#trying to keep up answering with relative quickness but the holidays was kicking my ass but we are soooo back

[faerunfaggot]

What happened with stitches? How’d he go from a scarecrow to A Man

Also how did everyone feel about it? (Including stitches) Especially Farimor, how did he feel about it?

ALRIGHT sorry about the delay in answering this. this is the big one. one of my favorite arcs. so i had to take the time to answer it properly LOL. for the sake of brevity i won't be going into CRAZY detail so feel free to ask followup questions on anything if you'd like! (my evil plan)

SO. somewhat of a tldr of the events leading up to this. aylith, the deity inside stitches, starts kind of slowly corrupting/influencing the members of his adventuring party. he has no control over this obviously, and is worried about his friends since her influence seems to be pretty negative.

worried that aylith will hurt his friends further, particularly farimor (though he's concerned about everyone, he's a good noodle) stitches tries to trick her by pretending to cede to her will. he then overloads himself with magic power, and knowingly destroys himself, hoping it will kill her as well. this is in the middle of battle, and in the confusion no one realizes what he's doing fast enough to try to stop him (though it may not have worked anyway). 

obviously, this is very traumatic for farimor. for most of his life he's made a point to keep his distance from others, for fear of getting close with someone and losing them or being betrayed. he finally let his guard down with stitches, perhaps a little unintentionally, but it was going well enough before this, so he's almost blindsided by the exact thing he feared this entire time finally happening the MOMENT it has the opportunity to. i won't get into it too much, but he's severely impacted by this and spirals. doubles down on his (already pretty bad) alcoholism, pushes away any other connections… just completely reclusive and depressed. he still takes work, kind of falling back in his old habit of surviving just for the sake of surviving with no real goals.

MEANWHILE stitches is kind of in a weird limbo death state. he can see what's happening still, and he's somewhat like a ghost, but because of the nature of his soul he can't really go anywhere. he stays like this for a while, unsure of how to solve this issue for himself. sadder still, he CAN see what fari's up to, so unfortunately he has to watch his decline.

after a while, aylith returns in her true form, to try to kill the remaining members of stitches' party. stitches obviously realizes that his sacrifice didn't work, and is reasonably freaking out. despite his distrust for deities, he ends up taking a deal with another different god in order to save his friends, WITH the exception that he owes the god nothing. all that is asked of him is that he kills aylith for good.

he's given a new form when he is returned to life to save his party, since the scarecrow form he took before was destroyed. he's an aasimar thanks to the the intervention of the god he's dealt with. his appearance is made in the image of his "ideal" self– an almost entirely stereotypical "hero" type. a handsome, golden god looking paladin with shining armor, that type of thing. this is how he always visualized himself in his mind LOL

obviously this is a huge change for stitches. he can't remember a lot of his past as a scarecow (though he retains memory in the form of his feelings- just his memory of specific events is hazy). it's scary at first, since he can actually feel pain now, and he's also capable of feeling a full human range of emotions, which is very overwhelming. like if your brain emotionally developed all at once LOL. he DOES get used to it eventually, though he IS still pretty naive and trusting and QUITE socially inept (and maybe kinda pretty dumb. but in his defense he just grew a brain 2 days ago).

farimor is initially just completely overwhelmed by the idea that stitches is back, since he thought he had lost him forever. he's already emotionally stunted as hell to begin with, so it's A LOT for him as you can imagine. his first reaction is to be angry with stitches for everything, but he quickly comes to his senses and realizes that it really wasn't his fault. they make up easily, stitches isn't the type to get angry, especially with farimor, and forgives him a lot faster than fari thinks he deserves. 

their relationship gets back to normal pretty quickly after this. obviously fari is glad to have him back more than anything, and kind of gets a better grasp on identifying and managing his own emotions in the process of trying to help stitches understand HIS newly formed nuanced emotions. they also get back to their usual lifestyle/adventuring work, stitches is eager to get back to hero-ing as you can imagine LOL. they travel a lot to work, but they're based in willowdale when they aren't. an actual house, rather than staying at the inn.

i fear i am yapping for too long about this so i will end off on this. trust it gets gay. LOL

stitches' newly unlocked emotions got him realizing he's in love with fari romantically, and of course fari has been feeling the same and burying/denying it much longer (in typical fashion for him). anyway i could elaborate on much of this but this writeup is already nearly two whole google doc pages long so i have to restrain myself, for this post at least. HOPE U ENJOY !!

[argylemnwrites]

It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment - Chapter 21

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Romance (Canon Divergent from Book 2, Chapter 15)

Word Count: ~4600

Rating: R (language)

Summary: Riley and Drake settle in for the next chapter of their lives.

Author’s Note: Wow. Just the epilogue is left. I can’t believe this story is basically complete.

This series diverges from TRR canon, where instead of waiting to discuss his relationship with Riley until their last night in NYC, leaving her a note while Liam is proposing to her, Drake tackles this topic as soon as possible after Tariq makes his statement and Riley’s name is cleared. To catch up on this series, you can find the previous chapters in my masterlist (link is located in my bio).

Drake heard the locks on the apartment door clicking open and the squeak of the hinges, pulling him awake. He had no idea what time it was. With the time zone changes and his numerous flights over the past couple of days, any traces of an internal clock were blown to hell completely.

He heard Riley, clearly trying to move through the small space quietly. He figured it couldn’t be too late, otherwise she probably wouldn’t be making that much of an effort to stay relatively silent. Of course, given the number of times he’d woken up last night, his body clearly having no idea what time of day it was, maybe she was just being nice and letting him sleep in. He was contemplating keeping his eyes closed and seeing if he could fall back asleep, but when she turned on the faucet, any possibility of him drifting off again went out the window.

“What time is it?” he asked, clearing his throat and cracking his eyes open. Riley was in the little kitchen area of her apartment, in front of the coffee maker which Drake heard gurgling to life. She was still in her glasses and her hair was thrown into a messy sort of braid over her shoulder. She was wearing a blue t-shirt with a red “ny” printed across the front, but oddly enough, was wiggling out of the jeans she was wearing. She glanced up at his question, giving him a warm smile.

“A little before 10,” she said as she continued to peel off her pants.

Alright, well he’d slept in a lot, but at least it was still morning. Maybe he’d be able to correct his sleep schedule in the next night or two. He stretched slightly and sat up in bed. “Not that I mind,” he said as he let out a yawn, “but why are you getting undressed?”

She laughed, stepping out of her jeans and turning to the radiator that was on the side wall, crouching down and turning it on. “It’s brick out today, so I’m gonna have to turn on the heat, but this radiator has two settings, off and insanely boiling. ”

“So your radiator works… too well?”

“Yeah, living here in the winter means a very minimalistic dress code. And don’t ever put anything on it to dry or you’ll definitely burn down the building.”

“Noted. Where’d you go this morning?”

She grabbed a little white bag off the counter and flopped back down on the bed, handing it to him as she propped her pillows up against the wall and settled in. “Grabbing breakfast,” she finally replied, nodding at the bag she’d handed to him.

“I would have made us breakfast. You could have woken me up if you were hungry.”

Riley smiled, but she shook her head slightly before she dropped it to his shoulder, “I want you to be happy here.”

Her statement caught Drake off guard. “I don’t mind cooking, Liu.”

“And while I intend to keep reaping the benefits of that fact, I want you to actually experience some of the fun things about New York.”

“And that means… bagels?” Drake asked as he peeked inside the bag.

“New York City bagels are special. Nowhere else in the world gets them right.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“I’m serious, Drake! Bagels in Cordonia are just not the same.”

“I’ll keep an open mind,” he said with an eye roll. “What kind did you get?”

“Sesame and everything,” she replied. Drake held the bag open for her to pick first, but she shook her head. “I like them both; you should pick.”

“What about ladies first?”

“Well, good thing I not a fucking lady,” she said raising an eyebrow. Drake just laughed and pulled out the sesame bagel before he passed the bag to Riley. She watched him expectantly as he took a bite. It was a damn good bagel, but he didn’t know if it was as life-changing as she made it out to be.

“So?” she asked once he swallowed down his first bite.

“It’s good, Liu.”

“Just good?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say. It’s a good bagel.”

“Whatever, you just don’t get it,” she said, shaking her head and pulling the other bagel out of the bag. Drake smiled before he took another bite.

“Eating these in bed was a terrible idea,” he said as he watched crumbs and sesame seeds tumble onto the sheets.

Riley shrugged, “We’ll just do laundry later. I have to go through and clean some stuff out of the closet and dresser anyway.”

“Why?”

“So you can finally get some space for your stuff and stop living out of a suitcase.”

Drake turned his head to look at her fully. She was happily enjoying her bagel, checking something on her phone with her other hand. After a few seconds, she glanced up to look at him. “What?” she asked between bites of her bagel.

“Thank you, Riley.”

“You’re welcome, Drake.”

He leaned forward, dropping a quick kiss on her lips before he climbed out of bed, sliding on his boxers and heading over to the coffee maker, figuring the pot must be ready at this point. He poured two mugs of coffee and added cream to Riley’s before he came back to bed, handing her mug to her before he slid back under the sheets. Riley shifted slightly as he settled in, draping her legs over his knees.

“So, I wanted to get your opinion on something,” he said after he took a sip of his coffee.

“What is it?”

“When I was in Texas, my mom invited me to come down for Christmas. Or rather, she invited us, I guess.”

“Okay…”

“Well, what do you think about that?”

Riley took a second before she answered, “I think what I think doesn’t matter as much as what you think.”

She was right, of course. It wasn’t fair to put this decision on her. Drake was just really torn. He got the sense that his mom was trying to reach out with the invite. But at the same time, it felt like doing this all at the holidays was just a way to pretend things were totally normal. Like they were some happy, perfect family who got together at Christmas and drank eggnog and sang carols. And Drake just wasn’t at that point yet, he didn’t think.

“I think… I think I’m not ready to do a big family holiday with her again. Not this year. Not so soon.”

Riley nodded slowly, “Okay,” she said, “We can do Christmas here. Just you and me. New York is a pretty fun city around the holidays, even if the tourists are a bit much on New Year’s Eve.”

“Sounds good, Liu. I do want to take a trip back to Texas at some point, though. With you, I mean.”

She gave him a little smile, “I think that can probably be arranged.”

Drake ran his free hand over her legs as he brought his coffee back towards his lips, but before he could take another sip, Riley spoke.

“I have to tell you something, too.”

“Okay,” Drake replied, pausing and glancing at her. The statement sounded like it was something bad, but she only looked slightly nervous, and she was still drinking her coffee. He knew how she got when she had something to talk about that made her truly uncomfortable or upset, and it certainly wasn’t like this. So whatever she wanted to talk about, it must not be a massive deal.

“You know how we flew out to Cordonia and got that hotel for Constantine’s funeral?”

Drake held his coffee out in front of him as he carefully shifted slightly to face her a little better, “Yeah, Liu. I was there.”

She kicked her heel back lightly against his knee and rolled her eyes, “Anyway, I didn’t exactly pay for either or those things.”

Drake was sure he looked almost comically confused. He felt his brow furrowing as he shook his head slightly. “Then how-”

“Olivia paid for them.”

“Huh.”

“And I know you don’t like accepting favors from her, but I couldn’t see maxing out my credit cards when she was offering, you know?”

Drake nodded slowly, “So, you’re telling me that the hotel that we had for four nights, but only used for one, and the plane tickets that I only used one way - Olivia was the one who ate that cost?”

Riley smirked a little and dipped her head, “I didn’t know it was going to pan out that way.”

Drake just threw his head back and laughed, “This is great! Here I was feeling guilty that I wasted a bunch of your money, but instead I wasted hers.”

“Drake!”

“Oh, come on. You’ve been in her wine cellar, Liu. She’s not even gonna notice the difference.”

Riley shook her head, but she was smiling, so Drake figured she wasn’t too upset with his glee that Olivia had been the one to finance the travel plans that had ended up going completely sideways. “So, I take it you aren’t mad?”

“Not even slightly,” said Drake, sliding his hand down to her calf and squeezing it gently in reassurance. As they both continued to enjoy their coffee, they just talked, not about the serious, or the stressful, or the emotional. After last night, they’d both had enough of that for the moment. Instead, they talked about the mundane, the stupid, the silly, the bland, getting each other caught up on their days apart.

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

It had been just about a month since Drake last set foot in George’s diner. He cringed, thinking back on how he’d left things back then. How he’d been a sullen ass, consumed with guilt, angry at himself and the world. He hoped George didn’t fully remember the person he’d been, the way he’d behaved. 

He pushed open the door and entered, walking up to the counter. George was over serving an older man at the far end of the counter, but nodded at Drake in greeting, his eyebrows climbing his forehead just slightly. As soon as he’d taken care of the other customer, he strolled over to the register, reaching out to shake Drake’s hand.

“It’s been awhile, son. How are you?”

Drake paused for a moment before answering, “Better.”

George nodded at him slowly, wiping his hands on his apron. “Glad to hear it. You still looking for work?”

Drake shook his head, “No… well, not exactly. I signed with a temp agency last week. I started a few days ago with an insurance company, doing some data entry for the next couple of weeks.”

“Nothing wrong with that, son.”

Drake nodded. “I know” he said, “a paycheck’s a paycheck.”

He knew that most people wouldn’t view working as a temp at his age as a great thing, but Drake had been relieved after his first meeting at the agency. When Riley and him had talked about what he might want to do for a job, she’d suggested checking out temp work when he expressed frustration that he didn’t really know what he wanted as a career. It felt like something he should have a better idea of at this point in his life, but Riley had seemed utterly unphased by it. She’d mentioned temp agencies as a way to gain some actual work experience and make some money while he figured things out. Interviewing with the agency had been much lower stress than any of the other interviews he’d gone on last time, probably because, as Riley had told him, the agency wanted as many potential employees as possible since they got paid when their clients found work.

“I assume you’re here for some food and not just to chat.”

Drake chuckled, “I am. I actually called in a carry out order for Walker.”

So Drake paid up, chatting with George about Sam and the baby and how things were in his life as he got the order all bagged up. He waved goodbye and headed back to the subway, making his way back to the apartment.

He was getting better at navigating the city, or at least navigating Manhattan. Riley was right, the whole thing was a giant grid, so that much made sense. And he could appreciate that people here were blunt and direct. It was a nice contrast to the social games and doublespeak of court.

He didn’t know that New York felt like home at this point, but being here this time didn’t feel anywhere near as overwhelming as it did the first time. Part of it, he figured, was because he knew what he was getting into now. He also appreciated how much of an effort Riley was making to help him find aspects of New York he’d like. Every Monday night, when Riley was off, they’d gone out to some restaurant and bar. Riley assured him she was picking out places that she thought he’d like when he’d balked at some of types of cuisine she’d suggested, and she’d been right every time thus far. Besides, she’d told him there was little point living somewhere with every type of cuisine on the planet if he didn’t at least try some of them.

Their weekends had been a bit more variable, based on whether or not Riley was working. But this weekend she was off, and tonight was going to be a lazy night in. He knew Riley wasn’t really the type who liked to spend a Friday night lounging around in pajamas, but he appreciated that she understood him well enough to not push him to go out every night they could. Besides, tomorrow they were going to check out one of the city’s Christmas markets, something they were both actually looking forward to, it turns out.

The amount he and Riley were actually planning things was a little bit weird, considering she always talked about how impulsive she was and he knew he didn’t put much thought into the future or whatnot. But Drake realized that their combined efforts to not just roll along, with Riley getting up to eat breakfast with him a couple of mornings a week, with him going out for happy hour with a couple of his coworkers at the insurance company where he was posted, with both of them stepping out of their comfort zones just a little bit when it came to date nights, actually was making things a lot better. For him, at least. He hoped Riley felt the same way. He was pretty sure she did.

Drake exited the subway at the stop by the apartment and walked the couple of blocks quickly. It was December now, and the temperatures had really plummeted. Riley consistently referred to cold days as “brick,” which he’d found odd, but Luke at the office did the same thing, so he figured maybe it was a New York thing. He checked the mail and then climbed the stairs up to the fourth floor. He went to unlock the door, but paused for a moment. It almost sounded like the power drill he could hear running was coming from her unit.

He unlocked and opened the door, taking in what was going on. The first thing he noticed was, as always, the sweltering heat. Riley hadn’t been kidding when she told him the radiator ran very hot. He’d taken a peek at it to see if there was some obvious fix, but he was nervous to mess with too much, because Riley warned him the landlord would definitely assess them damages if it stopped working all together. Besides, he didn’t really mind the fact that both of them ended up wearing very little around the apartment these days.

The next thing that caught his attention, though, was Riley. She was indeed using a drill. It was a strange sight, watching her stand over by the window, dressed only in some gym shorts and a little tank top, attaching the legs to a chair. Drake wasn’t sure if he was more turned on or confused.

As soon as the whir of the drill stopped, Drake called out to her, “Liu, what the hell-” but she shrieked in surprise, letting the drill drop to the ground.

“Drake, you scared the shit out of me,” she chastised as she reached down to pick up the drill. Anderson abandoned his post on the armchair, trotting over to greet Drake.

“Sorry,” Drake said, crouching down to give the dog a couple of scritches, “Does he need to go out?”

“Nah, I took him out maybe an hour ago,” she replied, before she turned back to her project and turned on the drill again. Now that he knew he didn’t immediately need to go back outside, Drake started stripping off his clothing, getting down to his t-shirt and boxers and placing their dinner on the counter before he went and sat on Riley’s side of the bed, watching her work.

“As I was saying,” he continued the next time the drill stopped, “what the hell are you doing?”

Riley looked at him like he was stupid. “I’m putting together a table and chairs.”

“I see that.”

“Then why’d you ask?”

“Where’s your desk?”

“I sold it online,” she replied before moving to turn the drill back on, but Drake reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

“You gotta give me more than that, Liu.”

“The desk worked fine when it was just me, but you sitting on the side of the bed and me sitting at the desk to eat was not sustainable. So, I decided enough was enough. Uskea was running a promotion, so I bought us a table.”

“Riley…”

“Now,  I picked a really small one, but does stick out a bit more than the desk did, so it’ll be a bit of a tight fit when you pull the chair back, but-”

Drake stood, grabbing her shoulders and kissing her roughly. After a few seconds, he pulled back, glancing down at the table and chair set she’d selected. A table and chairs that were meant for the two of them. It was such a tangible representation of a future with them together.

“I take it you like it?” she asked. He looked up and saw her smirking at him.

“Yeah, Liu. I do.”

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

Riley felt some faint butterflies in her stomach as she entered the restaurant, scanning the waiting area to see if he had arrived already, but she couldn’t find him anywhere. She checked the time on her phone. For once in her life, she was early. She could probably chalk that up to nerves.

Liam was in New York. He had let Drake know that he would be in town for three nights surrounding the UN Holiday Gala about a week ago, and had asked if the two of them would like to join him for dinner one night. The thought of hanging out with her live-in boyfriend and his best friend who happened to be her sort-of ex was a bit on the weird side already, but Drake had texted her this afternoon that his boss was making everyone stay late for some “bullshit,” so he would be coming straight from work and would probably be a bit late for the reservation. It meant that it would be just her and Liam, at least to start the night.

Deciding that a drink might help take the edge off a little bit, Riley made her way over to the bar and ordered herself a whiskey sour. She was taking her first sip when she saw a couple of men in crisp black suits enter and station themselves near the door. Sure enough, Liam was a few seconds behind them. Riley raised her hand, signaling her location. After a couple of seconds, Liam made eye contact and gave her a warm smile before he made his way over to join her at the bar.

She stood up from her stool, giving him a loose hug in greeting when he reached her. ��Hey, Liam.”

“Hello, Riley. It’s good to see you.”

“You too. I was just grabbing a drink since we’ve got a little time before our reservation. Would you like one?”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” he said, before sitting down on the stool next to the one she’d been using. He flagged down the bartender and ordered himself an Old Fashioned.

“I’ve never seen you drink one of those before,” said Riley as she climbed back onto her stool, mainly trying to find some innocent topic of conversation to carry them through until Drake arrived. Not that Drake’s arrival was going to lessen the dredges of awkwardness, but at least there would be three people to fumble through conversation instead of just two, so there would probably be fewer moments of uncomfortable silence.

“Yes, well… I’ve been having them on occasion since my father passed. They were his drink of choice, you see.”

“Oh,” Riley replied, taking a sip of her own drink. So much for an innocent topic of conversation. “Do you find them… therapeutic?”

Liam tilted his head to the side slightly, “I guess they’re a safe way to remember him.”

“That makes sense.”

The bartender returned with his drink at that point. Liam accepted it with a smile and nod, taking a sip of it before he continued.

“I know my father wasn’t a saint, and in some ways I’ve come to terms with the man he was. The choices he made, both as a father and a king, that I cannot stand behind were a part of him, but they weren’t all of him. But sometimes I just want to think about him as the man I loved, the man I looked up to, without worrying about the harsher realities. Drinking something that always made him smile is an easy way to do that.”

“Well, I get that,” said Riley, taking a sip of her own drink.

“Is there something you do like that to reminisce about your mother?”

“Oh sure, I just shoot up a little heroin,” she quipped, taking another sip of her drink.

Liam didn’t say anything, so Riley turned her head and looked at him fully. He was staring at her, his drink clutched tightly in his hand. “I’m fairly certain you’re joking, but I don’t want to say anything insensitive.”

Riley laughed at that, “Of course I’m joking, Liam.”

He let out a sigh before he smiled and gave a little chuckle, “I just wanted to make sure. You see, it’s come to my attention that I may not have gotten to fully understand your sense of humor.”

She frowned at that, “What are you talking about?”

Liam gave her a little shrug, “Drake and I often seemed to have somewhat different perceptions of you, your attitudes, your opinions, that sort of thing. Given everything that transpired, I think it’s safe to say that Drake’s understanding of you is significantly more accurate than mine.”

Riley winced at that. He said it all so matter-of-factly, but it was so fricking uncomfortable to remember that time and how she treated him. “Liam, I’m so sorry.”

“I’m not looking for an apology. I’m just looking to actually get to know you. The real you, not the version of yourself you felt the need to present to me before.”

Riley didn’t exactly know how to respond to that. Everything he’d said was painfully true. She’d been intimidated by him initially. She’d been so careful to not swear, to not be too sarcastic or judgemental in front of him. He was royalty, and she was a brash, potty-mouthed waitress. It’s part of the reason she’d started spending more and more time with Drake, even when he was still a rude asshole to her. She’d never had to pretend around him.

Even as time went on, she never felt comfortable enough around Liam to fully drop the act. I mean, he got flustered if she flirted overtly, he never teased her, always just finding little ways to agree with her when she teased him, and he pursued her like he was some cheesy romance novel character. It had always just felt like she had to keep playing a part with him. She just didn’t know how to tell him that without hurting him more than she undoubtedly already had. It wasn’t that his way of doing things was bad; it just was never right for her.

Liam shook his head at her prolonged silence. “Riley, I can understand why you felt the need to censor yourself around me. I had hoped I had made you comfortable enough to be your genuine self with me, but that obviously wasn’t the case. But at this point, I really just want to get to know the woman who’s dating my best friend, okay? If you’re going to be in his life, I want us to have an authentic friendship of our own.”

“I don’t know where to start.”

“How about cursing?”

“What?”

“Drake tells me you have a rather colorful vocabulary. Well, I’d like to hear it.”

“I don’t know, Liam….”

“Trust me, Riley. I’m friends with Drake. I don’t think there is anything you could say that would scandalize me.”

She let out a rough breath and closed her eyes, not sure if his idea was mad brilliant or mad stupid, “Liam, do you really fucking think that hearing me call some of the fucking bitches at court annoying, petty motherfucking assholes with no goddamn common sense is going to help you get to know me? Because it feels like it might be a bunch of bullshit.”

She opened her eyes slowly, but Liam was just giving her a gentle smile. “Good. I think that’s a start at least.”

Riley smiled back at him, “Okay then. You asked for it. You get all the fucking profanities from here on out. Just remember, it was all your idea.”

He laughed at that, “No need to worry. I’ll remember.”

Riley was about to suggest going up to see if their table was ready, but she saw Drake dart through the door, scanning the waiting area, clearly looking for one or both of them, and then approaching the hostess stand when he couldn’t find them.

“Ah, shall we go join him?” asked Liam as he followed her gaze.

“Yeah, sounds good,” said Riley, hopping off her stool and falling into step beside Liam as they walked over. As they approached the entrance, she caught the tail end of what the hostess was telling Drake.

“- first from your party to arrive, but your table is ready if you want to follow me.”

Drake shook his head, “That can’t be right. I-” but he stopped talking when he caught sight of the two of them. “Oh, there you guys are.”

“Hello, Drake,” said Liam, walking over with his arms extended, exchanging a brief hug with him before stepping back.

“Hey, man. How are you?”

“I’m doing well. Did I hear our table’s ready?”

“Yes, sir. If you three could follow me,” the hostess chimed in.

As Liam fell in behind the hostess, Riley stepped up, squeezing Drake’s arm in greeting and sliding her hand down to his as she moved to follow Liam and the hostess to their table. But Drake tugged her back, so she spun to face him.

“What’s up?”

“I’m sorry I’m late for this. Was it… are you guys okay?”

She just gave him a smile and nodded, “Yeah. I think everything’s going to be fine.” She squeezed his hand to reassure him, then tugged him forward. “Come on, let’s go enjoy a fancy ass dinner with our friend.”

Permatag: @speedyoperarascalparty​​​ @mfackenthal​​​  @lilyofchoices​​​  @thequeenofcronuts​​​  @jamesashtonisbae​​​

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @kingliam2019​​​   @sirbeepsalot​​​  @texaskitten30​​​   @princessleac1​​​  @ladyangel70​​​  @dcbbw​​​  @yaushie​​​ @octobereighth​​​

Drake x MC only:  @jovialyouthmusic  @iplaydrake  @gibbles82  @drakewalkerisreal  @riley--walker​ @notoriouscs​  @butindeed​  @addictedtodrakefanfic​  

It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment: @wickedgypsymoon  @thesumofmychoices​​​  @cosigottahavefaith​​​   @thequeenchoices​​​  @katedrakeohd​​​  @feartheendlesssummer​​​  @ao719​​​  @ooo-barff-ooo​​​   @sunnyxdazed​​​

[thatpastaguy]

Warm: An Alphyne Short Story

This is a gift fic as part of the @undertalesecretsanta event that happens every year! This year was my first year participating and I had a lot of great fun working and hanging out with all of the people involved. Anyway, this specific fic is for the wonderful @shedpuns who had the request of me writing an Alphys X Undyne fic. She wasn’t super specific with her request so I decided to do what I always do when I have the chance to write about my OTPs. Write an angsty hurt/comfort fic that has so much emotional pain in it that it makes people wonder if I even like the two characters involved.  Now without any more stalling let us begin and I hope all of you reading enjoy and have a Merry Christmas! 

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Warm: An Alphyne Short Story

One of the things that Undyne hated most about the surface was that it couldn’t make up its damn mind about the weather. 

She was, of course, used to living in the underground, a place that was nice and segmented when it came to its climate. Snowdin was cold, Hotland was well...hot, the capital was temperate, and Waterfall her home was rainy and cool. 

But upon the surface, the place was ridiculous. It was sweltering some days but on others, it was freezing. She couldn’t understand how humans or anyone could live like this. In a place where it seemed like a dice roll what type of weather it would be. 

And apparently, it was warmer now than it was supposed to because of some dumbass human stuff that she wasn’t even going to try and understand. Something about a bunch of gas trapping in heat or something like that. Which somehow Alphys and monster magic was going to help fix? It was all confusing as hell to her.

The only saving grace to any of this was that as Frisk had told her there were things called seasons. Certain periods in the year where they could most of the time rely on the weather being relatively similar. Winter for cold, spring for cool to warm, summer for hot, and fall for cool to cold. There was at least some sense to it. 

However, she still had to wait out the seasons she didn’t like. Summer was a definite challenge with her baking in the sun. But winter was definitely the worst. It was so damn cold all of the time making her feeling as if she’d freeze on the spot.

Undyne hated winter above every other season. It was the one that she always waited through with annoyance, begging for spring to come as fast as it possibly could with the sweet warm rain that it brought. 

But even if she did loathe winter there were some upsides to it. She did like the holidays that came around that time along with the general sense of togetherness it brought. It always reaffirmed that she had great family and friends. 

She also looked back on the chilly days of winter with fondness because of what happened between her and Alphys the first year they were on the surface. It was one of her most cherished memories and always brought a warm toothy smile to the monster’s face.

Alphys and she had been dating for a couple of months and had grown closer with each other. The two of them were, of course, friends before but now had grown into something much more. Into something deeper with more affection. They were more than just friends, they were now lovers and above all else partners. 

However, one aspect that had been slow to progress in their relationship was physical intimacy. The two of them had held hands and kissed but the supposed “next step” in their relationship hadn’t come from them. The closest thing they had done to that was share a bed a few weeks prior and that had only happened after some protest from Alphys. 

Undyne didn’t really understand why Alphys was so hesitant. She knew she was shy and awkward and would probably take time to get used to doing romantic stuff with her. However, Undyne also thought that a shut-in nerd like her would jump at the chance to get it on with someone awesome like her.

But Alphys just didn’t want to take that step no matter how much Undyne wanted. That is until one brutally cold night in the middle of January.

The two of them had planned a big date to celebrate the first six months of their relationship. Alphys and she had planned a whole evening out with each other. They were going to go out to an anime and manga shop then afterward would go out to eat at this expensive authentic ramen shop in the city. 

Undyne was super pumped for it. She didn’t even care about how cold it was going to be. All she cared about was that she was going to spend an amazing night out with the monster she loved. 

The former captain of the royal guard was putting on her outfit for their date. It was composed of a cool blue dress shirt with a black jacket over it. She had long suit pants on with stylish black boots. 

Undyne had just one of her arms through one of the armholes of the jacket when she heard a knock at her front door. “One minute!” she shouted from her room.

She put on her jacket and then straightened it out before heading out her bedroom. She quickly headed down the stairs and ran right up to the door. Undyne put her hand on the doorknob and opened the door. 

Her eye widened as she saw Alphys on the other side of the door. Undyne opened her mouth to say hi but she stopped herself when she saw the state Alphys was in. 

Alphys wasn’t dressed in any sort of way for the date. She wore an expression of somber sorrow on her face. Her eyes were red and there seemed to be tear stains on her cheeks. She had been crying and from the evidence on her face, it had been only a short time ago. 

Undyne stared at her with wide eyes for a moment, not sure what to say. “...Alphys, are you alright?” she asked while still in shock. 

“C-Can I...c-come in?” she shakily asked.

“Yeah, come on in,” Undyne replied. She then moved slightly to the side to let her in.

Alphys slowly walked inside into Undyne’s living room. She quickly slipped out of her winter coat revealing that she was wearing a rather conservative sweater with long pants. She sat down on Undyne’s couch with her head down.

Undyne stared at her wondering what could’ve caused her to be this way. She knew Alphys was sensitive but she hadn’t seen her face like this in a long time. Not since she first met her staring at that dark endless pit in Waterfall.

She down next to Alphys and place a hand on her back. “Alphys, what’s wrong?” she gently asked. “What happened? Did someone make fun of you or something? Oh I know it’s those damn human brats from the next neighborhood over isn’t! I know it must be them! When I see those little bastards again I’m going to kick their asses so damn fast-”

“I-It’s not t-that.” Alphys meekly answered. 

Undyne’s temper quickly cooled as soon as she said that. “What is it then Alphys?”

“I-I...I saw o-one of t-the amalgamates t-today.”

Undyne’s blood ran cold. Alphys hadn’t uttered the words amalgamates in a very long time. 

“I-I was out t-today d-doing some errands a-and I saw S-Snowdrake’s mother w-with her family,” Alphys explained. She then paused for a second trying to hold back tears. “...T-They said that she w-was doing well. They told me t-that they weren’t h-having any t-trouble adjusting t-to daily l-life on t-the surface. A-All of them seemed h-happy but I-I could t-tell by l-looking at h-her face that she…”

Tears dripped down Alphys’ face as her emotions overtook her. “She was in so much pain!” Alphys exclaimed with her face falling into her hands. “I-I saw that look o-on her f-face and I could see how m-much suffering a-and pain s-she was still in a-all because o-of me! S-She wouldn’t b-be like this if it wasn’t f-for me. I-If it wasn't for my sick e-experiments with d-determination.” 

“Hey Alphys, it’s okay,” Undyne said while placing a hand on her shoulder. 

“N-No it’s not,” she said with her voice trembling. “I-I’ve caused s-so much pain and e-everyone is just t-trying to t-treat it like it isn’t a big d-deal b-but it is. I-I’m horrible! I shouldn’t e-even be on the s-surface! I-I shouldn’t be with you o-or with anybody! I-I should just be l-left somewhere to rot.”

“Stop that!” Undyne suddenly shouted. 

Alphys head turned up as she recoiled slightly from shock.“S-Stop what?” she asked feeling slightly scared. 

“Stop...Stop saying that your worthless or you don’t deserve me.” Undyne explained. “You do deserve me! You do deserve to be here! You’re amazing! You’re the most amazing girl I’ve ever met! Or hell most amazing person I’ve ever met!” 

The two of them stay silent for a moment. Both of them just stared into the other’s eyes. 

Undyne then sighed. “Look I’ve told you that I’ll never stop telling you how much you deserve this. I’ll keep doing that because it’s the truth and always will be.” she warmly told her. A big toothy grin then formed on her face. “And if words won’t convince you I think I know what to do.” 

“And what’s that Undyne-” Alphys suddenly stopped talking as she felt Undyne’s warm lips on hers. Everything stopped at that moment. Time itself froze as she felt Undyne start to kiss her deeply. 

Alphys didn’t move for a second but soon to her surprise she was kissing her back. Both of their lips were locked firmly on each other. Nothing else mattered anymore, all that mattered was the passion between the two. 

Undyne pulled Alphys in closer to her. She then pressed her tongue up against Alphys’ mouth and she was quickly given entrance. The two of their tongues invaded the other’s mouth. Their tongues mingled in their mouths.

The two of them clung to each other just enjoying the sweet sensations of one another. They then pulled apart. Both of them gasping for breath. They both panted, filled with so many different types of emotion and energy. 

Undyne looked down at Alphys and knew what they were going to do tonight. She knew what Alphys needed. She needed to be embraced by someone that truly loved her. 

“W-Wow Undyne, t-that was incredible,” she said through a few quick breaths. 

“We’re not stopping there Alphys,” Undyne told her in a warm smooth voice. 

“W-What do you m-mean?” she asked confused.

Undyne smiled. “I want you Alphys. I want to be with you more than anything in the entire damn world.” Undyne explained. She then leaned in closer to her and began to kiss her. Her hands then found their way to the bottom of Alphys’ sweater and began to tug on it. 

“W-wait...Undyne, please s-stop.” Alphys suddenly told her.

Undyne quickly pulled away from her. She looked up at Alphys and stared right into her eyes. “What’s wrong?” 

“U-Undyne, s-should we really b-be doing this?” she meekly asked with a blush on her face. “I-I’m not sure if I-I’m ready for this k-kind of stuff.” 

“I know it’s a big step and stuff but I know we’re ready Alphys,” Undyne answered while looking straight into her eyes. “Because I know when we're together there’s nothing we can’t do. I know that sounds cheesy as hell but it’s true. When we’re together it’s amazing...”

The two stayed silent for a moment. Undyne could tell Alphys was thinking hard. Trying to figure out what to do next. Questioning if this was even right. 

“A-Alright I think I’m r-ready.” 

“That’s great!” Undyne excitedly exclaimed. 

“B-But can we n-not do it here?” Alphys asked. “I-I mean this c-couch is comfy and a-all but I t-think it’d be better i-if we were in your b-bed.” 

“Alright let’s get upstairs then.” She said with a nod. 

Suddenly Undyne jumped up. She then scooped Alphys and began to carry her bridal style. This caused Alphys’ cheeks to turn a bright scarlet red which made Undyne smile. 

She then quickly walked up the stairs to her room. Undyne opened the door and walked through it into her room. 

Undyne gently laid Alphys down onto her bed. She slipped off her jacket and placed both of her hands onto the bottom of her shirt. She then took off her shirt revealing her muscular torso that laid underneath. The only thing covering her chest her black silk bra. 

Alphys’ face was now a bright red as stared up at her from the bed. Her eyes quickly darted around noticing her large biceps and her perfectly segmented abdomen. 

“Heh like what you see?” Undyne asked with a smile. 

“U-Uh...yeah…” Alphys replied, embarrassed.

“Good. Because you’re going to be seeing a lot more of it.” she confidently told her.

Undyne then slid off the shoes she was wearing and unbutton her pants which quickly fell to the floor. She took off the band that was holding her hair up with her red hair falling to her shoulders. She then got onto the bed and stared down at Alphys.

Alphys stared at her feeling a mixture of both excitement and embarrassment. She had seen her like this before but she was still somewhat flustered. Flustered from seeing what she had only dreamt of.

“Now then let’s get you out of this sweater.” Undyne sensually told her as one of her hands got to the bottom of her shirt. 

Alphys squirmed slightly as Undyne quickly pulled her shirt off of her. Undyne then quickly pulled off her pants, trying to get her to the same level of undressed as she was. 

Undyne stared down at her. She admired her amber yellow scales. Alphys was slightly chubby do to her poor diet from when she was still underground but it was cute. 

Alphys, however, looked down at herself and let out a sigh. “Look at me,” she said staring down at herself. “I’m nothing compared to you.” 

“What are you talking about?” Undyne suddenly asked. Alphys’ eyes widened. She then looked straight at Undyne. “You’re beautiful.” 

Alphys stared up into Undyne’s eyes and realized something. Something that she had realized a long time ago but hadn’t really fully comprehended it until now. 

Undyne loved her. She loved her more than anything, even with all of her flaws. She didn’t care about all of the bad things she had done in the past. She loved her for her no matter what. 

As soon as she realized that that was when she was ready to give herself completely to her. Her mind, body, and soul all to her.

Alphys suddenly locked lips with Undyne. For once instead of thinking she just gave in to the emotions flowing through her. Letting her experience something more amazing than anything she had ever felt before. 

------------------------------------------------ 

Undyne and Alphys laid there on the bed wrapped up in its covers. The two of them were tired but also happy. Alphys was snuggling into Undyne’s chest enjoying the warmth coming from her. 

Undyne then looked down at her with a small smile on her face. “How do you feel?” she quietly asked Alphys. 

“Warm,” Alphys replied. 

“Good,” Undyne said to her with a smile. She then laid a gentle kiss on her lips. 

The two of them then laid there for a moment, not saying a word. They just enjoyed the warmth of their naked bodies up against each other. 

“You know I was so scared about this.” Alphys suddenly spoke up. “B-But now looking back I-I have n-no idea why I t-thought that because t-this was amazing.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Undyne happily told her. 

“I-I want to thank y-you Undyne. I-I don’t think I c-could have been able to build u-up the courage if it w-wasn’t for you.” Alphys quietly thanked her.

“No problem Alphys,” Undyne replied. “I just wanted to express how much I loved you and make you feel good.”

“Heh, you s-sure did that,” Alphys told her with a quiet laugh.

“Hell yeah, I did. I kicked your dream version of me ass when it came to screwing you.” Undyne told her with a proud smile on her face.

“I guess y-you can say that,” Alphys said while smiling back at her.

The two of them then began to slowly drift off to sleep. Alphys fell asleep against Undyne’s chest. Undyne sleepily looked down at her with her eyes half-open. She gently caressed the top of her head so happy to be with her like this. 

Even though most of Undyne’s memories of winter were of the cold and the dark this one she’d only remember how warm and happy she was.

[comeondowntosouthparkrpg-blog]

Jimmy Valmer

Does he like fishsticks?

Welcome back, Sym! You know what to do.💘💘💘

Im back. Real quick before we get into it- I didn’t see anything in the rules but if I wasn’t allowed to re-apply for a character I previously had (in my case Jimmy), I’ll gladly apply for someone else! c:

out of character info Name/Alias: Sympathy Pronouns: she/her Age: 20 Join Our Discord: Yes pls Timezone: PST Activity: 8 Triggers: n/a Password: Jimmy can fast pass my ass 💘 Character that you’re applying for: Jimmy Valmer Favourite ships for your character: Anything with chemistry. c;

in character info Full name: Jimmy Valmer Birthday: May 13th Sexuality, gender, pronouns: Pansexual | Cis Male | He/Him Age and grade: 17 Appearance: Jimmy is of average build and height, standing at 5 feet 7 inches from head to toe, and sporting a healthy figure (though he slouches often, making him a few inches shorter than he is). His hair is a soft shade of brown, trimmed traditionally short yet still keeping a nice messy wave. Jim is fairly strong despite his appearance, holding a bit of muscle in his arms. Battling with Cerebral Palsy since birth, he holds an off balance stance- called an Equinus or Tiptoe Gait- walking on his tip toes and making crutches a necessity in his everyday life. Unlike his left eye, his right eye muscles were damaged at birth, resulting in a “lazy eye”. It’s pointed upward, which naturally causes him to have pretty poor vision. He has been prescribed glasses, but rarely wears them in public since he thinks they make him look dumb. Battling through his stutter sometimes can be a challenge from time to time, but he has gotten better at it.

Personality: Jimmy is like a shining light in a dark cave. He is nothing but optimistic in just about every situation, always trying to lighten the mood with a good joke here and there. Standing up for and befriending other handicapped students has always been a big part in developing his friendship skills and giving him the opportunity to aid in setting up events at the community center. Comedy is his passion- nothing puts him more at ease (and occasionally stresses him out) than creating a joke he knows people will love. On rare occasions, he can overwork himself if absorbed in his writing too long- usually he’ll just call up a friend to help ease him out. Though he generally is a well mannered boy, every person has their downsides. Jim has shown to be very competitive, resorting to dirty tactics including sabotage and lying if he has a goal he desperately wants to achieve. This also includes taking sides that benefit his own ideals, and changing his mind at the drop of a hat if the situation calls for it. Though this doesn’t mean he will betray his friends. He will stick by his close friends no matter what, unless it’s a friend vs friend thing (then thats just free game).

History: Jim’s childhood was a happy one. Despite the hippies, homeless, and the bi weekly near destruction of South Park, his life was pretty sweet. He had a happy family, some kick ass friends, and something to always keep him busy. His main interests were with his friends, playing Superheroes, or Humans vs Drow Elves and getting into more trouble than it was worth. At around 14 years old he managed to land a steady weekend job at Skeeter’s Bar, doing skits and comedy routines for quite a while until he had to let go to focus on school. In his early high school years, he found it hard to pursue a career in comedy- the reality of a harsh world weighed down on him and it forced himself to focus on school subjects- like math and science- that were deemed more important than the arts (though he did manage to get a good few years in stage management for theater so he had something going for him). He had several on and off relationships, all relatively short-lived. During this, he discovered his attraction to males alongside females. Next to this, he decided couldn’t care less for labeling and his go-to answer for any questions regarding his sexual and romantic partner of choice was always “yes please”- which still holds true to his current self. Currently, Jim is around 17 years of age and finishing up Highschool. He has long since dropped the idea of college and has instead pursued his goal of comedy more up front, scheduling gigs and shows in and out of state. He has been received very well and has been offered a more stable showing and even offers of permanent residency at a few out-of-state clubs.

Sample paragraph: Winter was definitely in the air. Jimmy could feel the cold sting of the morning air through his warm purple jacket (a birthday gift from Token) and suppressed a shudder that threatened to creep up his spine. Despite the cold, the day appeared promising- the fog slowly clearing and giving way to some sunshine. Plus, there was a few things to look forward to- namely the holidays- and if Jimmy could guess, there was no doubt something was going to go wrong. It was pretty much a South Park tradition at this point. How this small town managed to stay in one piece, he’ll never know. Halloween was surprisingly tame this year. His father had gone out for Jack and Crack week (must’ve had one hell of a time too; still asleep on the couch when Jim left.), and he’d managed to get out of passing out candy to go run amuck with his friends. He smiled at the recent memory as he moseyed down the sidewalk, the only sound breaking the silence was the rhythmic clacking of his crutches on the concrete and the chirping of birds. Up ahead was the school. He felt his smile widen as he spotted Timmy and the others out front by the flagpole, mingling amongst one another. Crunching his way through the snow, he merged in with their little posse, entering the school. “Hey guys, what’s crack-a-lah- la- …hey guys, what’s crack-a-laeh-eh- …w-what’s going on?” He greeted casually, thankful that the school was warmer compared to the outside. Colorado was cold as fuck. He really needed to get used to it already.

Headcanons: nah Anything else: Faceclaim is Froy Gutierrez

[h-styles-babes]

Nr 51 from the writing prompts pleaseee😍

Thank you so much for your request, babes! Sorry this one took me a bit longer. Between the other requests I had and keeping up with No Control, this took bit of a backseat, but I finally got time to write it. Hope you like it!

Also, this got a wee bit out of hand, so it kinda ends on a cliffy. If you want a second part, just let me know!

51. “I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking.”

Y/N was fucked.

Well, not literally, which was part of her problem, she thought. At least if she was literally fucked, she would be getting something other than feelings of immense frustration and a little bit of self-loathing from this situation. 

But, no. Y/N was fucked in the metaphorical sense where she knew no good could come of the feelings she could sense growing in her tummy, like a snowball that has somehow rolled itself into an avalanche without anyone noticing. One day she’d been happy to have a laugh with the boy she had no business even being friends with, and now she got butterflies in her stomach and a little flutter in her chest whenever he’d so much as smile because of her. She wasn’t sure when or how it’d happened, but it had, and now she was fucked.

That was all she could think of as she sat across from said boy at a pub, his hair hidden under a beanie, his nose adorably scrunched up as he laughed at some comment she’d made about his recent televised portrayal of Mick Jagger on an American TV show. He was freshly back from his debut performance as a solo artist, having taken to New York for the momentous occasion. They’d seen each other just the week before, before he’d left for America for a few days, but she had felt like she’d missed him dearly in their time apart. Seeing and hearing him giggle at her comment made her insides warm, and she couldn’t help the smile that settled onto her own face, happy with making him happy.

It’s not like they spent all their time together. He was a busy person, always off making music or filming already critically-acclaimed blockbusters or arranging some sort of promo for the new time in his career. But they’d seen a decent amount of each other and they’d become relatively close over the years, going to each other when they were looking for a fun time and a guaranteed laugh. Y/N knew she didn’t really have a reason to miss him so, other than the fact that she had developed feelings for the man. It was an unsettling sort of feeling, missing him so deeply even though she’d seen him more than normal in recent months. She’d gone months without even so much as a call between them before with little thought, but now not texting him everyday seemed like a travesty.

“Yeh’ve seen me do the impression before!” he protested through his chuckles. He took a sip from his glass, still sort of grinning at her, his green eyes never leaving her’s.

“Yeah! But never with you all dressed up and on national fucking telly,” she giggled, gently kicking at his shin underneath the table. She vaguely understood that she was actually flirting with him now, something she was sure she’d never done before, but she couldn’t help it. “And it made me miss your long hair.” She pouted at him playfully, though her statement was true. She’d met Harry when he was already in the process of growing it out, so she’d never seen it short in person before. Seeing him for the first time after the fancy photoshoot where he’d cut it had been a bit of a shock for Y/N, she’d admit. 

“Kinda miss it myself, honestly,” he nodded, running his hand over his head to rid himself of the beanie and tug his fingers through his hair. It was a bit longer now than it had been in recent months, since he’d had to keep it pretty uniform for while he was filming, but he was pretty sure Lou was going to talk him into a cut soon. “Don’t know when I’ll get a chance to grow it out again, though. Don’t wanna be in a weird phase when I have to do the premiere and stuff.”

Y/N huffed, a little put out. “Know my opinion doesn’t matter much, but I really liked the long hair. Bring it back, dammit!” she joked.

“Course your opinion matters, petal,” he admonished. “I could see the utter horror in your eyes when I saw yeh for the first time after I’d got it cut.” He chuckled at the memory, sipping at his pint. 

“It wasn’t horror!” she protested. “I was just shocked. Never knew yeh with short hair. Baby Harry had short hair. Man Harry always had long hair.”

“Do yeh refer to me as Baby Harry and Man Harry regularly in your head?” he asked, eyebrows scrunching together.

“Not unless I see photos of yeh from your early days. You look like a right child back then.”

“I was a child back then,” he reminded her. “Been doin’ this since I was sixteen.”

She cooed. “Aw, such a wee little lad.”

“Oh, shut it,” he chuckled, throwing some peanut shells at her that had accumulated on the table.

It had been a few days since Harry and Y/N had gone for a drink at their local pub, and she hadn’t really been expecting to hear from him for awhile, what with the promo for his new album and it’s ever-nearing release date. She figured he’d be much too busy with traveling and getting things in order to text her much less stop by her flat in North London, just a few block from his own home. But that’s exactly what he did one evening after Y/N had gotten in from work, already changed into her pyjamas and hair already thrown up in a half-assed bun. She was just about to start wiping her makeup off when there was a buzz, indicating that someone was requesting to come in. 

Y/N wasn’t expecting anyone, so she thought maybe it was one of her neighbors who forgot their keys needing to be let in. It had happened before, seeing as the older woman who lived next to her was very forgetful and often left her keys sitting on her kitchen counter when she left for her bingo nights that happened twice a week. Y/N wasn’t quite sure exactly which nights those were, but there was every possibility that one of them was that night. 

She answered the buzzer with a slight smirk on her face, waiting to hear Mrs. Knowles’ high pitched voice answer back to her when she said her greeting. 

“Lemme in, love,” came back Harry’s slow drawl, slightly shocking Y/N. “Bit nippy out here for mid-April.”

“I gave you a spare key to the front door so you wouldn’t have to wait, Harold,” she nagged, worried about someone out on the street recognizing him and bombarding him. She pressed the button to unlock the door.

“Lost it,” he answered casually, and Y/N could nearly see the shrug of his shoulders. 

She waited to continue their conversation until he was in the safety of her flat. As soon as he was in the door and shrugging off his coat, she picked up where they left off.  

“Lost it? I put it on your key ring for you! Now some creep is gonna get into my flat and it’ll be all your fault. If I die, I’m gonna make sure the police throw your ass in jail right alongside my murderer’s.”

“Can’t really do that if your dead, can yeh?” Harry mocked with a roll of his eyes. “And stop bein’ dramatic. I know the key’s in my house, just don’t know where.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“Will yeh just stop for a mo’? Came over here for a reason, yeah?”

“And what is that, H?”

“What are yeh doing on the twenty-sixth?” he asked, a shit-eating grin making it’s way across his face. 

Y/N turned to look at the refrigerator where a dry-erase calendar was posted. She put her work schedule up on it as well as any appointments or important dates so that she’d remember when they came around. She remembered important events and dates just fine, but she was usually so busy scrambling around like a chicken with it’s head cut off that she forgot when it was coming up. It usually wasn’t until a day later that she’d remember and kick herself in the arse for it. The calendar helped to keep the clutter of her brain organized. 

“Nothing,” she shrugged. “‘ve got three days off in a row starting that day.” She silently rejoiced at that, having forgot from when she wrote it down the week prior. “Nothing else, though. Thought of maybe popping by my parents’ to spend a day with them. Why?”

“I’m goin’ to Paris for a performance and interview on a television show there,” he told her, grin only growing wider. 

“Congratulations?” she responded, kind of confused at the giddiness. This wasn’t something he hadn’t done before. “Make sure I set a reminder to watch it.”

“No, no,” he quickly denied, grabbing her hand from where she went to take up a marker to write the event down in the little box on the calendar. “Want yeh to come with me. Never been to Paris before, right?”

“Yeh serious?” she gasped, spinning back to stare at him with wide eyes. “Absolutely. Gonna be there for two full days, but the show’s only on the first one. Figured we could explore Paris together a bit. Sorta mini holiday.”

“What am I to do while you do your telly thing? Sit in the hotel? Get lost in Paris by myself and get picked up by human traffickers?”

“Why are yeh always so dramatic?”

“You’re the one who made me watch all the Takens! They were in Paris in the first one. I trust yeh, Harry, but you’re not exactly Liam Neeson.”

“Bugger off,” he huffed. “You’re gonna come with me, yeh weirdo. Sit all pretty in the studio and laugh at me trying to answer the questions that’ll all be in French and cry like yeh always do when I perform. Sound alright?”

“I do not always c—”“

“Love,” he cut off, grabbing her gently by the shoulders. 

She huffed. “Fine. Alright. I’ll come with yeh. Send me the information. Now, either get your arse out of my flat or sit down and watch some Netflix with me.”

Harry grinned, triumphant in getting her to agree to come to Paris with him on such short notice. He had been worried that she’d have to work or she just really wouldn’t have wanted to come with him, because they weren’t really that close, but he was pleased that it had all gone off without a hitch. Harry liked Y/N’s company. She was funny and quick-witted and she kept him on his toes in the best way possible. 

It had been complete chance that they had met a few years ago—having literally bumped into each other in a local Tesco’s on the soup aisle—but Harry thought maybe it wasn’t really chance, but actually fate. Within ten minutes of knowing her, he had felt like they knew everything about each other, aside from Y/N obviously recognizing him. She’d never treated him as Harry Styles though. They’d bumped into each other, causing Y/N to drop the soup cans she’d been balancing in her arms and under her chin. She’d cursed rather loudly, making Harry’s eyebrows jump up on his forehead at hearing such a little thing curse so vividly and with such emotion. He’d been quick to apologize, dropping down to pick up her cans and stand them upright so they didn’t roll away.

“Should’ve gotten a bloody basket,” she’d grumbled to herself, obviously frustrated. “Popped in for fucking milk and a new box of tea. Didn’t fucking think they’d be having such a good deal on the bleeding soups.”

Harry had chuckled at her dialogue to herself, amused with her colorful language and her grumbling. She must have heard him, because she popped her head up and leveled him with a glare. “What’re yeh laughing for? You’re the one that’s made me drop ‘em all.”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized through a chuckle. “I’m not laughing at yeh, promise.” He’d quickly started piling her soup cans into his own empty basket, having just entered the store. “Take my basket. Yeh won’t have to carry all the soup in your hands, then. I’ll get a new one.”

Y/N had paused then, finally realizing who it was she was knelt beside. “You’re that Styles bloke. That one in the boyband.”

Harry tried to keep his cringe to himself, so he smiled tightly and nodded. “That would be me,” he confirmed, hoping this wouldn’t get unpleasant. He’d just wanted to get some food since his home had sat empty for so long. His fridge was nearly completely empty. He would never complain aloud, but he really didn’t want to run into any fans on his quick trip out.

“Neat,” she brushed off, moving to pile more cans into the basket. “Sorry for cursing at yeh. Been a long day.”

Harry was a little thrown off by her quick brush over how he was famous. It was rare that he was recognized and not bombarded for pictures or signatures or the like. He didn’t really like that a normal human interaction felt novel to him, but he did like that she had been so breezy about it all. Maybe she just wasn’t one to obsess over celebrities. Or maybe she didn’t like their music. 

After that, they’d got to talking about something so completely mundane, Harry couldn’t even remember what it was, but they spent a good fifteen minutes in the soup aisle of Tesco’s talking about nonsense and laughing together. When they had parted ways, it had been with no intention of ever seeing each other again, which both parties were surprisingly bummed about. It wasn’t two weeks later, however that Harry saw Y/N sitting in the window of a local coffee shoppe, stirring at a large mug with a spoon and reading a book he recognized by the cover. He remembers feeling a little flushed, knowing the dirty contents of the poems within, but smiling nonetheless, because it was a book he was fond of and somehow it fit that she was reading it. So, he’d popped in, spooking her at first and making her blush as she shut the book, placing it face down on the counter. He’d made a teasing comment about the author and the words in the book, and while she sat stunned at first, she quickly righted herself and made a joke about it being the only action she’d seen in months. 

She had rejoiced internally at the way it made Harry pause, hoping he’d felt even a fifth of the embarrassment she’d felt at his original greeting.

They left that day with each other’s numbers and a promise to get in touch. Ever since then, they’d see each other occasionally, usually in casual places where Harry could keep his head down. She’d even met his bandmates within a few months of knowing them. After they’d all hung out together at a pub, Harry had gotten a good ribbing from the lads about how fond he was of her. Harry had denied it, because it was a bit ridiculous that he’d be soft for someone he’d hardly seen, but he couldn’t deny to himself that he had a bit of a crush on her. He never addressed it though, and they’d kept their relationship platonic in the years that followed. 

Three years in, though, and that same warm feeling he’d get in his chest when he was around her had only intensified. Even when they’d hadn’t spoken much in a few months, he’d dream about her and his fingers would itch to text her or call her up when he was alone in his hotel room after a long day of shooting. He’d held himself back, though, not wanting his tired mind to do something he’d regret in the morning. 

He was playing off this new request for her to join him in Paris as him being a good friend and taking her to Paris since she’d expressed the want to go several times over the years but never getting a reason to go. Now he was giving her a reason since he was going to be there anyway. She’d get to see him perform his own solo music live for the first time, as well, and Harry was telling himself that was all it was. But he knew he had selfish reasons for asking her to tag along. He wanted more time with her because she made him feel good and he felt comfortable with her. He’d wanted to ask her to come to New York with him, too, since he had been so nervous for his first solo performance and he thought she’d make him feel better, but he had to be there for a whole week to rehearse and practice for his skits as well as his performance. She’d never have the time off.

But now he’d have time with her for two whole days in Paris, just the two of them, and he was beyond excited. He didn’t know what would come of this trip, and he wasn’t sure if he was excepting anything profound, but he was excited, anyhow.

“I feel highly underdressed,” Y/N expressed, looking down at her own wardrobe and comparing it to Harry’s. It was cold in France still, much like it was in England, and she’d put on a grey jumper, a navy green jacket, black jeans and black boots*. She’d ditched her scarf once they’d entered the building, but her casual outfit had nothing on the trouser and vest combo Harry was wearing with a plain black tee that fit him perfectly.

“Yeh look perfect,” Harry assured her, buttoning up the cute little vest he had on that matched his trousers. 

“I look like a slug compared to you.” 

Harry pursed his lips and furrowed his brows at her comparison. “Yeh do not look like a bloody slug, and yeh look beautiful. I’m only dressed like this because I’m gonna be on telly.”

Y/N huffed but peeked a little grin at his compliment. The part of her that fancied Harry always giggled like a school girl when he complimented her. The other part of her hurried to repress it and make sure she didn’t let out the embarrassing sound. “Your bum looks really good in those trousers,” she said to keep the attention away from herself. 

“Oi, what yeh lookin’ at me bum for?” he yelped, hands automatically moving to cover said area of his body.

Y/N laughed. “Couldn’t help it when yeh bent over to tie your shoes.” She walked by, taking Lou’s cue to join her in going out to the crowd with just minutes to spare before Harry was set to appear on stage. She patted a light smack to Harry’s bum and snickered when he yelped.

“Cheeky!” he yelled after her as the door started to swing shut behind them.

“Yeh know yeh love me, Styles!” she tittered back, laughing with Lou as they made their way down the hall leading to the main area of the studio. 

“Yeah, I do,” Harry sighed, though it fell on deaf ears.

Y/N was a mess of emotions as she watched Harry perform his own new single live for the first time. Sure she had seen him on the telly the week before, and she had been pretty emotional then, but this was completely different. She could feel his energy on that stage, much like she could when she caught a few of his shows when he was in One Direction. This was different, though. There weren’t a few other lads to take up the attention or to evenly disperse that intense energy. All of it was very obviously coming from Harry and she couldn’t quite contain how that made her feel. 

So, yes, she was crying by the time the drums got added to the song, and she had several tears streaming down her face by the time the bridge came around. Lou hugged her close, and she felt a bit silly for crying—even though Lou was pretty teary-eyed too—because she wasn’t sure it made her any different from any of the other young girls in the room that were crying, too. But Y/N realized she was crying because one of her best friends was up on that stage, bearing his soul to a crowd by playing his first solo single and absolutely killing it. She was intensely proud of him and all she wanted to do was hug him close and tell him what a good job he was doing. She felt sort of like a mum with how she wanted to coo at him, but she couldn’t really care then. Because she also wanted to kiss him until they were both breathless, and she figured that wasn’t very motherly at all.

Harry beamed as the song finished and quickly hopped off stage to join the host of the show at the desk in the center of the studio. He caught sight of Y/N in the front row, fingers quickly wiping underneath her eyes to rid herself of tears, and his smile brightened when he caught her eyes. She gave him a watery smile back and a thumbs up, her way of congratulating him when she wasn’t allowed any words. He blew a quick kiss to her before shaking the host’s hand and sitting to begin the interview portion. 

Since Y/N knew about ten words of French (six of them being the numbers one through six), the interview was a little lost on her, especially when the host would say something and the rest of the crowd would laugh. Her and Lou were pretty lost, and they relied heavily on Harry’s reactions and his answers to understand what was going on during the whole thing. 

There was one time, though, where Y/N caught the word ‘woman’ in the host’s question, and Harry took a bit longer than was necessary for the translation to flow into his in-ear to think up an answer. His eyes shifted to Y/N, who was sitting off to the left of him, keeping an eye on her as he formulated an answer she already knew was going to be bullshit.

When he started spewing about how the album was more a reflection of himself than a bunch of songs written about a woman, she knew he was lying through his teeth. Y/N hadn’t heard the album yet, because she liked the suspense of listening to it when everyone else in the world got to, so she wasn’t quite sure what all the songs sounded like or were about. But, for whatever reason, Harry was lying about his answer, and she was a little curious about the honest one. She’d have to ask him about it later, she figured. 

After his telly performance, he had a radio interview, but he promised Y/N they would get lunch afterward, just the two of them, so Y/N went back to the hotel by herself, since Harry needed the rest of his team around to finish out his interview. Luckily, the hotel was in walking distance and she remembered the way they’d came, because there was no way she’d have been able to read the street signs and navigate her way back. 

Back in the hotel, Y/N waited for Harry in his own room as opposed to the room she was sharing with Lou just across the hall. She contemplated turning on the telly to pass some time, but she realized she probably wouldn’t find any channels in English, so it was a waste. It wasn’t an issue anyway, since Harry showed up only twenty minutes later, smiling and already stripping out of his clothes. 

“There’s a cafe down the street I saw that looked good. Wanna head there for lunch?” he suggested, nearly tripping as he tried to shimmy his trousers down his legs.  

Y/N tried desperately to prevent herself from blushing as he took off his clothes. She’d seen Harry in close to nothing before since the man had a propensity for wearing as little clothes as possible whenever he wasn’t in public, but it was somehow different now, when it was just the two of them in his hotel room. Plus, his boxers were doing somehow less of a job at hiding his dick than his trousers usually did, and Y/N was slightly worried that it’d pop out of the little slip in his pants while he shimmied around to get the rest of his clothes off. 

Not to mention, Harry was still in incredibly good shape from his time on set and the workouts he still got in regularly, and the muscles of his upper body were making her a little hot and bothered. The shift of his back muscles as he pulled his black shirt over his head and the bulge of his biceps as he lifted his suitcase onto the bed were nearly enough to make her drool.

She cleared her throat before answering. “Yeah, sounds good. You’ll probably have to translate the menu for me, though.”

“I always forget you never took French in school.” 

“I thought Spanish would be cooler.”

He snorted as he pulled on his trusty black jeans. “Do you even remember any of it?”

“Sí.”

Harry burst out laughing, and she did her best to hide her grin because she wanted to be upset with him for laughing at her, but she couldn’t help it. He was still chuckling as he pulled on a t-shirt and the same hoodie that he wore when they flew in this morning. “Really fluent there, I see.”

“Impressive, I know,” she sighed, flipping her hair at him.

“Vamanos, senorita. Yo tengo hambre.”

Harry could feel Y/N’s stare as he ordered for both of them in French, just like he could always feel her stare when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. It was something she’d been doing for awhile now, and he’d caught her several times, even though he was pretty sure she never realized he had. She would have gotten all flustered and huffy if she’d ever known he realized she was staring at him with such a soft look on her face. It was an expression he wanted to photograph and keep forever in one of his journals or in his bloody wallet. It was a look that let him know that the feelings he harbored for her weren’t one-sided. 

Harry thanked their waiter and passed the menus off. Y/N stared at her tea, dropping her gaze quickly once Harry turned back to face her. The clinking of the metal spoon against the ceramic cup was rhythmic and it lulled helped Y/N to calm the butterflies that had kicked up in her stomach as she’d watched Harry interact with their waiter. She hated that even the most mundane things about Harry made her react so strongly. She felt out of control of her own body, and while she wanted the control back, she wasn’t necessarily upset that it as Harry who made her feel these things. There were worse people to get flustered over, she thought.

Harry cleared his throat over the lump that had formed there when he thought about voicing his next statement. He wasn’t quite sure this was the best place to have this conversation, but the urge to address it right then was something he couldn’t ignore. It was like the sentence was jumping to make it’s way out of his mouth and he was at it’s mercy at this point. Maybe he should have waited until they were in a more private place, but he’d started speaking before he even had a chance to second guess it. 

“I see the way yeh look at me when yeh think I’m not looking.”

Y/N’s stirring stopped immediately, letting her hand pause with the spoon mid-stir. She gulped loudly, afraid to face what Harry’s statement really meant. She hadn’t been that obvious, had she? She hadn’t thought so. She was pretty sure that she’d only let herself stare at him longingly when he wasn’t looking, but apparently Harry had eyes on the side of his head now. She could feel her body beginning to flush, the heat working it’s way up from her chest to her cheeks. Suddenly her cozy jumper felt suffocating and she worked quickly to remove her scarf that felt like it was strangling her. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she got out hoarsely, clearing her throat. There, that was fine. Denial was better than making a fool out of herself. 

Harry sighed. “Love…”

“Yeah?” she asked, finally chancing a glance up at him. The soft look on her face took her aback for a moment, and she blinked at the shock of seeing him look like how she was sure she looked when she stared at him. 

“I look at yeh the same way. You’re just too busy making sure I don’t see you to notice it.”

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