message notification.

„Would you mind?“ Imogen asked nodding towards her phone, that was peeking out of her totebag in front of Baylee’s feet. Buddy was lifting his head from the backseat, looking at his owner and her friend.

„You got a voice message from Corpse“ Baylee read the notification on the lock screen and Imogen gulped. „Would you mind playing it?“ The twenty-eight year old asked and Baylee nodded, unlocking Imogen’s phone and pressing play.

The first thing both girls could hear was shuffling in the background before Corpse’s deep voice rang in their ears. „Whaddup baby?“, he asked and a shiver went through Imogen’s body, while she maneuvered the car into a parking lot. 

Baylee slapped her hand over her mouth, staring at Imogen in shock. Hearing his go-to phrase so close to her ears and so intimate was kinda scary. Baylee felt like she was eavesdropping.

„How are you feeling?“ Corpse asked, „We were kinda worried when you didn’t respond to the group chat. I know I go MIA as well but you usually told us what was wrong. Rae was worried and I was as well. Please text us soon, so we don’t have to worry anymore.“ 

A quiet breath left his lips and Imogen looked over to Baylee, who was still covering her mouth. „I hope you finish your MrBeast stuff soon. I want to meet you real quick!“ Corpse finished the message and the phone screen turned black.

„Oh my god“ Baylee let out and stared at Imogen. „I felt so bad for listening, Mo!“ She cried out and Imogen gulped. „I feel so bad for not telling them what happened. I know how worried they get when I don't text!“ Imogen shook her head.

„Here, here!“ Baylee pressed the phone into Imogen’s hands. „Text them now! Tell them how you’re feeling and what you’re up to today!“ Baylee turned around to Buddy.

„Buddy, I can’t believe I heard Corpse speak like that! He was genuinely worried!“ Imogen watched her best friend and shook her head.

She had to be honest. Hearing Corpse’s voice like that made her heart jump a little bit. What was he doing with her? She didn’t even know what he looked like, yet he made her heart do weird dancy-dances. 

She knew Baylee was watching her, while she typed into her phone. She knew Baylee wanted to know what she wrote—and she would’ve told her, if she wouldn’t be so shy about it.

When the women came home this night, Baylee decided to crash over in Imogen’s AirBnB. They stayed up most of the night and talked about everything and nothing. They were talking about Baylee’s crush on her co-worker, that didn’t even notice her presence. They spoke about Imogen’s therapy and medication and how Buddy had helped her out of so many dark places already; and then, as the sun was about to rise again, they fell asleep.

— — —

They woke up to Buddy licking their faces, wagging with his tail only a few hours later. Baylee sat up and looked at Imogen, fighting her dog off her.

„You know what? I’m going to miss you.“ Imogen finally got Buddy off her and looked at Baylee. Tears filled her best friends eyes and Imogen looked at her. „Bay“, she whispered and crushed her best friend in a hug. „This week went by way too fast“ Baylee cried into Imogen’s shoulder. „I swear, before I go back to Ireland, I’ll take you on a vacy to Hawaii. So be prepared to take a few days off, once I’m done with my travel!“

Imogen started laughing and Baylee grinned. „Gotcha!“

After having a breakfast together, Baylee helped Imogen pack her stuff and load it into the Wrangler. Imogen was fastening Buddy in the backseat, when she closed the door behind her and hugged Baylee once more.

„Take care, Mo.“ Baylee said and squished Imogen’s cheeks. „I will.“ - „No, I’m serious. When you feel low or sad or empty , turn off the cameras and hold Buddy. Okay?“

Imogen smiled. „I will. Thank you, Bay.“ The girls hugged once more, Baylee clinging on to Imogen as if her life depends on it. „I just wish I could quit my retail job and follow you around, being your camera woman or something.“ Baylee sighed and Imogen looked at her.

Imogen’s brain buzzed. „Keep that in mind, Bay. Okay? I’d even pay you.“ Baylee looked at Imogen and the Irish lass grinned. „Whatever you say, big girl“ Baylee grinned and softly banged the side of the Wrangler.

„Go and take the NCTzen car through the states.“ Baylee grinned and stepped aside to her own car. Imogen grinned and climbed into the Wrangler.

„Good luck on these 1,270 miles!“ Balyee yelled, as Imogen turned on the engine. „Take breaks in between okay?“ Imogen nodded and started backing out of the driveway.

Baylee disappeared into the distance and a piece of Imogen’s heart broke, when she left Houston behind.  

to be continued...

Taglist: @wineandionysus​ @chanbaeol​ @rexit-mo

[simeonisalesbian]

After seeing lady demon asks my pan heart just 💥, can I get some general relationship head cannons with these wholesome ladies? I love your interpretation of them

God I'm so fuckin soft for the demon ladies honestly.

Lucifer:

shes very work oriented so you will have to actively work to get her attention.

It's not that she's forgotten you or anything, she's just so use to focusing solely on work

She'll grumble for a second complaining that she has work that needs to get done when you try to pull her away but willingly relaxes as soon as she is out of her office.

She does at least attempt to plan dates for the both of you however when you're working for the prince of the devildom and have 7 siblings stuff happens

Will continuously apologize to you feeling she's not caring for you enough when she has to cancel because beel ate all the food that was for the next few days or when Mammon sells of Levi's stuff causing a full out war within the house

Just reassure her that you understand and you still live her. Family is very important after all.

Also her pride won't let her admit it but she would very much like to be the little spoon every once and a while.

Please hold her so she doesn't have to worry about carrying the weight of everything for a while.

Mammon:

shes clingy af. If she doesn't have anything planned she'll just follow you around like a lost puppy

She'll back of If u need space of course but she will be pouting about it a bit.

Give her shiny rocks. Girls love rocks.

hell give her anything and she will willingly lay down her life for yours.

She'll also end up gifting you various little chrams and stuff whenever she has the cash either saying "it was a 2 for 1 sale so i got us a matching set see?" Or "it just remindedof ya. Not that im thinking of you all the time or anythin"

please please please go on late night drives with her. She doesn't even care where really she just wants to be alone with u for a bit.

This being said she really loves going to the Drive-Ins with you(plus they're usally cheaper than actual movie theaters. And you can sneak in your own snacks easier)

Leviathan:

Look if you don't watch her gaming streams are you really even dating lmao

jk but she would really like it if you'd at least check them out from time to time.

Let her info dump for hours and you'll have a happy demon in your hands.

She's really touch starved but to scared to initiate and sort of physical contact so you'll have to take a bit of initiative

actually if if doesn't have to do with gaming or anime she'd prefer if you took the reins. Her confidence is shitty and she doesn't want to mess anything up around you ����👉👈

She really prefers to stay in her room with you all the time but totally understands that you want to go out and about

Suggests aquarium dates after you been together for a while and beach dates for when the weather is warmer.

she would also die if you offered to do couple cosplays with her.

Satan:

She's is the type to judge you based on if you pass a cats vibe check.

So the way to her heart is through her cats that she's snuck in. Befriend them and Satan will love you forever

Another one who will info dump on you but will do it with books that you've read or expressed an interest in. She wants you to take part in the conversation as well of course.

will give you romance novels just to see which tropes you like best. If she acts on some of these tropes well that's just purely coincidental

Cat👏Cafe👏Dates👏 she really just wants to go. Seeing you covered in cats would be the best thin in all. The three realms.

Study dates are another go to. However she does expect you to to actually study. She'll find a way to make it fun though, don't worry.

Asmodeus:

she loves to watch romcoms with you simply to find silly date ideas

she loves to hold onto your arm and call herself your arm candy.

Spa/ self-care days are a must. Any time either of you are even the slightest bit stressed she insists upon a relaxation day.

Will buy outfit that will look good on both of you saying "Your the only one who can't match my beauty darling!"

She'll beg you to go out to parties with you but won't force you if you're uncomfortable with it. She just wants to show off her SO 💖

If you don't see her until after RAD classes or something she will come to you room telling you about her day and any drama she caught up on.

Will pull the "aren’t you forgetting something?" Anytime you try to leave the house without a hug or kiss from her.

Her devilgram will become filled with pictures of you two doing various things with sweet cheesey captions

Beelzebub:

She's not very good at expressing how much she loves you but she does try.

She'll always give you a bit of what ever foods she ordered, smiling brightly always saying "it's good right?"

she's pretty quite but she's really good at listening. So if you just barely hint at wanting something you will have it asap.

she also really cares about her family so if you're both out shopping occasionally she'll pick up something saying how one of her siblings would like it.

She does the same thing with you though so don't worry too much about it. She just has a heart the size of her stomach and wants everyone to be happy 😊

she prefers it when you both work together to plan dates simply because if it was up to her she would pick on food only.

so you both split the planning up. You pick the activity for the date and beel can pick the meals.

She always can spot you in the bleachers from the field during her sport events. She'll always wave to you too whenever she has the chance.

Belphegor:

She's also really clingy. But takes it to a whole and literally clings to you like a baby koala.

She does try to stay more awake when she's around you. As much as she loves seeing you in her dreams, she loves seeing you when she's awake more.

She enjoys picking tiny petty fights with you over little things like which color is better or which constellations are the best.

They rarely ever escalate but if they do she does back pedal imedally letting you have the win. She just likes the playfully banter she doesn't actually want to fight.

she rarely ever plans a date unless it's a special occasion. She always picks a nice scenic place that you can watch the sunset or just stargaze.

The two of you have matching plushies and she carries hers around with her cow pillow.

[djemsostylist]

Every once in a while a show sort of creeps up on you, you know? You don't really expect much of it, and then it sort of quietly wows you. Ada Masalı is that show.

At its surface, AM is about a city girl who falls for a small town boy, and all the clichés that entails, and that is the core of the story. I think that's part of why it's so good--bc this story had a premise and it's kept that premise solid. City girl moves to small town and falls in love with a local and everyone learns lessons along the way.

But AM takes the tropes and clichés and does them well. I've written before about how they take the basics and give them just enough "oomph" to make them special. I'll quote myself here, if I may:

Haziran and Poyraz both seem to fit into pretty typical roles: gruff, silent man and bubbly, talkative woman. But they’ve given each character enough nuance to move them out of the typical mold. Yes, Haziran is bubbly and talkative and a little overly loud, but she has a reason for it–silence in her childhood meant anger and fighting with her mother, and she learned how to fill the silence with talking. She is also very competent at her job, genuinely kind, smart, and driven. Poyraz is the “strong, silent” type, but he manages to subvert the “asshole” which far too often comes with the role. Like Haziran, he has some difficulties in his past, but he also seems well adjusted, smart, genuinely kind, focused, and again, competent. He and Haziran are true equals in this show, which is rare in romcom couples, particularly Turkish ones. They both are in similar financial situations, they both seem to have similar philosophies and outlooks, and, perhaps most importantly, they are both head over heels for each other and they both know it, even if they are unable to say it out loud just yet.

At the time when I wrote the above piece, I believe we were just before episode 6 or 7, so the secret hadn't been revealed yet, and at the time I speculated that it was likely to drop before their relationship started, and I was correct. This show continues to take the obvious and turn it on its head.

Poyraz and Haziran are one of the few dizi couples, and certainly the only romcom couple, I've seen where they have entered into a relationship that isn't built on a fragile house of cards held together by mutual attraction. This couple is completely and totally all in, and it makes sense. They've had conversation upon conversation about their parents, their past, their fears, their insecurities, their concerns. They've seen each other vulnerable and hurting and scared and been there for each other at their lowest. They have complete and total trust in each other, in their love for each other, in their relationship.

There is attraction yes, certainly, god is there ever, but there is also a deep affection. They like each other, which may seem a silly thing to fixate on, but so many times with couples I ask myself "okay, but do they even like each other though?" and in this case, they genuinely do. Poyraz loves her rambling and her overreactions and the way she hops from one idea to the other but somehow always manages to make it work. He loves that she works hard and never pawns off the hard jobs and he loves how genuinely kind and caring she is. He memorizes everything because he liked her before he loved her, and that's huge. And same for her. She loves his kindness and his empathy, his ability to fix broken electronics and his stubbornness when it comes to getting his way. She loves his honesty and his pride and the way he can't ever really say no to her. I think she also really loves that he doesn't let his past affect who he is. There's a connection between them that started with a spark but grew into something actually real.

The best bit, though, is that this is the first romcom couple I've seen (there may be more) that enter the relationship on completely equal terms, no secrets, and no uncertainties. All their secrets from each other were cleared up long before they ever said I love you. They are both in a similar place life wise--financially they are both probably around equal in terms of overall assets, they both have equal romantic histories (probably a series of short term relationships but nothing big or long lasting), they both value hard work and honesty and kindness, they are both mature adults who have been "out" of their parents house so to speak (yes, both still live with their respective parents, but neither play the typical "kid" role--they both are honestly more in the caretaker role), they are both college educated with business acumen. They both have had difficulties in their past, but neither allow those issues to hurt others--they both possess enough self-awareness to know how their issues effect them personally and they both work to ensure their issues don't become someone else's burden. Poyraz helping her with her fear of water or Haziran talking him through his mother are not them burdening each other, or using their issues as a reason to avoid a relationship--on the contrary, they build their bond by supporting each other through their pain. And, and this one is perhaps most important, they both love each other equally, and they both knew it before it was ever said outloud. That Poyraz could say "I love you" and Haziran could say it right back, no hesitation, speaks volumes to where they are both individually and as a couple.

Perhaps what's been the most refreshing is them communicating, constantly. When these two fight, they share their issues, their anger, their irritation, and then they work through it. The way they talk through their issues, every time, is honestly stunning for how completely refreshing it is. When they get mad at each other, they don't act like everything is fine while actively treating the other like crap--they explain the reasons behind their anger/irritation, they listen, they talk. The scene this episode of their banter after their fight on the first date was incredibly refreshing--bc it wasn't actually fighting. Haz was upset bc Poyraz ruined their first date--which he acknowledges, apologizes for, and then makes up to her, and she accepts. Their playful flirting in the kitchen the next day is just that--fun and playful and both of them are in on it. It's not Haz treating him like shit under the guise of "comedy", it's not him purposely being an obnoxious pain in the ass. It's them being cute and flirty and light after their fight the night before, which they already solved with a text conversation.

What I love most about their relationship is that I buy it. Completely. These are two people who aren't going to run when things get tough, who aren't going to play coy about their feelings, who aren't going to fight just to fight. We've seen them be honest and straightforward in their feelings, good, bad or otherwise. We've seen them fight for each other and their relationship. We've seen them encounter problems (whether in their relationship or in life) and work through them, together. And perhaps the greatest part of their relationship is that they allow each other to be exactly who they are. They are both allowed to feel the things they feel, and the other lets them. They are given a safe space to be themselves, and to know that they will always have the support and love of the other person, no matter what.

I said I thought this show was about love, at it's core, and all the ways love manifests, and I still think that's true. But I think this show is also about happiness--and about the idea that we can't always know exactly what is going to make us happy. True happiness can't always be predicted--what you think might make you happy isn't always what actually does, and sometimes that's a hard thing to accept. All of the characters on this show have a view of the world and what will bring them joy, and one by one I think we are seeing that change. Sometimes what makes you happy is the thing you didn't expect.

This show is hardly perfect. It's a dizi, and it has it's flaws. And without knowing how long it's set to run, the chances of it losing focus is not an impossibility. But this show continues to delight and surprise--from introducing new characters like Batu who are far more than they appear, to continuing to keep us guessing with old ones, I think AM has the chance to be a romcom people remember as being special. I'm hoping right now for between 20-25 episodes, which would allow us to explore their island and it's story in the detail I think it deserves, without leaving too much room for nonsense to creep in.

I think I'll leave this here for now--sometimes a show is more than it seems, and sometimes a show is exactly what it seems. AM is both and neither, and I'd be willing to argue that it's the summer's best. The focus in the diziworld seems to be entirely on the summer's other two romcoms, but AM stays quietly getting better by the week. I look forward to what these writers have in store for us in the weeks to come!

[vanillafrog]

Stress in the Headquarters

Pairing: Javier Peña/You (AFAB Reader)

Summary: Javier is nothing but a man who has his very specific forms of stress relief. When abstaining from one, his tension just seems to increase without stop. So you decide to help. After all, it might just be your fault slightly.

Word Count: 1796

Warnings: Smut!! M receiving Oral Sex; lowkey public but the blinds are closed

A/N: You may be wondering why I write so many Javi fics. The reason is because I like to ruin @barricade-gal :)

Javier Peña was a man built of stress and tobacco. More of one than the other on most days. There were very few moments in his life where there was an absence of stress and those moments were usually found under sheets with strangers that he paid for. But recently, he no longer found himself emptying his wallet on the Bogota streets.

Everyone knows the classic tale of the man whore who found chastity when he fell in love. Most of the time, those romcoms were nothing more than a romcom, something to make fun of at the end of the night. Javier never saw himself as the main love interest in such a thing but life was a funny way of turning things around.

The moment you began working under him, Javier had thought of a thousand different ways for you to work under him. A week after you came, he came in his hand more than a half dozen times. To say he was fixated was putting it lightly.

He knew his reputation better than anyone else ever could. After all, he was the one who made it like that in the first place. Javier also knew that if he did want a shot at you (though he shouldn’t try since you work together), he needed to clean up his act. After all, you deserved more than a man who couldn’t keep it in his pants.

So his main form of stress relief was tobacco and strangely enough, that didn’t work for everything he found himself frustrated with.

You wore a particularly tight skirt? He chain smoke a pack of cigarettes in less than two hours. You laughed at his joke and touched his arm? Well, he hoped he didn’t have to run that day. You leaned forward to show him something with the top two buttons of your blouse open? Javier would find himself in his office, head in his hands with a cigarette hanging from his lip as he tried to ignore the throbbing in his pants.

The moment you had turned twenty one, you applied to the FBI Training Academy and graduated with flying colors. You were put into the DEA without a second thought because everyone knew you were sharp. As eagle eyed as you are, you knew how Javier felt the moment his eyes first raked across your form when you met for the first time.

You could also tell that he was trying o find relief with cigarettes rather than whores to prove that he was more than just his reputation. So, you put it to the test.

You’re no evil mastermind, you would even argue that you were far from it. But you got a sadist pleasure of making him squirm from the smallest of things. And three months into your test of wills, he never broke once. Tension just built on top of already existed stress to the point of near seam bursting.

Javier was in his office smoking his fifteenth cigarette of the day when you walked in. His eyes subconsciously took in your form as you closed his office door behind you, locking it as you went. He watched as you shut the blinds as well but didn’t dare say something to you.

“How are you today, Agent Peña?” You asked once you were guaranteed some form of privacy in the office space. With your hands intertwined behind your back, your breasts were pushed out and it took everything for Javier to keep his eyes connected with yours.

“The same as always, hermosa.” He put out his cigarette as he leaned back in his seat. “Was there something you wanted?’

Javier was trying his best to stay calm but the moment you stepped into his office, his pants were ten times tighter than they were before and all the blood left his brain. Today you wore the tightest skirt you had to offer and your pink blouse (a noticeable favorite of his since it’s his favorite colors) had the top two buttons open. It was like you were the apple and he was Eve, more than willing to take a bite.

“It’s more of what you want,” you said with a sultry smirk. Your heels clanked against the hardwood as you started to walk behind his desk. “You’re been so stressed lately.”

He prayed you couldn’t see the way his cock strained against the denim of his jeans or how it twitched when you set your hands on his shoulders.

“We have a stressful job.” His voice was deeper now, thick with lust and there was no way he could hide how he felt with the warmth of your hands bleeding through the fabric of his shirt.

“Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be allowed to,” you brushed your lips against his ear making Javier bit his lip to hold back a moan. “Relax.” You nipped at his ear, lips trailing down to his neck. Javier gripped the armrests of his desk chair tightly, hoping it would ground him somehow. If this was a dream from falling asleep at his desk again, he didn’t want it to end.

Sucking and biting at his neck, you let one of your hands caress his chest. He was breathing hard and heavy, like his lungs couldn’t get enough oxygen to his head. They probably couldn't, considering the blood had left there minutes ago.

“Hermosa.” He moaned as your fingers brushed over his nipple. Javier shifted slightly in his seat, needing to relieve some of the pressure on his aching cock.

“I want to take care of you, sweet boy.” He whimpered at the nickname. “Won’t you let me?” Javier nodded, unable to speak with your lips pressed against him. Your hand found home in his head and you yanked back his head so he could look at you with hooded eyes. “You got to use your words, baby.”

“Fuck-“ he licked his lips. “Please take care of me.”

With a devilish grin, you dropped his head and spun the chair so he was facing you. He stared up at you with lust blown eyes and a deep flush spreading across his ears and coloring the tips of his ears. You knew that your time in his office was running out before it became suspicious so you fell to your knees and started to unbuckle his belt. Purposely rubbing against the bulge making Javier whimper.

“You’re going to need to stay quiet for me. Can you do that?” Javier nodded his head enthusiastically as his hand buried into your hair to hold you close to him. The sound of you unzipping his pants mixed his panting breaths as you nuzzled your face against his clothed cock. Javier bucked into you and softly apologized though you knew it was half hearted as he was too aroused to really notice his reactions.

He wasn’t wearing any underwear so his cock was instantly in front of your face and exposed to the cold air of the office. Javier was squirming, making it bob in front of you. He was big, like really big which made sense for the confidence he emitted whenever (which was always) he walked dick first.

You couldn’t help but lick your lips.

Leaning in, you licked a long stripe from base to tip that made Javier throw his head back against the seat with a drawn out moan. You wrapped your left hand around the base and swirled your tongue around the leaking tip, tasting his pre-cum. His hand tightened in your hair.

“Be quiet.” You mumbled before swallowing half of him causing Javier to let out a choked out groan.

He tasted of soap, hours old sweat, and something that was just Javier. You knew instantly you were going to be addicted to this. His taste, his sounds, the way he stretched your lips making you imagine how it would feel when he fucked your pussy. You wished now there was more time for that but you would have to settle for a few hours of burning arousal.

Bobbing your head, Javier softly bucked into your mouth, chasing his own pleasure. He quieted himself down but moans and whimpers still fell from his lips as he lost himself. Eventually he looked down at you on your knees in front of him. When did he get so lucky? How did he get so lucky?

You swallowed around him as your eyes met his. He let out a few curses and you felt him throb. There was no way he was going to last long, not after abstaining from anything like this for three months. Not when you are making him feel so good.

Your free hand cupped his balls and his mouth fell open as his brow furrowed. The throbbing intensified. You bobbed faster, rolling your tongue as best as you could on the pulsing vein. His breathing was even heavier as you pumped the parts you couldn’t fit in your mouth.

“Fuck, cariño, I’m going to-“ he didn’t finish before he pulled you farther down him making you choke slightly. He came in your mouth for a long time, forcing you to swallow as much as you could but still filling your mouth with his cum. His body shook as his felt his soul leave his body. Sweat ran down his flushed face as his back arched, hips stuttering against your hand.

Javier slowly calmed down, back meeting his chair again and hand dropping from your hair. You pulled off of him, he hissed. Instantly, he missed the warmth of your mouth. He wished there was a way he wouldn’t have to leave it ever even if that wish was impossible.

You stuck your tongue out at him, showing him the cum that you didn’t shallow. He watched transfixed as you made a show of shallowing. His now soft cock twitched at the sight. Gently, you put him back into his pants and adjusted his clothing before standing and placing a peck to his lips.

He looked confused and tired.

“I’ll see you after work, Agent Peña.” With that, you simply walked out of his office leaving the blinds closed.

Javier just stared at where you once were. He knew it from the beginning but now he had the proof he needed to know. He was fucked and he was now the main interest of a shitty romcom. Or a porn with too much story. He hoped that this time things would go well because he didn’t know if he could really handle any more stress.

He lit a cigarette and tried his best to read the files in front of him, ignoring the ticking of the clock with hours to go before he could return the favor.

[minimitchell]

callumhighwayweek day 3 - “You just left!” (ao3 link)

.

October in Walford is this weird mixture of the last remnants of summer flooding the days with sun and warmth, and autumn plunging the neighborhood in greys and dark clouds. It’s this strange combination that means you never know if how you dress in the morning will still be appropriate in the evening.

Today, the sun bathed the day in golden hues, warming the streets and sending everyone out into the parks and beer gardens one last time. Even now, with the sun long gone and most shops closed for the night, it’s not exactly cold, only a slight chill hanging in the air.

Callum is on his way home from work, having left his office half an hour ago when he realized there was no way he was gonna get all that paperwork done today. He loves being a social worker, he really does, but he could really do without all the bureaucracy.

He’s contemplating whether he can justify getting some chips for dinner tonight when he passes right by the Prince Albert. There’s music blasting inside the bar and spilling out onto the street; the sound of laughter and chatter from the people milling around outside filling in the air.

Callum has gone there a few times himself, mostly because it’s close to home and not as tacky as a lot of other gay bars in London. He can’t help but feel a bit envious of all the punters and party-goers there today; they’re definitely having a much better day than he is.

His gaze travels over the people standing around the metal tables outside the Albert; over the people smoking, talking and flirting with one another. He watches them until he reaches a couple off to the side a bit, huddled in the corner between the bar itself and the building next to it.

The way to his apartment leads him directly past the two men and he gets a closer look on them when he draws nearer. The guy pressed in the corner is more than a head shorter, oversized denim jacket hanging over a tight, burgundy shirt. Callum can’t see his face from his current angle, his view shrouded by the taller man standing in front of the guy. One of his arms is outstretched against the wall next to the shorter guy’s head and he’s not only taller but also wider, muscles bulging under his ridiculously tight shirt.

They make an odd couple but who is Callum to judge anyone. Just because he doesn’t have a relationship at the moment, hasn’t had one for quite a while to be honest, doesn’t mean he gets to pass judgement on others.

Upon stepping closer and closer to the pair though, Callum realizes the situation isn’t at all what he had previously thought. Because from where he’s coming to a stop now, only a few meters away from the two men, it doesn’t look like they’re a couple at all - quite the opposite in fact.

He can now see the face of the man being pushed in the corner and he definitely doesn’t look very interested in the other guy. He keeps leaning away from the man and rolling his eyes, looking down into his pint glass or looking over the other guy’s arm for something. What, Callum isn’t really sure of. But it’s clear the taller guy is blocking him from leaving the situation.

It only takes a second for his brain to decide he needs to step in. He needs to intervene.

There’s no way he could ever square up to this guy and his bulging muscles though so he does the next best thing he can come up with in that brief moment it takes him to cross the street to get to the two men - he creates a lie.

“Kevin? How dare you, we were supposed to be getting married today. I stood there at the altar and you- you just left! And now you’re here frolicking?”

The guy in the corner looks torn between laughing in his face at the ridiculous line he came up with on the spot and being grateful Callum’s giving him an out. Callum knows his acting is completely over the top, pearl-clutching and dramatic breathing bad, but it seems to do the trick. When he looks over at Muscles the man looks exasperated and he’s finally retracting his arm from the wall between Callum and the other bloke.

“Are you the reason he left me? Because he will do it again, you know.”

The man mouths an irritated ‘what the fuck’ before he shakes his head and heads away from them, disappearing around the corner with not even a glance black at them. Callum watches him leave, making sure that he’s really gone and not just lingering somewhere until Callum is gone again, before he turns back around to face the other man.

He’s leaning back against the brick of the building now, looking up at Callum in amusement. Up close, Callum finally has time to take in his face, noting how his pretty, blue eyes are sparkling with mirth and how his nice, pink lips are twisted into a smirk.

“I don’t know whether to thank you or be offended.”

“Sorry?”

Callum doesn’t remember saying anything that could’ve offended the other man but now that he’s said it, his brain starts going a mile a minute, recounting every word. Maybe it was stupid for him to assume that he needed to be saved by Callum and couldn’t defuse the situation on his own.

Thankfully, the bloke takes pity on him before he can overthink this even further.

“Do I honestly look like a Kevin to you? I feel like that’s an insult. And I don’t know how I feel about apparently leaving you at the altar. Seems pretty stupid.”

Callum huffs out a laugh, tilting his head to the ground to mask the smile breaking out on his own face now. He isn’t sure whether he should take the guy’s flirting seriously or not, but he can feel his cheeks heat up anyway.

“It was the first thing that came to my head, okay. Don’t take the mick now.”

He isn’t sure where all this confidence is coming from right now. It’s not that he’s shy or anything, but he usually isn’t the best at flirting with guys he doesn’t know. But this guy in front of him just has an aura about him that calms him and gives him that tiny boost to flirt back.

“Well, I’ll be forever grateful, strapping young stranger.”

Callum is just about to reach out his hand and introduce himself - he doesn’t exactly know why, he just knows this guy is drawing him in an almost miraculous way - when the guy gives him a wink and walks back towards the entrance of the bar.

The guy only turns around again when he’s already pulling the door open, hand wrapped around the metal handle, giving Callum another small smirk and a very obvious onceover.

“See you around, hero.”

Callum watches him disappear back into the bar, leaving nothing but a growing curiosity behind.

It takes him embarrassingly long to continue his way back home.

.

Callum can’t help but let his thoughts drift back to the stranger again and again over the next few weeks. He lies awake at night and thinks about his pretty blue eyes and his devilish smirk. He zones out while he’s doing paperwork at the office and imagines all the ridiculous ways they could meet again - at the café, while grocery shopping, while he’s out on a run. All the romcom clichés possible.

He thinks about going back to the Albert and looking for the guy multiple times a week but he doesn’t want to come off as desperate. He has an unsubstantiated crush on a stranger, he doesn’t want to add the term stalker to the mix of things already swirling around in his head. Who even gets lovestruck like that anymore?

Callum’s not a teenager; he’s had relationships. So he doesn’t understand what it is about this one guy that drives him crazy likes this. It’s like he subconsciously knows there’s a reason they met; a reason why he’s so drawn to him. There’s something special there.

It simultaneously intrigues and scares him.

It’s also, just maybe, the reason he suggested going to the Albert when Frankie brought up the idea of a family night out. They’re not biologically family, all of them, but he’s grown up with the Carters and he’s been around them more than his own family. So he’s like an honorary Carter. To him, they are as much his siblings like his biological brother is.

Tonight, it’s him, Nancy and Frankie all settled around a table away from the dancefloor with a good view of the whole club. Callum is sitting with his back to the bar, knocking back one of the many shots Frankie made them buy, scrunching up his face in disgust. He’s not a hard liquor guy; it goes to his head way too quickly and the result is almost always him embarrassing himself in some way.

Your turn.

Frankie points at the cocktail glasses on the table after she signs the words, bright smile on her face. Callum loves his sisters, he does, but they do take advantage of him being nice way too much. He grumbles but he still gets up and makes his way to the bar regardless.

It’s only when he squeezes past the people blocking his way and his view of the bar is clear, does he see a face he didn’t think he’d see again behind it. A face he desperately wanted to see again. It’s the guy from the other week, only this time he’s only wearing a black dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms.

Yeah, Callum’s definitely interested in him.

He slides up to an empty space at the bar, waiting for the man to finish up with his current customer and take his order. Recognition washes over the guy’s face when he turns and faces Callum, the same smile from before tugging at his lips.

“Hero! What a nice surprise.”

His voice is even smoother than it was in Callum’s memory and he does seem pleasantly surprised to see Callum in front of him right now. It calms the erratic beat of his heart a little, because it’s better than disinterest or the guy not even remembering him at all.

“I didn’t know you worked here.”

It’s a ridiculous thing to say because he doesn’t know the guy at all; doesn’t know the first thing about him really.

“I don’t. Just helping out my mum for the night - she owns this place.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

The guy keeps looking at him and Callum is almost embarrassed to admit that he gets a little lost in his eyes, drowning in a sea of blue and grey. The moment stretches, their gazes locked on another for what feels like an endless time, but is probably only a few seconds. The guy seems to shake himself out of it after a moment, closing his eyes and seemingly shifting back into business mode.

“What can I get ya?”

“Uh, two Strawberry Daiquiri and a pint, please.”

His order is met with a nod and a sly smile and the guy gets to work straight away. Callum follows the movement of his hands with his eyes, watching as he grabs the bottles of alcohol and starts mixing the drinks.

“You here with some friends?”

It takes a second for Callum to register that the guy is still talking to him, trying to keep their conversation going while he’s making Callum’s order. It makes heat travel to his cheeks, because surely this means there’s at least some interest there from the guy as well.

Or maybe he’s just looking to make a good tip.

“Family actually. Well, kinda.”

The drinks soon appear in front of him and Callum scrambles to pull his card out of his wallet, when the guy behind the bar darts a hand out to stop him. In doing so, he touches the back of Callum’s hand with his fingers, making goosebumps break out over his arm at the touch. It’s like a current is running from his fingers right to his heart.

“It’s on me. Little thank you for the other night.”

He gives Callum a wink, smile still firmly in place. Callum can’t put it any other way, he’s completely bewitched by him.

“Well, thank you. Kevin.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.”

Callum gives the guy one last, flirty smile before he gathers his drinks and focuses on getting back to the table in one piece. The last thing he wants is to embarrass himself in front of the man right now. He does however hear the faint question from the other bartender about why he called the guy Kevin.

There’s adrenaline flowing through his veins though and he can barely conceal the stupid glee on his face when he joins the girls back at the table, sliding their drinks over to them. He almost feels like a little schoolboy again, getting the guy he has a crush on to notice him and flirt back and feel fucking good about it.

They fall back into easy chatter, talking about their work and what’s happening in their lives. Callum conveniently leaves out any details about the guy he’s infatuated with, only telling them about their first meeting in vague details. They think he should go for it, find the guy and ask him out. If only they knew the guy is closer than they think.

Nancy seems more and more distracted throughout the evening though, looking behind Callum again and again until finally, she slaps his arm and leans forward to him.

“Okay, don’t turn around now but the fit bartender keeps looking over at you.”

Frankie runs her hand through her hair to mask her looking over to the bar but when she looks back at him her eyes are as wide as the smile on her face and she pats his forearm excitedly a couple of times.

“Oh my god, he is. Cal, go get his number.”

“What? No, I can’t just do that.”

They don’t agree with that sentiment.

Over the next hour they keep pestering him about going back to the bar and getting the guy’s number. It’s futile to argue with them, he knows that from many, many experiences growing up, but he’s adamant that he’ll just make a fool out of himself and that they must be mistaken about his apparent interest in Callum.

In the end, he comes back from the loo to an empty table and a text from Nancy saying ‘go get him. we’re rooting for you xx’. Callum sighs and falls back into his chair, tipping the last of his pint into his mouth. He should’ve seen it coming; they were way too giddy about him going to the bathroom.

So much for a family night out.

He’s about to pocket his phone to call it a night when a bottle of beer appears on the table in front of him. When he follows the arm attached to it, he finds the guy, Kevin, on the other end, a beer in his own hand as he sinks into the seat opposite of Callum.

“Ben.”

It’s all he says and the confusion must show on Callum’s face because he huffs out a laugh and continues.

“My name is Ben.”

He tips his beer bottle towards Callum, waiting until he grabs his own and clinks them together in a silent toast, bringing them both to their lips in perfect sync.

“So not even close to Kevin.”

“Not even close.”

They share another smile with each other and it might be the alcohol flowing through his veins but from where Callum’s sitting Ben looks more than interested in him. More so, he looks almost hungry, full off barely restrained want now.

Maybe he’s also dying to get to know him; inspired to turn their chance meeting into something more.

“Hm. I’m Callum.”

“Nice to meet you, Callum.”

Ben buys them another drink once they’re finished and Callum doesn’t even notice the hours ticking by, too enthralled in getting to know Ben. They stay until the other bartender yells at Ben that she wants to close up and when they leave the bar with loud laughter spilling onto the street outside, Callum doesn’t feel an ounce of hesitancy when he accepts Ben’s invitation to continue the evening at his flat.

He feels good about this one. Really good.

He thanks his lucky stars for chance meetings.

[be11atrixthestrange]

Waking Up In Vegas Chapter 13

After a night of debauchery, Ron and Hermione wake up in Vegas... married.

Muggle!AU. Romcom!Romione. Slow burning, smutty, angst-fest.

Rated M for reasons.

Ao3 | FFN

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More Chapters

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[Ron]

The moment immediately after Ron admits his feelings, and before he draws up the courage to snog Hermione senseless in public seems to last a lifetime, and it's bursting with questions.

Why does he hesitate? He can't simply tell a girl he's falling in love with her, pause to stare at her lips, panic, and then do nothing.

But that's what Ron does. Maybe she's thinking the same things he is: that they agreed not to kiss, and they weren't expecting to admit such strong feelings, nor were they expecting them to be reciprocated. Although it feels silly not to kiss, doing so would feel like breaking a promise, and they have all night to kiss, so what's the rush? Why risk outing their relationship at the wrong time simply because of the heat of the moment?

Or maybe she's simply wondering why the fuck he isn't kissing her.

However long the moment lasts, it's over when a drunken Seamus staggers up to them and interrupts.

"Ron, Hermione! I've been looking for you," he says, stumbling through the crowd to greet them, oblivious to what he's barging in on. "We're going on the Deathstick. Come on!"

Seamus points to the ride in question — the Deathstick — and next to Ron, Hermione groans in response. In the middle of the venue is a thrill ride that towers up and through the ceiling. Riders pair up into compartments and rotate around a tall pillar, rising through the ceiling until they… well, Ron doesn't actually know. Presumably, they drop, but it all takes place above the roof, out of sight. That's probably part of its appeal.

The pair follows behind Seamus, and Ron can sense the reluctance from Hermione. One glance at her pale face tells him she's not much of a thrill-seeker.

"You good?" he asks.

"I'm not sure about this," she says, eyeing the tower with trepidation.

"You don't fancy an adrenaline rush?"

Hermione laughs. "Oh, I do. It's just that my idea of an adrenaline rush is a glass of wine and a murder mystery."

A glass of wine and a murder mystery sounds fantastic right about now, and Ron can't help but smile at the thought of Hermione curled up on the sofa with a book, her legs on his lap, and a cabernet in her hand.

In the London flat that they share, of course.

"Well, that sounds amazing," says Ron. "We don't have to go." His heart sinks the moment he says it, and he's suddenly aware of how much he wants to go.

"You should go," she says, noticing his reaction. "I'll wait for you."

Ron smiles at her and turns toward the ride. The rest of the wedding party has already partnered up for the two-person compartments — Harry with Ginny, Dean with Seamus, Neville with Luna, and Demelza with Lavender. Ron's all alone.

Ron looks back at Hermione and follows her gaze to a group of girls — possibly another hen party — running into a similar dilemma. Hermione scowls as one of the partner-less girls scans the crowd, looking for someone to ride with. He can hear a faint suggestion from her friend, "Why don't you ask that red-head? He's cute…"

"I'll go with you," Hermione says, smiling back at Ron. "How bad could it be?"

"Are… are you sure?" he asks, unable to stop the smirk that spreads across his face. She's jealous.

"Yes, I'm sure," she says. "I wouldn't want you to ride alone, or worse, with a complete stranger."

"Agreed, I'd prefer to ride with my wife than a girl I just met," says Ron, winking at the girl who's both. They proceed to the ride entrance, and Hermione hesitates before letting Ron pull her along.

"I'm sure the view up top will be worth it," she says, her voice shaking.

Once they reach the front of the line, they pile into the tiny cell and strap themselves into their harnesses. Hermione's fingers intertwine with Ron's as the doors close, and she lets out a small whimper. Ron squeezes her hand.

"It'll be over soon," he assures her, even though he's not sure he wants it to be. It's probably only a five to ten minute ride, and the small compartment has a lot of privacy.

As if on its own accord, his thumb starts caressing the top of her hand.

They start their slow ascent to the top, passing through The Slug Club's ceiling into the night sky. Hermione squeezes Ron's hand more firmly, and Ron can feel her rising pulse through her fingers.

"How are you doing?" he asks.

"I'm okay," she says, her voice trembling.

Las Vegas shrinks as they ascend into the night sky, until they're floating above a sea of sparkling lights. The neon signs, vehicle headlights, and illuminated windows pepper the desert floor, now looking like tiny, electric legos that Ron could pick up and hold between two fingers. From up high, the city looks like the perfect set of pieces to rearrange and create something new from scratch. It reminds him of his childhood daydreams when he would build castles and fortresses with blocks and imagine he could fit inside and live there. He'd write himself into stories about knights, talking statues, princes, and princesses, and play out the unlimited possible futures and happy endings.

The weight of Hermione's hand pulls him out of his reverie, but only partially. There's something magical about the moment, hovering above the world, with the commotion of the city reduced to candlelight, that keeps him tied to the innocent optimism of his younger self. As a child, Ron lived his life guided by a heart that had never been broken, and he would have had no issues falling in love with a princess before learning her middle name. Maybe there's wisdom in that forgotten mindset because right now, the idea of building something beautiful from nothing and writing his own happy ending feels more relevant than ever.

"Check out that view," says Ron, breaking the almost silence.

They rotate on the axis, and Hermione's eyes tear up as she admires the electric grid below. Ron continues to rub circles onto her hand, matching the calming pace of his breath. Hopefully, she feels a moment of peace too.

Away from the ambiguous city noise at ground-level, it feels like he's been submerged in silence at first, but as his ears adjust, the subtle sounds of their breath fill the space. It's a sound he hasn't heard in a while, and upon a closer listen, he starts to make sense of it — it's like its own language, nuanced but informative. His calm, rhythmic breath matches the peace of the moment, and as they slow to a stop at the ride's highest point, Hermione's choppier, erratic breathing reminds him that at any second, they'll drop into freefall.

"It's beautiful," she says, squeezing his hand back and admiring the view.

"So beautiful."

Hermione must sense by the closeness of his voice that he's looking at her, not the view, and she turns toward him with a smile on her face. They lock eyes, and the heat in her gaze suggests that if she weren't strapped down by a harness, she'd be snogging him senseless by now.

Then they drop into freefall.

The quiet of their carriage turns to screams of adrenaline as they plummet toward the ground, only to rise and drop again; how many times, Ron doesn't know, but he grips her hand as the only still, unmoving anchor to reality as the world blurs around them.

Eventually, their screams turn to laughter, and Ron's relieved to see Hermione smiling wide, her eyes sparkling. Her face is red, her hair is frizzing out every which way, and Ron has never seen anything so gorgeous.

"That was amazing!" he says once he catches his breath, and his heart rate returns to normal. "How do you feel, Hermione?"

"I don't know yet. Give me a second," she says, but her smile suggests she's just fine. "A little dizzy."

"Well, let's get you to a bench."

As they exit the ride and head over to a bench to rest, the rest of the wedding party pours out of their compartments, unsteady on their feet, and Ron has to stop himself from looping an arm around Hermione. Instead, he reaches for her arm under the guise of supporting her balance.

"I'm so proud of you!" he exclaims when she plops to a seat.

"What? Why?" she groans, leaning back on the bench and closing her eyes. She deepens her breath as if staving off nausea.

"Because you just did something that terrifies you, and it took a fuckload of courage."

Hermione laughs. "You did it too."

"Nah. Stuff like that doesn't scare me," he says as he sits next to her and waves off her questioning glance. "You're amazing, Hermione. Really."

Her eyes crack open for a moment, and she smiles at him. Ron's extra aware of the distance between them and how easy it would be to close it. He could just pull her into his lap for a quick snog. Who's really watching?

He doesn't have the chance to act on the temptation before Harry's panicked voice diverts his attention.

"Ginny! Are you okay, love?"

Harry sprints past their bench faster than a lightning bolt to where a sick Ginny is leaning over a rubbish bin.

Without a second thought, Harry rolls up his sleeves to hold her hair back. He doesn't bat an eye when she's sick yet again, and when she finishes, Harry pulls her into a hug and kisses her forehead, paying no attention to the risk of contaminating his shirt.

"I want that," mutters Hermione, staring wistfully at Harry and Ginny.

"Want what?" asks a confused Ron.

"Aren't they cute?"

Ron scoffs. "No, they're not. Look at them. They've never looked worse," he says, laughing.

"Well, that's exactly what I mean!" says Hermione, turning toward him now.

"Explain yourself."

"You and I think they look… awful right now," she says, gesturing toward Harry and Ginny, who are still embracing. "But even though they're stumbling drunk and covered in sick, they still think the other is the most attractive person in the world. I think it's sweet."

Ron watches his sister and future brother-in-law. Harry mutters something in Ginny's ear that makes her smile. The look in his eyes is one that Ron never wants to see directed at his sister, but Hermione has a point.

"I want to know what that's like," she says.

Ron looks over at Hermione, and he can't help but smirk.

"What?" she asks, her eyes narrowing.

"You do know what that's like, Hermione."

For good measure, he tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She catches his hand and leans her cheek against his palm. Her cheeks flush pink, and in a bold moment, she turns her head and presses a kiss to his hand.

He almost gets lost in the moment before he remembers that the reasons he can't kiss her are the same reasons he can't stay here and cradle her face. She seems to have the same realization and lifts her head, letting his hand drop back to his side.

She smiles at him, and there's a glint of something in her eye — mischief, maybe.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks, fully knowing his tone comes off as suggestive. He doesn't care.

"That I owe you a drink."

Ron raises his eyebrows. "But didn't we agree to stay sober tonight?"

She raises hers back. "Just one drink?"

Ron smiles. The way he sees it, his best life decisions have been made while drunk with Hermione Granger.

"Just one drink," he confirms.

Hermione grins, and by the look she gives him, he knows that she doesn't mean just one. It's okay, though, because he doesn't either.

When they reach the bar, Ron's disappointed to discover that they aren't the only ones in the wedding party with the idea. It appears that the adrenaline rush of the Deathstick has made everyone thirstier, so their friends scatter in pairs around the taproom. With everyone's attention a quick shout away, Ron's hopes of stealing a kiss from his wife diminish.

"Hello again, Mr. Weasley. Miss Granger. Can I get you a drink?" asks Rosmerta, approaching them with a smile.

"Sure," says Ron. "Madam Rosmerta, what is the most popular cocktail at this bar?"

"Madam! I like that!" smiles Rosmerta. "Our most popular drink would probably be Felix."

"Never heard of it!" says Ron.

Rosmerta leans across the bar as if preparing to tell him a big secret. Hermione and Ron lean in to listen.

"Years ago, a customer came in and handed over directions to concoct a very specific drink. He called it 'liquid luck'," she says, winking. "At first, we laughed at him; thought he was taking it way too seriously. He was a very superstitious type. The joke was on us, though. He hit up the casino and left five million dollars richer. We ended up naming the drink after him."

"Bloody hell. We'll take two of those!" he says, sending a questioning glance toward Hermione, who nods.

"Don't get too excited," says Rosmerta as she fixes up two shimmery golden cocktails. "No one's ever been able to mimic that level of luck, though many have tried." She slides the drinks across the bar to Ron and Hermione and shrugs. "It tastes good, though."

Ron reaches into his pockets to fish out some cash for Rosmerta. She deserves a big tip for putting up with a rowdy crowd like this one, and who knows what rude customers she's had to deal with today.

"Thanks, Rosmerta! Can you hold the straws on those, please?" he asks, just as Rosmerta is reaching under the bar to grab two plastic straws to plop into their drinks.

"You sure?" she asks, hesitating before the open cabinet.

"Yeah," says Ron. "Save the sea turtles, right?"

"As you wish!" says Rosmerta.

Ron turns back toward Hermione and opens his mouth to speak, but pauses when he catches her eye. There's a fiery passion in her gaze, and it's something that Ron has never before seen in a woman's eyes, at least not directed at him.

Her look is like a spotlight, yet he doesn't mind the attention. It feels like he's on a stage, and no matter what he says or does, it will earn him a standing ovation. He can't help but wonder if Hermione's ever looked at a man like that before, but before his insecurities can take root, she springs forward and crashes her lips against his.

It takes some time for Ron to process what's happening before he responds. He's not entirely sure how much, as time might as well stop turning. When he gets his bearings, his fingers snake into her hair, and he holds her head in place, although he doesn't need to as she makes no effort to break away from him. She kisses him with a passion that Ron would expect behind closed doors only; the way her tongue slides between his lips is slow and sensual, yet eager and full of lust, and the sound she makes when he gently tugs at her hair sends Ron's mind spiraling into dangerous fantasy territory.

With great reluctance, they pull away, panting to catch their breath. Ron doesn't even think to look around and check if anyone saw them. As far as he's concerned, they're the only two people in The Slug Club.

"I know we were trying to keep this quiet, but—" she says, but Ron cuts her off by pulling her lips back to his.

The second time is even hungrier. Ron can feel Hermione's teeth bite his bottom lip, teasing him, as her hands slip around his shoulders. She lets out a soft moan as her fingers trace the muscles of his arms, and any negative thoughts he's ever had about his body — too lanky, too scrawny, not athletic enough — float to the background and become irrelevant. The increasing pressure in his shorts suggests he's close to getting carried away, and although he wouldn't mind, he doesn't want Hermione to get a slap on the wrist for public indecency, so he forces himself to pause.

When they surface for the second time, Ron notices that she's ditched her bar stool and is standing before him, leaning her weight against his leg, dangerously close to his growing erection. His arms have managed to wrap around her hips, and his hands are shamelessly resting on her bum, but again, he pays no mind to the crowd. There's only one person that matters.

"I haven't even had a sip of Felix yet, and I already feel like the luckiest man in here," he says. "What inspired this?"

"It was everything. I swear every time you look at me, and every little thing you say, it gets more difficult to keep my hands off of you."

Ron pulls her against him, tilts his head up, and presses a light, chaste kiss to her lips. He loves that she's short enough to reach his lips when he's sitting down, and her face is just as beautiful from this new angle. He wants to see it from every vantage point possible.

"What was the tipping point?" he asks, his tone playful.

"The straws," she says. "And the 'save the sea turtles' bit."

Ron beams. Straws. Of course.

"What did sea turtles do to make you love them so much?" he laughs, tightening his embrace. "And can they give me some tips?"

Hermione smiles down at him and toys with the hair on the back of his neck. "You don't need any tips," she says, inching her lips closer. "You'll be just fine."

She closes the space between them, and once again, he immerses himself in kissing her. As if they're back on the Deathstick, the ambient noise of the surrounding crowd fades away, and he finds no difficulty tuning into the sound of her breath and the taste of her lips.

Nothing can distract him from this moment. The wolf-whistles around them fade away, and Ron has all but forgotten about the two sparkling gold, untapped glasses of Liquid Luck on the bartop. He could kiss her forever, taking mental notes on every response, every reaction, eager to discover this growing language between them, and the endless stories it can tell.

[mendesficsxbombay]

loving you is the antidote | s.m

A/N: I wrote most of this with two badly injured fingers, but when creativity strikes, it strikes! his name hasn't been mentioned in this fic... at all. hope you like it! 

requested fluff from this prompt list

17: mmm… you’re warm

18: you’re so cute when you’re sleepy like this 

19: I’ve had a rough day and honestly all I want right now is a hot drink and someone to cuddle with 

“And up next ladies and gentlemen is a very special guest, she’s starring in Golden - hailing from India and known over the world is a critically acclaimed actress with awards lining up longer than the line of fans waiting to see her, and let me just tell you that line wrapped around the block!” James Corden jokes. The audience goes wild as he announces her name and she walks out onstage, the cheers nearly deafening as she crosses the room, all smiles and poise in her red bottoms, taking a seat opposite the host’s desk. 

“Can I just say something we start, you were the most requested guest on the show after BTS, and there was a damn near riot for the last two days for people who wanted to catch a seat here!” He exclaims motioning to the audience and a faint blush rises to your cheeks at the attention of the audience cheering and hooting for you again. 

“Hey, can’t compete with BTS!” She grinned back at him, “I don’t know if everyone knew this already, but I love those guys! They’re taking over the world aren’t they? And, can I just say something, too? I’ve loved the Late Late Show since the first time One Direction were invited as guests and that was a long time ago…”

“Wow, a fan is amongst us, that’s so nice to know! But enough about bands, let’s talk acting,” He moves to hold up a poster of her upcoming film, the sole reason for her to be on the show, “Golden comes out in just a few weeks, and from what we’ve seen so far it’s going to be everyone’s new favourite romcom very soon! Tell us a bit about the film!”

“I’m so excited, I can’t put it into words - Golden was like, the movie of my dreams, it was a story that I always wanted to see on a screen but playing a part in a movie like that was really just unbelievable,” she dishes out, filled to the brim with love for her upcoming project, “It’s a story about new love, the whole process of falling for someone and the new feelings that come with it and how different people address it differently, I think there’s something everyone can take away something from it - there’s something for everyone.”

“You said it was your dream project! Really?”

“Yes it was! I think when it comes to love stories we tend to see most things in black and white, but it’s high time we told stories that address the grey areas, too, you know? Like there’s going to be insecurities, there’s going to be doubts and second thoughts but whoever you’re in love with, you need to fight through problems and you’ll only come out stronger. A great love story isn’t the one where things get hard and fall into place immediately after, it’s the one that’s seen it all, it’s the one that’s worn in and still stands as it was the day it started - so I think it was a really important project for all of us to be part of,” she replies sincerely, nothing but pure honesty and now a little coyness dripping from her words, “And I hope it’s an important film for you, too,” she shyly looks over to the audience, which, listening intently so far, now responds with more hooting and clapping. 

“Is there anything from your personal life that made you feel closer to your character? I mean we all do have doubts here and there but I don’t think someone as like you would have to go through that” He adds, and while she knows this is just to butter her up the crowd’s reactions are varying affirmatives. When James sees her shake her head in disagreement he quickly speaks up, “It’s literally impossible, I mean, you’ve been titled most desirable woman in Europe and you’re not even European!” He’s exasperated in a way she’s seen before, but only through her television screen. A light spark is felt in her chest when she realises that this may only be one late night show of many, but she’s finally ticking off her childhood dreams. 

“Alright I’m gonna be honest, I’ve never really had very serious long term relationships before so I thought I was pretty much immune to these feelings but there was this one incident that really stood out for me - and even if it did or didn’t help me while filming it taught me an important lesson so - would you guys wanna know? I don’t wanna bore you or anything…” she baited the audience, her eyes glinting with mischief. She didn’t plan on giving out any details if she were being honest, they’d been so good so far but this seemed appropriate. She found it to the correct time to show off how mature and amazing and sensitive he is, and how lucky she was to have fallen in love with him.

“Ah! Do tell!” The host leans forward, propping his chin on his hands as he was ready for story time. 

“Well, this was in London last year. We had basically set up camp in the city for the movie for about… 7 months, I think. I had a few days off between schedules, but there was this one day that went really bad.”

She’d slipped and hurt her ankle right before leaving her apartment that morning. Her favourite jacket was nowhere to be found and she’d had a fight with her agent by mid day. The last few days of filming before she got a break were taxing, mentally and physically, but the exhaustion was now catching up to her. Whether she liked it or not, her day was nowhere near good and she hated to have to whine about it to anyone. 

“This boy I really, really liked was also in London at the time, and he - well he,” is a multi platinum selling artist that tours the world and plays shows for tens of thousands of people every night, “travels a lot for his job and that would’ve been the last day I would have a chance to meet him. And our relationship was still fairly new, it was just the beginning and I mean - you know what it’s like at the start - you never want this person to see you in your worst condition, I knew he wanted to see me, but I told him I wasn’t really in the mood for it and there was no option but to put this off for another time.”

A meeting with her team had confirmed that she would be working on her birthday this year. There was a photoshoot with British Vogue lined up the same day that could not be moved to another date, and she had fought tooth and nail to free up the date, so far as requesting for them to just free up those 24 hours and she was willing to put in double the work through that week, but they wouldn’t budge. To anyone else this would look and feel like a diva meltdown, and she felt guilty, too. It’s just that - her birthday was always spent with her family. Every year without fail. Her family would free up their schedules to spend a good day together, and she already saw very less of them since her career had taken off, this just felt like she didn’t hold the reigns to her life anymore. 

Getting out of the meeting, she texted him for a rain check. The words felt heavy to even type out, this really was the last chance they’d have of seeing each other for another two months until his Europe tour ended and she wrapped up her film. But there was no way she could let him see her in this condition. She needed to go home and curl up in a ball and cry a bit to just have an outlet - but she also needed him, his body pressed against hers and his strong arms wrapping her in, making her feel safe. Her fingers flew over the keypad for a second, pursing her lips to try and think of what could possibly soften the blow, not only for him but also herself. 

hi my love, I hope you’re having a good day so far. I know we planned on you coming over today but I’ve had a rough day and honestly all I want right now is a hot drink and someone to cuddle with, and I think I’m in love with y- she tutted at herself, pull it together. She hit backspace, wiping out the text and typing again. hi my love, I hope you’re having a good day so far. I know we planned on you coming over today but I’ve had a rough day and I think it’s best if I spend some time alone, I’m really sorry for cancelling

“So you blew him off so you could go home and cry? That was your big plan?” James asked, clearly amused and you could only laugh at how silly it all was. 

“Absolutely! That’s exactly what it was! I wanted to go home and wallow in peace. When I cry it’s not pretty at all and I didn’t want him to see that but he ruined all my great plans!”

She could see that he had opened the text within five minutes of her sending it, and didn’t reply. Was he mad at her? She would understand if he was. With the way the past few days had tested her emotions, this was the one thing she could take full responsibility for. She reached home soon after, washing herself up and changing into the fluffiest pair of pajamas she could find. She fixed her hair into a loose bun, scrubbed her face free of makeup and took her contact lens out to wear glasses. She’d given up on the week and now she looked like it, too. 

She had only just found herself comfortable in front of the large flatscreen in her living room when she heard three sharp raps on her front door. Great. Now she would have to tell off the poor person who chose to come her way today of all days. When she swung the door open, her jaw fell open, too. 

There was the boy who took up space in all her daydreams lately, with two big bags of what looked like food, dressed down in a baby pink hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. Grey sweatpants. 

Seeing her unmoving for a few moments he welcomed himself in, and shut the door behind himself. He took off his sliders by the door, a habit he learned from her, and walked further into her apartment. He stopped for a second, only to place a soft kiss to the side of her head. He rounded off into her open plan kitchen, unpacking the two bags. He pulled out two large pizzas, and a crate of what looked like Nesquik chocolate milk. 

“What, um, babe what are you doing here?”

He turned around, as if he was surprised she was talking to him, even with the two of them being alone in her apartment. “Hmm? Oh, don’t mind me, just dropping off some food for you, I’ll be out in a second.”

“Why?”

It’s his turn to stay quiet. 

“You said… you said you didn’t have a good day, and I didn’t want you to be alone,” his voice was soft, keeping in mind the energy of the space between them. If she wanted she could just reach out and touch him, make herself believe he wasn’t a figment of her imagination, but not just yet. “I don’t really know what happened… and I don’t want you to tell me unless you feel comfortable and uh,” he ran a hand down his neck, slowly looking back up at her, “I got you your favourite food… it won’t make things better but… you can have it if you need. Got the toppings right as well.”

He opened the lid of the pizza box and slid it over to her on the counter. A large veggie supreme with no corn, extra olives and jalapeños. Just how she liked. The longer she looked between him and the food the longer he felt like he messed up. 

“I - I just wanted to drop all this off and be on my way, sorry for bothering you I just needed you to know it’s okay to have bad days and I know you wanted to be alone but I jus-“

“Stay.”

His eyes snapped back up to read her face, catch any signs of discomfort or annoyance or anything that would let him know she didn’t actually want him to stay. 

“Really?”

“Please stay,” she whispered, overwhelmed. She rounded around the kitchen island, pausing just for a moment to take a good look at his face and then pushing onto her tiptoes to hug him as tight as she could. If he felt the stray tears on his neck, he didn’t say anything. 

She’d planned on camping out in her living room and binge Brooklyn 99 ’til she eventually passed out but now that he was here, she wanted nothing but him. Turns out he did, in fact, think she would ask him to stay, and the second pizza he got was for himself. Sneaky bastard. Also a really lovely, thoughtful bastard, she thought. 

“And then we spent the rest of the evening just catching up, I drank like, four gallons of Nesquik, so I think I got high on that. But the one thing he taught me that day was that some things just aren’t in our control, and it’s not correct to punish ourselves for what could have been, y’all know what I mean?” She saw a few heads nodding in the crowd, proud of herself for sharing this story. “I think we’re all willing to forgive others no matter what, but we should learn forgiving ourselves, too. Also - crying is the best form of therapy - always!”

“And - so how did this night end?” James batted his lashes at her, causing her cheeks to flush even though there was nothing of the sort that he was implying. 

“Nothing that you think - I ended up falling asleep before midnight and he had to leave soon because he was supposed to catch a flight the next day. That’s it! That’s my great story!”

“mmm… you’re warm,” she mumbled into his shoulder as he carried her up the stairs to her bedroom. Her voice was scratchy and worn out, she did cry a good amount, after all, and then they’d eaten, finished half the crate of the chocolate milk he brought after which she’d snuggled up to him, and slowly drifted to sleep. He’d made her comfortable on the couch while he cleaned up after them, deciding to tuck her in before he had to return to his hotel. “I’ll really miss you when you’re gone, you know that, don’t you?” She continued mumbling things into his neck that he couldn’t quite understand, and then pulled away.

Slowly blinking up at him, she bit her lips, hissing at how sore they felt because she’d forgotten how he had kissed her, slow and deep, after their meal. No wandering hands, no further moves. Just them, just kissing, as the 99th precinct continued to save the day in the background. This had quickly become her favourite day they had spent together and she was clutching onto the last fleeting moments. 

“And I’ll miss you just as much,” he replied, laying her on the mattress, moving away to turn on her night lights, the room now lit in hazy gold from one corner. “You’re so cute when you’re sleepy like this.”

Her eyes followed him around the room, biting the inside of her cheek to keep any second thoughts at bay. “Can you keep a secret?” She whispered, mind suddenly more conscious than it had been all evening. What could she say, being this close to him caused cross connections sometimes. 

He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, taking her hand in his again. “Of course.”

“I think I’m in love with you, and it scared me to let you leave without you knowing.”

The biggest smile she had seen all day slowly broke out on his face, bringing their entwined hands up to his lips so he could kiss the back of her hand. “Can you keep my secret?”

When she hummed, he sighed out dreamily. “I know I’m in love with you. I have been for a long time.”

Tears gathered in her eyes for the third time that night, and soon he was gone. 

“So this boy you say you liked, what’s he like? Do we know him? Does anyone here know him?” James perks up cheekily, and she knows exactly what and who he was aiming at. She can feel her cheeks heat up under the makeup, thank god for full coverage foundation. 

“I think he might get by… maybe you know him, maybe you don’t…” she trails off but she knows James would want more. She knows most people who consider themselves her fans must’ve seen the few times she was spotted with him over the last year. There was a grainy video of the two of them standing very close at a small pub in Toronto, a few photos of the two of them walking hand in hand in Hyde Park while she was still filming in London, the one 35mm photo he posted of himself by the fireplace in her house, the same house that was the backdrop of many of her own photos. She knew they knew. But the two of them had never confirmed or denied anything, keep ‘em guessing and all. The sneaking around was half the fun. The other half was not having the media and the general public up their asses for every minuscule detail of their private lives. 

“So it probably wouldn’t be someone we’ve seen before right? You don’t happen to know this devilishly handsome Canadian singer - his face looks like it was carved from marble - has the voice of an angel?”

She tapped her fingers on her chin as if in deep thought, “Nope, sorry doesn’t ring a bell. But it sounds like you do know someone like that,” she smirks back at him, “What say, James, wanna set me up?”

“An opportunity to set up an Oscar winning actress? I wouldn’t dare pass up on that!” He seemed delighted, fully aware that his show was the first and only one to have had her spill any details about her personal life at all. 

Soon, he thanked her for being on the show, reminding the viewers to grab tickets to her upcoming film before announcing the next guest. She was brought backstage to pack up and head home, but not before she had her promotional photos taken with James, and in their signature photobooth. By an absolute coincidence she pinned her photo next to her love’s, smiling at how pathetic and mushy it was. 

Later that night as she got ready for bed, she saw herself tagged in a video by the Late Late Show’s Instagram account. It was the one of her talking about how “the boy she liked” taught her a life lesson and how she asked James to set her up with interested suitors. 

She found herself smiling at the video, when she felt his presence behind her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her into him. She let out a blissed sigh, and felt him nosing at her neck, dropping stray kisses as he liked. He cleared his throat lightly, sending chills down her spine due to the proximity. 

“Heard you’re looking for handsome Canadian singers to be set up with, where do I apply, Miss Golden?”

taglist: @shawnwyr​ @mendesstories​ @lanallaa​ @sleepybesson​ @rulerofnocountry​ @luvluvxx​ @wholesomemendes​

dm to be added or removed ♥️

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

Natural Space and Drawn-On Suns

Summary: In a world filled with soulmates, Roman had long ago accepted that ve was never going to have one. The Universe had chosen to be a bitch to vim, and ve was stuck with that. So even though it was very in-character, Roman thought it was pretty rude of the Universe to make vim fall so hopelessly in love with two soulmates, too. Content: (Not actually) unrequited love, (mutual) pining, mention/reference to various (minor) injuries, technically one very minor reference to self-harm, panic attack, some poorly timed laughing, references to not sleeping well/bad sleeping habits, happy ending; nb!roman, nb!remy, genderfluid!logan, all characters are implied to be aromantic, soulmate au Ships: QPR rolosleep, pre-established losleep Note: For the majority of this, Logan uses the atlantis pronoun set- a/lan/atla/atlan/atlantiself. I mention this because the ‘a’ pronoun confused me many a time while writing, and I don’t want it to confuse you while reading

~

Confessions. Roman loved them…

...as tropes.

In real life? Not so much.

Maybe it would’ve been better if they weren’t soulmates. Maybe it would’ve been better if ve had a soulmate of vis own. Maybe it would’ve been better if Roman’s concept of romance existed past poorly written dime novels and cheesy romcoms.

Maybe it would’ve been just as hard if all the odds were in vis favor.

But as they stood, they weren’t great.

And yet… Roman still wanted to confess.

No, scratch that.

Needed to confess.

Ve couldn’t go on like this. They were just… so in love. Almost too in love, depending on who you asked, but Roman never saw it like that. Maybe that’s because ve’s biased. Ve found ve didn’t care that much.

They were real soulmates, unlike some of them. Some matches never clicked. Some took time.

Logan and Remy took time, but they hadn’t needed it. You could see it in their every action, their every word, their every small glance at the other. They didn’t even have a good meet-cute and they still fit better together than any couple Roman had ever seen. From two strangers forced to share the last seat on the bus to soulmates who’s every move around the other was laced with something, something more than love, something that was made from the stars themselves.

And it was etched across their skin too, the stars and constellations that decorated Logan’s skin at every spot Remy had bled and the planets on Remy that marked the spot of Logan’s every bruise. Space flowed in their veins and held them together.

Roman wasn’t as lucky. For all the beauty ve had seen in soul markings, it had only ever been on others. It had never been scales on vis burns or flowers on vis scars- better put, never markings on vis skin where vis soulmate’s had been marred. Because ve didn’t have a soulmate.

And that had hurt. Hurt worse than the tiny cuts and bruises that had near constantly lined vis arms until high school, in the hopes that vis soulmate would see them and know Roman was there. Hurt worse than going through high school watching people laugh as swirls and hearts appeared on their skin, ruminating on what their other halves could be getting up to. Hurt worse than seeing the college couples roaming campus, hand in hand, matching in injuries and patterns and bright smiles filled with adoration for the other. It hurt to know the universe, or fate, or whatever had abandoned vim, had left vim to yearn for the sort of connection it was supposed to give vim but didn’t. Left to yearn for desires that would never be fulfilled.

So, of course, in response to vis anger and betrayal and annoyance, the universe (or fate, or whatever) had sent vim Logan and Remy.

Aka, it had stabbed vim in the back and asked vim if ve had anymore complaints about vis situation.

Remy was an astronomy major who was sassy, aloof, and very vocal about the fact that they couldn’t wait to be away from earth and to the stars. Logan was a marine biology major who was withdrawn, sarcastic, and eager to sink into the depths of the ocean. Complete opposites heading in the same direction, Logan had called them once, her head on Remy’s shoulder while they did their homework and muttered about how space didn’t have homework.

Roman had watched them from where ve had been working on vis own bed, wishing that direction was towards vim.

It wasn’t going to be, of course. Multiple soulmates existed. If Roman was meant to be a part of their happiness, ve would’ve been their soulmate.

But ve wasn’t.

And that should’ve been the end of it. Ve should’ve moved on, should’ve settled with the fact ve was only ever going to maybe find love with others like vim, should’ve been happy to be Logan and Remy’s friend and nothing more.

Vis heart had other plans.

It refused to give up. It refused to move on. It refused to accept the kindness Logan and Remy showed vim as acts of friendship and instead went searching for proof of something closer.

Remy bringing Roman a coffee when they got one wasn’t Remy just being nice to and considerate of their roommate, it was a gift and sign of affection. Logan helping Roman with some of vis homework wasn’t them just trying to be helpful, it was an excuse to spend more time with Roman. Them inviting Roman so many places with them wasn’t just a gesture of friendship but instead a precursor to actual dates.

Vis heart was wrong, of course. It didn’t actually mean anything that Remy had vis coffee order memorized or that Logan always leaned so close to vim when showing vim vis mistake or that ve couldn’t remember the last time the two of them had been on a just-them date (even when Roman hadn’t been able to come to the outings they had invited vim on, they always ended up cancelling anyways, normally staying in with vim instead). Vis heart was still wrong, still seeing things that weren’t there.

So why was Roman entertaining it? Why was ve going to confess to Logan and Remy, admit that ve could see the galaxies on their skin in their eyes as well, lay vimself open before them even though ve knew ve would only be met with rejection?

Partially because ve knew it was the only way to crush that hope, once and for all. The only way to get over them was to know ve could truly never have them. Even if it stung like poison and burned like magma, Roman needed them to stare vim in the eyes and tell vim they liked vim, but only as a friend.

It was mostly because Roman was a lovesick fool.

So, here ve was. Sitting on vis bed, dressed up nice in a white dress layered in red, good looking but not uncomfortable, feeling like a complete wreck.

The three of them were supposed to be going to dinner. Some place nice, nicer than Roman was really used to, especially for something as simple as friends hanging out. But Remy had said they were also celebrating Logan’s most recent test score being absolutely stunning (and Logan just being stunning in general), so Roman had accepted it. And ve was going to tell them then, after ve had snuck around them and paid the bill vimself and when the meal was at end, so when things went horribly ve’d be able to just leave right after. It was a simple plan. It was a great plan. Ve even knew the outcome, so it was a guaranteed plan too.

Yet there was a pit in vis stomach the size of the moon and it felt like there were stars in vis throat, stealing vis breath as ve tried to breathe around them. Because for as good of a plan as it was, there was still one problem: Roman.

Ve didn’t want to know that Logan and Remy didn’t want vim. Ve didn’t want them to tell vim they only liked vim as a friend. Ve didn’t want that hope to be crushed.

But ve couldn’t keep going on like this either, couldn’t keep pretending to just be their friend, couldn’t just swallow down vis affections like a bad aftertaste. No, Roman had two choices left to vim, and the fact that they were a rock and a hard place didn’t matter- ve had to pick one.

Roman’s phone dinged, and ve didn’t need to check it to know it was Remy, letting vim know that they and Logan were there, ready to go. Roman just had to reply that ve was ready, or even that ve needed another minute, and then head out and meet them, and go to dinner, and… and…

Apparently, there was a third choice: end up destroyed, right smack dab in the middle of the other two options.

Ve wasn’t sure when ve had slipped off the bed, but ve must have, since the ground beneath vim was no longer soft and no longer allowed vim to press vis fingers into it. Ve was vaguely aware that vis phone was buzzing more, more than it should have, probably, but ve couldn’t truly bring vimself to care. Ve couldn’t bring vimself to care about anything, right then, anything that wasn’t Logan and Remy and messing everything up and dreams that would never come true and the blood roaring in vis ears and now that ve was thinking about it was ve even breathing anymore, did that even matter anymore-

Warmth, heavy and real, on vis shoulder. On instinct, Roman sucked in a breath, and though it was shaky and weak, it was something. There was something- someone- someones- in front of vim, but Roman couldn’t focus on them, the single breath ve had gotten not nearly enough to last long. Soon enough, ve was choking again, choking on stars ve had never had and never would.

More warmth, this one warm but tempered, prepared, steady, took one of Roman’s hands, pulling it away from vim until it was planted against a warm surface, one that was moving up and down in a controlled manner, slight squeezes of vis hand inviting vim to try and follow the pattern. And Roman tried to, ve really did, not knowing why ve trusted the warmth or why ve wanted to follow its suggestions, but ve did, so ve tried, and tried again and again and again even when ve couldn’t keep with the pattern just right, the warmth on vis shoulder supporting vim the whole way through.

As Roman’s breathing started to even out, so did vis focus start to come back. Vis gaze seemed to be pointed solely at the floor, but Roman could see the two figures in vis peripheral- pressed slacks and polo matched with a lovely tie, and a dazzling dress that lesser fools might’ve called garish. Ah. So it was them.

Some part of Roman was nagging that this was an issue, that there was a problem here, but ve was still occupied with the much too difficult task of breathing to worry about it much. Ve slumped over more and more with every breath, fairly certain ve was leaning against Remy, but not aware enough to care. They certainly didn’t seem to mind, their arm slipping over Roman’s shoulders and pulling vim closer to them.

“It’s alright, you’re alright, you’re okay.” They soothed quietly, their voice gentle and melodic to Roman’s ears. “Let’s get you back on the bed, yeah? Comfier up there, angel.”

A warning bell popped up in the back of Roman’s mind, something about the importance of nicknames and petnames, but ve ignored it in favor of nodding and breathing. The grip on vis shoulders tightened, and a moment later ve was vertical, only to almost instantly go back to being down. Logan was grabbing Remy’s pillows off their bed, placing them along with Roman’s, so that when Remy properly laid vim down ve was still supported mostly-upright by the pillow stack.

Remy helped settle vim, coming to sit down on the inside of vis bed, partly pressed against the wall and next to Roman’s head. Logan sat in a similar spot on the edge of the bed, frowning at Roman while Remy brushed vis hair out of vis face.

For a few minutes, they stayed like that, Roman quietly breathing while Remy and Logan sat next to vim, Remy having moved on to playing with vis hair while Logan’s hand rested on Roman’s shoulder, reassuring and constant. It almost would’ve been perfect, being so close and relaxed with them, were it not for the reason they had ended up like that in the first place.

“So,” Remy said, finally, breaking the silence gently, “are we going to talk about this?”

“About what?” Roman asked, vis eyes have fallen shut at some point, though ve was still very much awake. Ve was pretty sure ve knew what Remy wanted to talk about, but a bit of playing-dumb and buying time couldn’t hurt either way.

“Oh, just the fact that you were having a panic attack a moment ago.” Remy said, tone faux conversational but unable to completely hide the undercurrent of worry in their voice.

Roman half-shrugged. “It’s nothing.” Ve answered. Because it was nothing, really. All secrets came to light eventually, so it was for the best Roman keep vis under wraps for as long as possible, and deal with the fallout whenever it occurred naturally. A simple conclusion that ve certainly hadn’t needed to panic over. And now that it was figured out, ve was okay, so it was nothing.

Remy didn’t seem to agree. “Oh, yeah, because struggling to just breathe for five minutes is clearly the result of nothing.” They snapped. Roman flinched, and they immediately drew away from vim in response, looking away, expression abashed.

Logan reached across Roman, placing a hand on Remy’s arm in support, and Roman tried to ignore the lurch in vis stomach at the loving gesture. A looked at Remy for a moment, the two of them seeming to have a silent conversation before Remy nodded, looking reassured as Logan turned atla gaze on Roman.

“Remy’s just concerned, Roman, as am I. And with good reason.” Logan said calmly, though there was a look in atla eye that Roman knew well from late nights when Remy couldn’t sleep. “While panic attacks can be brought on by small things, we’ve never seen you have one. That suggests that whatever caused it is very important- at the very least, it’s not ‘nothing.’”

“And even if it was something ‘small,’ we’d still want to know.” Remy tacked on, voice deliberately much softer. “You’re upset, love, and we want to help you as best we can.”

With breathing no longer as serious of an issue as it had been, Roman was able to make the connection between nicknames and petnames and the alarm that had been going off in vis mind- Remy used a lot of nicknames interchangeably as petnames, but there were a few that they only used for people they cared dearly for (aka Logan).

Amongst those few? ‘Angel’ and ‘love.’

Roman forced vimself to keep breathing normally, well aware hyperventilating more would only be a cause for more concern for the other two. And they were already concerned enough, with Remy calling vim by nicknames that were meant for people closer to them then Roman was and with Logan looking at vim with a fond sort of worry reserved for Remy and Remy alone. So worried over vim they were treating vim like ve was someone close to them. Like ve was someone who truly mattered.

Like ve was someone who was their soulmate.

And all of a sudden, Roman was back to the problem of confessions. Ve couldn’t go on like this, no matter how badly ve wanted to pretend ve could. Ve needed to let them know ve was fine, that the panic had been over something silly that they couldn’t fix anyways, so they could realize how much their attempts at kindness came off as cruel. It would hurt, but it would ultimately be for the best, and Roman knew that was what mattered in the end.

Ve cleared vis throat. “It was… it’s about you guys.”

Logan and Remy both stiffened at that, casting each other a quick glance that Roman couldn’t decipher but ve didn’t miss either. Ve felt bad, well-aware that vis phrasing could’ve been better, but ve needed the build-up. Ve knew if ve tried to say it all at once, ve’d just chicken out, and that would get them all nowhere.

“Roman, if Remy or I have ever done anything to greatly distress you-”

“No, it’s not that.” Roman said, cutting Logan off.

Logan frowned, once more glancing over at Remy, who offered an equally confused-but-worried expression. Logan looked back at Roman. “Then… what’s wrong?”

Roman took a deep breath, steeling vimself. “I’m in love with you. Both of you.”

Dead silence. Roman wasn’t surprised. There wasn’t really a good way to react to that, after all.

“I’m sorry.” Roman said quietly, feeling ve had to fill the silence with something, anything. Ve needed to apologize, anyways. “I know you’re soulmates and I know you don’t- I know you just see me as a friend. And that’s- that’s fine, really, I love what we have, I just- I’m sorry.”

The silence once more stretched out as Roman finished, focusing vis attention on vis feet, trying to ignore the tears stinging at the corner of vis eyes in anticipation of all the words that were to come.

And then… laughter.

Hesitant at first, but louder soon enough, startling Roman into looking over and its source. Remy was leaning against the wall next to them, laughing, trying not to look at Roman as they did so. Ve looked over at Logan in confusion, not finding any answers in lan covering atla mouth with atla hand, hiding a smile or a frown Roman wasn’t sure. Ve supposed vis hopeless love could be seen as funny, or perhaps a joke, but… well… this wasn’t one of the outcomes ve had really expected.

“I’m- I’m so sorry, baby, this is a horrible reaction.” Remy said after a moment, once more looking at Roman and smiling for some reason or another. They looked happy, really happy, more happy than a bad joke about Roman’s love could possibly make them- right?

“And likely misleading.” Logan pointed out as well, though a sounded amused. Once more, Roman glanced between them, trying to figure out the joke ve wasn’t a part of.

“I know you guys probably think this is a joke, but I’m being serious.” Roman said, frustrated. Ve just wanted them to acknowledge what ve had said, acknowledge its ramifications, acknowledge what it meant for vim and for them all. “It’s not funny.”

Remy stifled their laughs at that, though they were still smiling, a sweet, fond thing that Roman wanted to see forever even if ve knew ve didn’t deserve it for a second. “We know, Ro. It’s just… bad timing, I think.”

Logan nodded, atla face set back into a neutral expression, save for the twitch up at the corner of atla lips and the soft look in atla eyes. “Roman, do you know why we were going to dinner tonight?”

“To celebrate your recent test score…?” Roman said, slowly, fairly certain that was the right answer but unsure why it mattered right now.

“I haven’t taken a test in at least two weeks, so no, not that.” Logan responded.

Roman frowned and looked towards Remy. “You said-”

“You kinda put me on the spot, hun.” Remy excused, chuckling a bit. “It was the first thing that came to mind as to why we’d all be going out to such a fancy place- I didn’t think you’d buy it, but I certainly wasn’t going to complain when you did.”

“Oh.” Roman said, accepting the answer before frowning harder, still confused. “But if that’s not why we were going out… what was the actual reason?”

“Good word choice there- Ro, we were going to ask if you wanted to be our partner.”

It was Roman’s turn to be silent, looking between vis two friends and squishes quicker than ve had been earlier, waiting for their expressions to break, for them to laugh, for them to mock vim for falling for it. But they didn’t, they remained looking the faintest bits amused but mostly fond, fond for vim, and Roman had the vague feeling ve was going to start crying soon.

“But… you’re soulmates.” Roman said, not wanting to crush vis hope but not wanting to only offer it false chances. “You’re not fated to be with anyone else.”

“Technically, no.” Logan agreed. “Which is why we didn’t want to tell you the true purpose of this evening. I confess, we were… worried. Roman, you’re attractive-”

“Very attractive, incredibly handsome.”

“-and talented-”

“So amazingly talented.”

“-and just generally, as they say, a ‘catch.’”

“A wonderful catch.”

Logan gently hit Remy’s arm, atla expression one meant to be of annoyance for being interrupted but coming off only as in love. Remy just smirked back, and Logan rolled atla eyes, and turned back to Roman and looked at vim the exact same way a had been looking at Remy, just minus the poor attempts at faux exasperation.

“And yet, you never seemed to show any interest in having a partner.” Logan continued, frowning just the tiniest bit. “We assumed you held to old traditions- the idea that you couldn’t be with those who were marked for soulmates, only others who weren’t.”

“Which is why we were going to go to such a nice restaurant.” Remy explained. “We figured, hey, if we ask and you say no and everything’s awkward, at least we’ll be awkward in style.”

“That was your idea alone, Remy.”

“We’re soulmates, love, everything I do is your problem as well.”

“Unfortunately.” Logan muttered, rolling atla eyes even as a smiled. Remy matched atla smile before leaning over to kiss atla cheek, smile growing when Logan’s cheeks dusted pink at the action. “You are being a distraction.”

“The best.” Remy responded cheerfully. They leaned back to their side of the bed, moving forward a bit so they could hold the side of Roman’s face, their smile having taken on a slightly dopey look. “We could go through all the exacts of falling for you and worrying about falling for you- and we will, later, if you want- but I think you have enough of the gist for now, darling.”

Roman met Remy’s eyes, slightly addicted to looking into them, the dark brown so often hidden ve wouldn’t want to look away even if they weren’t filled with a happy, bright sort of affection. “So… what now, then?”

Logan laughed, softly, the sound immediately drawing Roman’s attention to lan, watching with adoring fascination as a smiled gently at vim. A looked away for only a moment to take one of Roman’s hands in atla own, pressing a soft kiss to the back of it, making Roman blush.

“Now, assuming you are amicable to the idea, the three of us get together queerplatonically.” Logan explained, simply and sweetly.

“As partners.” Remy added, shifting their position on the bed so that they were closer to Roman and pressing a kiss to vis forehead as they did so. Roman blushed harder, a development Remy looked delighted by.

“You guys are acting like we already are partners.” Roman pointed out.

“Well, you have admitted that you hold queerplatonic feelings for us, and we’ve confessed to having the same for you.” Logan pointed out, now holding Roman’s hand between both of atlan. “Apologies if we are making inaccurate assumptions, but there appears to be no reason for us not to be partners already.”

“Lo, love, you’re sounding a little impatient there.” Remy said, teasingly, smiling at Logan from where they were reclining beside Roman’s head.

Logan just rolled atla eyes. “It has been twenty-two near-insufferable weeks of you complaining about how pretty your roommate is and twenty-one messy weeks of falling for vim too because you wouldn’t stop talking about vim. We have confirmation that ve returns our affections. I wish to now show these affections. Any delays in me doing so are only further annoyances.”

Remy laughed. “Well, you heard my starshine.” They said, grinning at Roman. “Have anything to say in your defense?”

Roman bit vis lip. “We’re not soulmates.”

“Logan’s parents were soulmates and they divorced two years after they had lan.” Remy said. “Meanwhile, of my five parents, only one set of them were soulmates, and all of them have been cheesy and in love as long as I can remember.”

“So while your fears in that particular regard were valid… using it as a defense is not.” Logan told vim, squeezing vis hand, reminding both that a was there and that a was tired of waiting. “Anything else?”

Roman didn’t respond at first, taking a moment to think, but ve wasn’t sure why ve bothered. It was a little laughable, how quickly vis fears over being in love with them fell apart once the soulmates thing was out of the equation. Ve knew they were polyam, as Remy had mentioned it multiple times over the past few weeks- something Roman was now realizing may have been on purpose- and if they liked vim back then there was no need to worry over unrequited love.

Really, there wasn’t even a reason to think. They loved vim, and they didn’t care that ve wasn’t their soulmate. What more could Roman want?

“I guess not.” Ve said, finally, offering the two of them a smile that ve knew came off as awkward but ve hoped also came off as sweet, or fond, or nice, or any one of the dozens of things they were. And from the way Remy smiled back, brighter and happier than Roman thought ve had ever seen them before, ve had the feeling vis smile was just fine.

“Finally.” Logan said in direct contrast, moving from sitting on the edge of the bed to being stretched out across it, pressed into Roman’s side in mere seconds. A peppered kisses across the entirety of the side of Roman’s face, ignoring vis once-more rapidly rising flush. As quickly as a had started, Logan settled, pressing atla face into the crook of Roman’s neck, muttering to atlantiself about what sounded like the annoyances of pining over stupid pretty people.

“Wh-what just happened?” Roman asked, looking over at Remy, wishing ve could pretend the stutter was from exhaustion and not how flustered ve currently was. Not that it seemed Remy would’ve bought the ‘exhaustion’ excuse anyways, chuckling at Roman as they glanced over at Logan fondly.

“Logan’s officially claimed you as a partner.” Remy explained, tone soft and loving. “A’ll never admit it out loud, but a’s very cuddly with the people a loves. A’s been ranting about how warm you look for weeks now.”

“Oh.” Roman said, equally soft, looking at Logan’s messy dark hair, covering any part of atla face that Roman might’ve been able to see past where it was pushed against vis neck. “Is a asleep?”

Roman was answered by a huff from Logan atlantiself, tightening atla hold on Roman and shifting atla head. Remy chuckled again, reaching over to run a hand through Logan’s hair, Logan humming contentedly in response.

“A will be soon enough.” Logan’s hums turned annoyed. “Oh, hush. You sleep worse than me and you know it.” A more questioning hum. “Roman’s also tired and has nowhere to be, ve will not mind if you fall asleep wrapped around vim.”

“But dinner-”

“Has been cancelled since we saw you having a panic attack.” Remy cut vim off smoothly, still playing with Logan’s hair as they kissed Roman’s forehead. “Your only evening plans are to lay here and let Logan cuddle you and probably take a nap while you’re at it.”

“I think I can get behind those plans.” Roman replied, loath to move or disrupt  Logan in any way. “And afterwards? When a wakes back up?”

Remy shrugged. “A’ll still want to hold you, so probably watch a movie. Or take turns talking about how much we love you. Or find all your scars- I know you have a lot, sweetheart, you were a trouble child- so me and Lo can map them out properly.”

“Map them out…?”

“I was thinking suns.” Remy answered, their hand moving from Logan’s head down atla arm, tracing over one of the constellation patterns there. “Bright and energetic and beautiful.”

Roman realized what Remy meant as ve looked at Logan’s soulmarks, and at the black sketch of saturn on the back of Remy’s hand from where Logan had accidentally trapped atla hand in a door. “That would be… nice.” Ve decided quietly, looking at the planets and stars and thinking suns would look nice amongst them. “Could you also…”

“I think you’ll wear the universe very well.” Remy said by way of response, their hand slipping all the way down Logan’s arm so that they could hold atlan. They moved back, pulling their joined hands over Roman’s chest, Remy using their free hand to rest their head on. “But for now, you should probably try to get some sleep, angel.”

Though ve wanted to argue, wanted to say ve wasn’t tired and would much rather talk to Remy about just how long the whole mutual-pining thing had been going on, vis earlier exhaustion from the panic attack was creeping back in, and with Logan pressed against vis side and Remy just as close resisting its call had become nigh impossible. So instead, Roman wrapped an arm around Logan, holding lan even closer. Ve curled up a bit, getting comfortable, before glancing back at Remy. They were still resting on their hand, eyes open but half-lidded, watching Roman and Logan with a tired smile.

“Don’t you need sleep too?” Roman asked as ve settled vis head over Logan’s, reveling in how close and warm and soft a was.

“I’ll go to bed soon enough, don’t worry.” Remy assured, softly kissing the top of Roman’s head. “Sleep well, love.”

And Roman did, feeling melty from the fondness in Remy’s voice, feeling warm from Logan against vim, and feeling only pure joy at the thought of being a part of Logan and Remy’s universe.

[every1studio]

“heartstrings series: intro” [wayv]

genre: fluff + LONG 

ficstyle: bulletpoints + series [INTRO] 

summary: everyone knew you were in love with an oblivious boy but you didn’t know that others were in love with you 

songs to listen to while reading this: you call it romance - k.will ft davichi + day 1 - k.will

note: (I’M SORRY I’M JUST WRITING MY OWN STUFF RIGHT NOW, BUT I’LL TRY TO GET TO MY REQUESTS ASAP) 

you were a hopeless romantic

maybe you watched too many shoujo animes and read too many romance mangas 

but it made you a sentimental person; one who stay up at night to look at the stars

a forgiving person; one who believe in second chances 

an observant person; one who’s always in the background

if you were a character in a romcom drama, you would be the best friend of one of the most popular girls in the school 

the one that’s just there to fill in space and have a couple lines to add onto the plot 

the one that all the guys overlook because the one that they are looking at is the pretty girl that’s sitting next to you

and if guys did talk to you, they treated you like you were just one of the boys 

you were used to it 

but you always had a feeling that there will be someone for you 

so you didn’t mind waiting

also because how can any regular guy compete with your 2D boyfriends 

that was until you met Lucas 

he was the new transfer student; and boy, oh boy, he was STUNNING

all the girls swooned for him in an instance

even you fell victim to the boy’s visuals

you heard he had a brother that was pretty good looking too but you were too busy admiring Lucas to see what he looked like

you could say he was your first, real crush 

you were playing so many scenarios in your head that you didn’t see the tall boy exiting the bathroom 

you were about fall on your butt but you felt his arms wrap around you 

“are you okay?” 

you looked up and saw someone you didn’t recognized

but he was pretty handsome, he looked like a prince 

“y-yeah.. yeah I’m okay..” you muttered as he helped you up 

“hey bro, you ready for basketball tryouts!” you recognized his voice, that was Lucas

your face got more and more red, the closer and closer he got

“oh hey you..” Lucas smiled as he offered a high five 

your eyes widened as you received his high five, “you know me?”

“yeah~ you’re in my class! you know Hendery?” he points to the guy who’s still standing there 

“no.. I just.. bumped into him..” you muttered, you had a hard time keeping eye contact with him 

Hendery saw how flustered you were, but he knew you weren’t flustered over him

“hey.. I’m Hendery, Luca’s brother..” 

your jaws slightly dropped, eyes shifted back and forth between the two handsome guys, “oh.. Oh...OH....”

“yeah, we gotta go to tryouts.. see ya later Y/N” Lucas waves at you before dragging Hendery 

Hendery kept looking behind his shoulder at you, “you know she likes you right?”

“huh? her? nah, man.. I mean with MY face, I can see how she can be starstruck but I don’t think she’s like INTO ME, into me... hmm.. no yeah.. I don’t think so” Lucas babbles as he tries to play it off

Hendery face drops in disappointment, he can’t believe that his brother is so oblivious 

he can’t believe that his brother can’t see that this beautiful girl has completely fallen for him.. like he fell for her 

Hendery shoved his feelings aside for his brother

why?

because he was never strong enough show his feelings; that’s his weakness 

you were looking for after school clubs that ended at the same time basketball practice

this is your last year of high school, maybe you should join a low effort club

so you thought it was a good chance to wait for Lucas; a confession would be too much but just talking would be fine, right?

you came across an empty music room; empty meaning there wasn’t anyone around but there was an abundance of instruments

you sat down with the guitar and started to strum and hum 

you were so into it that you didn’t notice the quiet boy standing by the door 

“hey do you wanna join our band?!” he was sounded so excited, he probably forgot that the room echoed

you almost dropped the guitar, “WHO ARE YOU?”

he puts his arms up to show that he’s innocent, “I-I’m Xiaojun from class 2-B..”

“oh you’re an underclassman... you’re in a band?” you asked as you relaxed 

“yeah.. we need a vocalist and you got a great voice.. a sub guitarist wouldn’t be too bad ei..ther...” 

Xiaojun’s sentence draws out as he sees your face clearly

you were so pretty in his eyes and your voice was the cherry on top 

you placed the guitar down and smiled at him, “what makes you think I can’t be the main guitarist?”

he shook his daydreams away and smiled back at you, “because I’M the main guitarist..so you’re gonna have to fight me for it”

he’s just thinking how he’s finally talking to his crush since his 1st year of high school 

BUT making sure that you didn’t know about his feelings because he wouldn’t know how to act or what to say

“hey Y/N, ready to go home?” 

you turned to see your childhood friend and your neighbor; your surprised face melted into a warm smile 

which worried Xiaojun

“hey Kun~” 

“oh hey Xiaojun!” Kun goes over to pat Xiaojun on the back 

“you know Xiaojun?”

“yeah we’re in a band!” 

you frowned at your friend, “you never told me you were in a band!”

Kun pinches your cheeks, noting how cute you look when you pout, “yeah because if I did, I would have to introduce you to my good-looking band mates..”

you swatted his hands away

“yeah yeah whatever... now I know that you’re not in that weird cooking club..”

“he’s actually in that club..” Xiaojun said with a slip of the tongue which got Kun glaring at him

“it’s not weird...” Kun murmured

“hmm what is this aroma, is it oregano? mixed with rosemary? oh it has to be rosemary,” you clowned Kun for a conversation he had with a member from the cooking club back when you two were 1st years 

Kun yells through his embarrassment and tries cover your mouth

Xiaojun kind of saw this moment in slow motion; it was like a cheesy scene out of a k-drama 

“you guys dating?” he thought he said it in his head but he said it

out loud 

for you and Kun to hear

“WHAT?” Kun’s ears started to get red

“NO!” you said at the same time 

no one could see how Kun was slightly upset by your quick rejection tinged with a little bit of disgust

“Kun is like my brother! I’ve known him since I was a baby, that would be weird to date him..” you shuddered 

Xiaojun nodded in relief and started to set up the room 

“wow, you’re not gonna tell him that you used to call me “my prince charming” up until middle school?” 

Kun tried to brush off his disappointment by making fun of you, he ruffled your hair

before you could say anything, he started to shove you out the door, “think about joining the band, but for now you gotta go.. we got practice!”

he shut the door on your way out

you stuck your tongue out at him 

you looked at your phone to look at your time

“I need to go now or I’ll miss Lucas..” 

you started to dash through the empty halls 

you passed another guy but you didn’t pay too much attention to him

his hair grazed his lashes, he was adorned with lots of ear piercings, airpods in his ears, phone in his hands and had a pair of drumsticks not chicken in his tote

you made eye contact with him and he gave you a smirk of a smile 

which made you look away so fast and suddenly you were thinking if you were running weird and started to fast walk instead 

as you made it to the end of the hall, the boy had entered the music room

“hey Ten!” the two boys greeted him

“hey..”

you continued turned to see if the boy was gone before you started to run again 

you didn’t want anyone to judge the way you ran or thought of you as the weird 3rd year student who spends her time after school running halls of the school 

you cursed the school for being so big

you estimated that if would talk you a whole 3 minutes, if you ran, you would make it to the basketball courthouse that was separated from the gym

being as non-athletic as you were, you were having second thoughts if this boy was really more important than your lack of air 

in those second thoughts, you ran into something

Newton’s first law of motion came into play

and the external force? 

was brighter than the sun itself

AND?

you were laying, in pain, on that sun 

“are you hurt?” the sun said with a smile

“what? no.. are YOU hurt? I’m SO sorry!!” you frantically got off him and offered your hand to help him up 

he took it as he kept on smiling

“I have to go... I’m running late..once again, I’m sorry!!” you apologized as you fast walked 

he smiled as he rubbed his chest, “that kinda hurt.. but for some reason.. I don’t mind it..” 

“hey YangYang! are you gonna start the meeting or what?” the student council VP said through the doors down the opposite side of the hall 

“yeah yeah.. coming!”

you finally made it to the gym so the basketball courthouse would only be around the corner

you spotted a tall guy with a bag similar to Lucas so you ran up to him

“hey Lucas!” you tried not to sound out of breath

when the guy turned around, you immediately started to apologize which you have doing a lot more today

“I’m sorry, I thought you were a friend of mine-”

“you’re Kun’s friend right?” he interrupted you 

your brows knitted together in confusion, “you know me?” 

“yeah.. Kun talks about you all the time.. I’m WinWin, I play the bass for same band as him..” he stuck his hand out for you to shake

you shook his hand as you saw a couple of girls you recognized from the Traditional Chinese Dance team giggle as they came up to WinWin, “good luck on your solo performance, WinWin..”

he nods at them and put his hand up to acknowledge them

“you have a solo performance? how do you have time to do both dancing and being in a band?”

he smiles at you as he hoists his bass case, “when you find things you love to do, you make time for them..”

and with that he left

“Y/N?”

you turned to see Lucas waving at you with Hendery by his side 

you ran all this way and Lucas was the one to find you first

“hey Lucas... Hendery..” you gave them a small smile, mind was clouded with Winwin’s words

“you okay?” Lucas asked, Hendery looked just as worried 

“yeah..” you were happy that Lucas seemed worried about you but you didn’t want him to, “are you free?”

“hmm? yeah I am now.. just gonna head to get something to eat with Hendery!” 

Hendery read the lines of the situation and said, “you go with Y/N, I need to go home first. I got LOTS of homework and I can scavenge the something in the fridge..”

he was getting the keys to unlock his bike out from his bag 

before either you or Lucas could put in a word, Hendery waved at you too, “see you when you get home! and get me something to-go! bye Y/N!”

and with that, he took off on his bike 

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck; kind of confused by the situation and nervous because this is the first time he’s talking to you, by himself

he didn’t keep anything that Hendery told him before about you in his mind 

“so.. are you okay with the diner on 7th Avenue? that’s where Hendery and I were gonna go, you know... we were craving burgers... and like, saw that that place had good reviews...so.. uh, you down?”

you smiled as you tucked the hairs in your face behind your ear, “yeah.. I’m down..”

you and Lucas made small talk on your way to the diner as he dragged his bike along

your shadows slightly touching each other even though there’s some distance between you and Lucas

the golden hour made his golden skin glow even more and you never thought that you could ever fall for anyone so effortlessly 

he opened the door for you as he excitedly talk about his favorite combo of sweet and salty, “Y/N! Y/N! you HAVE to try the milkshake and fries together, it’s my guilty pleasure!!” 

you couldn’t help but smile over his excitement of milkshakes and fries

and you couldn’t help but fall hopelessly more and more in love with him

is it possible to fall in love with him in only a day?

and is it possible for him to fall in love with someone like you?

only time will tell

will you be the one to pluck his heartstrings? 

or will it be someone else..

or, will someone unexpected pluck your heart?

Are you still watching “The Heartstrings Series?”  -Continue watching? -Exit

[ masterlist + guidelines ]

[eurynome827]

When You Met Chris Beck

For @the-ss-horniest-book-club Romcom Drabbles!

Pairing: Chris Beck x Reader

Word Count: 1,670

Warnings: Language, mention of sexytimes and angst following.

A/N: Direct dialogue from the movie When Harry Met Sally will be in italics, but there's a lot paraphrased to match this scenario and if you are as familiar with this movie as I am, you will hear the original in your head as you read. All credit to the genius of the late, great Nora Ephron. If you've never seen this movie ....please do as soon as possible. It is the greatest romcom ever.

*

"Chris Beck. It's nice to meet you," he said smoothly, and you took his outstretched hand, shaking it and introducing yourself.

"So," you shook off the pleasantries, jumping right in. "As you know this lab project will take 12 hours. I've taken the liberty of sketching out where we can each take breaks, and which parts of the project should be completed by a certain time, and," you paused at his slight chuckle, looking up from your notebook. "Something wrong?"

"No, no..." He waved you off, that smirk still on his face. "You're clearly very organized. Don't let me get in your way."

Your eyes narrowed. "I hope you're planning on doing your part of this project."

"Hey," he said quickly, clearly offended. "I'm just as serious as you about being here. I'm just a little more relaxed than you are."

Ignoring the 'uptight' implication in his words, you threw yourself into the project. You gave him one word answers to his questions, and dodged his personal queries as best as you could.

"Are you seeing anyone?" He finally came right out with it and you sighed, not even looking up at him from the microscope.

"Look, Beck, I don't really want to talk about my personal life. We're not friends."

"Ouch. Why don't you want to be friends? We're going to be in this training program together for two more years, you know."

"On different career paths," you clarified. "There's a good chance we don't see each other again after tonight."

"Well, have a nice life then, I guess."

*

Your boyfriend handed you a champagne flute and you sipped it gratefully. The welcome home party for Ares III was not your usual scene, and you were grateful for his support. You pressed a soft kiss to his lips, and pulled back to see a face you hadn't seen (in person at least) for years.

"I thought that was you!" Beck clapped your boyfriend on his shoulder and they shook hands, catching up for a few minutes. Every once in a while Beck's eyes would wander over to you and a tiny look of confusion crossed his face. Each time you met his eyes directly, just daring him to remember. Finally, he said his farewells, gave you one last lost look, and wandered away into the party.

"Thank goodness he didn't remember me. I had to do a 12 hour lab project with him in training and it was the longest night of my life."

Your boyfriend looked curious. "What happened?"

"He wouldn't stop asking me all these personal questions and finally I told him we weren't going to be friends."

"Twelve hours with someone is a long time. Maybe he was just being polite." Holding his hands up and stepping back in retreat, he grinned at you. "Just playing devil's advocate!"

"Okay, okay. Maybe I was rude, but it meant a lot to me to be accepted to this program and I never want to be narrowed down to 'someone's girlfriend'. No offense," you winked at him.

Beck found you again later, leaning against the bar waiting for a refill, and greeted you by your full name.

"Did you ask someone, or did you finally remember?"

"Who could forget that 12 hour project?"

"You did, an hour ago."

"Are you always this direct?"

"Always." You cleared your throat, and attempted a smile. "So...how was space?"

Beck choked on his drink. "I'm sure your daily briefings told you everything the news didn't. Maybe they missed one thing," he beamed at you. "I'm getting married."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Who is she?"

"You know her, Beth Johanssen."

"Oh." She'd been on the mission, too. "Well, good luck to you both."

"Thanks," he nudged your shoulder with his, "how about you two?" He asked nodding over at your boyfriend.

"Still can't stop yourself from asking personal questions, hmm?"

"Ah, right, I forgot. We're not friends," he picked up his drink and winked at you before walking away.

*

At the soft sound of a throat clearing, you looked up from the journal article you were reading, put down your cup of coffee, and stared for a moment before speaking. "Dr. Beck...hello."

"Hi," he gestures to the empty seat at your table. "May I?"

"Of course," you watched as he sat down. He looked different, was acting different. The light in his eyes was out. "I didn't know you'd transferred here."

"Yeah," he breathed out slowly. "I needed a change."

"How's..."

He shook his head, cutting you off. "We're getting divorced."

You nodded, looking over his changed appearance. His eyes met yours.

"How's..." He started and stopped as you sighed and bit your lip.

"We just broke up."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. I'm sorry, Beck."

It was the quietest and most sincere conversation you two had ever had. He picked up his own cup of coffee and took a sip before asking, "so what happened with you guys?"

A long lunch of sharing sad stories became dinner...became friendship.

Best friends.

You helped him decorate his new apartment. He helped you bring home your Christmas tree. The two of you spent so much time together there almost wasn't time to see other people, but then you both did and told each other your terrible dating stories.

An attempt to set each other up with your other best friends backfired spectacularly as your best friend and his best friend fell for each other instead.

You were stuck with each other.

*

"Hello?"

Your tearful voice filled the phone line. "Can you come over?"

"What's wrong?"

"He's getting married!"

"Who?"

"MY EX."

"I'll be right there."

You opened the door, sniffling into a tissue, eyes red-rimmed and full of unshed tears. He followed you back to your bed, holding you while you cried and explained that even though you had thought he never wanted to get married, he had just never wanted to marry you.

"What's wrong with me?" You wailed.

"Nothing." Beck brushed his fingers through your hair.

"I'm difficult. I'm too structured and hard to deal with."

"But in a good way."

You laughed, despite yourself, and nuzzled closer to him. "Can you hold me for a little, please?"

He did - and when one thing led to another you both should have put a stop to it. You were vulnerable and so was he, in his own way. In the morning you could barely look at each other, and he dressed quickly and left.

Even though you agreed that it had been a mistake, a tiny bubble of resentment began to grow and grow inside you, filling up your veins and stretching from your fingers to your toes. When he finally confronted you and was met with your fury, he replied with indignation.

"You were laying there looking at me - don't go, hold me - what was I supposed to do?"

"Are you saying you took pity on me? Fuck you!"

The sound of your hand slapping his face echoed throughout the room.

*

You hadn't spoken in weeks.

You screened your calls relentlessly.

"The fact that you're not answering leads me to believe you're either (a) not at home, (b) home but don't want to talk to me, or (c) home, desperately want to talk to me, but trapped under something heavy. If it's either (a) or (c), please call me back."

*

One day, there was something about his tone of voice that made you answer the call.

"Hey, hi!" He sounded like an excited puppy.

You answered him flatly. "What do you want?"

"Um...are you going to the NASA mixer next week? Because I am, and if you are...we always said we could go together to those things so we wouldn't be alone..."

"I can't do this anymore, Beck," you cut him off. "I am not your consolation prize."

You hung up the phone without another word.

*

Standing in the corner by yourself at the NASA mixer, you finished your second glass of champagne and sighed. One more round through this room and then it's home with a bottle of wine, comfort television and your own self-loathing.

You stopped short in your tracks on your way to the door as Beck appeared, leaning in the doorway out of breath, as if he had run here. He spotted you, and rushed over, and you couldn't make your feet move. You were frozen in place as he approached.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking, and the thing is, I love you."

You blinked.

"What?"

"I love you."

"How do you expect me to respond to this?"

"How about, you love me too."

"How about, I'm leaving."

He grabbed your arm and you were too shocked to try and shake him off. "Listen to me! I'm sorry about what happened. I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how much I wanted you and then I was scared to lose you, and then I was an asshole and I lost you anyway. I can't be without you anymore, you have to believe me!" Your eyes filled with tears as he spoke, and you watched him - he was full of that light, the light that had been missing, and you knew he was telling you the truth. "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

You shrugged away from his hold, only to pull him close with both arms and kiss him, somewhat indecently, in front of all your colleagues at the NASA mixer.

*

Beck: The first time we met, we hated each other.

You: No, you didn't hate me, I hated you. The second time we met, you didn't even remember me.

Beck: I did too, I remembered you. The third time we met, we became friends.

You: We were friends for a long time.

Beck: And then we weren't.

You: And then we fell in love.