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SABRINA CARPENTER via TikTok (January 2, 2025)

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SAMANTHA LOGAN via Rhoyle Ivy King's tik tok (2023)

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THE VAMPIRE DIARIES S08E05 - Coming Home Was A Mistake

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EUPHORIA S02E05 | Stand Still Like the Hummingbird

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dakota almost wanted to chuckle at gabriel's response before shrugging , " did what it was supposed to do . " it was nice and it was enjoyable but dakota knew that he couldn't expect it to put a bandaid over anything . most things didn't .

gabriel separated from dakota after their conversation and finished up his beer before heading home. he wasn't entirely sure that the other would take him up on his offer but he was pleasantly surprised when he was sitting in his office holding a meeting and he spotted dakota make his way through the gym door. gabe smiled, calling the end of the meeting before opening up the office door, resting against the doorway, " sex didn't quite pan out, huh? "

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it might have been a dark thought but it was one that dakota shared . he never really expected to be here this long . he always assumed something would happen probably by his own hand but he didn't bring that detail up . " you and me both , " he murmured after a moment . dakota's lips twitched slightly at the mention of the house , " yeah , " he hummed , " but i liked that house . "

he chuckled, letting his fingers dance along dakota's back as he watched the shadows of the trees outside dance across the ceiling. " you ever think we'd get to this point? " josh asked after a stretch of silence, keeping his eyes latched to a spot of chipped paint, " kinda thought I wouldn't live to see this age, to be honest. " perhaps that was a dark thought, but he hadn't had the easiest childhood and he did expect that one day luke might kill him, he had hoped but he'd never really believed he'd be able to get both riley and himself out from under the man's thumb, he definitely didn't expect to be able to live his life freely, to not be ashamed of his sexuality. he glanced down at dakota finally, " a real house with a fully covered roof, no dirty mattress in an abandoned house... strange. "

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dakota rested against the bed briefly with his eyes closed , attempting to catch his breath until he felt josh move , pulling him closer . a lazy smile touched his lips , an arm slipping about him . " our best yet , huh ? " dakota breathed , snuggling closer . " yeah , i think i agree with that . "

josh collapsed against dakota, resting his head against his chest and attempting to catch his breath. he figured it wouldn't last too long since dakota hadn't been home all that long and they were known for their ability to rush these moments, but neither man seemed to tire until now. he rolled off of dakota and instead pulled him against his chest, grinning up at the ceiling, " that might have been our best yet. "

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dakota wanted to snort as brian spoke , shaking his head . " i never respected you ? " he questioned as he glanced back at his father . " i wanted to be you . " maybe that person was long gone . in fact , dakota was sure that person wasn't here anymore . they had been gone and buried a long time ago but it didn't make it any less true . " i wanted anything that connected me to you . i hung on everything you did . every word you said . " he wondered if brian realized that . if he realized that he was the parent with all the power to make or break dakota . he sucked in a breath as he looked out the window . " you think i don't mourn her ? or how deep down i know if i could have just been her that maybe ... things would be better ? that you'd be happier ? that if i could have just sucked it up and continued on like that that i would have ? " dakota looked back at brian , a sigh escaping him . " yeah , " he murmured , " me and you both . "

brian's jaw tightened again at the other's utter of his name, " you want me to have compassion for you? you've never respected me as a person, let alone as your father. you've fought against me at every possible opportunity. you've hated me for not jumping to accept a sex change, you refused to allow me time to mourn the daughter I lost. you skipped town the second you got a chance and only ever returned looking for money or to steal from us, you were always loaded and you spoke to everybody like shit. then you turn up here, emotionally blackmail your mother into putting you into rehab and now you want me to treat you like you're fragile. I think you're smarter than that, dakota. I think you're manipulative, I think that you're selfish and I think you think you're better than everybody else but you're not. " the man pulled into the drive way, " I just... I wish you were normal, dakota. "

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" i don't get drunk often , " kieran pointed out . " messes with the medication . " they moved when matteo did , continuing on their walk . " i don't know . " it was the truth . they didn't really know . maybe because if they crossed that line , there was no uncrossing it . there was always the possibility of losing josh as a friend and it wasn't as if kieran had many of those .

" you get drunk together often? " she questioned, although, if she thought about it, she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen josh without a drink in his hand. it wasn't her business to worry about his alcohol intake. matteo turned back, walking again, " I just think if you want something, really want something, why not just go get it? it's not like you haven't got everyone rallying behind you for support. "

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jo wasn't naive enough to not know when someone was flirting . she wasn't always so quick to jump at the idea but grace wasn't shying away from it so why not ? " you would be , " she taunted with a smile , nodding her head . " thank you . "

" thank you , " she hummed , looking down at t he food served before looking back at grace . she smiled , " ah , well , maybe i'll order dessert but only if you join me . " maybe she was playing a bit of a dangerous game here but she wondered if grace would take the bait .

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felix offered a simple nod of his head as he shrugged his jacket on . he said his goodbyes to his friends before moving to head outside , eyes eventually falling on oliver and his car , making his way over . " hey , " he breathed out , " thanks for the ride , again . "

oliver watched felix, mostly curious as to why the other was suddenly so charismatic, they'd been in each other's company before and felix had never struck up conversation, but then again, neither had oliver. he downed the rest of his drink and slid the empty glass across the bar, sliding off his seat to pull on his jacket and straighten up. he heard the whispers, they weren't exactly subtle, and felix's friends were already trying to come up with the next rumour about oliver in real time. he rolled his eyes and looked back at the other, " I have a car waiting outside when you're ready. "

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he wasn't arguing against that so he didn't . colby nodded his head , " yeah , things are still good . " he looked joshua over . " you've seen dakota ? " he figured as much . the two had always been attached at the hip and he didn't expect it to be much different now that he was back in town .

" it's not the time or place, " josh pointed out, not bothering to meet his brother's eye. there was a lot unsaid between them and he knew and respected colby's reasonings for running when he got the chance, but that didn't mean he forgave him for abandoning joshua when he needed him. " so, " he grimaced, grappling for a change in subject, " things still good with matteo? "

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dakota didn't have to divulge much more information . gabriel seemed to just simply accept it . " i think that ship has sailed a little bit here but i will keep that in mind . " he offered a smile as he looked back at gabriel . " and i'll .. also try to find a hobby . "

" I bet, " it wasn't exactly a secret that dakota was the black sheep of his family, gabriel knew what that was like and he wasn't a fan of brian morgan, so all he did was laugh and agree with the man's statement. he swept his tongue over his lower lip and shrugged, " people make a lot of assumptions an' I never bother to correct them, sometimes it's better if people don't know ya business, kid. "

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" i think if there was gonna be a drunken bang it would have happened by now . " or maybe that was what kieran assumed . it had yet to happen though . they stopped walking when matteo did , glancing down at their hands before looking back at their sister . " i don't know , " they confessed , " but it's consistent . " which was also one of kieran's things but they didn't have to tell matteo that . " but i'll ... ponder it . "

" I know, " matteo responded, looking at her brother, a little more heartfelt now, " but the more you avoid it, the worse its gonna be, and then its gonna be a drunken bang that neither of you talk about ever again because you're both as bad as each other when it comes to communication. " she stopped, stepping in front of her sibling and taking his hand, " look, I know all of this is hard for you, but do you really wanna be settling for the rest of your life? if he's what you want, how else are you gonna know if you work if you don't just shoot your damn shot. " she lifted her brows, waiting for an answer that she didn't really expect to get. " I'm just saying, I never would have gotten colby if I didn't shoot my shot, the shelbys just aren't built to step outside of their comfort zone. "

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dakota couldn't remember a time where he denied joshua and he didn't plan to start now . he didn't hesitate to shift closer , moving under he found placement in the man's lap , fingers pushing into his hair again as he deepened the kiss .

joshua happily leaned into the kiss, content to know that dakota was doing alright and happy to do this, like they'd always done since they were teenagers. he ran his hand further up his leg, squeezing at his thigh as he deepened their kiss, his other hand wrapping around his frame to tug him closer.