#when I was listening to the full album today it just struck me again how SAD it is | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

asphalt-cocktail · 4 years ago

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Hear me out..kay?

'70s John Lennon with younger female home assistant reader getting into a lil dispute because John thinks he let himself go after the Beatles broke up, but the reader believes otherwise and it ends up in the two of them having passionate/slightly rough sex because he's more or so angry with himself than anything? And the two of them are really close too, like John allows her to watch Julian and Sean when he's at the studio or on business trips?? And the two boys genuinely like her???

(a universe where he isn't married to yoko ((no hate intended)) and is single and happy that way..)

Oh my god, I love this idea! 70s john is so pretty. I love how he looks as he gets older. it’s like fine wine. Some of the ages might not add up but we’ll call this an AU for the sake of consistency!

Warnings: Some smudges of angst, smut, insecurities, language

Also it got WAY longe than I expected so i got a little carried away.

As John slept, he dreamt he sat perched on a throne made bones. It overlooked a high cliff that faced the ocean where the wind burned his face and he could hear seagulls screaming in the background.

He was alone. For once he wished he had the screaming crowds and bandmates calling his name. But only the shrieking gulls filled his ears.

The dream seemed to go on for two lifetimes and the atmosphere felt staticky as the waves repeatedly crashed against the shores and hit the rocks. At times he could feel the soft kiss of saltwater sprinkling against his face.

He blinked for the first time in what felt like ages and suddenly his throne of bones began to collapse, he grasped at them panicked as he desperately tried to prevent himself from falling. Just as his footing slipped John shot up in his bed breathing heavily. He blinked to clear the bleariness that had settled from sleep and palmed his bedside table for his glasses and crudely wiped them on his sheets to clear the fingerprints before slipping them on.

Suddenly the room was clear, and the sound of gulls was replaced with Sean’s squealing laughter. It helped John feel grounded in his brief moment of panic. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, Christ, what did he have to do today again? John ran his fingers through is knotted hair and slipped out of his bed. Right, he had to do several interviews to promote his new album and single that was just released then he had a dinner party. He grimaced at the thought of having to sit for several hours with a group of yuppies and pretend to enjoy their conversation.

As John walked through is bedroom he slipped on a pair of slippers and his dressing gown before stopping in front of his full length mirror. He gave his belly a firm pat, he’d lost a significant amount of weight in the last five years, mostly from depression, but it was still a small victory in his eyes. Atleast he had that going for him.

The bedroom door open and John found himself lured to the kitchen by the smell of syrup and pancakes. He flashed you a tight-lipped smile, “You’re early.” He greeted you.

You shrugged your shoulders, not looking up from the batter as you poured it into the skillet, “I know I thought my exam was going to take much longer than it did.” You said sheepishly. John had been gracious enough to accept you as his assistant and sometimes nanny. He was nice and the job helped you learn a lot about public relations and management, which is what you had hoped to do after you’d graduated from university.

“Do you want some pancakes? Sean helped with them.” You said waving the ladle towards John.

He shrugged, still groggy from sleep. He really didn’t want any, but the way Sean stared at him with his big black eyes begging changed his mind. He sighed after his idle moment in thought and nodded his head, “I suppose I should see what the little chief has made for us.” He smiled and ruffled the kid’s hair.

After breakfast John rushed to get ready, “And you’re okay with taking Julian to piano lessons? Remember Sean still needs to finish that cough medicine from his cold earlier last week, and they can’t stay up past-” he rushed out his of things that he now only worried about due to having children.

You placed your hand on John’s arm and gave him a look, “John I’ve worked with you for almost three years, I think I can handle a day of babysitting. Julian will get to piano lesson on time and Sean will get his medicine; and don’t worry I won’t give them any sugar past 6pm.” John chose to ignore the little wink you gave Julian and Sean from the other side of the room.

He let out a sigh and his shoulders relaxed, “I know, I just” Worry I’m not good enough, his intrusive thoughts echoed in his mind and he shook his head before sharply inhaling, “I just worry about them, you know how it is.” You didn’t, you weren’t a parent. But you understood a little bit with where he was coming from.

You gave John a sympathetic nod and patted his shoulder, “Go on, you’re going to be late for the interview.” You said and turned him, pushing him towards the door.

A small smile settled on John’s face, it didn’t matter if he left for 8 hours or a full week, he still gave you the same reminders and the same list when Yoko or Cynthia couldn’t take the kids. John rushed out the door and you turned towards the boys and grinned at them. They were both nice, Julian had a wee bit of an attitude, but you chocked it up to him being in double digits while Sean was a curious and surprisingly even-tempered boy.

You made sure Julian got to and from piano lessons okay and wrestled with Sean to take the last dose of his medication, bribing him with some cookies. The remainder of the afternoon and evening you watched a movie with them, walked in the park, and drew pictures of the cats.

At lunch time John called to check in on the boys and to let you know it was going to be a late night, after reassuring him everything was fine you resumed your conversation with Sean about some fabulous story he was making up.

John sat at the dinner party, poking at his food and listening to his scientist friend tell them about a fancy new machine they got at work. The autoclave used immense amounts of heat and pressure to sterilize items, nothing survived the autoclave. In that moment John decided he saw some of his own likeness in the machine. As the voices turned to mumbles and John fell deep into thought he found that his own heart was harsh an inhospitable, much like the machine. That was why he was mostly alone in his 17-room apartment in New York City. His two wives couldn’t even make his home their home, and when he received a phone call from Cynthia or Yoko saying they were coming to pick the children up or to send them home on the morrows next fight he couldn’t say it struck him by surprise.

As the evening grew late you put Sean to bed and then an hour later you sent Sean to bed, much to your surprise neither of the boys fought with you tonight over why it was unfair they had different bedtimes or how they should be allowed to stay up later because it was summertime.

Infomercials from the television droned in your ears and lulled you to sleep as you sprawled out on the couch. A hand touching your shoulder caused you to jump and you blinked before John came into focus, “I’m home, you can stay the night in the guest room. It’s too late for you to go home alone.” He said kindly.

You rubbed your eyes and groggily sat up, “How did the meetings go today?” You asked after a deep yawn.

John’s face scrunched up, the way it did when he was frustrated and deep in thought, “It was alright.” He shrugged.

“What do you mean alright? You just released a new single, no one had an opinion on it?” You asked as you made your way through one of the many long hallways that made up his Dakota apartment.

John followed you, hoping for conversation and company, “I don’t know, I must have termites in me brain or something.” He frowned leaning against the door of the bathroom and watching you rummage through the cabinet for your spare toothbrush. Your movements moved on memory and you pushed aside the antacids and ibuprofen to get to the toothbrush you kept in the back of the medicine cabinet. The familiarity in your actions made John feel comforted.

“what do you mean?” You asked before you began brushing your teeth. You watched as John shifted, leaning against the door jam. He felt uncomfortable. You could tell.

He looked away from you, “I’m washed up I suppose.” He dug his shoe into the grout of the bathroom tile, “No one wants to listen to a former Beatle without the other three.” John wanted to open up to you but his body felt like an unstable bag of foam and bones and his ability to speak clearly vanished.

You spat out your toothpaste and wiped the remainder off with the towel that hung on the wall, “Oh come off it,” You scolded him, “You don’t mean that do you?”

Now it was your turn to follow John as he walked through the house, kicking his shoes off and tossing his jacket to the side, “That’s how it seems.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek, “Every time I talk to one of these hokey television people, they just rub it in me face how successful Paul or George are doing.” He frowned, “And I’m just sitting here, a one hit wonder. No songs in the last five years.” He tugged open the door to his wardrobe and pulled out sleeping cloths and tossed them onto the bed, “Paul’s got his 87 children, and his new better band. What do I have?” His cheeks started turning red and his thick brows furrowed.

You listened to him complain about his imperfections, he obviously needed to get them off his chest, “John,” You said softly interrupting his monologue, “You don’t mean that.” You bluntly said.

John looked away from you and huffed loudly, “First I get called the fat Beatle, then I get torn to shreds for saying one thing about Christianity and now I can’t even write a damn song anymore.” He angrily pulled his shirt over his head, “If I can’t even write a damn song what use am I?” He continued to mumble to himself and tug the thin and worn sleep shirt over his head and stuck his arms through the hole.

You walked forward and boldly grabbed John’s wrist as he reached for his lounge pants, “Stop it,” You said in the same tone of voice you used to scold one of the children, “I don’t want to hear you say bad things about yourself that aren’t true.” Your brows knit together as John turned to look at you.

His eyes narrowed to little slits as he studied your face. John felt as though the throne of fame he once sat upon was now crumbling, much like in his dream “You’re just an assistant, you don’t know anything.” He said coldly and shrugged you off.

You know he didn’t mean it, but the words stung, “Yeah, I’m just your assistant who watches your kids, and takes them to piano lessons, and does your laundry, and brings you take away when you are too sad to leave your room.” You shot back.

Your words hit John like a 10-ton truck, and he looked at you shocked, none of his assistants had ever been this bold before. They all cowered beneath the mighty John Lennon, but you were different. Your tongue was just as sharp as his, and he hated to admit it; but he liked the way your brows furrowed, and your eyes ignited with fire every time you argued back at him. He wanted to get a rise out of you, so he pushed you, “I pay you for it, don’t go around thinking you’re special. I could post your job in the paper and have hundreds of college kids lining up to work for me.” He hissed stepping towards you.

You were backed into a wall, literally and figuratively, you felt at a loss for words. John was right and you both knew it, what was the worst that could happen if you pushed back a bit? “Do it, I dare you.” You scoffed and moved to push past him, “Surprised anyone would like to work for a washed-up Beatle.” You mumbled under your breath knowing that he would hear you.

John brought his arm up and pushed you back into your spot between the wall and pushed his lips against yours. It was hard and messy; your teeth clicked together, and your noses knocked. It took a moment for you to realize what was happening until John roughly shoved his knee between your legs. You let out a whimper feeling him pull away and start leaving hot open-mouthed kisses along your jaw and trailing down to your neck. Your chest heaved against him and you swallowed thickly, and you desperately tried to focus as he continued to latch onto your neck, sucking and biting at the sensitive skin, “John.” You whined and ground yourself against his thigh.

He loved how you practically purred his name as you spoke. John’s hands pushed down on your hips, helping you as you slid against his thigh with wanton need. Your breathy sighs sent a shiver that crept down his spine and settled in his belly, “We can stop, just say it and I’ll stop.” He said rubbing his nose along your jaw.

You swallowed thickly, “Please don’t,” You didn’t want to go back now.

John pulled away and pulled you by your wrist before pushing you back onto the bed. You bounced back against the plush large mattress and laid against the pillows and watched as John knelt between your legs. He rubbed his hands along your thighs and kissed you’re the skin that had become exposed from your shirt riding up and pushed it up more. He sucked and left kitten licks as he exposed more of you stomach and chest, kissing between your breasts and sucking at the soft skin on the sides.

John peeled your shirt off and in one swift movement your breasts were exposed and your top and underclothes tossed aside. He dove against your neck again, deepening the marks he’d already left prior and adding new ones, nipping at the skin and inhaling your scent. You reached your fingers and laced them in his soft long hair. You’d always wondered how it felt and how it smelt. You found yourself burying your nose into the side of his head and breathing deeply. He smelled like stale smoke, the gum he always chewed as a nervous habit, and like his eucalyptus shampoo. It made your brain feel dizzy.

Your legs wrapped around John’s narrow hips and pulled him flush against you. He groaned feeling your heat against his awakening erection and ground against you. he felt like he was 18 again, sneaking home some blurry faced bird through the back door at Mimi’s after coming home too late. But this felt better, it wasn’t some random company for the night; it was you.

The assistant he hired on a whim because he needed someone to watch Sean while he flew to LA for recording, the same person who folded his laundry, the first person he told of his divorce from Yoko. Even in his dream as he stood alone on the edge of the cliff as his throne collapsed, he knew if he called your name you would come.

Now, here he was; swallowing your moans eagerly in his mouth and listening as you left ragged breathy gasps in his ear as he ground against you. His hands fumbled with the buttons on your pants before he finally gave up and pulled them open, the small button popping off and bouncing to the other side of the room. John kissed your hips and along the lower half of your stomach and it twitched.

You squirmed, looking down and seeing his intently focused face as he yanked down your underwear and jeans and carelessly tossed them aside. You suddenly became aware of your nakedness as you stared down at John, fully clothed in a loose sleep shirt and the pants he wore today. Your eyes trailed his body and you sat up, tugging at his shirt. Your movements were hesitant and less confident than his. John’s hands guided his shirt up and he tugged it off, throwing it to join the rest of your discarded cloths and you ran a hand along his chest. Admiring the freckles and imperfections that made him distinctly human. He pulled back and shrugged his pants off and resumed his spot between your legs, pushing you back down.

John kissed the sides of your knees and made his way up your thighs, “Is this okay?” He murmured.

You shivered feeling his lips moving against your legs and nodded your head, urging him to continue. The pit of nervousness that settled in your belly violently vanished as you felt John’s hot tongue swipe between your folds and lap at you, “Jesus Christ,” You gasped out.

You could feel John smirk as he hooked his arms under your legs and pulled you close. He spread you apart, groaning and rubbing your clit with his thumb, “Has anyone ever done this to you before?” He asked glancing up at you.

You swallowed thickly and shook your head, “N-no,” You choked out.

John hummed acknowledging your answer and licked at your core again, taking his time to trace lazy shapes around the bundle of nerves. It sent a tingle that rang through your whole body, from the tips of your toes to your fingers and you desperately reached for John’s hair to keep him in place.

Your toes curled and you pressed John’s face closer against you and bucked your hips, grinding against his face. He groaned and pressed back, pulling you closer against his face. The plug between your brain and mouth disconnected and your mind felt like it was swimming. The string in your stomach tightened as you continued to grind against John’s tongue as he lapped at you. Your soft breathy sighs climbed in pitch before it snapped and your hips squirmed against him. John firmly held you down and he harshly rubbed your clit. The burning sensation caused your toes to curl, your eyes to blissfully shut, and made your legs shake. Your hips tried to jerk away from his hand, but he held you down, watching you writhe, jaw hanging slightly ajar.

“St-op” You choked out and gripped his wrist, letting out a sob as he pushed you to your peak once again. Your chest heaved and your legs shook as it washed through you. You curled into yourself and your face scrunched up.

John left you no room to breathe as he pulled your face close to his and captured your mouth in an open mouth. His tongue explored your mouth and you could taste yourself. You gripped at his forearms and pulled him back down, thumbing his briefs and tugging them down. John smiled against your mouth as he wiggled out of them, twisting his legs and shifting before he finally gave up and broke your kiss for a moment to tug them the rest of the way down.

You reached to kiss him and frowned as he pulled away, settling between your legs and rubbing his cock teasingly between your wet folds before he pushed in. You gasped, feeling John stretch you as his pelvis pushed against the back of your legs. He sat there for a moment and his face reached up and cupped yours as he hovered just inches away from your face.

You brought your hand up and placed it on John’s, his thumb traced your bottom lip and he slowly moved his hip, pushing deep inside you. Your mouth fell open and you let out a soft moan. John eagerly took the opportunity to slip his thumb into your mouth and pushed harder into you as your lips wrapped around it.

John’s hands gripped your hips as his picked-up speed, pulling them against him and making your skin slap together. He fell over you and you wrapped your arms around him pulling his body close to yours. His head fell next to your shoulder and he messily kissed up your shoulder and up to the side of your mouth before you captured his. Your kiss lacked tact and was only motivated by wanton need for each other. Your teeth clanked harshly together, and you clung to John as though he would vanish from you in an instant.

John broke the kiss and latched onto your neck once again, nipping at the skin and leaving a lingering and dull pain as he continued his trail before settling near your ear. John’s grunts and soft breathy sighs were perhaps the best sound’s you’d ever heard. In that moment you didn’t care that your bodies stuck together with sweat, or that your head kept bumping against the headboard.

You found yourself reaching for John and whimpering as he pulled away and hooked his arms under your knees and brought them up, leaning onto you and pushing deeper inside you. Your back arched off the mattress as he pulled back and began to slowly rut deep inside you.

John clenched his teeth together and hissed, feeling your walls twitching around him as he continued his languid pace, “Please,” You said softly, your brows knit together and your eyes looking helplessly up at him.

His lips spread into a knowing smirk, “Please what?” His voice sounded ragged and strained as he continued to tease you.

��More please,” You barely recognized the whiny tone of your voice.

“Yeah?” He asked and harshly snapped his hips against yours, “Like that?” He asked snapping them again. The headboard lightly tapped the wall as John’s thrusts grew harder and faster while your staccato moans followed jointly. John watched you, your mouth hanging open and skin shiny from the combination of his and your sweat that coated your body. He felt more human in this moment than he’d felt in a long time.

John’s brows knit together, and his thighs clenched, he didn’t want this to end. You pulled his arms and pulled him close to you, not caring if it seemed like you were being clingy, “Come inside me,” You breathed out next to his ear.

John’s body seized up and he huffed out a shaky haggard breath before he came, holding you close against his body and riding out the high that fogged over his senses.

For a moment he laid on top of you, softening inside you but enjoying the intimate closeness the two of you shared in your post coital haze. John kissed your shoulder before pulling back and kissing your lips. He pulled back and the two of you smiled at each other.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

You couldn’t help but turn your head and breath out a small laugh before John rolled over to your side. The two of you laid on top of his wrinkled duvet staring at each other. You pursed your lips and remembered what you said earlier, “I didn’t mean it, what I said.” You said sheepishly looking away.

John’s expression was soft as he looked at you, “I’m sorry for what I said, I didn’t mean it either.” He said his arm now resting on your shoulder. He pulled you against his bare chest and you pushed your knee between his legs, entangling your bodies together as John held you.

#john lennon x reader #smut #ac asks #anon #sin sunday #beatles x reader

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our-chaotic-beginnings · 5 years ago

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Can I request bakusquad on a first date?

The long awaited request has been filled! Hopefully tungle.hell doesn’t kill be with word count caps. I hope you enjoy!

Mina Ashido

She’d take you out on a first date to the mall! A lighthearted day of shopping (or window shopping if you’d prefer) and hanging out is her idea of a great first date!

Your first stop would be to the local café to grab some much needed caffeine to keep your energy up throughout the day. She always orders drinks with caramel and chocolate to keep her sweet tooth happy, and she’ll gladly offer to pay for yours if you’d want.

Your next stop is to your favorite store! You’ll both have a day at trying on outfits and finding the best styles for each other. She loves thrifting as well so you may find yourself bouncing from shop to shop, hand holding her tightly to make sure you keep up.

Whenever you feel your bellies rumbling, you make a beeline for the food court. If you surprise her by tugging her to your favorite fast food station, she’ll let out a laugh lighter than air and give you a small peck on the cheek. She’s happy that you’re able to keep up with her energy.

After you’ve eaten to your heart’s delight, you’re off to the arcade! Mina bets that you can’t beat her at Dance Dance Revolution, and you’re not one to say no to a challenge. You spend hours dancing at this machine, drawing a crowd around as you do your best to gain the upper hand. When you manage to get a perfect score on a song, she rushes over to you to give you a high five and the biggest hug she can muster.

“That was awesome! You’ve gotta show me how you got so awesome at this game! I’ve got Just Dance in my room, wanna see if you can beat me there?”

Katsuki Bakugou

As loud and brash as he is, Katsuki isn’t the one to instigate your first date. All of BakuSquad could see how he wasn’t as harsh with you, so they decided to set him up for a first date with you. So when he found himself at the meeting spot just outside an amusement park with you frantically checking your phone and looking around for someone, he knew that you’d both been set up by your friends.

He marched up to you and let out a groan. When you had noticed him, you came to the understanding that his friends were meddling with you. However, you shouldn’t let these free tickets with all day passes go to waste, right? With hands in respective pockets, you entered the park side by side.

While you both were fairly uncomfortable and awkward in the first hour of hanging around the park, once you two got onto a ride, you both warmed up to each other. You were riding one of the faster coasters, one that slowly pulled you atop a hill onto to launch you downward and through loop-de-loops.

While you were screaming your head off on the drop, Katsuki was giving a full-hearted laugh that ended with a smirk. A smirk that quickly morphed into a small ‘o’ of surprise when you grabbed his hand. His face flushed as he glanced between your hand gripping his for dear life and how your eyes were squeezed shut. The shock from your boldness faded from him, face returning to his normal hue (albeit dusted with a soft pink blush), and he squeezed your hand back.

Minutes later, the two of you were exiting the ride, and he escorted you, hands still together, over to a shaded table for you to calm down after the ride. Realization hit you that you were holding hands and you tried to pull away, but Katsuki just smirked and squeezed your hand tighter.

“Trying to run away from me now? Tch, you could’ve told me you don’t like the faster rides, dumbass. Let’s go find something more your speed. I can’t be the loser that lets his date feel uncomfortable.”

Kyouka Jirou

As the daughter of two music lovers, her idea for a first date is to a concert. She branched out to a genre that wasn’t her style, more of yours actually, so she knew you’d love it. With a few of her mom’s connections, Kyouka managed to score a couple of front row seats for the two of you.

During the breaks of the opening acts, she makes her best attempts at small talk. When the awkwardness washes over, you chuckle and give her hand a squeeze. You know she’s out of her comfort zone, so you try to ease her nerves by talking about what you liked about the music. You’ve struck a chord with her then, and so when you both aren’t vibing with the music you both chat about how good the guitarist’s riffs were or how you could see how much fun the lead singer was having as she flitted from one end of the stage to the other.

Your attention’s drawn to the stage when the main act appears, Kyouka’s fingers interlacing with yours as she anticipated the first strum of the base for their opening song.

Melodies and choruses passed, and it felt like time had stopped until the band was announcing their last song of the night. However, Kyouka could barely focus on the stage; her eyes were glued to you, taking in your overflowing enjoyment. With every song, you were energetically performing in your seat; you were far more captivating than the girl adjusting the mic on the jumbo screen.

Contrasting to the upbeat, fast paced songs that they had started their set with, a soft tune floated through the venue. The guitarist had exchanged his normal electric guitar for an acoustic guitar. Cliché and mushy words accompanied the gentle music, and Kyouka could feel her heart pound. The band was ending the concert with a love song, a preview of their new album if she remembered the earlier announcement correctly. The singer’s voice gradually built up from a whisper to a resounding belting that echoed through the silent crowd. A split second of silence followed as the singer took another breath; you followed suit to prepare for the next verse, unaware of what Kyouka planned. You turned to check how she was feeling about the song only to find her lips on yours.

“I know that this band was the headliner tonight, but you were the real star of this show. Wanna listen to all their albums on the way back tonight?”

Denki Kaminari

Denki’s idea of an ideal date is just inviting you to hang out with his friends. Some may see it as awkward, but he sees it as the best way to introduce you and to get to know you in a group setting. Today, he dragged you along to his squad’s gaming day, with today being a MarioKart tournament.

Before you even said a word, his friends (with the exclusion of the feistiest member of their crew) swarmed you. They asked who you were, if you had a quirk, and how you’d managed to agree to date their goofiest friend. You laughed and answered their questions with ease, pulling the flustered blonde closer to your side as you joked about accidentally getting shocked by him during your first meeting with him.

Any awkwardness subsided once a controller was in your hand. The unofficial leader of their group pushed a black controller to you, almost a challenge to see if you were good enough for Denki. Everyone was competing in this grand prix solely made up of Rainbow Road at the highest level of difficulty. You agreed wholeheartedly and set out customizing your bike (as you preferred them to the carts) to create the ultimate racer.

The first of the four rounds started off with a blast, with you managing to blow out as you got used to the controls. You ended up way back in 6th place, with only Hanta falling behind you at 8th with NPCs littering the places unoccupied by the other players. The next two rounds fared better with you placing 3rd in the second round and 2nd in the third round. With the final round seconds away, you were shocked to find that your points were tied with the hotheaded Katsuki. This last round would determine it all.

Denki massaged your shoulders during the brief break before the final round (as he was eliminated in the second round with an unlucky last place), whispering encouraging words to hype you up. He was worried about Katsuki’s verbal beating he’d give if he didn’t win; the blonde had been at the receiving end of many of those. Those worries all melted away as he saw the way you were weaving through the NPCs, using them to shield yourself from the explosive boy’s neverending supply of shells. You were neck and neck; in first and second place for the majority of the round. Tensions were high, the room making the group’s chants of your name echo into your very soul. You didn’t even realize you had managed to win; as soon as you crossed the finish line, Denki had you pulled into your lap and was pressing his lips lightly to your cheek.

“You did it! You beat our reigning champ! You’re definitely a keeper if you can even beat Mr. Hot Head himself! You want to do this again sometime, maybe one on one?”

Eijirou Kirishima

As health conscious and ‘manly’ as he is, Eijirou offered a simple walk in the park as your first date together. He would’ve offered to work out together, but some of his other friends (namely Mina and Denki) vetoed that. He chose a weekend that was expected to have a sunny forecast and chose a park that was more than just grass and pathways.

You both met up by the vending machines, him buying you your drink of choice and grabbing himself a bottle of water. Eijirou kept the conversation light, discussing the recent class you both had about team tactics. He had been absolutely enthralled watching how you effortlessly pulled off a combination move with Momo and Tsu. His hand casually reached for yours, grinning wide to show off his pearly teeth as your cheeks bloomed with a pale pink.

Soon you came upon a mostly deserted play set with three sets of swings. You both came to an agreement to swing in the shaded area as a short reprieve from the sun. The conversation shifted from tactics to inspirations as you recounted your first experience with a pro hero: a pro hero from your hometown had taught a general safety course and ended up rescuing an eight-year-old you from flying away when a friend’s wind producing quirk accidentally activated. You recounted your amazement about how she jumped up a few meters to grab you and gently returned you to your spot without making a huge scene about scolding your friend. Her calm attitude and quick reflexes really inspired you to strive to be a hero, especially a hero with attention to handling cases with children involved.

Eijirou relaxed into the swing, swaying as he explained how Crimson Riot’s manly ideology and willpower to confront danger without any hesitation brought himself out of a dark time of self-doubt. The pro hero turned into an idol, influencing the boy to take on his well-known red hair and paying homage to the Crimson Riot with his own hero name Red Riot. Her further went on to explain that while he admires the manliness of the hero, he doesn’t mean that he admires the masculinity aspect of the word.

He knows the courage and determination of manliness comes in many forms; he exclaims that you exemplify that manliness, especially after learning about what happened during your training at a hero agency based in Hosu City. You had managed to hold off two villains twice your size on your own while waiting for reinforcements to arrive during a small hideout raid. Eijirou was so caught up in explaining his admiration that he hadn’t even noticed that he was slightly pulling you both towards the edge of the raised walking path. He made one wrong step and started falling towards the ground, only to have you grip his hand tightly and yank him back onto the walkway and directly into you. With a blushing face that rivalled his hair, the boy recovered from his blunder with a full-bellied laugh.

“I know I’ve been going on and on about how manly you are and how awesome your training is going. After this, I think I’m really falling for you. You’re my hero today!”

Hanta Sero

A laidback date for a laidback guy, Hanta decides to do a casual movie at home for your first date. He first takes you to the convenience store to pick up all the snacks that you’ll need for the movie marathon. He scored some copies of a childhood classic series that he knew you liked, so he wanted to make sure you both would have enough to last the eight-hour binge.

While you grabbed the popcorn, he snuck over to where the dried fruit were. Despite all of his friends’ eating habits, Hanta favored the healthier options. Although he wouldn’t mind a little sugar now and then if it were you giving it to him. Little did he know that you were lurking around the candy aisle with a specific target in mind. After a few minutes of browsing the shelves, the black-haired teen settled on a large bag of a mixed variety of snacks and met you by the checkout counter.

Hanta paid for your goodies and you walked hand in hand back to his room. After situating the hammock into place and gathering any pillows or blankets you needed, you settled in next to each other and turned on the first of many movies. You both lay there cuddling, him being the large spoon so that he’d have more room to maneuver his elbows so that they wouldn’t dig into you.

Time sped by as you both lay there and enjoyed the corny visual gags that seemed like it was just yesterday that you were watching for the first time. In between laughing your hearts out and stuffing your cheeks with popcorn, neither of you could feel the beating of each other’s hearts against one another nor the warm mood settling about the two of you. The snacks were dwindling, only one bag left unopened as you two reached the final film.

He was the one who grabbed the bag, eyebrows quirking up as he read the contents. Sugar coated orange slices; something Hanta hadn’t eaten before. He asked why you got these instead of anything else. You blushed and gingerly took one out of the bag, mumbling a response along the lines of thinking he may like them. He chuckled and pushed into you, shifting just enough to where he could snatch the treat from your hands with his lips.

“Well what do you know, these are pretty good. If these are halfway as sweet as you, then I’m in good company!”

#mina ashido #mina ashido x reader #katsuki bakugou #katsuki bakugou x reader #kyouka jirou #kyouka jirou x reader #denki kaminari #denki kaminari x reader #eijirou kirishima #eijirou kirishima x reader #hanta sero #hanta sero x reader #bnha imagines #bnha x reader #bnha scenarios #bnha headcanons #requested

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emy-loves-you · 4 years ago

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Wrong Numbers and Useless Gays Chapter 15

Sandwiches and Self-Jealousy

Chapter 14 | Masterlist | Chapter 16

Warnings: Jealousy, half-lying, mentions of abandonment issues

Virgil shot up, surprised by Janus slamming the door upstairs. He stared at his phone. What was he supposed to do? He’s been flirting with his 3 crushes as Anxiety, and they don’t know that he’s Anxiety. Virgil sighed, gathering up what courage he had left. Might as well gather intel.

V- (1:10 PM) You’ve been flirting with THE Anxiety?!?

L- (1:10 PM) More like he was flirting with us.

P- (1:11 PM) You know Anxiety, Kiddo?

V- (1:11 PM) Yeah, I’m a fan of his

V- (1:11 PM) Are you sure that he’s flirting? Last I heard he was dating his bandmates

L- (1:12 PM) He said that he was flirting with me, but I don’t think he means it as a romantic gesture. He seemed more interested in my consent than my unavailability.

V- (1:12 PM) Wait, why were you guys okay with each other flirting with strangers?

R- (1:13 PM) We might all have the teensiest tiny crush on him

Virgil felt his cheeks heat up. They all had crushes on Anxiety? What was Virgil supposed to do with that information? Should he ignore it? Or should he try and be more serious with them as Anxiety, to see if he has a chance as a rockstar instead of a faceless friend?

Virgil suddenly felt something stirring in his gut. It took a few moments to recognize the feeling: Jealousy. Virgil had been pining after his crushes for months. He was not losing his chance to a person they’d only known for a week. Sure, that person was also Virgil, but it was the principle of it, Dammit! Virgil thought about it. While it would be easier to date them as Anxiety, he’d much rather date them as Virgil. Maybe I can give myself a leg-up through Anxiety. Virgil thought about it for several more minutes. This could work. Finally smiling, Virgil turned back to his phone.

V- (1:20 PM) Okay, you guys wanna get closer to Anxiety?

V- (1:20 PM) How does VIP tickets to their next concert sound?

R- (1:21 PM) SERIOUSLY?!?

R- (1:21 PM) YES PLEASE!

P- (1:22 PM) You don’t have to, Kiddo!

V- (1:22 PM) The concert’s on February 17th. Consider it a Valentine’s Day gift from me to you guys.

L- (1:22 PM) The concert is in less than 3 weeks. How do you have VIP tickets? Were you intending on using them, Virgil?

V- (1:23 PM) No, I just know a few people

V- (1:23 PM) By the way, where did you find that album, Lo?

L- (1:23 PM) I am at home right now due to nasopharyngitis. A coworker of mine dropped this off as an early birthday present. He said that I might find it useful. I assume that he saw Anxiety visiting me at the library and recognized him.

Virgil sighed. He’d have to pay more attention. He’d dropped his guard down when interacting with them. He didn’t want anyone else recognizing him.

R- (1:25 PM) Well, I must take my leave. I have lunch with Anxiety today, so I will inform him of our situation.

P- (1:25 PM) DON’T TELL HIM ABOUT OUR CRUSH ON HIM!

R- (1:25 PM) I WON’T!

Virgil swore, getting up. He’d completely forgotten about his lunch with Hottie/Roman. He quickly grabbed his stuff before running out the door. He sent a quick text to Janus, telling him that he had left. He speed-walked to the sandwich shop that Roman liked, ordering the same sandwich that Roman ordered every time, as well as one for himself. Before he knew it, he was standing outside of the theatre, sandwiches in hand. He sat there, remembering what he wanted to say to Roman. Roman soon walked out, a nervous yet somewhat awe-struck look on his face.

Flirt Mode: Activated

“Hey, Hottie. Ready for sandwiches and banter?” Anxiety held out the sandwich, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“We need to talk.” Anxiety startled slightly. He knew that Roman wanted to talk to him about his identity, but he didn’t think that he’d be this direct.

“Sure, mind if we sit down? My back is killing me.” They sat down on the sidewalk, uncomfortable silence between them. Anxiety opened his mouth to break the tension. “So-”

“I know you’re Anxiety.” Roman’s voice was soft, softer than Anxiety ever remembered it being. He stared down at the concrete. “And I know that I’m not the only person that you’re flirting with. You’ve actually been flirting with my 2 boyfriends. I just thought you should know that I knew before we continued anything. I don’t want to trick you or lie to you.”

Anxiety felt a wave of guilt overcome him. He shouldn’t be leading them astray like this. But what could he say? Hey, I’m also the guy that’s been texting you for the past 7 months. Hope this doesn’t pressure you into liking me. Anxiety mentally shook his head. No, he couldn’t do that. But he also couldn’t fully lie to them. Maybe some half-lies would make it better?

“I already knew.” Roman’s eyes shot up.

“How? We just figured it out today!”

“Apparently you told my friend too. Unless he made up the exact same story when he asked for the VIP tickets?” There, Virgil can be Anxiety’s friend. Close enough to where it would make sense for Anxiety and Virgil to know things that they shouldn’t, while far enough to draw away suspicion.

Roman’s jaw dropped. “You know Virgil?”

Anxiety nodded, taking a bite out of his sandwich. “Mmhm. He’s a good friend of mine. He sometimes goes on tour with us.”

Before Anxiety could even blink, he suddenly had a face full of Roman. “What’s he like?”

Anxiety stared, dumbfounded. “What?”

Roman huffed, the light never leaving his eyes. “Virgil. What’s he like? I’ve been talking to him for months, but we’ve never met face-to-face. So, what’s he like?”

It took a few moments for Anxiety to talk again. He wanted to know about Virgil? Not the literal rockstar in front of him? “Well, he’s sarcastic, for one (yep). He likes to spend money on people he cares about (you, Logan, Patton). He bounced around the foster system for a while, but I don’t know why (why didn’t anyone want me?). He has really bad anxiety (hence the persona), so he doesn’t go to any of my concerts (not as Virgil). He talks about you a lot (I can’t stop myself. I bring at least one of you up in every conversation I have with J and Re).”

“He does?” He looked so… happy? Hopeful? Unsettled? Virgil couldn’t tell.

“Yeah, he’s always blabbering about what you said that day or what he’s planning on getting you (not a lie). So, now that you know what I think of him, now it’s your time to spill. Who’s Virgil to you?”

Roman suddenly had a strange look on his face. Anxiety couldn’t name the emotion in his eyes. “Virgil is… different. He has such a cynical view of the world, yet he still makes lighthearted puns. He’s doesn’t want to meet us in person, yet he spends so much money on us. He can’t bake for shit, and he sends adorable apology chocolates when he thinks we’re upset. He loves Halloween and Disney. He listens when we need someone to talk to, and he rambles off random facts when we need a distraction. He comforts Patton when he’s sad. He makes Logan laugh after a tiring day, even if Lo plays it off as exasperation. He calms me down when I think that the world’s against me.” He sighed. “I wish he trusted us enough to let us meet him. I respect his wishes, but it’s hard, y’know? Trusting someone that you’ve never met.”

Anxiety felt another wave of guilt, this one even stronger. He opened his mouth before thinking. “I’m sure he’ll open up to you soon.”

“Really?!” Roman looked up, with so much… joy, and hope, and that same emotion that Anxiety couldn’t name. He recognized it somewhere, but he couldn’t remember where.

Anxiety smirked, internally screaming. “Of course. You think I’d lie about something like that? He just needs to build up his confidence first. Once he does, he’ll be dying to meet ya.” His smirk softened to a half-smile. “And from what I’ve seen so far from you, Angel, and Starlight, he won’t be disappointed.” Anxiety checked the time on his phone. “Well, your lunch ends in 2 minutes, and I’ve gotta go. See ya later, Hottie.” And with that, Anxiety stood up and walked away.

Virgil was surprised that his comment about opening up didn’t make him feel guilty. Instead, he felt… relieved? Hopeful? He couldn’t tell. But it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. I do have to tell them eventually. Might as well promise it. Pressure myself into actually doing it.

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Taglist: @bisexualdisaster106 @self-taught-mess @itawalrus @arodynamic-enby @sanderssides-angst

#useless gays #virgil sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #sanders sides fic

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mhdiaries · 5 years ago

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Monster Exchange Lorna McNessie Passport

5-30

So this is how ma day started: “Lorna McNessie, please report tae the Dead Master’s office.” Uh, oh. It’s usually nae good when you hear your name vibratin’ oot of a classroom speaker. As I left the room I could hear ma classmates giggling behind me; this nae bein’ the fiercst time I’d made the long walk tae the office. I was pretty sure this time it must be aboot me photo bombing the faculty fearbook picture. I just couldna help ma self; there they all were in their robes and finery, looking all stern and teacher-like, and there was that window behind them. I was drawn tae it like a werewolf tae a full moon, and even then I only stuck ma face in for one snap... or two... so I didna think it would cause a fuss. I stood outside the Dead Master’s door, drew a deep breath and got me, “Yes, I should have known better” apology ready. Then I knocked and stuck ma head in. “You wanted tae see me, sir?” He was on the phone and he waved me in and pointed tae a chair. I sat down while kept talkin’ tae the monster on the other end. “Ay, academically strong.” He just listened for a moment and then laughed himself tae tears. “Nae, nae, ‘twas something ye said struck me funny. I can assure you that self-confidence will nae be an issue with this one, Headmistress Bloodgood. Thank you for yer time, as well, and I’m sure we’ll speak again soon. Goodbye.” The Dead Master hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. “That was Headless Headmistress Bloodgood from Monster High. She’s accepted you application for the monster exchange program.” I couldna believe it, which seemed tae be an opinion shared by the Dead Master. I asked if that was the reason he called me tae his office. He said, “Nae - ‘twas merely a happy accident. But since you’re here, I suppose I shouldna have tae tell you that you’ll be representing our school, and I’ll expect you tae be on your beast behaviour.” I told him that, of course, I would, and that I would make the school proud. “Very good. Now let’s have a little chat aboot the faculty fearbook photo, shall we?”

6-5

Ma parents are understandably cautious aboot me leaving the loch tae attend Monster High. I don’t blame them, though; it is in their nature tae be so. Sometimes they look at me like I’m an alien when I tell them aboot ma latest photo bomb adventure, and then they just roll their eyes and say, “Just like your Gran.” I take that as a compliment, sine ma Gran is the scaly coolest monster ever! I went tae see her today tae tell the news that I’d be going to Monster High, and I think she was even more excited than me. She has a whole album of ma pictures, at least the ones I could get copies of, and she loves the stories behind them. She’s feisty, funny, and is an amazing storyteller. She can even make the ones I’ve heard a hundred times seem as new and exciting as the first time. Her stories aboot being a young ghoul in the loch are so funny, they make ma fins hurt. But one of her best tales is aboot the time I took her aboot on a photo bomb expedition. There is this bird that lives around the loch called the Three-Eyed Dusky Dragon Owl. They’re as rare as slug hair, and you mostly hear them rather than see them, but every so often a pair will build a nest some place near tae a road, and then monster bird watchers flock in... hehe... by the busload. Now it just so happened that the nest was at the bottom of a very steep cliff and on a branch that hung aboot over the water. I suggested tae Gran that we swim under water and pop our heads aboot as soon as the first birdwatchers started snapping photos, but Gran said, “Where’s the fun in that?” She didn’t want tae be in ONE picture, she wanted tae photo bomb them ALL. That’s why there is now a framed magazine cover over her mantel from the monster world’s most famous nature magazine. It features a nesting pair of Three-Eyed Dusky Dragon Owls, and two pieces of driftwood floating in the water behind them. If you look close enough you can almost see the driftwood giggling.

6-15

I’ve been getting tons of messages from different ghouls at Monster High saying they are looking forward tae meeting me. Then tonight I got tae video chat wit Howleen and Twyla. Howleen was super bouncy, and Twyla seemed shy but funny. It seemed like they had as many questions for me as I had for them. I was especially curious tae know if Headless Headmistress Bloodgood had a sense of humor or nae. Howleen got an odd look on her face, then started tae say something, but didn’t. Twyla actually laughed oot loud. “That depends,” said Twyla, “on whether or not her office gets filled with packing peanuts on a day when she’s giving foreign digniscaries a tour of the school.” I started laughing and asked Howleen if she got into trouble for the prank. “I had to come in on Saturday, and she made me clean them up by hand one peanut at a time. It took all day.” I said it sounded like she was no fun a’tall. “Wait,” said Twyla giggling, “you have to hear what happened next.” Howleen leaned back, and with a smirk on her face said, “When I got to school on Monday and opened my locker, I got buried in a flood of packaging peanuts.” At this point Twyla fell off the chair she was sitting on, and I could hear her cracking up on the floor. “It wasn’t that funny, Twyla,” huffed Howleen. “Yes. It. Was.” “Okay, Lorna, we’re going to go, now. Twyla has apparently lost her mind, and we’re going to need to try to find it.” I think I’m going to like Monster High, and with friends like these it’s nice to think I won’t have tae be swimming down stream like a lost salmon when I get there.

6-30

Got another surprise call tonight from a ghoul named Marisol Coxi. She’s a bigfoot from Monster Picchu, and she’s going to be at Monster High at the same time I am. She told me that Headless Headmistress Bloodgood gave her my number and said that we should get acquainted. Marisol is a bit larger than unlife, and I had tae turn down the volume when she was speaking tae me. At fiercst I was a bit taken aback, but her energy is so infectious, I couldne help but like her. We checked our schedules, and we’ll be arriving around the same time, so it’ll be nice tae have another new ghoul tae hang aboot with. I’m also hoping she’ll give me some pointers on how she does her nails. They were fabulous.

7-1

Mum and Gran made a monster dinner tonight and invited the whole family for ma going away party. All ma brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles and cousins were there tae celebrate. The table was full of ma favorite foods. There was Cullen Skink, Eyemouth pales, Kippers, tatties and herring, rollmops, smoked salmon, rumbledethumps, black puddings, and the grandest haggis you’ve ever set your eyes on. Then Mum brought aboot coffin berry scones, and of course the best shortbread in Rotland. Then the pipes and drums came oot, and we played and danced intae the wee hours. We even took a family photo, and for once it was a picture I didna have tae sneak intae.

7-5

Had ma last swim aboot the loch this morning, and it was pure magic. I love ma home, and even though I’m excited aboot going on the exchange tae Monster High, there’s nae danger that that I’ll ever want tae live any place else. I also saw a boatload of normies casting aboot for a chance tae take a photo of the “mysterious” creature that lives in the loch. All the grown folk were on one side of the boat with their cameras, and there was a bonnie wee lass on the opposite, just starin’ down intae the loch. So I swam up, stuck my head oot of the water and waved tae her. She smiled and waved back, and then I was gone. I imagine she’ll still be tellin’ that story when she’s a gran herself.

#monster high #monster high diary #monster exchange #passport #lorna mcnessie

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larryfanficwriter98 · 4 years ago

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Chapter Seventeen

**Have some supportive boyfriend Louis fluff**

"Did you have a favorite?" Louis frowned looking over at Harry, "song. Did you have a favorite song?"

"Oh…yeah of course I did. I have two tied at number one."

"Which ones?" Harry asked sitting on the edge of the full-size mattress that was tucked in the corner of the room on a small wooden frame.

"Dive and All of the Stars. I love them all, but those two made me cry and All of the Stars obviously was when we were long distance and applies to the future when you go on tour again. Then Dive tells me about your doubts and worries when we were dating but not labeling it." Louis said as he sat himself on Harry's lap wrapping an arm around the back of his neck, "I love them all though, but those two are incredibly open. Then obviously I'm biased with If I Could Fly. What about you? Which one is your favorite?"

"Who says I have one?"

"I do."

"In this album it's Strong because I wrote it when I was back here, and we had all these months together and you've...made me want to be me." Louis ran his fingers through Harry's hair

"You give me too much credit, you and your fans both do. I didn't do anything except love you." Louis said, "what's your favorite on the other album?"

"It's a song that I haven't decided if I want to keep yet or not. It's not on the CD, but it's on my phone."

"If it's your favorite then why not keep it?"

"Because it's not...me " Louis rolled his eyes grinning as he stood up

"Harry you have worn a large button up and loose pants, you have worn a pink tropical flamingo shirt with black skinnies, you have worn thigh hugging black velvet bell bottoms with a vertical striped black and white shirt, then you wore waist high white pants with a sunflower shirt tucked into them, and lastly today you wore all Gucci. So, tell me what image you're going for exactly." Harry blushed looking away but Louis made him look at him, "and for the record you have looked amazing in all of it, I just don't think you should limit yourself to one image when it's not you. I think you can be such an amazing role model of young people who stands out and breaks gender roles in clothing when you're ready to. I will hold your hand while you wear a suit and tie and while you wear a dress and heels. Whatever you want to wear I'll be the proudest boyfriend to hold your hand and whether that is tomorrow or in five years, I will be there for every messy step to every high wall we come across. If this song is something you can't let go of then don't, don't make yourself stick to one genre for the comfort of the world."

"I love you so much." Harry said staring at Louis

"And I love you." Louis said, "can I listen to it?"

"If you can find it you can listen to it. You'll know it when you hear it." Harry said as he stood them up and pulled the covers back. "Good luck."

"I'll find it when you least expect it." Louis said as Harry crawled into the bed with his back against the wall, louis followed him and laid down, so they were facing each other. "Goodnight darling."

"Goodnight."

*********

Louis scrolled through Harry's songs for the third time since he took the phone and hid inside the bedroom a few minutes ago. Louis thought it was Sweet Creature at first, but that turned out to be a sweet song about him and was considerably Harry. So, he continued his search for anything that struck out to him when he found it. It was a song with 'Kiwi' as the title and when he clicked on it was a new type of music and nothing like he had worked on before.

"Louis?" Louis jumped and turned to the closed door then looked down at the phone realizing thirty minutes had passed and he had been listening to the same song the whole time.

"Yeah? Yes? What?" Louis asked

"You alright?" Harry asked

"Yeah...yeah I'm great...I'm great. Why?"

"Because you've been in there for thirty minutes?" Louis opened the door just enough to pull Harry into the bathroom where he immediately pressed him against the door and kissed him passionately. Harry made a shocked hum sound before he moved them, so Louis was against the bathroom counter and Harry was pressing against him. Louis ram his fingers into Harry's short hair gripping it tightly.

"Wait...what did I do to get this." Harry asked pulling away

"You have to do something to get kissed?" Louis questioned

"No but you sort of did jump me and you were hard before we even started kissing. Wait were you wanking in here? Did I interrupt something?

"Oh you interrupted something but it wasn't my hand down my pants...yet. Now shut up and let's snog in a bathroom like teenagers and maybe get each other off without our families noticing our absence."

"What? No. Louis I can't do that to your mother not to mention that my mother would kill me."

"Fine." Louis said sighing as he gently pushed Harry away, "you're lucky this time." He said as he unbuttoned his jeans then shoved his hand down to adjust himself, so he was less obvious.

"Do you know where my phone is? I was looking for it earlier, but I couldn't find it." Louis grabbed the phone from his back pockets and handed it to him before looking down to button himself not noticing the frown that appear on Harry's face.

"There...alright... let's go." Louis opened the door and made sure no one was lurking before he left. Harry joined him outside but instead of joining Louis he headed to where Gemma was. The rest of the time leading up to the meal was tense. At the table Harry sat on the other side of the table and on the other end when there had been an empty seat beside Louis. It made everyone look between them and sense the tension suddenly there.

"You and Harry okay?" Harry's mother whispered to him questioningly

"I thought we were." Louis told her before he stabbed a few green beans with his fork and shoved them into his mouth. The dinner was strained but it did end eventually just not without a few looks between him and Harry and weird silence. After the dinner Louis got up and gathered the dishes then headed into the kitchen.

"Are we okay?" Harry asked setting the serving plates down on the counter beside the sink, "look if you found something then tell me and I swear to you I can explain because I'd never do anything to hurt you. I don't know what you could of possibly found but whatever it is-"

"What? Harry what are you talking about? Louis asked turning to look at him and ignoring the fact that their families are most likely listening in outside the doorway leading into the kitchen

"I'm talking about whatever I did to make feel so insecure in our relationships that you took my phone without talking to me first like we've always done whenever we had problems. I don't care that you took it I care that you didn't talk to me before and after the fact and I've been trying to think what you could have possibly found and I can't come up with anything because I haven't-"

"Harry no. I didn't go through your phone. I have no reason to go through your phone nor do I want to. The only time I've gone through was to find that picture when asshole and I were arguing on Twitter and it was only your cloud which you knew about. You told me where to look and I went to the month. That's it."

"Then what were you doing with my phone in the bathroom for thirty minutes because I'm not even on my phone for thirty minutes unless I'm doing something on my studio app."

"Well first I didn't tell you I had it because it was on the bed and I was going to give it to you but I just never did because we were both away from each other with our families. Secondly if I felt so insecure in our relationship that I had to take tour phone and lock myself in a different room to go through it I'd break up with you first. I don't want that type of relationship and neither do you. Thirdly I didn't tell you I was going to go through your phone because I didn't want you to be nervous the whole time it took me to find what I was looking for. Fourthly I went through your music I was in bathroom for thirty-eight minutes trying to find the song you weren't sure about. You were nervous the whole way up here when you knew I was listening to an album that you were proud of that you nearly missed the exit. So since you were nervous just mentioning this song I figured you not knowing I was going to look for it, which I told you I would last night and you told me good luck. I figured this way I could tell you after I found it. When you came, I was on my tenth repeat and the way that you found me should be some indication of what I thought of it."

"A song did that?"

"We both know he's an overachiever, he gets interested watching you stretch so yes listening to that song woke him up. Look I'm sorry Alright. If the roles were reversed and you were the one with my phone in the bathroom I'd think the same thing and I'd probably break up with you at the end if the day if it turned out you had been looking for something. It's not about trust to go through each other's phone it's about trust to not go through it and instead talk about it, which we always do."

"I figured we'd talk later, that we were waiting to not make this day weird."

"It became weird when you sat in the other end of the table."

"Phoebe asked if she could sit beside you and I said of course so I sat beside my sister. I didn't realize me sitting away from you for one meal would cause such a catastrophe, I'm be sure to never do it again and will elbow your sisters for the seat beside you next time. So, to be clear I didn't do anything?"

"I don't know, did you? Should I have went through it?"

"I don't think so. I mean I'm with you like all the time and most of the time-"

"I'm joking. No, you haven't done anything."

"So, we're okay?"

"Yeah we're fine."

"Well don't say fine...fine is what you say when you're still mad about something and-"

"Harry." Louis said laughing as he grabbed his face and made him look at him, "we're great. I didn't explain to you why I had your phone because I didn't think how the situation looked and you didn't ask because you assumed, we'd talk later when we were alone. We just didn't communicate that's all, but we're fine. I promise."

"Okay because the only think I could think of was Zayn's nude he sent on accident that I haven't deleted because I don't want to look at it again. But you were with me when I got it but I hadn't deleted it yet, so I don't maybe you were thinking-"

"Harry stop thinking." Louis said grinning as he looked at his boyfriend, "for the record I think the song is perfect and I think you should definitely consider adding it." Louis told him as he wrapped his arms around the back of his neck, "I love you."

"I love you too." Harry said kissing him sweetly, "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for Harry. I honestly didn't even think how it would have looked especially considering how your past relationship was. We're okay though I promise. I'm not upset, you're not upset, we're fine. You think too much sometimes."

"I don't like leaving things unresolved."

"And it's not unresolved, we've resolved it. We talked about it and I don't know what else could be said about it honestly."

"Can we drive somewhere and talk about it?" Harry asked

"Harry, we have. We've talked." Louis told him confused

"But I don't feel like we have."

"Harry there is literally nothing else to talk about regarding this. It's been resolved." Louis said exasperated

"No, it hasn't Louis." Harry snapped taking Louis by surprise as during all their arguments or disagreements Harry was usually always very calm and controlled. Louis was usually the one that started to snap and yell first.

"Okay. We are not going to argue here if that's what is about to happen."

"Is there somewhere else you'd like to argue you at?"

"Use that tone with me Harold and you are sleeping in your car. Now let's go get a tub of ice cream or something and resolve whatever this is."

"Okay." Harry said quietly before walking out of the kitchen. Louis followed behind him noticing their families were still at the table.

"We'll be back in a few minutes." Louis told the group as he watched Harry head straight out the door after grabbing his keys.

"Are you two okay?" Anne asked

"Yeah I think Harry just doesn't want to say everything he obviously needs to say with so many ears around. We'll talk and get a tub of ice cream on our way back. Harry's been stressing about things he really doesn't need to be stressing about so I think it's getting to him. We'll be back in an hour. We're fine though, really."

"Okay dear." Louis left the house and got into the passenger seat looking over at Harry seeing tears in his eyes, "hey come on...let's just find a private spot and talk okay?" Harry nodded silently before starting the car and backing out of the driveway.

******

Louis followed Harry into the hotel room.

"I didn't want to risk us being overheard in the car or photos be taken." Harry explained

"I figured. Louis said sitting on the bed, "what's wrong?"

"I don't know. I feel like I broke your trust by assuming you went through my phone and making a big deal out of it."

"Harry you didn't make a high deal out of it and you didn't break my trust. I told you I understood considering how it looked. Come on say what you're avoiding."

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you are. You're not saying something." Harry closed his eyes and sat down on the other bed, "I don't know...I've been feeling frustrated for a few days now and I don't know why."

"Frustrated how?" Louis asked gently

"I don't know. I feel....trapped...stuck. I feel stuck and it's pissing me off and I can't get out." Harry said tears filling his eyes

"Is it us? Our relationship?" Harry immediately shook his head

"The only thing I'm sure of is that I love you and I don't want to lose you." Harry said

"Well maybe the only way to make sure of that is for us to step back a bit. Maybe you need to find yourself before you can be with me." Louis said

"You're the reason I'm finding myself. Louis trust me it's not us...it's my head or I don't know, but it's not us."

"Okay. Then tell me what makes you so frustrated...tell me even if it doesn't make sense. When did it begin?"

"This week I think, and it got worse as the days gone on. It's going to sound bad but it's you...you make me frustrated and I don't know why and I'm mad at myself for getting annoyed at you for literally putting the dishes away. But I'm not mad at you or anything I'm-"

"Frustrated." Louis said grinning now which made Harry glare

"What's so funny?"

"Harry you're frustrated."

"Yes, I know I told you this already and I don't know why."

"No Harry." Louis said standing up to straddle Harry's lap, "you're sexually frustrated...when someone doesn't orgasm for long periods of time, they get pissy and snappy. Single people masturbate or have one-night stands or have toys to satisfy urges. However, when someone is in a relationship with someone their partner usually pisses them off by doing normal things like putting the dishes away. Usually the pissy one just tackles the unsuspecting boyfriend on a friend and has their wicked way with them, however if it's their first time experiencing this frustration it can confuse. It confused me my first time."

"Wait people get angry because of that?" Harry asked

"Yeah both male and female and considering we haven't had any bedroom activity in 10 days I'm not surprised you're pissy." Louis said, "next time just tell me you want a blowjob."

"But I don't want a blowjob." Louis jerked his head back from where he was about to kiss Harry, "no I mean...I've been meaning to bring up the topic but its not really something you say over dinner."

"Okay well say it now."

"I want your honest answer, I'm already expecting it to be a no so just a honest answer."

"Of course. Harry I'd never lie to you especially about something as serious as sex. Now hurry up because I'm getting hard just form the anticipation." Harry leaned back on his elbows while Louis stayed straddled on his lap

"Would you ever consider bottoming? Like...just once?"

"I have bottomed, multiple times. My last boyfriend preferred topping so most times I bottomed. He'd bottom every now and again, but -"

"No, I know you've bottomed. I meant with me. Would you ever bottom with me topping?"

"Yeah of course." Louis said immediately still confused as to why this was even a question in the first place

"You would? Just like that...you're not even going to think about it?" Harry asked shocked

"Why would I have to think about it? Harry of course I would bottom for you. I mean I'd want to top eventually but it wouldn't have to be frequently if you didn't want it to be. I love to bottom, and I love to top. Why wouldn't- Dickhead said he'd never bottom for you didn't he."

"He mentioned it briefly. We didn't talk about it, but he mentioned my size being an issue for anyone." Harry said

"Well I would probably have to be on top the first few minutes so my body could adjust at its own pace, but after that it would get easier with time. The first few times will have to be careful, so I don't tear but once my body is used to you I won't need as much preparation. You're above average Harry, but you're not abnormally large. Your ex was just an insecure douchebag who probably had a smaller than average cock and was made fun of for it in school. You have nothing to feel weird about when it comes to penis sizes." Louis explained, "now is this something you want to do? Have sex? Or is it something you want to talk about now, so you know later?"

"I wanted to take you out to a nice dinner tonight before I cancelled the plans to come here. Then I was going to let you listen to the songs either in the studio or in a nice warm bath. I was going to get rose petals and just throw them all over our bedroom and whether it was just a really nice cuddle, or we just explored the other's bodies or whatever we did I would know that you knew I meant every word and that I love and trust you so much."

"I already know that."

"I know you do, but I wanted to show you, but I don't know how to do that or if you want to do thar or if I'm even ready to bottom. It's not that I don't trust you because I do, and I love you and I want to share that with you. I just don't know what to do. I mean obviously I know what to do I just-" Louis cupped Harry's face and kissed him

"First step is to talk to me." Louis told him watching as Harry rolled his eyes grinning

"Obviously, I was going to talk to you. I had a speech all planned for when you came into the bedroom. I was going to tell you how much I love you and you were going to make a joke about me proposing too soon and to hold off and I was going to tell you to shut up for five minutes so I could talk." Louis laughed nodding

"Sounds like us. What else was going to happen?"

"I was going to tell you how amazing you are and how much you've helped me find myself and how much I wanted to spend my life with you. Then you'd interrupt and tell me if I get down on one knee, you'd say no just to spite me. I would look at you...probably the way I'm looking at you now." Harry said softly as he stared at Louis with love and tears shining in his eyes.

"I like this look." Louis said swallowing heavily, "what would you tell me you wanted to do?"

"I want us to go further, but I don't know how far I was comfortable with. Maybe all the way or maybe half. I want us to go as far as I or the night allows." Louis didn't know why he had tears in his eyes or even when they got there, but he cupped Harry's face and kissed him pushing down on his back.

"And we will...next Saturday night. I will wine and dine you and I will throw petals all over the bedroom and we will find out where the night stops and I will bottom or top. Whatever feels right and you can stop anytime. I promise."

"I love you." Harry said looking at him

"I love you too." Louis said, "unfortunately if we are gone any longer our families will get suspicious. We'll leave tomorrow morning and spend all day in bed getting all of that frustration out of you. Come on."

#New Chapter #larries #Larry Stylinson #larry shippers #larry fanfiction #larry stylinson fanfiction #larry stylinson fluff #larry fluff #archive of our own #Wattpad

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melonkooky · 5 years ago

Text

bts trying to get their ex back

requested

word count: 1275

genre: more angst than fluff, but they all should have relatively happy endings

author’s note: this, if it isn’t obvious, is just my opinion and interpretation. i don’t know these boys personally (i’d love too tho) so of course, i could be wrong... but that doesn’t matter. also, i know this is very different from what i normally write and the format is different, but i still hope you guys like it

please do not copy my work. but please like and reblog it. thank you!!!!

kim seokjin

for starters, i don’t really see bts going to great lengths to win their ex back, nor becoming excessive or obsessive about it, if that makes sense

i think that if they were to break up with someone, it would most likely be a mutual break up, something that would be for the best, like maybe scheduling conflicts

but for the sake of this request

i think jin would try to win his ex back by asking them to go on a date with him, one last resort

he would be missing them a lot and he noticed that it was really affecting him

so, he texted his ex, “i know we are just friends, but please go on one last date with me.”

he was relieved when they texted back saying they agreed

he prepped all of their favorite food, spending all of his morning making sure everything tasted right, making sure it looked delicious, even arranging things to look aesthetic and cute

today, he said to himself, he was going to win their heart back

min yoongi

i see min yoongi as the type to hide his thoughts about his ex as well as how he still has feelings about them

the members knew about the break up and even though yoongi tried his best to be happy, the members could see it

sometimes, even the one’s who typically give the advice and help others also need help themselves (i tried to sound super wise but i worded that sentence really weirdly)

the members suggested talking to his ex again, and although yoongi waved away their advice saying that it was for the best, his mind pondered that thought

he texted their ex; immediately afterwards, however, he felt extremely nervous and began to regret it

his mind tortured him, telling him he should have said something else, should have said this instead of that, or just had not texted them at all

yoongi focused his mind on composing and writing music (writing a bomb ass song about love)

when you texted back asking if he had time to come over for chinese takeout, he had never moved so fast

jung hoseok

i think with hoseok, it would be clear between his ex and himself that he hadn’t gotten over his feelings

like, him and his ex most likely parted ways, not because they were falling out of love, but something else like i said earlier, perhaps scheduling conflicts and not having time for each other

there was still a very very very likely chance that his ex and him were in love

him and his ex still talked a lot, as friends, that part of the relationship was still strong

but it saddened the both of them that they couldn’t be more

that is until hoseok couldn’t take it one late night, nearly two in the morning

he texted his ex, telling them everything that he was feeling; his head felt clear after, but his stomach was somersaulting and forming crazy knots

his ex was asleep but when they saw his text, they practically leaped out of their bed with joy, relieved that he wanted to get back together

kim namjoon

namjoon would try his best to go about his life, trying to find peace and happiness once again

i think during the first few days/weeks after the breakup, he’d find comfort in writing and composing love songs

sure they were cheesy sometimes, but they were based off of the moments he shared with his ex; although there also were a few breakup ones

an album was produced soon enough and it was very different from his other songs and albums, a different point/theme

soon, his ex was binge listening, knowing and understanding the album that namjoon had put his heart and soul into

and namjoon was hoping that his ex were listening, hoping that they were feeling the same exact emotions as him; he missed them, longed for them

soon, his ex was ringing namjoon, maybe even shedding a few tears

they talked all night, reminiscing the good times, reigniting feelings

park jimin

after he and his ex broke up, jimin put all his anger and sadness into dancing

he would go on for hours on end, and i think he would do this as a way to let out his emotions while also trying to distract his mind

he was still in love with his ex and he would hate how they ended things, and for the reasons as well

at night, jimin found his thumb hovering over his ex’s name, debating on texting them; but he was nervous, as if he and his ex had never spoken before

sometimes he imagined himself confessing to his ex again, he and his ex falling in love again, making up and pretending that nothing ever happened

the members would see how jimin was feeling, he didn’t mean for it to affect his everyday life

finally, jimin sent his ex a text, asking if they could talk; he really needed it

and it seemed his ex needed too so they facetimed, talking quietly as to not bother anyone

it was awkward at first, but before he knew it, he and his ex were laughing and brought back together

kim taehyung

i honestly think taehyung would be in some form of denial at first, like, yeah he and his ex broke apart, but he didn’t want it

it was a mutual decision, but it was because of his ex, he just wanted to make them happy, but taehyung wasn’t happy

he and his ex often talked, mainly it was small talk; “how are you?”, “what did you do today?”, “did you eat?”

it was evident that he wasn’t too keen on letting his ex go, especially under the circumstances

say taehyung was about to leave on a long world tour; he was excited, yes, but his ex preoccupied his thoughts

before the plane ride, he wrote a long ass paragraph to his ex explaining everything, his feelings, his thoughts, what he wanted; then he turned off his phone

he spent the flight sleeping or talking to the members, watching movies on their phones

when taehyung landed, he turned his phone back on, not expecting a reply from his ex, but there was one, and his ex was missing him and claimed they’d wait for him to come home

jeon jungkook

this little maknae was definitely sad about parting ways with his ex; it was his first (or one of his first) serious relationship and he loved them a lot

i think he’d try not to think about it often, but it was hard; every little thing would remind him of his ex

he was shy, too nervous to say anything to his ex

the members all offered various pieces of advices; “talk to them, you need closure”, “i think it’s best to not think about them”, “maybe you and them need a good conversation”

jungkook tried to listen to them, but his heart was saying another thing

one late night, when jungkook couldn’t sleep; he was exhausted and he had plans the next day

but after wandering around on social media, an idea struck him

he opened a recorder app on his phone and sang a mellow and acoustic version of euphoria

when his ex received it, they started to cry, their head and heart full of emotion

it took a few days to muster up the courage, ever after he had sent them the recording, but he asked if they would ever take him back

and he smiled with tears

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quickspinner · 5 years ago

Text

Second Chance - Ch 7 Why Wait

“Luka.”

“Nngh.”

“Lukaaaa.”

“Hnh?”

“Wake up so I can kiss you goodbye, you jerk.”

“It’s the weekend, where are you even going?” he mumbled.

“Brunch with my parents. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

“Marinette,” he moaned. “Your parents are amazing, you’re amazing, you’re gorgeous, I’m so in love with you, but that concert last night killed me. I’ll beg their forgiveness later, but please, please, please just let me sleep.”

He couldn’t see her pouting, but somehow he knew she was. Too tired to question whether one could hear a pout, Luka raised up with only one eye open, pressed a kiss in the general vicinity of her mouth, and then buried his face in the pillow with a groan. Even so, he smiled as he felt her soft lips on his bare shoulder.

“I love you too, vampire boyfriend,” she teased.

“Love you,” he muttered as he pulled the blanket over his head to hide his grin. He was too tired to be this happy, damnit.

***

Having Marinette there when he woke was one of Luka’s favorite things about the weekend, so he may have done a little pouting himself when he dragged out of bed. Luka had tried adjusting his hours a bit to make more time with her, and had been moderately successful until his next round of scheduled performances, which quickly put him back on night owl hours.

Still, they made it work, and the last few months had seen a great deal of improvement in Luka’s life, even with Marinette now working more standard hours. She’d declined to work with Adrien at Gabriel, and had negotiated a very favorable contract with another major design house, but she still had to work when everyone else was working. Luka had plenty to fill his time when she wasn’t around, especially with tour season quickly approaching, but he’d also taken Marinette’s advice and devoted more time to his personal life outside of her.

He’d started getting together with Ivan every few weeks, and he’d been drawn into Marinette’s circle of friends as well. Adrien has been by to see them a few times with minimal awkwardness. They’d had dinner several times with Alya and Nino, and as Nino also had a career in music that frequently meant he worked odd hours, he and Luka had struck up the beginnings of a friendship outside of their girls. Anarka was back in Paris, and she always had time to see him when he was bored or frustrated, or when he just wanted to get away from the reporters who’d been dogging him ever since his relationship went public. Luka secretly loved watching his mother tell off the paparazzi who had the audacity to set up around her boat, just before she cast off and left them on the bank as she sailed them out of reach, her booming laugh echoing across the water.

He’d found more of a balance, just as Marinette had suggested, and Luka felt much better for it. Lucille took the dip in his efficiency in stride, even though it made managing his schedule more work. “You couldn’t keep the pace you were on forever,” she’d said briskly when he’d apologized. “It’s fine for you to be human, especially if it means you’re writing more songs.”

He was, he had almost a full album’s worth of tracks at least partially written, and the ones he’d demoed for the producers had been well received. At home, Marinette had helped him turn his apartment into something more personal and comfortable for them both. The windows now sported curtains Marinette had sewed herself, dark blue in his bedroom and cheerful red in the living room. There were throw pillows on the couch and leafy, living plants here and there (Marinette promised to help him keep these alive). A knit blanket lay over the back of the couch whenever they weren’t wrapped in it. Framed prints of Luka’s album covers were artfully hung in the living room, and pictures of friends and family were scattered on the walls of the hallways and bedroom.

Technically, Marinette didn’t live with him, but the distinction at this point was a fine one. His spare bedroom was littered with her projects. The clothes she wore most often were in his closet and dresser. Her cosmetics competed for space with his in the vanity and there was a neat row of sweet-smelling bottles with pictures of flowers and fruit on them lined up along his bathtub. His kitchen cabinets housed at least half her collection of mugs that she had picked up in the various places she had visited, most handmade or hand painted and all far more colorful than anything he owned.

Most importantly, Marinette slept in his bed almost every night, allowing them to take advantage of every mutually convenient moment in their very different schedules. Maybe he couldn’t wake up with her and maybe she was almost always asleep when he came to bed, but Lucille worked his schedule to keep their overlapping hours open, or at least booked with tasks he could do at home.

Luka sank down on the couch, leaning back into the soft blanket, and tried really hard not to think about the tour starting in...crap, it was barely a month now. He sighed and let his head fall back with a little groan. He got homesick on tour at the best of times. It was going to be even harder now. He smiled at the ceiling. At least he’d have something really worth coming home to.

Luka perked up at the sound of a key in the door.

“You haven’t even gotten up the energy to make coffee yet?” Marinette teased when she saw him. “You really are tired. Fear not, your savior has arrived.” She waggled a large to go cup at him.

“God, I love you,” Luka sighed, reaching his arms toward her. She came to him and perched on his knee, kissed him, and offered him the coffee.

“I have pastries too if you’re hungry.”

“Mm,” Luka took the coffee, but nuzzled into her neck. “I’d rather have woken up with you, but I’ll take it.”

“I gave you the chance to wake up with me and you begged me to let you sleep.”

“You know what I meant. How are your parents?”

“Same as always,” she smiled brightly. “How was the show? You were too wiped out when you got home to tell me. This was the benefit show for the children’s hospital, right? The one Rose works with?”

“Yeah. It was amazing,” Luka shook his head. “So much energy in the crowd, it felt fantastic. Pretty emotional, though, with the speakers and all, so I really just had nothing left when it was over.” He sighed. “Those people are amazing. There was so much strength—“ he stopped, choked up, and cleared his throat. “It was a lot,” he finished thickly.

Marinette kissed him softly, giving him a tender look, and then got off his lap, heading for the kitchen. “We can take it easy today if you want. Do you have to work?”

“First weekend of the month is fan mail weekend,” he reminded her, accepting the plate and napkin she brought him. “So, yes, but I can work around whatever else we decide to do.” Marinette put the box of pastries on the coffee table near him, and then pulled out her sketchbook. She settled with her back against the arm of the couch and her feet in his lap.

“I don’t mind. You know I think it’s great that you make time to answer your fan mail.”

How is this my life? Luka wondered as he selected a pastry and put it on his plate. It was good, it was comfortable, it was right, and Luka was suddenly struck by the thought that he never wanted it to end.

Luka didn’t realize how he was staring at her until Marinette spoke.

“What are you thinking about so hard?” Marinette asked him without looking up from her sketchbook.

“I want to marry you.”

Marinette straightened and set her pencil down to look at him. She didn’t whip her her head up and stare wide-eyed, which he took as a good sign, so he set his plate down on the coffee table and continued.

“I love you and there’s no doubt in my mind that you’re the one I want to be with. I want this—“ he motioned between them, “—all the time, forever. So I’d like to know how you feel about it. If it’s something you think you might want someday too.”

Marinette rapped a fingernail on her sketchbook. “Someday?”

“Or today.” Luka quipped with a shrug. “I’m sure we could make that happen.” He was mostly kidding, but his eyes widened slightly as Marinette frowned and pulled out her phone. He waited, a weird feeling curling in his stomach as she swiped and scrolled and chewed her lip.

Then she looked up at him and his pulse shot up so rapidly that he nearly didn’t hear her over the pounding.

“I’m sorry, can you say that again?” he managed.

“I said I don’t think today will work, but we can do next Friday. I think everyone we’d need is free.”

Luka could barely breathe as he stared at her. “You want to get married next Friday?”

Marinette smirked at his expression. “Yep.”

Her smirk softened at the smile that bloomed on his face. Luka leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “Who are you and what have you done with Marinette queen-of-overthinking Dupain-Cheng?”

She mimicked his pose, leaning in until her nose was nearly brushing his. “She doesn’t live here anymore. Meet the new resident, Marinette not-stupid-enough-to-miss-her-second-chance Couffaine.”

He nearly tackled her in his enthusiasm to kiss her. Marinette shoved him off, laughing. “We don’t have time for kissing, we’ve got phone calls to make.”

“Right.” He whipped out his phone. “Lucille! Hey, listen, Marinette and I are getting married next Friday. Call her in an hour and whatever she wants, you make it happen. If you get stuck on anything, call Penny. In fact, call Penny anyway and tell her she and Jagged are invited.”

“Oh,” Lucille said blankly, and then “Oh! Yes, okay. Um, budget?”

“Break the bank, I don’t care. Just don’t kill anyone, don’t get anyone fired, and try not to make too many threats. Okay?” He grinned at Marinette, who had her own phone to her ear but still heard enough to wrinkle her nose at him.

“You take all the fun out of everything.” Lucille drawled.

“You’re the best, Lu, I’ll call you later and check in.”

“How much does she hate me?” Marinette asked in a whisper, holding her own phone at arm’s length while Alya screamed.

“She wasn’t even phased. She lives for stuff like this.” Luka grinned. “It’s good for her resume. And I’ve been so low maintenance that I’ve earned a few outrageous demands.” He kissed her temple. “I’ve gotta go.”

“What? Where are you going?”

“Gonna grab Juleka and go find a ring.”

“What? Luka, you don’t have to do that, it’s barely two weeks, I don’t need a ring.”

He leaned in and kissed her, caressing her face tenderly. “I’m gonna do it anyway. Unless you want to come pick it out?”

“No,” Marinette said faintly, “No, whatever you pick is fine, just—don’t go overboard.”

He kissed her again. “Okay. But when Lucille calls, you tell her what you want and don’t worry about the money.” Another kiss, and Luka giggled against her lips. “I’ve never been able to say that before. I want you to have the wedding of your dreams even if it is on short notice.”

“Isn’t there anything you want?” Marinette asked, looking concerned.

“I want you, Marinette,” he breathed, and then grinned. “I want to dance with you. I want my guitar and an amp handy. I’d really like to not wear a tie, I hate those things. But mostly I just want you there and as happy as you can possibly be. Everything else is negotiable.”

“Oh my God, girl,” Alya screeched over the phone. “I take back everything I just said, marry that boy pronto.”

Luka laughed. “Hi Alya! Bye Alya!” He kissed Marinette one more time, grabbed his jacket, headed out of his door and straight over to Juleka’s, and pounded a little more forcefully than was probably necessary. Rose opened the door, looking surprised.

“Luka, what's going on? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, Rose,” he said, smiling like his face would split. He leaned past her and hollered, “Jules! Get decent and get out here, I need to go buy Marinette a ring and you’re coming with me.”

Rose squealed, covering her mouth with her hands. Luka winked at her. “You’re welcome to come too, Rose.”

“That’s amazing Luka, I’m so happy for you!” She threw her arms around his neck. “Oh! Have you planned how you’re going to ask her?”

“Already did. We’re getting married next Friday.” His brow furrowed. “Shit, I better call Maman.”

Rose just gaped at him with her mouth open. Then she screeched and ran back into the apartment, screaming for Juleka. Luka chuckled and stepped inside, shutting the door. He pulled out his phone and called his mother. Anarka sounded simultaneously exasperated and delighted, but she promised to be there and that was all Luka cared about. By the time he was off the phone with her, Juleka had emerged, dressed in nondescript black without her usual lace accents, her hair pulled back in a knot that hid most of the color and her purple tipped bangs tucked under a hat. She said nothing, just wrapped her arms around him. He folded around her and returned the hug. When they separated, she reached up and smacked the back of his head, then walked out the door without looking back to see if he and Rose were following.

“The press is going to be all over you,” Juleka mumbled as they got in the car. “They’ve been staking out the building ever since that premier. They’re going to follow us.”

Luka made a face. “Yeah, I know. I’m hoping we can make it look like we’re shopping for you, but if they do, they do. Lucille will have to find a way to keep them off my back.”

“With the tour about to kick off, they’re going to say it’s a publicity stunt,” Juleka persisted, looking sideways at him.

“I don’t care what they say, never have.”

“They’ll probably dig up whatever they can about Marinette. Probably your old girlfriends, too.”

Luka shrugged. “Everyone has a past, it doesn’t matter. As long as none of them show up at the wedding I couldn’t care less.”

“Marinette might care.”

“I’ll talk to her about it when we get home.” He hesitated. “Although I guess we didn’t really talk about—” he stopped and pulled out his phone.

Marinette picked up immediately. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he replied, unable to help smiling at the sound of her voice. “Listen, before I do this I just wanna make sure, you know the press is going to get wind of this right? Even if I manage to cover up what I’m doing, something is bound to leak if we do this in a hurry.”

“I suppose you’re right, but at least they’ll only have a couple weeks to freak out. Better than planning a wedding for months under that kind of scrutiny.”

“You’re right. We should probably just make a statement,” Luka mused. “I’ll talk to Lucille about putting one out once you’ve talked to everyone you need to. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with everything because the second I walk into a jewelry store, there are going to be rumors, even if we try to make it look like we’re shopping for Juleka.”

“I told you you didn’t have to.”

“You’re not cheating me out of getting to do this just because you’re impatient,” Luka told her, laughing.

“I didn’t expect you to be so traditional,” Marinette giggled.

“I’m not,” Luka chuckled. “Keep the traditions that make you happy, throw the rest out, I don’t care. But this one makes me happy, so I’m doing it and you can’t stop me. I mean, I guess you could decide not to wear it, I’d survive. But I still want to pick one out and give it to you. If you don’t want to wear it I guess we could frame it and hang it on the wall or something.”

Marinette’s laugh was rich and full and brought a dopey grin to his face that he knew he would catch hell for later. “I’ll wear it,” she giggled. “I will. Whatever makes you happy, Luka.”

“You make me happy,” he told her, ignoring his companions as Juleka made gagging noises and Rose shushed her, giggling.

***

When Luka got home carrying a tiny pretentious bag full of fancy tissue paper, he found Marinette waiting on him with a strange looking box on the coffee table and a “we need to talk” expression. His excitement turned to ice in his stomach and he came into the room a little warily. “Hey. Something up?”

Marinette smiled tightly. “Nothing disastrous. Just a conversation we need to have before we go through with this whole thing. I figured we’d better do it now before we let Lucille loose on Paris.”

Luka frowned. “Okay. You know, I’m ready any time, but I can wait, we don’t have to rush into this if you’re not—”

“I am,” Marinette interrupted him. “But I need to make sure you are too, and that can’t be true until we’ve talked about this. Come sit down.” She patted the couch next to her.

Luka sat, eyeing the box on the table. “Please tell me these aren’t the ashes of your enemies. That would be a little creepy.”

Marinette laughed and patted his hand. “Not hardly.” Marinette leaned forward and did something to the box. A series of compartments opened seemingly on their own, revealing...jewelry? He glanced at her, still puzzled, until she lifted a familiar green bracelet from the box and his eyes widened.

It had been nearly seven years since the defeat of Hawkmoth—not a terribly long time in the span of global history, but Luka found now that trying to remember those days was like trying to remember a dream. The bracelet Marinette held was the one point of clarity. Luka remembered what it was and what it did, but had a hard time remembering why it mattered.

“The Miraculous magic,” Marinette told him matter-of-factly, watching his expressions shift. “It doesn’t actually erase anything that happened, or any record of it happening, it just makes it hard to think about. If you tried hard enough, and long enough, you would still remember everything.You’d just be easily distracted and constantly wondering what the point is of trying to remember. It’s been a real blessing for people whose akumatizations were especially difficult, and even more so for Adrien.”

Luka blinked at her for a moment, and then gasped. “Adrien’s father was Hawkmoth.”

Marinette nodded, and then shrugged. “Thanks to the magic, people forget. Or rather, as I said, they just don’t think about it. He hasn’t faced nearly as much persecution as he would have otherwise. Here, it’ll be easier to have this discussion once I give you this.”

She put the bracelet in his hand and he was nearly blinded by a flash of blue-green light. The slight fog in his mind cleared instantly, the clarity suddenly flooding back into his thoughts. Luka remembered everything now. He blinked away tears from the light and the rush of memories and stared into familiar yellow eyes. “Sass,” he breathed.

“Ssssalutationsss, Luka,” the snake kwami smiled, showing his tiny fangs. “My how you’ve grown. Humansss change ssso quickly.” He put his flipper hands on Luka’s finger. “It isss good to sssee you, my friend.”

“Luka Couffaine,” Marinette intoned quietly. “I present to you the Miraculous of the snake, which gives the power of Second Chance. You will use it for the greater good, and for the protection of the Miracle Box and its Guardian.” She smiled and shrugged. “That would be me.”

Luka looked up from the bracelet in his hand. “Thank you, Ladybug.”

Marinette’s smile widened. “You knew the whole time, didn’t you?”

“I guessed,” he admitted. “I wasn’t ever totally sure, but I figured it was safer that way.” He rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know how I’d forgotten until now.”

Marinette raised her hands slightly. “Magic.”

“Right.” Luka shook his head. “Weird.” He slid the bracelet over his arm, watching in mild surprise as it flashed and turned into a silver band decorated with Celtic knotwork. “It’s different,” he observed.

“The disssguise adaptsss,” Sass agreed. “You are different now, so the disssguise isss different.”

“Huh. That design, though, it’s almost as if—.” Luka reached into the little bag full of tissue paper he’d left at his feet, and pulled out a small box. Marinette’s eyes widened, and, regaining some of his earlier enthusiasm, Luka felt a goofy, lovesick smile spread over his face as he opened the little box, and held the wrist bearing the snake Miraculous up next to the ring. The little platinum ring had a repeating Celtic knot pattern around the band and a small but beautiful channel-set sapphire in the center. The Miraculous bore a similar knot pattern repeating across the bracelet.

“Oh,” Marinette gasped lightly. Luka took the ring out of the box and took Marinette’s hand.

“May I?” he asked tenderly, and she beamed at him.

“Yes.”

Luka slid the ring on her finger. “I thought you would prefer something flat.” He grinned at her. “See, I’m not as traditional as you think. I liked it so much that I had them reserve the matching wedding bands for us, but you don’t like them, we can go pick something else together.”

“It’s perfect, I love it,” Marinette breathed, smiling up at him. “And this is a good thing,” she added, picking up his arm to look at the bracelet, and then holding her own hand next to it to compare it to her ring. “Since it matches, if anyone asks, it was my engagement gift to you. That gives you an excuse to always have it on you.” She smiled. “It’s sort of true, anyway.”

“Sort of true?”

“Well, like I said, I figured I needed to talk to you about this before we really went through with things,” Marinette sighed. “And Tikki and I agreed that if we’re going to make a home and a family together, you should be protected, and empowered to protect us, so...” She waved a hand at the bracelet.

“Tikki?” Luka asked, feeling rather overwhelmed.

“Tikki,” Marinette called, and a tiny red kwami zipped up from her side to haven between them. “Luka, meet Tikki, the kwami of creation,” Marinette gestured. “She’s the source of that energy you kept noticing, by the way.”

“That’s only partially true,” Tikki interjected. “Marinette has a strong creative spirit on her own, which makes her very well suited to be Ladybug. The resonance you feel is because we’re so closely attuned.” She smiled, zipping close to examine Luka’s face. “You wouldn’t be able to sense it at all if you weren’t a true creative spirit too.”

Sass hissed a quiet laugh and perched on his shoulder, tail curling around Luka’s neck. “Don’t get greedy, Tikki. Thisss one isss mine.” Tikki rolled her eyes, giggling, and zipped back to Marinette.

“So, if you haven’t changed your mind after learning about all this unexpected craziness that comes attached to me,” Marinette was trying to be positive, he could tell, but there was still an edge of apprehension in her smile. “The bracelet is yours.”

“Of course I haven’t,” Luka exclaimed, putting his hand on hers. “I mean, I’m not saying this all isn’t kind of heavy, and it makes me nervous that we’re—that I’m in the public eye so much. But if you’re okay with this, then so am I. I trust your judgement.”

Marinette flipped her hair. “I plan to be famous with or without you, mister rock star, so don’t go playing the martyr.” She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “We’ll make it work. Just like everything else. The butterfly and the peacock have been recovered and repaired, there’s no reason for anyone to come after the Miraculous now that the magic is nudging people’s thoughts away from it, and no one but Adrien knows I was Ladybug, so no one would even know where to start looking. We should be fine, this is just a precaution.”

Luka blinked at her for a moment, putting things together. “Adrien is Chat Noir,” he said after a moment. Sass chuckled from his shoulder.

“Yep,” Marinette smiled. “It’s the only Miraculous not in my possession. I couldn’t bear to take Plagg from him after everything that happened. Most of the kwamis prefer to stay in the Miracle Box unless they have a bearer, but sometimes they like to come out and have a chat and they’ll probably all want to meet you sooner or later, so just be prepared and try not to scream.” She narrowed her eyes slightly and pointed a finger at Sass and Tikki. “And you tell them the bedroom is a kwami-free zone, got it? Divine being or not, the first kwami that interrupts us is going to find themselves sealed in their Miraculous and dropped to the bottom of the Seine.”

Luka blushed as the kwamis tittered.

“So, uh…” Luka rubbed a hand through his hair, dropping his chin to his chest as he tried to process. “You got any more bombs to drop on me?”

“This was the big one,” Marinette giggled. “Nothing else but the usual stuff left. Money, living arrangements, future plans, kids.” She paused. “You’re okay with kids, right?”

Luka’s head snapped up and he stared at her, wide-eyed. “You want to have children...with me?”

Marinette sat back slightly and she blinked at him. “I mean, not right now, but in a few years, yeah. Is that...not something you want?”

Luka was having trouble processing. “It’s...honestly not something I thought I could have.”

She tilted her head. “Why not?”

“I’m...I didn’t...I mean, I haven’t exactly had the best example. Or...any example, really.” Luka rubbed a hand through his hair sheepishly. “I mean it sounds kind of stupid when I say it out loud, but I guess that’s always how I felt in the back of my mind. I guess I’ve never been serious enough with anyone to give it any real thought.”

Marinette relaxed a little, and though there was still tension in her forehead, her eyes were soft. “Why wouldn’t anyone think you’d make a great dad? You’re kind, thoughtful, committed, gentle, respectful, supportive, protective. I could go on. Any daughter would be lucky to have you for a father,” she said, taking his hand and squeezing it. “And I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have teaching my sons how to be kind, compassionate, respectful men.”

Shit, he was going to cry and he still couldn’t look away from her.

“And if it helps, you’ll have a father now. My father. I know he’d be thrilled if you asked his advice. Most importantly,” she said, leaning in, “You have a huge heart and so much love to give. I know you’ll be fine. And when the time comes, we’ll figure it out together.”

Luka was reminded of his own words to Ivan and smiled faintly.

“But is that what you want, Luka?” Marinette squeezed his hand. “That’s kind of an important question.”

“I—yes, absolutely,” he breathed. A little girl with his eyes and Marinette’s smile and a too-big guitar in her arms, or a little boy covered in flour as he learned how to make bread from his grandparents—he’d never thought about it before but now that he had, he absolutely wanted it.

Marinette relaxed, and her smile turned blinding. “Good.”

For a moment, they just looked at each other, and then Luka took her face in his hands and kissed her—or started to, before realizing his abrupt movement had tumbled Sass off his shoulder. Luka had completely forgotten the kwamis were there. He’d also forgotten they could float, he nearly knocked Marinette in the face as he scrambled to catch Sass, who caught himself and levitated, chuckling at Luka’s floundering and apologies.

“He’s fine,” Marinette reassured Luka, laughing, and then she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back to her lips. “And so am I. Come back here, already.”

The tittering kwamis made a discreet retreat as the newly engaged couple embraced.

***

The rest of the day was consumed with phone calls and a lot of screaming. The next day, Marinette wasted no time getting moved in for good. Luka had a stupid grin on his face the whole day and didn’t make even the slightest effort to hide it.

“I don’t know why you’re so excited,” Marinette giggled. “I practically lived here anyway. The only real difference is now I have to find somewhere to put all my crap.”

“It’s an important difference,” Luka protested. “And I know even though I told you to feel at home, you still think of this as my place.”

“It is—was your place.”

“And now it’s really our place, and that’s why it matters,” Luka told her, and then he sighed. “I almost wish we could get a new place that we picked out together,” he mused.

“Luka, this apartment is amazing, it’s perfect for what you need, and you love it,” Marinette said practically. “I’ll fit myself in, you’ll see.”

“You shouldn’t have to fit yourself in around me, though.” Luka rubbed the back of his neck. “It doesn’t seem fair.”

“Stop worrying about it, Luka,” Marinette told him, picking up a pile of clothes and carrying them into the bedroom. “You’ll be gone on tour for months, remember? That’s plenty of time for me to get rid of your stuff.”

Luka huffed a laugh at that. Nope, there was no wiping the stupid grin off his face and it was pointless to try.

A knock on his door startled him, and he and Marinette looked at each other.

“Juleka?” Marinette suggested.

Luka shook his head and got up to answer the door. “She’s shooting a new cosmetic ad this week, and Rose always goes with her when she’s got to be on camera. Maybe a delivery? Usually security calls me first though.”

Marinette shrugged and picked up another pile of clothes to carry to the bedroom.

Luka opened the door and blinked, momentarily speechless.

“Hey,” Adrien grinned, hands in his pockets. “I brought Marinette a wedding present.” There was a small knot of people behind him with expressions of longsuffering and a bright red ribbon tied around the whole group with a big bow. Luka glanced over them in puzzlement, and then, recognizing a couple of faces, he turned and called into the apartment.

“Marinette? I think you’d better take this delivery personally.”

“What?” Marinette’s voice came from his bedroom.

“Come on out here.”

She came, but pouting. “Luka, I still have so much to do.”

Luka just stepped aside and opened the door wide. Marinette stopped and went pale as she took in the scene. Then she looked at Adrien. “What did you do?” she asked flatly.

“A little bird told me you were making an exception on your stupid polciy about wearing your own designs for the wedding,” Adrien said with a flicker of a smile. “I thought you might need a little help with your dress, given your frankly insane timeline.” Marinette stared at him, and Adrien quickly added, “And before you go off on me, I’m paying them, and they volunteered.”

“They won’t even all fit in here!” Marinette gasped, and Adrien chuckled and tossed her a key. Her hand snapped up to catch it, proving her superhero retirement hadn’t diminished her reflexes in the least.

“They come with a workspace,” Adrien said smugly. He raised a cautionary finger at Luka. “You’re not allowed. No peeking before the big day.”

“I think I can handle it,” Luka said wryly. He smiled at Marinette’s still gobsmacked expression and kissed her cheek. “I’ll go in the bedroom so you can haul out all those supplies I know you bought without me watching.” He held out a fist to Adrien. “Thanks Adrien.”

“Congratulations, Luka.” Adrien bumped his fist with a bittersweet smile that Luka couldn’t really fault him for.

Luka looked at Francis in the middle of the group. “Make sure she takes breaks to eat for me, okay?” Francis nodded vigorously.

Marinette made a few more inarticulate noises that ended in a huge hug for Adrien and as Luka retreated to the bedroom, he could hear her giving orders to get that stupid ribbon off those poor people, what is wrong with you, you big dork?

***

The next few days were...weird. Luka was walking on a cloud most of the time, going through the motions of his everyday routine with giddy disregard for what he was actually doing, only really tuning in to answer questions periodically from Marinette and Lucille about wedding arrangements or preferences. Even the press mobs didn’t bother him as much as usual, as tedious as it was to have to have his bodyguards follow him around everywhere he went just so he could get in the door. He made time to have dinner with Marinette and Tom and Sabine, letting the warmth of their happiness flow over him. He took Marinette to have breakfast on the boat with Anarka, too. They got on as well as they ever had in that ‘live and let live’ way that both of them shared.

However, having little tiny flying creatures pop up at random was a little unsettling even when he knew it was coming. Most of them were perfectly pleasant little...god-things. Some of them were more eccentric than others. The ones who hadn’t gotten out of the box much were zipping all over the apartment, fascinated especially with Luka’s music gear. He shared a cup of tea with Wayzz and Sass, and Wayzz answered some of his questions about what it meant for Marinette to be the Guardian. Trixx was perfectly pleasant to speak to, but rearranged Luka’s pick collection while no one was looking. Duusu popped up in his studio and they had a little jam session, Duusu dancing manically in the air while Luka shredded. Kaalki examined Luka’s album covers and awards and proclaimed him sufficiently exceptional. Sass and Tikki together had to chase Xuppu back into the Miracle Box, and that was a trip and a half, watching them zip around phasing through anything in their way, before Tikki had sufficiently intimidated Xuppu from causing any further chaos. One afternoon he opened his eyes from his meditation and found a small circle of tiny gods gathered around him, mirroring his meditation pose.

“They like you,” Marinette confided in him one night, sliding behind him on the couch and draping herself over his back. “They say you have good energy, and they like your music. Kwamis sing, you know?”

“Really?” Luka lifted his eyebrows slightly.

“Yes, when they’re separated, they do some kind of magic singing to connect with each other.” She nuzzled his neck affectionately. “The novelty will wear off in a while and they won’t be around so much.”

“I don’t mind,” Luka said, picking a few notes thoughtfully on the guitar. “They’re cute, and mostly they’re just...there. It’s a bit strange, but I’ll get used to it.” He leaned his head back to press his cheek against her hair.

He’d grown to love playing with her wrapped around his back. Sometimes he played whatever she requested. Sometimes he played her the sappiest love songs he could think of, until they lost themselves in laughter and kisses. But her song was still his favorite, being tuned in completely to her, playing for the sheer joy of it, with her pressed close against him, silent and still except for her quiet breath and soft touches against his skin.

“I love you,” he said softly, smiling as he played.

“I love you too.”

“I’m gonna marry you, weird entourage of tiny god-fairies and all.”

“I’m so lucky,” Marinette sighed, and he sensed the shift in her emotion even before he heard her voice go rough and her arms tighten around him. “I’m so lucky, Luka. I love you so much. I almost wish I could just marry you in the morning, but my parents would kill me and Lucille would probably have an aneurysm if we changed the plans at this point.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Luka sighed contentedly, turning his face to nuzzle and kiss her cheek. “We can make it.”

***

The next day, Sass was asleep on Luka’s amp in a small nest of soft fiber scraps pilfered from Marinette’s workroom. The snake kwami found the vibrations soothing, which was convenient, Luka thought, since he spent so much time playing. Suddenly Sass stirred and sat up, and gave a smile that was somehow gentle despite the fangs. “Nooroo. Welcome, friend.”

Luka looked up but saw nothing.

“There isss no need for fear,” Sass said soothingly. “Pleassse join usss.”

A small purple face peeped around the door frame. The kwami eyed Sass, and then turned his eyes to Luka. He shrank back behind the door when he saw Luka’s gaze on him. The edge of a butterfly wing visible over Nooroo’s shoulder explained a lot, and Luka’s eyes widened slightly.

“Hello,” Luka said as gently as he could. “You can come in if you want. You’re very welcome here.” Nooroo didn’t move, and Luka went back to his guitar, playing something soft and soothing, watching out of the corner of his eye but trying not to be too obvious about it.

“I know you can sssensse him,” Luka heard Sass say. “You know you have nothing to fear. But if you are not ready, we will not take offenssse.”

Another moment, and the butterfly kwami slipped inside, skirting the wall toward Sass’s nest.

“He feels gentle,” Nooroo said, very quietly, as he settled next to Sass.

“He isss,” Sass soothed, curling his tail protectively around his friend. “Ressst, if you like. You are sssafe here.”

Nooroo cuddled up next to Sass, his tiny expression enough to break Luka’s heart. “Safe,” he murmured, a little doubtfully.

Luka swallowed hard. He couldn’t imagine what the kwami suffered at the hands of Hawkmoth. Luka was empathetic by nature and practice, and that could be painful enough in the wrong situations, but Nooroo literally sensed emotion. To be forced to feel out the worst emotions he could find day after day must have been incredibly painful. Not to mention serving Gabriel Agreste was no picnic. One only had to look at Adrien’s issues to imagine how much worse it would be for a creature Gabriel believed to be nothing more than a tool. No wonder Nooroo had preferred the quiet, passionless world of the Miracle Box for years after Gabriel’s defeat.

Luka wondered if the kwami could feel his pity, and tried to decide what would be the most soothing for him. After a moment of thought, Luka began to play an old Scottish lullaby from his childhood, one that he associated with warmth and safety and his mother’s boundless love. He darted a glance at Sass and the little snake gave a tiny nod of approval.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been playing before Marinette appeared in the doorway, looking concerned. “You okay?” she asked softly. “You usually play that when you’re upset.”

“Fine,” Luka smiled at her. “Just felt like relaxing a bit.” He flicked his eyes toward the kwami nest. She followed his gaze.

“Nooroo,” Marinette said, face lighting up. “I’m glad to see you.”

Nooroo shrank into himself a bit. “Thank you, Guardian. I felt it would at least be polite to meet your intended.” He paused, looking between Luka and Marinette with a thoughtful expression. “I have seen great love twisted into selfishness and isolation,” Nooroo said solemnly. “But this is a soft love, a...generous love. It makes room for many. It is...good.”

Luka smiled. “There’s room for you too, Nooroo, whenever you feel the need of it. You’re always welcome.”

Nooroo nodded. “Thank you.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Marinette smiled, and blew him a kiss. Tikki slipped around her to join Sass and Nooroo. Tikki hugged the butterfly and Sass patted his friend gently. Between the two of them, he seemed to relax a bit more. Luka smiled to himself.

Yeah, it was a little weird, but when in his life had he ever been “normal” anyway?

***

The two weeks somehow went slow and fast all at once. Luka remembered the feeling well; he’d felt the same in the last few weeks before his first tour.

Friday morning saw their apartment invaded by a horde of women. Alya, Sabine, Rose, and Juleka took Marinette over to the girls’ apartment to get ready, leaving Luka to the tender mercies of his mother to make sure that he was ready and presentable on time. Luka rolled his eyes and refrained from pointing out that it was Marinette who had the reputation for chronic lateness, and that Anarka was the last person he would have picked to enforce order.

Still, he was glad Anarka was there. She went straight for his music studio and picked up his guitar, playing old tunes he remembered from his childhood. It soothed his jitters a little bit. It wasn’t that Luka was nervous or afraid exactly, he just...wanted to get on with it. He wanted to marry Marinette.

“It’s my wedding day,” he said softly to the mirror, just to make it real. “I’m marrying Marinette today.”

“You are,” Sass agreed, hovering beside him. “Are you ready?”

“So ready,” sighed Luka. “More than ready. Why can’t we already be married ready.”

It still felt surreal as he mechanically dressed himself. His suit had been provided by Marinette’s employer, as a bribe to let Marinette off work early for all the things that had to be done over the last couple of weeks, and for the wedding today, but Marinette had done the fittings herself, so it looked impeccable on him. It included a vest, but as he had requested, no tie.

“All right, let’s have a look at ye,” Anarka said, stumping around him. “Can’t be having you looking sloppy for yer bride, eh?” When she had circled him twice, brushed some imaginary dust from his shoulder, she sighed and said, “Well, I guess yer grown up after all, me boy.”

“I love you, Maman,” he said, smiling fondly at her, pretending he hadn’t seen her eyes watering behind her glasses. She returned the smile in kind, and then hugged him tight.

“Come on,” she said. “Play with yer old Maman for a bit. Those girls’ll be forever getting ready, and you’ll just fret if ye do nothing.”

“That sounds great, Maman,” Luka said with relief, going to retrieve his old guitar.

They played duets until Juleka came to tell them that Marinette and the car were ready. The original Couffaines indulged in a quick group hug, and then Luka hugged them each individually again.

“You’ll get wrinkled,” Juleka chided in a mumble. She looked up at him and he looked back at her and for a long moment they were silent. She didn’t need to speak for him to know how happy she was for him, and how relieved, and how much she wished for his happiness. He didn’t have to say anything for her to know how much he loved her and that he would always take care of her and that she would always be his sister.

“Come on,” she said at last, voice thick. “Let’s go get you married.”

Lucille took a step forward from where she stood by the door, clipboard in hand. “I sent everybody else down to the cars already so you two can have a moment. We’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”

For practicality’s sake, the couple and their witnesses were all going to City Hall together in the limo, while the others went ahead to the reception. Lucille ushered Juleka and Anarka our and to the elevator, leaving Luka alone.

Well. Not quite alone. Suddenly there was a small floating rainbow of tiny gods stretched across his living room. “We give you all the blessings we can bestow on this day,” Wayzz spoke for them.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful!” cried Duusu, darting back and forth in her excitement. “Love is so beautiful!”

“Thanks, friends,” Luka smiled. “Really.” Wayzz nodded, and the kwamis zipped back out of the room, except for Sass, who took his place in Luka’s pocket.

Luka crossed the hall to Juleka’s apartment and stood there for a moment, just trying to breathe, outside the door.

“She isss the sssame woman you loved yesssterday,” Sass said quietly, peeping out from his pocket.

“Yeah,” Luka said with a lopsided smile. “But now she’s all dressed up and we’re getting married.”

The kwami chuckled. “Indeed.”

“Okay,” Luka said, feeling his breathing speed up in spite of himself. “Okay, here we go.” He knocked on the door, and then let himself in.

“Marinette?” he called softly.

“In here,” she answered, and he went a little further into the apartment. She was standing in the light of the living room window, nearly glowing in her fitted white dress, her modest train artfully arranged behind her. Her hair was elaborately piled up and adorned with a tiara that he recognized as Rose’s. Her miraculous was in her ears, of course, and the blue seaglass pendant lay against her collarbone.

Marinette smiled with trembling lips. “They posed me like a statue and made me promise not to move until you came in.”

“You look stunning,” he told her honestly. “I’m almost afraid to touch you.”

She held her hands out to him and he quickly crossed the room to take them. “You’re shaking,” he observed.

“I’m going to lose my mind if we don’t do this soon,” she admitted, and they laughed together.

Luka raised her fingers to his lips and kissed all of them reverently. “Then let’s go, before we both fall to pieces,” he said, offering her his arm.

***

The ride to City Hall was a blur. All he remembered was Marinette’s fingers gripping his as tightly as he held hers.

Once they stepped inside, everything seemed to go in fast forward until he heard the mayor say, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

The words gave Luka a swooping feeling in his stomach and his knees went weak. He looked at Marinette and she met his eyes with the same awed look on her face. Then they both broke into huge smiles and threw their arms around each other. Luka sighed deeply as he hugged her, the butterflies in his stomach disappearing into a profound sense of relief that felt like stepping into his apartment for the first time after a three-month tour. ”I love you,” he whispered into her hair, and felt her snuggle closer. Then she lifted her face and he kissed her reverently. The mayor had to clear his throat before Luka could manage to let her go. As soon as he did, she was enveloped by her parents. Luka wiped his eyes discreetly as Lucille shuffled them off to another room, and chuckled when he saw Juleka doing the same.

Heaven help them if the world ever found out what a bunch of softies the Couffaines were under their punk-goth-pirate exteriors.

Juleka hugged Marinette and gave Luka a wicked smile over his new wife’s shoulder. “Marinette’s my favorite,” Juleka told him smugly. Luka just laughed and put his arms around the both of them, kissing each on the top of her head, and then turned to give Rose the same treatment. The moment he turned away from her he was caught up into the most epic bear hug of his life courtesy of Tom. He’d have laughed again if he could get enough air. Sabine pounced as soon as Tom set his feet back on the ground, and damn if the small woman didn’t hug him almost as hard as Tom.

“Whew,” Luka put his hand on his chest when Sabine released him and grinned at Marinette. At his wife. “I’m going to have to step up my hug game now that I’m part of the family.”

Marinette giggled and moved toward him, but Juleka caught her arm. “Nuh-uh. We’ve got a party to get to and if you go over there now it’ll take a crowbar to separate you.” She spun Marinette towards the door. “Let me remind you that Maman is waiting, and keeping Maman waiting with nothing to entertain her is unwise.”

Rose gasped and Luka winced. “She’s right, we better go,” he admitted, offering his hand—to his wife.

“If we must,” Marinette sighed, but she was smiling brightly as she put her hand in his. “I suppose your adoring fans and annoying followers are waiting for us too.”

Luka grinned at her. “Just this once, shall we give them what they want?”

Marinette flashed him a grin. “Lead the way, husband.” He had to grab her up and kiss her for that, much to Lucille’s frustration, and it took another minute to get her smoothed back out and camera ready.

Luka didn’t make the least effort to hide his joy or his love for Marinette as they emerged from City Hall into the bright morning light and cascade of camera clicks together, hand in hand. He wanted everyone to see it. They smiled and waved, and Luka bent Marinette back (not into a full dip this time, just enough to make the folds of her dress fall in elegant points toward the ground, like they’d practiced) and kissed her tenderly. Then he bent down and she jumped on his back, the two of them laughing as he piggybacked her through the path their security team cut to the limo, trailed by the long-suffering Lucille and the rest of the wedding party.

Luka waved everyone else into the limo before him, and then turned and waved one more time to his fans, though he couldn’t see much past the cameras. Then he slid into the car next to Marinette and locked their fingers together.

Somehow Marinette and Lucille had conspired to rent them a boat instead of a party hall. The Liberty was too small to hold all the guests, but Lucille had found them a boat with a stage and a largely flat deck made for dancing. It had the benefit of letting them have their wedding outdoors while keeping them secure from party crashers and reporters. The Seine had always been a huge part of Luka’s life, and he was glad to be on the water for such a momentous occasion.

Most of the guests were already on the boat, and Luka made his grand entrance over a gangplank decorated in flowers and ribbons with Anarka on his arm, trailed by Juleka and Rose, and then Marinette’s parents escorted her across.

The ship cast off and everything was a whirl for a while. They exchanged rings on the stage and spoke simple, sincere vows in front of all their gathered friends and loved ones. Luka danced with both his mother and sister, a three-person Scottish reel they’d danced together since he was a child, performed this time with so much gusto and at such a tempo that it left all three of them laughing and breathless (he had no idea where Nino had dug up that track but he was going to have to get a copy). Tom waltzed Marinette around the room with such enthusiasm that Luka wasn’t entirely sure her feet actually touched the floor at any point.

Then Marinette was in his arms again, and he was so lost in her eyes that he missed Jagged beginning to play at the piano until her smile turned teasing and her eyebrows lifted. Luka wasn’t the best dancer, but it didn’t matter; all he wanted was to hold her close and let the music move them. Marinette seemed to feel the same, resting her head on his shoulder with a little sigh of contentment as the rest of the party was invited to join them on the dance floor.

Luka gave her up to Adrien for a dance with only a little reluctance. Luka understood now better than he ever had how deep their bond ran. Before Adrien took Marinette to the dance floor, he leaned close to Luka and held open his coat for a moment. “Plagg wants to talk to you,” Adrien whispered, and a black blur shot from his coat to Luka’s. “Better find somewhere private, he’s not patient,” Adrien warned.

Luka excused himself at the first opportunity to the men’s room, which was thankfully empty, and the black blur popped out of his coat and hovered in front of him, looking unimpressed. “So,” the little cat kwami said, more intimidating than anything that cute had a right to be. “You married my Guardian.”

Luka nodded warily. “I did.”

“I know Sass is all about second chances and that crap,” Plagg said, rolling to float on his back for a moment, and then sitting up to hover right in front of Luka’s eyes, his own cat-green eyes narrowed. “I’m just telling you now, I don’t go for that. I’m destruction, you got it? There won’t be any second chances with me. So you better take care of my Guardian, understand?”

Luka lifted his eyebrows. “Did you have this talk with Adrien?”

“One, that’s none of your business. Two, my kitten has extenuating circumstances. Three, you bet your ass we had words about what went down before. But I like him, so all I did was give him shit luck for a few months. You can ask him how much fun that was.” Plagg narrowed his eyes again. “I don’t like you. I don’t know you. If I hear from Marinette or Tikki that you stepped one single toe out of line—”

“Are you quite finissshed?” Sass popped his head out of Luka’s breast pocket. “Enough posssturing, cat. You made your point. The Guardian isss resssponsssible for much greater decisionsss than this. Do you trussst her judgement so little?” Sass huffed, and Luka would have said the kwami stuck his nose in the air if he’d had one. “Or mine?”

“Yeah well I’ve been around for a few thousand cycles longer than you, fangs, and even smart women can be stupid about the men they love,” Plagg spat. “So there’s no harm in making things clear from the start, right?”

“Fine,” Sass huffed. “You have done ssso. Now return to your bearer and leave mine to me.”

The little cat folded his flipper arms and did stick his nose in the air. Before the cat could say anything else, Luka interrupted. “Plagg—Thanks. For everything you and Chat Noir did back then. For all that I’m sure you do for Adrien now. And especially for looking out for Marinette. I really appreciate it.”

“Didn’t do it for you,” Plagg mumbled.

“Even so. Come on, let’s get you back to Adrien. I want my wife back. No offense, but I don’t think this was a fair trade.” Luka grinned.

Plagg made a noise that might have been a chuckle if he weren’t trying to act tough, and zipped back under cover.

“Charming friend you’ve got there,” Luka commented as he found Adrien.

“Sorry,” Adrien shrugged. “I hope he wasn’t too awful.”

“It was fine.” Luka stepped close for a moment to let Plagg slip back, and then moved away. “All the same, I think you can keep him and I’ll go find my wife.”

Adrien grinned. “She had her ‘up to something’ grin on, so good luck with that.”

“Oh boy,” Luka sighed, but he was grinning as he said it. He hunted through the crowd, stopping for handshakes and backslaps and congratulations. Really, considering the short notice they’d given, a surprising number of people had been able to attend. There were a fair number of industry people here that Luka had felt kind of obligated to invite, but the crowd was mostly friends and loved ones of friends, and that was perfect.

He finally found Marinette conspiring with Nino. “Now what are you up to?” Luka asked, slipping an arm around his wife.

Marinette grinned up at him. “I just think we should take a quick peek back at where all this started.”

“Oh my God,” Luka laughed, as the big screen over the currently empty stage lit up and a familiar kittycorn logo flashed up on screen. “You didn’t.”

“Of course I did,” Marinette giggled, as Kitty Section’s very first music video played, the one they had sent to Bob Roth’s contest all those years ago.

“Wow, that brings back memories,” Luka sighed. He looked at the stage, and then spotted Juleka moving through the crowd near him. “Hey Jules,” he bellowed, more than loud enough to get her attention. She turned toward him with an exasperated expression and Luka nodded at the stage with a grin. “What do you think?”

Juleka grinned back. “I’ll get Rose.”

“Nino, tell them to get the mics live up there,” Luka instructed, and then he kissed Marinette’s cheek and headed for the stage. Juleka and Rose were right behind him as he picked up his guitar and slung it over his shoulder. He stepped up to the microphone and tapped it. “Turn me up guys,” he hollered, waving at the sound techs. They jumped to it and the microphone crackled to life. “There we go,” Luka grinned. “Adrien, come on up here. Hey Mylène,” Luka called. “Can I borrow Ivan for a minute?” Mylène smiled and shooed Ivan toward the stage. “Come on up here big guy.” Ivan rubbed the back of his neck, smiling shyly, but the way he spun the drumsticks between his fingers told Luka he wasn’t too out of practice.

“All right,” Luka surveyed his former bandmates, every one of them grinning widely, even Juleka. “You ready, Rose?” At her thumbs up, he grinned back at Ivan. “Count us off, man. No, wait,” he held up a hand, and turned back to the crowd. “We’re still missing somebody. Marinette, get up here, baby.” He grinned. “You’ve always been my unicorn.” There was a chorus of “aww’s” and a few laughing “eews” as Marinette made her way to the stage. She came to stand beside Luka, and he put his arm around her waist and kissed her temple. “All right, let’s do this. Go for it, Ivan.” He released Marinette and slid his guitar into position.

“YOU KNOW I LOVE UNICORNS,” Rose belted, proving the years had not diminished her lung capacity in the slightest. Luka joined in, improvising a harmony to the old but familiar vocals as he sang to a laughing Marinette. It wasn’t a perfect performance, they were all a little rusty, but it was more fun than Luka had had in years.

Afterwards, Adrien and Ivan relinquished their places to Luka’s regular backup, and he had someone bring up a stool for Marinette so she could be comfortable. He wanted her close to him. She put her hands over his mouth in surprise as he played the opening riff he’d been working on, and he winked at her as he stepped up to the mic. This was his first ever performance of Lightning on the Water and he wanted it to be perfect. Luka knew how to play an audience, but this one time, he ignored them and sang just for Marinette. The crowd of guests was nearly silent as his guitar mimicked sparks dancing over the water, and he sang in low, smokey tones about the draw of deadly beauty, buzzing over his skin, the desire to dive deep and never come up again.

The silence lasted for a long moment after he finished.

He was still staring into Marinette’s eyes when a whoop came from the crowd that he immediately recognized as Jagged. “Now that’s a hit, kid!” the older rock star hollered. “I’m pissed I didn’t write it myself!”

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere lightened. “You can go down if you want,” Luka whispered to Marinette, and she shook her head.

“Just this once, I want to stay up here with you for a while,” she whispered back, squeezing his arm.

“Kiss her!” someone screamed (Marinette’s grandmother, Luka thought), and laughing, Luka did.

“What do you want me to play next?” he asked her, and she pulled him down to speak in his ear. “Yeah, I can play it,” Luka chuckled. “Too bad Clara couldn’t make it, but we’ll make do.” He stepped back to the mic. “You guys remember this one, right?” He played the opening to Miraculous.

The guests remembered the song and the dance that went with it, and Marinette danced beside him as they belted the lyrics into the microphone together. Luka had to catch the stand once when she knocked into it, but he was well versed in keeping things rolling over those kinds of incidents, so aside from a little laughter, the show went on.

Luka hadn’t planned a set list, hadn’t exactly planned an impromptu concert at all, but this was who he was, and this was what he did. When his heart got too full, it overflowed in music, and it was pouring over today. And this wasn’t like the concerts he was used to playing. This was his friends and the people he loved, a party just like they used to have in the old days. They rolled through song after song, some he’d written and some of their old favorites from other artists, some that came to his mind and others shouted at him from the crowd, and he let his happiness and love shine through in all of them. He bounced with the drumbeat pounded behind him as he belted, “I don’t care what people might think, I got your name in permanent ink—” Marinette leaned up to sing the next line with him. “Baby this ship ain't never gonna sink!” they hollered into the mic together, and he went on as Marinette laughed, dancing with her hands over her head and the beads on her white dress sparkling in the sun, “Just kiss me like nobody’s watching! Yeah people are talking, it doesn’t matter what they say. Just kiss me in the middle of the street to let the whole world see that there’s nobody else for me!”

Of course Jagged couldn’t stay out of things for long, but by the time he leapt up on the stage, Luka was ready to let him take over. He held his wife’s hand as they went back down for more dancing and hugs and congratulations, but it was all a haze to Luka after that. Playing had finally drained off all that excess buzz he’d been carrying around all day and tucked his soul back into his body, and he just felt...peace. Peace, and maybe a little bit of impatience to be back at home with the love of his life and the weight of this day.

Jagged relinquished the stage at last to Anarka, Juleka, and Rose, who sang a beautiful three part harmony of The Parting Glass as the ship came back into dock, and then it was a long string of goodbyes and la bise before they finally found themselves alone in the car back to Luka’s apartment—their apartment.

It felt intensely quiet after all the excitement, and Luka found himself grateful for it. He slipped his arms around Marinette’s waist and she lay against his chest. They cuddled in silence all the way home. As soon as they were out of the limo, Luka scooped her up. Marinette protested, laughing, as he carried her into the building, up the elevator, and all the way up to the apartment.

“You’re wearing yourself out for nothing,” Marinette told him as she dug through his pocket, looking for his keys.

“All that time at the gym might as well be good for something,” he said as she unlocked the door for them. “You’re heavier than you look with all that superhero muscle, but you’re still pretty light.” Marinette pushed the door open, and he carried her inside.

Luka set her down gently on the couch, and then sank down beside her, stroking her cheek tenderly. They kissed softly for a moment, and then curled together again. Sass and Tikki zipped out of their hiding places, and with a quick cheek cuddle for each of them and a whisper of congratulations, the kwamis made themselves scarce. The hem of Marinette's dress was grey with dirt, her hair was coming loose, and when she smiled up at him he could see the exhaustion on her face. Luka smoothed the loose hair away from her eyes. “We’re married,” he said softly.

“Yeah,” she smiled up at him.

“Now what?"

“I don’t know,” Marinette put her hands under her chin on his chest and blinked up at him. “Never been married before. It was fun but I’m kind of worn out. Maybe you can help me get out of all this stuff and we can go take a nice warm bath and relax, and we’ll see how we feel after that.”

“That sounds amazing.” He nuzzled her temple. “My wife is a genius.”

Marinette giggled. “My husband is a sweetheart.”

“God, say that again,” Luka breathed, putting his arms around her.

“My husband,” Marinette murmured, smiling.

“My wife.”

“Marinette D.C. Couffaine.”

“I love it.” He kissed her softly, and then couldn’t make himself pull away until he was out of breath. “Let’s get the bath running, and then I’ll help you get rid of all this stuff.”

Marinette giggled. “I should warn you there are about fifty thousand pins in my hair. It might take a while.”

“Then the bath should be full by the time we’re done.” He cupped her face and kissed her. “I love you so much, Marinette.”

“Don’t make me cry before we get the makeup off, Luka,” Marinette smiled shakily.

“You know I don’t care,” he scoffed. “Come on.” Luka pulled her up gently.

Luka sat her down at the vanity, turned on the bath water, and then crouched beside her and helped her clean the makeup from her face. Together they found and removed all of the pins in her hair, and Luka brushed it carefully. One by one he unhooked the seemingly unending line of buttons down the back of her dress and helped her out of it, and he quickly became distracted with kissing and touching her, until she pushed him away, giggling, to turn off the bath before it ran over. Marinette slipped on a robe and left him, pouting slightly, to get undressed on his own. He forgave her though when she came back with two glasses of champagne and slipped into the bath with him.

“I don’t think I told you with everything else that was going on,” he commented as she leaned back against him, “My album proposal was approved. They loved the demo tracks I did.”

“Of course they did,” Marinette sighed, laying her head back on his shoulder. “What are you going to call it?”

“Second Chance,” he told her with a smile.

Marinette craned her neck to smile back at him. “Perfect.”

#quickspins #second chance #backlog #lukanette #i am lukanette trash i admit it #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #mlfics

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strangenewfriends · 5 years ago

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During a pivotal year of his solo career, Harry Styles has notched another monumental achievement: his first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

As “Watermelon Sugar,” the standout track from Styles’ sophomore solo LP Fine Line, lifts 7-1 on this week’s Hot 100 tally, Styles tops the chart for the first time, after previously reaching a No. 2 peak as a member of One Direction. After starting his solo career with his classic rock influences on his sleeve, Styles has become a fixture at pop radio in 2020, with both “Watermelon Sugar” and “Adore You” becoming ubiquitous top 10 hits this year.

How shocking is the ascent of “Watermelon Sugar”? And what could the song mean for Styles’ future at the Grammy Awards? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how surprised are you that “Watermelon Sugar” is the song to finally give Harry Styles his first Hot 100 chart-topper?

Andrew Unterberger: Three months ago, it would've been a 10 for sure. Types of songs that don't usually go to No. 1 in 2020: fourth official singles, songs that have already dropped off the Hot 100 for multiple months after debuting, rock (or at least rock-based pop) songs. "Watermelon Sugar" was each of 'em, and even as recently as last week, I'd have been, like, an 8 about it going all the way to No. 1 -- even with a viral video, good audio-only streaming numbers and huge radio support, it seemed to have hit a ceiling outside the top 5. But a concentrated fan campaign and some good chart timing have put it over the top, and maybe I shouldn't be so surprised by that in 2020 after all.

Jason Lipshutz: I’d give it a 7 -- not because of any deficiency or quirk with the song, but because of its circuitous route to the top of the Hot 100 chart. Styles performed “Watermelon Sugar” for the first time on Saturday Night Live on Nov. 16, 2019, and released music videos for three other Fine Line songs before finally returning to it in May. That’s an incredibly slow burn -- to provide some context, “Watermelon Sugar” was released the same weekend as the ill-fated Charlie’s Angels reboot! -- and an unlikely path to pop ubiquity, to say the least.

Joe Lynch: I guess 9? It's super catchy and easy to get into, but it's just not the vibe of most 2019-2020 Hot 100 toppers – although given that Taylor Swift's "Cardigan" cozied up to the top slot last week, perhaps we're at a point in the pandemic where people are specifically turning to something that's a far cry from the top 40 norm for a break in monotony.

Lyndsey Havens: I'd say a 6. Three years ago (and still today) I thought that "Sign of the Times" could have and should have topped the chart, and then I thought that "Adore You" might finally do the trick. But people do say "third time's the charm" for a reason, and it makes sense that, after two strong top 10 singles, the continual growth of Fine Line well into 2020 and the strong promotional push, that this summer-ready, breezy pop-rock track has claimed the chart's top spot.

Stephen Daw: I'm clocking in at a solid 5 — it's surprising (to me, at least) that it took Harry Styles this long to log his first No. 1, but as soon as I heard "Watermelon Sugar," I was confident that, if a song off of Fine Line was going to reach the top of the Hot 100, it would be this one.

2. The success of Styles’ second album, Fine Line, has been one of the biggest stories in mainstream pop this year -- the album is still in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart eight months after its release. Why do you think Styles’ sophomore solo LP has resonated so well this year?

Andrew Unterberger: I wish I knew -- as do record company folks around the world, I imagine. It's a very good album and Harry is an extremely likeable star, but nothing about an album that feels largely like a tribute to '70s pop-rock and post-peak Paul McCartney would've struck me as an album to take him to that next level of stardom. He's just a star -- one with a big-enough gravitational pull to bend the mainstream to him -- and I won't underestimate him so easily again.

Jason Lipshutz: In 2020, artists like Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez and 5 Seconds of Summer have all released top-notch pop full-lengths... but I have returned to Fine Line more than any of them. Part of that has to do with its sense of uplift and enthusiasm during a particularly trying year -- shout-out to “Treat People With Kindness” for snapping me out of some grade-A funks -- but Fine Line’s songs are stronger than those of Styles’ self-titled debut, the pacing is immaculate, the hits are far more effective and Styles is more comfortable in his own, ‘70s-pop-channeling skin. Fine Line is part throwback, part comfort food, part magnetic artistic presence, and remains an excellent front-to-back listen.

Joe Lynch: I think he's in a great spot in his career: not only has his 1D fan base embraced his maturing sound (which, to be fair, isn't a tough sell – this is very accessible pop-rock), but his gender-bending, classic rock-worshiping fashionista persona has expanded his listenership beyond the realm of card-carrying Directioners. Plus, it's an album that's crafted to last: this is meticulous studio pop that mostly eschews the tiresome trends and tricks most producers feel obligated to slap on a recording to make it feel “contemporary.” Fine Line occupies its own lane instead of competing against two-or-three new sound-alike albums a month.

Lyndsey Havens: Harry is the "perfect" pop star: his One Direction past earned him a built-in (and very dedicated) fan base, he’s mysterious enough but generous with his content, queen Stevie Nicks has become his number one fan, and, of course, he delivered an album filled with fantastic pop-rock hits and ballads. When Harry Styles arrived, fans had to adjust to Styles' sonic pivot. But by the time he delivered Fine Line, both Styles and his fans had matured -- and those pop-rock roots he planted years prior were in bloom. There was no adjustment period, and in my opinion, that allowed Fine Line to be immediately and repeatedly consumed.

Stephen Daw: There's a lot to be said for Harry's massive, mobilized fan base, and for his status as a burgeoning pop auteur in the modern era. But I think both of those facts only help uplift the fact that Fine Line is simply a great album. The songs aren't pigeonholed into one specific sound, yet they retain this classic, pop-rock finish to them that passes the minivan test; there's something for parents and kids in all of these songs.

3. Styles’ other Fine Line hit, “Adore You,” peaked at No. 6 earlier this year, and comes in at No. 12 this week. Are you a “Watermelon Sugar” person or an “Adore You” person?

Andrew Unterberger: I think "Adore You" is the better song, but I'm glad that "Watermelon Sugar" was the song to get him to No. 1. "Adore You" was the dead-center top 40 single -- and even "Falling" could've caught some post-"Someone You Loved" radio spillover -- but "Watermelon Sugar" is just pure Harry. He couldn't have asked for a better, more validating single to affirm his superstardom.

Jason Lipshutz: Hard to pick one, but give me “Watermelon Sugar” for the higher sing-along quality. Watching Styles perform Fine Line in its entirety at the Forum in Los Angeles last December included an arena of fans shouting “Watermelon sugar, HIGH!” -- and this was before the song was a chart-conquering hit. I suspect “Watermelon Sugar” is going to be a euphoric live staple in the coming years, which gives it the edge for me.

Joe Lynch: Definitely "Watermelon Sugar,“ a perfect, laid-back summer jam that gently uplifts without ever demanding attention. "Adore You" is solid but tailored for a specific topic, whereas "Watermelon Sugar" is the kind of softly buoyant treat that floats well in a variety of contexts.

Lyndsey Havens: I find it interesting that the two songs off Fine Line to stick around the chart's upper echelon are a bit similar-sounding. One of my favorite things about Styles is the risks he'll take, best evidenced by his debut solo single "Sign of the Times,” but also by Fine Line tracks like "Lights Up," "Falling" and "To Be So Lonely." But that's exactly what makes me a Harry Styles fan -- he's no one trick pony (insert joke about him heading in more than one direction), and while "Adore You" and "Watermelon Sugar" may not showcase his range, they've both become Styles standards for me. But to finally answer the question, I have to go with "Adore You" for the lyrics alone. I mean.... how can you compete, or argue, when he pleads like that?

Stephen Daw: They're both excellent songs, but if I had to pick, I'm partial to "Adore You." Sonically, the groovy bass line and stylized guitar riffs hit me right where I live. Lyrically, I respond a lot more to the "strawberry lipstick state of mind" than I do to something that "tastes like strawberries on a summer evening." But they both have strawberries in there, so it's a win either way!

4. Styles is now the second member of One Direction to score a solo No. 1, following Zayn with “Pillowtalk.” If you had to choose one of the other members -- Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson -- to someday score a No. 1 single, who would you put your money on?

Andrew Unterberger: Can't say the prospects for any of them reaching the Hot 100's peak are looking particularly robust right now, but if I had to choose one, I guess I'd say Liam. He has connections throughout the pop world that could result in him finding his way onto the right collab -- with buddy Post Malone, perhaps -- to find his way back to the top. Rooting for Louis, though! Go Louis!

Jason Lipshutz: I’m going to zag a little and go with Liam Payne, who scored an unexpected top 10 hit with the Quavo team-up “Strip That Down” and has been trying to recapture that magic in the years since. Payne’s solo debut didn’t offer any other standout singles, but he’s proven capable of headlining a rhythmic pop single that sticks around at radio, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he does so again over the next few years.

Joe Lynch: That's a tough question, because I could see Liam or Louis hopping on a track as a featured artist that goes all the way to the top. But if we're talking primary credited artist, it's gotta be Niall Horan, who has demonstrated probably the most solid catalog and sonic cohesion thus far of those three. Not saying it seems likely, but then again, when Fine Line dropped, who thought "Watermelon Sugar" would sweeten up the top spot on the Hot 100?

Lyndsey Havens: Justice for Niall's "No Judgement"! I played that song a lot when it first came out. But I actually think it's a smarter financial move to bet on Liam Payne, considering his strategy of collaboration. He's worked with Zedd, Quavo and Alesso, among others, and I wouldn't be all that surprised if in another year or so he lands on a track -- or a remix -- that shoots to No. 1 for the star power alone.

Stephen Daw: While Liam is the only other member to get one of his songs into the Top 10 of the Hot 100, I'm putting my chips down on Niall. Heartbreak Weather turned out to be a pretty fun record, and I remain convinced that "Black and White" is going to have a second life (much like "Watermelon Sugar”)!

5. Finish this sentence: at next year’s Grammy Awards, Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” will __________.

Andrew Unterberger: ...be shut out. It may score Harry his first nomination or two -- either solo or with 1D -- but considering how the Recording Academy has given him the cold shoulder so far, and seeing how overlooked he was even among this year's VMAs nods, I don’t know if I see him taking home his first Gramophone for it. (Uh-oh, looks like I'm easily underestimating him again -- never mind, I say the song sweeps.)

Jason Lipshutz: ...be nominated for record of the year, and Fine Line will be nominated for album of the year, and justice will have finally been served to Styles, who has yet to garner a single nomination over the course of his career. Will either win? It’s too early to say, but I like Fine Line’s chances at this point.

Joe Lynch: ...sow seeds of discontent; the Grammys will continue to ignore Harry Styles, and the fans will unleash their exasperation on Twitter with the machine gun-rapidity of a cartoon character spitting out watermelon seeds.

Stephen Daw: ...probably get nominated for record of the year. It would be worthy of a spot in the song of the year and best pop solo performance categories as well, but something tells me that if one of his songs were to be nominated for those categories, "Adore You" stands a better chance. While it would be great to see Harry win, if he were nominated in this category, he'd likely be going up against the likes of Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd and/or Megan Thee Stallion, and I just don't think he'd be able to clinch the ROTY win with that kind of competition.

Lyndsey Havens: ...still taste like strawberries on a summer evenin’.

#for the anon who asked #long post

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parasighting · 4 years ago

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Top 20 albums of 2020

New place for Parasighting (here you can find the old blog), as it seems that Facebook and several social media platforms in general don’t very much agree with Blogger. Oh well, if we don’t change we die, isn’t that what they say? So, this will be the new place for posts from now on, including the Rodon Underground playlists (that is, if I manage to wrap my head fully around how Tumblr actually works). For now, and as a fitting starting post, here are the best 20 albums of 2020, always in my opinion and always in a mood for fisticuffs:

1. Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death

This normally shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it’s not like we haven’t had our fair share of scares in our lifetime when we’re dealing with a sophomore album following after an explosive debut. Last year’s Dogrel gave everyone what they wanted/expected, since basically it was, more or less, a gathering of all the great singles Fontaines D.C. had released in a 2-year period prior to that. As it seems, we are indeed dealing with an absolute gem of a band that, this time around, did anything but staying safe with an already tried-out and successful formula. Instead, they chose to give all weight to feeling, proving their songwriting genius at the same time. A Hero’s Death doesn’t contain intended typical radio hit songs (although it plays a lot on today’s radio, something hopeful for the music industry in general), instead it’s full of meaningful introvert compositions saturated in melody and atmosphere, while Fontaines D.C. themselves, despite their huge and abrupt success the last years, keep a low profile and support their material exemplary. This record is music history, and one to be mentioned for years or even decades from now in music in general.

Listen to A Hero’s Death

2. C.O.F.F.I.N. - Children Of Finland Fighting In Norway

Many have wondered about the air in Australia. Or the water. Or maybe it’s the crazy wildlife that makes one either to be on their toes all day or to “yolo” it like there’s no tomorrow. These lads right here sure seem to be the latter. It would be futile to try and get right now into the history of Australian music and what this country has offered the world, especially when it comes to garage/punk. So, it shouldn’t surprise us that C.O.F.F.I.N. have released this record this year but, then again, uncontainable excitement gets usually mistaken for surprise. It’s not that they had been under the radar or something until now, but Children of Finland Fighting in Norway is the flag all Turbojugends around the world should gather behind this year. This album is the Apocalypse Dudes of the band and, mind you, I’m not talking about copying Turbonegro or anything like that. I’m talking about the spontanity and the pure energy that is emitted here throughout. The band, although they surely step on the foundations of (especially the scandinavian) rock ‘n’ roll history, the final result can’t be mistaken with any other band. A look on the videos the band has put out will give you a total idea that here we’re dealing with original Aussie craziness, and that is something not to be messed with, if you ask me.

Listen to Children of Finland Fighting in Norway

3. Napalm Death - Throes Of Joy in The Jaws Of Defeatism

I don’t think that the name Napalm Death needs much introduction, even to those who have little contact with the extreme sound in general. Pioneers of hardcore punk, grindcore and so many sub-genres at their birth, they have been shaping much of the contemporary extreme music scene through the years. And, in order for this to be achieved, it couldn’t be without constant musical unrest and experimentation. Shane Embury & co returned in 2020 with their 16th album, in which they push their (and music’s in general) boundaries to new territories. Of course, this in no way means that it is a soft or mellow record, even for Napalm Death standards. Instead, the band incorporates even more diverse elements from bands that one could say have been their followers, only to prove once again that they are the true pioneers. Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism is a full record where something exciting happens each minute, and this is the chance for any listener that (maybe has been living in a cave up until now and) hasn’t yet captured the grandeur that a band like Napalm Death exhales.

Listen to Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism

4. All Them Witches - Nothing as the Ideal

What is “rock” anyway? If there was a faceless recipe, then everyone would be able to just follow the rules and do it. Instead, through the over-production in today’s music, it’s damn hard to find something original and spontaneous, as most bands can’t do anything better than copying a “recipe” or reverse-engineering their idols, at best. And this is why bands like All Them Witches shine brightly and justly from within the pile. Nothing as the Ideal elegantly showcases that this band basically carries a significant amount of all the weight of today’s rock music. Yes, they started off having been labeled as “stoner” or “desert” or whatever, but the signs were always there. Dying Surfer Meets His Maker was the first blast, but, with this one, All Them Witches establish themselves among the leaders. After all, how can you go wrong with a band that sounds better playing live than on their studio recordings?

Listen to Nothing as the Ideal

5. Hurula - Jehova

It’s safe to say that the name Robert Petersson is nothing short of a landmark when it comes to Swedish punk. Showcasing some fine moments of hardcore skate-punk with Epileptic Terror Attack, hardcore rock ‘n’ roll with Regulations, melodic punk with Masshysteri (among others), finally Hurula is his personal musical vehicle, where he is in absolute command of everything. And, although this is already his fourth full-length release and, thus, it’s not like we had no idea about the potential, Jehova proves to be his grand opus so far, in a sort of unexpected way. The general orchestration remains “rock”, but the multiple melodic layers all over make for a unique experience for the listener who is not limited within specific musical genres or styles. The Swedish lyrics throughout might make it a bit unaccessible to many, but don’t let this minor detail keep you from discovering an incredible record.

Listen to Jehova

6. Wailin Storms - Rattle

Wailin Storms are a “where had they been hiding up until now?” case. Although they released their debut album not before 2015, Rattle is already their fourth one, and what a kick in the head it was for me discovering them last year! Going through their discography in retrospect, one should not be surprised, of course. The North Carolina rockers always carried their certain and specific type of lyricism amid their heavy and, at times, almost noise/sludge guitars. Fitting all this alongside the mystical atmosphere and Justin Storms’ agonizing vocals, the speakers exhale a strangely attractive as well as condemning dark beauty through the speakers. Many things come to mind as to what one could say Wailin Storms sound like through their definitely personal identity; in my ears, it’s kind of like the Black Angels jamming with Unsane and smoking whatever Electric Wizard passed them through. If this doesn’t make you want to check out Rattle, I have no idea what could.

Listen to Rattle

7. The Hawkins - Silence Is A Bomb

All those that know me, also know what a huge sucker for swedish rock ‘n’ roll I am. But, ever since the great scandinavian rock ‘n’ roll revolution by Gods like the Hellacopters and Gluecifer started to happen, a lot of things have also happened in the meantime. Especially to the younger rockers, the aforementioned bands now carry a “classic rock” label, but then again that kind of makes sense if you were born around the years Supershitty to the Max! was released. Time for the new generation to show what they’re worth, then. Through the flood of copycat and mediocre bands (justifiably, in a way), luckily from time to time there will be one or two cases to stand out, and these four kids from Arboga, Sweden surely make the cut. Although their debut album three years back was definitely a beautifull high-energy record, Silence Is a Bomb is what adds a special kind of maturity in rock ‘n’ roll, while still maintaining its edge. The Hawkins take their Hellacopters, but they also add several doses of Queen in them, maybe making the final mix too soft for purists; but who cares about them anyway?

Listen to Silence Is a Bomb

8. Chubby & the Gang - Speed Kills

It feels like nothing short of a fresh breath of life, a feeling that there is still hope in this damn world, when debuts like this one right here appear out of nowhere. Chubby & the Gang are just some kids from West London who, with Speed Kills, give you, if not something else, a feeling that here we’ve struck pure gold. Carrying a hardcore tone, apart from that they’re just a bunch of absolutely fresh and fun punk rock ‘n’ rollers, and, if this is not exactly what we need these days, I just don’t know what is. With gang vocals throughout the whole record and with the average running track time below two minutes, this band has automatically climbed near the top of my bucket list of bands I want to see live at first chance.

Listen to Speed Kills

9. This Is Nowhere - Grim Pop

Plainly put: In a fair world, This Is Nowhere would be globally greeted as one of the greatest bands of today’s psychedelic heavy rock; and this is not an exaggeration. Then again, them being from Greece and their members being scattered in three different countries are not factors that objectively help. Even at that, it’s astonishing how they’ve obviously achieved a certain chemistry between them through the years in order to achieve such a feat, like Grim Pop definitely is. Their two previous albums contained a significant amount of all the mystical energy the band emits on stage, but, if you ask me, there was always something missing; something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Well, with Grim Pop, it’s like everything is finally falling into place. This Is Nowhere have irrevocably and definitively left terms like “stoner” or “psychedelic rock” behind; instead they have unrepentantly dived into the ‘60s, distorted everything they found there through their personal prism and created an inviting sound vortex ready to suck you into its very own black hole. Who cares if we never return?

Listen to Grim Pop

10. Στράφι (Strafi) - Παραδομένοι στη Γιορτή (Paradomeni sti Giorti)

If you asked me some years back, I could never imagine myself including a street punk record in a yearly music list. I have to admit that Strafi being from my hometown Larissa played its role; but this role played a part only for me to take note of them. Because genre-wise, the band’s sophomore release is just perfect. Having gone over the somewhat general “shyness” of their beautiful debut album, here the band presents an absolutely confident and sturdy face. The sound production contains no faults, the compositions are meaningful and inspired, the lyrics carry a level of poetry rarely found in the genre (and yes, one would have to speak Greek in order to enjoy them, unfortunately for many). Really, this is one of the cases that there’s not much to be said, as music takes over all the talking. We need more music coming straight from the heart, and Strafi are here to deliver exactly this.

Listen to Παραδομένοι στη Γιορτή

11. Minerva Superduty - In Public

Another Greek entry, one that the world definitely has to discover. I find it a bit strange how Minerva Superduty started their discography, which was with an instrumental metal record that, amid its creativity, left the listener with a somewhat lack of closure and fullness. 2016′s Gorod Zero came to showcase a new potential for the band, and In Public, coming just days before last year’s end, fulfilled this potential to the fullest; well, until their next album, at least. Minerva Superduty merge their mathcore foundations with Converge-like hardcore and, under just 20 minutes, they deliver the absolute soundtrack for the chaos 2020 has left the world with. Do not let this gem pass by.

Listen to In Public

12. Yovel - Forthcoming Humanity

Blackmetal is a genre that has been through a lot. Of course, through its extremity, it has given way to experimentations that could never have taken place within other kinds of music but, on the other hand, this very extremity has always served as a twisted fortress for far-right and generally fascist ideologies. Yovel emerged in 2018 to rectify this problem and restore part of blackmetal’s infamy. Hɪðəˈtu had made clear of these intentions of the band, but Forthcoming Humanity drops like a milestone to declare that this was anything but a one-time wonder. Yovel take blackmetal forms and orchestrations but add atmospheric (not shoegazey) elements borrowed from folk music and create a concept album that speaks loudly against racism, fascism, bigotry, oppression. Interludes dressed with poetry and melody give place to wrecking sound outbursts and, if there is one thing they do, that’s passing on the message clearly and successfully. Yovel are here to stay, and that’s one encouraging thing about extreme music today.

Listen to Forthcoming Humanity

13. Oily Boys - Cro Memory Grin

Ahh Australia again. And a debut that has surely turned heads. Oily Boys come from Sydney and this is their hopeful debut, that being an understatement. This new band delivers an outburst of a record, bringing to mind New York hardcore at one time, taking you to sick psychedelic noise rock at the next. It all feels so cold and unhospitable in here, yet something urges you to look at it straight in the eyes. Of course, there are a lot of Converge elements in here, but this never stays in that place, as, before you know it, it jumps to post-punk and to other experimental lengths, always maintaining a chaos that may be baffling but, then again, you don’t exactly want for it to fall into order. Fans of Old Man Gloom will also find many things they like in here. Bizarre listen for bizarre times. It’s an uncomfortability we just cannot ignore.

Listen to Cro Memory Grin

14. The Good the Bad and the Zugly - Algorithm & Blues

The Norwegians with the funny and long name (one can only wonder after how many beers it was conceived) struck for the fourth time in 2020. Although their debut Anti-World Music in 2013 made an impact in the scene breathing Turbonegro with a hardcore twist, personally I can’t say the same for the next two albums; it always felt to me that something was amiss. Maybe it was that humor was taking over a bit too much or something. Mind you, the Good the Bad and the Zugly are not a joke band by any chance, but the playful sarcastic elements were always a basic ingredient in their overall sound. Coming on to Algorithm & Blues then, I think this time around thay have managed to balance it all out perfectly. With Ivar Nikolaisen being the lead vocalist of the mighty Kvelertak for a couple of years now, this might be a factor that has made the band mature compositionally. Algorithm & Blues is more melodic, more substantial, more sing-along-y, but it never loses its humorous charm, preserving the band’s identity. And with song titles like “Fuck the Police” and “The Kids Are Alt-Right”, you know they’re also on the right side.

Listen to Algorithm & Blues

15. Pallbearer - Forgotten Days

One of the most tired genres of extreme music is definitely doom metal. Ever since the “stoner” plague came into existence, the world has been saturated with kids that, discovering the pentatonic scale, thought they were the new messiahs drowning us in a sea of boredom. It was not all bad of course, but, having to surf through oceans of mediocrity in order to find something that stands out, can be quite tiresome. Pallbearer from Little Rock, Arkansas surely did stand out at the start of the last decade but I think it’s taken them a while to perfect their craft. Alas, Forgotten Days. The monster riff that starts off the opening title-track is more than enough to set the mood straight. Black Sabbath riffology, Candlemass atmospheres, even Electric Wizard and Cathedral hooks; all done in a modern manner breathing life into the genre which, with bands like Pallbearer, can look hopefully into the future. The incredible cover artwork and the lamentful lyrical themes revolving around family loss surely add to the big picture. This is the definite release of 2020 for doom fans.

Listen to Forgotten Days

16. Video Nasties - Dominion

Another debut of another band to definitely watch out for. Video Nasties from UK start off looking like they know exactly what they’re out for. The whole image is brought out from ‘80s horror video tapes and this is enhanced by the movie samples all over the place paying homage to John Carpenter. Musically, here we have some exceptional death/black ‘n’ roll, and what a pleasure it is when done right. Yes, the band takes a lot from Swedish melodic deathmetal but, to my relief, they surely sound like they detest metalcore and its sub-genres as much as I do. Dominion is an absolutely enjoyable record that flows beautifully, always maintaining its theme and atmosphere and calling for repeat plays. Fans of death, black, thrash and extreme genres in general will surely feel at home here. Sometimes it’s as simple as that.

Listen to Dominion

17. The Frights - Everything Seems Like Yesterday

The Frights from San Diego, California started in 2013 as garage surf punks carrying their own distinct feeling and melody. They were always enjoyable with the lyrical themes being more esoteric, something that set them apart from the usual stuff in the genre. At first, the songs of Everything Seems Like Yesterday were intended to be released by the band’s main man Mikey Carnevale as a solo effort, but something apparently changed his mind. Many were obviously surprised by this new acoustic direction the name Frights has taken, but, setting aside specific expectations, the best thing one has to do is appreciate the artistic worth independently. And how rewarded they’ll be doing that with this album! Everything Seems Like Yesterday is a beautiful introvert, substantial and entirely acoustic album, ideal to keep you company after a hangover or through many types of hard times. It’s one of those times that this type of quiet sounds just liberating.

Listen to Everything Seems Like Yesterday

18. Umbra Vitae - Shadow of Life

With Jacob Bannon from Converge and Jon Rice from Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats on board, here we’re dealing with nothing short of a super project. And especially when Bannon (apart from all his many other musical projects) decides to venture into death/black metal areas, this is absolutely something you don’t want to miss. Shadow of Life is anything but your average deahmetal fix, and it demands your undivided attention throughout. Explosive in its grim and dark temperament, and with stunning artwork dressing it perfectly, this is an album that grabs you by the throat. Not that you haven’t offered it willingly in the first place.

Listen to Shadow of Life

19. Idles - Ultra Mono

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for many years, there is no way that you’re ignorant on the Idles phenomenon. After Brutalism and Joy as an Act of Resistance, I don’t know what we all expected from them. It’s not the easiest task to surpass two albums that have set new standards in today’s punk music (”punk” being used as broadly as possible, as a term). And, to put it bluntly, Ultra Mono doesn’t do anything like that, like, it would be something impossible, especially so soon. Then again, Idles are a band just incapable of releasing a bad record and, although it didn’t make it to the top spots of 2020′s list, Ultra Mono is an Idles-trademarked sharp and edgy album (musically and politically) that preserves them at the top where they indicate to the rest of the world where music is going.

Listen to Ultra Mono

20. Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today

Protomartyr from Detroit have always served their unique blend of post-punk. In Ultimate Success Today, they continue their gloomy journey in symphony with this dark world. Joe Casey, always carrying a Nick-Cave-like vibe in his tone, delivers his grim lyrics atop the heavy basslines, the strange drumbeats and the almost free-jazz saxophone. Always melancholic and dystopic, Protomartyr is the band this world needs and deserves.

Listen to Ultimate Success Today

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zwiezraczek · 5 years ago

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Hellooo!:) can you do 5, 8, 9, 11 &19 with Ben pleaseee? Smth really angsty with fluff at the very end? and don’t worry, take your time:D loove your writing💚

You Should Be Sad [Blurb]

5. “Look at me love, please.” 8. “... Why are you doing this to me?” 9. “You are definitely drunk.” 11. “You're driving me crazy, you know that?” 19. “I spent all my years praying for this moment to come!”

~~~

Dating Ben was probably your biggest mistake from the very beginning. But the best decision album-making wise. The rage he had woken up inside of you fueled every song you wrote for this album, every word, everything. All about him – but you refused to admit it. Everywhere you went, you were reminded of him, of your relationship. Of your love. Something long gone now, it has been almost six months. Six long months, of crying, cursing and desperately wanting him to come back. You were so over this now, at least you thought, you tried to convince yourself you were.

“Y/N, this album is absolutely amazing, and contains so much energy,” the interviewer said, as you sat legs crossed on the red couch with a smile on your face.

“Thank you, I'm glad you like it!”

“But as you know, a question is on everybody's lips as they heard one particular song,” they said, as you already knew what question it would be. The same question you were facing everyday, trying to hold back tears and pride. “'You Should Be Sad', this country inspired song, is it about a past relationship of yours as we all believe it to be?”

“Well, my dear, I will say yes and no,” you lied, you absolutely did but for the greater good. You remembered how the media dragged you down after your breakup, catching pictures of you wearing a black hoodie, puffy eyes and in a mental hell. They stole your privacy, they stole these moments of intimacy you only 'wanted' to share with the ones you cared about, you wanted them to see you like this, and only them. Not your fans. No the media.“It's heavily inspired by what had happened to me a few months ago, with somebody I won't mention in this interview because it's unprofessional, as my manager told me, and it deals with my self-esteem issues that I try to overcome. Because I feel sorry for him letting me go, but it's a hard life as they say.” You smiled, your nails drumming on the armrest of the red couch looking carefree but deep inside, you tried to not break down. Not again.

~~~

You enjoyed yourself, dancing to the beat of the music with Ben, but not only him, Ben and his friends coming especially to London to celebrate the premiere of the movie he got the main role in. The premiere was yesterday, and today you were partying, you, Ben, Joe and Lucy. The others, Gwilym and Rami were quite busy and only came to the premiere yesterday, on which you appeared holding Ben's hand in this long peach puffy dress and a smile on your face because he did it, your boyfriend did it and you couldn't feel more proud about his achievement. A boy you watched on Eastenders a few years ago was holding your hand right now, kissing it gently under the flashes as he held you closer and you burst into a pure laughter. You felt happy and alive. You couldn't know that these were probably the lasts moments of your peaceful love affair.

Joe was your soulmate, and so was Lucy. Both of them knowing how to party, as much as you did. The songs in the club made you ecstatic, pulsing and carefree. Ben danced with you too, but he mostly stayed at the bar, a beer in hand and sometimes went out to light up a cigarette while you still danced with Joe or Lucy. At one moment, he came back, his hands wandering on your hips and his alcohol scented breath warming your neck as you giggled.

“Mr. Jones is dancing? What a surprise,” you said into his ear, facing him with both of your hands on his shoulders. You could forget about the world all around you because he was your world.

“Because you're driving me crazy, you know that,” he asked and you quickly kissed him before nodding.

“That's what your local singer is here for, Benny. To drive you crazy even more than anybody would.”

“Is this allowee? Disgusting,” you heard behind you, Joe. Joe stood there, looking at both of you while tapping Lucy's shoulder.

“I agree,” she replied, making a funny face before Ben turned back to look at them and sighed.

“Killjoys,” Ben said before leaving a kiss on your cheek, “I'm going out for a cigarette.”

“Yeah, go out and smoke, your lungs will thank you later,” Joe shouted as Ben just rolled his eyes before disappearing in the crowd.

But he seemed to never come back, which began to annoy you. And so, you left Joe and Lucy at the bar to go out and look for your boyfriend. The biggest error of your life. You pushed the door leading to the smoking area, and what you saw you couldn't unsee. Ben was facing a girl, her back against the wall as he blocked her with his right hand, his forehead against hers. She smiled, seeming to enjoy the moment. And the next thing you knew, she kissed him. You couldn't tell if he was fine with it, if he was too drunk, or if she was responsible for all of that. But all you knew was that he was, right in front of your eyes, cheating on you.

“What the fuck,” you blurted and they stopped kissing immediately. She still had her hand on Ben's cheek as he looked at you, frightened, understanding now what he had done to you, to your relationship.

“Y/N,” he began, taking off the girl's hand from his cheek.

“Fuck. You,” you replied, pushing the door again and making your way outside the club, running towards the cloakroom where you left your purse and going out the club. Tears began to run down your face as you thought about what he did to you, how much he hurt you by kissing somebody. You were in pain, under the sky full of stars. You walked slowly, your bag against your side, sobbing delicately and hoping that no paparazzi would catch thismoment. You couldn't hear the footsteps behind you, and it only struck you when a heavy hand landed on your shoulder and you turned back to face him. Ben. You looked at him, eyes full of rage as he tried to prevent you from walking.

“Look at me love, please,” he whispered and you did what he asked for. But without any trace of love in your eyes, you felt rage and anger. You wanted to kill him, you wanted to kill that girl, you wanted to be at peace.

“I'm looking at you now, so? Tell me something to amuse me,” you wittily replied, but it hurt so much.

“I'm so sorry, y/n, I don't know what happened to me I just,” he began to explain himself, but you couldn't hear what he was saying, the image of him kissing her coming back in loops in your mind.

“Why are you doing this to me,” you asked him, cutting him off mid-sentence. “I'm not enough? I'm not filling the hole in your fucking heart, I wasn't enough? You needed some adrenaline and to kiss a girl?”

“It's not that, y/n, I...”

“You liked it,” you asked, your eyes shinning with tears as he remained silent. “Did you like it?” You repeated more violently this time. “Is she a better kisser than I am? Will she be herefor you? I hope she'll be fucking better than me in bed, Ben. I truly hope you'll have a better life without me.”

“Without... You,” the surprise was covering his whole face. He couldn't understand the words you told. He refused to understand. But you were clear, even if it hurt.

“You'll be able to live without me I guess, I'm packing my things and leaving tonight.” It was your decision, you didn't want to hear his excuses, you didn't want to hear his voice begging for forgiveness when he would sober up a bit.

“You can't leave,” he whispered, his hand slowly slipping from your shoulder.

“Yes, I can. Goodbye Ben.”

You turned back, silently crying as you walked down the street. It was all over now.

~~~

And you broke. Again. Once you reached your apartment, you began to cry. The decision you made on that night pained you immensely. And everytime you tried to put together all the feelings you had towards what had happened, the remaining feelings you had for Ben, you had to cry. You would sit under a blanket, looking at the white ceiling as you tried to not cry and to think about something else. And everytime you grabbed your phone, you sawpictures of you and him. Your Instagram's timeline wasn't better than your storage, neither the tweets talking about wanting the two of you to be back together. You wished all never ended like this, you wished you listened to him instead of fleeing. You wished so many things... You were only thankful for Lucy being on your side while talking with you, she called you often to know how you were feeling, and often, you lied. Joe called sometimes too, you lied too. You thought you could feel better after some time, after parties, after writing your album and pouring all your emotions into it... But it all made it worse. You blocked him on every social media, and his phone number, but you caught yourself looking at his account more often than usual, smiling when Joe posted a picture of both of them on vacation. You wished you could be part of his life, but you didn't let him be, you refused any explanation. You refused this, only to be sad. You wished he was sad, but you were the one suffering instead.

Your telephone rang, an unknown number. You wiped the tears away and picked up.

“Y/N,” the voice you perfectly knew asked faintly.

“What do you want,” you said strongly, faking the confidence you lacked. It was easier through this device.

“I can't live without you, I can't,” he complained as you heard the tune of his voice: he was drunk.

“You are definitely drunk Ben, don't call me while you're drunk. Don't call me at all.”

“Y/N,” he cried out to not let you hang up, “please, let me tell you something and then I'll leave you forever if you wish. I promise I'll leave you,” he whispered and you hummed to let him speak. “I don't know how many times I told you that I'm sorry, but I have to tell it again. I'm sorry, y/n, I'm sorry about everything I did to you, about the pain I caused to you, about everything. I was drunk, but that's no excuse, I'm drunk right now and I know that's not an excuse, I just... I lost it all. I lost everything on that night. I lost you. I already told you that, but I've felt empty for the last six months, I felt every hour passing by, without you. I'm not half the man I think I am, I'm not worth of your attention, I probably never was in the first place. I wanted, and still want to marry you. I spent all my life praying for this moment to come! To find my wife! And I screwed it up,” he whispered after pouring all of his emotions into your ear. “So I beg you, with my whole heart, I beg you, can we talk, can we meet? Tomorrow? Tonight? Whenever you want, I want to apologize for everything in person because I couldn't, because I am coward because...”

“Tomorrow, in the studio. There will be nobody around noon, so come if you wish,” you said, before hanging up. Then, you burst into tears. And you couldn't put your finger on the emotions you felt.

~~~

You sat in the studio, all by yourself, with a large sweater on you, curled up on the couch. You waited for him to show up, and the first thing you saw when the door in front of you opened, was a great bouquet of flowers. The biggest you ever saw, the most beautiful bouquet you saw in your whole life. And then, you saw him and his eyes. These beautiful eyes, tired, looking at you apologetically. You straightened on the couch, sitting properlynow and waited for him to sit next to you, but instead he knelt in front of you, offering you the bouquet, his head looking down.

“No apologize will be enough, nothing will be enough to repair my fault, not this apologize neither the ones I presented to you before.” And indeed, these were countless, but you always refused. And he gave up, for almost two months before calling you yesterday. “I am sorry for hurting you, I never wanted to cheat on you, I never intended to break the relationship we shared. I am so sorry, y/n, I hope you will forgive me.”

“Ben, I...” You started, but you couldn't finish your sentence properly, crying already as he rose his head to look at you. You saw all his features, blurry, through the curtain of yourtears. “I miss you so much, I miss you so much Ben... There is no day on which I don't think about you, and even that stupid album I made... I wanted you out of my life with this album, but singing about you made it even more difficult Ben, believe me...”

“I can only imagine what you felt,” he said, putting the bouquet next to you and grabbing your hand, hesitantly. But you didn't took it from his. “I can't live without you, without yourvoice and your songs, I can't live without you humming as you were trying to cook something in the kitchen, I can't live without your smile... And yes, I was sad as I should have been, I felt pain and anger towards myself and I regret everything I did. I missyou, and I still love you, y/n.” He kissed your hand gently. And you caressed his cheek. “Will you forgive me one day,” he asked, unsure of anything.

“I'm already forgiving you Ben, I'm already doing it...”

~~~

(Tumblr refused to let me put these tags and to show my post in the "ben hardy" tag so... Well... Here I am)

#ben hardy #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy blurbs #blurb

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kingstylesdaily · 5 years ago

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Five Burning Questions: Harry Styles Earns His First Hot 100 No. 1 With 'Watermelon Sugar'

During a pivotal year of his solo career, Harry Styles has notched another monumental achievement: his first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

How shocking is the ascent of “Watermelon Sugar”? And what could the song mean for Styles’ future at the Grammy Awards? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how surprised are you that “Watermelon Sugar” is the song to finally give Harry Styles his first Hot 100 chart-topper?

3. Styles’ other Fine Line hit, “Adore You,” peaked at No. 6 earlier this year, and comes in at No. 12 this week. Are you a “Watermelon Sugar” person or an “Adore You” person?

5. Finish this sentence: at next year’s Grammy Awards, Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” will __________.

Lyndsey Havens: ...still taste like strawberries on a summer evenin’.

source: Billboard

#kingstylesdaily #Harry Styles #hs: billboard #August 2020

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jawnjendes · 5 years ago

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can’t see in the stormy weather | shawn mendes

university au, shawn x goth gf

NOTE: this is NOT the new series. this is a one shot that takes place during the early stages of their relationship... you’ll find it in the Season 1 section of the masterlist :)

goth gf playlist | masterlist

When Shawn asked me to make a playlist describing who I am, I almost threw myself back to California. I don't know what it is about people wanting to know things about me, but it's annoying. I detest it.

It's not like he made me a playlist full of sappy love songs. He just wanted to hear songs I identify with. That was borderline terrifying because Shawn is a musician. He lives and breathes music and analyzing lyrics and melodies. What's he going to think if he finds Halsey's "Without Me" or 5SOS's "Invisible?"

Oh yeah. I deeply project whatever bits of me I discover onto songs. Then I stick to those songs and keep them on repeat and I make sure no one knows about them because then people would know things about me. It's irrational and unrealistic but that's how my stupid brain works. Anyone who's ever known me needs to disappear! They can't have the luxury of knowing me and all my secrets! What the fuck would I do if Shawn and I broke up? I'd have to kill him, that's what.

"What, are you gonna kill me too if we stop being friends?" Stella asked. "Seriously, it's just a playlist. It doesn't have to be that deep."

"I told you what the prompt was, right?" I replied.

"Yeah. And that is because Shawn knows you don't verbally express yourself about… anything. So he gave you a different outlet."

Fuck, I thought I was the psychology major here.

Yes, it was easier to let Shawn in through ways where I didn't have to say things out loud and explicitly. I had to admit that. But he was still going to find out things I had yet to tell him. Important things apart from the anxiety and semi-regular therapy sessions.

"Why don't you just pick generic songs you like, and not the ones that reveal too much?" Stella suggested.

I scoffed. "I'm closed off, I'm not a liar."

"It's not lying. Everyone's favorite song means something. I was listening to Big Time Rush when I touched down on Toronto for the first time. Everytime I hear Boyfriend I think about how I successfully made it out of my parents' house."

As nice as that sentiment was, I couldn't bring myself to find ways around the prompt. I had to do what Shawn said: compile a bunch of songs that I feel represent who I am. Besides, making playlists is… really fucking fun.

It took an hour of adding, removing, and very specific placements, but I was happy about my playlist to the point where I was nervous. I sent the link to Shawn the next morning when I knew he was on the way to the gym. Figured he’d listen to it during his morning workout and get it overwith. But no.

No.

Basically, I’m a fool who forgets she’s dating a musician.

So here I was, thinking that Shawn would make of what he will about the songs I chose and we would never talk about it. Wow, was I fucking wrong. How did I not expect Shawn to want to know the why?

He was a little sneaky about it too. Shawn invited me over to his place after my classes, and why the fuck would I say no to that? Of course I went over, internally cursing myself for not shaving my legs the night before. He usually had the TV on and a steaming mug of chamomile ready for me whenever I came over no matter the circumstance. Today there was only tea, and a stupidly excited Shawn.

“We have music to listen to you today!” he said when he had me on his couch.

He knew I wouldn’t play dumb either. And because of the fact that I was looking at his stupid beautiful face, I couldn’t move away from this topic.

“Cool…” I said stiffly.

Jet Black Heart - Live

He pulled up the playlist, which I had titled with the black heart emoji, and hit shuffle. Completely going against the very intricate order I put each song in. He was surprised to hear an audience screaming at the first song, but he recognized the tune that came shortly after.

“Why’d you pick this one?” he asked, his arm going around the back of the couch, watching me with his stupid pretty eyes.

I chuckled. “It’s a goth joke! Everything about me is dark, even my heart!”

“And there’s a hurricane underneath it?” Shawn guessed. He really was going to pick apart the lyrics and apply them to me, huh? “Any reason why it’s the live version?”

The answer wasn’t anything too telling or cheesy. It was still hard to maintain eye contact as I explained. “Stella introduced me to this band. She dragged me to a 5SOS concert and now it’s our tradition to see them whenever they tour.”

“Is this your favorite song?”

“Live, yeah. It just reminds me of feeling so alive. Concerts are the only times I feel that way.”

Shawn grinned at the sentiment. He seemed happy with that answer and sang along to the rest of the song.

“And there’s your deep shit of the day,” I said when it ended.

“I want more.”

What I’m Made Of…

I felt a tiny pit in my stomach. I knew this song, and I knew that Shawn did not know this song. He was looking down at the album cover on his phone, thinking to himself. Then, he turned to me expectantly.

“So…?”

“Just enjoy the lyrics and the sick guitar solo.”

He was quiet for a minute. “Well, I do get your vibes from it. But you’re also reluctant to show me what you’re made of.”

I hesitated. “It’s uh, a battle song. I’ll fight someone for trying to forcibly take anything from me.”

“Like if somebody jumped you?”

“Physically, mentally, emotionally. Yeah.”

Again, silence. “You gonna fight me?”

I knew he was joking, and I cracked a grin. “Jury’s out.”

“Any reasoning behind this soundtrack?” He showed me the cover, and I internally tried not to panic.

I had plucked the song off the wrong album, and now Shawn knew I was a fan of a certain speedy blue creature.

So much for being cool and mysterious. I’m just a fucking nerd now.

“Nah, not at all,” I casually replied.

Honestly, I enjoyed this song. I love this song. Why else would it be on this playlist? But just this once, I wanted to skip to the next one.

And when the next one came, I wanted to skip again.

I Am… All of Me

“Do, do you kin a certain hedgehog?” Shawn asked, once again amused by the album cover.

“No…” I resisted rolling my eyes.

“This song definitely sounds like you. Tell me, am I dating a hedgehog?”

Suddenly, this felt less nerve wracking and more annoying. I sighed heavily.

“I thought you wanted to know more about me.”

He chuckled. “Hey, I’m trying. I’m interpreting all these songs in whatever way I can because you won’t explain them to me. Plus, this song is from a video game.”

“Did it occur to you that maybe I like the game this song came from? Maybe I casually like this whole franchise because-” I stopped myself upon seeing Shawn’s face light up, like he wanted me to go on.

But no, he made fun of me. This song is now void, and he will not get an answer.

“Because?” he coaxed.

“Because nothing.” I grabbed his phone out of his hand and skipped to the next song.

Without Me

“Oh, who hurt you?”

“You already know that story. Next!”

Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)

I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.

Shawn looked at me for a moment, still trying to analyze the fuck out of my song choice. “I gotta say, I was expecting more goth music. You listen to a lot of mainstream artists.”

“There’s no rule saying I can’t. Mainstream artists are popular for a reason.”

“Touche. So why this song?”

“It’s what people think I am. Grumpy, bitter, always in black.”

"But that's not all you are." Shawn held his hand out to me, and I took it. He looked down at my chipped polish, running his fingers over my nails. "I mean, you are grumpy. Bitter? No, I'd say realistic. Always in black? Yeah, and you look beautiful all the time because you feel good in it."

That last part struck me. At least I didn't look odd to him. He didn't fall for the tough exterior I've built for myself. That little fact was both touching and terrifying.

"I know there's more to you than the way you dress yourself. It's why I like you so much." He grinned.

Cry With a Smile

"There's the goth metal you were looking for!" I exclaimed.

"Mm, your sense of belonging, as you put it. I know all about this already."

And he skipped to the next song.

A Little Too Much

Shawn perked up a little bit, a smile growing on his face. Then he looked at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Is that me?"

Now my cheeks burned. "Yeah. This song feels like a callout."

"Babe…" He was still smiling as he leaned in to cup my face and kiss my forehead.

"Yeah, can you believe? I get tired of being a hardass sometimes." I was only half joking.

Not a lot of people knew my deal with anxiety and depression, much less why they intensified over the last couple of years. The urge to tell Shawn everything was beginning to form in my throat but I kept pushing it down. He looked too happy, and I didn't want to bring that down.

"You don't have to be a hardass around me," he said sweetly. "Actually, please don't be a hardass around me, okay? Everyone has their limits."

Then, he skipped to the next song, because he was sick of his own voice.

Fist Bump

Shawn looked at me once again, a grin on his face. Here we go again.

“I’m noticing a trend here.”

“I like this franchise, okay?”

“Okay, kinnie.”

I rolled my eyes and sat back, scrolling on my phone to diffuse the frustration. What was the point if he was just going to make fun of me?

“Hey.” Shawn gently placed his hand over my phone, getting me to put it down. “I’m only kidding. You can laugh.”

My eyes narrowed.

“I’m serious! Look, maybe if you just tell me what these songs mean to you, I’ll understand better. Just give me a chance.”

His eyes didn’t show any bit of deceit… But that’s how they all are. And everytime, I’m always a fool. So I sighed and tried not to cringe at my own words.

“It’s lame… and stupid… and really stupid. But all those silly little video game songs? They…” I exhaled, and chipped at my nails. “You know I deal with… anxiety and everlasting sadness…”

“You mean depression?” Shawn corrected.

“Yeah, whatever,” I went on. “The world is full of some real shit, and, and the songs and the games…” I made a face and looked down. “They’re comforting.”

It was silent for a minute before a hand went and cupped my chin. I was met with Shawn’s eyes and glowing smile. But then he opened his mouth and the most baby baby voice came out.

“Does Sonic make yew feew bettew?”

I smacked his hand away. “I swear to-”

But I didn’t finish that statement because he tackled me in a hug.

“Kidding, kidding! I’m sorry, baby, that was the last one, I promise!” He kissed the side of my head before leaning back to look at me. “I think it’s really cute you like this series.”

“It’s not cute, it’s self care,” I mumbled.

Head Above Water

“Finally, a song I know!” Shawn exclaimed, and he dove into singing along.

I forgot I put that one on the playlist. I meant to take it off. It only made me more nervous that Shawn already knew this song. He was one step closer to unlocking the big one.

He sounded beautiful as he sang, lost in the melancholy melody. I watched him, trying not to give anything away through my face alone. It was getting harder to keep it together, just from the little things I had already told Shawn.

And so came the inevitable expectant look. “So? Depression? Religion?”

Part of me wanted to let him think that. Depression is common, it’s easier to explain than the real reason. Besides, it’s not a lie. I do have my dark days, and even darker periods. But depression isn’t the reason for this song.

“Nope,” I replied.

“You know, Avril Lavigne wrote this when she was really sick.”

Dammit, he does know what this song is about.

I sighed heavily. “How do I put this in a way that doesn’t sound scary or pathetic?”

“You’re sick,” Shawn guessed with a chuckle. But the look on my face changed the mood, and he went serious. “How bad are we talking?”

“I get sick… every so often,” I explained. “It’s nothing scary, it’s just… chronic IBS. I can manage it, I just have to be careful with what I eat.”

He nodded as he listened. “So it’s not that bad, but it’s enough for you to have a whole song about being sick?”

I hesitated. “There’s another song, actually.”

“Two?” Shawn shifted in his seat. “So that must mean it’s a bigger deal to you than you’re making it out to be.”

And he thinks he doesn’t know me well enough.

I didn’t like talking about my health problems, unless it was with my doctor. I didn’t talk about how annoying all this shit was outside my therapist’s office. Anytime I felt frustrated about food, I talked myself down because it could literally be worse. Why would I whine about something so mundane?

“You know you don’t have to tone it down for me,” Shawn added when I stayed quiet for too long. “And, if it helps… now I understand why you read restaurant menus so carefully.”

“Like I said, I have to be careful.” My voice went thick for a moment, so I coughed. “I eat the wrong thing, and I end up sleeping in the bathroom til the wrong thing is out.”

“So it’s frustrating to deal with this all the time?”

“Yeah… and I spent two and a half years not knowing what was wrong with me, two and a half years going to the doctor more times than a young adult should for their age… two and a half years thinking I might die…”

Shawn’s eyes widened. “Years?”

“We went to a doctor in Mexico, and he finally diagnosed me with IBS,” I explained. “But that was after the words ‘lymphoma’ and ‘tumor’ were thrown into the mix. It’s not really something you forget. Oh, and I hate vomiting. I hate it so much that I can’t be in the same room as someone who might be queasy. So that’s annoying.”

“Wow…”

I suddenly felt a little self conscious. “I know it’s stu-”

“If you say stupid one more time,” Shawn cut me off. “This is the least stupid thing you could be talking about right now.”

“My anxiety links back to food, too. Think that’s important to mention.”

“Is that why you always want to go back to your dorm after a dinner date?”

Oof, so he noticed. I stayed quiet, so Shawn continued.

“I can take care-”

“No,” I said immediately. The last thing I needed was my boyfriend seeing me have a meltdown because I ate something spicy. The last thing I needed was for anyone to see me have an anxiety attack after vomiting. “It’s not your job.”

Shawn reached over to cup my cheek. Only then did I realize I had been tearing up, and he was wiping it away.

I turned my head away, dabbing at my eyes with my sweater sleeves. I didn’t want to look pathetic and I failed.

“I have to ask,” he said after a moment, “have you gotten sick at all since we started dating?”

“It is a chronic illness that I have.”

“And you just… you just took care of yourself? While you were sleeping in the bathroom?”

“Like I’ve always done since I left home.”

“Impressive. I always call my mom when I feel sick, and she comes over every time.”

I was honestly surprised. I was expecting him to be upset because I never called him in my time of need. And that alone, made more tears well up in my eyes.

“Hey,” he said, scooting closer to me. “It’s okay. You probably went through a lot before you got diagnosed. It’s frustrating, I can see it weighing on your shoulders. Just tell me if there’s anything I can do for you.”

I could feel him looming over me, waiting for me to fall back in his arms. The song had long since ended, and it wasn’t about the playlist anymore. Shawn was just waiting for me to do something. I couldn’t bear to look at him, because his kindness and understanding would make me break even more. He really was too kind, far more than I expected.

Even when I said nothing, and he took out his phone. I thought he got bored, but his next prompt made me look up at him.

“Okay, so that barbeque restaurant we went to the other night, we had spicy buffalo wings for an appetizer, so we won’t have those again. Any other food that might make you sick?”

I stared for a moment before I caught another tear with my sleeve. “Um… can we skip that whole restaurant? Barbeque and my stomach don’t mix.”

Shawn typed, and the only sound in the room was his clicking keyboard. “Got it. No more barbeque. Any other place or food to avoid?”

“It’s a long list…”

“That’s why I’m writing it down.”

_______

goth gf taglist: @normalcyisoverrated-beyou @ilsolee @mendesromano @kitykatnumber @strangerliaa @iloveshawnieboi @someoneunimportantxx @goldenmndes @ruinhoney @calyumthomas @shawnsunflower @shawnvvmendes @parkeraul @havethetimeeofyourlifee @chillingbythesea @wronglanemendes @softmendesss

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes smut #shawn x oc #shawn x goth gf #damn look at dis shit #xmas came a little late lmao #im a lil soft for shawn rn so yea

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x--daughters-of-darkness--x · 5 years ago

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DELAIN: Chillin’ As Doomsday Approaches

In the band’s press release, you state that Apocalypse & Chill will surprise your listeners. What are some of these surprises you have in store for them?

We always write our music pretty organically, so we set out with every album to make it bigger, better, and louder. But it’s not like we’re going to completely change. We just go with whatever inspiration brings us. However, on this album there are some new elements. We’ve got a real choir, we’ve got Timo screaming, and we have full instrumental tracks, which we’ve never done before. There are definitely some parts where we really explored what we could do differently. And then what I mainly think will surprise our listeners is, especially in the first half of the record, the sound is very electronic, without going away from sounding like Delain. They’re all very much from a pop and electronic side of the spectrum. And I think that some of our fans who like us for our previous material, they will kind of be scratching their heads during the first half. But towards the second half of the album, it picks up on the orchestral elements again and becomes more symphonic. There’s plenty of new things on the record, but I definitely think that our fans will be able to appreciate what we’ve done.

How did these electronic influences creep in? Was there something specific you were listening to or interested in that made you want to incorporate it into your music?

I don’t know. I think that within the writing team, Martijn comes up with really 80s synth parts and I often come up with kind of like 90s dance parts. Those two mix well in our music. But it’s not like we said, “We’re going to incorporate this.” When we meet up to write, we all take some ideas with us, like a verse or a chorus or a theme or whatever. We sit down and listen to it and see what we want to work on all together. That’s how those ideas work themselves into the music.

With these ideas, themes, and lyrical inspirations, was there anything going on in your life or the world in general that catapulted these ideas into the songs?

Yeah, I think so. One thing that’s relevant for the way that we’d written this album is the fact that we’ve recorded it very fragmented. Martijn is a producer who really spearheaded this idea of “let’s do everything in several blocks of just a couple of songs” instead of in one go. Because first of all, we didn’t have enough time to have one big block for writing and recording and mixing the entire album because we’ve been touring like crazy. So, this gave us a lot of flexibility, but also the chance to go back on the songs now. All these ideas come from different places as well. But I must say that over the last few years, definitely a lot of it has been inspired by the concerns about the world today. If you open up a newspaper, if you turn on the TV, you see the world quite literally being on fire. And then if you open your socials, you’ll see everyone living their most perfect lives. There is this great contrast between the two where you wonder how can these actually exist at the same time and is this even the same world? And I think that contrast is also visible in the songs on our album.

The visual of the album cover and the promo photos have a 1950s cinematic movie star theme. Is that the concept or theme behind it?

It was really that contrast between the impending doom that you sense when you look at the news these days and then at the same time the complete projections that is very much the majority of things you see on socials. That was very interesting. Since it is so much about zeitgeist, Netflix and chill, it’s a very 2019 thing. So, we felt like the play on words was really fitting for this album. And then when I was playing with the idea of that title…it’s not like I think of a song first and then the title and then the artwork. Usually when you think of a title, there is an image in your head. Or when you think of the music, you see something, like you can imagine it. And for this title right away, I could imagine someone lounging while the world is on fire. I actually put this image together in Photoshop, but I am not a very practiced designer. We really liked that image. We’ve been also looking for images that were more towards the kind of covers that we usually have, like the more art nouveau/romantic/goth imagery, but it just didn’t fit the theme and the title as well as this one. What we eventually did to give it that identity and authenticity that my mockup was lacking, is we gave it to this collage artist. She works really analog. She cuts up images and papers and she reworked the image into what is now the cover and also continued that for the promo photos in the inside. Inside of the booklet you’ll find all of us wearing sunglasses and having different natural disasters reflected in our sunglasses. We put that topic throughout the entire artwork. Not that a lot of people get to see CD booklets these days, but for those who do buy the physical thing, we always try to give it something extra.

How did getting Beast in Black’s Yannis Papadopoulos to sing on “One Second” come about? Did you specifically write his part or realized after the fact that he’d be a good fit?

We realized afterwards that it would be a good fit. We really like working with guest musicians. It’s always a very nice surprise to see what other people, other creatives come up with when they listen to your music. Yannis, we’ve been in touch with him for a while. We met him in Greece. I remember during an after party at a show he taught me a bunch of Greek curse words! We had a few songs where we thought we could really use a guest here, we could really imagine his voice there. Then we were at a festival this summer and they played there as well, and that’s I think when the deal was struck. We gave him a choice. We had three songs where he could imagine it. We always try to give our guests an amount of freedom, so they can really make it their own.

The video for “Burning Bridges” has such cool visuals and beautiful scenery. Where was that shot, and how did the concept and the characters come about?

It was filmed in Snowdonia, which is a gorgeous part of Wales. We filmed it with the company Video Inc., which is a company that we’ve actually worked with for four different videos in one year. In 2019, we did four videos with them, including “Ghost House Heart.” The idea behind “Burning Bridges” for me lyrically was really that the protagonist of the song keeps leaving his surroundings in order to get away from the negative energy there—the negative energies are following him. The real question is, are those negative energies actually coming from your surroundings or are you the one bringing them? And then leaving and burning your bridges behind you will solve absolutely nothing. That was the idea that we wanted to work with for the video as well. What I really like about Video Inc. and how they work is we’ve had in the past where we pitched a song to other video companies and they came up with all these ideas that didn’t fit the song at all. And then we thought, “Oh, we have to give him some more input.” So, any images or ideas that we have with the themes, we send them over, but sometimes then people just say, “Okay, we’ll do that.” And what I really like about Video Inc. is they take the idea and then they go over it. They’re the video makers, that’s their expertise, and they give their own twist to it. “Burning Bridges” is definitely one of the most dramatic ones of the four videos, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

You’re the frontwoman and the main focal point of the band, but the album closer “Combustion” is a cool instrumental that gives the rest of the band a chance to shine. Was this a song specifically created as an instrumental or music that you had trouble finding words for it?

It wasn’t meant to be a song with lyrics ever. Actually, this song was written by Timo and I’m sure that Joey also had a say in it because his drumming parts are very prominent. They actually started performing this song as a showpiece Joey had at his graduation at music school, and they performed it there. We really loved that song and that performance. Another thing is when we write songs for Delain, we really like pop structured songs. None of us in the band are ego trippers, none of us try to show off what we can do. We just do what the song needs, but on this track, they really get to shine. And I think that it’s really cool to give them that moment to shine because we have some really fantastic musicians in the band and they play very functional parts in the regular songs. So, I think that this is a great opportunity for them to show what they’ve got. Also, this is an egocentric reasoning, but for me, a lot of the songs have become much harder to sing. I really appreciate the two minutes of taking a breath during the shows! I think that on the album Apocalypse & Chill, that song for me, represents the explosion, the combustion, the apocalypse itself, if you will. I think it’s got a very symbolic function on this record.

What’s the music scene like in the Netherlands? You’re a very well known international touring band, but what was your humble beginning like?

Delain is a little bit of an odd example in that case because Martijn had rolled out of Within Temptation, who were at their breakthrough, and he had so many well known guests on this album that he wrote and that took a long time. There was a lot of work that went into that, and he had a whole big business plan that he used to get to the labels as well. But we got into that label straightaway for the first record because of all that hard work that Martijn had already put into it and the planning he did and the whole set up of the project. But, if I look at the scene that I was in before I got involved with that, the Dutch metal scene is a very small scene. Everyone knows each other, everyone is in everybody’s bands. I was I think in four bands at that moment. I was in a band, a guitarist in that band was doing a project, and I was in that project and then Martijn did arrangements for that project. And that’s where he heard me. So, he asked me for his project. I know that’s a very confusing sentence, but that may be a good representation of the Dutch music scene. It’s very interesting because a lot of metal comes from the Netherlands and actually a lot of symphonic metal comes from the Netherlands. But you would never tell if you looked at the Dutch mainstream music media. I don’t know, maybe it’s because it’s not exotic enough for us, or maybe it’s because it’s too exotic. The Dutch popular music is basically just dance and hip-hop. And I have nothing against dance and hip-hop, but sometimes it’s weird to me. I do these Dutch guest things and there will be people from multiple genres, and I will always be the one with the most followers on Instagram and Facebook. And they will be like, “But we don’t know you!” And that’s very typical for Holland, I think. Music that is very well known internationally is not really well known in the Netherlands itself. On the other hand, it also has its benefits because I bet that even if Delain would have a massive hit in the genre that I could still go grocery shopping without people recognizing me!

Delain has been around for 18 years and you have this new album out and upcoming gigs for the next few years. What are you looking forward to the most in the near future?

We have already reached so many things that we wanted to reach with Delain. It’s been really amazing. It’s been an absolute roller coaster. Martijn and I do most of the work behind the scenes, and we’re a really tight team and we both have started talking about how we might want to start doing some things outside of Delain every now and then. I think our biggest goal for now is to really find a balance and do anything in order to keep making beautiful music together. Because if I look at what we’ve done in the past, if I look at the album that we made now, I’m just really, really proud. It is really a product of our team. The sum is more than its parts, so to speak. I just really hope that we can keep doing that and make a lot more beautiful music and hope that people keep enjoying it. Delain has been around for 18 years and you have this new album out and upcoming gigs for the next few years. What are you looking forward to the most in the near future? We have already reached so many things that we wanted to reach with Delain. It’s been really amazing. It’s been an absolute roller coaster. Martijn and I do most of the work behind the scenes, and we’re a really tight team and we both have started talking about how we might want to start doing some things outside of Delain every now and then. I think our biggest goal for now is to really find a balance and do anything in order to keep making beautiful music together. Because if I look at what we’ve done in the past, if I look at the album that we made now, I’m just really, really proud. It is really a product of our team. The sum is more than its parts, so to speak. I just really hope that we can keep doing that and make a lot more beautiful music and hope that people keep enjoying it.

#Charlotte Wessels #Delain #2020 interviews

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tryingtobts · 6 years ago

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Obviously oblivious

Pairing: Min Yoongi x male reader

Genre: Fluff fluff fluff

A/n: Oof i had this in my docs for a while and forgot about it. I’m sorry it took so long! This was requested a while ago by @jeonjamsss.

(Y/n)’s Pov

I pouted and complained about how people thought Jungkook liked me on Yoongi’s lap on the couch,“I don’t know (Y/n)-hyung. Kookie seems pretty into you.” Yoongi said as he ran his hand through my (h/c) hair.

I groaned and buried my head into his stomach and whined, “Noo Gigi, he’s just as attached to me as he is with Jinnie-hyung. In fact, those two seem more in love then what people see with me and him. Plus, he already told me- uh nevermind but as I was saying noooooo not Kookie, my child.”

Yoongi rose an eyebrow from the secret that Jungkook had told me but decided to let it go and continue to pet my head. He paused and moved us to a more comfortable position where we lay face to face with each other. I continued to cuddle and complain to him about anything and everything and he just hummed and listened to me while running his fingers through my hair.

It went on like that for a few minutes before someone bursts through the door, “Hyungs! Do you want to get dinn- Um am I interrupting something?” A confused Taehyung asked with a small head tilt, though there was a hint of a small smile and excitement in his eyes.

Yoongi and I looked at each other with confusion before shaking our heads and got up from the couch, “Why would be interrupting something TaeTae? We were just talking about work? Anyway, what did you need?” I asked with confusion as Yoongi nodded to my words.

Taehyung’s eyes turned to disbelief before groaning and shaking his head. He sighed and put a hand on his forehead, “Look, just- Dinner you both are buying dinner for me and Jungkookie right?” He said with exasperation but ended with a hopeful tone.

I rolled my eyes and held Yoongi’s hand, “ Alright let’s go I guess but with that attitude only Kookie is getting free food.” I sighed and dragged him out the door.

Taehyung looked at our hands before his eyes widened and he whined, “Hyung, me too! Buy food for me too!” He called out from behind and ran to catch up.

Yoongi snickered and mumbled how mean I am. I bickered with him that he’s meaner and we went back and forth with banter while Taehyung kept whining about food and something else that I couldn’t hear as he mumbled under his breath and I was too caught up looking at my crush.

Yoongi snickered at something I said and suddenly threw my hand forward causing me to run into a waiting maknae, “Go to your boyfriend, hyung!” He chuckled as Jungkook looked at us with his wide doe eyes, and a blush.

I flushed in embarrassment before gently pushing Jungkook away and patting his head, “Sorry, Kookie. GiGi is being a jerk again!” I said with a sing song voice.

He and Taehyung both giggled as Yoongi glared at me and we relinked our hands and continued our banter and walk to whatever food place the two youngest talked about.

(Taehyung’s Pov)

Jungkook and I watched as our two hyungs danced around each other, flirting, and denying their feelings for the other. Yoongi-hyung was somehow convinced that (Y/n)- hyung liked Jungkook while (Y/n)- hyung was convinced that Yoongi-hyung just didn’t like him at all which is ridiculous as Jungkook and I watch Yoongi-hyung basically sitting on his lap while he fed (Y/n)- hyung. Truly a disgusting pair of oblivious love struck hyungs, but we stayed quiet as the two giggled and whispered to each other. Jungkook looked at me and we sighed, catching the attention of our hyungs.

“Are your meals alright? Do you need more food?” (Y/n)- hyung asked with slight worry.

I smiled, “Nope! I was trying to digest my food watching you two lovey do-” I said before trying to repress a scream from two people kicking me a little too hard.

I saw my hyungs looking at me with innocent eyes and slight blushes on their faces while Jungkook snickered at me. I glared at him with all my might causing him to full blown laugh.

“So nothing's wrong right, Taehyung?” Yoong-hyung asked and admitted an aura of death.

I nodded quickly before stuffing my mouth and saying, “Nofing, wrung fere!”

He nodded with a smirk and continued to feed the other snickering hyung. We continued to eat with everyone unfairly teasing me. I wish the two would just get together already.

Timeskip

(Jimin’s Pov)

Jin-hyung and I read through the rolling comments and questions that we answered as we did a Vlive in our hotel room. One comment from a fan caught my eye as it did for others apparently as everyone got on that subject.

‘So like does Suga and (S/n) know they’re boyfriends already or are they still oblivious?’

I chuckled and nodded while Jin-hyung groaned and looked behind him at the two people laying on the bed, cuddling and holding hands, whispering softly together before Jin-hyung called out, “Hey lovebirds! The Army are asking how you both are doing.”

The two blushed and looked away from each other before, shaking their heads, sitting up and softly giggling and started talking about the music their working on, unintentionally finishing each other’s sentences. Jin-hyung rose an eyebrow at the camera causing me to laugh, interrupting the oblivious hyungs.

The two looked at me in confusion as I looked at the camera, “Does that answer the question Army?” I asked and got a bunch of confirmations and pouting emojis.

Jin-hyung and I laughed at the confused noise the other pair gave but when Yoongi-hyung was about to ask it, Jin-hyung beat him to it, “Anyway! We have to go Army! See some of you on Saturday!” He blew a kiss to the camera and we all said bye.

Yoongi-hyung and (Y/n)-hyung looked at us confused for earlier but before either one of them could ask Jin-hyung hoisted Yoongi-hyung up and bid us a good night. Yoongi-hyung resisted for a moment before (Y/n)-hyung patted his head and told him to rest up for practice tomorrow.

When they left, I tackled the (h/c) hair hyung to the bed and laughed as he squawked in surprise. He began giggling and pushed me on my side of the bed before reaching for the light.

I looked at him with curiosity and asked, “Hey hyung?”

He hummed as he settled in the bed and turned towards me.

“Why don’t you confess to Yoongi-hyung?” I asked.

He sputtered in shock, turning red before answering, “Why would I do that?”

I rolled my eyes, “Confess that you like him? You guys make it a little too obvious that you both like each other.” I pointed out.

(Y/n)-hyung blinked, “You think he likes me back?” He wondered.

I groaned, “Well, I don’t see him cuddling the others like you two do on a daily basis.” I said sarcastically earning a small bop on the head from the red hyung.

“First of all, the disrespect.” He said jokingly, with a small smile, “Second of all, he just likes to indulge me just like he lets you and Taetae get away with various things.”

I rose an eyebrow and got my phone and went to a folder named ‘Two dumb in love hyungs’ and pulled the first few photos up and showed him.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t initiate touch like he does with you with us. Also, he always shoos us away when we get too touchy with you or teases you too much. Something he doesn’t do with anyone else, if anything he’ll join in on the teasing.” I said, muttering the last part with a pout.

(Y.n)-hyung looked away from my phone, “Even if what you say is true, if we did start a relationship, the consequences of us fighting would affect the band and-”

I stopped him before he could overthink the situation and grabbed his hand, “But you guys have fights like a couple anyway but you both always find your way back to each other and if you both have a bad fight the others and I will help you both.” I assured him.

He sighed, “I wouldn’t even know where to begin with if I wanted to tell him, Minnie.”

I lit up and sat up texting a group chat named, ‘Suga(S/n) need to get together’, who had everyone in the band except the two oblivious people in the band and told them to get prepared as my side of the plan worked.

I smiled at the confused hyung besides me, “Don’t worry Hyungie, we are going to help you.”

His eyebrows furrowed and asked, “What do you mean “We”-” before getting cut off by the knocking on the door.

I turned on the lights and rushed to open up the door. Everyone in our group chat had rushed to our room to dog pile on the now distressed (Y/n)-hyung to help him plan the perfect confession.

Timeskip

(No one’s Pov)

The crowds cheered as the 8 men as they finished up their concert.

“ARMY! Thank you for joining us today! We love you but before you leave we need to ask you a question!” Namjoon said happily in the mic.

The crowd responded with yells of what and cheers.

“First, I’m going to pair each member up,” he paused and put the members, with each other: Jimin and himself, Jinkook, Vhope, Suga(S/n).

All of them looked excited except the last pair, one confused and one nervous.

“Now, we’ll raise our hands one pair at a time and you all will cheer for which pair will have to do a closing act together.” He announced getting screams and cheers from the army.

First, he and Jimin rose their hands, the army cheered but quietly, the army bombs stayed their white glow. Jinkook and Vhope got the same responses. When Suga(S/n) rose their hands, the Army screamed and their Army bombs started to flash a wave of rainbows.

Yoongi and (Y/n) stepped up to center stage with nervous looks, albeit for two different reasons.

Yoongi whispered to the other, “What are we supposed to do? Our duet song?” He asked confused and got a sheepish grin and small follow along from (Y/n).

(Y/n) turned towards him and dug around in his pocket before fishing out a small box.

“Hey GiGi, remember that time you first met me before I got to officially join the group during the Run album? You were offput and offended that I would be joining late into the band but then started to warm up as I brought you coffee and asked for some help about producing some songs I had made. To be honest, I lied to you when I said I wanted to produce songs and joined BigHit for that.” (Y/n) said with nervousness.

Yoongi looked surprised and confused but said nothing as the other continued, fiddling with the box, “While I was brought in because of it, I originally wanted to just sing and perform on stage but as soon as I heard your songs and then I would be joining your band, I wanted to impress you so I took up producing and changed my focus. I did it all because I liked your songs and when I got to meet you, it was because I started to really like you, so much more than anyone I’ve ever met,” (Y/n) open the box to reveal a black bracelet with small a small aquamarine in the middle, “Did I impress you GiGi?”

The silent male’s eyes soften and he smiled with small tears gathering in his eyes. Yoongi wiped his eyes, and took the bracelet and examined it while (Y/n) looked at him with anticipation.

“Honestly, when you first came with your songs I thought they were shit,” He finally said and quickly continued with a smile and put on the bracelet, ignoring the crestfallen face of the elder “but you got better the more you worked on them, while your songs didn’t impress me all too well. Your persistence to talk to someone who gave you the cold shoulder, and get them to love you was something else.”

He smiled fondly as (Y/n)’s face processed his words and lit up, “You love me?” (Y/n) happily asked quietly.

He chuckled, and nodded. (Y/n) teared up and jumped at Yoongi to hug him, surprising him and barely preventing them both from falling. Loud cheers were heard from the once quiet crowd and the rest of the band.

(Y/n) pulled away a bit and said, “I love you too.” before smashing their lips together causing everyone to scream for them and cheer their ship name out loud, while their duet song blasted in the stadium.

They pulled away and rested their foreheads together, smiling at each other with the love they’ve always had with each other before turning towards the crowd and start waving with the other members goodbye to the army and together, they walked off the darkening stage hand in hand.

#bts fluff #bts x male #bts x male reader #bts x reader #min yoongi #min yoongi x male reader #bts gluff #bts fic #bts suga #bts au #bts oneshot #bts yoongi fluf #bts yoongi one shot

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saiilorstars · 5 years ago

Text

It Had To Be You

Ch.15: The Choice’s Aftermath // Story Masterlist

Fandom: The Flash

Pairings: Barry Allen x Original Female Character

Pronunciation of OC’s name: Bell-en. The last syllable has an emphasis so it’s not pronounced like ‘Helen’ would be.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Chapter Summary: The weight of Belén's choice between her brother and Barry (and, thus, their friends) has truly fell on Belén and now she has no idea what to do with herself.

Belén stepped into her home - rather lonely home - expecting a peaceful afternoon of rest. CC Picture News was having rough days full of news considering the exposure of the Flash had happened, and, apparently, a couple sightings of the Azalea. There were news about them nearly every day. It looked like the article they had once ran against the Flash had disappeared because now everyone loved him apparently. It was fine, it just meant killer days even after a shift was over.

So, it was an understatement to say Belén was surprised to find her older sister, Maritza, placing a plate on the dinner table. Axel was already digging into his plate

"Mar...itza?" Belén arched an eyebrow, slowly coming in and shutting the door.

Maritza smiled upon seeing her younger sister, like nothing had happened only a few days ago. "Belén, good your back. I made your favorite: lasagna."

"Uh...thanks?" Belén dropped her things on the couch as she walked by, coming into the dining room. "What are you...doing here?"

"I've been thinking, a lot, and I decided that maybe it's good if we live together…"

Belén's eyes popped wide.

"You know, it's getting difficult for me at my own place, and I thought...considering what happened to you last week, and then with Dad...I don't want to be so far away anymore. If you're okay with it - considering this is technically your home now - can Axel and I move in?" It was quiet for a full minute, and Maritza wondered if she too were going to be rejected like Rayan.

But then, Belén laughed and threw her arms around Maritza. "I think that is really what we need right now!"

Slowly, Maritza smiled back and hugged get sister tighter. From his chair, Axel cheered, though he didn't quite understand why.

~ 0 ~

That night, S.T.A.R. LABS became just as busy fighting crime building as any other night. Three gang robbers had struck at some jewelry store and while the policemen were actively trying to capture them in a car street chase, the Flash was making a slightly bigger effort to run them down.

Caitlin was monitoring from the computers, along with Cisco. "Oh, Barry, there's an intersection coming up. Hurry!"

Barry sped up ahead of the thieves and disoriented them a bit. "This should slow 'em down!" However, the intersection came up and the three bandits split up easily. Barry came to a skidded halt as he stared in each taken direction. "Guys, which way?"

"Left," went Caitlin at the same time Cisco went, "Right."

"Right!"

"Left!"

"Stop!" Barry cut in before they went further. "You both hear you're telling me two different things, right?"

"Barry, listen up. Listen carefully," Dr. Wells took over the comm. "Belén is making her way there - I'm sending her after the Queen. You, on the other hand, have to handle the other two."

"She's not gonna be able to keep up," Barry said frantically. She was already up far ahead, and Belén was coming in from her own house. How was she gonna do it?

"Excuse you, I'd hit you if I was there," came the cool and collected voice of the woman in question.

"Barry, take a right," instructed Wells, making him immediately zip in the opposite direction.

"Belén, the Queen is trying to make it to the bridge…"

"Got it!" Belén, in her dozen of vines, ripped through the streets, not as fast as Barry, but enough to get to where she needed to be on time.

"Make her go west before Fremont!"

"Ooh, like a detour, yeah?"

"Precisely!"

Belén grabbed several construction blockers and organized them along the street with her vines. She could hear the motorcycle nearing but by the time 'the Queen' reached the site she was forced into a quick delve into the next street.

"All clear!" Belén exclaimed, disbanding into vines soon after.

"Excellent, now Barry, the King is headed for the entrance to the interstate."

Barry was one step ahead, his mind now cleared of some stress. He went on ahead and blocked the entrance with more construction blocking tools. "What entrance?" he said smugly afterwards.

"Atta boy. Check…"

With the construction blocking their way, the three bandits were forced into a second intersection. Only this time the police officers in their own cars had managed to surround them.

Barry went by each in speed from, yelling to them. "Got the keys!" And he left them to deal with their new situation.

~ 0 ~

Coming back to S.T.A.R. Labs, both Barry and Belén were welcomed warmly by their friends. Belén went straight to Caitlin while Barry went to Cisco, and 'high-fived' for triumph.

"Efficiently done, Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells congratulated and glanced at Belén who was in the middle of finding her clothes with Caitlin. "As did you, Belén."

"Thank you," Belén mumbled, more focused on finding her clothes.

"We need a picture," Cisco announced, and didn't even wait for answer before he hurried to find his phone.

Barry looked after him. "Pretty sure rule number one of having a secret identity is not taking pictures of yourself in your super suit without a mask on."

Cisco, turned back with phone. "Oh, come on, please! This is just for us. This is to document all this."

Wells swayed his head as he came to with the idea. "Who knows? Maybe people in the future will want to know how all this happened."

Barry nodded, resigned to. "All right, well, if you want the future to have the whole story, then, we all need to be in it."

Caitlin put hands to her face. "First, let me put on some makeup?"

"The future does not care about your makeup, Caitlin," Cisco tossed his phone over tossed Barry.

"Don't be so rude, Cisco," Belén scolded and gently brought Caitlin to where Dr. Wells was, ready for the pictures.

Barry prepared to take the photo. "Okay. Big smiles. Three... two... one-" he left the phone to go be in the photograph then returned a second later and caught the phone before it even had the chance to fall. "Ha!"

Caitlin tilted her head, wondering. "Does that count as a selfie?"

"Absolutely," Barry pointed at her while giving Cisco back the phone.

"Sick," Cisco laughed at the resulted photograph. "Came out good."

"I really have to get home," Belén set loose her hair from the root invasion she usually pinned it up with when she went Azalea. "Maritza's probably waiting for me…"

"Your sister is at your place?" Cisco glanced over, apparently surprised.

Belén nodded. "Actually, she moved in."

"When?" went everyone except Wells, much to her amusement.

"This afternoon," she laughed at their reactions. "Yeah, she surprised me too."

"I suppose after what you went through last week, she just wants to be close with her sister," Caitlin reasoned logically and gained agreement from everyone else.

"Yeah, well, I love it, but it does make things trickier with this whole secret fighting thing. Now, for example, I gotta go home - she's making it movie night."

"If you'd like, I can speed you there," Barry offered kindly.

But Belén instantly shook her head. "No! I...I can get there on my own, thank you." There was an awkward silence between them soon after, and Belén wanted not to be further questioned. "I have to go. Goodnight," she hurried off without looking at anyone in the room.

Caitlin rose from her chair and tapped her fingers along the desk, looking after their friend. "She left without changing."

"What's going on with her?" Cisco asked, confused. "I thought we were...you know, cool again?"

"I keep telling you, it has something to do with how she escaped from Snart's warehouse," Barry was tired of telling them.

It had been nearly a week since the defeat of the Rogues but Belén refused to talk about the incident. They don't know how she escaped considering there was a bomb strapped to her chair. But, Belén just wouldn't talk.

"Belén is just disoriented from all that's happened lately," Dr. Wells said matter-of-factly. "We just have to give her time to...fall back into the normal routine."

Barry couldn't help the sourness in his words as he said, "Well I just don't understand why she's taking it out on me."

For that, neither Wells nor Caitlin or Cisco had a response. They were well aware on the distinct distancing Belén had taken against Barry, and none of them could figure out why - not even the man from the future posing as a paraplegic.

It was all just a mystery.

~ 0 ~

That same night, Iris made a stop by Belén's home and was surprised to find Maritza and Axel there as well. Axel, upon seeing her, hopped off the couch and ran up to greet her.

"Iris! Hi! Hi!" he hopped excitedly at her side. "Do you want to see the drawings I did today!? My Mommy says I'm really good at them!"

Iris, who was holding a box in her arms, could only chuckle in response. "Hi, Axel. What are you doing here?" discreetly she looked up to Belén asking her the same thing.

"We're living here now!"

Iris' eyes widened, but made sure to hide her very shocked face from Maritza who was coming in from the kitchen. "Hello Iris," Maritza greeted and took her son away from the woman. "We're moving in back home as Axel said. And, speaking of Axel, it's your bedtime."

"But I wanted to show Iris my drawings!" the boy stomped his foot.

"Maybe you can show them to me tomorrow, yeah?" Iris tried helping out Maritza. "We can even put them an album for you to look over whenever you want."

Axel's face lit up with excitement. "Okay! Goodnight, Iris! Goodnight, auntie Belén."

Belén smiled. "Goodnight Axel." She waited until her sister and nephew were gone before speaking again. "What are you doing here, Iris?" she eyed the box in her friend's arms. "Did you and Eddie already have a lovers' spat?"

Iris playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh, ha-ha. No. I realized I accidentally, for some reason, packed in a couple of your things with mine." She walked into the living room and put down the box on the couch.

"Oh, well thanks," Belén followed and leaned over the couch from behind. "I did wonder where some of my things went, but I just thought I left them in Barry's room."

Iris opened the box and pulled out several items that Belén did realize she'd been looking for. "I really hope this wasn't a diary," Iris laughed as she passed a purple journal to Belén.

"No, it was work notes," Belén smiled to herself, eyeing several other clothes that went into the box by accident.

"Uh oh," Iris stopped at a gray shirt in her hands. "Man, I suck at packing."

"Why? That's-" Belén was halfway pointing when Iris cut her off.

"I put in one of Barry's old shirts by mistake." Iris exhaled and shook her head, re-folding the gray shirt to put back into the box.

"...I thought that was yours," Belén meekly said a couple seconds later. Iris looked at her friend with a teasing smile. Belén rolled her eyes, half-expecting some of the words that would be coming out as a response. "It was lying around, and considering you are not a neat woman...I thought it was yours," she turned her head to the side in thought. "Although that does explain why it was a bit too big…"

Iris busted out laughing, much to Belén's irritation. Iris put away the now-folded shirt into the box and pushed back her hair as she took a deep breath in. "You gotta admit that was funny."

"Whatever," Belén muttered and went back to reading the notebook in her hands. "You're just lucky that I love you because if it were any other person now they would not tell you what I am about to tell you."

"Yeah, like what?" Iris crossed her arms and waited.

Belén's eyes looked up, and completely seriously, announced, "They've asked me at CC Picture News to extend a job offer to Iris West but...I may just change my mind."

Iris' eyes had never looked so big at that moment. "Oh. My. God! Are you...are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm no-"

In her excitement, Iris hopped onto the couch and went to be face to face with Belén. "Annah-Belén Palayta, please tell me that's not a joke, please?"

"No, it is not a joke," Belén said with a crooked smile. "One of our co-workers quit a couple days ago and they've been looking for someone. I reccomended my good ole friend who also wrote a famous blog-"

"It wasn't that famous," Iris waved with a hand.

"Do you want the job or not?"

"Oh yes, please!"

"Then your blog is famous, period. So, what do you want me to tell them?"

"That I will be there first thing tomorrow morning of course!" Iris squealed and threw her arms around Belén's shoulders. "Oh, you are such a good friend to me! I owe you big time!"

Belén smiled and pulled away. "It's nothing, Iris. I'm gonna like working with you. Although, considering Noah and I have Linda as our mentor, you'll probably be paired with someone else."

"Doesn't matter, we're gonna be co-workers," Iris smiled the widest possible. She got off the couch and continued taking out what was left in the box. "I have to get back to Eddie's and tell him about this."

In her excitement again, she pulled out Barry's shirt and placed it onto the couch. "Iris, that's not mine!" Belén exclaimed but Iris ignored her as she babbled on.

"Nine a.m. right!?" Iris called from the door.

"Yeah, but-"

"I will see you outside so you can give me like a little tour or something cos I definitely don't wanna be that dork on her first day-"

"Okay, but Iris, this isn't mi-"

"Oh this is gonna be so much fun!" Iris laughed to herself and hurried out.

Belén raised her hands in resignation and went around to gather what Iris had brought in. Maritza came back down the stairs and mused. "What was that all about? I could hear Iris from upstairs."

"Oh, I told her about CC Pictures giving her a job offer and she went...all excited," Belén smiled in the end. She was happy Iris was finally going to be recognized by an official company for her talent.

"So you're gonna be working together, then?"

"Yeah, that's the plan."

"That's good," Maritza came up behind the couch and looked down at the various things left across. "What's all this?"

"Just some of my things Iris accidentally packed while I was staying with her and Joe. I'm gonna take it upstairs right now."

"This isn't yours," Maritza chuckled as she pulled up a bright neon pink blouse.

"What - oh for God's sake!" Belén took the blouse from Maritza with a loud sigh. "That woman really does suck at packing."

"And neither is this," Maritza then pointed at the gray shirt.

"Yeah, that's Barry's. I'll be bringing these by tomorrow for Iris to take," Belén took the gray shirt and stuffed it back into the box along with the pink blouse. "I'm gonna go get some sleep too."

"Mhm, you do that," Maritza smiled and watched her sister go upstairs with the things that actually belonged to her in her arms. Once gone, Maritza's smile vanished and she turned around.

Well, if Iris was going to be working at CC Picture News, then it would make it a lot more difficult for Belén to slip away and see that Flash. Noah and Iris were going to take the shift there - unknowingly to Iris - and Maritza herself planned on taking the shift at home. She promised Rayan that by moving in with Belén it would become more difficult for Belén to continuously see that Flash. Plus, living together, she could hopefully push Belén in the right direction towards her family.

~ 0 ~

As promised, the next morning, Belén arrived to work and saw Iris anxiously waiting right outside the doors. Belén couldn't help laugh a little as she saw the practically bouncing woman. "Did you seriously not go inside yet? Iris, you've been in there like a million times already."

"Yeah, but as your friend!" Iris pointed at her. "Not as myself, the new cub reporter."

"I'm one too," Belén shrugged casually and reached for the doors. "It's fine, just be...casual."

Iris took a deep breath and followed her in. Belén led her up to her desk, and Noah appeared a couple seconds later from his own desk.

"Iris, hi," Noah greeted her with a shake of hands. "Belén told us she was gonna be asking you about the offer. Glad to see you took it."

"Yeah…" Iris could think of only that word at the moment.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine here! You've got awesome bosses around here," he said purposely loud as Linda walked by.

"Being a kiss-ass will get you nowhere, Iris," Linda turned around, mockingly scolding Noah. "So don't even listen to whatever this guy has for advice."

Iris chuckled and nodded her head. "I think I'll go with Bells."

"You guys are wanted for the meeting," Linda pointed at the three. "Hurry up, Larkin's here today."

"Yikes," Belén dropped off her bag and left Iris' there as well. "C'mon Iris, time for you to meet the big boss."

"Good luck," Linda told the newest worker before leaving.

The meeting was held across the room, on an elevated platform. There were already several other workers waiting in their chairs.

"Look who showed up," Noah whispered to Belén, but Iris was able to hear perfectly from her spot. He had nodded over to an older, brunette man reaching for some of the hand sandwiches on the table.

"Who's that?" Iris asked them both.

"The snobbiest man ever," Belén spat as they came to take their seats.

Iris took a seat beside Belén, and Noah took the other. A couple minutes later, Larkin showed up. He was an elder man, a small one too.

"Mr. Bridge! Nice of you to make an appearance at a staff meeting," he addressed the man identified as Mason.

"I do love a good shmear."

"Ah, Miss Palayta, I see you have persuaded your friend to take the offer," Larkin had laid eyes on Iris who sheepishly smiled in response.

"I told you she would, sir," Belén said politely. Iris noticed a sort of...dreadful expression take over her face a second later, like she was just waiting for something.

"Well," Larkin placed a hand on the table, "how's about next you give one of our reporters a little something about the Flash for the next round of articles?"

Belén looked anywhere that wasn't Larkin. She pushed back some of her hair and, quite breathlessly, said back, "I would...if I knew anything."

Larkin raised his eyebrows, for a second looking crossed (as Iris noticed) then addressed the entire group. "Everyone, welcome Iris West, our new cub. Anyone want to volunteer to be her mama bear?" Iris expected something like this to happen, but she felt even worse when Larkin gave another word. "Mason, you picked a bad day to actually show up."

"I don't nanny," Mason shook his head.

"I lost the ability to make a joke back in '05. Today, you do," Larkin finalized then, onc eagain spoke to the entire table. "Deadlines. All new stories are due on my desk at the end of the day."

Everyone began to get up and disperse to their tasks. Belén got up quietly and turned to leave as well.

"What was that about?" Iris asked her before she left, eyeing a glum Mason depart at the same time. That would be fun, she noted. "Larkin...asking you about...you know…"

Belén deeply sighed, shaking her head. "Ever since I was...kidnapped last week, everybody won't stop pinning me to the Flash. All the time it's 'Flash this' or 'Flash that' - they don't get that I don't want to talk about it." She almost blurted about the article they'd run about her as the Azalea...thank God she kept her mouth shut.

Iris blinked rapidly as the last words of Belén became louder and more aggressive. She had never quite heard her like this. Without another word, Belén walked away, still pretty upset.

"What...just happened?" Iris asked Noah, the only other possible man to answer her question.

"I just think it was pretty traumatizing, you know," Noah shrugged, the two beginning to walk as well. "And I don't think it helps when all anyone around here cares is whether or not she saw the Flash or knows him. Only Linda and I don't join in on that.

"Yeah," Iris said. "But, I mean, if she did know him, she would have told us right?"

Noah felt so sorry for that woman then. If only Iris knew what her good friend was up to nowadays.

~ 0 ~

In S.T.A.R Labs, everyone save Belén was gathered in the cortex awaiting for an explanation of their newest enemy. Only a couple seconds in, Belén came in looking slightly out of breath.

"Dr. Wells, I am so sorry for not being able to come in earlier to see you," she went straight up to the man, more than concerned over the 'prank' played on him the previous night. She'd gotten the text from Caitlin she and Cisco were going to Wells' home to see him directly, but having to go into work to show Iris around prevented Belén from joining.

"I'm fine, thank you," Dr. Wells showed with open arms how perfect he was for condition.

Belén was relieved to see this was true. She looked around and noticed the profile of a young man in glasses plastered on a computer. "What's going on?"

"I was just about to explain who was behind the attack last night - you just made it," Wells explained.

"The metahuman?"

"He's not a metahuman," Cisco declared in the utmost crossed tone. 'He's worse."

Belén looked at the group, and noticed that Caitlin and Dr. Wells seemed to be in the know of something she, Barry and Joe didn't. "I'm confused, do you guys know him?"

"Hartley Rathaway possesses one of the finest scientific minds I've ever encountered," Dr. Wells said, basically giving the 'yes' for her question.

"Any ties to Rathaway Industries?" Joe wondered.

"His grandfather founded the company, his father expanded it, and Hartley here was set to inherit the throne."

"What happened?" Barry asked.

"He came out to his parents. Old money, old values," Caitlin said sadly.

"They were estranged when we met, but, brilliant. I couldn't have built the particle accelerator without him." Wells mused.

"But I don't think I've ever heard a mention of him from any one of you," Belén remarked, giving them all looks for that.

Caitlin cleared her throat. "That's because Hartley had a...challenging personality."

Cisco rolled his eyes. "What she means is he was mostly a jerk. But, every once in awhile... he could be a dick."

Joe busted out laughing. Barry too smiled, and Belén tried not to laugh as Joe had.

"Let's just say that Hartley, like many outliers, had trouble relating to his peers," Wells tried to downplay that bad behavior of Hartley.

"So if you two were so close, why would he target you?" Joe asked.

"Hartley left S.T.A.R. Labs about a year ago after we had a... a disagreement."

"About what?"

Barry saw that Wells was not feeling like sharing, and so he stepped in. "Look, don't worry. We'll stop him. I won't let him hurt you, any of you," he said to the rest. "Let's get back to my lab, all right?" he said to Joe.

Joe nodded and headed for the doors. Before doing the same, Barry glanced over to Belén, seeing her rummaging through her bag.

"Bells, you want a lift?"

She seemed startled by the way she nearly dropped her phone. "No, I'm good. I don't intend on going back to work yet."

Although knowing his chances were very slim, he insisted again. "Are you sure? It's-"

"I'm fine-"

"-not that difficult to-"

"-I don't want to-"

"-or did you come-"

"I said I'm fine!" Belén exclaimed loud enough to finally cut Barry off. There was a visible urgency, and annoyance in her face that made Barry back off. A little embarrassed, Belén hurried out of the room.

Barry then made a gesture after her for the rest to understand that this was what he meant about her taking something out on him. She was distant with everyone, yes, but he didn't recall her flat-out rejecting and nearly shouting at anyone else but him. It was frustrating, to be honest, and a little hurtful. What had he done to be on her bad list?

~ 0 ~

"Hey," Caitlin's voice startled Belén in Cisco's workroom. After everyone had gone to their separate tasks, Belén retreated into the only room where she could possibly take a break.

"Did you guys find anything about that Hartley guy?" Belén leaned back against a table. It was then that she spotted the newspaper Caitlin was holding in her hands. "You read the newspaper now?"

"Um...sometimes I do," Caitlin cleared her throat. She wasn't sure how to bring it up without further upsetting Belén, because Caitlin was sure she'd found the reason why Belén was acting differently. "I was reading something from a couple days ago, actually. It was the late edition, I think...?"

Belén crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I wasn't in those days since, uh...you know...I was kidnapped. Again."

Caitlin's lips stretched into an apologetic smile like it was her fault. "Well, it ran but I guess we all missed it since we were looking after you. But my neighbors, yeah, they don't miss anything. I found this one-" she motioned to the newspaper, "- in the trash and I...I got curious when I saw your name on it. The Azalea?" she unrolled the newspaper and showcased the headline to Belén. "'The Flash and the Azalea Might be the Couple the City Needs?'" Caitlin saw Belén's mortified face only get worse after reading the title out loud. The picture of the Azalea hugging the Flash was certainly not helping the case.

"Oh God I really wish you hadn't seen that," Belén covered her face just as she felt herself get all red and warm.

"And I suspect Barry as well?" Caitlin rolled the newspaper back.

"Well of course!" came Belén's muffled response behind her hands.

"You don't need to be embarrassed by this sort of thing. And you definitely don't need to avoid Barry either."

"But I feel so awkward around him!"

Caitlin gave a tiny smile, one similar to the teasing ones Iris usually gave. "Belén, do you think that maybe the reason you feel a little awkward-"

"Not 'little'. Big. It's monumental awkwardness, actually."

"Okay, do you think that the reason you feel this way is because...you might actually...like Barry?"

Belén dropped her hands from her face to reveal a stunned, wide-eyed expression. "What?"

Caitlin knew she was treading on a delicate pathway, but she suspected Belén didn't have the courage to talk about this with anyone. She wanted to give Belén the chance at a clean, secret talk where Belén could vent whatever she needed without worrying if it would ever make it out. "It's okay, Belén. I would never say anything."

"Caitlin Snow I do not..." Belén had began with determination but just like that it vanished. The air seemed to leave her lungs like she'd been running a marathon. "I don't...no! I could never! And not like in the condescending 'I would never date Barry' but just...I can't."

"Why not?" Caitlin tilted her head curiously.

"Because...it scares me," Belén admitted with a quiet sigh. "Just...just the idea of dating altogether. After Carlton - after he kidnapped me, I just...it scares me."

"You're traumatized," Caitlin realized and walked over to hug her friend.

"I don't know what it is but it just doesn't feel good. I don't know what I feel, but...it scares me."

Caitlin pulled away and smiled. "Well, whatever it is you feel you shouldn't be afraid because - if you happened to like Barry-"

"I don't," Belén said all too quick, making Caitlin chuckle.

"Well, just in case you did...he would never be like Carlton. But right now, I think he's hurt by your distance."

Belén felt guilty for not telling Caitlin the entire reason why she was avoiding Barry, but for right now...she couldn't speak. "Thank you Caitlin," she hugged the brunette again and really thanked her luck for having such good friends.

~ 0 ~

It wasn't long before Hartley Rathaway made an appearance in broad daylight. In a black hooded cloak, he marched up to Rathaway Industries. Matching black hand gloves were extended towards the company building, and sonic waves emerging from it that shattered the glass walls. It took down signs, parked cars and even one nearing police car.

"Peek-a-boo!" someone tapped on his shoulder.

The moment he turned around to 'sonic wave' them as well, something hit him hard against the chest and threw him to the ground.

Belén hovered inches from the ground via vines, and lowered herself to a graceful landing. "Ever watch Doctor Who, Hartley? Because you are so Doctor Who-ing - is that a real word? 'Who-ing?'"

"I've seen you," mused Hartley as he studied the woman in green. "But you're not as well known, huh? What's your name again?"

Belén rolled her eyes at the attempt to make her falter. "I don't care how well known I am. Nice try. Moving on now."

Wind picked up as Barry joined in, now standing on beside Belén. "It's over, Rathaway."

Hartley laughed, apparently amused."Oh, you both know my name. Well I know some names too." He started picking himself again. "Caitlin Snow. Cisco Ramon. Harrison Wells. I can hear the radio waves emanating from your suits. About 1900 megahertz. Is that them on the other end, listening? Are they gonna hear you die?"

"Someone is so full of himself," Belén remarked, rolling her eyes. "Is that a guy thing?"

Barry reacted fast to that accusation. "Hey!"

Hartley took his opportunity and blasted the two metahumans backwards. Barry got right back up and looked over to Belén to see her condition. Her healing was, in comparison to him, much slower, but she seemed only to be groggy from the hit. He went after Hartley instead, preferring to make himself the target in order to give Belén a chance to get back on her feet. Hartley followed Barry's quick movements around the police car, attempting to knock Barry out again. His attempts were futile as Barry easily zipped right back, and past Hartley, while swinging a very hard punch that sent Hartley to the ground. Barry stopped and grabbed him by the cloak.

"Looks like you're not as smart as everyone says," Barry couldn't help feel smug about the easy win.

Hartley, while being captured, didn't look too disappointed with his loss. If Barry had been paying more attention, he probably would have noticed. "Smart enough to have figured out who Harrison Wells really is. You see, I know his secret."

Barry didn't listen to his irrelevant words.

~ 0 ~

Caitlin and Cisco stood across the entrance elevator and waited for Hartley to be brought back to S.T.A.R. Labs. The elevator doors slid open and out came the two metahumans and one handcuffed culprit.

"Being scooped up by a guy clad in head-to-toe leather is a long-time fantasy of mine, so thanks," Hartley shot Barry sly smile as they walked in.

Belén, rubbing the side of her head on which she had hit herself thanks to Hartley's first attack, purposely groaned loudly. "If there is something you can put around his mouth that would be great."

"Let me help you," Caitlin told her, gesturing for them to leave. She wanted nothing to do with Hartley, just like Cisco.

"Not a very good fighter are you," Hartley eyed the already annoyed Belén. "Didn't last very long…"

"Yeah well you didn't last very long either so shut up," she snapped.

Hartley rolled his eyes, sighing so casually it might have been his home he was in instead. "I was thinking of calling myself Pied Piper."

There, Cisco had to cut in. "Hey! I assign the nicknames around here. Although...that one's not bad."

A crooked smile spread across Hartley as he looked to Caitlin - apparently he had some for everyone. "Caitlin...never did get that wedding invite." Belén stormed towards him but Barry gave him a hard shove.

"Shut the hell up!"

Caitlin persuaded Belén to come back with her into the cortex, thanking Belén anyways for the attempted defense.

~ 0 ~

"You should be fine, really," Caitlin concluded as she stepped away from the bed Belén was sitting on. Her head injury, while a bit painful, was nothing more than a light injury at that, needing no stitches or further examination.

"Thanks, Cait," Bells sighed and got up slowly. The pain in her head was subsiding with the pills given to her and she did feel actually a lot better than before. "What time is it? I'm probably dead late for work."

"Iris called…" Caitlin began, making a face.

Barry then came in, expecting to be thrown right back out. "Don't worry, I made up an excuse for you."

"Oh...thanks," Belén's eyes averted him as she walked by him.

Barry turned around and decided to follow, making another response, one more sassy. "Unless maybe you want to go back, you know, away from certain people?"

Belén stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "I think...I think I'll just stay here for a while...if that's okay."

"Why should I care, hm? Not exactly been in your consideration lately…"

Belén made a light noise of surprise as she fully turned around, visibly shocked of the comment. Caitlin, hoping to drive away a looming argument, stepped in between them. "I think we should focus on Hartley."

"There's nothing to focus on, he's been caught," Barry pointed out, eyes, slightly narrowed, still on Belén.

The ombre-blonde in turn remained with a guilty look. She knew deserved the jabs and she wasn't gonna argue a defence for her. "Where's Cisco?" she asked quietly.

"He's in the pipeline," Caitlin said, moving for the desk and hoping to dear God they would follow her. "And, to be quite honest, I don't like that idea of him being alone with Hartley."

"They really despised each other?" Belén was the first to move towards the desk.

"Like you wouldn't believe it," Caitlin turned on the speakers on the desk that would allow them to hear what was being talked about in the pipeline. "That's funny…" she leaned forwards, only able to see Hartley in his cell, speaking with someone alright but not Cisco.

Dr. Wells was in the pipeline instead, and apparently something he had said had made Hartley scoff and loudly.

"Not bad... as far as heartfelt apologies go," Hartley said. "Except that wasn't for my benefit. That was for you, Flash." In his cell, he looked up to the camera, and in the cortex both Caitlin and Belén glanced over to Barry. The metahuman in question was not happy in being brought up, especially when Hartley began directing words to him instead. "Feels good to have the great Harrison Wells behind you, doesn't it? But one day, this man will turn on you...in a flash... And even you won't see it coming. I only hope that he leaves you in better shape than he left me. If you're lucky, you'll only be dead. Because every day I have to live with the agonizing, piercing screaming in my ears." He then turned to face in the general direction of where Wells was on the other side of the cell. "I almost forgot... I told your pet I know your deep, dark secret, Harrison. Have fun letting him in on that one."

The word 'secret' put the three in the cortex on edge, and when Cisco came in and learned of it, he too was put in the same state. Dr. Wells came in a couple minutes later expecting the silent, questioning looks from the group.

"I assume you were all listening. Well, Hartley was telling the truth. I have not been honest with you. With any of you." He took in a breath before he continued. "The accelerator...Hartley warned me that there was indeed a chance that the accelerator could explode. His data did not show 100% certainty, just that there was a risk, but it was a real risk. And yet I made the decision that the reward... that... everything we could learn and everything we could achieve, that all of that... simply outweighed that risk. I'm sorry."

An unsettling emotion took over everyone's faces. Caitlin was the first to stand and speak, and her voice shook as she did. "Then the next time you choose to put our lives, and the lives of the people that we love, at risk, I'll expect a heads up," she looked away and walked out of the room.

Cisco, having no words, but his face practically saying them, decided to make an exit as well. Belén bit her lip, crossed her arms, and stayed put.

"After the explosion, when everyone else left you…" Barry felt extremely uncomfortable, and partially pained from the revelation, "Caitlin and Cisco stood by you. You owe them more than an apology."

"They might soon get more than that what with Hartley so intent on sending me to the next world…"

"I don't think that is precisely what they would want," Belén said quietly. "It's more about trust, Dr. Wells-" she flinched at the quiet scoff Barry gave in return, assuming for her comment.

Having nothing to say then, Barry grabbed his jacket and left the room next.

With a deep sigh, Belén let her arms loose on her sides. "I can't fault you for the decision you made," she continued with Wells, attempting to make it seem like nothing happened. "Though I am very upset, because that decision is what led to my own brother being out there - a metahuman estranged from his family - I can't judge you. We all make decisions...whose consequences we don't quite foresee at the moment."

Wells tilted his head, inquisitive at the response. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"Haven't we all had that?" Belén gave a crooked smile.

"I would suppose, yes," Wells nodded. "But, if I may say, despite what you have heard from me, I do care for everyone's safety here, and you are letting those decisions cloud your mind and they are putting you at risk out there."

Belén stiffened, for a minute fearing he knew what exactly those 'decisions' were. "Dr. Wells, I-"

"The reason we have not let your friend, Ms. Clarke, help you or Barry out in the field is because she is not capable yet. Now, if you fail to focus outside, you may become incapable as well and I will have to ask that you not accompany Barry out as well."

As much as it pained her, she knew he was justified. "I...know…"

"I may not be the indicated person for you to speak with, but I suggest you find someone, and fast."

"I know," Belén responded, rather breathlessly. "But...can I say something as well?"

"Sure."

"The trust, while broken, it can be earned back," Belén gave a final smile before walking out of the room.

~ 0 ~

"Feeling better, Bells?" Cisco asked, in the middle of examining Hartley's confiscated gloves. Belén had come to stand by the threshold of the side room, clutching a cup of coffee in her hands. With a weak smile, she gave a nod. "I thought you may have gone back to work…"

Belén scoffed, saying quietly, "Not the place I want to be at."

Cisco stopped working to look at his friend, noticing how troubled - at least more than she had been recently. "Bells, you know...you know you can always talk to me right?" Belén smiled warmly and nodded her head. "You know, I don't know what's going on in your mind but whatever it is...it's kind of uncool for you to take it out on Barry."

"I'm very sorry about that, honest…"

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to," Cisco gave her a light shrug, returning to his work.

Belén sighed and came further inside the room. "I do intend on doing that, trust me, I just...it's very hard...what I'm...processing…"

"Processing?" Cisco looked up from the gloves, though saw nothing as Belén had her back to him.

Belén tapped her fingers along her mug as she debated whether or not to finally confide in someone, and precisely Cisco. She didn't give Caitlin the opportunity but maybe it was better if one friend knew something and the other another thing. It made it easier on her at least.

"Belén, I'm here for you," Cisco said, as if seeing her internal debate.

Belén turned around, wearily coming up to the table. "Can you...for a minute," she tried again, "...can you just...be my friend, please?"

"Bells, I kinda am your friend," Cisco reminded with a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, but...your best friend is Barry and what I need to tell you has to do with Barry - do you see the dilemma?"

"Kind of…" Cisco lied. He saw none of it.

"Let's just, for five minutes, pretend like Barry hasn't woken up from his coma and that you and I are friends. Can you do that...please?"

For her sake, Cisco nodded his head. "Okay, shoot."

Gratefully, Belén smiled. She took in a breath and gently placed her mug on the table before beginning. "When I was kidnapped, I waited for someone to come in and help...get me out of the warehouse Snart and Mick had put me in…"

Cisco nodded, so far on board. "Yeah, Joe and I went out looking for you but when we got there...you weren't anywhere…"

"Right, because, well...someone else rescued me."

"We figured - we all figured. We just can't figure out who nor why you won't tell us anything about it."

Belén sighed and just said it all before she ran away. "My brother, Rayan, and Azul showed up and rescued me." Cisco's eyes widened. "Rayan's a metahuman. He has...I don't know, telekenetic powers, and he, quite literally, floated me out of harm's away."

"Cool," Cisco began to smile. "Ultimate powers."

Belén rolled her eyes. "Stay with me, please. Rayan knows that I've been looking for him, and when we were out of the warehouse, he asked me to come with him."

That got Cisco's attention.

"For so long, I had wanted nothing more than to find my brother," Belén's eyes began to glisten with looming tears. "He said that he would answer all my questions, and he would take me to where he'd been living all this time. We were supposed to reunite that night…"

"What happened?" Cisco asked quietly, assuming the worst. Belén looked down, her coffee becoming suddenly so interesting. "Bells, what happened?" Cisco repeated his question, trying not to sound so impatient. He could see this was in part what was troubling her as of late, but he could not understand what it had to do with Barry.

"I had to make a decision," Belén replied faintly.

"A...decision? What kind of decision?"

Belén looked up, her tears already beginning to loosen at the corner of her eyes. "I was so happy that he had finally come for me - come to see me - but then I saw the beams of the cold and heat guns in the city...and I realized Barry was probably out there fighting Snart and Mick. I told Rayan we had to go help, but he didn't want to," with a hand, she wiped a tear from her cheek. "He didn't care about the Flash, about the city. He wanted me to leave, and when I say 'leave'...I meant like he wanted me to forget about everything here. I kept insisting that...that we needed to go and help Barry, because...because that's what needed to be done."

"But he didn't want to," Cisco guessed sadly, beginning to realize what it all came down to.

Belén sniffed and began clearing up her tears on either side of her face. "I wanted to be with Rayan, but I kept thinking about Barry and how he needed my help. I had to make a decision...and I chose to go find him."

"Bells…" Cisco slowly rose from his chair.

"At first, it hadn't really hit me what I did, but then days passed...and I realized 'holy shit I just gave up my brother for...for…"

"Barry," Cisco finished, connecting all the puzzle pieces at that moment.

"I don't mean to be rude to Barry but it's hard facing my decision every day, everytime he's in the room I'm reminded of what I did. It's not his fault. I made the decision."

"Bells, this is something you should be telling him, not me," Cisco said as kindly as possible. "If Barry knew then he…"

"He would feel guilty even when he did nothing wrong," Belén finished for him. "I know him, and I know that's exactly what he would do. I can't do that to him, Cisco."

"I think you should go and talk to him," Cisco stayed firm on his opinion. "Because, first of all, he needs to know what you gave up for him because wow that was a lot-"

"It's not like that," Belén meekly said, though the tint of pink on her cheeks made it nearly impossible for Cisco not to smirk. It only got worse when Caitlin's words came back to mind.

"Second of all," Cisco forced himself to continue, "I think he deserves reasons for your behavior, don't you think?"

Belén lightly nodded. "Yeah…"

"Sooo…" Cisco plopped back down on his chair, slowly getting back to his work on Hartley's gloves, "...I'm gonna switch to being Barry's bro and say I can't believe you did that-"

"Cisco! It's not like that!" Belén stomped her foot, mortified of where this conversation was headed to.

Cisco smirked widely, picking at some parts of the gloves. "Hmmm…."

Belén shook her head and picked up her coffee mug. "It's not," she repeated quietly, sipping her coffee afterwards.

She repeatedly shot down Cisco's accusations, until Caitlin made (thankfully, Belén internally thought) an entrance into the room. "Anyone seen Dr. Wells?"

"No, he probably thinks we don't want to speak with him," Belén jumped on the subject change fast.

"Barry was right," Cisco announced, looking up at them both. "Hartley was using sonic resonance. The intensity regulator's measuring decibels."

"I'm gonna pretend like I understood all that for the sake of time," Belén sighed and took the last drink of her coffee.

"You know what's weird?" Cisco rubbed his temple. "He had it set to the lowest setting."

Caitlin tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Well... He could've completely destroyed his father's building if he wanted to in one blast."

"But...if he could do that...then…" Belén frowned. "Why didn't he just do it and leave?"

Cisco eyes widened as he realized what truly had happened. "Unless he wanted to be caught!" He jumped from his chair and ran to the cortex to the computers. Belén and Caitlin rushed in afterwards and, through the computer, saw Hartley's cell was empty. Cisco moved to the comm. and called for Dr. Wells. "Dr. Wells! There's been a pipeline breach!"

"You think he's gonna come for us?" Caitlin looked at the two beside her.

Cisco didn't stop to answer. He warned them both, "Stay here," and ran off.

"I don't think so, Cisco," Belén rushed after him, ignoring his refusing looks. "I'm a metahuman, and I promise to pay attention."

"Bells-"

"C'mon!" Belén yanked him after her as they made it into the corridors.

What they didn't know was that as they ran towards the pipeline, Hartley was in the middle of making his grand escape. He pulled out one of his earpieces, enduring a high pitch whine in his ear as he placed the piece on the pipeline door sealing him away from the rest of the building. Belén and Cisco made it halfway in before the door blasted them backwards. When Hartley emerged, slightly disoriented from the blast, he was very pleased with the results.

~ 0 ~

Caitlin had heard and felt the blast from the cortex and was trying to get ahold of her two friends whom she feared had been hurt. "Cisco, can you hear me? Bells?"

She felt a presence behind her, and knowing it probably wasn't neither Cisco or Belén, she slowly turned around. Hartley stood there, and promptly smacked her hard on the head. Caitlin turned and fell to the floor, knocked out. Hartley spotted his gloves and ran to retrieve them. As soon as he had them, he ran back to the computers and started typing for something specific through the pages. Something loaded and downloaded and once he had what he needed, Hartley left the cortex and went to find the last person remaining in the building. Before he found Wells, the older man had already called in Barry, and it was only a matter of minutes until he was in.

When Caitlin came to, she saw Barry coming in. "Hey!" he rushed to go help her. "Are you okay?"

Caitlin felt groggy but was conscious enough to remember what had happened. "Yeah, uh, Cisco...Bells...and Dr. Wells…"

Barry understood and left her to go find the others. He came across Wells in the entrance, the man in his wheelchair and pretty collected despite being nearly attacked.

"He's gone," Wells said.

Finding both Belén and Cisco unconscious in the pipeline, Barry brought back both to the cortex to be treated by Caitlin. They lasted a couple hours unconscious, but still enough for them having to make yet another excuse for Belén's absence, this time at home considering Maritza was now there waiting for her. Early dawn saw their awake.

"My head…" Belén kept her eyes shut longer than did Cisco.

"You both need to rest," Caitlin announced from Belén's bed side. "You have concussions. You're lucky."

Cisco leaned up as much as he could. "Please tell me you got him," he looked at Barry pleadingly.

Barry shook his head. "I guess the attack on his family's company was a fake out so we'd catch him."

"And give him direct access to S.T.A.R. Labs," Caitlin sighed.

"So we basically got played," Belén frowned, now trying to sit up.

"I should've known he was up to something," Cisco muttered. "This is my fault."

"Hey, man. This is on me, too," Barry cut in, glancing at Belén to see how she was doing. In his sourness, he had left the place when he shouldn't have. Belén hadn't been on her game lately when they eerie out catching metahumans and he had left her in care for the others. He should have been more conscious instead of focusing on his feelings. "I shouldn't have left before…"

Wells came into the room. "This is no one's fault but mine. I earned the blame... I'm not interested in sharing it. Hartley doesn't think I've paid for my crimes. And he's right. He won't stop until I do."

"Where are you going?" Barry called as Wells turned to leave.

"To earn back your trust."

With those words, he left the group.

"I think one of us should go see exactly what that meant," Caitlin said cautiously. She was still upset with Wells, as was everyone else, but at the moment they couldn't afford to be attacked on their own again.

"I will," Barry volunteered, figuring he had nothing left to do there at the moment. It was very unlikely Hartley would return.

As he walked by, Belén gathered courage from Cisco's urging look and called out to him. "Barry? Can we talk, please?"

"Not right now, Belén," was the very short, curt answer she received. It was enough to shut her down and let him leave.

"I...deserve that," she uttered after a long moment of silence.

"Don't worry about it," Cisco tried to lighten up the mood. "He's just upset by all this."

"No, Cisco," Belén shook her head, ignoring Caitlin's desperate gestures to sit back down. "He's upset with me - and I deserve it for being a jerk."

"Where are you going?" Caitlin sighed in frustration as she walked towards the doors. "You can't leave, it's not safe for you."

"My sister's probably going crazy that I didn't come home to sleep. I won't even go into the fact I haven't been back to work since yesterday afternoon."

"Don't worry about that, we called in and told them you had an accident and that we'd be keeping you in for some observation," Caitlin explained, making Belén turn back to them. "So you see? There's no need for you to put yourself at risk today - not more than we need to anyways. Come back."

"Well...how come Cisco gets to get up?"

"Hmm?" Caitlin glanced back and saw Cisco's empty bed, the man in question already in another side room doing what looked like research on a tablet. "What - Cisco! Come back!"

"No! I need to figure out why Hartley let himself be caught!"

"You're like children, the both of you!" Caitlin scolded them both and huffed as she walked towards the desk, where at least Belén had taken refuge in for 'rest'.

~ 0 ~

"I thought moving in would be a step towards the solution!" Maritza, dressed normally, stood in front of her younger brother who was raiding a medicine cabinet. "I don't need your shouting at me, Rayan."

"And I don't need you talking so loudly, Maritza," Rayan rubbed his temple while the other hand plucked out medicine bottles. "And, if you wouldn't mind, I don't want to speak about...Annah-Belén."

Maritza rolled her eyes. "Using her full name won't erase the fact you're hurt, moron. So she chose to go help, big deal. I already told you that's just her personality! She needs to help others, that's why she became a...a…"

"Partner to the Flash," Rayan turned around, sourly looking at the taller woman. "The person she chose over me, her brother...her twin."

"She's just disoriented. She's been so far from family lately that she...I don't know, she didn't know how to react. But that's why I moved in with her, to make her remember that family is all we've got in this world."

"Well, as you just told me, that idea isn't working so well," Rayan abandoned the medicine cabinet and walked past Maritza. The room was full of cabinets and while there were barely any bottles he decided to go look into another cabinet. The killer headache was on its way to become a migraine.

"Caitlin called me earlier telling me Belén had an accident at S.T.A.R. Labs and that she had a concussion, so she would be staying over there to be monitored." Maritza crossed her arms, muttering, "Though if you ask me it probably happened because of the attack yesterday."

This intrigued Rayan, making him stop and turn his head to the side facing his sister. "What attack?"

Maritza arched an eyebrow. "What? Where've you been? Sulking?"

Rayan rolled his eyes and returned to the cabinet. If she only knew he had been battling constant headaches all day.

"There was an attack on Rathaway Industries yesterday and the Flash and the Azalea made an appearance," Maritza explained. "They say the guy who did it blasted them with some sort...wave thingy? I don't know, point is, that thing hurt our sister. I'm 99.9% this 'concussion' thing had to do with that. How am I supposed to make her remember family when she's out there playing hero with some guy and team?"

"Hey," Noah hurried into the room. "You guys have gotta see what's on TV right now."

Rayan rolled his eyes. "Nobody cares."

"Oh, you'll want to," Noah came up to them holding a tablet in his hands. "It's broadcasting everywhere," he told them.

On the screen of the tablet was Dr. Wells making an exceptional speech towards the public.

"Did he just say he knew the Particle Accelerator could blow up?" Maritza scowled, images of her late husband popping up in her mind. Had he suffered what this man had thought could happen?

"It looks like he just went through with the plan despite the consequences that could happen," Noah looked at the two siblings, wearing pretty much the same outraged expressions as them.

Rayan flicked his hand to the side, causing the phone in Noah's hand to splatter against the wall. He ignored Noah's indignant look and turned away, pressing his hands on the counter. "Harrison Wells knew that he could cause chaos and yet he willingly went through with it."

"He's the reason Christopher's dead," Maritza whispered, although sad her fury masked it perfectly well.

"And the reason my mother's dead," Noah breathed in.

"He is the reason why there are so many unhelped metahumans out there," Rayan turned to face them both. "And what's he doing instead? Getting his Flash and my sister to lock them for good - or worse."

"Belén is not a killer," snapped Maritza.

"We have to get this guy," Noah cut in before they began to argue.

"So we say without an actual plan," Angie appeared behind them.

"That was where Belén was supposed to come into help," Rayan growled, balling up his fists. But, his sister had decided to help someone else instead of her own blood.

~ 0 ~

By the time Wells and Barry had returned to S.T.A.R. Labs, they discovered not much had happened in their absence. Hartley had not made an appearance at all throughout the afternoon, leaving the remaining Caitlin, Belén and Cisco to just...wait.

"I don't know why you think Hartley would try to make contact with us in the same day, Dr. Wells," Belén wearily looked up from the chair she had made comfortable. With the concussion, she felt a headache from the back of her head, and her entireself just felt tired in general. She had her legs pulled up to her chest, and her head resting on her knees.

"Because he's Hartley, and he'll want to have the last word," Wells assured them all.

Barry noticed Cisco fervently working on a tablet in his hands. "Cisco," he sighed, "you should be resting."

"Hmph," Caitlin mumbled underneath her breath, "Been telling him that all day."

Cisco heard her and shook his head. "The answer to why Hartley fooled us into catching him is in here-" he pointed to the tablet, "-and I'm gonna find it." He pointed at them warningly as he made his way to another room. A couple seconds later, Wells went after him.

"Cait, are you sure I can't just...close my eyes…" Belén fought the urge to shut her eyes by attempting to focus on Caitlin's black skirt beside her, "...for a minute?"

"Play solitaire!" Caitlin abruptly slammed a hand on the desk, jerking Belén upright.

"I don't…" Belén yawned, covering it up with a hand, "...want to anymore." She lowered her hand and forced her eyes attention somewhere else for her sake. "Oh, Barry! Can we talk now please?"

"What's brought on the sudden urge to speak with me?" Barry came up to the desk, looking down at her tired form, making it just a little more impossible to be mad with her. "Ever since last week you've done everything possible not to be in the same room with me."

"I know and I'm sorry," Belén said imploringly. "But...but I'm ready to talk, and - and I know I don't deserve it but...you have a right to an explanation."

Barry considered this silently, thinking she was absolutely right and that he most certainly had a right to know what was going on. He glanced at Caitlin, about to ask for a moment when sparks from the ceiling flew below, causing them all to crouch.

"What's that?" Caitlin exclaimed, slowly sitting upright again.

Hartley's voice emerged from the speakers that still surpriginsly worked. "Nice gambit, Harrison. But this isn't over."

Wells and Cisco came out of the side room at the chaos and Wells responded quite calmly. "Hartley, what do you want? What do you want, Hartley? I already gave my mea culpa today."

"The city already hated you. You don't think I noticed that press conference was a pathetic bishop sacrifice? No, no, no. I've played with you too many times to let you get away with that. This is between you, me, and The Flash."

Once again, Barry still wasn't pleased to be brought into this. However, once he thought of the damage that guy had done so far he wasn't so against fighting Hartley on Wells' behalf.

"You don't want to play for those kind of stakes with me, Hartley," Wells warned.

"Actually, I really do. What do you say? One last game of chess?"

"You and I both know that the winner of the game is the one who makes the next-to-last mistake, and you clearly have a move in mind."

~ 0 ~

From his spot at a roadside, Hartley had caused the pay machine across him to blast into pieces. Cars were barred from their journey.

"You're right," he smiled, continuing his 'conversation'. "And I'm already at the board. So why don't you move your precious scarlet knight while I take out a few pawns."

More sonic waves emerged from his gloves, pushing back several cars while blasting front view glass.

~ 0 ~

Barry wasted no time in switching into his suit. There was only the matter of finding Hartley. "Cisco, where do I go?"

Cisco tried to locate Hartley from the computers but seemed to be unsuccessful. "I can't trace the signal. He could be sending his messages from anywhere."

Wells came in closer and ordered, "Cisco, scan for seismic activity. If Hartley's using sonic blast, the vibrations could cause tremors."

"Barry," Belén made her way over to him, "maybe you should I come with you-"

"With a concussion?" Caitlin cut in, quite firm on her opposition. "I don't think so."

"But I-"

"It's fine," Barry told the ombre-blonde sternly. Though he was still upset with her, he didn't want her getting hurt yet again on his account.

With some help from Dr. Wells, they were able to locate Hartley in the Keystone Cleveland Dam, not that far from the city's outskirts. Hartley was in the middle of blasting cars over the edges when he found him.

"Barry, you need to disarm Hartley immediately," Wells warned as soon as possible. "Immediately! Do you hear me? He is a master of distraction. He is a master of hiding his true endgame."

Hartley stepped forwards and blasted several waves towards Barry. Seeing that was a fail, he changed targets and went for the cars on the road that still contained drivers. Barry went in and got everyone out in time, and this time he didn't wait for another proper confrontation and sped straight up to Hartley.

~ 0 ~

"Aha!" cheered Cisco who'd come running into the cortex with his tablet, having left Wells and Caitlin to take control of the computers. His smile vanished after a moment. "Uh oh…"

"Mm, no, let's go back to that 'aha' thing," Belén had taken her spot back on her chair again.

"I figured out what Hartley stole from S.T.A.R. Labs, why he let himself get caught!"

"And that brings us to the 'uh oh'," Caitlin said dreadfully.

"He has all the data on Barry's molecular scans."

Belén looked between the three scientists, hoping for an easy explanation. "And...what exactly can he do with that?"

Wells had the answer straight up. "He can get Barry's frequency." He moved over to the comm., intending on warning Barry. "Barry, you need to get out of there! You need to get out of there immediately!"

~ 0 ~

Barry had disarmed Hartley and thrown the gloves to the side. Hartley had been pushed to the ground but yet again he didn't look too disappointed.

"It's over! You lose!"

"Amazing," Hartley breathed in, truly looking awed for the moment. "He replaced me with you? Total moron. I got you with the same trick twice."

The gloves Barry had thrown to the side began to vibrate on the ground. As seconds ticked by, the vibrating grew louder and violent. Out of the nowhere, Barry felt a ripple of pain within him. He clutched his head and stumbled around, crying out in pain. "Ah! Uhh!"

Hartley smiled, satisfied with the results. "I got the idea watching you and Harrison chit-chat...to use your suit's own speakers to kill you." Barry fell to the ground, coughing up blood. Hartley neared him, lowering himself just slightly. "That feeling? That's your organs shearing apart. And you activated the frequency when you disarmed me. In chess, we call that a discovered attack. You don't see it until it's too late. Right, Harrison?"

~ 0 ~

"Barry's vitals are bottoming out," Caitlin looked up from the computer in front of her that was flashing red in warnings.

"I should have gone!" Belén had jumped from her chair to see for herself the mess they were now in. "We need to do something - I've got to go there!"

"You won't make it," Wells discarded that idea as he fiercely typed on another computer.

"What are you doing?" Cisco eyed him much like Caitlin did. Belén was looking at her own suit, as if wondering whether or not to listen to Wells' warning.

"Barry's on the travel road of the dam, at rush hour, surrounded by cars. Many of those cars are going to have satellite radio. Satellite sends a signal to the car, song comes out the speaker…"

"Yes! I know how satellite radio works!" Caitlin interrupted him. "How does that help?"

"Well, I'm gonna have the satellite send something other than a song. Hartley is about to hear something he was not expecting... a sound wave that will meet the frequency of and destroy his weapons."

~ 0 ~

Barry had turned flat on his back and was practically choking on his own blood. His hearing only contained a ringing that, for the love of God, would not go away. He see a blurry Hartley hovering on his side, still speaking but God knew what. And then, just like that, the ringing began to fade away.

Hartley heard a loud sizzling coming from his gloves and ran to see what was happening. "No! No! No!" he snatched them from the ground and tried to fix them again, but this time it was he that heard a loud ringing. He screamed as something warm dug into his palms - the gloves had began to hurt him instead. He let them roll off to reveal bloody palms and fell to his side, unconscious.

Slowly, Barry picked himself up and blinked rapidly as he recollected himself.

"Barry, can you hear me?" he heard Wells, partially, from the comm.

"Sort of!" Barry shook his head, hoping to finally get back to normal. "Okay…" While he wasn't quite there yet he was able to see perfectly again, and when he saw the unconscious Hartley across he felt more than at peace.

~ 0 ~

While Hartley was being placed away in the pipeline again, this time for good, Caitlin forced Barry to undergo a thorough exam to see if there had been any long-lasting effects from Hartley's attack. A few minutes after Caitlin asked Belén to help Barry get his face cleared of the blood leftover from his fight. She then walked out of the room to gather the results, which on a face to face basis already looked good, Belén gathered her little remaining courage to once again try and speak to Barry.

The metahuman was sitting at the edge of the bed, no longer in his suit but still with dried blood on the bottom of his face. Seeing her come in reminded him they did indeed have a pending conversation. Belén stayed near the threshold, in case she was sent back out - she honestly wouldn't argue if that was the decision Barry took. She deserved it.

"Can we...can I...talk?" she tried again, feebly. "Please?"

"Are you going to actually explain? Or leave midway?" Barry knew he was sounding rude, but at this point he was just tired of so much secrecy.

"If you're willing to listen...I'm willing to tell," Belén promised him. When Barry gave a nod, she took the moment before he changed his mind. "I guess you're smart enough to know this has something to do to when I was kidnapped last week?"

"Very," Barry nodded. Part of Belén was relieved to know he hadn't seen that stupid newspaper. "We all figure that much. What I just can't finish comprehending is why you're giving me the sour treatment. I mean, what did I do?"

"Nothing," Belén reacted fast and urgently went up to him. "You did absolutely nothing wrong."

"Then...what is it? Why don't you want to talk to me anymore?"

Belén felt awful when she heard his words that were laced with confusion and hurt. Instead of giving the flat out response, she told the story. "My brother showed up to rescue me in that warehouse. He, along with Azul, got me out safe and sound."

Barry's mouth fell open, shocked. "You're brother came!? H-how did he...there was a...Joe said there was a bomb!" And that detail was what struck all of them the most odd. They wandered without a possible reason as to how Belén had managed to escape without setting off the bomb herself.

"Rayan is truly a metahuman. He had telekinetic powers and he used them to get me out," Belén explained. "He...he told me he'd been watching me, knowing that I've been looking for him. And when we were about to leave, he...he asked me to come with him. But...bet if I left, I was leaving for good." Belén has to make that clear so that Barry could at least understand a little why she reacted the way she did. "He wanted me to come with him, and in exchange we would be reunited...and he would answer all my questions."

But clearly that didn't work out, thought Barry. "So...so what happened?"

Belén lightly smiled. "I saw the gun beams shining from the city. I knew you were in trouble, so I told Rayan we needed to go help first. But he...didn't want to. In fact, his refusal was so big that in the he gave me a choice: leave with him at that moment and not look back, or leave him to go help you. I turned it around it on him, making him choose but...I guess by doing that I told him how I basically chose you."

Barry's eyes widened till they couldn't anymore. It was like a brick had hit him on they head, and he was sure it wasn't part of Hartley's hit. Suddenly everything made so much more sense.

Belén couldn't take his stunned look, feeling embarrassed and partially guilty she was laying this all out for him. She went to a nearby table and picked up cotton swabs and some alcohol to help clean off the dried blood from Barry's face.

It was a long two minutes before Barry could say some words. "You…you chose...you left your...brother...for me…"

"To help you," Belén corrected, turning around and coming back. She gestured what she was gonna do and then proceeded to gently dab at a side of his face. "I don't want you to feel bad about this. I'm just...telling you all this because you had a right to know. I acted like a complete jerk and you deserve better."

Barry was still overly thinking about this revelation, and immediately feeling his own guilt. "Bells, I'm so sor-"

"You don't have to apologize. This was a decision I made, and-"

He grabbed the wrist of her hand that was near him and looked up at her. "That was a huge decision you made. And you didn't even talk to someone about it."

"I talked with Cisco earlier," Belén tried to make it look less bad than it was. "He's the one that made me realize you needed an explanation."

"That's not what I meant," Barry gave her a sharp look.

"I know," sighed Belén, gently wiggling her wrist from his grip. "But, like I said, this was a decision I made. I just, at that time, didn't realize I would have to face it everyday."

"And by 'facing it' you mean me…"

"Not in that way but...yeah, and I'm sorry. It's just hard, and I know that is no excuse but…"

"You hadn't seen your brother in a near year and the only chance you had you gave it up - that's a good excuse," Barry released air he'd been holding in without consciousness. "A very good excuse."

Belén couldn't come up with anymore words other than her repeated apologies. "I am so sorry. Lately, I've been messing up and repeatedly apologizing, but this will be the last time - I promise."

"But your brother-"

"Everything seems to be in perfect condition," Caitlin came in looking at the results in her hands. "You are one lucky man, Barry Allen."

"Not so much luck as it is speed," Belén remarked quietly, thanking for the interruption. She got what she needed to get off her chest. "I think I am done playing doctor for the night-" Belén walked up to Caitlin and handed her the medical tools she was using on Barry, "-and I will go back to being a journalist. I gotta get home."

"I agree on that one," Caitlin nodded and took the tools. "And as far as Maritza knows, you just had a concussion, remember?"

"Got it," Belén did a thumbs up. She glanced back at Barry, looking nervous despite already having apologized. "I'll...see you tomorrow?"

Barry smiled at her, giving a nod and quiet 'of course' that made her beam. She waved once more to Caitlin before walking out.

"Well, is it safe to assume you guys are back on good terms?" Caitlin walked to the table on Barry's other side to put down all that she carried.

"Yeah," Barry cleared his throat, his voice lowering when he asked her, "do you know who rescued her last week?"

"Her brother," Caitlin made a face, still partially in shock the famous twin had made an appearance and yet none of them knew till now.

"Yeah - how did you know?"

"Oh, Cisco told me, after Bells told him it was alright to tell me anyways."

"Why would Belén go and tell him first?" Barry found himself asking out loud, much to Caitlin's amusement.

"Because they've always been a little closer," she turned around to continue what Belén had, unknowingly unsuccessful, tried to do.

"Why is that...again?" Barry further questioned, letting her swab away the blood from his face.

"Um, well, I don't know. They just seemed to hit it off initially. Why?" Caitlin pulled away for a second to teasingly smile his way.

"No reason," Barry quickly said, eyes darting to the other side.

Caitlin kept her comments to herself, but her teasing smiles were everlasting.

~ 0 ~

"I am actually very stuffed, Mar, I can't eat anymore," Belén promised Maritza as she pushed away an empty plate from her spot.

Maritza chuckled and too pushed away her own plate. She glanced at Axel who was still puncturing his peas with a plastic spoon. "I'm glad you were able to eat with us, though. I thought maybe after your concussion you might have wanted to go straight to bed."

"That was the idea," Belén admitted as she took a last sip of her drink. She'd gotten home intending on finally getting some needed rest, but Maritza had coaxed her into having a proper dinner. Feeling bad she was lying straight to her sister's face, as well as having not seen her for an entire day, Belén agreed to some dinner.

"Well I'm glad you stayed," Maritza looked at Belén with a sweet smile. "Because, well, family's kind of all we have right now."

Belén coughed awkwardly, wondering how Maritza would react if she knew their brother was still up and breathing. "Yeah…"

"I mean, I know we still have Mom and a couple of members but they're in Italy so, really, it's just us right now. Everyone else moved away."

"Their loss," Belén discarded their extended family members without a care in the world. "I always liked Central City better than any other place."

"Even Starling City?"

"Yup. I mean, don't get me wrong I love the people there, but this is my home. And I intend on staying here for many, many years to come."

Maritza acknowledged the statement with a nod, then, hesitantly, added, "Because this is where we grew up right? It's a...family sentimental thing?"

"Yeah," Belén nodded. "This is where...all of my memories are. I wouldn't give up any of this for anything."

"For your family, you mean…?"

"Yeah," Belén eyed her sister curiously. "What's with you? Are you alright?"

"Mhm," Maritza forced her mouth shut. Of course she couldn't say anything about knowing how awful Belén had been to their brother, nor how they were hoping she would recapicitate and come to them.

Belén pushed her chair back and got up. "Well, as family genes go, I'm gonna get some sleep. And, just like you, I'm gonna key into my hard-sleeper habits and sleep for another day."

Maritza smiled lightly as Belén cleared up her space and left the room.

Upon finally entering her dark room, Belén was able to release a large sigh. She locked her door and pulled off her jacket, tossing it to her bed. She rubbed her face, liking to think that this way all her problems would just disappear. But, coming back to the real world, she spotted one portrait she had on her vanity desk. She walked up to it and picked it up, unsure how to feel about it now. It was her graduation day, or rather, hers and Rayan's high school graduation day. Both dressed in golden cap and gowns, they beamed with radiant smiles as their picture was taken.

"How far have we come from then, huh, Rayan?" she whispered, tracing a finger down the edge of the frame. With another sigh, she put the portrait face-down on the desk. As she went to her drawers to take out her pajamas, she heard a distinct, quiet knock against her balcony doors. With the blinds covering the view, Belén slowly made her way towards them, expecting it to be some sort of hallucination her concussed mind had made up as a trick. But, upon pulling the blinds, she found Barry on the other side. She unlocked the door and slid it to the side, allowing Barry to come in.

"I don't mean to be rude but what are you doing here?" she asked him quietly in case Maritza was nearby.

"I was thinking about what you told me earlier," Barry ignored her and paced like he was in his room. "About Rayan, and how you left him, and-"

"Barry, shh!" Belén urgently told him, rushing to cover his mouth. "My sister is awake, please just...shhh!"

Nodding his head, his mouth was uncovered. He took in a deep breath and began once again. "I was thinking about what you said about your brother, and...I realized how much you gave up, and...Bells, I don't want you to give up anything that'll cost you your family. You need to find your brother, and you need to make amends right now or-"

"Barry, I won't do that," Belén declared firmly, yet her voice was low. "Rayan is not the brother I thought I was looking for."

"He's a metahuman," Barry tried to remind. "Of course he's going to be different. I mean, I'm sure you're much more different than when he last saw you."

"It's not just the biological differences. It's the way in which he acted...the way he's acting as of late." With a sigh, Belén walked over to the graduation portrait laying on her vanity desk and picked it up again. "My brother was a genius, a total nerd. He loved to build things - he was head of the engineer club in high school, and that's what he was going to be become in college: an engineer. He was a very kind man, though he had his moments with attitude. Now that man is gone. He's in league with rogue metahumans. He doesn't help people, he robs them. He manipulates feelings and gives ultimatums. That is not my brother anymore." Swallowing hard, she looked up to Barry, maintaining a pretty firm look. "I don't want to look for Rayan anymore."

Barry couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was going to give up the search for her brother!?

"He made his choice of becoming who he is now, and now I'm making my decision."

"But he's...he's your brother, your family," Barry weakly argued back. He could see the battle was already lost by seeing her eyes.

"Yes," Belén agreed with a nod of her head. "Once upon a time. Now...he's...a metahuman. And, if he's a metahuman that's going rogue...we have a responsibility to lock him up."

"Bells," Barry sucked in a breath, totally astonished with her words.

Belén's face showed signs of falter as she went on, but she did actually go on. "Thank you for all your help, but I don't need it anymore. I'm also going to call Felicity and tell her the search is off. Ultimately I got what I wanted. I found Rayan. I just found a different version of him that I simply cannot agree with."

Barry accepted her wish with a small nod. He couldn't very well force her to search for someone she no longer wished to. All he could do now was just be a supporting friend. When Belén walked up to hug him, he did not continue pushing but just hugged her back. She'd gone through so much lately he should just be glad she hadn't fallen apart.

But that was Bells for you, she was much stronger than she appeared.

#barry allen #the flash #ocappreciation #ocapp #the flash imagines #barry allen imagines #arrowverse #the flash fics #barry allen fics #barry allen fanfics #the flash fanfics #caitlin snow #iris west #cisco ramon #joe west #oc: Belén Palayta #oc: Belen Palayta #fic: it had to be you #noblecrescentedit

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