#well apparently not THAT close because she and lucy don’t follow each other on instagram. thankfully lucy’s girlfriend (i think they’re in

[fingertipsmp3]

Really need to turn my instagram notifications on. Why did I check it for the first time in months and discover that my best friend made a meme account, and that this woman I had a crush on four years ago requested to follow me

[gemma-lemma]

Flaming Hearts - A Nalu Fanfiction

Chapter two

When Lucy left her room the next morning, Natsu was leaning on the opposite wall already.

“Mornin’ princess.” He greeted and pushed himself off, casting a quick glance down her body while she did the same. While Lucy was wearing a navy-blue skirt and a white turtleneck, combined with white boots and a dark blue backpack, Natsu wore black jeans and a black sweater beneath his black leather jacket. Did he not know any other colours than those depressing tones?

“Good morning, Natsu.” She purred and started walking down the hall. “Were you standing there all night?”

Natsu chuckled and admitted. “No, I slept in a very comfortable bed in another wing of the estate.”

Lucy gave him a surprised look. Did that mean..? “But before you make any false assumptions, my partner was guarding your room at night, so don’t try anything in the future.” He crushed her hopes and gave her a wicked grin. He knew exactly what Lucy was thinking, and it irked her.

“Will you have breakfast with me, then?” She asked, trying to conceal her hopes by sounding as if she were up to something. She hated eating alone.

“Sadly, no. I’ve already eaten.” He said and glanced towards her as she stared strictly forward, lips pressed to a thin line. He wasn’t entirely sure how to interpret that reaction, but she gave him no further room to speculate.

“Then I will see you when I depart from the estate.” She pressed with a smile and turned around to face him one last time before entering the dining room and slamming the door behind her. Natsu looked at it baffled. Had he offended her?

During breakfast Lucy took out her phone and decided to check the Fairy Tail group chat.

 Levy: What??! New bodyguards? Again?

Erza: How many more of those is your dad going to hire until he realizes that you’re able to get rid of them all?

Juvia: Lucy, be nice! Those poor guys don’t know yet what they’re dealing with.

Lucy: Then it’s time they found out, don’t you think?

 The answer was almost immediate.

 Juvia: But be a little nicer than you were with that Hibiscus guy from the Unicorn agency!

Levy: You mean Hibiki from Blue Pegasus?

Juvia: Yes, that one. How am I supposed to remember all their names? There were so many.

Erza: And there will be many more, so you better start remembering.

Lucy: Uhm, maybe not…

Levy: What do you mean?

Lucy: The new agency? They’re Strauss and Co. I met their boss, Mirajane Strauss, yesterday.

Erza: Strauss and Co.? Those are said to be the best! Mirajane is my absolute idol!

Juvia: What’s so interesting about her?

Erza: She was in the military before she started the agency, and from what I’ve heard the woman’s a beast! There was no mission she didn’t complete excellently, and she received loads of medals.

Levy: When she was such a great soldier, why’d she stop just to become a babysitter?

Erza: I’m not sure, they never really dropped the details. All I know is that her sister Lisanna was somehow involved, and that since Mirajane left the military, nobody has ever seen Lisanna again.

Lucy: You think she died?

Erza: I’m don’t know, but at this point I think it’s probable. But that was years ago.

Juvia: But Lucy, why did you say that maybe there wouldn’t come any more agencies?

Lucy: I’m hoping that if I just get Strauss and Co. to fail as spectacularly as possible, my father will realize that it’s useless and stop hiring bodyguards. They’re said to be the best, after all.

Levy: That sounds wicked.

Levy: You got a plan already or need some help?

Lucy: As a starter, I’m gonna start sneaking out and running away from them, beginning with Sting’s party. Oh, and I’ve got to introduce someone to you once we’re at the University.

Erza: That sounds interesting.

 With a smile, Lucy put her phone away and stood up from the table. Just like before, Natsu was waiting right outside the room she was in, this time leaning next to the door.

“You ready?” He asked, and Lucy nodded. Together they walked out to the car and got in the backseat.

“We’re ready, Gajeel.” Natsu called and the driver, a man with long black hair, started the car.

“What happened to my usual driver?” Lucy asked curiously and watched Natsu lean back in his seat.

“We decided that it would be better if someone of our team would drive.” He said and watched out the window.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Lucy smiled sweetly and scooted closer to the pink haired man.

“What can you tell me about your friends?” He asked instead of answering her question and pretended not to notice how she got closer still. Of course, he knew all about her friends, but maybe this would distract her from asking further questions he didn’t want her to know the answer to. Her previous driver had turned out to be in close contact with several very intrusive paparazzi.

“Well, there’s Levy, for one. Levy McGarden.” Lucy began listing them up and he was surprised about how willing to help she seemed. “She’s a total bookworm, we often exchange books that we liked reading. She’s really sweet, but also a bit of a shark. Once she finds something interesting, she will go beyond herself to find out everything about it.”

Levy McGarden was the daughter of a very famous publisher and a slightly less famous Instagram celebrity. She was in all probability as harmless as her babyface made her look. Her and Lucy had known each other since kindergarten.

“Then there’s Erza Scarlet. She’s been one of my best friends since middle school, and she loves strawberry cake. Probably would kill for a slice. She’s the mom friend of the group, and really nice.”

Natsu frowned. Erza Scarlet was the heir to Scarlet Inc., a company that sold cars. It seemed that her parents were, just like Lucy’s father, more interested in building an empire than raising their daughter, who early on started to rebel against their plans for her. She was versed in all kinds of fighting sports and taught self-defence via videos on social media. Natsu wasn’t all too sure if she was actually as sweet as Lucy said.

“And last but not least we have Juvia Lockser. Her Mother has this great fashion label, Loxar, and she herself wants nothing more than to become a designer like her one day. She’s really cool, like the friend you can go on rollercoasters with.” Lucy concluded, and Natsu raised his brows at the odd comparison.

Juvia Lockser had transferred to Lucy’s high school in eleventh grade, and they had spent the year as sworn enemies. Apparently because of some boy they had both had a thing for, but nothing had ever been confirmed. All he knew was that they ended eleventh grade with catfight and started twelfth grade as best friends.

“Are you telling me something about your team too or will I have to figure out everything by myself?” Lucy asked, now so close that their bodies were touching, and Natsu made the mistake of turning his head to look at her. Their faces were only centimetres apart anymore and she glanced seducingly down towards his lips, before her big brown eyes met his again. For the first time Lucy realized that his eyes were not just really dark but seemed to be actually black.

Natsu cleared his throat and tried to move closer to the door, but he was already pressed against it. There was no escape from Lucy’s attempts to…yeah, what was she even doing? Trying to seduce him? Yeah, that had to be it. He wasn’t entirely sure why she was trying to in the first place, though. Was she hoping for him to make a mistake because he was distracted or to give in to her advances and get fired for it?

“Well, uh,” He stammered and cleared his throat again. “Mirajane you already met. Then there’s Gajeel, our driver.”

“What’s Gajeel’s last name?” Lucy interrupted, and he gave her a startled look.

“His last name’s Redfox. My partner, who’s guarding your room at night, is called Gray Fullbuster, then there’s Cana Alberona, who takes care that extern locations are secure. You happy ‘bout that answer, princess?”

Lucy hummed while thinking it through. Little did Natsu know that those names would wander directly to Levy, who would crack her knuckles twice and then find out everything about the team there was to know.

“What’s your last name, Natsu?”

“Dragneel.”

“Natsu…Dragneel.” She repeated slowly, and a shiver ran down Natsu’s spine. He had to give it to her: She knew the game she was playing very well.

Suddenly, Lucy retreated back to her seat, and just as Natsu gave her a puzzled look, he saw that they were right in front of the University.

“You ready, love?” She asked and looked at him through her lashes. Natsu swallowed and nodded, shaking off all the insecurity she brought up in him. Two could play the game she was playing, and it was time for him to step onto the field.

“Ready when you are, princess.” He retorted and watched, as Gajeel opened her door for her before getting out himself and walking around the car. Lucy hadn’t bothered waiting up for him, but Gajeel still stood there smirking.

“Good luck with that one, Salamander. Seems like she’s got you by the balls.”

“Fuck you, Metalhead. At least I don’t have to play the driver.” He muttered and followed after his fake girlfriend, who just at that moment reached her friends in front of the stairs.

 “The pink haired one?” Levy asked curiously, and Lucy nodded.

“He’s actually my bodyguard, but he’s acting like he’s my boyfriend in public, so it doesn’t seem that obvious that I’m protected.” She whispered and watched him approach. He even had a backpack slung over his shoulder that she hadn’t noticed before.

When he reached them, he laid an arm over Lucy’s shoulder and she smiled up at him sweetly.

“Guys, that’s Natsu, my boyfriend.” She introduced him and he raised his hand in a small wave.

“Nice to meet you, girls. Lucy’s told me already so much about you.”

“And those are Erza,” the red haired one who gave him the evil eye, “Juvia,” the one with the dark blue hair who just eyed him curiously, “And Levy.” The one with the light blue hair and the glasses, who gifted him an honest smile.

“So, Natsu,” Erza spoke and Lucy tried to push down her grin. “Where did you two meet?”

“At the bookstore. We were reaching for the same book and that’s when we first noticed each other.” He chuckled and scratched his neck, and the girls almost melted into his smile. That was actually a very sweet idea, Lucy thought, but they didn’t give up so soon. After all, her friends enjoyed playing Lucy’s games at least as much as she did.

“Oh, you like to read? What genres?” Levy questioned with shining eyes. If there was anyone in the world who loved reading more than Lucy, then it was Levy. Natsu feigned thinking for a second, when he was probably actually wondering what game the girls were playing. He was pretty sure that Lucy had told them the truth already.

“I think my favourite’s probably action, though I really like YA and Romance too. The book we reached for was romance, if I remember it right. Wasn’t it, Lucy?” He thought aloud and glanced down towards the blonde who gave a slight nod.

“Yeah, it was.”

“You know, I’ve gotta say, you’re kinda pretty. I’m sure I would’ve noticed you by now.” Juvia stated and smiled wickedly. “You don’t go to this University, do you?”

They were trying to corner him, Natsu realised. They were trying to make him make a mistake, and suddenly he was very thankful for Mirajane, who always insisted that he learned every last detail of his faux background story by heart and even practiced answering questions about it.

“Well, I’ve been going to this Uni for quite a while now, but I chose to attend via online lessons. I’ve always found those more practical anyways. But since I met Lucy I want to spend as much time with her as I can, and thus am going to come to Uni in person.” He smiled just as sweetly back and could see the exact moment Juvia decided to test his limits.

Lucy snuck her arm around his waist and said: “It’s pretty late already, I think we should go inside.”

The girls agreed, and so everyone went to their lessons.

Lucy took a seat at the back of the classroom and neatly laid out her laptop, a notebook and a biro pen in front of her. Natsu simply put his backpack to his feet and slouched back in his chair.

“Are you even going to pay attention?” Lucy asked curiously and propped her chin on her hand. Natsu nodded.

“Of course I am. Just not to your chemistry lesson.”

“It’s physics, actually.” Lucy gave him a sly smile.

“Ain’t gonna pay attention to that either.” He retorted and tried not to let his embarrassment show. He should have known that.

“Of course not.” Lucy teased and directed her attention to her professor.

During the lesson Natsu kept watching the students surrounding them like an eagle. He was aware of every movement, every glance in their direction.

When Lucy turned her attention back to him, at first, he didn’t even notice, too busy glaring down a fellow student who seemed to have a little crush on the blonde beauty. Determined to focus his attention back on her, Lucy inconspicuously pushed a pen towards the edge of the table. Natsu noticed it the moment it rolled off the edge of the table but was too slow to catch it.

“Whoopsie.” Lucy feigned surprise before leaning down to get the pen that had rolled under Natsu’s seat, knowingly invading his space. Startled, he tried to scoot a little away, but there was only so far he could go before falling off his chair.

“Found it.” Lucy looked up to him with a smile, still bowed over his lap, providing a great view of her cleavage. In that moment Natsu understood perfectly how Lucy had gotten rid of all her previous bodyguards. Either they quit because the teasing was too much, or they were fired because they had given in and walked right into her trap. And if they were actually professional enough to not be affected by how she acted, she would have found a way to prove them incompetent.

“Great.” Natsu pressed and let out a breath when she sat back up again. He needed to find a way to make her give up.

 When they finally left the classroom, Lucy snuck her hand into Natsu’s and leaned into his side.

“Did you find the lesson interesting, love?” She purred and batted her lashes.

“Yes, it was quite the entertainment, princess. What did you like best?” He answered, smile dripping poison. Lucy sported a smug expression.

“The part where I dropped my pen.” She bit her lip, and Natsu finally had enough. He started walking faster, trailing Lucy after him by her hand. She almost stumbled, but as quickly as he had started, he pushed her into a janitor’s room and closed the door behind them.

“What-?” Lucy stuttered, but he immediately shut her up by pressing her against a wall. There was only a little red lamp that barely lighted the room, but she could see his glowing dark eyes clear as day.

“Listen up now, princess.” He growled, one arm propped to the wall above her head, leaning down right beside her ear. “I know exactly what you’re trying to do, and I don’t like it.”

“Oh, is that was dislike looks like, love?” She interrupted, having quickly recovered from the surprise. Natsu got closer, pressing a leg between hers, hoping to wipe some of that smugness off her face. He knew it failed tremendously the moment she put a hand on his chest.

“Yes, that’s what dislike looks like. I won’t fall for your games. I’ve read your files. I know exactly how you got rid of all those before me and let me tell you that I won’t follow them. The only way you’re getting rid of me is if someone puts a bullet in my head.” With the tiniest bit of self-satisfaction, he felt Lucy’s body react to his. She wasn’t as immune as she would have liked him to think, after all. Little goosebumps appeared on her neck and went down her spine, and instead of drawing circles with her fingers like before she grabbed his sweater as her breathing got heavier. Natsu leaned back a little, just enough to look her in the widened eyes. She looked at him like a deer in headlights.

But then she grabbed his sweater tighter, and though still breathing heavily, she bit her lip and smirked. “I know where daddy keeps the guns, love.”

Natsu narrowed his eyes, trying not to let his exasperation show. How the fuck could he intimidate her if not like that?

Letting out an irritated breath, he retreated from her, and watched how she almost slipped down the wall. Looked like someone had gotten weak knees, huh?

Natsu rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the hand as soon as her knees seemed steady enough to carry her again and pulled her out of the room and to her next class.

 SATURDAY

 Lucy was humming while putting on her make up. She hadn’t managed to get another reaction out of Natsu for the entire week and was now determined to not let this evening flop. She had eaten about two hours before and had officially already gone to bed. It worried her a little that Natsu had known about her sneaking out in the past but she calmed her nerves by reminding herself that, in fact, everyone knew about it. That had been the whole point – to be seen and get rid of another useless team of bodyguards.

When her lipstick finally seemed to have the perfect angle, she thoughtfully eyed the cylindrical box that sat on the counter next to the sink. It was opened, and in it there was a bright pink wig Lucy usually used to sneak out and be unseen. She was still debating with herself whether or not to wear it. Did she want to be unseen or did she want to let people know she was there right away?

Carefully taking the wig out she chose the first option, thinking about remaining incognito until later at night so that her bodyguards couldn’t have a chance to crash the party earlier than she wanted them to.

When everything was finally at the right place, she picked up her phone and threw a last checking look in the mirror. The black dress she was wearing barely reached to her mid-thighs, and the v-neckline was quite revealing too. Her high heels would already have killed her feet by the time they reached the club, but she didn’t care. All Lucy cared about was that she looked smoking hot and hardly recognizable with the hot pink wig that reached straight to her shoulders. It even had bangs.

 Levy: We’ll be there in ten, Lu. Same spot as always?

Lucy: Of course. See you.

 To climb out the window, Lucy took her shoes off again, not wanting to fall and break her neck, and as she snuck her way through a small passage in the garden and then through that part of the bushes, knowing no one from the estate would be able to see her, she kept them dangling from her fingers. Last but not least she finally reached the gate for the delivery men and snuck through it with a security card she had stolen some time ago while seducing one.

Finally taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the fresh night air.

“Man, how I love being right.” A raspy voice broke her out of her peace, and she jolted around to see Natsu leaning on the wall, grinning cockily.

“How- how did you know?” Lucy stuttered, trying to register what was happening just now. Damn it! Natsu pushed himself off the wall and slowly started walking towards her.

“As I said before, I know about how you got rid of all the others. Doing the necessary research about what way you could get off the property so easily made me genuinely worried about the laziness of your previous bodyguards.” He explained and stood still right in front of her. Lucy swallowed hard and watch as he raised a hand to twirl a pink lock around his finger. “Nice wig, by the way. I was already wondering if you went out to just get some fun, too.”

Trying to recollect her thoughts, Lucy pushed his hand off and bowed down to put her shoes back on. She didn’t see how Natsu averted his eyes from her very revealing pose, but she sure hoped he did. When she stood back upright, she was almost as tall as him.

“So, what’s the plan now, love?” She asked and narrowed her eyes at him.

He sent her a knowing smirk. “I’m gonna bring ya back to your room and save mine and Mira’s asses. You are gonna come with me without a fight and nicely go to sleep as you announced almost three hours ago you would.”

Lucy scoffed. “And what if I won’t come with you?”

“I have no problem picking you up and carrying you, princess.”

Debating her chances of getting away from him in that kind of situation, Lucy frowned. Eventually, she raised her hands in defeat. “I don’t wanna go back. I still want to have a night out with my friends.”

“Hah, no. You’re going home.” Natsu said coldly.

“Please, I can never have some fun! And they’re already on their way here.” She pleaded and watched as his cold façade slowly started to melt.

“No, no fucking way. You’re not going to some party just because you don’t like your life, princess. Out of the question, your friends are gonna have to turn around.”

“Please, Natsu! Let me go and I swear that I’ll be nice. Don’t take this away from me too.” Lucy boldly laid her hands on top of his crossed arms and he glanced down for only a moment before sending her a warning glare.

“You’re gonna stay by my side, you hear me? The first time I can’t see you for more than three seconds will be the moment we go home.” He instructed gruffly and opened up his arms so her hands would fall off. Instead, she darted forward and threw her arms around his neck to embrace him in a tight hug.

“Thanks, Natsu! You’re the greatest!” She cheered, genuinely grateful but none the less already thinking of some kind of plan B.

[queenmylovely]

Wedding Party II

Summary: Ben hardy x fem!reader. A game night between friends will surely take off the tension from whatever’s going on with you and Ben. 

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: cussing, building tension, charades 

A/N: This is the third and final (multiple) part(s) of my 500 follower celebration!! Thank you so much again to everyone who follows me, including the people that have since I hit 500, cause it’s been a minute, whoops. I was planning three parts for this, but I got into the charades so we’re looking at four instead! (p.s. if you want to try to guess the charade movies before the characters do that’s how I tried to write it lol) Any feedback is super appreciated but especially replies, messages, and asks are super helpful for my writing ‘cause I get to hear what you think!

Part I, Part III, Part IV, Mini i, Mini ii, Masterlist

(yet again wonderful gif by @mrbenhardys) 

💖💖💖

Ben couldn’t believe how close he had come to kissing you the other night. He had diverted it last second by kissing your cheek, but even that teetered too far over the line of what was supposed to happen. If fucking someone at Rami’s wedding wasn’t allowed, then developing a full-on crush wasn’t either. But boy was he.

Even though you were the one that had mentioned hearing about him when the two of you first met, he was surprised to see that all of the references to you by his friends hadn’t failed to live up. In fact, he would probably say that what they said didn’t do you justice. Though he wouldn’t advertise it, he had also done a quick instagram stalk and thought you were even more beautiful in person.

Rami hadn’t slipped up like Lucy and mentioned your name specifically when telling him not to sleep with anyone at the wedding, but even so, Ben found all of his focus on you when it came to that rule. Whether it was because you had known of but never met each other for so long or simply because of who you were, you fascinated him.

Which he knew was dangerous in this particular situation. But he reminded himself that he would only have to see you at the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception. He thought that maybe after that something more could develop, but until then he would have to stay on track.

_

But when Ben got out of the car to head into Rami and Lucy’s building and held the door open for someone behind him, his whole plan was ruined when that person was you.

“Oh, hi!” you said cheerily and he said hi back; you were trying to mask the mixture of excitement and dread you were feeling. Excitement at seeing Ben and spending time with him and dread at seeing Ben and spending time with him.

The two of you walked across the lobby and to the elevator. Ben pushed the button and you waited together. He had the same internal dilemma going on but he just smiled and said, “I can assume you’re going to game night too then?”

“That’s a safe assumption. Haven’t seen you at one of these before,” you pointed out, trying to make casual conversation. The elevator dinged and you both got on, Ben again hitting the button for the correct floor.

“Yeah, my last film had a lot of night scenes and stuff so I was always busy. But that’s in post and my next one will be mainly day shoots so I’ll be able to come to more of these,” Ben explained as the elevator doors opened and the two of you walked into the hallway.

“We’ll be seeing a lot of each other then,” you commented during the short walk to their front door. You reached up and knocked twice.

“Yep.”

Then at the same time, the two of you sighed. Your heads whipped towards each other in confusion and you were both about to say something in response or question when the door opened.

“Ben! Y/N! You made it, and look at you arriving together, already practicing for the wedding, huh?” was Joe’s excited greeting when he opened the door.

“Hey mate, good to see you,” Ben told Joe, giving him a hug.

“Hey Joe,” you said with a smile as you hugged him. Then you teased, “Did Lucy and Rami hire you as their butler or do you just really enjoy opening doors?”

Ben laughed at what you said even though he didn’t have the full context and you felt your cheeks heat up.

As the three of you walked into the apartment Joe just barked out a laugh and told you, “You’re hilarious.”

You smiled at him, “I try.”

Once you reached the living room, you saw both Rami and Lucy there, setting up the snacks. Gwilym was there as well, but he was pouring a couple glasses of wine. They all put down what they were holding and came over to do the usual greetings and such. Apparently, it was only to be you six because some of the other regulars had other obligations.

After everyone had a little plate of snacks and a glass of red or white, Rami began his usual little spiel at the beginning of game nights, “Alright everyone, welcome to game night. We will be playing team games, so partner up now.”

“Dibs on Gwil,” Joe called out, looking directly at you with a smirk. If only he knew how good he had really gotten you.

You shot back, “That’s fine by me. I’m sure Ben will be a great teammate.”

All the same, Ben shot Joe a quick look that he didn’t understand and you shot Lucy a quick this-wasn’t-my-fault look that she accepted with a nod.

Rami continued, “Great, we have three games lined up, but we can play as many times as we like. Lastly, remember that this is strictly a friendly competition, so no sore losers when Lucy and I beat all of you,”

“Oh it’s on,” Joe replied. Then he and Rami got into a little trash-talk.

Ben laughed and turned to you, “Are you competitive?”

“Well… I suppose that’s something one could say about me,” you said with a sheepish smile.

“I hope I’m not too big of a disappointment then, I’m not the best at these types of things,” Ben said with a slightly awkward smile.

“I’m sure you’ll be great,” you said, placing your hand on his shoulder. “Anyway I’m not nearly as competitive as them.”

You nodded towards Rami and Joe who were jokingly getting in each other’s faces, unable to hold back their own laughter. Ben and you burst into laughter, joining Gwil and Lucy’s at the sight. It took you a second longer to realize that your hand was still on Ben’s shoulder. You only did because Ben had looked at it and you removed it before it became so awkward you had to leave.  

Luckily, Rami and Joe were done with their shenanigans and everyone was ready to start the first game. It turned out to be charades and little slips of paper were quickly divided between the three groups.

Rami and Lucy went first and both were ridiculously quick at guessing each other’s answers. You supposed it came with living together and such as well as being actors.

Then Gwil and Joe were up and they didn’t fare quite as well. For some reason, Joe was being far too elaborate with his acting and would mime putting on a swimsuit, putting on sunscreen, swimming, and then being chased by something just to get Jaws. Gwil was good at the charade as soon as he actually started, but he seemed to overthink every word before he started.

Finally, it was you and Ben. You went first, saying before you started, “Sorry I’m literally the only non-actor here.”

Ben waved you off with a laugh. Then Lucy flipped the timer over and you quickly opened the first slip. It said Jurassic Park and you breathed a quick sigh of relief. Then you pointed at Joe, put your hand to the height of a little kid and did T-Rex arms.

“Jurassic Park!” Ben exclaimed and though Joe said something about that not being fair, you moved on.

Next you mimed taking a ring off and holding it up to your eyes, staring at it intensely.

“Lord of the Rings, next!”

The next one was harder, but you got going. First, you pretended to be eating toast and coffee. Second, you did some characters: one with crossed arms and a frown, one flexing muscles, one reading a book and pushing up glasses, one flipping their hair and giggling, and one pulling their hair and shaking their head.

“Okay, okay, eating and drinking, a meal? Breakfast? Breakfast. And these are different people? I don’t know that first one. Then a jock? A nerd? A pretty girl? Oh, oh! The Breakfast Club!” Ben shouted, looking proud of himself for getting it and you couldn’t help but smile before moving onto the next one.

You ended up getting five before time ran out, just one less than Lucy had on her turn. Now it was Ben’s turn to do the charading and you were ready to be the one guessing.

As you switched spots, Ben whispered to you with a smile, “Good job.”

Trying not to show your happiness at his little praise, you just nodded and returned a whisper of, “Thanks.”

Ben got ready, doing a little jog in place warmup as a joke and you probably laughed harder than necessary. Then Lucy counted down from three and flipped over the timer.

As Ben picked up the first slip, you leaned forward to pay attention.

With a nod, Ben started his first charade. He mimed someone in the shower and for a quick second you pictured what he would look like in the shower. But once you said shower, he moved to the next part, getting out of the “shower” and then whipping back the curtain and pumping his from near his head to in front of him again and again. Then you realized that he was pretending to stab someone.

“Psycho!” you yelled and Ben grinned.

After picking up the next slip the first thing Ben did was scrunch up his face in a snarl, crouching down to all fours and making a hand into a claw, stalking closer to you. You felt a weird mixture of apprehensiveness and something else as he got closer and had to remind yourself this was a clue.

Ben was only about a foot away from your legs before you blurted out, “Cat, uh, lion, tiger!”

Tiger was the one so Ben stood up and then mimed rowing a boat. You thought for a second before quickly stating, “Life of Pi.”

Two more slips later, you were only two away from a tie with Lucy and Rami and you had about thirty seconds on the clock.

Ben snatched up another slip and read it, a frown taking over his face for a second. Then he recovered and started miming drumming. Next he did guitar and keyboards then singing.

“Drums. Ok, guitar, keyboards, oh a band!” you said and Ben nodded before moving on.

Next he started dancing, which you could hardly stop from laughing at, but just because it was cute. He was doing lots of 70’s moves like the hustle, YMCA, John Travolta’s move from Saturday Night Fever, and others you didn’t know the name for.

“The hustle. Um, YMCA? The Village People? Disco?” you said as you tried to stifle your giggles.

Ben nodded quickly and then motioned to keep going.

“Um… a disco… band?” you questioned and got another carry on gesture from Ben. “ABBA?”

After a thumbs up, Ben mimed the sign for movies and then singing and it came to you and you jumped up, “Mamma Mia!”

“Yes!” Ben exclaimed right as Lucy called out time. He came over to you by the couch and brought you into a tight hug that almost lifted you off the ground and you laughed out loud in surprise.

Lucy cleared her throat and you and Ben let each other go quickly, turning to look at her. She just raised an eyebrow and smirked, “You know you two didn’t actually get enough to tie me and Rami.”

“Good thing it was just a friendly competition,” you pointed out with an equally fraught with meaning smile.

“And we have two more games to try and beat you guys,” Ben pointed out, with a regular smile.

“Actually, I think you mean that you have two more games to lose to us,” Joe cut in, breaking all the tension and making everyone laugh good-naturedly.

_

The night went on and in the end Rami and Lucy did win because while they lost to you and Ben in trivia, they beat everyone during taboo. Poor Gwil and Joe didn’t win anything, though they claimed that was because they were out of practice.

Once the games were done, music was turned on and everyone got to chatting. You were talking with Joe and Rami about New York and the other three were talking about their upcoming projects more in depth.

Then you realized your drink was running low and excused yourself to go refill it. What you didn’t see as you were walking over to where the wine was was Ben jumping up and excusing himself to do the same.

Just as you were reaching to grab a bottle, you heard him say, “Allow me.”

You turned to realize he was standing just a step behind you and you slowly placed the bottle in his outstretched hand. Then he reached around you to set down his glass and grab yours and you sucked in a breath at the feeling of him just barely brushing against you.

Ben started pouring the wine and as he was doing so, looked up at you with a hint of a smirk on his face.

You realized you were probably just staring at him with your mouth open so you fixed your face and said, “So is this becoming a thing? Are you always going to make my drinks for me?”

Ben laughed lightly and handed your glass back to you. As he picked up his glass, his arm grazed your waist and you had to physically take a step back so you wouldn’t take one forward and kiss him.

Then you heard loud laughter coming from the couches and you both looked to see Rami sitting on Lucy’s lap, both of them laughing so hard they could barely breathe. You smiled at the joy and Ben looked at you with a smile.

“They’re so in love,” he commented and you nodded, a dreamy look in your eyes.

“I’m so excited for the wedding. It’ll be beautiful,” you replied. “I’ve been to a lot of weddings and not everyone’s meant for it but they are.”

“Really?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, some of them are more in it for the wedding than the actual marriage you know?” Ben nodded. “Luce and Rami want a special day, but it’s more important to them who’s there than what it looks like.”

“I had a mate from primary who must’ve had over 300 people at his wedding. I didn’t even get to talk to him and we had been best mates when we were young, so they’re definitely doing the right thing with quality over quantity too,” Ben told you.

“Wow, yeah. I guess along the same lines I can see what Lucy means. But it was a little much to tell me we couldn’t--” you stopped yourself right before revealing that you weren’t allowed to sleep with Ben to Ben. You hoped that Ben didn’t notice your abrupt stop, but he did, his brows furrowing.

“We couldn’t…?” he asked, his thoughts flashing to his conversation with Rami.

“I just-- we, like, the guests, couldn’t-- well shouldn’t-- or it’d be better to--”

“Hey Y/N, who was it from our class that got married recently with that wild theme wedding?” Lucy called over to you, and you quickly took it as a chance to get out of this conversation with Ben.

So you turned to Lucy and as you spoke, and slowly walked over to where they were, leaving Ben to either stay where he was alone or join everyone else in the conversation, “It was Amanda. And the theme was that elf… village? From Lord of the Rings, the one where Cate Blanchett lived.”

“Lothlórien,” Gwil informed everyone.

“Sure. Some of it went over my head, but it was pretty,” you commented. By that time, Ben had taken a seat next to you, his thigh touching yours. The conversation turned into a debate about theme weddings but it was hard to stay fully focused with Ben’s warmth interrupting your thoughts. Those damn thighs aren’t fair, you complained to yourself.

_

This time, you were the first to get up to leave since you had brunch with a friend the next morning.

“Are you good to drive?” Lucy asked since you had had three glasses of wine.

“Oh, I took an uber here, so I was just going to take another one back,” you answered.

“This late at night?” she asked, a worried look on her face.

“Well I always kinda take ubers this late…” you mumbled.

“You know what? I have something tomorrow too, I can take you home. I’ve only had a glass and a half,” Ben suggested, holding up his half full glass as proof.

“Oh, you don’t have--” you started but were interrupted.

“Per-fect!” Lucy said with a smile and you resigned yourself to accepting the ride.

You and Ben gathered your things and then said your goodbyes, getting hugs and kisses from all, especially Lucy who was four glasses in and a little tipsy.

Then you and Ben walked out of the apartment, following the same path you had taken together only a couple hours ago. You chatted about this and that but you were more focused on how your hands would brush against each other every fifth step or so than the conversation.

That is until Ben said, “So you’ve never used my number.”

You weren’t expecting that so you coughed in surprise before answering, “Well, I texted you saying it was me so you had mine too.”

“Well… okay,” Ben said a little sheepishly.

“Okay,” you responded before pulling out your phone. You went to your Instagram dms and found a meme that you thought he would like and sent it to him. “There you go, I used it.”

Ben took out his phone when he got the notification and opened it, laughing when he saw what it was, “Oh my gosh, this is so cute. You know I have a dog.”

“You do?” you asked, getting excited.

“Yeah her name’s Frankie. Here,” he replied, going to his home screen where you could see a picture of just about the cutest beagle you’ve ever seen.

“Oh my goodness, she’s adorable. Ugh I love her,” you said, going a little goo-goo at the sight of the dog. It helped that owning a dog was always an item on your pro list for guys.

“She’s the best. Oh, here we are,” Ben said, gesturing to his car.

The two of you got in, but before he turned on the engine Ben said, “Here, watch this video of her.”

Ben leaned over the console to show you and you met him halfway, both of you turning your eyes down to the phone to watch Frankie running around what you would assume is Ben’s apartment, fresh from a bath. You and Ben laughed at her antics and when she jumped up on the couch and wiggled around on her back, Ben’s groan in the video and groan in real life synched up and you lost it.

Ben couldn’t help but laugh too, but he said, “Hey, that left a stain, that’s a suede couch.”

That just made you laugh harder and soon both you and Ben were leaning on each other for support as you tried to catch your breath. As your laughter finally died down, you looked up at Ben, whose face was only a few inches from yours and as a couple more giggles passed your lips, you couldn’t help but steal a glance at Ben’s. You looked back at his eyes and caught him doing the same, biting your lip in anticipation. Both of you leaned a little closer, a little closer, until you were so close you could feel Ben’s breath on your lips.

Then your phone’s ringtone went off, louder than reasonable and you both jumped in surprise. You picked it up again and saw that it was Lucy calling.

“Yes, Lucy?” you answered with a bit of a sigh, your rational mind returning and reminding you that you weren’t supposed to kiss Ben.

“I forgot to tell you to text me when you get home!” she practically yelled and you held the phone away from your ear. You could hear Rami shushing her on the other end.

“Okay, I will, don’t worry, Luce,” you reassured her before saying a quick goodbye and hanging up.

Ben had turned on the engine and was starting to pull out of the parking space.

“She just wanted me to let her know when I get home,” you explained.

“Yeah I heard,” Ben said with a laugh. “Just, uh, tell me where to go.”

“Oh yeah,” you replied, remembering that he was taking you to your house and not back to his.

💖💖💖

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[spine-buster]

Alone, Together | Chapter 22 | Morgan Rielly

A/N:  Thanks again for all the positive feedback!  We’re already at Chapter 22 and only in February.  I would like to say that there isn’t going to be any more drama, but the whole ~incident~ happens in March and, of course, Boston happens in April.  So…yeah.  For now, at least, happy times ahead! This chapter didn’t end up AT ALL where it was supposed to go, but I’m actually happy about that.  Some might call it filler (because it technically doesn’t contain any Morgan/Bee interaction) but I see it as pretty important.  

Hockey Night in Canada was quickly becoming favourite night of the week, especially when the Leafs were playing at home.  She had never been a hockey fan before Morgan, but now that she was – at least partly – she could feel the energy in Scotiabank Arena pulse through her veins.  She could feel it outside on the streets, walking past fellow Torontonians going to watch the game at a bar, at a friend’s place, or anywhere else.  She could even feel it within fellow fans, buzzing around the arena and getting close to the glass during open skate.  

Tonight, in particular, was a big one – Leafs vs. Canadiens.  Morgan had explained to her enough about the historic rivalry between the two teams, and even Aryne pitched in with a “Now they hate us even more because John wouldn’t grant them an interview.”  The energy was palpable.  And if Bee knew anything about Habs fans, it was that they were everywhere in Canada – even where you least expect it – and that they always travelled to support their team.  Even tonight, in prime enemy territory, she spotted a lot of Habs jerseys.  It was going to be a great Saturday night.  

But right now, all she cared about were babies.

Briony loved babies.  She loved them.  And she loved one baby in particular: Henry Gardiner.  He was the cutest, chubbiest, most perfect baby in all of Toronto and when any opportunity to hold or play with him came up, it excited her to no end.  Bee wasn’t going to have babies anytime soon, so when the opportunity arose to do literally anything with babies, she was the first to volunteer.  So when Bee saw Lucy had brought him to the game wearing and a cute, custom-made onesie that looked like a Gardiner jersey with hockey pants, she was over the moon.

“He was being really fussy…is being really fussy tonight,” Lucy said as she tried to bounce him in her arms.  

“You want me to hold him for a bit?  At least while we go down to the ice to say hi to dad?”

“Yeah, that could work,” Lucy agreed, handing her five-month-old over to Bee.  “What do you think, Hank?  Wanna stay with Auntie Bee?” she cooed.

Bee balanced his chubby body on her hip.  He looked up at her with his big blue eyes and she almost melted right then and there.  “Hi Henry!  Are we gonna be best friends tonight?  Are you gonna give Morgan a run for his money?”

“Henry you wanna go see Dada?  Wanna go see Dada?” Lucy smiled as Henry smiled at the word ‘Dada’.  Lucy slipped on his blue pair of baby headphones to protect his ears from all the noise before setting her diaper bag on the chair.

As the pair slowly made their way down the steps of the lower bowl, they eventually got to the glass in the corner, which was already surrounded by fans taking pictures of the team.  They stood back for a while, watching the team skate and shoot pucks as Bee bounced Henry in her arms and pointed out all the players to him.  He obviously couldn’t hear a thing, but he followed her points and let out happy noises the more she bounced him.  Eventually, some fans noticed them and made way for them to go right against the glass.  Bee held Henry close to the window, pointing at Jake.

Jake took a few more shots at the net before he saw them, quickly making his way over.  Like clockwork, a cameraman and photographer appeared beside them and started snapping pictures of Henry and Jake smiling at each other.  Bee thought it was out-of-this-world adorable, but also thought it was slightly awkward since she was neither Henry’s mom or Jake’s wife.  “Maybe you should take him,” she giggled, handing back to Lucy with open arms.  

“Yeah, let me hold him until they leave,” she agreed, bringing Henry a bit closer to the glass.  Jake continued to smile and wave, and the fans around them practically awed in unison.  Morgan came skating behind him, stopping briefly to wave at Henry and smile at what was transpiring.  He pulled a silly face to try to get Henry to laugh.  Instead, Henry looked at him, his little baby eyebrows furrowing, before he began to fuss and cry slightly.  Jake hit Morgan and Morgan made a dramatic ‘oops’ face before winking quickly at Bee.  She shook her head at him as he skated away.  

“Ooookay, that’s enough of Dada and his friends,” Lucy said, trying to calm him down.  “You want to go back to Auntie Bee?  Seems like you liked when she held you,” she said, handing him back into Bee’s arms.

Like previously, Henry began to calm down as Bee held him and bounced him on her hip.  Lucy began to thank the fans for making room for them, and as she did, Bee noticed a group of three young girls – they couldn’t have been older than 21 – recording them on their iPhones.  Bee tried not to look their way or give them any mind, but when she overheard one of them say to the other, “That’s Morgan Rielly’s girlfriend,” her breath couldn’t help but hitch in her throat.  

“Let’s get back to our seats before the Zamboni comes out,” Lucy said, unaware of the girls filming.  “Hank’s really scared of them and Jake’s still upset about it.”

As they made their way back to their seats, they saw Aryne and waved, Penny following close behind her.  They nestled into their seats – Lucy near the aisle, then Bee, then Aryne, then Penny – as Bee turned Henry to face forward to look out onto the ice, bouncing him slightly on her knee.  

“Are you girls ready for a shit show?” Penny asked.  “I don’t know if you saw, but Max Domi has already been chirping a few of the boys.”

The girls rolled their eyes, but Bee had no idea who Max Domi was.  “Who is Max Domi?”

Penny cringed.  “Don’t ask.”

Aryne looked over at her.  “Max is a player on the Habs.  His dad Tie used to play for Toronto from the mid-nineties to the mid-2000s,” she explained.  Bee was so grateful that Aryne and the other girls were still patient enough to explain things to her.  “He just crawls under people’s skin.  He likes to play dirty.  And ever since he got traded to Montreal and became a Hab, he’s been shitting on Toronto – literally the city he grew up in – every chance he gets.”

Bee furrowed her brows.  “So you’re telling me he’s a dumbass.”

The girls burst out into laughter at Bee’s deadpan delivery.  “Exactly,” Penny snorted.

“If he so much as touches one of our guys tonight I’ll go down there and fight him myself,” Lucy warned.  “I haven’t slept in two days and I’m surviving on cereal and smoothies.  I’m a ball of rage.”

Henry seemed content to stay on Bee’s lap during the first period, despite the constant grimacing, flailing of arms, screaming, and general scowling from the ladies.  By the end of the period, the Leafs were down 3-0, and Bee got the gift of seeing first-hand what kind of a player Max Domi was.  Though he hadn’t scored any of the goals, he was being an asshole, completely targeting Freddie and riling up Johnsson – of course, the referees called nothing.  Bee knew she always had to be mad at the referees.  

As Lucy left with Henry to change his diaper, Bee spent the intermission on her phone catching up on the day’s news events.  She was pretty busy at work these days, and throughout all the meetings Mark liked to spontaneously plan and the working lunches they’d have, she wasn’t able to catch up on anything during the day like she used to be able to when she was in-between classes.  She was nervous for the second period too – a lot of the fans that had made their way out into the concourse were grumbling about the lacklustre period and 3-0 score.

“The boys better make a comeback,” Aryne said almost to herself.  “I’m not putting up with any gloating Hab fans, and I’m sure as hell not putting up with a gloating Max Domi.”

Bee snorted at Aryne’s words as she opened Instagram, scrolling through her feed and liking pictures.  She had made it private back when Angie called her in Vancouver, but that didn’t stop people from somehow stealing her pictures – like Aryne showed her on Valentine’s Day – or stop them from trying to tag her in videos or send her DMs.  The tags were relentless – every picture someone stole from her profile, they’d tag her in it again, as if they wanted her to see that they stole it.  And now, there were more tags to sift through.  The girls who had recorded them at the glass had of course already uploaded the video to Instagram, and it was making the rounds.  She was tagged four times from four different accounts.  She watched the video, and obviously it was cute because of Henry, but the girls were in prime position to catch Morgan winking at her before skating away.  Perfect position.  She could only imagine what people were saying about it, and she didn’t want to read the comments.  Instead, she went to her Instagram DMs to clear her inbox.

So what, are you Lucy’s BFF now or something?

LMAOOOO now ur trying to get mo to have a baby with u U R PATHETIC!!!

R u pregnant

I know it’s your man’s jersey and all but it’s really doing your body no favours.  Have you gained weight?

“Whatcha reeeeading?” Penny asked.

Bee sighed dramatically.  “Well Penny, apparently I’m forcing Morgan to have a baby with me,” her voice was deadpan.

Penny snorted at the delivery.  “Oh how I just love Instagram DMs,” she giggled, shaking her head.  “Don’t worry, I’m only with Will for his money.”

“Oh, of course!  Morgan’s my sugar daddy!” Bee exclaimed, causing Penny to laugh even more.  “These girls see one video and think I’m pregnant.  It’s so weird,” she focused back on her phone.

Maybe Lucy should give you some yoga lessons so you can lose some weight.  She looks better than you do and she’s had a baby.

I told u we’d find pics of u and mo.  You’re not sneaky.

You guys looked really cute in Vancouver!!!!!  Can’t believe you met his parents already does that mean you’re getting married?????

You and Mo are rly cute

You’d look better with a nose job and some upper lip filler.  Just saying.

How kind of them to suggest a nose job and lip fillers.  Like women around the world weren’t already insecure with themselves.  She deleted everything, not bothering to read anymore.  She deleted the list of them until she heard a crying baby, bringing her back to reality and what really mattered.  When she finally looked up, she saw Lucy coming back with a crying Henry, and more fans filing back into the arena for the start of the second period.  

“He is being so incredibly fussy it’s driving me insane,” Lucy’s voice was exasperated as she sat back into her seat.  “The entire time he was wailing.  Just wouldn’t stop crying.”

“Awww, come here my chubby prince,” Bee cooed as she took Henry from a tired Lucy’s arms.  “You gotta let mommy rest.  Why’re you being so fussy?”

It took a few moments, but he eventually stopped crying and settled down, again looking up at Bee with his big blue eyes.  He even gave her a smile and giggled at her smiling down at him.  Lucy put her hands up in dramatic frustration.  “You’re like the baby whisperer tonight!  Seriously!” she exclaimed in astonishment.  “I can’t believe this!”  She even took out her phone to snap a quick picture of Henry smiling up at Bee, and Bee smiling down at him.  “You’re stuck with him the whole night if he’s going to be like this with you.”

“I’ll hold him the whole game if I have to,” Bee smiled.  “I’m not joking.  You want me to rock him to sleep?  Tuck him into bed?  I’ll do it.”

“Don’t tempt me.  I might take you up on your offer.”

As the second period started, Lucy fetched Henry’s bottle from her bag, and Bee fed him.  Auston scored early in the period, with Morgan getting the primary assist, and Bee hoped that the goal was a kick in the ass for the whole team to start scoring.  When Tyler scored a powerplay goal near the end of the period, she was confident they would come back.  And as always, Max Domi was being a pest, but because the boys were answering back, he didn’t have that much to say.

Then Willy scored in the third period to tie it and Penny went crazy.  Henry fell asleep and was snug in his carrier when Zach tied it and everybody in the arena went crazy.  Then the Habs got upset.  Four unanswered goals.  On the jumbotron, they showed Morgan and Max going back and forth, chirping one another with a body in between them, holding them apart.  God, Bee hated fighting, but if Morgan had slapped the smirk off Max’s face, she would have had no problem riding him across the Pacific Ocean.  She even fanned herself as the girls pointed it out to her and had a laugh about it.  A fifth goal by Johnsson, getting his payback on Max.  A sixth goal by Zach, again.  Six unanswered goals.  One hell of a comeback.  Sweet sweet revenge.

This is the hockey Bee could get used to.  

As fans began leaving the arena after the 6-3 win, the ladies took their own way to the locker rooms.  In the elevator, Bee took out her phone and saw she was tagged in yet another photo – but this one she would definitely keep.

@lucygardiner_: Henry loves his Aunt Bee! <3  Uncle Morgan has to work on his funny face game though…

It was the photo she had taken earlier of Henry looking up at her smiling.  With both of them smiling and the sea of blue jerseys behind them, it did make for a very cute picture.  Bee liked it immediately and decided to comment.

@brionymctavish: Heart eyes for my chubby prince!  Uncle Mo’s baby blues ain’t got nothing on Henry’s

***

“Listen, I know you have work tomorrow but can I please come over?  I don’t want to watch this alone.”

Thus began the night of February 28th, the dreaded day – the day John Tavares returned to Long Island.  The media had been hyping the return for days, and truth be told, Bee thought they were making a bigger deal than what needed to be made.  They kept stressing the fan reaction, the videos they posted online of them burning John’s jerseys, which was absolutely ridiculous.  They kept asking John annoying questions about it, and they kept asking players on the Islanders annoying questions about it.  Bee wished it could all just end, but they needed to get through the game first.  

Aryne showed up to Bee’s apartment with takeout Greek food.  They didn’t even bother setting it up in the dining table – they just took their spots on the floor and spread everything out on the coffee table in front of the TV.  Coverage was already on, and the guys on Sportsnet were blabbering on about something.  Judging by the time, Bee knew the boys would be on the ice soon for the pre-game skate.  She didn’t need to wonder what the reception for John would be since she was being told for an entire fucking week that it “wasn’t gonna be good”.  

“Are you looking for places?” Aryne asked as she sat down on a pillow, looking at Bee’s laptop screen of apartment listings.  

“Oh.  Yeah,” Bee nodded her head.  “I can’t live off of Naz and Ashley forever.”

“It’s not like they’re going bankrupt,” Aryne quipped.

“Yeah, but I’m earning decent money now.  They can at least get the income back from leasing out this place,” she shrugged her shoulders, wanting to drop the subject.  “Have you talked to John?”

Aryne nodded her head, opening the takeout container to reveal her gyro.  “He’s fine.  At least he seems to be.  He’s seen some of his old teammates already and they caught up, which was nice.”

“That’s good,” Bee offered gently.  “Does it feel weird for him being back there?”

“I don’t think so,” Aryne said.  “I mean…he spent nearly ten years of his life there.”  She looked at the TV and they both noticed the teams making their way on to the ice.  The camera was focused solely on the Leafs.  “Can you turn it up?” she asked.  

The more Bee turned up the volume, the more boos could be heard.  The arena wasn’t even at full capacity but they were deafening.  Between keeping the focus on John, the camera also panned to people and signs in the crowd.  People who had taped up their Tavares jerseys and re-wrote ‘Traitor’; people who made a sign saying ‘We don’t need you’; people standing and booing and giving the middle finger with one hand while a beer was in another.  It was gross.  

“How could they be so awful,” Bee said more so to herself than to Aryne.  Seeing person after person with toy snakes and throwing them on to the ice was not funny.  It was not amusing.  This was a person that was their captain, and here they were disrespecting him and treating him like shit when he did so much for their team.  Bee looked over at Aryne, who didn’t seem to blink as she watched the clown show in front of her.  “We can change the channel if you want.”

“No,” Aryne answered.  As much as it pained her to watch, she couldn’t.  “I promised John I’d watch the whole thing no matter how bad the fans were.  I’m watching it for him, not for them.”  She worded it perfectly.  This wasn’t about them, no matter how much they wanted to make it about them.  Aryne knew that.  Bee knew that.

They watched in silence as John made his way back to the tunnel.  All of the sudden, something flew across the TV screen heading towards John’s head, narrowly missing him, making both women gasp in fear.  They held their breath as the replay occurred, Bee’s hands over her mouth.  “It’s a jersey.  It’s a jersey,” she said quickly, noticing the colours on the object being thrown.  The distinct blue and orange couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.  

When she looked over at Aryne, she could see tears welling in her eyes.  “Aryne…Aryne it’s okay,” she said, crawling over to her side of the table before giving her a quick hug.  “It didn’t even hit him.  The guy missed.  It didn’t hit him.”

“Why do they hate him so much?” she asked, her voice shaky as she continued to look at the screen.  “He was the backbone of that team for years.  He moved there alone when he was eighteen years old to play for them and this is how they repay him?”

“Aryne, they’re being dumb.  They’ve been amped up by the media and this is just theatrics,” Bee tried to calm her down.

“I don’t get it,” she shook her head.  “You just…you spend nine years of your life somewhere, building your life and career, and they just turn on you at the drop of a hat…just because you want to go home.  Just because you want to play for your childhood team.  Because you want to be close to your family and start a family of your own,” she lamented.  “My God.  I don’t even know why I’m crying.  This…this is definitely pregnancy hormones,” she was embarrassed as she wiped away the tears.  

“It’s okay to be emotional about this Aryne,” Bee said softly, rubbing her back.  

“He’s just so happy to be home, Bee.  Why can’t they see that?”

“They’re blinded by their anger, but that’s not your problem,” Bee said.  “He was a UFA Aryne.  What was he supposed to do?  Stop playing hockey just to make them happy?  Play somewhere he wasn’t truly happy?  Play for his childhood team when he only had a half a tank of gas left?  That’s not far to him and his goals.  Even if hockey wasn’t a part of it at all.  He made the best decision for himself and for you both and they don’t want to see that.”

Aryne didn’t say anything.  She wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks before laying her head on Bee’s shoulder.  After a while of silence, she finally said in a soft voice, “I think the reason I like you so much is because you just…you see things outside of hockey.  Sometimes I forget what it’s like.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You just have this perspective the rest of us don’t have,” she said without elaborating.  “Never lose it, okay?”

The boys played like shit.  They didn’t show up for one of the biggest games of the season – there was no other way to put it.  They let John down.  After Zach opened the scoring and got another goal taken away (because of the “offside” rule, which Bee still thought was a completely made up call), the team was sucker-punched to a 6-1 loss.  It was brutal.  Every time John touched the puck, the crowd booed so loudly it almost drowned out the announcers.  Bee hated it.  She never wanted to experience another game like this again.  

This was not the hockey she wanted to get used to.  

“Are you sure you don’t want to just crash here tonight?  You must be exhausted,” Bee asked as Aryne was packed up to leave, taking most of her uneaten gyro with her.

“I’ll be okay, don’t worry.  At this time of night the drive is nothing.  Plus, John will probably call and want to talk,” she explained, putting her Styrofoam container into a plastic bag.

Bee kept ruminating over what Aryne had said to her earlier.  ‘You see things outside of hockey.  You have this perspective the rest of us don’t have.’  She wondered what Aryne meant by that.  She knew it wasn’t super invested in hockey.  She knew that Morgan had only ever played for the Leafs and he had never switched teams, been a UFA, signed an offer sheet, demanded a trade, any of that.  She knew she was only getting one perspective, especially since Morgan wanted to stay a Leaf forever.  Despite being from Vancouver, they were his childhood team.  His dad fist-pumped on camera when the Leafs drafted him.  Aryne had been through so much more than she had, yet she was the one telling Bee ‘You have this perspective the rest of us don’t have’.  “Hey Aryne…” she began, unsure if she should bring it up.

“Mhmm?”

“You know…you know before…before the game started.  How you said I see things outside of hockey and that I have a perspective the rest of you guys don’t have?  What did you mean by that?”

Aryne stood still.  “I didn’t offend you did I?”

Bee shook her head vehemently.  “No no.  Not at all.  I just want to know what you meant.  I’m wracking my brain trying to figure it out.”

“Do you promise not to hate me if I explain it?”

“I could never hate you.  The only reason I could hate you is for telling me who Max Domi is.”

Aryne smiled before getting more serious.  “A lot has happened to you this year, with the break-in and with your mom dying.  A lot has happened to you in your life.  And somehow, you’re still…it never seems to phase you.  And…I don’t know.  It brings me back down to earth a little bit.  When I get stressed over John or hockey or whatever else, I just think about all you’ve been through and how you’ve overcome it all with such grace and a good head on your shoulders and I just think ‘Man, this girl’s got it all figured out.’”

“I don’t have it all figured out,” Bee shook her head.  “Far from it.”

Aryne bit her lip.  “Listen, you just prioritize the right stuff in your life.  You prioritize yourself, your relationship with Mo, your job…not a lot of girls your age that we know can say the same thing.  That’s why Sydney reacted the way she did when you mentioned having a career and the fact that Morgan liked you having one.  A lot of people lose sight of what is supposed to matter and all they end up caring about is their boyfriend or their wedding or how they look on Instagram.  But despite all this new stuff around you, all this money and all this privilege, you’ve never lost sight of what truly matters.  Even the way you brush off all the DMs you get on Instagram.  And I don’t want to patronize you and tell you I’m proud of you, even though I am, and I’m not saying that you’re a saint, but it makes me think about the priorities in my life,” she absent-mindedly put a hand over her baby bump.  “Hockey is there but it’s John’s priority more than it is mine.  I care about my husband, my family, our growing family, our friends who are like our family.  And in the grand scheme of things, stuff like what happened tonight…it doesn’t matter.  You get that.  Somehow, without having been involved in hockey for years or without being involved in the wag lifestyle that so many girls think is an absolute dream when it’s really not…you get that.”

“I don’t know what to say Aryne.”

Aryne shrugged her shoulders.  “I just think we can all learn a little from you, that’s all.  Remember where our real priorities are.  Because it’s not with the Chanel bags, or the gala events, or the mingling with Toronto socialites, or the Instagram feed showing off your new lip fillers and the picture perfect way your boyfriend has proposed.  It’s with each other.”

[5hfanfiction]

that's so me, that's so you, that's so us ~laucy~ oneshot

“Shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m pretty sure I forgot to pack a hat.”

Lucy hears some shuffling behind her, then a beanie is being placed over her head, partially covering her eyes. “Wha–“

A set of arms circle around her waist from behind and a quick kiss is placed on her cheek. 

“There,” Lauren says, resting her chin on Lucy’s shoulder. “Wouldn’t want you getting cold now would we?”

“Lo, I’m not going to take your only hat,” Lucy replies with a frown.

“What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t offer you my clothes when you’re cold?”

Struggling to rotate in Lauren’s tight grip, Lucy rests her hands lightly on Lauren’s hips as she comes face to face with the girl. Her stomach still flips every time Lauren calls them girlfriends.

Lauren reaches up to straighten the beanie out so Lucy can see clearly again. “Let me take care of my baby, alright?” she asks, palms cradling Lucy’s cheeks.

“Okay,” Lucy relents with a small grin, leaning forward to give Lauren a few thank you kisses.

They finish getting ready and are out of their room by 9:30, heading to the lodge’s dining room for some complimentary breakfast. The place they’re staying at is perfect for Lake Tahoe’s wintery weather, with fireplaces scattered around the larger rooms, logs lining the entire building, and warm lighting throughout the mountain resort. It gives off a very cozy vibe which certainly adds to the cuddly mood Lauren and Lucy have been in since they got here.

After a breakfast consisting of sitting too close together and stealing food from each other’s plates, they make their way back to their shared room to put on their snow gear.

Lucy tries to refuse the hat once more but Lauren doesn’t give her any room to argue, yanking it down over Lucy’s face until only her lips are visible, dropping a brief kiss onto them, and heading out of the room with her sweet giggle still ringing in Lucy’s ears.

~~

They squish together on the shuttle that transports people to the hills while blocking out the chatter of the other skiers crammed in the vehicle with them. There’s no conversation between the two, just hand holding through fabric until Lauren gets fed up with the lack of skin on skin contact and removes her own mitten, shoving her hand into Lucy’s oversized glove.

Their fingers end up being warmer that way anyways.

~~

When they get to the snowboard rental shop, their instructor, James, is already waiting for them. 

He makes light conversation as he helps them out in getting their boots and picking the right sized snowboard.

(Well, more like he helps Lauren; Lucy’s been before so she knows what she’s doing. Lauren, on the other hand, tries to insist on a particular board because she likes the pattern. James tells her that it’s too small and that her toes will be hanging off the edge, making it extremely difficult to ride.

The girl keeps arguing until Lucy leans in and whispers to Lauren that if she doesn’t get her way right now, she can have her way tonight when they’re alone.

Lauren is pretty compliant after that.)

He leads them over to the bunny hill because as much as Lucy wants to tackle the more difficult trails, Lauren needs to learn the basics first and Lucy isn’t going anywhere without her.

They hop onto the lift behind James (Lauren almost getting clotheslined by the thing until Lucy pulls her on at the last second) and huddle close together as they make their way up. Lucy tugs the beanie down over her face because her nose is cold and gets a whiff of Lauren’s scent as she breathes in. She feels chapped, cold lips against her cheek and lifts the hat off of her eyes.

“What was that for?”

“I don’t know,” Lauren replies with a cheeky smile. “I just like kissing you.”

“Well, I like kissing you too.”

“I’m glad,” she says, snuggling nearer to Lucy’s body heat. “I’m so happy right now.”

Lucy throws an arm over Lauren’s shoulders, tugging the girl closer to her side. “Why’s that?”

“Um, I mean, besides the fact that I’m here with you, dummy? I guess… there’s also the fact that this feels like our first real vacation together as a couple.”

“But what about Colombia, or our road trip?”

“They were different. We weren’t officially a couple then, plus I feel like this is the first time we can really act like we’re together. Like we don’t have to hide anything. I can be myself, and I can do that with you.”

Lucy smiles, aware of the end of the lift approaching but wanting to say one more thing beforehand. “I’m really proud of you, Laur. With everything you’ve been accomplishing lately. Your coming out, how much Fifth Harmony is taking off, the song you did with Marian Hill. Then your performance last night was spectacular. You sounded incredible and looked stunning up there. I just… I’m so proud to be called your girlfriend.”

Lauren snorts as she sits up, readying herself to exit the lift. “More like the other way around. I’m Lucia Vives’ girlfriend. What’s more amazing than that?”

“Um, how about the fact that I’m dating the hottest member of the biggest girl group in the world? Oh, and don’t tell Normani that I said she’s not the hottest.”

Turning towards Lucy, Lauren throws her a mock glare. “I should hope that you find your girlfriend the most attractive. Do I have something to be worried about?”

“Yeah, you do,” Lucy says, pushing herself to the edge of the bench. “The fact that getting off of the lift is harder than getting on.”

“Wait, what?” Lauren’s face morphs into one of panic and Lucy feels a squeeze as she clutches at her thigh. “Luce, no– wait, fuck, I’m not ready!”

“Get ready to jump, Laur!”

In hindsight, Lucy probably shouldn’t have teased her girlfriend so much but instead aided her in exiting the lift because when Lauren inevitably slipped and fell, she took Lucy down with her and now they’re a tangled heap on the cold, snowy, ground and both the lift operator and James are laughing at them.

“Ow,” Lucy groans, but at least her face doesn’t hurt because it landed on Lauren’s ass (lucky her).

“That’s what you get for making fun of me, asshole,” Lauren grumbles from her face down position.

Lucy doesn’t go to stand up right away so Lauren wriggles her hips to get her attention. “Come on, get up. I’ll let you touch it tonight but right now we’re in public.”

They both stand up, dusting the snow off of themselves and moving out of the way.

“Ha ha, very funny, Jauregui.”

“You know I am,” Lauren replies with a smirk, then yelps when Lucy smacks her ass.

“Someone’s got a thing for voyeurism,” she says with a raised eyebrow, rubbing the cheek Lucy slapped.

Lucy shakes her head, moving closer to Lauren. “Nah, I just have a thing for you.”

Their cheeks were already pink from the cold but Lucy smiles to herself when she sees Lauren’s darken further in a stronger blush.

They move to a spot at the top of the hill where James can give Lauren a rundown of the basics like which way she should ride since she’s goofy-footed, what her toe and heel edges are, and how to stop and turn. He starts off by demonstrating how to ride the toe edge down the hill so that she can get a feel for the amount of pressure she needs to go faster and slower.

Lucy chuckles at Lauren arguing with their instructor about how going down backwards her very first try doesn’t seem like a smart move but he insists that it’ll help her adapt. 

They slowly start making their way down, Lucy and James on their heel edge so that they don’t go faster than Lauren. Meanwhile, the girl looks ridiculous with the way she’s jerkily sliding down the hill, her arms out in front of her as she constantly glances behind to make sure she doesn’t hit anyone. She falls on her knees numerous times but eventually makes it to the bottom with minimal trouble.

“Nice job, Lauren. You were going pretty smoothly towards the end there. We can try your heel edge next,” James commends as he pushes his way back towards the lifts.

Lucy unhooks one of her boots from the board and starts to follow when she sees Lauren struggling with hers.

“Need some help?”

“Yeah– I, just– this fucking thing is stuck–“

“Chill, Laur,” Lucy says as she bends down, detaching Lauren’s boot with ease.

Lauren leans into plant a chaste kiss on Lucy’s lips before the girl moves away. “Thanks, Luce.”

“Anytime, baby.”

Lucy grabs Lauren’s hand, wishing she could intertwine their fingers but unable to because of Lauren’s mitten. Instead, she just offers a light squeeze as they make their way towards the lift.

They get on with no mishaps but Lauren still manages to wipe out while getting off of the lift (luckily sparing Lucy this time). Lucy helps her apparently uncoordinated girlfriend up and leads them over to the edge of the hill.

“Alright, so this is how you ride your heel edge, Lauren,” James explains after he finishes buckling his boot back in. Lauren watches as he leans backwards while bending his knees and starts sliding forward on the back side of the board. “Got it?”

“Yup, I think so,” Lauren confirms as she starts strapping her foot up while Lucy’s already got hers done and is just sitting on the ground waiting for Lauren.

Lucy likes the fact that she’s out here, on a little trip with just herself and her girl, and she loves how cute Lauren looks all bundled up in her patterned jacket and bulky snow pants. It hits her that Lauren is really hers (has been for a while but Lucy still isn’t over the fact), that Lauren really loves her, and that she’s the only one who gets to undress her at the end of the day. She kind of wants to remember this moment, so reaching into one of her inner pockets, Lucy pulls out her phone and snaps a quick side candid of Lauren. It’s nothing special (lies; of course it is, it’s Lauren), but she knows it’s definitely being posted later, whether on Lauren’s Instagram or hers, because Lucy wants the world to appreciate this girl as much as she does.

They ride down the hill again with Lauren falling on her ass this time, but towards the end of the run she seems to have gotten the hang of riding her heel edge.

“That was really awesome, Lauren. Not many people can catch on that quickly.”

“It’s cause she’s thuper thmart,” Lucy teases, grinning at the way Lauren sticks her tongue out at her.

James looks at the two fondly, unstrapping one of his boots. “Ready to go again?”

“Fuck yeah,” Lauren curses, her cheeks and ears red from the cold.

Lucy frowns because Lauren’s ears wouldn’t be like that if she had her hat. She feels kind of selfish for wearing it and begins to remove it.

“What are you doing?” Lauren asks when she notices.

“Your ears are cold. You should take it back.”

Furrowing her eyebrows, Lauren shakes her head and halts Lucy’s movements with her hands. “No. I told you to wear it, now wear it. I don’t want you getting sick.”

“O–kay, but you’re kind of the pop star here and you literally need your voice.”

“Lucy,” Lauren practically whines which has Lucy widening her eyes at the change in demeanor. “Please just keep it on. You… I like how you look in my clothes.”

Lucy smirks, because OH, there it is.

“Ah, I got you.”

“Lucy, quite making fun of me.”

“Of course, of course… baby girl.”

That nickname is Lauren’s weakness; the girl can’t help but blush anytime Lucy calls her it. Lucy always teases her with it and it’s sort of the reason that Lauren never wears her baby girl Doc Martens anymore.

“Come on,” James break through her thoughts. “We should go again while Lauren is on a roll.”

They make their way back up but this time Lucy saves Lauren before she can fall off of the lift yet again. Buckling their boots in, they sit at the top of the hill and look down over the people milling around at the bottom.

“This weather is beautiful,” Lauren comments breathlessly. “I love the view.”

Lucy stares at the side of Lauren’s face, unable to help herself. “I think mine is better.”

Turning to look at Lucy, Lauren rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “You’re such a cornball.”

“But you love it.”

“Mmm, true.”

Lauren reaches over to grab her hand and beams at her when Lucy squeezes it lovingly. Pulling out her phone, Lucy takes a picture of hers and Lauren’s boards with the small lodge in the distance. Their hand holding isn’t visible in the image but she likes knowing that when she posts it, no one else will be aware that it happened.

She knows that the media and the Harmonizers all assume her and Lauren are together, but so far they haven’t outright said the words: yes, we’re dating. And Lucy kind of likes it that way. The fact that they aren’t hiding it but they’re not broadcasting it either. They’re just acting like any other couple in love, spending time together on holidays, acknowledging each other on social media, and being cute and affectionate when they’re together.

Lauren’s not rushing to tell people or stressing to hide it, so neither is Lucy. All she wants is for her girl to be happy.

~~

They’re on their fourth run when Lauren screws up.

She’s standing at the top of the hill, only one boot strapped in, when she turns to face Lucy and accidentally rotates her board so that the nose is facing forwards. Neither James nor Lucy are quick enough to grab Lauren who starts sliding down the hill surprisingly fast. 

Lucy watches while she takes off after Lauren as the girl wobbles her way down with one foot attached, the other shakily placed on the stomp pad. Lauren’s arms are flailing as she screams in her panic, not only unsure how to ride the nose but also with no idea how to turn.

It’s mostly amusing until Lucy notices that Lauren is heading straight for a fence and she’s not slowing down. The last thing Lucy wants is a bruised or broken Lauren so she yells out towards her to warn the girl.

“Lauren! Look out! There’s a fence!”

There’s no hope for Lauren to steer herself so she does what James had taught her to do if she couldn’t stop: she throws herself on the ground, finally coming to a halt only a few feet away from the fence.

Lucy finally catches up to Lauren, quickly dropping to her knees to see if she’s alright.

“A– are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”

She furrows her eyebrows when Lauren starts laughing in her arms. “Y– yeah, I’m f–fine,” she stutters out between her giggles. “I– wish you– you had gotten that on– video.”

“So… you’re not hurt?”

Finally getting her laughter under control, Lauren gazes up at Lucy with her green eyes bright and her cheeks red from the weather. “No, babe. I’m fine.”

She places a covered hand on Lucy’s cheek, stroking the soft skin and smiling gently up at her. “You’re so beautiful.”

Lucy peeks away shyly as she bites her lip, overwhelmed by her feelings.

“Look at me,” comes Lauren’s raspy voice.

When she glances back, she barely has time to search Lauren’s eyes before she’s being pulled into a loving kiss. She’ll honestly never get over kissing this girl. This gorgeous, outspoken, strong, courageous, talented, sexy, amazing girl. This girl that she’s in love with, that she’s quite possibly been in love with since they first met all those years ago. 

“I love you so much, Lucy.”

And yeah, that girl loves her too.

~~

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