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amberjazmyn · 1 year ago

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matthew gray gubler one-shot

𝓲𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓷𝓮 - happy birthday dad! 𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 - dad x matthew, an emotional reunion between father and daughter, happy tears 𝓭𝓮𝓼𝓬𝓻𝓲𝓹𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 - matthew gray gubler's eldest daughter, elouise gubler had been away at college in australia for the last three years when she was seventeen and she was now twenty. and, she had come up with the best birthday present for her dad, surprising him on set for criminal minds. however, to do that, she told no one except for her mum and aunty/godmother paget that she was coming home to surprise her dad on set 𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻'𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽𝓮 - this is the second time i've written this and decided i needed to write an mgg version so here it is, don't @ me! the one-shot will be written in lowercase and if there is any, the flashbacks will be written in italics.

masterlist - - -

twenty-four(ish) 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 | 9 march 2017

elouise gubler tearfully sniffled in an emotion she wasn't sure was joy, relief or sadness. joy, because she was finally able to get on that goddamn three-hour delayed qantas flight back home to her home country of the united states of america, to los angeles from brisbane, australia during a three month break before she'd have to return back to brisbane for her graduation at the university of brisbane. relief, because she was able to spend her father's birthday with him on set for criminal minds since they had reunited at what was the end of her second year at the university of brisbane in 2016 and the cast of criminal minds were finally filming their new season again which would fall on her dad's 37th birthday. and sadness because she had become so close to her roommates back at the university of brisbane that she felt awful that she was leaving to go back home the three months before graduation when some of them weren't able to simply because of money reasons or other reasons.however, the moment she finally sat herself and her friend down in their first-class seats in elouise's old oversized criminal minds hoodie that was for sure first given to her when she was just a wee toddler and white flared jeans and fluffy slides. she sighed in relief, with a smidge of joy and a smidge of sadness as she rested her head against the side of the first class cabin she and her uni bestie purchased as both girls listened intently to the aeroplanes safety instructions even though they knew nothing bad was actually going to happen.

after all the safety instructions and usual announcements had been made, both girls settled back down in their seats, elouise reached for her wired earphones even though it wasn't totaly illegal for her to use her airpods, and plugged them into her iphone and immediately when into her spotify premium. pressing shuffle on her playlist aptly titled "pov; your dad plays dr spencer reid on tv and it's pretty fucking cool", let it be me by ray lamontagne and then blackbird by sarah darling and other songs that reminded elouise of her family back home in america played in her earphones. whilst those songs would always make her cry (and absolutely, positively did on this flight) it also made her smile and be (somewhat) extremely grateful that the flight, although it was delayed by three hours, was twentyish hours, maybe twelve on the non-stop qantas flight that she and her bestie were travelling on before the girls would be back home on american soil (even though los angeles wasn't exactly her hometown). the overly exhausted american girl seemed to fall asleep within minutes and it seemed to stay that way for the entire flight. even her fellow university of brisbane bestie, francesca lloyd, didn't want to disturb her twenty-year-old bestie as it seemed obvious from the tear stains on the gubler girl's face, the slightly distressed wrinkles and scrunched-up nose that it revealed to the flight attendants as well as francesca that this sleep was extremely needed. especially because she'd be surprising her dad on set of criminal minds for his birthday so, no one disturbed her until francesca had to when the plane finally landed back home in los angeles, usa.

elouise was in the deepest sleep, her earphones blasting taylor swift's ft. the chicks soon you'll get better when she felt herself being shaken awake. the girl jolted awake but softly fluttered her eyes open to see the prettiest female eyes, they were the blue eyes of her best friend, francesca. rushing to take out her earphones, francesca waited patiently for her bestie elouise to get herself together before speaking up. with the slightly exhausted smile from the blonde, francesca took that cue to speak up so, she did.

"hey little miss sleepy, sorry to wake you up but the flight attendants were wanting me to let you know that we've finally arrived in los angeles, california..." francesca smiled at her bestie as that seemed to make elouise cry all over again

francesca wasn't bothered by her bestie's emotional reaction since, it was quite normal for elouise to cry and, it was also clear to francesca that elouise had been waiting for the moment of hearing that she was finally home after being away from it for what had felt like an eternity.

francesca let her bestie compose herself before elouise spoke up, "...we're home, franny?" elouise whimpered out as francesca sweetly smiled

"yeah, we're home el. we touched down around ten/fifteen minutes ago, we are currently the last ones from first class to deboard but the flight attendants are still waiting to deboard business and economy classes so, the flight attendants said to me before waking you up that they aren't really in a rush to get us off but, you may wanna message either your mom or dad you have waiting on the other side for you..." francesca trailed off, not realising that whilst she, the brunette had her family waiting for her at baggage claim, elouise did not as the blonde smiled and giggled slightly through her tears

"...i'm surprising my dad for his birthday on the set of criminal minds. it's my dad's 37th birthday today and he's celebrating it on set during filming for the newest season of criminal minds..." elouise giggled, smiling as she just imagined the reactions of her dad matthew and her sister and brothers, saffron, theodore and noah as well as her uncles and aunties

seeing elouise's smile at what francesca knew was her best friend's imaginings of how the gubler girl's family would react to the surprise made francesca smile even more. she knew from the second she met the tall, blonde, hazel-eyed girl during orientation week at the university of brisbane when they were both eighteen that it was elouise gubler, daughter of criminal minds actor matthew gray gubler and his wife, y.n gubler.

"...so, if your surprising your dad and family, whose picking you up then?" francesca giggled as the two girls grabbed their carry-on luggage and awkwardly shimmied out of the plane so they could then leave and truly be back on solid ground, not a plane's ground after what felt like a whole day being in one

"no one, franny, i've had my car in the parking garage the whole three years..." elouise trailed off as francesca's eyes widened, she had kept her car at the airport for a whole three years? that sounded slightly mortifying but, she respected the girl for having so much faith in the undercover parking at lax airport

"...i was asking because i was being picked up by my parents and was curious if you needed a lift since i was going to end up changing quickly out of this outfit since, like you, i was also going to then travel to the criminal minds set to surprise my aunty, erica but i see you've already got your plan so, i'll see you maybe in the next few days since i know after tonight that the cast still have a couple more days of filming before they have some interviews about the new season..." francesca trailed off as elouise's eyes lit up in excitement as she suddenly got an idea

"...well, franny, since we're both going to the set, we could go together? we could meet your parents at baggage claim and then the two of us could take my car together to the set lot since i don't think your parents would be coming to visit erica, will they? besides, i'll be able to introduce you to my parents and properly introduce you to the rest of the cast?" elouise proposed and smiled after francesca shook her head at the question in regards to if francesca's parents were coming to visit erica as francesca's eyes lit up in excitement

"are you serious el?" francesca was in shock, she didn't want to mention it throughout the three years that she's known elouise but, franny was obsessed with criminal minds and had been since she was practically a baby because of her parents who were also criminal minds fans and also because of their familial connection with erica but the girl never had the chance to see her on set until literally today when her parents surprised her with the opportunity and written permission from erica as a graduation present

"dead serious, franny. i can get you through with the pass i have and we can then go to one of the sound stages so we can watch them film afterwards as that's where i'll be after i surprise dad for his birthday," elouise smiled as francesca nearly screamed lax airport down as she wrapped her arms around her best friend

"i'm actually going to cry, el, stop it! i love you so much el, thank you, thank you, thank you!" francesca nearly sobbed as elouise giggled, hugging her best friend back

"don't need to thank me franny, besides, i knew you were a fan of criminal minds from the very day we met because babe, you weren't as slick as you thought you were," elouise giggled, shoving her best friend whose eyes widened but ignored it as they walked through the airport to find baggage claim to find the lloyd's.

after the girls had reunited with mr patrick and mrs nancy lloyd, francesca's parents, and given them her luggage to take back home, elouise and francesca made their way back to elouise's car and were on their way to the criminal minds set lot so elouise could surprise her dad for his 37th birthday.

𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 | 9 march 2017

as the girls changed into their better outfits to celebrate mgg's birthday, elouise surprised her mom (who was still one of two who knew she was coming home) and introduced her to her best friend, francesca and told her that she had cheekily snuck her through security and onto the set and that she was staying with them for the surprise and viewing of the filming. y.n, elouise's mum, was ever so happy and honoured to meet francesca, finally, and was absolutely okay with the idea of the brunette staying with them for the filming and told erica messer, francesca's aunty, so she was aware. and once all that was cleared up, it was basically time for all the gubler and criminal minds kiddos to bombard the criminal minds set to surprise matthew with a birthday cake and a photo for his birthday.

however, obviously, before the gubler and other criminal minds kids could surprise their dad and uncle, they themselves had to be surprised so they could then help an even bigger and better surprise than just their regular birthday cake and photo surprise for matthew. so, they were quickly surprised by their older sister and cousin and it was basically the sweetest thing in the world.

"...do you guys have room for one more criminal minds kid?" elouise giggled as she walked into one of the trailers where the rest of the criminal minds kids were preparing to surprise their dad and uncle screams and excitement erupted from the room as elouise quickly closed the door as the kids ran up to the twenty-year-old. all of them said that, of course, they had room for one more criminal minds kid even though elouise was technically no longer a kid.

after elouise had told the criminal minds kids what her surprise was, they all agreed but, saffron, elouise's younger sister stepped forward and decided to see if she could add in something rather than the changed idea of elouise coming out with the cake but coming out whilst the photo with the cake was being taken. "...wait, wait, i have an even better idea!" saffron spoke up, taking the birthday cake that she had baked back from her older sister as elouise smiled, nodding her head

"absolutely saffy, what is it love?" elouise smiled, excited to hear what the idea was as saffron smiled back

"i think instead of you coming out with all of us and with you holding the cake, i'll still be the one to hold the cake but, how about when dad asks us to take a photo with the cake because we always do that, that's when you come out instead so you surprise him that way and see if he notices it on the big screens that no one's missing from the photo and all the criminal minds kids were in the picture?" saffron proposed as elouise stepped back in shock, but with a smile on her face

"that's actually a much better idea than the original idea with me just coming out with you guys as i hold the cake. that's brilliant, saffy, we'll go with that idea, is that okay with everyone?" elouise smiled, proud of her sister's amazing idea as the younger gubler blushed as all the other criminal minds kiddos seemed to agree with saffron's idea

since all the kiddos had agreed with the latter decision of having elouise walk out during the photo, elouise waited just behind the director's camera as all the kids plus the birthday cake, carried out by the cake's baker, saffron, had already come onto the sound stage to sing happy birthday for matthew.

so, after a couple of minutes, and getting the sign from her sister whilst holding the cake alongside their dad, elouise emerged from behind the director and his camera and just ever-so secretly and smoothly slid into the group family photo. sliding right on the other side of her dad, in between him and aj, saffron on the other side. and then, all they did was wait to see how long it took for matthew to realise who it was standing next to him for aj had quickly realised who had sneakily slid in between her and matthew but kept quiet almost immediately so as to not ruin the surprise.

finally, after the photo had been taken, matthew turned to look over towards aj when he noticed his eldest daughter, elouise was standing right next to him and basically had been the entire time during the photo being taken. almost dropping the cake completely before skillfully, saffron had grabbed it without dropping it, matthew pulled his eldest daughter in for a hug and that was when paget, shemar, thomas, joe and kirsten who hadn't seemed to realise the person that had walked onto the sound stage during the photo was, in fact, their niece, elouise.

matthew hugged elouise for what felt like the longest in history but it also felt like it was the shortest in history. finally, matthew pulled back from the hug as his eldest daughter just giggled, her hands resting on her dad's upper arms, near to his biceps as the criminal minds sound stage just blew up in cheers and applause from the cast and crew for the reunion that basically no one was told about, only mom and the criminal minds children.

"how...what...what are you doing home, elouise?" matthew stammered out as he also gave his prop to shemar since he was closest as elouise giggled

"oh, i didn't tell you i was coming home for your birthday? i thought i did!" elouise joked which caused matthew to jokingly push his eldest which caused the girl to cackle with laughter

elouise then moved to her uncles and aunties to give them hugs since it was clear they were just as surprised as matthew. well, maybe not aj and paget as much since she did quickly see her niece slip in but kept quiet and paget also was in on the secret surprise.

after matthew had composed himself from the shock that was not just the birthday cake surprise from the other criminal minds kiddos but also the surprise of his eldest daughter who had been in brisbane, australia the last three years for university and had actually arrived home, he felt like he could be given back his prop again from shemar.

hugging his daughter again, matthew spoke up, "you did not tell me you were coming home for my birthday! we all thought you were still in brisbane! what are you doing home?" matthew chuckled, wiping away a tear quickly as elouise giggled

"i told mom and aunty paget that i was coming home... and i'm home because i have three months before i am required to go back for my graduation, if you've forgotten, my degree was exactly three years long and, it's been three years dad. i'm getting my degree in two months!" elouise teased her father, who looked betrayed that his wife y.n and paget, the godmother of his daughter knew about elouise's homecoming

"jesus christ, it has been three years, because you're now twenty, holy crap!" matthew breathed out which caused so much more shock making the rest of the criminal minds cast and crew widen their eyes at how old they were as they all laughed and gasped in shock

"yep, i'm twenty dad. that's how time works, just like how you've turned 37 today!" elouise giggled as she recieved a cheeky slap from her dad which caused everyone else to giggle

after the fantastic day of filming of the new criminal minds season for the cast and crew, some video and photos from the day were taken but obviously not posted unless it was very obvious that it didn't reveal anything. elouise then finally posted for her dad's birthday, making people who obviously, were unaware of elouise's surprise not freak out thinking that the girl had forgotten to post or acknowledge her father's 37th birthday.

liked by gublergram,yngubler,francescalloyd,shemarfmoore, thomasgibsonofficial, joemantegna and 999,45k others

elouisegubler happy birthday daddio, 37 looks good on you 🤍

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gublergram i still cannot believe you surprised me on set like that!

elouisegubler gublergram well, you better because it happened dad and there were so many people recording it

yngubler i thought i'd have to yell at your father that you were next to him because he just wasn't looking until he eventually turned but my god, i was stressed that your dad was going to miss you completely

elouisegubler yngubler that is hilarious i did notice for a split second that it looked like you'd need to yell at him but, thankfully he did turn around

pagetpagetgram keeping this secret not just from your dad but also from your uncles and aunties, was so stressful but i'm so glad you're home baby cheeks

elouisegubler pagetpagetgram i bet it was paget but you did a brilliant job at keeping it a secret and i am too even though it's only for three months before i need to go back to graduate

francescalloyd watching you surprise your dad from where i was stood with your mom was the cutest thing in the world but, i have to agree, poor y.n was so stressed

elouisefilan francescalloyd awe, i'm so glad you were allowed to watch the taping of the episode with us, my family literally adore you and we've now adopted you, sorry patrick and nancy

shemarfmoore what a birthday present for your old dad! his face was priceless when he finally noticed it was you

elouisegubler shemarfmoore i know right, uncle shemar? his face was priceless but now i'm already trying to come up with ways to surprise him for his 38th next year lol

thomasgibson this was so much better than just the birthday cake and the original surprise! well done elouise for its perfect execution

elouisegubler thomasgibsonofficial why thank you uncle thomas! i pride myself on that, i needed everything tot be perfect from beginning to end!

joemantegna this was the best surprise i've ever witnessed in my entire life bambina

elouisegubler joemantegna why thank you grandpa joe, i agree!

ajcook the fact i realised quicker than your own dad i think is something i'm always going to tease him for. but what a sweet surprise you were, el

elouisegubler ajcook i know, that was the funniest thing in the world, i'm also going to tease him about that as well and i agree. i just hope i can top it higher than that for every birthday after

kirstenvangsness the fbi couldn't have planned this surprise any better!

elouisegubler kirstenvangsness thank you aunty kirsten! they really couldn't have, they need to take some tips from me in all honesty

criminalmindsfanone omg, no way! you're home elouise! that's why you weren't one of the first people to post about your dad's birthday, you were flying over with francesca to surprise him!

elouisegublercriminalmindsfanone yes, i am home! but only for three months before i have to fly back for my uni graduation but then i'm permanently back home in america unless i decide to move back to australia but, i don't think i will!

just as elouise thought she had the most perfect day surprising her dad on set for criminal minds, she never imagined she'd be talked about in an e! online article about how she surprised her dad on set at a filming for a criminal minds episode. but, she did and it happened and it was posted and she was obsessed over it for the next couple of days.

e!online

ELOUISE GUBLER, DAUGHTER OF CRIMINAL MINDS ACTOR MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER HAS COME HOME FROM UNIVERSITY IN BRISBANE TO SURPRISE HER DAD ON SET FOR HIS 37TH BIRTHDAY DURING FILMING FOR BRAND NEW SEASON OF CRIMINAL MINDS

SASHA CALLAHAN | EDITOR MARCH 9, 2017

elouise gubler, the eldest daughter of criminal minds actor matthew gray gubler and wife, y.n gubler, gave her father the biggest surprise and ultimately, the best birthday present ever for his 37th when she surprised him on set during filming for criminal minds' new season that is set to be released in the upcoming months.

the twenty-year-old is a university student studying for a bachelor's degree in cosmetology twenty-four hours away for the last three years in the lovely australian city of brisbane when she flew back home with a fellow uni of brisbane friend of hers and then joined the rest of her criminal minds family on set, surprising her father for his 37th birthday.

elouise gubler and her best friend from university, francesca lloyd | pic: instagram/ elouisegubler

in elouise's instagram post for her dad's 37th birthday, she posts three photos one of her with her father after the filming, a photo of her and her aunty paget, her godmother and fellow criminal minds cast member, and a photo of elouise and her best friend that she has previously mentioned to have met at the university of milan as they are in the same cosmetology degree in front of the private jet seen in the tv cop series.

her caption reads: "happy birthday, daddio, 37 looks good on you 🤍" which is a very simple caption for the gubler girl as she is usually the one to write paragraphs for occasions like her family members' birthdays and days like mothers and fathers day. however, it seems as though she wanted to keep it sweet and short since she did surprise him on set during the filming alongside the rest of her siblings and criminal minds children.

elouise lily lennon gubler is the eldest daughter of matthew and y.n gubler, born in 1999 to her parents who were actually y.n's sister and her sister's husband who actually also gave birth to elouise's three other siblings, saffron lavender rose, noah matthew gray and theodore andrew gray. so many rumours started when matthew and y.n, who was only his girlfriend at the time, were seen out in 2001 with elouise and the triplets, saffron, noah and theodore that so many people wondered who these three mysterious children were and what their relation was to the model and actor and his girlfriend. the truth coming out not long after these rumours saying that, in the september 11 attacks, y.n's sister and brother-in-law lost their lives and because the children were the godchildren of the gubler's, no time was wasted before the three children were handed over to their godparents, matthew and y.n who have since become their parents. thankfully, no other rumours about the situation were brought up and when matthew and y.n got married the following year, all three kids were given the gubler last name and started calling their godparents their mom and dad and that's how it's been ever since.

elouise gubler | pic: instagram / elouisegubler

it had been three years since matthew, y.n, saffron, noah and theodore had seen their daughter and older sister and since the rest of the criminal minds family had seen their niece, goddaughter and cousin. as previously mentioned, elouise had been in brisbane, australia studying at their university to become a cosmetologist because she is very interested and passionate about beauty, skin, hair and nails. the university of brisbane is also where she met her best friend and fellow criminal minds fan (and family member since lloyd is related to showrunner, erica messer) francesca lloyd who she took to the set with.

according to francesca, who gave us permission to talk with her, said that elouise had graciously, with permission from her aunty, erica messer, the showrunner of criminal minds, let francesca sneak in past secruity with only gubler's pass so they could watch the filming of this season of criminal minds that gave her the opportunity to watch it alongside y.n, elouise, saffron, noah, theodore and the rest of the criminal minds children.

in the comments of elouise's post for her dad's birthday, as a reply to francesca's comment, elouise posted back writing "awe, i'm so glad you were allowed to watch the taping of the episode with us, my family literally adore you and we've now adopted you, sorry patrick and nancy" which clearly indicates that francesca is very well loved by the rest of the gubler and criminal minds family and not just by elouise. and we just assume that the patrick and nancy mentioned in elouise's reply are francesca's parents who are, as mentioned previously, also diehard criminal minds fans.

talking further with francesca, she talked about how she met elouise gubler and how she knew from the moment she met her that she was the daughter of her favourite actor from criminal minds saying this: "i knew from the moment i first met [elouise] that she was matthew's daughter. like, she is basically the carbon copy of her father and, without a doubt is matthew and y.n's daughter. obviously, i was born a couple of months before her so, obviously, i had no idea about the rumours going on about her not being his and y.n's biological daughter because of the fact they were actually the children of y.n's sister but then became theirs after their [the children's] biological parents died in 9/11. but, i'm just glad that the rumours stopped as soon as it was revealed because that could have been damaging for elouise and the triplets..."

continuing with an awkward giggle, francesca shook her head, "we even saw some articles saying that like matthew had cheated on y.n or whatever but like, it was just completely stupid and it shouldn't have even been something that was talked about because it's obvious that all four of them are related to matthew and y.n. sure, the death of their parents forced matthew and y.n into being young parents but, why make a scene out of it just because the father is was a model and starting to act in tv shows,"

elouise gubler and francesca lloyd in brisbane, australia | pic: instagram / elouisegubler

francesca then talked more about her friendship with elouise and said that she's excited to go back to brisbane with elouise so they can graduate together and then start up their own cosmetology stores in their respective hometowns of las vegas and los angeles. she also mentioned however that she's glad to be coming back home with her best friend and glad to be spending time with her best friend's family after talking with them over the phone and on facetime ever so regularly.

welcome home to both girls, elouise and francesca and well done on finishing your bachelor's degrees and we hope that we'll soon see a collab soon about some sort of skin care range very soon!

and the biggest happy 37th birthday to matthew gray gubler, we hope you had the best birthday ever and the best day filming the end of the new criminal minds season.

- - -

this was so much to rewrite but i'm sorry if any info was wrong and was confusing like the kind of mic drop that was finding out that elouise and her triplet siblings were actually the children of y.n's sister and husband until they (matthew and y.n) had to take them in after they died in 9/11 which sort of came out of nowhere but also kind of came from that storyline in criminal minds with agent kate callahan. but i liked it so i thought i'd use it for a mgg version lol.

ok ily bye xx

wc; 5025

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onlyswan · 7 months ago

Note

I heard you asked for some songs that remind us of the new drabble…this is my perfect time to shine hehe

dive - jooyoung

this song reminds me of how the both want each other sooo bad and their first time sleeping together

restless - bibi

the lyrics just describe everything so perfectly 😭

somebody else - the 1975

this is so jk coded

kiss me - dpr live

this is definitely how jk views oc (and it also kinda reminds me of that one scene where jk takes ocs make up off)

snow - josh makazo

I absolutely love this song and I originally planned on gatekeeping it…..but this reminds me so so much of the last scene when they were outside in the snow >_<

intro (end of the world) - ariana grande

when they were talking about dying and eventually having to leave each other….i shed some tears ngl

saw bibi and dpr live went YUPPPPPYUPPPP U GET IT [insert that olivia wilde gif]

listened to these songs omw home from uni thanks for today’s lil jam playlist <333 and for sharing your gatekept song hehehe it’s so pretty i lovelovelove it 🥹 the lyrics made me so emo ily???

AND OFC END OF THE WORLD WHY DIDNT I THINK OF IT IMMEDIATELY OMG ok it’s definitely making it to the playlist :P too many ari songs being iw!coded i feel totally not normal about this knowing jk loves her sm 😭💕

#art’s post office ☁️#in which playlist <3

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silverhallow · 1 year ago

Text

Chapter 45 of When We Were Young:

for those not on ao3

You look like a movie You sound like a song My God this reminds me, of when we were young

19 August 2005

Results day was a nervous day for the entire group. In June everyone finished University whilst Sophie and Peter were finishing their exams and did their best to support all of them, as they knew how important it was for Sophie, Peter, Bea, Roger and Matthew to all get good results.

Sophie would have been a nervous wreck if not for Benedict, he had spent the months leading up the exams and the exam period, sending Sophie little gifts, little things to keep her spirits up and coming home almost every weekend to help calm her down.

He even drove back from Oxford late at night on a Thursday when Sophie had been spiralling all day and Peter had called him very worried about Sophie. She’d had a complete mind blank in class when talking about Prokaryotic DNA in Biology which had been first period and her day only got worse making mistakes in all her classes and she’d been nearly catatonic at lunchtime, by the end of school Peter had found her in the library nearly rocking back and forth muttering to herself.

Peter had managed to get her home but by then he was worried about her, she rarely got anything wrong in class and it rarely sent her in a spiral but today she’d jumped off the cliff and forgotten her parachute so he called Benedict and sent him a photo of Sophie curled up rocking back and forth.

Benedict had jumped straight into the car and driven home to see his girlfriend and coaxed her out of her chaotic state, he remained with her for the whole weekend and made sure she took the weekend off her studies and just relaxed.

Something Richard was very happy and grateful for.

By the time Benedict went back to Oxford on Friday, she felt better and more grounded and was seeing things in perspective.

Thankfully during her exams Benedict had pretty much finished his first year and other than some coursework and one painting, he didn’t really need to be at Uni so he came home for the majority of the time to support Sophie.

The guys in Oxford had already started looking for somewhere new to live, after a year of dealing with Kate and Anthony being very loved up, Benedict and Henry had decided to get their own place, Gen and Lucy were moving in with some friends and Simon was doing the same but his flat was just near where Anthony and Kate had found.

Benedict’s thinking was he and Henry and could just take in turns with swapping with Sophie and Peter who, provided they got into Cambridge had been assigned a three bedroom unisex dorm on campus and both had put down a preference for a female roommate, they’d thought about just applying for a room for the two of them but they thought that would bring about unwanted questions and implications but a male room mate could be threatening to Benedict or Henry so agreed that a female one was the way to go.

Everything was all lined up, they just needed the results.

Kate and Anthony had been helpful with Sophie in her revision, Benedict wasn’t as academic as they were so they’d been able to help her and ask her the questions that she wanted to be tested on and whilst they didn’t understand what she was talking about, at least they were able to enunciate the questions.

When the exams had finished, Anthony had asked their father if they could throw a big party, Sophie and Peter both blew off year 13 Prom in favour of a night with their friends, Roger and Bea had decided to not go either and Anthony and Kate had organised a “Prom” style party at Aubrey Hall.

All the Bridgerton’s had come and even Agatha Danbury, their now former headmistress, came along and brought her grandson Gareth to join in.

Gareth had made friends with Richard Jnr and Gregory almost immediately and the three boys had run around wild most of the afternoon except for when they were roped into dancing.

Richard gave Becky and Edmund a smirk when he saw the way Little Lucy and Gregory were trying to copy Anthony and Kate in a rather exuberant attempt at a waltz and then little Hyacinth dancing and arguing with Gareth.

Simon had danced with Daphne, much to Anthony's annoyance and Colin’s friends Phillip and Michael had been invited. Michael had swooped in and ended up dancing with every female in the room, even flirting with them, and Peter much to Henry’s annoyance. Phillip avoided the dancing for the most part but did end up having a dance with Sophie, whilst Benedict was dancing with little Lucy and she suggested he ask Eloise who he’d been talking to for most of the afternoon.

Whilst Eloise was dancing with Phillip, Colin had asked her friend Penelope for a dance and Sophie just grinned at Benedict who’d asked her what, and she told him to ask her again in a few years time.

It had been a magical afternoon, far better than any school Prom and they’d been able to have all their nearest and dearest with them.

Sophie had never felt happier than she had that day, surrounded by all the people that loved her, that had been with her through thick and thin and loved how everyone in her life was so happy at the moment.

She had her wonderful prince charming by her side, she had her confidence back. She’d learned to take everything with a pinch of salt and try not to take things so personally. Benedict being so laid back and chilled seemed to rub off on her more than it did when they were children.

For old times sake, they’d played a few competitive games of Charades and Pictionary with Kate and Anthony, they lost the Pictionary as one again Benedict was trying to be a perfectionist with his drawing and whilst Sophie was able to guess them better, they just weren’t as quick as Kate and Anthony but when it came to Charades, they completely annihilated them.

It ended up being a 1-1 draw and Michael had suggested a game of Twister to try and determine a winner but as the two couples just blushed and spluttered they decided against it and it was Edmund that suggested an assault course around the garden, playing to both couple’s strengths and weaknesses but requiring them to work together as a team.

They’d rowed across the lake, Anthony and Kate both fell in and swam to the shore but they caught up at the tree where they had to climb it. Benedict was a good climber, Sophie was not so he was having to help her up as they both had to pick and collect an apple from the sturdier of the branches.

The race ended in a draw so the Pall Mall mallets ended up coming out and a couples game was started, Anthony and Kate, Benedict and Sophie, Henry and Peter, Gen and Lucy, Simon paired up with Daphne after she refused to be with Colin who got distracted by food, Colin had huffed and said he’d play with Penelope then, which caused Eloise outrage for choosing her best friend, so she dragged poor Phillip into it and Michael declared that he and Fran would pair up.

Benedict and Sophie ended up winning after Kate and Anthony got into an argument half way around after some unhand tactics from Simon and Colin had landed them in a bush.

They did disappear at some point shortly after their argument only to reemerge with branches in their hair and dirt on their clothes.

As the night drew to a close and everyone disappeared to their rooms, Sophie made the decision to sneak into Benedict’s room, it wasn’t too far away from hers but it just felt like the perfect night after the perfect day.

They’d been talking about their first time together, unbeknownst to Sophie that it would actually be the first time for either of them but it was the most perfect night and Sophie and Benedict had never felt happier or closer to one another.

Though they could have done without being caught in bed by Violet the following morning, it did mean that whenever Sophie stopped with the Bridgerton’s, she no longer expected her to be in her own bed.

Whilst summer wasn’t over yet, today was the most important day of the summer so far, it was going to determine if the conditional offers from Cambridge were to become acceptances.

Benedict had a lot more riding on this than Henry. Peter had applied for Oxford as a back up which required a slightly lower grade than Cambridge but for Sophie, if she didn’t get into Cambridge, it was Glasgow or Edinburgh where she’d be going and the thought of having his girlfriend so far away was almost enough to bring him out in hives.

He had agreed to drive her over to the school that morning as he was actually a little afraid she’d crash the car, she had been shaking most of the day before and throughout the night and there wasn’t much he could do to calm her down.

He knew that it would only stop when she got her results. He had been the same the year before, when he had been waiting for his but there wasn’t as much riding on this.

Scotland and London were really far apart and neither of them were prepared to contemplate what that would mean for them as a couple if they were being separated that far.

Kate and Anthony were coming along, the entire group had agreed to come support Sophie, Peter, Bea and Roger as they were collecting their results.

It was a big moment for their friendship group, things were changing and lives were moving on around them but as they had been there for their GCSEs, they said they’d be there for the A-Levels.

Sophie hadn’t managed food that morning, no matter what she was offered. Benedict and Richard noticed that she was a delicate shade of green. Benedict knew better than to tell her that everything that was going to be okay and that he was sure she’d have smashed it.

Even throughout her exams she’d been determined not to talk about them afterwards. Once they were done she didn’t want to think about them, what she might have done wrong, where she might have lost marks, she didn’t want to think about anything like that and for the entirety of her summer holidays she’d been adamant that she wasn’t talking or thinking about results day but now it was here.

She had no choice.

Her greatest fear was that she’d failed them all, that no University would take her…

She was shaking all the way over to the school, Benedict was just talking to her, telling her about Hyacinth’s latest prank on Gregory and how she’d gotten Lucy involved when they were hanging out last week but Sophie was barely listening.

She was desperately trying not to throw up.

Peter had messaged to confirm the time they were meeting, Bea and Roger had sent very breezy “happy results day” text messages that had very nearly sent her spiralling.

Benedict had messaged both of his cousin’s with very rude messages about upsetting Sophie.

By the time they reached the school Sophie was positively green and shaking like bambi on Ice. something Roger was about to point out but Kate punched him as soon as the word Bambi reached his lips.

“Shall we?” Peter said, taking Benedict’s place holding Sophie up. He wasn’t allowed in the school to support her as it was students only and they had to wait outside for them and both boys knew there was no way that Sophie would make it in to get her results on her own without support.

After 20 minutes of anxious waiting, Bea, Roger, Peter and Sophie had all come back outside with their envelopes in their hands shaking. Peter had a hold of Sophie’s who was now a delicate shade of white.

“Have you…?”

“Not yet… we thought it was best to wait til we got outside before Soph passed out” Bea said sympathetically.

Benedict had gone over to his girlfriend and pulled her into his arms and kissed her head “it’s okay” he said to her and she just shook her head.

“Can… can… someone… I… I can’t…” Sophie said about her results just staring blankly at the brown envelope.

Kate rolled her eyes affectionately and chuckled as she held her hand out for the papers from Peter “give it here…”

“After three?” Bea said, looking around at the group who nodded.

“3…2…1” Anthony said watching over Kate’s shoulder to see Sophie’s results, he knew Benedict was just as nervous as Sophie, a lot was riding on this and he didn’t want to see his brother or Sophie heartbroken if it didn’t go to plan.

She needed A’s. That was it… anything more was a bonus.

The sound of ripping paper echoed through the group and there was silence for a few seconds before Roger was the first to break it with a triumphant yell.

“I did it!!” he cried out.

“Me too!!” Bea yelled as she hugged her cousin.

“Pete?” Henry asked his boyfriend tentatively,

“I…” he stammered and Henry looked over his shoulder “2 As and an A Star!! Well done!!” he cried as he picked him up and swung him around excitedly, kissing him before everyone realised Kate and Anthony hadn’t said anything and Sophie looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“For fuck sake just tell us!” Benedict snapped, the anticipation getting the better of him and triggering his anger.

“Sophia Maria Gunningworth you have achieved…” Kate said, unable to help herself, she had had a suspicion that these would have been Sophie’s results but it was just that little bit sweeter being able to tease Benedict and she looked at Anthony who nodded at her

“3 A STARS!” Anthony and Kate yelled together.

The screaming and jubilation that rang out in the group could have woken the dead.

Everyone had gotten the results they needed to get into Cambridge, things were going in the right direction.

Everyone piled into a big hug around Sophie and Benedict, laughing and cheering at the results.

Cambridge may be a little bit away from Oxford but they were all moving on, relationships were formed and it felt like this was the start of the rest of their lives.

Their friendships had been through a lot, death, bullies, trauma and abuse and they’d all stuck together through thick and thin and now they were moving onto the next adventure together.

Their childhoods were over, they were moving further into adulthood where relationships would get stronger, marriages and babies would eventually happen but as the group laughed and cried with happiness, they all knew one thing.

They would look back on these days with fondness and remember all of the things from When they Were Young as they moved on…

But for now…

They were celebrating, and the next adventures?

Well, those stories have yet to be written.

#when we were young #final chapter #bridgerton #benedict bridgerton #sophie beckett #Kate sharma #anthony bridgerton #Kanthony #benophie

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amberswilddreams · 20 days ago

Text

happy birthday dad!🫶

pairing : nicky byrne x fem!daughter byrne reader

summary : nicky byrne's eldest daughter, pressley byrne had been away at university in australia for the last three years and only now, three years later, was able to come home due to covid restrictions. and it was also her dad's birthday so, there was no way she'd miss out on surprising her old man for his 44th birthday.

warnings : dad x nicky, an emotional reunion between father and daughter, happy tears

a/n : the one-shot will be written in lowercase and flashbacks, if any, will be written in italics.

𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 | 8 october 2022 | brisbane, queensland

pressley byrne was tearful, in an emotion she wasn't sure was joy, relief or sadness. joy, because she was finally able to get on that goddamn three-hour delayed aer lingus flight back home to her home country of ireland, dublin specifically, from brisbane, queensland australia after four whole years, two of them being stuck there due to coronavirus (in 2020 and 2021). relief, because she was able to spend her father's birthday with him at home during a brief break from westlife's wild dreams tour and sadness because she felt awful that she had become so close to her roommates back at the university of queensland that she felt sick to her stomach that she was one of the very few international university students who were able to travel back home after the whole coronavirus, lockdown situation that the world had been circumnavigating the last couple of years after they had all graduated. however, the moment she finally sat down, alongside her best friend, alania, a fellow international student of the university of queensland in their first-class seats as pressley wore her old oversized westlife hoodie that was for sure first given to her when she was just a wee toddler paired with white flared jeans and fluffy slides. she sighed in relief, with a smidge of joy and a smidge of sadness as she rested her head against the side of the first class cabin she and alania purchased as both girls listened intently to the aeroplanes safety instructions even though they knew nothing bad was actually going to happen.

after all the safety instructions and usual announcements had been made, both girls settled back down in their seats, pressley reached for her wired earphones even though it wasn't totally illegal for her to use her airpods, and plugged them into her iphone and immediately went into her spotify premium. pressing shuffle on her playlist, home by westlife and then you raise me up also by westlife and other songs that reminded pressley of her family back home in ireland played in her earphones. whilst those songs would always make her cry (and absolutely, positively did on this flight) it also made her smile and be extremely grateful that the flight, although it was delayed by three hours and was an entire 24-hour flight, they were finally on the plane and on their way home on irish soil in dublin. the overly exhausted irish girl seemed to fall asleep within minutes and it seemed to stay that way for the entire flight. even her fellow uni best friend, alania callahan, didn't want to disturb her twenty-year-old best friend as it seemed obvious from the tear stains on the byrne girl's face, the slightly distressed wrinkles and scrunched-up nose that she shared with her dad that it revealed to the flight attendants as well as alania that this sleep was extremely needed. especially because she'd be surprising not just her dad for his birthday but also everyone else so, no one disturbed her until alania had to when the plane landed back home in dublin, ireland.

pressley was in the deepest sleep, her earphones blasting westlife's version of michael buble's hit song home when she felt herself being shaken awake. the girl jolted awake but softly fluttered her eyes open to see the prettiest female eyes, they were the blue eyes of her bestie, alania. rushing to take out her earphones, alania gestured for the girl to breathe and go slow as pressley listened and she took her time before alania spoke up. with the slightly exhausted smile from the blonde, alania took that cue to speak up so, she did.

"hey little miss sleepy, sorry to wake you up honey but the flight attendants were wanting me to let you know that we've finally arrived back home in dublin..." alania smiled at her bestie as that seemed to make pressley teary-eyed and on the verge of tears

alania wasn't bothered by her bestie's emotional reaction since, it was quite normal for pressley to cry and, it was also clear to alania that pressley had been waiting for the moment of hearing that she was finally home after being away from it for what had felt like an eternity, just like alania.

alania let her best friend compose herself before pressley spoke up, "...we're home, alania?" pressley whimpered out as alania sweetly smiled

"yeah, we're home press. we touched down around ten/fifteen minutes ago, we are currently the last ones from first class to deboard but the flight attendants are still waiting to deboard business and economy classes so, the flight attendants said to me before waking you up that they aren't really in a rush to get us off but...wait, you never told me whos picking you up..." alania was knee deep in repeating what she was told to pressley when she remembered that she was never told who was picking pressley up as pressley smiled and giggled slightly through her tears

"...oh, yeah, sorry, i...um, i'm surprising my family, but my dad especially for his birthday. it's his 44th birthday today and westlife is on a small break from their wild dreams tour before returning back for their asia leg in mid-november..." pressley giggled, smiling as she just imagined the reactions of her dad nicky and her brothers and sister, rocco, jay and gia along with the reactions from the rest of her westlife family, shane, mark and kian and the reaction of their kids as well

seeing pressley's smile at what alania knew was her best friend's imaginings of how the byrne girl's family would react to the surprise made alania smile even more. she had been friends with pressley and her family since they were basically in diapers after their parents met at an event for pressley's grandfather, bertie ahern, who was the irish prime minister at the time and since then, the byrne's and callahan's had been the best of friends, that friendship continuing on in their children.

"...so, if you're surprising the whole family, who's picking you up then?" alania giggled as the two girls grabbed their carry-on luggage and awkwardly shimmied out of the plane so they could then leave and truly be back on solid ground, not a plane's ground after what felt like a whole year of being in one

"no one, alania, did you forget that we drove here and left my car in the parking garage the whole four years..." pressley trailed off as alania suddenly face palmed, remembering all of a sudden as the two girls giggled - glad that they had faith in the undercover parking at dublin airport

"...how did i forget that? we came together cause i stayed at your house overnight--i'm a fucking idiot!" alania chuckled as pressley shook her head and giggled at her childhood best friend

"come on alania! let's go home, it's time for us to surprise our families!" pressley smiled, holding her hand out for her best friend to grab which she did as the fellow blonde girl nodded her head with a smile and took her best friends hand with hers

𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 | 8 october 2022 | dublin, ireland

pressley had just helped alania surprise her family and, it was the sweetest moment ever, especially when alania's parents gina and alexander basically pulled her into joining the family group hug and it only made her even more excited to surprise her own family, her dad most especially. with gina and alexander callahan's help and the help of alania, it was pressley's time to surprise her own family. and the first person to be surprised was georgina, pressley's mum.

so, after a couple of moments of gina, alania's mum, convincing georgina to come outside to the front of the house on her own, georgina made her way outside and the look on both georgina and pressley's faces when they saw each other was the sweetest in the world.

alania filmed as pressley waited in anxious wait for her mum to come outside to the front of the house after gina sent what could be perceived as a suspicious text. pressley had just turned around to smile at alania and her phone when she heard her mum's voice...

"...pressley? what...what are you doing home?" georgina's voice was shaky and tearful as pressley turned around and only just opened her arms for a hug when georgina rushed over to pull her eldest daughter in for a hug

"surprise mam!" pressley whispered as she started to giggle as she felt herself breathing properly again as she smiled into her mum's shoulder

georgina held her heart tightly as she moved out of the hug, one of her hands still holding pressley's, "you didn't tell us you'd be home for your dad's birthday!" she whispered, having an inkling as to that being the entire reason why pressley was surprising her whole family rather than just nicky

"because i wanted to surprise all of you, not just dad. he isn't that subtle when asking for birthday wishes mam," pressley giggles as does georgina, alania, alexander and gina who are all filming from different angles because, you know, angles

"of course he isn't, he's never been subtle. oh, i'm so glad you're home, press! it's been way too long!" georgina whispered, hugging her eldest child again

"it really has! i'm just glad that alania and i had the opportunity to come home because so many other international, especially irish, students at the uni are still stuck back in brisbane!" pressley explained as georgina looked shocked as alania nodded her head in agreement, the girl stopped filming a moments earlier

a few minutes went by when, with the help of georgina, alania, gina and alexander, pressley surprised her twin brothers, rocco and jay at rocco's soccer practice that weirdly enough, their dad, who was soccer crazy, wasn't attending because he was celebrating his birthday with the westlife lads.

thankfully, rocco's soccer coach, another good friend of the byrne family, recognised the surprise and that pressley had returned home and gave a subtle head nod, letting the older sister know that she could surprise rocco. however, it seemed as if jay, rocco's twin brother, had noticed pressley just a minute or two quicker.

"...pressley!" jay squeaked out, jumping from the wired fence he was sitting atop and rushing over to the other side of the soccer pitch to his older sister who stood smiling

her speed picked up as she noticed the look on her brother's face, he was seconds from crying and as though his feet couldn't run fast enough to reach her so, she started to run towards him as well. finally, after what felt like the brother and sister had been running forever, they finally reached each other and jay and pressley byrne collided with each other.

jumping into his sister's arms, even though he was a full-on teenager, at sixteen, he didn't care as it had been at least four or so years since he had last seen her that wasn't over the phone on facetime.

"what are you doing home?" he sniffled with a small giggle as pressley smiled, pulling away and giving her brother a sweet kiss on the head

"me and alania got lucky as two of very few international students who were able to come home and also, i couldn't resist surprising dad for his birthday, of course!" pressley giggled at the end, making jay giggle too, even with the tears dripping down his cheeks

"do you need to go back to graduate?" jay then questioned as the laughter from the soccer team started occurring out of the blue - rocco had finally realised where his twin brother was and that his older sister was home

and, that was when another screech of pressley's name was heard, "pressley!" her heart almost exploded at how her younger brothers always got so excited and emotional when she came home as she turned around, waiting for her brother to run over to her

similar to jay, rocco started getting teary eyed as he ran because he felt like he couldn't run quick enough so, like she did with jay, pressley started to run over to rocco. thankfully though, pressley and rocco didn't stray too far from jay who seemed like he was still in shock from this whole reunion thing, after rocco and pressley hugged, they immediately pulled jay in as they had a group hug.

"what are you doing here? i thought you couldn't get home because of covid?" rocco chuckled, wiping off a tear from his cheek as pressley smiled, shaking her head

"no, i was lucky, as was alania--"

"--alania's home as well?!" rocco squealed in even more excitement as pressley and jay giggled, pressley nodding her head

"yes, she is! she's actually filming this whole thing!" pressley giggled as alania rushed over from a little bush that she had been filming behind, the twins smiling as they rushed to give the girl a hug

after the twins reunited with alania, they then chatted with their older sister a little bit more, wondering if gia, their younger sister and their dad knew only to find out pressley was surprising the whole family.

now that mum, rocco and jay were surprised, the only two people that needed to be surprised were little sister gia and their dad nicky. however, usually, dad would be the person to pick gia up after irish dancing, however, georgina managed to convince her husband that she was going to pick up gia when really, it was actually going to be pressley and alania that were going to be picking gia up. thankfully, the irish dance studio that eight-year-old gia danced at was the very same one that pressley and alania danced at so, they would be allowed to pick up gia instead of nicky or georgina since the two girls were very well known at the dance studio.

and once again, alania was filming as the girls walked into the irish dance studio to pick up gia, who was around five when pressley first left for uni and was now eight years old, nearly nine. you would think that a young girl of gia's age, who hadn't seen their older sister since they were five, wouldn't remember them but, that couldn't be said for little gia byrne...

...pressley had barely walked in when little gia screamed at the top of her lungs and ran over to her older sister.

"pressley!!!" gia screamed, not even wanting to say goodbye to her dance teacher who smiled as they saw the reason why gia was screaming after they had registered the name that the girl had screamed out

kneeling down to the ground with her arms wide open, pressley waited for her little sister to jump into her arms so she could pick her up and twirl her around, "gia!!!" pressley cheered, matching her sister's enthusiasm and excitement as she hugged gia as tightly as possible

then, what gia said next made everyone coo in adorableness, "i missed you, pressley!" gia couldn't have been happier at the end of her irish dancing lesson, not so upset that it wasn't her daddy picking her up since she would see him later since she could tell that pressley wouldn't just surprise one person in the family

"i missed you too, gia! you've gotten so big! when i last saw you, you were like, five! now you're eight years old! in fact, you're nearly nine!" pressley giggled as gia nodded her head in excitement, happy as ever that pressley remembered that she was no longer a little girl anymore but a big girl

"i know! i'm glad you're home though, because it's daddy's birthday today! he's been wanting you to come home for agesss!" gia drawn out at the end as that got everyone giggling, including alania, who gia noticed shortly after

"alania!" gia rushed over to the other blonde girl and gave her a hug

and then, it was time for the all-important surprise. the main surprise, her dad nicky!

it had been quickly decided that georgina would tell the wives and husband of the other three westlife lads, gillian, jodi and cailean. just so they knew that pressley was home surprising nicky and that they could tell their kids as well. and this was so the last surprise was nicky and then pressley's uncles, kian, mark and shane.

and, it worked out because they decided to go out to dinner for nicky's birthday and immediately, georgina wanted to take some group shots, some family shots and then during the shots of nicky with his westlife bandmates, pressley quickly slid in standing behind her dad with her arms around him. and this was the funniest thing because, nicky just smiled, not hesitating to rest his hands over the top of the hands that were his daughter's, not that he knew that. which made georgina giggle but managed to keep it quiet enough that nicky didn't question it and the photos continued. that was until georgina showed nicky, kian, shane and mark the photos. it didn't take kian, shane and mark long to realise that pressley had joined them for the photo and was the person with their arms around nicky but kept quiet so their best friend could get surprised without it being ruined.

and it wasn't because moments later, nicky looked at the photo again. his eyes wide and then turned around to see his eldest daughter, pressley standing right behind him, with her best friend alania behind her filming the reunion.

"pressley?! what on earth are you doing here?!" nicky's voice shook as he stood up out of his seat at the restaurant and pulled his eldest in for a hug as pressley giggled

"you aren't as subtle with your birthday wishes, like always!" pressley simply said as she hugged her dad as tightly as she could, feeling like she could finally breathe properly now that she was finally reunited with her whole family again

pressley made everyone laugh with her comment as nicky couldn't help but laugh at it either as he nodded his head in agreement, "i'm never subtle, pressley!" he mumbled as it was obvious to pressley that her dad could breathe properly again now that his family was back together again

after one more tight squeeze, pressley then moved to her three uncles, mark, shane and kian to give them hugs since it was clear they were also surprised, even though they noticed her in the background first.

after nicky had composed himself from the shock that was the surprise of his eldest daughter coming home after four years away in australia, he felt like he was ready to have an actual conversation with his daughter again.

hugging her again, nicky spoke up, "did you just get home today?" nicky chuckled, wiping away a tear as pressley giggled

"yeah, me and alania landed today, we were just two of very few that were allowed to leave, we'll still have to go back at some point for our graduation but, hopefully by then it'll be less restricted," pressley explained as nicky nodded his head in understanding as he smiled at alania who he then stood up to give a hug to as she still filmed

alania smiled, "hey nicky, happy birthday!" nicky gave her a kiss on the head which made alania blush slightly

"hey alania, welcome back darling and thank you, it is a happy birthday," nicky chuckled as alania smiled back with a head nod, understanding that it was easily his best birthday with all of his children home with him

after a few more photos that had been taken outside of the father and daughter and everyone else, their group had finally picked out what they wanted to eat and ordered it.

after the fantastic birthday dinner and even more fantastic birthday cake for nicky, videos and photos from the birthday was posted everywhere. including posts from her parents and uncles but, she still hadn't posted any but, because they had just come back home, pressley finally posted for her dad's birthday. just so those who didn't know the girl had come home (not that anyone did), wouldn't freak out thinking the girl had forgotten to post or acknowledge her father's 44th birthday.

liked by nickybyrneinsta, georginaahernbyrne, shanefilanofficial, kianegan, alaniacallahan and 7k others

pressleybyrne happy 44 daddy, you still look absolutely fire even though you're no longer in your twenties 🤍

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nickybyrneinsta you are never gonna let me live this down are you?

nickybyrneinsta seriously though pressley, thank you so much, this was the best birthday i could have ever dreamt of having 🤍

pressleybyrne nickybyrneinsta it was my pleasure dad, i'm glad i could give you your birthday wish 🤍

georginaahernbyrne the look on your father's face when he realised it was you in the photo, and not just some random person with their arms around him is always going to be priceless

pressleybyrne georginaahernbyrne i know! that was my fear as well that he'd turn around to tell me to get the heck off him but, he didn't!

shanefilanofficial i have to say pressley, how on earth are you going to top this birthday present? in all seriousness though, nicky's reaction was priceless!

pressleybyrne shanefilanofficial honestly uncle shane, i have got no clue whatsoever so, i think i may need some help for the first time in forever! and, i know, i can't stop watching the video!

kianegan i've never seen your dad so shocked before! you are for sure the queen of surprising people for their birthdays, lemme tell you that, pressley!

pressleybyrne kianegan thank uncle kian, i honestly haven't either! and thank you, thank you, however, i think i may start asking for help after this year!

alaniacallahan lol, "you still look fire even though you're no longer in your twenties", what a slow burn that is for your old man, press!

pressleybyrne alaniacallahan hahaha, you know i had to do it, alania!

markusmoments nicky's reaction was the best i had ever seen in ages!

pressleybyrne markusmoments it really was! he was not expecting it at all!

jodialbert your old man's reaction to you being home was the sweetest in the world!

pressleybyrne jodialbert i know, it was so adorable!

caileano what the fuck are you going to do for your dad's 45th next year?! there is no way you could top this!

pressleybyrne caileano i have got no idea! and i agree, i don't know if i am able to top this!

gillianfilansligo the fbi couldn't have planned this any better and neither could the gardai!

pressleybyrne gillianfilansligo i agree aunty gillian!

westlifertwo omg i'm gonna cry! i was so worried you had forgotten about your dad's birthday, press! you were just on your way to surprise him, i'm gonna cry!

pressleybyrne westlifertwo don't cry, you'll make me cry! and don't worry, i'd never forget my dad's birthday because i was just on my way to surprise him!

just as pressley thought she had the most perfect day surprising her dad and family for her dad's birthday, she never imagined she'd be talked about in a goss.ie article about how she surprised her dad. but, she did and it happened and it was posted and she was obsessed over it for the next couple of days.

goss.ie

PRESSLEY BYRNE, DAUGHTER OF WESTLIFE LEGEND NICKY BYRNE HAS COME HOME FROM UNIVERSITY IN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA AFTER FOUR YEARS TO SURPRISE HER DAD FOR HIS 44TH BIRTHDAY AT BIRTHDAY DINNER

MAIREAD O'HALLORAN | EDITOR OCTOBER 8, 2022

pressley byrne, the eldest daughter of westlife member nicky byrne and his wife georgina byrne, gave her father the biggest surprise and ultimately, the best birthday present ever for his 44th birthday. and it was when she surprised him during a birthday dinner for his birthday as the band has a small break in the middle of their wild dreams tour.

the twenty-year-old is a university student studying for a bachelor's degree in film and television all the way in brisbane, queensland, australia where she had been the last four years, two of them due to the coronavirus pandemic. it was mentioned in a video taken by pressley's family friend, alania callahan, who is a fellow film and television university student with pressley, that the two girls were two of very few given permission to fly home by the university of queensland for her dad's birthday which is what inspired her to surprise her father for this 44th birthday.

pressley byrne and her childhood best friend, alania callahan in brisbane, australia | pic: instagram/pressleybyrne

in pressley's instagram post for her dad's 44th birthday, she posts three photos. one of her with her father at a restaurant, a photo of her all dressed up for the dinner and then another photo of her at the airport, taken by alania callahan, who is a very well known friend to the entire byrne family, not just pressley. and this is due to the relationship alania's parents has with pressley's grandfather, bertie ahern, former irish prime minister.

her caption reads: "happy 44 daddy, you still look absolutely fire even though you're no longer in your twenties 🤍" which is a very simple caption for the byrne girl as she is usually the one to write paragraphs for occasions like her family members' birthdays and days like mothers and fathers day. however, the eldest byrne daughter didn't forget the little slow burn that she always gives her dad for every birthday post. this year mentioning that he is no longer in his twenties but still looks absolutely fire. but, it seems as though she wanted to keep it short, sweet and simple since she did surprise him at dinner in front of so many people after it was shown she had surprised the rest of her family.

pressley gillian byrne is the eldest daughter of nicky and georgina byrne, born in 2003 when westlife was in what was very well known to be their prime as a band but just before they would become the westlife we all know and love today as a four-piece. pressley is the older sister to nicky and georgina's three other children, rocco bertie, jay nicky and gia byrne. at the beginning of little pressley's life, there were tons of rumours about how people thought that pressley couldn't dare be the daughter of nicky and georgina since they weren't even married, only getting engaged the christmas the year prior in 2002. however, it was indeed confirmed by louis walsh, westlife's manager and bertie ahern, georgina's dad and nicky's father-in-law that georgina was pregnant with her and nicky's first baby. causing only a mild controversy, everyone cheered in the excitement that nicky was becoming a father. then, when pressley was born, everyone rejoiced that little pressley gillian was healthy and then in august of 2003, pressley's parents got married in france when she was only a few months old.

pressley byrne | pic: instagram/pressleybyrne

it had been four years since nicky, georgina, rocco, jay and gia had seen their daughter and older sister and since the rest of the westlife family had seen their niece and cousin. as previously mentioned, pressley had been in queensland, australia studying at their university for a degree in film and television because she had always loved acting and performing. the university of queensland is also where her childhood best friend alania callahan studied with her.

alania, who gave me permission to talk with her, said that she's been friends with pressley and the entire byrne family ever since she could remember. because one day, during an event that bertie ahern was hosting, both alania and pressley's parents were attending the event and met, hitting it off straight away with each other. so, since that day the byrne's and callahan's met, the friendship continued and then moved on to their children, which is how pressley and alania's friendship became so strong. alania was also not one to hide or shy away from her love for her best friend's dad and his band, westlife when i questioned her on their friendship and the families relationship. she explained that being friends with nicky and georgina byrne feels like she has an extra set of parents, especially considering that nicky and georgina are the godparents of alania and alania's parents, gina and alexander callahan are the godparents of pressley, it only makes sense for alania to mention that to us in our conversation with her.

in the comments of pressley's post for her dad's birthday, alania said quote, "lol, "you still look fire even though you're no longer in your twenties", what a slow burn that is for your old man, press!" which clearly indicates the love that alania not only has for her best friend pressley but also for her best friends dad nicky. and pressley responded back saying quote, "hahaha, you know i had to do it, alania!" which clearly states that it's now become a tradition for pressley to roast her dad at least once during her birthday posts for her dad. which is the way that pressley shows love to her dad that's just special to the father and daughter.

talking further with alania, she talked about her first memory with pressley byrne at a westlife concert back in 2012, at croke park which was also the band's final show until their reunion in 2019, saying quote: "i remember the first ever time i was front row at a westlife concert, it was back in 2012 at croker for westlife's final ever gig on the 23rd of june and it was the encore. so, we had all just bawled our eyes out through their farewell speeches and you raise me up when me, pressley, some other family members, as well as the westwives of kian, shane and nicky since mark was single at the time, were in front of the barricade in the front row since we were originally up in the boxes near the back where the "w" stage was in the middle of the stadium. and their first song of the encore was world of our own and we were just jamming, having the times of our lives, turning around to see gillian, jodi and georgina having the time of their lives as they all sang and danced to world of our own. holding each other, bless, and then the song finishes and, i then realised, they hadn't played flying without wings yet [...] i was devastated because it's my favourite song of theirs only to realise that the instrumental of the next song was indeed flying without wings when all of a sudden, the previous mood that was happy and joyful just, died all of a sudden and i could see the tears building in pressley's eyes as well as gina's, gillian's and jodi's and i just felt my own heart collapse..."

continuing with a giggle, thinking she sounds insane which, i immediately tell her she doesn't, "...and pressley starts to cry because basically, straight away, within a few minutes of shane starting to sing flying, kian's basically bawling his eyes out only for me to turn next to me to see that jodi, who was literally cradling gillian and georgina on each side of her, was also bawling her eyes out which made kian absolutely lose it and bawl his eyes out. and, i could barely look at pressley during the whole thing because i knew how difficult this was and we were only like, seven give or take so, we were having a lot of "big" feelings as it's now known for such small little girls that it was truly overwhelming but unforgettable. and, seeing nicky and pressley run up to each other afterwards as they cried together was heartbreaking and so bittersweet because i could tell how much both nicky and pressley were going to miss daddy being in westlife,"

pressley byrne and alania callahan in brisbane, australia | pic: instagram/pressleybyrne

alania then talked to me more about her friendship with pressley and the byrne's which, if you guys are lucky, will be released publically soon. also mentioning that she is excited to go back to brisbane, queensland with pressley so they can graduate together and then come back home to focus on some musical auditions. she also mentioned however that she's glad to be coming back home with her best friend and glad to be spending time with her best friend's family after being away for so long due to the coronavirus pandemic. in which kept them from coming home a year earlier like supposed to, having to rely on facetime and phone calls to keep in touch.

welcome home pressley and alania, congratulations on finishing your bachelor's degrees and we cannot wait to see you guys performing on stage very soon!

and, of course, we cannot forget, the happiest 44th birthday to nicky byrne, we hope you had the best birthday ever and hope you enjoy the rest of the wild dreams tour.

for those wanting last-minute tickets for any of westlife's remaining shows for their wild dreams tour, check out their website or their social media for any announcements they may post about adding new tour dates.

fin

oof love it when i include a cheeky article in my fics!

#westlife #nicky byrne #fluff #kian egan #mark feehily #shane filan

0 notes

collecting--stardust · 8 months ago

Note

For the 3 songs ask: 2, 19, 20, 26 and 30

Hi waru 🫶🏻 Took me long to get this done so sorry about that hhh

Since the list is quite long, I put it under the keep reading tag(?)!

2. Three last songs that you listened to.

- Get a Guitar by RIIZE.

- Last Breath by Ari Abdul.

- 9+1# by Kim Jaejoong.

19. Three songs that are your guilty pleasure.

- Closer by Nine Inch Nails. Just.. look at the lyrics it's self explanatory.

- Bang Bang Bang Bang by Soho Dolls. Played it once by accident and my twin was like ??? what song is this, change it!! And since then I listened to it on my own lol Plus it's about school shooting too so yeah

- Blow by Bruno Mars, Chris Stapleton and Ed Sheeran. The lyrics are extremely not public friendly but hey it's a bop!

20. Three songs that remind you of the person that sends this one.

- The Interstellar Experience by Tony Ann. Reminds me of hope, sunset and breeze. You have a calming presence that people seek for consolation after a tough day - a moment of freedom from the harsh reality? I don't know I'm bad at words hhh

- Comfort by Nicholas Galitzine. I don't know, but I felt like you tend to put others first instead of yourself and it had caused you to feel hurt. You are selfless and I hope that wonderful trait of yours will not be taken advantage by others.

- One Step At A Time by Jordin Sparks. Just a song that I hope will help to remind you to take a breather when you need it and give you strength when you face any tough days!

26. Three favourite non-english songs.

This is a tough one because I listen to non-english songs more than English songs at times 😂 Well, I'll just list songs that I have a phase on then!

- Certamente by Madreblu. I listen to this song for the first time when it played randomly on YouTube and it changed my life. I listen to this song a lot on my 2nd year of uni especially after a bad day during the clinical posting and it always comfort me.

- Katakoi (One Sided Love) by Akiko Shikata. I have bad memories but I remember that my twin and I have a huge Akiko shikata phase when we are 10 years old for a reason that I don't even remember. She has a lot of bops but Katakoi is a song that always hits me in the feels every single time.

- 위로 (Beautiful Jeopardy) by Nell. I have a lot of Nell songs phase especially the songs in the Slip Away album. But in recent years I didn't really know or listen to new songs because I've been busy and there's too many new songs. This song, however, reminds me why Nell is such a special band in my heart and that song is just so beautiful. I keep on wondering whether I want to put Standing In The Rain or Beautiful Jeopardy on the list but since this song has only Korean lyrics, I decided to go with this song ^^

30. Three songs you really want your followers to know.

There's too many songs that I would like to recommend so I'll just choose songs that I immediately think of then!

- Bolero by TVXQ. (Or Tohoshinki since that's the name they used when they promote in Japan lol). So I am a huge Cassiopeia especially in their OT5 era and I love their songs especially their Japanese songs. Unfortunately people only know their popular songs like Rising Sun, Mirotic or Hug which are bops btw but they have wonderful ballad songs that need more recognition! (I would also recommend My Destiny, 9095 and Heart Mind and Soul!)

- 겨울이 간다 (Goodbye Winter) by Day6. So Day6 is the main reason I survived high school so I barely listen to their old discography now as it reminds me of the horrible past lol But when their songs come out in shuffle, I was blown away and once again fall in love with them (though I still cannot listen to Live Your Life in the same way 😔). This song is one of the first songs of theirs that I listen to and it really makes me sad that it is so underrated. (Will also recommend I Need Somebody, Not Mine, Like a Flowing Wind and Still if this songs are right up your alley!)

- Who Are You? by Bad Omens. This listen comes out in shuffle when I was on the way to my PM shift and I was anxious the whole shift because I can't wait to go back to college and listen to it again lol It's that good, to me at least and that is why its one of my top songs of the year according to YouTube Music (yes, I don't use Spotify cause I don't really like the format and the fact that I can't skip songs too often). I think they are quite underrated so I would like to introduce them to you guys! (Will also recommend Bad Decisions, The Grey and the Death of Peace of Mind!)

#i have a chronic problem of writing something and then leave it on draft and forgetting it 💀#found a few asks that i havent answered and its in my draft for so long and i need to dig for the post that has the questions and NWHSKDJD #so sorry waru i didnt mean to let it marinate for so long 😭😭😭 i appreciate it so much im just has terrible short term memory #also this is fun!! i really love music 😙#la réponse 💗

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ncitygirls · 3 years ago

Text

yours - jaemin x f reader

fluff, smut, bffs2lovers, 3k

before joining you to your cousin’s wedding, jaemin had made a big deal about not being properly invited. as always, mark kept true to his habit of innocently causing trouble when it suited him. ‘i’m like family! where’s my invite!’ but it was hard to fault mark, because of course jaemin had been invited. somehow, his parents neglected to inform him that your cousin had rightfully assumed jaemin would know he was included in the na family’s invite. you said nothing though. especially when jaemin had briefly explained the reason for his displeasure. ‘we deserve our own invite, y/n. one for us together.’ which made no sense at all, because you’re just friends. you’re not together. however you had no idea you were alone in thinking that.

you see, jaemin was more acquainted with your family than some of your own relatives. he was invited to christmases, weddings, birthdays. basically any and all occasions your family saw fit to celebrate, jaemin was in attendance. yet surprisingly, even after having grown up alongside you and mark, a few of your more distant cousins were more than happy to express their displeasure with his more forward placed seat. because, like you keep reminding everybody: jaemin is just your best friend. but apparently, best friends didn’t reserve the rights to things you gave to jaemin. not in your extended family’s eyes. not that yours and mark’s family cared.

yet in the end, like most things regarding you, jaemin knew his attendance tonight had been a mistake. but not because of the petty feud his presence birthed in the lee lineage. oh no. it’s because, unlike most nights jaemin spends in your company - with your hair strewn about, mascara permanently smudged, and a lazy grin etched on - tonight, you were his least favourite kind of y/n. the one where he can’t help but follow you with his eyes, watch the placement of your feet, enjoy the shrill tone of your cackle. throughout the night, jaemin had found himself warmed by the way you drag your balled up fist over your made up eye, how you sing along to songs you don’t know the words to, how you wobble in your heels before you cling to him.

jaemin makes the mistake of enjoying you a bit too much. how you scowl as your relatives chat shit a bit too loud for you liking, how you make a scene of conspicuously covering his ears, unaware of how unbothered he is. how you try so hard to make him happy, in the smallest and largest of ways. so he drags you into a dance when you move to walk over, ready to rip your own blood a new one. “i’m gonna kill ‘em.”

“no,” he states simply, one of his hands slipping from your hand to your waist. “dance with me.”

“who do they think they are!” your voice adopts an unsettling shrillness that he can’t help but chuckle at. it even throws his head back. “why are you so happy? you should be mad!”

“because i don’t care,” he shrugs, tightening his hold on you slightly. “i’m here- you’re here. why would i not be happy?”

“you’re such a fucking leo.”

he still doesn’t know what that means, but he laughs anyway, happy that your deduction seemed to satisfy you. you eventually calm down, a peace settling over you as he spins you lazily around the dance floor. there’s some early 2000s track playing, one definitely unfitting for the way he’s swaying you. but you pay it no mind, speaking softly as he presses his cheek to the crown of your head.

“when do you wanna head up?” up, meaning the hotel room your relatives are also wound up about. it was intended for the bridal party and far travelled guests, neither of which they are. and neither of which you are. but you were your cousin’s favourite. and so was he. so naturally, you two had one reserved. even your parents had opted to stay at a cottage a couple roads over. “i think the boys are all gone already.”

he notes the guilt tainting your tone, knowing how drained jaemin grew from both physical and social interactions of any kind. so you knew well what his answer would be. “when you’re ready.”

“okay,” slipping out of his hold, you drag him over to the newly married couple. you exchange brief goodnights and grateful tidings before he excuses himself to find the jacket of his tuxedo. the search doesn’t take long, his eyes landing on the black coat a few seconds after parting. he does give himself a breather though, his knees cracking as the seat holding his jacket readily carries his weight. he doesn’t dare shut his eyes, knowing full well he’ll fall victim to his fatigue. so instead, he let’s them follow the one thing that always occupies his mind, that can keep him up all night. he finds you far quicker than he did his coat, the pink satin of your dress falling half way down your calf as you skipped over to bid some other guests farewell. he sighs happily, glad you never force him into such tedious pleasantries. you learnt a long time ago that while impossibly affectionate, jaemin’s social clock ticked a few hours faster than any one else’s. so by your timing, it had probably expired a little after the vows. it took a little bit of getting used to, but it also meant for quicker farewells and a speedier exit.

it’s only now jaemin realises this was a mistake. because before he ever gets his breather, less from you, but all the feelings that come from being with you, you’re at his side. he’s learned how not to cease up at your touch anymore. instead, linking his fingers with yours when they rest gently on his shoulder. when he peeks up at you, his eyes blinded less by the party lighting and more by your tired smile, he knows not to sigh, forcing down his body’s natural response to your attention. but when you tug at his hands, bringing him to stand, whispering a-

“let’s go home, yeah?”

he knows this isn’t a mistake. this is torture.

it’s how you pour him a tall, ice cold glass of domesticity with every meal. your hand wrapped in his as you lead him through the hotel. you slip out of your heels somewhere between the lobby and the elevator, grinning up at him as he takes them from you. jaemin even curses himself, his body responding to your needs unthinkingly. he tries to calm his beating heart by counting the floors, his eyes following the analog dial as you lean against his shoulder, fiddling with his cuffs.

“do you want them off?” you ask softly, barely a touch louder than the elevator music. he nods, though your gel nails are already picking at the gold, removing them with ease. “gimme the other one.” he inhales deeply, cursing whoever gave you to him. well, not really. you weren’t really his. but god did you act like it.

your hands slip into his pocket for the room key before slipping back into his hand. he just follows you out, caught in a happy daze as you take him ‘home’. you struggle a bit with the key card, trying it every which way before he leans into you, wrapping his arm around you as he reaches for the card. “the arrow’s pointing this way,” his thumb nail presses on the black arrow indicating the direction you have to push it. he doesn’t see you roll your eyes, but he guesses you do. so he presses his lips to your temple in apology. “you’ll get it next time.”

“piss off,” you laugh, pushing the door open when it clicks. he throws the heels and jacket on a chair by the door before collapsing onto the adjacent couch, his body ready to succumb to his dire need for rest. he can just about hear you rustling through the bags in the bathroom, your feet padding around on the linoleum. when it muffles slightly, he figures out immediately what you’ve returned for when you stop between his thighs. “thank you,” you sigh, his fingers already pinching at the zip on your dress. it sits low at the base of your spine, the back of the dress leaving you completely exposed. he’d taken to placing his hand there all night, his fingers gliding up and down the skin whenever he got the chance. when it’s down, his eyes linger on your hips, the top of your panties peeking out before you slap his knee.

“what?”

“the necklace,” your back is still turned, hair blocking his view. “please?” you add, hand smoothing over the skin of his knee.

“come here,” he pulls you down to sit between his thighs, his legs parting to make space for you. you land with a huff, quickly realising you haven’t sat down all night. jaemin realises this too, your neck craning a bit further to the side than necessary as he tucks your hair over your shoulder. “you okay?”

“mhm,” you hum, squeezing his thigh. “just a bit sleepy.”

“a bit?” he laughs, a little breathless as he gathers the chain he got you one christmas. “i think you’ve earned a good sleep.” he surmises, hands squeezing your shoulders gently. “but you know you were a guest today, right? not the planner?”

“yeah?” turning onto your knees, you glare down at him. “someone had to sort my uncle out, he was steaming!”

“yes, true,” he laughs. “just make sure you’re not doing that at my wedding.”

you feign surprise at that, “i’m invited to your wedding?”

“of course,” his hands squeeze yours earnestly before he whispers, “can’t have my wedding without the bride, can i-”

“fuck off!” his cackles chase you out the room. while you wash up, he makes quick work of his tux, throwing his slacks over the back of the couch, his thumbs slowly unhooking each of his buttons. a true man of leisure, he’s in all but his socks and draws when you return. “all done!” you sing, throwing the dress down as you reappear in an oversized t-shirt. he recognises it almost immediately from uni. it’s his soccer team’s jersey. it has his number on the back.

“finally,” he whines, pushing you aside as he makes his way inside, quickly locking the door to avoid your attacks. he goes to reach for his wash bag just to find the reason he did already waiting unpacked. in a small cup on the side is his toothbrush, resting sweetly beside yours. he ignores the hygienic implications of this and skips right to the romantic. because, while jaemin thinks and often dreams of placing your first name with his last, and while he spends most of his free time with you, and while he would take any number of bullets for you, he still can’t for the life of him figure you out. even after he bombards you with affection, praise, teasing, flirting, kisses. you’re still just you. making him just him.

and that’s fine, if that’s what you want. but he’s not sure he truly knows what it is you want. and this gets him thinking about the little things. how his hand is seldom empty in your presence. how you never think of him second, always first. how you want to be with him always. moments like now, when he returns to find you hanging his tux on its hanger, encasing it in its protective sleeve. his arms slip around your waist, pulling you flush against him. and you melt instantly, resting in his embrace. “thanks,” he mumbles, lips pressing gently to your shoulder.

“‘is okay,” you hum, hanging it over the back of the door before resting your hands over his. see, hands never empty when you’re near. he sways you back and forth, his heart beating gently into your back as you lean into him. “did you have fun?” you ask, squeezing at his forearms, “i know we probably stayed later than you’d like-”

“it was great.” see, always putting him first. “did you want to stay longer?”

“not without you.” see, how you want to be with him always. he wonders how you don’t see it. how you don’t see you’re killing him. “come on,” you mumble, shutting off the light as you blindly drag him to bed. jaemin has an annoying habit of following you in, his body shuffling in after yours, rather than separating and meeting in the middle. it doesn’t allow you much room, by the time you reach your side, he’s encased you in his arms, legs, even his head, his chin slotting itself in the crook of your neck. “nana?”

“hm?”

“i’m sorry about today,” the apology doesn’t shock him, but rather your disappointment. “you’re more like family to mark and i than they ever were. tonight was just proof of that.”

“it’s okay,” he squeezes you a touch harder, trying to decipher whether your words harm or soothe the growing hole in his heart. “i can’t say i don’t see where they’re coming from.”

“what d’you mean?”

“i dunno,” he starts, thinking as his lips press to the back of your neck. “i guess i’d be confused by us too,” he mutters against your skin.

“how so?” you press, turning in his hold, gazing up at him. his eyes are more than used to the dark now as he gazes back down at you. you’re tucked right up to him, the covers strewn over your lower halves. he rests his temple on his palm, elbow pressed into the mattress as you fiddle with his fingers. “what’s confusing?”

he shrugs as best he can, watching his hand in yours. “i dunno,” he repeats, grinning when you huff. “i just- i think it’s hard for people to get that i’m your friend,” he tries, “just your friend.”

“what else would you be?” what else? what else?!

“i dunno,” he repeats for the third time, though he knows exactly what you’d be. but you don’t need to know that. not when you seemed so happy, so satisfied with how things are already. and that’s what’s most important to him. your happiness. and jaemin couldn’t exactly say he wasn’t happy with how things are either, he just knows there could be more to you both, more to this. more to him than being your best friend. but maybe it’s for another night. like he tells himself every time you push a topic you’re not remotely ready to breach. “let’s forget it-”

“no,” he flinches, just preparing to settle down for sleep. “am i missing something? if i am, just tell me.”

“i-” he drops his forehead to yours then. he’s so close, your eyes have to cross just for you to see him. it’s only when he rises you see a change in him. a nervous jaemin isn’t one you’re use to. it’s one that you would rather never see, it truly worries you. especially as he agrees, a small “okay,” leaving him before he kisses the tip of your nose, his lips barely puckered as they meet the skin. he grins as he does, his teeth gleaming in the moonlit room, his eyes open just wide enough to see you. his lips drop to your cheek, warming as your skin does. he hovers there as your hand tightens on his arm, clinging to him. he daren’t move, afraid the slightest jolt will wake him, drag him right out of this sleepless dream. when your grip loosens, he drops his head until he’s right by your mouth, his lips daringly puckering before he presses them to the corner of your lips. he stills as yours do too, your soft lips, now embalmed in his memory, pressing there ever so gently before he rises once more. he waits a second, watching the smallest of shivers rack through you before he dips again, lips falling to your neck. he smiles against your skin, overjoyed as you subtly crane your neck. his teeth drag over your skin as he journeys down the column of your neck, your hands gripping onto him a touch harder when he stops.

his fingers glide along the skin of your side, thumb pressing into the dip of your waist. he stops short of your chest, locked mid motion as he watches you breathe. there is no haste in his movements. no need to rush anything. no need to hurry. all there is, is a beat. a steady one in his chest. one that holds him here, one where he can’t move, can’t bring himself to test the waters you’ve just dared he enter. not even as the pads of your fingers glide along the warm skin of his neck, nails dragging through his nape, silently daring him to move. he pants over your chest, a lazy grin pulling at his mouth as you ask him again-

“what else would you be, jaem?”

he moves unthinkingly. as his dampened lips meet the hardened nub through your t-shirt, sucking on you through the aged material. his rolls his teeth gently, his fingers at your side finding your neglected nipple as you whine out for him. he feels himself slipping into delirium, caught somewhere between a dream and reality, unsure where exactly he’d rather be. he decides it doesn’t matter, not when you’re there. here. with him. letting him touch you in ways he never really thought possible. ways jaemin only ever imagined, only ever let himself surrender to in the dead of night. in the solitude of his own shameful company. he never thought of this. not really.

he had hoped, maybe even prayed, but never truly believed he’d have you whimpering for him. your fingers falling in the gaps between his own, pressing his open palm harder against your thinly veiled heat, your hips rolling against it. jaemin never thought he’d hear your whines, the sound cutting through him like knives, like ice shooting through his veins. he never thought you’d want him. not like this.

“jaem,” he’s with you in seconds, his spit slick lips an inch above yours. he watches patiently as you grind up against his hand, feeling his fingers prod at your desperate heat.

“you wanna know what else i could be?”

you nod. “please.”

“i could be yours.”

#i haven’t got the range #also i have jaemin on the brain and friendship too!#meet me at the altar #ncitygirls #na jaemin #jaemin #jaemin x reader #jaemin smut #jaemin fluff #nct x reader #nct dream #nct dream smut #nct dream fluff #nct smut #nct fluff #needs another proofread #enjoy!

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watchmegetobsessed · 4 years ago

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Waiting for you - Harry Styles

❄️ FANFICmas 2020 ❄️

Read more about FANFICmas here!

i wrote it over like a month ago, but kept it for today, i hope yall will like it! it’s a cute bestfriends to lovers fic, so yeah... happy holidays, hope you are having an amazing time!

word count: 13k

masterlist

Harry Styles has been a household name around your home, but not for the reason many would think. While for the rest of the world he was the famous singer, former member of One Direction and recent solo artist, the guy who performs at the biggest arenas, wins awards and sings his heart out through the radio, for you and your mom he was the goofy, curly haired boy who lived across the street with his mum, sister and stepdad.

You still remember all too clear the first time you met him. You and your mum just moved into your new home after the nasty divorce of your parents, ready to start a new life. You’ve barely turned twelve, it was quite the awkward stage of your teenage years, you were still trying to find yourself on the rocky road of growing up. Moving to a whole new town and switching schools were terrifying and you had quite a few nightmares about possible outcomes of being the new girl in the neighborhood.

You and your mum just finished unpacking the dishes in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She rushed to answer it and you wandered behind her, curiously peeking at the guests under her arm as she held the door open.

“Hi! We saw the trucks and thought we would say hi! I’m Anne and this is my son, Harry,” the nice woman greeted your mum and stepping aside she gestured towards the teenage boy standing next to her.

His green eyes fell to you almost immediately and you forgot to breathe for a moment. You were not the kind to crush that easily on guys, well, not until you laid your eyes on Harry. He smirked at you, nodding in your way in such an easy-going manner and you could feel the heat crawling up your neck to your cheeks and ears.

Anne and your mum quickly became good friends. She was the rock your mum definitely needed after such a bad year behind her and you were glad she found support in such a wonderful woman as Anne. Their newly funded friendship got stronger day by day until the two families just… simply felt one.

Growing up the Styles siblings and Anne came and go in your home as if they lived there too. On many occasions you came home from school only to find Anne in the kitchen while your mother wasn’t even home. Anne always knew when your mum was working the night shift at the hospital where she was a nurse and always made sure you had a warm dinner on those evenings, often inviting you over to just stay at theirs while your mum was away working. Birthdays, graduations, Easters and Christmases, they were all spent at either yours or at the Styles home, strengthening the bond between the two families.

You have always had a strong friendship with Gemma, but maybe because you were closer in age or for something else, but you became the closest with Harry. Two peas in a pod, as your mums liked to call the two of you. You weren’t just neighbors or good friends, it was clear to anyone and to both of you as well that you were the best of friends. You were there for each other at the best and worst of times, before and after Harry’s launch to stardom. You were there with him all along, sometimes physically, sometimes just through text messages and reassuring calls when he just needed a piece of his home away from home. Late night calls and talks were your usual when he was on the road and he made sure to only talk about his life after you’ve told him everything about yours, even if the most interesting thing was that you were able to buy three socks for the price of two. Harry listened and cared for everything that happened to you, not letting you think even for a moment that he would forget about his best friend when he is on the other side of the planet.

The two of you grew up together and while his life consisted of concerts, screaming fans, telly appearances and award shows, your mundane everydays went on the same was as any normal young girl’s: you graduated from high school, went to uni and then started a career for yourself. As time was moving it became a little more and more complicated to stay as close as you used to, though, both of you terribly busy with your own personal lives, so the calls, texts and meetings became less frequent, but you were always able to pick up from where you left, it was as easy with him as it could be.

Maybe that’s why you grew to love him in a more than friendly way through the years. Slowly, but surely you started to realize what an amazing man he really was –is. It was impossible not to fall for him, however you valued your close friendship more than to just ruin it with dropping a bomb on Harry. You always thought he doesn’t feel the same way, so you were sadly left with your daydreams and fantasies about him only your bedroom walls heard.

This year it’s gonna be the tenth Christmas you get to celebrate together, quite the anniversary. There were only two years when you didn’t see each other during the holidays, the first one because you and your mum spent it in Canada with some relatives that live there, and the second one was because Harry couldn’t come home a few years ago, having a too tight schedule. But this year, everyone made sure to make it back home in time. Harry called you three month before Christmas to check in if you are still gonna coming home.

“Would be an idiot not to. Can’t wait to stuff my head with cookies!” you chuckled.

“Have you found your sweater yet?” Harry questioned, the muffled noise of the traffic around him broke through the line as he was on his way home when he called.

“Not yet. But I’ve been looking. I’m pretty sure I’m gonna win this year,” you smirked in victory.

“Oh, not so fast with the assumptions, little girl!” he warned you making you laugh.

The two of you had a kind of tradition. Every year, you go on mission to find the ugliest Christmas sweaters one could find, and then perform a chosen song at the karaoke machine after dinner, entertaining the rest of the family. Those performances are the best memories you nurse. Your absolute favorite one was just a couple of years ago when Harry’s sweater was filled with weird looking reindeers in quite inappropriate poses, he even added a glittery pair of sunnies and he sang I Want To Break Free from the Queen. Everyone was on the floor laughing as he took the living room by storm as if it was the Maddison Square Garden filled with thousands of screaming fans, while it was just the five of you.

He won that year, Hell, even you voted on him, giving him the cleanest win of all times, but you swore to live up to that performance and you really feel like this year is gonna be your chance to live up to that promise. You have quite some tricks up your sleeves.

These past couple of years you were anxiously waiting for the holidays to roll around, because you knew you would get to spend so much time with Harry and through the year, even with several occasions of the two of you meeting, you missed him dearly. Sometimes you selfishly wished he would have just stayed the boy across the street so your lives could take tracks that run at least close to each other, but you always reminded yourself that his work was his life and you would have never taken away his true passion and happiness. Besides, you love watching him perform from time to time, that was just one of your favorite sides of him, see his eyes shine so bright as he sang to his fans. You used to envy the fangirls, it always seemed like he had a special connection with them, but you realized that you were one of them. You felt the same excitement when he stepped on the stage, you bought all his albums, even though he made sure you’d be one of the first people to get your hands on it. You had a second copy of them, because buying it gave you the extra jolt of happiness and the feeling that you were a tiny part of his success too. You watched all his music videos, knew the lyrics to his songs and cheered on him whenever he won another award. Difference was that at the end of the day you could call him and tell him how proud you were of him and he stared back at you with that beautiful grin, his dimples digging deep in his cheeks, telling you that he wouldn’t be here without you. You always knew he just said it to make you feel special, but he insisted it was the truth.

“I’m telling you. It you weren’t with me I would have gone crazy already, pulling a Justin Bieber or summat. Don’t think you are any less than what you are, that’s just daft.”

Every time he said something along those lines those damned butterflies in your stomach went crazy and you tried your best to ignore them. You didn’t always succeed, but the effort was there.

Now it’s two days before Christmas and you are already standing in your old room after coming home from London, leaving your small but cozy little apartment empty until the next year. The walls are still the same lilac color you chose when you were fourteen, a twin bed is pushed against the wall under your window, the wardrobe’s door is littered with old pictures from high school and ones you cut out from magazines. You just never got around to take them down and after a while it brought you a comforting sense every time you came home. A warm nostalgia took over you when you saw them, so they eventually stayed.

Your suitcase is lying on the floor as you unpack some stuff you’ll be using often during your stay, but you don’t get far in the packing when you hear an all too familiar voice coming from downstairs. Leaving your stuff as it is you rush down and throw your arms around Anne from behind, who is standing in the kitchen with your mum.

“My sweet angel! How are you?!” she cheers turning around in your hold to hug you back, giving you a tight squeeze before she pushes you away so she can have a good look on you. “Swear you get prettier every time I see you!”

“Stop it, my head’s gonna get big,” you chuckle feeling yourself blushing a little.

“Never gonna stop praising my daughter,” she smiles and gifts you with a cheeky wink.

Anne was never shy to let you know that she thought of you as a second daughter and you still remember how it felt when she called you that for the first time. It felt nice to know that you could count on her no matter what.

The three of you chat in the kitchen, Anne asks you about your job and how things have been going, she hasn’t seen you in a while. You missed the times when you could just go across the street and have a talk with her whenever you wanted, but since you’ve moved to London, Harry wasn’t the only one you didn’t get to see as often as you would have wanted. Your job and life overall got you so busy sometimes, you barely had time to call your own mum.

“Harry is arriving this evening. Wanna come with us to fetch him up at the airport?” she asks you and of course you say yes. You wouldn’t miss the chance to greet him with a bone crushing hug just after he lands.

However, as the time nears when you’d have to leave to the airport, Anne calls you up and asks if you could go on your own.

“I didn’t finish cooking and Gems is in an online meeting. Would you mind if you went alone?” she asks and though it sounds a little made up, you don’t question her.

On your way to the airport you are nervously drumming on the wheel, the thought of seeing Harry excites and worries you a little. It’s been months since you last seen him in the flesh and though you’ve talked plenty of times on the phone and in video calls, it’s just not the same. You find yourself wondering if he still smells the same, if you’ll fit the same way into his embrace as before. When you were younger you often liked to think about the two of you as two pieces of legos when you hugged. Your frame just fitted so perfectly against his body, he was your absolutely favorite person to hug.

Standing in a corner at the terminal, you keep checking the board until his flight’s status changes to landed. Then your eyes are glued to the sliding glass doors, knowing well it’s gonna take him some time to get his bags and walk out, but you are just way too excited to finally see him again.

People start walking through the doors and your head perks up every time you see a slightly tall frame, only to realize it’s still not him. Until it is.

You can’t bite your growing smile back when you spot him, a beanie and the hood of his hoodie covering his mop of hair, sunnies hiding his eyes, but you’d recognize him even from just the tiniest detail. You push yourself away from the wall as you see him look around, probably searching for his mum and sister, because he was already on his way when Anne decided it’s gonna be you who fetches him up, so he doesn’t know about the change.

“Excuse me, can I get a picture?” you ask teasingly walking up to him and for a moment you can tell he believes it’s a fan who recognized him, but his face quickly changes once his eyes land on you.

“Fo’ fuck’s sake, you had me for a second,” he breathes out, his arms already reaching out to pull you against him and you gladly envelop yourself into his hold. “What are you doing here?” he mumbles tightening his arms around you, and you don’t mind it. As you face is pressed into his shoulder you smile when you realize that he still smells the same. Like home.

“Your mum asked me to come and get you because she didn’t finish cooking. But if you ask me she just wanted to surprise you with me. You happy to see me?” you smirk up at him letting your head fall back so you could look into his eyes.

“Always,” he grins before placing a soft kiss to your temple and letting go of you.

The two of you leave the terminal before anyone could recognize him and packing his stuff up into the car you head back home.

You hand your phone over to him once you hit the road so he can be in charge of the music and it’s no surprise when he starts playing Christmas music straight away. Grinning to yourself you glance over at him and see him scrolling through your camera roll like the nosy little gremlin that he is.

“Hey! I did not give you permission to snoop around my phone!” you warn him, but don’t try to snatch it away from him, there’s really nothing he shouldn’t see, besides, half of those pics have been sent to him through messages.

“Just tryna catch up w’ you,” he mumbles under his breath, continuously opening up photos he is interested in. “New couch, eh?” he asks showing you the screen for a second.

“Yeah, bought it a few weeks ago. You like it?”

“Looks comfy. I should try it out sometime.”

“You never sleep on my couch, what are you talking about?”

“Right, you always drag me t’ your bed,” he snorts and you gasp at him, smacking his chest gently.

“That’s so not true! You always just arbitrarily make yourself comfortable in my bed and I don’t have the heart to kick you out,” you correct him.

There hasn’t been many times when Harry crashed at your place, but when he did, he always slept in your bed with you, and the two of you have shared a bed a few other times prior too. It’s nothing new, though it does have a deeper meaning for you than for him, you think. Waking up with Harry snoring lightly next to you, admiring how peaceful and beautiful he is in this intimate state, you just wish you could see him like this all the time.

Harry smirks at you cheekily, scrunching his nose as he chuckles.

“’Cause I wouldn’t want to sleep anywhere else, Love,” he says before turning his attention back to your phone while you try to ignore the butterflies in your stomach at the nickname.

It’s quite late by the time you get home, you’ve run into some traffic, but it just meant more time with Harry. You gladly listened to his stories and you are happy you got some alone time with him. Parking up to your driveway you help him unload his bags before locking the car.

“Wanna go to the Christmas market in the morning? Promised Gemma I’d go with her and Michal,” he asks, slowly walking down the driveway towards his home.

“Uh, sure,” you nod smiling. Not that you had any other plans, the holidays are reserved for family and the Styles’ are family.

“Great, I’ll be here at ten. And thanks for the ride,” he smirks waving goodbye and you watch him cross the street before he disappears in his home and you do the same.

“Y/N? Is that you?” your mum calls out when you walk in.

“Were you expecting anyone else?” you ask, hanging your coat before you join her in the living room.

“Not,” she smiles giddily. “Was everything alright at the airport?”

You throw your legs over her lap and she squeezes your ankles playfully.

“Yeah, everything fine.”

“How is Harry?”

“Cheeky and smug, as always,” you huff smirking.

“Can’t wait to see him. I feel like I haven’t seen ‘im in ages.”

“When are they coming over tomorrow?”

“Anne said she’ll come around four to help me cook, the rest I don’t know. Dinner will be done around seven though.”

“I’m pretty sure Gemma and Harry will be here along with Anne,” you snort, knowing well they wouldn’t miss a chance to come over, especially Harry. He has been talking nonstop how he’ll be glued to your hip once he is back home, making up for all the time you’ve spent apart.

“They surely will,” your mum chuckles before you both turn your attention at the telly.

You go to bed way after midnight and finish up the packing you left abruptly when you left to get Harry. Shuffling around in your room you glance out the window and see that the light in Harry’s room is on too. Peeking out you lean against the window’s frame, thinking about the times when the two of you sat in the window, talking on the phone after curfew, keeping your voice down so your parents didn’t wake up, sharing secrets and your silliest thoughts. With Harry, you never felt like you had to keep anything back, he would have never judged you for anything, you could be your true self around him and vice versa.

A tall figure appears at the window and as Harry glances out his window he is quick to see you sitting on the window sill, your head resting against the frame. The two houses are not far away from each other and you see him grinning as he sits at the window as well, pulling out his phone, a moment later yours starts buzzing on the nightstand. You quickly grab it, and go back to the window.

“Creeping on me, eh?” he hums into the phone and you roll your eyes at him.

“Was just admiring the street lights, don’t flatter yourself, your head is getting too big,” you huff, but you can’t push your smirk down.

“Admit it, you were hoping to see me roam around naked, weren’t you?”

“As if I haven’t seen you like that before,” you snort making him laugh too. It’s true, Harry has never been shy to get rid of his clothes and he also doesn’t bother to draw the blinds whenever he is changing. You once saw him butt naked when he was nineteen, and when you told him to close the blinds next time he is changing, he just shrugged with a smug smile.

“’M not ashamed of anything, Love,” he told you and you had to turn away because you were blushing for sure.

“Right, you’re a fan of putting yourself on full display when you’re naked, almost forgot,” you chuckle shaking your head. “Millions of girls have the picture of you, lying naked on their walls.”

“You one of them?” he cheekily asks.

“Nah, doesn’t go well with the vibe of my apartment.”

“Shame. Though I think it would definitely look amazin’ above your bed, Love.”

“Now would it? I don’t know about that.”

“I’ll get you a copy framed,” he smirks and you can see it clear even from the distance. “Y’ know what? I’ll make you an exclusive one. One that nobody else has, how does that sound?”

“I can’t believe you, Styles,” you chuckle shaking your head. “I’m not gonna answer this, just gonna head to bed. You should too.”

“So we’re not sharing any secrets like we used to? Thought you’d have something fo’ me.”

“You know everything, Harry,” you sigh with a soft smile, though your heart skips a beat. He does know everything, except one big, fat, heavy secret you’ve been carrying around for way too long, that will probably stay with you forever.

“Right. Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Night, Harry.”

“Good night, Love,” he murmurs and you know he is smiling, thought he steps away from the window as he says goodbye and you do the same before ending the call.

***

“Hey! That’s mine!” you protest as Harry steals another roasted chestnut from your little paper bag, but you can’t stay mad at him when he is smiling at you so sweetly.

“Sorry, tastes better when it’s someone else’s.”

“Sure,” you snort and just let him get as many as he wants. You wouldn’t have eaten it all anyway.

It’s quite cold out in the town, but at least there’s no rain or storm, so the weather didn’t try to ruin your little trip to the Christmas market.

Gemma calls out for Harry to show him something and you just keep wandering between the booths, enjoying the atmosphere quite a lot, you have no idea when was the last time you got to come to the market, though you always loved coming when you were younger.

Finishing up your chestnuts you throw the paper bag into a trash can and turn around to find the rest of your little group, spotting Harry and Gemma deep in discussion next to a booth that offers handmade ceramic mugs. As you walk closer it almost seems like as if they were having a fight, which is just odd, they rarely do that.

“Just get your head out of your arse!” you catch Gemma telling her brother who only groans in frustration before he spots you, a smile plastering across his face.

“Hey, there you are!” he beams.

“Everything alright?” you ask looking at them.

“Sure, just Gemma is being a little nosy, is all,” Harry waves in dismiss. You glance over to Gems, but she is already back in discussion with Michal so you decide to drop it. “You ate all the chestnuts?” Harry asks offended, throwing an arm around your shoulders.

“Well, it was mine, so of course I ate them!”

“Selfish,” he narrows his eyes at you, but you both know it’s just a joke.

You walk further down in the aisle, occasionally stopping at some of the booth when you spot a place that offers hot chocolate in cute little mugs that you can take home with you if you’d like, or just take it back and get your money back.

“Oh look!” you gasp excitedly and head towards the hot chocolate booth. The old lady smiles brightly at the two of you as you take a look at all the choices. “Oh my god, they have caramel flavored!” you cheer, basically already drooling at the thought of a good, caramel flavored hot chocolate.

“What can I get for the lovely couple?” the lady smiles warmly at the two of you and you freeze at her assumption.

“Oh we—“ you start, but Harry cuts you off.

“A caramel flavored and a plain one, please,” he orders, without even batting an eye about how the lady just called you a couple. You can feel your cheeks heating up at the thought, but you try to calm yourself. He probably just didn’t want to get into explaining that you two are not an item and let her think what she wanted.

The nice lady hands you your mug and you take Harry’s as well as he pays for both of them. You would try to argue with him and pay yours, but you are already used to how stubborn he is and he never lets you split anything, it’s always on him.

“Thank you, have a nice day!” Harry calls out to the lady before the two of you leave. You peek at him handing him his mug, looking for any clue that would give away if this little scene got him just as bothered as it did you, but he looks perfectly fine and relaxed, so you decide not to bring it up. You’re sure he didn’t think much of it.

Your little stroll stretches into the afternoon, the four of you decide to have lunch out there too, then you just opt for a walk in town as Gemma wants to do a quick last minute Christmas shopping, so by the time you get home Anne is already over at yours helping your mum with dinner. Tonight you are all eating at yours, then tomorrow it’s the Styles’ turn to host, this is how you agreed this year.

“Woah, it smells amazing!” you call out walking into the house. The delicious smells fill up the whole place and you hear the two women giggling in the kitchen.

“Hi Honey, how was the market?” your mum greets you, a glass of red wine in her hand and the same goes for Anne.

“Great, we have a new mug,” you say holding up the emptied out hot chocolate mug. Stepping to the sink you wash it quickly and drying off you put it away in one of the cabinets.

You stick around in the kitchen and not so much later Harry comes over, the two of you leave your mums alone and get comfortable in front of the telly.

All channels are filled with holiday movies and you don’t mind, really, you like them all even if you’ve seen them a million times, you still find them funny and cute. Harry feels the same way, so when you settle on Love Actually he doesn’t say a word.

What startles you is that he grabs your ankles and pulls your legs over his lap, a small shriek escaping your mouth since you weren’t expecting him to do that. You’re sitting sideways, your legs are bent at the knee and Harry is kind of hugging them as his eyes are glued to the screen.

You find it rather hard to focus on the movie when Harry’s fingers keep fidgeting on your legs, they keep running up and down, sometimes he lays his hands flat on your knees, there’s no spot he hasn’t touched since you started watching the movie.

About an hour into the film he turns to you and you look at him in question.

“’M in the mood to cuddle,” he announces and starts moving around, not even letting you protest as he basically crawls to your lap, resting his head on your stomach as the two of you lay on the couch.

“Am I now your personal pillow?” you ask chuckling, but you wouldn’t want him to move for anything. Feeling him weigh down on you just feels so warm and simple but amazing.

“The best one,” he mumbles, bringing a hand to your side as you let your fingers comb through his curls.

You keep massaging his scalp and he lets out soft moans when you go over a soft spot, you can’t help but chuckle as he melts under your hands. His fingers start drawing circles on your side and the movie is long forgotten by you, all you can focus on is how great it is to have Harry so close to you. He is known to be a physical person, you are used to hugs and touches, but it seems like he is a little needier now than the usual.

You don’t mind it though, you just try to enjoy the moment, because it can end anytime.

Gemma and Michal come over a little before seven, and while your mums finish up the cooking the four of you set the table. You grab the crystal glasses and start placing them to the table, Harry lending you a hand. Once the table is all set you shuffle into the kitchen to see if there’s anything you can help with, Harry following you behind, placing a hand to the small of your back.

As you stand and wait for you mum to finish up the meals so you can help carry them to the table you feel Harry’s hand wander over to your hip, giving it a squeeze as he stands closer, so his chest is pressed against your back.

“Harry?” you ask a little out of breath.

“Hm?” he innocently hums.

“What’s with you today?” Turning your head to the side your eyes lock with his, but he just shrugs smiling.

“Guess I just missed yeh a lot.”

“You’re weird,” you chuckle shaking your head, but don’t make an effort to push him away. His touch feels way too good to put an end to it and you just want to be selfish a little longer.

His hands leave you when the two of you help to bring the food to the table, and you almost wish they would just return, but you gotta swallow the thought.

The food is amazing, as always. You all sip on some wine, just having a genuinely good time, enjoying that all of you are back at one place, something that rarely happens now that all three of you kids are all grown up.

At one point Harry rests his arm on the back of your chair, no one seems to notice but you. All these little things have been driving you crazy all day and your mind seems to be playing a nasty game with you. There’s no way Harry thinks of these details more than what they are, a friendly gesture towards an old friend of his.

When Gemma is telling a story about some weird guy she met at work Harry reaches up and pushes your hair behind your ear, his finger lingering over your neck a little longer than you would have expected. Turning to face him you give him a questioning look, not sure what to think about his needy and touchy self all of a sudden.

“What?” you mouth him, but he just smiles at you absentmindedly, curling a strand of hair around his finger, playing with it for a moment before letting go of it and going for another lock. You reach up and pull his hand away, feeling yourself heating up from his touch, but when you are about to let go of his hand he grabs yours, lacing your fingers together with yours as he rests them on his thigh.

“Harry…” you breathe out, glancing at the others, relieved to see that they are not paying much attention to the two of you.

“What? Am I not allowed to touch you?” he asks with a smug smirk and you roll your eyes at him.

“As I said, you’re weird,” you mumble under your breath looking down at your now empty plate. Harry gives your hand a squeeze.

“But like, the good kind of weird, yeah?”

“Shut up,” you chuckle shaking your head at him.

You try to tell yourself he is just needy because it’s been so long since you last saw each other. It can’t be more, you push even the smallest thought to the back of your mind, though it surely lingers there throughout the evening.

He helps you with washing the dishes, you stand arm to arm at the sink as you scrub the plates and hand over to him for drying. He gently hums to himself all along, swaying his hips, bumping against yours. At first you resist it, but then you catch the rhythm and start moving along, so your hips meet in the middle before swinging to the opposite side.

“What’s the song?” you ask finishing up the last plate.

“Just something random,” he shrugs smirking over at you. You hand him the last plate, he is still singing, making up gibberish lyrics to his song and once he puts the plate down he throws the kitchen cloth to the counter and easily grabs your waist pulling you against him as he starts swaying with you to his impromptu song. You let out a small shriek at the sudden movement, but eventually melt into his hold. The humming slowly turns into an all too familiar melody as Harry starts singing Sweet Creature into your ear, slow dancing in the kitchen while you hear your mums and Gemma laugh outside somewhere.

Your hands run up his arms and stop behind his neck as you lock your fingers and let him hold you close, his palms are pressed to your waist, fingers gently stroking you through the fabric of your shirt. You take a deep breath and his cologne fills your nose, one of your favorite scents, sometimes you just wish you could spray it on your pillow so it would always smell like him.

“Sweet creature, wherever I go, you bring me home…” he softly sings, leaning back just enough for your eyes to meet. It feels like your heart is about to burst out of your chest, it’s not the first time you feel so intimidated by him, like you could pass out any moment, but this is a little different. As if his eyes were telling you another story, but you can’t completely make up the words.

“Sweet creature, when I run out of road, you bring me home, you’ll bring me home.” He finishes the song, hums the closing melody and you watch him in complete awe. Your lips part when you catch his gaze move down to them and you swear you see him leaning closer, as if he is about to kiss you. Your breath gets caught in your throat, he is so close, just a few more inches and you’d taste those perfect lips of his, the ones you’ve been dreaming about for way too long.

It almost happens, it seems, but just when that last push is about to set in Gemma waltz into the kitchen and you step back faster than light, pushing him away even though the sudden lack of his touch is more painful than you were expecting.

“You guys—Oh, what’s up?” she asks stopping at the door and you feel yourself getting redder with each passing moment, the heat crawling up your neck, ears cheeks, right to the top of your head. What were you thinking? You let yourself believe Harry would ever kiss you, this whole scene was nothing more than just a friendly moment the two of you were sharing.

“I’m—sorry,” you breathe out making your way out of the kitchen, right up to your room to have some well needed space.

“Way to ruin everything,” Harry snickers at his sister.

“You joking? You wanted to kiss her in her mum’s kitchen?” Gemma snaps at him in disbelief.

“We were having a moment,” he mumbles rubbing his face with his hands. “Up until you stomped in with your big mouth.”

“Well, if you were havin’ a moment, just make it happen again.”

“As if it’s that easy, Gemma!” he scoffs throwing his hands in the air.

“Man up and tell her how you feel, don’t have to complicate it too much,” she shrugs before walking out and leaving her brother alone. Harry growls in frustration, the gears in his head turning wildly as he is trying to figure out how to come clear to you about his feelings.

Meanwhile, up in your room you get out your laptop and busy yourself with checking up on messages and emails you’ve been ignoring, hoping that the uneasy feeling in your chest will ease very soon. Your hands were shaking when you locked yourself up in your room, but as you get focused on other tasks you slowly gain your balance back.

You kind of even forget that the Styles’ were over, you only realize that you abruptly pulled yourself out of the evening when there’s a soft knock on your door.

“Come on in!” you call out and a moment later Harry’s head pops in, eyes softly falling on your sitting figure on the bed. “Hey,” you smile at him faintly.

“Hey. Thought you were sleepin’s or summat.” Coming inside he closes the door behind him then sits on your plush rug in the middle of the room.

“Just… sorted some work related things out,” you sigh.

“Working during the holidays? Tha’s not healthy.”

“I know, I’m done,” you smile shutting the laptop down and putting it aside. “Sorry I disappeared, I just—“

“No worries,” Harry shakes his head. “Mum and Gems went home, they thought you were sleeping too, tha’s why they didn’t say goodbye.”

“Oh, alright.”

“But I thought we could have a sleepover,” he peeks at you with a boyish smile.

“What, like we did in middle school?” you chuckle.

“Yea, thought it would be fun.”

“Well, I don’t think my bed would fit us comfortably and we don’t have the mattress anymore that you used to sleep on,” you tell him looking around.

“Nonsense, I’m not tha’ big,” he insists hopping to his feet and throwing himself on the bed, ignoring that you’re already there. His body takes up more than half on the bed , limbs wrapping around you as he brings you down to the mattress next to him, you can’t help the laugh that leaves your lips.

“You’re like a gigantic baby, Harry!” you laugh as he keeps you down on the bed with his arm.

“It’s perfectly fine for two people,” he mumbles with a smirk, closing his eyes as his head sinks into your pillow.

“Do you ever get no as an answer?” you ask looking at him in awe. You can never get used to seeing him so up close, like not many get to.

“No,” he huffs in satisfaction, his arm bringing you closer to him and you just giggle at him.

“I’m not sleeping just yet, gotta have a shower first.”

“Do what you want, I’ll be here,” he mumbles but you snort at him.

“You’re not sleeping in my bed without having a shower,” you tell him before you grab your pajamas and head to the bathroom.

You have a quick shower and get done with all your evening business. Returning to your room you find Harry sitting on the floor, his back against the side of the bed as he is scrolling through his phone.

“Does mum know you’re staying over?” you ask him as you throw your used clothes into the hamper, moving around the room while feeling his eyes on you.

“Yeah. ‘S all good.”

“You need a towel?”

“Yes please,” he says pushing himself up from the floor.

“Clothes?” you ask with an arched brow. He just grins at you and it’s enough of an answer. “Here,” you give him the shirt and sweats he has left at yours quite some time ago, along with a clean towel.

“Thanks,” he smirks before leaving to occupy the bathroom.

He doesn’t take long in there, you’re lying in bed already when he returns, smelling like your shower gel, strawberry and melon.

He throws his clothes to the chair in the corner and then lies beside you on the bed. You scoot over to the wall to give him space, but he is quick to bring you closer to him once he has made himself comfortable. You lay your head on his shoulder as you are both scrolling through your phones.

When you had enough, you throw yours to the nightstand, and stay cuddled up to his side.

“Do you remember the last time I slept here?” he asks tossing his phone to the nightstand and bringing his arms around you.

“Mm, was it at my twentieth birthday?”

“Yeah. You were so wasted,” he chuckles and you smirk to yourself

“But you took good care of me.”

“I did. You were so cute, rambling about how much you love me when I took you home from the pub.”

You bite into your bottom lip. You still remember that night vividly. Your birthday party had gone a little wild and you had gotten drunker than you intended to. Luckily, he was there to bring your home and he stayed in the bathroom with you as you threw up everything you ate and drank that evening. Then he made you take a shower, got you fresh clothes out and helped you get into bed. He slept next to you that night, holding you in his arms, gently caressing your back and upper arm as you fell into your drunken slumber. In the morning you told yourself he just did what any other friend would do, helping you out when you were clearly knocked out, but he made you breakfast in the morning since your mum was working all night and morning and he stayed over later the afternoon to make sure you were alright.

What you told him in your drunken state about loving him, it wasn’t just your friendly side, it was your drunken self coming clear to him, telling him that you are in love with him, but he didn’t take it seriously and you were too ashamed and awkward to even bring it up to him after that, so it was all forgotten very soon.

Following that you planned on telling him how you feel, several times. You even wrote a little speech you planned to give him when the time comes, but you couldn’t do it. The fear of losing him if he doesn’t feel the same was stronger than you expected and every time you had the chance to come clear, you chickened out. The thought of losing him as a friend is way worse than having to push your feelings down... forever. You just can’t imagine your life without Harry in it and you can’t risk losing him.

The two of you talk for quite a while, laughing about the good old times, until you both fall asleep. Sometime in the middle of the night you wake up and feel Harry wrapped around you, his head lying on your chest as he is snoring softly. He truly is like a big baby, an arm thrown over your stomach, his legs tangled with yours. Good Lord, how amazing it feels to have him so close to you!

Reaching up you tangle your fingers through his hair gently so he doesn’t wake up, his soft curls glide between your fingers easily and lifting your head you kiss the top of his head before letting yourself drift back to sleep.

When you open your eyes the next time the situation is the opposite, you are the one cuddled up to Harry’s side who is scrolling through his phone with one hand, keeping the other one on your arm.

“Mornin’, sleepy head,” he chuckles softly when he sees you awake.

“Mmm, what time is it?” you ask letting your head rest on his chest a little longer.

“Quarter to nine. You can sleep a little more if you want, it’s not that late.”

“No, I promised mum I’d help her wrap gifts,” you sigh rolling over to your stomach as you push yourself up to your elbows to look at him. “Love the double chin you got going there,” you tease him sleepily and he just smirks.

“Yea? Quite cute, right? Worked a lot on it,” he jokes running his finger over it before letting out a chuckle. “Ready for our battle today?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. You are going down this year, Styles,” you tell him pushing yourself up into a sitting position. Harry only pushes himself further on the bed enough to rest his head against the headboard.

“Oh really? I wouldn’t be that sure about tha’,” he warns you, but you are feeling pretty confident about your performance this year. There’s no way he can top it.

“We’ll see. Alright, I need a coffee. Want something for breakfast?” you ask him crawling out of the bed.

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

Your mum is already in the kitchen, sipping on her morning coffee while reading the paper. She doesn’t find it even a bit weird that Harry spent the night at yours, it’s been quite the usual for you. Harry helps you make eggs and bacon and the three of you eat together, having a lovely time and you genuinely feel like it’s just like in the good old times when you were still living home and Harry wasn’t Harry Styles, but the boy from across the street.

He goes home after breakfast to help his own mum with the cooking for tonight’s dinner and you don’t do much for the rest of the day, just spend time with your mum, watch movies and relax. It’s nice to unwind after such a busy year behind you.

Not long before five you go to take a shower and get ready to head over to the Styles’ and you pack everything you’ll need for the evening: gifts, ugly sweater, accessories. Harry is going down this year for sure.

It’s a little past six when you and your mum walk across the street, Anne’s Christmas lights are putting the little town house into the spirit for sure. You don’t even ring the bell, just walk straight in, like you always do. The Christmas tree stands tall in their living room and the table is already nicely set. Gemma and Michal are snuggled up on the couch while Harry is helping Anne in the kitchen with the finishing touches.

“I’m rooting for you this year,” Gemma winks at you when you set down your bag in the corner that has everything you’ll need for your performance.

“He’s gonna lose this round,” you smirk proudly, very sure in yourself.

Harry greets you with a bright smile and a tight hug when he walks into the living room, as if you didn’t just see each other a few hours earlier.

When the food is ready you all sit down to eat, and though you’re trying your best to focus on the conversation, you’re getting excited about tonight’s karaoke battle.

“Anxious much?” Harry asks you quietly.

“Why are you asking?”

He doesn’t answer, just places a hand to your thigh stopping it from shaking, making you realize you’ve been probably bouncing it all along. He smirks at you as you just roll your eyes at him.

“’S okay, you can handle one more year of losing,” he teases you and you give him an arched eyebrow.

“Don’t be so full of yourself, Harry,” you warn him, but he just squeezes your thigh again before bringing his hands back up to the table, leaving you a little breathless with his touch.

You all help clean up the table after dinner and when it’s done, you gather in the living room to open gifts.

When Harry’s career launched, the first few years you felt anxious about gifting him, because you felt like you couldn’t give him enough. He had all the money and bought everything he needed for himself, there wasn’t much you could give him. But when one time, you admitted to him this struggle of yours he assured you that it doesn’t matter what you give him, it’ll always be precious to him.

“You thought about me, you took the time to buy something for me, and that’s more than enough, Y/N,” he told you and though it took you time, but you got used to it. Especially when you saw the same excitement in his eyes every time you gifted something to him, you slowly but surely realized he wasn’t expecting a Gucci suit, but a thoughtful gesture.

Gathering in the living room you open the presents one by one and just as always, everyone was quite creative with the gifts. You can’t help but still feel a little anxious when Harry grabs his gift from you. Giving you an excited look he unties the little bow on the top and tears the wrapping paper off.

“Y/N!” he breathes out, eyes softening as he pulls the knitted cardigan out of the box.

“I always saw you wearing all sorts of cardigans and so I finally had a reason to learn how to knit, so I thought I would make one for you,” you ramble as he holds up the baby blue cardigan that has little daisies all over the front. It took you an entire week to just make the daisies, you worked on the whole cardigan for more than two months, usually in the middle of the night, staying up until unholy hours to finish in time.

But Harry’s smile is worth it all, he is beaming, clearly so in love with what you made him, so you breathe out relieved. He then puts it aside and wraps his arms around you pulling you into the tightest hug.

“Thank you, I love it so much,” he mumbles and kisses your temple and you breathe in his sweet scent, burying yourself in his embrace, hugging his waist.

When you part, Harry reaches for a box from under the tree and hands it to you, a nervous smile tugging on his lips. You can tell he wrapped the gift himself, the silver wrapping paper is a little uneven, but the huge rainbow colored bow on the top is the perfect touch that makes it like a piece of him.

You carefully tear the paper off, peeking inside you just see a plain box that doesn’t give much away. Glancing up at Harry you see how he is anxiously biting his bottom lip, even though you’d be happy with a gift as small as a candle. It’s the thought that counts.

“I-I wasn’t sure if this was the one you mentioned to me, so I hope it’s gonna be alright,” he mumbles, eyes fixed on your hands as they open the box, while you try to think back what you have told him about that caught his attention, but you just can’t recall what you wanted to get so badly you told Harry about it.

As you open the box you don’t process what it is immediately, the plastic wrapper making it hard to figure it out, but when you carefully pull out the object, you gasp in surprise.

“Harry!” you breathe out as you pull off the plastic of the old, vintage polaroid camera. It’s not one of these new types you can buy in stores easily, this is a classic, must have quite a history behind it.

Now you vaguely remember talking about longing for an oldschool, vintage camera, but it was months ago and you’ve forgotten about the whole thing since these devices cost a fortune because there aren’t many left from them. But now there’s one in your hands, because Harry not only listened to you, but he remembered and went out of his way to find you one in amazing condition.

“This must have cost a fortune!” you huff, your heart pounding in your chest, though you already know it doesn’t matter to him.

“This face is worth every penny,” he smiles at you softly before you throw yourself at him for another round of hugging. This man surely knows how to have you wrapped around his fingers.

The two of you sit on the floor as you figure out how to make the camera work, Harry bought everything needed, so you have a few packs of films as well. When it’s all done you bring it up to your face and aim it at Harry. It takes him a moment to realize that you’re about to snap your first photo and he tries to snatch the camera away, but it’s too late, the flash goes off and the device pushes out the undeveloped picture.

“You wasted your first snap on me?” he protests rubbing his eyes after the flash blinded him for a little.

“It’s not a waste,” you tell him as you patiently wait for the picture to finally appear.

Slowly, the colors start to show and in a couple of minutes Harry’s face appears, his hand reaching in the direction of the camera, looking out of focus, only his face appearing clearly. He looks so delicate, his eyes dazzling as a soft smile plays on his lips. This moment now will live forever not just in your mind, but on this photo.

Harry goes out with his karaoke performance this year for sure and you’d be actually anxious about him winning if only you didn’t have the absolutely best performance right in your pocket.

His sweater this year features some really ugly looking penguins and a horroristic reindeer on the back, it’s really ugly and you can’t even imagine who thought it would be fine to make it and then sell it. His choice of music is also excellent, he has a great eye for songs you’d never imagine him perform and then shock everyone with it. This year, he chose Rude Boy by none other than Rihanna, and it’s fantastic, no one can make it through the song without crying. Harry makes sure to put on his best show, even dancing and twerking unapologetically, trying everything to win the battle and you are amazed by his effort. Above all the fun and jokes, he nails the song, that’s undeniable. It always baffles you how he can just slay any and all genres, even the ones that stand a million miles away from his style.

When the song is over, you all cheer for him, because he truly deserves it. He grins down at you in victory, but you just give him a challenging smirk.

“You can just give up now, if you want,” he teases you as you stand up from the couch and the two of you trade places.

“Oh, I think you should be the one to worry about losing,” you warn him grabbing your bag. Stepping to Gemma you whisper into her ear, instructing her to put on your song when you call out from the bathroom, since you are planning on do a grandiose entrance. When she hears what song you’ll be singing she gasps.

“Oh my fucking God, no way!” he looks at your with wide eyes.

“What? What is it?” Harry asks, dying to know what you just told his sister, but you shake your head at him.

“Patience,” you tell him before locking yourself up in the bathroom.

This year, you didn’t find the sweater, the sweater found you. On one of your thrift tours, you were digging up a huge pile of clothes when you came right across it and you knew what you needed to do.

Putting on the sweater you fix up your hair quickly before putting on your party glasses, the one that lights up if you switch it on. You take one last look at yourself in the mirror and smirk at your reflection knowing well you’ll have everyone dead when you walk out.

“Gemma! You can start it!” you call out with your hand on the doorknob, waiting to hear the music. Gemma quickly starts in and you haven’t even stepped out, you can hear a round of gasps.

Best Song Ever blasts through the speakers and you walk out trying your best to imitate a younger version of Harry, wearing the absolute ugliest Christmas sweater ever, that has the faces of One Direction all over it, filling up every inch of the fabric, and all of them have poorly photoshopped Santa hats on, it’s just literal trash and ridiculously perfect for the battle.

You grab the mic and start singing as everyone screams in the room. You jump, sing and even do the dance moves the boys do in the original music video, and when you look at Harry you see him staring at you in disbelief and total defeat. Everyone knows you won, nothing can top this performance ever and you could burst from the sweet feeling of victory.

By the end of the song everyone is up on their feet dancing and singing with you, a mini party forming in the middle of the living room and you all scream the last lines as the song comes to its end.

“I think we don’t even need to vote this time,” you say when the music stops, everyone screaming in agreement while Harry stares down at you, trying to hide his growing smirk.

“Where did you even find this?” he asks chuckling as he takes a better look at the sweater.

“At a thrift store, it called out my name, knew it’d be perfect.”

“It really is ugly, if I’m being honest,” he sighs, his eyes meeting yours again. “And the song… I accept defeat, you earned this victory, Y/N,” he tells you bowing and admitting your victory.

Later that night everyone is so keen on watching Holiday, you agree to stay even though you feel your eyelids heavily weighing down, threatening to close with each passing moment. You let your head rest on Harry’s shoulder and he presses his cheek against the crown of your head.

It’s not a surprise you fall asleep halfway into the movie, but what you weren’t expecting is to wake up and find yourself not on the couch anymore, but in Harry’s bed. It’s dark, only the moon is shining through his windows and as you turn to the right you see that he is sleeping peacefully next to you on his back, one arm spread next to him, hand hanging from the edge, the other one resting on his stomach, rising and falling in a slow rhythm.

Squinting your eyes you look at the digital clock on his dresser, it reads 3:23 am so you’ve been asleep for quite a few hours now. You don’t even remember him bringing you up here, but you’re definitely not mad that he didn’t bring you home, just up to his room.

Rolling to your side you give yourself a moment to adorn his beauty without fearing he would catch your wandering eyes. Everything seems so perfect about him, the line of his nose, his cupid’s bow that delicately rolls into her lips. The crease between his eyebrows, his soft skin on his cheeks, down his neck that runs into his broad shoulders and inked, strong arms. You truly think there’s no man that could compare to him and you are lucky enough to live your life so close to him, be able to touch him, hear his voice whenever you miss him, see his smile and share a connection with him.

It’s so silly, but you think of him as your personal ray of sunshine in your life. Just the smallest things about him can brighten your worst day, he’ll always have a special place in your heart, no matter where life takes the two of you.

Watching him sleeping you allow yourself to break free from your doubts and fears and scooting closer you shyly curl up to his side, your head resting on his shoulder, but you can’t even make yourself comfortable before you feel him moving under you.

Sucking on your breath you think he’ll push you away, not wanting you so close, but instead, he pulls his arm from under you, curling around your frame as he pulls you tight to him, almost making you lie on top of him. Your whole body is pressed against him and you mingle a leg between his long ones under the soft sheets. You let out a long huff at the warm touch of his body against your skin, completely lost in him.

“You alright?” he mumbles in his sleep laced voice, his eyes remain closed.

“Yeah. Is this okay?” you nervously ask as you lay your hand flat on his stomach. He brings his hand that was hanging from the bed on his other side and covers yours, as he squeezes you tight to his side.

“’M all yours,” he breathes out, his words sending a shiver down your spine. You’re sure he didn’t mean it like that, but it warmed your heart to hear it from him and you let your mind play with the thought that there was more behind his words than a friendly manner.

Nuzzling your head into his chest you close your eyes and listening to his steady heartbeat you let yourself fall back asleep.

Your morning is filled with coffee, pancakes, laughter and great company. Harry doesn’t let you leave without having breakfast with them, so you sit with the Styles family and laugh about the craziest stories from your teenage years.

“Remember when we tried to run away?” Harry grins at you, his red mug that had white polka dots all over it in his hands as he eyes you.

“Oh, how could I forget that?” you huff and Gemma turns to you with surprise in her eyes.

“Wait, I didn’t know about that!”

“Because we didn’t get too far,” Harry laughs. “We were, what, like fifteen?”

“Yeah, it was a few weeks after my fifteenth birthday,” you nod smiling.

“I had a fight with mum about God knows what, then stormed over to Y/N’s and talked her into running away. So we packed our backpacks and left.”

“Where did you go?” Michal asks with an amused grin as he listens to the story.

“We didn’t want to go into town, running into anyone we know, so we thought we would just go straight out to the meadow that’s there,” Harry says gesturing towards the window. The edge of the town is not so war, and a huge meadow lies there, a little stream running across it. “We walked for quite long, but then it started to get dark and we had nowhere to go, so we just ended up coming back home. No one even noticed we were gone, they thought we just went out to bike or something,” he finishes laughing.

“You knew about this?” Gemma asks Anne.

“Yeah, he came clear the next day, thinking he would piss me off with it, but I didn’t care, he came back for dinner, so it was alright,” Anne explains laughing.

It’s been so long since it happened, but I still remember it vividly, only that it was a more dramatic memory back then, now I can only laugh at it.

“We should go for a walk today,” Harry prompts to you.

“Wanna run away again?” you tease him.

“Always,” he chuckles.

You help cleaning up and agree with Harry to meet outside in an hour to take a walk to the meadow. Going home you take a shower and wash the dishes your mum left in the sink when she left for her morning shift. You put on a pair of boyfriend jeans, a warm sweater and your jacket with your trusty boots and you walk out the house right when Harry steps out as well. He grins in your way as the two of you meet in the middle of the street. He holds his arm out for you.

“M’ lady?” he smirks as you link your arm with his and the two of you head out for your little walk. It’s a gloomy day, might rain later as well, but it’s dry so far, so you’re just hoping to get home before it starts raining. Your runaway attempt wasn’t the only time the two of you came out here, it was kind of your place when you felt like having a break from everyone else. You biked out here, brought your favorite snacks and just ran around, enjoying the stillness.

However it also holds a bitter memory as well.

A little further down among the trees happened Harry’s first kiss and you witnessed it, feeling your heart break to a million pieces when you saw him lock lips with someone who wasn’t you.

Debby Hamilton was a friend of yours in sixth grade, you’d say, your only friend beside Harry and the three of you often hung out together around that time. Debby was a delight, you always desired to be more like her, boys liked her and she knew it damn well, but it didn’t make her cocky and egoistic. You always thought Harry had a crush on her, why would have he? They kind of looked cute together.

It was a Friday afternoon and Harry asked if you wanted to come out and listen to his new cassette he got for his old Walkman he refused to get rid of as technology was evolving. You figured he’d want Debby there as well so you invited her along, but didn’t tell Harry. He never made a move on Debby and you thought he was just looking for the right time.

That afternoon, you were supposed to meet them out there at five, but you didn’t leave until half past five and it takes about twenty minutes to get out there. Though you gave them the alone time technically, it still startled you when you found them under one of the oak trees, Debby leaning her back against the tree as Harry stood in front of her. She was smiling up at him sweetly, saying something to him and you were just about to call out for them and apologize for being late when Harry ducked his head and kissed Debby right in front of your eyes.

That was your first and probably worst heartbreak and you were only twelve. You felt betrayed, hopeless and naïve to think Harry would ever have a thing for you when there were girls like Debby. You left without letting them know you were there. When Harry asked you later why you didn’t come you told him you felt sick to your stomach, which wasn’t a total lie, you had quite the nausea after seeing Harry with Debby, but he didn’t have to know all the details.

He later told you about kissing Debby and you pretended like you didn’t know about it. However they never dated and not long after their kiss Debby drifted away from the two of you. Not that you minded, you had a bitter feeling every time you had to look at her after that, jealousy raging in your chest knowing that she got Harry’s first kiss.

He didn’t bring it up after and you weren’t keen on talking about it, but you still know which tree they were standing under and now as you near the area you see that it still stands tall near the tiny stream.

Peeking up at Harry you see that his eyes are focused on the same tree, but then he catches you looking.

“Memories?” you innocently ask, feeling your chest tightening. You don’t even know why you asked. It’s been over a decade since that kiss, you are both adults, but you still can’t help the sadness that washes over you at just the thought, why would you want to get him talk about it now?

“’S just… that’s the tree I kissed Debby when I was twelve,” he mumbles with a shrug. Biting into your bottom lip you look at the old oak tree nodding your head and before you could stop yourself, you speak up.

“I know.”

“What? How would you? I never told you,” Harry asks stopping, a puzzled look pulling on his face.

“Well I… It doesn’t matter,” you sigh, regretting ever opening your mouth.

“It does. Tell me!” he pleads standing in front of you.

“I know it, because… I was here.”

“You what?”

“I came, I was just very late. And when I arrived you two were standing there and I saw you kiss. I thought I shouldn’t interrupt whatever was happening so I went home and let you two be,” you explain, changing it up a little bit.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why is it important that I saw it? It doesn’t change anything, right?” you ask with a smile that you intended to look innocent, but deep down it’s filled with pain.

Harry opens his mouth as if he wants to say something, but then remains silent and you are done talking about it, so you just quietly keep walking, Harry catching up with you a few moments later.

It’s awfully quiet after your revelation, it seems like Harry is deep in his thoughts and though you’re dying to know what’s occupying his bright thoughts, you’re kind of afraid you’d hear something you didn’t want to.

The two of you soon head back home and slowly, but you forget about the whole Debby thing. Harry starts talking again, but he looks a little keyed up still when you reach your street.

“Wanna come over later?” you ask standing on the pavement in front of your house, it’s just an innocent question. Harry nods his head.

“Sure. Is your mum working?” he asks glancing at the house, though he knows she is, the car is not on the driveway.

“Yeah. She’ll be home around six.”

He nods again and you want to ask if he is alright, but you decide not to. You share a quick hug before he heads over to his home and you do the same. The house waits for you in silence and when the door clicks behind you, it weighs down on you heavier than you were expecting. You hang your jacket, kick your boots off and throw yourself to the couch, covering your eyes with your arm as you huff out in frustration. You feel silly for getting upset about such a small thing even after so much time, but you just can’t help it.

You barely realize the sound of the front door opening, taking your arm off your eyes you see Harry walk in, eyebrows furrowed, a worried look on his handsome face.

“Harry—“ “I was waiting for you that day,” he simply says as you sit up with wide eyes, confused about what he is really talking about.

“What?”

“That day, we agreed to meet out there to listen to my new Stevie Wonder cassette, but you didn’t show up, Debby did even though I didn’t invite her out there.”

“Well, I did, thought you wanted her there too,” you explain, startled by the situation.

“I would have invited her if I wanted her to be there, but I wanted to be with you. Only you.”

“I-I’m sorry?” you breathe out, not seeing where he is going with it.

“Y/N, you don’t understand,” he huffs and he is right. You don’t. “I wanted to meet you, but you never came, or at least I thought. Then Debby showed up, I was frustrated that you weren’t there and she was being all nice, telling me how cute I looked when I was worried and it all just happened so fast and… I didn’t even want to kiss her.” He looks properly upset telling you the story and he takes a deep breath before his eyes meet yours with a hard stare. “I wanted to be with you,” he repeats.

“Harry, I’m sorry, I didn’t—“

He shakes his hair, not even letting you finish, because he knows what you wanted to say and that you still don’t understand the meaning behind his words.

“Y/N, I wanted to kiss you,” he then finally says and you suck on your breath as he continues. “Well, not right then and there, but I’ve been meaning to kiss you, I just didn’t know when. I thought that if we have a moment that afternoon I’d do it, but you never came and I was mad and disappointed. I hated myself for kissing Debby, because I didn’t really want to, it just… happened. I wanted to tell you, and I intended to do it when I told you we kissed, but you acted so happy, I figured you didn’t feel the same way about me as I did for you. So I didn’t tell you the rest, but…” He sighs in defeat, looking for words, but he ran out.

“Why are you telling this to me now?” you ask a little out of breath, your head feeling heavy at the new information you just heard.

“Why didn’t you tell me you saw us and why did you go home without a word?” he asks ignoring your question.

“I… don’t—“

“Don’t try to lie.”

Gulping hard you lick your dried lips as you stare back at him.

“Because I was… jealous.” Your voice comes out only as a whisper. Harry’s lips part as he takes two steps closer to you.

“You had feelings for me?” he asks and you just nod your head, not trusting yourself with your voice. “Do you still have feelings for me?”

“I do,” you whisper your answer and Harry lets out a sharp breath as he leaps across the room in your way. You jump to your feet, thinking that he’ll lash out on your for keeping it a secret and you open your mouth to explain yourself, but you never get to speak up because as Harry reaches you, one hand snaps to the back of your neck, the other one to your waist, yanking you against him as his lips crash to yours.

You gasp in surprise, but it doesn’t take long to kiss him back, your numb mind blindly reacting to his sudden action. Your hands snake up to the back of his neck as you pull him closer, returning his hungry kisses. His soft lips feel so smooth and warm against yours and when his tongue runs along your bottom lip you whimper letting your tongues meet in the middle.

He is intoxicating and it doesn’t help that your adrenaline level is up in the sky, you’ve fantasized about it way too many times, and now that it’s happening your body is burning in flames. He kisses you all over and over again, his body pressing against yours hard and when he even leans in making you lean back, you lose balance and the two of you fall to the couch, both of you gasping as you are forced to part your lips.

“Fuck,” you chuckle as Harry is basically lying on you, holding himself up on his arms, but you feel him everywhere.

“’M sorry, I got a little carried away, but I’ve been dying to do this since forever,” he admits chuckling as he lifts his head and looks down at you with those bright green eyes of his.

“Really?” you breathe out, only slowly processing what’s really just happened.

“Y/N, I’ve been in love with you since I first saw you hiding behind your mum.”

“Idiot, you were just a kid, you weren’t in love,” you chuckle, running up your hands to the back of his neck, your fingers playing with the soft curls. He smirks and nuzzles his nose against yours.

“Oh, I was, I just didn’t know it yet.” Leaning down he pecks your lips softly. “I’ve been meaning to tell you so many times, but I didn’t want it to ruin our friendship. Though I was growing impatient these last few years.”

“Yeah?” you chuckle.

“You can’t imagine,” he huffs shaking his head. I almost kissed you the other day in the kitchen, but Gemma completely ruined the moment.”

“I’m sorry I ran away, I was just—“ “No need to apologize. I guess it all played out well after all, right?” he smirks and you can’t help but chuckle.

“I guess,” you breathe out and the smile slowly fades from your lips. “And now what?” you ask quietly, staring up at him.

“Now… We’ll try to make things work. Test the waters. I’m very serious about this, Y/N,” he tells you. “I’ve been waiting for this my whole life so I’m not gonna let go of you now.”

“You have no idea how happy this is making me,” you choke out feeling the tears forming in your eyes.

“Oh Love, please don’t cry,” he begs and leaning down he kisses your tears away. “I’m right here, with you. Sorry it took me so long you get here, but I’m here now.”

“I know,” you huff blinking away the tears as you pull him down and press your lips to his. “I love you, Harry,” you whisper against his perfect lips. You feel him exhale sharply as he keeps kissing you before he lifts his head so your eyes meet again.

“I’ve always loved you.”

Thank you for reading, let me know what you thought about it!

#harry #styles #harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles au #harry styles oneshot #harry styles fluff #harry styles one shot #harry styles x reader #harry styles xyou #harry styles x y/n #harry styles imagine #fanficmas2020 #fanficmas 2020 #watchmegetobsessed fanficmas #watchmegetobsessed fanficmas 2020

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lunaticsandidiots · 3 years ago

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So I have to walk and take the bus to get to uni, and I always listen to music on the way and imagine scenarios with whatever character I'm obsessed with (currently Adrian). So my question is, do you have any songs that remind you of him, or that you think he'd like?

me too me too! that's when i get some of my best ideas. that and as im trying to sleep (i have a little notebook and flashlight pen beside my bed just for it). i am also an absolute music nerd so this ones gonna be a read more answer

songs that reminds me of adrian chase/songs i think he'd listen to...

off the top of my head, these are the songs that remind me of adrian...

11th Street Kids - Hanoi Rocks (duh)

Jawbreaker - The Cruel Intentions (also duh)

I'm Eighteen - Alice Cooper

Play With Me - Extreme

Ever Fallen In Love - Buzzcocks

in terms of songs i think he'd like however, i think he'd like all of the above, but because of his ringtone i can't help but feel like he's also a sucker for fun, cheesy pop music. the songs that come to mind immediately are...

The Sign - Ace of Base

Everybody - Backstreet Boys

Everytime We Touch - Cascada (okay but this song reminds me of This Video which has INSANE adrian energy, tell me you can't see him doing this)

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom - Vengaboys

The Sailor Song - Toy-Box

(realising now this is all 90s nostalgia pop, but it makes so much sense for him, it's fun, it's goofy and its nostalgic)

(a/n: i was listening to Get Ready by 2 Unlimited while writing this and now i can't stop thinking about him going absolutely feral to it and i'm legitimately in tears of laughter)

#this is my fav kinda question #because i get to nerd out about adrian AND music #ask #ask z #adrian chase #adrian chase headcanons #vigilante #vigilante headcanons

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harrystyleseditsx · 3 years ago

Text

If you need me

SUMMARY: A one shot of where y/n experiences something that reminds her of her traumatic past and Harry’s 5000 miles away

based on the song If you need by julia micheals

WARNING: Angst with fluff :)

pairing: Harry Styles x uni y/n

wordcount: 2.3k

A/N: Welcome to my first fic, I needed to write something to get in the flow to write my 2000 word story so here it is :)) ily guys <3 (also would you prefer y/n or an oc, please let me know!!)

Y/N was very happy about how her morning had been going.

She had woken up early, worked out and made her favorite breakfast. She had also gotten herself some flowers to celebrate the fact that she had submitted her 10 page essay early. The only thing that would make her morning better would be face timing harry but she knew it was 1 pm here meaning it would be 9 pm in London where Harry was and he had a concert to perform. She threw on one of Harry’s treat people with kindness hoodies over her sundress as she headed to the library that would often get chilly or she was just always cold as harry often teased her. She smiled as she remembered harry telling she would overheat if she continued to wear zip ups and pile blankets on herself even during summers.

She had by now almost reached the library when she suddenly bumped into someone causing the other person to drop some of their stuff. “Shit, I’m so sorry. I should have paid more attention-” it felt as if the words were stuck in her throat as she glanced at who she bumped into.

“Oh hi Y/N” Asher taunted, her ex. She hadn’t seen him since the break up when he told her that he needed space and took off to France only to send her the infamous break up text. And, here he was 6 months later, looking the every bit same. She felt a feeling of anxiety creeping up on her as she started playing with her fingers trying to stop when she saw Asher’s eyes drop to her hands.

“Are you nervous y/n? Always played with your fingers when you were” he said with a hint of smugness, as he reached his hand forward trying to grasp hers. She immediately pulled back, crossing them against her chest as she took a deep breath.

“What are you doing here Asher? Aren’t you supposed to be in France?” she snapped at him, her nervousness quickly turning into anger. Asher raised an eyebrow as if surprised at her response.

“Been keeping tabs on me?” he smirked. “Well forgive me if I wanted to know where my boyfriend, sorry, ex-boyfriend ran off too on our 1 year anniversary” she scoffed.

“Finally grew a backbone y/n?” he drawled looking her up and down. Y/N had never felt the urge to pull someone’s eyeballs out more than she did now. She found herself thinking what she ever saw in this piece of shit. She snapped back to reality as she heard him droning about something.

“..you need me, so I’ll take you back-” he was in interrupted as y/n threw her head back laughing. When she looked at him again, he had an annoyed look on his face. “I need you? Well, I’d like to inform you that you’re wrong again. I don’t need you, I don’t need anyone. I managed myself when you left and I’m doing so now too. So, you can see yourself out of my life again” she reiterated. Asher now looked furious, he lunged forward and grabbed her by her wrists as she tried to free herself from his grip.

“Is all this attitude because of her famous singer boyfriend? Yes, I know all about him. Is he telling you that you’re beautiful? or that you’re important? because news flash, you’re not y/n. You’re worthless, stupid, ugly and you’ll be nothing without me. You’re a whore” he growled. Y/N felt herself flinch as she heard his words before she composed herself and kicked him in the balls. His grip on her wrists loosened giving her the perfect opportunity to attack. She grabbed him by the back of his neck and jerked it forward, raising her knee and smashed his face against it and then shoved him backwards. She heard Asher yelp in pain as blood gushed out of his. One of his hands was on his dick while other on his nose. She felt a sense of pride and satisfaction rush through her as she looked at him.

"You bitch, you broke my nose. You'll pay for this" Asher yelled at her. She decided it was best to kick him one more time for good measure and she did, smiling as he groaned in pain. "No, you listen to me. If you ever come near me again or try to hurt me I will fuck up your life and I'll get my famous singer boyfriend to help too" y/n taunted as she turned out to head back to her apartment, she had never been more glad to have her apartment be a 5 minute walk from campus. The whole incident had taken a huge toll on her.

She locked her room as soon as she entered it, leaning against the door as she slowly sank to the floor. She took a deep breath before the sobs broke out. Her entire body was shaking as she wrapped her arms around herself trying to feel as if she wasn't alone in the world. Y/N picked up her phone to send a text to harry but she try made her feel even more shitty. What if he realized she wasn't worth it, what if he had enough of her breakdowns. She pressed her nails into her palm, hitting herself to try to stop herself from feeling too much. She had come so far and now all it took was one interaction for everything to come crumbling down.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting like that but her phone rang, she looked at the clock to see it flashing 5 pm. Realizing that it must be harry on the phone, she got up and rushed to the bathroom, quickly washing her face, she laid down on the bed so he could only see half of her face and then accepted his call.

Harry appeared on the screen all smiley and sweaty. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him. All she wanted to do was hug him. "Finally picked up, huh? I thought y'were gonna leave me hangin' lovie" he teased her. "I'm sorry, my phone was on silent" she said softly.

Harry realised the change in her demeanor, his smile turning into a frown. "Y'alright honey? Not even showin' me y'pretty face" he said to her. She tried to smile as she moved the camera a bit so he could see more of her face. "I'm just tired H" she whispered. Harry had been moving around, probably trying to find a quieter area. He shut the door behind him as he entered what looked like his dressing room.

"Have y'been cryin' y/n?" he questioned as he saw her red nose and faint traces of year marks on her cheeks. y/n knew there was no point in lying because it was pretty obvious. "Yeah, I didn't do very well in one of the assignments my economics professor had assigned but I'm fine now" she told him adding a smile in the end to make it more believable and maybe Harry would have believed her had he not caught a glimpse of the nasty bruise on wrist as the sleeve of her (his) hoodie slipped down when she was pulled the hood up. Harry was furious and the visible anger on his face made y/n want to curl up.

"What the fuck is that y/n?" he questioned furiously. "What are you talking about? "y/n replied looking genuinely confused. "The fucking bruise on your wrist” harry snapped, by now he had lost all his patience. No one gets to hurt his lovie.

Y/N was at a loss, she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want him to worry about her but she couldn’t come up with anything to say. “Asher came back, he cornered me and when I tried to go, he grabbed my wrists” she mumbled, playing with the hem of his sweatshirt. She dare not glance his way, afraid of his reaction. After a minute of silence, Y/N glanced at her phone only to find the screen to be blank. Had he hung up on her? She stared at the blank screen of her phone in disbelief. She felt as if she was having an out of body experience. Opening her gallery, she started scrolling through the numerous photos and videos of her and harry. It was at this time that she was grateful with her obsession of taking pictures and photos. A few tears escaped her eyes as she realized how much she missed him and how he probably didn’t want to talk to her ever. Was he going to break up with her? Y/N’s heart clenched at that thought, she put on harry’s playlist on her spotify and laid there.

She must have fallen asleep because she woke up to the sound of pots clanging. Her heart sped up, no one besides her and harry had the key to her apartment and harry wouldn’t-

She threw the blanket covering her aside (which had not been there before) and rushed to the kitchen. And sure enough there he was, her boyfriend, with his back facing her. Y/N felt tears well up in her eyes, he came here for her. Harry turned around to see her standing in the entryway of the kitchen, crying. He reached her in three quick strides, pulling her in a hug. She tightly wrapped her arms around him, fearing he might disappear. Harry pulled back after a few minutes, cupping her face in his hands he gently brushed his thumb over her cheek.

“Gonna properly tell m’what happened now bubs?” he urged. Unable to say anything at that moment Y/N just nodded. Grabbing her hand, Harry led her to the sofa, grabbing her by the waist and seating her on his lap. He patiently waited her to start talking. For a while Y/n just played with his hair, then she took a deep breath and told him everything that happened. She could feel Harry’s grip tightening on her hips, not to the extent that it was painful, when she told him what Asher had said to her.

“M’gonna fuckin’ kill him” Harry cursed when she had finished. “I already did some damage” Y/N told him, smirking as she remembered Asher’s face. Harry looked at her questioningly, “I might have kicked him in the balls and broken his nose and added another kick for good measure” she admitted. Harry grinned, “that’s m’girl” he said proudly, pulling her in for a kiss. They sat like that for a while with Harry telling her about tour and she filled him in with other things that she had forgotten when they had their facetime sessions.

Y/N told him that she wanted to report Asher, in case he ever tried to pull shit like this again. Harry not only told her but also showed her how proud he was of her, how brave she’d been and how much he loved her in multiple ways.

The next day they headed to the dean’s office, where Y/N saw two officers sitting outside. Luckily there were several camera’s in the hallway where Asher had cornered Y/N, so by noon, with all the available proof, she’d gotten a restraining order against Asher. If her were to come within a distance of 6ft with her, he’d serve jail time. As they left the dean’s office, Y/N saw Asher standing , she could feel harry tensing up, so when Asher looked Y/N up and down and smirked, Harry lunged forward punching him in his already swollen nose. Asher yelped in pain, he tried to fight Harry back but by now the officers had restrained him, taking him away.

Back at the apartment, Y/N tended to Harry’s bruised knuckles as she felt a hollowness knowing he’d be leaving soon. By the look on her face, Harry knew what she was thinking about, he took the cotton swab from her hands, placing it on the table before he kissed her.

“I’ll be back soon, it’s only a matter of two months now and by then you’ll graduate and I’ll be done with tour and we can have everyday to ourselves” harry told her, wiggling his eyebrows. She lightly smacked his chest, pressing a small kiss to his lips. “I know, It’s just that sometimes I miss you” she commented. “Only sometimes?” Harry pretended to be offended, “Well a bit more than sometimes” she retorted. “Just a bit more? I miss you so much, it hurts” he admitted. Her shoulders slumped a bit as she pulled him in a hug. “I love you Harry” she whispered and heard him softly whisper I love you too sweetheart.

That evening Y/n drove him to the airport, they knew they couldn’t outside for long so Harry pulled her in a kiss before he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “Promise me you’ll tell me anything that happens, I don’t care if it’s just a paper cut or not. Just don’t hide things from me, If when you need me I'll be there" he blurted. “I promise” she said firmly, showing him she was serious. She didn’t want him to worry but he’d eventually know something was up and it was better to sort things out. He kissed her again before he went in the airport. She stood there until he was no longer in her sight before she sat in her car and started driving off.

Her phone chimed, picking it up she saw that Harry had sent her a image. It was a very poorly drawn graphic of a guy lying on the floor with a crooked nose and blood around him that she assumed was Asher and a girl stood over him wearing a superhero cape. He had written, ‘my hero’. She smiled fondly before sending him a picture of her reaction as she increased the volume of her radio and driving off. Soon.

This is my first time writing a harry fic/blurb. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Also, I’ve turned on the asks (I didn’t know they were off) so you can send in your requests!! Thank you :))

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skelelephant · 3 years ago

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Hello!! I listened to your Jared Hopworth playlist the other day and really loved it! Was wondering if you share your thoughts on why you picked some songs/how they relate to him. Basically I just want to know how you see him lol Thanks for your time!!

Anon I am holding your hands in my own so earnestly as I say this but THANK YOU for this ask and thank you for enjoying my playlist!!!

You sent this ages ago and I was very excited about it! And then school and life immediately sapped all the energy from my body, BUT—

I am always so very down to talk about my boy he holds a very special place in my heart. Also you said some songs but I’m just. I’m just gonna break down the entire playlist cause now I have an excuse

But I’ll put it under the cut bc I’m going to talk a lot ✨

(also cw for some brief discussions of emotional abuse and general Flesh-related stuff below)

ANYWAY. Onto the brainrot:

1. Dirty Town - Mother Mother

So this one is up first ‘cause it’s a song about being dissatisfied with where you live, wanting to leave and go somewhere else, etc etc. I saw that kind of dissatisfaction in Jared a lot through his statement in MAG 131, where he talks about not doing well in school or really seeing a future for himself, as well as Sebastian’s comment in MAG 17 about Jared thinking Sebastian leaving him there was “something of a betrayal.” (Though I know this song is more small town/country and Chiswick seems like a pretty bustling area lmao so the vibes aren’t exact)

2. Be Nice To Me - The Front Bottoms

So this song is perhaps The Jared Song Ever. It’s just *chefs kiss* perfect. Like the accidental (or purposeful) destruction of self to fit a narrative assigned to you so that you inevitably become a self-fulfilling prophecy?? How that behaviour ends up destroying good relationships and pushing people away but you’re in too deep to really reverse course??? It makes me think about Jared and Sebastian’s friendship breaking down as they grow apart and change as people but still aren’t able to fully rid themselves of like. That childish fondness you still have for your old friends. (You’re gonna find I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about Sebastian Adekoya also)

3. Angel Eyes and Basketball by Foot Ox

Once again I am thinking about Jared becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy of anger and acting out and not being able to stop it.

[ID: a screenshot of lyrics that read “I am calling all of my friend to pull me out from this hole, But they’re so caught up in their own shit, And I’m so caught up in my own shit. End ID.]

This bit in particular reminds me of how Jared said he went through friends pretty fast, and how Sebastian was probably his only true long-lasting friend. But even Sebastian couldn’t stay and try to help him forever.

4. Father - The Front Bottoms

I have a lot of thoughts about Jared’s parents honestly, particularly his dad, most of which are me projecting. I won’t get into too much of that mess however I do think about the bit from MAG 131 where Jared says “But they were scared, and that felt good, even back then. It felt right. My Dad was proud of it too. He was a short man, bully, and watching me loom over people really made him happy.” And I think about Jared simultaneously having a strained relationship with his father while also doing everything he could to make him proud, even if that meant being just as much of a bully as him.

5. Days - The Drums

We’re circling back around to his relationship with Sebastian with this one. I think as dismissive as Jared is when addressing Sebastian in his statement during 131, Jared had kind of grown to depend on him for a lot, emotionally speaking. Kind of the break when you’re talking about someone’s only real friend growing up. The song itself is pretty upbeat so I’m reaching a little, (and I’ll reach pretty far ngl) but I do think about Jared feeling like he’s finally lost the only person that actually cared about him when Sebastian leaves for uni, so now he’s got to go it alone and abandon that childhood friendship.

6. Brave as a Noun - AJJ

Ngl I think about “And God knows I could make amends, But I’ve got an angry heart”, in relation to Jared realizing he’s tearing apart the one good friendship he ever while simultaneously not knowing how to Not Do That so often. I firmly believe that Jared and Sebastian actually legitimately cared about each other, but Jared was heading in a direction Sebastian couldn’t save him from and it ended up destroying their friendship.

[ID: a screenshot of lyrics that read “I could go off the deep end, I could kill all my best friends, I could follow stylish trends, And God knows I could make amends, But I've got an angry heart, Filled with cancers and poppy tarts, If this is how you folks make art it's fucking depressing. End ID.]

7. Bullfighter Jacket - Miniature Tigers

Surprise surprise I am talking to you about Jared and Sebastian’s friendship once again with this one. This ones a bit of a “I’m reaching/it’s really just one lyric” sort of song but I think the vibe is good for them.

[ID: a screenshot of lyrics that read “Now nothing seems to stay the same, I’m terrified to lose you, but more afraid to change (Oh!) End ID.]

This bit in particular makes me think about like. Jared in the process of realizing that the way he’s turned out is driving away his best friend, but he doesn’t have any sort of identity outside of being a general menace. This is all he’s got, and he’s sticking with it, but he also doesn’t want to lose Sebastian. So this turns into him seeking Sebastian out to be a menace to him directly cause it’s the only way he knows how to connect with people anymore.

8. What Can I Do If the Fire Goes Out? - Gang of Youths

This song is part of my agenda to get more people to listen to the rest of this album besides Achilles Come Down (ironically also on this playlist but we’ll get to that later.) Anyway stream Go Farther In Lightness. But REALLY this song is about abandonment, and Jared is just. Rife with abandonment issues. We know this, we love him, maybe go to therapy king <3

Anyway struggling to maintain connections but ultimately losing them or questioning whether or not you really needed them in the first place really fits in well with him I think.

9. Garden Song - Phoebe Bridgers

Ohhhh the passage of time and dwelling on old wounds that are healed over but not forgotten, just made peace with. Plus it’s about gardens and growth and if you’ve read any of my other long winded “I’m very emotional about Jared rn” posts you’ll know I have BIG feelings about Jared’s domain being a garden. I’ll spare you that whole emotional rollercoaster here but personally I think Jared can have,,,, a little healing. Not that I’m projecting very hard onto this monster man or anything but I think the implications of him “growing” things in the end speaks for itself.

10. Misery Fell - Tally Hall

This song is in here for Sebastian! Honestly I’ve fleshed out Sebastian’s character a lot purely based on my own unhinged headcanoning, so this one especially might seem like a reach since it’s mostly based on my own interpretation of a character we only get a single statement from. But I think this song’s story about a town with a unique relationship with books and knowledge and an outside force that changes that relationship very suddenly fits well for him.

11. Bad Habits - FIDLAR

This one is really just what it says on the tin, it’s a song about bad habits and why someone might engage in them, how they can provide comfort despite their unhealthiness and prove themselves to be really hard to break. And it’s got that extra flavour of being scared/uncertain about your future that I think informs a lot of Jared’s character. Plus I think I could see Jared liking this song in-fiction truthfully.

12. I Wanna Get Better - Bleachers

Okay so this song in particular is entirely my very specific interpretation of Jared’s character that is,,, mostly projection. Look, I know what canon says but We’re Not Looking At Canon right now. And in my heart of hearts I think Jared did have the capacity to heal and get better, and because I think writing him off as something purely evil and inhuman does a disservice to the character. So this song is mostly *recognition of self through the other* from one former big angry teenager (me) to another (fictional) former big angry teenager.

13. Trouble - Cage The Elephant

This one is also mostly vibes based but it’s got a weariness to it that I associate a lot with s5 Jared. Like if we think about it— Jared is in his forties or thereabouts by the time MAG171 rolls around. There was a lot of violence and acting out and physicality to most of his earlier appearances that aren’t really reflected in 171. He does threaten to try and get a “few good hits in” when Jon shows up to smite him, but think about how quickly he lets go of that?? I’ve mentioned this in other posts but I genuinely don’t think that earlier seasons Jared would’ve backed down in that situation, even if he knew he’d lose, which just goes to show how much he’s changed by the time s5 rolls around.

14. Skeleton Appreciation Day - Will Wood and the Tapeworms

This one just feels very Fleshcore honestly, both with the focus being on bones and also the theme of body image/intimacy issues. Like I love the butcher aesthetic believe me, (just look at my main TMA oc lmao) but sometimes I think people forget the other areas and fears that the Flesh extends to. But that’s a whole other post honestly I could talk about how reductive the fandom gets with the Flesh just as much as I could talk about how reductive they are with Jared LMAO

15. Body - Mother Mother

Listen. I am not immune to The Flesh Song Ever. I’m just SAYING if the shoe fits HHEHDHFHF

But rlly a lot of the notes from the last song apply here too. One day I’ll write a rambling post about the Flesh itself..... one day

16. Real Men - Mitski

This song was given to me by a mutual (hi Calvin if you’re reading this) and OH the toxic masculinity hurting inward as much as it does outward and how that reflects in Jared’s character is just.... so fitting. Like I think on the surface level most people get that Jared’s character is informed a lot by toxic masculinity and how it’s taught and learned and ultimately rewarded and encouraged. Jared learns from his father that it’s good to be strong and mean, good to put others beneath you. He’s rewarded for being like that to the point where when that strength stops serving him he doesn’t really have any other place in the world, which ultimately makes him a perfect candidate for the Boneturner’s Tale.

17. Achilles Come Down - Gang of Youths

Ik for a few weeks there this was everyone’s blorbo from my shows song (and rightly so, it fucks, once again listen to the whole album I am BEGGING—) but I think it fits Jared well bc of the self-destructive tendencies and hopelessness on display here. Jared said it himself in MAG131, he couldn’t see a future for himself, he was just acting out bc that’s all he had left. The one person who he thought actually cared about him (in his eyes) betrayed him and left him behind too. And I like this song bc it’s being sung from the perspective of someone trying to prevent Achilles from jumping. Makes me think about how Sebastian very well could have done his best to keep Jared on a good path, keep their friendship together, but ultimately there comes a time where the strain is too much, and you have to let a person go.

18. Just Take My Wallet - Jack Stauber’s Micropop

This is. The MAG17 song. This Is It. Jared’s mom is another character I think a lot about, but that shouldn’t be surprising at this point if you’ve actually made it this far into this post. I think she was as much a victim of Jared’s father’s “bullying” as Jared was, and based on Jared’s recollection of her I don’t think she took a very active role in making sure Jared was protected from that. But I think people forget that she was one of— if not the first people we know Jared tested his powers on. And I think often about how she saw what this book was doing to her son and the monster it was turning him into and she STILL somehow managed to get it away from him to return it to the library. She ultimately tried to protect her kid from what the Boneturner’s Tale was doing to him. Also this bit??? This bit at the end??????

[ID: screenshot of lyrics that read “What's the softest way to say, You took away my friend, my buddy? What's the kindest way to say, You took away my friend? What's the kindest way to say, You took away my friend, my buddy? What's the kindest way to say, The end?” End ID.]

Is this Jared talking about Sebastian leaving him? Is this Sebastian in the years that follow Jared’s disappearance wrestling with the guilt of bringing the Boneturner’s Tale to him and hating it for taking his friend away before they could even attempt to reconcile their friendship? Either way I’m distraught!

19. I Guess It Could Be Looked at as an Escape, or as a Chance to Start Over - Flatsound

So this song doesn’t have any words, but from title and vibes alone I thought it followed song 18 really well. Because if you think about what the Boneturner’s Take offered Jared it *could* be looked at as an escape or a chance to start over. It was the lifeline he needed to escape what he was certain would be a bitter and miserable existence, though of course it didn’t come without cost, so the melancholic and lonely sound of the song itself reflects that really well.

20. Banks - Lincoln

Another song given to me by a mutual! (Hi Hope :3c)

This is a more recent edition and I forgot to actually arrange it in the playlist BUT REGARDLESS this one circles back around to Jared and Sebastian bc I think way too much about the two of them before MAG17. This is once again a lot of wishful thinking a projection that maybe Jared and Sebastian could have worked things out. Theres an AU in my head where they actually manage to talk and sort things out when Sebastian comes back from university

[ID: a screenshot of lyrics that read: I want the catharsis of knowing, something bad’s about to happen, but also knowing that I can’t do anything about it, because your new house just don’t shine, quite like the one you grew up in used to, I wanna come and visit, I wanna see this through, but, I never will because you’re just not what I need, and I am just not what you want, though you’re in everyone I meet and. End ID.]

Also this verse??? I’ll take close friends who drifted apart but still care very deeply for each other on some level for $100

ANYWAY. THATS IT

Once again I am shaking your hand if you’ve read this entire rambling thing, and THANK U AGAIN ANON for giving my an opportunity to talk about how much I care about Jared Hopworth.

#THIS TOOK ME AGES IM SORRY #I HAVENT HAD THE BRAIN SPACE TO FINISH THIS #BUT HERE U GO ANON TY FOR THE ASK #tma #the magnus archives #jared hopworth #praying to god this posts right cause i dont usually post from desktop hdfhfhf #my favourite chords

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