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hphmseojunglee · 19 days

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‘deed i do [4/4]

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You pull open the door to find an extremely irate version of your best friend. You can tell because of how quiet, low, and monotone her voice has gotten.

Rowan’s anger is a quiet kind. Instead of exploding all at once, she focuses her energy into an extremely potent form and makes incisive cuts with her words.

She calmly closes the door behind and locks it. Then, she turns back to you. You brace yourself for the disappointment. There is nothing worse than an Asian’s disappointment.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Your best friend speaks slowly, but each word is clipped.

“What are you talking about?” There’s a sinking feeling in your chest. You suspect you know exactly what Rowan is talking about. You just don’t want to admit it.

“Don’t be smart with me, Seoj. You’re hurting Penny. Do you realize that?”

You sigh, dropping on the bed. “I didn’t mean to, I swear. It’s just… I can’t do this anymore.”

Rowan’s anger ebbs away as she sees how much the situation is hurting you, too. She sits next to you on the bed. “Talk to me. What happened?”

“My feelings. They’re— I’ve compromised myself. There’s no way I can keep going on like this. Every time I think of her, every time I see her face… I just want to spill my guts and tell her how I really feel! I want to kiss her, but if I do that, I’m going to ruin everything! I have to stay away from her until I can sort out my feelings. I can’t be a good friend to her right now, I just can’t!”

Somehow, you’re not sitting on the bed anymore. You’re standing in the middle of the room when Rowan stops your tirade and pacing, grabbing your shoulders forcefully.

“Seoj, you idiot. Have you considered for a second that Penny may feel the same way?”

“What? No, impossible.”

“Possible. You should have seen how she reacted when you fell off your broom yesterday. Based on her reaction alone, you would have thought you died or something! Chiara and I had to hold her back from jumping over the stands. She was crying and watching Madam Pomfrey carry you off the pitch. Then, she ran to the Hospital Wing, but Madam Pomfrey told her no visitors until you woke up. When she checked back a couple hours later, you were gone!”

Rowan glares at you, crossing her arms in front of her. Her facial expression says: “What have you got to say for yourself?”

The news hits you like a truck, straight in the chest. You sit down heavily in the desk chair.

“Do you think Penny has feelings for me, too?”

Rowan shrugs. “I mean… I don’t know for sure, but I feel pretty confident that it’s a possibility. Based on both your actions this week, and the fact that no one thought you were pretending, I’d say ask her out already. Or at least tell her how you feel. She deserves to know.”

“I’m sorry for being an ass.” You sigh, running your fingers through your hair. Rowan’s words mean a lot to you, and you realize just how dumb you’ve been acting these past couple of days.

“It’s not me you have to apologize to.”

“I know, I’m just practicing.” Shaking your head, you change the subject to something that’s not your stupidity. “So, have you asked Ben to the dance yet?”

You watch as your best friend’s face flushes. “No…”

“Oh, so it’s do as you say, not as you do, is it?”

She nods, turning her chin up. “Precisely.”

You stand and hobble over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I really think you should ask him, Row. If not as a date, then at least as friends. You deserve to have a good time.”

She chews on her lip. “All right, I’ll do it. Thanks, Seojung. It means a lot.” With her hand on the door, Rowan turns back to you. “Are you coming to dinner?”

“I don’t think I can do that tonight.”

Her face falls.

“But I’ll be there at breakfast tomorrow.”

Rowan smiles. “I’m holding you to that. Night, Seoj. See you tomorrow.”

You sleep fitfully that night. You spend the evening being tortured by your overly imaginative mind. Over and over, like a spectacularly disastrous blooper reel, your brain runs through a scenario where you confess your feelings to Penny. The endings range from disappointing to heart-wrenching. You wake up drenched in sweat, and don’t bother falling back asleep. Instead, you stare out the window and watch the sun rise. As the sky grows lighter, you pack up your things and slip back into your bedroom in the Hufflepuff dorms. Everyone is still fast asleep, soft breathing and snores filling the room.

As quietly as possible, you pull out your iron and press the wrinkles out of your clothes. Tonks, Skye, and Penny all like to rag you about using a piece of Muggle technology when an ironing spell exists, but you don’t care. The feel of the iron pressing into the board is comforting. Methodical sweeps across fabric make tiny zwip and szhhh noises. By the time you finish, everyone else is waking up.

“Morning, Seojung. Where’ve you been?” Chiara yawns and whispers at you as she gets dressed for the day.

“I’ve been… figuring out some stuff. Dealing with major life revelations. The usual. How about you? Are you looking forward to the ball?”

Chiara beams. “I have finalized the set list with Madam Pince. I’m looking forward to hearing the songs tonight. I have not heard how the instruments sound in the Great Hall, but I’m sure it’ll be much better than this room!”

From the other corner of the room, Rowan wakes up with a huge yawn. She stretches her back and reaches for her glasses on her nightstand.

“Seoj! You’re back! Thank Merlin. I was wondering if you would follow through.” She grins and gets out of bed as well. “You’re coming to breakfast with us, right?”

“Yep.” You smile tightly. Sitting next to Penny is going to be really, really awkward, but you owe it to the rest of your friends to be there.

The Great Hall is buzzing with students talking about tonight’s dance. Some people are asking dates at the last minute with grand, dramatic gestures. Others are making guesses about the theme, decorations, or music.

Tonks and Skye are already sitting at the table, enjoying a hearty bowl of porridge. Penny is nowhere to be seen. You breathe a sigh of relief.

“Wotcher, SJ. Fancying seeing your ugly mug! D’you come here often?” Tonks raises an eyebrow as you sit down.

“Pack it in, Tonks.” Rowan swoops to your rescue, sitting next to you. “Any update on the Ismelda-Barnaby situation?”

They shrug, belching loudly. “Guess we’ll find out at the dance. SJ, you got those Galleons handy?”

You snort, picking up your mug of Earl Grey. “It’s you who’s going to pay up.”

“If you say so…” They have a twinkle in their eye as they return to their breakfast.

“Heads up,” Rowan whispers into your ear. Coming down the aisle is Penny. You sigh, preparing yourself for the awkwardness.

“Good morning, everyone! What a lovely day it is! Are we ready for the ball?”

Four sets of “Yes” sound off in response. You don’t say anything, instead opting to drink your tea and drown the feelings that sit on the tip of your tongue.

Penny’s hand ghosts your back. You don’t react to it. Even when she tries to engage you with questions about your outfit, you don’t respond. Abruptly, you stand from the table, almost knocking over everyone’s drinks.

“I need to finalize some things for the Ball. Skye, I’ll see you later at practice?”

The Chaser cracks her knockles. “Hell yes. We’re getting that Cup again this year, I don’t care what day it is. Practice is always!”

“That’s the spirit. See you there!” you toss over your shoulder as you walk away.

Saturday morning Quidditch practice is usually the toughest you push your team all week, including yourself. However, your whole team is afraid to throw anything your way after what happened last night, so you are forced to stay grounded. From the Commentary Box next to Murphy, you run the team through the drills. You keep your eyes away from the stands, where Penny is sitting once again.

Why she even bothered when you are actively ignoring her, you don’t understand. It doesn’t matter, though. You can ignore her.

Finally, you’re fed up with your team walking on eggshells around you. On top of that, Penny’s gaze burns into the back of your head, slicing open all the neatly packed boxes of feelings you tucked away. You cut practice short and send everyone home early, the blonde’s insistent gaze tracking your every move. You can pick up the drills again next week. Besides, your leg is giving you trouble again.

Unfortunately, in your tiredness, you let your guard down. Penny corners you in the changing room.

“Do you care to tell me why you’re avoiding me?”

At the sound of her voice, you batten down the hatches and build up your walls. This is the difference between you and Penny—when a conflict occurs, she gets loud and you get quiet. “I’m not avoiding you.”

Penny stalks closer to you. “Really, Seojung? I’m not a dumb, clueless blonde. I have eyes! Do you know how much this is hurting me? I miss you! Why won’t you talk to me?”

With every word, she comes even closer, until she has you up against the lockers.

The jig is up. There is no point denying your avoidance any more. You deflate, taking down your emotional walls, one brick at a time. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” You rub your face with a tired hand. “I owe you an explanation. But first, I need a shower.”

Her eyebrows furrow, but she nods.

You have the quickest, most stressful shower in your life. Thoughts run through your head of possible outcomes. When you return to the locker area, Penny is still there. She sits on a bench and watches you pack your Quidditch gear with a stormy look on her face.

When you’re done, you finally glance her way. “D’you want to talk here, or somewhere else?”

She stands and silently leads you back to the main castle. Down a corridor, into a very familiar alcove in a quiet hallway. It’s Jacob’s room, which you showed Penny during third year.

Delaying the inevitable, you slowly lock the door and watch Penny take a seat in the sturdy chair at the desk. Filled with nervous energy, you remain standing.

“Look… I have to tell you something, but you have to promise to listen all the way to the end before you say anything. Promise?”

Penny nods. She’s always been so patient with you, even when she’s mad. It’s one of the things you love about her.

“So the reason why I’ve been avoiding you is because I’ve been dealing with some feelings. It’s a recent development, but I—I like you. And I think I have for a long time. I like studying with you and listening to you greet everyone in the morning at breakfast. I like being your partner in class and being your date to all the events. I want to sleep with you and dance with you and stargaze in the Courtyard with you. I love you as a friend, but I’d also like to be more than friends. I want to take you to the ball as your actual date, not just as your friend. Pens, will you go out with me?” You stand in front of her, baring your soul.

Blood roars in your ears and your heart feels like it’s about to jump out of your ribcage. You’ve never been this vulnerable to anyone before. Will it blow up in your face?

Penny stands and grabs both of your hands gently. She smiles, which gives you hope. But the words that come out of her mouth aren’t what you expected.

“I get why you were distant now. I don’t hold it against you. But I’m sorry, I’m not looking for a relationship right now. I like you as a friend. I hope you understand.”

Her words are robotic, short. It’s quite unlike her. Maybe it’s because she never considered a situation like this. She seems unprepared and disappointed, but you don’t know how to fix it. Instead, you watch silently as Penny returns your heart to you, shattered. You try your best to hide how hard it hurts. “It’s fine. Don’t worry, I won’t stand you up at the Ball. I always follow through when I say I’m going to do something.”

She gives you a lopsided smile. “We’re okay, right?”

You aren’t sure, but you lie through your teeth anyway. You can always lick your wounds later. “Yeah, we’re okay.”

She buries her face in your shoulder, which is good, because you aren’t sure you can keep a smile on your face for much longer. You use the hug to arrange your face into something more neutral. When she pulls away, she squeezes your hands again. “I’ll see you later?”

“Sure.”

Penny leaves you still standing in the middle of Jacob’s room, the scent of lemon and sandalwood from her perfume taunting you. Almost in a trance, you walk back to the Hufflepuff dorms. It feels like your whole world has been tipped off its axis.

“Seoj! Guess what! I did it!” As you enter the hallway of dorms, you hear Rowan’s excited yell behind you. Quickly arranging your face into something more normal, you turn to her.

“You asked Ben out, did ya?”

“Yes! And he said yes! Oh Merlin, what do I do now?!” She takes her glasses off and cleans them with a small cloth. It’s one of her stress-reliever tactics.

“Rowan, the hard part is over. You did it! Now all you have to do is pick out an outfit and enjoy the Ball!” Despite your crushed heart, you’re genuinely happy for your friend. You’ve been waiting for Rowan and Ben to get together for a while.

“How about you? How did it go with Penny?”

“She… said she’s not looking for a relationship right now. It’s alright. I’m fine.” You can feel your smile tremble like a lone tree in a rainstorm.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Seoj.”

The look on your face must be pretty sad if Rowan is initiating a hug. She pulls away quickly, but it means a lot to you that she reached out first.

“Are you still going with her to the dance?”

“Of course! A promise is a promise. We were always going to go.” You smile bitterly. “It’ll still be a nice evening.”

As the hands on your pocket watch tick closer to the seven and twelve, you slowly pull on each part of the outfit Andre assembled for you. First, the pants with the French fly; then, a crisp pink button-up shirt and a navy necktie; and finally, the jeogori shirt, with a traditional knot for the side tie. To finish off the outfit, you pick a pair of casual brown dress shoes, a matching color belt, and a simple white pocket square. You are once again grateful for the fact that there are no shoulder pads in the jeogori. Your upper body won’t be restricted by a thick, heavy blazer. The outfit is polished, but not too formal—perfect for a school dance.

To ensure your leg doesn’t bother you so much, you take another pain potion that Madam Pomfrey gave you. The last thing you do is pull out a small bag made of velvety material. It’s something you bought on a whim this summer at the shop back home because it reminded you of Penny. With tonight’s dance being fairytale themed, it’s a perfect time to give your best friend a gift.

With every step drawing you closer to the Great Hall, you feel your heart sink into your gut. You know that Penny isn’t going to kick you when you’re down, but you’re definitely still reeling from her rejection.

Never mind that. Tonight is when you will reap the rewards of your and your friends’ hard work. You can hear the sounds of a party already in full swing as you near the room. Walking through the open doors of the Hall, you gape at the decorations.

Cobblestones shaped like hearts snake from the doors through the middle of the room, leading to the dance floor, which looks like a large patch of grass. In the middle of the meadow is a ring of toadstools and flowers—Badeea’s work, certainly. Huge, thick curtains hung from the ceiling make the walls look like a thick canopy woven by trees. The entire hall looks like a clearing in a forest.

You’re so caught up in the room, you don’t notice Penny seeing you walk in. She politely leaves a conversation with Madam Pince and Mr. Filch and makes her way to you.

“Seojung, you’re here! Thank you again for being my date. I— Wow, Andre worked his magic, huh? Your outfit looks amazing!”

“Thanks, Pens. You’re looking pretty good, yourself.” You hold out your hand, which she takes easily. “Spin for me?”

Andre was right when he said Penny’s outfit complimented yours perfectly. She is wearing a beautifully pleated navy blue skirt with a classic 1940s A-line shape. On top of that, a checkered white-and-pink buttoned shirt, unbuttoned but tied at the bottom. There is a pink bow keeping her hair out of her face, and her white sneakers really pull the whole outfit together.

“I’m pretty confident in saying I have the best-looking date in the whole school.” As the blonde comes to a stop and stands in front of you again, you swallow your feelings and try your best to keep up the facade. You’re a gentleman, after all.

Penny’s cheeks turn a deep shade of pink, almost as deep as your shirt. “Thank you. You look stunning, too! A real knight in shining armor.”

You take the compliment in what you hope is a gracious manner. “Thanks! Andre was able to really wield some serious magic in making this outfit.”

“That’s nothing compared to the magic you wielded in making this ball come to life!” Penny gestures at the room. “It’s so beautiful!”

You bite back the, “Not as beautiful as you” that threatens to slip out, and instead give credit to all the friends who helped make the Valentine’s Day Ball come true. It wasn’t just you.

“I had a lot of help from my friends. Without you, I never would have thought to pair up Madam Pince with Mr. Filch. You helped me learn to listen with my heart, Pens.” You squeeze her hand. She ducks her head.

“If you ever need reminding, I’ll be right here.” Leaning forward, Penny gently kisses your cheek.

Before you can decipher what the hell she means by that line, Madam Pince and Mr. Filch interrupt your conversation.

“Good evening, Miss Lee. If Miss Haywood is finished batting her eyelashes at you, then I would like to extend my thanks for helping to make this Valentine’s Day Ball truly magical.”

Wow, Madam Pince, thanking you, smiling at you? You never thought you would see the day. “Thank you, Madam Pince. I’m so glad you’re pleased.”

“I’m more than pleased. It has surpassed my expectations. I doubt a soul will feel lonely or excluded this evening.” She smiles at the fairies hovering around, buzzing gently over the heads of students and staff alike.

Filch bows his head slightly. “Speaking for myself, I’ve never had better company. Except perhaps Mrs. Norris.”

“Coming from you, I know that’s quite the compliment, Argus.” A real smile stretches across Madam Pince’s face.

You grin proudly at the budding relationship. Your gut feeling was onto something after all. “It’s like Penny said: Valentine’s Day is about connections of all kinds.”

Penny leans into your side, hooking her arm around yours. “And I’m happy to see that we’ve all made one to celebrate!”

Madam Pince nods tightly, but still with a smile. “Quite right. Now, with all that fawning out of the way, you should take to the dance floor.”

“Despite your meddlesome ways and rule-breaking… Madam Pince thought you should get the first dance.” Ah, there he is. You almost forgot he was the caretaker. Despite his fine clothes, Mr. Filch’s mind was still the same.

“Thank you, but the ball wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t in charge, Madam Pince. I learnt a lot from you and Mr. Filch about listening and collaboration.”

“Every day is an opportunity to learn, Miss Lee. And what we’ve learnt is that Valentine’s Day is something everyone can enjoy.” She smiles directly at Mr. Filch. “Whether student, teacher, or staff.”

“You’re right. Everyone deserves to have a romantic storybook ending today.” Hopefully, your pointed statement hits the mark.

You hear somebody’s throat clear at the front of the Hall. Professor Dumbledore stands on the stage where the quartet hovers. He waits with a serene smile as people quiet down and turn their attention to him.

“Good evening, students and staff. Welcome to the Valentine's Day ball! I am glad to see so many happy faces.” He holds for applause. “Before we begin the festivities tonight, I wanted to thank and acknowledge the hard work of Madam Pince and her designing committee. She wanted to personally thank Miss Seojung Lee for assisting, Mr. Jae Kim for the scrumptious refreshments, Miss Badeea Ali for the lovely mural, Mr. Barnaby Lee for helping enlist the fairies, and Miss Chiara Lobosca for the wonderful music ensemble. You all have truly made this evening a night to remember for all.”

The crowd breaks out in enthusiastic cheers, whoops, and hollers. Tonks uses their fingers to whistle high and loud. Rowan, who is standing next to Ben, raises a glass in your direction with a small smile.

“And now, please enjoy the dance!” Professor Dumbledore bows slightly and walks off the stage.

The music strikes up, and Penny turns to you.

“I think that’s our cue, Seojung.” She holds out her hand. Oh, how you wish it meant something else entirely.

“So, are you asking me to dance, Penny?”

“I’m asking the most handsome witch at the ball.” She stands before, hand outstretched, gaze unwavering.

“Well, in that case, I accept.”

What else can you do but take her hand, and follow Penny to the dance floor?

You find the rest of your friends dancing around you. Tonks, Chiara, Skye, and Badeea come up to you, all with giant grins on their faces.

“Seojung! You owe me ten Galleons!” Tonks cracks their knuckles and waggles their eyebrows. Unsurprisingly, they are wearing their usual outfit, same as Skye.

“What?! She asked him out?”

Skye nods and points to the other side of the room, where Barnaby and Ismelda are standing close together, holding drinks and laughing. Barnaby is wearing a deep maroon leather motorcycle jacket over a black flower-pattern shirt. It’s the perfect amount of put-together but also casual. “Sure did. Right in the middle of lunch. Speaking of which, where were you?”

“My leg was bothering me. I skipped lunch.” It’s a believable lie. In fact, if it wasn't for that potion, your leg would be throbbing. You pour the coins into Tonks’ hand.

“Pleasure doing business with you, chum!” The coins disappear somewhere in one of Tonks’ many pockets.

You turn to Badeea next. “Congratulations again on your masterpiece. It looks great. How are you feeling?”

The artist beams. She looks positively radiant in her pink hijab and dress. A white leather jacket matches the stars on her headcloth. “It looks wonderful! I couldn’t have done it without your help, Seojung. I hope you and Penny enjoy the dance. You deserve it.”

You look at your best friend standing next to you. She smiles and leans into your side, playing it up for Badeea. “Thanks, Badeea. By the way, have you all seen Rowan? She told me earlier that she asked Ben out, so I hope she followed through.”

Chiara laughs kindly. “Don’t worry, she’s right over there with Ben!” The two were standing near the refreshments table. Rowan was dressed in a simple red shift and Ben has a matching long robe in the same color. Andre did excellent work with their outfits.

“Atta girl!” Skye whoops, high-fiving you and Tonks at the same time. “This calls for a drink in celebration! Seojung, Penny, are you coming?”

“I’m good. How ‘bout you, Pens?”

Penny shakes her head. “Maybe later. Thanks for asking, Skye.”

As your friends walk away, the fairies gather over you and Penny, arranging themselves into a heart shape.

“Jung, this is beautiful! Is this just for us?”

The light from the fairies creates a sort of spotlight over the two of you. Penny’s blue eyes light up in wonder and awe.

“It’s for the most important person here, who I have the pleasure of dancing with.” You put a hand on her waist. “I mean it. You’re the most important person in my life.”

Penny’s eyes are shining very brightly when you tell her this. She leans into your neck, swaying gently to the music.

For the next few songs, Penny is silent. You can tell she’s thinking about something very hard, so you don’t press her. That is the sign of a good friendship—you two don’t have to talk. Silence isn’t awkward.

Finally, Penny speaks.

“How does it feel to save the day once again, Hero?”

“I’m pleased as punch that everything came together in the end. The music, the refreshments, the mural…”

“Your wonderful outfit, our date.” She looks at you meaningfully. “Thank you for doing this, Jung. I know it was hard.”

“If given another chance, I would do it all over again. It was worth it to see you smile tonight. And stop all those annoying guys from asking us out. I mean, seriously…”

“Preaching to the choir, there.”

The band starts playing a new song. Penny’s head shoots up at the first few notes.

“Is that an instrumental version of ‘Do the Hippogriff’?”

“Sure is.”

“This is brilliant! I didn’t think the Weird Sisters could sound classy, and still so…”

“Punk rock? I know, Chiara’s a genius!” You bop your head to the beat. “Do you want to keep dancing?”

“Oh! Um, I need to…” Her eyes bounce around the room, landing on the table near the entrance. “I have to… erm, refreshment! Get one! Yes! I simply must try those fairy cakes before they fly away.”

Why is Penny acting so awkward and abrupt suddenly? You aren’t sure, so you try to roll with the change.

“Oh, a refreshment sounds great! I’ll go with you—”

“No! No. I can go by myself and get you one, too! You just keep dancing! Stay right here so I don’t lose you!”

You watch as Penny runs out of the Great Hall. Right past the table of refreshments.

“Well, that was.. a little odd.” You mumble to yourself.

“Was it? Perhaps you underestimate your fairy cakes.” Professor Dumbledore glides up to you with a slight smile hidden under his beard.

“Professor Dumbledore!”

“I wanted to congratulate you on a job well done, Miss Lee.”

“Thank you, Professor.” Your ego perks up a little at the compliment, against your will. It’s nice to hear words of affirmation from an authority figure.

“I believe your efforts to enhance this Valentine’s Day Ball were nothing short of marvelous.”

You bow your head graciously. “Thank you kindly, Professor, but it wasn’t just me. I had quite a bit of help from my friends.”

“I’m sure, but that wasn’t what I was referring to…”

“I’m… not sure I follow, Professor Dumbledore.”

There is a twinkle in the Headmaster’s eye. “You learned how to listen with your heart…and you helped others heal and grow.”

He nods his head at Madam Pince and Mr. Filch. The fairies form a heart over the both of them. They laugh and stand close together, looking up at their likenesses on the mural.

“Oh, look at that.” You’re glad that Penny and you had the right idea. Maybe it’ll soften both their hearts, but you doubt it.

“Indeed. You made a Squib feel as magical as Merlin, and someone who felt lonely realize she’s not. That is a very powerful gift, Miss Lee. More powerful than any spell.”

“I’m just glad to have helped create a memorable night for everyone.”

“And it’s a night that is far from over…”

“Which reminds me, where has Penny gone? Surely it doesn't take that long to get refreshments.” You look towards the entrance of the Hall again.

“Oh, you could say I’ve been helping her by stalling you.”

Of course! You should have known. There was something a little bit off about the whole situation.

“Perhaps you ought to check the Library for Miss Haywood. Something special is waiting for you there. Why not go see what it is?” A mischievous smile spreads across the wizened professor’s face.

“Thank you, Professor. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Enjoy the rest of your enchanted Valentine’s Day storybook date, Miss Lee.” With a wink, Professor Dumbledore melts back into the crowd.

With every step toward the Library, your apprehension grows. What has Penny planned? Should you be worried?

As it turns out, no. The Library has been transformed into a room of hearts constructed from books. You wonder what Madam Pince will think of her beloved books being used in such a way.

At the top of a short set of stairs, overlooking a lazy river made from fabric, stands Penny. She is at the mouth of a tunnel made of books arranged into heart-shaped arches.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Seojung.”

You walk up the stairs, taking in all the details. The steps you climb are thick tomes from the Reference section. You make sure to tread carefully. The normal lanterns have all been replaced with a multitude of candles, giving the tunnel of books a warm, flickering glow. The tables that are normally used for study have been lined up end-to-end to create a path.

“What’s all this?” You can’t help but feel a little suspicious. Penny turned you down before the dance. What is the meaning of this?

She takes both of your hands, blue eyes boring deep into your soul. “Before Valentine’s Day ends, I want to properly ask you out.”

You sigh, taking your hands out of her grasp. “I’m sorry, but I can’t forgive you so easily. You need to explain how you came around. Because this feels like the beginning of a big prank from Tulip and Tonks.”

“Right. Well—” She worries her hands. “I went back to my room and ran into Tonks, and I immediately spilled everything. They listened and then called me a gigantic dumbass, because I had just ruined the best relationship in the whole school. They told me to think about the Cursed Vaults, the Celestial Ball, the Winter Wonderland Party, and that Festival we went to last summer. Everything we’ve done so far, we’ve done together.”

“That still doesn’t explain your complete 180.” You cross your arms, still not convinced. It will take more than this to get your guard down. Penny knows this.

“After you asked me out for real, I… did some thinking. I rejected you because I was afraid that saying yes would screw up our relationship. But then, I realized that was stupid. I figure, if we can fake-date, we can real-date. Dating is just really, really good best friends, right?”

The blonde squeezes your hands gently. “So, will you forgive me, Jung? And will you go out with me? Please?”

Your heart finally rises from its place in your gut. You can’t stay mad at Penny for very long, not when she is so earnestly asking you to be her partner. After all, this is what you wanted. It brings you comfort to know that Penny reciprocates your feelings.

You pull her in for a hug, which she completely melts into. “Okay, girlfriend, you’re forgiven. What’s this surprise you got for me?”

Penny laughs into your shoulder. “It’s a Tunnel of Love!”

She pulls away after a long moment, a bright smile on her face. “We’ve spent a lot of time studying here, and it fits tonight’s theme of a fairytale. What do you think?”

“Not bad, Haywood, not bad at all.”

Penny bounces on the tips of toes. “I knew that I had to do something big to make it up to you, for hurting you like I did. I got inspired to do something special for you with a little help from your friends.”

A fairy comes out from behind her. “Buzz!”

“Aili! You helped plan this?”

“Buzz! Buzz!”

You chuckle. “Guess the fairies really do understand Valentine’s Day, now.”

“Thanks to you!” Penny smiles at you and pecks your cheek.

“Thanks, Aili. And you too, Penny.”

Aili flies in a loop, then rejoins her group of fairies as Penny leads you under the first heart-shaped arch.

“You’ve done so much for Hogwarts today, that I wanted to give you a bit of storybook romance.”

You venture forward through the next arch to find the most beautiful sight. A small raised platform surrounded by hearts made of books, with candles lit everywhere.

“I hope you like it, Seojung!”

“You’re such a romantic, Penny. And it shows.” Your chest warms at the sight of her love and devotion. She really does love you.

“With you as my inspiration, how could I fail?” She comes to your side and clasps your arm. “I can’t wait to tell Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pince how much you like it!”

The mention of the strict librarian shocks you. She does not seem like the person who would agree to this surprise. “Pince was in on this?”

“Yep! Professor Dumbledore convinced Madam Pince to lend me the library. You really got Pince to open up her heart.”

“Damn, we should have a Valentine Ball every day if it’ll keep Pince happy.”

Penny leads you to the center of the platform. “It would be really difficult to top this dance and this date. You made this the perfect Valentine’s Day. Especially for me.”

“All I wanted was a magical Valentine’s Day with you by my side. I’m glad it’s with you as my best friend and girlfriend.” You smile at the way the candlelight softens Penny’s bright blue eyes.

“Me, too! Now, one last surprise. You know how much I like records of important events. I thought our romantic evening deserves its own storybook.”

With a wave of her wand, a beautiful book pops into existence before you. There is a necklace with a key hanging from it. On the cover, there are two hearts interlocked.

You whistle lowly at the impressive show of magic. “Let me guess… Is it a tale of a lovable potion maker and a curse-breaker, who throw the best party their school has ever seen?”

“Yes! And perhaps they share a storybook romance along the way.” She steps closer to you, handing you the book.

You run your fingers over the cover, fingering the gold border. “That sounds like a tale I’d read again and again.”

“You can! The key unlocks the book whenever you want to read it, and you can wear the key like a necklace so the story will always be with you.”

“That’s brilliant, Pens. Thanks.” You slip the chain over your head, smiling down at the key.

“I’m so happy to hear you like it, Jung. I keep our fond memories close to my heart all the time.”

“Oh! That reminds me.” You pull the small bag out of your inside jacket pocket. “I got you something this summer, but I never felt it was the right time to give it to you. Now feels like the perfect time.”

Out of the bag tips out three small objects: two lapel pins, a knight helmet and a queen’s crown, and one ring, shaped like a crown, on a gold chain.

“When I saw it, I remembered how you sometimes jokingly call me your knight in shining armor. So I bought it as a play on that.”

Slowly, Penny tips the items back in the bag. She gently sets the bag on the ground. Wordlessly, she takes the book out of your hands and puts it on the ground next to the bag. Then, she pulls you to her by the chain around your neck.

“Pens?”

She puts her arms around your neck. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

In answer, you cup her face with your hands and pull her lips to yours.

Her lips are warm and soft, just like her hands. They taste like honey and strawberries. It’s the best thing you’ve ever tasted in your life.

Finally, you both need to come up for air. Gasping for breath, you look at Penny with new eyes.

She grasps your hands and kisses you on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Pens.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Jung. Thanks for being my very own Valentine.”

Her grin is too tempting. You surge forward and kiss her again. “Sorry, I had to.” And another.

“I can’t believe we could have been doing this sooner…” You finally pull back and look at Penny with a small smile.

She hums in thought. “I like our timing. I don’t regret a thing.”

“You don’t regret anything?”

Her cheeks grow hot. “Okay, maybe a couple things I would have done differently, but we got there in the end, didn’t we?”

“I suppose we did.” You chuckle lightly at Penny’s indignance. It’s so easy to rile her up. “Do you think the dance is wrapping up?”

Penny glances at her wristwatch. “I would say so. Let’s go back. I want to catch the last dance with you.”

You offer your hand and lead her back to the Great Hall. There are even more people now, but you still find space on the edge of the dance floor. The quartet plays a slow ballad—Penny’s favorite. You can see the recognition from the way her eyes soften.

“May I have this dance?”

She nuzzles into your cheek, speaking directly into your ear. “You may.”

Too soon, the song ends, Professor Dumbledore thanks everyone for attending, and Heads of Houses are ushering students to their beds. You both follow the flow, making your way to the Hufflepuff dormitory.

“Can I sleep in your bed again tonight?” Penny’s voice is soft around the edges, like a worry stone weathered by constant use.

“Of course. But you’ll need to bring a sweater with you for tomorrow, since you stole mine.” You hold the door to the Common Room open for her.

“Aww.” Penny sticks out her lower lip. “Can’t I just borrow another one of yours?”

“Then I won’t have any to wear!” You push her lightly towards her bedroom. “Bring my sweater back, or you’re not allowed to get into my bed.”

Penny isn’t happy about it, but she complies. Skipping into your room with your house sweater in her arms, she flings it to the foot of your bed and jumps onto the covers. She is uncharacteristically restless and full of energy.

You look over from the diary entry you’re writing. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I’m really happy. I’ve dreamed about today ending like this.” In the low light, your best friend’s face is glowing like the hearths in the Kitchen.

You find yourself drawing closer, like a moth to a flame. Giving Penny a quick kiss, you return to your writing. The quicker you finish the diary entry, the quicker you can go back to kissing your girlfriend.

Part of you wants to stop writing and throw the notebook onto the nightstand, but you know yourself. There is no way you will finish if you put it off for later. Besides, it’s best to write down the memories while they are still fresh in your mind.

Penny settles into your side, watching you record the day’s events. Finally, when you finish and the lamp is off, she squeals quietly and buries her face into your neck.

The closed curtain muffles the sounds of your roommates turning down for the night. It’s been a very eventful day for everyone, including you. As your eyes grow heavy and you settle into the covers for the night, you feel Penny’s lips on your jaw.

“Goodnight, Seojung. Thank you for the best Valentine’s Day.”

“I had a good time, too. Now, shut up and go to sleep, babe.”

— — —

#hphmseojunglee #hphm #hogwarts mystery #harry potter hogwarts mystery #hphm mc #penny haywood x female!mc #penny haywood x mc

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jellysaidshit · 6 months

Text

Our story. Chapter 2.

Previous chapter

Content warnings: none, a bit of angst at the end if you squint.

The first morning at the new place was not pleasant for River. Beau, with whom she shared an incredibly thin wall, turned out to be an early bird. So, tall girl’s day started at seven o’clock in the morning with her roommate’s alarm. Approximately fifteen minutes later she was ready to check if the wall they shared was made out of cardboard, and after half an hour she gave up her sleep.

She heard Beau walk around and, as River assumed, get ready for her classes. ‘Good thing I don’t have morning classes, bad thing she does,’ the girl thought to herself. When she got out of her bed and walked into the living and kitchen area, she was met with a surprisingly homey view: Beau sat on one of the two barstools while Ash was in the middle of making coffee. When they noticed a newcomer, they raised one hand in greeting. “Morning, want a cup of coffee?”

“Wasn’t there a rule about cooking and cleaning for yourself?” River nodded as she stood next to Beau looking at the taller figure. Ash looked like someone’s uncle and aunt at the same time. The huge worn-out sweater made them look like a Teddy bear with a pink wig, and massive glasses didn’t help them at all. But at least they looked cozy. Beau, on the other hand, was wearing a black mini skirt with a beige crop top. River herself was dressed in pretty ordinary clothes: black shorts to her knee and loose black T-shirt.

“Well, it’s not that hard for me to make you coffee or breakfast,” Ash answered. “I don’t mind cooking for others, but cleaning is where my kindness ends.” they put a cup of warm coffee in front of River and took a sip of their own drink. She noticed an open notebook that was laying in the middle of the kitchen island and Beau was comparing her own notes with it.

“What’s that?” the black-haired girl asked the others after she took a sip of her drink. She then leaned over Beau’s shoulder to take a better look at the notes only to discover something about Germanic languages.

“Linguistics notes. I missed the first class yesterday,” Beau explained as she sipped on her own coffee not looking away from the notes. “Ash is my hope and my shoulder to rely on when I don’t have the notes.”

“Good thing you’re buying me food and books then,” the chubby person giggles as they snacked on a bagel with jam. “You should be on good terms with her, River, she’s the most generous human I know.” They giggled as they looked at their notes. The lean girl smirked as she observed the duo in front of her. Ash explained some terms to Beau with so much care inn their voice while Beau listened carefully and fixed her notes.

That felt like a completely new image to her, a friendship this close. River had friends, she was not the loner in any way, but never this close. Ash and Beau seemed to be siblings, yet they weren’t, and to River that was a foreign concept. She snapped out of her thoughts when pink haired person waved their hand and greeted the person coming to them. “Hey, Nyx!”

Nyx was dressed in her, what Ash thought, pajamas, and her hair was a mess. Her facial expression spoke volumes, and when she raised her hand asking them to shut up, they swallowed their words. The oldest girl opened the fridge, took a bottle of water and walked back to her room.

“Jeez, I thought I was grumpy,” River mumbled. She took her cup and walked to her room. “Good luck with the class.” She said as she disappeared behind her door.

Ash looked at Beau as soon as River left. “They’re still scary. Both of them.” They whispered.

“But isn’t the tall one kinda cool?” Beau whispered back. She closed both of notebooks and sat up straight.

“No. She stares at me.” they leaned in to whisper even quieter. “I wonder if the rumors about her are true.”

“I’m sure they aren’t,” the brunette said as she smiled at her best friend. “Anyways, library at 3?” she asked them as she hopped off the barstool.

“Library at 3.” Ash agreed.

###

Later same day. University library.

Ash rushed up the stairs where Beau was already waiting for her. A long table in one the middle of the room between the bookshelves was empty besides the familiar brunette. Ash walked to the seat next to her friend, taking off their backpack before sitting down.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” they whispered as they opened their bag to take out the notebooks, laptop and books. They also took out a bag of gummies and two bottles of iced tea, one for Beau and one for themselves.

“Apology accepted,” the brunette joked as she opened a bottle of the iced tea and took a sip. As friends started to work on their assignments. Library’s dim light created that vibe where you can’t do anything but study for upcoming projects. Students were walking around and looking at books when Ash took out their headphones and started working on their notes. That was when they heard Beau greet someone.

They looked at the unknown person and saw River standing on the opposite side of the big wooden table, confused. Beau waved at her and gestured to the seat on the opposite side of her. The younger one took a deep breath and slowly walked to her seat. Ash looked at Beau, eyes screaming ‘why?’, but when they saw a light blush on her friend’s cheeks, they understood the reason.

Ash looked back to River as the tall girl took out her notebook and laptop. She looked serious even at simple moments like this. Pink haired human turned on their music and continued working on an assignment. They asked Beau random questions and answered her questions back, snacking on gummies from time to time. Ash saw Beau stealing glances at River as time passed, but River was too busy doing her own things to notice. Even if she noticed anything, she brushed it off very well.

Sometime later, the chubby person felt someone staring at them, and as they raised their head, they met River’s eyes. They chose to close their eyes and looking down as if nothing happened, but the burning gaze still haven’t left their figure. Ash wanted to confront the girl, but anxiety took over as they whispered something to Beau, got up and left, leaving all of their stuff on the table.

As soon as Ash left, Beau leaned to River. “Hey, uh...” She whispered, “Do you wanna order food with us when we get back?” she asked quietly.

River shook her head, “Sorry, but I can’t.” she whispered back as she closed her laptop. “I have some shit to take care of.” The tall girl collected her things, gave Beau a tight smile, got up and left the library.

Ash saw her getting out of the building as they were wrapping up their smoke break. They saw River walk to a parking lot where there stood an expensive looking black motorbike. They watched as the girl put on the helmet, got onto the vehicle and drove off to somewhere.

###

It was about 8pm when Nyx got back to the apartment. She took off her coat and shoes as she entered the house, taking a deep breath. That was when she heard two of her roommates chatting loudly in the living room.

“I’m telling you, you should think about this, dear,” Ash said as they shook their head. Nyx saw Beau sitting on the floor facing pink haired person with a box of pizza placed on the coffee table. She froze in the doorway for a couple of seconds. “You can’t just walk around and expect people to be good, who knows what kind of business she’s doing.” They continued to lecture their friend.

“But Ashie, she can’t be doing anything too bad,” Beau shot back, and all Ash could do is take a deep breath. “She’s probably working parttime or something.”

“I hope you’re gonna clean after yourselves,” Nyx announced her presence. She smirked at them, walking to the fridge and pulling out some leftovers. Ash smiled at the oldest as they changed the subject.

“Don’t worry, we’ll clean after.” they said before chugging a whole can of sprite. Beau nodded as if to back up her friend. Nyx murmured a quiet ‘good’ before disappearing in her room with the container of food.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Ashie,” Beau said as she reached for Ash’s hand. “I can take care of myself, you know that.” she reassured them. ‘If only you’d let me take care of you,’ Ash thought to themselves, but on the outside, they could only smile.

Author's note: Once again, thank you for reading this! I really appreciate it if you'd like and/or reblog this if you like it!

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scuttling · 3 years

Text

Paper Rings

Fandom: Criminal Minds Pairings: Aaron Hotchner/Female Reader Word Count: 10,191 Tags: SFW, Fluff, Literature, Friends to lovers, Everyone thinks they're dating, There was only one bed, Some angst with a happy ending, Confessing love in the rain, TW fire and blood/wound Summary: Some of my favorite tropes rolled into one cute fic inspired by Taylor Swift's Paper Rings. (lyrics and music) Link to A03 or read below! “Good morning, my friendly neighborhood crime fighters,” Penelope says as she enters the briefing room, wearing a dress that is bright bubblegum pink, with fingerless gloves and glasses to match. You, Derek, and Spencer groan your replies, because you just got home from a case last night, with less than seven hours between arriving at your apartment and returning to the office, and that is everyone’s least favorite thing.

You can’t deny that her typical sunny disposition makes you smile a little bit brighter, but you’re still exhausted, and even your usual extra large travel mug of breakfast blend is barely taking the edge off.

That’s probably why, when Aaron enters with trays of steaming espresso drinks from the cafe down the street, and a striped box of donuts, you act like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Oh my god, I love you. Thank you, I love you.” He got an array of basic drinks based on everyone’s usual orders, and you scan for one that has something with latte, but he takes one out and hands it to you, smiling when you take a sip and sigh—okay, he’s smiling with his eyes, but you are well versed in his body language and facial expressions, and he’s practically grinning at getting your order (triple one pump hazelnut extra hot latte) correct.

You are not the only one to notice.

“Get a room, you two; it’s just coffee,” Derek says, taking the white mocha from the tray and drinking half of it in one sip. “Now if you tell me there’s a bear claw in there, I’ll confess my undying love too.”

“I don’t know; I asked for an assortment,” he says, and it’s clear he did, but your cup has your name on it; you cover the ink with your hand and take another grateful sip. “I do know there’s a plain glazed in there, though,” he says a bit lower, just for you, and you smile, give his wrist a squeeze, and dive for it before Jennifer Jareau can get her hands on it.

That’s all the morning meeting consists of—bickering and bantering and caffeine and carb consumption—and when the group disperses, you follow Aaron to his office and sit down in the chair across from his.

“Thanks again for breakfast. You definitely raised the morale of the troops,” you say with a sip of your perfect latte, and he shares the hint of a smile.

“You’re welcome. It helps that you’re all so easy to appease.” He flips open his bag, pulls out a small, worn, paperback book, tosses it toward you. You pick it up, run your hand over the well-loved cover, and hum.

“The Call of the Wild—this made it into the Aaron Hotchner Nightstand Collection?” He arches a brow.

“It’s so overrated that it’s underrated; no one ever actually reads it, they just assume they know what it’s about. It’s a great book, if you’ll give it a chance.”

“Hey, you’ve read all of mine without complaint; of course I’ll give it a chance.” You take the last, sad sip of your latte and stand up, point out the door with your thumb. “Speaking of, mine’s still downstairs on my desk. I’ll be right back.”

Exchanging books started as an offhand comment one night, on a flight home from Georgia, when he’d mentioned that he never buys new books, only cycles through the same ten or twelve he’s been reading since college. He knows what he likes, finds something different in the text each time he reads, and you’d found something so profoundly beautiful about that that you’d asked for the list. You wanted to know more about the books that tug at his emotions enough that he’s read them day in and day out for over twenty years with no boredom in sight.

He’d done you one better, said he’d be happy to lend them to you, if you’d like, and that was an offer you couldn’t refuse. Seeing college-aged Aaron’s notes in the margins of battered paperback novels was a prospect too good to be true.

Of course, you couldn’t accept the gesture without returning one of your own, so you’d offered to share your favorite books with him too, only... you don’t exactly give him your favorite books. You purposefully buy the cheesiest romance novels you can get your hands on, pass them off to him while he hands you poignant, classic novels that have won literary awards and Nobel prizes.

Today’s is called Lord of Scoundrels, complete with a shirtless man on the cover, kissing a woman with dark, flowing hair and a light blue dress; you snicker the whole way to your desk and back up to his office—earning curious glances from the rest of the team—and when you drop it on the desk in front of Aaron, you watch closely for a reaction.

As usual, he doesn’t really give you one, just flips the book over, skims the summary on the back, and nods.

“Sounds interesting,” he says, and your heart does a little flip.

He could easily hand the book back, laugh in your face, refuse to read something so clearly out of his wheelhouse, but he thinks these novels are important to you, and he never fails to read them, offering his favorite parts the same way you do for his.

The world probably doesn’t deserve Aaron Hotchner; you definitely don’t.

“I think you’ll really like it. Sebastian and Jessica start out kind of indifferent toward each other, but the more they interact, the more they find they have in common. It’s very acquaintances to friends to lovers, if you’re into that.” He looks up with an expression you place as uncertainty, even if you’re not quite sure the reason for it. You smile softly. “I should get to work, but thanks for the book. I’ll see you at lunch?”

It’s been so nice lately that you started taking your lunch outside, sitting on a bench beneath a huge, shady oak tree, and Aaron had taken to doing the same; you both quickly realized it was stupid to sit outside together, apart, so you meet up in the bullpen now and walk out side by side, spend the hour talking about your books or the team or Jack or life in general. He shakes the uncertain expression, nods his head.

“Of course. Thank you,” he says with a wave of the book, and you head back downstairs to start your day.

You’ve become mostly accustomed to the feeling, but it still surprises you a little when all that gets you through the day is thinking about your next conversation with Aaron. A week later, you’re on a case in Pittsburgh, and you and Aaron are paired up to room together. That’s nothing unusual—it seems like you’ve been rooming together more often than not lately, which is fine by you; he’s tidy, quiet, always interested in a late night snack, pretty much the perfect roommate—but when he opens the door and you step inside, the single king size bed in the middle of the room takes you by surprise.

“Uh… do you think it’s a mistake? Or maybe they just ran out of doubles?” you suggest; he's kind of frozen in place, and while it’s not ideal, you know it’s not actually going to be a problem. You’ve shared a bed with JJ before, and Spencer, and even though you don’t feel the same way about them as you do about Aaron, you think you can manage a couple nights in close quarters.

“Probably just ran out of doubles,” he agrees after a moment; he doesn’t bring up calling the front desk to ask for another room, so you don’t either, just hang your clothes and head into the bathroom to change into your pajamas and do your nightly routine.

It’s a little awkward at first, and you don’t know why; over the last six months or so, he’s actually become your closest friend on the team, and conversation usually comes easily, but silence settles over the room uncomfortably as you slip between the sheets on your side of the bed.

He goes into the bathroom, does his own nightly routine, then comes out in his pajamas and turns on CNN.

You take out your book, pay no attention to Aaron, but the longer he sits on the edge of the bed, staring at the news ticker on the television screen but not actually watching it, the more you wish he’d just get over himself and come to bed. If he’s trying to wait for you to fall asleep, he’s going to be waiting a while.

“So you were right; I love Buck,” you say as a way to start some conversation, to bring some normalcy to this unusual situation. You hold up the book you’re reading, the one he let you borrow. “His struggle between remaining loyal to his owner and answering the call of the wild—I love dogs, but I never imagined a book about a dog could be so moving.”

He turns back with a soft smile, then switches off the tv and heads over to his side of the bed; he pulls back the comforter, slides between the sheets, meets you toward the middle of the bed.

“I told you you’d like it; what chapter are you on?” He leans over to look, so close it wouldn’t take much to lift a hand and brush it over his hair; it looks unfairly soft, and part of you wants to card your fingers through it, to tug on it and mess it up a little. He probably wouldn’t even mind if you did.

“Chapter 7—I only have a few pages left.” You snuggle more comfortably against your pillow, lean into his shoulder, and move the book so it’s more evenly between you. “Want to finish it with me?”

He does, and you read silently at a similar pace; he reaches up to turn the pages, and you think about how these hands have flipped through this book so many times before, what he might have been thinking, feeling, while reading. It’s a more intimate act than you’ve shared with anyone in a really long time.

When you finish the book, you sigh, let the feeling of reading a really great story envelope you; you turn to face Aaron, and he’s looking at you… and then there’s a knock at the door that startles you both.

He gets up, walks over and checks the peep hole, then opens the door.

“Are you sure?” you hear JJ ask, and he steps back so she can enter the room; when she sees you tucked snugly into the middle of the bed, she shoots you a soft smile and mouths you’re welcome, which makes absolutely no sense without context. You’ll have to bring it up to her later and ask what exactly you’re supposed to be thanking her for.

“So you said the detective called?” Aaron prompts her, and she looks away from you, nods.

“Yes, he wanted me to ask if we could have a few agents meet him at the second crime scene tomorrow instead of the precinct, figured it could save a little time.” Aaron looks confused, like he doesn’t see why this couldn’t have waited until tomorrow, but he ultimately agrees.

“Sure. You, Reid, and Prentiss can head straight there, if that’s what he wants. I’ll let them know in the morning.” JJ nods, and looks over at you, and then back at Aaron, who makes a kind but curious face. “Was there something else?”

“Huh? Oh, no, that’s it. I just didn’t want to forget. I’ll let you guys go—enjoy the rest of your night,” she says with a smile and a wave, and when he closes the door behind her, you both exchange a look.

She’s definitely acting a little weird, but it’s late, so you give her the benefit of the doubt.

You scoot over to your side, put the book on the nightstand and switch off your lamp; Aaron climbs back into bed and switches his off, too, and he turns to face the wall while you lay on your back and stare at the ceiling.

It takes about half an hour, but he falls asleep first; you turn to face him, watching his back, following the rise and fall as he softly breathes in sleep, and the peaceful rhythm lulls you into submission, and you drift off as well.

When you wake up a couple hours later, he is on his stomach with his face pressed into his pillow, and you are draped over his back with your cheek against his t-shirt. It’s soft, and warm, and smells like him, and you glance at the clock and realize it’s too early to do anything but get comfortable and fall back asleep, so that’s exactly what you do.

The next time you wake up, to light creeping in between the curtains, Aaron is no longer in bed, but you’re holding his pillow, still warm beneath your cheek. He doesn’t act weird when you get up and start moving around, just pops out of the bathroom with his toothbrush dangling from his mouth.

“Got you a latte,” he says around it, gesturing to the desk and the pair of paper cups that sit on it, and you grin.

“Seriously, you’re my favorite human,” you answer, and you grab your coffee and lean against the doorframe, sipping and sighing until you’re a little more clear-headed. “Sorry if I crushed you; guess I was restless last night. I usually don’t move around that much.”

He just shrugs, spits out a mouthful of foam into the sink.

“You didn’t crush me. I’m pretty solid, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“I’ve noticed,” you tease, looking at him over the lid as you take another sip. “Now hurry up and quit hogging the bathroom if you want to leave here at a decent hour.” He rinses, zips up his toiletry bag noisily for dramatic effect, and slips past you, rubbing a hand over your unruly bed head as he goes. The day passes quickly, with lots of interviewing witnesses, following dead-end leads, and bad police station coffee. When Aaron calls it and tells everyone to get some dinner, you all split off into smaller groups—Spencer and Derek go for Chinese, JJ and Emily opt for pizza, and you and Aaron end up at a retro diner with burgers and milkshakes and a plate of fries between you to share.

“I think we should be focusing more on the docks,” you say, dipping a fry in ketchup and taking a bite. “Even if that’s not where the bodies end up, it seems to be where the unsub is meeting with the victims. We could stake it out tonight, maybe. If you want.” You never want to step on his toes, because he is the boss, the leader, even if you’re friends too; you try to be careful how you phrase things, especially in front of other people, because you don’t want your comfort to look like disrespect, however unintentional.

“That’s a good idea. You and I can head down there after this; I’ll let the others know to patrol nearby, in case we need backup.”

He dusts off his fingers and pulls out his phone, types out a text, and you look around the restaurant—the place looks like it was ripped right out of the 50s, with a checkered floor and lots of red vinyl, a shiny jukebox in the corner. Out of place is a flatscreen tv behind the counter; during the day, when it’s busier, it might play news or sports, but you two are the only ones here at the moment, so the staff is hanging out beneath it watching a movie. It’s Titanic, you realize, when the iconic ‘Rose floating on a piece of debris’ scene plays, and you snort, take a long drag of your chocolate shake.

“I always hated this part. They could have found a way for him to survive, too. Unnecessary death for the heartache factor,” you say, and Aaron looks up from his phone to the screen, makes a sound of contemplation.

“I always thought it was kind of romantic. When you love someone, you’d do anything for them to be okay, even at your own expense. Even if it’s stupid.” You look over his face, study the features you know like the back of your hand, and you guess you can kind of see that, but you can’t say that, so you just sigh.

“I suppose you think Romeo and Juliet is romantic, too,” you tease, and he looks back at you, rolls his eyes.

“It’s very much of its time; it's a lot harder to suffer a miscommunication like that these days. And there is something to be said for star-crossed lovers—people who shouldn’t be together, for one reason or another, but can’t help but drift close anyway.” You swirl your straw in the metal cup, thinking briefly of how that happens to describe the two of you, and when you look up at him, you think you see a hint of that same thought on his face.

More likely, that’s just wishful thinking.

“I like the sword-fights,” you say to lighten the mood, and he laughs, and you both polish off the rest of your food and then head for the docks.

Two hours in and absolutely nothing has happened, but just when you’re ready to complain, or suggest playing I Spy or something, there’s movement from one of the shipping containers to your right. You nudge Aaron, point to the container, and you both creep closer, trying to make out the situation.

When you’re just around the corner, it’s clearly two men fighting, but you obviously don’t know if this is your unsub, two random guys having it out on the docks, or what, so you mutually agree to wait until you have some kind of sign that this is your guy. When one of them pulls out a hunting knife that looks vaguely similar to your murder weapon—as close as you can tell in the dark, anyway—you raise your guns and identify yourselves as FBI.

The unsub drops the knife, but fists his hands in the other guy’s jacket, manhandles him to the edge of the dock, and shoves him into the water, then jumps as well. You swear, and Aaron takes off his jacket, throws it on the ground, then his phone on top of it, and looks back at you.

“Stay here and call for backup,” he instructs, and then he jumps in too; you call the team from your comms, get a response from Emily, and then toss your phone onto Aaron’s jacket and follow him.

He, of course, went for the victim first, so you look for the unsub, who is not visible above the water. You completely submerge yourself, feeling for more than looking for him, because the water is cloudy on a good day and pitch black at ten o’clock at night; when you pop your head up for air, you see Aaron getting the victim up onto the dock, and the unsub bobbing a bit further out. You swim to him, limbs aching, and he seems to know it’s time to give up.

He’s winded, gasping for breath, so you keep him above the water to your own detriment, dragging him by his wet jacket instead of cuffing him, because you’re not trying to kill the guy or lug his unconscious body back to shore. You just barely keep your own head above water most of the time, coming up for big gulps of air when absolutely necessary.

You finally make it to the dock, and your team has arrived, so Derek pulls him out of the water, makes sure he’s alright, and puts some cuffs on him. Aaron’s hands are on you right after, getting you up on the dock, wrapping a towel around your shoulders.

Despite the warm spring breeze, the water was freezing, and you can feel your teeth chattering. He rubs your arms for warmth, crouches down to look you seriously in the eyes.

“Thought I told you to stay here,” he says with an arched brow, a scowl you can tell is more concerned than angry. You wet your frozen lips and try your best to smile.

“You jump, I jump, Jack.”

He looks at you like you’re an idiot, but fondly, if that’s possible, then hugs you so tightly, guides your face to press against his warm neck. How he’s not teetering on the edge of hypothermia is anyone’s guess.

“Your lips are practically blue. Stupid,” he murmurs, but his mouth dusts over your temple in what is unmistakably a kiss, and when you’re able to feel your lips again, you reciprocate, press them a little harder against his throat while you shiver in his arms.

It doesn’t mean anything except I’m happy we’re both alive. Probably.

That night in bed, he faces the wall, and you stare at the ceiling, but you wake up with your nose against the back of his neck. The way he’s breathing tells you he’s not asleep, and when you wrap your arms around him, he holds them tight. Things don’t change after Pittsburgh, and that’s okay. You are comfortable with the way things are, and you love what you have—lunches under the oak tree, the exchange of books, late night texts when you both can’t sleep, hands brushing when you walk to the parking garage, glances shared across the jet. All those things make it easy not to focus on what you don’t have, what you’re not even sure Aaron would want anyway.

You exchange books again on Friday at lunch: he hands you Beloved by Toni Morrison, a book you already know and adore, and you hand him Ravished by Amanda Quick.

“Dubbed the Beast of Blackthorne Hall for his scarred face and lecherous past, Gideon,” Aaron shoots you a glance—“that’s purely coincidental”—“was strong and fierce and notoriously menacing. Yet Harriet could not find it in her heart to fear him. For in his tawny gaze she sensed a savage pain she longed to soothe... and a searing passion she yearned to answer.”

You hold back a smile.

“It’s a modern retelling of a classic story—Beauty and the Beast,” you add, taking a bite of your sandwich. He looks you over like there’s something he wants to say, but he just tucks it under his arm and steals a piece of melon from your lunch.

“I have Jack this weekend, so I probably won’t get to read much, but it sounds intriguing.”

“Well I hope you like it when you read it. Tell him I said hi; it’s been too long since I saw him. I bet he’s looking more like you every day,” you say, popping a piece of melon into your mouth. He smiles softly.

“A little, but Haley says she sees her father in him, and I have to agree. We may have to wait a few years until he looks like me; he’s too cute for that now.” He doesn’t sound self-deprecating, just fond, but you can’t let a comment like that stand, regardless.

“You’re cute; the difference is that kids are cute all the time. You’re an adult, so sometimes you’re handsome, sometimes you’re cute, sometimes you’re hot… it can be hard to reconcile.” This time, he looks you over with something light and playful in his eyes, and it’s something you want to explore, but the timer on your phone goes off, indicating that lunch is over, so you just exhale softly and pack up your things.

You don’t talk much after that—his Fridays are usually busy with meetings, and he leaves in a hurry to pick up Jack, which is understandable.

Emily, JJ, and Penelope invite you out for drinks and dinner—“because we know Hotch is busy,” Penelope says, which has literally nothing to do with your weekend plans, but you don’t correct them—so you don’t linger either.

You go out for Italian, so you are sleepy and full of wine and pasta by the end of the evening, and you smile at your friends.

“Thanks for inviting me out tonight, guys. I had a really good time.”

“Of course,” Emily says, taking her last sip of Pinot Noir. “We barely see you anymore; it was long overdue.”

“Definitely,” you agree. “I should really try to drag my ass out of bed more often.” You can’t help it, though, that after a long day, your bed and a good book just call your name. You’ve always been introverted in that way. JJ laughs softly, chin in her palm, elbow on the table.

“Honeymoon phase. Give it another couple months and you’ll be past that.” You do have a new memory foam mattress that has made sinking into the pillows and blankets all that more indulgent, but you didn’t think JJ knew about that. And you’ve never heard of a honeymoon phase for a mattress before.

“Eh, I don’t think so. There’s literally nothing more satisfying on this earth.” The three of them exchange an amused look, but your phone vibrates, and that catches your attention; you smile when it’s Aaron, sending you a photo of Jack with a toothy grin and his hands covered in fingerpaint. You look up to the sound of chairs scraping against the floor.

“Alright, we’ve lost her. See you all Monday,” Emily says, pulling you in for a hug; when she steps back, she smiles. “And tell Hotch we said hi.”

“I will,” you promise as you hug the other two. You hang back a moment, type out a reply—Looks like you’re having lots of fun without me!—and get into your car to head home.

You change into comfy clothes, drink a glass of water, and climb into bed with Beloved, and at around 9:30 you receive a reply.

Having the most fun we can without you. Maybe next time Jack is over, we can tempt you with dinosaur chicken nuggets and fingerpaint?

You smile, the happiest you’ve been all night—and that’s saying something, because you really did have a great time—and send back, It’s a date. Come Monday, you’re feeling pretty good, well-rested and relaxed from probably too much time in bed, but Aaron looks upset when he walks into the morning meeting. He keeps it short and sweet, and everyone disperses quickly, giving you sympathetic looks as you hang back to try to have a word with him. He clears off the white board, tidies up the table that doesn’t need tidying, and you place a hand on his back, gentle and comforting. He sighs, and you can feel the tension leave him almost instantly.

“Hey. What’s bothering you?” you ask softly, leaning around to try to catch his expression; he looks tired, sad, and maybe a little conflicted, leans into your touch.

“Taking Jack back to Haley’s was rough last night; it always is, but yesterday was really bad.” You know a little about this from weekends past, how Jack always cries when Aaron has to leave, how he feels terrible about it for the rest of the evening, but it must have been extreme for him to still be so upset. “And Haley…” He sighs again, runs his hand through his hair. “It’s like it’s one step forward, two steps back with her sometimes.”

“Why don’t we go sit in your office and you can tell me more?” You want to continue discussing this—that’s what friends are for, and he’s clearly in a bad state emotionally, you think it could help—but he just shakes his head.

“No, I… it’s okay. I don’t want to weigh you down with my problems.” You take your hand off his back, lean a hip against the table and look up at him.

“I’m not just your friend when it’s all easy breezy, lunch in the sunshine, talking about our favorite books,” you say with a sad smile; he reciprocates a little, which is more than you expected. “I’m here when things are complicated, when you have bad days, too. The Monday blues especially.” One of his hands rests on the table, and you cover it with yours, lean in to press your forehead to his shoulder. “Let me be here, okay? Even if all you need me to do is listen.”

It takes a moment, and his eyes are wet when he finally responds; he inhales deeply, nods, and brushes his free hand over your head in something of a hug, murmurs a rough, “okay.”

You sit in his office for an hour—which, again, is more than you expected—listening to him talk about his weekend with Jack, how heartbreaking it was to take him back to Haley’s, how he tried talking to her about taking him more often and she just wasn’t sure she could trust him to do what he says he’ll do. He understands where she’s coming from, knows he’s been unable to keep his word in the past, thinks he doesn��t deserve the benefit of the doubt; he hasn’t asked for advice, seems to just want to vent, so you just listen.

“Then I mentioned you, that you might come for dinner next time he’s over, and she was worried about that,” he says, exasperated, and you frown.

“Why would she worry about that? I’ve been around him lots of times.” It doesn't make sense, because Haley has always been nothing but sweet to you; Aaron looks up at your question, and it seems a little like maybe he hadn’t meant to say that part, though you can’t imagine why.

“It’s just different now… because he’s older,” he says after a brief moment of hesitation. “She doesn’t want him getting attached to someone who might not always be around, you know.” You sigh softly, because if that’s all it is…

You lean forward, take his hand, squeeze it tight.

“I’m always going to be around, Aaron. I can talk to her, if you want, tell her that.”

“No, it’s—you don’t have to do that.” He squeezes your hand back, closes his eyes for a beat. “Just hearing you say it, it makes things easier. I’ll talk to her again next time.”

You talk a little more, and he seems a lot better afterward, even if he is a bit less expressive during lunch; you figure any progress is good, but it makes you sad to see him so down, so naturally, you formulate a plan to help get him back to the Aaron you know and love.

At the end of the day, when he makes his way to the bullpen, you spin around in your chair, take him by the sleeve.

“You’re coming home with me tonight,” you say in no uncertain tone of voice. “For a few hours. I’ll bring you back for your car.” He agrees with a fond look, and you lose yourself in the expression for a moment, then stand up, grab your things, and walk with him out to the garage.

Rush hour traffic is what it is, and you leave Aaron in charge of the music, which means you get The Beatles and The Who, Rolling Stones and Neil Diamond, and you’re both singing along and so much happier by the time you pull into the parking lot of the bodega nearest your apartment.

“Just running in for provisions—be right back,” you say with a grin, and when you return with two paper bags of loot, he looks at you like you might be his favorite person in the world with an age in the double digits. It’s a look you love putting on his face.

“Do I get to see what provisions you’ve acquired?” he asks, teasing, but you shake your head and tell him he’ll see it when you get there.

With a pit stop in your apartment to grab a blanket and a few throw pillows, you take him up to the roof and get things ready for your makeshift picnic. There is white wine, still mostly chilled; cubed cheese, far from gourmet but no less delicious; crusty french bread that was fresh this morning but at this hour is a little extra crusty; blueberries, because they didn’t have grapes; dark chocolate, because you share a fondness for it; and paper cups for the wine.

Aaron takes a look at your bounty, spread over the blanket, and smiles the first real smile you’ve seen all day.

“Fancy,” he teases, and he takes off his jacket, gets on the ground with you. You pour each of you some wine, pop a blueberry in your mouth.

“No, but I thought a meal—and I do call it that loosely—under the stars might do you some good.” You lift your paper cup and tap it against his, brush your fingers over his hand. “To the best boss, best dad, best friend I could ask for.” You take a sip, but he doesn’t at first, watches you with something simmering behind his eyes.

“Do I get to make a toast?” he asks after a few beats, and you smile, nod, and hold up your cup. “To the only person stupid enough to jump into a freezing cold river after me. To the only person I would consider eating a bodega dinner with. To the only person who sees me the way you do.” You both take a sip, which is hard to swallow around the lump in your throat. He looks into your eyes, then breaks the dark chocolate into slivers and hands you a piece like he didn’t just say the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to you before.

You eat, and talk, and drink, and when you’re done with dinner you put everything back in the bags and lay back on the blanket, side by side, and stare up at the stars. The moon is high and full, shining while the stars twinkle around it, and you can’t think of a single time you’ve ever felt more at peace.

“This was really perfect,” Aaron says, almost a whisper, after about twenty minutes of companionable silence. “I can’t thank you enough for being there for me today.” You turn to face him, hands curled up under your chin, and he turns toward you as well. He’s so handsome in the moonlight your heart almost aches.

“You don’t have to thank me. I just wanted to see you happy.” You feel your eyes well up with tears, because he deserves to be happy; you sigh, blink them away, and he leans in and presses his lips to your forehead, rests them there for a long time. When he eventually pulls back, you bring a hand to his hair, brush it back at his temple, and then the creaking of the door makes you pull back, sit up.

It’s your neighbor from 422, who you’ve seen on the roof a handful of times, sneaking away from his wife to smoke a cigarette. He squints in the dark, recognizes you, and waves.

“Hey, 418! You’re not alone tonight.” Aaron sits up too, and you laugh softly.

“Nope, but we were just leaving. The roof is all yours.” Aaron stands, pulls you up, and you grab the blanket and pillows while he grabs the bags, and the two of you head back down to your place.

It’s after ten when you get the groceries put away, and you stand next to Aaron in your small kitchen, contemplating what you want to say next. Your mouth betrays your brain, says what you’ve been thinking but weren’t quite sure how to approach.

“It’s late; I know I said I’d take you back to your car, but you could stay here if you want. I have a spare toothbrush, and I know you have a spare suit at the office, and it’s not like it’s the first time we’ve shared a bed before.”

You’d completely understand if he’d rather go home—you hate when your plans are changed at the last minute, and you prefer to do your full nightly routine for your sanity’s sake—but he only nods, and you lead your way to the bedroom, show him the master bath.

You are in your pajamas, tucked into bed, when he comes out in his boxers and undershirt; he hangs up his suit in your closet where you’d left him some space, then climbs in beside you. He looks over at you, then past you, at your nightstand, which has a stack of books on it—none of them romance novels. You grin, busted after months of book exchanges, and he leans over you to look at the titles.

“Persuasion, To Kill A Mockingbird, One Hundred Years of Solitude—Beloved.” He looks from your copy of the novel to his, which you hold in your hands, and you shrug sheepishly.

“I like reading the notes you put in the margins,” you say meekly, hoping he’s not angry, but all he does is laugh.

“Let me guess: you don’t actually like romance novels.” He leans back against your pillow, and so do you, resting the book on your lap.

“I mean, I don’t not like them… but I’ve been buying those just for you.” The smile on his face is brilliant, and only makes you yearn for him more; things you have been purposefully not feeling are flooding your heart and mind and body now, with him so close, laughing over this stupid secret you’ve been hiding for so long. “And you, sweet man that you are, have been reading them, and discussing them.” You put your hand on his shoulder, and he ducks his head to laugh again.

“Since we’re being honest… I didn’t read all of them. I tried,” he says when you act offended, shoving the shoulder you’re resting against, “but some of them were so bad. I just flipped through, found something I thought could pass as my favorite part, and hoped to hell you didn't ask too many questions.”

You both laugh until you’re breathless—he is so different from how he was this morning it makes you want to cry—and when your laughter dies down you look at each other, sharing breath, two heads on one pillow; is it any wonder you bridge the distance, pull him close for a warm, gentle kiss?

When you break the kiss, you are instantly worried about what Aaron will do—you aren’t drunk, aren’t even tipsy, so you know he can’t be, so much bigger and more solid than you, but will he think it’s a mistake? He kissed back, you’re pretty sure, but maybe that was an accident, something done on autopilot—

He leans in for a second kiss, mouth deceptively soft, and you curl your arm around his back, press into it with lips desperate not to let this end now that it’s started. When you separate, you are both looking into each other’s eyes again, breathing a bit heavily, and you meet in the middle for a third kiss, the best kiss you’ve ever had in your life.

That kiss ends when you yawn in his face, and he chuckles softly, leans over and switches off your bedside lamp; you smile at the ceiling, and he wraps his arms around you, presses his lips to your shoulder, and tells you good night. The next day, the two of you arrive at work early so he can shower and change into his fresh clothes without anyone on the team noticing—not that you think they would really care, but they’re nosy, and a little annoying, so you both agree that’s probably for the best.

You don’t talk about the kisses, even though they’ve been the only thing running through your mind since they happened; you promise to discuss it at lunch, though, and that’s such a sweet, romantic prospect that you think you prefer it better that way anyway.

Only, you don’t ever get to lunch, because there’s an urgent case in Minneapolis, an all hands on deck situation, meaning even Penelope joins you on the jet. You debrief on the flight, hunker down in the conference room, and split up to cover more ground; you barely get to speak to Aaron the whole time you’re there except to be given instructions and to fill him on what, if anything, you’ve learned.

You don’t even make it to your hotel that night, working around the clock to catch the people responsible for terrorizing the city. It takes not one, but almost two full days, and when you board the jet on Wednesday evening, everyone is dead on their feet. You barely remember the flight or the trip home, and you fall onto your bed fully clothed and crash just like that.

Thursday is your birthday, which you almost forgot, and so you assumed everyone else would too. You should have known better, because even if your team can be annoying, they are still your friends, and they love you, so you are well and truly spoiled.

You are treated to a latte and bagels from Emily, purple cupcakes with silver sprinkles from Penelope, a piggy back ride from Derek, a book of poetry you’ve had your eye on from Spencer, and a card from JJ—really, it turns out, from all of them.

“Enjoy a romantic getaway on us?” There’s some kind of certificate in the card, and when you flip it over, you discover that it’s for a hotel and spa that offers couples massages, mud baths, intimate aromatherapy? You arch a brow. “Uh, thanks, guys. Are you trying to tell me something here?” JJ’s face falls a little and she points to the card.

“It’s a romantic getaway. For you and Hotch? Since things have been so hectic lately,” she says, but your ears are kind of ringing and your brain is stuck on the for you and Hotch part.

“Oh. Um. Sorry—it’s just kind of soon, I think? How do you guys even know about that?” you murmur. The two of you haven’t had time to discuss Monday yet, and you haven’t spoken a word to anyone; you wouldn’t have guessed Aaron would have either, but there is a gift certificate for a romantic getaway in your hands, and you’re kind of spiraling.

“Well come on, we haven’t exactly been pretending we don’t know,” Emily says, and you can feel the confusion in your features when you look up at her. “And you guys haven’t been exactly secretive. We’re happy for you, though.”

“I mean, we haven’t been secretive, but we haven’t really had a chance to talk about it yet. It’s only been three days.” You are met with looks similar to the one on your own face.

“What do you mean, three days?” Spencer asks with a frown. “You and Hotch have been dating for almost two months. Right?” he says, looking at the others, and they nod, but it’s tentative. Your first reaction is to flush, and you close the card, fan your face with it.

“You guys think… You guys thought…” You look at them, then up at Aaron’s office; there’s no way he can know that you’re having a moment, but he chooses then to come downstairs, coincidentally. He’s smiling at first, but it falls when he looks at your face.

“Hey. Is everything okay?” He presses a cool hand to your hot cheek, flicks his eyes over yours, and JJ makes a noise; when you glance over at her, she’s gesturing between the two of you.

“I’m sorry, we were wrong? What were we supposed to think?” Aaron frowns, not following, and you take a deep breath.

“They got me a gift certificate for my birthday. To a spa. For you and I to have a romantic getaway, because they were under the assumption we’ve been dating… for two months.” The way he pulls back quickly makes your stomach ache a little, but you say nothing. You should have known.

“You say I love you,” Derek begins like he’s listing evidence. “You have lunch together every day. You’re always smiling at each other.”

“Seriously, some of the softest, gooiest smiles I’ve ever seen,” Penelope adds.

“You eat together on cases, you’re texting all the time when you’re not together.”

“I’ve been pairing the two of you up in hotels since I first figured out you were dating,” JJ says, and the whole ‘you’re welcome’ thing suddenly makes some sense. “I booked you that room with just the one bed so you’d maybe feel more comfortable about us knowing, so you’d see that we don’t mind.”

“You’re always looking at each other, always touching,” Spencer says. “In Pittsburgh—that was the first time you really hugged or kissed each other in front of us. We were trying to pretend it wasn’t a big deal, but it was kind of a big deal.”

You look over at Aaron, try to gauge his reaction, but for the first time in a long time you can’t tell what he’s feeling. You can’t really tell what you’re feeling, either. Sadness. Worry. Loss? But what have you lost?

“We’re friends,” you say, even if it sounds weak to your own ears. “We’re… close.”

“We wouldn’t exactly make sense as a couple, would we?” Aaron asks rhetorically, and your heart clenches when he says that. He told you this morning that he’d made dinner plans for you, both for your birthday and to discuss the kisses, what they mean, where you go from here, but that doesn’t sound very promising anymore. “We’re just—”

“Star-crossed,” you say, but you feel like your eyes are vacant. You can hear your heartbeat pounding in your ears. You’re stupid for kissing him, for letting yourself think he could feel the same way you feel, have felt for a while. Isn’t friendship enough? Don’t you already have this special bond so unlike what you have with anyone else in your life? Why press your luck? You know better than that. “We should get back to work.”

You don’t look at Aaron, so you don’t know whether or not he looks at you. JJ does, and you can tell she knows you’re upset, but she just nudges everyone on their way, and you take a seat at your desk—it’s covered in balloons and streamers, the Penelope special.

You’ve never felt less like celebrating.

At lunchtime, Aaron stops at your desk, and the two of you walk out to the bench, open your bags in silence. You’re almost halfway through the hour before he tries to speak.

“Uh. I. About earlier,” he finally gets out, looking down at his sandwich, and you shake your head even though he’s not watching you.

“It’s fine. We don’t have to.” You take a bite of your salad even though you don’t taste it. “You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. You are who you are,” smart, sweet, handsome, tender, caring, “and I am who I am.” Too quiet, too young, too impulsive, too silly, too emotional. He nods, looks at your face for the first time in a while, swallows.

“Right.” You’re due to exchange books back—his is on your lap, yours is on his—and he picks them both up. “I’m like this,” he says, holding up Beloved. “Faded cover, dog-eared pages, scribbles in the margins: middle-aged, divorced, a little broken, barely holding it together for the kid I don’t get to spend enough time with. You’re like this,” he says, holding up Ravished. “Fresh and glossy and shiny and new, with your whole life ahead of you, the whole world ahead of you. You could do anything, with anyone.”

You frown, because this is not what you meant, at all. How could he think that about himself, when the well-loved cover and the dog-eared pages and the scribbles in the margins are all the best parts of him?

“Aaron,” you say, but it sounds like pleading; you reach out to put your hands on his arms, but he pulls them back. His eyes are rimmed red, lips pressed together to hold back everything he’s not saying.

“I think lunch is almost over.” He packs up his things, leaves you with tears in your eyes and a wilted salad and a brand new romance novel you’re never going to read.

Later, he cancels dinner, says something came up, and you go home to your empty bed and watch Titanic and bawl your eyes out when Rose tells Jack she’ll never let go. Friday, you get another case. Weekend cases are no one’s favorite, but especially not yours, when you desperately needed that buffer of time away from Aaron to sort out your feelings and get back to some sense of normalcy. Instead, you’re flying to a small town outside of Nashville to catch a serial arsonist, and when you get to your hotel, you and Aaron are sharing a room.

At least there are two beds, this time.

You go with Emily and Spencer to a crime scene, walking around a house that was once picture perfect and is now all charred wood and ash, and you quickly tell yourself to get a grip and not look for metaphors for your own life while trying to solve a case. What kind of investigator are you? Pathetic, apparently.

You work until evening, and when it’s time to break for dinner, you buy a sad looking assortment of items from the police station vending machine and eat in the conference room by yourself.

It’s a good thing you do, because they get a call about the fire while everyone is still away, and you and a few locals are the first on the scene.

It doesn’t start out bad, mostly located in the back of the house, but you know how quickly these things can spread, and the fire department is working hard to put it out. One of the officers is talking to the family, and the mother is crying, so you come closer to figure out why.

“She said the daughter was supposed to be staying at a friend’s, but sometimes she changes her mind at the last minute and comes home. She can’t get ahold of her,” the officer says, and you nod, thinking.

“Where would she be? The front or the back?”

“Her room is in the front, second floor; if she’s here, that’s where she’d be,” the mother says, wiping her eyes with a tissue, and you tell the officer to stay with them, that you’ll take care of it. You talk to the firefighters—this town is so small there are only two that were able to respond, and they’re both busy trying to put out the fire, but they clear you to go in if you stick to the front of the building and get out of there as fast as you can.

Your team isn’t here yet either, too far out for comms to be effective, and you can’t get ahold of Aaron, so you make a judgement call and head inside.

The front of the house is so eerily normal it’s almost easy to calm your nerves and pretend the back isn’t in the process of being destroyed. You open the front door, run up the staircase, and call out for the girl; she answers, not from the front of the house, but the back—a bathroom maybe? Flames lick up the wall beside it, but you can get to the knob, and she comes rushing out, into your arms, terrified. You weren't expecting that, and you both fall back: your head hits off the floor, but she seems okay, so you tell her to run out the front door and find her mom.

You press a hand to the back of your head, and it comes back tacky with blood. There’s ringing in your ears for a couple of minutes, and then your favorite voice in the world comes through.

“Where are you? We’re here, where are you?” You’re getting hotter, and when you crane your neck up, you can see why: the fire is getting closer, creeping toward the staircase, creeping toward you. You inhale, cough, and press your walkie button.

“I’m upstairs in the hall; hit my head. It’s not safe.”

“I’m coming for you.” You groan. Stubborn man.

“It’s not safe, Aaron.” You hear the crackle of static, hope maybe he heard your warning and will wait until more firefighters arrive—but knowing him the way you do, that’s just wishful thinking. His voice rings out again, and despite the pain, you can’t help but smile.

“You jump, I jump, Jack. Just stay put; I’ll be right there.” You close your eyes, drift in and out of consciousness; when you see him, all you can think is how ridiculously in love with him you are, and that you really hope you’ll be around to tell him. You are, of course, fine. Your head is the worst of it, even the smoke inhalation was mild, and the fire didn’t touch you, so there are no burns. Aaron doesn’t leave your side the entire time you’re being checked over, looks serious and concerned, though he smiles when the mother comes over and squeezes you so tightly you wince a little. It starts to rain, making the firefighters' jobs a little easier, and it feels oddly cleansing, after the day you’ve had. Someone offers you an umbrella, but you decline.

The fire is successfully put out, and the half of your team that didn’t respond to the scene responded to a call for suspicious activity, which ends up being your unsub. You are all happy no one was killed this time, and since you’re staying the night again, the group decides to grab a drink to celebrate. You don’t have a concussion, but your head still aches, so you pass, and Aaron passes with you.

You head to the hotel, park in the lot, but you don’t even make it halfway across before you stop, a hand on his arm.

“I need to say something,” you tell him, and he looks up at the dark sky like, right here? Right now?, even though you’re both already drenched. You nod, because if you don’t do this now you might never—almost dying always gives you an unhealthy amount of confidence, which you attribute to equal amounts of adrenaline and stupidity. “When we first met, I didn’t think we’d have a lot in common. We’re both quiet, but in wildly different ways, and I’m quick to trust and let people in while your guard is almost never down.”

He looks a little sad at that, and you realize you’re kind of doing what he did, putting the two of you into completely different categories, emphasizing the ways you don’t belong together. But that’s dumb, so you don’t give him time to focus on that for long.

“But being your friend, Aaron—the more time I spent with you, the more I came to feel like no one has ever understood me the way you do. No one has ever seen me the way you do.” Rain is pouring down all around you, beating against the pavement, flattening your hair against your head, but you don’t care. Regardless of his reaction, this is actually kind of perfect. “I didn’t mean to fall in love with you—that was an accident, I admit. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” You step closer to him, put your hands on his waist; he doesn’t pull away. “I don’t need shiny, glossy things; you're the one I want—faded cover, dog-eared pages, notes in the margins. I love you exactly as you are.”

He is gorgeous in the rain, water in his hair, dripping off his nose. His expression looks hopeful, and you pray to god that’s not wishful thinking.

“Say something, anything,” you beg, anticipation killing you, and he presses his hands to your cheeks and pulls you close for a deep, passionate, soulful kiss that says it all.

The words are nice to hear, though.

“I didn’t mean to fall in love with you either,” he breathes against your lips when the kiss breaks. “I told myself it was just a crush, because someone so young and beautiful was paying so much attention to me, treating me like more than just the guy giving orders. But the more time I spent with you, the more undeniable it became. You are everything good about the world—bright, optimistic, caring, funny, sweet. How could anyone not fall in love with you?”

You swallow hard, lean up to press your lips against his again.

“When you said we wouldn’t make sense as a couple…” He shakes his head.

“That was just me chickening out. After we kissed, I was all but ready to ask you to go steady,” he says, and you both smile, because he’s such an old fashioned dork, but god, do you love him. “And then we found out that the team thought we’d been together for months, and you looked freaked out, so I freaked out. I’m sorry. I should have made us talk about it sooner.”

“Classic pointless miscommunication,” you say with a laugh, and he chuckles too, kisses you again.

“Let’s go inside and get dried off; there’s a birthday gift in my bag I’ve been meaning to give you.” He takes your hand, and you head up, duck into the bathroom to change into dry clothes, squeeze the water out of your hair. There is a small, flat, wrapped present on your bed when you emerge, and you smile, sink down to open it.

It’s Romeo and Juliet, a brand new copy, but when you flip through it, there are blue inked notes in the margins. Aaron comes to sit beside you, touches your face like you’re something precious.

“The course of true love never did run smooth,” he murmurs, and you smack him on the arm with the book.

“That’s from A Midsummer Night's Dream, and I know you know that,” you say with a grin. He nods in admission, and you wrap your arms around his shoulders, lean in for a warm, loving kiss. When you pull back, it’s with a soft smile. “Give me my sin again?”

“My pleasure,” he whispers, and you sink into his embrace and promise never to let go. The following week, you both leave work at noon on Friday so you can enjoy your romantic getaway. You drive to the spa, and Aaron reads over the brochure on his phone with a tone you find hilarious.

“Mud bath—I’m not bathing in mud. That’s counterintuitive.”

“It’s special mud; more like clay,” you say, but he snorts, scrolls.

“Seaweed wrap—nobody is wrapping me in seaweed. That sounds like a nightmare.” You laugh softly and take your exit.

“It’s supposed to be rejuvenating. JJ recommended it.”

“JJ weighs fifty pounds. It would take all the seaweed in the Atlantic to wrap me,” he says, and you roll your eyes, jab your finger into his ribs.

“But what if I get to unwrap you?” you ask, eyebrows raised; you briefly glance over and he makes a face of contemplation.

“Okay, that’s a maybe. Intimate aromatherapy—what does that even mean?”

“I think it means we do something that makes us smell good and then we go back to our room and kiss and stuff.”

“Now that doesn’t sound half bad,” he murmurs. “Foot massage? I’m not letting a stranger touch my feet, that’s weird.” You look over at him, squinting.

“You literally plugged someone’s bullet wound with your finger yesterday, but someone touching your feet is where you draw the line? Will you do anything on the list?” He scrolls down it, and his extended silence makes you laugh.

“Meditation. Couples massage,” he says, reaching over to rest a hand on your thigh. “There’s a sauna.” You think of him, sweat-drenched in a fluffy white towel, and take a deep, calming breath. “I bet the room is nice; did you bring a book?” You smile indulgently, reach out a hand to brush through his hair.

“Yep. It’s called A Duke’s Wild Kiss…” He gives you a mildly withering look, and you lightly tap the bridge of his nose. “Just kidding. I brought To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf.” His answering smile is brilliant.

“Are you serious?” You nod, and he gestures to the backseat, where your bags are. “That’s what I brought, too.”

You spend too much of your romantic getaway in your room, but it is really nice; you do the couples massage, though, and aromatherapy, and the sauna, and then you take turns giving each other a foot massage while the other reads To the Lighthouse out loud.

The world probably doesn’t deserve Aaron Hotchner; you definitely don’t, but somehow you get to keep him anyway. A/N: Though I snuck in a few parts of a few different lyrics, two lines in particular inspired this fic: 'Now I've read all of the books beside your bed' and 'I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this.' A lot of my fics lately have incorporated books... guess I better get reading!

Taglist ❤️: @thaddeusly @arsonhotchner @mrsh0tchner @ssahotchie @sleepyreaderreads @mintphoenix @meghannnnnn @disgruntledchowchow @azenpal @g-l-pierce @my-rosegold-soul @ssamorganhotchner @heliotropehotch @angelhotchner @qtip-blog @gspenc @wishuhadstayed @averyhotchner

#aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner fanfic #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x female reader #hotch x female reader #hotch x reader #paper rings #inspired by #taylor swift

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amazingphilza · 3 years

Text

twitchcon :: cc!multiple x reader

fluff , platonic , gender neutral ! some mcyt headcanons if you were to attend twitchcon w them

cc’s included in order: tommyinnit , tubbo , ranboo , wilbur soot , philza , technoblade

cw: kinda lengthy for the minors (i think), not as much for the hags LMAO /hj

tommyinnit

this man is so excited to be at his first twitchcon & being able to hang out with all his best friends makes it a hundred times better

when he isn’t at a panel or doing meet & greets, he’s dragging you everywhere to see the whole convention center (clingyinnit)

he is just so at awe despite this not being his first convention to attend

you’d be surprised he gets tired pretty quickly & stops over to the partner lounge

you both rest for a bit against a wall in a pretty packed hallway despite it being an exclusive area to twitch partners

every time a famous streamer walks by he will yell it out and record it then vlog your reaction, even if they’re surrounded with bodyguards & trying to get to another place quickly

he’d zoom in his camera to their face at a horrible angle and be like

“oh my god it is THE ninja. ninja famous fortnite player, HELLO.”

but he gets completely ignored

then the camera pans out to you, still really zoomed in that the capture is blurry

“ninjainnit?”

“EH?”

tommy is so confused, forgetting the bit ninja did on his twitter where he renamed himself ‘ninjainnit’ for a split second

okay tommy isn’t that athletic but he will chase you and the rest of your group down a hallway if he had to

he’d probably find a toy gun from the artist alley/seller booths and shoot you and wilbur with it

but if tommy stumbles across any of the dream team, it’s about to be minecraft manhunt but irl

and he will def play his stream music while walking or smth when he’s bored (or trying to jump dream & sapnap)

** DO DO DO DO MANHUNT MUSIC **

oh my god,, now thinking about it he’s probably the one to open like random doors of empty rooms and steal stuff while you film him

like he will take a random empty glass, a bunch of pens, a freebie t-shirt, everything he sees he takes with him and you’re just panic

“tommy we’re literally not supposed to be here, and i’m stuck here filming you. it’s surely a felony in action”

“well, it’s their fault for leaving the doors open! plus this is great content. who’s the dirty crime boy now, HM?”

you’d tell wilbur about this and he’d scold tommy and threaten him with the same pen tommy stole

tommy probably would also drag you some weird event happening outside twitchcon along with tubbo and ranboo

“pokimane is giving out free pizza to everyone if we go to this one restaurant down the street!”

“we are literally gonna get bombarded. have you forgot you’re like three of twitch’s top streamers? i’d rather pay for all of our meals than try getting free pizza from pokimane against all her other fans”

“DEAL! let’s go to five guys then!”

you unfortunately end up paying for all 3 of their meals and picking on their food instead of buying your own

even with all of them making way more money than you, they still happen to be cheapskates

OR tommy will end up getting a burrito from a taco truck, immediately making a mess of himself, then proceed to complain how messy the food is to eat despite knowing what he was getting himself into before even ordering

“shit my clothes are all ruined now!”

“well that’s your fault you got a burrito, as if it’s your first time having one”

“i mean the food is good, i’m not complaining about that but i don’t think it’s that good that it’s worth costing my red and white shirt, im just saying”

tubbo

same with tommy, he is so excited

i don’t know why but i imagine him overpacking his suitcase and you making fun of him for it

anyway tubbo has his irl backpack on and streaming EVERYTHING

probably spends a lot of time at a bunch of different booths, checking out all the pointless gadgets he could buy for his stream

you’re the one to stop him from doing so

“TUBBO IT’S LITERALLY OVER TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, STOP. DONT GET IT.”

“WHY NOT?? IT WILL BE COOL FOR MY STREAM AND I WILL USE IT EVERYDAY”

“okay theoretically speaking, how the hell are you going to even bring it home? which—let me remind you—is across the country for you and not to mention the giant ocean separating america and the uk”

“free ship-pang!!!”

“i hate to break it to you tubbo but there is no way you can get free shipping on a FIVE FOOT PC. it’s nearly as tall as you! what are you even gonna do on it, hack the government???”

the arguments are all lighthearted but eventually you give in and let him splurge over a thousand dollars in different devices he claimed he “needed”

i could honestly see him visiting the beaches in san diego and going for a swim or even renting out a boat to use for a bit :D

also he’d bring benson along with him and taking a bunch of scenic photos with it in them

i have a feeling he’s the type to schedule a spontaneous meet & greet because he was bored & gets in trouble for causing a mob in a certain part of the convention

he’s like “oh god, i did not expect this many of the bois to show up AHAHAH oops”

tubbo would def pull a lilypichu and bring his melodica or ukulele and play themes while following random people/cosplayers

at the end of the day, you’d find his bag just stuffed with crap he either got for free or bought in the convention

“how did you get all that stuff? i was with you all day??? and it’s only the first day of the convention, hello?? it looks like you’ve been collecting as if twitchcon has went on for a week already!”

“HA i have my ways, do not underestimate my powers”

lani would probably tag along for the vacation honestly

like whenever someone comes up to her giving her gifts/asking for pics, you and tubbo would tease her about how famous she is

and i dunno but something about tubbo just gives me this amusement park energy and going to legoland and spending the whole day there since it’s near by and because he can

ranboo

he is like a beacon in a sea of people, that’s it .

i honestly just see him causing as much chaos as the other two

ranboo would probably like take someone’s camera whether if they’re streaming or if it’s for the vlog, hold it up high, and point the camera directly above someone’s face

it did not matter how tall you were and if you had platform shoes on, ranboo was a skyscraper next to you

“HAHAH this is how i see you from this height, this is funny”

then he shows you the vid of the recording of him getting like an aerial view of your face

like you see your nose and all your pores and just overall a bad angle to be captured in

“OH GOD RANBOO DELETE THAT, ITS HORRIFIC”

i dunno why but i feel like he’d jump scare every person that was cosplaying as his minecraft character from behind for some reason

“BOO!”

“ranboo i’m not even remotely dressed as your skin—”

“don’t worry i’m practicing it’s fineee”

“you’re like the height of 2 people combined, i think you will be fine as is. you even intimidated the security at the front”

i feel like if he had his own panel he’d like pull up some undertale song in the middle of it and scare all the people in the crowd

“lore but in real life”

probably would get some matching keepsake with you from artist alley/the booths!

i could imagine like a cute keychain or smth :D

i feel like he’s the type to like randomly volunteer as a participant for those mini events in a booth thinking it would be funny but regrets it the moment he’s on stage

after introductions the presenter is like “okay ranboo, you will be given a random meme prompt above your head you won’t be able to see until after and you will have to make a random face to compliment it!”

and you can just tell by his facial expression he’s just thinking

oh god what have i gotten myself into

what is this game? who came up with this idea?

you’d laugh at him the whole time, even after he’s off the stage and finished with that small fiasco

“that was horrible. never again.”

“AHAHAH IT LOOKED SO AWKWARD YOU DID GREAT”

“I CROSSED MY EYES AND PUFFED MY CHEEKS BECAUSE I COULDNT THINK OF ANY OTHER FACIAL EXPRESSION. THE PROMPT ENDING UP BEING ‘WHEN TWITTER CANCELS YOU FOR USING PLASTIC STRAWS.’ AND WHEN I SAW WHAT IT WAS—LITERALLY WHAT KIND OF GAME–”

“I GOT PICTURES AND EVERYTHING ITS PERFECT AHAHAHAH”

wilbur soot

honestly with wilbur it’s slightly more chill

he already experienced twitchcon before so he’s just glad to see his friends again after so long

insists that you explore the convention yourself rather than sticking with him the whole time but you do anyway!

wilbur would probably have like a mini concert and gets you front row seats with the rest of the group

but that doesn’t mean before it that you’re not helping him set up

“y/n please– my amp is so heavy, i can carry it”

“don’t worry! i’m strong” :D

and musically talented or not, he will probably bring you and the rest of his friends up to stage to just vibe and sing a bunch of random acoustic songs

it’s not like some big concert hall stage,, i imagine more like a casual thing w a slightly higher platform from the ground yk?

after spending a long day at the convention he’d also bring everyone across the city to la jolla or smth !

you’d all probably have dinner there and chill, watching the pretty sunset

“this place is really pretty but oh my god im gonna lose my breath hiking up this stupid hill, please slow down”

and wilbur is like ??? because he’s completely fine with his long legs and everything

“just walk faster”

“no, you walk slower”

AHAHAH and for context traversing through la jolla by walking around the town is a bit hard since it’s basically on a bunch of hills (walking up from the beach to a restaurant actually is actually sm work, trust me ive been there)

wilbur honestly doesn’t spend that much time in the actual convention center, he’s probably sightseeing a bit of san diego with you instead

but i could imagine him staying at the tabletop games area playing dnd or smth

“c’mon y/n, come join!”

“uhh i’m not sure, i’m not the best at roleplay and...”

“it’s fine don’t worry!”

he’d pull you in with him and end up enjoying yourself even if it was your first time

and if you’re of age, you’d be wilbur’s +1 at the twitch partner party and make sure mans doesn’t too drunk

if it’s not too late in the night, you two would chill at the beach after the party

it’s just a nice, calming moment after all the loud music mixed with hundreds of conversations at the party

also something about like taking polaroids pictures with wilbur just seems to go hand in hand for me

i’m not sure why but you will be taking lots of pics with wilbur for sure (not necessarily you both in the photo, but of sceneries as well while you’re together!)

philza

literally a dad on vacation with his children, it doesn’t matter how old you are

need sunscreen? surprisingly has it

want a snack? probably has a small granola bar somewhere in his bag

but same with wilbur, he’s more chill like this isn’t his first time at twitchcon

omg he’d def bring you to the artist alley and just buy a bunch of fanart and stuff tho

“oh wow look phil, someone made a giant poster of the dream smp and shit!”

“holy shit that’s so good what the fuck!”

and he’s like rushing to that artist’s stall to buy a poster or print

idk why but phil seems like the person to know where he’s going all over the convention center

he probably had a copy of the directory map but yk

you just have trouble reading it bc all the signs seem to be misleading to you

nothing really crazy screams out to me of what phil would do at twitchcon besides like go to a few events, spend a bunch of time w his friends, etc

HOWEVER i could see him wasting a lot of his time at the gaming area and testing new games that are currently on the works of being developed

like “woah y/n, this vr game is sick, you should try it out!”

ngl i feel like phil would plan a visit to disneyland for everyone, like he gets the tickets and everything but once you’re at the park it’s free reign, y’all go everywhere with not much of a plan

the minors would try to cheap out phil and pay less than the others even though everyone else fully paid phil back and everything LMAO

ok but if he’s feeling nice, phil will buy everyone cotton candy/pretzels :D

and if you’re not hungry, he’d at least get you a mickey balloon

HE WILL HAVE MATCHING MICKEY EARS WITH MUMZA YES .

ALSO STAYING FOR THE FIREWORKS THOUGH OMG

just in general, best idea phil had for taking everyone to disneyland :D

technoblade

surprisingly techno is really calm despite this being like one of his first conventions

but when he finally settles in and gets comfortable, he’s showing the same energy

if you’re playfully yelling, he will yell back

however there’s still those awkward moments that are unavoidable

idk why but something about him makes me think that if you feel tired and want to go back to your hotel room, he’d go with you just to make sure you get there safe

he probably also needs a break from being around everyone else for a moment too LMAO

i could also see him searching far and wide in the artist alley for fanart of himself AHAHAH

walking around with him in the convention consists of someone yelling “BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD” every 5 minutes but you don’t really mind

something about him makes me think he’ll be forced into playing minecraft twitch rivals along with the rest of sbi or smth

and he’s like “oh god, i’m going to be on stage? and people will see my face while i play minecraft?”

“i’m sure it will be fun!”

“i mean i like being competitive and feeding my ego, but i’m not that desperate.. well”

do i imagine techno getting easily tired of being surrounded by a bunch of people and just going back to his hotel room with phil and watching some anime with him? yes

and will you watch even if you have no idea what’s going on? also yes

i feel like after a while of you guys hanging out in techno’s room, the rest of the gang will just slowly join you guys

like eventually everyone is there; you, techno, phil, wilbur, niki, tommy, tubbo, ranboo, etc

and techno is like “wha– where did you guys come from?” because his room is basically packed

and niki could be like “oh we can go if you want!”

then techno just insists that she’s fine “but who let the child get in?” clearly implying tommy’s presence

“OI!!”

eventually techno gives in with the company and someone gets a bunch of board games to play from the front desk

lots of yelling and laughing for sure

when it becomes late at night, techno is like half conscious, you’re on your phone, wilbur is staring out the window & enjoying the night view, tommy is passed out on the couch from tiredness, tubbo & ranboo is still wide awake quietly talking, and phil & niki are helping clean up the giant mess

eventually everyone brings themselves to go back to their own room except tommy who won’t budge

you give techno a look and he immediately understands what you were thinking

he rushes to the bathroom to fill up two cups with ice cold water and handed one to you

“on three?”

“okay.. one”

“two”

“three!”

then both of you pour the water on the poor child’s face

he jolts awake and saying a string of curses

“what the fuck techno? y/n too?”

“get out” is the only think techno says that before tommy rushes out with his stuff and you leave right after

a/n: i honestly can’t wait until conventions open up again though,, phil and ranboo were talking about vidcon earlier and omg.

also i kinda want to take in tommy requests but i’m not sure??? it would be both cc! and c! x gn!reader for sure tho. i love writing him to bits but who knows, maybe i’ll only stick to my ideas,, or not. send in a tommy x reader request, might do it, might not, but he’s my fav cc if you can’t tell so! :D (i dunno if i will keep it strictly platonic, but unrequited crushes and stuff are fun to write hehe,,)

edit: let’s hope i fixed all the grammar mistakes LMAO we love writing late at night :) /s /hj

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lunarnatalya · 4 years

Text

💕Rising Sign Observations💕

Observations about the rising signs from the eyes of a Scorpio Rising watching you all from the corner with x-ray vision O_o... jk xD

🔥ARIES risings tend to embody this energy of being both slightly distant, slightly somewhere else, yet simultaneously very on edge and physically responsive to their surroundings. They can be very caring but their attention span isn’t very long so their sympathies can be kinda blunt in nature. They are not afraid of being in opposition with anyone (Aries/Mars being the God of War) so when they disagree with something you said or did, you will FEEL it especially if you’re a Water sign... they won’t make the effort to hide their facial expression, or posture or anything of that nature. Sun is exalted in Aries (in Vedic astrology), so everything shines through.

🌱TAURUS risings are very generous and giving, and it tends to be because they don’t want to get wrapped out in the complicated nature of 8th house stuff. They’d rather give to everyone and show their cards than find themselves feeling in debt to others, or like people are angry with them or anything. Of course out of the kindness of their Venusian hearts as well, but also just for peace.

🕊️GEMINI (I’m using a Dove because they are messengers just like Gemini) risings are super playful and easy to get along with, they make you feel comfortable and at home in conversation like you’ve known each other for years. The thing is, then you’ll see them talk the same way to someone else and some people, especially water signs will see this as a betrayal when they don’t mean to hurt anyone, they are just natural social 🦋s and want to extend the same kindness and communication to everyone. I’d imagine that the Geminis in question would be Rohini Nakshatra in Vedic astrology, which is described by astrologers as ‘babylike’ and wanting to experience bliss all the time much like babies do.

🦀CANCER risings, I’ve noticed are super sweet and kind, but because of their extreme sensitivity and vulnerability tend to be very taken aback if you do anything to make them feel out of their comfort zone or like their safety has been threatened. As soon as you do that, they’ll forgive you, but they will deem you as someone who they should be wary around- and of course they’ll bottle up their emotions about it. They forgive, but they also collect all of the things that have happened and emotionally hold onto them.

👑LEO risings I’ve noticed are very in their regal energy and confidence all the time not really taking things too seriously and more focused on just living an awesome life, but when personal things or things related to family or the heart come up even slightly, they get VERY fierce and something in them just seems to rise from within them. I’d guess it’s because the majority of the time, a Leo rising will have fierce, loving, protective and loyal Scorpio in the 4th house of home, family, and the heart space.

.🌿VIRGO risings have such a distinct energy! There’s something about them that you can’t miss- could relate to how in Vedic, most of the Virgo risings will be Leos. They have such a quiet authority and power and can be very dainty in their mannerisms and everything. They suppress their voice a lot and don’t speak up so that they don’t ‘make any mess’ socially or emotionally, and can be really hard on themselves in that way.

🌸LIBRA risings I’ve noticed, can be very cynical but very motivated to move forward nonetheless especially because they’d never want to let anybody else down. I think this also relates to how in Vedic, the Libras are mostly Virgos. They can be very picky about aesthetics especially! Libra risings are also often very quiet, but I think this one depends. The misalignment with Libra & Scorpio is a big reason why I stick with Vedic often too- Libras in western often don’t embody balance so much as the embody the pickiness of Virgo, and Scorpios in Western are often very artistic, relationship oriented, and scared to ‘tip the scales’ more like Libra... then Sagittarians are often very deep and tend to have troubled pasts and demons more like Scorpio. It’s not that Western placements are untrue, but my theory is that Western is showing us the physical world since it is showing us the sky as it is from Earth, but Vedic is showing us the non-physical. Sorry Libra, you got the rant xD

🔮SCORPIO risings- like maself- are very very almost dangerously deep thinkers. The thing is, having a Scorpio Sun or Moon can make you very deep thinking too, but the thing about Scorpio rising is that this mode of deep thinking is initiated in their IMMEDIATE, environment, because that’s what the rising sign is about. They don’t have to get emotional to do this, and don’t have this inner fire to pursue deep thinking like Scorpio Sun would, they just do immediately and instinctively and it can be very crazy making for us. We can zone out at the grocery store thinking about something super dark or something dark that happened from the past and really get trapped in our own bubble there. A lot of the Scorpio risings who relate to that are probably Swati in Vedic astrology- Swati struggles with this because Swati is the ultimate middle Nakshatra, so it is always attuned to the hidden world and ‘space inbetween’.

💕SAGITTARIUS risings (heart emoji because I think Sagittarius risings need love, especially if you’re Jyeshta in Vedic) tend to be very secretive. They will do the ‘normal stuff’ like go to school/work, do normal every day stuff but they’ll often not fully divulge what’s going on emotionally (which is why to me it makes sense that Sagittarius becomes Scorpio in most cases in Vedic). I’ve noticed Sagittarius risings often don’t show up to social events either for mysterious reasons- they won’t really explain why or it’ll seem mysterious in nature but they won’t show up, and people tend to miss them/worry about them because of it.

✨CAPRICORN risings... okay hear me out, I have observed that they are quite adventurous, but in a very refined way. They aren’t all over the place trying to travel and try new things and be cray like the stereotype of Sagittarius, but they are wanting to try new things in a very sophisticated and planned out way. They are often super creative but their creativity always has purpose- like making a bookmark to use for the book they’re reading, or doing an artwork with the clear intention of giving it to someone, or putting it in a certain place on the wall they want to fill. Always with earthy, rich purpose.

🌟AQUARIUS risings, I’ve noticed are really good at knowing how to get a rise out of people and also knowing EXACTLY how people are going to react to what they’ll say or do. They are comfortable saying controversial things and speaking up about their opinions partially for this reason- if they already have the social and emotional awareness to know how people will react to their behaviour, they don’t have to be afraid of anything that comes their way as far as backlash goes because they already anticipated it! Smart cookies O_o

💫PISCES risings - aww man, I love you guys 💕 I’ve noticed a lot of Pisces risings tend to feel like outcasts in this world. They can feel very isolated and alienated and the infamous ‘charming awkwardness’ Pisces can have definitely comes from this feeling of being the ‘local weirdo’ lol. Pisces risings are amazing at bringing ideas to life as well, if they have an idea, they can explain it to you to a degree that they can make you feel like you BOTH had that idea and both have an emotional connection to it. Definitely relating to how Pisces will often become Aquarius in Vedic.

So that’s the end of my post on my observations about the Rising signs 💕 Subscribe to my YT Channel for videos on Astrology :)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRlHfp9V-Re62OmTwh5SROg

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mingishoe · 4 years

Text

Jerk | Ateez OT8

Summary: After a long couple of weeks that consisted of nothing but photoshoots and filming, San came up with an idea to help the members loosen up a bit.

Genre: Smut

Pairing: Azeez/OT8,,, Yunho is still a major sub and subby Wooyoung and Jongho

Word Count: 3.1k

Smut Warning: Jerk circle, high-key a little more than a jerk circle, yeah… definitely way past a jerk circle, obviously MXM, MXM touching, masturbating, mutual masturbation, voyeurism, dirty talk, orgy? Idk they’re not really fucking??? Dick sucking, mouth fucking, kinda ass eating? and Yunho and Wooyoung are pretty cum sluts

@jonghoshoe @cloudyyeonnie @barnesbabee and I forgot the other person who told me to @ them but 😳

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

All the members had been super stressed and tired after a long week of photoshoots and filming, so San had offered to set up a movie night for the members. Unfortunately, Yeosang, Hongjoong, Jongho, and Mingi had made a dinner reservation which left the rest of the members with San.

Regardless, San was happy to pick a nice movie and some snacks to eat. San thought it would be funny to pick a raunchy movie and watch it together. Maybe make one of them a little bit flustered… Flustered was the word he wanted. Horny MiGhT nOt have been the word he was exactly looking for but he’d take what he got.

The four of them were lying across the floor, San lying on Seonghwa’s lap, and Wooyoung and Yunho were underneath a blanket. They were mindlessly eating popcorn while they were half-watching the movie that San had picked out until suddenly everyone’s head snapped up as the room filled with moans.

Originally everyone had thought it had been one of them but then they heard loud female moaning and it obviously couldn’t be them. Their eyes were glued to the TV screen like the horny boys they are, “San?! What kind of movie is this?!?” Seonghwa shifted underneath San.

San laughed and turned to face Seonghwa while still on his lap, “Dunno, I just picked something random.”

Their attention is back on the screen, minus San who keeps his eyes trained on Seonghwa’s face and the subtlest amount of pressure on his crotch.

The camera panned down to show two people in the middle of some pretty intense sex. There was a gasp from one of the boys as it suddenly showed boobs bouncing, “Are you sure this isn’t porn?!” Seonghwa pushed San off of his lap as he adjusted his pants.

“What do you mean Hyung? Is it getting you a little bit… excited?” San’s eyes flicked from his eyes to the obvious boner in his sweats.

Wooyoung snorts and starts to laugh loudly and Yunho elbows him, “Wooyoung don’t act- you have one too.”

There’s a pause. A long pause as the four of them is staring at each other. San has a mischievous glint in his eyes and he exchanges glances with Wooyoung and Seonghwa. Yunho takes the hint and his cheeks immediately get red, “San- Don’t even think about it-”

“Aw come on! Why not? It’ll be fun!” San raised his eyebrows suggestively at Yunho.

Yunho knew he was right… he honestly wanted to but he just needed to make sure San was being serious and not just joking like how he normally is.

“Right Hwa? It’ll be fun, huh?” As San spoke, he kinda pulled on the waistband of his sweats revealing his V line.

Wooyoung and Seonghwa spoke up at the same time, “It’ll be fun.”

Their attention turned to Yunho whose face was still bright red. His fingers were fiddling with his sweats before San spoke back up, “It’s okay Pup. Need some help?”

San takes Yunho’s hand and leads him until he’s in front of the three boys. They each have their hands somewhere on Yunho: San was busy taking his shirt off, Seonghwa was pulling his sweats off, and Wooyoung let his hands trail down Yunho’s stomach down to his leaking red cock.

Yunho was already shaking from the several pairs of hands on him, until suddenly everyone took their hands off of him, “Lay down babe.” Wooyoung’s hands slowly push Yunho down on his back.

The remaining boys circle Yunho as he looks up at them with wide eyes as they all rush to undress.

San moves to straddle Yunho’s lap and takes both his cock and Yunho’s in his hands. He has both hands wrapped around both cocks and he slowly starts to thrust his cock in his hand and against Yunho’s.

Yunho’s hands immediately reach up to grip San’s wrists, “Ah- Wait! Fuck-”

“It’s alright Pup. You can cum as many times as you want. And you’re gonna be our pretty little cum dump.” Yunho’s blush spread to his neck and chest from being called a cum dump but he’d gladly take everything his members gave him. He wants to be their stress reliever.

Yunho nods and lets himself relax as San continues his soft thrusting. Seonghwa takes Yunho’s hand off of San and replaces it with his cock, Wooyoung doing the same.

Yunho feels an overwhelming feeling of pleasure and satisfaction as everyone is using him for their own pleasure. His eyebrows are furrowed and his lip in between his teeth as his eyes switch between the three different cocks, “Moan for us, pretty boy. Let us hear those pretty noises of yours.”

Yunho’s eyes are trained on Seonghwa and his cock until San begins to jerk him just right. Loud whines and groans flow from Yunho’s mouth as he tries to angle his hips away from San’s touch as Yunho’s cock throbs at San’s touch, “S-San! Sansansan! His grip on Wooyoung and Seonghwa’s cocks tighten as he’s on the verge of cumming.

“Go ahead. Make a mess.” The room is filled with moans from the four boys as they’re all pathetically close to cumming after such a short period of time.

Neither of the boys can remember the last time they touched themselves, or each other, with how busy they’ve been and it was all crashing down on them at once.

The first to cum was Yunho. Yunho was always so sensitive and everyone knew exactly how to touch him, so he hardly ever lasted more than 4 or 5 minutes without being edged but Yunho’s lucky he loves being overstimulated because it happens pretty much every time.

Yunho’s hips were grinding into San’s hand alongside his cock as his cum squirts all over his stomach and chest.

Yunho’s soft begs of their names and the movements of his slick, cum covered hands made Wooyoung and Seonghwa cum almost simultaneously all over Yunho.

The two boys sat back for a minute to catch their breath and watched as San continued to rut against Yunho’s cock, “Please Sannie! G-Give it to me! Give me your c- Hnng-” Yunho’s cock started throbbing harshly as he was on the verge of cumming twice in a row, “Cum. C-Cum on me. Please! H-Hurry before I-I cum again!”

San laughed softly as he glanced to Wooyoung who already looked worn out, “It’s alright Pup. We’ll all give you so much more.”

San’s cock made lewd squelching noises as his cum was mixing with Yunho’s. It wasn’t until San looked down at Yunho’s cock and stomach was he about to cum.

San was typically the one who had the most stamina out of the boys, but everyone knew that he had a weak spot for Yunho.

San’s eyes were glued to Yunho’s cock that was still fully hard and red from the overstimulation. His eyes trailed up slightly and loud moans spilled from his lips as he was looking at Yunho’s cum stained abs contract from his incoming orgasm, “G-Gonna give it to you P-Pup.”

With a shaky voice, San let out a couple of drawn-out whines as he gripped onto his cock tightly as he watched Yunho’s facial expressions closely until he came on Yunho.

The cum of the four boys was mixed on Yunho and they all looked down at him with flushed cheeks and heavy breaths.

San removed himself from Yunho’s lap and grabbed onto Wooyoung’s hand to pull him onto Yunho, “Go on Woo.”

Wooyoung lets out a whine as he bends down to take Yunho’s cock in his mouth. Wooyoung eagerly sucks on Yunho’s cock that’s most definitely too big for him, and groans as he tastes Yunho’s and San’s mixed cum.

Yunho whines loudly as Wooyoung sucks on him like it’s what he’s made for, “W-Wooyoung! Ah- fuck! G-Gonna cum!”

Just as Yunho was about to cum, the front door swung open and Wooyoung pulled away from Yunho quickly. Yunho let out a pathetic sob as he started to grind his hips into the air trying to chase Wooyoung’s mouth.

Yunho didn’t even notice the door open or the rest of the members stopping in their tracks as they saw the naked boys in the middle of the room.

It was only until Mingi let out a loud laugh, that he finally looked in their direction, “Need some help there?”

Mingi didn’t hesitate to drop his things at the door to make his way towards his poor friend who had the most desperate look on his face.

As Mingi made his way to Yunho he simultaneously removed himself of his clothing, leaving a trail of clothes, “M-Mingi! Please!”

At this point, Yunho didn’t care who touched him. He was just so desperate to cum. His eyes were practically begging for Mingi to do absolutely anything to him. Since Mingi was significantly bigger than Wooyoung, he was easily able to take most of Yunho down his throat. Yunho immediately gripped Mingi’s hair and his hips thrust into Mingi’s throat with loud moans.

Yunho suddenly forgot about the rest of the boys who had only previously just walked in, and was only focused on Mingi’s mouth.

Jongho had absolutely no words as San looked at him with a lopsided smile that was very innocent compared to the sight in front of them.

Jongho felt himself become flushed and hot as he practically ran to his room. San laughed softly because he knew that Jongho would get over his pride and join the rest of them in 10 minutes max.

Hongjoong and Yeosang were stood in the same spot as they glanced at each other before Yeosang spoke up in a condescending tone, “Are y’all really that desperate?” But in the same breath says, “One of y’all move over.”

Everyone’s attention is drawn back to Yunho as he lets out a choked sob as Mingi sucks him off just like he loves so much, “G-Gonna cum again! Please Mingi! It- ah!”

Yunho’s whines and begs got cut off as his second orgasm ripped through his entire body. His back arched beautifully and his hips were squirming as Mingi continued to take everything Yunho was giving him.

Mingi’s deep groans were vibrating Yunho’s over-sensitive cock and Mingi finally pulled away with a loud pop.

In Jongho's room, he can hear the loud whines and desperate moans coming from Yunho, his leaking cock begging to be touched. His hips ground themselves into his mattress to get some kind of pleasure without actually touching himself because, in all honesty, he was too embarrassed to do so.

“J-Jongho!” Jongho let out a soft whine as he heard his name being called by Yunho.

“Jongho, sweetheart… there’s no need to do it all by yourself.” Jongho looked at the doorway and saw Seonghwa standing there, completely naked and cock hard, as he referred to the way he was rutting himself onto the mattress, “Come let us help you… Yunho will be more than happy, you know.”

Seonghwa holds his hand out for Jongho to take, and finally, Jongho sucks it up and gets up. He lets Seonghwa take him to where the rest of the members were and everyone’s attention was on him.

Yunho sits up and Jongho's eyes are glued to his cum stained figure and his cock twitches. Seonghwa lets his hands run over Jongho to help him relax a little bit before he starts to undress him.

Jongho makes his way to Yunho to sit on his lap. Yunho wraps his arms around him, smearing cum on the younger boy.

Jongho shoves his head in Yunho’s neck as he starts to grind himself on Yunho’s cock. San looks at Yunho in amazement. He can’t believe that Yunho is still as hard as before, his erection never going down.

He turns his attention to Yeosang who is stroking his cock as he’s watching the two boys in the center of the circle they’ve created, “Look at our pretty whores.”

Jongho let out a loud moan at San’s words. He turned to look at them and saw San’s hand making his way down Yeosang’s abs down to grip onto his cock.

Jongho's eyes were shifting to each member as he saw them each with either theirs or another, cock in their hand. Jongho’s body suddenly stiffened as he thrashed harshly as Yunho took hold of his ass and began thrusting along with Jongho.

Mingi who had previously just been with Yunho cocked his head at the sight in front of him. His cock was throbbing and deep moans spilled out his swollen lips as he harshly jerked himself off.

Wooyoung let out pathetic whimpers as his eyes were glued to Mingi who was next to him. His eyes were glossy and his eyes were begging for Mingi to touch him. Wooyoung took hold of Mingi’s hand and almost started crying with relief at the friction.

In turn, Mingi did the same. He grabbed Wooyoung’s hand and wrapped it around his leaking cock. Mingi thrust himself into Wooyoung’s hand and before he knew it, ropes of cum squirted onto Jongho’s ass.

Jongho felt the hot cum squirt on his ass and soon after he felt it once again, and turned to see Wooyoung with tears falling down his red cheeks, “Pleaseplease fuck! M-Mingi fuck! F-Feels so good!”

Jongho suddenly got overwhelmed. Yunho’s touch feels 10x stronger and he cums. Yunho lets out another sob and he can’t stop the tears that begin to spill from his eyes as he cums for the third time.

Jongho and Yunho’s cum mixes together and Jongho lets himself back onto his knees and Hongjoong makes his way in front of Jongho and pushes his head down so he could swiftly push his cock past his pretty lips.

Until now, Hongjoong had stayed mostly quiet, only softly jerking himself as he watched the rest of his members, but Hongjoong became restless.

Jongho gripped Hongjoong’s thigh as he began to thrust into his mouth. Jongho let out choked noises but further tilted his head to take more of Hongjoong’s cock.

From behind him, he felt something slide between his ass, and then he heard Yeosang’s voice, “S‘alright. Not gonna fuck you. At least not today…”

With that, Yeosang started thrusting himself between Jongho's ass in time with Hongjoongs.

Jongho's choked moans and groans were vibrating against Hongjoong’s cock. Jongho had his eyes glued on both Hongjoong and Yeosang who were above them, and he let out a loud sob when Yeosang pulled Hongjoong in for a long kiss.

Jongho watched with droopy eyes as Hongjoong shoved his tongue into Yeosang’s throat. As their make out got more intense, so did both of their thrusts. Jongho's eyes were watering and he was gagging as Hongjoong’s cock continuously slammed against the back of his throat.

An accidental swallow around Hongjoong’s cock was the final trigger and his cum shot down Jongho's throat. As he came down from his high he pulled away from Yeosang and slowly pulled out of Jongho's mouth, with a string of saliva connecting the two.

Yeosang turns around when he hears a chorus of groans and sees Wooyoung attaching his lips to Yunho.

Yeosang is watching with a flushed expression as Wooyoung is licking and sucking all the cum off of Yunho’s cock, thighs, stomach, and chest.

Wooyoung let’s out content hums as he makes his way up Yunho’s body, making sure not to miss a drop of cum on the way,

“Such a cum slut.” San laughs condescendingly at Wooyoung, “then, when Yeosang is finished, why don’t you go and help clean Jongho up?”

Wooyoung eagerly nodded and turned his attention to Yeosang, “H-Hyung, please! Cum. Please cum! I-I’ll be a good boy and clean it all up for you!”

Yeosang lets out a shaky laugh, “Y-Yeah? You’ll clean up Jongho like a good boy? Like a good little cum slut?”

“Yeah- y-yours. Your cum slut.” Yeosang let out a deep groan at Wooyoung’s words and he finally let himself cum. He smirked slightly in between his deep moans and grunts as he made sure to cover Jongho‘s ass, and even slightly lower to his balls, with cum.

As soon as Wooyoung could tell Yeosang was done, he pushed him to the side and immediately made contact with his ass.

At first Jongho was fine. It was only on his cheeks that Wooyoung had been so eagerly licking the cum off, but then he pulled away and before he knew it, he took the entirety of Jongho‘s cock in his mouth, taking the last bit of cum off of it.

Jongho squeezed his eyes shut and his entire body spasmed as Wooyoung spread Jongho open and licked and sucked around his rim, “Woo! Ah- fuck!” And without any warning, Jongho came for the second time.

Wooyoung’s eyes widened and he somehow managed to place Jongho‘s cock in his mouth to catch the rest of his cum.

Jongho was completely exhausted. He was leaning most of his weight on Wooyoung who held onto him tightly.

Yunho was spaced out with heavy breaths as Mingi carefully played with his hair.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong had gotten up to get washcloths and bottles of water to help clean the rest of the members up.

Seonghwa passed a washcloth to a couple different members so they could help each other. Mingi gently ran the washcloth over Yunho’s face to wipe his rosey tear stained cheeks then over his stomach and thighs to clean him up as much as possible.

Wooyoung was ever so gently cleaning Jongho because of how worn out and sensitive he was, and San and Yeosang were both lying across the sofas with a dreamlike gaze on their face.

“Thank you San. It was fun…” Yunho mumbled as him and Mingi walked off to his room to take probably the best sleep he’d get in weeks.

“Maybe next time we’ll have even more fun… what do you say, Jongho?” Wooyoung ran his fingers through his hair as Jongho laughed softly as he nodded.

San was already most definitely thinking about the next time something like this could happen… he was just dying to absolutely ruin one of his pretty friends.

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forever-rogue · 4 years

Note

Alrighty *rubs my hands together*Lets do this again.

Prompt : Din saying "I'm kidding" when he tries to joke but the reader responds "I'm not."

Did someone say soft hours? Because it's soft hours 🥺💕

The Mandalorian Masterlist

»»————-　♡　————-««

"Hmm," you mused as you touched Din's beskar covered cheek, "so almost no one is allowed to see your face. More or less."

"Only children... or a riduur - a spouse, are allowed to see," he confirmed softly, an almost strained tone to his voice.

"Oh," you nodded in understanding as you turned back to your soup, reaching over to make sure the little one still had enough in his bowl. You'd heard the Mandalorian's words but had taken a few moments to process, "oh."

"Yeah..." he said as he cleared his throat, heat rising up in his cheeks. Like he had been on many other occasions, right now he was thankful for the beskar helm shielding his face from you. He was sure he was probably bright red at this point.

"Well, I...I think its commendable that you are so steadfast in your creed," you acknowledged, trying not to let your disappointment shine through too much in your voice. What he just said basically all but confirmed your fears and worries that you wouldn't get to see the man under the helmet.

You'd always seen him, even without seeing his face. You knew he was a good, kind, soft hearted man under the beskar, even if he wouldn't admit. He was not just the scary intimidating Mandalorian everyone made him out to be. Sure, there were times when he was imposing and intimidating, as he often needed to be for his job, but that wasn't everything. To the world he was simply Mando - the Mandalorian. But to you he was Din. Funny, gentle, caring, albeit sometimes grumpy, Din.

You weren't even sure what you labelled your relationship with the Mandalorian. Work partners? Absolutely. But beyond that? You weren't even sure what to call it. You'd been...intimate before on a occasions after long days. Those times had been...special. At least to you. He was a gentle lover in the ways you needed, giving you everything you needed and then some, but also just as rough or intense as you wanted in other days. You wondered if he ever felt the same about you. You hoped he did.

You knew he had messy unruly curls, ones you'd run your hands through under the cover of complete darkness on multiple occasions. You wondered if they were light or dark. You were guessing dark, like a warm chocolate brown. And his eyes, you just knew they were expressive without ever seeing them. He just had the air. The way his light dusting of facial hair tickled your skin...was amazing. You'd managed to sneak a few glances at his exposed slivers of skin and you knew it was a golden tan, warm and soft. It was like you him already, so intimately and closely without ever having to have seen him.

And yet you still wanted to see him, bare and revealed to you. You wanted to earn that trust...that level of relationship. You'd taken a step in the right direction when he'd whispered his name, his real name, to you in the middle of an exchange of kisses. You'd thought...just maybe.

But maybe he didn't see you like that at all. Maybe he just saw you as a friend, a partner, a caretaker for the green bean. Maybe he never wanted anything more than a romp or two whenever it came around. Maybe it didn't mean nearly as much to him as it did to you....maybe...

"Yes...t-this is the way," he turned and grabbed some more bread for your soup, setting it gently on the edge of your plate. It was hard to read him at this point, so you just started at your bowl.

"What if one becomes a Mandalorian and adopts the creed?" you were reaching at this point, knowing it was likely the same answer as before, "can it happen then? I guess not, huh?"

"Not even then, Cyare," he said softly, "once you don the helmet, it does not come off for another unless they're family."

"I-I figured," you said with a small smile as you started at your bread, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm speaking out of turn."

"No, no you're not," he reached over and let his hand gently rest of top of yours. You hadn't noticed him taking the gloves off, but his skin was rough and delicate and electric on yours at the same time, "I...I want to show you. I...I'm not good at this, and I've never actually wanted to before. But you...you're not...I don't view you just as someone to have sex with. It was never...never like that."

"Oh. Oh."

"I guess that means we'll have to get married," as soon as the words were out of his mouth, a thick silence hung over the two of you. Had he really just said that? Was he really validating all of your feelings and letting you know that you were not alone in your feelings? When you didn't respond and just stared wordlessly at him, he coughed before laughing awkwardly, "j-just kidding. It was a joke. I'm kidding of course."

"I'm not," you reached for his hand that he had withdrawn and held it tightly in yours. All of your nerves were bubbling up at once, but you had never been so sure about anything before, "if you're serious, I'm serious....Din, I-I love you. I'm in love with you...I have been for a long time. It was never just about sex or anything for me either. I just never knew...I never knew if you felt the same and I didn't want to ruin anything...I'd rather have you as a friend than ruin anything...but I do...I love you very much."

"I love you," he choked out as he listened to your words. He couldn't believe what you were saying...to be so lucky as to be loved by you, "I'm pretty sure I fell in love with you the day I met you and you tried to knock me on my ass."

"You scared me and I thought you were after me - Mandalorian," you laughed lightly, "but you have to admit I can hold my own."

"More than anyone I know," he agreed, beaming from ear to ear, "I should have told you sooner...I'm just...a fool."

"Yeah," you agreed with a nod, "my favorite fool. I wouldn't change a thing."

"I would," he said softly, "I would have married you a long time ago."

"We've got time," you promised, "all the time in the galaxy."

"I want-"

Before he could say anything else, the little one from next to you grabbed your attention. He was watching both of you with a little grin as he cooed and chirped happily. Apparently he was more than approving of this moment.

"Of course," you promised him as you picked him and held tightly in a hug, "we both love you very much. You're family...we're all a little family of three...my two loves."

"My two loves," Din agreed as gently stroked your cheek, "I'm going to marry you the kriff out of you."

"I look forward to it," you grinned at him, "very much."

#din djarin x reader #din djarin #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #star wars #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader

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bukojuiice · 3 years

Text

to the most explosive boy i’ve ever loved before — bakugo katsuki

ೃ pairing: katsuki bakugo x fem! reader

ೃ tags: fluff, angst (if you squint) + letter ! (inspired by to all the boys i loved before)

ೃ a prelude to @bukojuiice’s 1k followers event!

ೃ six letters. one for every boy you’ve ever loved. The letters for your eyes only, filled with all the words you could never say. until, one day, they start appearing out of nowhere into your life again, and your love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

ೃ my nav → my mha writing masterlist → my katsuki bakugo x reader smau

ೃ please do reblog if you enjoyed!! it really helps writers and content creators on tumblr! if you want to be a part of my mha taglist. send me an ask! ♡

You like to save things. Silly things. Ribbons. Polaroids taken during the summer. Old candy wrappers to put behind your phone case. Most especially love letters. Of all the things you save, your love letters are some of your most prized possessions. you keep your letters in a white hatbox your mother bought from a vintage store downtown that sells all kind of things.

They aren’t love letters that someone else wrote for you; You think that you don’t have those. Because you think that no one has fallen in love with you. No being on this vast earth has had their heart beat 120 times a minute walking past you. In contrast to your ever so wandering eyes. These letters are ones you’ve written using your hand and heart. These are times you’ve written a letter expressing endearment-whether shallow or deep, each one towards a different person.

When you write, you hold nothing back. you write like he’ll never read it. Because he never will. Every secret thought, every careful observation, everything you’ve saved up inside yourself, You put it all in the letter. When you’re done, you seal it, address it, and then you put it in your hatbox.

They’re not love letters in the strictest sense of the word. These letters are for when you don’t want to be in love anymore. When you’re tired of falling for him. They’re for bidding goodbye. Because after you write your letter, you are no longer consumed by your all consuming love. it doesn’t keep you up at night anymore, it doesn’t remind you of him every time you sing along to love songs, it doesn’t make you think of how he wants his breakfast cooked, it doesn’t plague your mind like the homework and tasks you’ve ended up missing...

it gives you peace and closure.

that’s truly the meaning of the letters.

they’re supposed to set you free.

but do they really?

You open up your hatbox, looking for the letter that you wrote to Katsuki all those years ago.

Once you had found it, you take it out, as the letter was still neatly kept, and wrapped tightly with a light coral bow. You absently smile when you notice the little stickers of the sanrio character badtzbadtzmaru (a character that reminded you so much of him) and pastel red polco stickers attached to the sides. you place the letter on your desk, contemplating on whether or not you should be reading it as you first reminisce why you fell in love with him in the first place.

the two of you were childhood friends.

It was a cliché at it’s finest, but your whole family was a little in love with him despite his rather pompous and airy attitude. he was the cheeky yet adorable only son of your next-door neighbors who came over after classes to play just dance, or smash bros on the wii with you. during the summer, the two of you would play, camp outside of your houses, go out on picnics and go stargazing at night, and he’d always try his best to cheer you up whenever you were feeling down. there was always a grumpy and gruff tone to his voice when he’s trying to be soft and nice yet, there was always genuine love behind those words.

but, most importantly, he made you feel special. and not in the way that you felt like he was your responsibility but because despite his attitude, constant brags and whatnot, doubled with his other “friends” constantly hyping him up, further inflating his ego...

You were his reminder to stay on the the ground.

You were there for him to open up to you, to share his struggles and insecurities and to just bare his heart to you. his quirk was powerful and so was his personality, but, his heart only became as strong as his physical capabilities because of you.

But... what happened?

The second year of Middle School happened.

Katsuki became a shell of a person he once was.

He still retained his explosive personality but due to the grueling peer pressure that the Middle School hierarchy brings upon you, he became an asshole who could care less about others, began to bully a seaweed-haired kid your age who just moved in next door, and started to always put himself on a pedestal.

He was like an Icarus who was flying too close to the sun... and so the two of you drifted apart.

Just like that.

Then, he moved away that same year, due to the demanding jobs and occupation of his parents.

Gone without even having a chance to say your proper goodbyes to him.

With a heavy sigh, you finally began to read the contents of the letter you wrote for him when he left. As soon as you realized your crush on him was more than just within the confines of puppy love; you brought out a pen and some crafted paper, and wrote to your heart’s content.

Dear Katsuki Bakugo,

Remember that scene in Lilo and Stitch where Lilo prays for someone to be her friend, asking for the “nicest angel you have.” and Stitch comes crashing down from the sky into her backyard?

That is the best way to describe how you came into my life.

When I was a little kid, I only noticed the most bizarre features and facets to your personality. The way you scrunch your nose, your facial expressions like that of a gremlin, your cool quirk, and your loud personality... but as I grew older, I noticed a lot of more things.

I noticed how spiky yet soft your hair was, your passionate crimson eyes that are so full of confidence yet burdened with responsibility, your quirk that became more than just explosions with how you would tell me the science behind it, the way you would talk to me and soften your very loud voice, and how you would even let me win a video game even though you hated losing.

I’ve learned to look at you in a different light because I’ve fallen in love with you.

You were like a tiny spark ever since I met you. Effervescent, bright, always appearing, and always beaming. Like a crackle of lightning. You shined bright for others in your own little ways. Constantly growing and glowing brighter like the feelings I had for you.

Ever since, your presence in my life was like a burst of beautiful fireworks popping inside my heart whenever I would think about you.

However... even though we both started as no one but just little kids, holding hands, and trying to traverse this maze called life...

and now you’re all; your worth will rise, the more I fall.

I realized that you didn’t need me anymore.

Like these mementos we have stored, all these these memories we share.

once were things —

now nothing anymore.

We promised each other with our pinkies intertwined that we would embark on this adventure to become heroes together.

yet, what happened?

Katsuki, Suki, Suki-kun...

If the boy I used to love and cherish with all my heart would come back again... then I wish things could come back again to the way they once were.

May it be in another day, another year, another time, or even another universe...

Please come back as the sparkle of light in my life again.

Sincerely,

(Y/N)

“(Y/N)!” The soft voice of your mother echoes around the house. “Katsuki-kun and his parents just moved back next door? Why don’t you say hi?”

“H-how?” You whisper to yourself, peeking through the window and seeing some moving boxes present in Katsuki’s old room. A familiar spiky-haired boy peaks through the window, noticing your wide-eyed gaze at him.

His eyebrows furrow, tilting his head slightly at the sight of seeing you.

These were the same crimson eyes, same hair, same old gremlin yet handsome face you’ve wanted to see again for such a long time.

This was it. It’s him.

“(Y/N)?”

“Katsuki-kun?”

taglist: @chibishae34 @lovelytarou @ramunegoddess, @serossimpy @laudthingcat @f0leysgurl

#katsuki bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo x y/n #mha x reader #bnha x reader #bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo x y/n #katsuki bakugou x reader #my hero academia x reader #boku no hero academia x reader #mha x y/n #bnha x y/n #bakugo fluff #katsuki bakugo fluff

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shysneeze · 4 years

Text

Art Gallery Shenanigans (Remus Lupin x Fem!Reader)

Description: Remus takes the reader to an art gallery for their first date and is sufficiently flustered about it.

(from this request from @ribbons-in-your-hair hope i did it justice🥺)

Warnings: none that i can think of, some confrontation? Remus is nervous but it’s really just pure fluff

*middle image in header is painting mentioned later*

taglist: @pxroxide-prinxcesss @girl22334, @amourtentiaa

Remus has resorted to people watching in a bid to distract himself from the anxiety of waiting. It’s not that (Y/N) is particularly late, only a minute has ticked past their original meeting time and a logical part of him know she’s on her way, but a less logical and more nervous part of him can’t help but wonder if she’s decided last minute that he’s not her type.

He busies himself with his surroundings, the contemplative muggle art students, the grumbling children too young to appreciate all of it and their parents ignoring them in the desperate attempt for some sophisticated ‘me time’. He stifles a laugh at the fearful look on the underpaid staff members’ faces as they watch a child go to touch a statue with his grubby fingers.

A minute later, the hurried echo of someone’s foot steps against the museum’s high ceilings approaching pulls him from his distraction. The sight of her jogging towards him pulls a relieved breath from his lips and brings on a grin.

“Sorry I’m late!” (Y/N) exhales. “I got a bit muddled with my directions - muggle London is complicated.”

He grimaces subtly to himself, blinking at her sheepishly.

“Perhaps I should have picked you and we could have travelled together.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She beams at him before adding, “I’m sure you can walk me back?”

Remus’ eyes brighten, something warming in his chest at the realisation she’s thought as far as beyond the date, has imagined it going well enough that she wants him to walk to her home, or at least to Diagon Alley where they can Floo home safely. He nods, possibly too enthusiastically, and her gives him a soft smile.

“Of course.”

“Great!”

They stand there for a second too long just staring at each other with ridiculous smiles. Then, something in the back of Remus mind (sounding distinctly like Sirius teasing him) forces him to clear his throat and look away with a slight blush.

“Should we go then?” He nods towards the various exhibits.

“Oh, yes, of course.” She nods, similarly flustered, “Lead the way, Mr Tour Guide.”

Moving from the foyer area towards the exhibits sees a change in atmosphere from the noisy entrance hall . A silence finds them that feels almost sacred, like to break it would break some unspoken art viewer rule that one mustn’t so much as breathe too loud, else distracting everyone else in the room.

He can feel the pamphlet, grabbed earlier from the information desk, is curled tightly in his hands, and he can’t help but fidget with it as they walk, worrying slightly that this silence does take away the point of a first date. He almost asks her as such.

“hey, is it weird we’re not talking?’

However, as they pace slowly through the exhibits, stopping momentarily to stare at the paintings, a smile finds his lips. (Y/N) doesn’t seem to mind at all, her eyes are wide with wonder as they stare up at the colours and stories each painting holds.

It doesn’t take him long to realise that, for the most part, he’s found himself looking to (Y/N) more than the art, watching her eyes scan each painting, smiling at the twinkle that finds her eyes. He’s pretty sure he’s not missing much though, nothing more deserving of his attention.

“They’re amazing.” (Y/N) exhales softly at one point, “It’s hard to believe some of them were painted so long ago.”

“Huh?” Remus blinks, blush rising to his cheeks when she turns to find his eyes. “Oh, yeah.”

She gives him a cheeky grin before turning to the painting again, and this time, Remus mimics her action to look at the painting for himself. He finds himself staring at it for a second rather contemplatively, part of an act perhaps now that he can feel (Y/N) staring at him from the corner of her eye.

“It looks a bit like the Hogwarts Express...” She whispers, “Don’t you think?”

“Yeah, actually,” Remus nods, eyes dropping to the small plaque underneath the painting’s frame, “Steam, Speed and Steel... J.M.W Turner.”

(Y/N) nods, rather intrigued by it now. Remus’ attempt to keep his eyes only on the painting are soiled by the small smile that is climbing the cheeks of the girl by his side, and he can’t help the warmth that floods his chest at the sight.

“I’m just thinking about the train to Hogwarts.” She explains in response to his curious eyes, not taking her own from the painting of the train crossing the viaduct, smothered in steam, “It’s where I first realised I had a crush on you, Remus.”

“You did?” He gulps.

“Yeah,” She chuckles breathlessly, “Last year... Your friends were late and you were sitting there alone and you were reading a book but you kept making these weird facial expressions,” She grins, “And I thought ‘ugh, this nerd... he’s just my bloody type’.”

He feigns a hurt look, but the grin climbing his cheeks gives him away. She turns now to meet his eyes with an embarrassed sort of smile and a shrug as if to say ‘what else can you do about it?’. He shakes his head in disbelief.

“I hope you know that today, you’ve been the biggest nerd in the room.” He bites a laugh. “Gushing about paintings and all that.”

“You’re the one who suggested an art gallery.” She laughs.

“Yes, but I think I’m lucky if I’ve looked at more than two paintings since I arrived.”

“Yeah?” She tilts her head dopily, “How come?”

“I’ve been watching you all day instead.”

Her resolve to seem smug cracks and her face softens completely, moving to push him gently as a distraction from the flustered embarrassment taking hold of her expression.

“You sap.”

“You liked it though,” He nudges her shoulder with a chuckle, “Don’t lie.”

“Hmm.”

Their soft laughter fills the space between them, eyes once again held in each other’s gaze. Only once their gentle chuckles have subsided do they appear to realise how they’ve gravitated to one another, so close (Y/N) can hear his nervous gulp.

When his eyes dart sheepishly to her lips, she lets out a shaky breath, the products of a newly establish nervous tension between them. Then, making his eyes light up instantly, she nods.

A second later, her cheeks are cupped in his warm hands and their eyes are fluttering shut. Lips meet tentatively, filled with the same nervous energy as everything has been all day, then his lips press firmly to her own in a kiss so breath taking she finds her fingers curling around the lapels of his denim jacket to steady herself.

“Merlin...” (Y/N) mutters once they’ve pulled apart, “Where have you been hiding that?”

“Keeping it for someone special.” Remus shrugs.

“You spend far too much time with Sirius,” She shakes her head, grinning at him nonetheless.

He’s about to kiss her again, hands falling to her waist, when an impatient sound disrupts them, a woman behind them clearing her throat accusatorily with her hand planted firmly on her hips. Both Remus and (Y/N) are reminded of Madam Pince for a moment.

“Excuse me,” She begins with a frown, “This is an art gallery.”

Remus’ eyes blow wide at her tone and (Y/N) drops her face to his chest to muffle the newly forming laughter that threatens to barrel from her throat. The woman continues in a furious rant on respect and appropriate art gallery behaviour as Remus splutters out apologies in response.

“Yes Ma’am -- I’m so sorry I just couldn’t help--” He chokes, “Sorry, Ma’am it won’t happen again-- we’re just leaving-- Sorry.”

Remus’s fingers intertwine through (Y/N)’s as the woman rambles, nodding apologetically as he pulls them both from the exhibit, (Y/N)’s face burried in his side, her shoulders shaking with laughter as the woman’s complaints follow them from the room.

“Bloody Hell,” He gasps the minute they are free. “She could give Pince a run for her money- oi, stop laughing at my misery!”

(Y/N)’s head is flung back instantly with a cackled laugh, only spurred onwards by her accidental snort. Remus can’t help but join her, both of them soon bent in a fit of giggles that sees them receiving the same disapproving looks from the staff as the grubby fingered child from earlier.

“You looked petrified, Remus.” She manages through a laugh, “Merlin’s beard.”

“You just left me to deal with it myself.” He complains before another laugh bursts from his lips. “Merlin, please don’t tell the boys.”

“I’ve already planned out the reenactment,” She shrugs unapologetically, “It was too good.”

“Mean.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you next time.” (Y/N) assures him.

“Next time?” Remus perks up, “You mean the crazy old lady didn’t scare you off?”

“Merlin, no.” (Y/N) grins, “It was kind of adorable watching you stammer your way out of it.”

“I’m dating a sadist.” He jokes sarcastically.

She shoves his side with an eye roll and squeezes the hand still in her own. She gives him a look, the one he’s been watching all day, that twinkly eyed look of amazement, and he almost leans into kiss her again right there.

“Do you want to go for a coffee at Diagon Alley?” He asks expectantly, “Before we get kicked out of the museum once and for all?”

“I would love that, Remus.”

“Who knows, maybe I’ll get harrassed by someone else when I go to kiss you goodbye.” He jokes.

“Is that a promise at another one of those kisses?”

“Definitely.”

#remus lupin x reader #remus lupin x you #remus x reader #remus imagine #remus lupin imagine #remus imagines #remus lupin imagines #remus x you #marauders imagines #harry potter #moony x reader

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cursestothemoon · 4 years

Text

I Need You To Kiss Me

Bill Weasley x Gender Neutral!Hufflepuff!Reader

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1847

This is rather short and unedited but i thought it was cute so i hope you guys like ittt ❤️

***

Bill watched you with a look of interest, the bright yellow accents of your house robes seemed to glow in the morning stream of sunlight that entered the great hall. You laughed at something Charlie was saying, his hands coming out to mimic the flap of what Bill could only assume was a dragon. It was his favorite part of the day, watching you talk to his brother. Unlike usual sibling rivalry, Bill was rarely ever jealous of other men, especially his own brother, and Charlie was well aware of his brother's feelings for the giggly Hufflepuff.

Charlie Weasley attempted to make a shadow puppet of a dragon, the look of determination and the awkward hand gestures made you erupt into a fit of giggles making Charlie shove your shoulder. You two had met in the year prior, you had been asked to be the study partner of a boy in the year below you, a Gryffindor nonetheless. Charlie was the one who walked into the library the next day, glowing ginger curls sat messily atop his head and freckles littered his face and neck. He was also ridiculously tall and burly, but his goofy smile and energetic wave was enough to prove he’d be good company.

You two had been friends since then, and as if it couldn’t get any better Charlie’s older brother Bill would often come by the library to meet with his brother after the study sessions. Bill was overtly handsome, he had the same red hair- though it fell in a more relaxed wave and was just long enough for the bottom layers to brush his shoulders and the top layers his ears- and freckles that kissed the tip of his nose and scattered across his cheeks. Confidence oozed out his pores like honey, Bill Weasley was the most intimidatingly gorgeous man you had ever seen.

“Oi, Bill! What about it then?”

Bill turned toward the sound, coming face to face with Calvin Clark, a fellow Gryffindor and quidditch teammate. He raised his eyebrows, silently asking to be filled on what he missed while he was doing his morning ogling.

“You’re not still hung up on that puff, are you?” Leonard Throndson asked, another teammate of Bill’s.

Bill chuckled, moving to fully face his pestering friends, “And would that be so bad?”

His facial expression was playful, but his tone let the boys know he’d do as he pleased regardless of what they said.

Calvin was the one to answer, “You’ve never been this interested in someone before and not tried asking them out before.”

“Is it cause they’re screwing Charlie?” Leonard asked, mouth fuller than his focus in the conversation.

The question earned him a whack to the back of the head by Bill making him pout and reach a hand up to rub the back of his head.

“They aren’t screwing Charlie, but they are his friend and we don’t really know each other. Reckon, it would be rather awkward if I just up and snogged my brother’s best friend.”

Calvin and Leonard nodded in agreement but Bill continued, “Maybe I’ll ask Charlie about them…”

“That’s great and all Bill, but back to my question. You up for a party this Friday?”

A sound of shock came out of Leonard’s, once again, full mouth making Bill and Calvin watch him muscle down the large helping of eggs he had shoveled into his mouth just minutes before.

“You should invite Y/n, then bam! Make your move at the party.”

Bill thought for a moment, considering the plan, “Not a bad idea.”

The boys were then immersed in party planning, Bill feeling his excitement start to simmer at the mere prospect of asking you out.

---

You were leaving transfiguration when Bill Weasley pulled you to the side, a gentle arm guiding the small of your back. Once he came to a stop in front of Professor Binns classroom, you face him with a small smile.

“Everything alright, Bill?”

Bill leaned on the wall next to the door, his shoulder propping him up as he crossed his shins loosely and the best nonchalant expression he could muster fixed on his face.

“There’s a party this Friday in the Gryffindor common room, you should come.”

You felt your cheeks heat up, eyes glancing down at your feet, “Yeah that would be-that would be great I’d love to come.”

“What if I asked you to come with me, as my date.”

You gave him an incredulous look, your mouth opening and closing as you tried to find something to say.

He was incredibly forward and his confidence was exhilarating, not at all a turn off, and of course he was devilishly handsome and you’d want nothing more than to be his date but you didn’t talk to him much, and you thought he didn’t really pay attention to his brother’s friend.

“You wanna go on a date with me?”

Bill chuckled, hand coming up to comb back his hair and you felt your knees wobble at the sight, “Yeah, if you’re comfortable with that. If not you should still come to the party.”

“I’d love to come to the party, Bill, as your date.” You smiled, cheeks starting to ache.

“Brilliant, I’ll come pick you up by the barrels at 7:00 Friday night.”

You nodded, words seemingly having escaped you as your eyes followed his retreating frame, only to be startled by another Weasley. Charlie impressively snuck up behind you, successfully making you just when he popped into your eye line.

“What was Bill saying?” He asked, a knowing smirk playing on his lips.

Charlie had been made aware of Bill’s plans to ask you to the party by the man himself, and he couldn’t be happier at the thought of his older brother dating his best friend. He thought you two would be a perfect match far before any feelings were realized between Bill and yourself. Bill’s rugged exterior would compliment the softness of your being, and vice versa. Not to mention, you were both rather attractive people and Charlie was sure the sight of you two as a couple would be the talk of the school.

“He just asked if I would want to go to the Gryffindor party with- you knew!” You gasped, hand shooting out to smack Charlie’s shoulder.

He just nodded with a blinding smile, “He may have mentioned wanting to ask you out.”

You shook your head in disbelief, unable to keep yourself from laughing, “Get to class you ninny.”

Charlie jogged off, dodging another hit from you as he chuckled, his laughter being heard through the corridor.

---

Friday night arrived faster than anticipated, and your nerves were barely still intact. You had planned and replanned how the night would go over and over again in your head, praying to any celestial being or otherwise that you wouldn’t make a complete fool of yourself in front of Bill.

6:58

That was the time you left your common room to wait for Bill, only he was already standing by the barrels with a smile playing on his lips.

“Was afraid you’d stood me up.” He laughed, hand moving to intertwine with yours as he led you to the Gryffindor towers.

You averted his gaze as you responded, “I thought about it, but felt bad in the end.”

Bill slapped his hand to his chest and he let out a dramatic gasp, “You’ve wounded me, Y/n. I thought Hufflepuffs were meant to be kind?”

“Guess I’ve always been a bit of a rebel.” You teased, glancing to see Bill looking at you with a smile and eye crinkles that made your heart leap.

“Perfect.”

The party was already in full swing by the time Bill ushered you through the portrait hole, hand finding its way around your waist and unmoving from the spot making unruly butterflies erupt in your belly.

He guided you toward a couch in the middle of the room where Charlie was sitting with a few other quidditch teammates of his and Bill’s that you could vaguely recognize, but they all greeted you with smiles.

“Y/n! How are you? It’s so much nicer seeing you in person rather than hearing Bill describe your dazzling smile or twinkling eyes.” Leonard spoke with such intense honesty, deriving from the few drinks he had before you arrived, it made you giggle as you turned to Bill who was now glaring daggers at Leonard.

“Twinkling eyes huh?” You asked Bill.

He smiled down at you, ignoring the way Leonard was now trying to push his way to the dancefloor, and gave a flirty response, “They are quite the sight, ‘specially when you’re laughing.”

Charlie smiled at the sight of his brother and his best friend getting all cozy on the couch as the party raged on. Bill’s hand resting respectfully on your knee, his thumb rubbing small circles.

It seemed you had melted into the couch and Bill’s side, he had one arm around you while the other rested on your leg that had been pulled to cross over one of his legs. You were completely facing him as you two talked, his hand that was around your shoulder coming up every so often to play with the ends of your hair as he spoke. He was more than happy to talk about his big family, and all his brothers. Charlie you knew, but he told you about Percy, the reserved adult trapped in a boy, then there were Fred and George, the wild twins that had a knack for causing trouble, and Ron, the youngest brother who had a new found love of food after a picky few years. But his smile widened and eyes crinkled with glee as he told you about the youngest, Ginny, his only sister.

“Poor girl’s only going to have brother’s growing up, but I reckon she’ll be able to take care of herself alright, she’s already pretty good at it.” He chuckled thinking of seven year old Ginny telling off Ron for eating her chicken wing.

And you told him about yourself, your family, and your fondest memories all while Bill listened carefully, a fond smile on his face as he watched your eyes twinkle just as he had described to Leonard and Calvin.

Soon your voice started to fade as you, quite literally, lost yourself in his eyes. Both of you leaned closer, at such a slow pace it was almost undetectable but the invisible pull was definitely noticed by you and Bill.

He stopped just before his lips reached yours, his hand coming up to hold your jaw as he looked into your eyes as he spoke, “Would it be terribly inappropriate of me to kiss you right now?”

Words, yet again, escaped you and left a simple, almost desperate, nod as your only answer to his question as you tried to lean closer to his lips.

“I need your words, love.”

Your voice was needy and whispered, “I need you to kiss me, Bill.”

He didn’t hesitate.

#bill weasley #bill weasley x reader #bill weasley imagine #bill weasley x gender neutral! reader #Harry Potter imagines

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2dwhorxx · 3 years

Text

Headcanons

Bakugou,Todoroki and Midoriya seeing your stomach stretch marks for the first time

Summary: You have decided that you’re ready and comfortable enough to show them one of your biggest insecurities and this is how each of them would react

Characters: Katsuki Bakugou,Izuku Midoriya,Shouto Todoroki

(gender neutral reader)

Genre:Fluff

Warnings: One swear word

Hope you enjoy :)

Bakugou:

Bakugou sees the anxious look on your face as you reveal the multiple line patterns on your stomach

At first he thinks they’re scars from a recent mission but you inform him that they’re apart of you and how you were scared to show him for a long time

“I thought you’d see me differently” you try and hold back your tears while staring into his eyes

Hes a little confused on why you were scared because he see’s them as a sign of strength

“You’re fucking badass don’t let these make you see yourself any differently.” He says as he wraps you into his arms and fluffs up your hair

You laugh and say “thank you”

Midoriya:

You tell Midoriya that you have something meaningful to show him

Knowing Midoriya you know this caused him to over think and get anxious

The day before you wanted to show him he seemed on edge and kept on persisting that you gave him hints on what it was (you didn’t give him any lol)

The night you were ready to show him, he was still anxious but happy at the same time

You show him the beautiful marks on your stomach and describe why they’re meaningful to you

you see the nervous look on his face come to an end and he smiles

You didn’t think he would react that way so this caused you to break down in tears

Midoriya starts shifting and now he’s as confused as before

He doesn’t know what to do so he just quickly pulls you in for a hug and whispers “shhh it’s okay” while rubbing your back

Todoroki:

(This ones a little bit longer)

It’s the middle of the night, you and Todoroki are playing card games

You’re having fun and suddenly get the weird urge to ask him about his face scar

“ hey Shouto, I have a question to ask you” you say

“Yeah what’s up” he’s says calmly

You’re scared to ask but go for it anyways

“Do you ever get insecure because of your scar?”

Todoroki stares at you for a while

You can’t tell how he’s feeling towards the question because it’s always so hard to read his facial expressions

“oh I’m sorry if that was a insensitive question, I was just wondering”

“mmm no it’s fine” he says calmly

You still don’t know how he’s feeling but then he says, “My scar given to me by my mother defines who I am and what I’ve been through as a person,so being honest no it does not make me feel insecure”

You both sit in silence after hearing what he had to say

You’re relieved that he isn’t upset at your sudden question and this allows you to finally want to show him what you’ve been hiding for a long time

“I have something to show you Shouto” you say quietly

You’re scared to show him but after what he had said about his scar it makes you a little more confident to show him your marks

“What is it” he says with a little curious look on his face

“I kind of have something similar to your scar, it’s not quite the same but I still want to show you.” You say

Todoroki nods his head slightly

You slowly pull up your shirt and show him the stretch marks on your stomach

His face goes from looking curious to looking a little empathetic

You get a little self-conscious so you quickly put your shirt down

Todoroki raises one of his eyebrows at you in confusion

“sorry if this is it awkward but I’ve been wanting to show you this for a while now but I’ve never had the courage to because it’s some thing I’m insecure about”

You start to tear up a bit

Todoroki doesn’t think that the moment was awkward and really sees it more as you opening up to him about some thing that you aren’t confident about

He sees it as you trusting him enough to show him

Todoroki appreciate you showing him your marks and smiles as he wipes away a tear falling down your face

“For some reason I thought you’d see me differently because of my marks”

“maybe it was just me being paranoid” you sniff while looking down

Todoroki slowly lifts up you face and says “scars, marks, and everything above is what makes you you, you’re not ugly just because you have them, matter-of-fact there what makes you stand out in a beautiful unique way.” He says still smiling but looks a little more serious this time

You look up at him, “thank you Shouto” you say smiling

Todoroki nods his head as he slowly leans back onto his chair and easily goes back to his calm collected nonchalant face

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growup-thatbeautiful · 3 years

Text

Cooler; Bucky Barnes x Reader

New Girl Inspired for @madjazzhatter

“I’m telling you, Buck, I’m not your cooler. Sure, a few times I might’ve been the reason you didn’t get some that once or twice, but 99% of the time it’s your own damn fault, Barnes.” It’s all true. He’s proving her point just by being himself right now, making one of those over the top faces he has and adjusting the collar of his coat. It’s not even his coat, she reminds herself.

“You’re both right, actually. Y/n, you have, on occasion, proven to be a terrible wingwoman. Purely awful. Bucky, you too have the tendency to, uh, discourage people from talking to you. I mean, you’re always frowning. You have a great smile, man, learn how to use it.” Bucky reaches across the sink and hits Steve upside the back of his head.

“Come on guys, we had a good vibe going. Let’s not have any infighting before tonight. Bucky, are you absolutely positive that that’s what you want to wear?” All three of them are standing in from of the bathroom mirrors, presumably making themselves look better to go to the bar at 5:30 in the afternoon, which is actually not that early for them.

“This coat makes me feel sexy.” Bucky does an awkward spin move, throwing up finger guns at himself in the mirror. Y/n rolls her eyes dramatically, patting Sam and Steve on the back before walking towards the door.

“Yeah, nothing says I’m a creep like a man in a women's trenchcoat,” add Sam. Y/n leans against the frame of the door, watching her boys make fools of fixing themselves in the mirror.

“So, just to be clear, you’re saying I can’t come tonight, right?”

They look at each other and shake their heads. “That’s fine, I have a lot of…things I need to do today anyway. You know, spoons to clean, yarn to yarn.”

“Gotta get that yarn yarned,” says Sam, practicing his facial expressions in the mirror and holding a thumbs up in the direction of y/n.

“See? You’re going to have a much better time here than you would have at the stinky old bar! We’re doing you a favor.” Bucky pats y/n on the head, earning himself a confused look.

She turns away from them, exiting the room just in time to hear Steve say, “You still work at that bar, Buck.”

They’re home within five minutes, and y/n is left to her own devices. There are times when she wishes that she had more nights like this, alone and able to do what she wants. Right now is not one of those times. It’s not that she doesn’t have things she can do, there just aren’t any things that she wants to do.

After fucking around for a little while, a noise at the door startles her. Her mind immediately goes to danger, causing her to call Peggy, even though she’s on a date, and Bucky, even though she was told that she was usually the downfall of his fun nights.

For some reason, Bucky answers his phone, but he sounds pissed about it. “Buck, you need to come home, there’s something at the door.”

“There’s nothing at the door, y/n. You know it’s an old building, maybe it has something to do with the pipes. You wouldn’t be worried if you listened to pipe talk during our loft meetings.”

“Those are boring. I’m surprised you listen to those talks.”

“They make me feel more like a man.” He pauses before continuing,”You know you’re being a cooler right now, right? Do you see it now?”

Yes, she thinks. She definitely see’s it now. “Just come home.”

Bucky, Steve, Sam, and two girls that are along for the ride arrive at the apartment. They find y/n curled up on the couch with their baseball bat, and she almost hits Steve when he comes into the room.

“So, this is our roommate y/n,” introduces Bucky. “And this is the place. Bathroom is down that hall… and so is basically everything else. Y/n, could you help me find some, uh, bottlecaps in the your room.”

“Sure, what kind? I have twist offs and the pop kind.”

“You know I’m not actually here about bottlecaps- actually it doesn’t matter. Listen to me. That girl out there, for some reason, is sexually attracted to sad men. You understand now fantastic that is for me.”

“Yeah, wow, that’s a goldmine. Now I feel partially responsible for your sex tonight, so I have an idea.” Bucky and I call everyone to meet in front of the couches, a cooler of beer beside us.

“The game is true american, but with a sexy new twist. Clinton rules! Everyone pick your interns and remember-“

The loft mates join in at this part, “The floor is lava!”

“Wait, this doesn’t make any sense. What are the rules? How do you play this?” The girl that Bucky brought asks.

“It’s easy. The floor is lava, doves versus hawks, the couch is the Mason-Dixon Line, no cabinets,” explains Steve helpfully, choosing the blonde, Carrie, as his partner.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Vanya, the girl that Sam brought, is sitting on the table and drinking, definitely not playing, but Sam seems happy talking to her.

The game goes as smoothly as a game with no rules can go. The loft is a mess, and most of us are missing various articles of clothes, which is a good sign for Bucky. Y/n, Steve, Carrie, and Y/n are all sitting at the table, different levels of intoxicated, trying to figure out who has to go behind the hallway door and kiss, a Y/n original idea that she’s positive will fix her spot as not a cooler. On the count of three they all put up numbers on their foreheads, chaos enduring between Steve and Bucky, both telling Carrie different numbers.

In all the confusion, on three, Y/n and Bucky end up with the same number, meaning that they have to kiss.

“Shit,” swears Bucky.

Y/n and Bucky look at each other, and say again, “Shit.”

“No, come on guys, let us out of here. This isn’t what I meant when I said kiss, I obviously meant, uh, a metaphorical poetic kiss. Don’t leave me back here with him!”

“Well,” says y/n, leaning back against the wall, sliding down to the floor next to Bucky, with his head in his hands. “I guess we should do this, then. They aren’t going to let him out of here anytime soon.”

“Yep. Let me just-“ Y/n stands up, while Bucky stays on the ground, crouching.

“What are you doing? I’m up here.”

“I thought we were staying on the ground.”

“Fine. Let’s get this over with. Pucker up, Mr. Buck.” As soon as it’s out of her mouth, y/n grimaces, regretting a lot of things.

“Come on, don’t do that. You’re making it weirder than it already was.”

“Yeah, I regretted it immediately. I think this does prove that I’m your cooler.”

“Yeah, you think? It’s okay, Steve’s just gonna tell her about his heartbroken Peggy-struck heart. This might be the only time that he wants to be sadder than me.” They spend a few minutes arguing back and forth about various unimportant details, like if they’re going to stand or sit, where they’re going to put their hands, and if Bucky should be so nervous about this. At some point in time Bruce, y/n’s boyfriend, came along and decided to join the rest of them outside.

Finally, after the constant chanting of “kiss kiss kiss kiss” from the hallway to get to her, y/n says, “Come on, Buck, just be a man and kiss me!”

“No! Not like this.” His eyes go wide when he realizes what he just said, and he starts shaking his head before I even get my question out.

“What do you mean, not like this?” Bucky doesn’t give an answer, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. He starts gesturing around wildly, trying to find something to say.

“No, I didn’t- it’s just not, like, you know- not like that.”

“Yeah, I’m out.” Before y/n can get another word in, Bucky is climbing out of the window. Without thinking, y/n yells at them to open the door, which they do. Steve and Sam are freaking out over Bucky, asking him all these questions, and Bruce is busy laughing about how Bucky would rather climb out of a window than kiss her. Luckily, Peggy is still thereto try and help her understand what’s happening.

Things dial down after that. Steve and Sam give Bucky a firm talking to and a night to think of over, and y/n goes to sleep alongside Bruce. She’s awoken in the middle of the night gm the same scratching that she heard earlier, so she goes to investigate.

Bucky must’ve heard it too, because he’s right there beside her with the baseball bat. Apparently their new neighbor has a dog that’s been causing all of the problems. It’s also the place where Bucky’s coat was supposed to go. As far as their neighbors go, it’s not the worst interaction they’ve had. This one only thinks they wear other people’s clothes and carry around bats.

“So, I guess you didn’t need to come over. Sorry I ruined your night.” They walk back to the hallway together, arms brushing against each other.

“Nah, it was probably for the best. French coat Bucky had a lot of unearned confidence, lot of random dance moves.”

They stand facing each other, y/n looking up into Bucky’s eyes. “Goodnight Buck.”

“Night, Y/n.” Bucky leans in, encouraged by y/n leaning in too. They’re lips touch, the kiss passionate and all at once. Bucky’s hands are in her hair, and as soon as they break appear she misses the touch.

“I meant a little something like that.”

This was so much fun to write! I love to concept of a new girl based au, feel free to send more of this or any other requests.

#nxvna writing #nxvna post #bucky barnes #bucky fic #bucky x you #bucky x reader #new girl au #marvel fic #tfatws fic #bucky imagine #reader x bucky barnes #you x bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #james barnes

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like-rain-or-confetti · 4 years

Text

Request: Not Like The Stereotype (Felix Volturi x Witch!Reader)

Felix took you for a walk in the gardens, your arm hooked in his his hand covering your own. You were enjoying the breeze and just being so close to nature. The gardens were beautiful. Felix told you the wives were the ones who created it. Sulpicia, Athenodora and Didyme. Although Didyme was no longer alive.

Marcus caught your eye as well as Felix's. You both approached him, letting go of one another. "Master?" Felix asked. He looked over at the two of you with an empty expression. "Hello, Felix. Hello, (Y/N)." Marcus drawled. You smiled at him gently. "Hello, sir. Is everything alright?" Marcus hummed looking at the flower before him, it was very much on its last legs. It had even been potted for separate attention. "All is well." He didn't sound convincing in the slightest.

Felix inhaled sharply when he saw the flower. "Master, I'm sorry." "It's alright, Felix. It's only a flower." You looked between the two men in confusion. Marcus nodded to Felix, allowing him to explain. "This type of flower was Didyme's favourite. They've become exceptionally rare and...this is one of the last." You frowned slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry." You didn't know what else to say.

A thought suddenly came to mind. "Sir, might I see it?" You moved to Marcus side, kneeling on the path. Marcus said nothing but moved the plant towards you. You took it gently, looking at it, running your thumb across a leaf, being extra careful.

A soft glittering gold travelled from under your thumb and thought the veins of the leaf. The liquid gold travelled through the stem to the other leaves and into the flower head. The two men couldn't believe their eyes as the planet began to revive itself, the browns fading back to the plants original colour. When you took your hand away, it looked stronger than it had ever been. You smiled before moving it back to him. "There. I can't guarantee it'll be an immortal plant but... it'll be around for a good number of years yet."

Marcus looked down at the fully revived plant in awe. "Remarkable..." He mumbled. You rose to a stand, taking hold of Felix's shoulder, ignoring Felix's dumbstruck expression. "I didn't know you could do that." Felix spoke. You lightly shrugged. "Its not much." "It's amazing!" Felix gawked. "Thank you, (Y/N). This was very kind of you." Marcus turned to you with a grateful expression. You nodded. "I'm happy to help sir." You assured him.

Of course, Felix had to tell Demetri and in turn, the twins found out just by being in the same room. The four wanting answers but not entirely sure how to go about asking. "It's just...you seem so normal. So human." Jane mumbled with unease. Before her was the very thing that she was accused of and the cost being her death. She remembered thinking they were ridiculous to think she and her twin were witches. 'Look at us!' She'd yell. 'Really, look at us! Do we look like witches to you!?' Whilst she never said the words, she always thought them and before her was her answer. A witch looked like everyone else. "I thought we'd know. A characteristic, a facial feature, something that would make it obvious." Jane said mostly to herself. You stifled a laugh. "You're laughing." Jane narrowed her eyes on you. "What's so funny?" "What? You don't find Vampires being allergic to garlic funny? What about burning in the sun?" Jane's fierce gaze faltered. "Exactly." You responded. "Sure, we don't have unnatural eye colours nor are we cold to the touch but..." You shrugged. "We exist. We're human in the end. We just see the world a little differently. Someone us can do little tricks too. Nothing to worry about." Felix was quick to appease to Jane, showing some compassion considering he knew Jane's past. "I wouldn't worry about it, Jane." Felix said to her. "I expected to see pentagrams, candles and (Y/N) awake at all hours of the nights preforming rituals when I found out." You scoffed."You make it sound like I'm in a cult. I can assure you I'm usually asleep at three in the morning." You paused. "We aren't devil worshipers either. You'll find most of us are actually peaceful." You said pointedly to Felix, unaware of your words easing Jane's mind. "You don't...strike us as a witch." Alec said as he looked you up and down. You wore regular modern clothes and we're nothing like the stereotype. You furrowed your brow, looking at the counter in front of you before returning your gaze to the twins, raising an eyebrow. "Did you expect a cauldron?" You asked in a tone that they weren't so sure if you were joking or genuinely asking. "No..." Jane answered. Felix looked at how awkward the exchange was and in all honesty. I might kill him if it went on. Although he couldn't blame the twins. He wasn't so sure how to go about it either. "What they're meaning is..." Felix trailed off. Your eyes wandered over Felix, the twins and Demetri as you waiting for someone to say something. "Um..." Felix had lost just about all of his vocabulary. You hummed suddenly in thought. "Hm, where did I put them?" "Put what?" Felix asked. "The pliers so I can let the words out of your mouth!" You responded with a smile. "Well it's just that, witches aren't exactly common in our world- you're the first." You sighed. "You're going from A to B and somehow you've decided to take the scenic route by going A-Z-Y-X-W-" "I'm glad you find us amusing." Demetri said flatly. "You can ask me anything. I won't be offended!" You responded. "I will try my best to answer. I don't know everything. I can tell you that I'm not green nor will I melt if you throw water on me." "You have a gift? We saw you revive that plant in seconds. Do all witches have that?" Jane asked bluntly. You shook your head with a smile. "No, that's a family thing. Some witches have abilities or connections you could say. Some can contact the dead, manipulate fire and my family...witches in my family can heal as well cause harm." You continued. "Not every generation is a witch, but I have an ancestor who could do it with her eyes alone. Whilst the gift has passed down, I can only do it with my hands." "So things like...curses and hexes. Could you do them? Are the real?" Alec asked. "I'm not the type to use dark magic like that. It's like poking a bear." You said with slight unease as though picturing just what Alec was talking about in your mind. You suddenly shook away the thought with a smile. "Well I don't have hexes or voodoo, can I interest you in some crystals?"

That night, you felt strong arms wind around your middle and a kiss be placed behind your ear. "Hey." You whispered with a smile, leaning back into the hold. "You don't know how important your words were for the twins but I promise you. It was huge." Felix said quietly with pride. "I'm sure you'll tell me one day." You smiled, raising his hand from your middle to press a kiss on the back of Felix's hand. Felix hummed, burying his face into your neck. "You're taking too long." Felix whispered. "Hm?" Your brow furrowed slightly. "If you could turn around some time soon that would be wonderful so that I can kiss you." Felix responded and you couldn't help but chuckle.

You turned around as he bent down slightly to kiss you. As you broke the kiss, Felix planted another kiss to your forehead. "I love you. You're wonderful." "Don't sweet-talk me, you've already got me." You grinned in response.

#request #twilight #volturi #the volturi #witch!reader #one shot #oneshot #felix volturi

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demetriandelibinaryboyfriends · 4 years

Note

Can you talk about autistic Hawk/Eil

Sure, I’d love to!!!

Credit where credit is due, of course--I got a lot of my Autistic Eli headcanons from @jackonthelongwalk, who’s got a little more authority to speak on the subject since he’s actually autistic and whatnot. I mainly just saw his takes and was like “THOSE ARE GOOD TAKES” and adopted all of them XD Although I DID come up with a few of my own headcanons!!! I’ll just compile everything here.

~Eli tends to be pretty particular about physical touch, and a lot of the time he doesn’t really like it. Over the years, Demetri’s found that one type of touch that Eli’s okay with is shoulder-squeezing, and it kinda becomes their thing. Typically Demetri giving Eli a quick shoulder squeeze helps comfort him and makes him feel safe by basically reassuring him “I’m here for you, I’ve got your back.” You can see Demetri give Eli a shoulder squeeze in 2x09 when he’s comforting him about Moon, and he does the EXACT same one in the school fight in 2x10 just before kicking him into the trophy case. I think it was his way of saying “even though we’re fighting right now, I still care about you” and that kinda helped snap Hawk out of his near-psychopathic rage. In Season 3, he’s still shitty to Demetri, obviously, but it’s more controlled, not as unhinged or feral--even when Hawk breaks his arm, he hesitates a LOT before and regrets it IMMEDIATELY after in a way I’m not sure his UNCHECKED RAEEEGE self would have during the school fight.

~Over the years Demetri develops kind of a sixth sense of when Eli is about to have a meltdown. He’s able to pick up on super minute changes in body language, changes in the way Eli speaks, small alterations in Eli’s general temperament--basically anything that indicates he’s getting overwhelmed. That’s actually how he discovers the shoulder squeeze tactic--Demetri realizes he needs a quick way to comfort and reassure Eli when he can’t go in for a full hug (like they’re in the middle of class or something) so he can calm Eli down a bit and stop him from having a meltdown. Mainly because Demetri knows the bullies will have a field day if Eli cries in front of the other kids, so the shoulder squeeze develops as sort of a way to protect Eli from this.

~At some point after Demetri first started using the shoulder touch/squeeze on Eli, Eli started also using it on Demetri to quickly communicate affection/appreciation. Demetri isn’t nearly as touch-averse or picky with physical touch as Eli, and would’ve been okay with a number of physical touches, but he’s honestly super touched that Eli saw him doing a thing and was like “Oh hey!!! Demetri does this thing to me and it makes me feel safe and loved, so I’m sure it’ll do the same if I do it to him!!!” It kinda becomes their special touch, and becomes somewhat of a silent “I love you” (although obviously these two clueless idiots are led to believe it’s ONLY platonic love for many, many years XD). You can see Eli give a little shoulder pat/squeeze to Demetri at the beach party in 1x09!!

~Eli really does not like being touched around or under the chin, mainly because this is how bullies like Kyler touch him and it’s triggering for him. Demetri basically never touches him here. Even after they get together and start getting intimate, Demetri tends to touch/stroke Eli’s cheeks or the side of his head if he wants to touch his face, but he avoids touching Eli’s chin like the plague because he knows how much Eli dislikes it. This is something Eli really deeply appreciates--even Moon wasn’t able to catch on to the fact that he didn’t like having his chin touched, and he was too obsessed with coming across as “tough” to her to admit that it bothered him. Moon didn’t mean any harm at all, of course, she just wasn’t able to pick up on his more subtle indications that he wasn’t a huge fan of chin touches. Demetri has come to pick these indications up by second nature.

~The whole thing Demetri does at the beginning of the show where he kinda talks “for” Eli (the thing that, ironically, people loooooove to blast him about for being a “terrible friend”) I think is largely done because Eli is autistic. Eli seems to have a lot of social anxiety right from the get-go--he doesn’t even verbally greet Miguel when he first sits with him and Demetri and Demetri introduces Eli. Eli just kinda awkwardly smiles and nods at him. He’s obviously not great with social cues either, which we see later on--he’s so PAINFULLY oblivious to the fact that Piper is super not at all into it when he tries to hit on her in Season 2. I imagine after a number of social blunders in their youth, and seeing just how uncomfortable and anxious social situations made Eli, Demetri took the reigns and did a lot of communicating FOR Eli to take some of the pressure off of him to talk. I’d argue that once Demetri is taken out of the picture, we can see in full force JUST how socially anxious and uncomfortable Eli really is--he seems damn near terrified trying to stand up for himself against Johnny when Demetri’s not there. He’s lowkey stuttering and tripping over his words, his voice is shaking. He nearly leaves the room in tears. He’s used to letting Demetri be his voice, and this seems to be what makes him feel safest and most secure. When this is taken away, he has to find a new way to protect himself--hence, possibly, the entire Hawk persona.

~Eli has a lot of issues with emotional regulation and often feels emotions really, really strongly and gets overwhelmed by them--as an ADHDer, this is a struggle I understand SO MUCH. When Eli gets really overwhelmed with strong emotion, he tends to have meltdowns. These can be either sadness-based meltdowns (like we see in the flashback) or angry meltdowns (like we see when he beats Brucks up). Due to his emotional regulation issues, Eli has a really hard time hiding his emotions or stopping a meltdown once it kinda onsets--this is why he tends to “bawl” at movies. Once he starts crying, he can’t really stop, or reign it in--it just keeps coming. He also can’t really hold it back--his emotions tend to force their way out, whether he wants them to or not. This is also why he goes so HARD when he’s angry--wailing on Brucks, throwing punch after punch at Demetri at the school fight, getting carried away and attacking Robby’s injured shoulder at the tournament. His anger (and other emotions) tends to just kinda explode out, and he has a really hard time reigning them back in and keeping them in check. Demetri, ever the voice of ration and reason, can help with this--and probably has a lot, historically. With Demetri less and less in the picture and their relationship on the rocks, Eli’s emotions just seem to get even more wild and uncontrolled, particularly his anger. Part of the reason I think Demetri and Eli work so well together--Eli tends to get very caught up in his emotions (no shame in that--I’ll admit I do too!), and needs someone to help him keep his feet on the ground and be the pragmatist who helps him keep things in perspective.

~Karate is most definitely a special interest for him. It lowkey takes over his life and he makes it damn near his entire identity--big special interest energy. And Demetri (at first, at least) is lowkey so supportive!!! Like he goes to the all-valley tournament to support and cheer Eli on, despite not having any personal interest in fighting and seeming to think the whole thing is the kind of dumb macho shit that goes against everything his nerd identity stands for XD But he goes to the tournament anyways to clap for his boyfriend best friend’s badassery!!! The real MVP!!! Also special interests in general (not unlike ADHD hyperfixations) tend to be very random, hence why seemingly out of nowhere Eli gets absolutely OBSESSED with karate.

~Just a random little headcanon I have (I think I mentioned it on one of my general headcanon posts), but I like to think after Eli adopts the whole “Hawk” persona, he gets a special interest in birds of prey in general for a little while. Like back before he’s too “tough” for anything even remotely related to “nerd shit,” he watches nature documentaries on raptors and the whole 9 yards and constantly rambles excitedly to Demetri about how badass he thinks they are, and how cool it is that they can “literally hunt mice from the sky and shit” (probably an exact quote from him). Demetri finds this sudden new obsession both amusing and kind of endearing--but as always, he shows an interest in it and accommodates it as best he can. I imagine he’s seen Eli go through a number of special interests over the years, and is a pro by now on how to handle them (my own childhood best friend is a fellow ADHDer, and he was CONSTANTLY getting new hyperfixations--I imagine it was something like that XD).

~The whole “Hawk” persona in general seems pretty autistic, speaking of that--like it’s almost entirely based in mimicry and masking. Like Hawk pretty frequently mimics Johnny’s expressions, body language, and speech patterns, and (at least at first) Miguel’s fighting style. He also starts to mimic a lot of Kreese’s problematic views and general “never accept defeat” attitude in late Season 2 and Season 3, setting his good old Bastardization Arc in full swing. The whole Hawk thing could easily be masking, especially given how exaggerated and overdramatic Eli’s facial expressions, voice, and actions tend to be when he’s trying to be Hawk. When he slips back into “Eli” (or how he was before he adopted the mask), it’s usually around Demetri (i.e. the Doctor Who conversation)--which makes sense, since Demetri “gets” Eli better than most people and Eli doesn’t have to mask or overexaggerate his expressions or statements to communicate effectively with Demetri. They’ve known each other so long and Demetri is so familiar with his body language and mannerisms that Demetri is able to pick up fairly easily on what Eli’s trying to communicate/express without Eli having to work too hard at getting his point across. It’s why Eli’s expressions and body language aren’t nearly as exaggerated around Demetri, even when he’s trying to intimidate him--he knows he doesn’t have to overstate what he’s doing to communicate with Demetri.

~Relating back to the social troubles and social anxiety thing, I think Eli has always had trouble communicating verbally, hence why he’s so quiet at first. And even when he does get more talkative, a lot of it is mimicking other people’s speech patterns and ideas (namely Johnny’s at first)--it doesn’t really feel like him talking. Even alone with Demetri, he tends to prefer to let Demetri do the talking, hence Demetri saying Eli’s a “man of few words.” He often prefers to communicate nonverbally through body language, and when he DOES communicate verbally, he does it somewhat sparingly and chooses his words carefully, not usually bothering to say things he doesn’t mean (if he isn’t masking, anyways). THIS is why Demetri was so ready to accept such a short, concise “I’m sorry for all of it” from Eli instead of a long, drawn-out apology for each individual thing he did wrong. Eli knows he doesn’t have to bother masking to communicate with Demetri, so he’s not going to bother saying something that isn’t genuine. Eli has never been the greatest at articulating his thoughts verbally either, so TRYING to apologize for each individual thing he did to Demetri would be extremely hard for him, and Demetri knows this. This is why he accepts Eli’s apology without question and doesn’t expect him to elaborate on it. He knows Eli’s communicating a lot more than he’s actually saying aloud, if that makes any sense, and he cares more about the entirety of what Eli’s trying to say rather than just the spoken part. And Eli definitely communicates he’s genuinely remorseful through his actions as well--saving Demetri from the Cobras, teaming up with Demetri afterwards to help Deme’s side win the fight, straight up openly BETRAYING Kreese and Cobra Kai AT GREAT PERSONAL RISK TO HIMSELF (especially if Tory’s threat is anything to go by!!!) in order to go back to Demetri. Honestly, given everything he knows about Eli and how he operates, expresses himself, and communicates, I highly doubt Demetri expects at all for Eli to go on a long, detailed rant about how sorry he is and is honestly just grateful to have Eli back in his life.

~I think at the beginning of the show, Demetri puts a lot of work into helping Eli feel as safe and secure as possible--possibly in part because Eli’s autism makes him feel kinda isolated as a “freak” or “outcast” or what have you. Demetri makes an effort to crack jokes and make Eli laugh when no one else will, possibly to help Eli feel more relaxed and at ease. And Demetri’s reluctance to try out karate could be a kind of misguided overprotectiveness on his part--he’s spent a lot of time building up their own little world for them where he can keep Eli relatively comfortable, and he’s worried anything that interferes with that or shakes up the status quo is going to stress out or overwhelm Eli too much. Demetri wants to keep things as they are, because even if it’s not perfect, and they still get bullied on the regular, at least he KNOWS how best to help Eli and help him feel better (or at least he thinks he does) in their current situation (i.e. “I think we’d rather spend our afternoons playing Crucible Control than getting hit in the face”). If they were put into a drastically different new situation, he WOULDN’T know how he should best assist and support Eli with it, and that scares him a lot--because he’s ALWAYS kind of intuitively known how to help Eli, and the thought of anything changing that makes him terrified that without him, Eli is going to get really hurt somehow.

I think that just about covers everything--might add more stuff if I think of it! Definitely go check out @jackonthelongwalk’s blog for more quality, in-depth autistic Eli content!!!

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