#when I told her that I can’t because we’re in a pandemic she tried to guilt me by saying that nurses still do their jobs

[she-karev]

Lockdown (Japril Imagine)

Previous Part Here

Age Rating: 12+

Chapters: Three of Three

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Ship: Jackson and April

Summary: Jackson and April talk about her split from Matthew and Jackson finally talks to her about Montana.

Words: 2468

March 18, 2020

April closes the door behind her after letting Jackson in who looks around the house that is cluttered with clothes, blankets and pillows. She picks up the mess knowing how Jackson detests things out of order.

“Harriet is asleep, she and I just got done playing hide and seek.” Jackson nods, “I know it’s messy.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Jackson defends, “Don’t worry about it my place is pretty messy especially since She-Karev moved in.”

April chuckles, “Please don’t do that, don’t be all weird nice with your voice an octave higher like you do with people at hotels or at the bank.”

Jackson looks at her surprised by this new fact about himself, “I have a weird bank voice?”

April smiles, “It’s making you nuts; you can just say it. There’s mess everywhere, I guess it can be a symbol for the world right now and I am just following. There’s pillows all over the place.”

“You know I have a strong belief that throw pillows are useless and stupid. I was also taken with your house I don’t think I’ve even actually been here like in person.”

April raises an eyebrow at that strange analysis, “Really?”

“Yeah I guess it’s because we always do the drop offs at my place or the hospital. It’s nice it’s cozy I like it. I especially like the exposed brick. I guess it’s an idyllic family home for you and Matthew and Harriet and Ruby it’s very…idyllic.”

“You said idyllic twice.”

“Well that’s how nice it is it needs to be said twice. So where is Matthew anyway?”

“He’s at work.” April looks at Jackson with an amused grin, “You said we needed to talk is everything okay?”

Jackson sighs and decides to rip the band aid off, “April I tried to be respectful to you and let you decide when to tell me at your own pace but now things are changing and lives are literally at stake here.”

April narrows her eyebrows in confusion, “Tell you what?”

“I know you and Matthew split up, I know he and Ruby don’t live here anymore.”

April looks at him shocked, “How did you…?” April scoffs figuring it out, “Freaking Karev, can’t keep her mouth shut like her brother.”

“In her defense she told me hoping it would make me ride on a white horse and sweep you off your feet. Also, she was going through a lot as I am sure she told you and I recommend you don’t kill or horribly maim her.”

“I’ll let you know when the urge passes.” April groans and sits on the couch.

Jackson joins her looking at her in sympathy, “Are you okay?”

April chuckles bitterly, “Well my husband is about to divorce me and we’re in a pandemic. Honestly, I am just trying to hang tough and be a strong mom for Harriet right now.”

“And you are.” Jackson commends April who grins slightly, “Amber told me Matthew left because he never forgave you for leaving him at the altar, is that true?”

April swallows a lump in her throat, “I wish it was just that it would make things so much easier but…the truth is we both jumped into something when we were high on love. We thought it was a part of God’s plan, us meeting each other years later when we were both heartbroken. Like it made all the pain we went through worth it because in the end we found each other. But then the high died and with it…we figured out a little while ago that things aren’t so simple. He tried he really did try not to hate me, and he is so good with Harriet, and I adore Ruby, but the truth is we were just trying to write a story. We didn’t take the time to figure out how we worked in real life. And then his sister got sick, he and Ruby went to Philadelphia to help out and she got better but…their still there and they’re not coming back.” April sighs after her recap with Jackson looking at her in sympathy.

“I’m sorry April, I know this isn’t how you imagined yourself right now.”

April snorts, “A two-time divorcee working the streets in the middle of a plague?”

Jackson grins, “In short yeah. If it makes you feel better, I didn’t imagine myself a divorced single father isolating with a heartbroken resident.”

“Well, when you put it like that you have me beat.” They chuckle at the joke and April asks Jackson, “How come you didn’t tell me you knew when you first found out? I saw you plenty of times then and you knew, why didn’t you ask me then?”

Jackson leans forward on his knees, “Well for one I didn’t want to risk you killing my best friend for breaking your trust.” April groans at that clearly peeved at Amber, “And second I wanted you to be comfortable enough to tell me when you did, I didn’t want to upset you more than you already are, why didn’t you tell me you guys were having problems?”

“I thought we could fix things and we’ve both been busy, and I wanted to fully grasp it but then your roommate was crying and I’m a bleeding heart. I wanted her to feel like she wasn’t the only one whose relationship fell apart so spectacularly. I didn’t think she would tell you, but I should have known by now Karev’s are unpredictable and untrustworthy.”

Jackson grins, “And you were maybe a little too proud to tell me?”

April grins and breaks, “Yeah fine, I was a little too proud.” Jackson holds April’s hand in comfort, and she appreciates it. She turns to him with a question of her own, “Why are you talking to me about this now? What changed?”

“Everything’s changed. We’re in a pandemic and we’re both exposed to this at work, especially you. I couldn’t sit by when I know you’re going home alone with nobody to look after you.”

“I guess that’s a good reason, but I am fine. I wear masks, I carry sanitizer and I keep a safe distance so do you.”

“Yeah, but the difference is I’m living with someone who can monitor me and call for help when I’m too weak to.” Jackson persists, “I know you can take care of yourself April, I know how strong you are, but this thing is unpredictable we don’t know everything about it because it’s still new. We can’t take chances especially with what we do for a living. We moved back and forth with Harriet because we chose to get divorced but driving to and from our places now, she’s exposed too. I can’t risk both of your health’s and I know you don’t want to risk Harriet’s if you get sick and nobody is around to take care of her and you.”

April looks at Jackson with raised eyes, “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I think you and Harriet should come and live with me and Amber.” April shakes her head at that instantly, “Just until this thing is over and it’s safe to go back to our routine.”

April scoffs, “It could be weeks hell months before we can even know some information about this virus and start to develop a vaccine. It’s not gonna go away in an instant and neither am I.”

“I know that. I am just trying to make sure you’re safe and Harriet is safe. I’m thinking about our family here.”

“So am I.” April replies in a broken voice Jackson pauses. April takes a deep breath before explaining, “The last time we lived together…it felt like we were on the track to getting back together to us being a family a real family. And when we went to Montana…I was convinced things were set after that but instead I got pain and uncertainty.” Jackson looks guilty for that time, “And I had to learn to live my life without you and now I have to learn to live my life without Matthew and I can’t repeat it with you again because I’m afraid I will break, and we will never be the same. I can’t expose Harriet to that, and I don’t think you do either. We need boundaries Jackson and you asking me to move in is just gonna bring all of that pain back and I can’t.”

Jackson and April sit there for a moment in silence as Jackson processes her words. He knew she felt pain after Montana and the way he handled it was appalling. It was appalling to treat a woman he married and had a child with like some one-night stand when they were living together at the time. He didn’t know it then but now he knows he evaded that talk for a reason and April needs to know that reason.

“I’m sorry for not bringing up Montana.” Jackson starts with an apology to smooth things over, “I know I am about three years too late, but you should know it wasn’t my intention to hurt you. The reason I didn’t bring up Montana was because I didn’t know how to.” April looks at him less hurt and attentively, “Things have always been so complicated between us April and I didn’t know what would happen if I opened that can of worms. I didn’t know if I wanted to risk the dynamic, we built for Harriet over old feelings that I don’t know were out of love or spontaneity or familiar comfort. I didn’t want for anyone to end up hurt again…but instead you got hurt and I am sorry.”

April sighs at that apology feeling better while Jackson continues, “You are the last person I wanted to hurt, you need to know that, and you need to know that you were never just sex to me. Not then and not now, Montana was…it was the first time I felt like my life was finally back in one piece. But then we came back, and I had to question if it was old feelings brought up that would die with time. We came back and I was reminded of why we divorced, and I didn’t want Harriet to get hurt. So, I ignored it, it wasn’t about you April and it wasn’t because you meant nothing to me it was because our family means everything to me and I didn’t want to see it explode like my family did after my dad left. I didn’t want for Harriet to go through that pain.”

April nods, “I get it and I get that it was a lot for both of us and I know now that it wasn’t because of me it was just…bad communication. It’s always been our specialty.” Jackson chuckles lightly, “I know your heart is in the right place and you’re right we need to be safe and we need to consider Harriet here. It makes sense that we would live together but you need to know something. I am trying to heal from my marriage ending so you need to promise that you will respect my privacy and not send mixed signals or start something with me you can’t fully comprehend. I need to know that if we do this again, we’re not headed for a fall here and I am not opening myself up for more pain and uncertainty, can you do that?”

Jackson nods, “I can do that. I just got out of a relationship myself with Vic and before Vic I got out of a relationship before Maggie and before Maggie-”

“You got out of a relationship with me?” April finishes with a grin and chuckles, “I’ll give you this you do not waste time.”

Jackson grins, “Yeah and I’m trying to change that. We both need time to ourselves to regroup and figure some things out. I’m trying to do that and so are you so…let’s do that under the same roof. I promise you if you do this with me you are not gonna get hurt again. I’ve learned my lesson and I know now that sometimes we can hurt the people we care about the most without even realizing it. I know now that we are both in a raw place and I know not to stir in unnecessary drama anymore. I don’t want to do anything to hurt you or our friendship, you have my word April Kepner, trust me one more time and I will prove it.”

April takes a deep breath and thinks on it for a moment before coming to a decision, “Do you want to help me and Harriet pack?”

Three Hours Later

Amber comes out of Alex's house already drained from catching up with him and Jo. She waited in the living room expecting Jackson to be back with Harriet in half an hour, but instead she waited impatiently for three. She got a text from Jackson that he was outside and exhales at the sight of the luxury car ready to head to his place and read on how to survive the apocalypse. She opens the passenger door and instead of an empty seat she finds April Kepner sitting in it wearing a mask with a sour look behind it directed at Amber who looks at her in shock.

“April? I-I didn’t expect to see you here, how have you been?”

“You mean since you told my ex a piece of information about my personal life, I told you in confidence?” April asks back sarcastically causing Amber to blanch, “Get in the back and close the door before the germs get in. We are in a pandemic.”

Amber nods and does as instructed gasping at the sight of Harriet in her car seat, “Hello munchkin how are you and what is your mommy doing with us?”

Jackson grins and explains, “Well with everything going on April and I talked and decided that things would be easier if she and Harriet lived with us at the penthouse.” Amber widens her eyes at that, “Harriet won’t be exposed from being dropped off and there’s three doctors in one place.”

“Wow. First me now April, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were opening your own shelter for sad and lonely women.” Jackson and April chuckle and Amber feels a question on her lips, “Just so we’re clear are you two getting back together or is this just a platonic quarantine.”

“Platonic quarantine.” April and Jackson answer at the same time causing Amber to grin knowingly. She leans down to Harriet rubbing her belly.

“Yeah, we’ll see.” Amber whispers to Harriet while Jackson drives out of the parking lot and back to their home.

[laiqualaurelote]

first-lines-of-fic meme! I was tagged by @tiltedsyllogism​ (thank you!)

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written fewer than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway!

Starting with the most recent and working backward (I didn’t include ficlets and snippets, which means numbers one and ten on this list make for quite a neat How It Started/How It’s Going circle):

1. all the men and women merely players (Ted Lasso, 15k and counting)

In with the wind blows the news that the Players are coming to town. Trent Crimm hears it in the pub where he is nursing a pint, his throat raw from hours of talking. It’s not much of a pint, if he’s to be honest - he’s not even sure what’s in it. Mae brews it herself - the only way you get any sort of alcohol in the post-pandemic world, if you haven’t been hoarding a cellar since the before-times. He takes another sip, winces and says: “Which players are these?”

2. The Lady With The Recorder Asks The Questions (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, 6k and counting)

“You took out the line about the threesomes, didn’t you?” 

3. ain't practical, a world you can't touch (The English, 5k)

Just a whole lot of aiming, he’d told Cornelia once. But it’s Martha Myers who misses.

4. maybe everything that dies someday comes back (The English, 14k)

“He don’t look like much,” said the client. “You sure he’s the chap we’re after?”

5. a song that will keep sky open in my mind (The English, 4k)

We knew Eli was back because of the baby. We could hear it crying clean across the wheat fields. By the time we all fetched up in the front yard, Cornelia was already standing at the gate, arms akimbo, watching him ride up to the house. We could not see her expression because she was wearing her veil. 

6. can't start a fire without a spark (Stranger Things, 9k)

It was a whole thing when Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham blew town together and ran off to start a rock band. Or at least it was for the rest of Hawkins, who didn’t have to worry about shit like the world ending on the reg. Steve was busy that summer trying to stop the apocalypse again, so he didn’t pay the news any mind. He’d noticed Chrissy in school, of course – anyone with eyes couldn’t miss the golden girl of Hawkins High – but he had never given Munson a second thought, at least not till Dustin started wheedling him about some concert in Indianapolis.

7. A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Piracy (Our Flag Means Death, 13k)

Day seven of my return to the high seas, wrote Stede in his journal. Since Lucius was no longer around to take dictation, the journal existed only in his head. Morale is low, I will not lie. There remains tension among the crew, especially the ones who tried to eat each other. Prospects still dim on locating the whereabouts of my ship, my other crew and E - 

8. you don't have to be crazy to work here (but it helps) (The Magnus Archives, 1.5k and counting)

“We should get TikTok,” declares Tim.

9. they will see us waving from such great heists (Ted Lasso, 21k)

“You know,” says the American tourist in the Tate Modern’s Surrealism wing, “I do believe that is my favourite telephone in the whole darn exhibition.”

10. The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret (Ted Lasso, 20k)

Trent Crimm hangs up on Nate Shelley and says crisply into the darkness of his living room: “Fucking hell.”

Tagging, if they fancy it: @leupagus​, @nandalorian​, @kiraziwrites​, @themardia, @swallowtailed​, @aberfaeth, @eisoj5​, @sagiow​, @glamorouspixels​, @tovezza​ and @justplainsalty

[magic-can]

.

[asshlyyyy]

Lockdown (Austin Butler x Reader)

I had so much fun writing this! I didn’t think I would be able to write something up for this! But it definitely just hit me and just went quickly. I want to be able to write more Austin fics, so hopefully that will happen soon! Let’s hope I upload this to the correct masterlist...

I have no clue when they stopped filming and what not... so we’re just gonna ignore if it’s wrong. I don’t care... Because this is a fic and I will write what I want to dammit!

Requested by: @houndogsblog​ \\ Check out the original post here!

Masterlist

Pairing: Austin Butler x Priscilla!Actress!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Pandemic, Covid-19, Cute moments, Fluff, Most likely some spelling and grammatical errors.

Word Count: 4k

You sat in the recording studio with Austin and the rest of the band. Ever since you got the role of playing Priscilla Presley, you were asked to contribute to making the music. You were a huge guitar player, not like they needed more of those. Especially when Austin was such a god at playing one himself, they still argued that they needed you. Well, that and they mentioned it would grow the bond between you and Austin as you two prepared to become the Presleys.

"Hey, can I ask you something, Y/n/n?" Austin came up behind you. You let out a hum and turned to look at him. With a smile on your face, you nodded.

"Of course, shoot away." You turned your body so that you were fully facing him.

"I was just wondering if you could show me how to play this one tune? I've been struggling; trying to figure it out." He asked. You were quite shocked that he asked you for help. You were pretty sure that Austin was playing guitar longer than you have, but you weren't about to deny being close to him.

"Yeah of course! What is it?" You asked as you reached over for your guitar. This guitar held a special place in your heart. While it worked like every other single acoustic guitar, it held a special paint design on it. Your sister was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years back, and she found peace within painting. 

The design was quite simple, just some of your favorite flowers on the base of the guitar... but it was so beautiful. Your sister was extremely talented. You just wished more people could've seen her work. Sadly, she passed away before that could happen. You try not to dwell on the sad moments, and having a guitar she customized for you, keeps her close.

"It's a part of a scene where Elvis is fooling around, playing the guitar and singing. Yet, there's just this part. Baz tried to explain it to me, but I just can't get it down." He explained. You nodded and listened to him. 

You guys haven't started filming yet. In fact, you guys were only recording the songs as of right now. Austin talked about dying his hair for the role, but as of right now, he was still blond. You knew that, when he did dye it, it would pull everything together. Anyways, Baz wanted us to get all the music done first before any type of filming started. They were also still looking for people to play some side rolls. 

"What did he describe it as?" You asked.

"He said it was a tune that worked in many of his songs... kind of slow, energetic... Not much to work off of," he chuckled lightly. You smiled softly and shook your head.

"That's okay, I can probably figure it out. Just have to pinpoint some of his songs that could work with the same tune..." you mumbled to yourself and hummed softly. You played along with the strings trying to figure it out. Something that could work in all his songs... hm...

"Hey, guys! Listen up!" Baz called out, which pulled you away from your thoughts. You looked up and over towards him. He held this emotion on his face that just told you something was wrong. 

"What's up Baz?" One of the orchestra members asked. Baz let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead.

"I don't know how many of you have been watching the news... There is this new sickness going around... and... it's really getting around. They are suggesting we take a few weeks off of filming... recording... just bout everything to see if it calms down." Baz explained. You knew what he was talking about... Your eldest brother lived over in Europe and he has been texting you about this.

They called it Covid-19. It first originated in China and has been taking the world into its hand. He explained how many people were dying because of this sickness. You knew it had to be serious, especially when Baz wanted to take a break from filming. 

"How long will we be away?" Austin asked out of curiosity.

"Hopefully no more than a few weeks. I will keep you all posted! Until then... pack up your things... and go home. And I mean home home. Not to your hotel." Everyone muttered in response and you just let out a breath. Austin turned to look at you.

"Uh, this may be a weird question but... where do you live?" He asked you with a raised eyebrow. You let out a light laugh and stood up to collect your belongings. "I live in California, as of now."

"Great!" Austin cleared his voice, "u-uh I mean great. I- If you don't mind... maybe you could come over to my place? You can help me figure out that tune some more?"

"Yeah! I would love to, sounds like fun." You smiled. Austin started and started to walk away but quickly turned back around to face you.

"Can I get your number?" He asked as he pulled out his phone, handing it over to you. You nodded and took it out of his hands. You quickly typed in your number and made sure to text yourself, just so you knew you wouldn't be getting a text from some random person.

"Perfect! I'll text you with details later?"

"Sounds great!" You smiled. Austin nodded and started to back away. His baby blue eyes were still attached to your own e/c ones. It wasn't until he walked into something that he turned around. You let out a light giggle and continued to gather your things up. 

As you walked out of the building and found your way to the car you were renting, you got in and left out a huff. You grabbed your phone and decided to text your brother. You shot him a quick update about how the disease arrived at America. You placed down your phone and let out a sigh. 

You started up your car and drove to your hotel. You would have to find a plane to take you back home. It shouldn’t be too bad, and who knows… Maybe somehow you and Austin will end up on the same flight. You doubted it, but sometimes these things have a way of happening.

After you got home, you ordered some food and called your parents. It was something you did every time you got back from… filming, recording, just about everything. You wanted to update them, and well… to let them know that nothing has happened to you.

“Hello?” You heard your mother's voice on the other end of the phone. 

“Hi mama, is dad there?” You asked as you found yourself a comfortable place on the couch. 

“Yes, he is. You’re calling a bit earlier today, not that I am complaining… Did something happen?” Your mama asked. You let out a breath and looked out the big windows that overlooked the town.

“We’re taking a break. Baz says that it should be fine in a couple of weeks… but mama… I don’t think it will. You’ve heard what Oliver has said about it.” You explained to her. You heard your father on the other end, meaning your mother had put you on speaker.

“Get home when you can.” Your mama spoke.

“Go out and buy a mask. You don’t know how many people can already have it.” Your father finally spoke up. You took your father's words in and nodded. That was true, there could be a bunch of people who have it and don’t know yet. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

“Where would I even get one?” You asked. Quite literally, you don’t think you’ve ever seen a mask in stores.

“They have them at the drugstore. Should be down the aisle with all the medical stuff.” Your father explained. You nodded and grabbed a pen and wrote it down. Knowing you, you would end up forgetting tomorrow morning.

“Okay, thanks, dad. I should be home tomorrow. I have a flight after eleven. I’ll buy one on the way.” You reassured them.

“Just remember to wear it everywhere. Oh! And sanitize everything. Your hands, your seat on the plane, your try on the plane. You may look like a germaphobe, but trust me… you don’t want it.” Your dad spoke as if he has gotten it before.

“I know, dad. I’ll be safe I promise.” 

“Okay good.” You could just imagine that your dad was nodding his head. His glasses were most likely hanging too far down his nose, and his arms would be crossed. 

“Now stop pressuring her, Jesus.” Your mother laughed gently. “Sweetie, I know this is hard, but it’ll all be okay. Americans may be stupid, but they aren’t this stupid.”

“Mama… they are this stupid. This is going to get worse… I just feel it.” You spoke out your concern.

“See, not only does Oliver agree with me, so does Y/n.”

“Okay, Ben, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Your mother spoke to your father. You smiled gently and thrilled a piece of h/c hair around your finger. You hoped that one day you would have a love like your parents shared. 

“I should let you guys go. I have to get packed up.” You spoke up as you heard a knock at the door. “And like clockwork, my food just got here.”

“Okay honey, we love you!” Your mother called out.

“I love you two, as well! Bye!” You smiled and waited for a response back. After you got them, you hung up and tossed your phone onto the couch. You stood up and went to open the door with a smile on your face. 

“Austin?” You looked at the tall boy in front of you. It’s no surprise that he was in the same hotel as you, but what shocked you was… why he was at your door.

“Hey uh… I was down in the lobby, and I uh saw your name on the bag,” he lifted up a bag. You assumed your food was in that bag, but it was nice of him to bring it up.

“So, you brought it up to me?” You smiled as you leaned against the door, ever so slightly.

“Y-yes I did, thought I would save you the trip.” He chuckled nervously. You nodded and reached out to grab your food.

“Thank you, Austin. That was very sweet of you.” You said as you held your food close to your body. He nodded in return and smiled. The two of you stood there in silence. At first, it was comfortable, but then it got awkward.

“Uh… I- I should go…” You commented as you pointed your thumb behind you.

“Right right,” he shook his head, “I got to go also. I got to pack. Got a plane to catch tomorrow.” He explained. 

“Same… well, you have a good night and a safe trip.”

“You too, Y/n, and who knows. Maybe we’ll see each other together. It’ll be fate.” Fate… fate… You wouldn’t go as far as to say it was fate that you two would end up on the same flight. Coincidence.. but not fate… but that would be nice.

“Fate… yeah,” you smiled softly and backed into your room. Austin nodded and held a soft smile on his face as well. You closed the door and felt your face heat up. You didn’t want to like Austin. Let’s get one thing right… you didn’t want to like him more than a friend. You knew he was just being nice, but goddamn it… His niceness is so easy to fall for.

Before you knew it, you were back home and asleep in your own bed. Somehow you and Austin did end up on the same flight. Then, you two somehow ended up getting the same two sits next to each other. How? You had no fucking idea, and you were starting to think that maybe it was fate.

You weren’t that big as an actress, but you had your fair share of big roles. You were supposed to just play the role of Priscilla, but now you were playing guitar in the recordings. Then, they wanted you to also be in the background. It was like… this was planned? In some type of way? Maybe it was fate…

Well, you weren’t one to argue with fate… right? Especially when it came to Austin. The man was literally the definition of the perfect man. Inside and outside, how many people can you say is good inside and out? Not many, because most men were shitty. They held their noses too far up their ass and didn’t care about the female gender at all. It was rare if you found someone who wasn’t an asshole. Austin… was far from that.

“Good afternoon, California. We have some breaking news for you here. As you should know, Covid-19 is taking the world by storm." You turned over towards the tv. You cocked your head to the side and walked closer towards it. Austin looked back at you and waved you over to join him on the couch, which you did.

"The world is literally shutting down as we speak. Airports are shutting down. Nonnatives are forced out of their countries and forced back to their home countries. Our lovely governor here as well as declared a lockdown. What does that mean? Well, I'll tell you. No one is allowed out and about. Places will be closing up. You can no longer go to the restaurant and eat as you please. They don't want hundreds of people walking around on the street. In fact, you will be getting a fine if you're found outside that's not in your background. The only time you will be able to leave is when you go to get groceries. Even so, there will be a limit on how many people can enter."

"A lockdown...?" You spoke gently. Was the world really shutting down? Before you could reply, a phone started to ring. You blinked your eyes and watched as Austin handed you your phone. You smiled at him as a thank you and checked the caller ID seeing it was your mother.

"Hi mama," you said as you answered the phone call.

"Y/n! Turn on the news! You won't believe this- it is just-" Your mother just spoke and spoke, and honestly if you didn't stop her she would run her tongue out.

"I have it on mama." You replied as you glued your eyes back to the television screen. 

"You have to come home, stay with your father and me." She argued in a kind way. You knew she meant well by it, but they lived on the other side of the states.

'Mama, I can't just leave. You heard the news. Airports are basically closing. They are only allowing arriving flights." You explained to her... like she wasn’t watching the news. It’s like, she saw the word lockdown and called you. Wouldn’t surprise you, she takes every little bad thing and turns it towards you, like you how somehow going to die.

"Then drive," your mother pointed out. You let out a breath and shook your head.

"Mama, I can't just-"

"Is that, Y/n? Let me talk to her," you heard your father in the back. You let out a sigh and rubbed your face. Here comes your father now into the picture.

"Y/n? Do you hear me?" He asked. Of course, you heard him. You heard them both.

"Yes, I hear you." You responded. 

"Great perfect. Get in your car, and drive here. If you need gas, make sure you wipe the handle off-"

"I'm not coming home. They are threatening to fine people. Plus, there is no way I am spending the next few days of my life driving home. I will lose my mind. Plus, I doubt it’ll last that long.” You said to them.

"Right right..."

"I'll be okay... I promise. You know I won't leave my place unless I absolutely have to. We can facetime more often, it'll be okay. You know I'll come by around the anniversary. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” You softened your voice at the mention of your sister's anniversary. 

“We just want you to be safe is all.” Your mother spoke up. 

“I’ll be safe, don’t worry. Plus I’m not exactly alone.” You decided to mention. Just by the sound of it.... it kind of sounded like you had found yourself, someone. While, you wish that was the case... and maybe down the line that would happen, but for right now... You were still single.

“Huh?” You heard both your parents say. They were one hundred percent looking at each other confused now. 

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk later.” You shrugged it off like it was nothing.

“Okay okay… just call us okay?” Your mother sounded concerned. You knew it was just her worrying, but it still worried you. 

“Always.” You smiled softly and hung up before tossing your phone to the side and sighing.

“Parents?” Austin asked, an amused look on his face. You let out a light chuckle and nodded.

“Always. Gotta make sure I’m safe.” You pointed out and stretched your arms out. Austin picked up the remote and changed the channel to something different. 

“That’s how they are. Surprised my family didn’t call me. Especially my sister. She’s always texting me to make sure I’m fine and all that.” Austin explained. You smiled and nodded. Your sister was the same way. She would always check on you, even though she was the one suffering from a sickness.

You laid your head down on the pillow and let your eyes close. Over the past few weeks, you’ve been at Austin’s. There was hardly a day when you weren’t at his place. It didn’t bother you much. You were usually home alone, so it was nice to have someone around… Especially Austin. 

Were you starting to grow feelings for him? Absolutely. There was no reason to not grow feelings for him. Were you over your head? Most likely. Just like always, you believed that there was no possible way that someone like Austin could like you. Plus, if he tried to do anything romantic-wise… would it be just in getting in character? God, your brain really didn’t want you to be happy. 

“Can I ask you something?” Austin’s voice broke you out of your thoughts. You turned and looked at him.

“Always,” You responded. 

“Did you… Did you want to stay here? During lockdown? I got a spare room that you can stay in.” Austin asked. He was asking you to stay? Essentially move in with him? That is- I mean… it’s like a dream come true. Especially since his house was such an upgrade from your own lousy apartment. 

“Really? You want me to stay? Live here?”

“Uh… yes… is that… is that okay?” He asked back. You could tell he was nervous. He was scratching the back of his neck to try and hide his shaky hands from the nerves. You chuckled lightly and nodded.

“I’d love to stay here, but I kind of need some of my stuff… so we would have to stop by my house.” You explained to him. He nodded.

“Yeah yeah, of course, we can go now if you want?” He suggested. You shook your head at that. It wasn't like you didn't want to go. Just the amount of chaos that is most likely happening outside right now... Didn't exactly scream like fun.

“Are you sure now? I mean some people might be going crazy right now. Maybe we should wait till later.” You then suggested. Austin took your suggestion into thought and eventually nodded in agreement.

“That works.”

You took in a deep breath and smiled. You closed your eyes and got yourself comfortable on the couch. Maybe this was the moment where you two would grow closer. You would continue to help him learn his role of Elvis, and he would help in return. Which in turn... meant you got to spend more time with him. It really was a win-win situation. 

“Hey, Austin!?” You called out for him as you started to stand up. You placed your guitar down on its stand and looked around the room.

“Yeah?” Austin asked as he appeared at the door. You turned to look at him, a confused look on your face.

“Do we have any uh… any…” You couldn't think of the word off the top of your head, and you were sure you were going to feel stupid after Austin tells you. “Notebooks?” He finished your question. You nodded quickly.

“Yes yes! A notebook. Sorry, I don’t know why I couldn’t think of it.” You chuckled lightly. He smiled softly at your reaction and walked over to you.

“You got a brain fart, nothing wrong with that.” He said as he wrapped his arms around you. You let out a hum and smiled. Ever since lockdown happened, and you moved in with Austin… you two got close… really close. It only took a few more weeks until the two of you started to date. 

It has been a few months now. It has actually been almost a year since the lockdown happened. You two spent all your time together. You also helped each other to further understand your roles as the Presleys. You watched all of Elvis’ movies and now own them… You read Priscilla’s book, and Austin has read all the books about Elvis, as did yourself. It got to a point where you started to write music.

You never viewed yourself as a musician, or as a singer, but the more you hung around Austin, the more you wanted to do it. You started singing with him, you started to play with him. Austin even taught you how to play piano! And you honestly loved you. The two of you would sit side by side. Sometimes you would sit on his lap and he would guide your fingers. 

Then it came to your parents meeting him, and they almost lost their minds. Mostly because every boyfriend you have brought home for them to meet has always been a dick, but they just knew Austin was different. You were happy that they approved of him because you saw yourself wanting to spend the rest of your life with him. While they haven't met him in person just yet... They loved him over facetime. 

"I just had an idea is all," you said as you looked up at his face. He smiled and looked back at you.

"For a song?" He then asked. You nodded and smiled. 

"Yeah, I was just sitting down playing the guitar. I was just thinking and humming and this tune came into my head, and then the lyrics started to come in. It was just hitting me an- Oh gosh! I need to write it down before I forget!" You pulled away from Austin and started to look around. Austin raised his eyebrow and looked at you. 

"Baby, where are they?" You turned and looked at him, after a moment of searching. Austin let out a chuckle and went towards the bookcase and pulled one out with ease. He walked over to you and handed it to you as he pressed a kiss to your cheek. You blushed at the sudden touch of affection and practically melted against him. It wouldn't matter what this guy would do, you would melt against his touch.

"Thank you," you said softly and took the notebook out of your hand.

"You're welcome, darlin'," Austin said using his Elvis's voice. You sucked in a breath and closed your eyes. 

"You're going to be the death of me, Austin..." you said softly.

"Good," he chuckled and lifted my chin with his thumb. "We can die together then because you're gonna be the death of me." He leaned down and connected our lips together.

Goddamnit... I love this man.

Want to join my taglist? // Let me know If I spelt any wrong! I have updated my form for my taglist. You will be tagged under everything now in that selected fandom/person. Just makes my life easier.

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[evita-shelby]

Congrats K/@runnning-outof-time !!!!!!

Christmas Eve

A splash of angst, hurt/comfort, mentions of a previous miscarriage and mentions of a suicide attempt.

Modern Au where Tommy is an MP and Eva is his wife, business partner and social media manager

🖤🖤🖤🖤

She should be relieved.

The test was negative and she is a little disappointed to know she wasn’t pregnant.

“Sweetheart, we’ll be late to Polly’s Christmas party.” He knocked on the bathroom door softly and she quickly tossed everything away.

Tommy cannot know, Eva tells herself and pretends all is fine.

They wanted kids once the pandemic was fully over, but things had calmed down enough and she wants a baby before her prime reproductive years are over.

But Tommy had avoided all the instances she tried to bring up the topic about trying again.

He blamed himself for the miscarriage when they came back from Mexico. Something she had made peace with after three years, but it was something that had her husband believing he was nothing but a curse to everyone he loved.

She couldn’t tell him that she wants a baby, or that the thought of her contraception failing had made her feel hopeful instead of scared shitless.

Eva’s forgotten it by the time they get to Polly’s for a family get together that didn’t violate covid guidelines still in place.

She’s getting foil paper for the leftovers when her husband corners her in the kitchen.

“Want to tell me about this?” he shows her a picture someone tagged their joint Instagram on.

It’s a picture of her picking out the most effective pregnancy test at a drugstore.

Even worse it was captioned: congratulations on your baby, Thomas Shelby MP!

Fuck.

“It was negative. Had there been something to tell, I would’ve told you.” She can’t even look at him because then he’ll know she would kill to have a child with him.

“Evie, I know that’s not all you’re hiding.” He nudged her gently making her look at him.

“I didn’t want it to be negative. I saw it in my last reading, and I was hoping it had come true.” She wants to cry because she knows he doesn’t.

Thinks its his fault the embryo didn’t develop when it was just a random occurrence they had no control over.

“I didn’t think you’d want to try again after—” he can’t bring himself to say it.

Eva remembers all too well that night he’d gotten so drunk he’d taken his gun to his temple screaming he’d killed their baby.

They had cried that night, she'd held him and reminded that one day she’d prove him wrong and be a damn good father to their two future kids.

“Two kids remember, they will happen whether we plan for it or not, Tom. And I think we’re ready to try again.” Her hand glides gently to cover his and give it a reassuring squeeze.

She then adds knowing it will get him out of these dark thoughts that never leave him, “If we start now our baby will be born when the parasite in chief dies.”

“How can I say no to that?” he cracked a smile and for a moment everything was fine with the world.

[fuck-customers]

🍑 ❓ (so I can find it later) I’ve got kind of an AITA situation but I don’t have a reddit account and I refuse to get one: AITA for telling my boss he needs to stop giving me so much to do?

I started working for a small store my mom also works at when I was 16 (am 21 now). I say “working for”, but really I was going down there to help my mom. She’s getting older and has both arthritis and carpal tunnel. She can’t carry heavy things or reach too far above her head. So I would put up orders, sweep and mop, make food, etc while she ran the register. I didn’t get paid for ANY of this, my mom did. I was just making her job easier. And that was fine with me.

When I turned 18 the owner said they were really short staffed and would appreciate it if I came on to take a couple shifts of my own. I said sure since I had pretty much already been unofficially working for him for 2 years and knew he was a good guy. He lets us have food for free, take as many breaks as we want as long as our work gets done, he gave us a raise as soon as the pandemic started and another when inflation got crazy, he’s lent us money before and not made us pay it back, just an all around really nice dude. So I work for him and get paid for my own shifts now, but I still come help my mom on her shifts occasionally. I don’t get paid when I’m there with her, but that’s okay. I’m doing it to help her, not him.

But here’s where my problem starts: recently he also bought another store about 4 hrs away. Since it’s so far and that store is just getting started he’s hardly ever at our store anymore. But he still expects certain things that he used to do to get done.

For example: my mom calls me on one of her shifts the other week and asks me if I could do what the boss just asked her to do, because it would be too hard on her. What did he ask her to do? Sweep, mop, dust, and wipe down every shelf in the store. No way she could reasonably do all that and still take care of customers, so I go help her. (I don’t get paid for this)

Example 2: I’m working by myself when he calls and asks me to check the dates of every drink in the store, in the cooler or in the back, and make a stack of out of date things for the salesman who will be there TOMORROW. I, of course, call and get my mom to come run register while I do this (she doesn’t get paid for helping me, either)

Example 3, and the last straw for me: We had a small deli that did reasonably well before the pandemic, but sales really slowed down afterwards (for obvious reasons and because one coworker told everyone it was closed just because he couldn’t be bothered to cook, but thats another story for another day). One day the boss tells us since its just a money drain, he’s gonna move the deli to his other store.

About a week later (today), and my mom calls me and asks me to come help her again. The boss wants her to move all the deli equipment out of the deli, clean it all, and get it ready for him to come get tomorrow. Again, this is way too much work for one person to do AND still run a busy store like normal, so I go down to help. (And of course I’m not getting paid for it.)

I’m about halfway through dismantling the oven when the boss comes in with a huge order for us to put up as well, and I snapped. I told him it’s unreasonable to put this much work on US, and ONLY us. He doesn’t do this to the other people who work here. He’s obviously doing it to us because he knows we’ll help each other, and its kinda fucked for him to count on unpaid labor to run his store. If he has this much shit he wants done he should either come do it himself, hire more people, or at the very least pay us both while we’re both here.

I’ll give him this, he was super chill while I snapped at him and tried to reassure me that all this upset was temporary, just while he gets his other store up and running, and he’s sorry I felt that way. My mom on the other hand was fuming.

She waited until we were done for the day before she would speak to me again, and she said I shouldn’t have said all that to the man who has done so much for us. She said its our job to just suck it up and handle the boss’ dirty work. That’s just part of being an adult in the workforce. I said technically all the extra work we’re doing is unpaid, so its not part of the job, its part of being exploited. She said if I felt that way I could quit and she would stop asking for my help.

I really don’t want to quit, and I really don’t want to stop helping my mom, I just would like to be paid for all the extra work I’m doing. But she’s right, he HAS done a lot for us and technically never explicitly stated he wants or expects my unpaid labor. AITA?

[lilacsandwhiskey]

I’m currently obsessed with tiktok and tom holland so I’m obsessed with imagines about both. i think it would be cute if you do a tiktok trend with the boys but like the world doesn’t know about reader and Tom so people are shipping her with one of the guys? like from the tiktok? Tom maybe gets jealous or something ? idk i’m rambling haha

Thanks for the request anon :) I hope this was okay!

Heartbreak Anniversary

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Warnings: mentions of pandemic and COVID, cussing, maybe suggestive at points???, angst, jealous Tom, uhhh sucky writing and no proofreading so bare w ya girl n kinda longer than I anticipated but here we are :)

Notes: italics = flashback

If someone asked you how you managed to get a life as crazy as your’s, you’d simply reply “just meet Harrison and become best friends.” You almost couldn’t fathom what your life looked like right now - you sat in the kitchen with your two friends, Harry and Tuwaine, who had fallen into the pits of TikTok with you, while Harrison, Sam, and your beloved, Tom, sat in the living room, screeching at the television as they watched a game. All of this, while in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.

You didn’t officially live with the boys, but you might as well have. Your apartment was only minutes away, but with how communal your living situation was, Tom simply talked it over with his brothers and best friends, who didn’t even hesitate to scream yes when he asked if you could stay there. It was “safest,” he explained when he begged you to come stay for a while. So you did.

How did we get here? It all started with a little project, Harrison Osterfield, and him playing cupid.

——————————

“Clumsy, are we?” Harrison managed to balance you as you tripped over your own two feet, walking into the studio. “What makes you think that?” You huffed back, a small laugh escaping your lips. “Just get that vibe.” He replied, shrugging with a smile.

It didn’t take long for you and Harrison to practically become the best of friends. He soon was inviting you out to drinks with his friends, who immediately accepted you. Though you and Harrison’s friendship was strictly platonic, you found him itching to find out about your relationship status. “Should I even wonder, Harri?” “I mean, no. I’m just curious.” “I thought I told you before I’m not interested in a relationship right now.” You said, glaring at him with a smile. “I didn’t ask that, I was just curious. So anyway, are you coming to the pub tonight? I’m dying for you to meet my friend, Tom.” The excitement in his voice was too much to understand, but instead of questioning, you just replied with a yes.

There you were, walking through the doors of the pub at 8pm sharp. Your eyes finally spotted familiar faces who were calling out to you. You followed suit, inching your way to the booth at the back. “Y/N!” They called, urging into hugs. “Hi everyone!” You replied, taking a seat. Tuwaine was already scooting over your favorite drink towards you. “Told you we’d always take care of you! Anyway, we’re celebrating tonight. Tom’s back home!”

Your eyes landed on the curly-haired boy who had a gentle smile playing on his lips. “No need for anything big, I’m just glad to be surrounded by my favorite people.” Tom said. “Nice to meet you finally, Y/N. Glad to finally put a face to the name.” Tom held a hand out, gripping tight to yours as he shook it. Little did you know, Tom was well-aware of what your face looked like. He hadn’t been able to stop scrolling through your social media pages after Harrison had posted a picture of you, him, and Tuwaine on his story during a night out.

———————————

“So who’s this girl you’ve been posting?” Tom said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible during this conversation with his bestfriend. “Y/N, I thought I’d mentioned her to you.” Harrison said through the phone. “I don’t believe you have, are you like…” “No, no, dude, you know I’ve been talking to Grace.” “I know, but I was just worried my best friend had moved on without telling me!” “You know I would. No, she’s just a friend, we met during a project. Grace actually loves her, and so does everyone else - including your brothers. Have they not told you about her?”

Tom tried to think back to his conversations, only briefly hearing mentions of your names when he’d ask what they’d been doing. He couldn’t help but scroll through your pictures, soaking up every aspect of your life, well, only what you displayed. You had a dog, bingo. You seemed to be funny by the way you captioned your pictures, good. You seemed to have fun, love your family, and live a life that perfectly reflected how Harrison had described to him after he had came to the realization that Tom had already began crushing on you just by what he’d started telling him and the way you portrayed yourself.

Tom begged Harrison to be his wingman. Harrison practically scolded him the first few times. “I don’t want you to mess up this friendship.” “She’s not just a fling, Tom.” “Can’t you just be friends first?” Tom would settle for the last comment. “Fine, introduce us.”

————————————

Your conversations with Tom seemed so effortless that night. With too much alcohol in your system, you found yourself completely flustered by how pretty he was with his glazed eyes, rosy cheeks, and the constant giggles escaping his lips.

Though nothing ever happened that night, you found yourself spending more and more time with Tom in the coming weeks. Harrison didn’t mind as his relationship was truly flourishing with Grace. Weeks later, Tom had finally kissed you out of the blue and it changed everything. He was leaving for a few more weeks for filming, and instead of gaining the guts to make it official that night, he waited until he came back. It was the first thing he asked you when you reunited.

But, it wasn’t as simple as that. The logistics, the orchestrating, there was so much planning involved with what felt like should just be simple. Tom had fans, and sometimes they weren’t so nice. Tom wanted to protect you in every way possible. Though it was obvious you’d been hanging with the guys, since some of them had posted you, you had just figured that if you went out in public, you’d all go together and you couldn’t spend too much time just next to Tom. Posts were limited, it was all planned to a T. But you didn’t mind, because Tom made you happy and you knew it was for the best.

For a while, you did long distance. Your relationship had been based off of late night or early morning FaceTime calls, quick calls in between breaks, and short text messages throughout the day. It was hard but worth it. But this last time didn’t last near as long as others.

When word of COVID swept through the news, the world became frantic in all aspects. When everything began going into lockdown, Tom was sent straight back home from filming.

———————————

Laughter erupted between Harry, Tuwaine, and you. Tuwaine had showed you a both a video on TikTok he came across of a girl dancing in the midst of her friends to the song Heartbreak Anniversary. Though her coordination was obviously great, it was the reactions and how aggressive she was doing the dance that made it so funny.

As if on cue, Tom, Harrison, and Sam walked into the kitchen, Harrison mentioning that they couldn’t hear their program over their laughing. That’s when they found themselves gathered around the phone, joining in the laugher.

“I think we should recreate it. I think Y/N should learn the dance and be in the middle. It’ll be too good.” Harry said. “Me?” A nervous laugh escaping your lips. “For sure, we learn dances so fast, you’ll have it down in no time.” Harry was right - over the last few months, you’d formed certain hobbies with each of the boys. You had became just as close with them as Tom was, and one thing you and Harry found yourselves doing often was learning dances in the backyard, most likely disrupting the neighbors from your obnoxious cussing and laughter.

After protesting the dance, the guys had won and you were now practicing the dance. You felt so dumb, you couldn’t help but laugh. You didn’t allow the boys to see it so that when you videod, it would be their fresh reactions. And that’s what it was -

The boys circled around you, ready to endure the dancing. Right before, Tom had pulled you aside and reiterated not focusing that much time on him, though he wanted you to. You agreed, understanding the circumstances considering the world still was unaware of your relationship. To everyone else, you were just some friend that came to hang out every now and then.

So when the music started, you kept that little rule in the back of your mind. You tried to spend enough time with each, trying to make them laugh which definitely worked. You added your own flair to the dance, leaning back towards each of them, causing them to spit out laughter. You still found a moment with Tom, because it’d be too obvious that you were not trying to be obvious if you didn’t (haha).

Afterwards, the guys laughed over your shoulder as they watched their own reactions. “You killed that!” Sam exclaimed.

Hours later, you all sat in the living room, engrossed in your own thing - television, telephone, reading, someone was doing something. That’s when Tuwaine busted out laughing. “Shit, these comments are ruthless!” “Hmm?” You said, not even thinking to go check on the video you’d posted. When you opened up the app, Tom was looking over your shoulder to look for himself.

“Yeah, Harrison and Y/N are def fucking”

“Y/N and Haz 👀👀👀”

“Look at the way Haz looks at her 😍 obvi in love”

The comments continued. You cocked your head, watching back at the video. There was nothing much different between your interactions other than he was laughing the most - but that was just Haz. You shook your head, laughing as everyone but Tom joined it.

“Dang, Y/N, didn’t know we cared so much about each other!” Harrison said, giggling. “Right, just so in love!” You jokingly fell back into the couch, but soon noticed that Tom was barely participating in the jokes. Instead, he was leaning back, barely cracking a smile, even when you tugged his arm. You tried to shake off his reaction, not expecting him to actually be upset.

—————————

“I think I’m going to shower, wanna join?” You pulled out some sweatpants from the drawer that you’d claimed. “Why don’t you go ask Harrison?” You stopped dead in your tracks. “Excuse me?” Tom stayed silent. A nervous laugh escaped your lips, in hopes that his words were only joking but the straight face he was giving, along with no eye contact, made it clear that he was not joking.

“Are you being serious right now?” You asked quietly. You felt yourself beginning to get upset, considering you had never given him a reason to believe that for one, you’d ever cheat, and for two, that you and Harrison had ever had sex. He was well aware of the friendship that you had before Tom came along, and not only was it strictly platonic, but Grace had been in the picture the whole time.

Tom finallt replied with a shrug, which elicited rolling eyes from you. “You’re unbelievable.” You slammed the door to the bedroom, slamming the bathroom door across the hall. It may have been absurd, but in that moment you honestly were shocked. You and Tom had never really argued about something like this before - it just never showed itself as a problem. It wasn’t like you hadn’t been rumored dating each one of the boys before anyway, you didn’t know what was different.

Harrison had obviously heard the slamming of the doors, including the other boys who surrounded him. Sam pushed the television, looking around at the group, who was already exchanging looks. “Nose goes.” Tuwaine said, instantly pinning his finger to his nose, the rest of the boys following. Harrison was the last to reach his nose. “Aw, come on. You know this is probably about me.” Harrison whispered. “Guess you gotta find out.” Harry replied, shrugging.

Harrison slowly made his way to Tom’s room, slowly knocking before opening the door. Tom was laying on the bed on his phone, seeming that he was not phased by the events that seemed to have just occurred. “Tom?” “Hmm?” “What’s going on?” Harrison asked, inching closer to the bed.

Tom laid his phone on his chest with a smirk. “Why don’t you go find out?” “Seriously, Tom? Are we twelve right now?” Harrison huffed back, crossing his arms. When Tom didn’t reply, Harrison felt like tugging his hair out. It wasn’t very often that the two lads argued, but Harrison honestly couldn’t believe that THIS is what the argument was about this time.

Harrison made it clear time and time again before Tom and you had started dating that you two had been platonic from the beginning. Harrison loved you like a sister, but never anything more. Tom was well aware of that - so he didn’t understand why he was lashing out?

“Look, mate. I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but I can guarantee you, that if you keep on, Y/N isn’t going to like it. You have no right to take it out on her. You know she wouldn’t do that to you in a million years, hell, you know I’d never do that to you in a million years. If you want to be mad, be mad at me, though you have no true reason to be. Fans make assumptions all the time. You can’t possibly be upset when you’re the one who continues to vow her as a secret to the world. You orchestrate every plan with her to make sure that it looks like you’re not dating, so yeah, people might get skeptical. I’m sorry that you’re feeling insecure right now, but you have no right to accuse her of anything.” Harrison had no intentions of giving a speech, but he knew that it had to be said. Tom just looked at him, and for the first time, Harrison couldn’t get a read on him.

Harrison made his way out of the room, almost colliding with you as you came out of the bathroom. Harrison gave you a sympathetic smile before going back to the living room. Confused as to what had just happened in Tom’s room, you took a deep breath before opening the door. There was no doubt that you were still upset, but you also were bothered about the fact that this came so suddenly. Or had it? Had he been so skeptical before and you’d just never caught on? How could he not trust you?

As you walked in, Tom laid on his side away from you. You let out a small sigh, placing your dirty clothes in the hamper and walking over to the bed. “Tom?” No answer. “Can we talk?” Though you couldn’t see around him, Tom squeezed his eyes shut at those words. He finally turned over. “Hey.” You said. “Hey.”

You assumed an apology would come after that, but it never did. You tried to be reasonable. “I get it.” “Hm?” “I get it. I’m sorry that you’re feeling like this. I can’t say there haven’t been times I’ve gotten a little jealous or scared or insecure when you’re miles and miles away. But I’m right here. You have nothing to worry about.” “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have acted that way towards you.” “It’s okay, but you have to trust me. We’ve been together over a year now and this conversation has never came up. Why now?”

Tom took a minute to gather his words. He let out a slow shaky breath. “I don’t know how to put it into words. When I’m away, I long to be back home with you. It seems so simple to know that I get to home and you’re here for me. So, now that I’m home for longer than a week, I recognize that you have developed these amazing friendships with people who can be here for you more than me, and sometimes it just feels unreal that I have you - like I don’t deserve you. I just love you so much that the thought of you being with someone else ever hurts me, and I think that’s why the comments got to me so much this time. Y/N, I think I’m ready to tell the world. I’m tired of keeping you a secret. I want to show the world you’re mine, I want to be the one they make those comments about. Ridiculous, huh?” Tom let out a small chuckle and shook his head.

You grabbed his hands, shaking your head. “Babe, if it weren’t for Harrison, we wouldn’t be here. The relationships I’ve grown with everyone is over our shared love of you. We are so grateful that we can be altogether in each other’s presence and enjoy it because we all have a shared love. You’re so important to all of us, and that’s just how it works. I’m ready to tell the world if you are. I’d love nothing more than to finally call you mine publicly… and maybe go on a date outside of our backyard when this pandemic ends.” You say with a grin. He pulls you on top of him, laying a slow kiss on your lips. “You’re so important to me. Let’s show the world how much.”

[charlie-rulerofhell]

For they know exactly what they do

Today there was a pretty long article published in the German newspaper FAZ, written by Julia Schaaf. Since there were quite a few interesting topics raised in it and Måneskin talked about some new aspects (or in more detail), I translated the whole thing (it might also have helped me to procrastinate).

Full interview in English under the cut.

For they know exactly what they do

June 22, 2021

Four young rock musicians from Rome are today's hottest band. Måneskin are enchanting Europe. Why? We met them for an interview.

Every romance needs its founding myth, an anecdote from the beginning, something you can tell later in more difficult times for self-assurance.

In the case of the band Måneskin, who first had Italy and now half of Europe wrapped around their fingers, and who are now trying to conquer the rest of the world with their rock music, there is the story of the shoe box. Rome, around five years ago: Four teenagers who are meeting every day after school in their rehearsal room to make music together, and sometimes they play their songs on the Via del Corso in the city centre in front of a changing audience. One day they want to record their own stuff. They find a studio that they can actually afford and as they go there they bring a shoe box, with the name of the band written on it, 'moonshine' in Danish, the bassist's mother is Danish. In the box: around seven kilogram of coins. The things you get from playing music on the streets. Everyone searching through Instagram for photos from that time can find four hippies with children's faces, three boys in batik, the girl is wearing a straw hat.

As they have to pay [for the recording], frontman Damiano David, 22, says that there was this guy, Angelo, and his bandmate Victoria De Angelis, 21, is interrupting: “No, Andrea, not Angelo”, and all of them have to laugh because a rigid studio manager with the Italian name 'angel' would be even funnier for a founding myth. David continues his story: “The guy was completely dumbfounded. 'We can't do that.' We went: 'Sure we can, that's worth the same even if it's just 20 cent coins, it's still 300 euros.” Thomas Raggi, 20, the guitarist of the band, is gasping for air as he laughs, while drummer Ethan Torchio, 20, is smiling dreamily. David finishes: “And then we snuck off before he was able to count it.” [the German text says 'verdrücken' here which is just a colloquial way of saying 'we left', but it entails some sort of a dramatic exit, so yeah, let your thoughts get creative how they left exactly :D].

Four young musicians on the verge of global fame are sitting on a white interview sofa in Berlin, completely styled, babbling across each other like overeager teenagers.

Ever since the Roman band first won the music festival Sanremo and then also the Eurovision Song Contest, carried by the enthusiasm of European viewers, you could say Måneskin has become a phenomenon. “Rock 'n' Roll never dies!”, Damiano David yelled fueled by the adrenaline of winning, and the insinuation that circulated on social media of the singer snorting during the counting of votes in front of a live camera – including their strict denial followed by a negative drug test result – might have given an additional boost to their public interest, their exploding album, ticket and merch sales, and their outstanding success on Spotify.

“We think it's a shit prejudice against rock music that there always have to be drugs involved. We fully threw ourselves into our participation with the utmost professionalism. We give everything for the music. So of course we don't want people to think that we can only do that because we take drugs.” – Victoria De Angelis

Prior to Eurovision, Måneskin was more of an insider's tip outside of Italy. Handmade rock music, not creating something entirely new but paying homage to the good old times with classic guitar riffs and cracking drum beats, being a lot of fun but also quite fragile and vulnerable at times and, first and foremost, conveying a captivating energy. Finally, on the stage of Rotterdam, live after so many months of isolation and renunciation, this wave of energy spilled straight over into European living rooms. It seemed easy to (mistakenly) interpret the winning song “Zitti e buoni” (Shut up and behave) as a declaration of frustration of our youth in times of a pandemic. In fact, singer Damiano David is singing about the favourite topic of the band: the unrelenting need to, against all odds, be yourself, despite or perhaps because you are different. The message fits their provocative sex appeal, which the band uses to demonstrate their independence of gender norms at any given time. But the core essence of rock music has always been the promise of unlimited freedom.

Thus at the first moment, the meeting with Måneskin is kind of startling. It's Wednesday, we are in the top floor of the new Sony head quarters in Berlin. The four Italians have just started their two-week long promotion tour through Europe. In the afternoon there will be a live concert in a queer club [the SchwuZ, but that's not mentioned here] in Neukölln, which will be streamed via TikTok. Around one million viewers will watch the show, some of them even from Brazil, so people at Sony are pretty excited [for Måneskin to come here]. But at first, these stunningly gorgeous creatures [yes, that's the exact wording :D] are standing surrounded by an entourage of people – their management, PR team, a stylist, a photographer, people who can hold a smartphone or a cigarette if needed [this paragraph is worded a little weirdly, especially taking into account that basically their whole team / 'entourage' is just friends of them, but it seems like the journalist didn't know that or maybe they just wanted to describe their first impression]. They seem like fictional / artificial characters out of a Hollywood movie. Transparent frill blouses with blazers and flared leather trousers, even the platform boots, everything brand-new, the makeup makes their faces look like a glossy magazine cover even in person. The smokey eyes of De Angelis and Raggi make them look smug and bored. Later, on the pictures it will probably look cool.

So of course your first impression might be: This band is under contract to industry giant Sony ever since their success on an Italian casting show [X Factor] in Winter 2017. The music industry must have its hand in the game when a band is photographed half-naked by Oliviero Toscani and styled by Etro. Also, one does not simply rent a villa with a pool in Rome to produce new music there, isolated from the rest of the world. And who else went to London for two whole months, shortly before the winter lockdown, just for inspiration? After the TikTok concert in Berlin – De Angelis and David are now wearing fishnet shirts that sparkle with every move, their bare nipples covered with an X of black tape – the band is posing with a few influencers. In the world of social media you would call that 'producing content'. But what does that mean for a band who are preaching their hosanna of authenticity? How authentic is Måneskin? And is their pointedly casual approach to sexuality and gender cliches in today's pop-cultural spirit more than a marketing strategy?

We're in the interview, the recording device is running for not even five minutes, when Victoria De Angelis says: “Actually, we just try to be ourselves and do what we really want to do.” And really: The more you listen to those four how they speak about the early days of the band in their slurred Roman dialect, about the shoe box and their own experiences with being different, but most importantly about their shared obsession [with music], the more you realise that [De Angelis] is  very serious. Ethan Torchio, who got his first drum kit at the age of six or seven from his father because he was beating everything he could reach, says: “For me, music is like food. I cannot live without it.” The bassist next to him laughs at his pathos. Singer Damiano David applauds the otherwise more reserved friend for his truthfulness [it says 'klarer Punkt', meaning 'for the point he makes', but it makes it seem like Damiano is agreeing with Ethan here, although it doesn't indicate whether he agrees that yes, music is everything for Ethan or that he understands and feels the same].

De Angelis and guitarist Raggi already knew each other from middle school and they were the ones who tried to form a band at the age of only 13, a band that actually took music seriously.

De Angelis: “It's just difficult at that age to find other people who really put everything into music and who truly commit themselves and are willing to invest a lot of their time.”

Raggi: “We set strict rules and scheduled fixed times for the rehearsals, for every day.”

David: “Fever, stomach ache, there was no excuse. Even if you were feeling sick in the rehearsal room. At least you were in the rehearsal room.”

The way the four of them talk across each other, completing each other's sentences, taking turns in talking and sometimes joking about each other, seems intimate and playful. Singer David remembers how at first bassist [De Angelis] was merciless towards him when it came to her first metal band project, as she told him that he wasn't committed enough [to the music]: “Back then I was still playing Basketball. I was one of the people that Vic absolutely didn't want [in her band].” Drummer Torchio was later discovered through Facebook, even though there had already been a drummer, a close friend, but he was not good enough. It seems as if even back then music was everything for them. Even if it meant that only Raggi managed to graduate.

And why rock, why rock music of all things? Because it's great, the four of them say in unison. David adds: “Actually, it's a genre that allows you to do everything you want to do.”

When they played on the street, they were laughed at by their classmates. But not only there. De Angelis explains that she never wanted to be a typical girl: “I was always deterred by those stupid boxes that people put you in, and that are just restricting and constraining you, because something is only regarded as male or female. I always rejected that. Instead, I just wanted to do the things I enjoyed doing, I went skating and played football.” Torchio says: “Friends who are not friends anymore were already telling me at the age of ten that those“ – he grabs his long, silky black hair – “were wrong. Because I'm a boy and boys are meant to have short hair, long hair is only for girls. I was bullied a lot for that.”

“Compared to the past, people in our age became much more open-minded. It gets better.” – Thomas Raggi

Frontman David on the other hand, for whom eye shadow, jingling earrings and nail polish as well as his bare torso with the tattoos have become trademarks by now, says: “I was actually more of the average boy.” De Angelis convinced him to try out some eyeliner, which he describes as a spiritual awakening: “I liked myself much more [with makeup]. I saw myself more as myself. As if it had been a suppressed desire of mine.” On a trip to Copenhagen with the others, when he realised that it really didn't matter what people were thinking about him, he got his first fake fur [coat? the article doesn't specify that] in a second-hand shop and let his clothing style be guided by his own love to experiment: “I realised that my whole life I was just going at half speed.” When it comes to diversity all four of them are becoming almost missionary.

At the same time, their success is not only opening doors for them. Back home in Rome they are barely able to go out on the street due to all the paparazzi. “[You need a] hoodie and huge sunglasses”, David says, “the mask is quite helpful, too.” And still, none of them is complaining, and Torchio explains why: “Even if those experiences right now may have sides that are not so pleasant, we still know that for us a dream is coming true. We experience something that we always had in our minds, so we are willing to face every consequence that this entails.”

So is the band facing difficult times, is Måneskin going to change with all the success? Again, all of them answer at the same time.

David: “I'm not worried about that.”

Raggi: “No way!”

De Angelis: “On the contrary. Everything that happened to us happened because we are who we are, so we want to continue the exact same way and stay ourselves.”

Just a few hours later, they are at the stage in Neukölln, bouncing around like pinballs, hammering at their instruments, flirting with each other. “We are out of our minds, but different from the others”, David sings their winning hymn against conformism, and: “The people talk, unfortunately they talk.” Here on stage, the four paradise birds [a German word describing someone with a flamboyant personality] with their half-nude-glittering outfits are radiating an incredible energy with the utmost sincerity, and you begin to wish there was a live audience instead of the TikTok cameras, absorbing and spreading this energy. Måneskin. A cry for a life after the pandemic, a cry for freedom and a better world.

“We do what we wished for all our lives.” – Ethan Torchio

[blackbat05]

I need a break

Shangqi x Reader (Platonic) 

A/N: I feel like I’m loosing steam towards the end of my placement and wow I have never needed a break this badly before. Perhaps a short Shangqi x Reader imagine where they are both University students. Seriously at this rate I’ll just be solely a Shangqi writer HAHAHA. Doing this on my phone because I don’t want to open my work computer. Let’s see where this impromptu idea takes me to. Hope you enjoy it and as always like and comment if you wish!

Genre: PG-13

Warnings: None really, just friends supporting each other! I guess there’s an inaccurate timeline if you look at the MCU but hey this is an imagine plus if you look at some of the wiki pages, Shangqi is actually born in 1998/1999. So appreciate if you’re kind enough to go with the flow to read this comfort fic! 

‘Y/N!’ Shangqi rushes to catch up with you after class. You made an effort to conceal your tiredness but he saw it right through. ‘Gosh…you alright?’

You think to yourself. Were you really alright? The answer was pretty obvious. You were ten weeks into your placement and your emotions were a jumbled up mess. Having to deal with work responsibilities was one problem, school assignments were another issue all together. At this point, you felt like you were just getting through each week for the sake of it.

At first, you believed that what you were going through was simply a transition to becoming an adult. You thought that naturally, you would be able to persevere through the stressful periods by yourself. But of course, it has been hard.

You were a social work intern at a neighborhood youth centre, thirty minutes away if you took the train and bus. The work was fulfilling in it’s own ways, but recently there were self-doubts filling your brain, if you were really cut out for the job in the future. If you weren’t, what else could you do?

As you sat with Shangqi in the school’s student-ran cafe, you found yourself pouring out the exact same concerns to him. Credit to him, Shangqi never interrupted your monologue, he just simply listened. That’s what best friends were for. That’s what you did for him to when he ran into issues with his family.

Even then, he couldn’t deny that hearing you doubt yourself broke his heart. He had known you since high school. You mostly kept to yourself and one or two close friends. Despite joining the school’s athletic team where you were one of the main athletes, you preferred to stay in the shadows unlike some of your teammates. That didn’t stop you from going out of your way to help other students in need; like helping the girl who was in an arm cast to copy the social studies notes, even if it meant you had to do it twice. Or maybe just talking to a friend who was stressed out about their results.

Basically, you had studied your ass off to get a secured spot at this university who were only one of the few that offered the degree. He remembers you telling him the moment you got your offer, ‘I’m finally good at something. I don’t have to worry anymore!’

Shangqi wasn’t stupid. The pandemic had done some crazy things. And by crazy, it affected the self-esteem that you had been working so hard on by participating in various projects and events, with you being in charge of a drama production that was promoting on mental health. That was a big deal considering that you were a major introvert.

Online engagement was never easy. In fact he has heard some of your struggles that you’ve shared with him regarding this and it only makes him admire you even more. For someone who preferred to keep to themselves, stepping out of one’s comfort zone, to take on a role that wasn’t just simply about helping people - that took guts.

‘I’m sorry I’m just loading you with all this. I just feel…’ You trailed off, suddenly becoming emotional again. Again, Shangqi does not pry. ‘That I can’t do anything right.’ You emphasize that you had ended the statement for you were unsure that you could keep your cool if you had tried to continue on.

‘If I hear you saying sorry another time,’ he chides, ‘you’re paying for our meal later.’ Your lips curved upwards slightly before returning to its somber position. Shangqi decides that a meal won’t cut it. He needs to deploy ‘Operation Y/N’. Standing up with your buzzer to collect the food, Shangqi whips out his phone. There will be a few changes for today.

Food was definitely a cure in this situation, but it was only a part of the solution. After inhaling your ramen at light speed, Shangqi tells you that today will be a different Friday. ‘And you can’t complain! It’ll be a weekend tmr,’ he tells you. So why not? You figured that even if you went back home early, your head wouldn’t be in the right place to complete the essay for your English module.

‘Hold up! The VR studio that Katy was talking about?’ You look at the tickets inside the taxi that was taking you and Shangqi to the location. ‘How did you even, it was so hard to get these tickets!’ From the time Shangqi met you outside the classroom, he had yet to see you so ecstatic. Until now.

‘Well,’ Shangqi gives his best shrug. ‘I called in a favor from a friend. Said that it was for emergency purposes.’ He raised his fingers to make connotations in the air much to your amusement.

‘Wow… just how much do I not know about you Mr Popular?’ You teased. Shangqi decides to leave the fact on him having to persuade the Wakandan Princess in giving him free tickets.

‘Please! I swear whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it! It’s for Y/N!’

‘Ey well why didn’t you say so? If it’s for that nice friend, of course!’ Shuri leaves the entrance of the compound, an exasperated Shangqi trailing behind.

Yeah, the VR studio that Katy told them about was also funded by King T’Challa himself. With stunning life like visuals thanks to Wakandan technology, the VR studio was located in a middle class neighborhood. T’Challa believed that no matter where kids came from, they should have the right to enjoy and to explore the world. For now, he wasn’t ready to share that he was on the way on becoming a full-fledged Avenger yet - you just had too much on your plate. He’ll just have to settle with this white lie.

‘Is Katy coming?’ You were on the verge of vibrating off your seat. ‘She would love this place!’ Even when you were struggling, Y/N still manages to think about other people. Today, Y/N will put her needs first.

As if to answer your previous question, you can see an equally excited Katy waiting for the two of you at the roundabout. ‘HEL-LO EVERYONE! LET’S GET OUR FRIDAY STARTED IN PROPER SHALL WE?’ Her loud voice had attracted stares, some very displeased looks too but at this point in time, you didn’t give a damn. Katy was right, it was time to enjoy!

You wished that you could slow down time, or even replay it continuously when you needed cheering up because the only thing you felt was pure happiness - euphoria even. Your stomach was in knots for laughing hysterically together with Katy when Shangqi jumped in shock from a surprise scare from a zombie. ‘I’m keeping that for leverage,’ she tells you, quietly slipping her phone into her fanny pack. 

The Wakandans had really outdone themselves this time. Your favorite VR was the paradise VR. Slipping the headgear, you say goodbye to the smiles of Katy and Shangqi, whisking away to a beach that oddly reminded you of your dream destination - Hawaii. From where you were standing, you were surrounded by green and majestic islands. Despite their sheer size, you weren’t intimidated. In fact, you were healing. 

Your mind was no longer in the room of the VR studio. How could it when the sun kissed your skin, giving you the much needed energy that you were lacking for so long? In the room, the two sees you kick your shoes to the side, going barefoot. It may have seem strange, but with the monitor beside you, your actions were perfectly logical. 

As a kid, you used to despise the prickly feeling of sand in between your toes. But now, you grew to love the sensation that each grain of sand had on your skin. It made you feel grounded, that everything was going to be ok. You raise your virtual hand to touch your face - were you crying? 

‘She must have been really stressed huh?’ Katy whispers to Shangqi who nods in return. How he hated the fact that you were giving so much to your work but still felt underappreciated. Forget the Avengers with superhuman abilities, you were the true MVP. The VR ends and you remove your headgear. ‘I’m ok,’ you automatically reassure them despite the dry tears left on both cheeks. You step down the platform slowly, trying to regain sense of the real world. 

What you didn’t expect was the two embracing you in a hug, squishing you in between them. Maybe that had set off the waterworks. For someone like Katy, she had sage advice.

‘Life can be pretty shitty right? But I’m so proud of you fighting it Y/N. Just remember that it’s ok to be weak. I mean, I’ve seen worse from Shangqi,’ she jabs her finger towards his direction, earning a glare from him. That’s Katy, always trying to add a bit of humor to this grey world. Calming down, you let go of the both of them. ‘Thanks guys, for everything.’ 

‘Hey,’ Shangqi responds, slinging his arm over your shoulder. ‘We’re friends, so we don’t leave each other behind.’ Phone beeping, he retrieves it to check the message. ‘And look at that, nice timing. Who wants Korean BBQ?’ 

Trailing behind them, you get an amusing view of Shangqi bickering with Katy on how many Soju bottles she’s allowed to order later. As San Francisco welcomed the night, you were just thankful that you had the two of them to walk through this crazy maze called life. 

‘Last one to the shop is paying!’ 

‘Oh you’re on Mister!’  

A/N: I really just think that this was also an imagine for me to cope too. So I can only hope to finish my placement/assignments/exams well! To anyone who does studies and work simultaneously, I fucking respect you (allow me to use expletives for now, these people deserve the respect). If you’re going through a stressful time, I hope this brings the slightest comfort for you and remember… YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Again, thank you for reading! 

[she-karev]

Mother's Day (Jolex Imagine)

Age Rating: 12+

Chapters: One of Three

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Canon Episode: In Between Season 18 Episode 16 and 17

Ship: Alex Karev and Jo Wilson/Jo Karev

AN: Happy Mother’s Day guys! I decided to write chapters to celebrate this occasion where we say thanks to the mothers that raised us and put our well-being above their own.

Summary: Alex and Andrew try to put together a toy for Luna that proves to be impossible with the nonsensical instructions causing them to start to break down. Meanwhile Jo talks to her pregnant sister in law, Amber.

Words: 3760

May 12, 2022

Jo stands in front of the surgical board writing down Jo Karev for a lap appy in O.R. 3 this morning. Alex walks down the hall surprised to see her in her navy-blue scrubs instead of her pale pink ones that she got after she decided to switch from general surgery to OBGYN.

He remembers when she decided on this change two years ago during the pandemic. She told him she needed to bring joy back to her life and knew that switching specialties was the way to do it.

He was shocked at first but eventually he supported her decision even bragging about how he was married to a soon to be double board-certified surgeon. Now seeing her in navy blue scrubs feels wrong somehow maybe it’s because he got used to the pink scrubs. He approaches her.

“Hey.”

Jo finishes writing her name, “Hey I can’t make it for lunch today I have a surgery that’s gonna run till 1 in the afternoon and then I have a partial colectomy after so I won’t clock out till 8. Are you good eating alone and taking Luna home without me?”

“Yeah, sure but first I want to know when you decided to switch back to surgery? I mean don’t get me wrong, pink, baby blue, dark blue you look good in all of those scrubs it’s just hard to keep track of what stage you’re in right now.”

“Well right now I am part general surgeon and part OB. Bailey guilted me into returning to the O.R. because the hospital is falling apart and more surgeries are getting cancelled by the minute. Even with DeLuca helping out there’s still at least 4 patients waiting and without any residents to assist we’re in the trenches.”

“Yeah, times are dark. Okay if it gets to be too much you know where to find me. And if Bailey tries to guilt trip me, I’ll just remind her that you got into OB so you wouldn’t fall into a depressive state during the pandemic and working you to death is gonna risk that again.”

Jo looks at Alex touched, “You would stand up to the chief for me?”

“I would stand up to God himself if I thought you or Luna needed my help. Not that she doesn’t need it with a fierce and kind mama like you.” Alex grins as does Jo who groans when she remembers something.

“I gotta assemble that baby stroller thing that I got yesterday so Luna can start walking. Maybe if I start tonight, I can finish it by the morning.”

Alex looks at his watch, “I get out early today maybe I can take Luna and assemble it before you get home.”

Jo widens her eyes at that, “Are you sure? I can assemble it another day it’s no trouble at all.”

“Don’t be silly it can help Luna walk and it’s just a toy for a baby its not exactly rocket science.”

“Yeah, but it feels like it is and unlike you I’ve done this before. Trust me when I say it’s gonna feel impossible.”

Alex grins amused and rubs Jo’s arms, “It’s gonna be great. You can think of it as a Mother’s Day gift along with the cake and velvet boxed jewelry I got you.”

Jo looks shocked at the date, “Wait its Mother’s Day? How did I miss that?”

“Maybe because we’re busy and we can barely remember our birthdays and anniversaries let alone a day dedicated to good moms. But needless to say, I remembered and feel like giving you a day of cherishing along with our daughter.”

Jo smiles at that, “Well when you put it like that how can I refuse? Okay the box is in the nursery you can find the instructions inside along with a Xanax in case you get stressed by how difficult it is.”

“Jo, I operate on kids for a living trust me some baby toy is not gonna beat me. It’s gonna look great by the time you get home and Luna will be walking in style.” He kisses her and leaves her to grin at herself hoping that Alex’s cockiness will be warranted.

3 PM

Alex enters the house carrying Luna in his arms along with her diaper bag. He exhales in the relief of comfort at his house before heading upstairs to the yellow nursery where he sees a V Tech sit to stand learning walker for girls with the colorful toy pictured all over the large box. A baby is walking holding the stroller so it can advertise its usefulness in developing child mobility.

Alex kneels down next to the box still holding Luna, “You know when me and your auntie Amber were learning to walk, we just held on to table ends and tried not to fall. We didn’t have toys or contraptions that made it fun for us. So, we’re gonna do it differently with you Little Moon, new baby, new tradition. Let’s do this kid.”

He puts Luna in her sit up floor seat so she can be across from him while he opens the box and takes the disassembled parts out piece by piece. He took out the instructions inside the box and saw that they were in Chinese. He flipped to the English section and saw from the diagram that the first step is to insert the easy to grip handle.

He reads the instructions, “Okay first step is…” The instructions might as well be in Chinese because he can’t make out what it’s trying to tell him, “Insert to parts for assemble which toy can have immediately.” He is taken back by this strange instruction and looks at Luna, “Can you make out what that means?” Luna’s only response was a raspberry to his amusement, “Okay it’s fine we got this, we are both smart and capable people who can put together a simple toy for you to walk with. It’s easy as pie.”

Meanwhile

Jo is at the beginning stages of a partial colectomy with her sister-in-law Amber DeLuca nee Karev assisting. She decided to let her sister assist her in her surgeries since she needs to learn as a resident even with all the residency program on probation. She feels bad for Amber knowing it isn’t what she signed up for when she first joined but she doesn’t show it because she knows Amber wants to hang tough and not show weakness. She mentally snorts at the similarities between her and Alex since it’s what Alex would do too.

As sad as Amber is in her work life, she’s making up for it with the joy in her personal life when she told them that she and DeLuca were pregnant back in March. Jo knew that she and DeLuca decided to try to have a baby and gave them her full support already embracing being an aunt and Luna having a cousin. It’s the kind of family she wished she had growing up and is grateful for Luna never having to know what that feels like.

“How’s the morning sickness?”

“It’s mostly gone. It only comes up after I eat a bagel with strawberry cream cheese so I cut that off.”

Jo sees the colon and keeps talking as she cuts, “Have you guys already started preparing for the baby when it comes?”

“We’re just going along with it as it goes. I want to know the sex first and then paint the nursery, I know there is neutral colors but I don’t want my baby’s room to look like vomit or a crab condiment. God knows there’s gonna be enough fluids as it is.”

Jo groans in disgust, “I know, how can so many disgusting things come out of something so cute and so small? It’s why I bought a diaper genie; I just wish it came with a maid to do the diapers and clean up the spit-up.”

“You’re really winning me over on motherhood.” Amber retorts sarcastically.

“But it’s all worth it.” Jo states with a smile behind her mask, “To have this small and wonderful person and claim her as your own it’s a new kind of love that takes you over and…makes you see life in a whole new way. Don’t worry your gonna do great and so is your man. And in case you need practice you guys can hijack Luna whenever you want. Preferably Friday nights so I can have sex with my hot, cranky husband.”

“Ugh can you not talk about that, that’s my brother and I’m afraid my morning sickness is gonna come back.”

Jo chuckles, “Sorry you know Luna is really excited about having a cousin. She even clapped when I read Forever Cousins the other night for bedtime.”

Amber grins, “Aww that’s sweet, it’s gonna be kind of cool, isn’t it? Us raising our kids together at the same time.”

“It does sound cool; I’m already seeing us having barbeque on the weekends with the guys grilling and us just sitting back and drinking cheap wine while the kids are playing on the swing set in the back.”

“Jo by then swing sets will probably be dead and our kids will play with virtual reality goggles or whatever technology is gonna take them away from precious family time.”

Jo starts dissecting the colon, “Well you get my point I’m just really excited. I used to think I would never get those sitcom families that fight and make up in the end with the audience cheering in the background. And now here I am a mom and a soon to be aunt, I’m probably gonna compete with Carina over who’s the favorite but I will welcome it.”

Amber chuckles, “It would be nice to see that and if we have a girl, you guys can hand us some of Luna’s old clothes and recommend toys for us.”

“Well hopefully one is being assembled as we speak. I got Luna this walking toy that’s supposed to encourage babies to take their first steps. I was gonna assemble it after work but then Bailey asked me to operate so Alex offered to do it instead. He said it was a Mother’s Day gift along with the cake I saw in the fridge this morning.”

“That’s nice of him.”

Jo inhales uneasily, “Yeah hopefully he survives with his sanity intact.”

Amber narrows her eyes at that, “Jo it’s a toy for babies how hard can it be to put together?”

Two Hours Later

Alex tries to push the number 3 button shaped like a square onto the console but it doesn’t stick in causing him to groan in misery. He’s been trying to put together the toy for the past two hours and so far he’s only gotten as far as the easy to grip handle that has one end sticking out. Luna has been at the front seat of her dad’s failure with a blank face.

The instructions get more confusing as he reads along making him think that the English translation was rough from the Chinese. He’s starting to see why Jo underestimated his ability to put it together. It makes him appreciate her even more knowing how hard it must have been to play handy man with crappy instructions. Honestly it was a miracle she didn’t have a nervous breakdown since he’s close to having one. Luckily the instructions are also in Italian so he called his brother-in-law to translate hoping it sounds intelligible in his language. Andrew DeLuca enters the nursery surprised to find Alex cross legged on the floor holding a button and glaring at it like he wants to kill it. He clears his throat and cautiously approaches him.

“Hey man how’s it going?”

Alex growls under his breath, picks up the manual and reads out one of the steps, “Gently forward piece for coupling with warning about many danger. Can you make out what that means? Because either I am missing something or China is trying to make us insane with these instructions making it easier to attack.”

Andrew spots the button on his hand and points to the console, “That 3 button your holding looks like it goes right there.”

Alex chuckles darkly, “Yeah it does doesn’t it? Here let me just fit it in there.” Alex tries to put the button in the console but it refuses to merge no matter how hard he pushes, “I have an MD, I was the interim chief of surgery and I run my own department. A department for kids so toys are what I give them all day so they can feel better about me cutting into them. This toy is for my daughter so that she can walk so why the hell is it not letting me teach her how to walk!”

Andrew looks at Luna in her floor seat where she’s teething, “I think your teaching her about how to have a nervous breakdown properly.” Andrew grins but Alex has none of it as he glares at his brother-in-law, “Right not the time to be funny. Doesn’t the store have some kind of service to put these things together?”

Alex throws the button to the floor, “It does but this damn thing costs 50 bucks and it costs another 50 to put it together.”

“It’s a gig economy. So why am I here then?”

Alex holds out the manual to him from the floor, “There are instructions in Italian and you read it don’t you?”

He grabs the manual and flips the page, “Yeah.”

“Great then you can translate and hopefully Italy is smart enough to translate into actual sentences.”

Andrew raises his eyebrow at the menial task, “You called me over here to be your translator? I’m pretty sure there’s an app where you take a picture of the page and it can translate.”

Alex pinches the bridge of his nose, “I am on the brink of losing it so forgive me if I’ve forgotten about the advancements of technology. Now either you sit down and help me put this damn thing together or the nursery will be painted red instead.”

Andrew eyes widen at that threat knowing full well how violent his in-laws can be. He kneels down and reads the instructions, “Okay let me read this and translate…” His eyebrows furrow at the instructions reading them out loud to Alex, “To make seat with secure fasten red pin C to happy. Huh…I guess Italy got it wrong too.” Alex grabs one of Luna’s plushies and squeezes the bunny in anger taking a deep inhale and exhale. Andrew tries to read the instructions and Luna is in her chair giving a wide grin as if mocking them.

8:17 PM

Jo enters her house with Amber behind her carrying wine for her and Alex and mineral water for Amber. They head to the kitchen to set the bottles down on the counter and Jo looks around at the empty room.

“Where is Alex? He said he would be home by now.” Amber shrugs and they hear a shout coming from upstairs that sounds like Alex. They look at each other confused before Jo grabs the tiny screen that’s connected to the HelloBaby monitor camera upstairs in Luna’s room. They look at the monitor to find Alex in there sitting on the floor in front of the desecrated toy he said he would build for Jo. Jo sighs gathering the information, “I guess my husband got overconfident again and is suffering the consequences.” Jo sees Luna still in her seat giggling at the scene, “On the bright side Luna is enjoying her real-life sitcom that is her daddy building a toy.”

Amber leans in closer when she spots a familiar person sitting next to Alex leaning forward on his knees holding a purple wheel that’s supposed to go with the walker. She sees him from the side and can tell he is about to lose it, “What is Andrew doing in there?”

Jo grins amused, “Questioning his stance on pending fatherhood maybe.” Amber looks at Jo with a raised eyebrow and looks back at the screen.

Meanwhile

Alex takes a deep breath trying to keep the toy standing up with the purple back legs providing support. It looks almost like the box depicts it as except the buttons are hanging out and not pushed in and the pink phone is discarded on the floor. He barely makes a dent in inserting the legs into the main front with one wheel missing that he spots in Andrew’s hands as he is leaning against his knees no doubt as cranky as him about this cursed toy. He grabs the wheel and tries to put the wheel in but instead it makes the entire toy structure crumble down and the buttons are scattered across the floor. Alex and Andrew look on in angsty defeat while Luna grins at the carnage no doubt thinking this is playtime.

Andrew quickly stands up, frustration evident on his face, “I give up I tried man I tried but this-this cazzo is impossible!” Alex merely sits in silent defeat while Andrew goes in a rant, “Porca miseria I’ve been beaten up, I’ve been stabbed, I’ve worked in Italy while it was a hot pandemic spot but this toy for your daughter is the evilest thing I have ever faced! Sono un dannato chirurgo e non riesco a mettere insieme un cazzo di giocattolo.” (Translation: I’m a damn surgeon and I can’t put a fucking toy together.)

Alex looks at Andrew taken back by him ranting in Italian but his brother-in-law doesn’t notice as he continues his tirade, “Come farò a fare questo per mio bambino? e perché hanno bisogno di giocattoli fantasiosi per camminare?” (Translation: How will I do this for my baby? And why do they need fancy toys for walking?)

Alex nods but doesn’t catch one word of his speech and overlaps in his rambling, “I can see that your very upset.”

Andrew doesn’t listen while Luna looks at her uncle blankly no doubt not even registering his foreign language, “Non li avevamo e tutto è andato bene. È dannatamente pazzesco che queste istruzioni non abbiano senso, non significano un cazzo!” (Translation: We didn’t have them and we’re fine. It’s damn crazy that these instructions don’t make sense, they don’t mean shit!)

A loud cough stops Andrew in his rant causing him and Alex to turn to find Amber and Jo standing outside the door with concerned grins on both of their faces. Jo walks past the men as they start to calm down and picks up Luna from her seat.

“Did your daddy and uncle have a hard time today, Luna Bear?” Jo looks down at Alex in sympathy causing him to stand up in exhaustion, “Did you learn any new Italian words from your uncle Andrew?”

Andrew sighs at that, “I didn’t realize I slipped back into my native tongue.”

Amber pouts at Andrew putting her hand over his chest, “You hit your breaking point?”

“This thing is evil.” Andrew states in his most serious voice, “It-It is designed so that parents can’t make it and their kids’ development is held off until the damn employee at the store assembles it and makes money from our misery.”

“You and I are finally in agreement.” Alex states rubbing his temples and sits in the rocking chair tired.

Andrew inhales and exhales before speaking, “I have a new hatred for China and our countries inability to translate correctly. How would you feel about a potato and a stick for our baby to play with instead? I mean you didn’t get a fancy stroller and you turned out okay.”

Amber squeezes Andrew’s shoulder in comfort, “I would make fun of you for not assembling a toy but I have a feeling I would incite another Italian soap opera scene.”

“I think we’re gonna hold off on you learning to walk until I can assemble this thing and show your daddy how it’s done.” Jo bounces Luna up and down smiling at her, “Yeah you’ll learn soon that mommy has all the answers yes she does.”

“She really does.” Alex agrees in a tired tone before standing up and standing in front of his family with a guilty look, “I’m sorry. I wanted to show you guys how much I love and appreciate you but instead I showed you all the ways a guy can screw up what a mom can’t.”

Jo grins at Alex in appreciation, “We already know how much you love us, you don’t have to put together a toy that even NASA couldn’t assemble. The fact that you tried to and never gave up is enough for us.” Jo kisses Alex while holding Luna with Andrew and Amber still in the room looking away awkwardly.

Amber turns to Andrew with a smile, “How about this Bob the Builders to show us how much you appreciate the things we do for your current and future kid’s you guys can make us dinner and then after we can eat that cake in the fridge. Meanwhile me, Jo, and Luna will put together this toy that seems to have broken you.” Andrew groans in agreement with Alex rubbing the back of his neck, “Is that a good compromise boys?”

The men look at each other for a moment and nod, “I’ll get the stuff to make chicken tetrazzini.”

“I’ll pre heat the stove.” Alex offers gladly and both of them walk out of the room determined to get away from the baby toy that is scattered all over the floor. Jo and Amber chuckle at their husband’s helplessness and sit down on the floor in front of the toy parts with Luna in Jo’s lap.

“Oh, Luna Bear where would you be without mommy?”

Amber picks up the purple handle, “Probably still laughing at her daddy and uncle’s expense. How do you…” Amber tries to put the handle together with the front but it doesn’t to her ire, “I can see why my husband had an Italian breakdown.”

“Give it to me.” Amber hands Jo the handle that she attaches to the front with laughable ease to Amber’s shock.

“How did you do that?”

“Oh, honey you should’ve seen me when I tried to assemble Luna’s activity garden, that made our men’s scene look like amateur acting.”

Amber chuckles, “Happy Mother’s Day.”

Jo grins at her pregnant sister-in-law, “Happy Mother's Day.”

[outerbankspreferences]

Flight - Rudy Pankow

A/N: This makes Elaine out to be a bitch, but I don’t think she is. I support her and Rudy 100% and think they make a wonderful couple. It was more for the plot. 

Word Count: 1885

MASTERLIST

Flying had never been a problem before. You’ve never had to film anywhere that you couldn’t drive to. You had done some acting jobs around LA, and one time you went to Nashville before getting a part in Season 2 for Outer Banks. Netflix had offered to pay for you to fly out to North Carolina, but you opted for driving instead. You didn’t know anyone you were filming with, so you drove yourself.

Of course, you had been dreading filming in Barbados since you got the part. You had the biggest fear of flying and had been avoiding it since you were little. When you got the email from Netflix that contained your ticket to say that you were panicked was an understatement. Drew, Chase, and Maddie C. were already in Barbados, so it was going to be you, Rudy, Jonathan, Elaine and Maddie B. Everyone was just going to carpool to the airport. 

Rudy had a thing for you since he met you at the first table read for season 2. You were shy at first but quickly came out of your shell when you started to get to know everyone. Rudy thought you were hilarious and enjoyed your company so that’s what caused him to be knocking on your door the night before you guys had to leave for your flight.

 When you opened the door in your sweatpants and messy bun, he still thought you looked beautiful. “Hey, I thought you would be asleep.” Rudy spoke up and you moved to let him in your apartment. “Yeah well, I guess I’m a nervous flyer.” You laughed to yourself, “do you want a cup of tea?” You asked grabbing one of your mugs. Rudy had noticed your book and mug in the living room when he sat on the couch. “I hope I’m not interrupting you” Rudy spoke up as you walked into the living room handing him a drink. “No, you’re not, I just figured I’d pass the time until I fell asleep.” You responded, the both of you sitting on the couch. “I didn’t know you’re a nervous flyer, what did you do when you had to come to North Carolina?” Rudy questioned. “Uh, I drove.” You shrugged like it was the simplest thing to do. “What, that’s like a 3-day drive.” He said baffled by your answer. “Well yeah, but it’s a good way to see the country.” You laughed thinking about the memories you made on the solo road trip. “And you did it by yourself? That’s badass Y/L/N.” Rudy said smirking.

 The two of talked the whole night away and you showed him pictures of your trip across the country and told him all the stories. Rudy thought that he could listen to you talk all night, even after he started to get tired. He finally excused himself from you place promising to sit with you on the plane tomorrow to ease your mind.

 You woke up the next morning with a sick feeling in your stomach and it only got worse at the thought of getting on an airplane. You got the rest of your last-minute things packed up and brought out by your door getting ready to meet everyone at JD’s car. You were the last to show up when Elaine shouted out to you. “I thought you weren’t going to show.” She spoke with a snarky tone, and Rudy nudge her shoulder getting her to knock it off. “Yeah, well I’ll probably be late to my own funeral.” You laughed trying to ease the tension. You guys all piled in the car and Elaine took the opportunity to sit next to Rudy and made you sit in front with JD, while Maddison sat in the back.

Elaine also had a thing for Rudy and didn’t enjoy you showing up to take his attention away. Everyone thought they were going to get together after season 1 but it never happened. Then you came along, and Rudy pulled all his attention to you. Elaine wasn’t too secretive about her hatred towards you, but you just brushed it off as a mild insecurity and jealousy. You weren’t angry that you had to sit up front but instead talked to JD and tried to ease some of your nerves. No one else knew that you were a nervous flyer and you preferred to keep it that way. Even though it was something simple, you were still embarrassed.

Once you guys got to the airport the nerves got even worse. Because of the pandemic you guys had to wear mask and you also had sunglasses on, so it was hard for people to recognize you guys. Rudy helped you carry your bag into the airport and then guided you to TSA. “Have you ever been in an airport?” Rudy asked whispering in your ear so no one could hear. “Uh once when I was little with my mom. We had to pick up my grandma.” You responded. Your eyes darted around to all the people and different screens and you started to get overwhelmed. Rudy could sense that you were started to get anxious and put a hand at the small of your back pulling you closer to him. “We’ll get checked in and then go get some air, okay?” He explained grabbing his passport and paperwork. You pulled yours out of your purse and laughed when he saw that you had everything in a little Ziploc baggy. “Alright, that’s the most mom-like thing I’ve ever seen” he said.

 Rudy helped you get through the process of security and then you guys were about to go outside when Elaine spoke up, “where are you guys going?” She asked almost annoyed of you guys leaving. “Y/N/N and I are going to find the bathroom. Safety in numbers.” Rudy fibbed, pulling you along. Once you guys got outside the two of you sat on a bench close enough to your gate that you wouldn’t have to rush when your flight got called. Rudy watched your body relax a bit when you weren’t stuck inside.

 “It’s going to be okay Y/N/N.” Rudy spoke pulling you to sit on the bench with him. “I know, I know.” You said half trying to convince yourself. “I’ll be next to you the whole time, and we can just talk, or you can read your book. It’ll be over before you know it.” He spoke and put a hand on your shoulder, and he could feel your breathing increase. He knew what was happening, you were about to have an anxiety attack, “okay Y/N, you need to take a deep breath.” He rubbed small circles on your back. “I can’t do this Rudy; I can’t be in that death box for over 11 hours.” You spoke and your voice starts to shake. You look over at Rudy and he’s got a concerned look on his face. He takes your face in his hands forcing you to look at him, “you’re going to be okay Y/N, I’m going to be with you the whole time. Nothing is going to happen, just please take a deep breath.” He spoke firmly but you could feel the softness of his hands. “You promise?” “Of course, I would never let anything bad happen to you.” You nodded your hands in his grip, but he didn’t let go and you could feel his hot breath on your face. Rudy was looking into your eyes and then his eye flicked down to your lips and you could feel yourself getting nervous again but this time it wasn’t the flight, but because of how close Rudy was too you.

 Rudy leaned in closer, and you let your eye flutter shut. You felt Rudy gently place his lips on top of yours and you pushed yourself closer to him to deepen the kiss. It that moment it felt like you were on cloud nine, as if it were only you and Rudy left in the world. Rudy pulled away and left you smiling like and idiot. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while now.” He whispered, and you kissed him again. “Me too.” The two of you giggled and then heard your flight get called. “Just remember, I’m here the whole time.”

When the two of you got back to the gate the others had already boarded expect for Elaine. When Rudy saw her, you could feel his grip on your hand tighten. “There you guys are, what took so long?” She asked seeming annoyed. “The just called for the flight, we’re not that late.” You spoke up, and Elaine rolled her eyes at you. “I saved you spot next to me Rudy, Y/N can sit next to Madison.” She explained pulling at Rudy’s arm. “Uh that’s okay, Y/N is kind of nervous so I said I would sit with her.” He explained trying not to be rude. Elaine scuffed, and the three of you boarded the plane. You were sat right behind Maddie, JD and Elaine, “here take the window seat, it’ll make it easier on you.” He said stepping to the side so you could get in. The flight attendant was giving the inflight instructions, explaining how to put the oxygen masks on and your leg started to shake. Rudy noticed and put his hand on your thigh, “it’s okay, they have to explain all this stuff Y/N/N.” He whispered in your ear kissing your cheek. You nodded in confirmation and soon enough the pilot was getting the plane ready for take off.

As the plane started to gain speed and lift in the air you watched out the window, and Rudy got you a drink of water for the flight. You guys had been flying for about an hour and you were looking out the window but Rudy’s grip on your thigh never left. He was talking to JD, when you guys hit some turbulence. You jumped and clung onto Rudy’s hand, “nervous flyer Y/L/N?” JD asked not missing the way you reacted. “I don’t know why she would take a job like this if she’s scared of flying. Kind of stupid if you ask me.” Elaine piped in making you feel embarrassed. “It’s not stupid Elaine, everyone is scared of something.” Rudy said defending you. “It’s fine babe, just a bit of turbulence.” He said and you blushed at the nickname. “Can we listen to music or something, I think I just need a distraction.” You asked, and Rudy pulled out his headphones.

“Thanks.” You spoke, not really knowing what to say to him, “I owe you big time.” Rudy laughed, “it’s no problem. When we get to Barbados you can self isolate with me if you want.” He responded. “I hope I’m not being to forward, but I’ve had a crush on you for a while now, and I’m going to assume you feel the same for me.” He explained. You did have feelings for Rudy, you always had but you kept your distance because you thought he had a thing for Elaine. “I would love too self isolate with you. it would be much better then doing it alone.” You said leaning in to kiss him. “And yes, I like you too.”

TAG LIST:

@lemur46 @drewstarkeysbitchh @taylathornton

[billiejeanenthusiast]

Boobiegate masterpost

We know what they did this summer - and oh boy, was a it a wild summer that - unfortunately for us - stretched into autumn and beyond any reason.

I will first go over everything as it happened and then - because when you look back at everything you realise some timelines overlap - I’ll try to clarify some stuff and put it into perspective.

NOTE: I’m writing the dates from a GMT time zone point of view (aka. UK time)

So let’s start from the beginning. 

Briana breaks up with Brody Jenner after dating him for some random attention seeking period. (June-September roughly)

Here’s an article talking about that irrelevant relationship. https://www.yourtango.com/2020334835/who-brody-jenner-girlfriend-briana-jungwirth-louis-tomlinson-baby-mama Now let’s fast forward a bit to September. 

September 23rd

So on September 23rd we’re flooded with articles about Brody and Bri breaking up and Bri getting back together with her “on-again off-again (boy)friend Nick” and the biggest surprise “BRI IS ENGAGED”

So the story is: 

Bri ended her relationship with Brody because “they were moving too fast” and he had “already met Freddie” 

She then gets back together with her on-again, off-again bf Nick Gordon 

She, her family, and Nick go on a “whirlwind” trip to Las Vegas (MIND YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC) 

Bri and Nick get engaged during those Covid inviting few days in Vegas (September 21st- September 23rd) 

Articles drop about how they’re engaged and she’s broken up with Brody (Sept 23rd) 

Bri, family and Nick all share a huge amount of Vegas pictures of them in love, Bri’s ring, Bri and Nick being a couple (pictures obviously taken before Vegas to hopefully make someone believe that this in no way is a whirlwind engagement after just knowing each other a few weeks. Did they convince anyone? Well if you are convinced - I’m worried for you) 

Here’s the tmz article:https://www.tmz.com/2020/09/23/brody-jenner-split-briana-jungwirth-engaged/ Here’s some pics of them we were all subjected to while they were in Vegas. And Nick’s new public profile when it just got made. Was he trying to start an influencer career and say goodbye to being a firefighter? Was he trying to get a night job taking off that all firefighter gear for money? Magic mike was a big movie after all….Who knows.

September 28th

At first the engagement pictures on Nick’s IG were just him and Briana and he used the #/shesaidyes. After a few days and probably after they realised it would be a smart move to acknowledge her kid she claims to have too (👀) he deleted those and on September 28th posted new pictures with a new caption and new # of course. This time “theysaidyes”.

The pictures are below.

But, moving on.

As soon as the engagement news drops, we have Nick - our “good-guy firefighter” making a new and public IG account, flooding it with pictures where he professes his love for Bri and soaking up the d-list association fame.

So in the coming weeks we get a lot of Nick, Bri and their families on IG. They post a lot about being constantly together.

What was the most interesting they really pushed the “dad” image on Nick. He was constantly posting about Freddie and even in Bs or Tammi’s stories he was always seen interacting with F the most.

Then after it seemed like the new fiancees had settle into their soon-to-be married life and everything seemed rosy for them - we get hit with the whammy BOOBIEGATE.

Because hell hath no fury like a sugar daddy scorned.

October 15th

On the 15th of October celebtm a gossip site, posts the next picture and caption on IG:

Basically, they’re saying a guy - his name unknown yet - contacted them to tell them how Briana scammed him out of money she borrowed to get a boob job. Specifically 5k USD. He claims he filed the case in court and it’s dated January.

They ask if anyone else has similar receipts or anything about her and that they’re investigating and will be writing a story. And the comments have a lot to say about Bri.

October 19th

4 days later on October 19th celebtm posts another IG update about how they have the court filing and how their article is in progress.

October 21st

2 days after the last IG post celebtm finally posts their article - on the 21st of October

https://celebmagazine.com/louis-tomlinson-briana-jungwirth-sued-over-boob-job/

(It’s on the web still - if it ever gets deleted let me know I have screen recordings of it)

The article is accompanied by this (below) IG post:

Also on this day we get Briana and Nick deactivating their IG profiles. Nick still kept his personal private IG and the only person who stayed public is Tammi.

October 22nd

A day after the article dropped there’s another IG post with the following picture and caption. Apparently, Sugar Daddy shared his receipts - specifically AmEx - with celebtm.

October 26th

On October 26th celebtm posts the second part of the article. It’s messier, with a more confusing timeline than the first, but tries to “spill” more details on Sugar Daddies relationship with Briana and her life in general.

Also by now we know his name - Michael Strauss. An investor in Warwick club in LA.

https://celebmagazine.com/louis-tomlinson-baby-mama-briana-jungwirth-double-life/

(Again this is the link - if the article gets taken down and you want to see it - DM me)

October 27th

Then a day later we get another IG post - no new article - just more excerpts from what the Sugar Daddy told celebtm.

Then it’s quiet for a few days and when you think this can’t get even more trashy - low and behold the circus that is called October 29th.

October 29th

So after a few days of silence celebtm strikes again, but this time they bring in TV’s most loved judge - Judge Judy. Apparently the TV show was willing to take this litigation and air it as an episode.

As always, they post an IG post and a caption, and the article mentioned in the IG caption below is basically an article written for clicks about Louis and Harry because they saw the larrie part of the fandom was getting them clicks. I’ll leave the link to the article here for documentation purposes, but honestly there’s nothing in there worth giving them clicks for. Not a thing. The title of the article is “A Complete Guide to 1D Members Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles’ Rumoured Relationship”

Article: https://celebmagazine.com/louis-tomlinson-harry-styles-relationship/

November 6th

We see the sudden return from social media exile of Bri to IG. She’s back - with a post and the description ironically saying “I’m back”. I refuse to post it because does anyone really want to look at her face-tuned selfies? 

November 9th

Then after weeks of radio silence, the return of Bri to IG, we get what is apparently the - very underwhelming - like Bri’s boobs to Sugar Daddy who never got to see them - conclusion to this Sugar Daddy drama. This following article which is basically a letter from Michael to Briana telling her how he’s giving up on the lawsuit, taking this as a life lesson and how he hopes no one else falls for her scams. Article below:

https://celebmagazine.com/michael-straus-briana-jungwirth-open-letter-to-one-direction-louis-tomlinson-alleged-baby-mama/

(Again this is the link - if the article gets taken down and you want to see it - DM me)

And of course - the article is accompanied by an IG post by celebtm.

So, here we currently are. After watching that circus show no one wanted not paid for (well except the Sugar Daddy, and he didn’t even get to see the thing he paid for - so sad.) we’re in November and the Jungwirths and company are back to their carefree posting on IG. 

Current status:

The lawsuit seems to have been dropped. 

Everything seems to be in process of being swept under the rug.

Nick - the loving fiancee - is back to IG too. All of his happy, loving pictures with Bri still up (some deleted) - so we must assume their love survived Boobiegate.

As for overlapping timelines:

The timelines overlap mostly during the months March-October with it being said Bri dated Brody, but was also taking money from Boobie Daddy who was helping her during the pandemic, and was later also apparently starting a serious relationship with Nick.

What actually went on - I don’t know. And I’m honestly not interested to find out. This is being mentioned just so anyone coming across this post knows that yes - you didn’t read it wrong - the timelines do overlap with different people saying different things and Bri being tied to all three men at those times without any real clear timeline for the relationships.

So far this is all there is to this mess. If there’s more - I’ll do a part two or addition.

I’d like to end this with saying - these masterposts are 95% just me making them for myself because I forget stuff, and so much goes on in the fandom that if I want to keep up with it all, I need a nice timeline for things. I’m posting this for anyone wanting to make sense of this circus too or just to put it into a timeline. I did fact check all the dates, posts, IG pics, links and so on - but mistakes can happen - if there is one feel free to let me know.

[byulsgrease]

if you arent too busy, can you write a idol!hwasa x idol!reader, wherein they both have to practice with each other for a special stage. However on the first meeting they become starstruck and cant believe somethings are real, but soon warm up to each other?

i'm not terribly busy but this still took a while anyway oops - sorry this took so long anon! here you go :D

if anyone has requests for the other members hmu cuz I've got 2 more hyejin reqs after this one (not that I'm complaining)

"who says we can't do something on our own?"

(hwasa x idol!reader, ~1.2k words)

cw: food + alcohol mention (y'all know how it is)

I named someone Minjeong - it's not Aespa's Winter, idk anything about 4th gen gg's - 민정 is my Korean name so it's just what came to mind

"Hey, wake up. You've gotta see this. GET UP," a voice piercing through the fog of your sleep.

What a rude awakening. Your shoulders being shaken vigorously by a pair of small hands meant they belonged to none other than Minjeong, your youngest group member. You rolled over to glare menacingly at her with one eye open, trying to pull your brain out of the slumber. All you could see was the bright light of her phone shining in your eyes - a video of some kind. But then you heard the audio:

"Have you seen the clip?" asked the interviewer.

"Yes, my members and many MooMoos made sure I saw it"— Moos? Oh, it's Hwasa. WAIT. Both your eyes flew open as you sat up and snatched Jeongie's phone out of her hand to stare at the video. Your mind immediately flashed back to the interview you did last week - they asked who you most wanted to collaborate with, if there were no limitations. Your ears started to heat up at the sheer thought of the flustered mess of an answer you gave - of course you said Hwasa. Both of you debuted relatively close to each other, within a year, but never interacted much over the years. Mamamoo as a group was a force to be reckoned with, but there was just something about Hwasa specifically. You mostly just admired her unique singing voice and undeniable stage presence, and her relentless drive to always be herself in an industry constantly trying to fit women into a box.

Finally snapping out of re-living that embarrassment, your attention turned back to the phone in your hand. The interviewer must've asked her to send a message in response to you, because you couldn't believe that she was waving and saying, "How haven't we gotten to know each other better over all these years? I'd love to work with you on something sometime," curtly dipping her head in a slight bow.

"SEE? You needed to see that," Minjeong rushed to say, full of energy. "And close your mouth, your jaw's on the floor," jokingly pointing.

You side-eyed her and shut your mouth. "Is this what Loco felt like when she called him during Hyena on the Keyboard?" you wondered aloud.

"At least she's not calling you while on camera," she commented, knowing full well that you'd probably embarrass yourself again if she did. "But hey, at least she noticed you! Can I have my phone back now?" It would be a dream come true to collaborate with her, but cross-company collabs... always a pain. that couldn't be helped. The fantasy abruptly ended with demands from your rumbling stomach. Done with your what-if's, you placed the phone back in your maknae's outstretched hand to get up and make breakfast.

~~~~

With award show season rolling around, the crazy scramble of rehearsing for special live stages without leaking sets and collabs began. Checking your email that morning showed a schedule to record the backing track for a special live stage, but that was it. With who? You texted your members a screenshot, but they all told you that block of time in their schedule was empty. A solo stage? The solo mini-album you released this cycle did relatively well, the title track got a music show win, but not a multi-week chart-topper by any means. Possibilities turning over in your mind, you stepped out from your place to head to the company, totally in the dark about what was in store.

The recording studio always smelled the same along with the couches, a comfort for all the insanely long nights and crack-of-dawn early mornings over the years. With a bit of time to kill, you plopped down on one and gingerly patted the worn cushions as some kind of symbolic thank-you for supporting you (literally).

A hesitant but loud knock sent your gaze directly to the door. Watching it slowly open, you leaned forward to see who it was. Needless to say, your jaw fell to the floor again as you clapped a hand over your gaping mouth, eyes widening. Like a soldier obeying a command, you immediately stood up as straight as possible and bowed profusely at Hwasa, sporting a very similar expression on her face (which you failed to notice, your mind running a million miles a minute).

After a series of frantic bows and miscellaneous utterances to each other, she spoke. "It's nice to finally meet you," she said with calm, surveying your frenzied state. "I guess we're granting that collab wish from your interview, huh?"

The red-hot embarrassment leapt to your face. "I...I definitely made a fool of myself answering that question. And our maknae showed me your interview clip too, which was cool, but never did I think it would actually happen," you stammered. I should probably stop talking.

"Well, here I am," she half-smiled coolly. "Let's get started, I'm really looking forward to finally work with you on this," a gleam in her eye and a hint of excitement in her voice.

The studio suddenly felt a lot smaller with her in it, despite there only being your managers, the producer, and the both of you - less people than you and your members alone. Both of you remained relatively quiet the whole time, rather unsure of what to say or talk about. You watched enough MMMTV to know that all the members on their own were shyer than together, and Hwasa knew the same was true for you. But the work basically took care of itself, seamlessly taking turns in the recording booth, witnessing each other's work style and process. The both of you knew your way in front of a mic, seasoned professionals by now. Upon wrapping up, you bowed politely to each other after a quick exchange of KaTalk info, a short and sweet goodbye.

That was... anticlimactic. I mean, it's finally happening - I can't believe it. But maybe I was too idealistic about maybe creating a meaningful relationship with her outside of work... What does she think of me?

~~~~

In the days leading up to the collab stage, you kept going back and forth on whether to reach out or not, despite now being in possession of her contact info. What would you even say? Thoughts of a witty one-liner or relatable meme came to mind, but maybe she'd assume the worst - that you were clout-chasing, or something. Anxieties abuzz, your phone vibrated in your pocket. The KaTalk notification sprawled across your screen. Speak of the devil, it's her.

"Hey, awards season has me stressed. I know you must pretty busy right now too, but I somehow get off early tomorrow if you wanna grab dinner after work?" You had to reread that one. Oh, what? She's inviting me?

Trying not to be weird about responding too quickly, you typed out, "Wow, yeah, that sounds great! ^^ wait, your company doesn't care about you going out to eat during award season?"

"nah, they stopped having that kind of control over us a while ago, we are the money-maker of the company, after all 😏"

"so I guess this means they don't check your phone either ㅋㅋㅋ"

"nope :)"

You proceeded to set a time and place to meet, someplace with meat.

In the process of feasting on an inordinate amount of gopchang imbued with a splash of beer, you learned a fair amount about each other. You talked career, professional aspirations, the weird habits of your members, and more. What surprised you most was the amount of things she already knew about you, having admitted to watching some of your behind-the-scenes content after seeing your interview clip.

"Ah... I'm sorry if I came across as distant during that first recording session," she confessed, pausing to sip her beer. "I honestly didn't know what to do with myself, I felt a little star-struck."

"Oh what?? I felt the exact same, so no worries - and sorry if I came off similarly distant," you rambled back. A bit of silence fell between you, acknowledging the mutual sentiment. You spoke up after a bit, "Thanks for inviting me out tonight, I didn't realize how much I needed this."

"Thank you for making the time, I had fun getting to know you better," she articulated with a smile. "Maybe it'll make the collab stage better," she added on jokingly. You responded with a nod and expression of mutual affirmation.

~~~~

After that, messaging each other became a regular occurrence, that gopchang outing having broken the ice. Honestly, you tried your best to talk about anything besides work, but the baseline of shared understanding connected you in a way that came more naturally than it did with your non idol friends.

You stood across the way from her at the sound check for the final stage, dressed in joggers and slides. Funny to think that you'd be recording this for real in a couple hours, making eyes with the blinking red light on the cameras surrounding you. It sucks that fans wouldn't get to experience the energy and atmosphere of the performance - Hyejin alone is one thing, but adding someone else into her stage presence? Unmatched. There's nothing quite like a live performance - and while you knew everyone in the industry dealt with the consequences of the pandemic, it certainly took a toll to perform and not feel the energy from fans. But realistically, nothing you could do about it. The sound check went over smooth like butter. The stage chemistry came flowing naturally between you both, even when bare-faced and dressed in just sweats.

And when the time came for the actual filming, you both absolutely killed it, an upbeat mash-up of TWIT and your title track. At the very end came a sliver of hesitation before throwing your arms around each other with a big smile for the ending fairy, proud of the work you accomplished together, and a mental fist-pump to yourself for making friends with one of the industry's finest.

Once again walking to a restaurant that served mostly meat to celebrate, you playfully proposed, "We... should do that again sometime." A little puff of air came out her nose in amusement.

"Yeah, we should. Too bad we're gonna have to wait a whole cycle before we can release anything else together again," she sighed longingly.

"Who says we can't do something on our own?"

[nerdzzone]

Only For A Moment: December

Summary: A series of shorter one shots from Chris and Whitney’s life together throughout the pandemic. Some happy times, some harder times, some fluff and some things a little more sexy - they work through it all as they try to get settled in their new and blossoming relationship.

Chris Evans x OFC

18+

Part of the Once Bitten/More Hearts series

Only For A Moment: November [part two]

Note: This is the last part of this section of the series! Thank you to everyone who has read, liked, reblogged and commented so far, I really appreciate your support and love reading all your thoughts! There will be more, focusing on their lives as the world starts opening up again, but I’m not sure when it will be posted.

-----

December 2020

December was a somewhat bittersweet month.

There were quite a few positives as Christmas always brought plenty of joy - and it brought Scott back from L.A. which was a nice treat for everyone - and there was also the big announcement of an approved vaccine. The roll out wouldn't be immediate, of course, but there was hope on the horizon and a clear sense of relief.

However, there were some negatives as well. I still had my concerns about how well we'd adapt our relationship to the realities of real life and, as excited as I was about Christmas, the holiday season was making me miss my family more than ever.

Chris' family was a great substitute - especially as the case numbers were low enough that we were allowed to have small family gatherings which meant they could all to stay over at our house on Christmas Eve as they had the year before - but I hadn't seen any of my own family in over a year and I missed them terribly. It made me so sad to think of how much Grayson had grown since they last saw him and knowing that I had a little nephew that I'd never even met was starting to break my heart.

In an attempt to ease the ache caused by the distance, we had a video call on Christmas Eve since my family were all together too and I was relieved that our friendly, confident three year old had no problem making conversation with the grandparents and uncle that he could barely remember. It was heart-warming and refreshing to have that time with them even through a screen, but it wasn’t the same and it left me wanting more. I wanted to see them, to hug them, to help my mom make Christmas dinner and beat my brother at the card games we always used to play. I wanted to be less than three thousand miles away and it was starting to weigh on me.

I held it together pretty well, not wanting to put a damper on the happy festivities we were having, but later that evening, when I was alone with my thoughts as I finished tidying up the dishes from dinner, it was suddenly overwhelming. I leaned on the counter as my chin dropped to my chest and the tears finally came. I wasn’t going to let myself have more than a few minutes to wallow in my sadness, but almost as soon as the tears started, a voice from behind me interrupted.

"Whitney?" Lisa quietly announced her presence. "Are you okay?"

I sniffled and quickly wiped my eyes before turning around to see her standing in the doorway with Scott, concern on both of their faces.

"I'm fine," I smiled weakly, but Scott wasn't going to let it go that easy.

"What's wrong?" He asked. "Why are you crying?"

"I just miss my family. It's hard not getting to see them at Christmas," I admitted. "I know I didn't get to see them last year either, but it's been so long now since I've seen them at all. I guess that's just made it harder."

"Oh, honey, that's understandable," Lisa assured me. "I can't imagine how I'd feel if we hadn't been able to be together at all for as long as you've been away from your family."

"Usually I'm fine," I insisted. "I think just seeing them all together and not being there got to me a little bit."

"Well their loss is our gain," Scott informed me. "Because we're really happy to have you here. I know it's not the same, but you're part of our family too."

"I know and I'm so grateful that I have all of you," I rushed to assure them, not wanting anyone to think I wasn't happy to be spending the holidays with them. "It's been so amazing how you've all taken me in and let me be a part of your family. I know things were complicated with Chris and I, but you've always been so good to me."

"You've been a part of this family from the moment we found out about Grayson," Lisa said firmly. "Whatever happened between you and Chris never mattered to us. We're glad you've sorted yourselves out now, but we've always thought of you as family."

Scott nodded in agreement and their kind words brought more tears to my eyes.

"That really means a lot," I choked out, blinking frantically to stop myself from crying anymore. It took a moment to compose myself, but eventually I let out a laugh and wiped my eyes again. "Sorry, I'll stop blubbering soon. I don't think I realized how much I missed them until now and once I get all weepy, it's hard for me to stop."

Lisa crossed the kitchen quickly and pulled me into a hug.

"If you need to let it out, then you go right ahead."

I returned her hug and was about to inform her that it wasn't necessary when Chris - who had been upstairs putting Grayson to bed - appeared in the doorway and interrupted our little moment.

"What are we letting out? Why is Whitney crying?" he asked. "What did you two do to her?"

"We were just letting her know that none of us would judge her if she wants to dump your ass," Scott lied, a smirk on his face. "And now she's crying tears of joy."

"Scott!" Lisa scolded despite the laugh that fell from her lips as she let me slip out of her arms. "That's a horrible thing to say."

"It's not true," I assured Chris even though I was sure he'd figured that out. "I just had a little sad moment. I miss my family so your lovely family members were reassuring me that I'm part of yours."

"You absolutely are," he agreed, coming over and slipping his arm around my waist before pressing a kiss to the side of my head. "I'm sorry that you're sad, but do you remember what I told you last year?"

I'd spent a lot of time trying to block out the memory of last Christmas in the months after it happened and apparently I'd done a good enough job to not know what he was talking about.

"No," I shook my head. "What?"

"There's no time for worryin' at Christmas!" He reminded me. "Let's get you a drink and turn that frown around!"

"Alright, that sounds good," I laughed as I slid out of his grasp. "Lisa, can I get you another glass of wine?"

"Oh, yes, that's actually why we came in here," she smiled. "We were sent to get everyone another round."

"Perfect," Chris grinned as he opened the fridge and started pulling out supplies.

He poured drinks for everyone, but held me back as his brother and mother left the room with as many drinks as they could carry. He pulled me into his arms again before I could pick my drink up off the counter.

"Are you good?" He asked, rubbing his thumb on the exposed skin just above my jeans. "I'm sorry that you miss your family."

"I'm fine," I smiled up at him. "It was just hard seeing them all together tonight and not being there. I do miss them, but I'm okay. I'm happy to be here with you and your family."

"As soon as things get better, we can go and visit," he promised. "I think I'll have to head to L.A. in the near future anyway. Now there's a vaccine and things might start to improve, there's more talk of starting The Grey Man."

While the thought of a trip to L.A. was encouraging in theory, it made my stomach turn. Travelling while the pandemic was still around seemed very stressful - if Scott's journey home for the holidays was anything to go by - and the thought of Chris returning to work was something I wasn’t eager to think about. I knew he was trying to make me feel better though so I stretched up and placed a kiss on his lips.

"That would be nice," I smiled. "I'd like you to get to know my family a bit more."

"I'd like that too," he nodded. "As soon as we can, I promise."

As I slipped out of his grasp, I tried to focus on that hopeful promise and push any sad feelings from my mind.

-

The rest of that evening was pretty lowkey. We knew that the kids would be up at the crack of dawn as they were the year before and went to bed early in preparation for that. It was a decision that I was very grateful for at six thirty the next morning when Grayson woke us up by launching himself onto our bed.

“Merry Christmas!”

His little voice cut through the silence of the room, ruining any possibility that we might have been able to sleep a little longer.

“Merry Christmas, Gray,” I heard Chris answer as I rolled over. Just as I turned to face him, Chris dragged him down from where he was bouncing on the bed and pulled him against his chest. “Let’s go back to sleep. Okay, buddy?”

We all knew that wasn’t going to happen and Grayson proved it as he giggled and wiggled around, squealing loud enough to ensure that no one in the house could possibly still be asleep.

“Gray! Shhh,” I laughed, pulling him out of Chris’ arms and into my own. “Merry Christmas.”

I kissed the top of his head and he pulled back, grinning up at me.

“Santa came, Mama!”

“Did he?” I gasped. “That’s so exciting!”

“There’s so much presents!”

“Wow, I guess we should go see who they’re for!”

“Probably me,” Chris teased Gray. “I bet they’re all for me and maybe one for your mom.”

“And for me?”

The hope in Grayson’s voice had me interjecting before Chris could tease him any more.

“I’m sure there are some for you,” I assured him. “I bet there’s some for everyone.”

“Even Uncle Scott?”

That question earned a howl of laughter from Chris, but I nodded.

“Even Uncle Scott,” I smiled. “He’s been pretty good this year, hasn’t he?”

“No!” Grayson giggled. “He scared Daddy! And me!”

I laughed, thinking back to the incident he was referencing. Ever since Scott returned from L.A., he and Chris had created some kind of ‘scare war’ where they were competing to see who could scare the other in the best way. They posted the videos on Instagram and their fans loved it, but it had gotten a little out of hand. Scott caught Chris off guard when he came home from a walk with Dodger the day before and got an excellent reaction from him, but he didn’t realize that Grayson was with him too. The poor kid was terrified and cried for almost fifteen minutes afterwards. Scott had been incredibly apologetic and tried to make it up to him, but apparently Gray wasn’t feeling particularly forgiving.

“He did scare us and that wasn’t very nice,” Chris agreed. “He’s probably on the naughty list!”

“Yeah!” Grayson grinned at his dad. “Let’s go see!”

He scrambled off the bed almost as quickly as he’d climbed up in the first place. Once the sound of his heavy footsteps faded as he ran down the hall, Chris pulled me into his arms.

“Merry Christmas, Win.”

“Merry Christmas,” I smiled up at him. “Crazy to think that we woke up like this a year ago too.”

“Almost exactly like this,” Chris smirked. “Until you snuck out of bed as if I wouldn’t know we’d been cuddling all night.”

My jaw dropped slightly.

“You knew?”

“Of course, I knew!” Chris chuckled. “I’d been awake for almost half an hour before you woke up, but it felt so nice cuddlin’ you that I didn’t wanna move.”

“That’s so embarrassing,” I laughed, burying my head in his chest as he assured me that it wasn’t. “But it’s so strange to think that if there hadn’t been that snow storm and I hadn’t stayed over that night, maybe we wouldn’t even be here now.”

“Do you really think that?”

“It’s hard to say,” I admitted. “I think we would have ended up quarantining together, but if we hadn’t had that slip up at Christmas, we wouldn’t have had the same incentive to talk about things during lockdown.”

“But that slip up showed that the feelings were there,” Chris pointed out. “So, maybe it would have happened while we were locked in this big ol’ house anyway.”

“I like to think so,” I smiled. “Either way, I’m happy it did.”

“Me too,” Chris placed a kiss on the top of my head as the sounds of excited children floated down the hall towards us. “I guess we should get up before they come looking for us.”

I reluctantly agreed and we dragged ourselves out of bed to join the festivities.

-

Christmas morning was much the same as the year before. The kids were overwhelmed with excitement at all the gifts, but very grateful and appreciative of everything they received. Chris bought me some new cameras that I’d mentioned wanting to buy before my work picked up again, but it was my gift to him that I was really excited about.

I watched as he opened the box that I’d carefully wrapped and pulled out the photo album that I’d put inside.

“Wow,” Chris murmured as he flipped through the pages with a soft smile on his face. “Are these all of me and Gray?”

“There’s some of Dodger too, but yeah, mostly it’s you and Gray,” I informed him. “I just thought, it’s been such a crazy year and there’s been a lot of stress, but there were some good moments too and I wanted you to have some memories of those.”

“This is amazing…”

He flipped through the pages that I’d filled - in order by month - of all the pictures that I’d taken since the start of the pandemic. There were some of him helping Grayson ride his bike, some of them reading together and doing puzzles, some of them playing in the pool, some of them raking leaves in the fall, carving pumpkins at Halloween, cooking dinner together, curled up on the couch watching movies and pretty much every other day to day activity that they did together through the lockdown. I was amazed by how many pictures I’d taken when I started compiling them, but I knew it was a gift that he would appreciate.

“That’s one of my favourites,” I giggled, pointing to a picture of bath time one night when Chris had fashioned them both beards made out of bubbles.

“I love them all,” he smiled, looking up at me with glassy eyes. “Thank you, Winnie. Thank you so much.”

I leaned in to place a soft kiss on his lips as Lisa moved to stand behind her son and sneak a peek at the album.

“That’s such a wonderful gift, Whitney,” she gushed. “Those pictures are beautiful.”

“Thank you. If you look through it later and pick out your favourites, I can make you some copies.”

“That would be great!” She grinned. “I would love that, if you don’t mind.”

I assured her that it would be no trouble and made notes of a few that I thought she might want as Chris and I spent the next half an hour flipping through the album and reminiscing on the happy moments we shared as a family during a very dark year. It was a rather odd feeling that such a bleak time had also been such a happy one for us. I was beyond grateful that our families had been relatively untouched by the virus plaguing the world and was more than happy to join Scott in his toast to all our continued good health when he brought out the mimosas as soon as all the presents were unwrapped.

-

The rest of the day was filled with plenty of love and appreciation of our little family and the opportunity to be together. As we had the year before, we called all the relatives who lived too far away to join us before spending most of the day playing games, drinking fancy Christmas cocktails and eating delicious food. We had learned something from the previous years celebrations though and didn’t let ourselves get quite as intoxicated as we had back then.

All in all it was a lovely day and my heart was feeling very full by the time we said our goodnights and headed to our room that evening. I was refreshed by the opportunity for such prolonged socialization and had a little extra pep in my step as I pranced off to the ensuite bathroom to brush my teeth.

However, when I came back out, I was surprised to find Chris sitting on the edge of our bed. He glanced up when I walked in, a soft smile on his face, but there was an air of nervousness around him that immediately put me on edge.

"You okay?"

My question was simply met with a nod as he beckoned me over. He grabbed my hand as soon as I was close enough and kept me standing in front of him.

"I have one more present for you," he informed me after a moment of quiet. "But I want to preface it with an explanation so you don't freak out."

I laughed nervously at that statement, wondering what kind of gift could possibly make me freak out. A car? A new house? A puppy? My mind was instantly running wild.

"Okay..."

"I know you're still nervous about things going back to normal and how we'll handle it - I can see it on your face every time it gets mentioned," he started, his words so far offering no explanation. "I've been trying to think of something that I can do to reassure you, something to prove just how committed I am to you because I am all in here, Winnie. From the moment I met you, I knew you were something special and it sounds a little cheesy and over the top, but you really are the love of my life. It took a little soul-searching and some brainstorming, but I eventually came up with something I think might help us both..."

He paused then and reached behind his back, pulling out a little box that made my heart start pounding in my chest.

"Oh my god," I gasped out as he slid from the bed to kneel on one knee in front of me.

He opened the box and looked up at me with hope written all over his face.

"Will you marry me, Winnie?" He asked, the question bringing tears to my eyes. I was biting my lip to hold myself together and didn't realize that I hadn't answered until he launched into some further reassurances. "We don't have to get married right away - we can wait as long as you want - but taking this step, making this extra promise and commitment, I thought it might give us both some comfort."

I was still stunned, completely blindsided by his proposal, but I took in his words and appreciated his reasoning as a grin slid onto my face.

"Yes, Chris! Yes, I will marry you."

Chris visibly relaxed at my acceptance and, with noticeably shaky hands, he took the ring from the box and slid it on my finger. As soon as it was safely in place, he sprung to his feet and pulled me into a breathtaking kiss.

"Holy shit," he let out a deep breath, moments later when we finally parted. "That was terrifying. I thought for sure you were going to turn me down and tell me that I'm insane."

"You kinda are," I smiled. "And everyone else is definitely going to think we've lost our minds."

"Well, we've never done things the traditional way and it just makes sense, doesn't it?" It was a question, but he didn't wait for an answer. "It hit me when we were talking in New York and you made a joke about me proposing, that it wasn't a bad idea, that it was something I wanted to do. I know we've technically been together for less than a year, but I haven't wanted anyone else since the day I met you so what's the point in waiting? I'm not gonna make decisions based on what everyone else thinks we should do - that would be crazy."

I smiled at his anxious rambling and stretched up to place another kiss on his lips.

"That would be crazy," I agreed. "And I don't care what they think. I don't want to be with anyone else either."

He matched my smile as he squeezed me even closer.

"And I mean it, we don't have to rush into anything or start planning a wedding right away," he assured me. "But I thought this extra step might make you feel better about things changing. I'm in this one hundred percent and I'll do whatever it takes to make this work for us."

I didn't need a ring to know that Chris loved me and wanted to make this work and being engaged wouldn't make any of the challenges that were ahead of us any less difficult to face. But there was something about how fearless he was in making such a commitment to me and something about the way he was so determined to reassure me of just how invested he was in our relationship that did put me at ease and fill me with confidence.

The fact that despite all the things we'd been through and all the things we still needed to work on - including my own insecurities - Chris was willing to marry me and make that lifelong commitment had my heart about ready to burst in my chest.

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes too," I assured him. "I love you so much, Chris."

"I love you too," he grinned. "And god, I'm so relieved you said yes."

"Of course I'd say yes," I insisted. "You know I love you."

"I do, but I also know you're worried," he reminded me. "And I didn't want you to think I was using a proposal as a band-aid or something. I know that it won't always be easy and we'll have to work hard."

"We will," I agreed. "But now, at least when you're away, I'll have this pretty ring to remember you by."

I pulled my arm back from around his waist to look down at my finger. I was grateful that it wasn't a massive, showy ring, but it was beautiful and seemed fairly unique.

"It's alexandrite," he informed me. "It's one of the birthstones for June which I thought was fitting for both of us. I was gonna use Gray's birthstone, but apparently April is diamond and I wanted something different. There's diamonds on either side of the big stone though so he's in there too."

"It's beautiful," I smiled as he grinned proudly.

"I didn't think you'd want something too over the top, but I wanted it to be something nice."

"Well, you nailed it," I assured him. "I couldn't have picked a nicer ring myself."

He captured my lips in another kiss and I leaned into it, trying to wrap my head around what had just happened.

"Have you told anyone?" I asked once he pulled away. "Does my family know?"

"I told them last night," he nodded. "I called them back after I tucked Grayson in to let them know. And my whole family knows because I was stressed about the whole thing and couldn't keep it to myself. Oh, and Hannah because she scares me and I thought she'd be mad if she didn't know."

I laughed, letting my head rest against his chest.

"She would have been mad," I agreed. "But I can't believe she scares you, she's like a little chihuahua. She's all bark, no bite."

"She cried on the phone when I told her," he admitted, earning another bubble of laughter from me. "She assured me they were tears of joy, but swore me to secrecy about it so let's keep that between us."

"Oh, no way!" I giggled. "That is too good not to tease her about."

"Well, it'll be your loss if she kills me."

"Again, all bark and no bite," I reminded him. "Did your family know you were going to ask me tonight?"

"Yeah," he nodded, looking a bit sheepish. "I think they're all waiting in the living room to see what you said.”

“Then let’s go share the good news,” I smiled, moving to link my arm with his. “Then we can come back in here and celebrate properly.”

I shot him a wink to emphasize what I meant and he let out a low growl of approval before dragging me out of our bedroom.

-

Of course, his family were thrilled that I’d said yes, even though it didn’t seem like any of them were particularly surprised. I called my family and Hannah as well before sharing a celebratory drink with my soon to be in-laws.

But it wasn’t until we laid, curled up in bed after our more private celebrations that it really started to hit me.

Sure, some people would think we were moving a bit too fast and they might have been right, if we had any intention of actually getting married right away. But for us, it was just another layer of reassurance. The ring on my finger was like a little security blanket, a memento of support for when things got hard and our schedules grew busier. It was a reminder that we were determined to make this work no matter what happened and it had me feeling much more hopeful about the new year ahead of us.

Things would change, there was no doubt about that, but we could get through it and come out stronger in the end. I knew it wouldn’t always be easy and there would be times when we felt like giving up, but with a little love and perseverance, I knew our relationship - and eventually our marriage - would only benefit and grow from our efforts.

-

Tags:  @maggotzombie @moonlacebeam @mizzzpink @zaylaugh @flowery-mess @flowerjewels @njrronaldo7 @hockeychick10 @partypoison00 @theladybiers @sidepieces @firoozehmoon @patzammit @sparkledfirecracker @mytbel0st @chvntelle-99 @mjey12

[miracleonice87]

Secret

a Mathew Barzal one shot

a/n: and here it is! the recent news-inspired secret baby fic. Huge thanks to all who reached out and encouraged me to write it and to those who gave me ideas and advice. completely fictitious timeline and hockey-related events here, and we’re pretending the pandemic is not a thing in this one.

summary: Mat Barzal and his longtime girlfriend welcome their first baby after keeping her pregnancy well-hidden from the public eye.

warnings: morning sickness and childbirth (nothing graphic or detailed). dad Barzy, which deserves a warning. swearing. super fluff.

_____

Never in your life did you imagine that you would be attempting to conceal your first pregnancy — or any pregnancy — from members of the media.

Then again, you never could have predicted that you would end up being the long-term girlfriend of one of the most recognizable figures in the National Hockey League, and, more specifically, on the New York City sports scene. But if there’s one thing you had learned over the course of your more than four-year relationship, it was that life is full of the unexpected.

Currently, that aforementioned figure was whipping his car as quickly as possible into a private parking area at New York Presbyterian, glancing at you every ten seconds as you breathed through the early stages of labor with your firstborn baby, your water having broken just as you and Mat were settling in for sleep around midnight.

Only a small, select group of people knew that you and Mat were expecting, and as you checked in to the maternity ward just before one o’clock in the morning, you were grateful that there were very few people around you. You were hurried to your private room, Mat faithfully carrying your bags and nearly stepping on the heels of the poor nurse pushing your wheelchair, refusing to let you out of his sight for even a second.

Only once you were settled into bed, changed into a most unflattering hospital gown, hooked up to several monitors, and examined, did you allow yourself to look up at Mat and announce your practically inevitable victory.

“As long as that nurse doesn’t moonlight as a reporter, I think we did it,” you ventured with an incredulous chuckle. Mat shook his head in disbelief as he stood next to your bed, holding one of your hands in both of his.

“Don’t wanna speak too soon, but yeah, I think we did,” he agreed. “I can’t believe we managed to keep this a secret.”

_____

Six weeks

It certainly wasn’t the first time you’d ever had your head hanging above a toilet bowl on New Year’s Day.

But it sure as hell was the first time it had ever happened when you had no hangover to speak of.

In fact, you’d only had two sips of champagne the previous night before you felt weirdly dizzy and passed out in bed watching the Isles battle the Bruins.

The next thing you knew, you were being gently roused from deep sleep by your boyfriend, whose brow was creased with concern as he leaned over you.

“Sweetheart?” Mat spoke softly when you finally opened your eyes, his fingers smoothing your hair against your heavy head. “You okay?”

You inhaled deeply, feeling completely off. “Yeah... yeah,” you insisted softly. “What time is it?” you asked, discombobulated.

“It’s almost midnight,” Mat answered. “How long have you been sleeping?”

You slowly pushed yourself up on your elbows in bed. “Uh... I don’t know,” you admitted. “I watched the first period... I think.”

That wasn’t like you, and Mat knew it. A lifelong hockey fan, you kept close tabs on not only Mat and the Islanders, but the scores from around the entire league each night. Coming from a hockey-loving family, watching highlights on NHL Network was your late night routine. On top of that, you looked flushed to him, and dark circles hung around your eyes, a rarity for you except when you were ill.

“Baby... are you sick?” Mat shrugged off his suit jacket, tossing it on the end of the bed and quickly taking a seat next to you on the edge of the mattress. He put the back of his hand to your forehead and studied you carefully. “You don’t feel fevered.”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a cold,” you replied, remembering the strange feeling that had overcome you when you sipped your champagne earlier. “I do feel kinda dizzy... nauseous.”

Mat nodded, eyes still full of worry. “Maybe you’re getting the flu,” he suggested. “That’s been going around lately.” You nodded too, yawning.

“Well, listen,” Mat continued, motioning for you to lie back as he pulled the covers over you again. “Go back to sleep, and tomorrow if you still aren’t feeling well, I’ll run to the pharmacy and get you some medicine and stuff. Okay?”

You nodded again, overcome once more by exhaustion as you settled back into your bed. “Okay,” you whispered. “Thanks, babe. Hey, did you win?”

Mat smiled. “Yeah, baby, we won. Now get some rest. I love you, sweet girl,” he said, pressing a warm kiss to your temple.

“I love you, Maty,” you breathed. “Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year, my love,” he whispered, his thumb tracing your bottom lip slowly as you immediately drifted back to sleep.

And now here you were, seven hours later, heaving into the toilet as Mat dropped to his knees behind you on the tile, gathering your long hair into his hands as quickly as possible.

“Oh, honey,” he groaned, rubbing your back. “You poor thing.”

After flushing the toilet several times to get rid of the contents, you finally sat upright, cautiously, slowly.

“God, I feel like shit,” you whispered, pressing a hand to your forehead as Mat ran his hands back and forth down your legs, trying to soothe you.

“I can tell,” he said sadly, standing. You looked up at him helplessly as he said, “I’m gonna go get you flu meds from the pharmacy. Let me just get dressed.”

You nodded once, feeling too lightheaded to move your head any more than that. You didn’t budge from your place on the floor as Mat took his robe from the hook on the door and wrapped it around your shoulders, kissing the crown of your head before exiting the bathroom. You heard him shuffling around in his drawers as you closed your eyes, willing the queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach to cease.

Moments later, Mat called out to you from the bedroom.

“Do you need anything else from the drugstore while I’m there, baby?”

You opened your eyes to glance around the bathroom, trying to keep your head as still as possible. You saw toothpaste, Tylenol, and... did you have enough tampons?

You reached next to you to open the drawer that held your monthly supplies, and you were surprised to find two boxes of tampons, not even opened, along with a plethora of pads and liners.

Finally, it hit you like a crashing wave. Suddenly, your world started spinning, and it wasn’t because of the nausea.

“Holy fuck,” you whispered, slamming the drawer shut.

“Maty...” you called out hoarsely, causing him to rush back toward the bathroom. Your heart was racing.

“What’s wrong?” he asked anxiously as he appeared in the doorway, ready to take up residence on the floor with you again if necessary.

You bit your bottom lip and inhaled a shaky breath before answering, sounding much more calm than you felt.

“I need you to buy me a test,” you said matter-of-factly.

At first, Mat wore a blank expression. “What kinda te— wait…” he said as you watched the wheels turning in his head. You couldn’t help but allow a small smile to spread across your lips as the realization hit him, too. He froze, mouth slightly agape, wide eyes searching yours to try and determine whether you were serious. Reading him, you nodded, which caused his eyes to widen even further.

“A pregnancy test,” you confirmed in a shaky voice.

“Holy fuck,” he whispered familiarly, his own smile beginning to play on his lips.

_____

“That was Liana,” Mat said, sliding his phone back into the pocket of his sweats after ending the brief call. “She’s catching a flight in the morning.”

You nodded gratefully as Mat returned to your side, dutifully grabbing your hand and running his other over your rounded stomach.

“She said to tell you she loves you, and baby, too,” he added with a warm grin. “And that she—“

Mat stopped short the second he heard you groan softly, the smile you’d worn upon hearing Liana’s name having morphed quickly into a wince.

“Another contraction?” Mat asked, hastily pulling the stool by the bed closer and taking a seat.

“Mhm,” you confirmed tightly, rolling on your side to look into his eyes, seeking a diversion. The pain in your face absolutely shattered Mat’s heart. He despised how helpless he felt watching you.

“Just look at me. Breathe, baby,” Mat coached before breathing in and out just as your Lamaze instructor had taught you both, nodding his head to urge you to mimic him. You did your best, squeezing his big hand hard enough that Mat saw his fingertips turning white, though he was too smart and too concerned with your labor pains to point that out.

“Good girl. Breathe, sweetheart. Good girl,” Mat encouraged. “That’s my girl,” he added softly, lightly dragging his fingernails along your scalp, combing his hand through your hair, in an attempt to comfort you.

“I seriously hate you right now,” you spat between pants and gasps. “You did this to me.”

Though he tried to hold back, a breathy laugh passed through Mat’s nose. “Yeah, my mom warned me you might say that,” he told you. “I’d hate me right now, too,” he added, running his fingers along your forearm lightly as you grimaced in agony.

Finally, your muscles relaxed as the contraction passed. Your face softened and your eyes fluttered open to see Mat staring at you intently, concern etched into his gorgeous features. You reached out your hand to run a thumb over his strong jaw.

“I’m okay,” you whispered, giving him your best smile as you caught your breath.

Mat nodded. “I just hate seeing you hurting,” he whispered back. You gave him an understanding look and then grinned brightly.

“But it’s gonna be worth it,” you assured, making Mat’s eyes light up. He kissed your palm and you asked, “Now what else did Liana say? Distract me.”

With a smile, Mat said, “That she can’t wait to meet this little one.” He leaned his head forward to kiss your belly sweetly as you smiled softly, leaning back against the mattress to rest up momentarily before the next wave, as the memory of telling Liana the news months ago came to mind.

_____

Twelve weeks

Your phone buzzed on the dining room table, vibrating against the glass top. Normally, you would never answer a call during a Valentine’s Day dinner with Mat, even at home, but these particular circumstances allowed for an exception.

“It’s Liana,” you smirked, swiping to answer the FaceTime call as Mat muttered, “Nice of her to call you and not her own brother.”

You ignored his complaint and smiled at the woman who was basically your sister-in-law.

“Hi, Li,” you said happily. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

Liana didn’t even let you finish your greeting before she asked hurriedly, “What the fuck is going on?”

Mat leaned closer into you in order to be included in the camera’s view. “That’s rude,” he chirped, trying to sound angry, but being betrayed by the smirk twitching at his pink lips.

“No, seriously, you guys,” Liana continued, sounding anxious. “What does this mean?” She lifted the card from the full bouquet of blush pink roses before her. “‘Happy Valentine’s Day, Li,’” she read. “‘We’re so excited to give you another member of the family to love this August.’  And it’s signed from you guys and ‘Baby B...’”

Liana’s eyes flicked back up to your own and she couldn’t stand still, pacing her kitchen. “It’s not funny to joke about this,” she insisted, sounding confused and slightly offended.

“It isn’t a joke, dude,” Mat giggled. “We’re having a baby.”

Liana started screaming after “having.”

Laughter racked your body as you watched her jump up and down, tears streaming down her face as she squealed and asked a dozen times whether you were serious. You nodded each time until her hysteria finally subsided.

“Do Mom and Dad know?” Liana asked with a quaking voice, wiping the dampness from her cheeks.

“Yeah, they know,” you confirmed, swiping at a couple of your own fallen tears. Damn hormones.

“But listen, Liana,” Mat interjected, putting on his most serious tone. “They know, and her family knows, but past that, we haven’t told a soul. We honestly might not tell anyone else, depending on how soon she starts to show. We don’t want crazy fans or, God forbid, the media to get ahold of it and just be intrusive. We’ve seen how that goes. We just want this to be as private as possible. So you can’t post anything, can’t tell any of your friends. Okay?”

Liana nodded, sniffling throughout her brother’s command. “Yeah, totally,” she immediately concurred. “I get it. I think you guys are smart for doing it this way. This is like Kylie Jenner shit.”

You and Mat both snickered at that comparison for multiple reasons, then Liana began truly processing the news.

“Wait... so,” she began. “How far along are you?”

“Twelve weeks,” you replied. “So barring anything out of the ordinary, that kind of means we’re in the clear, risk-wise.”

“And you’re okay? Everything is okay?” Liana asked nervously.

Mat nodded, appreciating his little sister’s obvious concern for you and the baby. “She’s okay, Liana,” he assured as you smiled at him. “She’s perfect,” he added, picking up your hand to press a kiss to your fingers, causing Liana to tear up once again.

“You better take such good fucking care of her, Mat. You hear me? She doesn’t have her mom or any of us nearby, so she needs you,” Liana said firmly to her brother. You warmed at her display of womanly solidarity, ever thankful to have an ally in her.

Mat rolled his eyes. “Yes, Liana, I’ve been taking care of her for years,” he said, unamused.

“Yeah, well, it’s different now,” Liana pointed out. “Now she’s carrying my niece or nephew!”

You and Mat grinned at each other once more, Mat rubbing his hand slowly across your lower belly, which was mostly still flat, save for a slight, bloated curve.

“Yeah, she is,” Mat said airily, gazing into your blue eyes deeply as his sister resumed her squealing in the background.

_____

“Can I please have more ice chips?” you asked as you came down from yet another contraction, sounding whinier than you meant to and slightly hating yourself for it.

Mat smiled warmly down at you, pushing some of your hair back from your forehead and tenderly placing a kiss to your temple.

“Yes. You get all the ice chips you want, sweet girl,” Mat cooed, nuzzling his nose in your hair before stepping back and winking at you, grabbing the ice bucket from the bedside table. If there was one thing you had enjoyed most about the experience of pregnancy and labor, it was the way Mat spoiled you, ever attentive to your needs and wants. “I’ll be right back. Don’t have that baby while I’m gone,” he instructed, pointing at you.

Despite the discomfort you felt, you still breathed a laugh and rolled your eyes at him, Mat positively beaming at you as he walked backwards out of your suite, then turned down the hall.

As you rested your hands against your belly and your head back on the pillow, spotting the big bouquet of flowers Tito had sent for you, another memory from the past several months flashed in your mind.

_____

Twenty weeks

“I’m sorry,” Tito choked out once he stopped coughing on the Easter ham you’d made for a small group of the Isles boys, who had just begun playoffs and therefore weren’t traveling for the holiday, and their significant others. “You’re what?!”

You and Mat giggled, Mat squeezing your thigh under the table reassuringly. Sydney, late in her own pregnancy, jumped from her seat, tears springing to her eyes, and squealed as she ran to you, throwing her arms around your shoulders as you sat grinning at the others — Tito, Marty, Anders, Grace, Josh, and Meg — whose mouths hung open as they tried to process your announcement.

You turned back to Mat, the same broad smile seemingly permanently plastered on his handsome features the past few months stretching across his face once again.

“You wanna show them?” he asked softly, the tone in his voice telling you the decision was yours completely. You nodded, grasping the fabric of your knit sweater, the same casually chic, baggy style that you’d stocked up on to hide your growing stomach.

Sydney let go of you, allowing you to stand from your chair, as she nearly shouted, “What do you mean, show us?! How pregnant are you?!”

You bit your bottom lip, still smiling from ear to ear, and turned sideways, lifting your sweater to reveal your noticeable, ever-rounding bump beneath your high-waisted leggings.

A collective gasp sucked the oxygen from the room, Mat smirking at your friends, as you quietly admitted, “I’m twenty weeks...”

Tito pounded a fist to the table in disbelief and let out a holler. Anders raised his own fists over his head so fast that he knocked off the black baseball cap he wore. Josh and Marty couldn’t stop yelling, “No!” and “No fucking way,” respectively. Meg and Grace immediately leapt to their feet, too. “You’re halfway?!” they shouted in unison.

All Mat could do was beam proudly at you, bringing your waist close as he pressed a reverent, chaste kiss to your stomach over your sweater.

“Surprise!” you sang softly to the onlookers, your voice watery as a couple of happy tears escaped your eyes. The girls all embraced you, taking turns rubbing your belly, as the guys uttered boyish praises to Mat, joking that they didn’t know he had it in him.

Besides your and Mat’s parents and siblings, you still hadn’t told any friends of your pregnancy — making this sacred time that much more special for you and Mat.

But it was time to tell this circle. It had gotten more and more difficult and complicated to refuse drinks when the wives and girlfriends met for brunch, and even Mat was struggling to come up with excuses for why he wanted to rush home from the arena when the rest of the guys his age wanted to go to the bar to celebrate big wins. This close-knit group knowing the truth would help combat that.

You certainly didn’t plan to tell the whole team — quite frankly, there were some recently-added guys you just didn’t know well enough yet, along with some newer girlfriends who seemed a little suspect when it came to keeping team matters close to the vest. You and Mat agreed that you’d tell your close group of Isles friends and leave it at that. And that group, this group, these friends who had become much more like family — these felt like the right people to let in on the secret.

_____

“I’m scared,” you whimpered. “I don’t know if I can do it.” The pain was excruciating now, the pressure was building, and your doctor had just informed you that it was time to push. You felt like crying, but you were so paralyzed by the fear that gripped your chest that no tears were flowing.

“Hey…” Mat began softly, gently taking your face in both of his hands and angling it to look up at him, his eyes radiating confidence and pride. “Listen to me, okay? You’ve been so strong throughout this whole pregnancy. I know better than to believe that that’s gonna end now. You can do this, my love. I know you can,” he encouraged. “And I’ll be right here the whole time.”

You nodded, still feeling completely unprepared but somehow strengthened by Mat’s faith in you. As the doctor approached, gowned and gloved, she looked at you with anticipation.

“You ready, sweetie?” she asked. With one last look up at Mat, who nodded and kissed your knuckles, you turned back to her with a nod of your own. She patted your knee and said, “Okay, let’s have a baby. On the count of three, I want you to push, just the way we talked about. Daddy, you hold this knee. Ready? One… two… three… push.”

_____

Twenty-three weeks

The Isles had lost in the second round of the playoffs. Mat was obviously disappointed, but he was also more excited for this offseason than he’d ever been for a summer before, which certainly softened the blow. You were having his baby in just three more months, and he absolutely could not wait. Mat was ready to commence full dad mode — getting the nursery ready, reading the books, and most importantly, keeping a close eye on you every moment that he could.

On the same day the guys were cleaning out their lockers and giving final interviews following the end of the playoff series loss, Mat had scheduled a meeting with the coaching staff and team public relations executives to inform them of your pregnancy. He wanted them to be aware of the situation in case the news got out before the birth, especially as your baby bump was getting harder to hide. Since the two of you had decided to stay in New York for the summer instead of returning to British Columbia, to avoid travel late in your pregnancy, he knew that the chances of someone spotting your round stomach and starting to talk about it was higher on Long Island than in Coquitlam. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if the news got out, but if you and Mat could help it, you’d much prefer that it didn’t. He wanted this experience to be peaceful for you and as enjoyable as possible.

The meeting had gone well, which was unsurprising. The staff was thrilled for the two of you and promised to keep a tight lid on the information until you were ready to share it publicly after the baby had been born — they also agreed to evade any questions that their office might encounter on the topic during the summer.

Mat had thanked them profusely and said his goodbyes before leaving the building, heaving his heavy equipment bags into his trunk, and heading back home to you. A few minutes later, his phone dinged with a text from you and he glanced down at it at the next stoplight. It was a photo of the two of you in front of Big Ben on a rare sunny day in England, Mat hugging you close to his chest.

“This just popped up in my memories. Four years ago today we were in London and you told me you loved me for the first time. Look at us now. 💋”

Mat grinned at the message before returning the phone to his cupholder, his mind traveling back in time to that first big vacation the two of you had taken together. He knew your affinity for English culture — the fashion, the history, and, of course, the royal family, so he decided to take you on a trip across the pond a couple of months after you started dating.

It was one of the best decisions he’d ever made, as it brought the two of you much closer in those early days of your relationship — so close, in fact, that he found himself professing his love for you over a candlelight dinner on your last night in London. You had frozen, just for a moment, before a broad smile lit up your face, your eyes sparkling.

“I love you, too, Maty,” you’d said softly, allowing Mat to finally exhale as he basked in the knowledge that you felt the same way as he.

London was a landmark in your love story. Mat blinked a few times at that thought, an idea suddenly coming over him.

London…

_____

London Riley Barzal, named for the city where you fell in love and given your current last name as a middle name, was born August 15 at 8:13 p.m., after twenty hours of labor.

You and Mat had never known a love like the one you found the moment your baby girl was laid on your chest, and he had never been more fiercely in love with you than he was as he watched you snuggle her close.

“God, she’s so beautiful,” Mat breathed, voice quivering as he realized that this tiny girl belonged to him — to both of you.

“She’s perfect. Just perfect,” you agreed as her strong cries suddenly quieted into small whimpers.

Immediately, Mat looked you in the eye. “She knows your voice,” he said in astonishment.

As your baby blinked and squinted before opening her eyes for the very first time, she seemed to look directly up at her daddy. You smiled knowingly at Mat, who was frozen in place as he locked eyes with his baby daughter for the first time.

“I think she knows yours, too,” you suggested, the two of you smoothing your fingertips over her tiny face and hands in wonder.

You spent several minutes soaking it all in as a brand new family of three, both talking to London softly and placing kisses on her tiny head, before the nurse took her from your arms to take her vitals and give her a brief exam.

As you watched your healthy, gorgeous baby being fawned over by the medical team, you breathed a deep sigh of relief and a silent prayer of gratitude before opening your eyes again to see the love of your life staring down at you in absolute amazement.

“You did so good, baby,” Mat said through tears of pure joy. He pressed his lips to your damp forehead, cupping your cheek in his hand. “You did so good. You’re unbelievable, you know that? I’m so goddamn proud of you,” he praised.

“We have a baby, Maty,” you said with an awestruck, tearful chuckle. “I just had our baby.”

Mat nodded, grinning. “We have a daughter, my love,” he said. “Our little London.”

_____

One week later…

[thefanficmonster]

An Impostor In Love

Sequel to ‘Love For The Faceless’ (’Body Reveal’)

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing (maybe)

Genre: Fluff

Summary: Rae can’t stay mad at her best friends forever. Them being absolutely adorable doesn’t help her ‘pissed off’ act either. Y/N’s outing Corpse like she’s a human lie detector. Corpse is gushing about her every second word that comes out of his mouth. And the rest of the lobby are getting one hell of a kick out of the Among Us romantic comedy - An Impostor In Love

Requested but, once again, not in a typical way. I honestly wasn’t expecting all the positive feedback I got for Love For The Faceless (Body Reveal). I was star-struck! You guys are so amazing I have no words to describe just how much I love you all! Thank you for everything! This story is for all of you 🥰🥰🥰

“Mr. and Mrs. ‘Totally not dating’ have entered the call!“ Sean announces when I hop into the Discord call to play Among Us with the usual gang. I hear Corpse’s laugh from down the hall, bringing a smile to my face.

We’ve gotten used to playing in this arrangement, a few rooms away from each other, ever since we moved in together - Corpse is in his recording room and I am in our shared bedroom. When one dies, they go in the other’s room to troll them. I’m usually the one dead, but that’s besides the point.

“Hi everyone!“ I say in my typical cheery tone before kicking it done a few notches, making it an octave deeper just to say: “Hi Rae.”

The whole lobby laughs, they all know what I’m trying to do here. Everyone’s aware this is the first time Rae is in the same call and lobby as Corpse and I after you-know-which incident. Sure, I’ve been poking sticks at her, waving a white flag and admitting I was wrong several times by now. Who knew my sweetheart best friend could act so cold? I know it’s a front. I know she’s fighting to stay mad. There’s a ton of pressure on her to finally forgive us, but she’s been holding up better than I would be if I were in her situation.

I honestly felt, and still feel, slightly guilty. I know best friends are supposed to tell each other everything. They are supposed to be the first ones to know whatever’s going on in each other’s lives. And I know I broke one of the main rules of friendships, but the decision wasn’t only mine to make. I’m sure she understands where I’m coming from, she’s just giving me and Corpse a hard time.

“Hello, Y/N.” She replies, her tone strictly formal.

“Progress, people! Progress!“ I say joyously, the smile turning into a grin 

“Don’t worry, babe. We’ll get her eventually.“ Corpse reassures me as he’s done for the past week or two. He knew I wasn’t as unbothered by Rae’s anger towards me as I tried to appear - a pro and simultaneously a con of living with someone: they pick up on everything about you. You become as familiar to them as the back of their hand.

“I know, I know.“ I giggle, “She’ll cave.“

“Yeah, good luck with that.“ Rae has dropped the formal tone, now sounding like a stubborn child which is something I’m way more familiar with. I’ve dealt with her tantrums and childish outbursts - I don’t know which number it is, but it’s somewhere in the rule book of friendships - and I at least the approximate meaning behind it. 

Ken puts an end to our friendly, stick-poking, sorta one-sided banter, ushering us to start the game. We all oblige, muting our mics and getting our heads in the game as though we’re about to enter an actual warzone with upmost stealth.

To my dismay, the screen flashes ‘Crewmate’. I head out of cafeteria to do my task in Weapons, staying weary of anyone within my proximity. Once I’m done, I head on down to Shields and complete my task there as well. I cringe when I’m done, knowing my last three tasks are in Electrical. Like, the fuck kind of luck do I have?

I make my way through the halls, running into Sykkuno and we circle around each other a few times to show we’re safe before we each continue our own way. I enter Electrical and.....oh Felix is dead. And oh lookie who’s right there...

I report the body before the impostor can and we all unmute our mics.

“Found him in Electrical.“ I say nonchalantly, “Didn’t see anyone in there though.“ 

“Anyone sus?“ Sean asks

We say our ‘no’s and ‘I don’t know’s and skip the vote. I’m smirking to myself as I head back down to Electrical. Walking in, I see the same person as before - Rae. I stop dead in my tracks and we just stare at each other for a few seconds before she comes towards me, circling me twice, bumping visors with me and venting out of the room.

“You’re welcome.“ I mumble, smiling widely.

I finish my tasks and leave Electrical just as Corpse enters our bedroom, giving me this tired-parent look like he’s half disappointed and half amused. “You just threw the game, didn’t you? Don’t lie.” He raises his eyebrows, fully adopting his parent role.

I giggle, shaking my head, sending him the briefest of glances before my eyes fixate on the screen in utter shock - Sean just killed me. Oh, for fuck’s sake...

“I was gonna come clean eventually, but I guess they won’t hear it from me now.“ I shrug, lifting my laptop and setting it aside so Corpse can join me on the bed. I snuggle up to him immediately, drawn to him as though he’s a human magnet.

“Who was it?“ He asks me, running his hands through my hair in a soothing manner.

I frown, pulling away from his chest to look him in the eyes, “Wait, how did you know I threw the game if you don’t know who I threw it for?”

He smirks, shrugging, “I didn’t know. You were smiling downright evilly when I came in so I just assumed.” He boops my nose. “And you ratted yourself out.”

I narrow my eyes at him, blowing some air out my nose - a gesture that has become my only way of showing anger towards him. I literally can’t even voice when I’m upset with him cause the grudge lasts like .5 seconds. I let him get away with more than he should.

Seeing as how I can’t argue to his statement, I lean back into his chest and pull out my phone to pass the time while I pretend to give him the silent treatment. Among my notifications is one for Rae’s stream. I smile and tap it, being taken to her YouTube channel and her live stream.

Just when the stream loads, Rae finds my dead body in Storage.

“Oh, nooooooo! Y/N!“ She wines as she goes over to it, “Sean must’ve killed her.” She reports the body and unmutes herself in game, “The body’s in Storage. I was on my way to call an emergency meeting cause I saw Sean vent in Security.”

“WHAT?!“ Sean exclaims in shock, “I didn’t! Rae’s lying. I swear I didn’t! I wasn’t even in Security!“

“Sean has been following me around this whole time. Just saying.“ Ken joins the discussion, throwing even more suspicion on Sean.

“We gotta vote someone.“ Charlie says, “Might as well be the most sus person at the moment.“

The voting results show all the little astronaut icons on Sean except his which is on Rae. Sean gets launched into space and the game continues. Having muted her mic in-game, Rae speaks up: “Y/N has been avenged. No one kills my best friend.”

I’m staring at my phone screen, eyes wide, eyebrows raised, a huge smile on my face. I take a glance at Corpse out of the corner of my eye and see he’s just as pleasantly surprised as I am.

“For those of you asking if I’m still mad at her and Corpse, the answer’s no. Actually, I think I was never mad. I was just in shock and a little hurt that I wasn’t made aware sooner.“ Rae says as she keeps wandering around the map, “Then I realized not talking to my best friend hurt more than the betrayal, you know. The only reason I still pretend is because it’s really funny to see her trying to soften me up.“ She laughs, “But yeah. I don’t know what I’d do without her or Corpse in my life. I love them both and love them even more together. My best friends are dating, I still can’t wrap my brain around that! They are sooo cute, you guys! I wish they posted more content of them together. I’m literally simping over their relationship! But shh, don’t tell em I said that.”

I laugh, overjoyed by what I just heard. I knew she couldn’t still be mad at us. I know she has every right to be, but she’s too sweet to actually hold a grudge against anyone ever.

I suddenly want nothing more than to give her an enormous hug and hold onto her for as long as she’d let me. I just now realize how lonely it feels to have never hugged your best friend because you haven’t hung out together in person. The only reason Rae now knows what I look like is because I sent her a full body picture of myself as one of my sad attempts to get her to start talking to us again. We have never met in person, and that thought kills me. It makes me impatient for this pandemic to end even more than before. 

“Told you there was nothing to worry about.“ Corpse’s arms tighten their hold on my body, pulling me even closer which I didn’t know was possible. The most fulfilling and endearing feeling - being in the arms of a loved one. Being held so close and so tightly that you feel like you’re untouchable. Like you two can’t be hurt by anything in the world as long as you have each other.

“Yeah, you were right.“ I sigh in content, putting my phone down and covering his hands with mine, our rings clinking quietly when they touch.

“As usual...“ he whispers theatrically with his lips against my hair.

I playfully roll my eyes, catching glimpse of the screen showing Rae’s demise. 

“Oh no, they caught her.“ I say, a bit disappointed she didn’t win and more than a bit responsible for her defeat.

I somehow manage to convince myself to get untangled from Corpse’s embrace and join the new round. I hear him groan as I settle my computer in my lap, unmuting my mic.

“See ya, kitten.“ Corpse kisses my temple, standing up.

“Oh my God, you two are too cute.“ Poki says sweetly, having heard what Corpse said to me.

“SIMP!“ Sean and Felix shout in unison causing the whole lobby to laugh. Corpse is as red as Rae’s avatar as he exists our room, running down the hallway.

“Ok, ok, ok. Hold on. I have to address this. I really hadn’t stepped foot in Security, let alone vented in there. Rae why were you lying?“ Sean’s voice cuts through the teasing directed towards Corpse and I.

“While we’re on that topic...“ Felix speaks up as well, making me break out in a nervous sweat, “Y/N, you literally saw Rae kill me, but you said you didn’t see anyone.“ He laughs, “Not gonna lie, I was a bit pissed.“

The call falls silent for about five seconds until Rae and I speak simultaneously.

“I was avenging Y/N.“

“I was helping Rae.“

Silence follows our statements, not for long though, as our friends break out in amused laughter.

“Fuck’s sake, you two make a good team.“ Sean says through genuine laughter which Rae and I soon join him in.

Felix and Sean and the rest of the lobby forgive us for throwing the game from both the crewmate and impostor’s side and we move onto another round. This time I have only one task in Electrical which I leave for last as always. I don’t feel like dying right from the get-go. I start by doing the card swipe in Admin and then the fuel task in Storage. As I make my way to Upper Engine, Corpse leaves Electrical, falling in step with me. I immediately get nervous, but still make my way to where I’m supposed to go, hoping he’d go his own way eventually. 

I stay wary of my boyfriend as I do my task, praying he won’t take my head off. When the task is finished, I find I’m trapped in the room with the doors shut. And Corpse right there. With every right and opportunity to kill me and vent. No one would know. No one saw us. 

That nervous sweat is back. 

I’m counting my last seconds of being alive.

And it happens...

A body is reported

“Oh than you so so so much! Corpse was gonna kill me in Upper Engine!“ I don’t let the person who reported the body speak, thanking them for my survival. “I was sure I was a goner.“

“Babe, come on now. You know I wouldn’t kill you even if I was an impostor. I love you too much.“ Corpse hurries to defend himself, “I’m following you around to keep you safe.“

I can tell he’s capping, but I have no concrete proof. He knows I’m onto him. His best bet is having me killed by the other impostor. He might have been capping the majority of his defense, but I know he won’t kill me.

“I’ll vote for myself because of that one.“ I mumble

The vote is skipped except the one vote I placed on myself and the round continues. I follow Corpse around the whole time, making sure he’s completing tasks - not that I can be 100% certain he’s actually completing them.

All is well until we walk into Admin and find Felix there, uploading data. Corpse, dead-ass, goes up to him and kills him, reporting the body right afterwards.

“IT’S CORPSE!“ I don’t give him a chance to start his brainwashing of the rest of the players. “Felix, this is my redemption for leaving your death unavenged last round.“

“Yeah, it’s me.“ Corpse laughs, that adorable laugh of his melting me despite the need to stay strong and carry out my argument, “Just vote me out so I can go troll Y/N.“

“Sounds like a plan to me.“ Ken says, the remainder of the crewmates, and the impostor probably, agreeing with him.

The votes are put in, all on Corpse obviously, and he is sent off into space. Not even five seconds later I hear his footsteps approaching. 

I look up when he pops his head in the room and says, “I have come to annoy you to death with my love for you.”

I can’t help but laugh, shaking my head. The things this man does to me are insane. It’s insane that I let him. 

It’s amazing, really. We’re amazing.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I pat the spot on the bed next to me, “I’ll allow it. But only cause I love you too.”

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