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writingsfromhome · 2 days ago

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Unspoken Signals

A/N: reaaaallly tried to get this out for v-day. It’s been a while, I’m a bit rusty, but this is a quick fic w Harry and you as coworkers and a casual something else. Hope you enjoy 🫶🏼

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“Well this is different,” I comment.

Before me sits a dozen children and they’re all very quiet. It’s music to my ears after the last hour.

��I didn’t know kids could even do yoga.”

“You didn’t know kids could stretch?” I raise a brow.

“The meditating part,” Harry clarifies. “I didn’t know they could quiet their minds and their demon mouths.”

I laugh softly and turn back to the kids. A couple are starting to get restless, peeking one eye open or scratching their noses—picking them more like. But it’s nice for the few minutes.

Both Harry and I worked at an art museum that had recently lost some of its funding and had decided to open up revenue streams by introducing “kids fun weekends”. So despite having zero training in early education, staff at the museum found ourselves having to look after children and host workshops from time to time.

So far we’d been volun-told to help with a crafts day, a movie night, wellness day, and an upcoming museum sleepover.

And I was so not being paid enough to deal with hyperactive children.

“Why do kids even need a wellness workshop?” Harry continues to whisper back to me. “They’ve got stressful jobs or something? Bloody put me on one and let me go home.”

“Anyone can experience stress Har,” I roll my eyes. Harry was one of those people who didn’t care about being politically correct when he spoke. Which led to a lot of bickering between us that most of our coworkers had gotten used to.

“The stress of any of these kids does not bloody compare to the stress of an adult.”

“Don’t be such an ageist,” I reply.

“Ageist? What the fuck,” he swears. “Do you just put a word in front of -ist and create a new prejudice?”

I gasp and hold his shoulder, “prejudice? Where did you learn such a large word?”

“Now you’re just being a word-ist,” Harry says smugly.

I snort despite myself, “And you’ve always been a prick.”

“Piss off,” Harry whispers. “This is unfair.”

We stand in silence, forced to do our job of keeping watch over the kids. But as they grow more agitated and so does Harry, I realize I really didn’t want to be here either.

“Well have you seen the new fake-Monet collection?” I ask.

It wasn’t actually fake-Monet. It was a local artist we were hosting in our community gallery that showcased…local artists. The first piece we ever saw hung up looked like a Monet so we took to calling him that.

“No. Not after that first forgery.”

“Wanna ditch this and check it out?”

“Fuck yes.” Harry’s eyes finally draw some life to them.

We leave our two other coworkers to deal with freshly-meditated children and sneak away.

The art museum wasn’t a large building; the ground floor was taken up by the open lobby, offices, the gift shop, and some of the more permanent exhibits. The second floor had revolving galleries and the community gallery sat on the third floor.

“D’you think anyone’s actually going to buy the guy’s fakes?” Harry asks.

“Probably,” I jam the button for the lift. “I saw a couple more pieces and they were beautiful.”

“You find any piece of art beautiful.”

“Well they are! It’s easy to find beauty in a lot of things if you’re not a prick.”

The lift arrives and the doors open; the reflection inside show a tall curly-haired annoyed bloke. Walking in with him is a shorter girl, rolling her eyes.

“I’m not a prick.” He looks down at me. “I just have standards.”

Suddenly in the enclosed space of the lift we’re gravitating towards each other like we tended to do. I smile up at him sweetly and he tsks and pushes me away by my chin; a conversation taking place with just our eyes.

The thing with Harry and me—because it was just a thing we didn’t label, was simple: we liked being around each other (despite being able to get on each other’s nerves).

We kinda just orbited each other and we were comfortable with it; some days he would follow me home and we’d hang out, get dinner, sleep together, and other nights I’d show up at his and we’d fold right into one another.

It was fun, and it felt cool not to label it. It felt very adult, like Harry and I were mature enough to appreciate the other in every aspect without being possessive enough to need to label it. Like somehow we were proving just how secure we were by doing it like this.

“You just like being judgemental,” I say and as the doors open onto the third floor I turn to walk out. “Because you’re an idiot.”

Outside stand at older couple who’ve definitely heard the last bit. I apologize and pray they don’t complain to anyone about the staff.

“Very unprofessional,” Harry goads as he laughs. “Do you harass all the elderly at the museum.”

“Shut up!” I shove him against the wall and he stumbles down.

“Oi!” He calls out as I walk away. “Oi! Help me up!”

“Help yourself!” I finally turn. He’s sprawled on the ground like this was his bedroom—because I’d seen the inside of his bedroom I would know. But he stays for so long I hurry back, not wanting anyone to walk past and get us in trouble for laying in the middle of the hall.

“I knew you’d come,” he smiles sweetly, his large hand in the air ready for me to grip.

“C’mon—“

I see it coming too late and he’s already trapped me in. He pulls me forward and I stumble into him, nearly catching myself on the wall. Nearly. I tumble into him instead.

“Grow up!” I scramble off of him as quick as I could. Because the one unspoken rule in this thing between us was staying nothing but platonic coworkers at work.

And that was the other thing about us—this unlabelled situation we were in. That as casual as we appeared there was a lot of orchestrating going on behind the scenes in order to be this nonchalant.

For example, only touching outside of work, not asking about dates the other went out on the weekend before, like saying you’re funny and where’ve you been when it’s been a while so as not to say I really like you and I want to be around you more and when you’re not around I miss you more than an unlabelled half should. Like getting drunk when I spot him at a club with another girl so I can continue to convince myself I really didn’t care all that much.

It was just Harry. At most we were just friends.

“This is me grown up,” Harry catches up to me. He can sense I’m annoyed and maybe he’s crossed a line so he lingers slightly behind.

I ignore him as I push the glass door into the gallery. This was one of my favourite spaces because of the large windows and views of the garden below planted by friends of the museum.

But mostly I loved it because it was a revolving door of local artists and it reminded me that everyone had a story to tell. And every story was beautiful.

“Don’t cry this time,” Harry whispers to me as he walks down the gallery to the far end.

“It was one time,” I mumble. That I actually cried. Usually I just teared up.

I couldn’t help it though, there was so much meaning and time put into these pieces. So much love and grief and every emotions on the spectrum. And I felt it all.

I decide I’d stop calling the artist fake-Monet because with a few more paintings I began to recognize his own signature style. He paints about personal community and finding it in public spaces—pockets around London.

“Hey look at this one,” Harry says when I’m a few pieces away. I walk over.

It’s unmistakably Hampstead Heath, the park a half hour walk from here and 15 from Harry’s place. It’s where we spent a lazy summer day a month or so ago. We were both free on the Saturday, our calendars opening up. I met Harry at his and we’d trekked through the hazy city to feel the cool breeze of the sturdy trees and the splash of the water. Despite the stickiness, we’d tucked into each other and pretended the shade was enough to keep us cool—enough to be so close. We read our book, took a summer nap, ate our picnic, and chatted about the rest of our lives. Passerbys would see two friends, or maybe two something-mores.

It’s only when the sun slinked down towards the horizon did we pack up. We walked back to his flat, took a shower together. We had dinner with his friends. It had been such a beautiful day I had ached with it because I knew how temporary it was.

But how perfect it had been. It had felt bigger than us.

Harry pointing it out toes that line again; he remembered it too, as something to reference. As something to compare to the beautiful richness of the tapestry before us—lavenders and lilacs, pinks and blues, sage, and dusty hues.

“Beautiful,” I murmur. We’re standing shoulder to shoulder now, I can’t tell who’s leaning on who.

“It…actually is.” Harry says in a hushed voice back. “I’m sorry fake-Monet that I doubted you.”

I look up at him in surprise, Harry rarely changed his mind. “Actually?”

“Yeah.” He looks down at me. “I think I get it.”

The expression in his eyes as he says this, as they fill with meaning, I have to look away. But the painting doesn’t help. It’s too full of my own meaning. Our meaning.

But there was no our.

“Wow.” I straighten up and move closer. “Look at that blending. And the details those are actually people.”

“They’ve all got their own shadow too.” Harry moves closer towards me again. He points it out.

“I’m gonna go look for shadows in the others.” I chirp just so I can get away. So I can keep denying.

A few hours later, the day is giving to nightfall. I badge out with Harry and we walk down the steps towards the iron gates.

“See you tomorrow?” I ask.

“I’m not in tomorrow.” He reminds me.

“Oh yeah your parents are in town?”

“Yep,” he fidgets with his phone and we stand in silence for a beat.

“Well I should-“ I say just as he asks, “Would you want to-“

We pause, awkward laugh. We were never awkward.

“You first,” I urge, wanting to know what he was going to ask.

“No it’s nothing. I should go. Got to clean my flat before my parents see how I live.”

“Don’t forget to hide the rolling papers from your bedside,” I tease. “And the magazines under the bed.”

“Oi I haven’t got magazines under the bed,” he smiles. His dimples make a handsome appearance. “They’re loud and proud on the coffee table now.”

“Except you haven’t got a coffee table.”

“If you know so much about my flat how about you come home with me and help me clean it? You can stay over.”

Come home with me. Casual, so casual.

But I know how calculated it had to be. I’d been there. Somehow I knew this is what he’d been trying to ask in the first place.

“What time are your parents getting in?” I ask.

“They’re early birds. Probably after 8.”

“8? Holy hell.” I swear.

“They want to do breakfast and then take me to visit my grandparents.”

“Right. Yeah well, imagine I’m still not out by the time they show up. That’d be so awkward. And there’s no way in hell I’m getting up before 8.”

His cheeks take on a slight blush. “They’ve…it wouldn’t be the first time they came over to a girl in my bed YN. I’m not 16.”

“I know. But…still awkward.”

“So?”

“I…don’t want them to get the wrong idea. We’ll see each other the day after. You’re working then right?”

My heart squeezes a bit at his crushed look before it’s swapped for happy, for easygoing. “Yep. Can’t get rid of me that quick.”

We part ways, I go mine with a heavy heart.

***

“So,” I check in with Harry at lunch the day he’s back. It had been a hectic day yesterday with a new group of kids and a new workshop to facilitate. Plus someone was quitting after being yelled at and Harry had missed it all so I wanted to update him. “How was your day off.”

“Shite,” he says. We walk a few streets over to a Pret. “Mum and dad wouldn’t stop whinging about my future and about settling down like I’m a fucking balding man in my 50s losing all prospects. I’m only 25!”

“Yeah total bummer having a day off for that,” I comment even though I have a hard time getting my next breath in. I can’t imagine my own parents caring that much about my life to spend a whole day with me talking about it. And what if I had stayed the night and accidentally bumped into them—would they have approved?

Should I even care?

“Then my nan basically told them to piss off but they started filling her head with it and then she’s asking me about any girls I’ve taken on dates lately. Started giving me relationship advice!”

“What was that?” I tease. “Take her on a walk and buy her some flowers? Go star gazing? Movie for 2 quid?”

Harry glances at me and his seriousness throws me off balance a little.

“What?”

He opens his mouth, then shrugs and closes it. “Nothing.”

“Sorry did I offend you?” I try to think of why he might be reacting this way.

“No, she actually did say some pretty old-fashioned shite. But I can take it from her. It’s my parents that drive me nuts.”

“Well I wish you were at work. Want to hear what happened?”

So I change the subject and we talk about what he missed. He’s more subdued today and I don’t read into it. He wasn’t mine to read into, I have to remind myself.

We talk about the gallery sleepover in two weeks, whether we were actually going to come in our PJs. When we get back to work we’re on different floors and I try not to miss him again.

***

“I actually brought mine—the appropriate pair.” My coworker jokes. We’re in the staff kitchen making an afternoon tea. Tonight was the gallery sleepover and I was not looking forward to it. But because I was working it I had the day off tomorrow and at least that was something to look forward to.

“I just brought a ratty tee. I don’t think I’m sleeping anyway.” I say.

“I hate that we got picked for this,” she continues. “I actually don’t even like kids. Why do you think I have none?”

“Well tonight will just be birth-control.”

“Trust me I don’t need it.” She cackles and walks away. My phone buzzes with a text.

Harry: Might be late tonight. cover for me if anyone asks?

Y: ur not even working the day how are u gonna be late?

Harry: got a thing. Just cover pls?

Y: obv

I wonder what was going on with him.

We hadn’t had a lot of opportunities to hang out the last week and work had been too busy to properly catch up. Plus our manager had been putting us on conflicting projects so I really had been missing Harry.

Even though Harry and I were friends there was something about distance and fondness that was proving true lately. And I hated it. So I’d gone on a string of dates this week. Hence my busyness.

I’d gone out on a date a week ago and even though I ended up going back to his place all I wanted to do was text Harry. Ask him if he was up, what he was doing. I’d forced myself to shut my phone so I wouldn’t be tempted.

After we close the doors to the public that evening we begin setting up for the kids’ sleepover. It’s so hectic nobody notices Harry’s late but he slides right in helping me string the lights in our biggest gallery. We work on the projectors next, I yap to him for 10 minutes straight and he barely replies. He’d been quiet since he got here.

And for the next few hours Harry and I entertain and help children have fun, we put on a fancy puppet show loosely based on famous artists—art projections included.

We sneak away to the kitchen after we take our bow for a tea break.

“Wouldn’t happen to have a flask on ya?” Harry sighs as he strains his tea bag.

“God I wish,” I stare into the dark abyss of my earl gray. That performance had really taken it out of me. “Who d’you think’s most likely to have something stashed away?”

“Well,” Harry yawns like he hadn’t slept all week and points to an upper cabinet. “Behind the cleaning stuff.”

“What?!” I gasp. “Seriously?”

“Well last time I saw it was last Christmas. Probably got some alcoholics here. I dunno if the stash is still there.”

“Well this is naughty,” I find a couple travel-sized liquor bottles like the kind you get on planes. I take one so that somebody else can have the delight of the other.

Harry sticks his mug out and I empty half the bottle, doing the same to mine.

“Make sure it’s covered,” he advises when I throw it in the bin. I shake it around until I can’t see it.

“Much better,” I cheers my mug to his. He catches my eye and it feels like we’re co-conspirators again. I pass a smile that’s only half-returned. “So what’s the deal with you?”

“Hm?” He doesn’t look up from his drink.

“I’ve barely seen you all week. And you’re late tonight. And you look haggard as hell.”

He shrugs, “I’ve been helping one of my mates out with moving out of his girlfriend’s. They broke up. He’s a mess so…”

“Oh.” I wasn’t expecting that. “That’s kind of you.”

“You sound surprised.”

“Do I?” I widen my eyes.

“Piss off.”

He cracks with a smile—a full Harry smile and I feel my heart beaming just to soak it in.

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” I ask tentatively. I knew he had the day off too.

“Uhm,” cagey Harry returns. “Maybe. I’m not too sure right now.”

“Ah okay.”

We sip in silence that threatens to smother us. I get up as quickly as I can without wasting my precious drink.

“I’m gonna head back out.”

“Alright.”

I head back to the star-lit room where sleeping bags are laid out like mismatched brick throughout the floor. Some kids are cozied within, others sit on top. They’re all engrossed in the “bedtime story” being told by a local author.

It’s sweet, I think. This would become a core memory for a lot of these kids, drinking in the whole night through all their senses. I wish I had more memories like this. Maybe then I wouldn’t be so fragile all the time.

Adults staying overnight got their own gallery blankets and I drag one over to the far end, enough for any kid who needed assistance could find me but far away that I could be on my phone and not distract them.

Some time later another body joins me with his own blanket.

“Sorry,” Harry says as he sits.

“For what?” I play pretend. Just like these kids were doing tonight. What could you possibly be saying sorry for? What could I possibly feel entitled to you for? We’re just friends.

“For being weird earlier. I…well I have to tell you something and I’m being weird instead.”

My heart begins to thump in my chest.

“Tell me what?”

“So I’ve um…I’ve got a-“ Harry clears his throat. I glance up at him and he’s looking out towards the ceiling. “I have a girlfriend. I know we…we’re not…”

“Jeez Har,” even though ever atom inside of me is keeling over with something I can’t exactly examine yet, I play the joker. The friend. “If this is you telling me you’re getting serious with someone that’s all you have to say.”

“Really?” He turns to me and on the shiny hardwood floor so does half his body. I ignore how his knees feel pressing into mine. “You’re…okay?”

His voice is anything but casual.

“Yeah! It’s not like we’re a thing.”

Even still, I can’t say it. I die a little more.

“Yeah well I wasn’t expecting it. She’s the daughter of someone my dad knows? Pretty sure they orchestrated it but we went on a couple dates and then she asked…well she wanted to be exclusive I…”

“Well that’s good. For you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yep.”

“Thank god,” the air whooshes out of his lungs.

“I feel like I should be offended. You thought I was going to be mad or something?”

“No not mad…” he trails off. I look at his reaction and find him looking at me already. Even though it’s dark I can still see his eyes and they feel like they’re reading everything on my face. In a hushed tone he repeats himself, “not mad.”

I shrug, biting my lip hard to feel something other than the emotions threatening to overwhelm me. Emotions I never thought would surface this strongly.

“I’m good. Actually I’m not good. I think that bottle we found was rubbish I’ve got to go toilet—“ I use his knee to pull myself up. “Save my spot.”

I walk away without sparing a glance back because my act is crumbling. I’m crumbling. And I don’t understand it.

If you asked me two weeks ago I would have gone on how fun it was to be with Harry but how the idea of being with him seriously would be weird. Would throw off our balance. But now I want to puke my guts in the toilet at the idea of having to let him go. Because he’s the one who moved on.

And as hard as I try tears still escape my lashline and make trails down my cheeks as I study myself in the brightly lit mirror. How could I be mad when we were just casual? How could I hate him if all he did was look for something serious. Someone serious.

Suddenly what had felt fun and mature feels childish and disposable.

I was disposable fun.

“Get it the fuck together,” I tell myself. “You’ve got nothing to cry over. You could get yourself a boyfriend too. He’s not your soulmate or something jeez.”

I blow my nose and give myself another pep talk before exiting the toilets back to where Harry waits for me.

“You alright?” He asks. A loaded question.

“Yeah. Regret doing this for the whole night though.”

“You could sleep. I’ll take first shift.”

“I’ll get in trouble.”

“Who gives a shit,” Harry tugs me so that I fall against his shoulder and it’s the worst thing in the world.

I don’t curl my arm through his like I might’ve before. Or cozy into his chest. I stay there like a stiff robot until sleep takes me. Even then it’s not long enough.

—1 month later—

I’m heading home after an uneventful day, ready to sink into bed and turn my brain off. These days my brain talked too much and I really wish there was an on/off switch for it.

“Um hiya?” A soft voice says as I exit the turnstile in the lobby. I turn towards the voice and it belongs to a sweet looking girl about my age with harsh features softened by a layered bob. On me it would look ridiculous but she looks like she was born to rock the style she was in.

“Hi,” the rule of thumb was even though you were clocked out if you exited from the lobby in work clothes and somebody stopped you, you had to help them. I’d forgotten to tuck my badge away today damnit.

“I’m waiting for someone? He hasn’t been answering his texts I was just wondering if-“

“You could ask reception?” I point to the desk behind her. “They can page who you need.”

“They weren’t really helpful,” she shrugs. “I’m assuming you work with him? Harry?”

It’s the last name I’m expecting from her lips. I nearly stumble back trying to take her in again with the new knowledge of who she might be.

“H-Harry?”

I’d heard her the first time. I’m just trying to grasp at a second to collect myself.

This must be his girlfriend. The one who wanted to be exclusive. And I hated that I’d liked her in our two minute interaction.

He hadn’t spoken much about her since he told me a month ago but since half of our relationship before her was being intimate, we barely talked and when we did it was mostly just work and the relationship felt really fragile and rough.

I could see what Harry saw in her—she was attractive. And not pushy; she let Joey at reception push her around which was hard to do. And she was meeting Harry here, at work. It must be getting serious.

All these thoughts race through my mind in a millisecond.

“Oh! Harry yeah,” I nod when she confirms. “Of course I know him. I think he was in a meeting might be why…I can go back in and check if you-“

“Oh no! Sorry I’m not trying to be a bother. You’re probably going home I just wanted to make sure he was still in?”

“Yeah! Yeah he’s in. I’ll tell Joey—reception, to page him if he’s out. He’s nicer than he seems.”

“That’d be perf,” she beams. I die a little more, unsure why I was helping her this much. Unsure why it bothered me this much.

Ever since Harry had ended the thing we didn’t have, my life had felt haunted. The ghosts of every emotion I killed in the moments we’d been together began to surface and they were torture. Biggest of all was regret and shame. Regret over what could have been if I’d just admitted how deeply I felt months ago. Shame because I wasn’t supposed to feel this way for Harry. Because he obviously didn’t feel the same way, he never would, and it would be embarrassing to ever admit it.

Our actual relationship had gone like this after that night—avoidance -> awkward small talk -> light bantering -> finally, being able to talk semi-normally again.

We stopped hanging out outside of work however, so every day I got to see him was a day I was excited to go into work. My friends told me I had to do something about it—confess and see what he says, or move on.

And I’d tried to move on. But every guy I tried to date didn’t hold a candle to the flame that warmed my heart; to the idiot I had the misfortune of falling for after we ended things.

Or maybe I was just the idiot.

And here I was self-sabotaging by helping his girlfriend. There was definitely something wrong with me.

“Elsie!”

Both our heads turn to the voice.

“There he is,” I say but she’s already squeezing my arm and walking towards him. Harry doesn’t realize I’m standing there and I watch him smile at her in a way that sends a spike to my heart. Then he notices me.

“Oh YN,” his eyelids flutter a few times too many. “Uh-“

“YN god sorry I didn’t even get your name,” Elsie turns back to me. “YN was helping me.”

“Yeah? Thanks,” Harry looks visibly relieved and flashes me a grin. I raise my brows and smile back.

Home. I had to get home.

“Well I figured Har already had a hard time finding a girlfriend, I didn’t want him to lose her so quickly. This isn’t even a very big place.”

Harry’s expression is unreadable but Elsie laughs.

“Very funny,” Harry responds.

“I know.” I gear myself up to say bye. “Well I’ll see you tomorrow, let you get to wherever you’re going. It was nice-“

“Well we’re just hanging out with some friends,” Elsie says.

“YN knows a few of them,” Harry says. I watch his eyes bug a little as he realizes he’s stepped onto a minefield and watch him back away smoothly. “Some of the younger crew go out for drinks sometimes.”

“Ah,” Elsie says as Harry wraps his arm around her shoulder from behind. He was laying it on thick but I don’t think Elsie noticed his hiccup. “Well why doesn’t she come!? YN you should join us! One more friend!”

“Oh I don’t think she wants to-“

“I was honestly just gonna go ho-“

I stop talking the same time Harry does.

“No you should!” Elsie says. “Don’t listen to Harry.”

I catch his eye and they’re saying please don’t.

Don’t tell me what to do, mine say.

Don’t be stubborn.

Challenge accepted.

“Ok! Maybe one drink.” I say as Harry huffs. It felt dangerous, having a non-verbal conversation in front of his girlfriend.

I was an idiot, I confirm. An idiot making bad decisions.

“Yay! Let’s go.” Elsie takes Harry’s hand and drags him to the front door. I nearly laugh at his face as he’s dragged past me—he was mad.

And it comes out a couple hours later. By then I’d had more than a single drink, have befriended most of the people I don’t know at the table and have caught up with those I do know. Harry had been mostly attached by the hip to Elsie and I tried not to stare daggers at it.

They’re an interesting couple, you can tell Harry is distracted most of the night and she tries to accommodate by being around and talking to him. He leaves a hand on her at all times but she doesn’t wrap herself around him the way I used to. Maybe she wasn’t touchy.

Maybe I was being obsessive.

So I distract myself with everyone, with drink, with a particularly cute boy who introduced himself as Elsie’s uni friend. Who happened to be brother’s with Harry’s old flatmate. Small worlds.

“YN,” Harry tugs my sleeve as Grant and I talk—if you can call heavy flirting just talking.

“What?!” I snap after the tugging gets aggressive.

“I need to talk,” He points to himself and then me, “to you.”

I could see he was well past tipsy. It wasn’t often Harry drank to this point so I follow him to find out what was going on.

I follow him to a patio table that had just been vacated, empty glasses littering the surface. An untouched shot sits in the middle. The tableau tells a story—art was everywhere.

“What?” I ask.

“What’re you doing?”

“What am I?” I laugh. “What are you doing? I think you’ve had a few drinks too many mate.”

“You’ve got drinks,” he replies.

“Yeah…” I look back at the half finished drink I left at the bar. “I did have more than I thought. I feel like I drink a lot more when there’s a lot of people around? Otherwise I’m just nursing my drink-“

“Why did you decide to come out tonight? When you’ve met my girlfriend.”

Girlfriend.

“When I’ve…what?! Your girlfriend invited me no thanks to you.”

“Yeah but you never come out anymore. And suddenly you want to come out when Elsie asks?”

“What d’you mean I never come out anymore?”

Harry sighs. “You stopped hanging out.”

“Yeah because you got a girlfriend? You stopped inviting me out!”

“No what? No! You’re always…it’s an open invitation I don’t need to specifically invite you out I-“

“So why did you invite me specifically before?” I call him out, feeling more sober than I was a few minutes ago. “You stopped inviting me. We stopped hanging out. And so I stopped inviting you when I went out cuz I thought you had a girl and I didn’t want to make it complicated I-“

My voice catches on an unfiltered emotion and I want to die. I feel heat creep up my cheeks as I try to swallow it down and hope Harry doesn’t notice. Fuck!

“Anyway your girlfriend invited me so I came! It’s not a big deal.”

“I didn’t…” Harry scratches his nose and looks uncomfortable. “I didn’t mean to stop. I…it was complicated and I-“

“It’s fine. Whatever Har.”

“It’s not,” his brows come together. “Obviously s’not. I’m sorry? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel…”

I almost laugh at what he’s said and how it sounds: I didn’t mean to make you feel. Well, neither did I.

“Yeah whatever. I’m not mad about it.”

“Sorry.” He says instead.

“Thanks,” I clear my throat for good measure, not wanting to be too emotional. I want to tell him I missed him but I don’t think it would be appropriate.

“I thought-“ he breaks off with a laugh. “Nevermind.”

“What?” I push him lightly. “You know I hate when people don’t finish their thought. It’s going to drive me crazy—what?”

“No this one you won’t like. Nevermind.”

“Tell meee,” I poke his shoulder until he slaps my hand away.

“Stop that! I hate when you do that!”

“I know.” I say smugly. “So?”

“It’s stupid. I thought you came here to annoy me or something. And then you’re practically sitting in Grant’s lap…”

He’s right. I wouldn’t like it.

“Hold on,” I bring my hand down on the table. “You thought I was flirting with Grant to annoy you? Why would I-what!?”

“Like I said,” he doesn’t make eye contact. “It was stupid. Nevermind!”

“No it’s not nevermind. You don’t drive what decisions I make in my love life.” Lie. “Got that?”

“Jeez you can’t get angry after forcing me to say!”

“I can!”

“Can you quit bitching I don’t have time for this.”

“I’ll be as big of a bitch as I want to be.” I cross my arms.

“Unfortunately, I know.”

“That’s a completely stupid thought to have-“

“Surely not all your thoughts are winners. That’s why you don’t say all of them.” Harry says, then laughs. “Actually you do. And I always have the displeasure of hearing all of them.”

My jaw drops. “It’s like you’re purposely saying the stupidest shit right now. Like you want to be a prick.”

“C’mon you little shite,” Harry tugs my arm until they uncross. “I’m joking, remember jokes?”

I want to say something snippy, tell him off, but as my arms fall away his hand slides down until the tips of our fingers brush. It makes me feel touch-starved, like I’d been isolated in the woods for the last two months growing crazy for human touch.

Harry senses the shift and his smile dies down, his throat bobbing up and down.

How was it that Harry, out of every man I’ve ever met and continue to meet, has this effect on me? How can one touch quiet my mind so completely while pushing my heart into overdrive.

Why, I want to ask the universe. Why was it this man in front of me that made me feel so intensely?

“YN,” he says.

I should pull away. I should because his fingers creep further now pressing into my palm. I want them to slide higher until they’re tangled in my hair, pulling me closer. I wanted him closer.

“I missed you,” it comes stumbling out. And the shock of it pulls me out of whatever trance I just found myself in.

I pull my hand away and Harry straightens up, his gaze clearing too.

“Sorry.” My heart is in my throat now. “Sorry. I didn’t—that was inappropriate. I’m gonna go back now…”

“Wait,” he calls out as I head back to Grant knowing my heart wasn’t in it anymore. That I was going home.

“Hm?” I try to blink away the shame as I turn back towards him.

“D-do you…regret anything?”

I raise a brow and he flushes. I was making this torture for both of us but I wanted him to ask.

Stupidly, I wanted him to know.

“Between us. I know we never…we’re just friends. But did you ever regret…us?”

I shake my head. “No. No. Never. It was some of the best times.”

It’s like I’ve said the wrong thing. His face falls and I decide I had to go. Had to. I was afraid what else might be spilled out between us.

I don’t even remember what I tell Grant, just that I grab any of my belongings that I can spot, ask him to throw his number into my phone, and hightail it out. And I nearly make it to the tube when a warm hand grips my arm.

“Get off—oh!” I nearly whack Harry with my purse but he ducks anyway. “What the fuck Har!?”

“Sorry. Sorry sorry!” He lets me go and I miss his warmth. “I didn’t realize!”

“Yeah! You can’t just grab a woman at night like that!”

“Obviously! I wasn’t thinking! I was just trying to get to you-“

“Why?”

“Bloody hell you know why YN!”

I stare at him. His face doesn’t hide a single thought, a single emotion. It’s vulnerable, and terrifying.

“Don’t take the piss.” He grabs my arms and gives me a shake. “You know. You know.”

“I-don’t do this. Har, you have a girlfriend. I don’t want to be that girl ok?”

“Why?”

“Why? Because that’s awful and-“

“No! Why didn’t you say anything when we were together? Any time we were together? When I told you I had a girlfriend? Why were you always so…cool?”

“Me? Cool?” I laugh. “There’s nothing cool about me Har.”

“Well you’re hard to fucking read then! I dunno! I was always leaving hints and signals that I actually liked you. And you always ignored them!”

“Hints? Signals?” I gape. “When the—what the hell do you call hints?!”

“I…I wanted you to meet my fucking parents for god’s sake. Did you really never-“

“If I’m hard to read so are you mate,” I lean against the closest thing—a mailbox. My legs are jelly. “Was that when you vaguely suggested I wake up in your bed while your parents were down?!”

“Fine well I bought you chocolates that one time, I’ve even got some of your tees in my room! I-I tried to plan romantic dates for us—Hampstead! I tried to tell you-“

“What?” I’m not asking him anything. I’m just questioning everything; everything I avoided and played off had meaning. Of course it did. Everything had meaning, but I’d just thrown our dictionary out the window so it would mean nothing. Because I was afraid.

“Really?!” Harry sighs. He crouches down and runs his hands through his hair. “Am I that bad? I thought I was making it so clear but you always brushed it off. I felt like an idiot for falling for you when it was just s’pose to be casual. I thought I was being a bloody simp.”

I inch down to where he crouches.

“You fell for me?” I whisper.

When he looks at me it’s with eyes that look like broken seaglass. With a mouth curved down so low that I want to kiss into a smile. Into a laugh.

He cups my face, his thumb brushing my cheek. I give in to the sigh and his lips lift ever so slightly.

“How could I not?”

“I thought I drove you crazy?” I grasp his hand. “I thought I was just a fun distraction I-“

“I never said the second part.” He interrupts.

“You sure?”

“You were reading the wrong hints.”

I laugh and so does he. It almost turns into tears.

He stands and extends a hand that I take, his warm palm covering mine.

“Now’s when you return the confession,” he says without letting go. “So?”

“What? I’m not hiding any confessions!”

“Liar,” he tugs me close. “Your heart’s racing.”

“That’s from getting up so quickly.”

“You’re full of shite.”

We’re smiling so hard I’m sure we look like crazy people on the street.

But he had a girlfriend. Oh god. A sweet girl I’d just met today.

His expression grows confused as mine must turn to worry. I untangle myself.

“Harry…”

“I know.” He finally clues in.

“We can’t-“

“I know.”

We stare at each other for a heartbeat.

“I’m gonna go. Or else…”

“Just like that?” He asks.

“How else is it supposed to be?” I demand. “We can’t do this Har. And please…if you like her…respect her at all—don’t break up with her just to be with me. I wouldn’t be able to stomach it.”

“Then I’m just lying to her.”

“I…” I shrug. “I dunno. I just don’t want to be the reason for her heartbreak okay?”

“You’re being a sensitive snowflake. Breaking up with her is the right thi-“

“You can’t call people snowflakes-

“I can if that’s what they’re being-“

“I’m going home.” I tell him. It’s the last thing I want to do.

He opens his mouth with whatever quick retort he always had. But he must think twice about it. His face draws into a frown.

“Sort yourself out.” I instruct him. “Just sort it out. And then one day soon we can see…y’know.”

I half turn away, but can’t bear to leave without touching him one last time. Who knows when the next time will be. I flit to him so I can press my lips against the warmth of his cheek, so intoxicating. Like an addict only sniffing the alcohol in their cup. And when I feel his body loosening, about to hold my own, I flit away and rush into the tube without a glance back.

I don’t register anything on the ride home. I’m too shocked to even cry about it.

I wash the day away, the scent of him and the look on his face when he realizes we each had been trying to hold out own glaring neon signs to each other.

It’s late when there’s a knock on my door. I figure it’s my roommate forgetting her keys, and since I’d been laying on my bed in my towel after my shower too numb to sort myself out I end up opening the door basically naked.

It’s Harry.

His eyes roam over my terryclothed figure with a smile.

“What—what are you doing here!?” I grab the edge of my towel to keep it in place.

“Were you expecting someone else?” He asks.

“No-stop!” I push my hand into his chest as he crosses through the doorway. “Why are you here?”

His eyebrows draw together, hurt. “I…I didn’t think I was that drunk—we did just admit our feelings to each other a few hours ago right?”

“Yes but!” I put my hand down because his heart is beating fast under my hand and I don’t want to feel it a second longer. “You were also supposed to sort yourself out and-“

“Can you just let me in?”

I stare at him.

He stares back.

“Fine!” I give up and move aside. He closes the door behind him. That’s when I notice his hands. “What’s that?”

“For you.” He holds a bouquet up. “I know they’re shitty. I couldn’t find much at this time of night-“

“No hold on, I don’t understand.”

“We’ve wasted enough time throwing out shitty hints that apparently neither of us could read. We should never be detectives.”

I stay still, waiting for an explanation. Any bloody explanation as to why he’s here and not with his girlfriend!

“I went back to Elise. She knew something was wrong right away. I tried to deny it. She asked if something was going on between us-“

“God seriously Har! I said not to-“

“Did you want me to go back and pretend to be in love with her when I just had a fucking bomb go off in my life!? I know you don’t want to be that girl YN but I don’t want to be that shitty guy who stays with someone because he feels bad! What does that make me?”

I can picture Elise’s face in my mind. Oh god.

“She wasn’t mad-“

“You wish.” I snort.

“No she wasn’t. Well she was at first because she thought I was with you and her at the same time. I explained. I apologized. She got it. She…turns out she was still hung up over her ex. That she really liked me but she was mostly doing it to get her parents off her back. Because they never like who she dates. Which wasn’t a great thing to hear but…I’m pretty sure I saw her catching a cab as I was leaving. Maybe she went back to her ex.”

I’m dumbfounded with his retelling of what happened after I’d left.

“She’s okay. Are we?” He asks when I don’t reply.

The bouquet looks rough, like it was maybe clutched too hard and the flowers are nearing the end of their life. I imagine Harry rifling through a flower stand to find something for me. Coming here because he couldn’t wait.

I was kidding myself. I couldn’t wait either.

“Okay.”

“Okay??” He asks but he’s closing the distance because he’s reading me. He already knows me.

“Fine.” I say as he loops his arms around my waist. I stretch my arms up around his shoulders, clasping them at his neck. Something throbs deep in my chest. I missed him.

“I missed you,” he says. Always reading my mind.

“I didn’t know I could.” I say to him. His eyes are filled with a raw emotion that mirrors whatever’s aching in my chest.

“You’re like something from the gallery,” he cups my face. “Beautiful and original, breathtaking and you pass by it every opportunity you get just to get another glimpse. It makes you realize what you’ve been missing your whole life.”

“Aw Har,” my voice wobbles. If this was Harry when he was direct and not giving shitty hints I don’t know how I was going to survive us.

“What?” He whispers.

“You’ve got a soft side. You’re not actually a prick.”

His dimples make an appearance as he smiles. “I told you. I’ve just got standards don’t I.”

I wanted all of him—god how did I fool myself this whole time. I wanted all of him. He was just so lovely. “I think you’re going to ruin me,” I whisper back. His grin disappears and he tugs me ever closer.

“You’ve already ruined me.” He says. “I can’t look at any piece of art without thinking of you. I can’t go a day without wondering about you.”

“Is that healthy?” I murmur. My heart drums.

“Who the fuck cares about healthy?” He laughs.

We gaze at each other, the blood rushes through my body at high speeds.

“Mutual ruin?” I ask.

He responds with a kiss so passionate that I forget how to breath. I’m sure my towel was being held up by our bodies at this point.

“Mutual ruin. Or you can just ruin me.” His lips brush against my ear, feather down my neck. “I’m madly in love with you YN. There’s nobody but you.”

I don’t know whether to laugh from giddiness or cry from how my heart overflows.

“Har, I think I get the hint.” I say instead. He laughs.

“Fucking finally.”

💟💟💟💟

#harry styles #harry styles fic #harry styles x reader #writingsfromhome #harry styles fanfic #harry styles imagine #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #fic #harry styles one shot

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black-rose-writings · 1 year ago

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My mom, after spending an extended weekend with my dad's old college classmates and their families: It's so weird that all of these very weird, intelligent and structured men who got their masters in engineering in the late 1980s have sons that are all autistic and daughters who all have mood disorders.

Me: Yeah, very weird. Why could that be?

#autism #depression #something tells me the daughters are also autistic #I mean I know I am #our brothers just got diagnosed in elementary school and got help and accomodations #while we were labeled gifted and got no help at all #just more responsibilities and pressure #until we burned out at the ripe old age of 16 #and were now feeling as failures and disappointments to our parents on top of everything else #while also being the first generation to grow up with social media #idk that may just be me

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prythiansprincess · 8 months ago

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HEART ON MY SLEEVE

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🤍 pairing: mattheo riddle x reader.

🤍 song inspiration: friends by chase atlantic.

🤍 author's note: the duality of man. this fic serves both cute, fluffy matty and jealous, possessive mattheo.

For his upcoming birthday, Mattheo Riddle had one simple wish: for his best friends to get along.

It shouldn’t have been such an ordeal except for the fact that you and Theo absolutely hated each other. If it weren’t for Mattheo, the two of you would have no reason to cross paths. Theo was an arrogant, pompous, quidditch playing prick with a terrible nicotine addiction while the closest you’d come to physical exertion is carrying your weekly stack of books from the library to your dorm.

Needless to say, you were not a fan of Theodore Nott. You thought he was a bad influence on Matty, while Theo labeled you as the buzzkill, often talking your best friend out of doing things that would either land him in detention or the infirmary. You got the feeling that Theo hated the fact that he had to share Mattheo’s attention with you. Never mind the fact that you were friends with him first.

The origin of your friendship started long before your days at Hogwarts. The first time you met Mattheo, his father invited you and your parents over at Riddle Manor to celebrate a successful business deal between your families. Even at a young age, you remembered recognizing the coldness and distance in the Riddle household. The elder riddle, Tom Sr., was a stern and unforgiving man who kept his family under his thumb. Tom Jr. played the perfect heir; cool, calm, and collected as he stood by his father’s side. Mrs. Riddle had a severe and somber air about her that sent shivers down your spine as she flashed an empty smile at you.

Mattheo was different from the rest. There was a warmth to him that radiated outwards, pulling you in with his cheeky dimpled smile and soft bouncing curls. He marched right up to you, bowing at the waist like he was taught to, except he nearly tripped over his feet and gave you a crooked little grin before correcting himself.

“Hi, Y/N. I’m Mattheo, but you can call me Matt.” There was a mischievous glint in his brown eyes that you didn’t recognize as trouble until much later. “Do you want to play with me?”

As it turns out, his definition of playing meant chasing each other through the hedge maze out on the manor grounds and absolutely dirtying up your pretty pink dress as you rolled around in the grass. You laid side by side on your backs, giggling as you tucked a flower into Mattheo’s curls.

“You’re going to get me in trouble, you know,” you stated matter-of-factly as you rolled over on your elbows. “My dress is all dirty.”

“Don’t worry, we can ask Tom to help us. He knows lots of spells and hexes.” He leaned in conspiratorially, holding his pinky finger out. “But you have to keep it a secret, okay? Can I trust you, Y/N?”

You hooked your finger through his, not knowing that such a simple secret would forever solidify your friendship. “You can trust me, Matty.”

In the years that followed, the two of you were as thick as thieves. Most days were spent at either the Riddle manor or your estate, which Mattheo tended to prefer since it provided him reprieve from his father. As of late, his parents had made it perfectly clear that he was expected to follow in his brother's footsteps. Despite it being Tom's first year at Hogwarts, he was already proving to be a gifted and talented wizard. When his father wasn't outright ignoring him, Mattheo was forced to practice hexes and spells that were beyond the knowledge of an eleven year old. Without his older brother to protect him, Mattheo felt the walls closing in in his grand yet inhospitable home.

You were the only silver lining in his otherwise dreary days. Mattheo thanked Merlin that his father allowed visits to your estate. Unlike Riddle Manor, your family home was warm, lovely, and full of life. During the summers, the two of you would venture out to the edge of your property and set up camp at the creek. The sunny days were spent swimming, climbing, and picking flowers from sunrise to sunset. On one particular day, you sat cross-legged on the picnic blanket, absentmindedly picking at the sandwich in your lap.

Beside you, Mattheo nudged you with his knee. “What’s wrong, Y/N?”

You blinked, trying to savor the sunshine for as long as you could. “I don’t want summer to end.”

“We’ll only be apart for a year,” Mattheo said softly, correctly guessing the cause of your apprehension. You weren’t surprised. He always seemed to know what was on your mind. “You’ll be joining me at Hogwarts before you know it. By then, I’ll be an expert so I can show you the ropes.”

“A lot can happen in a year,” you stated. “What if you make other friends and forget about me?”

“I might make other friends, but I’d never forget about you. You were my first friend ever. That makes you the most important.”

You looked up and found yourself face to face with Mattheo’s earnest expression. The corners of his lips tugged upwards as he nudged you again. “Besides, you know I’m going to write to you every week. Now that I’m in the same castle as Malfoy, I can finally crack the great mystery of whether or not he bleaches his hair.”

“There’s no way that’s natural, right? Maybe Lucius has a special shampoo or something.”

Mattheo grinned and draped an arm over your shoulder. “I don’t know, but I promise to find out for you.”

“You’ll really write to me every week?”

“Of course I will,” Mattheo declared, holding his pinky finger out. “You trust me, right?”

You smiled and hooked your pinkies together. “I trust you, Matty.��

When the next year finally rolled around, you were so excited that you convinced your parents to take you to King’s Cross at least an hour before your departure. You hadn’t seen Mattheo since the previous summer because his family had been away on holiday in Spain, but he stayed true to his word and wrote to you every chance he got. You loved reading about the friends he’d made, the antics he got up to, and most importantly, the fascinating classes that awaited you at Hogwarts.

As you passed through Platform 9 ¾, you were nearly knocked off your feet as Mattheo ran full force into you. He had grown much taller since you last saw him, so much so that he now towered over you as he pulled you into a bear hug.

“Hi, Matty,” you giggled against his chest.

“Hi, Y/N.”

Mattheo pulled away, grinning as he tugged at your hand. “Come on, I want you to meet my friends.”

You looked back at your parents who merely smiled at Mattheo’s excitement. To his chagrin, your best friend remembered to properly greet them and asked if you could board the train early. After much fussing, they eventually said their goodbyes and allowed you to go with Mattheo.

The first friend that you met was Enzo. He was sweet, if not a little cheeky as he hinted that Mattheo couldn’t stop talking about you all year. Draco and Blaise needed no introduction given that your families were all fairly acquainted ever since you could remember. To your delight, Pansy was amongst the group as well. The two of you used to take ballet together, so it was a relief to have another girl to bond with. The older boys, Tom and Regulus, briefly greeted you before returning to their own cabin.

Last, but not least, was Theodore.

Whereas the others welcomed you with open arms, Nott was not as warm in his reception of you. The two of you clashed right off the bat. You weren’t quite sure what the root of your disagreement was. Perhaps it was his snarky comment insinuating that girls couldn’t be proper quidditch fans in reference to your Chudley Cannons scarf, perhaps it was your biting retort that he could stick his misogyny up his arse. Either way, the interaction set the tone for your strained relationship.

Being sorted into Gryffindor only contributed to the animosity between you as well. Given the longstanding rivalry of Slytherins and Gryffindors, Theo was determined to view you as his enemy. The harder you fought, the harder Mattheo tried to repair the rift. You were the two most important people in his life and he couldn’t stand to see you two tear each other apart.

For the most part, you tried to grin and bear it. While you couldn’t for the life of you understand how or why he was even friends with someone as unbearable as Theodore Nott, you tried to be civil for Mattheo’s sake. Tried being the key word. With Theo’s snark and your temper, the two of you became known for your infamous fights. Still, it didn’t stop your best friend from trying.

Over the years, Mattheo concocted countless plots and schemes to get the two of you to bond. If his favorite band was playing in town, he would magically have two extra tickets to bring both you and Theo along. If there was a book release you were dying to attend, Mattheo would invite Theo along to check out the record store next door. If the castle was dead during the weekend, Mattheo would suggest a trio trip to Hogsmeade.

As much as you cared for Mattheo, your patience only stretched so thin. Without fail, every outing that the three of you went on almost always ended in an argument between you and Theo.

“I don’t know how you’re friends with both of us, Mattheo,” Theo joked as he gulped down his burger. “I’m fun and Y/N is —”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll stick my fork right through your hand, Nott,” you threatened with a sickly sweet smile.

The hostility wasn’t anything new, but you supposed that after dealing with it for years and years on end, Mattheo had finally reached his breaking point.

Your best friend pushed his plate away and sighed. “Let’s just go.”

You nodded in agreement, gathering your things and following Mattheo’s lead. Theo trailed after, obnoxiously squeezing his way through the door of the Three Broomsticks and letting it close behind him. You yanked it open, nearly pulling the bloody thing off its hinges.

“How very mature of you. Though I’m not surprised that you don’t know how to hold a door open for a lady.”

Theo looked back, craning his neck behind you. “As far as I’m concerned, there aren’t any ladies around. Just an infuriating little Gryffindor who can’t handle not having the last word.”

“I’m infuriating?” You huffed, crossing your arms. “Clearly you’ve never suffered through the pleasure of your own company. Spoiler alert, the snarky arsehole bit stopped being funny in third year.”

“Well, the uptight and bossy bitch bit wasn’t ever funny to begin with.”

“Enough already,” Mattheo yelled. You reeled back in surprise. Usually, your best friend just let you and Theo fight it out until you both got tired of it, but he wasn’t having it tonight. “You two are the most important people in my life, but you’re acting like bloody toddlers. I’m tired of feeling like I have to choose a side, so either you two find a way to get along or risk losing me as a friend.”

For the first time since you met him, you and Theo were both stunned into silence. Mattheo took one last look at his closest friends and marched off into the castle without a word.

The next day, you woke up feeling weary. You hardly slept last night given Mattheo’s ultimatum. Your best friend wasn’t the type to make declarations like that lightly, so you knew he meant it. Especially since he went straight to his dorm without coming over to watch a movie or talk late into the night like the two of you often did.

The suspicion was all but confirmed when you sat through a particularly awkward and tense breakfast. Mattheo briefly acknowledged you with a nod, not bothering to speak as he cranked up the music on his headphones. As the Smiths crooned, you looked up at Theo who shook his head at your inquisitive glance. You knew that Mattheo had most likely given him the silent treatment last night as well.

Despite the fact that you and Mattheo had very similar schedules, he managed to avoid you throughout the entire day. By the time the last class rolled around, you knew that he was serious about you and Theo making up. It was a hard pill to swallow. Truly, you’d rather ingest a pill the size of a hippogriff than make amends with Nott, but it wasn’t like you had a choice. You didn’t want to lose Mattheo.

Deciding to be the bigger person, you went to the one place that you knew Theo frequented. You found him sitting alone in the Astronomy Tower, long legs dangling below him as he smoked a cigarette. Biting back a comment about the death trap pursed between his lips, you cleared your throat.

“Mind if I sit?”

Theo tensed as he looked up at you. He wore the sneer that he solely reserved for you, but his eyes were dull and dim. The argument with Mattheo obviously left him feeling lost as well.

“Do I have a choice?” You glared in response, but took a deep breath to calm yourself. Theo winced. “Sorry. Force of habit. Sit, I guess.”

Gingerly, you settled in the spot next to him. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“He wouldn’t talk to me last night,” Theo confirmed as he ashed his cigarette. “Just put on his headphones and went to sleep facing the wall.”

“He’s been avoiding me all day.”

Theo sighed. “What are we going to do?”

“Look,” you started, trying to muster up the strength to propose your next statement. “Obviously, we hate each other, but Mattheo’s important to me and I know he’s important to you, too. So for his sake, can’t we just put all this animosity behind us and try to get along?”

“What exactly does getting along mean?”

You shrugged. To be honest, you had no idea how to approach the situation, but you figured you had to start somewhere. “I don’t know. Maybe we can grab a bite to eat. Make polite small talk. Try not to strangle each other in the process.”

“I guess I can do that,” Theo conceded. “Why don’t we go to the new pub in the village? I heard they have fried pickles.”

You perked up. “You like pickles? I thought I was the only one.”

“I don’t just like pickles. I love them,” Theo stated.

“Me too,” you grinned. “Mattheo always gives me his cause he says —”

“They taste like feet,” he finished with a chuckle.

You nodded, laughing along. “Well, what are we waiting for, then?”

Theo watched as you stood, smoothing the front of your skirt. You offered a hand out to him, both literally and figuratively. To your surprise, Theo took the peace offering and let you pull him to his feet.

An hour later, the two of you were squeezed into a tiny booth by the makeshift stage. The pub was lively tonight and nearly packed to the brim, thanks to the happy hour deal on their drinks and appetizers in honor of their grand opening.

The pickles didn’t disappoint. You ate a good amount, but Theo scarfed the whole thing down like he hadn’t eaten in months. As he finished a sandwich and gulped the meal down with his second butterbeer, you gaped in surprise.

“Honestly, where do you put it all?”

Theo patted his stomach, which was unfairly flat and probably housed perfectly sculpted abs despite his eating habits. “I’m a growing boy. I need to eat a lot to offset the energy I expend. Especially when I’m sparring with you.”

“Oddly enough, I’m flattered by that.”

“You should be,” Theo quipped. “I’ve never had to put so much thought into insulting someone until I met you.”

“I bet you were pissed when I took your crown as the sassiest and bitchiest person in our friend group.”

“I’ve never experienced such heartbreak,” Theo said sarcastically as he placed a hand over his heart. “I mean, to be dethroned by someone who can’t even reach the top shelf in the cupboard was truly the most humbling moment of my life.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have assumed that I knew nothing about quidditch just because I’m a girl.”

“I was a dick for that,” Theo admitted. “But I was also twelve. I didn’t even know what misogyny meant. I thought you were describing a disease.”

You snorted. “Well, the past is in the past. Even though I clearly won that argument, we should put it behind us.”

Theo rolled his eyes, but clinked his butterbeer against yours. “Cheers to that, Y/N.”

Surprisingly, you found that you and Theo had a lot more in common than you initially thought. When he wasn’t being a prick, he was actually quite nice to talk to. In a single conversation, you learned more about Theo than you had in years. The two of you possessed a knack for potions, preferred foreign literature, and shared a love for horror movies.

As the live band went on, Theo mumbled an obscure reference to an eighties muggle band that your mum used to blast when you were younger.

“I can’t believe they’re covering this song,” you shouted over the music. “I haven’t heard it in years.”

Theo’s eyes widened in surprise. “You know this song?”

“Of course I do,” you retorted. “Mattheo says I have the music taste of a divorced country club trophy wife.”

“You and me both.”

By the end of the night, you found plenty of common ground with the boy you once thought of as your enemy. It was quite alarming to realize that you hadn’t argued once all night and even more so when you found yourself actually enjoying Theo’s company. Maybe Mattheo was right after all. When you stopped viewing Theo as competition, he was actually not that bad. You now understood what Mattheo meant when he said that you and Theo were more alike than you cared to admit.

On the walk back to the castle, Theo pulled out a spliff but glanced at you before lighting it. “Do you mind if I smoke?”

“Knock yourself out.”

The moon was silver and bright against the cloudless sky as the two of you sauntered through the beaten path. You listened to Theo recount Tom’s disastrous attempts at asking Chloe out, all the while giggling to yourself because he was a bigger gossip than you and Pansy put together.

“Don’t let Tom hear you talking about his love life,” you teased. “He’d probably feed you to his basilisk.”

Theo grimaced. “Half of Hogwarts would weep at the loss of such a handsome face.”

“However will we survive without your wit and charm, Nott?”

He chuckled as he blew a ring of smoke up into the sky. You watched it float before holding your hand out. “Care to share?”

“I didn’t know you smoked.”

“Who do you think taught Mattheo how to roll his first blunt?”

Theo stared in disbelief as you took the spliff, inhaling deeply. You held the smoke in your lungs effortlessly before blowing rings of smoke in quick succession.

“Damn,” the brown haired boy exclaimed. “Who the hell are you, Y/N?”

You smirked as you tapped the joint. “Someone much cooler than you, Theo.”

After that night, you and Theo got on more and more. The banter and bickering was still there, but it was more playful now. Mattheo was glad to see his two best friends getting along so well. Since first year, it was all he had ever wanted.

The days of forcing you two to hang out together was long gone. Now, you were practically as attached to the hip with Theo as you were with Mattheo.

When Mattheo went up to the Astronomy Tower for a smoke break, he would find you sitting cross-legged across from Theo as he filled you in on the catfight between Lavender and Cho. When Mattheo visited you at the library during his free period, Theo was already there working on his History of Magic homework beside you. When Mattheo arrived at the Great Hall for assembly, he slid into the seat next to Theo as his friend craned his neck to peer at the crowd.

“Looking for someone, mate?”

“Yeah, Y/N said she was running late,” Theo answered distractedly. “I saved a seat for her.”

At first, Mattheo loved the fact that you put your differences behind you and became such great friends like he always knew you would, but as time went along, your best friend noticed that you and Theo were becoming a little too close.

On one occasion, Mattheo briefly excused himself from the common room party for a smoke only to come back to find you and Theo annihilating Draco and Blaise at butterbeer pong. He walked in right as you made the winning shot, witnessing Theo picking you up and twirling you around as Malfoy stomped off, grumbling something about an unfair play. A cheat of sorts.

Mattheo couldn’t help but agree. Seeing you in Theo’s arms felt like cheating. The whole thing made him feel strange. It didn’t help that every time the three of you hung out, Mattheo noticed that you and Theo now had little inside jokes and references that he didn’t understand. Being jealous of his best mate was ridiculous, but yet he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that only grew stronger with each passing day.

As you grew closer, Mattheo felt stranger. One morning, he nearly smashed his muffin to pieces when he saw you wearing Theo’s hoodie.

“Why are you wearing that?” he asked through clenched teeth.

You looked down in surprise as though you’d forgotten that you were wearing another man’s clothes. “Oh, I was cold so Theo let me borrow his hoodie.”

Mattheo frowned before pulling his sweater over his head. “Here, wear mine instead. It’s warmer.”

The gesture was confusing, but you merely shrugged and exchanged Theo’s hoodie for Mattheo’s sweater. “Thanks, Matty.”

Later that week, Mattheo found you in the stands in your usual spot before the game. He smiled when he saw his number painted on your right cheek. The brief moment of happiness was shattered when you turned and revealed that you had also painted Theo’s number on your left cheek. Mattheo nearly fell off of his broom. He was used to seeing his and only his number on you. First the hoodie, now this?

The green monster reared its ugly head during the game itself, motivating him to play as brutally as possible. The Hufflepuffs weren’t safe from his rage and neither were his teammates. As he soared around the goalpost, he hurled the quaffle as hard as he could, fully knowing that Theo was within the ball’s radius. Thankfully for him, Theo ducked at the last second before shooting a baffled glance at his friend. Mattheo simply ignored it and kept playing.

Despite their sweeping win, the bad mood failed to lift. Mattheo frowned as he slipped into the booth next to you, glaring at Theo’s head as the two of them sandwiched you on both sides. Across the table, the rest of the team sipped their celebratory milkshakes.

The waitress set down a vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate milkshake in front of the three of you. Mattheo watched as you and Theo tasted your drinks before promptly taking out the straw and switching flavors.

“Told you that you’d like strawberry more,” Theo said with a fond eye roll.

“But vanilla sounded good.”

“Everything sounds good at the moment, but you always go back to your favorite.”

Mattheo clenched his jaw as you stuck your tongue out at Theo before turning towards him. “Aren’t you going to drink your milkshake, Matty?”

“I don’t really have much of an appetite.”

“Maybe it’s just the chocolate. Do you wanna try mine?”

He shook his head, crossing his arms. “No, that’s Theo’s milkshake.”

“Oh, well if you want the vanilla one instead, I can switch back.”

Mattheo wrinkled his nose. “No thanks, Theo’s mouth has already been on it.”

“Consider it a privilege,” Theo butted in. “Most girls and boys at this school would kill to swap spit with me.”

“I’ll pass.”

You cocked your head at your best friend, looking concerned. “Are you sure you’re okay, Matty?”

He nodded rather unconvincingly. “I’m fine.”

As weeks passed, Mattheo only grew more jealous.

Granted, he was fully aware that he had no right to feel this way given the fact that he had practically pushed you and Theo together, but he just couldn’t help himself. The closer you grew, the more he regretted giving the two of you an ultimatum in the first place.

Before you became friends with Theo, Mattheo never had to share you with anyone. He realized now how much he had taken it for granted. Your best friend missed the times that the two of you spent alone. He missed having you all to himself. Mattheo was determined to get it back one way or another.

When Saturday night rolled around, Mattheo made his way up to Gryffindor Tower, glaring at anyone who balked at the sight of him on this side of the castle. After shoving McLaggen out of the way, Mattheo made his way up to the highest turret and let himself into your dorm.

You were perched in front of the vanity table, swiping your signature cherry lip gloss on in the mirror. Mattheo made himself at home, sprawling out on your bed. He knew you had plans tonight, but he was hoping to convince you to hang out with him instead. Mattheo eyed your dress, his gaze sweeping along the red fabric like a lover’s embrace. You flushed at the intensity of his stare as his brown eyes flickered back up to your face.

“Why can’t you hang out tonight?” Mattheo asked with a pout. “Are you going on a date? Is that why you’re leaving your best friend alone to perish?”

You shook your head in amusement before leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t be so dramatic, Matty. I’m not going on a date. Theo and I are just checking out this new band.”

Mattheo stiffened as you sprayed perfume on your wrists. “Why didn’t you invite me?”

“Theo did. He said you weren’t interested in listening to country club wife music.”

While that may be true, Mattheo would’ve gone if he knew you were coming too. “He didn’t tell me he was going with you.”

“Probably because he knew you’d feel obligated to go,” you responded. “But it’s alright, we won’t make you suffer through it. Theo will keep the creeps away.”

Mattheo did not like the sound of that. It was his job to watch over you, not Theo’s. Besides, he never thought of it as an obligation. Even if he wasn’t a fan of the music, he loved watching you jump around and have the time of your life. Spending time with you was the only reason why he insisted on coming to every concert. Keeping the creeps away was just an added bonus.

Now, Theo was taking away both. The realization put him in a foul mood, but he couldn’t let it show. He wanted you to have a good time, even if it wasn’t with him.

“Okay, but can we at least watch a movie and cuddle when you get back?”

“We’re going to be out pretty late. I don’t want you to lose sleep because of me. I know you have a Charms exam tomorrow morning, but I promise we can have a movie night tomorrow.”

Mattheo only nodded as you patted his curls and kissed his cheek again. He watched as you left your dorm, frowning into the mirror as he touched the two cherry gloss marks on his face.

The kiss prints were already fading, serving as some sort of sick metaphor.

To your credit, you did make good on your promise on movie night. It had been a while since the two of you hung out alone, which is definitely the only reason why Mattheo felt needier and clingier than usual. While his touchiness wasn’t anything new, he seemed determined to make it obvious to those around you. Especially with Theo.

During breakfast, Mattheo silently laid his head on your shoulder and placed your hand atop his curls. Across the table, Theo continued gnawing away at his croissant while you told him about the new horror movie that had apparently been banned in twenty countries.

“I wanna watch it,” Mattheo mumbled as you scratched his head.

“But you hate horror,” Theo responded.

“So? I still want to see it.”

“I’ll ask my mum if she can send me a copy this weekend,” you said as you playfully tugged at his curls. “We can watch it in your dorm, okay?”

He leaned in, nuzzling against your neck. “Just the two of us?”

“Of course, Matty.”

Mattheo brightened at that, happy with your response. Perhaps it was petty of him, but he didn’t care. He wanted to send a message. You and Theo could be friends, but he’d always be the most important person in your life. Mattheo was your person, just like you were his.

The others were beginning to pick up on things, despite his constant denial. It was sort of a moot point anyways, given the fact that he was single handedly proving them right with his actions. Nowadays, your friends would find Mattheo lounging on your lap, wedging himself in the small space on the common room couch just so that he was next to you instead of Theo.

Every time you went out to Hogsmeade, he’d make a point of holding your hand and carrying your bags. Mattheo would stop mid-conversation and rub your cold hands in his, blowing on your fingers because he knows how cold you get even in the heated pub.

“Your hands are cold. Let me heat them up, princess.”

As you blushed, Enzo would shoot Mattheo a knowing look, which he deflected by focusing all his attention on you. Even Tom made a passing comment at all the sickening nicknames Mattheo had taken to calling you lately.

“Hi, sweetheart. Is this seat taken?”

“Morning, love. Do you want to go for a walk with me?”

“Here, give me your bag. I’ll carry it for you, darling.”

Though his older brother might disagree with his methods, Mattheo was quite convinced that it was working. Until it wasn’t.

During the last week of December, you and Theo began acting strangely. Every time he walked into a room, the two of you would fall uncharacteristically silent. When he tried to bring it up, you evaded his questions and changed the subject instead. The secrecy didn’t sit well with him.

After the last class of the day, Mattheo usually walked with you to the library, but every time he tried to find you that week, you had all but disappeared.

“Berkshire, have you seen Y/N?”

“Oh yeah, she left with Theo a few minutes ago. Seemed urgent.”

“Did they say where they were going?”

Enzo shrugged nonchalantly. “No clue, mate.”

Frustrated, Mattheo walked away before succumbing to the urge to throttle his friend. It wasn’t Enzo’s fault that you and Theo were acting so weird. Throughout the week, Theo would be out of their dorm for hours and hours. Sometimes he wouldn’t even come back until the wee hours of the night.

When Mattheo checked your dorm, you were also nowhere to be found. He was trying his best not to spiral, but the nagging suspicion that the two of you were hiding something from him was too big to ignore. It was all but confirmed when he caught you sneaking out of the dungeons one night.

You poked your head out from behind a marble column, watching students pass. Clearly, you didn’t want anyone to know that you were down here. Unfortunately for you, Mattheo had already seen you.

“What are you doing here, Y/N?”

His voice startled you, making you jump a step back as you glanced up at him with a nervous expression. “Oh! Hi, Matty. I was just — I was just, um, walking back to my dorm.”

“I can see that, but what were you doing in the dungeons?’

“Just…hanging out…”

Mattheo could feel his blood boiling. “With Theo?”

You gulped, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, he had my book.”

“So where is it?”

“Where’s what?”

“Your book.”

“Oh,” you said softly, avoiding his gaze. It was a tell-tale sign that you weren’t being honest. You always looked away when you were lying. “I guess I forgot.”

“You forgot the thing that you came down here for?”

“Hm? Did you hear that?” You mumbled, despite the fact that the corridor was silent. “I think Pansy’s calling me. I gotta go, Matty. See you later!”

Your best friend watched as you sauntered off to Salazar knows where with a frown. Confused, Mattheo walked back to his dorm and found the answer to his dreaded question. As soon as he opened the door, the familiar scent of strawberry and vanilla filled the air. Mattheo felt downright murderous. That was your perfume. He’d recognize it anywhere.

Mattheo glared at his best friend, who was laying in bed with a book perched on his chest. He eyed the rumpled sheets and Theo’s disheveled hair while trying not to assume the worst.

“Is that the book Y/N lent you?”

“Huh? What book?”

Though he wanted very much to punch his mate’s teeth in, Mattheo restrained himself. “The book she came down here to get.”

“She wasn’t here for —” Theo closed his mouth before nodding reluctantly. “Oh, right. Yeah. This is Y/N’s book. I should — I should return it.”

“You’re acting weird, Nott. Both of you are.” Mattheo narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “What the bloody hell is going on?”

“Blase? Yeah, be right there, mate! I’d love to stay and chat, but duty calls. See you later, man.”

Theo hightailed it out of the dorm, responding to an imaginary summon. Y/N and Theo. Theo and Y/N. His two closest friends. Sneaking around. Lying to him. Fooling around in his dorm. Mattheo didn’t know how to feel. He was angry, he was sad, but most of all, he was hurt. His girl and his best friend? It was the ultimate betrayal.

Never mind that Mattheo had spent the past decade denying his feelings for you. Anyone with an ounce of common sense could see that he’d been in love with you since you were children. It was clear as fucking day.

When Friday rolled around, Mattheo decided that enough was enough. He was going to confront the two of you. After quidditch practice, he followed Theo through the castle. The git buggered off to some dark, secluded area of the school that Mattheo had never stepped foot in. He kept a safe distance, peering around the corner when he heard whispered voices.

“I’m telling you, he’s getting suspicious,” Theo whispered frantically. “He asked why our dorm smelled like you. I didn’t know what to say, so I bolted!”

His heart dropped when he heard you sigh in frustration. “For Merlin’s sake, Theo! You couldn’t make up an excuse?”

“Me? You were the one who got caught sneaking out of the dungeons. It’s not like you’re an expert on stealth, either.”

“You know I can’t lie to him,” you exclaimed. “I’ve never been able to, ever since we were little. He knows all my tells. But, Theo, he absolutely cannot find out about this!”

Mattheo didn’t need to hear the rest. His heart had already been crushed into a thousand pieces. He couldn't believe it. The two of you were supposed to be his best friends, yet here you were keeping this terrible secret from him.

For the rest of the night, he sulked in his room. He was in the middle of brooding while listening to the Smiths when he heard a knock.

“Piss off!”

“It’s me.”

Part of him wanted to send you away, but a bigger part — the stupid, idiotic, part of him couldn’t. With a sigh, Mattheo peeled himself off the carpet and opened the door. Since the secret rendezvous with Theo, you had apparently found time to get dolled up and changed into a pretty party dress.

Mattheo frowned and crossed his arms. “Theo’s not here.”

You frowned, cocking your head in confusion. “I’m not here for Theo.”

He scoffed in response. “You don’t have to lie to me anymore. I know.”

“You know what, Matty?”

“I know that you and Theo are…sneaking around. Lying to me. Hooking up behind my back.”

“What on Godric’s green earth are you talking about?”

“Don’t try to deny it. I heard you in the corridor upstairs. I’ve had my suspicions all week. The two of you have been acting weird and avoiding me. More than that, you have your own stupid little inside jokes and you take him to concerts and you share milkshakes! Those are things we used to do together, but now you’ve gone and replaced me.”

“The only reason Theo and I became friends is because you asked us to., Mattheo.”

“I know that!” Mattheo exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. “I regret it so much. I wanted you to get along, but not like this. Now Theo’s making you laugh and walking you to class and doing god knows what else with you in our dorm!”

Your features softened as you tried to reach for Mattheo, but he took a step back. “Don’t try to deny it! I know you were in here the night I caught you sneaking out of the dungeons. I could smell your perfume.”

Realization flooded you all at once. “Are you…are you jealous, Matty?”

Your best friend crossed his arms and huffed. “Of course I’m jealous! I don’t want you doing any of those things with Theo. You’re my best friend. Mine, not his. I had you first. I loved you first.”

The confession stunned you into silence. You blinked, processing the information before holding your hand out. “Come.”

Mattheo looked like he was about to argue, but you just stared at him with determination. “Just come with me, Matty. I promise it’ll all make sense in a minute.”

The logical side of him wanted to refuse, but he knew it would be futile. Mattheo would’ve ripped his heart out of his chest if you asked him to. You were his weak spot.

Following you out into the corridor, Mattheo staggered a few steps back as you slipped into the dark and empty common room. With a snap of your fingers, the lights came on and voices echoed in unison.

“Happy birthday, Mattheo!”

Startled, Mattheo blinked at the sight before him. The common room was decorated with streamers and confetti, complete with a bright birthday banner that covered nearly half the room. There were tables filled with food and drinks, all of which were his favorites. All of his friends were present, including Tom, who stood to the side with his arms crossed. The pretty blonde beside him — Chloe, the girl Theo swore his brother was in love with — elbowed Tom, who sighed and flashed Mattheo a rare smile. Now that was something he needed to revisit at a later time.

For now, one shocking revelation was enough to deal with.

“Surprise!” You exclaimed beside him as you pulled him into a hug.

At first, he was too stunned to return the gesture, but eventually he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you in for a bear hug. With everything going on, Mattheo nearly forgot his own birthday, but he knew that you wouldn't. You did all of this. For him.

When you broke apart, Theo clapped him on the back. “Happy birthday, mate.” Relief washed over his friend’s face as he spoke the words. “Thank fucking Salazar that Y/N pulled this off. Hiding this from you for a week has been absolute hell.”

“So…this is what you two have been up to?”

You nodded in confirmation. “Mhm, Theo and I spent all week planning it. We wanted everything to be perfect.”

“But it was hard because you were being such a nosy little git,” said Theo.

The pieces started to click together. All that secrecy between his two best friends hadn’t meant what he thought it did. “So you two aren’t…you haven’t…you’re not hooking up behind my back?”

You and Theo stared at each other in horror.

“Ew!” Theo dramatically exclaimed. “Y/N is like my sister. You don’t hook up with your sister. That’s gross.”

“But I thought…you were hanging out together so much and you had all these jokes and it seemed like…”

“Please,” Theo scoffed. “Anyone with half a brain cell can see that you two are clearly in love with each other.”

“Surprised you figured it out then, Theo,” you quipped.

The brunette rolled his eyes at you before breaking out into a shit-eating grin. "Wait. Is that why you've been acting like such a twat lately? You thought I was making a move on your girl?" Theo's eyes widened as Mattheo shifted uncomfortably. "I'm right, aren't I? First of all, I'm flattered that you felt threatened by me."

"Threatened is a strong word," Mattheo countered.

"Please, you nearly took my head off with a quaffle." Theo wiggled his eyebrows. "Second of all, I'm quite frankly offended that you'd think I'd ever go for Y/N. I would never break your trust like that."

"I know, I know." Mattheo said with a sigh. "I was being stupid, but for a second I was truly convinced that something was going on between you two. I mean, you've been hanging out so much lately..."

“Matty, do you even know what we talk about when we hang out? You. It’s always about you. You were right that we both have a lot in common. We were just too stubborn to see it, but the main thing that brought us together is that we care about you so much.”

“Well, Y/N cares for you a lot more,” Theo teased with a smirk. “She’d like to care for you all night long.”

You flushed as deep and red as your party dress. “Oh my gods. Shut up, Theo!”

“My work here is done. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to hit on that Ravenclaw who looks like she wants absolutely nothing to do with me.”

“Sorry about him,” you said as you turned back to Mattheo. “And sorry that we’ve been acting so shady all week. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t suspect anything.”

Mattheo chuckled. “Well, consider me surprised.”

You wrinkled your nose in disgust. “I can’t believe you thought I was hooking up with Theo.”

With a boyish grin, Mattheo pulled you to his side and kissed your temple. “I’m sorry, princess. Jealousy just got the best of me.”

“There’s no need to be jealous. If it wasn’t already obvious, I’ve been in love with you since we were kids.”

“I’m a bloody idiot.”

“Yeah, but you’re my idiot.”

Mattheo beamed and kissed the tip of your nose. “Thank you for doing all of this for me.”

You smiled softly, cheeks heating as he stared at you with bright, brown eyes. “Course, Matty, I just want you to have the best birthday.”

With a smile, Mattheo leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against your lips. There was something familiar about the gesture, like the final piece of a puzzle clicking into place. Kissing Mattheo was as natural as breathing. It felt like coming home.

“Wish granted, princess.”

Later that night when he blew out his candles, Mattheo didn’t bother wishing for anything. You leaned into him as he hooked his pinkie through yours, making a silent promise. Even if it took a little jealousy for him to realize it, Mattheo embraced the truth wholeheartedly. You were his person and he was yours. As the flames died out, he smiled.

Mattheo Riddle had no use for wishes now that he had you.

#need him in my bones just inject him straight into my veins idgaf #mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle x reader #mattheo riddle smut #mattheo riddle imagine #mattheo riddle x you #mattheo riddle fluff #slytherin boys

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woso-dreamzzz · 2 months ago

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Nagging: Christmas

Barcelona Femení x Teen!Reader

Summary: Christmas with Mignon

"It's...a can," Alexia says blankly, turning over the present in her hand," Is this...Is this a French thing that I don't understand?"

"Don't look at me!" Vicky says quickly when her captain's eyes turn to her," I'm, very clearly, not French!"

"But you are y/n's friend," Alexia replies," Has she told you anything about this?"

Vicky shrugs as she hands the last wrapped can to Kika to open. "Just to hand them out to everyone, let you open the wrapping paper but not the actual cans."

They're not branded or anything, Alexia notes as she turns it around in her hands. There's no labels to give away what's inside and even shaking it doesn't help.

"Maybe..." Keira says as she rattles the can while holding it up to her ear," Maybe...it's beans?"

Aitana lets out a little titter of a laugh. "Not everyone is English, Keira. Not everyone likes beans."

"Yeah," Patri joins in," Besides, she's French! Aren't they known for their good food?"

Keira wrinkles her nose in disgust. "Yeah, their snails and their frogs legs. Hardly the most appetising. At least beans are versatile."

"It won't be beans," Frido says simply," And it won't be food. It'll be something else."

"Any idea what?"

Frido shrugs. "No food, is all I've got."

"Well can she hurry up?" Mapi says," Because it's cruel that she's making us wait."

Alexia rolls her eyes. "She's getting treatment right now. She can't exactly hurry that up."

Mapi groans, practically throwing herself back into her seat as she fiddles with the can in her hands. "She totally did this on purpose," She complains to no one in particular," I just know she did. She's trying to kill me."

"You just need to be patient."

"But I hate being patient! Patience is a scam!"

Alexia sighs. "Ingrid-"

"Nope. Not my problem when she's with the team. It's a shared responsibility."

Maybe you did choose to schedule your treatment just to screw with Mapi a bit but it was one of your greatest joys in life and Christmas was all about giving. You're sure Mapi enjoyed giving you her time as she was forced to wait around for you to appear to finally open the can you'd presented her.

You'd made sure to really stress how important this was to you, for nobody to open their cans before you'd arrived.

You'd insisted it was a present that the team would have to enjoy together.

Or else.

You'd left the 'or else' bit purposely vague just to keep everyone on their toes and, now, as you open the door to the locker room, you're happy to see that everyone had done as you told them.

"Finally!" Mapi complains, leaping to her feet from where she'd been laying on the bench with Ingrid's fingers gently carding through her hair. "You took ages!"

You grin. It's more of a smirk actually and you can hear Vicky snicker behind you as you shrug. "Just trying to keep on top of my health," You tell Mapi," My hamstring was feeling kind of tight. I wanted to get it massaged out. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't? I might have torn it on the pitch."

Mapi pokes you right in the middle of the forehead. "And you couldn't have done that hours ago when you and Jana were fighting on the Playstation?"

"It's almost like, Mapi, that you want me to delay the can opening until later."

"Ingrid! Tell her to stop teasing me!"

Ingrid relaxes back in her cubby, completely at ease with herself as she scrolls through her phone to find the perfect Christmas gift for her nephew. "I'm not in charge of her."

"Keira-"

"Just because Lucy left doesn't mean-"

"Alexia!"

"One day," Alexia says to no one in particular," One normal day is all that I ask for."

You flash Mapi a grin.

She sighs. "Can we please open our presents now?"

"Why Mapi," You say with that smug smirk of yours," All you needed to do was ask!"

Mapi makes some annoyed noises at you, acutely aware that any kind of insult flung at you would end up in a lecture for her. She knew that you knew that too so settled on just making noise as you as you lingered in the doorway.

Honestly, staying in the doorway should have been their first clue that this present opening wouldn't be quite as normal as usual. Their second clue should have been the way that you were holding your phone, clearly set up to record their actions.

The third and final clue should have been the mischievous grin that you and Vicky exchanged as she tilted the can away from herself and towards the person standing next to her.

"Okay?" You say," Ready? Open!"

It's carnage immediately as the fake snakes spring from all of the can and the glitter you had paid more for went everywhere.

You high five Vicky before immediately sprinting out of there when Pina lunges at you.

You know she's running after you when the pounding of her feet reaches your ears and you know everyone else is following when the sound of the feet get louder and louder.

"Get back here!" Pina yells and you take a sharp corner through the corridors to the break room.

You come to a skidding stop in front of the tree, whipping around just in time to dodge the flailing hands of Kika as she tries to catch.

"Now," You says, laughing awkwardly as you scramble up onto the countertops," Would it make you happier to know that I've got you all non-joke, stuff-you'll-actually-like presents? Because I have!"

You gesture to the tree and, thankfully, most of the anger seems to melt from the others as they go about distributing them - though Mapi narrows her eyes and glares at you as she passes.

"It's very nice that you bought us proper presents," Alexia says, giving you a sideways hug," But you're going to get that locker room all cleaned up before everyone heads home."

You groan.

"No complaints," She cuts in with a laugh," That's the price you pay for playing pranks during Christmas."

#woso x reader #barcelona femeni x reader #barca femeni x reader #barcelona femeni #barca femeni #woso community #woso imagine #woso fanfics #woso

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dumpywrites · 10 months ago

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Cat-enaries - Min Yoongi / Suga

Part two of Cat-astrophe

Summary: all these series of meaningful acts, but you still don’t know where your relationship stands.

Genre/tags: Fluff, smut (protected sex, vanilla)

Pairing: Yoongi x she/her/afab reader

a/n: this is my first time writing smut! T_T

Ever since that eventful night you spent at Yoongi’s place, where both of you got drunk and eventually ended up sleeping on the same bed together (just sleeping!), and him wanting to get to know you more, you continued to see each other more and more. Mostly after you came back home from work, but it could be on weekends too if both of you did not have any other plans.

After a while you began to know some of Yoongi’s friends, and same thing for him as well. He had a small circle but you were surprised on how they bring out the best out of him. He had been doing all these small gestures just like randomly giving you snacks, offering to babysit your cat when you were busy, or just simply wanting your company while he was producing music. Occasionally he would invite you to a party from his management, where you met his co-workers.

He would only introduce you by your name though, never any label following behind the introduction. A friend? A neighbor? No, just your name. All these things he had done, and never once did he ever mention about relationship, or at least to put a name on your situation.

It had only been three, going on four months, you kept telling yourself. Maybe he wanted to get to know you slowly and throughly and did not want to rush things. But then again, you knew how straightforward Yoongi was and he would had at least said something about it if that was the case. Maybe it was for the best, reminding yourself of the traumas you got from your past relationships, maybe it was better to take things slowly. But what made you anxious was the thought of falling by yourself.

Tonight you both agreed to watch a horror movie together at your apartment, with the occasion being you just got a promotion. The promotion happened two weeks prior, but both of you were busy. Yoongi had already sent you a dozen of donuts as a celebratory gift, but you insisted on wanting to spend some quality time with him.

“Have you eaten?” You asked as you opened your apartment door for Yoongi.

“I have.” He simply said and immediately bent down to greet your pet who was meowing by his feet.

“He misses you.”

“We see each other a lot, don’t be a clingy cat.” He smiled and booped the cat’s tiny nose. He picked Cookie up and lightly kissed his forehead before letting him back to roam around the house.

The scene made your heart race and you cleared your throat. “Well, I also miss you.” You said, hoping Yoongi would catch your intention.

“I miss you too.” He giggled and ruffled your hair instead, before walking to sit down on your sofa, completely unaware by how disappointed you were. “We’re watching Exhuma, right?” He asked.

You hummed in agreement, hoping he wouldn’t catch the slight disappointment in the tone of your voice. “You wanna drink something?”

“Anything’s fine.”

You muttered an “okay” before going to your fridge and grabbed two cans of Sprite and small bowl of popcorn you had made beforehand. You sit down next to him and played the movie and thought to yourself. There wasn’t really anything affectionate happening after you spent the night at his. You had never really kissed officially with you being sober, maybe only once when he kissed your forehead when you went to roller skate together, that was if that could even be counted.

That day you were struggling to keep your balance and he caught you in his embrace just when you were about to fall frontward. He was laughing and despite being annoyed, you couldn’t help but to get swayed by the sound of his laughter. You didn’t get to process it that much when you felt his lips lightly pressed against your forehead. It happened just for a few second before he let go and simply asked if you were okay.

Reminiscing the moment had your whole body warm. You put your feet up and hugged your knees together. Yoongi looked to your side, noticing your behavior.

“Are you cold?”

“Uh, I don’t know.” It was the opposite, you dummy! You secretly complained.

“Here,” He grabbed you by your shoulder and scooted you closer to him. “Better?”

“Slightly.” You said, you didn’t realize you were pouting while saying it.

Yoongi sighed, but a small smile was on his lips. “Only slightly?”

“Only slightly.” You were annoyed by this point, but you felt awful for wanting to ask, and basically begging, for any skinship from him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He softly asked while stroking your shoulder gently.

“Do you not like me like that?” You said while avoiding his gaze. “Am I reading the whole situation wrong? Do you just wanna be friends?”

Yoongi chuckled and it annoyed you further more. He had the audacity to find this hilarious while you felt confused and hurt.

“Yoongi, this isn’t funny.”

“On what situation is what we’re doing considered as just friends?” His words immediately made you look back at him.

“I don’t know! You never really said anything about us being a thing, anything, and…” You found it hard to admit that you basically were asking for his affection. “Nevermind, this is stupid! Let’s just get back to the movie…”

“Look at me.”

“No.” You refused, even when your heart was beating faster at his request.

“Y/N, look at me.” He said again, this time softly grabbing your chin to make you face him.

Not a single word came out from him after that, only him dipping down quickly to meet your lips. You were surprised but shortly melted into his kiss and found yourself returning it. He was taking his time tasting your lips. His kisses were very gentle that it almost made you beg for more. Slowly his tongue made an entrance and you welcomed it swiftly. A small low moan escaped your lips as you parted them wider for him to access you.

And when it was done, mainly because both of you were completely breathless, Yoongi hugged you. He chuckled and this time you couldn’t help but to smile as well.

“I like you. Maybe in love at this point.” He confessed with you still wrapped in his embrace. “I couldn’t recall when exactly the shift to love began and I’ve been thinking to myself these past few weeks… but every time I see you, I keep wondering if there was even any moment when I wasn’t.”

You blushed at this and snuggled closer, hugging him tighter.

“I feel like I’ve been buying extra portions of my food a little too often, been on Instagram more just to send you some random internet memes that you like so much, been making sure I hear that door opening sound when you come home from work, been thinking about you twenty four seven that my music starts to have your vibe, the melodies just sound like they were made for you and I couldn’t even explain how…” He chuckled at the last mention. “The composer even told me that my work has a romantic touch to it lately.”

He broke the hug so he could look at you and smiled, showing his gum a bit. “I’ve given up cause honestly, I can’t even remember what was life before all these feelings.” He shrugged playfully. “Honestly, I don’t think I even wanna remember how life feels without these emotions.”

Your eyes got teary all of the sudden. Your view was getting a bit blurry. A small laugh, mixture of both relief and happiness, escaped your very own lips before you crashed them back on his. Yoongi immediately wrapped his arms around you, pulling you back close to him. The kiss was more desperate this time, demanding, needy, but most importantly, filled with overwhelming feelings you both had for each other.

Yoongi swiftly pulled your body and brought you on his lap without breaking the contact on your lips. A muffled squeal came out from you, but you instantly put your arms over his shoulder, deepening the kiss.

After moments of tongue dancing between the two of you, you pulled back first because once again he had you breathless, but it seemed like he didn’t want you to rest yet, as the moment you pulled away, his lips found their way on your neck, leaving trails of the softest kisses. You bit the insides of your lower lip, trying to subdue the moans that were eager to get out. His thigh being exactly between your legs was certainly not helping you either. Hearing you trying to conceal your voice made him looked up. The sight of you flinching concerned him.

His right hand palmed your cheek. “I’m sorry, are you uncomfortable? Is this too much?”

You blush at the tenderness and shook your head in disagreement. “No… uh, I’m not uncomfortable…”

Yoongi smiled at you and quickly kissed your forehead. “Okay.” He simply said, before he went back to put his attention on your neck, showering it with pecks. You were still making low sounds, not trying to conceal your voice as much, just humming with your mouth closed. Your body was still tense but was progressively easing the more his lips kisses you.

His hands started to move up underneath your top, just shyly under your bra, as if he wasn’t sure if you would grant him more than that. When an open-mouthed moan finally came out from you, Yoongi took it as his green light and began to bring the movement of his hands upwards, gently fondling your clothed breasts, which promptly made your body turned into jelly against him. You could only bury your head on his neck, letting him continue toying your chest.

Your eyes shot open at the feel of him unclasping your bra. The touch of his palms meeting your bare breasts sent heat through you that instantly went south. You whimpered and hugged him close, burying your face further on his neck.

“You okay?” He chuckled, not stopping but decreased the pacing of his hands. The angle now making it awkward due to your body pressing closer to him.

“I’m just shy.” You said while still not moving from your position.

“You don’t wanna continue? Cause I don’t mind.” He said as he moved one hand to soothe your back.

“N-no, Yoongi I just… kinda just getting all insecure cause it’s the first time you’ll be seeing me and I’m just scared if I’d look weird to you.”

“You’re perfect.” He told you and he meant it.

“I haven’t done this in a while.” You said with a slight moping tone.

“So do I.” He took your hands to pry them apart from him. He guided them to his chest where you could feel his heart beating rapidly. “Do you think I’m not nervous?”

You looked at him and couldn’t help but to smile. But when you looked down, you realized a growing bulge was present and that seemingly he was not only nervous, but excited as well.

“You also seem excited…” You giggled.

“Not exactly my fault now is it.”

“It’s okay,” You looked up to the ceiling. “I may or may not be soaking through my panties now as well.” That earned a groan from him.

“Do you want me to help?” He breathed out. His hands now holding your waist steadily, thumb grazing your underboob. “Or we could totally just makeout and it’s alright.”

“Yoongi.”

“Yeah?”

“Continue… please.”

He groaned once again before lifting both your top and bra at the same time. As the garments sat just above your chest, the view of your nipples perking out just for him had the man salivating. Slowly, he lifted you to his side and laid you down so you could rest on your back on the sofa. He bent down and proceeded to pepper your chest and breasts with soft feather-like kisses, almost as if you would break if he pressed harder. He looked up and felt his ego somewhat boosted with the scene of you biting your lips, whimpering.

He kissed your right nipple and began to sensually nip and twirl his tongue around it, that was it for you. You fully moaned when his right hand pinched your left nipple and twisted it. You brought your hand to your mouth, trying to repress the arousing sound coming from your mouth from being too loud.

“It’s just me.” He mumbled into your skin, one hand went to trace the line on your back.

But that’s the problem. Yoongi himself was your main weakness.

He continued to play with your twins, lapping the buds with his tongue, making sure he gave both of them the same treatment. Slowly his right hand traveled downwards, caressing your middle through your sweatpants. Your breath hitched.

“Everything okay?” He asked again.

“Y-yeah.” You managed to vocalize.

“Can I take these off?” He said, tugging slightly at the band of your pants.

You only nodded and he kissed your forehead. He proceeded to deliberately slide down your bottoms, leaving you with your exposed panties.

Yoongi gulped at the sight of your damp underwear. A small patch of wet spot could be seen and he could not lie to himself and felt proud of his doings. He bent down and kissed your lips for a second before flashing a soft smile.

“Can we continue in your room?” Before you answered, he followed. “I want you to feel comfy while I eat you out.”

That sentence almost had you hollering.

“Okay…” You breathed out heavily and took his hand, dragging him inside your bedroom.

Just after he closed the door, for a split second you saw a smirk visible on his face, before he scooped you up in his arms. You gasped, and he quickly pecked your lips before gently laid you on the bed. He brought his right hand to caress your thigh softly, slowly moving upwards to your crotch area. You moaned instantly at the contact.

His middle and ring finger moved up and down, petting your core through the cotton cloth. The pace slowly increasing, and so did the volume of your pleas. You could feel your body turning into jelly already when neither his fingers or lips had touched your naughty bits yet.

Finally you felt one of his finger tugging and pulling your underwear. You gladly, almost too eagerly, helped him by wiggling out from it, as you watched him pulling it loose and dropped them to your floor. He pulled you slightly so you were close to the edge of your bed, and he bent down on his knees. He gaped at your glistening core, and he really was ogling for a hot minute, lost at his thoughts.

“Stop staring at me like that.” You quickly clamped your legs together.

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t believe this.” He chuckled, hands on your thigh, meddling your legs back to spread out for him. “I haven’t done this in a while…”

“You’ve told me.” Your eyes searched for his.

“No, I mean, I might be rusty… if it feels weird or if you wanna stop, we can stop anytime.”

You could see the nervousness and self-consciousness in him and it made you wanna love him even more.

“I just wanna taste you so bad right now.”

He hunched closer in between your legs and dived in. He licked a bit, tasting you in his tongue. At that moment he decided it was his favorite flavor. He licked a full strip your labia, before then letting his tongue danced around it, making out with your cunt. He tried to make a mental note on which part made your back arched, which side made you moan louder. Hoping the next time, if you would let him, he promised himself he would make you feel ten times better.

A loud yelp came out from you when he slid in his middle finger. You bit your lips, feeling shaky. He carried on trusting you, slowly in and out, pacing increasing at the same time as his tongue on your clit. He then added his ring finger and you felt it effortlessly sliding into your sopping wet hole. The attack from both his tongue and fingers quickly trembled you down. You felt your stomach came into a knot and your insides clenched.

“Y-Yoongi… I…”

You could not form a sentence and Yoongi seemed to be too immersed to respond your pleas as he kept his tempo. You were grasping onto the bedsheets, back arching towards him, and then the orgasm hit you.

The image of Yoongi smirking with your slick trailing down his chin would now be forever embed on your brain. It would certainly be in your dreams for quite some time.

“That was… okay, right?”

“That was incredible.” You said through panting.

The guy smiled and kissed the crown of your head. He pulled his t-shirt off in one go and kissed you once again. You broke off the kiss first, pulling him by the neck so he could crawl on the bed with you. Now with you under him, he then kissed your neck before sliding your cropped top over your head, making you fully bare before his eyes.

“Beautiful.” Yoongi said in a low voice.

The compliment flipped your stomach upside down. “How come I’m the only one completely naked…”

Your comment earned a smile from him. “Would you help me then?”

You blushed, but did not oblige. You didn’t waste any time and helped him out from his pants.

“Wait.”

He suddenly stopped mid through. His pants were already down to his knee area, and it couldn’t be helped that all your attention were now heading towards his massive bulge that wasn’t in any way shy behind his boxer brief. He stepped down the bed, finally taking off his pants fully. You could see him taking out something from his back pocket before he let the cloth fell down joining the rest of your clothings on the floor.

“You came prepared.” You commented with a teasing smile after seeing the item he took out from his pants.

Yoongi just looked at you with a hint of red decorated his cheeks. You found it extremely adorable that he was bashful about it.

You took his hand and pulled him back with you on the bed. He put the condom on your bedside table, before dipping in to kiss you. It seemed like you both had found out that kissing each other was the best thing and you felt dumb for not doing it sooner. As he kissed you passionately, you were hesitant for a second, but you slowly brought your hand to feel up the swelling bump on his below. You swallowed his groans in the kiss as you continue to stroke up and down. Breaking the kiss, you mumbled something about wanting to return his favor, but Yoongi grabbed your wrist immediately, stopping you from taking off his boxer.

“At this rate I’m going to cum in my pants so maybe next time, sweetheart.” He kissed your forehead.

When he free himself from his underwear, your jaw dropped along with it. Of course you were no saint, you had caught a glimpse of his groin area before when he wore that one gray sweatpants that you fancied. You were in fact suspecting that he was at least a little above average, but not this. He had completely proven you wrong. Quite frankly, you had never thought about how beautiful a male part could be until you saw his.

You gulped your saliva and salivate the mesmerizing scene in front of you, watching as he ripped the condom pack with his teeth and rolled the rubber from his tip downwards. He positioned himself in between your legs, sliding his tip up and down on your entrance, which made you whimper instantly.

“Yoongi… please…” You pleaded.

“If it hurts even just the slightest bit, let me know, okay?” He said, caressing your hair.

You only nodded and soon after you felt his tip entering you ever so gently. You moaned loudly and it seemed like the movement not only affect you, but Yoongi also, as you saw him closing his eyes shut, grunting along with you. He slid in very carefully, making sure you were adjusting well with his girth. When he reached a certain length, you yelped.

“Did I hurt you?” He suddenly asked out of worry.

“No… it just… it just feels very full.” You managed a smile to reassure him.

“Okay.” He breathed out, combing his locks through his fingers. “Let me know when I can move.”

You touched his hand to catch his attention. He looked at you with a wary expression. “You can move, I’m not that fragile.”

He muttered a stuttered “okay” before sliding himself deeper. He lunged deep and out slowly, making love to you passionately. He intertwined his fingers with yours, going on a soft tempo, as if he was trying to confess his feelings through, making sure you feel how sincere he was. You brought your hands to cup his face, then stroked his hair, before putting them over his shoulders to pull him close. Your lips met again in the middle, muffling your moans through the tongue lacing activity. His hands were cupping your breasts, fondling with them as your kisses went harsher and sloppier.

And when he moved from your lips to kiss your chest, you bucked your hips against him, with your hands ruffling his hair as he tongue your nipple carelessly. His tempo began to distort and the knot in your stomach started to feel too much and you knew you were close.

Not long after you came to release, he followed soon after the feeling of you clenching hard over his cock. The sound of both your heavy breaths filled the room. Yoongi once again dipped down to kiss you. Starting from your forehead, your nose, your cheek, and lastly your lips. You giggled in between every single one. He then got up to tie the ends of the condom, timidly walking towards your bathroom to where your bin was. When he was done, you were now lying to your sides, curving your legs in a fetal position.

Yoongi approached you and slowly cuddled you from behind. You automatically scooted closer to his body warmth.

“This is oddly familiar.” He chuckled.

You recalled the first time you spent the night at his place by accident, when you woke up with him cuddling you exactly like this. Minus the nakedness of course.

You turned your body to face him. A huge smile was plastered on your face. “I hate you.”

“I’m sorry?!” He eyed you with an annoyed expression.

“I’m so madly in love with you it’s insane!” You smacked his chest lightly.

“I’m sorry, I guess I was just afraid of moving too fast. I haven’t been in a relationship in a long time and I was worrying if I’d make you uncomfortable…”

“I thought you had decided that you don’t like me or something… I was even jealous of Cookie when you kissed him!”

“I noticed.”

“You noticed?! And you chose to do nothing???” You huffed.

“You looked cute so I decided to leave you be.” He snickered.

“You’re evil.”

“You’re evil for wearing that extremely tight crop top today.” His eyes travelled down and up to your nude body.

“It was… on purpose.” You bit your lips. “I guess it worked? Haha?”

He raised one of his eyebrows at you and smirked. “Give me five minutes and we can go again.”

“Oh my god??? Who are you?! Give me back my cute and shy Yoongi!”

You squealed as he laughed and hugged you close.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” You said, followed by a loud smack of smooch to your cheek from him, then he flashed you his gummy smile.

Thank you for reading! 💎

taglist: @yunaurlove @waitaminswife @yoongisababygoat @hazyjoon @callsignwidow @ai-des-blog-blog @jovanaprime @bangtanmisser7 @angelk0503

#yoongi fanfic #yoongi scenarios #yoongi x y/n #yoongi x you #bts scenarios #bts fic #bts fanfic #suga scenarios #suga imagine #yoongi imagine #yoongi smut #yoongi fluff #yoongi x reader #bts smut #suga x y/n #suga x reader #suga x you #min yoongi #bts suga

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dykeforhire · 1 month ago

Text

The Gift of Opportunity

Emily Prentiss x fem!reader

Description: Rossi recommends Emily to a ‘special service’ after finding out she’s having a bit of a sexual dry spell.

Warnings: (18+) porn with plot, escort!reader, strap!on use, bottom!emily prentiss cuz imma freak like that.

Words: 11.3k (plot addict)

Available on AO3

Masterlist

Taglist: @agenderrat @leolionsblog @keepinggcomposure @prentisslvrsworld @sarahjohannson @prentgarcialuvr @seasonsmaywinter @lez-talk1 @mrsines @lcprentissmills @bjkbk

…

“Oh, come on…”

“What?” JJ raises a brow, looking between Emily and Rossi curiously.

“Is everybody around here getting laid except me?” Emily groans, admiring the faint glow that seems to be emanating from JJ.

“Well, I’m not.” Rossi butts in, and both women turn to him with a confused expression.

“Wow…” Emily raises her brows.

“I’m sorry, gallows humor, but it’s all I’ve got right now.” Rossi deadpans.

“You know what? I will take gallows humor over no humor.” Emily chuckles, reaching a hand out and patting Rossi’s bicep before spinning around and walking down the hall, continuing the conversation they’d been having prior.

…

A knock on Emily’s office door pulls her out of the pile of work she’d been shoving herself into for the past couple of hours.

“Hey, do you need something?” Emily asks, eyeing Rossi and the peculiarly devious expression he wore.

“No, just stopping in before I head out, I did want to ask you something though…” Rossi steps through the door, moving forward to stand behind the chairs in front of Emily’s desk.

“What is it?” Emily sighs, going through all the possible questions he could possibly ask in her head.

“Y'know, how we were talking earlier about not getting laid?” He leans against the chair.

“Yes.” Emily sighs, smiling to herself as she rubs at her temple.

“Well, I wanted to share one of my little secrets with you…” Emily’s eyes shoot up, brows creased.

“There’s this… special service, I haven’t used it in ages but, it’s an excellent establishment. Very clean, very well done, and very discreet.” Rossi’s hands make vague motions as he describes.

“Dave.. I am not paying for sex. That’s so very unethical, I can easily go out and find someone…” Emily shifts her gaze to her hands resting on the desk, trying to remember the last time she even had a date, let alone one that ended with sex.

“I’m sure that’s very true. But, if you ever want something easier…” Rossi pulls a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Don’t hesitate to call, and make sure to tell them I sent you.” He places the paper on the edge of the desk.

With a quick smile, Rossi shows himself out. Emily scoffs, watching his form fade down the hall. She turns back to the pile she’d been working on, scribbling down a few notes before the glint of the paper on her desk catches her eye. She looks up at the open door and back to the paper.

Straightening herself out, she reaches for it. Holding it between her fingers for a moment before unfolding it. Divine Feminine Valet, the card read in a shiny cursive font. Below the label, is a single phone number with a local area code.

“Jesus Rossi…” Emily shakes her head, her silver hair slightly disheveled from the stress of the day. She sighs, running a hand through the locks, brushing it back.

She takes the card and drops it into her purse beneath the desk, chewing her bottom lip.

Am I really going to do this? Emily ponders. Though the idea of calling an escort service to finally get a little action feels absolutely foul, she can’t help but wonder if it might be worth it…

It has been quite a while… and she could definitely use the stress relief.

No. Why would that even be a consideration? The weight of her conscience is knee-buckling.

But, what if? Emily pushes herself up from the desk abruptly. Grabbing her bags and coat and heading out the door.

As usual, she is the last to exit the bullpen. The sound of her heeled boots clacking on the tile, disrupting the peaceful serenity of the empty federal building.

As Emily enters the parking garage, she remote starts her car, the engine’s rumble echoing through the concrete corridors. She slips into the driver’s seat and lights up a much-needed cigarette before peeling out.

…

Arriving back at her apartment, Emily kicks off her boots and places her things on the kitchen table.

Reaching around, she unclasps her bra, letting the heavy flesh fall from the uncomfortable confines of the underwire. Emily unbuttons her blouse as she pads down the hall, slipping it off her shoulders once she steps into her bedroom, the bra soon following.

Grabbing her ratty old academy T-shirt from the bed, she pulls it over her head, breathing in the warm scent of her laundry. She unbuckles her belt, letting the loose slacks fall to the floor and not bothering to pick them up.

In just a pair of panties and a t-shirt, Emily pads into the en-suite. She looks up at her dimly lit reflection, grazing her fingers over the lines in her skin. She sighs, pulling her hair back messily before bending over the sink to wash the day from her face.

Emily pats herself dry with the closest towel she could find before rubbing some creams into the soft skin of her face, making sure to drag it down to her neck and chest.

Exiting the bathroom, she drifts down the hall, landing in the kitchen. Grabbing a Tupperware of leftovers from the fridge, she tosses it in the microwave and pours herself a decent helping of wine.

The cushions of the couch welcome her with the utmost kindness, hugging her aching joints as if it were the touch of an angel. She flicks on the TV, settling on some ludicrous reality show. Basically, it’s just some background noise for her thoughts as she shovels the lukewarm pasta into her mouth. When you work for the BAU, you often forget about hunger until food presents itself to you.

After some time had passed, the dish emptied and her single glass of wine turned into the entire bottle, Emily sits in an uncomfortable silence. Picking at her cuticles subconsciously as thoughts float through her mind.

The card that sits in her purse keeps calling to her, morbid curiosity itching at her like the hives of a poison ivy-induced rash she’d had as a child, all those years ago.

And after that bottle… things begin looking a bit more optimistic on the subject.

Would it really be that bad? It’s basically just a one-night stand with guaranteed results. And I’m sure the girls know what they’re doing… but what will they do? Oh god… what if they try something super kinky? My body doesn’t work like it used to, I’m not sure I could handle all that…

A sharp pain pulls Emily out of her thoughts.

Looking down at her hands, she notices a crimson stain smudging over her fingertips. Figuring she must’ve picked a little too hard at her nail bed, she gets up and walks over to the sink, washing the blood from the cracks in her skin.

Turning back to the living room, she pauses momentarily, staring at her purse on the table.

Chewing her lip, Emily moves towards the bag, digging inside to pull out the card. She holds it for a moment, just staring at it.

Trudging over to the couch, she plops against it. Picking up her phone, she unlocks it and opens the keypad, inputting the number. Swallowing down the anxious bile that threatens to spill out, Emily takes a deep breath and presses the call button with a shaky finger. Immediately dropping the phone into her lap and covering her face with clammy hands.

The line rings a few times before it finally crackles with an answer.

“Divine Feminine Valet, how can we be at your service?” A raspy accented voice asks, seemingly that of an older woman. French.

“I- um… hello, David Rossi sent me… I’m not sure what that would mean to you but-”

“Ahh yes, a friend of Monsieur Rossi…” the voice cuts Emily off mid-sentence. “We’ve been expecting your call…Miss Prentiss, is it?”

“Oh- um.. yes.” Emily chuckles to herself.

God damnit Rossi, you ass.

“Well miss, it seems we already have a bit of information on file for you from Monsieur. When might you be looking to book your date?” Emily could hear the crackle of a cigarette and quick typing on a keyboard through the line.

“Oh… I’m not sure.” Emily bites her nails, thinking of all the ways she’s going to murder that man.

“I see… Well, how does tomorrow night sound? It’s a Friday after all!” The woman’s voice is light, her tone somewhat amused.

“I suppose that’ll do…” Emily sighs, resting her chin over her palm.

“Brilliant. Now, is this your cell I’m speaking with you on?” The clacking of the keyboard continues.

“Yes, it is..”

“Alright, you will receive a text message from your date tomorrow around midday, at least that is what I presume, she can be a bit unpredictable with timing... but alas.”

She? Has someone been picked already? Emily makes a tilted face, a bit confused. But then again, she isn’t familiar with how this type of thing works. Maybe this is always how it is.

“The message will tell you when and where to meet her. As well as all other details you’ll need to know.” The woman on the phone continues.

“Alright… and, what is the payment situation like? How much do I owe and how do I pay you?” Emily starts off to her purse, ready to grab her checkbook.

“No need, miss. It is taken care of.” Emily chuckles dryly again. That man is going to die.

“Okay then… is that all?”

“Yes, all the other information will arrive tomorrow as I said. Have a good night, Miss Prentiss, and enjoy!” The line clicks and Emily is left with the dial tone ringing in her ear.

David Rossi, you are a dead man.

…

When Emily arrives at work the following day, she makes a B-line for Rossi’s office. Her boots clacking angrily against the floor as she trudges past the desks scattered around the bullpen, catching a few concerned glances from the agents.

Without knocking, Emily shoves Rossi’s door ajar, causing him to jolt back in his seat.

“Nice of you to knock… what can I do for you?” Rossi’s hands fold together over the paperwork he’d been filling out, smirking slightly.

Emily scoffs, shooting daggers at him with her eyes as she turns to close the office door before stepping towards his desk and crossing her arms.

“I cannot believe you.” Emily tsks.

“What?” Rossi stares dumbly, mouth parted.

“Who in their right mind would give out private information regarding a government official to an escort service? Without their knowledge might I add!” Emily raises a concerned and questioning brow.

“I’m just trying to help out a close friend. We all have needs, Emily… I was just giving you the opportunity for a head start, and it appears that you took it.” Rossi leans back in the chair, bringing his folded hands to rest below his chin, aiming a pointed look at her.

“I- yes, but still-” Emily stutters and Rossi chuckles, turning back to his pile of work.

Emily is red in the face as she turns to leave the office, scoffing, but abruptly spinning back around.

“And- thank you… by the way. You didn’t have to pay for that. I’m not sure why you’d want to…” Emily grimaces before looking back at the old man.

“Like I said, just trying to help out a friend.” He gives her a tight-lipped smile, nodding before looking down once again. Emily smiles faintly back at him, sighing before turning to leave once again.

…

The day is passing by at an agonizing pace for Emily as she sits at her desk, looking over files and a never-ending stack of forms and paperwork. The curiosity is itching at her again. Her mind racing with thoughts of who this girl might be and what she might do.

Emily knows nothing will happen if she doesn’t want it to go further. But, what if the meeting does go well and they do end up sleeping together? Will they actually sleep together? Or will the girl just do her job and leave? It’s all too overwhelming, and Emily has begun developing a migraine.

A faint buzzing in the purse at her feet whips Emily out of her thoughts. She leans down to grasp the device, bringing it to her desk before looking at the notification.

‘Unknown number iMessage’ it reads.

Is it? Emily’s heart jumps at the realization, quickly unlocking the phone and opening her messages.

“Hey! Is this Miss Prentiss?”

“Who is asking?” Emily responds.

“I’m from DF. We’re supposed to have a date tonight… if this is Miss Prentiss of course:)” Cute, Emily thought, smirking slightly.

“Well then, yes. This is she.”

“Great! I’m sure you were made aware I’d be texting you when you spoke with the Madam over the phone.”

“Yes, she mentioned it.” Emily inhales deeply, feeling the stretch in her diaphragm.

“Ok, All you need to know for tonight is that we’ll be meeting at a restaurant called Divinità on Fielder St at 815. I suggest you wear something comfortable but a bit dressy, it’s a nice place.”

“Okay, is that all?” Emily types with shaky fingers, the anticipation sinking into her nerves.

“From me, yes. Do you have any questions, Emily?”

“Not really. But, are there any… idk physical requests you have for me? Like should I have gotten a wax? Haha.” Emily groans at the embarrassing and likely very unnecessary statement.

“Lol you’re funny, but no. How you like to present yourself is 100% your decision.” Emily lets out a sigh of relief. However, she will most likely do something about her situation downstairs when she returns home later. It’s been a while.

“And just so we’re clear…. Tonight’s happenings are fully on your terms. If you wish to continue with more intimate things after our initial date, your request will be fulfilled. But if you would like to simply call it off, that is completely alright. It’s all about your comfort:)” Emily flushes mildly at the statement. She didn’t expect an escort to be so… considerate? But then again, she hasn’t done this before.

“Okay, thank you. I will see you tonight then.” Emily shuts the phone off, placing it back in her purse, trying her hardest to return to her work and ignore all the inappropriate thoughts in the back of her mind.

…

Emily’s long day has finally come to a close. All files are neatly arranged for their next trip around the office and all necessary paperwork is filed and put away. She picks up the mildly cold coffee she made earlier in the day and tosses it back, swallowing down the remainder of it in hopes that it’ll perk her up for tonight.

Her text had been left on opened, and it’s been bothering her more than it should.

Making her way out of the office, she passes Rossi’s. Looking through the open blinds in the window to check on him. He looks up, catching her as she does so, and waves at her to come in.

“Hey stranger, you’re leaving relatively on time?” He raises a thick brow.

“Yeaaah… I’ve got plans later.” Emily smirks, resting against the doorframe. Rossi smiles proudly.

“You’re actually going through with it?” His voice is chipper.

“Yes, David. I’m going through with it.” Emily flicks her hair back, putting her hand in the pocket of her slacks.

“Good for you. It’ll be nice having you in a decent mood around here for once. Maybe some of us will finally catch a break.” He chuckles, and Emily scoffs.

“Goodnight.” She says monotonously, rolling her eyes and closing the door behind her with a laugh.

Emily struts down the corridor with a slight confidence, a faint smile gracing her lips.

She checks her watch upon entering the elevator. Ten past six, plenty of time for her to get home and clean up before leaving. The restaurant’s name is familiar in Emily’s mind, though she’s never been inside. And if she’s remembering correctly, it’s only a short drive from her apartment.

Upon arriving home and completing her usual routine of placing her things on the table and stripping herself down, Emily opts for a second shower. Just to freshen up.

She scrubs her scalp with her favourite floral-scented shampoo, making sure to deep condition the lengths of her hair before lathering herself in soap and exfoliating. She then shaves all the necessary bits and dries off before applying her post-shave body oil and lotion.

Throwing on a robe, Emily blow-dries her hair, curling the layers so they form into a sort of feathered style. She rubs a creme over her palms before running her fingers through the silver locks, molding them into place.

Sauntering out of the bathroom, Emily opens the closet. Inspecting the items for something that would fit the description her date had given her.

After plucking out a few dresses, and deciding none of them would be well-suited for tonight, Emily searched her drawers for her nicest pair of slacks. A black cotton pair with crisp pleats and an inseam that easily covers the majority of her feet in a taller heel. She pairs the slacks with a deep blue silk blouse and a crisp black leather belt, the silver buckle glinting in the low light of the bedroom.

Tossing her outfit choice on the mattress, she digs deep into her underwear drawer, searching for a decent set. She opts for an almost matching pair, black panties with a lace trim and a bra that is fully lace, the cups mildly see-through.

Pulling the garments on, she runs her hand through her hair again, pushing it to the side as she gives herself a once-over in the tall mirror across from her wardrobe.

“Good enough…” she sighs.

Returning to the bathroom, Emily pulls out her makeup bag. Applying a thin layer of foundation and concealer over her skin before dusting a faint smoky-eye look on her lids, following that with a bit of liner and mascara, accentuating the already naturally long lashes.

Adding the final touches of jewelry and her favourite perfume, Emily then slips on a pair of black block heels and a long black coat that touches just below her knees.

She looks herself over in the mirror one last time, zhuzhing up her hair and straightening out her clothes. Emily checks her watch.

Seven fifty-seven. Perfect timing.

Grabbing her bag and keys from the kitchen table, Emily makes her way out to the car, lighting a cigarette to ease her tense nerves as she drives.

She isn’t scared. Just so fucking anxious. She is nervous about what the night will bring. Nervous but also curious as to who the woman she will be meeting is. Nervous about how she will react to inviting someone, a stranger, into her body, nonetheless her home, in the shadowed hours of the night. Will she tense up and blunder? Will she cut the night short and send the woman home? Or will she let herself go? Releasing all arms and just letting herself be ravished by the desire she hasn’t felt in so long.

A loud honk draws her out from the depths of her thoughts, the light long turned green. Emily lets the car roll forward, speeding off towards the restaurant.

The quaint establishment sits on a dim corner in the city, warmly lit by street lights and a few neon signs from neighboring buildings. The only parking available is on the street, but luckily, the meters turn off at six.

Emily takes a deep breath, rubbing her clammy palms over her thighs and cracking her knuckles before climbing out of the car and locking it.

She prances across the street, slipping past a small crowd of people outside before pushing through the revolving entrance door. The air is smoky as she steps inside, and it smells like whisky and expensive perfume.

It dawns on Emily that she isn’t sure what to do now. She is a few minutes early, unsure whether the woman wants Emily to grab a table for them or meet her at the bar.

Her prayers are soon answered when her phone buzzes in her hand.

“Ask for table 14:)” Emily’s heart pounds.

She turns to the host, giving him a shy smile before asking. He only nods in return, stepping away from his booth and walking down the dark corridor next to the bar and toward the back of the room. The walls are lined with small, two or three-person booths, all filled.

Except one at the far end of the row.

A woman sat alone, a captivating young woman. No younger than 25, but mature. She sits poised, her mid-length dress sleek against her body, hugging the curves of her hips and waist. Her skin is smooth and her hair loose over her bare shoulders.

If Emily wasn’t intimidated beforehand, she certainly is now.

As she steps closer, the young woman looks up. Glancing at Emily for the first time tonight. She smiles, teeth sharp and pearl-like. Emily can’t help but grin back, her chest flushing beneath the fabric of her shirt.

The young woman shifts, rising to her feet. She looks to be around the same height as Emily in her heels. Her leg, peaking through the slit on the side of her dress adds a teasing ambiance to the attire. And Emily definitely appreciates it.

“Miss Prentiss, I presume?” Her voice is gentle as she extends her hand for Emily to shake, to which she accepts, sliding her palm into the younger woman's.

“Yes! Hello…” Emily pauses, giving the woman a questioning look, realizing she hadn’t gotten her name.

“My name is Y/n, it’s lovely to meet you, Miss Prentiss.” She grins, squeezing Emily’s hand before sliding back into her seat.

Y/n… Emily repeats to herself internally. What a lovely name for such a beautiful girl. She thinks, slipping off her coat and bag, tossing them inside the booth before slipping in after it.

“It’s lovely to meet you as well, Y/n.” Emily flushes under the younger woman's intense gaze, her warm eyes seemingly taking Emily in, studying her. Y/n giggles, resting her chin over her palm.

“Can I get you something to drink? Eat? Anything!” the young woman chirps, picking up the small folded menu from the edge of the table and passing it to Emily enthusiastically.

She hums, looking over the menu before deciding on a drink and a simple appetizer, not wanting to bloat herself.

“Sure, I think I’ll just get a whisky neat and an order of fries.” Emily looks up from the menu, meeting Y/n’s awaiting gaze.

“Sounds good! I’ll be right back, hold tight!” Y/n shifts out of the seat again, slipping past the thick curtain that went to a backroom she is presumably familiar with.

Emily takes the moment alone to collect herself. Taking deep breaths and rubbing at her temples, attempting to shake the nerves from her system. She can’t battle the heat that's beginning to creep throughout her body at the thought of having a woman so attractive all to herself for a night.

…

When you return, Emily’s gaze immediately rises. Her piercing brown eyes glance noticeably over your figure as you set the glass and plate in front of her.

“Whisky and some fries for the beautiful lady…” You flirt, Emily smiles up at you softly in response. Her cheeks flush, and her lips curl into a bashful smile. You can’t help but smile back, finding the older woman’s shy nature somewhat endearing.

“Thank you.” She clears her throat, fingertips brushing against yours as she maneuvers the plate towards her.

“You’re welcome…” you climb back into the booth, your knees knock Emily’s beneath the small table. “So…” you breathe out, resting your chin in your palm. “How was your day?”

Emily chuckles, taking a brief sip from her glass. “My day was alright, rather boring with lots of paperwork but, that’s nothing too out of the ordinary these days.” she meets your gaze, tossing a fry into her mouth.

“Mmm, paperwork. How sexy.” you tease, bringing your bottom lip between your teeth with a smile. The older woman flushes once again, her eyes falling shyly to the heap of fries.

“And how was your day?” Emily counters, swallowing down a few more fries before leaning back in her seat, watching you attentively. She wears a tiny smile, moving her hand up to fiddle with the delicate gold chain around her neck.

“Mine was alright too. Slept in, spoke with a few… friends, did a little online shopping, and then I got ready and came here, to see you.” Your eyes span across her face as you speak, taking in her faint mannerisms.

“Am I your only… date, for today?” Emily’s face is curious, her brows curving with the question. “Sorry, I don’t mean to snoop about your work… I’m just curious.” Her hands motion in defense, coming to rest over the table.

You raise your free hand from its place in your lap, trailing over the wood before running your fingers over Emily’s svelte digits. Her skin is soft and warm and the tendons twitch at your touch.

“It’s okay to be curious, and yes… you are my first and only client today.” Your fingers travel up the dorsal side of her hand, gliding over the veins and circling the bone of her wrist before coming back down and lacing your fingers between hers.

Emily faintly smiles at your apparent comfortability, glancing down at the scene developing before her. She flips her hand over, allowing you to trace over her palm. You can feel the warmth of her skin, the crevices slightly damp with sweat. Figuring she must be feeling a speck of nerves about tonight.

In the beat of silence, you take a moment to absorb Emily’s appearance. She isn’t your typical customer, that’s for sure. She is breathtakingly gorgeous, not like the wrinkly old fellows you typically see. Her eyes are warm, inviting pools of deep chestnut that you could stare into for ages. A certain comfort lurks with them, but there’s something else too, something within the depths that attracts you dangerously. And that outfit she’s sporting doesn’t help, either.

When you got the call regarding your appointment with a certain Miss Prentiss, you’d been excited. Finally a new client. Her file was rather empty, not much to read into except that she is fifty-five, into women, and has a rather high-profile and demanding line of work. The file also mentioned she is a friend of Mr. Rossi, an old familiar face amongst the girls in the company.

“May I ask about your work, Miss Prentiss?” The tone in your voice is subtly diplomatic, drawling as you circle her open palm with your fingernail.

“Go for it.”

“What is it that you do? You can be vague if you’d like. Just curious.” You laugh, mocking her phrasing from earlier. Emily chuckles in response, fingertip tracing the lip of her whisky glass.

“I work for the government. FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, actually. It isn’t necessarily a secret… a quick Google search and you could probably find my picture, if I had my badge on me I’d show you, but it’s at home.” Emily scoffs, taking a sip of her drink. That will be an indulgence for later, you think.

“Oh, that’s awesome! I bet you're a busy woman, taking down terrorists and shit.” You beam at her, taking a sip of your cocktail as well.

“That and analyzing and investigating crime scenes, creating profiles that’ll assist in finding and collecting an unsub, amongst a few other things” There is a hint of pride in her smile that makes your stomach churn, her sharp white teeth on full display.

“That sounds insane, I don’t know how you guys do that sort of thing.”

“I think I could say the same for you, honey… but I’ve put myself into some off-the-wall situations for work so… I digress.” Emily gestures, head tilting to the side.

You can’t help but laugh, touché.

The conversation flows easily after that, mostly easy questions with easy answers. You find that Emily is quite a pleasant date, she is so effortlessly funny and sweet, not to mention incredibly charming. It feels like you’ve known her for much longer than half an hour. If it weren’t for your compromising line of work, you might consider taking her on a real date.

Emily looks down at the plate, a singular fry left resting on the porcelain. She looks up at you with a quirked brow. You smile, leaning forward and letting your mouth fall open. Emily takes her time placing the fry in your mouth, lingering for a moment. Her finger nearly brushes against your lip as you pull away slowly.

“You know…” you speak gently, chewing the fry and swallowing before speaking again. Emily’s gaze watches you attentively. “You’re very attractive.”

“Oh… stop.” Emily grimaces, burying her face in her hand.

“What? I’m serious… you’re fucking gorgeous, and you’ve got yourself all dolled up just for me.” your hand pulls from hers, reaching up to brush a misplaced hair from her cheek. Emily shifts narrowly from the cover of her hand, mousy eyes peering at you from between her fingers. A flimsy smile graces your lips, as well as a faint chuckle.

“Thank you… you’re a doll.” She mumbles, her hand falling away from her face, letting it land on her glass. She picks it up, locking eyes with you as she tosses the remainder of it back, downing it without a single grimace.

You watch her throat bob as she swallows, your hand moving to play with her fingers again, aimlessly.

“Tell me, Miss Prentiss-”

“Emily… call me Emily, please.” She cuts you off, her voice somewhat calloused in desperation. “I’m not sure how much longer I can put up with that title.” She chuckles.

“Okay… tell me, Emily, how do you feel about me asking some more… personal questions?” There is a challenging glint in your eyes as you await her answer.

“I would like to think of myself as an open book tonight, so fire away.” She smiles, leaning onto her elbows, holding your hand between the both of hers.

“When was the last time you slept with someone?” Emily sputters at the abrupt question.

“Oh- um…” She clears her throat. “If I'm being honest, I don’t really remember. Maybe around seven months ago?” Emily looks up at you with a pitiful expression, your mouth falls open slightly, somewhat in disbelief that a woman like her isn’t getting all the action in the world.

“Was it good?” You raise a brow at her, and Emily flushes.

“I- eh-I guess? If I don't remember it off the top of my head, it couldn't have been that good. Most likely just a quick hookup at a bar or something.”

“Good… okay, hypothetically speaking, if we were to go home together tonight, would you rather it be your own home or a hotel?” Emily’s face twitches, her expression stirring.

“Oh boy, uhm… I think I’d personally feel more comfortable in my home, just because y’know… I've never done this before. I’m usually not keen on inviting anyone into my home to be quite honest, but in this situation, I think I’d rather be in my place.” Her brows worry for a moment.

“Of course, and like I mentioned before, how tonight goes is one hundred percent up to you, Emily.” Your hand squeezes hers, attempting to settle any nerves she might be feeling. She simply nods, seemingly awaiting your next question.

“Do you have any preference on how things go in the bedroom?”

Emily stills, her breath catching subtly. You notice the flush starting to creep up her neck, the palms of her hands beginning to sweat again.

“I’m not entirely sure… I think it kind of depends...” her eyes wander, looking down at your intertwined hands. “Do you have a preference in the bedroom?” Emily asks, her voice shy as her eyes raise, holding yours in a deep stare.

“Hm, well… I’ll be whoeeever you want me to be. But, personally speaking…” you whisper, leaning over the table, fingers scratching over her forearm as her gaze shifts to your newly exposed cleavage. “ I like to be in charge.” Emily shudders out a breath, her eyes glinting with curiosity.

“And what about you… Miss Prentiss? Do you like to take charge or do you like to be dominated?” Your head tilts as your eyes trail over her flushed face, lips curling into a devilish smile.

Emily doesn’t say a word, she just sits, her eyes on your mouth as her chest rises and falls rapidly.

“Well, if I’m profiling you correctly,” you chuckle amusedly at your joke. “I’d say you want me to take away all the pressure.” You drawl. “Want me to boss you around so you don’t have to think. You walk around all day telling everyone else what to do, but when does Emily get to be told, hm?” Your voice is nearly a sympathetic whine, you give her a pout.

Emily’s fingers twitch on the table, her eyes rake over your body once more before meeting yours. The color of her irises, noticeably darker under the guise of her dilated pupils.

“I- you..” Her mouth flaps open and closed, trying to find the right words. You just stare at her, patiently waiting, fingernails slipping beneath the sleeves of her top, raking against her hot skin.

“Would you like me to take you home, Emily?” you husk, nails digging into her forearm. Her eyes dart across your face for a moment, jaw slackened.

“Yes.” Emily whispers so quietly you almost don’t hear it, but you do. Her gaze is timid, and it brings out a certain moxie within you. A determination to do everything in your power to give this woman what she wants. What she needs.

With that, you rise from the seat, grabbing your bag and taking her hand in your own, pulling her up from the booth. She hurriedly grabs her coat and own bag, not wanting to hold you any longer.

Your grip on her hand is strong as you tug her down the corridor and out the front door. When you turn around to ask if she drove, she's already pulling her keys from her purse, face flushed and chest panting. You smile, nodding for her to lead the way.

Emily fumbles with the key as she tries to start the vehicle, her hands trembling with excitement. She nearly rolls the car at the speed she rips out of her parking spot, you hear a few honks as she speeds off. You look over at her brightly, chuckling.

“Someone excited?”

“God, yes.” Emily sighs, her knuckles whitening as she grips the steering wheel forcibly.

You reach over, leaning against the center console as your hand runs over her trouser-clad thigh. The muscle of it clenching beneath your touch as you give it a rather harsh squeeze. Emily hums, her lip catching between her teeth.

“How long until we’re at your place?” you ask, playfully running your hand up and down her thigh, trailing your fingers teasing along the crease at her hip when you reach the apex.

“Five minutes.” Emily husks, her foot pressing hard against the gas pedal, you can feel the rumble of her engine vibrating through your body as she races down the familiar streets. You can’t help the adrenaline that rushes through your veins at the recklessness. The recklessness that you’ve caused. She wants you badly enough that she is willing to risk a life. Lives even.

Emily whips into her driveway with a screech of tires against the pavement, the hard stop practically jerking you from the seat.

“Jesus…” you look over at her with wide eyes, hand still gripping at her thigh. She turns off the ignition and looks back at you with a mixed expression, lips parted and eyes hurriedly searching your face.

“We’re here.” Emily smiles tightly, her hand patting the top of yours as she slips out of the car. You quickly follow, the beep of her car's locking system startling you as you step closer to her.

Her hot breath clouds around her in the cool night air, you take her hand as she trudges up the pathway towards her front door.

You press against her back as she unlocks it, your face burying itself in her soft hair and breathing it in. She smells absolutely heavenly, and you cannot get enough. Emily stiffens as your nose touches the back of her neck, her keys clattering to the floor. She quickly bends to pick them up, your eyes catch the curve of her ass in her slacks, tightening perfectly as she crouches.

When she finally manages to open the door, you're practically shoveling her inside, hands gripping against her waist as you step into the foyer. Before the door even clicks shut your mouth is on her, pressing sloppily against the hot skin of her neck.

“Oh-” Emily gasps, her hands climbing to grip at the back of your head. Her body crashes against the door, coat and bag falling to the floor.

Your hands run over her sides, landing on her hips and pulling them against your own. Emily groans, her hands moving to grasp at the sides of your face, pulling your mouth up to connect with hers.

You can taste the whisky on her as you run your tongue over her bottom lip, enclosing your mouth around it and sucking gently. Emily’s hands tighten in your tresses as the kiss deepens, the passion growing into a blazing pit of burning desire.

Emily lets out a faint whimper as your body presses further into her, your thigh coming to rest between hers, applying slight pressure to her pelvis. Her kisses falter as she tries to grind herself against your thigh, the thickness of her pants doing little to assist.

“Mm, you sound so pretty…” you break the kiss for a moment before delving right back in, fervently. Paying close attention to how Emily’s body reacts to every little movement, every little touch. She moans into your mouth when you grip her ass aggressively, pulling her crotch against your thigh.

“Fuck, Y/n… wanna.. mm.. bedroom.” She murmurs against your lips, trailing her palms down your chest and coming to rest over your half-exposed breasts as she leans back, giving you a once-over before tugging you in the direction of her bedroom.

“Yes, ma’am!” Emily chuckles at your enthusiasm, bumping the bedroom door open with her hip before immediately pulling you in for a passionate, slow kiss. Her lips slide deliciously over yours, hands resting at the junction of your jaw and neck.

Your hands move over her abdomen, sliding up the sides before landing at the front of her blouse, fingers tweaking at its buttons.

“May I?” You whisper, nipping at the older woman’s bottom lip.

“Please…” Emily gasps, connecting your mouths again, eagerly.

You begin unbuttoning the blouse with expert precision. The soft fabric falling loosely around Emily’s torso. Your hands slip beneath the garment, running over the smooth, warm skin of her stomach. Fingers running over the ridges of her ribcage as she breathes heavily, you swear you can almost feel her heartbeat from down there.

Emily’s hands slip into your hair once again as you move up towards her bra, thumbs brushing against the lacey underwire. Her nails claw at your scalp, the pleasurable sharpness of it pulls a moan from your throat.

Emily’s hip bumps into the corner of her dresser as she begins moving both of you towards the mattress, she giggles, correcting herself and letting herself drop down onto the soft cushion. She looks up at you with dark eyes, her lashes fluttering, chest heaving.

You take note of her see-through bra as you hike your dress up, crawling over her and settling on her thighs. Emily’s hands reach out, resting her palms against the smooth skin of your legs.

“So beautiful…” you bend down and press a chaste, wet kiss just below her sternum. “Mm, I could devour you.” You press a few more kisses over her chest, Emily groans, pulling you back up to her mouth.

Her body practically writhes beneath you, heat radiating from her mostly clothed skin. Your hands travel up towards her breasts, palms sliding over the hefty cups before giving them a generous squeeze. Emily hums, her blunt fingernails raking over your back, bare from the low cut of the dress.

“Sit up for me.” you whisper, leaning back in her lap to make space. You pull the blouse from her shoulders, aggressively and toss it across the room. You tilt forward and kiss her again as your hands trek down towards her waistband, tugging her belt loose and unbuttoning the trousers. You can feel Emily smile into the kiss, her tongue flicking out against your top lip.

Emily’s hands slide over your bare thighs, slipping under your dress and pushing it up. You slip away from her mouth for a moment to let her pull the thin garment over your head, leaving you practically nude in front of her.

Her eyes are glossy as the trail over your body, her chest rising and falling unsteadily. Her fingertips trace over the lines of your stomach and chest, the sensitive skin twitching beneath the gentle touch.

“You’re perfect.” She mumbles feebly, her eyes darting across your skin as she cups the underside of your breasts.

“Now let’s see you, baby.” You bend towards her, lips mere inches away from her neck as you wrap around her and unclasp the lacey bra with practiced ease. The fabric falls from Emily’s chest with a shudder, her skin pebbling with the new exposure, dusky pink nipples standing proudly.

With a groan you grab a rough handful of both breasts, squeezing the mouthwatering tissue. Emily mewls, head rolling back as you trail sloppy kisses over her neck and down to her freckled chest.

“Fuck Emily, you’re so fucking sexy.” Your voice is muffled against her skin, your lips closing around a nipple soon after. She tastes sweet again the drag of your tongue, circling her stiffened bud before nipping gently and moving to repeat the ministration on the ladder breast.

“Hmph- Y/n, kiss me.” Emily huffs, the skin over her clavicle burning with a muted red flush. Your neck arches up at her request, connecting your lips with blazing force. Your heads lull together in the motions of passion, mixed saliva spilling onto cheeks and chins.

Your hands move to grasp her shoulders, pushing softly so that she falls back onto the mattress. The feeling of your bare breasts pressing against her own is positively nectarean.

You grind down into Emily’s lap, she lets a soft moan slip past her lips and into your mouth.

Abruptly, you pull back, sitting up and staring down at her pitiful condition. Panting and flushed, hands grasping at whatever part of you she can reach.

“Where are you going?” Her face worries as she sits up on her elbows.

“I have an idea, I’ll be right back” You cup her face, giving her a gentle kiss before swiftly climbing out of bed and tiptoeing quickly out of the room and to the foyer where you’d left your bag earlier.

Quickly re-entering the room, Emily looks up from her perch at the edge of the bed. A bright smile lingers over her face as she loosens her grip on the silken robe she’s tied around herself in your absence.

“You’re back.” She chirps excitedly, leaning back against her palms, the hem of her robe slipping open and revealing only a pair of panties. My god.

“Well look at you…” you husk, eyes wandering daringly over her figure.

“Why did you have to get your bag?” Emily chuckles, raising a brow.

“Hm, well for one…” your hand dips inside, digging around for a moment before pulling out your speaker. “I like background music when I’m having sex… adds a nice touch.” You send Emily a wink, pressing the button and letting the speaker come to life. She only groans in response, her legs shifting together as you busy yourself with selecting a playlist.

The slow sensual tune of ‘Still Loving You’ by Scorpions begins vibrating through the small speaker, Emily turns to you with a gasp.

“I love this song…” She sheds the robe, her hands wrapping around your waist as you crawl over her on the bed, she stretches up to kiss your jaw.

“Mmm, me too.” You sigh, letting her kiss down the sides of your neck. A sharp breath rips through you as her teeth pinch the skin of your collarbone. Emily giggles, her arms sliding down to squeeze your ass, kneading the supple flesh.

Your hand comes up to rest just above her cleavage, gently teasing down the valley before shoving her into the mattress. She lands with a gasp, her head lulling to the side as you attack her throat. Sucking, kissing, biting the sensitive skin.

“Oh-” Emily whimpers, her hands planting themselves in your hair, fingernails digging into your scalp. You shift quickly, letting your knee slide between Emily’s, spreading her open so you can easily slot yourself between them. Her calves wrap around your waist, pulling your hips against her clothed center.

“Needy, needy, needy…” You mumble against her chest, wrapping your lips around her nipple once again and sucking.

“Yes.” She pants breathlessly, watching as you descend her torso.

The sound of her moans mixed with the growing heat and faint music is Shangri-la in your mind. Every little sound and reaction you elicit scratches deliciously at the ever-growing avowel to take this woman into a state of blissful euphoria. To give her anything and everything she wants.

Emily sits up on her elbows as you begin kissing along her panty line, tongue twirling over the curve of her stomach. Your hands slide lower, brushing over her smooth thighs, down and around her knees, then back up.

The tips of your fingers barely breach the hem of her panties just above her hip and she is already rolling her hips towards you.

Scooting further down the bed, you sit back on your heels as Emily’s leg moves to rest over your shoulder. You press a delicate kiss to her inner calf.

She smiles dazedly up at you through her lashes, you give her a smirk back, hands sliding over the outside of her thighs, and trailing over her hips before finally looping around her waistband and tugging gently.

Emily lifts her hips urgently, slackjawed as she lifts her legs over your head so you can slip her panties the rest of the way off.

“So pretty,” you whisper, crawling between Emily’s open legs and settling into your stomach, taking in the sight of her heated sex. Red and swollen with want, her scent forming a heady, lust-filled fog over you.

You dip lower, neck craning as you slide your nose down the inside of her quivering thighs, trailing a path of gentle kisses and nips against the sensitive skin in your descent.

“Such a tease-” Emily gasps, her hips gyrating, desperately seeking that delicious friction.

You keep on until your nose brushes against Emily’s sex, placing a kiss over the trimmed pubic hair, and around her outer labia. You raise your thumb to your lips, dipping inside to collect a decent amount of saliva before running it over her slit. Emily’s breathy moans cloud your mind with an insatiable hunger. A desire to taste and tease and fuck till she’s begging for mercy.

You feel the sting of your salivatory glands as they swell, flooding your mouth with hot liquid. Your tongue slips past your lips, wetting them before leaning in and dragging the hot muscle over her awaiting cunt.

Emily gasps as you flatten your tongue over her clit, circling it with an iniquitous slowness that drives her half mad. Her fingernails claw at your scalp, tugging you impossibly closer.

“Fuck, that feels so good…” Emily whines, letting herself fall back onto the pillows as your tongue dips inside. You hum against her pussy, she twitches at the vibrations, the hand in your hair clutching tighter as she grinds herself eagerly against your face.

You let your legs fall off the side of her mattress, planting your feet on the floor. You tug Emily to the edge of the bed, your mouth never leaving its sloppy perch over her sex.

Emily shrieks as she slides over the covers, your hands wrapping around her hips and lifting, holding her still against your incessant tongue.

You draw circles over her clit with the perfect amount of pressure, taking turns swirling it in each direction. Emily’s hips stutter as you swipe the hypersensitive spot at the apex of her slit, the majority of your musings decidedly concentrate there. One hand leaves her hip, sliding up towards her breast and wrapping around it, pinching her nipple between your knuckles.

“Shit, you’re gonna make me cum…” Emily moans, twitching against you as you roll her nipple between your thumb and index. Your tongue licking pointed stripes over her slit, dipping inside and repeating the process over again.

“That would be the plan…” you snide, Emily jerks at the vibration.

Easing up on her nipple, your hand slides further up her chest, over her neck, finally landing at her mouth. Your fingers slide over her parted lips, awaiting acceptance.

Emily opens further, allowing you to curl your fingers inside. Her tongue swirls languidly over your digits, soaking them thoroughly with her hot saliva. She hmphs when you pull your hand away, but quickly quiets down once she realizes where they’re heading.

Emily pants, her climax already rapidly approaching, and you haven’t even gotten your fingers inside yet.

Pulling your mouth away, you glide your slick fingers over her slit, spreading her apart and dipping a single finger inside.

“Oh, fuck.” Emily sucks in a breath through gritted teeth, hissing as her hips buck against your hand.

You begin pumping into her slowly, letting her adjust as you reattach your mouth to her sensitive bud. She practically chants your name as her hips roll determinedly, using your face to push herself further toward her climax. You pull out and slip a second finger in when you think she’s ready, pumping in and out steadily, curling your fingers deep inside, repeatedly hitting that sweet spot that sends her spine arching into the air.

“Shit, shit, shit…” Emily’s breathing is erratic, her body shaking at the intensity of her impending orgasm. Her thighs quiver as they clench around your skull, trapping you there, your movements unrelenting.

Emily’s body seizes up, and you can feel her pulsating around your fingers as she cums. Her quiet moans puffing out with each strangled breath.

“I love the way you sound cumming for me, baby.” You mutter against her, voice low and raspy as you press a few soft kisses to her mound and up her abdomen, climbing over her body once again.

Your arms bracket her head as you lean down to kiss her passionately, tongue slipping into her mouth and curling against hers. You groan as Emily sucks the muscle into her mouth, lavishing the taste of your mouth mixed with the taste of her pussy.

The familiar synth-type intro of ‘Martian Cowboy’ by Toyah begins playing as she releases the muscle and pulls you back in for a chaste kiss.

“Mm, this is a good one too…you’ve got quite the taste for such a young thing.” Emily murmurs, breaking away and brushing the messy hair away from your face.

“I’m an old soul.” You roll your eyes sarcastically, Emily chuckles.

“Thank you, by the way… that was- incredible.” Her gaze wanders across your features, a blissful expression resting across hers.

“You think I’m finished?”

“Oh?” Emily’s eyes go wide.

“I…” you press a kiss to her bottom lip, “am definitely not…” a kiss to her top lip, “a one-and-done type of girl.” You nip at her bottom lip before running your tongue over the swollen skin.

“What else are you gonna do to me?” She whispers breathlessly, her words fanning across your mouth.

“I have a few ideas…” you lean into Emily’s hand as it rests against your cheek. “But you have to give me the okay before I do anything.” Your brow raises to an arch.

“Okay. Tell me what you want to do.” Her curiosity is adorable, the faint sparkle in her dark eyes even more so.

“How do you feel about strap-ons?” A smirk curls into your lips at the statement, and Emily’s eyes flash with a surge of want. She certainly wasn’t expecting that.

“Like… you want to fuck me with one?” Her brow raises, chest fluttering with an excited inhale.

“If you’ll let me…” you trail off, leaning down to press a wet kiss to her chin, she hums in response, seemingly in thought as she runs her hands over your back.

“I think I’d like that…” She finally says after a moment.

“Yeah?” You meet her gaze with an excited smile, your voice dropping a slight octave.

“Yeah… fuck me.” Emily sighs, her brows knitting together as she leans up, pulling your mouth to hers. Lips locking with one another in a fierce open-mouthed kiss, tongues and teeth clashing. You groan into Emily’s mouth as her nails claw at the back of your neck, pulling your body tightly against her, the disparity in her touches quickly making a return.

Your knees scoot underneath the older woman’s thighs, pushing them up so that they’d wrap around your hips. Emily lets out a sharp moan at the feeling of your pelvis brushing against her bare sex.

The recovery make-out session does not last very long. The way Emily grasps at you, writhes against you, kisses you with such hunger… it’s all so very tolling, and your body can’t help but succumb to its desires.

“Be good and hold on a second for me…” You slip away from Emily’s grasp with a quick kiss, your body immediately missing the warmth.

Slipping back off the mattress, Emily gives you an inquisitive look. Her eyes follow your movements as you pad over to your back on the floor. Reaching into the bag, you pull out a black leather harness, a silicone cock of the same color, and a tube of lubricant.

Emily rolls onto her side, sizing up the toy from afar as her fingers toy with her breast, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. You slip into her ensuite with a faint smile, making quick work of making sure the toy is thoroughly cleaned and prepped for her.

When you reemerge, Emily stares at you silently, watching with prompt attention as you step into the harness, fastening it snugly over your hips before securing the cock in the o-ring. You have to admit it is rather flattering on you, and the way Emily is looking at you furthers your confidence on that note.

“You look… sooo sexy.” Emily groans, flicking her silver hair to the side as she moves to crawl to the edge of the bed, meeting you halfway.

“You’re gonna look even better with my cock in you.” You counter, your hands grasping at the sides of her neck, tugging her in, and kissing her hard. She loses her balance slightly at the pure force of it, her hands reaching out to steady herself against your shoulders as she whimpers into your mouth.

Your hands slide down towards her breasts, palms smoothing over her hardened nipples before squeezing at the meaty flesh. Moving down her sides, your nails leave faint red streaks across the pale skin as they go. Emily shivers as they scratch over her hip bones, causing them to jolt forward.

Her ability to kiss you back with a similar consistency has begun to lessen, the feeling of your hands roaming her skin is too much to bear, and the fact that she can feel your strap-on probing at her thigh does not help.

“Lay down on your belly for me, love.” Your request is nearly a whisper against her lips, she nods eagerly, turning away from you and doing as told.

Pulling a pillow from its place near the headboard, Emily tucks it under her arms, resting her chin over her forearm. Your eyes rail over her form, pale skin stark in contrast to the dark color of the duvet. The muscles in her back flex idly as she shifts into a comfortable position.

Your hands trail over her spine as you hum, leaning down to place delicate kisses on her shoulder blades. You move to straddle Emily’s ass, the delicious pressure of your weight draws a deep mewl from her chest. You run your palms over her back, pressing into the muscles, massaging gently.

“Mm, that feels nice.” Emily mumbles, her voice stifled against her arm.

“I bet it does, baby.” You bend down, leaving sloppy kisses over the erogenous zones of her back. Emily hums, her fist clenching the pillow to steady herself from the tickle of your lips.

You let yourself fall onto your elbow, chest pressing against Emily’s back. Your nose brushes against her messy hair, breathing it in. She smells sweet and delectably like a woman, you press a kiss to the junction of her shoulder and neck.

Your hand travels down her sides, caressing her with a teasing softness. The same hand strides further down, coming to rest atop her ass. You squeeze it gently before slipping between her parted legs.

“Please…” Emily whimpers into the pillow, you press a few more wet kisses to the back of her neck.

“Please what, Emily?” Your breath is hot against the shell of her ear. You let your tongue flick out, swiping over the burning cartilage as you rub slow circles over her clit. Emily inhales sharply, the sensitivity between her legs reaching its zenith after her previous orgasm.

“I want it… want you. Please, Y/n.” Her voice trembles, hips rolling slightly in an attempt to gain more friction.

“You want my cock, baby?” Your vulgar words send a tangible chill down Emily’s spine, her back arching against the mattress, pushing her ass into the air to coarse your fingers back inside.

“Yes. God, yes.” You smile at Emily’s eagerness, pressing a few gingerly kisses to her sweat-dampened neck as you shift to mount her. You nudge your knees between Emily’s quivering thighs, urging them to spread further apart and accommodate you.

You reach across the mattress for the container of lube, flicking it open and squirting a sizable amount into your palm. You wrap your hand around the shaft, spreading the gel accordingly.

“How do you want it, Emily… hm?” Your hand presses into the base of her back, forcing her stomach into the mattress whilst your other hand steadies the base of the dildo, stoking it along her slick entrance. “Gentle… or merciless?” You just barely press the head of the cock inside before swiftly pulling out. Emily lets out a breathy moan, gripping desperately at the bedsheets while her contorted, open-mouthed face presses into the material.

“Answer me.” your torso bends over her, hand sliding from her lower back and up to the base of her neck. The hair at her nape sticks to the sweaty skin, it glistens as you brush her thick locks to the side and run your tongue over her protruding vertebrae.

“Slow first… I’ll let you know when I want more. I just need you inside me right now.” Emily gnarls through clenching teeth as her head turns to the side, eyes screwed shut and brows furrowed.

“Good girl.” You hum against the curve of her jaw, kissing it before sliding back into your previous position. A hand holding onto the curve of her ass as you bring the head of your cock back to her pussy, swiping it over her entrance before pressing forward, sinking in halfway before pausing and allowing her muscles to relax around the girth.

“Oh-” Emily gasps, the exquisite burn of the stretch settling deep inside of her belly.

Leaning over her once again, you begin slowly rolling your hips, bottoming out. Emily groans as your weight compresses her, the feeling of your hot skin sliding against her from behind fueling the blazing fire that's growing more and more with each thrust you give.

“Does that feel good, baby?” Your fingers tangle in the hair at the base of her neck, tugging on it just enough so her head would lift from the pillow but not enough for her to be uncomfortable.

“Feels so good… oh, fuck.” Emily’s face scrunches up as you hit that particular spot deep inside.

Wrapping your arm underneath her belly, you reach down to rub her clit as you pick up the pace. With every thrust, Emily whimpers. The soft, breathy noises are music to your ears, urging you on. Your knees press her thighs even further apart, eventually impelling her to lift onto her knees slightly, the new position allowing you to go even deeper.

“More-” Emily pants, her moans growing louder. You immediately oblige, gripping her shoulder and pulling her body into you, your pelvis slapping against her ass. Your other hand continues working her clit, pushing through the faint atrophy burning in your muscles.

Emily smiles as you fuck into her, jaw slack and face flushed. You can see the sweat beading at her temples, and the vein in her forehead protruding as she struggles to keep her breath.

“So pretty and taking my cock so well… you like it when I fuck you like this, Emily?” You growl into her ear, hips snapping at a nearly devastating pace.

“Yes- fuck… I love it.” Emily’s arm slips from under her pillow, darting out and landing on the back of your thigh, nails digging into the flesh.

You groan at the sharpness, your head falling against her shoulder. You can already feel your own orgasm building at the way the harness rubs ever so slightly against your clit. You don’t think you’ve ever been this turned on while doing your job, and she hasn’t even touched you. To be honest, she probably won’t need to. Just the sounds of her moans and the feeling of her body as you pound into her alone might just be enough to finish you off.

When thrusting from this angle begins getting a little too uncomfortable on your aching abdominal muscles, you slip from between her legs, pulling out of Emily completely.

She whines at the loss, her head whipping around to look at you.

“On your back...” Your hands grip her waist, flipping her over and quickly throwing her legs over your hips. “Wanna see your pretty face while I fuck you.” You smirk, sliding a bit more lube onto the strap.

Emily hums, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as she watches you. Her hands swipe through her messy hair before moving down to your knees, scraping her nails over them affectionately.

Lining yourself up with her pussy and pressing inside, slipping all the way to the base with ease. Emily arches off the bed with the intrusion, you lean down and press a kiss to her sweaty, flushed chest. Trailing them up to her clavicle and neck, but hovering over her lips as you start rolling into her again.

Emily’s mouth falls open in a silent moan, her breaths fanning across your lips. You hold her eyes with a deep stare, a hand coming to rest over her throat. A whimper falls from her as you press your fingers gently into her pulse points, her eyes fluttering closed.

“Look at me.” Her eyes shoot back open at the tone of your voice, deep and raspy. Moving your free hand to her lower belly, you press down slightly, feeling for the toy’s movements inside of her.

Emily lets put a guttural moan at the pressure, her ankles locking around your back, allowing less room for you to move back, only forward.

“Hmph- fuck, Y/n. I’m gonna cum, don’t stop- please, don’t stop.” Emily’s arms reach up for you, wrapping around your shoulders and holding you tight against her as you fuck into her ruthlessly. Her hand tangles into your hair as you suck at her neck, while the other claws at your shoulder blade.

Bringing your hand back up from her belly, you lick your fingertips, sliding them back down to her clit and rubbing sloppy circles over the bud as you lift your head, watching her face as she’s taken over with pleasure from your ministrations.

“Come on, baby… so good, so pretty like.. gonna come for me?” You whisper against her chapped lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her chin as she nods frantically. Unable to form the proper words. All that leaves Emily’s mouth are tiny little whimpers and moans as you fuck into her.

You keep up the pace until Emily’s body starts to tremble, and her pussy begins clenching around the toy, stifling your movement. Your hand holds its movements over her swollen clit as she falls over the edge for the second time tonight, her body twitching aggressively underneath you.

“Ohfuckohfuckohfuck-” Emily chants, her hand moving to grasp at your hand on her clit. Holding it still and pressing it down hard against the bud.

“Holy shit…” You breathe against her lips, eyes wide and body thrumming with adrenaline as you feel her body reacting to the pressure. You feel almost lightheaded as you lean in to kiss her, licking over her mouth before locking your lips together in a passionate embrace.

“You’re telling me…Jesus Christ-” Emily’s body falls limp, her belly twitching intermittently with aftershocks. You chuckle, kissing her bottom lip gently.

Emily sighs into the kiss, wrapping her arms around you once again. You don’t even care that the skin between you is drenched with sweat, your mind is simply clouded with visions of her. Of Emily.

‘You’re the Only Woman’ by Ambrosia plays softly in the background as you let your weight fall against her chest, catching your breath.

“Thank you… again.” Emily giggles, her hand petting the top of your head, her fingers running through the locks.

“It was my pleasure. Thank you.” You rest your head on your hand that’s propped up beside Emily’s head. Your eyes trail over her dazed face, admiring your handiwork. Her eye makeup- smudged, lipstick- gone, spread across her chin and cheeks and guaranteed that it’s also all over your face as well.

“What?” Her brows furrow in question.

“Nothing… you’re just beautiful.” You smile cheesily and Emily blushes, snorting at the compliment in disbelief.

“It’s true.” You swat at her shoulder, she gives you a sarcastic eye roll.

“How does a shower sound?” Emily asks, brushing a fallen lash from your cheek.

“As long as you’re in there with me… brilliant.” You smile, teasingly. Now it was Emily’s turn to swat at you.

“If you’re gonna fuck me in the shower, too, you’ve gotta give me a minute.” Her eyes sparkle as she smiles at you, and it has to be the most endearing thing you’ve ever witnessed.

“Okay…” You roll off of her, slipping the strap out of her gently. “You can recover while you give me one.” You shoot her a wink, climbing off the bed and walking towards the bathroom.

“Done.” Emily flies off the mattress at lightning speed, dragging you into the ensuite in a fit of giggles and kisses.

...

a/n: HII!! i hope you guys enjoyed reading... this shit took me forever to finish, but i am very happy with the finished product so... yeah

feel free to leave a comment or some constrcutive criticism!

Also lmk if you see any typos… i was so tired proofreading this.

#emily prentiss x reader #emily prentiss #paget brewster #ao3 #criminal minds #wlw smut #reader insert #grey haired emily prentiss #wlw #lesbian #emily prentiss x you #Emily Prentiss is needy and desperate

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chimneyz · 3 months ago

Text

"You don't find it, you make it"

Buck has lived with those words for years now, those words lived in the back of his mind for some time, honestly he nearly forgot about those words. But recently those words have resurfaced in his mind coming to the forefront. Buck stopped looking, knowing that it would never just stumble upon him, he had to make it. And he wanted to make it with Tommy.

Buck was never great at gifts for his partners, (family and friends were easy, partners on the other hand...) but Buck knew exactly what he was going to give to Tommy this Christmas.

It was June, Buck started to do his very delayed spring cleaning around his loft. (Who could blame him for doing it so late, his life has been a whirlwind and it just started to slow down) Luckily for him he actually had some help this year with it, Eddie and Maddie have refused to do so ever since he moved into the place. It's not like Buck needs the help, he's a grown adult, but it's nice to have the company. This year he had Tommy to help.

"Hey," Tommy smiled with a small peck of the lips while walking into Buck's apartment, "Eddie warned me to stay as far away as possible while you had a clipboard in your hands... should I be concerned?"

"What?" Buck scoffed, he's gonna have to have a word with Eddie when this was all over, "I am just proficient, there is nothing wrong with having an organized list!"

Buck grabbed Tommy by the hands leading him to the kitchen, "We are going to start at opposite ends and meet in the middle, I need you to first start with reorganizing the fridge. Here I made a crude chart of what it's supposed to look like." Buck shoved a clipboard into Tommy's hand-labeled 'kitchen', "And don't do it like how you have your fridge, it's a complete disaster, follow the instructions."

"There is something wrong with how I organize my fridge?" Tommy raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Buck exasperated, "Who puts raw chicken in the same compartment as their vegetables!"

"Oh I see what they meant about 'Clipboard Buck'," Tommy chuckled, "Not gonna lie Evan it's kind of hot."

"No, no flirting Mr. we have work that has to be done." Buck kissed Tommy on the cheek and headed up the stairs.

It's when Buck was cleaning up his closet when he found the scrapbook, he never knew why exactly he saved it, but there it is resting in the corner of the closet. Those fateful words now ringing in his mind over and over. Then it clicked, the light bulb over his head sprang to life. A scrapbook! It was perfect.

For the next few months, Buck would bring a camera with him wherever the two of them went, hiking, to the beach, a picnic, dinner dates, everywhere.

"Why do you keep bringing that camera with you? What exactly are you planning Evan?" Tommy asked one night.

"You'll see, you just have to be patient," Buck smirked.

He even took pictures on their casual days off, Tommy asleep in bed, Tommy cuddling with Buck on the couch, Tommy in the kitchen making morning coffee after a night of intimacy.

After a while, Buck took more pictures than he could count. By the beginning of autumn, Buck finally got the supplies for Tommy's Christmas present, he started putting it together piece by piece. It was a week and a half later Buck had the entire thing ready leaving space to add on more with a small note inside that read:

A while ago someone said you cannot find it, you have to make it, here it to our future and making us possible.

It was Christmas Eve when Buck walked into his loft alone. The 118 holiday party at Bobby and Athena’s new home filled him up with joy and laughter. He nearly forgot that he was supposed to be with someone else. He was looking forward to a day at Maddie and Chimney's home where he would spend even more time with his family. Another day to forget. But all of that rushed back to him as soon as he stepped foot in his loft. All he could think of was Tommy, his smile, his warmth, his laughter that he ached for. Tears started to sting his eyes as the door clicked behind him. He wondered if Tommy was thinking about him.

Buck rushed up the stairs, grabbed the wrapped scrapbook, and headed back downstairs. He grabbed the nearest bottle of liquor a small trash can and a few matches. Buck shivered in the oddly cool air on his balcony throwing the gift into the small metal can pouring the liquor over it. The small match ignited in Buck's hand after striking it across the side of the matchbox. He took a minute to look at the movement of the small flame, then dropped it into the small can.

Flames ate away at the glittery wrapping paper revealing the crinkly smile Buck yearned for underneath. The edges of the handmade book shrink to ash. Quickly, Buck grabbed the scrapbook unable to get go of it, his hands burned from the hot flames but he didn't care, to lose this would hurt even more. Buck dropped it on the ground stomping out the flames, in a pitiful tilt Buck gazed down at the book, gently picking it up and opening it. He went through the pages, the memories, tears started to stream down his face. Buck's body collapsed onto one of the outdoor chairs, flipping through the pages.

"I guess even making it doesn't work after all," Buck muttered choking on his tears.

#angsty holiday stuff #bucktommy #evan buckley #tommy kinard #911 #911 abc #911 fic #bucktommy fic #ficlet #mine #eds writes fics

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janeyseymour · 1 year ago

Note

If your still doing request, maybe Y/N is crushing on Melissa, and leaves her a secret admirer gift on Valentine’s Day, due to wanting Melissa to be happy/have some happiness after the whole Gary disaster.

stop i loved writing this one! thank you for the prompt! As per usual: not edited in the slightest and praying it's good enough!

When There is Love, There is Life...

WC: ~4.7k

Since Melissa broke up with Gary, she’s been… not herself. She’s been down and out, quiet, resigned. She doesn’t have her usual fire or bite that you’ve come to know and love. And you completely understand why. She was with Gary for a couple of years, and she was perfectly content with him (as much as that pained you to see). The redhead could see her spending the rest of her days with him as a boyfriend, life partner… whatever you wanted to label it as so long as that label wasn’t “husband”. She made that very clear. And then, like a fool, he went and ruined it despite the fact that she had told him she didn’t want to get married again. He proposed, and he lost her because of it. In that, she lost a piece of herself.

It didn’t help that Valentine’s day was just around the corner either. Perfect timing for a breakup that would be humiliatingly public and change her life more than she was willing to admit.

So when she isn’t quite herself, you understand why. Everyone at the school understands why she’s been different.

Your colleagues have all offered different supports for her. Barbara was there when she needed a glass of wine, Jacob and Janine were there when the second grade teacher wanted to cook for someone, Gregory had taken her to a kickboxing place where she could get her aggressions out, Mr. Johnson brought in bunch of old plates and bowls for her to destroy in any way she would choose (she chose her emotional support baseball bat), even Ava was able to help by taking her out to a club to dance.

What had you done? Not much else other than offer her gentle words of support and provide small, sweet gestures to remind her that she had a village to help take care of her. You promised her that it was all going to be okay. You gave her small, shy smiles when you felt that she needed one, and she had even come to you for a hug one day when she was in desperate need of physical touch and her work wife had taken off a bit early to attend a doctor’s appointment with her husband. If you noticed that she was dragging, you would take it upon yourself to make another pot of coffee and bring her a mug of the warm beverage just the way that she liked it prepared.

You were there for her in ways that were small to you, but they made the biggest differences to her. While she surely appreciated the things that everybody else did for it, it was a bit of a one and done kind of deal to offer their supports initially, but your kind and thoughtful actions carried on as the days passed on. It made her feel taken care of in a way that she hadn’t felt in a while, even when she was with Gary.

“Any plans for Valentine’s day?” Jacob asks the group one day during lunch, and you can see the way that Melissa’s face immediately turns solemn. You knew that her and Gary were going to go out to a nice steakhouse on the fourteenth, but that plan was obviously shot now that they weren’t together.

“Gregory and I are going out to BoneTown together since we’re both single,” Janine jumps in. “It’ll be… nice.”

“Nice,” Gregory hums. “Yeah.”

“Zach and I are going out to this one new tofu spot that I’ve been dying to try,” Jacob grins. “It’ll be good. Then we’ll probably head home and have a few glasses of wine before retiring for the night… What about you Barb?”

“Gerald and I are going back to that one restaurant at the airport that we liked so much last year,” Barbara tells the crew. “Melissa, you know you’re always welcome to join us.”

“I ain’t gonna crash your Valentine’s Day plans with Gerald,” she sighs softly. “I’ll Probably finish off a bottle of wine on my own. Don’t got much else to do these days.”

You lay a gentle hand over hers and attempt to pour as much comfort and love into that small gesture as you can. “I don’t really have plans either,” you shrug. “So if you want, we can have Galentine’s day and finish off a bottle of wine together.”

The redhead gives you a sad smile. “Thanks for the offer, hun.”

As the days leading up to Valentine’s Day come and go, you see the way that the rest of your colleagues get small little gestures from their partners. It’s sweet- it isn’t just one day to go all out and celebrate love, but instead a reminder that love is always around and that there should always be an appreciation for your partner through life. Even Gregory and Janine have gone back to flirting, and he’s doing small little things for her.

As Barbara gets a small bouquet of flowers delivered to her in the break room, you see the way that Melissa’s body deflates.

“Wow,” she whispers. “Those are gorgeous.”

You bite the inside of your cheek. You really don’t know how to make her feel better through this one, so you simply top off her coffee with a gentle squeeze of the shoulder.

She reaches up and sets her hand over yours with a sad, resigned, smile.

When lunch is over, you head back to your classroom with your kids and give them five minutes to regroup themselves before you begin your lessons again for the rest of the day.

And in those five minutes, you research different flower arrangements that you could possibly send to the redhead who is so down this season. You’re able to find a site that you like, and you bookmark it for later when the kids have gone home and you actually have time to go over the different selections that this place has to offer.

The rest of the day goes by relatively normally, with the slight hiccup of Jamal spilling his juice all over himself and having to go down to the nurse to get another change of clothes while you get on your hands and knees to wipe up the mess with the paper towels that never seem to absorb anything but only spread the liquid around instead. With a sigh, you simply throw a rather large wad of paper towels over the area and give up, telling your students to be especially careful in this area.

The kids leave for the day, giving you lots of hugs and thanks for teaching them that day, and as you see them out, you see the way that Melissa’s kids are doing the same to her. It warms your heart to see that beautiful smile that you haven’t seen quite as much of lately. She looks up, making eye contact with you with this emerald eyes of hers, before giving you a gentle smile and a nod of her head. She’s telling you she’s okay, at least right now. You give her a thumbs up with a bright, warm smile of your own before returning your attention to the last few stragglers in your classroom.

Usually, the redhead and you leave the school everyday almost right after the bell rings to dismiss the final wave of students; but not today. Today, you have to stay after school to look over the different flower arrangements that you could potentially get Melissa. You settle down back at your desk in the front of your room and start looking at the pre-made arrangements before you hear a gentle knock on your doorframe. You quickly flip the tab to your emails before glancing up.

“Hey,” Melissa says softly.

“Hey,” you smile at her.

“You staying late tonight?”

“Yeah,” you sigh dramatically. “I have a bunch of emails I have to reply to, and I’m prepping for this round of conferences,” you lie. You’ve already finished most of your conference preparations, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“Oh.” Her face drops, and you immediately feel bad. “Well, have a good night, Y/N.”

You stand from your chair and stretch, as if you’ve been sitting there for a while, even though she had seen you not ten minutes ago standing at your door with the kids. “I think I can spare a few moments to walk a pretty lady to her car though.”

You notice the way that her cheeks turn pink and she tucks a few hairs behind her ears shyly- it’s so unlike Melissa. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I insist,” you tell her as you make your way over to her and take one of her many bags for her.

The two of you walk out together and make small talk through the parking lot, exchanging a few words about your days, before you get to her car. She unlocks the door, and you open the door for her, gesturing for her to get inside. “My lady.”

“You’re too kind,” she says softly as she sets her purse into the passenger seat. You hand her her other bag and allow her to get situated before closing the door for her too.

“Have a good night, Mel,” you tell her. “And seriously, if you need someone tonight… because I know lunch was a little rough, please don’t hesitate to text or call. I always have my phone on me, and I’ll be there for you.”

Her eyes almost well with tears. They look a little glassy as she nods silently and turns her car on. “Thank you, hun. Have a good night too.”

With that, she pulls off out of the parking lot, and you head back into the school to continue looking at the different flowers.

You find two relatively small bouquets of flowers that you absolutely adore, but you want to do something special for her. So, and maybe this is overkill, you order three different arrangements: two smaller ones, and then one bigger custom one. She deserves to feel loved and special. You’ll give her the two smaller ones in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, and then on the big day, she’ll receive the specially made one for her. You just hope that she doesn’t find out it’s you who is giving her these flowers.

The next morning, you pick up the first flower order, and it’s perfect. It’s small, and sweet, and you know she’ll appreciate it. You print out a little note to go with it, knowing you can’t handwrite your note or she’ll figure you out right away.

You deserve to feel special, your note reads, you tie it to the bouquet with a little ribbon that you had brought into school, and you set it on her desk before she comes in for the day. Then you head down to the break room to brew a pot of coffee like you usually do and wait for the rest of your colleagues to make their way in.

Everyone has joined you at your selected tables to watch the news and drink your coffees when Melissa comes in, the flowers in hand.

“Wow, Melissa! Those are beautiful!” Barbara grins when she sees what the redhead is holding.

“They really are,” she looks back down at them, admiring them. The money you were spending was well worth it to see the happiness and spark come back into the redhead’s eyes, even if just for a few seconds. “I don’t know who they’re from though.”

She settles in next to you, her mug of coffee already prepared and waiting for her next to you, and you glance at the flowers.

“Wow, Mel,” you say softly. “They’re really pretty.”

“Was there a note?” Jacob asks.

“There was,” Melissa fiddles with it in her fingers, having untied it from around the flowers. She reads it out loud before sighing. “But there was no name attached to it.”

“Sounds like someone has a secret admirer!” Janine giggles. “Oh my goodness, this is so exciting!”

“Maybe it’s Gary trying to win you back,” the energetic second grade teacher suggests.

That makes Melissa think. Maybe it is. And you are not about to give yourself up, so you just set a gentle hand on Melissa’s shoulder and squeeze it gently.

“Whoever got those for you made a good choice,” you say softly.

The next morning, you execute the same thing that had yesterday with the other smaller bouquet you had bought, and again she brings them into the break room with her to watch the news. She looks so happy, it melts your heart. You’re so glad you can bring her some sort of happiness through this tough season of hers, even if she doesn’t know it’s you who is giving it to her.

“You deserve to feel loved,” Melissa reads the second note. “ But again, no name.”

And finally, one Valentine’s Day, you bring in the biggest bouquet that you had purchased. You can’t hide this one under your coat though, so when Mr. Johnson sees you walking in, you know you’ve been caught.

“Mr. J,” you plead as the two of you walk in the direction of Melissa’s classroom. “Please… don’t say anything. She doesn’t need to know it’s me.”

“I think she’d like to know who it is,” the janitor states.

“But I don’t want her finding out,” you say quietly. “I just want her to be happy and feel loved during this season, especially with the breakup being so new for her.”

“What do I get out of not telling her?” he questions.

You roll your eyes. You knew he would ask this question. “I’ll get you a gift card to buffalo wild wings- twenty bucks.”

“Make it twenty-five, and you got yourself a deal.”

“Fine,” you groan. “I’ll run out and grab it tonight, and you’ll have it by tomorrow, okay?”

“Oh, hell yeah!” he pumps his fist in the air victoriously before leaving you to do your thing.

This bouquet already has a special note written with it, so you can just drop them off in her room without having to prep anything. You set the bouquet on her desk again before making sure the little card is visible. And then you practically sprint off in the direction of your own room. You really do have to get things prepared in there for the class party before you make your way down to the staff room like you usually do.

When you get there, everyone else is already there, including Melissa- and she has her flowers with her and the note.

“Y/N!” Janine calls you over. “You’re just in time to hear what Melissa’s secret admirer has to say about this bouquet!”

With eyebrows raised, you make your way over to the coffee pot to pour yours and the redhead’s coffee and make it up.

“When there is love, there is life, and you deserve it all,” the redhead reads softly, a smile on her face.

“Oh, that is so kind of whoever this is,” Barbara notes.

“Seriously! Those flowers are absolutely stunning,” Janine states.

“And I love that this person didn’t just go for a dozen red roses,” Gregory tells her. “All of these flowers mean different things, I don’t know if the person who got this for you knew that or not, but…”

“What do they mean?” Melissa’s interest is piqued.

Shit. You forgot Gregory loves any sort of plants- of course he would know the different meanings behind the flowers you picked out for your little crush.

“Well,” he says as he takes a closer look at the arrangement. “The yellow roses signify friendship, while the white ones mean purity. The yellow roses that turns red at the ends shows friendship turning into love. The pink carnations show that this person will never forget you, while the daffodils symbolize rebirth and new beginnings. Hydrangeas show gratitude and deep understanding. And finally, the baby’s breath that is used to surround all of the other flowers shows innocence and hope.”

“Wow,” Jacob breathes softly. “That’s so… romantic.”

“If the person knew that’s what those all meant,” you say from your place next to Melissa. You knew all of this- you had done your research.

“So, what do you think this person is trying to say?” Janine asks, rocking back and forth on her toes.

“If I had to guess,” Gregory scratches the back of his neck. “This person is trying to tell Melissa that they started off as friends, but it’s turned into a pure and innocent sort of romance? Like they have a deep understanding that this is probably not the best time, but they will never forget her, they have hope for the future, and they are just grateful to have Melissa in their life in any way possible.”

Fuck. Gregory just said everything you were trying to subtly convey to the redheaded second grade teacher through flowers. Fuck. If she finds out it’s you… you’re screwed.

They don’t find out who you are today, and come the end of the day, you and Melissa walk out together as you usually do. She is happy, even doing a little dance as she leaves the building, holding the flowers closely to her. You’ve taken it upon yourself to carry the rest of her things for her, despite her protests.

“You have to make sure those flowers get home safely,” you chuckle as you wave her off. You place her things in her car before giving her a gentle pat on the back.

“I’ll see you a little later?” she asks.

“I’ll be there to enjoy some delicious Italian made by my favorite person,” you tell her. “Am I bringing red or white tonight? Maybe a bottle of champagne?”

“Chianti,” she tells you. “And maybe a dessert wine for after?”

“You got it,” you grin at her. “I’ll see you at 5:30.”

When you knock on her door, you can hear her having a very loud conversation over the phone.

“No, Gare,” she’s protesting loudly into the phone as she opens the door and invites you in. She holds up one finger, quietly requesting for a few minutes. “No! I do not want to get back together!”

“Then why did you call?!” he shouts back.

“Because I was tryna figure out who got me these flowers, and you’re the type of guy to make some grand gesture like this to get me back!”

“Well, it wasn’t me, but it sounds like you want to get back together!”

“I thought I made it clear, I didn’t!” She hangs up angrily before hurling her phone halfway across the room. It lands on the couch before bouncing off and hitting the floor.

“You okay?” you ask, although you very much know the answer.

“Fuckin’ men,” she shouts as she retrieves her phone and stuffs it into her back pocket. She takes a deep breath before looking at you. “I’m better now that you’re here.”

“Still haven’t figured out who your secret admirer is?” you tease.

“No,” she grumbles as she leads you into the kitchen. It smells amazing. “And it’s drivin’ me up a damned wall. Whoever this person is, I just want to know so I can thank them.”

You almost reveal yourself there, but you remember what Gregory had said earlier in the day, and you don’t want to make a fool out of yourself right now. So you just shrug and gesture for her to open the wine.

The two of you have a nice, quiet night in eating delicious food, drinking good wine, and then watching a few romance comedy movies together. It’s nice, it’s sweet, it’s pure… it’s domestic the way that she has a blanket draped over the two of you while you lay your head in her lap and she feeds the chocolate covered strawberries she had made for dessert.

But finally, you sigh. “I should probably get going with school tomorrow.”

She frowns. Melissa is clearly enjoying tonight with you, and you have to throw in the towel because of work tomorrow. “Yeah, I guess I should probably head up for the night too.”

You sit up with her help and start to grab your things. She watches as your figure sways back and forth, somewhat from the wine and somewhat from not having stood for hours.

“You okay?” she chuckles.

You shake your legs out. “All good. Don’t worry about me, Mel.” You make your way over to her once you have your bag around you. She stands and embraces you for a few minutes, and you allow her perfume to wash over you.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mel,” you whisper as you pull away.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, hun,” she smiles at you. “Thank you for coming over.”

“Of course,” you beam back at her as you head for the door. You make your way out and are halfway to your car before you hear the front door open again, and she’s calling out to you.

“Text me when I know you’re home safe?”

You spin around to give her a thumbs up with a goofy grin on your face before you climb into your car. She watches you pull off, and you make sure you remember to text her when you get home.

“I still don’t know,” Melissa says quietly in the break room the next day. “Did you see anyone Ava?”

The principal is drinking her hangover elixir, sunglasses still on her face. “Girl, you know I get here way after you guys… otherwise I woulda been all over this secret admirer stuff before today.”

“How hungover are you?” the redhead eyes the woman.

“Valentine’s Day? More like Valentine’s week. You know this entire week I’ve been wined, dined and-”

“Please, God… don’t finish that sentence,” Barbara cuts off Ava. The principal just smirks.

“But, if you really are curious, maybe we can see what flower company was delivering these to your room to figure out who this admirer is,” Ava grins.

“And how the hell are we gonna do that?” Melissa looks at her incredulously.

“Girl, I got cameras all over this joint,” the hungover woman grins. “Come down at my prep. I’ll be less hungover, and feel more inclined to help.”

“Thank you, Ava,” the second grade teacher looks mildly impressed with her boss’s willingness to help. “Hey, has anyone seen Y/N yet today?”

“Her car wasn’t in the lot when I pulled in… weird,” Jacob hums.

You rush in frantically. “Hey, hey,” you wave. “Sorry I’m late… got a flat tire, had to change it on Girard, and then got stuck in some traffic.” You make your way over to the sink to clean off your dirty hands.

“Girl, you ain’t late,” Ava laughs. “You’re still twenty minutes early.”

“Why were you on Girard?” Melissa questions. “You usually come from the opposite direction.”

The truth is, you had to go pick up that gift card you promised the custodian for keeping your secret, but you can’t tell her that.

“Late for me,” you sigh, ignoring the redhead’s question. “You know I like to get here at least an hour in advance to prep for the day. Now, because I’m late, I’m gonna have to skip out on watching the news with you guys, but let me know if there’s anything worth hearing about.”

You slip your lunch into the fridge (leftovers from last night) before dashing out to your classroom.

On your way to your room, you hand Mr. Johnson his promised gift card, and he grins. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” you tell him earnestly before going into your room. Only then do you realize that you entirely forgot to pour yourself a cup of coffee.

You get that mug of coffee about twenty minutes later, after the news segment is over and your colleagues are heading back to their classrooms. You hear a gentle knock on your doorframe, making you look up. Melissa is standing there with two mugs filled to the brim with coffee.

“Thought you might need this,” the redhead chuckles as she hands the mug to you. You let your fingers wrap around it, and the warmth radiating from the cup and from the sweet gesture sooth your somewhat frazzled soul right now.

“Thank you,” you smile at her before taking a sip.

“Of course.”

Your morning goes by with no hitches, and you silently thank God for that as you walk your children down to the music room. You don’t think you could handle another crisis today.

Melissa gives you a small smile and wave as she also takes her class to their special- gym class. You hear her tell her little eagles to behave before she heads into the office. That’s odd; the two of you usually spend your preps together, but maybe she has a meeting with Ava or has to make copies and she’ll be down to your room after.

“Hey,” the redhead knocks on Ava’s door and makes her way in.

“Girl, you gotta see this,” the principal leans back in her chair and turns the monitor for Melissa to see more easily.

When the redhead gets to where she can see the screen, Ava already has the security footage up and on the camera that is in the hallway to where your rooms are. She sees you heading into her own classroom- the first small bouquet of flowers in your hand. The principal fast forwards to the next day around the same time, and there you are with the second small bouquet of flowers. And then she fast forwards to yesterday, and you’re chatting with Mr. Johnson while holding the gigantic bouquet of flowers.

Ava turns the sound on, and the redhead can hear you pleading to not give you up.

“Wow,” Melissa whispers. She bites her lip nervously. “Thank you.”

“I got you girl,” Ava tosses her hair over her shoulder. “What you gonna do about this?”

At that, the redhead purses her lips in thought. She doesn’t really know. “Thank her, I guess.”

As Melissa makes her way down to your room, she really doesn’t know what she’s going to do. But before she knows it, she’s at your door and making her way into the classroom. You look up from your computer to give her a bright smile.

“Hey,” you smile as you bring your coffee cup up to your lips and take a sip.

“Thank you,” Melissa says softly as she perches herself on your desk.

“For?” you raise a brow.

“The flowers,” she smiles as she reaches forward and squeezes your shoulder.

You blush deeply. “H-how?”

“Oh,” the redhead laughs quietly. “I have my ways… Ava has security cameras and we saw you putting them in my room.”

“Dammit,” you grumble.

“That was really sweet of you,” Melissa tells you quietly. “Thank you. Seriously.”

You turn a violent shade of red. “Uh, yeah. No problem. I meant what I said in my notes: You deserve to feel loved. You deserve to feel special. When there is love, there is life, and you deserve it all.”

“If you meant all that,” Melissa hums. “Did you… mean all the things Gregory thought you meant?”

If possible, you blush even more, feeling it spread from just your face to your ears and your chest.

“Did ya?”

You nod sheepishly. “But I know with everything that’s happened recently… and I really am just grateful to have you in my life, however that is.”

She gives you a gentle squeeze of the shoulder before leaning in and pecking your cheek softly.

You feel that spot burning, but you couldn’t be happier.

“I do like you, you know,” she says softly. “You being here is part of the reason I broke it off with Gary.”

“What?” your jaw drops.

“You’ve always been special… but I just don’t think now is a great time,” Melissa admits quietly.

You nod solemnly.

“But I think that with time,” she says quickly. “If you’re willing to wait… although I know that isn’t really fair of me to ask of you.”

“I’m willing to wait,” you whisper. “You’re worth it.”

#melissa schemmenti #melissa schemmenti fanfic #melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti x you #abbott elementary fanfic #abbott elementary fanfiction #abbott elementary

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rekino2114 · 2 months ago

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Wearing Christmas sweaters with nobara kugisaki

Holiday post #4

Pairing:nobara kugisaki x gn reader/maki x yuta

A/n:I have actually never worn a Christmas sweater, I barely have any actual sweaters, which is ironic cause I'm always cold. (I don't really like this too much, I don't know why I just didn't feel the best while writing this)

It was a cold winter day at jujutsu high, the Christmas spirit was in the air, and the student didn't have anything to do because of winter break. They were mostly preparing for the upcoming holiday

Yuji was setting up the tree in his dorm, gojo was preparing the presents for his students, and toge was hanging up the mistletoe to make yuta and maki kiss.

Meanwhile you and your girlfriend were....

"Do I really have to wear this?"

"Come on it'll be just for a while"

You look down at the Christmas sweater you were wearing, not only did it look.......not good, it also felt uncomfortable to wear

"It's so itchy though"

"Do you think mine's not? Just get over it"

"Why are we wearing it anyway? It doesn't look like your style"

Nobara glared at you and you started to sweat

"I-i mean you always look beautiful this just doesn't look like something you'd wear, why are you?.........and why are you making me wear it?"

"Cause we're matching"

"Huh?"

"Don't you know? Couples do it all the time. We do it all the time"

"Yeah I know, but......with Christmas sweaters?"

"It's cute, yuta and maki are gonna match too and I didn't want us to be left out"

".......I see"

"Plus, I'm gonna post some pics online, and we're gonna look cute"

"Fine I guess I can do it if it's for you"

You saw nobara smile at you and kiss your cheek

"I knew you were gonna come around, now help me take the pictures, no way I'm doing it alone with the itching"

You looked at her with a deadpan expression but sighed and ended up helping her.

After doing that, you two walked out of your dorm and ran into everyone else, chilling in the classroom, which was decorated to fit the Christmas them

"Oh hey-.........."

"What is it yuji? You got something to say?"

"N-no nothing.......but that sweater-"

The straw doll technique user suddenly got closer to yuji and glared at him making him scared

"....what about it?"

"N-NOTHING like I said absolutely nothing"

"Good"

"Why are you so shocked about it? You're wearing one too"

"Yeah but.......nobara wearing one"

".......I suppose you're not wrong there"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing!"

As you and the other first years were talking the second years walk in the classroom and look at you

"Oh hi, why are you here?"

"Gojo-sensei told us to come here"

"He said he had a surprise or something and we had to wait for him here"

"Oh I see"

Inumaki and panda went to talk with megumi and yuji and meanwhile you and nobara decided to strike a conversation with maki and yuta

"Hi maki, me and y/n decided to match just like you two"

"Oh OK I guess"

"Isn't it cute?"

"........I don't know to be honest it was yuta who forced me to wear this"

"............really?"

"I thought it would be cute"

"That's what I thought too"

The special grade and nobara started talking to each other while you and maki exchanged a look of understanding

"Oh I see you're all here, great!"

You all turned to see gojo come in through the door wearing a Santa hat and with a big pile of presents in his hands

"To celebrate Christmas, your amazing teacher, satoru gojo, has decided to get you all gifts!"

You all gasped and went towards the boxes that he dropped on the ground, you grabbed the one labeled "y/n" while nobara took her own

"I wonder what he got us"

"Probably something stupid knowing him"

You started unwrapping the present and gasped seeing something you wanted for a long time. However, your gasp was far quieter than nobara's, who found a beautiful dress inside of her gift

"Oh my God! It's beautiful"

"That's right! Don't I deserve a thanks?"

"............no"

She immediately grabbed the dress and started walking away

"Where are you going babe?"

"To put this on of course"

"Wait......what about the sweater?"

"Hm?"

"You made me wear this for nothing?"

".........sorry"

"It's fine, so can I take it off?"

"Yeah of course"

"Just put on something cute cause we're having karaoke tonight"

"What?"

"I'm not going"

"Well too late cause you have to or I'm taking your gifts back, it's my my money after all"

All of the students groaned as you got up and started walking towards your dorm, you gave a kiss on the cheek to nobara when you arrived where she was and went to change into something more comfortable and beautiful to impress her

#jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #x reader #jjk x reader #jjk #nobara kugisaki x reader #nobara x reader #nobara kugisaki #gn reader #nobara

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dinogoofymutated · 6 months ago

Note

“We are a couple, yes? I was under the impression you wanted to take things slowly.” He smiles. You think back to every time he walked you to your room, or helped you in the kitchen, or brought you gifts, and wonder if you really had been missing all the signs to the point where you were clueless about your own romantic relationship with him.” -That one fic where Y/N ogles at farmboy Piotr (ALSO WDYM SUNDRESS)

“You know, I get that we’re on two different sides of things- but you know that the school’s doors are always open to those who need it, right?” You ask, late one night after he had crawled into bed by your side. You were facing him, hand curling on the pillow an inch away from his face, fighting the urge to brush his bangs away from his forehead. Immediately, he has a negative reaction to it. He scowls, recoiling away from you as he glares. You know it should hurt worse than it does, but all you can see is the hurt he's feeling right now.” - Enemies to lovers Pietro

And that one where Morph turns into Warren in a bar, I LOVE those parts

HECK YEAH OKAY SO

1. Piotr legit just thought they were dating the entire time. I know that technically he's a little more blunt and would ask/bring up dating before deciding they're a couple, but for this fic I really wanted to do that one trope so I wrote it in like he just assumed they were together and didn't have a label yet. He knows how nervous and flighty she can be around him and although she hasn't said anything, it's pretty clear to him that she likes him a lot. So he just assumed they they were a couple and she just needed some time to relax around him before they got to the smoochy stuff!!

As for the sundress, it's written In the actual hc parts in like one scentance and then later at the ending but it was originally supposed to be more prominent in the fic!! I just ran out of steam lol. In the original outline, I was gonna have him pull her into his lap while she's struggling for her words (the "I am listening" part) and be distracting her by running his hands up her thighs. It was so cute but I thought that it would be too forward for him to do seeing as he's waited the whole time to be in her comfort level.

2. THE PIETRO FIC GOD I LOVE THAT ONE SO MUCH ITS MY PRIDE AN JOY. My brainchild I'll never have the energy to make into a full fic!! The behind the scenes for this is that Pietro has been getting way in over his head with shit, and every time he returns to reader's room they get closer and closer. Atp he's kinda ignoring the romantic tension because he's just after some comfort. His crawling into her bed to just sleep or cuddle or feel safe is a regular thing by then, and it's starting to make them really worried about Pietro because it's obvious he only goes to her when he's upset (which he is frequently. Totally not over petty things. Definitely not bc he needs an excuse to see her.)

I love writing cherik parallels in their relationship because there's something so tragic about desperately trying to reach someone and let them know that you'd fistfight their demons bare-handed to help them heal, and yet it's those same demons that keep them away from you and make them think you're just there to pity them.

3. THE MORPH FIC ASDGSHAJAJAJ to be honest the behind the scenes for that one was just because I wanted to show how morph projects/Handles their insecurities!! They're trying to "test the waters" and try to find out what the reader's type is because maybe if he becomes more like that type he won't risk the reader leaving (which obs we wouldn't)

(Also I love warren so cameo)

#goofyspeaks #behind the scenes #fic thoughts #x men #x men comics #x men 97 #x men headcannons #x men 97 x reader #x men x reader #morph x reader #quicksilver x reader #colossus x reader

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writingseaslugs · 2 years ago

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Diasomnia: When They're Sick

Ahhhhhh finally! This dorm actually took the longest because I kept getting side tracked with other things. Took me two days to write it. I blame my friend, Em. We had write night and we couldn’t stop talking long enough for me to write these. I got midway through Lilia before giving up.

Disclaimer: All characters in this series are aged up. For more information about my version of this world and the type of reader you can expect, please click the “Au Information” below!

Request Information | Masterlist | Au Information

Diasomnia: When They’re Sick

Fae sickness was something that was vastly different from the kind that humans experience. It’s normally stronger and makes the person infected feel like a zombie. Thankfully the virus doesn’t circulate too often, but when it does it comes through like a hurricane. All it takes is for one person to visit Briar Valley when it’s going around and then come back to the dorm and everyone who can get it is sick. Sadly this happened and to say that everyone was in the dorm was suffering was an understatement. Even the humans were getting sick from flu season…overall not the best time to be visiting Diasomnia.

Malleus Draconia

Malleus hadn’t been sick in a hot minute…how long we’ll never know. It just never really happened to the Dragon Fae. So when he did come down with a surprise flu that was exclusive to Fae, it caused a bit of an uproar in Diasomnia. Most students were told to keep quiet about the situation, but it didn’t stop rumors from spreading as Malleus began missing some classes. Sebek was tense while going to school and Lilia, for the most part, also wasn’t attending classes so he could care of the prince.

Lilia is the one who actually shows up to your dorm room to inform you about Malleus’s condition. He isn’t very subtle about it either, in fact he was a bit over dramatic as to how bad off Malleus was. Now at this point, the worst of his illness is gone. Lilia wasn’t about to drag you in for that shit show that was the first few days of the fae flu, but he is dragging you in on the last few days in order to help Malleus feel better emotionally. Poor dragon boy has been stuck inside his room not being able to do much, and it caused him to be restless. The moment he sees you appear in his room his entire day has already brightened up.

Malleus has no issues taking medicine, though what he takes is certainly not something you’d be used to. The glowing liquid in the vial looks almost alien as you hand it over to him. There were several lined up, all labeled according to when he had to take them. It was odd seeing him chug the glowing liquid since it was still glowing in his neck as he took it, only to fade out when it got past the neck. Apparently it was special medicine made in Briar Valley that was specially made to help combat the flu.

Please do him a favor and make something for him to eat…please. Lilia has been in charge of bringing him his meals, so some of them have been unique. Granted, Lilia did try following the recipes this time around to make sure Malleus didn’t get worse from his cooking, but they can only help so much. Lilia can’t help but think “Maybe if I add this it’ll help him feel better faster.” which ended up in a vile concoction. So please bring him something good to eat so he can have a palate cleanser. He’ll probably be asking if you can stay until he’s better just so he doesn’t have to eat another of Lilia's specialty meals.

You’re going to be receiving random gifts at your home as soon as he’s better, along with several letters. Chivalry isn’t dead when it comes to the dragon fae, and he’s making it known that he appreciates what you’ve done. You’re never going to find out about the earlier stages of him being sick though, so don’t worry. That’s something that you probably will never see in your lifetime if he has anything to say about it.

Lilia Vanrouge

Lilia is also someone who doesn’t get sick very often; the last time he did was before Malleus was even born. So to say he was shocked when he began feeling sickly was an understatement. He knew exactly what was going on too, he had the fae flu a few times in the past, and it’s a feeling you never forget. So he’s already getting medicine prepared and telling everyone that he’s going to be taking time away from classes for maybe a week or two.

Lilia originally wasn’t going to be dragging you into this, but when you found out from Malleus that Lilia was acting strange and isolating himself in his room, you were curious. Lilia was in his room, covered in tissues with a red nose and watery eyes, staring at the ceiling. He didn’t even notice you had come in, which says something. Of course he’s going to accept help even if it does pain him to let you see him like this, but he isn’t exactly able to do much himself at the moment.

Once he has you taking care of him, he’s going to be so happy and be far more of a big baby than he was earlier. He now has you to give him medicine and attention, and he’s living for it. He’s never actually had anyone taking care of him while he was sick, so this is new and pleasant for him. He’s going to be over the moon but also extra needy as he begs for an extra dose of medicine even though he had some like five minutes ago. You’re going to have to remind him to let it kick in, but he can’t help the whining. It’s so fun watching your facial expressions and despite being sick, he still needs to mess with you somehow.

This is the only time he might complain; and it’s not even for the reasons you think. He’ll take one bite of your food and comment he can’t taste anything, before asking for you to take him to the kitchen so he can add flavor. Don’t. Let. Him. Absolutely don’t let him even leave the room, he’s contagious and he’s aware, but he also really wants something with a strong taste so it’s a mix of emotions. Just let him know you’ll see what you can do and maybe grab something that’s…different to put into his meal next. It doesn't have to be good, it just has to be unique.

Once he’s better he is so hyped to be able to hang out with you again. He’s going to be jumping off the walls and thanking you for being such a good caretaker for the poor, old Bat. Silver, Malleus, and Sebek will also be thankful to you for helping Lilia, since he refused to let any of them see him while he was sick. He apparently didn’t even let Silver into the room, despite knowing he wouldn’t be able to catch whatever he had. Lilia didn’t want anyone to see him so weak and frail, but you guess since you came in unannounced he didn’t have much of a choice.

Silver

Silver clearly can’t get a disease that targets fae, but that doesn't mean he can’t still get a cold. Falling asleep in random places can really ruin someone’s health, and Silver is no exception. He fell asleep outside and it got a bit too late, a little bit too cold. The next thing he knew he had a horrible cold and a raging headache that wouldn’t go away. So he did what was best and went to his room and tried to sleep it off without a second thought.

Silver in the past was always able to get over colds very fast, so Lilia never was too worried when he found out Silver was under the weather. You, on the other hand, were very concerned. If Silver just slept it off, then he might get better, but it was best to treat the cold as best you could. After all, colds could turn to pneumonia in the blink of an eye, and that can literally kill a human. Somehow this passed by Lilia’s knowledge so he never cared too much, but after you express this concern he goes full dad mode. He doesn't know much about treating humans though, so you’re the one leading the way. Thankfully Silver is too out of it to protest.

Silver will take whatever you give him judging by how he’s half asleep when you’re there. Whenever he’s sick he’s extra tired and literally can barely keep himself awake. It’s extremely concerning but Lilia swears it’s how he’s always been. Silver might be able to thank you while he’s half asleep, but that’s about it. Thankfully the taste doesn’t get to him while he’s in this state, so no worries about him spitting out the medicine or fighting due to the flavor.

This is the most challenging part about him being sick. Again…he can barely keep himself conscious. Just getting him to sit upright to have a meal is a struggle. You’re basically spoon feeding him as he begins dozing off every couple of seconds. You need to make sure he doesn’t drown in his soup. At one point, smelling salts actually do sound like a rather good idea to use on him. It’s going to take a solid hour for him to finish whatever meal you bring to him, but at least he’s eaten something. Normally when it’s just Lilia, he won’t eat until he’s all better. Small improvements are still improvements!

Silver hardly remembers being sick, but he does recall glimpses of you between his fever dreams. Once he’s back, he’ll be thanking you and asking if you’d like to go on a walk. It’s just his way of saying thanks. The walk is mainly so all the forest animals will run up and greet you guys, since they were all concerned once Silver was gone. The animals and Silver are very grateful for the efforts you put forward to assisting him in getting better. While he can’t promise he’ll be able to give the same care for you, he can at least say he’ll do his best if you ever fall ill.

Sebek Zigvolt

Sebek, out of everyone, is the worst when it comes to denying he’s sick. He could literally pass out from exhaustion from his illness, and he’d get back up and apologize for his displays in front of Malleus. Lilia is the one telling Sebek he needs to rest, and the only way Sebek will is if Lilia reminds him that his illness is contagious and could make Malleus ill. So of course this leads Sebek to going to another extreme and barricading himself in his dorm room so that no germs can get out. This makes it hard for anyone but Lilia to get in to check on him.

He refuses to let a human help him; you have no idea what a fae illness is. How could you possibly help? Wait…Malleus personally asked you to come help nurse him back to help since you can’t catch whatever it is he has? Why of course, Lord Malleus is so generous and he needs his guard back as soon as possible, so it makes sense he’d send a servant to help him. Just remind him you aren’t a servant and you’re here because you care for him. He will get flustered but will do his best after he is finally open to you helping him out.

Medicine is something that he’s not super stoked on taking, but if Lilia bought it, then he’ll take it. He will give you the side eye if you stare at him while taking it and ask what’s so interesting about it. When he grimaces it’s a bit funny with how his face scrunches up and he quickly tries to conceal it. You caught it though, it was so obvious that he disliked the taste and it was oh so adorable.

He’s not super picky when it comes to the stuff he eats while sick, as long as Lilia hasn’t touched it. He might even comment that it tastes good for something a human managed to cook up. That’s him secretly saying that it tastes amazing and he loves it, he’s just not going to say all of that out loud. He does prefer it if the meals will help him get better faster though, so keep that in mind. He also wants a lot of protein to be in it so he doesn’t lose bulk, because he might still be trying to work out while sick. Smack him over the head and tell him to take a chill pill and relax. If need be, get Lilia to do it for you. He needs rest and it’s not something he’s good at.

Once he’s better he’ll thank you out of obligation, because Lilia literally won’t let him go without saying it. He might even be blushing but he’s going to have to add something to make it into a subtle insult. “You played a good nurse…well for a human at least.” at least it’s something. Just inform him that it wasn’t for free and the next time you’re sick, he’s the one giving you medicine and home cooked meals. He can’t even say he won’t. He can’t be indebted to a human, after all.

#Twisted Wonderland #Twisted Wonderland x Reader #TWST #TWST x Reader #TWST Wonderland #Twisted Wonderland Disney #TWST Disney #Malleus Draconia #Malleus Draconia x Reader #Malleus x Reader #Lilia Vanrouge #Lilia Vanrouge x Reader #Lilia x Reader #Silver x Reader #TWST Silver #Twisted Wonderland Silver #Sebek Zigvolt #Sebek Zigvolt x Reader #Sebek x Reader

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frances-kafka · 2 years ago

Text

So, if you want to understand the history of ND stuff in any useful kind of way you have to know that we talked about these things differently. Gen Xrs have a different generational experience and Boomers' is different still.

Prior to the 80s, NDs were really not a thing. The optic was almost entirely in terms of learning disability and intellectual impairment in the 70s.

ADHD - not autism - is really the first we see of anything resembling the modern ND consciousness, as "autistic" was a label reserved for children presenting with severe disability or at minimum, delay.

Autism in the 70s and 80s and before was not culturally adjacent to ADHD or giftedness, it was adjacent to conditions of severe intellectual impairment.

It's possible to be an 80s ADHD labeled autistic who gets good interventions *because lots of how ADHD was understood at the time, got absorbed by autism later.*

This is basically my story as a matter of fact, a lot of helpful support I got early was via the ADHD pipeline, and so ADHD *is* my "recognized early enough to get meaningful self understanding and meaningful support* narrative, which is a big reason I was ABLE to shrug off autism as a label for about 15 years, until the changing autism stereotypes caught up with me.

ADHD and early issues with visible LD etc are WHY I didn't end up in the "normal until hospitalized" optic that some autistics I knew ended up in, if they had *only* been seen as gifted. I was very aware of my stuff very early even if it was called something else and even if it will be called something else in the future, and it shaped my social choices, my career choices, etc.

Also there was the optic to Boomers and older that you really could just be a "normal" person or even a high performing "genius" who was just "a little slow as a kid." (There are many historical figures this actually applies to. "A little slow as a kid" may just be within a *normal* range of child development.) This is actually part of where many Boomers are coming from when they think a certain degree of autism is just normal.

Early labels in adults (whom we would now understand as high masking ASD-1) were more personal history than identity.

To Boomers and older, you were "mentally well" until you presented "mentally ill." There really wasn't anything like being ND as we presently understand. Also, the *very same optics* that got boys seen as gifted, invested lots of time and support into, etc, got girls into the clinical pipeline early. The real dx discrepancy between girls and boys in my generation and older is the degree to which cis het white rich boys were just allowed to not be anything at all while girls were immediately tagged as mentally ill or developmentally disabled with the very same presentation, even within the same family. My grandmother who was a victim of this, and heavily and deeply abused from early childhood, is the sister of my physicist uncle who was on the Manhattan Project and was odd but successful, had a wife and family, never labeled anything at all.

Lots of people we now see as autistic were just considered normal gifted people who then had a "nervous breakdown" after high school/entering the adult world.

It was possible to be totally ego-syntonic as an odd person until diagnosis, if you were in the 80s gifted pipeline, because if you were in a social set that was actually ALLOWED to be intelligent let alone gifted in the first place (i.e., an upper middle class person, with more weirdness optic allowed for boys) you likely weren't going to be diagnosed with ANYTHING unless you were Weird with a Capital W.

That I had any kind of optic besides just being Gifted is *because* despite high IQ, I was a poor academic performer, and *couldn't* mask well inside a school setting.

These are people without even that optic.

They literally were just seen as gifted, and it was assumed that - of course - highly gifted people were a little weird. Gifted optic in school meant access to a whole different social and academic pipeline consisting hugely of other people we would now understand as ND, so it's actually possible to come out of that being totally ego-syntonic, and never ever even seek diagnosis until something breaks.

If you're like my ex husband who ended up just going away to sea for years, and then becoming a programmer in a basement at a university, you might never get diagnosed with anything, especially if you never see yourself as the problem in any of your interpersonal interactions, and that was a FAR more common optic with gifted white Gen X and Jones ASD-1 boys than early dx was.

The thing for my generation isnt the degree to which boys were diagnosed over girls... quite the opposite, it's the degree to which smart white rich boys were just *allowed* to be odd and given tons of concessions *without* being labeled ANYTHING, because of the degree to which the culture saw that boy was probably a future curer of cancer or a future astronaut.

A chunk of the "NT [more likely, high masking autist] woman miserably married to ASD man" narrative on those websites like FAAAS is actually referring to men who don't have any diagnostic label whatsoever and don't understand themselves as the problem, if you actually read the stories.

Those guys don't get diagnosed until something actually breaks - like, their wife hauls them into couples counseling, or they have finally exhausted their supply of good will (many social compensations of gifted children stop working past one's 20s and that's actually when my dx happened too).

Interpersonal problems weren't enough for dx unless they actually bothered a person enough to seek help. Something has to break. You don't end up with a diagnosis because you're happy and adjusted, no matter how odd you are.

Please ask Boomers about nervous breakdowns because half the time this is referring to what we now understand as autistic burnout.

#i have a lot of thermonuclear takes tbh and don't feel autism is going to be a meaningful term in 20 years #the map is not the terrain

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spinninhavs · 8 months ago

Note

hii, how are you?? i've got a req for you to write! (the explanation is a little long please bare with me) anyways to sum it up, its kinda based of the song casual by doja cat. if you dont really the idea i think you'll kinda get it once you listen to the song, (and im not really good at writing) but to sum it up, reader and chris have got a situationship, or like their just casually hooking up w/ eachother (i dont know what the label is 😭😭) but they act like lovebirds tg, like im talking cuddling when their watching a movie w the boys, getting eachother gifts, ALL that mushy cute shit.. chris realizes that he's inlove w/ reader, and y'know how hes like afraid of commitment and proper relationships? so instead of telling her that he is, he avoids her for like 2 days,and tries to fuck with someone else to forget about her for a bit. when she comes into the house to hangout with nick, she hears him fucking another chick, and she gets JEALOUSS let me tell you. she pulls that poor girl out of the room, telling her to get dressed and when the girl leaves she starts going off at chris (gettin a lil angsty). but like the whole point of me wanting it to be based off the song was kind of so that you could realize it was based off the song, so maybe u can add lyrics! (idk, just a thought) "if you is a player, i dont think ima play with ya" , "if you wanna lay with her, why don't you just stay with her?". he tries to deflect, and i guess reader kind of confronts him about how she thinks he wants more then hooking up and he denies it, but she knows hes lyin. "you say you don't want a girlfriend but when we are in person, you always act so different, you make it all seem perfect", "you hold me when we wake up, say you like me with no makeup", "is it casual, or are you tryna spend your life with me?". anyways in my lovely optimistic mind, reader tells him its ok because shes inlove w him too, and he finally doesn't deny it. she tells him shes scared too, but they'll go through it together cuz their in luvv 😛 anyways lets just say the night ends with some slow soft sex between reader and chris. "take it off, follow me out, let me in don't shut me out" i understand if you can't do this req, but i saw your post saying you needed reqs to write on a trip tmr, and i thought of this on the spot so sorry if its really shit 😭

ꨄ ⌒ ⋆｡ ˚ CASUAL

│⊹ warnings ⋆ ;; angst if u squint, y/n is used like twice sorryyy, p in v, pet names (baby nd mama), unprotected sex, lowercase intentional, and word count is 2.2k

│⊹ pairing ⋆ ;; chris sturniolo x fem!reader

│⊹ haven’s notes ⋆ ;; hey.. how y’all doin 😙.. sorry for being gone AGAIN i keep having writers block but i wrote smth for my script so i got motivation to write again 🤌

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

you have been waiting impatiently at the triplets front door for about five minutes now. finally, chris opened it for you. “took you long enough.” you scoff with a smile as you walk in. “sorry, matt almost started a fire.” the brunette boy replied, scratching his chin when closing the door.

“what?” you laugh while kicking off your shoes and leaving them on the shoe rack. "oh by the way, i got the shirt you were planning to buy." you giggle softly, handing him a bag. "oh shit! thank you!" he says excitedly as he pulls you in for a warm hug. "of course, c." you give him a toothy smile. you notice how his facial expression changes a little bit once you smiled but you brushed it off. the two you walk up the stairs into the living room and kitchen. you saw both matt and nick try to cook dinner or something. “matt! your gonna burn it’!” nick exclaimed before turning to see you.

“what are you guys even making?” you snicker as you walked up to nick to give him a small hug. “burgers but matt almost started a fire trying to grill the meat.” he rolled his eyes in annoyance. “let me help” you say, walking to the stove and shooing matt away. “but at least i didn’t, i wont do it again!” he stated while crossing his arms. “matt relax, i got this” you say while flipping the patty. the boys talk for a while and from time to time offer to help but your stubbornness always said no.

chris left an argument that he was talking about with his brothers and waddled over to you and placed his hands on your shoulders. “you sure you don’t need any help?” he asked which you reply with a nod. once you finally finished making the food, you plated them nicely on the table. “bon appetite!” you laugh while sitting down next to chris.

the four of you eat while talking about a random topic or plans of what to do for the following week. “do you guys wanna watch something?” matt offered when he finished eating. “im down” you reply and the two others agree as well.

now, nick is currently putting the dishes in the sink as you, matt, and chris are all sitting down on the couch to debate what to watch. “nah i don’t wanna watch a horror movie.” chris whined when you suggested for them to see one. “ugh fine, maybe batman again?” matt quickly agrees, of course.

chris had been laying down on your chest for about an hour or so into the movie. your hands rested on the back of his head, your fingers scratching his scalp gently from time to time and he let out small hums whenever you did. after a few minutes you desperately needed to go use the bathroom. "chris" you whisper, loud enough for only him to hear. "hm?" he hummed while looking up at you. "gotta piss, get up" you state as he slowly got up from your chest.

after you did your necessities, you walked back to the living room and sat down next to chris. only this time he patted his chest, signaling you to lay down on it. of course, you don't mind since you and chris were always so touchy so you did. while watching the last 30 minutes or so of the movie, you heard his heartbeat start pounding against his chest rapidly. mentally, you started to count each one. and you did this till the movie ended.

"thanks for coming over!" nick said to you as the triplets started to walk you downstairs. "of course! i love hanging out with you guys." you reply, looking at each of the small smiles on their faces but except for chris. he looked rather stressed and confused. instead of saying anything about it, you simply just brushed it off. you said goodbye to the three boys then left.

it had been two days since you heard anything from chris. you asked nick and matt about him and they both said that he was okay and didn't know what was wrong with him. you began to get worried, scared if it was something you did or said. so, to clear your head you decided to invite nick to the mall since it was somewhere you guys both enjoyed going together. you got to the familiar entrance of the sturniolo home, quickly seeing an excited smile from nick as soon as you knocked on the door. "hey! you ready?" you ask while pulling him into a small hug.

"yeah! let me just go grab my things real quick." the brunette boy said as he let you inside. you didn't bother taking off your shoes since you two were about to leave. upon walking up the stairs you saw matt's face that was mixed with discomfort and trying not to laugh. "what?" you and nick ask him. "whatever you do, don't go downstairs." he mumbled while grabbing something from the fridge then walking back to his room. you give nick a look, he gives you one back that obviously meant to go see what matt was talking about.

hesitantly, you leave your bag on the couch and then walk downstairs to chris' room while nick grabs his things. upon being about three steps down, your ears immediately fill up with moans. both chris', and someone else's. another girl. your cheeks get red as your feet think before your mind and now you're in front of his door. with no hesitation, you grab the knob and swing open the door. as soon as you did so, chris looked back quickly. your eyes observed what was going on. you saw the mystery girl completely blissed out with her face dug inside a pillow and completely naked. you saw chris' hands wrapped around her hips firmly and how his front pieces of hair stuck to his sweaty forehead. "what the fuck chris?"

you feel your cheeks burning up in frustration as you watch chris struggle to put his pants back on. "dude! get out!" he said while the blonde girl turned around and saw you at the doorway, quickly blushing out of embarrassment. "no, you get out!" you tell the girl in his bed loudly, her getting up as soon as you said anything towards her. you and chris make heavy eye contact as she got changed and got her things.

she closed the door upon leaving and you immediately start bashing chris. "chris what the fuck is wrong with you? you ignore me for two days and I find you fucking another chick?" you argue as he quickly tries to find something to say. "you can't just hook up with me casually then ignore me then hook up with someone else." your sigh is shakey, trying not to start crying in front of him. "I feel bad for her even because you're probably just gonna ignore her and then hook up with some-" you were finally cut off by chris.

"why are you arguing about this like we are more than friends y/n?" he argues back, taking a breath to continue. "you're saying this shit like we are together, we aren't anything but friends." the brunette boy said while crossing his arms. "friends that hook up almost every week?" you laugh sarcastically, you process what he said for another few seconds. "don't act like I don't know about how your heart was racing when i was layin' down on your chest the last time i came over." you note. "is we hooking up something casual for you or are you looking to spend your life with me?" your voice is unstable and shakey, biting back the tears coming up on your waterline.

"fine, i'll admit, y/n." he finally said, his voice evenly shakey as yours. "I realized that i'm in love with you that night. you know im scared of commitment. i ignored you 'nd hooked up with another girl to try to get over you." chris sighed and his eyes softening. "im scared of being in a relationship, you have seen what my fans say even if im standing next to a girl—" you cut him off by walking towards him and shutting him up with a soft kiss. you can tell he is surprised when he hesitated to place his hands on you. “im in love with you too chris, and i am scared too.” you say softly as you tuck a strand of hair behind his ear.

“but you know we can work it out together.” you sigh while your eyes look up into his. chris’ hands planted on your waist, rubbing small circles on them. “you think so?” he whispered. you nod in reply, pulling him into another kiss. “‘m sorry.” he whispered again, desperately kissing you like his life depended on it. you start to tug on the hem of his black tank top and backed up a little bit so he could notice that your trying to take it off. he pulled it over his head himself and quickly went back for a kiss. he turns you so your back is facing the bed and he guided you to it. you lay back on his bed and he quickly reaches to the waist band of your shorts. “can i take these off?” he asked with his tone laced with need. you nod eagerly, him taking not another second to pull them down. he then went to your shoes, untying both laces and placing them on the floor.

you watched in awe as he touched your body so gently. he cupped your cheek and kissed you softly, his tongue grazing against yours lightly. he backed up with a smile, and looked into your eyes for a few seconds. with one hand, he went down in between your thighs and hooked his fingers on your panties and pushed them to the side, with the other hand pulling down his shorts.

he held onto your hip while he slowly slid himself inside of you, both of you letting a little hiss. his thrusts are slow but firm and his grip on your hip was light. you whimpering softly and let your body relax as his hips moved in and out of you. chris grabbed your leg and hooked it around his torso, being able to plunge deeper inside of you. “fuck, such a good girl f’me.” he panted with a little smile on his face. you whine back in reply, completely blissed in ecstasy and pleasure. his hips rutted a bit faster inside your puffy cunt as it suctioned his cock. “fuck, feels so good.” you sigh while leaning your head back into the pillow. “yeah? m’cock feels good mama?” he groaned quietly, you nod weakly.

you let out a small moan when his tip grazed that sticky patch inside of you. you arch your back off the bed as the knot in your stomach began to tighten. “‘m so close-“ you gasp gently while the brunette boy started to drill deeper inside of you. “mhm, gonna cum for me baby?” he whispered gently as his thumb went down and rubbed your sensitive bundle of nerves, this just sending you over the edge. “fuck! do-dont stop please please” you whine as your mouth fell agape. the knot in your stomach slowly started coming undone from his thrusts. “‘m cumming!” a small squeak left your lips. “shit, im right behind ya’” he whimpered as his hips remained the same pace. your stomach muscles clenched together as you came on his cock, then you felt him fill you up with his lukewarm cum. he fucked both of you through each other’s high before he stopped.

“you okay?” chris hummed while tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear. you nod shyly while attempting to sit up. “i should go then, nick is probably waiting for me.” you chuckle a bit, whining quietly as chris pulled out of your pussy. “alright, i’ll still see you today then?” he asked as he helped you clean up and change. you hum in reply, standing up and wobbling a little bit. he put his boxers and shorts back on before turning back to you. “drive safe.” he smiled, pulling you in for a little kiss. “i know, see you later chris.” you smile back. you left his room with him behind you, your shoes in his hands.

upon going up the stairs you saw nick with his headphones on, thankfully. “ready to go?” he asked, his tone annoyed since you took so long. you nod with a laugh as you grab your bag and shoes from chris. “i’ll put them on in the car.” you say while you both start walking downstairs.

“what took you so long by the way?” the brunette boy asked when putting his headphones in his tote bag. “sorry, something happened with chris and i had to help” you lie terribly. nick could tell in your eyes that you were lying. “you fucked him didn’t you?” “nick!”

│⊹ haven's notes part two ⋆ ;; IM FINALLY DONE !!!!1

│⊹ taglist ⋆ ;; @deftonesmatt @mattsluttywaist @luverboychris @sturniol0s @mattscoquette @xoxo4chrisss @sweetstars-posts @bambi-slxt

#sturniolo triplets #chris sturniolo #chris sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo fanfic #chris sturniolo x y/n #chris sturniolo smut #chris sturniolo x you #sturniolo triplet fanfic #chrissfawn

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jinnieboosworld · 3 months ago

Text

Fangirling

Kevin Moon x Female Reader

@deoboyznet @a-dream-bookmark @k-labels

Genre: Fluff, Coming of Age

Summary: While at a Beyoncé concert Kevin Moon finds himself befriending a girl who shares the same enthusiasm for Beyoncé as him. So when he sees her crying after the concert he can’t help but wonder why.

Part of The MeetCute Series

Word Count: 8410

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊��୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

Y/N had spent all week planning for tonight—her outfit, her playlist, her nails painted in Beyoncé’s latest album colors. This was supposed to be her night. The tickets had been her birthday gift, and she’d been counting down the days ever since. But now, sitting in the passenger seat of her boyfriend’s car, the excitement felt off.

He hadn’t said much since picking her up. The usual banter, the jokes about her singing every word to “Love On Top,” were absent. Instead, his hands gripped the wheel a little too tightly, his eyes locked on the road.

“You’re quiet,” Y/N said, turning to him. She tried to keep her tone light, but his energy was throwing her off.

“Just thinking,” he replied.

“About?”

He hesitated, glancing at her briefly before looking away. “About us.”

Her stomach dropped, and she forced out a laugh. “You’re not about to tell me you hate Beyoncé, are you?”

“No, it’s not that,” he said, his voice low. “It’s… I don’t think this is working anymore.”

The words hit like a punch. Y/N blinked, convinced she’d misheard him. “I’m sorry, what?”

He sighed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I didn’t know how. Things have felt off for a while now.”

“And you’re telling me this now? On the way to a Beyoncé concert?”

“I thought it’d be better to get it out before we got there.”

Y/N stared at him, her shock quickly giving way to anger. “So, what? You’re breaking up with me so you don’t have to pretend to like my favorite artist for a few hours?”

“Y/N, it’s not like that—”

“Then what is it like?” she snapped. “Because right now, it feels like you’re blindsiding me for no reason.”

He ran a hand through his hair, clearly uncomfortable. “I didn’t want to keep stringing you along. You deserve someone who’s all in, and… I just don’t think I am.”

For a moment, she couldn’t speak. Her chest tightened, and her throat burned with the tears she refused to shed. “Pull over,” she said finally.

“What?”

“Pull over. I’m not sitting here and listening to you justify this crap while pretending I’m okay with it.”

He hesitated but eventually complied, pulling the car to the side of the road. Without a word, Y/N grabbed her bag and stepped out. She didn’t even slam the door—he wasn’t worth the drama.

As she stood on the sidewalk, the sound of his car pulling away echoed in her ears. The anger and heartbreak collided inside her, but she pushed it down. Tonight wasn’t about him.

She pulled out her phone, calling a rideshare. While she waited, she rummaged through her bag and found her lipstick. If she was going to cry, it wasn’t going to be until after she’d screamed every word to “Formation.”

By the time the car arrived, she had reapplied her makeup and adjusted her Beyoncé-themed jacket.

“Everything okay?” the driver asked as she slid into the backseat.

Y/N gave a tight smile. “Not really. But it will be.”

As they drove toward the stadium, she glanced at the glowing city lights and took a deep breath. Her ex might have ruined the car ride, but there was no way she was letting him ruin Beyoncé.

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Y/N slid into her seat just as the lights dimmed, sending the arena into an electric frenzy. Her heart pounded, but not entirely from excitement. She still felt raw, her emotions a tangled mess of anger and heartbreak, but she was determined to push it all aside. This night wasn’t about her ex—it was about Beyoncé.

The opening beat of the first song thundered through the speakers, and the crowd erupted. Y/N stood, her hands automatically lifting in sync with the sea of fans around her. As the Queen herself appeared onstage, she felt a flicker of joy break through the haze.

For the first half of the show, Y/N focused on the music, letting the beats and melodies drown out her thoughts. She didn’t check her phone or look at the empty seat her ex would’ve occupied. She refused to let him steal any more of her energy.

It wasn’t until the intermission that she noticed him—the guy sitting one row down and a few seats over.

He had straight blonde hair tucked under a snapback, and his whole outfit screamed “effortlessly cool.” But what caught her attention was his energy. While everyone else around him was taking a breather, he was animatedly singing to himself, drumming on his thighs as if the concert hadn’t paused.

Y/N couldn’t help but smile. He noticed her looking and grinned, his charming smile flashing in the dim arena lights.

“You good up there?” he called over the noise of the crowd.

“Yeah,” Y/N replied, her voice steady but her lips curving upward. “You, uh, really know your stuff.”

“What can I say?” He gestured to the stage as if it were obvious. “Beyoncé’s a lifestyle.”

Y/N laughed, the first real one she’d had all day. “Fair point.”

He tilted his head, studying her for a moment. “You’ve been pretty quiet, though. First-timer?”

“Hardly,” she said, leaning on the railing in front of her. “I’ve been obsessed with her since, like, Dangerously in Love.”

“Then what’s the deal? You’re not screaming like your life depends on it.”

She hesitated, not sure how much she wanted to share with a complete stranger. “Long day,” she said finally, brushing it off.

He didn’t press, just nodded like he understood. “Well, if you’re gonna make it through the rest of this show, you’ve gotta sing like you mean it. Beyoncé didn’t show up here for half energy.”

Y/N snorted. “You sound like a coach.”

“Exactly. And I’m not letting my team down.” He stuck out his hand, his grin widening. “Kevin, by the way.”

“Y/N,” she replied, shaking his hand.

The house lights dimmed again, signaling the second half of the show. Kevin turned back to the stage, but not before giving her a nod. “Let’s go, Y/N. Time to wake up.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t deny that his enthusiasm was infectious. As Beyoncé launched into another hit, she found herself loosening up, her body moving instinctively to the rhythm.

By the time Beyoncé hit her iconic run in “Love On Top,” Y/N was belting out the lyrics alongside Kevin. He threw her an approving thumbs-up mid-chorus, and she laughed, her spirits lifting in a way she hadn’t thought possible just hours earlier.

For the first time that night, she wasn’t thinking about her ex or the breakup. She wasn’t worried about looking sad or out of place. She was just Y/N—a fan in the crowd, celebrating the music she loved.

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The second half of the show had Y/N completely mesmerized. Beyoncé was magnetic, her vocals flawless, and her stage presence unmatched. The lights, choreography, and energy of the crowd created a wave of emotion that Y/N couldn’t help but get swept up in.

Kevin seemed to have appointed himself her concert hype man. Every now and then, he’d glance back to make sure she was singing along or smiling, giving her exaggerated nods of approval whenever she hit a note.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” he shouted after she nailed the high note in “Halo,” laughing when she playfully shoved his shoulder.

By the time Beyoncé slowed the tempo for an acoustic set, Y/N felt the first twinge of vulnerability creeping back in. When the opening notes of “Resentment” filled the arena, she stiffened.

This was the song. The one she’d blasted in her bedroom during every heartbreak, every fight, every moment of self-doubt. And now, in this massive crowd of strangers, it felt like the lyrics were aimed directly at her.

She tried to keep her composure, but her throat tightened. Her vision blurred.

“Hey,” Kevin’s voice cut through the music, soft but steady.

She turned her head slightly, blinking back tears. He wasn’t grinning or joking this time. Instead, his expression was kind, his dark eyes filled with understanding.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the song.

She nodded quickly, waving him off, but he didn’t buy it.

“It’s okay to feel it, you know,” he said, his tone low and careful. “That’s why we’re all here—to let it out.”

Y/N swallowed hard, letting the lyrics seep into her soul. Beyoncé’s voice was raw, singing about betrayal, pain, and resilience, and Y/N couldn’t hold it back anymore. A single tear slipped down her cheek, and she wiped it away quickly, hoping Kevin wouldn’t notice.

But he did.

Without a word, he reached over and gave her hand a light squeeze. It was so subtle, so natural, that she almost didn’t register it. But the warmth of the gesture calmed her. She didn’t pull away.

“Thanks,” she whispered, her voice cracking slightly.

Kevin didn’t say anything in response, just kept his hand resting over hers until the song ended.

When Beyoncé transitioned into an upbeat anthem, the atmosphere shifted again. Kevin released her hand, his playful energy returning.

“All right,” he said, turning to her with a wide smile. “Time to dance it out.”

Y/N laughed, wiping the remnants of tears from her face. “You’re relentless, you know that?”

“Gotta make sure my concert buddy’s having a good time.”

“Your concert buddy?”

“Yep.” He nodded confidently. “We’ve sung, danced, and cried together. That’s a bond right there.”

Y/N rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the grin tugging at her lips. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Ridiculously fun,” he corrected, giving her a dramatic spin as Beyoncé launched into “Crazy in Love.”

Y/N let herself be pulled into his orbit, her laughter blending with the crowd’s cheers. For the rest of the night, she didn’t hold back. She danced, sang, and even shouted a few ad-libs with Kevin, who was somehow as energetic during the encore as he was at the start.

As the final confetti rained down and Beyoncé bowed to the roaring crowd, Y/N realized something surprising. For the first time since the breakup, she felt good.

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The crowd was beginning to thin out, the energy still buzzing in the air, but Y/N felt strangely empty. She had enjoyed herself—more than she expected—but the final song had stirred up feelings she wasn’t ready to face. She lingered near the exits, standing just outside the arena where people spilled into the parking lot.

The night had been a whirlwind. She was still processing her emotions about the breakup, but now that Beyoncé was gone, the weight of her own thoughts returned.

Y/N found a quiet corner near a row of vendor stalls, hoping the chill air would help steady her. She leaned against the brick wall, pulling her jacket tighter around her, feeling a familiar lump form in her throat.

She could already feel the hot tears threatening to spill again. She wiped at her eyes, fighting it. She had promised herself she wouldn’t cry tonight.

“You okay?”

The voice was gentle but familiar. She turned, startled, and saw Kevin standing a few feet away, concern in his eyes.

She wasn’t sure how long he’d been watching her. She tried to smile but it felt forced, so she opted for a shrug.

“I’m fine,” she muttered, clearing her throat. “Just… processing.”

Kevin didn’t move. He took a step closer, a hint of hesitation in his step. “Are you sure? You looked… like you were having a good time earlier.”

“I was,” she said, looking down. “I don’t know. I guess it’s just one of those nights, you know?” She managed a small laugh, but it quickly faltered.

“Yeah, I get it.” He nodded, his voice softening. “That’s a lot to deal with. It’s like the universe knows when you’re vulnerable and just piles it all on.”

Y/N was quiet for a moment. He didn’t push. He just stood there, waiting.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. “He broke up with me,” she finally said, the words feeling heavier than she’d expected. “Right before the concert. Like, right before. We were supposed to come here together, and then… he said he didn’t think it was working anymore.”

Kevin stayed silent for a moment, letting the words sink in. Then, he shook his head, disbelief evident on his face. “That’s… the worst timing I’ve ever heard. Who does that before Beyoncé?”

Y/N snorted, a dry laugh slipping out. “Right? I was supposed to have the night of my life, and now… well, now I’m here crying over my ex.”

“You deserve better than that,” Kevin said, his voice firm but kind. He took another step closer, giving her space but making it clear he was there for her.

Y/N swallowed hard. She wanted to say something, but instead, she just stared at him, blinking back more tears.

Kevin didn’t say anything more. He simply sat down next to her, close but not too close, as if he was giving her the option to pull away if she wanted.

They were silent for a long time, the sound of the remaining concertgoers drifting into the background. The crowd was loud, but the quiet between them felt safe.

After a few minutes, Kevin shifted slightly, breaking the stillness with a casual tone. “You know, you could always take this as a sign to let your ex go. It’s like the universe gave you the perfect night to start fresh. I mean, we’re at a Beyoncé concert—she practically hands out empowerment with every song.”

Y/N snorted again, though the sound was more of a broken laugh than anything else. “Yeah, right. Like I can just move on because Beyoncé said so.”

“Why not? It worked for me.” Kevin’s grin was playful, and it lightened the air. “She’s been teaching me how to live my best life for years.”

Y/N chuckled, finally looking at him. “I thought you were just here for the Beyoncé trivia, not life lessons.”

“Hey, both are important. It’s all about balance.” He shrugged, smiling in that easygoing way that made him seem so approachable.

Y/N hesitated for a second before she laughed again. “Maybe you’re right. I don’t know if I’m ready for the whole ‘new chapter’ thing, though.”

Kevin looked over at her with a kind expression. “You don’t have to be. But don’t let one bad night make you forget how much you deserve, you know?”

She stared at him for a moment. His words felt too sincere, and it made her feel things she wasn’t ready to deal with.

“Well, if it’s okay with you, I could use a walk,” she said softly, trying to change the subject. “You’re probably headed somewhere else anyway.”

Kevin grinned. “I’m not going anywhere, unless you want me to. I’m your personal Beyoncé assistant for the night.”

Y/N smiled, the first real smile of the evening. It felt like a small step in the right direction.

“Yeah, okay. Walk with me.”

Kevin stood up and offered her his hand, his eyes bright with an enthusiasm that made her feel just a little bit lighter.

As they walked together through the parking lot, Y/N realized that while her heart was still aching, maybe this night wasn’t a total loss after all.

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

The chill in the air had settled comfortably around them as Y/N and Kevin walked side by side through the parking lot. The sharp hum of the crowd faded with each step, leaving behind a quiet that felt oddly intimate. Y/N appreciated the peace. After everything that had happened earlier—her boyfriend’s sudden breakup, the overwhelming concert, and her unspoken emotions—Kevin’s presence was a comforting distraction.

They kept the conversation light, mostly chatting about the concert and Beyoncé’s killer performance, but Y/N could sense there was something more to Kevin. He had this easy confidence, not in a bragging way, but in a way that made everything seem a little less daunting. He didn’t push her to talk about her ex, didn’t probe further. He just let her take the lead when she wanted to.

“You know,” Kevin said, breaking the easy silence between them, “Beyoncé really knows how to get you out of your head.”

Y/N nodded, letting out a small, relieved sigh. “Yeah, she does. Even when things are falling apart, her music has this way of making you feel like you’re invincible.”

Kevin glanced over at her, his expression softening. “Yeah, like you can take on the world and still look damn good doing it.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “If only it were that easy.”

Kevin stopped walking for a moment, turning to face her. There was an earnestness in his eyes, his gaze steady. “It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible, either.”

Y/N felt a small wave of warmth spread through her chest. It was the kind of comment that seemed simple, but for some reason, it felt like more than just words. It felt like encouragement—like Kevin genuinely believed that she could find her footing again.

“So, what now?” Y/N asked after a beat, not quite sure what she was expecting. But Kevin seemed to have the right answer.

“I’m just gonna say it—if you want to stay distracted from your ex and just keep enjoying life, I’m your guy,” he said with a grin, the humor in his voice taking any pressure off the offer. “You want to go get some coffee? Maybe talk Beyoncé trivia? Or we could just grab a burger. I know a great place.”

Y/N blinked, surprised by how natural the invitation felt. She hadn’t expected someone she’d just met to offer this kind of solace, but somehow, it didn’t feel out of place. In fact, it was exactly what she needed.

“You really like Beyoncé, huh?” she teased, trying to keep the mood light.

Kevin chuckled. “Beyoncé is life. But yeah, I think we should definitely hang out again. You don’t have to spend the rest of the night brooding over some guy who doesn’t know what he’s losing.”

Y/N paused, the words hitting her in a way she hadn’t anticipated. “Thanks, Kevin,” she said quietly, her heart feeling a little lighter. She didn’t want to admit it, but his kindness felt like an unexpected gift, a spark of hope in a night that had been filled with a lot of confusion and hurt.

“No problem,” he said, his smile turning warmer. “Besides, who else is gonna appreciate your Beyoncé knowledge? I’m not just here for the good times. I’m here for the deep talks and the bad dance moves, too.”

Y/N laughed, her mood lifting a little more. “I’ve got a lot of both, so you’re in for a wild ride.”

Kevin smiled, and for the first time that night, Y/N felt like the weight of her breakup was just a little bit lighter.

“Well,” Kevin said, turning toward the exit of the lot, “I’m in for whatever you’ve got. But seriously, text me if you ever need someone to talk to or, you know, vent. I’m all about the backup singer role.”

Y/N paused as they reached the edge of the parking lot, looking at him for a moment. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, feeling the tightness in her chest ease just a little bit more. She grabbed her phone from her bag but hesitated before getting in. “And, Kevin… I don’t know if you’re just being nice, but thanks for being here tonight. I really mean it.”

Kevin looked at her, his expression soft. “No need to thank me. I’m happy to be here. I know it’s not the greatest night, but you’ve got this. And if you need some Beyoncé therapy, I’m your guy.”

Y/N smiled, her heart a little lighter than before. She was still hurt, still processing everything that had happened with her ex, but there was something comforting in knowing that even in the messiest of moments, someone like Kevin could step in and remind her that there was more to life than pain.

“Okay, then,” she said, nodding. “Guess I’ll hold you to that.”

Kevin gave her a playful salute before backing away. “You do that. I’ll be ready when you are. But, uh, just so you know, I’m not a serial killer or anything, I promise. I mean, you don’t know me that well, but I’m definitely not that guy.”

Y/N blinked, taken aback for a second before laughing out loud. “Right, because that was the first thing I was thinking of. You’ve got your work cut out for you, I guess.”

Kevin smirked. “Hey, I had to put it out there. Better safe than sorry, right?”

Y/N shook her head with a smile. “You’re lucky you’re funny.”

As Y/N stepped away from the parking lot, she realized that she had to get to her rideshare pickup point. She pulled up her phone, checking her location, and sent a quick text. On my way!

Kevin waved as she started walking away. “Let me know if you need a ride—unless you’re really trusting a complete stranger to take you home. Then I can’t help you there.”

Y/N couldn’t help but laugh as she waved back. “I’ll take my chances. You know, not every guy you meet at a concert ends up being a serial killer.”

With that, Y/N made her way toward the rideshare, feeling a little lighter than before. She wasn’t sure where things would go with Kevin, but for the first time in a while, she was allowing herself to feel something that wasn’t just sadness.

She glanced at her phone again, smiling when she saw a text from him.

Kevin: “Beyoncé trivia challenge next time?”

Y/N smiled, feeling the smallest thread of excitement for the first time that night. She typed back quickly.

Y/N: “You’re on. I’ll be ready.”

And as she slid into the back of the rideshare, the night didn’t feel quite so lonely anymore.

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

The week after the concert, Y/N couldn’t shake the feeling of how surreal everything had felt. Her breakup, the unexpected comfort of meeting Kevin, and the lingering, odd spark between them all seemed to blur together like one big, emotional whirlwind. In the days since, she kept herself busy—schoolwork, calls with her friends, and binge-watching reruns of her favorite shows to numb the pain of what had happened. But there was something about Kevin that kept creeping into her thoughts.

It was a sunny afternoon when she decided to text him. Nothing too complicated. Just a “Hey, how’s it going?” She hadn’t expected a reply so quickly, but less than an hour later, Kevin’s name flashed on her phone.

Kevin: “Heyyy! All good on my end. I was just about to start a deep dive into Beyoncé’s discography again. Want to join me? I’m feeling ‘Formation’ vibes today.”

Y/N chuckled to herself. Formation. Of course. It felt like the kind of thing Kevin would text her. The words seemed to light up the screen, a tiny spark that made her smile for the first time in days. She stared at the message for a moment, then typed out her response, not overthinking it.

Y/N: “You know I can never resist a Beyoncé deep dive. I’m in.”

It didn’t take long before they were making plans to meet up at a coffee shop near campus. She hadn’t seen Kevin in a few days, but the thought of hanging out again felt strangely comforting. They weren’t in a rush to define anything. There was something about the way Kevin made her feel that wasn’t rushed or heavy. It was easy.

Y/N was just about to leave her apartment when she hesitated, glancing in the mirror as she touched up her makeup. It wasn’t like she had anything to impress Kevin with. She wasn’t trying to get back into dating. She wasn’t even sure if that was something she wanted yet. But something about the idea of seeing him again made her stomach flutter in a way she hadn’t felt in a while.

No pressure, she reminded herself. You’re just hanging out with a friend. You don’t need to overthink this.

She left her apartment and caught a quick rideshare to the coffee shop. When she walked in, she saw Kevin sitting at a table near the window, looking as relaxed as ever. His green hoodie stood out against the beige coffee shop walls, and his lips were curved into that easygoing grin that made her feel like she belonged in his world, even if just for a little while.

Kevin spotted her immediately and waved, standing up to greet her. “Hey! You made it.” His grin widened, but it wasn’t the same playful grin from their first meeting. There was something a little more personal in it now, like he was genuinely happy to see her. “Beyoncé trivia awaits.”

Y/N laughed, taking a seat across from him. “I don’t think you’re ready for my knowledge.”

“I’m not worried,” Kevin said, eyes twinkling with amusement. “I’ve been practicing. Bring it on.”

The next few hours passed in a blur of coffee, laughter, and surprisingly intense Beyoncé debates. They argued over the best live performances, the meaning behind some of the lyrics, and their thoughts on her various music videos. Kevin’s humor never wavered, and the way he made Y/N feel so comfortable with herself was starting to sink in. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this much fun just talking to someone, and the longer they spent together, the more she found herself forgetting that she was trying to move past a breakup.

At one point, they ended up watching a live performance of “Run the World (Girls)” on Kevin’s phone, completely immersed in the music. Y/N was so caught up in it that she barely noticed Kevin’s hand inching closer to hers. And before she knew it, their fingers brushed.

It was a simple, fleeting touch. But it left Y/N with a sudden, confusing flutter in her chest.

“Sorry,” Kevin said, pulling his hand back quickly, his face flushing slightly. “Didn’t mean to… I didn’t know if that was cool. I mean, I thought maybe we could—”

“It’s fine,” Y/N blurted out, her heart racing a little. She quickly cleared her throat, trying to act casual. “I mean, you didn’t—nothing. I’m good.”

Kevin chuckled awkwardly, clearly sensing her tension. “Okay, good. But I mean… you know, I wouldn’t have done that if you weren’t—”

“No, it’s fine,” Y/N interrupted again, forcing a smile. She had no idea why her nerves were suddenly going into overdrive. It was just a touch, nothing more.

But as they went back to watching the video, Y/N couldn’t help but think about it. It was like a sudden shift—a tiny moment that made her wonder if maybe things were starting to feel more than just friendly between them. And that thought made her feel even more confused.

She had sworn off relationships for a while. And yet, there she was, getting lost in Kevin’s smile, in his humor, in the way he made her feel like she was worth more than the person who had broken her heart.

“So, what do you think?” Kevin asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Next Beyoncé concert? I think we can totally make it happen. It’s going to be a whole thing.”

Y/N blinked, realizing she had drifted off again. “Right. The concert. I’m totally in. As long as we get the VIP tickets this time,” she joked.

“Deal,” Kevin said with a wink. “I’ll make sure we’re front and center.”

Y/N couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. It wasn’t that she was ready to jump into something serious. But, for the first time in a while, she wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea of seeing where things might go with Kevin. For once, it felt like she was doing more than just surviving. She was starting to feel… alive again.

As they continued to talk about their next concert plans, Y/N couldn’t help but wonder what other surprises Kevin had in store for her.

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

As Y/N walked into the coffee shop, she spotted Kevin right away. His green hoodie stood out against the cozy, neutral-toned interior, and his wide grin made her stomach flutter. The usual sense of calm she had around him felt almost reassuring now, but that subtle tension, the one that always lingered when they were around each other, had begun to grow stronger.

Kevin waved, his eyes lighting up when he saw her. “Hey! You made it.” He stood up, pulling the chair out for her. “Beyoncé trivia awaits.”

Y/N grinned, slipping into the seat across from him. “I hope you’re ready to lose.”

Kevin laughed, easing back into his own chair, still looking at her with that playful, relaxed expression. “I’ve been practicing, trust me. I’m ready to go head-to-head with you.”

As they settled into the flow of conversation, Y/N could feel her nerves settling too. It was the kind of easy-going banter they had fallen into the last time they hung out—talking about music, laughing over random trivia facts, and debating their favorite Beyoncé lyrics. Kevin’s energy was contagious, and before long, the hours had slipped by unnoticed.

They eventually found themselves watching a live performance of “Run the World (Girls)” on Kevin’s phone, their attention fully immersed in the beat and the powerful energy Beyoncé exuded on stage. Without thinking, Kevin reached for her hand, his fingers brushing against hers as they both reached for the screen. It was light, almost accidental, but the contact sent a jolt through Y/N.

Kevin quickly pulled his hand back, flushing slightly. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to—”

Y/N’s heart was racing, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure how to act. Her breath caught in her chest, and she laughed to cover the sudden awkwardness. “No, it’s fine. You didn’t—nothing, I’m good.”

He gave her a sheepish smile, obviously sensing the shift in energy. “Right, okay. Just making sure. But, you know, I wouldn’t have—if you weren’t okay with it.”

Y/N nodded quickly, feeling her face heat up. “Yeah, yeah. I’m good.”

But as the video continued playing, Y/N couldn’t shake the image of their hands brushing. There was something about it that felt like a subtle turning point. She had sworn to herself that she wasn’t going to jump back into anything serious, especially after the emotional toll of her recent breakup. But here she was, feeling something shift in her chest, and she couldn’t quite pinpoint whether it was fear or excitement.

When the video ended, Kevin shifted his posture, clearly trying to make light of the moment. “So, what do you think? Next Beyoncé concert? I’m thinking we can totally make it happen. It’s gonna be a whole vibe.”

Y/N snapped out of her thoughts, smiling at his enthusiasm. “Right. The concert. We should definitely do that.”

Kevin grinned, “I’ll make sure we’re front and center this time.”

Y/N felt her pulse quicken, though she wasn’t sure if it was the idea of another concert or the thought of spending more time with him. Either way, it felt like something more than just a casual hangout. It felt like a step closer to something undefined, but real.

She forced herself to focus on the present, to not get ahead of herself. “Deal,” she said, offering him a genuine smile. “But only if you get VIP tickets. No nosebleeds this time.”

Kevin winked. “You got it.”

As they continued to joke about concert plans, Y/N couldn’t ignore the feeling of anticipation in her chest. It was as though she had finally found someone who could make her feel alive again, someone who was easy to talk to, easy to laugh with—and maybe, just maybe, someone who could make her believe in the possibility of new beginnings.

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

The week leading up to the concert felt like a blur. The anticipation wasn’t just for the show itself—it was the thought of spending the night with Kevin that kept Y/N awake in the early hours, her mind racing with questions she wasn’t ready to answer. What was this feeling? Why was she so nervous about something as simple as a concert? Was she overthinking things, or was there really something more between them?

As the day finally arrived, Y/N found herself standing in front of her mirror, staring at her outfit as if it were some kind of decision that could change everything. She laughed at herself, shaking her head. No one needed to get dressed up for a concert, right? It wasn’t a date. They were just two people going to a show together. She had promised herself that she wasn’t rushing into anything, that she wasn’t trying to replace one emotional rollercoaster with another.

But there was something about Kevin that made her second-guess all of that. He was easy to talk to, yes, but there was a deeper comfort in him—one that made her feel understood in a way she hadn’t realized she needed. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had made her feel so at ease, so completely herself. And as much as she tried to keep things casual, the way she thought about him was beginning to change.

They met up outside the venue, where the crowd buzzed with energy. The usual excitement of a concert loomed in the air, but something felt different this time. Maybe it was because the whole thing wasn’t just about the performance. It was about spending time with Kevin, about seeing where things might go. She couldn’t deny that the thought made her feel a little lighter.

Kevin greeted her with his usual warm grin, looking relaxed in his jeans and a jacket, not the kind of person who made her feel like she had to put on a front. “Ready for this?” he asked, his voice light, but with an undercurrent of excitement she could feel in her chest.

Y/N smiled, feeling an unexpected rush of anticipation. “You know it. But I hope you’re prepared for me to out-sing you the entire time.”

“Bring it on,” Kevin shot back, eyes twinkling with humor. “I’ve been practicing.”

The concert itself was an unforgettable experience, but not for the reasons Y/N had expected. It wasn’t just about the music or the lights or the crowd. It was about the quiet moments in between—when Kevin would glance at her with that soft, knowing look, the way he would hand her a drink or ask if she was okay without even needing to be told. It was the small things that added up to something bigger.

They talked during the entire show, laughing over shared inside jokes, teasing each other over their respective dance moves (which, admittedly, weren’t as coordinated as they’d hoped), and even commenting on how ridiculous the outfits people around them were wearing. It felt like they were in their own little world, even though they were surrounded by thousands of people.

At one point, the lights dimmed for a quieter song. It wasn’t a moment where they could shout lyrics or get lost in the music, and for a second, the air between them was quiet, the sounds of the crowd fading into the background. Kevin leaned in slightly, as if testing the waters. “Hey, you good?”

Y/N blinked, surprised by the question. She had been lost in thought, in the quiet of the music, but the way Kevin asked it felt different. It wasn’t casual. It was like he truly cared. She smiled, feeling the warmth of the moment. “Yeah, I’m good. Just… enjoying the peace for a second.”

Kevin grinned, nodding as if he understood. “You know, I’m really glad we’re doing this. Not just the concert, but… hanging out like this. It’s been fun, Y/N.”

Her heart fluttered at the unexpected honesty. It wasn’t the kind of thing you expected to hear from someone after only a few weeks of hanging out. But the more they spent time together, the clearer it became that their bond was growing stronger. The concert was a backdrop to something much deeper than just music.

By the time the show ended, the energy in the air had shifted. The crowd slowly started to disperse, and the lights came up, signaling the end of the night. Y/N didn’t want the night to end. Not because she was particularly enamored with the show or because she was still processing the performance. But because, for the first time in what felt like forever, she didn’t want to say goodbye to the person who had made her feel this… alive.

They walked out of the venue together, the cool night air offering a reprieve from the heat of the crowd. The conversation flowed easily as they made their way toward the parking lot, both of them reluctant to end the night.

“I had a really good time tonight,” Kevin said, his voice quiet but sincere as they approached her ride. “I’m glad we did this.”

Y/N smiled, trying to keep the knot in her chest from giving away how much she truly appreciated his company. “Yeah, me too. I’m glad you were the one to drag me into this whole thing. I don’t think I would’ve had nearly as much fun with anyone else.”

Kevin’s expression softened, his eyes meeting hers in a way that made Y/N’s heart skip. “I mean, you made it fun. It’s not just about the concert. It’s… it’s about hanging out with someone who actually gets it.”

The words lingered between them, heavy in the air. Y/N felt the pull between them—the kind that was undeniable but unspoken. She didn’t know what it was, this connection they shared, but she wasn’t afraid of it. Not anymore.

Before she could think too much, Kevin’s lips curved into that playful grin again. “So… next time we do this, what’s the verdict? Maybe a comedy show? Or a karaoke night?”

Y/N laughed, relieved by the shift back to their usual easy banter. “Karaoke sounds good, but I’m warning you now—I’m a beast on the mic.”

Kevin raised his hands in mock surrender. “Oh, I’m terrified already. Bring it on.”

They shared one last laugh before Y/N reached for her rideshare, a quiet sense of contentment settling over her. As she waved goodbye to Kevin, she realized that it wasn’t about what they’d done or where they’d been. It was about who they were when they were together. For the first time since her breakup, Y/N felt like she could breathe again, like she didn’t need to rush or overthink things. The night had proven something she hadn’t known she needed: that connection wasn’t just about grand gestures or big moments. It was in the quiet ones, too—the ones that made her feel understood without needing to say a word.

As she sat back in the car, the city lights flashing by, Y/N couldn’t help but smile. Maybe it wasn’t about finding someone to fill the space her ex had left. Maybe it was about finding someone who made her want to fill the space with laughter and quiet moments that felt just as important.

And for the first time in a long while, Y/N felt like maybe, just maybe, she was starting to look forward to something new.

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

The next time they met up, it wasn’t planned. Y/N was out running errands when Kevin texted her.

Kevin: “What are you up to? I’m grabbing lunch if you want to join.”

Her day had been exhausting—a mix of work, school assignments, and endless errands—but something about Kevin’s casual invite made her pause. A part of her wanted to say no, to just head home and recharge. But the bigger part, the one that always lit up at the thought of him, couldn’t resist.

Y/N: “Where are you? I could eat.”

Kevin sent her the address of a small café near campus, and within 20 minutes, she was there. She spotted him right away, sitting outside at one of the tables, his usual green hoodie paired with a messy bun. He was scrolling on his phone, absentmindedly sipping from a cup of iced coffee.

“Hey,” Y/N greeted as she approached.

Kevin looked up, his face breaking into a smile the second he saw her. “Hey! Glad you could make it. Wasn’t sure if you’d be free.”

“I almost wasn’t,” she admitted, pulling out the chair across from him. “But food and good company were tempting enough.”

Kevin chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “Well, I promise the food’s good. As for the company… you’ll have to tell me.”

They ordered sandwiches and talked about everything and nothing while they waited. Kevin was easy to talk to—he always had been—but today felt different. Maybe it was because their conversation drifted away from surface-level topics, sinking into things they hadn’t talked about before.

He told her about his family, about growing up in Canada and how moving away for college had been both exciting and terrifying. She shared stories about her own childhood, the way her parents had supported her in every crazy dream she’d ever had. They talked about what they wanted for their futures, their fears, their dreams. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it was real.

At one point, Kevin hesitated, his gaze flickering down to the table before meeting hers. “Can I ask you something?”

Y/N tilted her head, curious. “Sure.”

“Have you thought about… us?” His voice was careful, like he didn’t want to push her too hard. “I mean, I know we’ve been hanging out a lot, and it’s been great. But I just—sometimes I wonder if maybe you see me as more than just a friend.”

Y/N froze, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. She had thought about it. Of course, she had. Kevin wasn’t just anyone. He was funny and kind and thoughtful in ways that made her feel like she was the only person in the world when they were together. But the idea of admitting that out loud, of putting words to the feelings she’d been trying to suppress, felt like too much.

“I…” She trailed off, her gaze dropping to her hands. “I don’t know.”

Kevin nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. “That’s okay. You don’t have to know right now. I just— I wanted to be honest. Because I think about it. A lot. And I don’t want to pretend like I don’t feel something when I’m around you.”

Y/N looked up, meeting his eyes. There was no pressure in them, no expectation. Just honesty.

“I like spending time with you,” she said quietly. “A lot. And I don’t know what that means yet, but… I know I don’t want it to stop.”

Kevin’s smile widened, his shoulders relaxing as if he’d been holding his breath. “Me neither.”

They sat in silence for a moment, the air between them feeling lighter, warmer. It wasn’t a declaration of love or a grand romantic moment, but it didn’t need to be. It was enough.

As they finished their lunch, the conversation shifted back to its usual playful tone, but there was a new ease between them. A quiet understanding that something was shifting, even if they weren’t ready to define it yet.

When they left the café, Kevin walked her to her car. They lingered there for a moment, the sun casting long shadows on the pavement.

“Thanks for coming today,” Kevin said, his hands stuffed into his pockets. “I know it was last minute, but… I’m glad you were here.”

Y/N smiled, feeling that familiar flutter in her chest. “Me too.”

For a moment, she thought he might lean in, that their story might take a step forward in a way she wasn’t sure she was ready for. But Kevin just grinned and gave her a small wave as he stepped back.

“Drive safe,” he said.

As she drove away, Y/N couldn’t help but smile to herself. Things were changing between them, and for the first time, she wasn’t scared of what that might mean.

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

It had been weeks since the café conversation, and while Y/N and Kevin hadn’t officially defined their relationship, something had definitely shifted between them. Their texts grew longer, their hangouts more frequent. Even the silences between them felt comfortable, filled with unspoken understanding.

Today, they had planned to meet at the park near campus, a favorite spot of Kevin’s. He had insisted on bringing snacks and claimed he had a surprise for her, though he wouldn’t give any details.

When Y/N arrived, Kevin was already there, sprawled out on a blanket under the shade of a large oak tree. A basket sat beside him, and he was messing with something on his phone, likely adding a new playlist to his ever-growing collection.

“Hey,” she called out, walking over to him.

Kevin looked up, his face lighting up in a way that still caught her off guard. “You’re late.”

“You’re lucky I showed up at all,” she teased, dropping her bag next to him. “What’s in the basket? Don’t tell me it’s just sandwiches again.”

He grinned, gesturing for her to sit. “No sandwiches, I promise. Today is fancy picnic day. I brought charcuterie.”

“Charcuterie?” Y/N laughed as she sat down, pulling the basket closer to inspect it. Sure enough, there were neatly packed containers of cheese, crackers, fruit, and even a small jar of honey.

“I had to impress you somehow,” Kevin said with a smirk. “Besides, I’ve been watching those aesthetic picnic TikToks. This is my debut.”

Y/N rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling. “You’re ridiculous. But this actually looks amazing.”

As they ate, their conversation flowed effortlessly, as it always did. They talked about their week, shared updates about school and work, and debated over what movie they should watch at their next hangout. Y/N felt a warmth settle over her, the kind that came from being with someone who made her feel completely at ease.

When they finished eating, Kevin leaned back against the tree, his eyes scanning the park. “So, I promised you a surprise.”

“Oh?” Y/N raised an eyebrow. “Is it Beyoncé-themed? Because I think we’ve exhausted all the possible surprises there.”

Kevin laughed. “Not this time. I figured we needed to expand our horizons.” He reached into his bag and pulled out two small envelopes. “Here.”

Y/N took one, eyeing him suspiciously. “What is this?”

“Just open it.”

She slid her finger under the flap and pulled out the contents. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was. Two tickets to a local art exhibit she’d mentioned in passing weeks ago, one she hadn’t been able to afford at the time.

“Kevin,” she said softly, looking up at him. “How did you—why did you—”

He shrugged, a faint blush creeping up his neck. “You mentioned you wanted to go, and I figured it’d be fun. Plus, I’m trying to earn some best-friend points. Or, you know… more-than-friend points.”

Y/N laughed, shaking her head. “You’re unbelievable.”

“I try.” His grin softened into something more genuine. “I just wanted to do something nice for you. You’ve had a rough few weeks, and I figured this might cheer you up.”

She looked at him, her heart swelling in a way that was both terrifying and wonderful. Kevin had a way of making her feel seen, like every little thing she said or did mattered.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Really.”

Kevin held her gaze for a moment, his smile fading into something more serious. “You don’t have to thank me, Y/N. I like doing this kind of stuff for you. I care about you. A lot.”

Y/N’s breath caught. She had known this moment was coming, had felt it building between them for weeks. But hearing him say it out loud made her chest tighten in a way that was equal parts thrilling and terrifying.

“I care about you too,” she said, her voice steady despite the whirlwind of emotions inside her. “I just… I don’t know if I’m ready for something serious yet.”

Kevin nodded, his expression understanding. “That’s okay. I’m not asking for anything you’re not ready to give. I just wanted you to know how I feel.”

The weight of his words hung between them, but it didn’t feel heavy. It felt freeing, like a door opening instead of closing.

They sat in silence for a while, watching the sun dip lower in the sky. Kevin reached over and took her hand, his touch warm and steady. Y/N didn’t pull away.

For the first time in a long time, she felt like she didn’t have to have all the answers.

As the evening turned to dusk, they packed up their things and walked back to their cars. Kevin stopped her before she got in, his hand brushing hers again.

“So,” he said, his voice light but his eyes serious. “Next concert, you’re still my plus one, right?”

Y/N smiled, her heart feeling lighter than it had in weeks. “Always.”

Kevin grinned, stepping back as she climbed into her car. As she drove away, Y/N couldn’t stop the small smile that tugged at her lips.

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

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