#you’re clocked in like work is my work time where friendship or home drama doesn’t matter

[mundifinis]

god i love rushes

[allkinds-oftrash]

Ya girl is watching the latest HSM series ep and Imma live blog it hshshs and will add my reactions under the cut so it doesn't end up a long post. Anyways, let's goo:

AHHHH THE MORNING SHOW WITH GINA AND EJ WE LOVE TO SEE IT

They really said we're gonna let life imitate art with Nini and Olivia huh

Ricky was SUPPORTIVE??? Damnn I really thought we gonna get a classic Ricky tantrum....

But also wow sir that sounds salty and should definitely talk to someone abt how you're feeling...A therapist maybe 👀

I know we needed to contextualise how Ricky felt abt the song but I really wanted to see Nini's interview in full!!

Sebby you're so cute I do wanna see yall do DEH

Shjshshs not the rights not being available for another 5 years 😭😭

I dunno how they're in great shape and closer to the Menkies Gold after not having a single proper rehearsal, but go off Miss Jenn

Omg honestly Kourt's costumes are always amazing and on point Imma excited to see it

Kourt is such a simp we love to see it

Carlos is so pissy this episode we love to see it shshhs

Also love the way Seb calms him down and keeps him nice it's such a funny dynamic

"We had 20 people make our Belle dress over 50 hours" Okay North High shut the fuck up

I'm calling it now the reason North High knows so much is cos Howie is the leak and Kourt has been unwittingly telling him. The way her phone keeps going off as they discuss how North High knows everything is really good foreshadowing if my prediction is right

Also like her phone went off just as Carlos said "How did they know that?" THAT'S PEAK FORESHADOWING

If Howie ain't in North High, I dunno what Tim is doing

GSJAGSHAH KOURTNEY MAKING ABS FOR EJ I CANNOT

"I have abs" We know sweetie

"I PADDED THE THUSH FOR YOU" "AWW THANKS KOURT I NEEDED THAT" THIS INTERACTION IS EVERYTHING THAT WAS SO FUNNY!! I love that it is now canon that EJ has abs but no butt love that for him

Okay but like damn these costumes are great!! North High can fuck right off with its high end ones I just wanna see lowkey homemade costumes by students; I'd watch a Broadway show if I wanted to see professional costumes okay

Damn Carlos has killer eyesight clocking in that mask in the trunk

GINA BBY DON'T SAY THAT AND HAHSGSH NINI NUDGING HER WAS SO FUNNY

Nini's little look over at Gina was like "Omg you guys my girlfriend is so cute and dumb" GINI STANS HOW WE FEELING?

Miss Jenn don't be that naive, your boyfriend probably put them up to it

That Insta page is prophetic with their timing tbh; all the info is a leak obviously looking at your Howie but like the timing of it all. Those kiddos don't know that they are discussing the stolen mask at this exact moment (Kourt has put down her phone after Carlos snapped at her so Howie doesn't know they are talking abt it rn)

"We don't dance with the enemy" *cuts to her dancing with Zackey later*

SEBBY WEARING THE TEACUP COSTUME OMG HE'S GOING MAKE SUCH A CUTE CHIP (yes I am still mad Seb/Joe was robbed but Imma fangirl over the costume anyway)

Wtf why does North High look so expensive - they are literally in the same district as East High right??? How did they get this much funding

North High is a very artsy and rich for a public school; they should have had Nini go here instead of YAC tbh (like this campus feels like what YAC should have been) NOW THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN INTERESTING STORYLINE

Seblos' dynamic IS ON POINT THIS EP I really love my bois so much and their back and forth is hilarious

Shhshs DIANE who loves volleyball and North High okay I totally believe it

WHY ARE RED AND ASHLYN SO KINKY EVERY DAMN EPISODE TIM THESE ARE UNDERAGED CHARACTERS STOP IT

Shshsh we love Gina knowing herself and practicing self control by volunteering to be the lookout

Omg yall listen to Carlos and stfu they are so lucky no one saw or heard them yelling Wildcats

Oh no no no no no Miss Jenn you gonna get sucked in; this is gonna be so messy

Omg I saw someone post about this scene before I watched the ep YALL ARE RIGHT THAT BOI HITTING ON GINA IS SO FINE Babes go for that one, not EJ

NOT THEM FAKE DATING UGH E W TIM STOP MAKING ROMANTIC PORTWELL A T H I N G I honestly do not understand how some of yall can ship it romantically knowing Sofia is a whole underaged babey and Matty is a whole ass grown man - like I get the appeal of the Wonderstudies getting together and they do have chemistry but the irl age gap is creepy and outweighs the appeal of shipping them romantically

As I always say; Portwell/Wonderstudies should be a BROTP not an OTP

Ugh Brotp Portwell would have clocked Lily right away; romantic Portwell making googly eyes at each other isn't helping anyone

Living for Nini getting the recognition she deserves - I really like her solo arc this season she's so much more interesting without Ricky tbh

Aww Kourt you simp I love her and I'm so happy she's happy I wanna be wrong about Howie being a North High kid

Where is the mask??

OHMYGOD THESE KIDS COMING IN LIKE A HORROR MOVIE

Lily really wishes she was Jesse St. James huh; you could never Lily so stop

Andrew Barth Feldman and his cute little French accent I love him so much

Hnng Miss Jenn gonna get manipulated by this hoe. Omg wowow Zackey really is a hoe, making out with another girl before the show THE AUDACITY OF HIM SAYING MISS JENN WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH I WILL THROW HANDS WITH THIS MOFO

Wait the kids didn't steal it BUT WHAT IF ZACKEY DID

Ssjsgfajhdfg I CANNOT WITH ANDREW'S ACCENT but I can't tell if its really bad or really good but I'm also confused why didn't they just cast a French person as Antonie shshhs Antoine is adorableee and a little shit the best type of character

Lily is so annoying b y e sis bye and Olivia Keegan is talented I just wish they didn't make her character such a cartoony villain type

"How about if we bop to the top" SEBBY I LOVE YOU AND NEVER STOP BEING SO CUTE I SWEAR and Awww Carlos called him Honey I am s o f t

Hnng why do these fools are really gonna give into North High calling them chickens

OHHH NO SHE DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT ABOUT ASHLYN FUCK A DANCE OFF I AM ABOUT TO THROW HANDS WITH A 16 YEAR OLD

"She told us not to dance with the enemy. She's better than this" No Sebby, she's not *cuts to her dancing with Zackey* AND OMG THE WAY I SAW THIS EDIT COMING BEFORE IT CAME

Ooooh I like this song wayyy more whatever the mess The Mob Song became (when I first heard it drop on Spotify yesterday) Around You is such a great song musically and lyrically very relevant to these two and gosh I love their voices together

They have so much chemistry damn, go home Mike (well he technically has oop) and Mr. Mazzara

YES YOU DO MISS JENN YOU ALWAYS HAD IT

Oh god this is the scene from the trailer; she's gonna make a move on Ricky isn't she?? Leave him alone Lily he doesn't need a 3rd girl to be confused about he needs a therapist

Lily shut the fuck up with quasi; STOP TRYING TO MAKE QUASI HAPPEN

"I love Nini's song" Sure, Jan.

...Okay yes you should have called him out but don't bait him LIKE THAT oop there's the scene from the trailer

Ohmygod is Andrew Barth Feldman gonna hit on Ashlyn

Okay this is so cute but also I am VERY annoyed with the way this show handles its characters like they aren't relevant or important unless they get into a relationship or a love triangle?? That's such a shitty way to give out screentime and arcs to characters. Is it not enough to develop the characters on their own and strengthen their friendship???

HUH TIM why you so obsessed with compulsory heterosexuality??(well also homosexuality for Seblos but they are the only ones I'm not annoyed with their relationship cos its a hella big step for Disney to have a gay couple and their relationship isn't in our faces or overshadows the plot and its just spinkles of cuteness every time they interact - they are honestly who Rini wishes they were; besties in love. They are a couple that Tim should be taking notes from; leave the relationship drama in the background, focus on the theatre and friendship aspect of everything)

My mini rant aside; this is a very adorable interaction between Ashlyn and Antoine.

"TOM HOLLAND ON STILTS" GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE WITH THAT COMPARISON I AM SCREAMING ANTOINE THAT'S SO FUNNY

This is so funny he keeps picking out the hottest guys of the group; as if he himself isn't the French version of Big Red they look super alike ngl shshsh

WHY YOU RUIN IT WITH THAT ANTOINE I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU

Drama between Antoine and Red is already spicing up shshsh I cannot

Why are you so dramatic with the shuffle Lily gtfo of here...also this doesn't make sense?? She wasn't even on a BATB playlist; what if a non BATB song came on ahahah

Good to know they aren't big fans of The Mob Song like I am Awww EJ you cutie, okay I will appreciate the OG Mob Song just for you

OH WAIT HE PROLLY LIKES IT COS ITS A GASTON LED SONG TIM GIMME THE EJ SOLO I DESERVE IN THIS NUMBER

I'm being robbed of Gaston for the last 7 eps I at least deserve an EJ solo for compensation

The way the set looks straight out of Broadway but also like omg the blue lighting and fancy stage gave me intense flashbacks to that Glee episode where Vocal Adrenaline sang Bohemian Rhapsody

RICKY STOP BEING SALTY AND ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND LIKE A NORMAL PERSON

OMG THE SUBTITLES SAID ITS HOWIE SINGING AS THE BEAST I FUCKING CALLED IT

Howie you hoe you gonna break my girl Kourtney's heart

Yeah...still not a fan of Antoine's Dance Remix

Yall know Gina would kill the dance number if she wasn't wearing that fit

Okay but it's Gaston led song WHY DOES EVERYONE BUT EJ HAVE A SOLO IN THIS SONG??

First the Beasts led it (Howie sounded better than Ricky ngl), then the Lumieres (their voices worked hella well together; I always forget what a talented singer Frankie is THEY NEED TO GIVE HIM A SOLO SONG) and now the Belles are going at it (Ashlyn's voice is superior)

BIG RED BEING JEALOUS AND SALTY IS SO FUNNY ITS LIKE A PUPPY BEING ANGRY I CRI

...Did anyone really win, Lily??? STFU

CARLOS IS RIGHT AND HE SHOULD SAY IT

Oooh I did see someone talk about this when the Rose Song dropped last week, apparently its illegal to add songs to a musical you're doing for a school play; I really thought the show would brush past that irl rule but I guess they are playing into it

THE WAY EVERYONE TURNED TO EJ FOR THE SPORTS METAPHOR I AM D Y I N G AND HIS FACE WAS GOLDEN! ITS LIKE THAT LISA SIMPSON MEME SHHSHSH

Okay Nini is being a little pissy about leaving her song out of the show and its a little selfish to wanna keep it at the risk of being disqualified but I also understand why she's hurt

Everyone is dog piling on her right now being against her idea and it feels like they are being against her song and her herself instead of them not wanting to be disqualified. Also like she poured her heart and soul into the song after Miss Jenn lowkey rushed her to write it. So I can see why this feels like a rejection of her and her song and why she's so hurt rather than her seeing the big picture right now

It doesn't help that Ricky said the final blow causing her to walk off

Okay maybe Zackey gets some rights for being chill and wanting the kids to be peers

THIS MOTHERFUCKER I KNEW HE WAS SHADY Also the way I gasped even though I predicted he stole the mask halfway through this ep shshsh

Stab him Miss Jenn STAB HIM

Bitch why you so threatened by East High if yall have such a Broadway-esque show planned??? They honestly should have stuck to the Little Mermaid; I really wanted to see the aquarium

"It's just a song Ricky" "A song can mean everything" Do you get deja vu? Anyone else getting intense flashbacks to Jan when DL first dropped and all the drama happened 👀

YES PLEASE STAY CO ANCHORS Gosh I love them so much esp once you take the romantic connotations out of their interactions

ROUGE GRAND I'M SCREAMING

I love this long take of checking in with everyone's relationship status (still hate how romantically focused this show has become but still a cool shot)

I K N E W IT I WAS RIGHT

Okay but like looking at Kourtney's face I have never wanted to be wrong so bad GOD I HATE IT HERE I really think he likes her and I hope they work it out

Nini setting up her own music acc feels like when Olivia rebranded her whole IG to be just for her music stuff - love this for both of them

AHHHHH SHE'S NINA NOW YALL

I know everyone loves her as Nini but like I have always loved the name Nina and it really suits her to be honest also shows how she's growing up now and kind of leans into the lyric "I won't be confined to your point of view" from The Rose Song because Nini is the nickname Ricky gave her so it shows that she's outgrowing him too and I love that for her!

Overall thoughts; they really crammed all the North High drama into one ep huh. Personally would have liked it if all of this was spread out throughout the last few episodes; like different hijinks for every episode. I'm just a big fan of properly setting up the overall arc over the season instead of patching it together closer to the climax/end of the show. Cos now it lowkey feels like two different seasons - 2A felt like The Rini/Rina Show esp with YAC storyline and whatever was going on with Rina and now 2B is finally feeling like what this season should have been all this time

[translations-by-aiimee]

Dig a Grave to Dig Out a Ghost - Chapter 3

Original Title: 挖坟挖出鬼

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Chapter 3 - Mortuary

There were always one or two friends in your life who you're never afraid will scold you or hang up on you in the early morning hours, even if the reason is because you had a nightmare about potatoes in your home growing lots of hair. Yin Zhou was this person to Lin Yan. He had two long strands of messy hair on his head, always wore unwashed shirts, and the eyes under his glasses could never focus because of how long he had spent gaming.

They grew up in the same neighbourhood, attended the same elementary school, middle school and high school, and they were each that "brilliant other child" in the eyes of both their parents. Since childhood, Lin Yan, regardless of how hard he worked, achieved the high grades that Yin Zhou could have achieved if he didn't skip class every day. No matter how good his grades were, his parents would praise Lin Yan for his diligent and hard work. After the college entrance exam, the two drank a glass of wine as a farewell and celebrated them parting ways. Unexpectedly, Yin Zhou missed half a page of questions while writing the math papers, but he still went to the same university as Lin Yan, so almost two. So the friendship continued with the constant cycle of loving and hating each other.

Later, they were divided by their majors. Yin Zhou studied electronics and Lin Yan studied history. From then on, there was little crossover with the two majors. Without the pressure of competition, the two of them became much closer, playing games, flirting with girls, talking about politics; there was no end to their activities.

The 'regular place' referred to the bar.

When Lin Yan walked in, he saw Yin Zhou shooting his shot with a girl at the bar unsuccessfully. Lin Yan called his name several times before he turned around. Yin Zhou opened a bottle of beer and his eyes widened: " Yo, you weren't responding to any of my calls or texts. Were you on a date?"

Lin Yan drank half the bottle in single breath, and said calmly, "I've got lost and was going around in circles."

"Got lost?!" Yin Zhou stared at him for a long time. Seeing that Lin Yan wasn't joking, he couldn't help but smile and said, "Are you feeling alright? If you're feeling sick, let this brother take you to the hospital."

Lin Yan was in a weird mood because of all the strange events that had happened. Now, his voice wasn't very strong either. He simply put down the beer bottle, put his hands on the table, raised his voice and shouted into Yin Zhou's ears: "I! Saw! A! Ghost!!"

His voice was so loud that most of the people at the bar heard him. They turned to look at him like he was crazy.

Yin Zhou hid his face behind his hand and muttered about how embarrassing it was. After thinking about it, he raised his head and said with a dazed expression: "Was it a female ghost? Was it pretty?"

Lin Yan was at a loss for words and the muscles on his face twitched.

Then Lin Yan explained all the night's occurrences to Yin Zhou in extreme detail, but he started regretting it halfway through. Yin Zhou obviously was eating it up, and a pair of unfocused eyes were shining with an excitement that couldn't be matched in ten thousand years. He rubbed his hands together and stammered when he heard the section of the figure under the street light: "This is too unscientific, or maybe it's too scientific. I'll apply to use one of the labs tomorrow, maybe I can figure this out!"

Lin Yan wanted to smash the beer bottle on his head.

"You seem busy, I'll head out first."

Yin Zhou caught him before he walked away and scratched his head: "Alright, alright. I'm just kidding. Have a drink first and we can go back to my place afterwards."

"Let's be optimistic. If that thing is a guy, then you've got to get rid of him immediately. If it's a woman, then she should definitely get down on her knees to see what is under your jeans."

Lin Yan was actually very grateful to him when he drove Yin Zhou all the way to his house. He thought that unreliable people would have unreliable benefits. No matter how weird things were, he would really listen to them, but he immediately regretted it once they reached his apartment. The reason was simple: Yin Zhou's room was dirty and no living person would ever be found in this room.

The sight that Lin Yan was faced with when he stepped in the door made him scream inside. It's better to go home and be scared to death by ghosts. God only knows how he lives like this. It was a 10-square metre rental with rubbish and clothes littering the floor. There were mountains of instant noodle boxes on the table. Some of them were being used as ashtrays and there were cigarette butts floating in the murky soup. He had no idea how long they were left there, but they were exuded a rancid smell.

The laptop was thrown on the bed, and there was a line of characters moving across the screen. Yin Zhou rushed to take a look, and groaned: "It's been going on repeatedly. The program has to be changed." After he was done talking, he didn't pay any more attention to Lin Yan. He leaned against the headboard, flipping through his notebook and clicked to stop debugging, tapping on his keyboard with his long fingers.

"There is food in the cupboard. If you get hungry, grab something to eat."

Lin Yan opened the cabinet and inspected Yin Zhou’s selection. Various brands of instant noodles, rice vermicelli, pickled mustard greens, a large number of ham sausages that were about to expire. . . If this guy croaks one day, the number of preservatives in him would help him survive for at least thirty more years. If ancient people had eaten things like this, it could've saved conservation historians so much time.

"Do you have any clean clothes? Mine are soaked from the rain. Could you lend me some dry clothes first."

"There's some on the ground. Grab those."

After feeling Lin Yan's murderous glare, Yin Zhou reluctantly got up and slowly opened the wicker basket at the foot of his bed: "Yes, yes, my mother comes to wash my clothes once a week, and the clean ones are here."

After speaking, he threw him a graphic t-shirt.

"You earn so much from your projects yet you live in such a shabby place. You don't even own a washing machine, and that quality of life is catching up with you. Aren't you afraid that your arrogant old man won't give you money to marry a wife in the future? Lin Yan took off his shirt, stretched the t-shirt over his head and put it on. With the shirt over his head, he asked in a muffled voice: "Help me find a pair of pants."

Yin Zhou threw his hands up and said with disdain: "You're being so picky. A person uses so much stuff when they are alive but when they're dead, they only need a coffin. Why are you being so particular about this?" After finishing speaking, Yu Guang looked at Lin Yan with a smirk. : "Xiao Linzi's figure is good, the fitness card is not for nothing."

He glanced at Lin Yan with his peripheral vision and gave a sly smirk: "Little Brother Lin is in good shape, your gym membership wasn't bought in vain."

"Don't you dare call me Little Brother Lin, I'll show you want a real man is!" Lin Yan picked up the electric kettle that was thrown by the bed, wiped off the ashes, and smacked his lips.

Lin Yan picked up the electric kettle that was thrown near the bed, wiped off a handful of cigarette ashes, and smacked his lips.

"Disgusting."

Yin Zhou ignored him and spoke to himself as he flipped through his suitcase. "I remember I had a pair of new jeans, where are they going. . . Huh? What's this? Did my mother leave her clothes in here?"

This was. . .

The body was made of red satin, black lining, with loose sleeves that hung down, and there was heavy embroidery around the wrists. Yin Zhou shook it out curiously. Just as he was about to hold it up to compare it to his body, Lin Yan cried out: "Put that down, don't touch it!"

Looking at Lin Yan's pale face, Yin Zhou also noticed that something was wrong, so he threw the red clothes on the bed.

"These are mortuary clothes. It's for the dead." Lin Yan said weakly.

Yin Zhou's face also changed.

"This thing doesn't belong here."

Yin Zhou looked around his room, as if to relieve the nervous atmosphere, he laughed twice: "Is it wrong? How about I call my mother and ask if she left it."

Yin Zhou looked around his room. Trying to break the tense atmosphere, he laughed twice: "Was this a mistake? How about I call my mother and ask if she put it in here?"

Lin Yan looked at the clothes and said dejectedly: "No need, I believe you."

He was getting angry, thinking that this thing was trying to provoke him no matter what, and now it was involving his friend. He was clearly trying to get a reaction out of him.

For a while, both of them were speechless. The room was silent except for the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Under the light of the bright light, the red clothes were laid straight out on the bed like paper. Despite its bright colour, it was gloomy and had a terrifying appearance. The ancient style and the luxurious fabrics exuded such a cold atmosphere that it was like the sun had never touched it.

Ten minutes later.

Lin Yan picked up the car key on the table. He sighed and said to Yin Zhou: "I'm going back home. This thing is coming after me, staying here will only hurt you."

Yin Zhou spat out: "Don't give me that bullshit. It would be stupid to go back by yourself, just stay here."

What Lin Yan wanted to say was interrupted by Yin Zhou: "We're close enough that you're wearing my pants. Won't I be the one that will have to explain what happened to your parents if there's an accident? Don't mess with me. We'll talk about this in the morning."

After talking, yin Zhou searched under the bed for a while. He found another notebook and handed it to Lin Yan: "Do you think a ghost would be able to scare us to death? Hurry up, let's get some kills on Dota!"

Lin Yan was silent for a while, opened his notebook, and said with a smile: "You asked for it, I won't go easy on you!"

The light flickered and dimmed, and the room became more and more gloomy. Lin Yan knew instinctively that something was staring at him somewhere in the room. Maybe it had a pale face, wrapped in a red mortuary, and said sorrowfully: Your death is approaching.

This must be the weirdest night in his 22 years of life, Lin Yan thought. Once the sky begins to get bright, things will be over by dawn.

The red mortuary was like a long, stiff corpse lying on the bed, the sleeves folded across the front as if to remind him that this was only the beginning.

[atlafan]

Take it Slow - Part Forty-Two

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: Fluff and Smut. 

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

Harry wakes up feeling your butt shift against his pelvis. He opens is eyes slowly and sees you scrolling on your phone. You were reading something, but he couldn’t make out what. His head didn’t feel too bad, but he knew he drank too much. He felt so happy he had you to take care of him. He was also happy that your drama with Sarah had come to a close.

The arm that’s draped over you moves up from your stomach and to your breast. He presses his morning wood against you. He kisses on your neck and you wince.

“What’s wrong?”

“Spot’s a little tender.”

“M’sorry, did I hurt ya last night?”

“Didn’t hurt while you were doing it.” You turn onto your back so you can look at him. He gets a better look at it.

“Yikes, I’m sorry. I’ll, uh, cool it there for a bit.” He rests his head on your chest. He lightly plays with one of your piercings. “You have such a beautiful body, you know that?” You giggle and run your hand through his hair.

“Thanks babe.”

“You took care of me last night?”

“Mhm.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have drank that much.”

“It’s okay, you weren’t that difficult to take care of.”

“Are you sure?” He props himself to look at you. “Sometimes I can be a real goober.”

“Oh god.” You groan while he laughs.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t get over it. What a weird name for candy!”

“But they were good right?”

“Yeah I actually really liked ‘em.” He kisses your cheek. “Is there anythin’ we need to do today?”

“Grocery shop, laundry, other chores.” He groans.

“I hate cleanin’.”

“Well…you don’t really clean.” You stroke his cheek gently.

“Wha’? I clean.”

“And then I re-clean.” You smile. “I really don’t mind. I kinda like doing it myself. If you want maybe you could meal prep the lunches.”

“Deal. And I can do all the laundry.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that.” He moves to hover over you, and he kisses on the less tender side of your neck. Your phone starts to go off. It’s Niall.

“He can wait.”

“It could be important, Harry.” You swipe to answer the call. “Hey baby what’s shakin’?” Harry glares at you. He can hear Niall chuckling.

“He still in bed with ya?”

“Mhm.”

“You’re funny.”

“I’m aware. What’s up?”

“Do ya have plans later today?”

“Well it depends on when I finish all my chores and stuff, why?”

“Wanna come over for dinner?”

“Just moi?”

“Just toi! Sarah’s totally cool now.”

“Oh that’s great. Did you two have a good night?”

“Very good.”

“Yay! Okay sure I’d love to come for, shit, dinner.” Harry’s hand moved between your legs and started rubbing on your clit.

“You okay?”

“Mhm, I’ll text you later okay?”

“Alright, BYE WIFEY!”

“Bye hubby!” You hang up the phone and put it on the nightstand. “Very funny doing that while I’m on the phone.”

He moves your legs to wrap them around his waist.

“You know I don’t really like the husband/wife shit.”

“It’s just a joke, chill.” He nods.

“Hm, chill?”

“Yeah, chiiillllll.” He plunges two of his fingers into you. He smirks at your reaction. You tighten around him and moan out. You loved having sex in the morning, you were always way more stimulated. “Fuck.”

“So he invited you over tonight?”

“Harry please.”

“It’s a simple question.”

“I, fuck, don’t wanna think about him right now.”

“Good answer.”

He pumps in and out of you faster. You move your hips along with his fingers.

“Harry, please use your cock.” He pulls his fingers out of you completely.

“Nah, we gotta go grocery shoppin’.”

“What…what do you mean nah?”

“We have shit to do today, love.” He gets off of you and goes into the bathroom, leaving you there stunned. What in the actual fuck? Was he seriously edging you? He comes back out and smirks at you. “C’mon, time to start the day.” He starts getting dressed. You get out of bed, glaring at him.

You were completely frazzled. Not only did he deprive you of his dick, but he deprived you of an orgasm. Rude. You get dressed, and go through the shopping list on your phone. Harry throws a load into the wash before you leave. The car ride is quiet at first.

“Harry…you’re not mad that I’m hanging out with Niall tonight, are you? Would you have preferred I asked before agreeing?” You’re asking in a genuine tone. You didn’t want his feelings hurt.

“Not at all.” He places his hand on your thigh. “Want ya t’hang out with your friends. Why would you think I’m mad?”

“I don’t know…this morning…” You pinch your legs together.

“Left ya hangin’ did I?”

“Little bit.” He nods but doesn’t say anything else.

You get through your shopping. You clean up the kitchen while Harry flips the load of laundry. You turn some music on, and start mopping. Harry watches while you dance around with the mop. Next you dust and vacuum while he starts prepping your lunches for the week. It was a pretty good system. You really didn’t mind cleaning. You knew he wasn’t going to deep clean certain things. Plus, you loved when he cooked so you knew you’d enjoy your lunches even more this week.

“All done babe.” He says throwing the sponge back in the sink. You hug him and kiss him on the cheek.

“Thank you so much! I can’t wait to eat your delicious creation this week.” He wraps his arms around you.

“My pleasure. Thanks for cleanin’ everything else up.” He squishes his nose to yours and you giggle.

You tilt your head up to kiss him. You were still feeling sort of deprived from earlier, so you deepen the kiss. His hands slide down to your butt and kneads your cheeks. His eyes glance over to the clock. You feel him smirk against you.

“What?”

“Nothin’, you should get goin’, wouldn’t wanna keep hubby waitin’.”

“You are mad at me…”

“I promise I’m not. Go on, have fun.” He kisses you on the cheek.

“I don’t have to go right this second, we could-“

“Nah.” He shrugs and goes over to his desk. “I have some stuff I need to get done, love.” You sigh and grab your things.

“Alright, I’ll be back in a little while.”

//

You drive to Niall’s slightly annoyed. You knew exactly what Harry was doing to you. He wanted you to want it so bad it would be all you thought about while you were with Niall. Maybe you wouldn’t want to stay as long, or maybe he just wanted you to think of him the entire time. You ring Niall’s buzzer and he lets you up.

“Hey!” You both say at the same time and hug. You come in and hang your jacket up. “I ordered a pizza, know you don’t get to have real cheese too often.”

“God that sounds amazing.” You both get settled on the couch.

“Thought I would put that Wet Hot American Summer series on in the background while we chat. Haven’t watched that in a while, but it’s not somethin’ we need to pay attention to.”

“Good thinking.” He turns on Netflix and puts the show on.

“Okay, I want every single dirty detail, and I want it now. How was the first time?” You take a bite of the pizza.

“Where should I begin…”

You tell Niall everything, even down to Harry accidentally coming on your face. You both laugh hysterically about it. You tell him about the couple of times after that, and you laugh even harder when you talk about Niall walking in on you.

“That was so awkward.” You say.

“I felt terrible about it. Literally was the last thing I was expectin’.”

“So everything really is cool with you and Sarah now?”

“Yeah, we talked through a lot. She felt really bad for trying to ruin our friendship. She explained she just needed more reassurance, which I’m happy to give her.”

“Little Niall, in love.” You jostle the hair on his head.

“It’s a great feelin’ for sure.”

“And she was fine with giving up a date night to let you hang with me tonight?”

“Yeah, she said her and Rachel were going to hang out.”

“Oh good.”

“And Harry was okay with it?”

“Mhm. We got all of our Sunday chores out of the way today, so tomorrow we can do whatever.”

“So what’s he up to then?”

“Working, I think.”

“Do ya want anythin’ t’drink? I have tequila.”

“Yes please! Do you have anything to mix with it?”

“Orange juice work?”

“You bet!” He comes back with the drink. “Thanks.”

“Alright, so, I know we’ve both been busy so I’m assumin’ you haven’t watched the second season of You yet?”

“Nope.” You grin.

“Shall we take the opportunity to binge?”

“I don’t think we have a choice.” Niall pulls up the show, and you both get comfortable.

“The first season was so good, I hope this is a good follow up.”

“I’ve heard excellent reviews.”

//

Harry didn’t realize how much time had passed. He had ripped through a ton of his freelance work and had actually gotten caught up. When he looked at his watch and saw that it was nearly 9:30, he got a little worried. You said you were just going over for dinner. He didn’t think this would be a late night thing. It was Saturday night after all. He wanted to call to see when you’d be home, but he didn’t want to seem controlling.

//

You were on your third drink, and third episode. You knew it was getting late, but this is what you and Niall used to do all the time. You would binge entire seasons of shows together. You were also just enjoying the quality time. You guys had a lot of time together at work, but it was nice to not talk about work.

“I love the way this show is narrated.” He says.

“Me too! It really feels like someone’s inner thoughts. I also just like the way his voice sounds. The cadence is interesting.”

“Agreed.” You finish your drink. “Hey, could I have some water, I should probably start to sober up.”

“Sure!” Niall gets up and fills a glass for you. “Here ya are.”

“Thanks.”

“You know I can just drive you home?”

“I know, but then I’d have to come to get my car tomorrow and it’ll be a whole thing.”

“You could call Harry. Bet he would just uber over here, then he could drive your car back.”

“No, I don’t wanna bother him.” You sigh. “I don’t think he likes that we’re married.” He starts laughing.

“Harry? I never would’ve guessed.” He says facetiously. “Jesus, he’s not gonna start gettin’ all jealous now is he? We just got over all this drama.”

“I don’t know, he was acting weird earlier. I don’t think it’s jealousy, I think…I think it’s a territory thing.”

“Ohhh, yup, I could definitely see that. Something I’ve learned about him over the years is that once something is his, he doesn’t really like having to share it, even if that thing has someone else in their life.”

“So…he’s done this with other girlfriends?”

“No.” You raise an eyebrow at him. “M’talkin’ about Louis.”

“Oh! Like when him and El first got together?”

“Even when him and his ex were together. Harry got very territorial with him. But Lou was also territorial with Harry.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know really.” He shrugs. “They had this like big brother/little brother thing. They were just protective of each other. I also think, at the time, Harry couldn’t wrap his head around Louis only wanting to be with one girl since he was happy just hookin’ up.”

“You don’t think he’d try to tell us we couldn’t hang out, do you?”

“Nah. But I could see him making sure it’s known that you’re no one’s but his.”

“He knows that.”

“Yeah, but he wants to make sure everyone else knows that…I’ve told ya before, he’s sorta needy. Little bit clingy.”

“So I’ve noticed.” You smile.

“You don’t mind?”

“Honestly? No. I kind of like it. I’ve never been with someone who just likes everything about me the way he does. I think…he really sees a future with me.”

“And movin’ in together didn’t make ya realize that sooner?” He smirks and swat your hand at him.

“He’s just been dropping small comments lately. Like, for example, he mentioned how our potential new place had room to grow.”

“For like a dog?”

“That’s what he said when I asked him to clarify, but I think he meant for like a baby.”

“He loves babies.” He chuckles.

“I know! And then last night when he was drunk, I made a joke about something for the rest of my life or whatever, and he was like I hope so.” You sip on your water. “Like…does boy wanna marry me?” You giggle.

“Y/N, you really read too far into things. I don’t think he’s been thinkin’ about it yet…even if he has, so what? A lot of people get engaged after being with each other for a year, sometimes less. Oh! Like in I love you man, Peter and Zooey get engaged after only eight months and they’ve been livin’ together.”

“Oh my god, how cute of you to compare us to one of the best film couples of all time.” You put your hands over your heart. “We need to watch that movie again, I love it so much.”

“Maybe that could be our next double date! We could invite Rachel and Lora too.”

“If Harry and I get the apartment we could have a small house warming and watch it!”

“Why are we literally the two most brilliant people in the world?”

“This is why we’re mom and dad of the division, I swear to god.” You both laugh.

Around eleven you decide to call it a night. You were itching to get home to Harry. You were surprised he hadn’t texted you, but to be fair you hadn’t texted him. You help Niall clean everything up.

“Text me when ya get home.” He hugs you.

“Will do.” You hug him back. “Thanks for a fun night, love ya!”

“Love ya back!”

//

You key into your apartment. Harry was wrapped in a blanket on the sofa watching TV. You smile when you see him.

“Hi baby.” You say.

“Hi there.” You walk over and sit down next to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Have fun?”

“Mhm.”

“Didn’t think you’d be gone for so long.”

“I’m sorry, I should’ve texted you to check in. Time just got away from us.”

“What did you guys do?”

“Caught up on life. Then we binged the first few episodes of You season two. It’s really good so far. I can’t wait to keep watching. We’ll have to use our lunch breaks to keep watching together.”

“That’s all you guys did, sit and watch TV?”

“Mhm, we love watching TV together. We like to make insightful comments with each other.” He can smell the tequila on you.

“Did you drink?”

“A little, but don’t worry I sobered up. That’s why I’m home so late, I didn’t wanna be buzzed.”

“You could’ve called me.”

“I didn’t wanna bother you babe. What did you do tonight?”

“Got caught up on all my freelance shit.”

“That’s great!” You smile at him. “I appreciate you being so cool about me hanging out with him tonight. He really is one of my best friends, and I’ve missed spending alone time with him.”

“I get it, making time for friends is important. Just maybe next time could you let me know when you’re going to be home? I didn’t know if I should wait up or not, and then I got kinda worried.” He rubs the back of his neck. “But I also didn’t wanna call because I didn’t want you to think I was up your ass.”

“I’m sorry baby, I feel bad you were worried. I’ll definitely check in with you next time.” You yawn. “Are you ready for bed? I’m tired.”

“Sure. Did you, um, think of me at all tonight?”

“Course I did.” You kiss him, and get up. He follows you into the bedroom.

You go into the bathroom and do your nightly routine. When you come out Harry’s in the bed with his glasses on, an arm behind his head, and the other hand has his book in his hand. You notice it’s a new book. You get into bed.

“What’s this one about?” You tap the outside of the book.

“Oh, this is a good one. This is a friend’s to lovers story. I think I’ve read it like four times already. It’s one of my favorites.”

“Would you read it to me since you’re just starting it?”

“You’re going to fall asleep though, I’d want ya to be fully invested.”

“I’ll tell you what, I will sit up while you read, and if I feel really tired, I’ll let you know. I love when you read to me, please?” He chuckles

“Alright.” You shift to sit up against the headboard. “Ready?”

“Proceed.” He clears his throat.

“’They had been friends for as long as he could remember. They had been through everything together, he was even in her wedding party. Eric was the best friend Jane could have ever had. When her husband left her, he was right there for her. Being a single mom to a two year old was not easy. Eric often helped Jane out on the weekends. He would babysit so she could have some time to herself. He loved that child like it was his own.’”

You were hooked immediately. You loved the way the words fell from Harry’s lips. You couldn’t wait to learn more about Eric and Jane. When you hear Harry yawn you look over at him.

“Think that’s enough for tonight.” He dog ear’s the page he’s on, and puts the book on the night stand. He takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes. “What do you think so far?”

“I am invested.” You giggle. “Do you always reread books like that?”

“Sometimes. I get into these funks where I just miss the characters.”

“God, Harry, you are so sweet.” He turns off the light, and you lay on his chest. “Seriously, you are the cutest thing in the world.” You look up at him. “You’re so sensitive, it’s so sexy.” He feels his cock twitch.

“Really?”

“Mhm.” He rubs your back lightly. You move to straddle him, surprising him a little. “I mean, there’s a lot of sexy things about you.”

“Like what?” He plays innocent.

“Well, for starters, these lips.” You brush your thumb over his bottom lip. “So sexy.” He kisses your thumb. You move your other hand to stroke through his hair. “And your beautiful, soft hair? Incredibly sexy.” You make a fist and tug at it. The hand near his mouth slides down to his throat. You run your thumb over his Adam’s apple. “God, and that deep voice of yours? When you whisper in my ear…I mean, fuck, that’s sexy.”

He leans up and kisses you. There was nothing more he enjoyed than when you loved on him like this. He missed you all night, and you were totally making up for it. His hands move to cup your cheeks as the kiss deepens. Your hands flatten on his chest. Your tongues drag against each other and you moan against him. Your hips roll down on him, and his lift up to yours. You reach between the two of you, and grip his hard cock. You lift slightly, and guide him in. You both moan out at the contact. You slowly grind down on him. You wrap your arms around his shoulders, and hide your face in his neck.

Harry’s hands move down to your hips, and grips you tightly. He helps you move up and down on him as he thrust ups into you. You could feel your forehead sweating against his neck. You were letting out small moans. He was getting in so deep from the way you were sitting on him. You kiss on his collarbone, and suck his skin into your mouth. He gasps at the sensation. He moves you faster on him. Your hands move to his hair. You were feeling so good.

“Harry.” You moan into his ear.

“Talk to me, angel.” One of his hands moves to your clit, and he rubs slow, sensual circles on it.

“You feel so good inside me.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. Do you like how tight I am around you?”

“God, yes.” His head nearly rolls back as you continue to move together.

“You like fucking me like this?”

“Yes.” He says through gritted teeth.

“You make me feel so hot, Harry. I’m so fucking wet.” You tighten around him.

“Oh, fuck.” One of his hands moves to your back to press you as close as he possibly can.

“I love you so much, Harry. You’re the only person I ever want to fuck me.”

“Shit, shit, Y/N.” Harry shoots his come up inside you. Between the warmth from that and the way he’s rubbing on your clit, you release as well. “I…love…you too.” He breaths heavily. He presses his head into your shoulder.

You move your hands to tilt his head up. You make sinful eye contact and kiss passionately. He shifts the two of you so you’re lying on your back. You feel him getting hard again inside you. You wrap your legs around his waist, and rest your heels against his butt.

“You’re the only person I ever want to fuck.” He says into your ear. He takes both of your hands in his and lifts them above your head as he moves in and out of you. “You feel so good around me.”

This was some of the best sex you two had ever had. It was so passionate. You could feel the sweat pooling between both of your stomachs and it didn’t bother you at all.

“Keep talking, baby.” You moan.

“I’m going to fuck you into this mattress.” Jesus. “I’m going to have you screaming.” Oh god. “I’m going to have you begging me to never stop.” Mother of fuck.

Harry delivered on everything he said to you. You had sex four times. FOUR TIMES! You lost track of how many orgasms you had. He had you all over the bed. Eventually you just felt too raw to keep going. You both fell asleep with big smiles on your faces.

//

The next day it hurt to walk. You felt like if you even sneezed your vagina was going to fall out. It honestly felt like after the first time you ever had sex years ago. It also hurt extremely bad to pee. You wondered if your body would ever get used to the way Harry stretched you out.

He was walking on sunshine when he got up. He was enjoying your state of being way too much. He didn’t want you to be in pain of course, but he was very proud of his work. You were completely and utterly fucked for him, and knew it. 

[taylorinthetardis]

Only Human - Prologue and Chapter 1

Hey everyone! So this is the Pride and Prejudice AU I’ve been working on for a while now. It’s set in Modern Day London and told from Darcy’s POV. It is cross posted on AO3, the link to it will be below. I promise I will update it soon, I’ve just been a little bit blocked for a while. But I promise there will be more. So here we go, the prologue and first chapter are under the cut! Enjoy!! Feedback is much appreciated!! If you like it and want to be on a taglist, please feel free to say so!!

Thank you to @madbaddic7ed for all your encouraging words and for convincing me to cross post!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22109365

Only Human

Summary:  The events of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as seen through the eyes of Darcy. Story takes place in modern day London. Lizzy and Jane are American students studying abroad. Their sisters take turns visiting them throughout the story. Bingley and Darcy are recent business partners, but longtime friends. Caroline is as snake-ish as ever. George Wickham is an actual rapist - the rape will not be described in detail.

Pairing: William (Will) Darcy x Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bennet; Charles Bingley x Jane Bennet

Rating: Explicit due to eventual smut

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 2.8K

                                                       Prologue

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I, William Darcy, am an arsehole. The following tale, dear reader, will explain how that came to be and how, I hope, I have made the preceding statement a falsehood instead. The following tale does not often show me at my best. I hope, however, that you may look past my faults and forgive my disgraceful, ignorant, and often impure thoughts as I relay to you the circumstances by which I came to fall deeply in love with the most wonderful, challenging woman I’ve ever met, the method by which I nearly ruined an incredibly important friendship, and the events surrounding the creation of a familial fissure that will never heal. I hope you will not judge me too harshly.

                                       Chapter 1: Hanover Terrace

I was sat in my office. My office. Still getting used to that. When I took over control from my Aunt Catherine in April, a lot of work was done to make this office mine. Catherine’s taste in furniture was, how should I phrase this, medieval. I was honestly surprised we didn’t have to remove any torture devices when her furniture was cleared out to make room for my more practical mahogany desk and overstuffed leather chairs. My degree from Cambridge’s Judge Business School was propped in my bookcase with photos of my parents and Georgiana on either side. The office is still rather spartan in comparison to Charles’ but I don’t mind it. Our companies had recently merged, an event that proved profitable for both parties and served to deepen our friendship. Our offices are across the hallway from each other now, as opposed to being across the Thames. The economic windfall had been excellent for Charles. He had decided to purchase a new home, one big enough for himself and his sister and closer to her university. Charles is an orphan, like myself, and the sole caretaker of his younger sister Caroline, who recently began her studies at the fashion and design school at Regent’s University. I feel for Charles sometimes. His younger sister is an absolute terror, but I guess we can’t all be blessed with saints for sisters. Caroline is an uncommonly cruel young woman. She delights in shit-talking friends and strangers alike. She also is labouring under the delusion that she will one day be my wife. Her older sister, Louisa, has enjoyed several years of trophy-wifery and it seems Caroline has decided that is the life she wants to live as well. Although she just recently came of age, she has flirted with me non-stop since the first day Charles invited me home with him. We’ve known each other since we were 18 years old. We are now 25. Damn near seven years. SEVEN YEARS. Seven fucking years dealing with Caroline’s shite. She just turned 18 earlier this year. What the hell did she think I was going to do with her when she was eleven goddamn years old? Go to prison? I sure as shit think not.

Charles entered my office at around 1. He was bouncier than usual. He had either had more than one of his normal sickly-sweet coffees or he was in love again. Turned out it was both.

“Oh, Will I’m so happy you convinced me to snatch up Hanover Terrace. I met the most beautiful woman in world yesterday. I never would have known her if I hadn’t decided to take your advice. I invited her and her sister out with us tonight. You don’t mind, do you? Even if you do, once you meet her, you’ll forget you were ever bothered.” He spoke at such a speed that I only caught about every third word. My ears perked, however, at the ‘out with us tonight’ part. Out with us? I don’t remember agreeing to go anywhere with Charles. He always wants to go to nightclubs. He knows I don’t dance. He always does this. Drags me to some poppy nightclub with strobe lights and terrible music.

“And how did you meet this one Charles? Spill your coffee on her? No, wait, you were walking Caroline’s stupid pug and she thought it was cute and wanted to pet it.”

“Christ, am I becoming that predictable?” Yes Charles. Every girl you’ve ever fancied has fallen into your life in a cliché.

I nodded.  He sighed.

“Well, it’s different this time. She isn’t like any other girl I’ve been with. More beautiful than Sarah, kinder than Tilly, oh and her sister Will. Her sister has got to be one of the most intelligent women I’ve ever spoken to in my life. They’re both very beautiful Will. If I was a betting man, I’d wager that Lizzie might even be beautiful enough to tempt you out of your shell and entice you to have some goddamn fun for once. Maybe she’ll even get you to dance.” He nudged me with his elbow, winking. Yeah right Charles. Not even Charlize Theron could get me to dance at a nightclub.

“I seriously doubt that Charles. So, what’s this one called, hm?”

“Jane.” He said it with a sigh. Oh, he’s already long gone. “Her sister is called Elizabeth, but she prefers Lizzie. They’re American, Darce. From the Midwest. They’re both studying abroad at Regent’s for the year.”

“And to what godforsaken place will you be attempting to drag me to tonight?”

“I was thinking Drama? I wanna show off a little Will. I really like her; I want to impress her.”

“Drama might be a little much for a midwestern girl, don’t you think? What about that place we went in Camden a few months ago, by the lock?”

“Lock 17? Isn’t that a little down market for you Darce? There isn’t even a dress code!”

“Come off it, you know I couldn’t care less Charles. I don’t even like going out. I just think Lock 17 will be the better choice for her. You don’t want to scare her. Anyway, I think you’ll have a nice time. Without me.”

“Nuh uh, you aren’t getting out of this. You come or you’re dead to me.” I rolled my eyes. Jesus he’s such a goddamn drama queen.

“Ugh fine I’ll go. But I’m not dancing and you can’t make me. I’m a grown man Charles. So, meet at Hanover Terrace at, what, 8pm? Or should we meet earlier?”

“I was thinking 7:30, that way we’ll all have plenty of time to get ready and you can get to know them before we go. I’m going to order the cab for 8 so we’ll have plenty of time to get there if there’s any slow spots.”

“Please tell me you’ll be leaving Caroline at home.”

“Yeah, so she can kick my arse over it later? No chance. Besides, we’ll probably lose her to the dance floor as soon as we get in. She’ll find some nice dumb boy to buy her drinks and you won’t have to see her all night.” No Charles she’ll be on me like white on rice all damn night and you bloody well know it.

“Alright. But I’m not dancing.”

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

I arrived at Hanover Terrace about 7:30. As soon as Charles opened the door, I immediately regretted my decision to come. I should have told him I got food poisoning from lunch or something. Caroline was stomping through the front room, going from box to box screaming that she couldn’t find her favourite clubbing heels. Who the fuck has a favourite pair of heels for clubbing? Heels seem so impractical for dancing. Charles’ new love and her sister had yet to arrive and Charles appeared to be in a slight panic.

“What if she doesn’t come Will?” He said shakily. Christ he’s in a full meltdown.

“I’m sure she’ll be here in a few minutes Charles. It’s not even close to 8 o’ clock yet. You’ve got plenty of time, just relax.” I took a minute to look around his new home. He had barely unpacked. I helped him get everything in order for the move about two weeks ago and he moved in a few days later. Everything was basically where it was when I visited three days ago. “Have you genuinely not unpacked anything Charles? How are you even living in here?”

“I’ve got enough clothes unpacked upstairs to last another week probably. Caroline’s rarely home in the evening anymore so I just keep getting take-away. There’s a Chipotle just around the corner on Baker Street. You know I love a burrito bowl. Something I have in common with the lovely Jane.” Gag. Well, at least the movers got his furniture set up, although most of the downstairs furnishings were unusable because they were covered with cardboard boxes and plastic totes and suitcases. The sofa in the main living area was clear enough that I took a seat. Caroline continued her tear through the front room until a triumphant screech echoed through the relatively empty house. The heels in question were easily six inches high, sparkly platformed monstrosities. They completed a look which can only be described as what a disco ball would look like if it was a contestant on Love Island. Hopefully Jane and her sister would be a bit more sensibly dressed, like Charles and myself. I decided on a plain black tee and black jeans with my black and white trainers. Charles had gone with a less monochromatic palette, wearing a bright blue button down that was almost the colour of his eyes and a pair of dark blue jeans. We’re wearing the same shoes. Us and every other man in London. Suddenly there was knock on the door. I checked my watch, 7:35. I told Charles he was worrying for nothing. He bounced towards the door like Caroline’s pug when he needed a shit. He opened the door to reveal a young blonde woman and a younger looking woman with auburn hair.

“Jane, Lizzie, I’m so pleased you’re here. Sorry about the mess, haven’t had much time to unpack yet, with work and all.” Charles led them through to the room I had posted up in. The dark-haired girl peered at me through purple framed glasses. Her sister gave her a little nudge. Well fuck, Charles wasn’t kidding. God they’re both gorgeous! They were dressed considerably more sensibly than Caroline. Jane wore a low pair of black heels that complemented her red cocktail dress. Her sister was even more comfortably dressed, in black leggings, Doc Martins, and a plain white t-shirt. She wore a black leather jacket over the tee. Neither girl appeared to be wearing much make-up. Both were possessed of the natural beauty that Caroline tried to fabricate in her hour-long make-up routine that left her looking like she had Photoshopped her own face, but in real life. I stuck my hand out. “Will Darcy. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” Wow, sound more like you’re a hundred years old, why don’t you Will?

“Will, this is Lizzie,” he gestured to the brunette, “and this is Jane.” He put his hand on the small of the blonde’s back and she blushed redder than Charles’ hair.

“Lizzie Bennet. It’s so nice to meet you Will.” She took my hand with her considerably smaller one and shook it. It was a firmer handshake than I’d had from some of my business associates. She dropped my hand and her sister took up the vacancy. Her handshake was much softer, grip much lighter, much more feminine. Looking at the two women before me, I wouldn’t have known they were sisters if Charles hadn’t told me. They couldn’t have been more different. One blonde, one brunette. Jane had soft blue eyes, Lizzie’s were bright and hazel. Jane was tall and slender, her sister shorter and softer around the middle. Taking all of her in I came to a sudden realization: she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Okay Will be cool. For once in your bloody life be cool. I opened my mouth, but before I could speak Lizzie launched into an animated conversation with Charles about her day. It was all I could do not to stare at her mouth while it moved faster than Charles’ ever had, no matter how in love he was or how many Frappuccinos he had consumed. I sat back down on the sofa, while Lizzie sat on the carpet, Charles on the coffee table, and Jane remained standing. Lizzie told us about one of her professors, an archaeologist who taught university classes when he wasn’t on digs.

“He’s like a real-life Indiana Jones except without the bullwhip and the hat. And he’s not Harrison Ford. But still. Oh, and don’t even let me get started on my Shakespeare professor. George. He’s my most favourite.”

“I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying your studies Lizzie. But don’t forget to explore the city while you’re here! London is full of endless things to see and do. I’ve lived here most of my life and I still haven’t seen everything!” Charles is so blessed. I wish I could just talk. Talking is better than staring. C’mon mouth, work! “Wouldn’t you agree Darce?”

Shit, I have to talk now? I nodded, again opening my mouth to speak, but no words came. Charles picked the conversation back up, turning to Jane to ask if she had a pleasant day as well.

“Yes. I took a lovely walk through Regent’s Park today. I only have the one class on Thursdays so I’ve been using the rest of the day to explore a bit. Lizzie’s schedule is so much fuller than mine so I’ve been finding places for us to go on the weekends. We’ve gone to Camden Market and Hyde Park. When you met us the other day, we were on our way back from the Tate Modern, I don’t remember if I said or not.”

“Yes, you said Lizzie was disappointed because she thought you were going to the Tate Britain.”

“Do you have something against modern art?” Oh, cool. Thanks, mouth. Why did that come out like I’m angry about that? Modern art is dumb. How is a pile of rubber or a cut-up McDonald’s bag art?

“I can appreciate that its art, like how I can appreciate that romance novels are literature or techno is music, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I prefer the old masters and classical art to a splash of paint on a canvas. My little cousin can do that too, does that mean her art belongs in a prestigious museum? Naw fam it sure don’t.” Yes. I wholly agree. Why does she have her eyebrow raised at me? Does she think I don’t agree? What is my face doing? Am I scowling? I don’t want to scowl. Did she say ‘fam’? That doesn’t matter. Why does it feel like it matters?

“You’ll have to excuse my sister. She’s never been shy about her opinions. And she has a lot of them.” Jane shot her sister a disapproving look. Lizzie just shrugged. Caroline chose that moment to come swanning into the room. Seeing there was a perfectly good space next to her brother on the coffee table, she chose to throw herself down into my lap. Oh, for fucks sake. She’s gonna get fake tanner on my trousers.

“Will, my love," I threw up in my mouth a little, "we’re going to have such a wonderful time at Drama tonight.” I can’t wait to burst her bubble.

“Caroline, did Charles not tell you? We aren’t going to Drama. We’re going to Lock 17, in Camden.” I tried to move her from my lap, but she dug her heels into the carpet for grounding. Fat Christ, Charles will you get your sister under control?

She sputtered, on the verge of a full tantrum directed at her brother when, blessedly, Charles’ phone vibrated. “That’ll be the cab. Caroline are you still coming?”

She jumped up off my lap and straightened the piece of sequined cloth trying to pass itself off as a dress. “Of course I’m going Charles. I put all this on, I can’t just not go out now!” She stomped off to the dining area to get her bag from the table. Charles led Jane towards the front door. I extended my hand down to Lizzie, who took it. I pulled her up from the floor. You should let go of her hand now Will. You’re being weird. I dropped her hand like it had burned me. Smooth. She looked at me, smirked and cocked that eyebrow again. Saying nothing, she followed her sister and Charles out the front door. Caroline took advantage of my initial inaction by slipping her arm into mine, leading me towards the cab. And my doom.

[evabellasworld]

The Daily Life of Mayday

For @flyawaybluebirdie. This is my gift to you.

A round alarm clock rang next to him, making him cover his face with his pillow and groan in frustration. “I don’t want to go to work,” Mayday complained, tugging his blanket even closer to him. Being part of the Coruscant Guard who was assigned to the call centre on the Republic’s capital planet, the idea of dealing with madness from his callers makes him gag.

Trained as a sniper back on Kamino, he was the cream of the crop, literally. Like the rest of his brothers, Mayday has tanned skin and brown eyes, with his hair dyed blond and tied into a high ponytail. Despite that, he was given one of the worst jobs that a clone could not dream of. Dealing with idiots on comlinks.

Every single day of his life, Mayday had to deal with a huge tumour inside his head whenever someone called him. He felt like cutting the end of the line, but at the same time, he didn’t have any other choice. If he complains to his superiors, such as Admiral Tarkin, he might get assigned to the worst job in the Grand Army of the Republic, cleaning duty. That’s the last thing he wanted in his life.

But for now, he had to put on a straight face and head to work. Mayday grabbed his red-painted armour that was hanging on the side of his bunk and put it on, before wearing his helmet. He got out of his quarters and headed to the mess hall, pouring himself a cup of black caf. 

Another day, another caf, he said to himself, as he sat down on his desk and opened his comlink while holding his mug when he felt a sudden pat on his pat. 

“Hey Mayday,” Harley spoke, grinning at him. “I see you look sleepy, as usual.”

“Shit, Harley,” he shouted, almost spilling his caf on his armour. “Don’t scare me like that next time.”

“Oh cheer up, Mayday. You’re so uptight sometimes.”

He rolled his eyes at his sister as he focused on the computer screen in front of him. Harley and Mayday were quite close together, their friendship going back to Kamino where they were both in the same batch.

Unlike Mayday, Harley was a clone of Krystal Mereel, who had darker skin, a flat nose, and frizzy hair, which was dyed in pink and blue to match her favourite comic book character, who was a popular villain. She was cheerful and feisty, who tries her best to give positive vibes to her brother, despite not asking for one.

That doesn’t mean he hates her, though. They do love each other, but at the same, he gets annoyed by her never-ending speech about things that he doesn’t even want to hear about every second.

“Mayday,” she snapped her fingers constantly in front of his face, catching his attention. “Are you there?”

“Yes, Harley, I’m here,” he answered, deadpanned. “Also, don’t you have a job to do right now?”

“I’ll do it later,” complained Harley, sitting beside him. “Besides, life is too short to worry too much on small things, you know.”

He just sighed at her remarks. As much as she makes a good point, their superior, Commander Fox, would have a big headache dealing with a slacker like her. As Mayday scrolled through the HoloNet, he received his first call from someone. Oh my God, I wonder who’s calling right now?

“Coruscant Call Centre, how can I help you?” he replied to the call, with a fake smile plastered on his face. He prays for the call to end as soon as possible, but alas, that is only a dream that is unachievable for a clone like him.

“Hey, is this Coruscant Call Centre?” a deep, male voice asked, which made one of Mayday’s eyes twitch. No, this is the Children’s Department, thank you very much.

“Yes, sir,” he refrained himself from making a sarcastic comment in the morning. “This is the Coruscant Call Centre. How can I help you, sir?”

“Uh yeah, I think I have a situation here.”

It better be an urgent one, or I’ll kick your ass. “What kind of situation, sir?”

“Well, you see, I just returned home when I found a tooka destroying my couch.”

Harley and Mayday exchanged looks of amusement and held in their laughter. “Well, sir, that’s tookas for you. They love scratching things, especially couches.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not my tooka.”

“Well, in that case, sir, may I suggest you call animal control? I’m sure they know how to address this problem.”

“Oh, well, alright then. Thank you for your time then.”

As the line was cut off, both of them burst into laughter as Mayday filled up another cup of caf. “I must admit, that was hilarious.”

“Yeah,” Harley laughed along. “I mean, a tooka somehow ending up in your house and ruining your couch? That makes a good comedy on the NecFlic.”

“I agree with you, Har, know nowadays, it’s difficult to find good series down there, if you know what I mean.”

“That is true,” she shrugged, chewing on her toffee sweets that she stole from Thorn’s candy bowl, without anyone noticing. “Nowadays, it’s just lousy sequels for lousy movies and cancellation of actually good series.”

“Yeah, like what happened to Days Ahead? That was the best sitcom, but NecFlic decided to make the second ‘Kissing Scene’ movie instead. I mean, that movie was shitty and problematic.”

“Let’s not talk about that movie,” she scoffed. “Romantic comedy, my ass. It wasn’t even that good anyway.”

“Yeah,” he smiled, when he received another call, which made him breathe. “Coruscant Call Centre, how can I help you?”

“Hey, is this Coruscant Call Centre?” a high-pitched, male voice spoke. Mayday blinked a couple of times before he could answer his question that was asked millions of times. He was a few seconds away from tossing his comm right across his room, but that would spell decommission for him and his job.

“Yes, this is Coruscant Call Centre. How can I help you, sir?”

“Just wondering, but what do you do for a living?”

“Say that we shove people’s ass for a living,” Harley mouthed, inserting her fist inside her mug. 

“Well, sir,” Mayday decided to ignore his sister’s remarks. “We’re here to answer your calls and do our best to help you out with your problems, big or small.”

She slapped her forehead and let out a groan. This is going to be the most exciting conversation I’ll ever watch outside NecFlec.

“Oh, well, I have a couple of problems that I need help addressing.”

“Okay then, sir,” Mayday took a deep breath. “What kind of problems do you have for us to solve?”

“Well, it’s about this girl I saw in school,” the recipient began his story. “Her name is Veronica, and she’s really popular in school and I think I have a humongous crush on her. How do I let her know that I love her?”

For a moment, Mayday was speechless. This man, no, not a man. He’s too young to be a man. Well, this boy dares to call up the Coruscant Call Centre, which was meant to reach out for urgent help, to ask for dating advice to woo a girl that he hardly knows? His fish clenched on his desk and the smile on his face disappeared. 

He only had two hours of sleep. He just finished another round of coffee, and he needs another right now so that he can give a smack on the boy’s head. Some people just want to create chaos in the world, and this boy is the perfect epitome of the word.

“Look, kid, if you want dating advice, then go ask someone else,” Mayday scolded the boy. “This call is only meant for emergencies, okay? Good day.”

He cut the line and took off his helmet, rubbing his temple with his fingers. Harley, who was watching the entire skit, chuckled at his misfortunes. “Well, Mayday, I hate to say I told you so, but yeah, I told you so.”

“Do you ever shut up, Harley?” he replied, in a snarky manner. “Do you?”

“Admit it, Mayday,” she nudged his ribs. “You could have put down that call when you had a chance but no, you decided to go on and ended up with some stupid kid who has hormonal problems, Mayday, so yeah. You should have ignored them.”

“Whatever, Harley. It’s not like you helped me or something.”

She chuckled at his remarks. “Oh, please. I asked you to tell him that we shove people’s asses for a living but you didn’t do that.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. As I said before, you don’t help that much anyway.”

Harley tightened her lips. He knows what he’s referring to, and she had no other choice but to bring it up in their conversation between them. “Look, Mayday, if it’s about that stupid mug that you drank coffee with every day then-”

“Actually, yes, it is about that mug that you broke it.”

“Oh my gosh, vod, it was an accident. I didn’t mean to break your favourite mug.”

“Well, you did,” he turned to his computer. “And you owe me a new mug because of your carelessness.”

“Mayday, I got you a new mug two weeks ago,” Harley pointed out. “I mean, it even has your name written on it twice.”

He glanced at his mug, which says ‘Mayday, Mayday’ twice and twitched his lips. “Well, it’s a terrible mug that you got me.”

She jabbed her fingers on his forehead, prompting him to yelp dramatically. “Ouch!”

“I didn’t even hit you that hard,” Harley stuck her tongue out. “You’re such a drama king.”

“And you're the most annoying piece of shit I’ve ever encountered.”

“Why thank you, smartass.”

“You’re welcome, asshat.”

Before Harley could open her mouth, she and Mayday heard another phone call. With another sigh, he took a seat and answered the call. “Coruscant Call Centre, how can I help you?”

“My tooka is stuck on the tree,” an old lady told him. “Could you help me, please?”

He gave a glance to Harley, who bobbed her head in approval and gave a thumbs up. “In this case, I will redirect you to the fire department of Coruscant so please be-”

“Actually, sir, my grandson tried to climb the tree to grab my cat and now he’s also stuck as well.”

Both Mayday and Harley gleamed at each other before he composed himself from dying of chortling. Well, I am confident that the fire department will be entertained for the whole day.

[supernatural-fangirl1967]

Through the Fire - Part 3

Pairing: Firefighter!Dean x Single Parent!Reader

Warnings: Angst, Mentions of domestic abuse, Fluff

Word Count: 3,732

A/N: This is Part 3 of Through the Fire. Let me know what you think!

Series Masterlist

You flinch when you hear a loud crash from upstairs. You knew you shouldn't have believed Evie when she said "I can dress myself," but you certainly didn't know that she would be tearing her room apart.

"What are you doing up there?" you ask her from the bottom of the stairs.

"Nothing," she replies, which you know never means anything good.

"Are you dressed?"

"Yep."

"Well, come eat your breakfast before it gets cold," you tell her. She comes running down the stairs, and you have to bite back your laugh as you take in the sight of her in her green tank top, navy blue skirt, and two different colored flip flops.

"Look, Momma!"

"Yeah, baby girl," you smile. "But, uh, maybe after you eat, you should change a bit."

"But why?"

"Well, first of all, it's fall."

"Yeah," Evie replies.

"Don't you think a tank top in October might not be warm enough?"

"It's pretty, Mommy."

"It is pretty, but I'm sure that we could find a fall outfit that's just as pretty for you to wear," you tell her. "And maybe you could wear pants instead of a skirt so you can play outside today."

"Okay!" Evie replies as she runs over to the kitchen table. Your phone starts ringing, and Evie looks up at you. "Who is it, Momma?"

"Don't worry about it," you reply, knowing there's only one person who has your number.

"But I wanna say 'hi,'" Evie pouts.

"Just eat your breakfast," you tell her before walking into your living room to answer your phone. "Can't stay away?"

Dean laughs. "I was just making sure you survived last night."

"I think so," you tell him. "Thank you, by the way."

"You gotta quit thanking me," Dean tells you. "I'm just trying to help."

"Mommy! I spilled my juice!"

"Was that Evie?" Dean asks.

"Who else?" you laugh. "I'd better go see what kind of damage she's done."

"Alright," Dean replies. "And, (Y/N), if you need me..."

"I'll call," you tell him. "Bye, Dean."

"Bye, sweetheart."

"Wait, Dean!" you say quickly, hoping that he hasn't hung up yet.

"Yeah?"

"I think... I think I've changed my mind."

"Knew you would." You can practically hear the smile in his voice. "I'll pick you up around seven."

"Tonight?"

"Um, yeah," Dean replies slowly. "Is that a problem?"

You think about telling him that you can't find a babysitter on such short notice, but you know that if you make an excuse now, you'll continue to do so.

"No. That's fine," you tell him.

"Good. I'll see you and the kid around seven."

"Wait," you tell him. "You want Evie to come too?"

"Well, yeah," Dean replies. "I mean, I figured you two were kind of a packaged deal."

You swallow hard. "You have no clue how much it means to me to hear you say that."

"She might hurt me if I don't include her," Dean teases, causing you to laugh. "See ya tonight, sweetheart."

"Bye, Dean," you say before hanging up the phone. You walk back into the kitchen, stopping in your tracks when you see Evie sitting in her seat silently crying.

"Evie?" you say softly as you kneel down beside of her chair. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Mommy," she sniffles. "I made a mess."

"Baby girl, accidents happen," you tell her.

"But Daddy..."

"He's not here right now, okay?" you tell her softly as you gently take her face between both of your hands. "You don't have to worry about him, and you know that I'm not going to hurt you, don't you?"

"Yeah," Evie says quietly as she nods her head.

"Hey, it'll clean up, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy."

"You wanna know something that might cheer you up?"

"What?" Evie asks, her little eyes wide with excitement despite the tears that are still gathered there.

"You and me are gonna go eat with Dean tonight."

She gasps and smiles widely. "We are?"

"Yep," you reply. "Does that make you feel better?"

"Yeah," Evie smiles.

"Good," you tell her. "Now why don't you finish breakfast while I clean this mess up, then we'll find something to do until tonight, okay?"

"Alright, Momma."

You ruffle Evie's hair and press a kiss to the top of her head before grabbing paper towels to begin cleaning up the mess. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mommy, whose knocking?" Evie asks as you wipe away her tears from her latest meltdown. You look up at the clock to see that it's almost seven.

"It's Dean," you reply as you stand up from where you're knelt in front of her bed. "I'm gonna go let him in. You come down when you're ready, okay?"

"Yes, Momma," she sniffs. You press a kiss to the top of her head before starting downstairs to the living room. When you open the door, Dean looks at you and smiles.

"Ready to go?"

"In a minute," you tell him. "Evie's been having a bit of a bad day. I'm giving her a moment to calm down."

Dean's face immediately takes on a look of concern. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah," you sigh. "She just has those after... everything."

"That's understandable," Dean replies.

"Come on in," you tell him.

"If this is a bad time..."

"No, it's okay," you say quickly. "She's been looking forward to seeing you again all day. This might actually help to cheer her up."

"Momma?"

You turn around when you hear the quiet voice, and you smile a bit when you see Evie standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey, baby girl, look who's here," you tell her.

Evie looks over at Dean, and her eyes widen. "Hi!" she says excitedly.

Dean chuckles. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Mommy," Evie says as she looks up at you. "Are we going with Dean?"

"Yeah, baby girl," you smile. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah," Evie replies. "I'm not sad no more."

"Good," you tell her as you hold a hand out towards her. "Come on. Let's go." Evie shakes her head before running over to Dean and taking his hand.

"I wanna walk with Dean."

"Well, alright then," you laugh, watching as a wide smile spreads across Dean's face, blushing and quickly adverting your attention when he catches you staring.

"Come on," Evie says impatiently as she begins tugging on Dean's hand.

"Woah, slow down there, firecracker," Dean tells her as he begins to follow her out the door. "There's no rush."

"Uh-huh. I'm starving!"

"Alright, drama queen," you laugh as you lock the door before following them across the parking lot.

"No, Mommy, I'm a princess!"

"My mistake," you say as you stop at your car.

"We can take mine," Dean offers.

"Okay," you nod "Just let me get her booster seat."

"I don't need it, Momma."

"Yes, you do," you tell her.

"Please," she pouts.

"You gotta have it," you tell her as you open up the car door.

"Mommy, no," Evie whines. "I don't want it."

"Hey, Evie," Dean says as he kneels down to her level. "You'd better listen to your Mom, kiddo."

"But I don't like it."

"I know," Dean tells her. "But she's just trying to keep you safe, alright? Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to, but we gotta deal with it because it's what's best."

Evie huffs and gets a mad look on her face, but she doesn't say anything else. Dean stands and turns to face you, his expression immediately dropping.

"I hope I didn't over step."

"No," you reply quickly as you shake your head. "You handled that perfectly. Thank you."

"Well, sometimes kids just need things explained to them. It doesn't always require a stern voice."

You nod, wondering where this man has been all your life. "Exactly," you say before grabbing Evie's seat and shutting the car door back. Dean begins walking again, and you follow him, your mouth almost dropping open when he stops in front of the most gorgeous car you've ever seen.

"Is this... yours?"

"Yeah," Dean smiles proudly.

"This Impala is yours?"

"All mine," Dean replies. "Although I'm fairly certain Baby's never hauled around a booster seat before."

You raise an eyebrow at him. "Baby?"

"Yeah," Dean says as he shrugs his shoulders. "Come on, don't tell me that you've never named one of your cars before."

"Actually, I haven't," you laugh.

"Can we leave now?" Evie interrupts, momentarily forgetting that she's mad. "I'm hungry."

"Alright, come on, firecracker," Dean smiles. "We can't have you starving on us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I know this place isn't fancy or anything, but trust me, they've got good food," Dean tells you as you look over the menu.

"That's okay," you tell him. "I couldn't afford anything fancy anyways."

Dean reaches across the table, hooking a finger over the top of your menu and pulling it down so he can look you in the eyes.

"I don't know about your previous experiences," Dean begins, "but where I come from, when a man asks a woman out to dinner, he pays."

Your eyes widen. "No, Dean, I couldn't ask you to..."

"You didn't," he tells you.

"Dean, that sounds a little bit too much like a date to me," you say. "Like I said before, I'm not looking for anything more than a friendship."

"Me neither," Dean tells you. "I'm just trying to do something nice for you two."

"Dean, you saved our lives," you tell him. "I think that's enough."

When the waitress comes over to take your order, she begins to obviously flirt with Dean. You're surprised when you feel a small spark of jealousy run through you, but he doesn't even bat an eye at her, keeping his attention mostly on you or Evie. Once the waitress walks off, you look down at the table to avoid Dean's gaze. The only time you look up is when Evie suddenly slips down out of the booth and underneath the table.

"Evie, where are you going?" you ask her, afraid that she's trying to escape.

"Right here, Momma," Evie giggles as her little head pops up on the other side of the table. "I wanna sit beside of Dean."

"Dean might not want you to sit with him," you tease.

"Yeah he does," Evie replies before looking up at Dean. He smiles and nods his head.

"You're okay," he tells her. "Been a while since I've sat beside such a pretty girl." Evie giggles before reaching across the table to grab her crayons and paper that she was working with just moments earlier.

"Did you leave your manners at home?" you ask her.

"But, Mommy, I want to color."

"And that's fine," you tell her, "but you're supposed to ask me to hand your things to you. Not reach across the table."

"Yes, Ma'am," Evie replies, only halfway paying attention as she begins to scribble away. Once she's got her attention completely on coloring, you look back across the table to Dean.

"So, what you were saying earlier, about wanting to do something nice for us."

"Yeah?" Dean says. "What about it?"

"Why us?" you ask him.

Dean raises an eyebrow at you. "(Y/N), what are you talking about?"'

"I know you said you were off duty the night you saved us, but you're still a firefighter, Dean," you begin. "You probably save people's lives all the time. So why us? Why are you so drawn to me and my daughter?"

Dean smirks. "It's killing you not knowing the answer, isn't it."

"A little bit," you smile. "You keep saying you'll tell me, but when?"

"When I feel like it," Dean replies.

"It's not because of my situation is it?" you ask him. "Because I'm a single Mom, and that makes me look desperate, which means I'll probably fall for any guy who..."

"No, no, no, no," Dean says quickly as he shakes his head. "Sweetheart, I didn't mean to give you the wrong idea here, but I'm like you. I'm not looking for this to go any further than us being friends. And even if that weren't the case, I'd never assume anything just because you're a single Mom, and I'd never take advantage of anyone because of a certain situation they're in."

"I'm not trying to make you think that I see you as some awful person, Dean," you tell him. "But I have to know for sure what I'm dealing with when I get into a new relationship. No matter how far it does or doesn't go."

"I understand," Dean tells you. "You not only have to look out for yourself, but for Evie too."

"What?" Evie asks as she pops her head up to look at you.

"Nothing," you smile as you shake your head. "Go back to coloring." She's quick to follow that instruction, and you look back over at Dean. "I'm really not trying to offend you here, Dean."

"I know that," he tells you. "And I'm not trying to seem pushy."

"You don't," you tell him. "Like I said, I just have to know what I'm dealing with."

Dean smiles at you, his eyes never leaving you as the waitress comes back with your food. You ignore it, deciding he's just keeping his attention on you to ignore the obvious flirtations Once she walks off again, you look over at Evie who is still coloring away.

"You'd better eat, baby girl," you tell her as you hand her her plate.

"Yes, Mommy," Evie replies as she looks up. When you look back over at Dean, you see someone to the right of him that causes you to freeze up.

"(Y/N)?" Dean says when he sees your face go pale, and your eyes go wide. He looks over his left shoulder to see a man standing a few feet away. Dean turns to look back at you. "Sweetheart?" he says softly. "Is that..."

You nod your head, already knowing what he's going to ask. "That's him," you say softly.

"Who is it, Momma?" Evie asks.

"Evie, don't..." But before you can get your words out, Evie gets on her knees and turns in her seat. She gasps, and you watch as her little body locks up, shaking like a leaf.

"Come here, firecracker," Dean says softly, wrapping his right arm around Evie as she hides her face in his side.

"Don't let him hurt us," she whimpers.

"Hey, don't you worry about that, okay?" Dean tells her. He looks back at you, his heart dropping when he realizes that you look seconds away from passing out. "Hey. Hey, (Y/N)," Dean says softly as he reaches over to touch your hand. You flinch, looking over at Dean with terror in your eyes. "He's not going to hurt you, okay? Not while I'm sitting right here. I won't let him, sweetheart."

"He's coming this way," you panic.

"Okay. It's okay," Dean says soothingly as he gently lays his hand on top of yours that's laying on the table.

"(Y/N)," he says as he walks right up to the table. "Where have you been, honey? You've both been gone for weeks. I've been worried sick."

"Yeah, I bet you have," Dean says sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. I don't believe we've met yet," he says as he holds a hand out. "I'm Brandon."

"Dean," he replies gruffly, not taking his hands off you and Evie, but looking at Brandon's like he wants to break it. Brandon slowly pulls his hand back before looking back over at you.

"Honey, I think it's time you've come home."

You look up at him and shake your head. "I'm happy where I'm at."

"That wasn't a suggestion," Brandon says, giving you a knowing look.

"And I think it's time for you to leave," Dean tells him, his heart breaking when he feels Evie shake that much harder against him. "That wasn't a suggestion."

Brandon smiles. "Look, I don't know what all she's told you about me, but I can assure you that it's all lies. She does this from time to time. Gets bored, runs off, tells people these stories on me to earn pity. It's sad, but if she didn't do it, she'd never have any friends."

"Walk away," Dean says through gritted teeth. "Now." Brandon stares at him for a moment before looking back at you.

"You have one week to come home," he threatens before turning to walk off. Once he's gone, Dean immediately pulls Evie over onto his lap, wrapping both of his arms around her.

"Shh. You're okay," he whispers into her hair. "(Y/N). (Y/N)." You don't acknowledge Dean, instead looking off with a dazed look on your face. "(Y/N)," Dean says as he finally reaches over to place his hand back over yours. You flinch and finally look over at him, holding back tears.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Please don't apologize," Dean tells you as he softly rubs his thumb over the back of your hand. "You want to leave?"

"No," you reply as you shake your head. "I'm not going to let him run me off. I just need a moment to calm down." You look at Evie to see her curled up on Dean's lap. "You want me to take you?" Evie shakes her head, and Dean watches as your frown grows.

"(Y/N)," he says, trying to get your attention. "It's not because she doesn't want you."

"I know," you tell him. "It's because she feels safe with you, and she trusts you to protect us." Evie tugs on Dean's shirt sleeve, and he looks down at her.

"Is he gone?"

"Yeah, sweetheart," Dean replies. "He's gone."

It's not long until the stress from today proves to be too much for the four year old. Evie practically passes out in Dean's lap, and he gently wipes her drying tears from her cheeks.

"You need me to take her?"

"She's fine," Dean replies as he looks over at you. "I'm afraid moving her might wake her up."

"Probably," you say quietly.

"You should try to eat," Dean tells you. You nod, but your appetite has almost vanished now, so you end up putting most of it in a to go box. Once you're ready to leave, Dean stands up with Evie asleep in his arms.

"You need me to..."

"I got it," Dean replies as you both walk towards his car. "We're almost there anyways."

"Dean, I... Thank you," you tell him. "For sticking up for us."

"You don't have to thank me, (Y/N)," Dean replies as he opens up the back door. He carefully maneuvers Evie out of his arms and into her booster seat. Once Dean shuts the back door, he looks over the hood of the Impala at you. "You okay now?"

You shake your head a bit. "Honestly, I don't know anymore," you reply. "I think he's following me, Dean. Or has his buddies watching for me. He seems to show up everywhere me and Evie go."

"Have you tried to get a restraining order or something on him?"

"I've checked into it," you tell him. "But it seems like he's paid off everyone who could help me."

"My brother, Sam, is a lawyer," Dean tells you. "I'll talk to him tomorrow. See if he can help you somehow."

"Dean, you don't have to..." Before you can finish your sentence, Dean opens the driver door and gets in, closing the door behind him. You roll your eyes a bit before getting in the passenger's seat and looking over at Dean. "Did you really think that the conversation is over just because you got in the car?"

Dean laughs a bit as he starts the car up and pulls out of the parking space. "I know I don't have to, (Y/N)," Dean says as he looks over at you. "I didn't say I have to. I sad I will."

"Thank you."

Dean smiles at you. "What did I say about thanking me?" You smile back at him, quickly looking in the backseat to see Evie snoozing away.

"She really trusts you, you know?" you tell Dean. "And I want you to know that that means the world to me. She doesn't trust just everyone. You have to really earn it from her."

"Well, I have a feeling that she's just like her Mom," Dean says as he glances over at you. "And I get it. I really do. After seeing the way he acted tonight, I don't know how you can trust anybody, really."

"It's tough," you reply truthfully. "But I want you to know that I do trust you, Dean. If I didn't after what happened tonight, there'd be something wrong with me. But that also doesn't mean that I'm not going to be a little bit reserved after everything."

"I get it, (Y/N)," Dean says as he pulls up into your driveway. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

You nod your head before getting out of the car and opening the back door to get Evie out. Dean grabs her booster seat, following you to your front door and setting it down on the ground.

"Hey, (Y/N)," Dean says as you unlock your door. "You gonna be okay tonight?"

"We'll be fine," you reply.

"I was serious when I told you to put my number on speed dial," Dean tells you. "If you're afraid to call the police, don't be afraid to call me. I don't care what it is, even if you just have a bad feeling, you call me. Don't worry about what time it is either."

"Okay," you tell him. "Th..." You stop, remembering what Dean told you, smiling at him instead. "Well, you know."

Dean chuckles and nods his head. "Goodnight, (Y/N)."

"Goodnight, Dean," you reply before carrying Evie inside. You shut the door and lock it as best as you can with her in your arms. You carry Evie upstairs to her room, carefully laying her down on her bed.

"Momma," Evie whines a bit as she tries to wake up.

"Shh, go back to sleep, baby girl," you tell her. "I'm right here."

"Where's Dean?"

"He went home," you reply.

"Oh," Evie yawns. "Mommy, I like him." You smile a bit before leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead.

"I do too, Evie."

Tags: @sslater34 @tranquility-or-chaos @justanotherwinchester @maralisa124 @yetanotherreader @flamencodiva @vicmc624 @hobby27 @samsgirl93​ @mlovesstories @campingmonkey @louistwinslover​ @briagallen​ @deans-baby-momma​ @xhannahbananax03​

[msmovingforward]

Hypno-SHEDIDNOT

We open with Jen and the Shah squad in the Nomad Hotel and Casino. Jen informs her team that she's going to the "strip club!!!" I'm thinking, "SHAHMAZING!! We're finally gonna get to see these women do something in Las Vegas that you might actually do in Las Vegas." As it turns out... the promise of this show filming anywhere except inside Luigi's Mansion, er I mean... the fabulous Nomad Hotel Las Vegas or at Heather's Mormon laser conversion therapy "health spa" was an empty one.

Whitney and Heather then have a pow wow following Heather's exclusive in-hotel shopping experience with Jen and Gollum and Whitney, Meredith, and Lisa's riveting experience driving luxury cars. (Side note: many places have "driving experiences" where you can drive a luxury car five laps around a track. You can buy this experience yourself on Groupon for like $49, and you don't have to fly coach to Vegas to do it. When my Housewives take me to Vegas, I want to see Lisa Vanderpump pretending she's ok with the Chippendales touching her. I want to see someone who owns a casino treating their frenemies to a weekend of debauchery. Hell! I at least want to see Camille Grammer dancing like a white girl in the VIP section of Tao!) Whitney reveals to Heather that she's just so glad that they can finally have a drama-free dinner all together, now that Jen has forgiven and forgotten how it was ALL WHITNEY'S FAULT that she threw that glass at Sharrieff's birthday party. (Or so she thought...) This is juxtaposed with a scene of Jen, Meredith, and Lisa sitting down to a dinner I can only describe as if Disney World decided to open a Rainforest Cafe inside the Haunted Mansion and served Lunchables and Stacy's Pita Chips. As we have come to predict, Lisa is loving the elegant vibe this dinner, complete with an oversized margarita topped with a Blue Mccaw, is throwing off. Lisa knows taste. Lisa WANTS to touch this dinner, and she does. She scoops what looks like some sort of spinach dip right onto her plate, as she and Meredith fill Jen in on Whitney's apology at the racetrack.

This is when things turn, and I'm not just talking about Whitney's flawless day-to-night turtleneck tank top and high wasted jean look. According to Jen, it would be nice if Whitney could just be accountable. This is when I realized that we are living in a different world entirely from Jen Shah. In Jen Shah's world, it's appropriate to throw a glass without looking, and when you do that, you're not overreacting. In Jen Shah's world, you can dress like you tore the rainforest-scene wallpaper right off your pediatrician's wall. What ensues is one of the worst examples of a housewife trying to force a story line I've ever seen. It's like when Michael Scott keeps insisting every improv scene has a gun. Stop trying to make this fight happen, Jen! No one cares! Andy Cohen, please tell me she isn't coming back next season. More Jen yelling that Whitney needs to watch her back and more Meredith disengaging follow. We learn from a testimonial that Meredith grew up in a broken home, so the yelling triggers her, so she learned how to disengage. This is FAR TOO HEALTHY of behavior from a housewife for me. I mean, have you SEEN a Housewives show before, Meredith? This is cage fighting for women. Get back in there with your slicked back jet black hair! FaceTime Brooks! HE would have some choice words to say to Jen.

Whitney and Heather show up just as all this is happening. Jen has gone into full-on crazy mode now, and she's doing that thing where you get so upset that you basically just start crying. In this sense I can feel bad for Jen. It really must be challenging to live by yourself with your husband gone three quarters of the year, but this woman needs a hobby more fulfilling than buying friends and saying "shah-mazing..." like maybe buy one of those adult coloring books, Jen. This storyline is getting nowhere quickly. I need Jen to cool it, and I need Meredith to step it up. Jen pushes Heather, and Lisa follows her out into the hotel lobby to try to talk her off the ledge, but she's unsuccessful... probably because her outfit makes her look like a bellhop, so patrons keep trying to get her to carry their bags to their rooms.

  Jen returns to her room to call her husband and further establish herself as the victim in this situation.

We head back to Whitney's room, which looks like it's in a library, to break down what just happened. We learn that Meredith and Seth had previously been separated several times and had both seen other people, but they are currently happier than they have ever been. This puts to rest the cheating rumors that Jen had been trying to drop in everyone's ears, but cuts Lisa to the core because she doesn't feel like she even knows her best friend.

When we return from commercial, more establishing interior shots of this baffling hotel inform us it's the next day; there's a large dog statue, another lost soul from American Horror Story bringing Lisa breakfast ("Thank you. I love that!"), a bathtub right next to Heather's bed, and a creepy clock on Whitney's bedside table. Brooks tells Meredith that the family dog shit all over his blue Moncler coat, and he nearly cried, but he couldn't because he just got Botox at Heather's health spa from a pregnant 16 year old Mormon. Whitney pushes her legs over her head and yawns while her testimonial informs us this is worse than the time she got her period on a waterslide during a trip to the Bahamas. Hot. Lisa FaceTimes Mary and tells her she wishes she were here to tell Jen she smelled like hospital at last night's Velveeta and scorpion bowls dinner. Mary blinks several times and tells us Jen is crazy, and she's been trying to tell us all along! Takes one to know one I guess!

Jen is gone! Then! Jen is not gone because the Shah squad told her to stay. Thank God for the Shah squad!

We head outside where Meredith is dressed in her most elegant oscillot print coat. Heather informs the rest of the gals that she's gonna be late, and we head to... a hypnotist's mansion in the Las Vegas desert? I'm SO confused as to why we went to Vegas to visit these otherwise standard Housewives tropes. The hypnotist tells us to hold balls in our hands because this is how hypnosis works, but not before Jen and Heather show up late, disrupting the whole ritual, causing us all to have to start over. After NO ONE gets hypnotized, we head to the hypnotist's living room, where the hypnotist, who I think is vying for a snowflake, and who I have a sneaking suspicion is not a hypnotist AT ALL, asks everyone whom they do and do not trust. Shocker! Everyone trusts everyone else, except no one trusts Jen, and Jen doesn't trust Heather.

  The episode basically just wraps up there, with more to come next week with the hypnotist. Here are my final thoughts. A) Jen is a terrible friend to Heather and an even worse housewife. When this series premiered, I appreciated her coming in guns-a-blazing, but this victim complex, rage issue thing is not playing out well. I need her off my screen. B) Heather is enabling this whole situation, both with the show being terrible due to Jen's not understanding what her job entails and with remaining in this toxic friendship. C) The other women ARE afraid of Jen, and I would be too. I wouldn't want to be around her. D) I would love if Alison Dubois from Beverly Hills' dinner party from hell would hold a seance in the Nomad Hotel. It could be quite possible the woman we saw this episode wasn't Jen at all but just the spirits in a disturbed Vegas burial ground in a state of unrest, convincing her that all work and no play make her a dull boy.

[gallymagines]

A Fork In The Road - Steve x Reader x Alexei (Part 1)

Summary: Steve Harrington has been your best friend since childhood. Although others thought he was kind of a jerk you’ve always known him as sweet and caring. He’s been there through every step of your path in life and recently you started to imagine him continuing to be with you on that path. Dr. Alexei is your physics professor at your local community college whose kind and happy demeanor have led you to take quite a liking to him on more than just a professional level. With emotions raging and the fact that someone will be left heartbroken, you must make the ultimate decision and choose which road to travel down.

A/N: Not what I usually post but I’ve been on a Stranger Things binge and got inspired. In this story, Alexei did not get shot at the fair and is living near Hawkins. Also, I used google translate.

Word Count: 4.1K

Warnings: None

___________________

September 7th, 1985

The cool breeze swept through your hair and the sunbeams warmed your skin as you walked down the main street of your town towards the entrance of the local video store. This had become a common routine for you on days you weren’t attending your classes at Hawkins Community College. You’d get up, get ready, take the 15-minute walk from your house and arrive at the video store almost an hour after it opened. Why? Well to hang out with your childhood bestie, Steve Harrington, of course! 

After you guys graduated from Hawkins High School and all of the crazy paranormal stuff that had been occurring in the town subsided, Steve decided he wanted to make some money before heading off to college. He previously worked at Scoops Ahoy, an ice cream shop in the Starcourt Mall. Of course, that was before it was destroyed by Russians and the Mindflayer. Working at the video store Steve would explain to others that he wanted to give himself a “financial headstart”. You, on the other hand, knew the truth. After his breakup with Nancy, losing his ‘King Steve” status and every crazy, improbable thing that has happened in this town, he really lost track of where his life was going and what he wanted to do. He didn’t lose passion, just purpose. It made you sad to think about your best friend being so lost. It hurt even more because you knew he saw you making strides during this first semester at Hawkins CC. I mean you were practically top of all of your classes. Well, except for physics. Steve’s always been so caring and supportive of your major and life goals, but there is just something sad behind his eyes whenever you bring up school. You like to think it’s only because he doesn’t know what he’s doing about college, but deep in your gut, you get a strong feeling that it’s something else. When you see the video store you decide to push the thought out of your head and the feeling out of your gut. Pulling the door open you hear the jingle of the bell above you, as it rings to let the workers know someone is here. When you enter you see Robin at the front desk organizing the rental returns so that they can be put back on the shelves. She looks up from her work and says,

“Hey Y/N.”

She glances at the clock before turning her attention back to you.

“3 minutes earlier than your average arrival time.” She jokes

You and Robin had shared a drama class in high school. You didn’t get to know her on a personal level then but you knew she was smart, honest and very persuasive from her interactions with other students. Now though, you guys were close friends and got along really well. It was nice to have someone other than Steve to hang around. It was even better when you guys would tag team to mess with Steve.

“So where’s Captain Hair?” You ask

“In the back of store restocking shelves. Why? You want to see your boyfri-”

You threw your hand over her mouth while glaring at her. Robin pulled your hand off and started to laugh.

“Oh my god, you have it so bad for him.” She teases between laughter

“I do not!” You try to protest, a blush rising to your cheeks

“I don’t know why you don’t make a move. He likes you too!” Robin mentions

She had said this on many occasions. You wanted to believe her, you really did, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to agree. Steve was your childhood best friend. He still is your best friend. But that’s all he’d probably be to you. A friend. As you and Steve grew up, you were always together, and the older you got the more you realized you had a strong affinity for him. He was sweet, funny, caring, not to mention really cute. You had expressed these feelings to Robin but never to Steve.

“You know I can’t do that,” You start to reply “If I-”

You’re cut off by Robin saying,

“Yeah yeah, if you tell him how you feel and he doesn’t feel the same way it’ll ruin your friendship. You’ve said it at least 20 times.”

She looks down at her notepad and makes a tally mark.

“26 times to be exact.” she finishes

“I just can’t-”

You’re cut off again but this time it’s because a pair of arms wrap around your waist and spin you around. You know who the arms belong to and start to laugh.

“Y/N! You’re here!” Steve exclaims

“Of course I’m here, it’s Saturday.” You joke

Steve smiles before asking “Sorry I cut you off, what were you saying to Robin? You just can’t what?”

You shoot a warning glance to Robin before turning your eyes back to Steve. He waits in anticipation of your answer and you reply,

“I just can’t...uh do good in physics. I’m having a lot of trouble in that class.”

“Well, I could help you study again tonight if you want,” Steve suggests

“You’ve helped me study since the first day of class. It helps a little but I can’t fully grasp the concepts.” You complain

“Well, why don’t you go and talk to your teacher? I’m sure they’d be willing to help you.” Steve suggests

You nod your head.

“Yeah, that probably is a good idea. I’ll do it on Monday, as for today though I’m here to be with you.” You reply

Steve smiles and you can’t help but feel your stomach flutter a bit. The way he looks at you with so much happiness just fills your heart to the brim. If only you could tell him that though. You’re pulled from your thoughts when he grabs your hand and pulls you towards the back where he was working. Once you showed up at the video store you guys would play the same game over and over again. Back and forth you guys would hold up a movie with the title facing forward and the description on the back, and whoever had the title facing towards them needed to guess what the plot was just by the title and movie image. Sometimes you guys were close, but a lot of times you were way off base and that’s what made the game fun.

Hours passed, customers came and went and before you knew it, it was time to close. Robin and Steve had to lock up the store so you told them you’d wait outside. As you walked out Steve watched your every move, taking in every detail, from the way your hair moved with every step to the fact that your left shoelace was coming untied. Once you exited though Robin spoke up and said,

“So when are you gonna say something dingus?”

Steve fell out of his trance and asked,

“What do you mean?”

“You like her. And don’t give me that ‘of course I do she’s my best friend’ bs again. You like her.” Robin retorts

“So what if I do? It’s not like she likes me like that.” Steve complains

Robin looks down at the desk drawing something.

“What are you doing?” Steve asks

“Finally giving you a ‘you rule’ tally for admitting your feelings but also adding a ‘you suck’ tally for admitting it to the wrong person.” Robin states

“Thanks.” Steve replies monotonously

“Just take a chance, you’ll never know if you never try!” Robin mentions

Steve rolls his eyes but nods his head. He knows she’s right. He’s just...nervous. How could he ever find the right words to express how he feels for you. How he’s always felt for you. Nancy, all the girls he talked to in high school, all the girls at Scoops Ahoy, all of it was to just push away his strong feelings for you. Did it work? A bit. When he was with Nancy he almost convinced himself that everything between you two was strictly platonic. But every time he looked into those eyes of yours it was always undeniable. He really REALLY liked you.

“I’ll finish locking up, go be with your girl friend, not girlfriend.” Robin remarks

Steve waves goodbye to his co-worker and friend before heading out. When he exits you look up at him and ask,

“Is Robin coming?”

“Nah she’s got some stuff to do. Want to sleepover my place tonight?” Steve questions

“Sure.” You answer

You had been sleeping over at Steve’s for almost as long as you’d been friends. At this point, it was just a tradition and your parents assumed if you weren’t home that night, you were probably there. Heading up the stairs you made your way towards his bedroom and opened the door. His house was your house. Literally. You had as much of your stuff here as you did at your own home. Your own toothbrush, hairbrush, shampoo, space in the fridge, chair at the dining room table and even a couple of drawers full of clothes in Steve’s room. You grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of pajama shorts and walked to the bathroom to put them on. When you came back to the room Steve was already in his bed in a plain white undershirt and probably his boxers. It's always what he slept in so you assumed it was that again. You didn’t mind though, it was just normal to you. Lifting the blankets you got on the other side of his bed. As children, you would share his when sleeping over so it just became routine. When you guys got older though you questioned if it was still okay, especially after your crazy middle school sex ed teacher claimed that if boys and girls looked at each other near a bed they would both get STDs and die. You guys agreed that if you sleep back to back it would still be okay to share, and so you both continued to do that even though you knew her claim was wrong now. Sometimes you wondered what would happen if you faced him. You wished you didn’t sleep back to back, you wanted to face him and look in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around you. It wouldn’t happen though...so you took what you could get and laid with your back facing him. As you turned the lamp off on your side of the bed you quietly said to Steve,

“Good night.”

You fell asleep soon after. Steve, on the other hand, was lying awake. With his back facing you, he glanced over his shoulder, but all he saw was your back. This was normal for him. Every time you slept over he would look to see if this time you were facing him and every time you weren’t. He wished you did though. Steve’s mind raced with the thoughts of what Robin had said. If he didn’t make a move he would never know. And god, did he want to know badly if you felt the same way about him that he did about you. With Robin’s words repeating over and over in his head, Steve took a deep breath and whispered to himself.

“I’m going to do it.”

He slowly tried to work out a plan about how to tell you how he felt. He needed to do it, but if he was going to do it, he was going to do it right. He continued to think but as time passed Steve grew more and more tired. His back still facing yours, he fell asleep.

September 9th, 1985

The alarm of your clock wakes you up as you groggily look at the time. The clock reads 9:03. 

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.” you yell jumping out of bed

You slept through your alarm. It wasn’t the first time but this was the latest it ever happened. If you were going to get to the 9:20 shuttle bus to the community college then you had to move fast, otherwise, you would be late. You quickly ran around your room searching for half-decent clothes to wear. Throwing on a white tank top, you tucked it into a black mid-thigh skater skirt. You then threw on a pair of black keds and a red and blue plaid button up that was “borrowed” from Steve. Grabbing your backpack you raced out of your room, quickly brushed your teeth, spritzed some of your mom’s cherry body spray and rushed out the door. There was literally no time to do anything else. No time to shower, no time to eat what mom cooked, no time for anything. You needed to catch that bus. Usually, you would walk but today you had to run as if your life depended on it so you could get to the shuttle stop. When you got there you were out of breath and a bit sweaty but you hopped on the bus just in time. Catching your breath in the bus seat, you noticed the growling of your stomach and the headache you had from exerting so much energy. Ignoring the problem you arrived at Hawkins CC and made your way to class. Today you had physics, your worst class. The professor, Dr. Alexei, was very kind to all his students and very knowledgeable about the subject. He had come from Russia a little over a year ago and only knew so much English. Enough to talk and teach but he still stumbled on his words here and there. As you walked into the door to your classroom you greeted,

“Good Morning Professor.”

Dr. Alexei nodded towards you with a smile and replied,

“Good morning Y/N.”

You went and sat at your desk as you waited for others to arrive. As for right now, it was only you and Dr. Alexei in the room. You watched as he worked on some papers intently at his desk. For someone around 10 years older than you, he was quite handsome. His rolled-up sleeves on his dress shirt, his naturally messy hair, and the way his glasses fell on his nose were quite attractive to some of the girls in the class, including you. On top of it, he had a positive personality that was intoxicating. In a trance, you looked at your professor biting your bottom lip. When he looked up though you looked away at your notebook. As you looked down at your notes and forced those thoughts out of your head, your stomach growled louder and your head started to bother you more. At 10:15 when class started you felt sick but you decided to push through it. The clock went slowly and everything started to feel like mush. You forced yourself to focus on the board and take notes but your head was spinning and you started to get lightheaded. The person next to you asked,

“Are you okay?”

It was too late for that though, you had already passed out and fallen from your seat. Dr. Alexei stopped his lecture and went over to you. He was distressed at the sight of you passed out on the floor. He looked towards the class of concerned students and said,

“Rest of the class canceled. I will take her for help.”

The students shuffled out as Alexei picked you up and carried you to his office. He placed you on the couch before calling a professor from the nursing program to come check on you. When the nursing instructor arrived she immediately heard the sound of growling from your stomach. Putting a cold compress on your head she turned to Alexei and said,

“Don’t worry it’s nothing bad. Your student most likely passed out from not eating, since her stomach is growling so loud. Let her rest and give her some food when she wakes up. Call my office again when too so I can do a checkup and a concussion test since her head hit the floor.”

Alexei nods yes and the instructor leaves. He closes the door and goes to sit at his desk to do some grading but mainly keep an eye on you. After about 30 minutes you slowly start to regain consciousness. As you do, your body starts to move and your head falls off its position on the couch. Alexei makes his way over to you and gently places your head back on the armrest. He smells the cherry fragrance on you. He always enjoyed when you wore that scent and sometimes he wondered what made you choose that specific one. Did you know he liked cherry? Did you wear it for him? He knew he shouldn’t think like that. Professor-student relationships were forbidden to occur. He could lose his job if anything happened, and without a job, he’d lose his work visa and be sent home. He’d be labeled a traitor. He could be tortured or even worse killed. He already had an attempt on his life once. For all these reasons, it was quite risky for him to have feelings like this for you, but the way he saw you looking at him in the class made him wonder if it would be worth it. He started to talk to himself as you continued to stir. Awakening enough to hear again, you listen as he muses to himself. You can only kind of make out one word that he mumbles,

“прекрасный,” He says

You have no clue what it means though since you don’t know Russian. As your eyes flutter open you look around and notice that this isn’t the classroom. This is an office. Dr. Alexei hands you some food in a container and says,

“пельмень. Pelmeni good food, have some.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t take your food!” You say as your stomach yells at you.

“You are hungry, please eat.” Dr. Alexei asks gesturing to your growling stomach

You nod your head and start to eat but then question,

“But what will you eat now?”

Dr. Alexei smiles and grabs one of the dumpling-like foods from the container before sitting down at his desk seat.

“I eat one, happy?” He jokes

You smile at his joke and nod your head yes.

“Uh, professor?” you ask in a curious tone between bites

He turns his attention to you as you continue,

“Well, how did I get here?”

“I carry you from the classroom to the couch. You fell from the desk.” He responds

“Oh okay.” You say before continuing to eat the food he gave you

Dr. Alexei turns to his office phone and dials in a number.

“She is awake,” He says to the person on the other line before hanging up.

A couple minutes go by and a woman in scrubs shows up. She explains that she’s a teacher from the nursing program and just wanted to check that you were okay before going on your way. She looked at your eyes, ears, mouth, took blood pressure, asked some questions about the year, who is the president, and some other general stuff.

“Well, it looks like you didn’t hit your head too hard! You should be okay but if there’s any drastic pain or memory loss I’d suggest heading straight to the hospital.” She says “You’re free to leave if you feel well enough to.”

The nursing instructor then walked out the door. Before you left you had to ask your professor for help with the concepts you were learning. Ugh, this was so embarrassing though. What if another student heard. You looked at the open door and carefully walked over to it. Shutting it gently, you turned your attention to your professor. He looked at you with wide eyes. You were confused but nevertheless continued.

“Professor, I need to talk to you about something...I feel a bit embarrassed about it but I really think it’s important and that it needs to be addressed.”

As Dr. Alexei looked at you he felt a sense of worry and anticipation build in his gut. Were you going to tell him that you felt something between you two? What would he do if you did? He honestly didn’t know. You looked at him and continued,

“I know I’m doing poorly in class and was wondering if you could give me some extra tutoring?”

“Oh.” is all that came out of his mouth.

You started to backtrack, thinking he didn’t want to do that.

“If that’s not okay it’s fine but I just wanted to ask and all-”

“No, no. It is okay. I can help. Monday after class next week we start.” Dr. Alexei interjected

“Oh good. Well, I’ll be heading out then.” You replied

“Will you be okay to walk?” He asked

“I think so,” you answered

“I will come with you to be safe.” He stated

Grabbing your backpack you walked out of Dr. Alexei’s office and towards the front of the building. It was an awkwardly silent walk but you got the front of the building you saw a car you recognized. A Ferrari 250 GT California. The car that Steve’s dad kept in the garage and never used. And who was there leaning on top of the car? Why the man himself, Steve. He approached you and Dr. Alexei asking,

“So you ready to go?”

“What are you doing here?” you questioned him

“I was at the desk when I saw you run past the video store this morning. Though you might need a ride.” He jokes

You hit him on the arm and playfully yelled,

“Jerk!”

“Wait. Is that my shirt?” Steve asks

“What?? No.....” you said exaggerated

“You thief. You stole that from my closet. I thought I lost it.” Steve says in a fake-angry tone

When you turn to look away from Steve you see your professor looking back and forth between you and him, visibly confused.

‘Oh! How rude of me. Steve this is my physics professor Dr. Alexei. Dr. Alexei this is a longtime friend of mine, Steve.” you introduce

Steve extends his hand and Dr. Alexei takes it. They shake and then Steve puts an arm around your shoulders. He looks at Dr. Alexei and comments,

“I’m sorry she’s doing so poorly in your class. I’ve been trying to help her study, but she’s just not that good at science. Never has been.”

“Hey!” you say to Steve “Just so you know I took your advice and I will be getting some tutoring starting Monday next week. Correct?”

Dr. Alexei turns his attention to you and answers,

“Correct. Monday after class is our date.”

“Date?” Steve asks you with confusion

“He means like an appointment, I told you he’s still getting the hang of English. It’s a very complicated language.” You answer 

“Oh woo. That’s good.” He says while wiping his forehead with the back of his hand “I thought you got a boyfriend and didn’t tell your best pal Steve.”

“Oh my.” you laugh

You look at your professor and say,

“Well, I guess I’ll be going. See you on Wednesday for lab professor.”

Dr. Alexei nods his head but does not say anything. As you and Steve start to leave, his arm still around your shoulders, he comments to your professor,

“Nice to meet you.”

Alexei watches as you two walk to the bright red car. He sees how Steve opens the door for you and the cocky way he slides across the hood. He notices how you laugh at his actions and how your eyes focus on him. He lets out a deep breath and promptly turns around to return to his office. To everyone else, you might be just one of his students but to him, you were much more. He had no clue what to do but he knew he had to do something.

Tags: @hazeofeleven​

[animeniacss]

6 Years - Hoseok x Reader - Chapter 34 - 6 Years Til Forever (FINALE)

Synopsis: 6 years. That’s all it can take to take another look at someone and see that they have completely changed. You were once an eager 20-year-old, with your dreams all in view, and Jung Hoseok at your side to view them with you. However, after a break up the end of your junior year of college, everything seemed different. Now, you’re a recently divorced single mother of two, and your life is nowhere near what you thought it would be. However, after reuniting with Jung Hoseok, you may just be able to capture a little bit of that exciting youth you once knew so long ago.

Feat. BTS Members, Nayeon (TWICE), and Yuna (itzy) 

Genre: Romance, SingleMother!AU, Past Relationship, Drama, Some Depictions of Violence/Domestic Abuse

Length: approx. 4.5k words 

Chapter 34 - 6 Years Til Forever (FINALE) 

Friday morning you found yourself sitting in the living room, awake before even the sun had poked its head out to say hello. You were excited about the picnic, and knowing the girls would be there put you at ease, as they also were unaware of the baby. It was wild, just thinking that yet again, there was a baby growing inside of you, one you created with someone you truly loved. Min Ja and Hyo Bin were the only two things you positively took away from your time with Weong-Bin, but this child? This child was just the beginning of many happy memories that were just waiting to be shared. Despite knowing deep down this would work well, you were still ungodly nervous.

           As you sat in the living room, you heard footsteps approaching from down the steps. Looking over, you saw Taehyung, rubbing his eyes and ruffling his curly hair. You didn’t expect him to be awake at this hour, but here he was despite the slight annoyance etched on his face.

           “Hm? Morning.” He mumbled, walking over to you. “Why are you awake this early?”

           “Couldn’t go back to sleep. What about you?”

           “I promised Hobi-Hyung I would help him get your picnic set up Apparently he had a whole bunch of stuff he wants to make.” You chuckled a bit. “So, you need to go inside. It’s a huge surprise.”

           “Well when Hoseok gets up and comes out here, then I’ll get ready to go inside.” You said. Taehyung sat beside you, and you ruffled his hair. “How does your hair look good even when you first wake up?” you asked curiously as Taehyung let out a yawn.

           “Mmm, I’m perfect, of course.” He said, making a dramatic pose with his hand in front of his face. You rolled your eyes as your brother let out a playful giggle. “So, are you ready to tell Hyung?” he asked. You let out a shaky breath. “You can’t hide it much longer.”

           “I know. I think I’m ready. I just can’t help but think the worst.”

           “You know he’ll be thrilled, right? You just need to tell him.”

           “But what if he just wants it to be us and the girls? I want to be with Hobi forever, which means the kids will be with him too. Maybe two is all he wants.”

           “There’s a difference between kids you help raise and kids that are yours, no matter how much he loves the girls. Besides, Hyung has enough energy for fifty kids.”

           “Jesus, Tae.” You sighed, and once again, Taehyung laughed a bit. “Fifty?” He could only shrug in amusement. “…I didn’t think I would have any more kids after Hyo Bin. I’m a bit nervous too.”

           “You’ll do just fine.” He assured, ruffling your hair. You smiled. “I’m always here too, you know. So are Mom and Dad, who I’m sure stopped at a baby store on their way home.” You laughed.

           “I know they did, they sent me pictures of cribs.” Taehyung laughed a bit. “Once he knows we’ll really need to start saving for an apartment. I wouldn’t want to burden you with-.”

           “Shut up.” He said quickly. “You’re not a burden, don’t rush. There are more important things you need to worry about than a place to live, you’re always welcome here.” You smiled.

           “You’re trying to make up for all those times that you were an absolute pain in the ass as a kid, aren’t you?”

           “I don’t think I’ll ever in my life make up for all of them.” He grinned. You laughed a bit as Taehyung chuckled shyly. ��You should get some more rest before you have to get the girls up. Hyung should be up at any moment and we’re getting right to work.” You nodded, getting up off the couch.

           “Oh, alright.” You hummed, waving him off before heading back into the bedroom. When you walked in, Hoseok was already sitting up in bed, a grin on his face.

           “Why are you up?” he asked curiously. You crawled back into bed just as he was slipping out. “Get some rest, we have a long day today.”

           “Does a picnic really count as a long day?” you asked curiously, cuddling up under the covers. Hoseok grinned sheepishly, scratching his cheek.

           “This one will. I can promise you that.” He assured. You raised an eyebrow. “Aaaah, go back to sleep. I need to go get everything ready.” Without another word, he hurried out of the room. You smiled, laying back and closing your eyes.

Hoseok also realized as he headed down the hall that he wasn’t too sure how he felt when Friday finally rolled around. It was a day he had been planning since he was bored and alone in his hospital room. He made sure he had everything down: he knew exactly what he wanted to say, how he wanted to say it, where he wanted to say it, and even practiced the reactions he would have based on different responses from you. He practiced his happy cry, his sad cry, he practiced not crying at all just in case. He felt that he was absolutely prepared for everything that could happen when it came to proposing to you. He was ready!

           The family was still residing in Taehyung’s apartment until they could find another place to live. Your parents had spent another few day’s there as well before they had to pack up and head back home themselves, leaving the five of you in Taehyung’s nice house. Taehyung had no problem with you guys staying, in fact, he was trying to make your stay as long as you possibly could because he loved having you around. Not only that, but it meant when friends like Namjoon, Yoongi, Jungkook, and Seokjin came by, they would have to come to his house. The trial allowed all 7 boys to finally meet all together and get acquainted with those they had never met before, leading to a tight friendship beginning to form. However, the company was not the focus of today. As Friday afternoon crept its way into Seoul, Hoseok was standing at the counter of the kitchen, with the help of an eager Taehyung. Both of them were chopping up some vegetables, putting side dishes in Tupperware, and setting everything into a nice picnic basket.

           “I’m so excited.” Taehyung beamed, looking at Hoseok.

           “I know, me too. I thought I would be nervous, but I don’t think I am.”

           “Well Noona won’t say no.” Taehyung assured. Hoseok looked at him.

           “How are you so sure?” he asked.

           “She’s my big sister, I just know. She’ll definitely say yes, trust me.” Hoseok hummed.

           “Alright, I trust you then, Taehyung.” He said simply. As he set the final ingredient into the basket and closed it all up, he hummed. “Okay, ready.”

           “Where’s the ring?” Taehyung asked softly, although you were dressing the girls in another room and there’d be no way to hear him. Hoseok simply patted the little pouch that sat comfortably on his waist.

           “In plain sight and yet totally hidden, aren’t I brilliant?” he grinned. Taehyung grinned. “Okay, everything is ready to go. Let’s go see if the girls are ready.” As the boys hurried to the girl’s shared bedroom, Hoseok knocked on the door. “You girls ready to go yet?” He asked. It only took a second before Min Ja opened the door. She was wearing a pair of overalls with a rainbow-striped shirt and matching sunhat. Across her chest laid a tiny flower handbag that Taehyung had bought her to put all her important items, you know, like rocks she found on the floor or pieces of sparkles and glitter she planned to save. Important things. “Wow, how cute you look, Min Ja.” he grinned.

           “I know. Hyo Bin wants to dress like me, but she doesn’t have the same bag. The one Uncle Tae got her was of a heart.” As if on cue, a loud scream ripped from the room, and the boys stuck their heads inside. They saw you wrestling your three-year-old’s socks on, but she was kicking and screaming.

           “Hyo Bin your bag is just as cute as Min Ja’s.”

           “I HATE THE HEART BAG, MAMA! I DON’T WANT IT!” She shouted, sobbing hysterically. You sighed, grabbing hold of a flying leg before it clocked you in the forehead. “MAMAAAA!”

           “You liked it when Uncle Tae took you to the store and bought it, didn’t you?” you asked softly. Hyo Bin continued to wail and scream. “…You’re ten seconds from staying home and not going anywhere if you keep acting like a baby, Hyo Bin. How are you supposed to go to school like Min Ja if you throw tantrums? You’ll get in trouble all the time.”

           “She’s right. A boy in my class throws lots of tantrums.” Min Ja said, still standing by the door. “He also throws lots of chairs.” Taehyung glanced down at the little girl, a confused look on his face, though she didn’t seem bothered. As you managed to get both of Hyo Bin’s socks on, your effort was thwarted, as Hyo Bin yanked the sock off and tossed them angrily away from her. Having enough, you released your daughter and lied on your back.

           “Okay, Hyo Bin. You’ve made up your mind.” You said simply. Hyo Bin, confused as to why she was no longer being held down, turned to look at you, though she was still hysterical crying. You slowly got up from the floor. “Mommy needs to go get dressed so we can go on our picnic. Min Ja was a good girl and got ready, so she can come. You can stay with Uncle Tae until we come back.”

           “N-no Mama…” she begged, sniffling. She watched you leave the room. “M-mama!” She tried to run after you, but you gently excused yourself between Hobi and Taehyung before heading into your own room. She saw Hobi, Taehyung, and Min Ja looking at her, snotty and runny-nosed and red in the face. “I wanna come, Mr. Hobi…I’m a good girl too.” Hobi smiled a bit, kneeling down and pointing to the crumpled-up socks that Hyo Bin had flung away.

           “How about we go get those socks on okay?” He said. Min Ja sniffled. “They match your heart bag really nice.”

           “I want a bag like Unnie…” Hyo Bin said softly, whimpering.

           “But didn’t you pick the heart bag?” Hoseok asked, picking it up. He gently laid it on Hyo Bin’s shoulder and across her chest. “Look how cute. What can we put in there?” Hyo Bin sniffled, opening it up to pull out a small plastic lipstick and blush container, as well as a few coins Taehyung had put in her bag, along with Min Ja’s when he bought them. “Oooo, wow. So cool. Don’t you like that your bag holds tons of stuff?” Hyo Bin wiggled her way into Hoseok’s arms, nuzzling her head into his neck.

           “Mhm…” she finally said softly. “I wanna come too, Mr. Hobi.”

           “Then we should stop crying, right? You won’t have fun if you’re crying.” Hoseok said gently, patting her head. Hyo Bin sniffled. Though the crying didn’t immediately stop, the girl silently went to her socks and picked them up, walking over towards Hoseok. He guided her onto the floor and simply helped her put the socks on. “There. Lovely. Ready to go?” Hyo Bin nodded as Hoseok scooped her up into his arms. The group exited the playroom, Hyo Bin still all sniffly. You stepped out of the room, fixing the ponytail you had put your hair into. “We’re ready~.”

           “Aaah look how pretty you look.” You said to Hyo Bin, who was still sniffling in Hoseok’s arms. She wiped her eyes, albeit messily, and you smiled.

           “I like your bag, Hyo Bin.” Min Ja said, looking up at her sister. “It looks really pretty with your hat.” The little girl, now with her sister’s approval, finally began to stop the sniffling and calm herself down. With that detour out of the way, the afternoon picnic could commence. Taehyung waved you all off, giving Hoseok a secret thumbs-up. He saw you turn to him as well, and he offered you a supportive thumbs up as well as he watched you guys go. He chuckled to himself, the door closing behind you as Min Ja chatted excessively about how excited she was.

           “Hope this works.” He mumbled to himself, before plopping himself onto his living room couch and turning on the TV to play some video games.

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

           “I hope you're excited about this.” Hoseok hummed, tightly holding your hands as he led you down one of the park roads. “I am.”

           “Of course, I’m excited.” You assured. “It was just sudden when you asked me on a date in the middle of the courtroom.”

           “Hehe, yeah I know, sorry, I hope it didn’t catch you off guard or anything. I had been thinking about when I was going to ask and when I saw you it just…eh, blurted out.” You both laughed.

           “No, it didn’t.” You assured. When Hoseok led you to the spot, which was right by a small park for children to run and play on while their parents relaxed, you smiled. “Girls, do you want to go and play on the playground while we set up the food?”

           “Yeah!” The girls shouted in unison. You smiled, watching as they hurried to the park, which was populated with a few other children as well. It looked generally safe that you could divert your attention back and forth from time to time. Hoseok pulled out the picnic blanket, spreading it on the grass before setting different items down to keep it from blowing away.

           “You and Taehyung made quite a spread.” You said.

           “I made it. Taehyung put it in Tupperware and into the basket.” Hoseok assured, making both of you laugh a bit. “But he helped a lot, so it’ll be a good meal.”

           “I’m sure it will be.” You smiled, sitting down on the blanket. Hoseok plopped himself down next to you, before laying back fully and stretching out his limb. “The weather turned out so nice too.” You hummed.

           “Oh, I know. The weather called for rain and I was so nervous I’d have to reschedule everything.” Hoseok pouted a bit, glancing up at you as you looked towards the playground. His hand rested against his pouch, feeling the box that was sitting patiently inside, waiting for its time to shine. Like he did before, all the different possible paths of the day were running through his mind and he was wondering which one he would be walking down. He had to be careful if he wanted to walk down the right path. “I’m just glad we get to spend the day together.” You glanced down at him, smiling.

           “Me too.” You said happily. Like Hoseok, you were also worried about the path you would be walking down. You thought about the talk you had with Taehyung early that morning before anyone else had woken up, and it made you feel a lot better knowing that not only did you have his support, but your parents as well. It comforted you, and already, you knew that the path you were heading down now was leagues different from the path that you found yourself on in college. You needed to just wait for the right moment.

           You allowed the girls some more time to run around, getting themselves hungry enough that they would sit down and eat without much distraction. This allowed you and Hoseok time to relax together, just enjoying each other’s company under a nice, refreshing breeze. Everything felt serene and peaceful, a feeling you had finally been waiting for among all of the trails, secrets, and violence. Everything was falling into place. Hoseok glanced over to you as you reached into the basket and picked up a strawberry, popping it into your mouth. His eyes trailed the finger that would soon hopefully be decorated by the beautiful ring, and he knew he had to do this now before he chickened out for real.

           “I need to talk to you.” He said. You glanced over, curious as to what he meant. “It’s…important.”

           “Is…everything okay?” you asked curiously.

           “Everything is fine, there’s just something I’ve been meaning to ask you. But I wanted to wait until the trial and all the stressful stuff was over so that I wouldn’t be adding more pressure onto you.” You blinked, turning to face him.

           “Well…that’s a coincidence…” you said. “Because I feel the same way.” Hoseok looked at you with slightly wide eyes. “I have to tell you something important too, but I wanted to wait until the trial ended.”

           “I see.” He said. “How about we….” He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Fuck, I wasn’t expecting that.”

           “Sorry. Do you want to go first?” you asked. Hoseok gulped a bit. “No?” You were kind of hoping he would say that because you wanted to just get this off your chest. However, Hoseok did not immediately respond. Hoseok took a shaky breath, before sticking his fist out in your direction. “Huh?”

           “Rock paper scissors.” He said. “The winner out of three rounds go first.” You nodded, sticking your hand out with a small grin on your face. Hoseok followed behind you. “Okay, Rock, Paper, Scissors, Go!” He shouted. You threw out rock, he threw out paper. Hoseok grinned. You blinked, feeling your heart race. You wanted to win, you wanted to get it off your chest. Every second that passed by felt like a knife being pushed deeper and deeper into your chest. Nodding your head, round two began. “Rock, Paper, Scissor, Go!” He said. You threw out scissors, and Hoseok, this time, threw out paper. “Aaaaah.” He groaned, pouting.

           This was the most intense game of Rock Paper Scissors that you have ever played. Never did you think that this would feel like an Olympic sport, where a massive win was on the line, a massive advantage, a massive victory. The third and final round would be the defining factor. It was currently tied.

           “Last round…” you said softly. Hoseok nodded, smiling gently at you. You hummed, before starting the round.

           “Rock.” Hoseok said. You bit your lip. “Paper-.” You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath.

           “I’m pregnant.” You said quickly.

           “Sci-.” Hoseok stopped almost immediately, his eyes going wide. You looked directly at him as soon as those words left your mouth. He was silent for a moment, looking down at his closed fist that was stopped dead in its tracks. “That’s not the next word- WHAT?!” He shouted. You flinched a bit. “You’re pre…you’re pregnant?!” He asked. You could only nod, unable to get his shocked expression out of his face.

           “I wanted to wait until the trial was over to tell you. Then you brought up the idea of the picnic and I figured that would be the best time.” You explained.

           “When did you know?!”

           “When I was in the hospital right after the fires.” You said simply.

           “Does anyone know?”

           “Nayeon was with me when I found out. And I told my parents and Taehyung after…after the first day of the trial.” Hoseok blinked.

           “How did this happen?” he asked. When he saw you open your mouth, he lifted a hand up. “Don’t answer that one. I know how it happened.” Hoseok saw the worry etched on your face, and he felt his chest bubble up with emotions. You could see his eyes watering. “Really?” You nodded, smiling a bit. “Oh my God.” He quickly closed the gap between the both of you, hugging you tightly as he tried not to burst into tears in a public space. “Wow. I was not expecting this to happen at all.”

           “Are you mad?” you asked curiously. Hoseok shook his head, quickly pulling back to look at you.

           “No not at all! After I found out about the other baby, all I could think about was having another one…” he looked down at your stomach with eyes full of wonder and amazement. You gently took one of his hands, placing it on your stomach. You were still relatively early in the pregnancy, so you were just barely showing anything. However, the minute Hoseok lied his hand on your stomach, all the strength he was trying to muster so he wouldn’t cry was gone. You watched as tears began flowing from his eyes. “Aw, man.” He quickly wiped them, and you smiled.

           “Don’t cry!” You begged. “Please don’t cry, you can’t cry!”

           “I’m so happy. Jeez, this isn’t what I planned to happen.” He said, sniffling.

           “Oh. What did you want to tell me?” You asked, looking at him. He held your hand tightly in his, the other sitting firmly on your still flat belly. You smiled. “I totally cheated; you probably would’ve won. What did you want to say?”

           “How am I supposed to propose to you in tears? Isn’t this supposed to be the other way around?” he asked. You blinked, dropping his hand from yours. He looked at you. “What?”

           “Really?” you asked, smiling. Hoseok wiped his eyes, nodding. You felt like you wanted to cry as well, however, explaining why both of you were in tears would be difficult when the girls came back. You swallowed your tears, and a grin sat plastered on your face. “You were going to-.”

           “Yeah, propose. I have a ring and…I had a speech and everything was planned.” He chuckled, opening up his little pouch and pulling out his little black box. Your eyes widened as he opened it, revealing the gorgeously expensive ring that sparkled almost as soon as it hit the light. “It was a whole big thing and I was absolutely terrified you would say no. But…man, after your news, I don’t even think I could top it if I tried.” You giggled a bit.

           “You thought I would say no, you big idiot.” You were quick to take the ring. “Even if I wasn’t carrying your baby, I could never say no…” Hoseok held your wrist, gently taking the ring from your grasp. He laid your hand into his, quickly slipping the ring onto your finger. A smile formed on your lips as you held the ring up to the light, admiring the sparkle that it radiated. “Wow…I can’t believe this is happening.”

           “Tell me about it.” Hoseok said, letting out a shaky sigh. You looked at him and smiled.

           “I think these may go down in history as the oddest proposal and baby announcement ever.” You giggled, and Hoseok followed suit. You smiled, biting your lip. “I love you.” You said softly. Hoseok looked at you, a smile once again forming on his lips.

           “I love you too…” he said simply. You looked down at the ring, Hoseok scooting close to you so that he could once again place his hand on your stomach. “Do you like the ring? Hyo Bin helped me pick it.”

           “It’s so pretty. Not too gaudy. You know my first wedding ring was like that. Very flashy.” Hoseok chuckled. “Sold that thing for a nice sum after the divorce though.” Hoseok couldn’t help but laugh. “But I don’t think I’ll ever sell this one.”

           “Good.” He said. Just as the two of you were finding comfort in each other’s embraces, you heard the sound of two young girls shouting your names. Looking up, Min Ja and Hyo Bin were hurrying over to the picnic table. Min Ja gasped.

           “Mr. Hobi, did you ask Mommy if you could marry her yet?!” She asked. You looked at Hoseok.

           “They knew?” You asked curiously. Hoseok laughed a bit.

           “Min Ja heard me talking to Taehyung when you were putting Hyo Bin to sleep last night.” He admitted. You looked at Min Ja, who saw the ring on your finger. “Did you tell her about the baby?”

           “What baby?” Min Ja asked curiously. You smiled.

           “Well, Mr. Hobi and Mommy are getting married now, and we’re having another baby.”

           “ANOTHER BABY!?” The girls shouted, eyes just as wide as Hoseok’s were, only on their little faces, they looked even wider. You smiled a bit as Min Ja and Hyo Bin crawled into your lap. “Where’s the baby?” Min Ja asked. “I wanna see her.”

           “It’s in her stomach.” Hoseok explained. Gently, he took the girl's hands and placed them alongside his. “It’s really small right now, but when the baby gets bigger, so will your Mom’s stomach.”

           “Great.” You groaned in playful sarcasm. “Just what I want, to be a basketball again.” Hoseok smiled a bit as the girls looked at your stomach.

           “Is it a girl? Can it be a girl, Mommy?” Min Ja asked curiously. You smiled.

           “It can be, but I won’t know until the baby gets bigger.”

           “It can’t be a boy, it just can’t. Boys are gross and icky.” Min Ja pouted. You smiled a bit, ruffling her hair. Hyo Bin didn’t look as excited as Min Ja did at the idea of a little sibling. She just looked at your stomach.

           “Are you excited?” Hoseok asked curiously.

           “No.” she pouted up at him. “I don’t want a new baby.” You smiled, running a hand through her hair.

           “Hyo Bin, you’re going to be a big sister, just like Min Ja is your big sister.” Hyo Bin looked at Min Ja, who was beaming just as much as Hoseok was. She still seemed unconvinced, but she kept the pout on her face and simply held your stomach tightly. You smiled. “How about we all eat, I’m starving.” You suggested, motioning to the opened picnic basket with food just waiting to be eaten. Hoseok pulled the basket over to you and began to pull out food, setting it out for everyone to enjoy. You watched as the girls tried their best to help him by setting out some food as well. He smiled happily, encouraging their helpfulness, which only wanted them to do more to help him. A smile formed on your lips as Hoseok passed you a small wrapped up sandwich, making sure to quickly kiss your cheek before he finished emptying the basket. A hum escaped your lips as you watched the scene unfold.

           Just over 6 years ago, you never would have thought this would be how your life would’ve turned out. So many different paths had been found, doors had closed and others had opened, while other doors were completely destroyed. Despite this, the path that you were on and had been on since you were 20 years-old was one you would never change for anything, despite the hardships that were bestowed upon you. You were hoping that the next 6 years, and even longer, would only allow those paths to open wider and present you with even more wonderful and breathtaking memories.

~~~END~~~

Author’s Note: I wanted to thank you all for your support throughout this story. With work restarting for me next week, I’ll be going on a mini-hiatus so I can work on the new story ideas I have planned. Thank you all for your continued support and I look forward to seeing you in my next work !!! <3 - Jeni 

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[lordsalehi]

ʻ   / wow ,   i am so excited  to introduce berlin sari to  our current  students at cape  coral . she  is  extremely  excited to  join  track and field & honors society.   coming  in as a  twenty two year  old sophomore  ,  they  shouldn’t  worry about  fitting in .   the cis female  scorpio  has  always  reminded  me of medalion rahimi  , but  some people  don’t see it .   trying to keep the  fact that she’s the side piece of a cape coral parent   from  getting  around this  school is going  to be tough . no  worries , though ,   cape coral will create  a new life for them , i  assure you . ʼ  

my momma used to say ‘baby make me proud’, you’ve got such a pretty face, but such a dirty mouth

NAME — berlin avery salehi.

NICKNAMES — n/a?

PRONOUNS — she/her.

AGE & DOB — 22 & november 8, 1997.

PLACE OF BIRTH — lewiston, maine.

NATIONALITY — american.

MAJOR — music and audio engineering.

EDUCATION — prev. parker community college, now cape coral international.

CLUBS — honors society, track & field.

* background overview !

so for ten years, it was berllin, her older brother, her mom, and her dad. everything was honestly pretty normal, he worked as a bank teller and her mom was an elementary school teacher. 

when she was ten, her mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and began treatment, it was in the middle of her moms chemo treatments that her dad decided he was done and left the three of them on their own. 

her older brother was stuck taking care of them both, berlin helped where she could, but it wasn’t exactly in the means of income. 

her mom did go into remission, but later it came back when berlin was 15. as soon as she turned 16, it was her brothers turn to leave them, claiming he was tired of it.  

from then on, she taught both piano and guitar lessons to anyone who was willing to let her teach as a means to support herself and her mom. 

music was and always has been a massive part of her life and was one of the few things she used as an escape when everyday life was just Too Much, so getting to teach others was something she really liked to do. 

when she was 18, one of her student’s parents had taken an interest in her and invited her over for dinner where they offered her the opportunity to be with them. she said yes and began her secret relationship, mostly using the money they gave her to help pay rent and for groceries, or if it was things, then it allowed her to use the money from lessons for other things. 

she was taking classes at pcc mostly online so that she had more time to be at home, but when the parents she was dating mentioned that the school their child was attending, cape coral, was offering a scholarship they encouraged her to apply. 

* personality !

god she is... kind of a mess. 

like being bitter is probably one of her defining personality traits, and it’s not even towards rich people bc of their money or anything, she’s just like bitter that THIS is the life she ended up with.

she can definitely sit and just have a normal conversation without chewing someone’s head off but she never really seems particularly cheery.

she’s one of those people that likes to run to blow off steam, which isn’t the worst thing in the world, but she’ll leave and go running at like 2am bc she’s stressed. 

is a hardass and thinks she’s like top shit even though she has absolutely no reason to be? thinks because she doesn’t directly “engage” or involve herself in drama that she’s better than everyone

is NOT afraid to call you out on your bullshit bc she really doesn’t have time to deal with it at all 

really, keeps a lot of people at a distance and doesn’t really like getting close to people because they can just leave whenever they want to. and she’ll never admit it but she doesn’t want to get hurt.

she’s double majoring in music (basic she knows) but in audio production as well, eventually she wants to produce music, whether it’s someone else’s or her own.

prefers to keep her private life mostly private? like what and how much she shares honestly just depends on her mood.

* character tropes !

so i was thinking and really, she’s a bit of the Corruptor. which sounds bad, but it’s kinda like, she’s so far up her own ass she thinks she’s better than everyone and that people need to be brought down from their pedestals and clouds. so she tends to poke at people until they show their worst sides, or sides they don’t necessarily like very much. i also saw a little bit of the Femme Fatale in her too, just because she’s gorgeous (duh) and fully uses that to her advantage when she can, like the affair turned sugar daddy/baby situation she has with one of the cape coral parents.

* playlist !

kings — tribe society:

i’ve been through the darkest of caves and suffering one hundred  steps off the end of the road painted with passion, my favorite color hope i’m alive when the story gets old we could be free 

this goes with both her personality and her past tbh. she’s really headstrong and not afraid to take the lead on anything she’s passionate about, but also won’t let anyone else sway her opinion on anything, like at all. it’s like trying to push a round stone up a hill. when looking at her past, it’s not anywhere near rainbows and butterflies. her dad left her family when she was really young, and her mom has been sick with recurrent cancer for years. for a while, her older brother helped take care of her and their mom, but when she turned 16 he left, leaving her to fend for the both of them. as awful as it sounds, all she wants is to be free of everything that’s held her down, she feels bad for wanting out, but she’s so tired of it all now.

monsters — ruelle:

one misstep, you’re mine and you better stay clever if you wanna survive once you cross the line you’ll be wishing you would listen  when you meet your demise 

funnily enough, this isn’t really as serious as it should be. the vibe IS her, i’ll tell you, but this is really where the Scott Disick comes in. like she’s very take no shit but will definitely call you out on your shit. more of a if you make yourself look stupid, or give her the chance to roast/call you out, she will and isn’t really worried about what’s going to come from it. not her fault it could expose or embarrass you for any reason!

something to hold on to — the band camino:

do you ever think of me? after everything give me something to hold on to  i need just a little piece  i’ll take anything 

so this, two things as well. i know the song’s a breakup song but it’s kinda at her dad and brother for just up and leaving her and her mom, kinda like the one time she’ll show any vulnerability is when she really wishes they had stayed. but also, she’s really musical, it’s her one escape and this is probably the style of music she likes to listen to and play.

* aesthetics !

sneaking out at 2am, vintage t-shirts, scrunchies, the satisfaction of snoozing the alarm clock, worn combat boots, long sleepless nights, calloused fingers pulling at guitar strings, quiet sounds of piano, an exhausted body finally laying down to sleep, black coffee, backhanded compliments, stone cold stares, the lure of seduction.

* character inspo !

scott disick (kuwtk) , rebeca de bormujo avalos (elite) , jade west (victorious)

* wanted plots !

i’m still not any better at coming up w plots so this is the Same

general friends: honestly some from childhood, some from high school, others from college, give me New friend with the people coming on scholarship, anything

best friends: someone that’s been by her side for years, someone she’d literally trust with her whole life

ride or dies: honestly what it says, maybe like one or two of them that have been through the thick and thin of it but still have a really strong friendship in the end?

confidant: honestly, probably someone she’s close with, but doesn’t see on a regular basis? 

better influence: someone who can teach her to let go and ease up more, and to not be so angry all the time

exes ( good, bad, anything in between ): you know the drill, hit me with the good angst. (male, female, nb)

roommate: rent ain’t cheap! 

hook ups: you also know this drill, but this is pretty much all berlin does (male, female, nb)

[tetrakys]

MCLUL 18

The episode starts where the previous one had left: either in Nath’s flat if you decided to follow Amber, or in Castiel’s if you didn’t. Either way, Candy goes to Nath’s place after Amber calls her and the same dialogue unfolds. Nath explains that he has been back in town for weeks because Erik, his cop friend, tracked him down as soon as he’d left and they are now working together to collect enough evidence to dismantle the cartel for good. He’s playing the bait (hence the traffic light-looking attire) and wearing a wire under his clothes. He leaves soon after saying that he will be back once he’s done with this dangerous mission.

The rest of the episode is mostly about university work, the last we will ever see. First, Candy practices her presentation with Rosa, Morgan and Alexy. We assist a fight between the two lovebirds that soon morphs into a sweet declaration of love. Later, Candy keeps practicing alone first and later with Yeleen (if you chose it).

We also attend Rayan’s final class. The first part is about the group work, each group reports their experience. I thought this whole group work sub-plot was going to lead to something, either a mini-arc for Chani, where she learns to be less of a perfectionist and shows her art to the world, or some kind of drama with Melody, or at least something important for the degree. It was all very tepid, almost as if the writers had changed their mind and dropped it from the plot. The second part of the class is, instead, about relaxation techniques in the park. Because it makes total sense in a modern art history course.

After all this, Candy goes to the café to tell Clemence she is going to quit soon. Clemence tells her to not rush into this decision because there’s no job for history of arts majors and she may end up having to keep working as a waitress (charming as usual, but also strangely nice?). Also, an improbable friendship is born when Clemence shows lots of interest in Chani’s magical aptitude.

That evening Nina sends a text saying she’s witnessed the cops arresting her assailant, and Candy and Priya have a discussion about Nath and what that could mean for him.

The day of the thesis discussion Candy is very stressed, but she finds Castiel outside the class and he helps giving her relaxation technique tips. She also gets a little spooked finding Rayan in the class (I don’t see why? Seems pretty normal to me). Anyway, time-skip to the end of the exam and Candy is pretty satisfied with herself. She even buys Chani a crystal as a thank you for her support and encouragement for her own exam.

In the evening Candy attends a party Hyun has thrown to celebrate the end of the academic year. She had also invited her parents and the illustration shows the moment she introduces the LI to them. Everyone except Nath. Having sneaked into the café’s kitchen, his illustration portrays the moment he tells Candy he’s finally free from the Cartel.

The episode ends in the middle of the party.

THE END

Now let’s go into more detail on everyone’s route:

Here, I’m saying it... Nath is always 100% bangable. Even like this, once the problematic leggings and the blinding yellow t-shirt are off, there’s really nothing to talk about.

I found the resolution of Nath’s route very anticlimactic, happening off screen. If Candy got somehow involved however, it would’ve probably been quite trashy and ridiculous so there was really no win in this crazy scenario. It just feels they dragged too long, only to create angst, something that they resolved with just a few words and no involvement on our part. If MCL is indeed ending in a couple of episodes, this was basically the main recurring plot-line of the whole season and it fell short, at least for me.

Him acting as a bait... let’s say it was fine, he showed some courage. But there are two things that didn’t make sense for me (in this episode): firstly, his explanation to why the cartel didn’t simply kill him, because they thought it was easier to pull off a mugging than a murder, especially if the victim was a snitch. REALLY? What does it even mean. These people were really kind drug lords: first hiring a young boy out of nowhere, then beating him up when they found out he had betrayed them instead of killing him, even giving him three days to say goodbye and skip town, and later exposing themselves enough letting him stay in town for weeks instead of killing him on the spot. Also, second thing, shouldn’t he have cut a deal with the police for his immunity BEFORE he helped them? They would’ve given him pretty much anything to shut down a whole drug cartel. I don’t know Nath, you should be so smart, at least get a lawyer next time.

A round of applause to Candy for spilling the beans with everyone about Nath’s dangerous and super-secret plan 👏👏👏

The reunion with Nath, if you are on his route, is cute and pretty emotional. She falls on the floor, overwhelmed, and he kisses her and reassures her. All this in front of Amber. The scene in the kitchen at the end of the episode, however, was a little less emotional than I would’ve liked. Especially the illustration, there was NO NEED to include Amber in it. 

I did appreciate the choice to not introduce him immediately to the parents, it really wasn't the right time.

Bae is particularly charming when he laughs and smile. Both a hottie and a cutie, he’s the whole package.

I think BV tried to apologise for the lack of Castiel’s content in the previous episode, because this time we had plenty, well... more than with had the others.

After the scene in Nath’s flat, he takes us to the dorms on every route, but if you are on his route you can choose to spend the night at his place. To find an excuse so they wouldn’t hook up, BV wrote that Candy feels dizzy and they just cuddle. She’s not dizzy on any other route, just tired. And now that I’m writing these words I’m having an AWFUL SUSPICION THAT I DON’T EVEN WANT TO WORD EXPLICITLY, please no... just no.

His relaxation technique was funny, pretending to be super confident, but if you’re his girlfriend he gives Candy a breathtaking kiss right before the final exam that ensures victory for both of them.

His meeting with the parents is super chill, my Candy and him were together in HS, so they remembered him and love him already, not sure if anything changes otherwise but I guess not. Philips goofs in front of him, dancing horribly joking that he should be on his next music video and they all laugh (except maybe Candy, but it’s a happy moment nonetheless).

Crack and Rum, Castiel’s band name according to mom 😂

Now, I left the bad part for last:

Yeleen touches Castiel’s arm while talking to him in front of the café on any route. Even if he’s not our boyfriend I wanted to clock her. B*tch there is a strict NO TOUCHING policy here. But when he’s our boyfriend I timidly told Castiel that the parents were coming AND I LOST 10 FREAKING POINTS!!! What. The. Hell. Should I fight with him too? I feel like I should. This requires a heated conversation!

The green dress is super hot, and Candy is a total snack, but she’s just one small accident away to show her nipples to the world. (Surfboard my ass, Castiel)

As usual there’s very little to say about Hyun’s route. He’s excited to meet the parents and doesn’t realise they were already there, so he keeps blubbering Candy about their summer trip and kisses Candy in front of them. When he figures out he gets bashful, but they all laugh it off.

Honorable mention to Philip for not knowing where Slovenia is. SERIOUSLY?? 

Look at this fierce power couple, it looks like they’re about to conquer the world or rob a bank. Probably both.

Was it the right moment to spill the beans about their relationship in the middle of a college party. No. But did I enjoy their power walk, hand in hand, in the middle of the crowd? YES.

The parents’ reaction could’ve been worse. Philip could’ve gone ballistic. We didn’t see the “man-to-man chat”, probably because it was a tricky one to write, it could’ve sounded either ridiculous or trashy. Kudos to BV for taking the coward way out and skipping the problem altogether.

Rayan said that he loved her and it was sweet. However, Candy talking about how much she's into him in front of Sweet Amoris knowing that that is my Lys account felt like being sucker punched.

Also, Rayan got a tenure track position. I. Hate. Him. (I’m not envious, not at all)

Priya tearing up when Candy tells her that she wants to be with her completely is probably THE MOST FREAKING CUTE THING I’VE EVER SEEN. Cuter than cat videos. (But less cute than duckling videos. There’s nothing cuter than a baby duck).

The parents are happy to meet Priya, zero drama in Candy’s coming out, I found it refreshing, I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed a bad reaction (even a short one). They even all dance together until late night. The illustration shows Priya accepting Philip’s challenge at a sort of dance-off.

A few final comments:

I didn’t understand aunty’s comments about a masked party at the end of the school year, is that a French thing?

Philip not knowing where Slovenia is, and Hyun having to explain that it’s an European country, makes me think that they’re trying to convince us the game is not set in France. Mph.

I also wonder where Hyun’s parents live exactly. It can’t be Korea since Hyun goes back home all the time, even just for a weekend.

Everything points out to the end of the story being about a new separation, everyone moving away to achieve their own future.

Alexy is probably going to follow Morgan to Washington.

Rosa is moving to the beach house (which is not very far, but not exactly in town either).

Yeleen is excited to live in London. (The girl is going to get a HUGE wake-up call the moment she realises that apartments here are tinier than her dorm room, quite bad and life is so expensive that (if she doesn’t want to accept money from her mother) with a tourist guide salary she’s probably going to afford only a tiny room, in the middle of nowhere, in a flat shared with 10 other people).

Castiel is going on tour.

Hyun will probably want to move closer to his family after the trip.

Nath may or may not go to jail.

Priya wants to go back to India to fight social injustice.

Rayan is the only one staying in town for sure.

I GUESS, after some angst about a possible separation and break-up, the series is going to end with Candy making a life choice that brings her closer to her crush.

Anyway, the end is coming and I’m sad.

[countess-rosegold-blog]

Tropical Paradise

Pairing: Scott Lang x Reader

Warnings: SMUT! 18+ only, NSFW, unprotected sex, angst

Word Count: 5,336 

A/N: So I’m super new and I’m a Stucky girl but this just came to me and then the characters just took control. This is my first fic and really my first contrib to the community so, enjoy!

Credits: Thank you to @dan-vers for letting me use the Scott Lang gifs. 😊😊

This story is mine so please no copying without permission.

You silently padded your way along the carpeted hall. The world is still; the New York skyline still waiting for its tinge of orange glow. Early as it seems, you’re already high from your morning workout. You chose to hit the gym while the rest of the Tower was still asleep because you were feeling stressed lately, and you didn’t need the extra drama from Scott today.

His breakup with Hope two months ago hit him hard but you and the team were there. You, above all, was his strongest rock. As he healed, your friendship grew deeper. It was all innocent, until that vacay to the Philippines.

--

A WEEK AGO

“Doctor Banner, I’ve backed up all the data to one of the hard drives,” Leopold Fitz called out to your mentor across the makeshift operation center. You were a small research team under Banner’s wing: you, Fitz and Jemma Simmons.

This operation in Taiwan was simply research and intel gathering, but Tony wanted to be on the safe side and sent Scott and Natasha along in case anything came up.

“Thanks, Leopold. Jemma and Y/N?” Banner turned to you as you were just wrapping up the hard files into the last of the boxes.

“Collated my report with Y/N’s, doc. And she’s just about done with the hard files,” Simmons answered.

“Yep, all done doc,” you add and stretch your arms above your head as you finish storing the last box.  

“Okay, good. Then I guess that’s a wrap.” Banner sounds both tired and relieved.

“Wooot! About damn time.” Scott whistles as he entered the op center.

Fitz eyes him suspiciously. “Have you been waiting right outside for Dr. Banner to say that?” Scott smirks at him as Nat follows closely behind. You catch the lingering glance she gives Banner before turning to the rest of the group.

“How are you kids holding up?” This earns a collective groan from you and FitzSimmons. “What?”

Exchanging glances with your friends, you squeak a “Nothing!” before pretending to be busy with some stray folders.

“Hey!” Banner, picks up on the exchange.

“What did I miss?” Nat inquires, finally and actually looking at Banner.

“Apparently, Scott here thinks it’s a good idea to make a little side trip before we head back to New York and these kids agree.” Nat’s face brightens up a little, but her expression changes immediately. “BUT. I said no and now we ought to be heading home.”

“No fair! With the quinjet, the Philippines is just 45 minutes away. Hellooo, tropicsss.” Scott pleads. You try to put on a poker face, but you can’t help but be giddy. FitzSimmons were on the same high.

“We’re here to gather intel and now that we’re done, we go.” Banner’s voice is unwavering.

Nat steps in. “Did you ask Tony?” She takes a step towards Banner and you see his face slightly redden.

“Wh—No.” For the first time in the whole exchange, Banner sounds unsure.

A twinkle dances in Nat’s eyes. “Let’s ask him then. If he says no, then we go back to HQ. Otherwise...” She trails off, beginning to dial her cell. Scott does a little dance and you smack him playfully.

“What?!” He whispers. “You know Stark’s gonna be okay with it.”

You roll your eyes but can’t help smiling at him. FitzSimmons look like they’re going to launch in a little dance themselves.

“Yeah. The team’s just wrapped their work here,” you hear Nat say. “But this gang wants to make a side trip to the Philippines. That okay?”

You all try to listen in, but the person on the other line is inaudible.

“Uh-huh.” Nat purses her lips as she continues to listen. “Yeah, I get it.” She turns to look at you and the others. “Okay thanks, bye.”

The room is still and you can feel yourself holding your breath. “So…” Nat begins.

Banner sighs. “Tony agreed right away, didn’t he? And told you to mess with me a little.”

Nat chuckles. “Wow. You really know each other.” She turns to the group and grins. “C’mon, kids. Let’s get us some sun.”

--

The sunset was beautiful in this part of the world. Dark was swallowing the last of the sun’s glow and you found yourself sprawled on the white sand beach.

Your friends were off in their own activities somewhere and you didn’t care. You were content with just laying here, the sound of distant laughter and waves crashing your only playlist.

“Y/N,” you hear him before you feel him sit beside you on the sand.

You peek with your one eye open. “Scotty.” He scoffs at your lame nickname. You sit up on your elbows and look at him. “What’s up?”

“Couldn’t help but be drawn here with the way you’re looking right now.” He has a boyish smile you’re only seeing now.

It’s your turn to scoff. “I’m wearing sarong pants and a white t-shirt.” You raise your right leg emphasizing the baggy fit of the pants.

“Yeah… the way that shirt fits you isn’t helping though.”

You feel goosebumps—it starts in your neck and spreads through your body; it’s unexpected. “What?”

He doesn’t answer but looks you in the eye and what you see hits you hard. He’s not the same Scott anymore. Something burns in his eyes, a challenge. If you could hear his thoughts you’d guess he’s saying You heard me.

You feel like a thousand thoughts run through your mind but you can’t think of anything to say. “Scott, why?”

He seemed to expect a different answer because he is taken by surprise. “Why what?”

“This. Be straight with me, what is this? If this is flirting, fine. That I can handle. But if you’re trying something more here… I don’t think I can.” You don’t know where it came from, but you sure are glad you were able to say something coherently. Your newfound bravery fuels you and you don’t break eye contact.

He’s stunned. He tries to speak, but you can see it’s a struggle. There must be a thousand thoughts in there too.

You sigh and lightly touch his arm, “I think I’ll take a walk and be alone for a while. Bye, Scott.”

--

The moon is big yellow ball when you make your way back. After contemplating what you called The Scott Encounter, you felt drained. When the panic toned down, you questioned yourself whether you have overreacted. Then you went all defensive and tried to reason out your reaction.

Of course I reacted the way I did, Scott and I are good friends—even flirting is alien territory. Then to hear something so… suggestive? You feel another chill in your extremities, but something warms at the pit of your stomach and somewhere lower… You’ve got to be kidding —This is not happening!

Then came the cycle of being pissed at yourself for thinking of Scott that way. It was so good, the friendship between you two. Where did that come from?

It wasn’t long before another realization crept in. Of course. I was so busy thinking about me that I didn’t see the reason behind it. He’s still getting over Hope. Urgh. As if you’ve said your thoughts out loud, you smack your forehead. Right. After the initial step towards healing is the phase of recklessness. And I was the obvious choice, given our closeness. There’s a ringing in your ears and you feel the nerve in your forehead throb. The thought got you pissed again.

But other than this emotion is something else. Wait, am I… disappointed? No, that can’t be it. Of course I only see Scott as a friend. Maybe I’m just pissed he thought he could use me to get over his heartbreak. You nod your head. That must be it. How dare he.

It was during this train of thought that you emerge from the coconut trees towards the rest house’s beach front.  The house—more of a mansion, really—is a twinkling gem in the darkness. You got to give it to Tony’s insanely rich connections. You can see through the massive windows into the dining hall—you make out Fitz, Banner and Nat. Huh, maybe I’ll get to eat a quick dinner while Scott’s not around.

You’re walking towards the side entrance when you hear him. “Y/N!” He’s farther down the beach but he’s jogging towards you. Your heart hammers in your chest. You summon all your maturity and will yourself to stay put.  

He’s almost breathless when he’s in front of you. You stare at him.

“Where were you? I’ve been looking for you.” His expression is unreadable.

“I was walking around. I kinda told you that.”

“Yeah… I didn’t want to end that conversation that way earlier. Please, can we talk? I mean, about it?

“I don’t know, Scott. My head is…” you mime a head explosion.

“I know and I’m sorry. But that’s why we should talk. Please, Y/N.” His voice croaks.

You sigh. He’s got a point, and might as well get over it. “Okay. But let’s do it later. I don’t want the others…” you trail off.

“Yeah. Later tonight then.”

You give him a small nod before heading inside.

--

You rushed through your dinner and made small talk with the rest of the team. You wondered where Scott was, but grateful that you didn’t have to bear the awkwardness at the table. Emotionally drained, you went upstairs to lie down for a bit.

Later, you startle awake. The clock on the bedside table read 2:53 a.m. Shit! Scott. Bolting from the bed makes your head spin but you try to rush downstairs. Crap, where do I even meet him?

It’s dark out on the second floor hall; only a faint light comes from where the stairs is. You make your way down and see that the glow is from a night light at the kitchen counter. "Scott?"

Your eyes adjust as you scan the expanse of the first floor. No Scott. Shit. Why did I have to lie down? He may think I ignored him. You head towards the cupboards and find yourself a glass. After pouring yourself some water, your stomach growls. Wow, I really did rush that dinner. You begin to scan the rest of the cupboards for a quick snack but it looked like the goods were at the topmost tier. If Tony was here I'd think this was intentional to keep tiny me away from the treats. Hmph.

You spot sour cream and cheese chips at the next cupboard, but they're way up there so you hoist yourself up, one knee on the counter as you try to reach out.

"Y/N..."

Caught off guard, you kick your hanging foot only to realize too late that this will throw you off balance. You try to grip the open cupboard, but your knee is already off the counter--you're falling. You brace yourself for the pain but it doesn't come.

"Careful there," Scott whispers in your ear, his stubble barely brushing the side of your face.

You're confused for a moment until you feel strong arms wrap around your waist.

"Sorry," your apology comes out the faintest whisper. You're still hovering above the floor, your body pressed up against Scott's. He sets you down but not before you feel him press his lips on your hair. Was I imagining that?

You look up his face and he's looking right at you. Your bodies are still so close, his hands still on your waist. You feel your cheeks burn at his gaze.

"I-- I'm sorry I missed the time, I fell asleep."

"That's alright. I'm just glad you're here."

Why is his voice so husky? Why am I feeling this... tingly feeling?  "R-r-right."

He tilts your chin up and looks at you. "Listen, Y/N. I don't want you running off again so just let me say this: I am insanely attracted to you. I don't know when it happened--it wasn't a snap moment. But you were there when someone broke my heart and I was an unbearable person. You stayed. You held my hand and the pain didn't go away but I made it through it. And your presence was more than enough until it wasn't anymore. I kept thinking about holding your hand not because I needed to, but because I wanted to. And there's a new pain right here," he clutches his chest as if it's physically hurting him, "knowing that you don't see me the way I see you."

Suddenly your heart hammers so hard you can almost hear it; you feel it in your ears.  "Scott..."

"Shh, it's okay Y/N," he cups your face softly. He steps back but doesn't let go. "You don't have to say anything, do anything. I just thought you should know." It's so dark in the kitchen but his eyes are fire burning and you can't look away.

Damn it, I like you too. A lot. But I just can't say that out loud, can I? Shit. I'm gonna hate myself for this, but to hell with it.

You grab his waist with both hands and pull him close. You press your body to him, but he freezes. "Y/N..." you feel his breath on your face and you're no longer thinking. You just want to feel.

"It's okay, I want this." You stand on tiptoe and seize his lips in yours. The roughness of his stubble and the softness of his lips is an intoxicating contrast but he's frozen still; you feel like you're pressing your lips to an inanimate object.

You softly bite his lower lip and he growls. It's this time that he gives your tongue access but not before he explores your own. Something in him loosens and he grips your lower back pushing you towards the counter. Your hands travel to his hair and he leaves your lips to trail kisses down your neck, to your throat. "Scott..." you moan. He sucks at the spot just bellow your collarbone. "Oh!" you can't help but squeal at the sensation.

His hands travel up your back and inside your shirt, his fingertips tracing small circles in your bare skin. His hands travel further up until he finds your bra and unclasps it. He slowly removes.your shirt above your head and your bra falls off, leaving your chest naked.

"Fuck, baby girl. You're so beautiful," his voice is just a whisper, but full of lust. Your knees weaken at the endearment, your clit throbbing and wet. It's too much.

You bring him closer to you and feel his hardness in your belly. "Scott, I... Please..." You remove his shirt and cup the hardness through his pants. He lets out a guttural moan. You can feel your panties soaked  and the thin fabric of your sarong pants doesn't offer much to hide it. Impatient, you hump his hard-on. You feel his cock twitch at the movement.

"Not yet, baby girl." His grip is firm as he stills your waist. He returns to kissing you and traces your bare shoulder until he brushes his lips over your left nipple. He starts to suck on it--softly at first, but it's not long before he grows wild and devours it. His right hand flicks your other nipple and plays with it. You sigh and moan and moan some more. At this point, words evade you.

"Baby girl, you taste so good," he moans as he sucks on your tits.

"You're making me wait too long," you whine and hiss at the same time. You reach for the waistband of his pants and work on his belt. He gently swats at your hands but you grip his other wrist to hold it in place. "My turn." You growl. You're not taking no for an answer. It seems to take forever, but eventually you are able to unzip and slide down his pants, his erection freed.

You curse under your breath and grip his cock. You bring your lips to his neck and suck as he did. His head tilts back giving you more access. You pump him as you trail kisses down his body.

"Baby girl..."

You shower more kisses to his happy trail until you're kneeling in front of him. Your lips is a mere inch from his cock; you take a breath and he shudders. You look up at him and he looks at you too, but he's caught off guard when you take him in your mouth.

He groans and moans at the same time and you hum in appreciation. He's so huge, so full and he tastes like salt and coconut combined. "You," you push his length til the back of your throat and release ever so slowly, "taste," you suck at the tip, his precum velvety in your tongue before swallowing, "like tropical paradise."

"No... Ohhh... Fuck baby girl, I'm not gonna la--"

"Hmm?" You continue to stroke his shaft as you take the rest of him in your mouth.

"Baby girl, Y/N..." You feel him tense as his hands tug at your hair. You know he's holding back.

You moan as you continue to suck and pump him and you feel it's taking him all his willpower. "Let go, love. Come for me."

"But... Y/N...."

"I want to taste all of you," you moan and increase your pace. His grip on you hair tighten, and soon he's thrusting in your mouth in sync as you stroke him. "Now."

He gives up all control, his knees buckle as he pours all of him in your mouth. You lick him a last time before swallowing everything.

"Baby, that was..." Scott was saying this when the sound of a door opening from the second floor startles you both.

"Shit!" You hiss. You scramble for your top and bra and duck.

"What are you doing?!" Scott whispers.

"No one can see us! I'll go out the kitchen side door and wait before whoever that is goes back to bed." Without waiting for a response, you crawl towards the exit and don't bother closing the door behind you. The last thing you hear are footsteps coming down the stairs before you step into the night.

--

PRESENT

Last week's encounter is what you think of as you make your way down the Common Area. You cringe at yourself for ditching Scott the way you did that night, but more so for pretending like nothing happened the next day as you headed back to New York.

You were pretty proud of yourself that day--not making eye contact with Scott at all and sticking with FitzSimmons through the entire trip. You braced yourself for anyone who might ask why you and Scott weren't talking, but thankfully no one did.

However, when you were alone in your apartment at the Tower that night, all the guilt and the feelings came bursting out. You didn't regret what you did; you felt betrayed by your self for not having enough control to avoid the situation in the first place. You hated that you gave in to the temptation of having a taste--wow--of what it's like to be with Scott Lang.

It's almost officially morning out there so you hurry to grab yourself a coffee and some breakfast to pair it with before heading back to your floor. No workload today. Must hole up in my apartment the whole day and avoid Scott at all costs. You're repeating this mantra in your head when Banner appears out of nowhere.

"Hey, kid."

"Shit!" You slap your hand over your mouth when you realize who it is. "Sorry, doc!"

"Well, I'm not Cap so.." Banner makes a hands off gesture.

You chuckle. "You almost gave me a heart attack there."

"Oh yeah? What are you doing up so early anyway?"

"Wanted to start early for the peace and quiet."

"Right."

"What about you, doc?"

"I'm yet to sleep, I've been up all night reading."

You nod appreciatively. "Nice." He's just finishing preparing a cup when you get your own.

He smiles and yawns. "I was ready to hear that staying up til dawn is frowned upon for older guys like me. I almost forgot who I was talking to."

You mimic his earlier gesture, "Well, I'm not Tony, so..."

This makes you both laugh. You sit beside him on the bar stool and you drink your coffee in silence. You're lost in your mini reflections when he takes a deep breath.

"Y/N, I know it's not my place to meddle at all but, is everything okay between you and Scott? I thought I was just imagining it when we came back from our trip but these past few days... I don't know. I'm sorry if I'm prying."

Wow, of course it was so obvious. Who was I kidding? You groan. Might as well talk to one of your most trusted friends. "Oh, doc. This past week has been awful!" You cover your face with your hands. You didn't want to bare your little secret but you've also been dying to just talk to someone about it. Banner just nods and squeezes your shoulder.

"When we were in the Philippines, Scott and I had a little, errr, moment...?"

"Uh-huh," Banner continues to nod but he also looks confused.

"A sexually-related moment," you clarify.

"Oh!" His eyes widen--the widest you've seen them. You almost regret revealing too much but he recovers himself and breathes slowly. "Okayyy.. so I'm guessing now that's what's making things weird?"

"Yes! But it's also way more than that," you sigh in exasperation. "You see, doc, if it was just some random guy, there wouldn't have been any problem. I can take casual," Banner is about to say something but you add quickly, "not that casual is my style but I'm saying that if it were a nobody it wouldn't have to be so complicated."

"Hey! I'm old, not narrow-minded."

"I know. Urgh. I'm sorry, doc. My head's a mess."

"Okay, so I think that staying up late is catching up to me and the tea's just making me more sleepy but let me get this straight: you and Scott are not talking because of the incident."

"Yes."

"Which made things weird because you two are good friends."

"Yes, exactly."

"So the ignoring each other is mutual?"

"Ye-- I don't know."

"What? What do you mean you don't know?"

"Well, after... Right after the incident, we heard someone approaching, so I panicked and ditched him."

Banner narrows his eyes. "Wait. Did this ‘incident’ happen in the rest house's kitchen at around 3 in the morning?"

It's your eyes' turn to widen.

"That someone was me!"

"Oh, God " you cover your eyes. "Why don't just the floor swallow me or something."

Banner runs a hand over his face. "That's why Scott was topless..." You see him cringe. "Okay, let's not mind that. Back to the matter at hand. So the next morning when we're headed home you just decided you'd stop talking to him."

"Yes."

"But that's so mean!"

"Hey!" You look at him defensively, but realize he's right. "Okay. I know it is. But can you blame me? I like him."

"You mean you like like him?"

This is it. Saying it out loud means it'll be out there, I can't take it back. "I do."

You look away, feeling vulnerable all of a sudden. Banner touches your hand. "Then kid, I guess it isn't that complicated "

"But it is," you say stubbornly. "I know deep inside he's still getting over Hope. And I won't let myself be some rebound just because I'm convenient."

"Who said anything about a rebound?" You stiffen. It's him. Banner looks up behind you and then to you. He stands up and takes his mug.

"I guess it's time you two talk." He places his mug on the sink and heads out.

It's silent for a moment before he speaks, "Y/N..."

Irritation boils inside you. "How long have you been eavesdropping, Scott?!"

"I wasn't eavesdropping!"

You whip your head to look at him. "How long?!"

"I said, I wasn't." He says through controlled breaths. "But I happen to walk in with enough time to hear that you like like me."

"URGHHH!" Your irritation is just fueled by this so you stand up and storm as fast as you can out of there.

"Hey!" Scott follows you and walks briskly. "Stop running away from me!"

You ignore him and head for the stairs. Your apartment is just a floor above and it's been a habit of yours to climb instead of using the elevator. Scott is matching your steps as you head up, the noise echoing in the enclosed space.

"Y/N, please listen to me." You push past the stairwell door to your floor. Just a few more steps and you'll be in the safety of your own space.

"You've been listening to the conversation, Scott. I guess I don't need to repeat myself to you." You choose this moment to open your door and get inside. You're about to slam the door in his face but he grabs a hold of your wrist and follows you in.

"Y/N please, just stop!"

You look at where he's holding you. "Let. Go. Of. Me."

He drops your hand. "I'm sorry."

You're staring daggers at him. "Now will you get out of my apartment?"

"No," he says calmly. He steps back and closes the door. "I really think we should talk."

"I've said what I thought and it just so happens that you were there to hear it. No need for me to explain it. I guess it's enough."

"Stop... just stop," he pleads.

You just stand there, staring at him.

"What happened that night at the rest house--between us--it was very special to me. I didn't expect for it to happen, but it did and it was more than any dream I've imagined. It made me so happy thinking you felt the same way about me. Then you ran off and just.. ignored me." His face contorts and you see he's hurt.

"It felt like being handed something so beautiful, only for it to be ripped away from me," he continues.

You don't notice tears beginning to stream down your cheeks.

"I gave you a week. I told myself maybe you just needed to sort things out; I needed that too. But I woke up today thinking enough is enough and I'd finally tell you everything--tell you that I liked you, how that night meant to me, tell you I can't get enough of you, that I'd like to get to know you more--because you're no longer just a friend."

The world is a blur as tears pool in your eyes. Scott closes the distance between you two, cups your face and wipes at the tears.

"And now I know your thoughts and I get it. I understand your fear, but you're wrong. You're not some convenient rebound. You're my sun and I want you shining in my life constantly."

It's too much. You sob uncontrollably and your knees buckle but Scott is there. He's holding you against his chest and you melt into him.

"Oh my sweet baby girl," he whispers in your ear and kisses the top of your head. Your moment of weakness turns to hunger and he sees it in your eyes. He closes the distance and kisses you hard.

You moan in his mouth and he carries you to the bed. He lays you down gently and showers kisses all over your face. "This okay?"

You nod. You bring his hovering body down and feel his hardness press into you. "Scott..."

"You're not gonna run away from me this time, are you?" he whispers, lips in your ear.

"No..." you moan.

He lifts your shirt and your sports bra over your head and once again you're exposed in front of him. Your nipples harden at his look and he gives each one a peck. But he kisses you further south--he trails wet kisses to your navel and the remaining exposed skin right above your shorts. Scott slowly removes it and kisses every exposed skin revealed, until his breath is just an inch away from your core.

"Fuck, baby girl. You're dripping wet," he licks his lips at the sight.

"Yes, love. I've been aching too long for you."

This drives him wild and without warning, brings his tongue to your clit. He laps at it and licks wildly, finding a delicious rhythm. "You taste like cream and honey, princess." As he licks, he dips a finger inside you.

"Oh, Scott!"

He thrusts in and out--his fingers coated with your arousal, freely exploring. You're feeling lightheaded but feel your core burning as he adds another one. This makes you scream, and his licks intensifies. You feel something build up at the pit of your stomach--you're so close. "Love, I'm..." you pant as you savor every sensation.

"Hmmm, baby girl. Sooooo good." Your fingers tangle in his hair as you thrust a little to match him. Disrupting the rhythm, he sucks at your clit, hard

"Come for me, baby girl."

and it sends you over the edge--your orgasm spreading all over your body--like dipping your fingertips and your toes in warm milk. You scream his name as you come and the high releases all of the week's stress away. You hear him lick his fingers clean and you shudder. He comes up and kisses your jaw, playing with your hair.

"You okay, baby girl?"

"Hmm-mm." You nod. Your pussy is still throbbing from the orgasm as he asks, "Got one more in you baby?"

"Oh, yes Scott, I need you inside me," you beg, both a whine and a moan.

He quickly discards his lower clothing and frees his cock. The memory of him in your mouth is more than enough to get you wet again.

"Come on, love," you groan.

He pumps his cock twice before aligning with your entrance. He dips the tip slowly and you can't wait to take in the rest of him. You grab his ass and meet him with an upward thrust, his cock burying deep inside you. "Scott!" The feeling of him inside is incomparable. You've never been so full.

"Fuck baby girl, I'm not gonna last if you call the shots."

You giggle but you still under him, letting him take control. He thrusts in, slowly at first then picks up his pace. He buries his face in your neck giving you access to his ear.

"You're so fucking tight for me."

You hum in agreement and bite softly at his ear. This interrupts his pace and he grunts.

His hands travel at your waist, then up your chest. He cups one of your breasts and plays with your nipple.

"Oh!" The sensation goes straight to your clit and you feel another orgasm building. He feels it too, your walls tightening around him.

His thrusts quicken and you loose yourself in it. Then you're there, higher and higher until you break your grip to the solid world; you are floating.

You call out his name as you come and he rams into you as he follows suit. He pours everything unto you, in you, and you take it all in, the warmth of his cum so comforting.

He catches his breath before rolling to your side, one arm still draped around you.

"You're so beautiful, Y/N."

You look at him through sleepy eyes. "You're beautiful too, Scott Lang."

This makes him smile his goofy smile and you know you two are gonna be okay.

"So, would you care to go out on a date with me?"

You giggle. "You know, I don't do dates on the first sex. But I'll guess for you I'll make an exception."

This makes him laugh and you stay there, entwined, the sunlight making its way to your room.

END.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Do you have any fics where Sherlock actively protects and/or defends John? Not like I’m-leaving-to-protect-you, but like standing-and-facing-aggressors-to-protect-and-defend?

Hi Nonny!

Ahh, I actually do, but I end up classifying it under “John Whump” or “Possessive Sherlock” LOL. Here’s what I got for you!

PROTECTIVE SHERLOCK

See also:

John Whump / Sherlock Takes Care of John

John Whump / Sherlock Takes Care of John Pt. 2

Jealous & Possessive Sherlock

The Moment When by drekadair (K, 509 w. || TGG Fic, Friendship, First Person POV Sherlock, Introspection, Worried Sherlock) – Sherlock sees John in the pool, and doubts. Set during the end of "The Great Game."

Promise of Sussex by LittleLongHairedOutlaw (T, 705 w. || First Person POV Sherlock, Sherlock Whump, Angst, Pining, Ambiguous Ending) – John tries to keep Sherlock conscious after he's been shot on a case.

Promises Kept by grannysknitting (K+, 844 w. || John POV, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship / Pre-Slash, Sherlock’s Violin, Worried Sherlock, John Whump, Post-TGG) – When they were in hospital, Sherlock made a promise to himself. Now he's keeping it. Set after 'Polygamous Marriage' but before 'Back in the Saddle'

Possessive by Fang323 (T, 850 w. || John Whump, Hospitalization, Possessive / Protective Sherlock, Friendsdhip, Hurt/Comfort) – His John did not belong. Not here. Not in this blasted hospital. It simply was not logical.

Burn Burn by Jenn1984 (K+, 925 w. || Post-TGG, Angst, Worried / Panicked / Possessive Sherlock) – A week after the events of "The Great Game", Sherlock returns to 221B Baker Street to find it empty.

Back in the Saddle by grannysknitting (M, 1,577 w. || Post TGG, Donovan POV, Observation / Introspection, Protective Sherlock, Injured John, Case-ish Fic) – Their first return to solving crime after the pool and the explosion.

One in Ten Thousand by Blind Author (K+, 1,856 w. || Post-TGG, Friendship / Pre-Slash, Discussions of Violence, Worried then Curious Sherlock, Scars/John’s Bullet Wound, Medical Anomolies) – John seems to have unusual mobility for a shoulder wound…

Those Days by StillWaters1 (T, 2,663 w. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD / Sensory Attacks, Caring Sherlock) – If Sherlock had danger nights, then these were John's danger days.

Domino by Deception's Call (K, 2,689 w. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Scared / Worried Sherlock, John Whump, Crying Sherlock, Hospital, Implied Caretaker Sherlock) – When John is injured on a case and is admitted to the hospital, those at Scotland Yard come to realize that perhaps Sherlock Holmes has a heart after all.

It Was All Right There In Front of Him (A Five Times Plus One Story) by bees_stories (T, 3,191 w. || 5+1, Protective Idiots, Grooming, Bed Sharing, Lestrade POV) – DI Greg Lestrade is a good detective. But sometimes he doesn’t trust the evidence in front of him, until there’s a compelling reason to do so.

Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down by standbygo (M, 3,282 w. || Post-S4, Five Plus One, Missing Scenes, Parenthood, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, Declarations of Love, Fluff, Food, John Whump) – Five times when Sherlock and John ate together, and one time they didn't. A history of the boys, in food.

The Dangers of Dating by verityburns (T, 3,325 w. || Friendship, Case Fic, No Slash, John Whump, 3G, Worried Sherlock) – Sherlock and John acquire a new client... with a very unusual problem.

All That I Have by the_arc5 (M, 3,721 w. || Post-TGG Canon Divergence, Pining Sherlock, John Whump, Anxious / Worried Sherlock, Light Angst) – In the aftermath of the Great Game, Sherlock finds himself with a new weakness. John is both the cause and the cure.

Every Step of the Way by Shi-Toyu (T, 3,795 w. || Romance, Hurt/Comfort, John Whump, Car Accidents, Care Taking, Pre-Slash) – When John is injured on a case, Sherlock can't forgive himself. Everyone expects him to give up on his flatmate and get bored, but he'll prove them all wrong by sticking with him... every step of the way.

Afghanistan in Baskerville by Amaya Ramiel (K+, 4,357 w. || THoB Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Drugged John, PTSD / Panic Attack, Hallucinations, Worried Sherlock, John’s Past, Friendship) – What if John hadn't seen the hound when Sherlock trapped him in the lab? What if instead, his very real nightmares of the war had materialized all around him? Trapped and drugged, John can't tell what's real and what's not. How will Sherlock react?

Let Down by Gandalf3213 (K+, 4,505 w. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, John Whump, Insecure John) – John truly is sorry for letting Sherlock down. The only thing he wanted to do was finish the case, but bleeding out in a dark alley makes it harder for him to pursue that murderer running out of sight.

Applied Linguistics by what_alchemy (M, 4,837 w. || Possessive / Anxious Sherlock, Introspection, Bed Sharing, Past John Whump, Est. Rel., Marriage Proposal, Sherlock Loves John So Much, Word Play) – “He wants to shake John by the shoulders, wants to open his mouth and swallow John whole. Wants to marry him.” Sherlock searches for the right words.

Welcome Home, John by slashscribe (G, 5,504 w. || Post-S3, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Awkwardness, Stabbed Sherlock, Protective Sherlock, Panic Attack (Sherlock), Self Esteem Issues, Love Confessions, First Kiss) – When John moves back to 221B, he thinks he’s the broken one, but after a while, it becomes clear that he might not be correct.

BANG by ElvendorkInfinity (T, 7,016 w. || Post-TGG AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Worried / Scared Sherlock, Alternating POV, Whump, Hospital Recovery, Open Ending) – 'I should warn you,' Sherlock says, his voice steady and his eyes fixed on Moriarty. 'You are sadly misinformed.' And he fires. Prequel to M Is For Moriarty

Inconvenient Timing by TheMadKatter13 (M, 7,072 w. || Omegaverse || Omega John/Alpha Sherlock, Romance, Public Heat, Scared John, Protective / Worried / Possessive Sherlock, Post-TBB AU, Caring Sherlock, Pre-Slash, Happy Ending) – When John's heat failed to appear three times in a row after he was shot, he figured it was just another broken piece off the broken toy soldier. So he was rather surprised to feel it start out of the blue...and not at all pleased with it starting while he was on the tube.

On Favors and Keeping Score by Ewebie (G, 7,622 w. || Hurt/Comfort, Sick Fic, Fluff, John Whump) –  John woke up to the horribly unpleasant sound of his clock alarm. Which meant he’d slept through his phone’s alarm. And for a moment he glared blearily at the noisemaker before smacking at it with his palm. Ugh, he felt like rubbish. The back of his throat was burning with the irritation that heralded a proper dose, his nose was threatening to drip every few seconds, and he had the uncomfortable flush that normally suggested a fever. Nothing high, just uncomfortable. Nothing deadly, just irritating. Nothing worth calling in sick with, just a full day of discomfort in the face of other people’s discomfort. It was going to be a day where he was forced to bite his tongue from telling people off. “You’re not as sick as I am, so off you pop.” Part 7 of Tumblr Shorts

The Hours Before Midnight by Lady Sam Mallory (T, 7,773 w. || TGG Fic, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Torture / John Whump, Kidnapping, Drugging, Alternating POV, Worried / Protective Sherlock) – Moriarty doesn't play fair. John must deal with hours of torment from Moriarty before going to meet Sherlock at the Pool at the end of the Great Game and Sherlock must deal with the consequences of his boredom.

Victim, Bait, Hero, Friend by KimberlyTheOwl (T, 7,887 w. || Post-TGG Epilogue, Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Past Kidnapping / Torture / Implied Rape, Panic Attacks, Worried / Possessive Sherlock, Lestrade is a Good Friend) – Some insights into why John was perfectly willing to throw everything away for a chance to kill Moriarty at the pool. Trauma, ugliness, and finally healing. Some nice supporting work by Lestrade as well.

A Friend Indeed by Sanru (K+, 8,190 w. || Missing John, Friendship, Drama, Introspection, Possessive Sherlock, Worried Sherlock) – Something has gone terribly wrong with a supposedly simple case. John Watson is missing. While the search for him is proving to be fruitless, it has made Sherlock realize that having an emotional attachment to someone may have its disadvantages but he liked being able to call John his friend. Now if only he could find out what happened to him...

My Life for His by QuinnAnderson (E, 8,816 w. || Guardian/Protector, Greek Mythology || Growing Up, Sex, Religious Themes, Suicide, Minor Character Death) – It began when Sherlock was eight, and he attempted to climb all the way up to the highest branch in the old willow tree in his back garden. He'd thought he was still small enough that it could support him, but the second he'd grabbed hold of it to pull himself up, the branch snapped, and down he went, plummeting a solid twenty metres.The odd thing was, he never actually hit the ground.

A Is For Aftermath by ElvendorkInfinity (T, 10,567 w. || Injury / Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Pre-Slash/Bromance/Platonics, Hallucinations, Introspection, Insecure / Worried John, Big Brother Mycroft, Alternating POV, Anxious Sherlock, Self-Deprecating, Mildly Possessive Sherlock, 3G Moment) – John is still hallucinating, Sherlock cannot sleep, and Lestrade has a new case for them. But will life at 221B ever be able to return to normal? Epilogue to M is for Moriarty.

The Dying Doctor by Transcendental Starlight (T, 11,258 w. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Sick John / John Whump, ACD Rewrite) – Loosely based off ACD's "The Dying Detective." Sherlock relives a case that should have killed him, but instead resulted in John being hospitalized for a deadly disease. Sherlock endeavors to catch the murderer, while attempting to envision a future without John Watson. No Slash.

A Building of Bridges by Unique (K, 12,325 w. || Drama, Alternate First Meeting, John’s PTSD / Flashbacks, Mute John, Dialogue-Heavy, Caring Sherlock, Friendship) – No one would ever send Sherlock in to diffuse a stand-off; but on one unlikely day, that's exactly what happened. "Congratulations, Lestrade," he called out sarcastically. "You're traumatizing a war veteran."

Always the sun by Rose de Sharon (K+, 12,377 w. || Song Fic, Alternate Post-TGG, Friendship/Bromance, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection / Reflection, Injury Recovery, Obsessive / Protective Sherlock, Nightmares, John’s Past, Bed Sharing / Cuddles) – Sherlock ponders about how much his life has changed since John has become his flatmate.

Hope for Heroes by Richefic (K+, 16,887 w. || Post-TGG Fic, Introspection / Flashbacks, Friendship/Epic Bromance, Hurt/Comfort, Worried/Anxious Sherlock, Sherlock Admires John, BAMF John, John Deduces, Fancy Party, John’s Self Esteem, Domestics) – In the final moments of "The Great Game" Holmes hopes he will have the chance to tell his flatmate that he was wrong. Heroes do exist after all and the one in front of him is called Dr John Watson.

Let's Make a Bed Out in the Rain by theimprobable1 (M, 17,664 w. || Pining, Angst & Fluff, First Kiss, Unrequited, Protective Sherlock) – John is devastated after his long-term girlfriend leaves him. Sherlock helps him through it.

A Life Well-Lived by Kate_Lear (E, 20,121 w. || Original Male Character, Sherlock Woos John, Jealous Sherlock, Reluctant Bi-John, Past Abuse, Insecure John, Reassuring / Caring Sherlock, Protective Sherlock, Understanding Sherlock) – John got scared off men by an abusive past relationship. Sherlock has to try and woo him while not scaring him off with protective possessive rage.

The Vapor Variant by 88thParallel (CanadaHolm) (M, 72,684 w. || Post-THoB, John Whump, Protective Sherlock, Guilty Sherlock, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD John, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Suspense, Virus, Sickfic, Big Brother Mycroft) – They stood face to face in the middle of a clearing. The dim light of the moon barely allowed Sherlock to see the glassy terror in John’s eyes and the sweat that glistened off his forehead. His nose was bleeding again, blood dripping in a slow stream from his right nostril. They were both gasping for air, John’s eyes locked on Sherlock’s. There was no recognition there, just wild animal fear. Time stood still for an eternal few seconds, and Sherlock took a shaky breath. “John—”Spell broken, John spun and bolted back into the woods. Still heaving for air, Sherlock took off after him.

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 2x13-- Day 492

FINALLY DONE WRITING THIS. Recap under the cut! Also, as soon as I post this, I’m going to work on updating my meta page where you can find links to posts about EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of TGW and TGF. 

Dear writers: I’ll forgive Timeline Fuckery when it’s beyond your control. I understand that you’re shooting outdoor scenes in March/April when in the show it’s supposed to be late May, so there’s snow on the ground and everyone’s in coats. Fine. You can’t change the weather. And I understand that the Day ### titles are more symbolic than literal. But what’s your excuse for opening this episode with the date (May 27th, 2018) when you didn’t need to?

For one, May 27th, 2018 is a Sunday—and thus not a work day. Any calendar will tell you this. For another, Lucca goes into labor “two weeks early,” we’re told. In 2x06, she said the birth date was scheduled for May 22nd. Why do you do this, writers?! You didn’t have to give dates. You didn’t have to OPEN THIS EPISODE WITH THE DATE. And, if you’re going to use dates, at the very least, write them down somewhere!!!!

See, now I’m starting off the episode in Nitpick Mode (to be fair, I am usually in Nitpick Mode) when I could be starting off the episode simply happy to see the wonderful Lucca Quinn.

Lucca’s in court arguing a case about filming in Chicago. We saw this client earlier in the season—he’s the one who thought Lucca kept needing to use the bathroom.

Lucca and opposing counsel are standing really close to each other and I don’t know why.

Maia’s on this case now, too.

Lucca stops mid-sentence because… she’s going into labor! The client thinks she has to pee, then he thinks it’s a lawyerly trick (Lucca screams in pain as she says “all white facilities!!” which is hilarious).

The judge asks if Lucca needs a moment. She pretends she doesn’t, but that lasts all of a second before she screams “Yes! Yes! Recess! FUCK! Fuck!” and grabs opposing counsel to stable herself. Ah, that’s why he was standing so close to her.

Now Maia’s speeding through the city, with Lucca in the passenger seat with her legs up. Lucca complains about all the cases she’d planned to work on this week as Maia frantically pushes buttons on a cellphone. Bluetooth, Maia. Use Bluetooth and then you can keep both hands on the wheel and look at the road.

Maia has, and is using, Lucca’s phone, and Lucca doesn’t know it. Does Lucca not have a passcode?

Maia calls Colin and instead gets Francesca because I guess Lucca’s number for Colin is not his cell but rather… his mom’s house? But I don’t care, because Francesca is in the practice of answering her home phone with, “Morello Residence, Down with Trump.” I know Colin’s not going to be a regular next season, but can we keep Francesca around as a guest star?

Francesca is shocked that Lucca’s in labor because she thought they were inducing in two weeks. Yes. Because babies always arrive exactly when you schedule them.

Next, Lucca wants to call Diane.

When Diane tells Julius that Lucca’s in labor, Marissa overhears and freaks out.

“Listen, can you take Lucca’s place on the Violence Committee?” Diane asks Julius. (Not going to find another associate to do it? Only a partner? I guess Lucca is doing very well.)

“No! I have to get to the hospital,” Marissa replies before Julius can say anything. This is so Marissa—thinking a question that is OBVIOUSLY not directed at her would be directed at her. “Not you! She means me,” Julius corrects, but Marissa’s already run off.

When did Marissa and Lucca become so close? I know Marissa/Maia/Lucca kind of have a Workplace Friendship Trio thing going, but I feel like we’ve had a lot of Marissa/Maia and a lot of Maia/Lucca, and not as much Marissa/Lucca. I’m accepting it only because I like the idea of the Workplace Friendship Trio and if the show wants to give me Marissa/Lucca scenes, it can go right ahead.

Diane, meanwhile, is being interviewed by FBI agents, one of whom is the Gravedigger from Bones/Rhonda Pearlman from The Wire. At first, it seems like a standard background check, since Kurt’s applying for a position with the FBI. But they seem to be fishing for something related to people who’ve spent the night at Diane’s apartment.

In the last 6 months, Maia spent a few days at Diane’s apartment during the scandal. What? Not only does that timeline not make sense, but shouldn’t we have seen it if Maia was staying with Diane instead of living behind a clock during the scandal? I’m more upset we were denied that than I am about the timeline. This season—and last season—needed more Diane/Maia scenes to make Maia’s presence feel necessary and believable.

As soon as the agents leave, the score from 6x01 kicks in and suddenly I’m having lots of Cary Agos feelings. Diane walks slowly down the hallway, caught up in her thoughts.

“Hey. Is Lucca really giving birth?” Liz stops her, overjoyed. Awww!

Diane asks Liz if she has a minute. She explains her situation with the FBI, says she’s worried about one of her answers, and then does that thing people on this show do where they exchange a dollar to hire a colleague as a lawyer. Then Diane tells Liz she’s worried about someone else who stayed overnight: Tully.

Diane calls the FBI agent and mentions other people who stayed in her apartment, then sneaks in Tully’s name.

LMAOOOOO GUYS THERE IS WHAT APPEARS TO BE A PORTRAIT OF COMEY IN THE BACKGROUND OF THIS SCENE AND HE HAS DEVIL HORNS AND AN EYEPATCH LOLLOLLOLLOLLOL

“You’re fine,” Liz tells Diane when she hangs up. Diane isn’t so sure.

A man talks directly into the camera. “Kill all lawyers. That’s been the anthem for six months of copycat killers and assaulters. Well, today that ends,” he says. That’s a little meta. He’s talking to Adrian and Julius, so I guess this is the violence committee that Lucca was meant to be on and now I wish we’d gotten to see it with Lucca.

The mayor’s put together a committee to address this. Apparently, the best people are on the committee. They’ll get to spend ten million dollars. When Adrian and Julius walk into the room, it’s not what they’d expect. It’s Trump Appointee Trig (incompetent judge), Mr. Elk (whose name is Ted Willoughby but I will forever call him Mr. Elk because of the time he said, “things of that elk”), and… wait for it… the Peter Florrick loving drama teacher. This show has never met a guest star it didn’t want to bring back. (Well, I suppose that’s a lie: there’s always Nick Savarese.)

Mr. Elk is now on Fox News, which doesn’t make sense given that he was introduced as someone who would be friendly towards the Florricks, but does make sense given… well, HIM.

Adrian and Julius quickly realize they’re in a room with a bunch of idiots, and they don’t mince words in saying so. Adrian literally calls them “functioning idiots”, which they are. (The drama teacher is the smartest of the three.)

Adrian’s advised to just go with it and persuade them.

Marissa runs through the hospital trying to find Lucca. When she arrives, Maia is on the phone with Colin, Francesca wants to know how Colin’s doing (no sense of urgency…), and Lucca wants drugs. Marissa cannot figure out how to use a door.

Colin’s now on his way to the airport. He swears out of frustration with the fact he’s not there. “God, it’s good to hear someone swear, other than me,” Lucca replies. “FUCKING HELL,” she exclaims in pain.

“COCKSUCKER!” Francesca replies. Maia, Marissa, and Lucca stare at her. “MOTHERFUCKING COCKSUCKER!” Marissa joins in. “Fucking asshole!” Maia says (she’s more hesitant than the others). Then they all start screaming cuss words and this is why streaming services exist, guys. To bring us hilarious scenes where women in maternity wards scream vulgarities at the top of their lungs.

Kurt’s being interviewed by the FBI next. First question is about the Rindell fund. Second is about the neighbor who spent the night. Third is Tully. They make a point of mentioning he stayed overnight. “Does this apartment have more than one bedroom?” they ask. Oof. They aren’t even trying to be subtle.

Diane’s at aikido and she has a missed call from Kurt and a mysterious letter in her bag. “Conspiracy carries a life sentence. If you want my help, leave a flower pot in your office window and I’ll meet you at your parking space,” it reads.

Diane asks Liz if she’s noticed the Trump mask people. “They dance, and have sex wearing Trump masks.” Liz doesn’t believe her. “I think that’s an insurance firm,” she laughs. Who knows, these days? (That’s the point!)

Then the phone rings. FBI again. They want to ask Diane a question in person.

The FBI agents aren’t thrilled to see that Diane’s brought along a lawyer. “This isn’t adversarial,” one says. Right. That’s what they always say.

Their question: Tully’s made threats against the president and wants to know what Diane knows. They won’t reveal their sources. And they’ve subpoenaed Diane to testify at a grand jury.

Back at the office, Diane picks up a vase of flowers and the camera follows it to the window. Once Diane sets down the vase, it morphs into the vase from the credits. Of course it does. Robert King directed this episode. (This isn’t as awesome as the graphic match in 5x01 (Alicia in profile) but it’s still pretty damn cool.)

The cast list for this episode is insanely fantastic.

The violence committee is exactly as farcical as you’d expect. Killer bees, fake news, a rendition of Annie Get Your Gun with puppies instead of guns… yeah.

Adrian’s idea: a gun buyback program. No one understands this (except maybe Julius). Trig instead wants an “I HEART LAWYERS” ad campaign. Oh my. Mr. Elk suggests a jingle, and No 1 Florrick Fan begins to sing. “I love lawyers. They’re employers.”

There’s calming music playing in Lucca’s hospital room now, but it’s not working. Oh, and Lucca’s mom’s on her way. Francesca’s excited to meet Lucca’s mother, and Lucca’s not at all excited.

Maia tries to change the subject to make Lucca feel better, and Marissa provides a new discussion topic: Lucca moving to D.C. Lucca says she’s not sure she’s going and Francesca acts like it’s a done deal.

Diane goes to her parking spot for her secret meeting. Her new friend announces herself with a ringtone that goes “Fuzzy fuzzy cute cute” because… the Kings wrote this episode.

Diane’s new friend—a young, well-dressed blonde—tells her she’s being targeted because of her firm’s involvement with the impeachment suit and the pee-pee tape. (Side note, I discovered a few days ago that two of my friends had never heard of the pee tape???? Sometimes I think I underestimate just how niche the audience for some of the jokes on TGW/F is.)

“So, what do I call you? Deep Throat?” Diane asks. “No, I don’t do deep throat. Just double penetration and girl-on-girl,” she replies. BWAH. “You’re a porn star?” Diane asks. “I direct now,” she replies. Diane starts to turn away, but New Friend has a point. Trump is terrified of her, and she’s covered by an NDA. “Follow the women,” she advises. The women are the weaknesses of powerful men. Diane looks around and she’s gone. Only not really, because she’s just made her exit to the wrong side of the parking garage and has to double back. Heh.

Liz finds Diane’s mysterious encounter hard to believe. “I know. I’ve spend the last six months in a haze of not knowing what was crazy and what was not. I still don’t know,” Diane states.

Jay shows up, asks about Lucca, and then switches over to helping Diane (continuity is good). Diane notes that the same prosecutor (though I thought he was an ICE agent last ep?) who tried to deport Jay is working on this. Looks like RBL is a target.

Jay’s task is to follow the women.

Tully pulls Diane aside before she testifies and gives her more talk about being rebellious. “Everything I said I am proud of,” Tully offers as an explanation for why he waived attorney-client privilege. The thing about people like Tully—and I don’t mean this because Tully is a radical but rather because Tully is an entitled asshole—is that they don’t care how their actions affect others. Does he care he’s making Diane’s life difficult? Nope.

“Now go give ‘em hell, gorgeous,” Tully says in closing. Adding “gorgeous” really endears me to him. (Just kidding, it makes me loathe him even more!)

Is there some sort of symbolism to Diane’s last name being Lockhart while the prosecutor’s is Basehart? Some kind of doubleing thing?

Diane puts on her Grand Jury face, but it doesn’t work for long because Tully is the worst and also surveillance is everywhere… including Diane’s bedroom. The prosecutor has a recording of Diane and Tully’s conversation about loaded guns from a few episodes back.

And it looks quite incriminating. Diane is pissed. She accuses Tully of taping it, and Tully says Diane has been bugged. Maybe they were listening through her cell phone like they used to listen to Alicia! This is Diane’s next thought too—maybe not the Alicia part, but the phone part—and she destroys her phone’s SIM card.

Jay thinks he’s found a woman to follow. It’s a good start.

“Is this the plan? Blackmailing him?” Liz wants to know. “Yes. Why?” Diane responds like it’s nothing. “Well, it just seems a little sleazy,” Liz warns. Aren’t you the one who suggested making up lies to impeach Trump? (I do not mind Liz being contradictory, because the very first thing we learned about Liz way back in season four of Wife is that she is very good at justifying the things she does while believing everyone else is in the wrong. This isn’t a strategy she concocted, of course she’d question it.) (Also it is sleazy. But not too much sleazier than other things that’ve happened on this show.)

“They’re out to destroy us. If ever there was a time for situational ethics, it’s now,” Diane adds. Did anyone else feel like this episode was dramatic but also not the most dramatic despite how high the stakes are? Maybe it’s just nine years of this or the lack of build-up to this episode or the fact that situational ethics are the bread and butter of this show. (Situational “ethics” perhaps because sometimes… yeah.)

Here’s a fun thought-starter: Imagine a The Good Fight/Wife crossover with The Good Place. Specifically, imagine how Chidi would react to this (or, honestly, any episode).

So I just mentioned lack of build-up, and I didn’t mean that (necessarily) as a bad thing because I think thematically the season was building towards this, and Tully’s been annoying me with his presence since episode 4. On the other hand, the stakes get very high very fast and that never makes it easy to fully understand and embrace just how bad things might be. A fast-paced episode of twists and turns is exhilarating to watch but it never makes me think about just how much all of this would weigh on a person. I’m not really thinking, “wow what would happen if Diane goes to jail” because I doubt that will happen, and I’m not really thinking about how Diane would experience this. Instead I’m thinking about ethics and how often powerful men are skeezeballs and surveillance. And I think the writers are probably more interested in those topics than they are in Diane.

I dunno, maybe it’s just me and my attachment to Alicia Florrick, but I just can’t get inside the minds of any of the TGF characters for more than a few minutes. Diane has been hard to read this season, for me, because so much of her plot is more the Kings reflecting on Trump than an arc for her (and the writers really wasted what was a good arc for her in season 1). Maia’s not interesting enough to spend time analyzing—she’s not inconsistent but I just do not care about her other than to insist that she spend more time working. Lucca and Liz are, I think, the characters I’ve found the most compelling this year… but I want to see more. 

What I loved most about The Good Wife was (obviously) Alicia’s journey. I was attached to the other characters, too, but not in the way I was attached to Alicia. And that was fine, because they were supporting characters who got just enough development that I could analyze their character arcs without feeling they were under-developed. And I LOVED the world TGW built and the questions it posed about structures and politics and technology and the present day. I still love that world.

I guess where I’m going with this is that TGF gives me a lot of things I love—mainly more of the TGW characters and world but adjusted for the Trump era—but it doesn’t deliver the same kind of character development. That’s fine. I don’t need TGF to have an Alicia; it’s a different show focused on an ensemble rather than one lead. I still love The Good Fight a lot and I think it’s great television. I just don’t feel the same connection to it that I felt to Wife.

I have no idea how I ended up on this topic. But I think where I’m going with this is that it would never take me three weeks to write a recap of even the most boring TGW episode, and I’ve been putting off writing this. I feel like I have much less to say about Fight than Wife, and most of the times I get carried away writing things that aren’t rants about Maia are times when I’m comparing the shows or… talking about Alicia, a character who was mentioned a total of one time in season 2. I’m sure part of this is that I’ve changed (when Wife was on, I was in college with lots of pockets of free time, a pretty small social life, a much more active fandom to participate in, etc.; now I work full time and don’t always feel like writing long recaps after a long day of work (and I also rarely start up my personal laptop anymore now that I don’t have to write papers), I have friends I see frequently, fandom is like four or five people these days), but I think most of it is that the show isn’t delivering the thing that motivated me to start writing these long-ass recaps.

… and another week has passed. How am I not finished with this yet?

The FBI agents are back for Kurt, along with Basehart. I’m distracted by two things in this scene: the flowers on the trees outside, because they look enough like cherry blossoms to remind me of BrainDead, and the fact that Alicia’s teal box with the white dots on it is for some reason in Diane’s living room. DON’T THINK I DIDN’T NOTICE.

The agents want to know about a gun that Kurt gave to Diane. Kurt, instead of answering, stands up and says “I have no more answers for you.” “Your wife is about to be indicted,” Basehart says. That’s new.

“I don’t like to swear, so understand this is purely for emphasis: Get the fuck out of our house. No. I mean it. Get the fuck out of our house,” Kurt yells at Basehart. Hee.

Kurt phones Diane, and Diane heads home.

In the Violence Prevention Committee, Mr. Elk is showing the others a clip from his show that I’ll call Elk & Friends. He explains that on Elk & Friends they’re told to address Trump because he watches.

Adrian’s almost convinced Florrick Fan to vote with him when Rahm’s advisor guy whose name I’ve forgotten because I started writing this a month ago adds someone new to the panel: a woman who works for the NRA. L O L

Lucca’s doctor arrives at the hospital looking for Lucca’s room. Francesca immediately hugs her, assuming that any black woman looking for Lucca must be Lucca’s mother. “I was just wondering whether your family is from Tanzania or Nigeria,” Francesca says as a greeting, which… oof. “I just got back from a luxury safari in Tanzania,” she adds. Of course she did.

“Here she is, safe and sound!” Francesca loudly announces to Lucca, Marissa, Maia, and… the woman who actually is Lucca’s mother. That’s when Lucca’s doctor finally has an opportunity to introduce herself.

“Oh! You’re not Lucca’s mom?” Francesca asks. “No, that’s me,” Deirdre Quinn says. They got Judith Light to play Lucca’s mom. This show has the best casting. “I don’t think I understand,” Francesca says because she does not understand that it is possible to be biracial.

“Put her out of her misery, mom,” Lucca chimes in. “Danny, we have someone who needs visual evidence,” Deirdre snarks. You can tell this has happened before.

“Hi. Danny Quinn,” Lucca’s father (who is black) introduces himself. “Now I see the resemblance!” Francesca responds because her default mode is casually racist. “I mean, not that there needed to be a resemblance,” she adds.

The doctor asks for some people to leave the room, so Maia and Marissa head back to work. (The captions identify Maia as saying “we have to get back to work” but, fittingly, it’s actually Marissa who says it.)

“Fuck!” Lucca exclaims, and Francesca dives right back in to screaming MOTHERFUCKER even though the only people who understand what she’s doing have already left. I love Francesca. She would drive me crazy. But she is so amusing.

Julius is on Adrian’s side in the Violence Prevention Committee. How long is it before Julius becomes a liberal?

NRA Lady insists that the problem isn’t just guns: a lawyer was also killed in a hit and run. “Majority were shot,” Adrian notes. NRA Lady says she likes the ad campaign but she wants to spend the money to arm and train lawyers. OF FUCKING COURSE SHE DOES, SHE WORKS FOR THE GODDAMN NRA.

NRA Lady has a video to show the men on the panel. It’s a woman in a bikini with a gun. Great point. Trig, Mr. Elk, and Florrick Fan all stand up to watch the informative video. “It was a very hot day, so they had to make do,” NRA Lady adds.

She also has a bullet proof briefcase, which totally would’ve helped Adrian… not. UGH.

At their apartment, Diane warns Kurt not to talk. They turn on loud music and Diane whispers to Kurt, “I think I’m being bugged.” They decide to talk on the computer instead. I would maybe opt for pen and paper here?

“FBI says you will be indicted.” Kurt writes. Diane takes the keyboard: “Grand jury questioning me again in one hour.” Kurt: “They asked me about your gun.” Diane: “What did you say?” Kurt: “Go to hell.” Diane: “I want to fuck you right now”.

UGH I LOVE THEM A LOT AND KURT NEVER CHEATED THAT NONSENSE DIDN’T HAPPEN BECAUSE LOOK AT HOW GOOD THEY ARE TOGETHER.

“Kurt. They may ask you about someone named Tully,” Diane says later, in bed. Doesn’t Kurt already know about Tully? Didn’t they discuss Tully by name two episodes ago? “I need to tell you…” Diane adds. Kurt says no, she doesn’t need to tell him because they’re starting over. Yes, please.

“Epidural. Epidural,” Lucca can’t stop saying. “Those are pretty words.” Her dad corrects her: it’s one word. Heh.

“Are you and mom intentionally not fighting because of me?” Lucca asks, and suddenly I understand a lot more about Lucca’s life. “No, we don’t fight anymore,” her dad responds. “Why’s that?” Lucca asks. Her dad deflects and instead chooses to focus on how Lucca helped Dominic. “That was a bad segue,” Lucca remarks. But she changes the subject, too.

Outside of the room, Francesca and Deirdre are discussing Colin and Lucca’s relationship. “So they’re not getting married?” Deirdre asks. Francesca confirms that they’re not, but “it’s a different time.” “Why is that?” Deirdre asks. Francesca thinks (and I agree) that Deirdre is just looking to fight.

Deirdre is not without her reasons: Francesca immediately asked Deirdre her opinion on Black Panther and sang a Tanzanian song. Francesca remains clueless and asks Deirdre if she’s seen Get Out.

Back at the grand jury, Diane’s asked about her gun. She says she had it melted down after Adrian was shot, and adds that she wanted nothing to do with guns. “I saw what one did to my partner.” (Which partner do you mean, Diane?)

Next question is about representing the DNC, and if Diane argued for the violent overthrow of the government, complete with a recording of 2x07. (No, Maia’s sex tape isn’t mentioned in this episode. Maybe in five seasons.) (While I’m on that note, have I mentioned that I don’t think we need to hear about the tape to hear about Maia’s relationship? I don’t really care if there’s a tape we never hear about again… I’m much more upset that Maia cheated and that was the last thing we got to know about her relationship.)

Liz informs Ruth about the leaked recording. Ruth isn’t surprised. (Ruth is SO good on TGF.) In fact, Ruth was the one who leaked the tape because she’s playing the long-game. She’s basically making an example of Diane in order to show the DNC isn’t biased.

“You fucked her!” Liz accuses. “No, we acted responsibly,” Ruth argues (ummm). “She fucked herself. I’m sorry for your friend, Liz, but I want to win. The Democrats need to stop being such pussies. We have to win.” Ouch.

Colin finally gets to the hospital! Just in time! “Where’s the epidural?” Lucca’s asking. The doctor explains they’ve curbed the effect because it’s time to push. “You motherfucker! You bring the drugs back!” Lucca screams. Hehe. “You cocksucking asshole!” Francesca chimes in. I bet Lucca’s son’s first word is going to be “fuck.” And I don’t think Lucca will mind if it is.

Apparently Lucca’s family is religious, or at least Francesca has reason to believe that.

Oh, yes, they are: Lucca’s mom wants the baby to be baptized and has chosen now to tell Francesca. Colin jumps into action and kicks the parents out.

And Lucca doesn’t seem opposed to the idea of a baptism either, which caught me by surprise (I assumed she was an atheist) but doesn’t really sound too off.

The partners are waiting up to hear if Lucca’s given birth yet. It’s been 14 hours of labor. Why are they waiting for a phone call that might not even come that night? Why would they even expect to be notified the minute the baby was born and not the next day?

Either (a) No one at the firm ever has children so this is a huge event or (b) Lucca’s an extremely important employee. I’m hoping option b is the explanation here.

Marissa and Jay are still working—it’s gotta be midnight by now; maybe the partners are gathered because of Diane’s legal trouble and are also expecting a call from Lucca? Sorry, I am stuck on this. After the way the partners reacted to Lucca’s pregnancy earlier in the season, I would not expect this kind of reaction from them.

Anyway, Marissa and Jay followed the women and found out that Basehart is a good guy (or at least was being a good guy when he helped the pretty young blonde).

The phone rings. Adrian answers. It’s Colin. “Lucca wanted me to call you and tell you that… we have a son.” Congratulations, Lucca!!!! (And Colin lol. I am reading this over and I have realized I congratulated Lucca and not Colin.)

Lucca and Colin’s son, Joseph Quinn-Morello, was born at 1:15 am. Awwwww.

The partners toast to Joseph, and to the future. “May he make a change for a better world,” Diane says. “God knows we need it,” Liz adds. I still don’t buy that this is happening but it’s so sweet I’ll set aside the nitpicking. This scene also contains continuity (I think it’s later that someone comments the champagne is left over from the poorly attended party in 2x04) so yay!

Colin and Lucca discuss how crazy their parents are. “I don’t think I’ll like DC,” Lucca says next. “Give it a year and I bet you will,” Colin says. Lucca doesn’t respond, but she’s not convinced.

The bottle of champagne is gone and Adrian suggests going home. “You know, a year ago… we were looking out at a blacked-out Chicago and I was depressed, and you said to me that the only constant that we have is the law. We’re not a country of men and women; we’re a country of laws. Do you still believe that?” Diane asks. “Yes,” Adrian replies. “That took you a while,” Diane comments. “It’s been a very odd year, Diane,” Adrian says as Liz takes a seat and joins the conversation. (I guess Julius went home to his, er, SIX CHILDREN).

“Yesterday I read that an undocumented pregnant woman was sent back to the country where she was born. There were death threats against her there, and within six months, she was murdered. It was the law to deport her, but, I mean, it wasn’t…” Diane remarks. “Just,” Liz finishes her sentence. “Exactly. What does it matter if we’re a country of laws if the laws aren’t just?” Diane wonders. “What option do we have?” Adrian asks. “Placing justice above the law?” Liz suggests. “Doesn’t justice define the law?” Adrian counters. “Mmmhmm. Conscience does. It has to,” Liz replies. “So then… it’s okay to break the law?” Adrian wonders. Liz and Diane consider this. “If it offends your conscience, yeah,” Liz concludes.

SO MUCH to unpack here. None of these are ideas we haven’t heard before from this show, but they’re coming together in new ways. Diane is well aware that the law is not always just. She’s counted on that to win cases. Wasn’t she always telling Alicia in the early seasons that they follow the law? That their duty is to represent their clients blah blah blah? But she didn’t find it to be a moral offense then—just part of the job. But now Diane questions the structures. I don’t think many of us thought that our systems could fail in the way they’re starting to. And I don’t think many of us were aware of how backwards some of our laws are. Certainly, The Good Wife often hit on that theme (remember how the NSA came to listen to all of Peter Florrick’s calls because Nisa once left a voicemail in tears on the Florrick family’s answering machine?). But there’s a difference between encountering instances of unjust laws and realizing (or coming to feel) that the entire system is unjust. I am not sure if I completely agree with Diane and Liz, but I understand where they’re coming from and why their positions have changed.

(I say changed because I don’t think either Diane or Liz would’ve ever talked like this pre-45. But I do think Liz especially felt this way before. The ends justify the means, and all that.)

(Also, “an odd year” (or “a weird year”) is a line that has been uttered like twenty times on this show. And the idea of ignoring rules that you find unjust is something Alicia LOVED to do, albeit in a different context. I could expand on that comment but then I’d end up writing an essay on Alicia Florrick’s morality, which has nothing to do with the discussion Diane/Liz/Adrian are having and nothing to do with the current political moment.)

One more thing on this scene: I love that Liz is included!!! Liz has worked so well as an addition to this cast.

Diane gets an idea: Lying. She asks Adrian to give Ted Willoughby some scoop at the next committee meeting

NRA lady gets her way (ugh), but Adrian agrees to write the proposal, thinking no one from the committee will actually read it so he can just write his own policies. This seems dangerous, but alright.

Then Adrian slips Mr. Elk the scoop. He knows it’s false, but leaks it anyway to help Diane. I know this is the result of a conversation about ethics and lying, but no one’s lying in court AND this is reminiscent of so many other manipulations on TGW/F that I’m not really sure it feels as monumental as it seems? I’m 99.9% sure Diane’s done stuff like this just to win cases. And if Diane hasn’t, Will definitely did. Isn’t it a very common strategy (on this show) to suggest in court that affairs there’s no evidence of were going on? And didn’t they literally create fake news to sway a jury twice this season? I don’t even have to go back more than a couple of episodes to find an example!  

Lucca’s heading home from the hospital. “So, Colin, huh,” her mom says. “Well that sounds critical,” Lucca replies. “No. He just seems a little more white bread than your usual guys,” her mom observes. Lucca calls him a good guy, and her mom is like, but he wasn’t here when you were in labor. YEAH. TWO WEEKS EARLY. OF ALL THE THINGS TO HOLD AGAINST COLIN WHY THIS ONE?

“I’m going to give you some advice, Lucca. It’s the garage door test. My mom gave it to me, and I’m going to give it to you. Now, if you want to know if a relationship is working, when you drive home from work and you open the garage door, are you happy when you see his car parked there, or are you disappointed?” Deirdre says. “I live in an apartment,” Lucca retorts. “Don’t be contentious. If you see his car parked on the street, are you happy or sad? Do you want to come home and be alone or be with him?” Deirdre continues.

“Mama, I don’t like coming home and seeing anybody there, ever,” Lucca explains. “Well, then there’s your answer,” Deirdre says. “What? That I should be alone for the rest of my life?” Lucca wonders. “No. Wait until you’re happy to see someone’s car,” Deirdre explains. Good advice. And I bet Lucca’s heard it before, because it’s the exact same advice she gives Alicia in the TGW series finale. (I’m not upset that Lucca’s mom is giving her advice she herself has given to others before. I think it makes sense. She had to get that idea from somewhere, and her mom’s probably talked like this many times before, just not directly to Lucca.)

“Are you and dad getting divorced?” Lucca switches the topic. Deirdre’s silence is all the answer she needs. “I love you,” Deirdre says.

On the drive back from the hospital, Lucca looks sad. She’s lost in thought, and she’s realized at once that she’s not with the person she wants to spend her future with and her parents are splitting up.

Colin tells Lucca that Maia and Marissa want to stop by. Lucca smiles at that. And, indeed, there they are, in Maia’s car (just in case it wasn’t clear that they’re the ones happy to come home to!). “I can get rid of them fast,” Colin offers. “No! I want them here,” Lucca decides. “I just realized I want them here,” she says to herself. YES! YES YES YES!

I’m much more invested in Lucca’s friendships than in her romantic relationships. One of the first things we learned about Lucca was that she didn’t have friends, and it means a lot that she’s finally found people who make her happy. Friendships can be fulfilling. Not everyone needs a romantic relationship to be happy, and I love that the show is finally acknowledging this. The idea of a life without a romantic partner that’s still happy and fulfilling isn’t really one Wife ever allowed Alicia to explore for long (if at all), and I’m glad to see that Fight has given its most guarded character the chance to realize there are different paths to happiness. Wife did allow Diane to have a fulfilling life before Kurt came along, but there’s a difference, I feel, between starting off a character in that spot and having a character actively choose friends over a relationship.

(Yes, I’m still bitter that the TGW finale spent so much time having Alicia choose among Peter, Jason, and somehow inexplicably Will when she could’ve chosen herself or her friendship with Lucca. The TGW finale sidelines Lucca when I think it should’ve doubled down on the importance of her friendship with Alicia—which, tbh, I bought a hundred million times more than any of Alicia’s romantic feelings towards Jason.)

Mr. Elk runs the story—we see Diane watching it. Also on the Ted & Friends homepage? “Darkness Before Noon Season Finale Flops.” If I squint, I can read some of the text of the article: “The ??? ??? (highly literal? Liberal??) streaming show found it’s [sic] season finale to be a ratings failure, despite the streaming service not releasing ratings. Inside sources claim the show is on the bubble.” Soooooooo the writers didn’t know if they were getting a season 3, is what I’m getting. Sneaky.

(ALWAYS READ THE TEXT THAT’S ON SCREEN BECAUSE YOU’LL GET SNARK AND ALSO DELICIOUS LINGUISTICS.)

One of the hosts suggests that the president fire Basehart. Diane and Liz smile. Diane moves the flower pot back to the window: “This past month, I’ve been feeling at peace and in control. And I realized that’s not enough. Because people are out to get me. It’s time to fight.”

Soooo the case against Diane is wrapped up if you want it to be and open if you don’t, and there’s a suggested arc for season 3 if you want there to be (a more rebellious Diane). This is classic season-or-series finale writing. If the show stopped here, with Lucca choosing her friends and then Diane declaring “it’s time to fight,” it might not be the best ending but it would feel like an ending. But if the show goes on from here, there are still stories to tell. Between that Darkness Before Noon article and the way the end of this episode feels, I would bet that the Kings didn’t know if the show would be renewed when they wrote this episode.

The closing shot of the season is all of the partners going into a meeting while a computer plays a clip announcing that Kill All Lawyers has given way to Kill All Reporters. Y’all, this is pretty much how they ended BrainDead: suggesting that the main arc was concluded (bugs eating brains of politicians) but there could be more to come (bugs on Wall Street). To end TGF, though, we get an ominous clip of Trump referring to an upcoming “storm.” I don’t know what to say about that, but it’s terrifying!

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but season 2 of TGF feels, at times, more like BrainDead than The Good Wife, and that’s a good thing. I’m eager to rewatch BrainDead. I have a feeling it’ll play differently now than it did in summer 2016.

One final thought: Have you guys heard of something called Trumpy Bear? The other day, I was watching an episode of Younger On Demand, when all of the sudden, what looked like an ad for religious programming came on. “A storm is coming. You cannot defeat the storm. I am the storm. The great American grizzly,” it began. (I think this is a reference to the same quote the TGF finale ended on!) Then confetti poured down the screen. Turns out this wasn’t an ad for a religious show: it was an ad for a stuffed bear with Trump’s hairdo. The bear contains an American flag blanket. The ad shows a bunch of white people cuddling with the bear, taking it golfing, and brushing its hair. I swear to you I did not make this up. You can go on YouTube and find ads for this. It really exists.

But it took me at least fifteen minutes to acknowledge that I hadn’t accidentally taken some of Diane’s psilocybin and hallucinated it. I rewound the program and took a video on my phone. I sent the video or a link to the infomercial (once I found it) to at least ten people. I needed others to tell me this was real because I was staring at the screen in disbelief. When I sent it to some people, I made the TGF reference. To others, I just said, “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?” and three people (100% of the TGF viewers I sent it to without the upfront joke) replied with their own TGF references.

My point here? The Kings are on to something. This season of TGF captured exactly how it feels to be living through these times.

Also, I still need people to tell me that teddy bear is real. I am SCARRED. 

[therpsource]

The short and sweet of the story is that we’re two RP loving buddies who happen to play Tom Holland and Tobey Maguire Spider-Mans on a panfandom RPG called Between the Lines, and we’re looking for Andrew Garfield Spidey to complete our trio.

While, *Spoilers* we LOOOOVE No Way Home, we don’t require that you pull him from there. Tobey Peter comes from directly after that movie, but our Tom Holland Spidey popped in from around Endgame, before No Way Home. He has no idea what awaits him. Muhahaha!

We’re pretty flexible on whether your Spidey knows about the other Spideys, adding a bit of comic/previous iterations for flavor (my Tobey Spidey has a begrudging friendship with his universe’s Deadpool, he’s worked briefly with the X-Men), etc. Ruby also has a cinnamon bun of a murderer with Andrew’s face and we’d love to see some wonderful chaos where people mistake Peter for Angel and freak out… because glorious IC drama. This totally isn’t required, though and definitely up to you on how you wanna roll. With that said, there are a few things we do want, both from the character and a writing partner in general. The Character:

+Definitely still The Amazing Spider-Man and not just a comic book Spidey with Andrew’s face.

+Mid 20’s to early 30’s

+Near the end of his dark place after Gwen’s death, or through it.

+Still his wonderful, quirky nerd of a self.

You as the writer:

+We’re pretty much always throwing ideas (and some IC chat) back and forth to test out headcanon babies and are definitely looking for a third buddy to gush, plot, and write with).

+Rubes and I can be fairly speedy, but flexible posters. We have our own stuff going on from mental health to busy work schedules. We have our slow times like everyone else and we know that an ideal partner will definitely have their own life stuff happen. But we’re also friends and we chat even when one of us can’t post for whatever reason. Someone who posts less than once a week on a regular basis or who just disappears off the face of the Earth when a real life moment hits probably isn’t going to work out for us.

+We consider ourselves fairly good writers with a decent grasp of grammar and creative writing (show don’t tell, etc). Ideally, you’d be the same. To clarify on this point, we don’t need you to be perfect. We definitely are not. But we do love to paint a picture and can get into some fluff and juicy descriptions.

+We tend to write anywhere from 100 to 500+ words depending on our muses. Ideally, you’d be the same.

+We’re both in the EST timezone if that matters. It really doesn’t to us. We’re looking for a buddy and while it would be amazeballs to have someone up and chatting when we are, we’re in it for the friendship and the story, not the clock.

+We’re also both over 30 and the board is 18+ for players. We're definitely looking for a mature, adult writing buddy regardless of the rating of the content we choose to write.

Feel free to peek at the board or give us a holler in Discord (Brie#6630 and Ruby#6300) if you're interested.

On a final note. we're the only two admins on BtL and not looking to join a new one.