#and i have so much to look forward to w the holidays & break from work & family vacation & then my birthday & then amusements park plans w | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theharrowing · 1 year

Text

Hope for the Holidays | Teaser

Meeting someone extraordinary and deciding to leave your partner of three years wasn’t quite what you had in mind for the holiday season, but life rarely goes as planned, does it?

❄ Hoseok x Non-binary (AFAB) Reader

❄ teaser word count: 2k

❄ strangers to lovers, chance encounters, angst, teaser is swf.

❄ fic warnings: emotional infidelity, breaking up, moving on, hurt/comfort, eventual explicit smut, feeling displaced and alone for the holidays, falling out of love, falling in love, lots of other complicated feelings, some fluff if i'm generous.

❆ part of a hyung holiday collab! coming in december to a dash near you!

❄ banner by @haliiimede!

❄ i am very excited to drop this story alongside others by @gimmethatagustd, @haliiimede & @here2bbtstrash! lots to look forward to!

With each buzz of your cell phone, you take a deep, shaky breath in an attempt to steel yourself. You already know what to expect, and this is not the conversation you want to be having on this bright—albeit frigid—Wednesday afternoon.

You answer the call and do your best not to sound too scared as you say, “Hey, Ash!” in a practiced, bright tone.

They sigh, which sends a pang of anxiety to your guts, and you squeeze your eyes closed, turning from the sun that suddenly shines far too brightly into your reading nook.

“Baby! Hey! I miss your voice, oh my god.”

Their chipper tone brings you a hint of relief, and you smile in an effort to keep your voice smiling, as well. “I miss you too. How is everything? How are the parents?”

“Parents are good,” they respond, sounding a bit out of breath. “Dad and I just took a little hike around the land, and mom’s been cooking up a storm! They’re both stoked to see you. Any, uh…any word on that?”

Of course, Ash would jump straight to the point. You feel like mold in a petri dish, ready for examination.

“I, uh…” you cringe. “No. No, I haven’t been able to find any good prices, and—“

Ash sighs—heavy, exasperated. “Baby, please just let us chip in,” they mutter quietly, as if to hide their words from eavesdroppers. “It’s fine, they want to help—“

“I don’t want that, Ash,” you insist, absolutely unwilling to let their parents send you any money. “Look, I’ll keep trying. There’s bound to be a holiday deal, maybe I can cope with a long layover somewhere warm…I don’t know. I’ll figure something out.”

It’s silent for a beat, and you inhale slowly, count to three, and then let the breath out.

“It’s okay, baby. If things don’t work out, there’s always next year.”

You hum a weak, “mmhmm,” feeling anxiety pound at your rib cage.

“At least you got yourself a tree,” Ash says brightly, as if attempting to save the mood.

You glance around your reading nook, where the large, ornate pine tree would ordinarily stand, finding only pillows and stacks of books. “Yup.”

“Send me a pic! I want to see it!”

Panic rises like bile in your throat, and you do your best to swallow it down. “I w—I will. I haven’t found the perfect topper, yet, so once I do that, I’ll send a pic,” you lie.

“Alright, well, I have to go. Let me know if you find anything! Mom and dad really miss you!” There’s an insistent bite in Ash’s tone, and you do your best to ignore it.

“I will, baby," you respond, unable to hide the shake in your voice. "I miss them too.”

“Bye, I love you!”

With shaky hands, you end the call, and glance around the space. A tree. If you won’t fly out to San Francisco, the least you can do is get yourself a tree. What a bother.

The thing about living in the middle of a big city and choosing not to own a vehicle—because the public transit is okay enough to get you where you need to go—is that getting large things like an eight-foot fucking pine tree is a bit of a hassle.

Thankfully, with the internet comes people ready and willing to deliver pretty much anything you could possibly desire, often within the span of several days.

And that is how you wind up in the crowded foyer of your apartment building, attempting to heave a giant box toward the elevator. As soon as you laid eyes on the thing standing tall beside the mailboxes, you burst out laughing. There is just no fucking way—absolutely ridiculous.

You probably make it two inches in the correct direction before deciding that this box is not only too tall, but too heavy to get it anywhere else, you sit on the foot of the steps with your head in your hands, running through a list of people you might be able to bribe to help you out, shooting off a few texts starting with folks who live nearby.

“This is just fucking great,” you mutter under your breath.

All of this, you’re doing to appease someone who won’t even be here to see the damn tree, just so that you can prove to them that you’re not miserable without them.

The truth is, this is the first time you’ve really gotten to breathe in months, and having a holiday-tree-free home has been just fine. But that is a thought you do not let yourself dwell on. You and Ash have been together for three years; you have a history. Every relationship has its rough patches. This is simply one of those. And who knows, maybe having the damn tree around will brighten your mood. That is, if you can get it into your apartment.

With a defeated sigh, you bury your face in your hands and let out a heavy exhale. Why is it that the holidays always come with some sort of nonsense? This is truly the cherry on top of a towering nonsense cake.

You are about to say fuck it and leave the box in the lobby for someone else to claim, when the front door of the building opens, and in comes a large, cold gust of wind and one of the prettiest people you have ever seen.

They’re tall, wearing a long, tan jacket with fur lining the hood and perfectly framing their face—sharp yet soft, and scrunched in the cutest frown you have ever seen.

“Shit,” they mutter under their breath in a slightly higher-pitched voice than you expect. “It's cold!”

The pretty stranger meets your eye and gives a wide smile, and if you weren’t already swooning, their heart-shaped lips would have done you in. You sit up straight, beginning to worry that you are in the way of this stranger, and start to shift around on the steps that are effectively blocked by a large box.

"Need some help?" the person asks with an accent that rolls their words ever so slightly.

You shake your head and mutter, "No, no it's too heavy. I think I'll leave it."

"Leave it here?" the person asks with wide eyes, and you nod your head.

"Yeah."

They hum and glance around the box, then ask, "Which floor are you on?"

"Three," you respond meekly, hoping that with that information, they will surmise that it is, in fact, too big to get to your door, and that you should leave it out on the street.

They hum again, then say, "Wait here. Two minutes!" and take off running toward the elevator.

You stand, holding a hand out while shouting, "Wait, no, it's alright," but as they press the button to close the elevator doors, they smile widely, holding up two fingers, convincing you to stay.

With a huff, you sit back on the steps and take out your phone. Of course, your traitor friends have not responded to your pleas for assistance, leaving you to wait on some beautiful stranger who left in a flash, just as chaotically as they arrived.

When the elevator dings, you sit up straight and turn toward the sound, and you actually feel disappointed to find someone else walking through the doors and down the hall. They pause to ask if you need help with the box, but the way they stand—chest and shoulders puffed out with a frown on their face—has you certain they are just asking to be polite.

"Nah," you say, shaking your head. "I'm waiting for someone."

They shrug and leave, and that is that. Now, you are some weirdo on the steps with a giant box who has been perceived by not one building tenant, but two, and you are ready to bury a deep, deep hole in the earth where you can go lay down and freeze to death.

Certain that two minutes have passed and the pretty stranger may have just been messing with you, you stand and begin to push the box back toward the front door. They never said what they were going to get; maybe they decided that offering you help was a mistake and that the best thing for them to do is run far away and never show their face on the third floor. You can't say you would blame them.

The elevator dings once more, and you hear the sound of wheels against the shitty linoleum of the foyer. You turn to find your beautiful building-mate standing before you with a layer of clothing shed, and a dolly in their hand. How and why they even have that device is beyond you, and you nearly cry when they wheel it up and stop it just before the box.

With an eyebrow raised, they say, "You were pushing it to the door, weren't you?" in a teasing tone.

Warmth floods your cheeks, and you give a sheepish glance, saying, "Noooo..." sarcastically.

"Here," they offer, pointing the dolly at you to hold onto, and you walk around them to take the handles, which come up to your ribs, holding it in place while they wiggle the box onto the rectangular base on the bottom, which sits between two large wheels. Then, they come back around and hold out their hands, muttering, "I got this," so you step aside and watch in horror as they slowly lift the far end of the box from the floor, tilting it toward their body, then begin to walk backwards toward the elevator.

You charge ahead and push the call button, then run inside as soon as the doors open to hold the button that keeps them from closing. It is a precarious feat to get the eight-foot tall box into the small elevator with the two of you, and there is quite a bit of squishing yourselves into the wall with your feet nearly getting rolled over before the doors are able to close.

As you crane your neck to look at the person standing with their shoulder pressed into yours, they look at you and smile.

"My name is Hoseok, by the way."

"Hoseok," you repeat, enjoying how it sounds on your tongue. You tell them your name, followed by, "They, them pronouns."

Hoseok's eyes widen, and he smiles softly. "My pronouns are he, him."

"Nice to meet you," you mutter, glad to have that all sorted out.

Hoseok opens his mouth to respond, but the elevator dings open. The fight to get out and into the hallway begins, though it is much easier this time around, and you pause briefly after exiting the elevator while your heartbeat evens out. It takes you a moment to realize Hoseok does not know where to deliver the tree, and you spring into action, walking a few doors down before coming to a stop in front of yours and fishing a key from your pocket.

"Will someone be by to help you decorate this later?" Hoseok asks politely.

You shove the door open, kicking stray shoes out of the way, and allow Hoseok to enter the space. A kitchenette is to the left, with a countertop that separates it from the small dining area and living room. Ahead, past the restored wood tables and forest green couches, is a nook where the windows jut out, creating a nice, cozy space for you to sit and read. You lead the way, picking up stray clothing items, then tell Hoseok to set the box down beside a pile of books.

"No," you finally respond. "It's just me."

Sheepishly, you glance around and scratch your head as the realization hits that you don't have anything to decorate the tree with. Ash has a bin of holiday items, and you are certain that there are some that are meant for a tree, but the idea of digging through their things makes you uncomfortable.

"Actually, I don't have anything to put on this yet," you admit.

"I guess we have to go shopping, then," Hoseok says with a soft smile.

We. Just like that, Hoseok breezes into your life and makes himself at home, and you feel helpless to stop him, returning his smile with a smaller one, as you mutter, "I guess we do."

❄ Not everyone participating has tag lists for their stories, but I will, for this one, so if you would like to be tagged, please let me know! ❄

#hoseok x reader #hoseok fanfic #hoseok angst #hoseok smut #bts angst #bts smut #fic: hope for the holidays

39 notes · View notes

itoshi-s · 1 year

Note

*inhale* hello zari😫🥹I MISSED U SOOO!!! i hope you’ve been having a lovely holidays and staying toasty warm ! i wanted to drop by and *ahem* give you some thirst over slytherin! rin to warm up your brain hehe

slytherin! rin who’s a pompous pure blood that struts the halls of hogwarts in confidence. you’d think he’d be 100x worse than draco malfoy and join in on the dreadful boy’s torture on poor neville but instead, the boy sneers at his fellow slytherin, “preying on the weak shows how incompetent you are malfoy.”

walking hastily away from the scene rin rolls his eyes in annoyance over his peers, how could they pay such wasteful attention to something lowly such as bullying as a means for entertainment and show of power he’ll never know, he’d much rather focus on his studies to prepare to take over his family’s business as an itoshi heir, and to also kick gryffindor ass since he (not to brag, but he thinks it deserves bragging rights) not only took position of seeker, much to isagi’s dismay, he’s far in too deep to take a rest now.

in the midst of his thoughts he fails to watch where he was going and bumps into a… less taller individual, hearing the small “oof” of them he skids to a halt and looks down to see you. the bright yellow of your house’s scarf showcasing your hufflepuff pride you rub your arm in attempt to soothe the slight ache from bumping into itoshi rin.

“ah i’m sorry! i should’ve moved out the way since you in such a hurry! are you o-“

“no need to apologize.” he mutters, trying to keep a straight face around you. he’s always like this! WHY? you, who he notices takes care of the flowerbed at the kindness of your heart, you, who always makes sure to have an extra quil ready for him since he always loses them, you, who always offers to be his partner during potions since no one else wanted to ask.

he should think you’re annoying. a nuisance. a pain in his neck. how dare you act like you care for him? was he weak? was he seen as someone who needed help? from no other than a hufflepuff? he should think this way— after all his slytherin pride is on the line. but he can’t. not with you.

he loves how you take care of the flowerbeds when no one else cared to do so, he makes sure the water pail is filled all the way up for you. he loves how you have an extra quil for him, he makes sure your notes are in order since he knows you can be a bit frazzled and misplace them. he loves how you always partner up with him at potions, he’ll make sure to help you with their class work, after all, he’d never partner up with no one else but you.

“rin? riinnn? are you there?” you wave a hand in front of his face, gently smiling to him as you see him break out of his trance. “you okay? didn’t know bumping into me would put you through a different universe.” you mused.

clearing his throat he fixed his posture and (horribly) tried to hide the ever growing blush on his face as he guided you through the busy hallway with a hand on your back, “nonsense, you’re much too light to have affected me physically. besides you need to be more careful.” you raise a brow but let him scold you, “if it wasn’t me who bumped into you someone else surely would’ve pushed you to the floor.”

grinning to yourself you lightly bump your hip to his, “ohhh? itoshi rin is worried about me?”

‘tch’ing’ at you he ruffles your hair and lightly pushes you forward so that you wouldn’t see how RED he was! “merlin you’re insufferable.”

oh he’s got it badddd.

KAAAAAAAAYYYLAAAAAAAAAAAAAA @_@ ohhhhh my god THIS IS GOLD ..... HE'S A SLYTHERIN HE IS !!!!!!! and he makes it look so good ong </3 THE PINING !!! THE CRUSH !!!!!!!!!! he's so cute w a hufflepuff girl too :(((((((( PLS the way this ignited this deep carnal need to reread hp again kjfhakfahk THIS IS SO SWEET i am literally just o_o giggling at work reading this !!!!!!!!!! kayla the queen of all au's i dont make the rules ! >_<

#✧.* lovelies (ﾉ´ з `) / (kayla)#kayla beloved <3 u are a blessing i am kissing u on the mouth for this mhm mhm #rin itoshi x reader #rin my love

36 notes · View notes

wetcatspellcaster · 6 months

Note

You gorgeous genius!!

Chapter 13 was such a great compliment to 12. I believe there is no universe where a The Crew does not stand behind their good aligned Tav. They needed a moment (and shadow heart needed laezel).

Rosalie babbling about the vampire bride thing(I see what you are doing, btw, when I catch you!!) equal parts alarming, funny, and adorable. “Wifed up” lol

I also LOVE Hemlock. Is she evil aligned rn? Yes. Is she mean to Rose in a way I think is unnecessary and coming from a place of unnecessary insecurity? Also yes. Do I support her wrongdoing? Yes, your honor, that is my fuckin wife!! I like that she sucks, is possessive of Astarion but is getting detoxed, is smart af, and wants a deeper purpose beyond fixing the divorce! Hemlock voicing my concerns was spot on (cuntstruck had me ROLLING)

And THE DRUNK SENDING!!! I love when people use sending in fic, combined with DRUNK sending?? It’s like magical (read: limited which makes it more interesting) texting w a limit. The vulnerability was so compelling and my heart soared at that twist at the end.

Please, enjoy your break!! Holiday to your heart’s content, wherever you are. Drink some spiced wine and pet a cat!! Writing is hard work (so is a phd!!)!!

Thank you so much for the message, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter :)

Fascinated as to what you think I'm doing with the vampire bride ritual... at my end, all I'm doing is having fun ;). But after loving my own girlboss from afar, it's nice to hear Hemlock now finally has people in her corner - who knew that being a hot mean vampire lady would help her score with the BG3 fandom :')

The Drunk Sending was very fun to write, although it turns out gdocs counted some words wrong (or differently to when they scan in Microsoft word) which means the word limit has had some very funny consequences I'm now simply not planning to change!

I will enjoy my break! Looking forward to seeing my bestie who arrives tonight :)

#asks #lovely words from lovely people #wip: pieces still stuck in your teeth #justice for hemlock (let her have one atrocity. as a treat. shes got the world's worst boss).

4 notes · View notes

drinkingpoison · 6 months

Text

Proselfship Advent day three, oopsie! : Baking/Sharing traditional desserts 🍪

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ 📓

Yes, I'm a day late with this one. Yes, I'm still doing it, my prompts, my rules -

This one is gonna be polyship because I wanna do something happy with Jeremy and my boys, William and Anthony (Phone Guy) ♡

It was a special day at the pizzeria, Christmas Eve, many families making it a fun little tradition to come and let their kids run around while eating greasy pizza and listening to robotic renditions of classic holiday songs. The main party hall and stage were elegantly decorated, strung with tinsel and bows, they'd even given Freddy and Santa hat and set up a tree in the corner surrounded by empty wrapped gift boxes.

Just as busy as expected, most of the staff had come in this morning, Jeremy himself currently holed up in the kitchen, baking large batches of chocolate chip cookies as a treat for the guests on a special day. Unfortunately, the kids and parents alike seemed to snatch them up right as he put them out. He'd told both Will and Anthony to mind their distance early in the day, stay out of his way, knowing he was going to have his hands full. Too bad they were technically his bosses and would use that as an excuse to do as they pleased.

So, before long, the three of them were gathered in the kitchen, both older men leaning against the counter and watching their boyfriend run around like a kitchen with his head cut off.

"You know those brats can wait maybe five minutes for you two to take a break, right?"

After suggesting he slow down several times, Will was growing impatient, caring less and less about sounding a little mean.

The taller man had started making his way around the counter, unbeknownst to the overworked baker currently stirring away at a mixing bowl of tasty dough.

"Yeah, I mean - they can stuff other shit in their mouths for a little while. There's other food."

Anthony chimed in with a little smile, momentarily holding Jeremy's attention as he leaned on his good arm against the counter.

"And who's out there watching everything? Is Fritz really capable of helping Henry by himself? Really, you two, it's - Ah!"

Easily startled as always, the blond jumped a few inches off the ground as Will managed to slip behind unnoticed and wrap both arms around his waist, large hands resting against a slightly pudgy tummy. With a hearty chuckle, he reached a finger into the dough, bopping the already fuming boy on the nose with it.

"Relax, darling. Take like a five minute breather. Come on."

Lifting his gaze, William locked eyes with the man across the counter, beckoning him over to join them with a little tilt of his head. And join he did, quite eagerly scrambling around to help in pulling Jeremy away from the counter, wrapping his arm around him from the front and leaning forward to lick the dough from his nose.

"It's fine, Jerebear! They can handle things out there for a few minutes."

Anthony always smiled so sweetly, looked so innocent even when engaging in such frustrating behaviors, flustering Jeremy to the point his cheeks turned as red as Santa's suit. Knowing it was useless to struggle against the two of them working together, William's height and general stature easily making up for the fact Anthony was working with one arm, the young man was simply pouting and slumping down into their arms as much as he could.

"You're both ridiculous, we're all on the clock on one of the busiest days of the year - Nnh! Hey- C'mon.."

His voice dropped to an embarrassed mumble in an instant, Anthony nuzzling his face into the soft skin of his throat to pepper it with kisses, while Will nipped and chewed gently on his ear. It was entirely unfair how they knew exactly how to make him melt and were completely willing to join forces to make it happen.

"Hff.. Bastards. You're going to help me finish up this batch."

Maybe he could use a break, allowing himself to relax slowly in his lovers arms, reaching back with one hand to play with Will's hair, scraping his nails gently across the back of Anthony's neck with the other.

#proselfshipadvent #ending here because im too shy to go further eheh #🚬#☎️#🪁#📓

2 notes · View notes

kirishwima · 3 years

Text

ive been studying for. at least 10 hours and i still have more to go but im too tired to continue but im too stressed to go to sleep but aaaaaaa can i. not exist for a while

#i dont wanna take this exam i feel insanely unprepared #i feel this way for most exams hut idk #i think its a mixture of everything #i was insanely tired from the previous exam i had and didnt have a break #lazed about the first week #and had to rush to catch up bc i have to literally learn about an entire specialty in 4 weeks #and then i found out i cant go back home for christmas #which means i cant see my family and friends until the summer #i cant see the guy im kind of sort of flirting with till summer so who knows what he'll think of me till then #most importantly i wanted to see my baby nephew who already grew so much in my abscence #now i wont be able to see him until the summer when he'll already be a year old #ill miss his baptismal which is a huge celebration for us #and i want to see my grandparents #just. im rly close with most of my family so this really sucks #and i dont have any other holidays but these #and i dont wanna complain to my friends bc they're on the same boat none of us can go home for xmas and my best friends have enough as is #so im just. here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ my parents cant come visit me either bc of their work which is understandable #so i have nothing to look forward to after this exams over so that also sucks #im a little stuck in limbo and i dont feel like sharing all that w my shrink cuz i dont wanna complain #i only allow myself to complain on tumblr dot com lmao so i sound so whiny here #anyway i do wanna study and get this exam over with though #at least ill get to sleep in and play video games for 3 weeks straight after it #make tik toks and work on comissions to keep myself busy #if we dont go into yet another lockdown it might actually be fun who knows #burrito talks #delete later

1 note · View note

ciaraloves · 2 years

Text

how to "get shit done": uni work addition

hi loveliest people so this is a sort of guide to how i get through uni work without going completely insane (make no mistake there is still some insanity present). I hope you find it helpful, or at least entertaining,

(disclaimer cause this is the internet: these work for me, they may not work for you)

table of contents:

a. date it

b. set reminders

c. how to stay on top of it

d. how to get on top of it if you aren't already

e. learn when your brain needs a break

f. uni is a full time job, treat it as such

A. date it

okay the first thing i do at the beginning of every semester is put uni dates in my calendar.

Term dates: when your term starts, when it ends, and your holidays. this is not just for information purposes but also so you have something to look forward to. additionally, it helps later on when you have to plan out assignment and test dates.

Assignment/ test dates: scour through the course outlines of all your courses and put every single date into your calendar. every assignment, every test, anything you have to submit goes in. that includes things like "weekly quizzes". make it a recurring date and chuck it in there.

B. set reminders

so i usually do this in my calendar but if you have a reminders app, or prefer other ways to set reminders then use that.

these reminders are not to make you feel bad for not doing work, it's to hold you responsible for your work. if you know you spiral at the idea of seeing a reminder when you haven't done work, this strategy may not work for you. don't give up, something will work. keep trying and have patience with yourself

if you know something is approaching it's easier to plan your life and your tasks around it. if you never know how long you have or you're always scrambling to figure out when something is due your mind is so focused on the dates it has no time for the work

Assignment reminders:

2 weeks before // 1 week before // 3 days before // 1 day before // 10 minutes before // on time of event

Test reminders:

1 week before // 3 days before // 1 day before // 1 hour before // on time of event

I know this may be excessive but if you're someone like me who constantly forgets things, it is very helpful to keep yourself on track

okay trust me you got this! i promise it's not as bad as it looks. right onto readings and assignments.

C. how to stay on top of it

do one reading per course per day: this is non-negotiable. trust me it is the easiest way to get through readings for a week.

if you have four courses of five readings each you will end up doing four readings a day from Monday to Friday. it is workable and you can do it. uni is fucking difficult and everyone has a story about why they're there but i promise you if you're there, the selection processes decided you were capable enough to handle it. and you are. if you can, start a week earlier so you're a little ahead otherwise it's totally okay.

2. start research for assignments 2 weeks before it is due. this will give you time and space to sort through what is relevant, useful, or should be discarded.

i have a folder for each assignment where all my research goes. within this folder there are three other folders: a. done and dusted b. too long/ not relevant c. could be helpful if i cared enough

and as i go through each paper/article/etc. i sort it into one of the three folders

while i am doing my research i also have a google doc open (shortcut that saved my life btdubs: "doc.new" directly into the browser search bar) that i write notes on.

a. things i think will help support my arguments b. things i found interesting c. themes that keep cropping up in the literature (advantages, disadvantages, limitations, concepts, theories, future directions) d. things i disagree with and will either argue against or find some way to bitch about (seriously have fun with your assignments) e. statistics

3. study notes should be your understanding of the topic:

it is beneficial to write the heading and then write as much as you can on what you know even if it's random words muddled on a page. then fill in using lecture notes, anything in your readings you found helpful, and obviously your course sources like textbooks.

the most important piece of advice i can give you for study notes is: MAKE THEM FUNNY AND WITHOUT FILTER you do not have to sound professional, you do not have to sound like you're writing a textbook. i am dead serious:

here's an excerpt from my clinical psychology study notes in 3rd year: Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder: set a boundary between what we would consider to be normal and appropriate grieving behaviour and what we could consider to be disordered or inappropriate grieving behaviour. (literally the dumbest thing i've ever heard? Who are we to tell people they’re grieving wrong????)

D. how to get on top of it if you aren't already

If you’re already behind but you’re attending class, leave the work you’re behind on in the past. (yes that was meant to rhyme).

Spend one weekend going through lecture slides and lecture content only. Don’t worry about the readings for the lectures, just leave those. If you don’t understand what’s happening then go and do readings. Skim the abstracts of those readings and if they look like they’re not going to help you don’t do them.

Reach out to your lecturer or tutor or supervisor and say:

“Good day [name/honorific] I am struggling to understand [this topic] despite working through the lecture notes and readings on it. Please may I have some guidance as to how I can better understand this. (alternative: please can I see you during your office hours for a brief explanation and further resources to help me better understand the topic) Hope to hear back soon! [sign off]”

then apply all this to the above on assignments and study notes.

E. learn when your brain needs a break

sometimes you really just have to shut down. sometimes your brain is saying "if you don't give me a break right now i am going to do it for us and it is going to get ugly". please listen. do whatever you need to.

a. sleep for an entire day, hell an entire weekend.

b. binge watch something

c. read something

d. go out

e. go on a hike

f. stay with a friend

g. visit your parents

F. uni is a full time job, treat it as such

i cannot stress enough that uni literally is a large, possibly the biggest part, of your life. it is very difficult to sideline it without getting overwhelmed.

however, that doesn't mean you don't deserve time off. give yourself insurance, free healthcare, an understanding boss. you are not a robot. you are living, and alive, and you need many things to keep you that way. work alone is not going to help. but play alone is not going to help either. find the balance that works for you by listening to yourself. and then stick to the balance.

goodluck beautiful beans. i believe in you wholeheartedly <3

if you have any questions my ask box is always open. and if you want more detail for anything let me know!

#ciara’s convos #university #uni #university advice #academic advice #academics #ciara’s guides

401 notes · View notes

tbzhub · 2 years

Text

12 Days of The Boyz Hyunjae

Pairing: lawyer!Hyunjae x reader

Summary: you’re stuck at work late on Christmas Eve

Warnings: unprotected sex (be safe irl), fingering, oral (f. receiving), squirting

Genre: a little bit of fluff, smut

WC: 2.1k

Tagged: @kpophoe-22 @stealercore

Artist Note: Minors dni. Submitting this for the holiday event @ficscafe

navi | m. list | tag list

The stack of papers beside your arm never seemed to shrink as you worked away at the desk. Working late on Christmas Eve wasn't your plan but as an intern, at your legal firm, you were expected to do the bidding of the entire office with a smile on your face. It only took saying yes to one person asking you to finish up the documents for their case for the entire office to pile onto you. Now you were stuck at the office late doing the clerical work for a large number of cases, and though it wasn't hard work, it was a lengthy task to expect someone to do on Christmas Eve.

“This sucks, Hyunjae. I should have said no”, you groaned. You took a legal stamp out and signed a few pages with it before filing another case away. You were both working late, hanging out in Hyunjae’s office while he finished his case and you tried to process the mountain of paperwork on the desk.

“I’m sorry, y/n. At least you’ll be done soon, and hey— I stayed back to keep you company, it can’t suck that much.” Hyunjae grinned at you, he was the only lawyer at the firm that didn’t abuse the interns by making them do his work and order them around for coffees.

You yawned, “Yeah, that’s why you’re my favorite.” You had a slight crush on him but you buried it deep down since you worked together. He was a friend, a great lawyer, and you respected him highly. You pushed your chair away from Hyunjae’s desk and stood up, stretching out your arms. “Want some coffee? I need to get some. I can bring you back a cup?” You were about more than halfway through the files and it was after 10 pm; it was time for a short break.

He looked up at you, thinking for a moment. “Mm, maybe I’ll get up in a moment and take a break too. Thanks though.”

You nodded, “I’ll be back, then.”

Hyunjae was leaning against the wall by the entryway of the break room. “Hey”, he called out as he waited for you to walk up to him, “Ready to get back to work?”

“Yep”, you smiled in his direction as you washed the mug that you drank your coffee out of. Placing the clean mug down, you walked up to Hyunjae. “Haven't you finished your case by now? Why don't you go home.”

He shook his head, putting up his hand, “I’m not leaving you here alone. Oh yeah, look up.” Hyunjae had a cheeky smile on his face, waiting for you to see what was on the wall. Tilting your head up, your eyes zeroed in on the small plant and your eyes widened.

You looked up at the sprig of mistletoe taped to the top of the entryway to the break room, “W-who do you think put that up?” You could feel your cheeks getting hot as you anticipated getting rejected by Hyunjae. He was back to staring at you, facial expression unreadable. Your heart was beating in your chest so hard that you could feel it in your ears, the silence in the room killing you. “I know you don’t like me that way”, you blurted.

Hyunjae cocked his head to the side, eyebrow jumping up in surprise, “Who said that?” He stepped forward, closing the space between you, and leaned down to kiss you softly on the lips. His lips were warm and soft and you could smell the expensive cologne that he wore as he wrapped his arms around you bringing you closer to him. You kissed him back, before pulling away and looking at him, shocked that you’d just kiss Hyunjae of all people.

“I…,” you trailed off as you saw Hyunjae’s face get closer to yours and he kissed you again. Your eyes fluttered close as you fused your lips with his. You felt a spark when your tongue brushed against his as you slipped it into his mouth. He brought his hand up to the small of your back as you walked backward until you felt your back hit the wall.

Hyunjae pulled back from you, gazing into your eyes for a moment before kissing you again. You smiled into the kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck and softly nibbling on his bottom lip. You stayed like that for a while longer, exploring each other's mouths and feeling each other up over your clothes.

“We should take this back to your office”, you whispered between kisses. Hyunjae nodded his head, placing one more kiss onto your lips before he led you back to his office, bringing you behind his desk and having you sit on top of it as he sat down in his chair in front of you. He ran his hands up your legs, caressing your thighs as his hands disappeared under your skirt. You bit your lip, embarrassed by how wet you were already. Lee Hyunjae visited you at night in your wildest dreams and now it was happening and you were getting needy fast. He stopped his hand, fingertips ghosting over your skin as he looked up at you, “Are you sure, y/n?”

You took in his striking features, getting lost in the way Hyunjae was looking at you and just how hot he was to you. This was absolutely something that you wanted. You nodded, heat creeping across your cheeks, “Y-yes.”

His hands went further up your skirt and you felt his fingers brush up against the wetness in your underwear and you turned your face away from him, feeling nervous. He brought his hand up to your face and turned you gently so you were making eye contact with him again, “Hey, you’re so beautiful. I really like you and you don’t have to be shy, okay?”

You smiled down at him, “Okay. I like you too.” Your heart was thumping so hard in your chest now thanks to your confession. Hyunjae slid your underwear to the side and started rubbing circles onto your clit slowly, lightly adding pressure as you let your head fall back.

“Do you like that?”

You swallowed before breathing out, “Y-yeah. I do, Hyunjae.” You pulled your skirt up and opened your legs wider, turning to the side to clear off the papers on the desk so you could have more room. He ran his fingers over your folds, covering them in your juices and putting them in his mouth. His eyes bore into your own as he tasted you on his fingers and it was the hottest thing you'd ever witnessed, you licked your lips.

Hyunjae’s hand returned to its place between your legs and he started rubbing your clit again as he pushed one of his slender fingers into you, eliciting a gasp from you. He slid his finger out a little bit before sliding it back in and adding in one more. He bent down to kiss your inner thighs as he fingered you, dragging his fingers in and out of you nice and slow. The rough pads of his fingers brushed every nerve they could touch inside your core, lighting your stomach ablaze almost immediately. You let out a soft moan and started rolling your hips into his hands trying to get off on his fingers.

He looked up at you, watching the way you squirmed on his desk as he fingered you. He brought his other hand to your mouth, making you suck on his thumb before he put it on your clit, rubbing the sensitive bud while his fingers continued sliding in and out of you.

You furrowed your brow, feeling yourself getting wetter and wetter as an orgasm loomed over you. “Hyunjae”, you whined.

“Yeah, you're pretty wet. Cum for me.” He bent down, burying his face between your legs and dragging his tongue over your clit as his fingers pushed you over the edge. You closed your legs around his head, releasing all over his face with a loud moan.

“F-fuckkkk,” you shuddered as you rode out your high and let the waves of pleasure wash over you again and again as Hyunjae’s fingers slowly came to stop inside you, and soon you were empty again.

Hyunjae loosened the tie around his neck and ran his hand through his hair before leaning back in his office chair. You watched as he unbuckled his belt, unzipped his trousers , and freed himself from his boxers. Your mouth watered at the sight of him and how big he was but as much as you wanted to have him in your mouth right now you were dying to ride him.

You got off of the table, and turned around slowly, lifting your skirt and positioning yourself above Hyunjae. Your back was facing him and you gripped onto the sides of the chair for support, lowering down further until you felt the head of his dick brush against your folds. His hands went to your chest, unbuttoning your shirt and exposing your tits for him to grope. He kissed your neck as you sank onto him finally.

Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you felt the back of your thighs touch Hyunjae’s and you were filled to the brim. A whimper fell from your lips, the stretch a little too much at first. His hands went down to your hips and he dug his fingers into the skin there. “You're really tight,” he said through gritted teeth. You could tell just how badly he wanted this too and it spurred you to start moving. You clenched around him before lifting your body off of him and sinking back down, you could feel just him twitch inside of you and he groaned. “Fuck, y/n.”

He moved his hands underneath your ass and started bouncing you on his dick, picking up the pace so that you were riding him faster. You closed your eyes, enjoying the way his dick filled you up perfectly and hit every spot inside you that needed to be touched. You continued to ride him at the pace he set as his hands found your clit again. You inhaled sharply at the contact of his fingers on your nub, adding to the pleasure his dick was giving you. Your knees were getting a little wobbly and you fell out of your rhythm as you neared another orgasm. You sped up, grinding down on his dick as he lightly slapped your clit with his hand. “Mmmm, I'm gonna cum again”, you cried out.

“Not yet.”

Hyunjae grabbed your hips and lifted you off of him until you were standing. He stood up, pushing his chair backward before bending you over his desk. Your skirt was hiked up around your waist and you were out of breath from riding him a second ago, knees weak. You felt Hyunjae’s hands on the small of your back and he positioned himself behind you, lining himself up with your entrance and thrusting into you fast and hard. A strangled whimper left your throat as you squeezed your eyes shut tight, letting the pleasure overtake you. Hyunjae’s hands slid down to your hips as he began to piston his hips into you at an angle, hitting you in just the right spot. You cried out his name, “Fuck, just like that ohmigod I’m going to cum.”

Hyunjae took one of his hands and grabbed your hair, pulling your head back and pounding into you faster. “Cum for me then”, he rasped, breath ragged as he chased his high too, getting close himself. He dragged his length in and out of you sloppily, as you started clenching around him, the sounds of your moans filling up the office. You heard a moan slip out of Hyunjae’s mouth and he cursed, “Shit, y/n. I’m close.” He placed wet kisses along your neck and continued to rut into you, skin slapping against your ass with each thrust. Your mouth fell open as you let out a scream and squirted all over his dick, making a mess of your thighs. You felt him twitch inside you once more and he pulled out, shooting his hot seed and having it land on your ass. He softly smacked your ass once, grabbing it as he tried to catch his breath behind you.

You turned around, kissing him on the lips. You looked at the time on his computer screen and then back at Hyunjae who was still catching his breath, “Merry Christmas.”

#ficscafe #ficscafe holidays #ksmutclub #deobiwritersnet #the boyz imagines #the boyz smut #the boyz drabbles #lee hyunjae #hyunjae smut #hyunjae imagines #hyunjae drabbles #tbz smut #tbz drabble #the boyz x reader #hyunjae x reader #12 days of tbz

350 notes · View notes

whisker-biscuit · 3 years

Text

The Birds, The Bees, and The Bottles

Fandom: Psychonauts

Rating: T for mild language and discussions of underage drinking

Summary: Two teens are caught trying to sneak into a bar. Bob finally has a conversation he’s held off for far too long.

Because herbaphony is not the only thing that runs in the Zanotto family.

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

Bob’s phone rang at two in the morning. Judging by the jolly ringtone of Helmut singing Strawberry Fields Forever, it was his personal phone instead of his work one, and that was the real tip off to things being very, very wrong.

He woke up and groggily pulled out of his still-slumbering-husband’s arms to answer the little thing going off on his nightstand.

“H’lo?”

“Bob!” Truman’s voice came out far too loud for the time of night, and far too stressed. “Bob, I’m so sorry to wake you, but something happened with Lili. I need you to pick her up for me, please.”

The older man sat up, much more awake as worry and fear immediately rolled in his gut. Helmut finally began to stir beside him, sensing his partner’s agitation.

“Truman, what’s going on? Pick Lili up from where?”

“The city’s police precinct on Abbey Avenue. She – she called me, but I’m out of state and I wouldn’t get there for hours at least even if I left this instant. She’s not in danger!” He added hastily, hearing the concern before Bob could even voice it mentally. “She didn’t get hurt! She’s just…”

The way he tapered off, the way he hesitated, said more than words could.

“She just got herself into some trouble, and she needs someone to go get her.”

Helmut was sitting up now, and Bob felt the question cross their mental link.

What happened?

Truman needs me to pick Lili up from the police station.

“I’m up, I’m on my way right now,” He responded to his nephew verbally, heaving himself out of bed. His husband followed suit despite still looking extremely puzzled, bless him.

“Thank you so much, Bob. I’ll make it up to you as soon as I can, I promise.”

“Don’t worry about it.” The older man waved a dismissive hand even though Truman wasn’t there to see it. “Family is s’pposed to do that for each other anyway.”

“Did I hear that right? Our peppy petunia had a run-in with the law?” Helmut asked as soon as his partner hung up. He paused, and in a lower tone – “she didn’t kill anyone, did she?”

“I don’t think it’s that serious,” Bob said, pulling a coat on over his sleep shirt. “But something tells me we still have a few things to worry about. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Ohohoh, no, don’t even think about hoofin’ it without me. We both know I’m the better driver.”

“Neither of us are very good drivers, Helmut.”

“Exactly! That little bit makes all the difference!”

The herbophanist sighed, charmed despite himself and the situation. “Alright, alright. Let’s not keep her waiting.”

The police precinct was nearly dead at this time of night. While it would’ve felt eerie to anyone else, Bob was grateful for the lack of people, and not just because he was still an introvert of the highest degree.

Two teenagers awaited them in the lobby, sitting on a bench together. One was hunched over and burning a hole in the ground with his downcast eyes. The other sat straight up, defiant, holding a glaring contest with the officer standing over them. When Bob entered the room first and met his great-niece’s eyes, her self-assuredness wavered for a brief moment. She hid the slip-up behind a wall of indifference.

“Lili,” he said softly. Then, just as softly but with a gruff tinge of surprise; “Razputin.”

There was no accusation in his voice, but the former scowled harder and the latter looked like he wanted to employ his invisibility. Bob studied them both a moment before his husband appeared and broke the tension with his mere presence.

“We’re here to bust you out, kiddos!” He announced with spread arms, cheerfully ignoring the looks he received from every person in the room.

“Are you Truman Zanotto?” Asked the officer who finally broke his gaze away from Lili to give them a disapproving once-over.

“No, I’m uh, I’m Bob Zanotto, and this is Helmut,” came the awkward reply. “Truman called me to pick Lili up. She’s my great-niece.”

A few seconds of silence passed as the officer made no move to do anything with that information. Bob cleared his throat.

“We’re, uh, listed in her emergency contacts for school?”

“I see. If you can just fill out some paperwork first, we can release her into your custody.”

The herbophanist watched the way Raz seemed to sink further in his seat at the mention of family contacts. The Aquatos were also out of state right now too, if he remembered correctly. Perfect timing for two minors getting up to mischief.

Well, up until they were actually caught.

“And…Razputin, too?” He asked, catching the teen’s startled gaze and giving him the mental equivalent of a thumbs-up.

The officer raised a brow. “Is he related to you, too?”

“Well, uh –”

“Yep!” Helmut interrupted, strolling right up to Raz and giving him a merry clap on the back. The teen had a physique comparable to most adult Olympic athletes, but even he nearly toppled forward from the force of such a big man. “He’s my third cousin, twice removed. Big family. Very close. Holidays are an experience, lemme tell ya!”

“Fine,” the officer pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, okay, I’ll make sure he gets cleared for release too. I’ll be right back.”

He stalked off, muttering something about it ‘being too damn early for this’, and the older couple turned to face Raz and Lili. Helmut steepled his fingers together to rest against his mustache.

“So! Now that Officer Spoil-Sport is gone, are we allowed to know what heinous crime has been committed in the night by my favorite pair of mischief-makers?”

The two glanced at each other. Raz was the one to break their silence.

“We, uh…got caught sneaking into a bar.”

Cold heat rushed through Bob’s core. Helmut blinked once, twice, then let out a boisterous chuckle.

“That’s it? Jesus! From the way you two were acting I thought you’d robbed the First National Bank.”

“…Helmut.” His husband murmured. The psi-king lost his mirth as he caught Bob’s eye.

“Ah…w-well, y’know, while I’m certainly glad we won’t hear about a righteous homicide in the news tomorrow, forgery ain’t exactly a humble hobby either.”

“It was just two IDs,” Lili muttered under her breath. “Not a big deal.”

The ice in her great-uncle’s heart turned frigid, but before he or Helmut could say anything to that, the officer was back. He shoved a handful of forms under Bob’s nose and the herbophanist fumbled to grab them before they all tumbled to the floor.

“Uh, uh, thank you.”

“Alright, we’re putting the pause on this conversation to make you free citizens again, but don’t think that means we’re done with it.” The Psi-King gave the teens the sternest look he could manage. “As soon as we get in the car, you two will have a lot of explaining to do.”

“O-Okay.”

“Uh-huh.”

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

No one spoke a word as they got in the car and started the drive back.

Raz seemed content to continue his efforts to blend in with the background of his seat, still not meeting anyone’s eyes, and Lili stared out the window with her chin in her hand, leaning against the car’s backdoor and letting the lights of the city bathe her in neon sickness.

Helmut, bless his soul, dutifully kept the radio going while he drove, changing the station to something more mellow whenever a song started getting a little too upbeat for the collective mood of the vehicle. Bob sat in the passenger side with his arms folded awkwardly. His brain was buzzing, dreading the inevitable conversation he needed to have with his great-niece and trying to figure out how he was going to go about it.

It surprised them all when Raz spoke over the music.

“It was my idea.”

The two adults glanced at each other, then through the rearview mirror at the fidgeting teen.

“Your idea to go looking for a drink? Or to sneak into a bar to do it?” Helmut asked, turning off the radio.

“Both.”

He still wasn’t meeting their eyes. Bob sighed through his nose.

“I don’t believe you.”

Razputin’s head finally snapped up to stare at him in shock for the fast call on his bluff. “I’m telling the truth!”

“I think you’re only telling part of it, kid.”

“No! I’m telling all of it.”

“Razpu-”

“Oh, come off it, Raz,” Lili snapped a little too loud, making the whole car jump. “Quit trying to take the fall for me. It was my idea to try the stupid fake ID thing, okay? Happy now?”

“Wh – uh, who said anything about being happy about it?” Helmut asked, legitimately confused.

“Look. Neither of us had anything to do tonight, and we were bored, so Raz suggested getting a drink somewhere, but Adam and Lizzie are out of town so we couldn’t ask them.” She crossed her arms and spoke without any inflection. “So, we went out but no one would let us do anything cause we’re minors. I thought that was stupid, because we’re agents same as any of you, so I came up with the sneaking-in part. We only got caught cause one of the bartenders recognized Raz from a show.”

There were a lot of loaded things to parse through from that explanation, but Bob’s mind stalled on one particular detail.

“Adam and Lizzie give you two alcohol?”

“Not…often,” Raz admitted. “Just once or twice, when we asked.”

“Do you mean like, a literal once or twice, or a…an estimated once or twice?”

“Did Dad put you up to this?” Lili shot back. “It was just a few times, like he said. What’s with the inquisition?”

“…Lili –”

“Raz.”

“Okay!” Helmut proclaimed as he slapped his hand against the steering wheel in boisterous aggression. “Who wants some ice cream?”

Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded.

“Cause I’m really feeling some chocolate-vanilla swirl right now. Basic bitch style. Right? Who’s with me?”

Silence.

“Great! Look at that, open Dairy King right there, better take advantage of this opportunity before it slips through our fingers like the melting ice cream we’re all gonna have in about five minutes!”

The psi-king swung into the parking lot in a frenzy and herded the car crew inside before any of them could come out of their shock long enough to protest. It was only as Bob was staring up at fifteen flavors of oversaturated sugary goodness that he realized what had just happened.

He couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief over his husband’s diversion. The tension that had been boiling over was cooled significantly by the sudden non-sequitur, and while the teens were rather half-hearted about picking out their sweet treats, there was no longer a risk of an explosion happening.

Metaphorically and literally.

Helmut caught his spouse’s eye with a meaningful look at Lili the moment all of them had their orders in hand, then slung his arm around Razputin’s shoulders and steered him away. “C’mon my lad! Nothing like the cool night air of three in the morning to keep your Hurricane ™ properly chilled!”

The poor boy had no choice but to let himself be pulled outside, leaving the two Zanottos standing awkwardly in the dingy restaurant. Bob gave a nervous scratch at his chin under his beard.

“How about we, uh, find a seat somewhere?”

Lili couldn’t fully cross her arms while holding ice cream, but she did a good job of making it work anyway. “Sure.”

They sat in a booth in the farthest corner from the front counter. Both great-niece and great-uncle stared at their respective sweet treats as if they could teleport them out of this situation. Bob glanced out the window and saw Helmut and Raz standing outside of the car. The former was on one knee with his hand on the teen’s shoulder, speaking earnestly but inaudibly, and the latter was scuffing the toe of his sneaker against the asphalt.

“Are you going to lecture me?” Lili finally cut through the silence.

Bob turned back to her. “No. Not really.”

“No?” She broke her gaze away from her ice cream just a little bit, eyeing him with surprise. “Then why did Helmut take Raz and leave us alone?”

She was so perceptive, so smart. And yet, still so young.

“Well, I… I still want to talk to you about what happened. I’m just not very, good, at this kind of thing.” He took his spoon and absentmindedly began drawing a flower in his soft-serve. “You already know what you did wasn’t a good idea, right? So I don’t think a lecture would help things any on that front.”

She didn’t respond. He continued.

“It’s less about the fake ID and more…the reasons you made the fake ID. Does that make sense?”

“I guess so, but I know what I’m doing, Uncle Bob. I’m not going to drink irresponsibly.”

The herbophanist shook his head. “But you’ll do irresponsible things to be able to drink in the first place.”

“That’s not –” Lili didn’t have a good rebuttal. She folded her arms and grumpily started eating her cherry chocolate delight. “Whatever. It’s two different things, anyway.”

Against his better judgement, Bob began picking at his own food as he thought about how best to bring the subject back up without making the teen defensive again. Spoons clicking against teeth was the only sound between them for a solid minute.

Finally, an epiphany.

“Did Truman ever…tell you anything, about your great-grandma?”

The girl paused with a bite halfway up to her mouth. She frowned, confused. “Grandma Tia? Not much. Just that she died when he was a baby.”

“Yeah. Yeah, she did.” He ran a tired hand over his face. The ache in his heart might have long-since healed into a scar, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when pressed. “She passed away when I was nineteen. The doctors told me it was liver failure.”

He didn’t have to say anything else. Lili’s mouth thinned and she put her spoon down, uncomfortable.

“When I…found out the reason behind her death, I was horrified by it. It didn’t make sense to me why she would willingly do something that hurt her so badly, especially when I was right there to love her and help her. It felt like a betrayal that she never got help or made herself stop. I was…disgusted by the mere thought of doing anything like that.”

Bob took a moment to breathe and wipe his eyes. He wasn’t crying, but better safe than sorry.

“It sounds pretty hypocritical when I say it now, doesn’t it?”

His great-niece only gave him a hesitant look.

“Anyway, uh, where was I…” He worried his lip. “Oh, right. I told myself that I’d never touch the stuff after that. I was angry at what she’d done, and I was determined not to have the same ‘weakness’, so to speak. As you know, it, uh, it didn’t last long. I was at a college party barely a year later when I was invited by some friends to drink with them. I didn’t make human friends very easily back then – actually, I still don’t – so I was a little desperate to keep them. It turned out to be pretty hard whiskey, so I got hammered.”

The man leaned back in his seat, staring at the patterns in the booth table.

“Back then, no one really knew how alcoholism could run in a family. Everyone thought it was a personal choice to keep drinking. It wasn’t even classified as an addiction yet. So I didn’t know how susceptible I was, or how careful I had to be. I’d spend months not having a single drink, thinking I was fine and could handle myself, and then I’d get plastered for a week at parties and bars and God knows what else, and it would take me even longer to get myself to stop again. It was like that even when I was with Ford and his gang. It wasn’t until I started dating Helmut that I started trying to change those habits. I’d never met anyone who loved me so unconditionally that I wanted to be a better person for them, until him. And it worked for a while.

“Well, barring our wedding, of course. I got shitfaced at the reception. It was embarrassing afterwards, but Helmut told me it made our cake-eating ceremony a hell of a great time.”

Lili snorted, and it was accompanied by a tiny upturn of her lips. Then it dropped as her expression became solemn. “And then…everything with Maligula happened, right?”

“Yeah. I think you know the rest of that story.”

“Uh-huh.”

Great-niece and great-uncle sat together for a while, just thinking about it all.

“I know I have to be more careful drinking than a lot of people, Uncle Bob,” Lili finally said at length. “My dad warned me about it when I was old enough to ask.”

“Truman is a good dad,” he murmured in response.

“The best dad.”

“Definitely the best dad.”

More silence.

“I didn’t mean to worry you and him,” she continued. “Or scare you. I know it was dumb to do what we did tonight.”

Bob looked at her, and she gave a conceding sigh.

“Okay, it was dumb to do a lot of what we’ve been doing with this stuff. That doesn’t mean I’m not being careful.”

“Kid, it’s not always just a matter of being careful. I thought I was being careful. I thought that for years and years, and when I finally realized I wasn’t, I convinced myself I could stop any time I wanted to, and kept up the same patterns anyway. That’s what I’m trying to get you to understand. I just don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did. I’m just worried about you.”

Lili closed her eyes with a grimace. “I know. I’m sorry, Uncle Bob.”

“Hey, kiddo, look at me.” He waited until she did so. “I’m not mad at you. I’m not disappointed, either. That’s your dad’s job. I get it, is what I’m saying. It gives you a buzz, and it’s fun and exciting, and you just wanted to have a good time with your, uh…”

Bob leaned in a bit, and dropped his voice to a stage whisper.

“Is Raz still your boyfriend?”

“Wha –” her cheeks went red. “Yes, he is!”

“Alright, sorry, I’m just always out of the loop. No one ever tells me when these things change or not. Anyway,” he continued before she could get brighter than the cherries in her ice cream. “I’m just saying that you gotta be more than careful with this kind of thing. Everyone should be, really, but especially people like us. Plants aren’t the only thing that runs in the Zanotto family, unfortunately, so we just have to be aware of it and act accordingly.”

The teen turned this over in her mind. He could practically see the gears moving. When she looked at him again, it was with a slow, contemplative nod.

“No more late-night bar-hopping?” Her great-uncle asked.

“No more late-night bar-hopping.” She answered, sincere.

“Good.” He looked outside. Helmut and Raz were both lying on the front of the car, pointing out stars to each other. The sight made him smile. “Come on, we’ll work on that whole thing about Adam and Lizzie giving you alcohol another time, when it’s not three in the morning. For now, let’s rejoin our boys again and go get some rest, okay?”

“Okay.” Lili slid out of the booth and tentatively took her family member’s hand. His fingers squeezed hers in reassurance. “And...thanks, Uncle Bob.”

“Well, what can I say. Us weird Zanotto plant people hafta look out for each other, right?”

“Right.”

They walked out together, hand-in-hand.

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

A/N: I knew from promotional material that we'd be going into the mind of someone struggling with alcoholism, but Bob's Bottles punched me hard in the gut. It's probably my favorite mind in the game, both because it's visually gorgeous and because it hit a little close to home with some of the themes, like generational alcoholism and how the addiction can make someone a shell of themselves.

I wrote half of this three weeks ago and then found myself really struggling to finish it because it brought up a lot of old feelings I thought I'd sorted through a long time ago.

Psychonauts, man.

#psychonauts 2 #psychonauts 2 spoilers #Bob Zanottto #Helmut Fullbear #Lili Zanotto #Razputin Aquato #Bob Zanotto/Helmut Fullbear #psychonauts

240 notes · View notes

jimlingss · 3 years

Note

i have a request for something Taehyung! maybe taehyung christmas/holiday??? OR taehyung and the prompt "Give me attention"??? honestly i will take anything taehyung 🤩

↳ The Best Friend’s Older Brother Cliché

2.3k || 99% Fluff, 1% Angst || Kim Taehyung || Best Friend’s Older Brother!AU

Taehyung is your best friend’s older brother.

It’s so entirely cliché that you cringe whenever you think about it, but it’s true and it happened…..you had the tiniest crush on him in high school. Okay— it was a big, fat crush. But you weren’t willing to admit it, not then and certainly not now. Mostly because it’s weird. Plus there’s the fact that it would be breaking the code of honour between besties. Sisters before misters.

The last thing you would want is to make Joy upset.

But when you came home from college in the summer and Taehyung returned from his own studies abroad...you didn’t expect him to look like that.

“Hey, Y/N.”

“H-Hey.”

Taller. Leaner. Better dressed.

Maybe it had just been a long time since you’ve seen Taehyung. Maybe you had gotten desensitized but the long period away from him made you hyper aware of his existence again. Either way, seeing him made you realize that he had very much become a man.

He was no longer just the unattainable, cool teenage boy that you swooned over but left behind nonetheless in your coming of age years. And that fact slapped you across the face.

You didn’t expect for him to be like that either.

To smile at you like that. To strike up conversations. To be interested in what you were doing, where you were going.

“What are you majoring in again?”

“Anthropology.”

“Really? That’s super cool. I took one anthropology class when I was a freshman. Do you like it?”

“It’s not too bad. I think it’s interesting.”

Taehyung smiles faintly. “I always knew you were smart.”

It was one date.

You came over. Joy was abruptly called in to fill a shift at her summer job at the ice cream parlor.

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I swear I’m going to choke Jimin.”

“And then who’s gonna have to bail you out? Get going before you’re late.”

“Promise we’ll hang out more tomorrow.”

“Have fun at work!”

Taehyung happened to be there, hanging around the house, and he offered to drive you home.

“You really don’t have to.”

“I’m not going to make you take the bus in this hot weather, you know that right?” The corner of his mouth tugs easily. “Just get in the car.”

Except you both stopped to grab a small bite. A burger and fries. While sitting out at the park.

You’re not sure if that even constitutes as a date — there was nothing said about it, no mention made, all entirely too casual to be considered one. But it was the first time you and Taehyung were alone together.

Okay, if that counts...then technically it was two dates.

You and Joy went out to Jungkook’s party. She had a little too much to drink and the pair of you needed a ride home afterwards. Naturally, Taehyung was the one who picked you up in his car, begrudgingly, as Joy fought him before she laid down in the backseat, but he still flashed you that smile.

“Had fun tonight?”

“It was alright.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t end up going home with him.”

“Who?”

“You know. That guy with the glasses you were talking to on the lawn.”

“Namjoon? Oh no, we’re just friends.”

“Hmm. Is that so.”

After Joy was put to bed and tucked in, Taehyung asked if you wanted to stick around to watch a movie. You might or might not have cuddled into him during those three hours, but really was it cuddling? He just slung his arm over the couch where you were sitting and you leaned into his chest.

The two of you were just getting comfortable.

Alright, if that counts, then it was three dates but just three!

Taehyung asked you out personally, but it was to help him pick a gift for Joy’s birthday. He drove you downtown and you walked together in the streets, checking out boutiques before parading around the mall.

“What do you think?”

“Joy hates camo print and she doesn’t need another backpack, Taehyung.”

“Perfect! So she’ll love this then.”

He ended up getting a sweater she’d been eyeing for months.

When it became dark and you got hungry, instead of being dropped off at home, you went to the night market together on a whim. You snacked, had conversations and exchanged numerous stories. You still remember the laughter and how much your cheeks ached when you finally jumped into bed that night.

But before the summer ended, before you both left for your respective colleges, he wanted to talk.

“I had a lot of fun this summer.”

You eye him. “What did you even do this summer?”

“Hang out with you.” Taehyung grins, eyes sparkling with mischief. “And I liked it.”

“Good. I might be hurt if you thought this entire time was awful.”

“I like you too much to ever think that. But...hear me out. What would you think we made things offici—

“We’re going to be super busy,” you interrupt in a panic, having a sense of where he was going with this. “...going to different schools and all that.”

You search his expression while schooling your own. Taehyung stays silent for a second and tries to read you. You’re not sure how successful he is.

“Right.”

“I’ll contact you, Taehyung.”

He smiles at that and eases. “Okay. Yeah. Sounds good. You can call or text me anytime.”

“Anytime?” You try to lighten the mood by shooting him an incredulous look. “I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

“If it’s you, it wouldn’t be a bother. Trust me.”

Except when you got back, you didn’t call him. You didn’t text him either.

You only saw him briefly when Joy would occasionally facetime him in the same room as you, when you were merely a figure in the background and Taehyung would ask who it was.

“Y/N, of course, who else?”

And you would give a small wave.

There were no conversations, no small talk, no exchanges of laughter. But it was better that way. Otherwise, you wouldn't know what Joy would say, how she’d react. You don’t even know if he’s serious about you. And you’re too scared to find out the answers to any of these questions.

It didn’t matter anyway. Deep down, you know Taehyung should be kept at a distance. You know it would be better if these feelings could fade away as a sweet, brief summer romance.

What you didn’t anticipate is to come over to the Kim’s for the holidays a few months later.

“Where are you going?”

Taehyung’s following after you, trailing at your heels like a lovesick puppy. “And don’t tell me you’re showering because you already used that excuse to avoid me today.”

You spin around, masking your startlement at just how close he is, and you frown. “I’m not avoiding you.”

The corner of his mouth tugs. “We shouldn’t lie to each other, sweetheart, even if you have the tendency to do that.”

You feel hot in your face from the pet name. “I never lied to you.”

Taehyung raises his brows. The both of you know then and there it’s a lie.

“My empty phone says differently.”

You cross your arms defensively. “I never promised I’d remain in contact. I was just...busy with classes.”

“Oh. Another lie again.” Taehyung grins, and he exhales softly causing a hundred goosebumps to raise along your skin when you feel the warmth of his breath. “You should really stop your bad habit, Y/N.”

You take a step back and he steps forward.

Before you know it, he’s cornered you in the dark hallway, staring at you intently before his half-lidded eyes flicker to your lips.

You swallow hard. “Go annoy your sister instead.”

“Why should I?” His mouth slyly curls. “I like you way better.”

For the entire duration of the break so far, the both of you have been sneaking around the whole time. From Taehyung instigating a game of footsies under the dinner table to whispering in your ear when no one’s looking to winking at you from across the room so quickly that you’d miss it if you blinked. You feel his affectionate hand on the small of your back when he slides by you, feel his gaze when his shoulders graze yours, and you feel the tickle in your tummy when his voice lowers into that seductive, husky pitch.

During the summer, he was kind and friendly Taehyung. Cautious when it came to you. Hesitant to look your way.

But this time, he’s intensified. Flirtatious. Bold. Pulling out all stops.

Maybe it’s because he’s pissed that you didn’t contact him like you said you would. Maybe because he doesn’t understand why you’re restraining yourself, and he feels the need to push to know. Maybe because he suspects you know he likes you, and you like him — he wouldn’t be wrong.

But either way, his new brazen approach was making you weak in your knees.

“Your mom’s coming,” you mutter while pressing your hands to his chest. You don’t know how or why he feels so firm.

“She isn’t. But even if she was, she’d be more than happy to know we’re together.”

“W-We’re not together, Tae.”

“That could change right now.”

“I...I can’t.”

His thick brows furrow. “Why not? I like you, Y/N, a lot.”

You swallow hard, feeling scrutinized under his heavy gaze. Taehyung’s beauty is lethal when he’s this close and you feel an urge to brush away the dark strand that’s fallen in front of his forehead from his neatly styled hair. It was a contrast to the casual hoodie and sweatpants he was wearing. He was handsome and cozy, ready to stop hearts or be hugged like a teddy bear.

It didn’t help that he was saying these kinds of things either. “I know.”

“I don’t think you do.” His voice drops a pitch. “For the past few months, I’ve been thinking about the summer and you. The entire time, I was waiting for you to call me, to text me. Do you know what that’s like?”

“Taehyung.”

“We can make this work. I want to make it work, so don’t make me wait anymore.”

You gaze at him, breath hitched in your throat and your self-control meets its limit. You practically leap onto Taehyung, heart thundering against your rib cage, standing on the tips of your toes — all to kiss him.

It’s soft and unhurried.

Taehyung is caught off guard, but then you feel his wide smile against you. Immediately, his strong arm reaches for your waist and he tugs you in. A yelp escapes your throat as your bodies become flush against one another. Taehyung’s other hand presses against the wall behind you and he tilts his head to deepen the kiss. His tongue licks into your mouth and you groan, wrapping your arms around his neck. He tastes like sugar cookies, smells like citrus, and absolutely makes your knees weak.

You’re not sure how long you and Taehyung make out for, swapping spit like horny teenagers without experience.

It’s not until you hear a— “what the hell!” — do you break apart.

Joy is standing at the end of the hall and you shove Taehyung away from you, wide-eyed. He stumbles back, equally surprised.

“I-I can explain!”

Joy’s jaw has gone slack and you realize she’s waiting for said explanation.

“I….I…we….umm….”

Taehyung looks at you and then at his sister, opening his mouth to rescue you from this mortifying experience. But his sibling beats him to the punch—

“Look.” She raises her hands and you brace yourself. She wouldn’t end your years of friendship over this, would she? Then again, you can’t blame her if she did. “You don’t have to make this weird. It isn’t weird unless you make it weird. So I’ll just pretend I didn’t see anything.”

“Wait.....what?” That was certainly not the reaction you were expecting. You think you’re more taken aback than she is. “You’re okay with this? You’re okay if we’re dating?”

Joy nonchalantly shrugs. “It’s not a big deal. You’re adults, so you can make your own decisions and I kind of had a feeling there was something going on anyway.” She smiles and looks at her older brother. “Taehyung, you’re way too obvious. The biggest gift under the tree is for her from you.”

He grins. “You caught me there.”

You’re shell-shocked at how unconcerned she is and seemingly supportive at that.

“You knew?”

“Of course I do. We’ve been friends for what, ten years? I knew you had a crush on my brother back then. So if anything, it’s about time.” Joy raises her fist at Taehyung. “You better not make Y/N cry or I’ll make you cry.”

He snorts. “Wow, thanks.”

“Anyway, continue.” Joy lazily gestures. “But we’re watching a movie in five so be quick.”

Your best friend leaves to the bathroom where she was heading to in the first place and you turn to Taehyung who has an amused grin. “Well?”

“I don’t know.” Your mind is reeling at everything that’s happening and how real this is becoming. “For some reason in my mind, I thought that would go way worse.”

“Is that why you were so worried? You didn’t need to be. Joy likes you way more than she likes me, so if anything I’d be the one getting the flack.” Taehyung smiles and leans in. “But does this mean we can finally make it official? Can I call you my girlfriend already?”

You sigh and lift your arms to loop around his neck again. He leans in for another kiss, but you stop short an inch— “Depends on what that gift under the tree is.”

Taehyung grins and before you can pull away, he tugs your waist into him once more.

This time you kiss each other unabashedly.

#bts fanfic #bts scenario #taehyung fanfic #taehyung scenario #taehyung fluff #taehyung reader insert #bts reader insert #squirrelandcrafts #Jimlings #Taehyung as your best friend's flirty and hot older brother lol

309 notes · View notes

wiypt-writes · 3 years

Text

Concsiousness Of Guilt

Chapter 7: Part 2

Summary: It’s the holiday season, and you and Andy spend it with your parents. But even now, surrounded by your family, the ghost of Ransom still haunts you.

Warnings: Language, Smut (NSFW, 18+). References and flashbacks to past abuse (non-con situation briefly described.)

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar the reader and any other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

W/C: 7.3k

Consciousness Of Guilt Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 7 Part 1

Tuesday brought peace to your condo, your sister deciding that she was finally out of line and apologizing to you for her wild outburst Monday morning. She had zero explanation for it and really said nothing more. Neither your father nor your mother could bear reason for it either so you did what you do best as a family and that was move on.

Wednesday, you had to slide into the office for a brief meeting with Eva and Amber before the long holiday break and as you exited Eva's office to round up some mail sitting in your own you got a text from Andy saying the verdict was in.

You sped quickly to the courthouse, a nervous excitement about you. You slid inside and took a seat in the back row just as a deputy closed the door behind you and the call to rise came from the bailiff. You didn't get a chance to eye Andy, making him aware of your presence, but you did settle up your pen and note pad, your press pass hanging from your neck.

The foreman stood and answered positively when asked if they had reached a verdict upon which they were all agreed. You waited on baited breath, your ears tuned to the foreman but your eyes trained on Andy and Ron.

“Not guilty.”

There were murmurs around the courtroom, along with sighs of relief from the defendant’s family, and cries of anger from that of the man who had died.

You watched as Andy's shoulders relaxed in a bit of relief, you knowing he wasn't sure if he'd pulled it off behind closed doors. However, those in the courtroom wouldn't have suspected otherwise. You stood, your eyes connecting with Ron's before a pair of bright cerulean looked to you, a smirk crossing his lips. You winked at Andy before smirking yourself and exiting the court room.

You waited in the corridor and before long Andy, Ron and their client emerged. You strode forward, smiling as you congratulated them all and then jerked your head slightly to the side. Ron and Andy followed, Andy introducing you to his client briefly and once that was done you took a deep breath.

“Okay, so I’m going to prep a formal press release for later but there’s a camp of reporters outside. Keep it minimal, usual shit about how justice has been done bla bla but my advice is not to say much. I know I’m preaching to the converted but…”

Ron gave a chuckle, "it's always good to hear a reminder."

"Any questions?" Andy turned to his client, whom shook his head no. "Right, we'll let Ron take lead and...."

"No, Andy, you earned this one." Ron nodded at his lead counselor.

A broad grin spread across your man’s face, a faint flush to his cheeks as he gave an affirmative nod, his hands digging into the pockets of his coat.

“I’ll see you at yours, couple of hours?” He looked at you and you nodded.

Leaving them to it, you headed to your car, already planning the statement in your head. It wouldn’t take you long to put together once you got home, leaving you free to enjoy the holiday.

As you walked back towards your car, you shot Andy a text telling him that tonight you were going to celebrate his win. On a whim, you pulled up outside one of the local stores and grabbed a bottle of Moët. His reply was waiting for you when you pulled back into your garage.

And celebrate you did! From popping the champagne when Andy walked into your place, you giving him a celebratory kiss that would have no doubt brought the man to his knees, to you all heading out for sushi and sake, a good time was had. And upon returning from dinner, Andy cracked open the expensive stuff he'd stashed away and succeeded in drinking your dad under the table as promised, your tipsy mother sassing and blasting the man, causing the rest of you to practically die and ach from laughter.

The next morning, while you let Andy sleep off his celebratory hang over; you, your mom and sister all worked together prepping for the big dinner and gabbed about the big shopping excursion planned for tomorrow. It took most of the morning and as the turkey roasted away in your oven, you enjoyed the occasional drink and snacks while Andy and your dad bonded over Thanksgiving Day football. By the time the big meal was ready, you all were dressed for the casual occasion and dishing up, filling your plates with turkey and gravy, homemade stuffing and mashed potatoes, green beans and dinner rolls with the prospect of pie much later in the evening for dessert.

At one point Andy leaned over to you and pressed a gentle kiss to your temple, "thank you, honey."

"For what?" You softly smiled at him.

"For giving me something to be thankful for again," he whispered.

Your eyes misted over and you blinked back the watery tears, "I could say the same about you."

His large hand cupped your thigh under the table and gave you a gentle squeeze as his left eye gave you a wink.

"Hey, remember those outrageous costumes Nana made for us for the Thanksgiving pageant in town?" Penny laughed, pulling you out if your moment.

“Oh my god!” You snorted, “we looked ridiculous!”

“You looked adorable.” Your mom smiled. “Your nana spent ages making those.” A faraway look spread across her face before she sighed. “I wonder what happened to them?”

“They’re somewhere in all that crap that we packed up.” Your dad spoke, “in fact, I’m sure they’re in your basement, in one of your memory boxes.”

You froze, "Oh, Dad, I haven't... I've not... Uh, haven't been down there at all. You put those boxes down there. I just closed the door behind you, I haven't had a need."

“It’s okay!” Your dad chuckled, “I wouldn’t expect you to be sitting here looking at memories in a box, love!”

"You should go get them! Come on, let's bust open the memory box!" Penny beamed excitedly.

“No.” You stated firmly and flatly.

"Oh come on! It'll be fun! Andy should totally see those cute pictures of you as a kid, it's like a boyfriend right of passage."

“I don’t want to go down there.” You flatly replied once more.

"Honey, I can...." Andy started.

“I said no, okay!” You cut Andy off, shaking your head. “Can everyone shut up about the fucking basement?”

“Sweetheart…” Ransom’s grip on your jaw was like a vice as his other arm pinned you to the bed, forearm painfully held across your throat. “I got all day. Just say those three words and I’ll let you out…”

You tried to turn your head away, but the hand on your chin tightened painfully and Ransom forced you to stare straight back at his icy blue eyes. “Just admit you love me…”

“I don’t…” you managed to stutter and the anger flashed in his eyes. His hands moved to your panties, and second later you heard them tear.

“No?” His fingers toyed at your slit and you closed your eyes, a tear rolling down your cheek. “Let’s see…”

The buzzing in your head subsided and you swallowed, reaching for your wine. You drained it in one and stood up. “I need a top up.”

The silence in your dining room was heavy, a knife could cut through the awkwardness that settled in. You caught your eye with Andy's from across your counter and licked your lips before you poured your wine and instead of returning to your seat at the table, you stepped out into the cold garden.

Suddenly, embarrassment washed over you as you realized for the first time since the two of you'd met, you'd snapped at Andy like you had. And in front of your parents, too.

A headache was forming behind your eyes as they watered and your nose stung.

A few moments later you heard the door open as Andy came to join you, concerned etched across his brow as you glanced back at him, then looked away. That warm, woollen coat you loved was placed tenderly over your shoulders, his hands rubbing your arms as he stood behind you.

“Angel, are you okay?”

“He kept me in the basement.” You suddenly blurted out, for some reason wanting to make him understand.

"Wh.... What?"

“You asked me if he was physical. He didn’t hit me… well, not much anyway but…” you turned to look at him, taking a deep breath, your hands shaking, “when I… when I wasn’t towing the line, he locked me in the basement.”

He took your glass from you and set it on the patio table. "For how long?" Andy’s voice was calm, but you sensed the undercurrent of anger.

"Days, a week or two, a solid month. It varied.”

“Jesus, fuck!” Andy moved and wrapped his arms around you, his warmth spreading through his coat.

“They don’t know.” You shook your head. “It would kill them, Andy, you can’t…”

“Okay…” he kissed your head. “I won’t say anything.”

There was a moment of silence as you buried your face in his chest.

“Honey, I swear, to God, if he wasn’t already dead I’d murder the bastard myself.”

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, especially in front of my family." Your voice was muffled against his soft cashmere covered chest.

“Hey, don’t worry about that.” His hands rubbed at your back and he dropped a kiss to your head

You stood in his arms for a bit longer until he suggested you head in before your dad came out search of you, and you reluctantly agreed. Andy’s hands tenderly cupped your face and he wiped your tears with his thumbs, before placing a soft kiss to your lips.

"How about we can say goodnight and I draw you a nice bath? I'll help your mom clean up while you soak."

“No.” You shook your head. “It’s Thanksgiving, I’m going to put my big girl pants on and carry on drinking.”

"Are you sure? I'm more than happy getting you to bed and taken care of."

"Maybe just a few more minutes then," you sighed into his touch.

You stood in his arms for a few moments longer before allowing Andy to guide you back into yours.

After a hastily, mumbled apology for your outburst, simply telling your parents it had been a long week and you were tired, your outburst was forgotten and you started in on cutting dessert up for everyone, making sure the coffee was on for your father as you knew he enjoyed the hot beverage with his pie. Andy thanked your mom for her part in the delicious meal as he cleared the table and eventually sat with your father down on the couch with his coffee and pie, giving you your space to get changed but you could feel his weary and concerned eyes on you as you headed up to the second floor.

Your sister and mom followed your example, before with a shrug your dad declared he might as well join the “pajama party” so to speak. With a pop of his shoulder, Andy also decided to change. An extra log was tossed onto the fire by your dad before he grabbed the remote and flicked over the channels.

Just as you settled down next to Andy, you heard your dad give a yell. “What a classic!”

Both you and Andy paused as the familiar opening theme to Jurassic Park rang out of the tv speakers, before the two of you burst into laughter.

"It's a classic, but is it that funny?" Your dad chuckled.

"No," you giggled, "it's just a joke between Andy and I. I'm sorry, carry on."

“Oh, because the lawyer gets eaten…” your dad grinned and Andy laughed even more.

“That’s one reason.” You popped a shoulder and happily snuggled into Andy as he moved his arm across the back of the sofa so you could get comfy.

You'd managed to make it through to the credits before wanting to cozy up into bed, Andy and your parents saying goodnight and you desperately contemplated on the remaining whipped cream being sprayed into your sister's palm as she slept, dead to the world, on the chaise.

“No.” Your dad read the mischievous look on your face and grinned at you as you let out a dramatic sigh.

“Oh, come on, Daddy!” You playfully whined in a childlike manner.

"Use the cream pie instead." He offered.

“Absolutely not!” Your mom said sternly and your dad shrugged.

“She’s done it to us enough.”

"Y/D/N! Again with the mischief. Get to bed, both of you." Your mother scolded. "Andy, a little help here."

Andy turned you gently towards the door. “As a well-respected defence attorney, I can’t be involved with any criminal or shady antics…”

Your jaw dropped dramatically as your hands went to your hips. "Fun sponge."

“I lived with a hormonal, teenage boy.” Andy walked you through the door. “Been called worse, believe me.”

You laughed as you set foot into your en-suite to brush your teeth before bed. Andy soon joined you, his hands on your hips as you brushed, his eyes on yours in the mirror as his lips pressed to your temple.

"You feeling better?" He asked.

The answer was obvious but he had asked it anyways. You smiled in reply.

"Good."

You rinsed your mouth and turned to him. “Thank you.”

"I didn't do anything, Angel."

“Yes you did.” You looked at him. “You listened.”

Again his hands cupped your cheeks, his thumbs running over your cheekbones, "I will always listen."

There was a pause as Andy’s hands gently caressed your face and you felt the lump in your throat as you struggled to find the words to say what you wanted to.

He placed a tender kiss to your lips, his touch lulling you to a sudden peacefulness. "Give me five and I'll join you in bed."

You nodded and left him, climbing under the soft duvet and settling in as you waited for him. Your body was tired, your mind just as so, and when Andy joined you, he held you as you dozed off for the night.

But the mind was a funny thing, holding on to memories and twisting them into hellacious thoughts for your dreams to play out despite your newly calm demeanour as your lashes cascaded over your eyes, permanently locking you in for the night…

Your dress was gorgeous. Lace and silk, floaty and bohemian like. Everything you’d always envisaged wearing on your special day.

You turned to your dad, his face was stony but he managed a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

He asked as the heavy doors opened to the room of the hotel in which your wedding was taking place.

“Of course,” you looked at him, a frown on your face, “why on Earth wouldn’t I want to marry Andy?”

"Bean, Andy's gone. He's been gone... years,” your dad sighed sadly.

“Gone?” You frowned, “What do you mean? He’s there, look!”

Those all too familiar broad shoulders you'd come to love, to feel as their comfort caged you in each night stood at the end of the aisle. His back was to you but you'd recognized that build anywhere. "See, look."

Your dad sadly shook his head, "Bean...."

The figure at the end of the aisle turned and as the sun obscured his face, you were still certain it was Andy waiting for you.

You looked at your dad, wondering what on Earth has come over him as you started your walk towards your soon to be husband.

You walked with your father, ready to prove your point when the sun no longer obscured his face and cold, blue eyes and clean shaven face met yours. Your dress had changed into an uncomfortable, tight, backless silk number and you were no longer in your venue of choice, but now, locked tightly in your old yard, the warm Boston summer beating down through the tree in which under he stood. You cried out, "No!" And wrenched your arm free from your father's hand, your flowers falling to the ground.

"You look so beautiful, Sweetheart." His voice made the bile rise and burn up your throat as you fell to your knees, retching up nothing but acid. His hands were on you and you failed to free yourself, crying out. "No.... Andy, where's Andy. I need Andy."

"He's gone, Princess, like he told you." Ransom eyed your father.

"No, you.... Let me go, you stay away from me."

“I’m warning you, Y/N.” Ransom’s deep baritone filled your ears. “Don’t make me lock you up again.”

"No! Andy!? Andy!? Help me, please!" You cried as you screamed, your sobs filled with words of desperation, fear filling you as you searched for the man you hoped would rescue you. "Help!"

Andy heard your scream the moment his name passed your lips, and it didn't take more than a blink for him to rise in bed and see you flailing about in your sleep, his name repeatedly falling from your sobs as you cried out for help.

“Angel, hey…” he gently shook your shoulders as you continued to scream, your face contorted in horror and your brow damp from sweat.

“Honey, come on, wake up…”

He knew he had to remain calm, but he was deeply terrified as he continued to try and pull you from whatever nightmare was consuming you. A little harder of a shake and Andy had you gasping for air as you sat bolt upright, your eyes wide and frantic with fear.

You blinked before you began to sob, and collapsed into him trembling as he cradled you in his arms. A second later the door to the room ricocheted off the wall, your dad had flung it open with such force.

As his hand carded through your hair, Andy's eyes glanced over at your parents, standing wide eyed and in fear at the sight of the two. Andy squeezed his eyes shut and whispered into your ear, his lips pressing into your hair as he held you, your body tucked as close as if you were a second skin, his body curled around yours as he sat on his knees, his ass planted against his heels, rocking you back and forth.

"It's okay baby, I'm right here. You're safe. You're okay, Angel. I got you, honey." His tired and tearful blue eyes met your father's and they exchanged a knowing nod before your dad carted your worried mother away, Penny poking her head in as your parents walked out, the door closing behind your father.

Your hands fisted into his sleep shirt as you cried and he took a deep breath, his lips pressing to your temple. Andy knew there was nothing he could do bar let you ride it out, so that’s precisely what he did.

After a while, he'd felt your breathing even out and your sobs quiet down to soft cries and sniffles. At that point he moved as if to look down at you but you clung to him, shaking your head.

“Okay, okay…” he soothed, “come on, lie down. I got you.”

Gently and slowly, he arranged himself so that he led you down, like a parent laying out a young child, his hold never ceasing to exist as he settled himself to be led next to you. He managed to get on his own back and pull you close, your body still against his, his shirt soaked around the chest from her tears.

He didn’t bother asking what you’d been dreaming about, he didn’t need to, especially after your confession to him earlier that evening. He pressed his lips to your forehead. “It’s okay, Angel.”

He felt you shudder in his arms, but at his words the rigid tension of your body ebbed away and you melted into him.

Andy found sleep impossible as the fear of another episode completely overtook him. Deep inside he was angry and his veins ran with rage while his heart was shattered and his stomach sickened. He knew there was more to your ordeal than you were telling him, and his brain was plagued as he wondered to himself just exactly what the hell else the asshole had done. That said, he’d never ask, for it were your story to tell, if and when you wanted him to know.

You remained locked tight around his body, his arms protectively, not possessively, securing you against him. He'd be sore, but fuck it, he absolutely did not care.

It was about four in the morning, a good three and a half hours after he had woken to your screaming when he started to feel his eyes growing heavy, and he could no longer fight the exhaustion in his system. And the last thing he thought of, as he pressed a kiss to your tear stained cheek, was that if they ever caught the guy who had stabbed Drysdale to death, he’d fucking stand up there in court and defend him for free.

*****

Your head hurt, your chest felt sore and your neck was kinked and stiff. Then there were your eyes, they felt like they'd been filled with sand, dry and itchy, swollen and no doubt red if you'd taken the time to look.

While you were no longer in Andy's arms, you were still tucked up into his side, his warmth a soothing comfort.

You were equal parts tired and again embarrassed given what had happened late last night. It wasn’t like you could help it, you knew that, but still, you felt betrayed by your subconscious. Your mind had well and truly fucked you over. Your night-terror and the resulting, physical breakdown were the manifestations of exactly how deeply Ransom had screwed you up. It wasn’t something you’d hoped Andy would ever have to see.

A dread filled you, a worry that this may be the end when the two of you had barely begun. You took a deep, long and shaky breath, the stretch of your lungs stinging your sore chest. You took a glance at Andy, led flat on his back, close to you, his left hand cradled over his chest, his right bent above your head, his hand tucked underneath his neck. A slight snore was emitting from his parted lips. Another unsteady breath and you were sliding out of bed, careful not to wake him.

You quietly shuffled into your en-suite and splashed cold water over your face, not even glancing at your reflection. As you brushed your teeth, you kept your back to the mirror, closing your eyes when you spit the gritty paste into the sink and kept your eyes down as you finished up. When you emerged, Andy had shifted into his side, facing you, but still continued to sleep.

With a slight tremor in your hand, you reached out and grabbed his sweater from the chair and slipped it on. The soft cashmere, mixed with his familiar smell calmed you a little and with a last look at him, you made your way downstairs.

Your father was in your kitchen, whipping up a meal for his softly smiling wife and Penny. "Morning, Bean. I was wondering when you were getting up."

“What time is it?” Your voice was slightly croaky as your dad turned and wrapped his arms around you, kissing your head.

"Near ten," he whispered. "Rough night, how ya doing, Kiddo?"

You shrugged as he held you, unwilling to step out of the arms that had always provided you safety and love, no matter your age and you sighed.

“Feel like an idiot.” You mumbled, your cheek resting against your dad’s t-shirt.

"I don't know why? You seemed pretty well taken care of last night. I practically ripped your door from its hinges, but there was no need. Andy had you the whole time."

“It’s not something I’m particularly pleased about, having a night-terror so violent it ended that way.” You sighed. “Bet he thinks I’m a right head case.”

"Something tells me your wrong there, Bean. He cares, a lot." Your dad sighed softly.

You stepped back and turned to your mom and sister. Before you could say anything your mom shook her head, silently telling you to stop with the worry and your sister merely arched a brow.

“Was it a dream about how he didn’t bring you coffee in the morning?” Her teasing was welcome as you flipped her off and then eyed the clock.

“You know, that’s not a bad idea.” You mumbled.

“What isn’t?”

“I should get him coffee for a change.” You chewed your lip, before you turned and grabbed your car keys from the drawer. “I won’t be long…”

“You can’t go out like that!” Your mom looked at you. “Sleep pants and Andy’s sweater!”

“Watch me.” You shrugged, before you made to the garage.

Your sister and dad's laughter died down, and the closing of the door into the garage cut your dad's voice as he informed your mom you were a “big girl”, shutting down her protests about you leaving the house in your sleep wear.

The line at Patti's for takeout was non-existent but the tables were packed. Yet, that didn't stop the sweet older woman from grabbing your order she'd committed to memory and seeing you out quickly. When you returned, Andy still wasn't up, or if he was, he hadn't joined your parents and sister at the table over their omelettes and toast.

You placed a hot takeout cups of coffee in front of each of them, your sister asking if you were still going shopping and you told her yes, just a really late start and asked her to get ready when she was finished, before you headed upstairs with yours and Andy’s.

He was still out for the count, and you felt guilty about waking him up but by now it was almost eleven and you knew if he slept much longer he would struggle to shut down later that evening.

With that tremor still in your hand, you placed it over his broad chest. Pressing down lightly, you leaned in, kissing his lips softly. He stirred a little, and you pulled back for a moment before you kissed him again.

"Andy...." you spoke softly. "It's late, gotta get up."

You gently pecked his lips again and this time when you made to pull back, his face followed you, his lips still brushing yours and as your eyes opened so did his, bleary with sleep, but as deeply soft and blue as always.

"Hi," you whispered.

The faintest of sleepy smirks twitched his lips as his hand tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. "Morning, beautiful."

“I err, I got you coffee.” You smiled back as he stretched his body out, before he sat up, shifting so his back was leaning on the headboard. You reached for one of the cups you’d placed on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed by his side, twisting to face him as you held it out.

“It's a... a... peace offering, for...." you tried.

He took the cup from your hand and put it directly back on the nightstand. "Why on earth would it be a peace offering?"

"Screaming in the middle of the night, causing a complete scene that woke you up," you cast your head downward, emotional over your admission.

“Hey,” Andy reached out, his finger gently tipping your chin upwards so your eyes met his, “Angel, you don’t need to apologise.”

You swallowed hard, "okay."

“I’m more bothered about how you’re feeling.” Andy looked at you. His thumb moved over to your cheek, running over that scar, catching a tear you didn't even know you'd let fall.

"I'm okay," you admitted. "I... I don't know what happened. I haven't had one like that in so long. It scared me."

Andy gave a sigh, tipping forward and wrapping his arms around you. Keeping you close, he fell back onto the bed, taking you with him so you were sprawled over him on top of the covers.

“Wanna tell me about it?” He mumbled as he pressed his lips to your hair, just to the side of where your locks were piled messily on your head.

"Uh...." you mumbled into his chest. "We... Uh... I," you pulled back and pushed yourself off his chest into a sitting position, "I was walking with my dad, you were waiting for me and then you were gone and it was him." Your lip quivered and your nose flared. "He threatened to lock me up and he grabbed me, and I just started screaming for you."

Andy stayed silent for a moment, his arms simply holding his close before he let out a chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Andy shook his head, “it was a very inappropriate response that flashed into my mind that’s all, I’m sorry.”

“Tell me.” You moved so you were on your side, nestled into him as you peered up, his hand tracing shapes down your arm over his sweater.

“I was just about to say that you shouldn’t worry too much about that as the piece of shit is dead.”

A light chuckle shook your body against his side, "as true as that may be, unfortunately, I guess he still lives in my head."

“Well, I know all about that.”

There was a bit of silence, the ebb and flow of your breathing the only sound, his heartbeat thumping in your ear, "Andy...."

“Yeah?”

"Thank you."

“You've said that a lot lately. What for now?” He turned his head to look down at you, his expression slightly puzzled.

"Being here, your patience, your understanding.... I don't know, just.... for everything. I don't want to hurt anymore."

“Hey,” His eyes bored into yours as you swallowed a little, the lump forming in your throat felt like a golf ball. “No one is ever gonna hurt you like that again. I promise.”

You had no words, there was this feeling like you had something to say and it felt like it was weighted down on the top of your tongue, but it wouldn't dare come out. Instead, you tilted up a little on your elbow and pressed a kiss into his lips.

The soft, slow movements of your mouths eased the last, ebbing feelings of tension and worry you had in your system and you felt yourself relaxing in Andy’s hold.

He turned your bodies as he kissed you, your back led flat on the bed, his arms completely surrounding you as his large hands splayed over you. The kiss became heated, quickly as your arms hooked under his, your hand right curling over his shoulder from behind, your left resting against his bearded cheek.

Your thumb ran over the neatly trimmed line between his bristles and his skin. He purred above you.

"You know what that does to me," he whispered above your lips. His tone was playful, his eyes bright and you wrinkled your nose.

“Yeah but it’s cute.”

Andy chortled through his nose as he bent down to kiss you again, his tongue tracing the outline of your upper lip.

“Your coffee will be cold, Counselor.” You whispered as his nose bumped yours, his lips gently moving from your mouth to your jaw.

"Fahk my coffee," he ground out down your neck.

“I went to Patti’s in a half dressed state for that coffee…”

He pulled back, raising his brow and eyes as if he were pondering, "yeah, don't care." He smirked as he went back to your lips.

“Jerk.”

“Okay, you gonna shut up and let me love on you or do you wanna carry on verbal sparring? I should warn you though, I’m pretty good at it.”

Your chest tightened, you heard it, that word that weighed your tongue down, but it came from his lips. "L.... love on me?"

"Mmmhmmm," he hummed as he again attempted to ghost over your jaw, then down your neck. He nipped and then sucked lightly over your skin, where your neck met your collar bone, the soft skin there tingling.

You swallowed, trying not to dwell on that four letter word too much. Andy clearly had no idea the feeling that his figure of speech had sparked within you.

You heard a rustle as he kicked down the duvet and moved, his body hovering over yours as he caged you with his arms.

It was a secure feeling, not one of drowning or suffocation, and your eyes delicately bore into his. "I'm all yours," you whispered.

He paused for a moment, his head raising as his eyes locked onto yours. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but whatever it was, he never did. Instead, his lips crashed back to yours.

He leaned back on his knees briefly as his hands lifted his sweater and your cami in one go, tossing them to the carpeted floor. He gave a soft groan as he looked down at you, before he pulled off his own shirt and fell back over you, lips nipping at your neck.

That necklace he wore grazed over your skin, it was warm as it dragged between your breasts. Your hands wound around his body again, your fingers running along his skin, up his neck and through his beard, scratching through the bristles to under his ear and around his neck, moving through the expertly cut strands.

His lips kissed and sucked their way down your neck, across your collar bone to the hollow in your throat. Furthermore, hot open mouth kisses moved down your sternum, over the upper mound of one breast and then the other before those soft lips curled around a nipple.

Your back curled upward towards his touch and away from the mattress as he gently lolled his tongue over the peaked flesh.

He chuckled a little, "you gotta be quiet, Angel. We've got company downstairs."

His words came as a surprise to you as you were unaware you’d even made a noise. You gasped as his teeth nipped your chest, swallowing hard.

"Don't stop," you ground out."

“I’ve no intentions of stopping, baby.” His mouth moved to your other breast, where he lapped and teased it in the same way.

He then nipped at the soft skin beneath your right breast as he made way down your twitching abs, kissing his way toward your naval.

His fingers slid into the waistband of your pants and, as his intentions became clear you tensed a little, your hand fisting in his fluffy, sleep mussed hair and you felt him pause.

He looked up at you, a 'v' forming between his eyebrows as he gave you a questioning look.

“Don’t you-“

“No, I mean yes, I…” you took a deep breath, swallowing as once more you pushed back an image that has swum into your brain. Andy hadn’t gone down on you yet, and the last time someone had it had been an agonising, hour long edging. Your chest heaved and you shook your head, “I’m okay, I promise…”

A long, heavy lid blink settled over his eyes as he pulled at your pants, you tilted your hips upward to get them over your ass and then the cool air of your room meet your warm skin as your legs were freed.

Andy shook his head a little, "so beautiful, Angel."

Your breathing turned ragged as you watched him slide off the end of the bed, his soft hands pulling your ankles gently as you slid down to meet him. Andy's hands caressed your legs as his lips kissed the ink over your skin. You watched him as his eyes kept yours, only closing to savor moments whilst his lips glided up your right leg, hooking it over his shoulder as he went.

He hit the inside of your knee and you whimpered, a smirk plying over his lips. You threw your head back and gasp as his right hand blunt fingernails dragged over the inside of your left thigh. There was a slight hesitation on his part as he reached the apex of your thigh and wet folds.

That hesitation allowed you to get inside your head. And despite what you had assured Andy, you were still stuck in this internal war between wanting to enjoy the affections Andy was giving you, and fighting desperately not to worry about the past experiences. But that worry faded the minute Andy's mouth hit your core.

Because it was different. There was no animalistic ferocity to his movements. They were slow, almost tentative as he took his time, figuring out what worked for you and what didn't. A learning student, your sounds; encouraging him to kiss here and lick there, a tickle to your swollen bud with the tip of his tongue.

And oh, God that beard, the soft burn that gave you such a juxtaposition in the friction between your thighs was definitely something you were enjoying.

This wasn’t about ripping you apart, making you succumb the way he wanted you to. It was about YOU and YOUR desires. Not how quickly or long you'd last.

Your body was no longer betraying you, it was working with you, for you.

Your right hand fell down to his hair line in a praising manner, a reflex of times before. But you didn't pull or grab, you simply ran your nails through his soft, brunette locks causing a sound to leave him.

It was a mix of a groan and a growl, but he did nothing more than make that sound. His left hand took yours away from his hair and laced your fingers with his, holding your hand against your body on the mattress. Your palm flat against his.

His fingers gently squeezed yours. You weren't even aware of your insides burning in that white hot flame, but as his fingers squeezed, you keened. As you did, that sound left Andy's throat again, vibrating against your clit. Your legs trembled in delight as you felt your pelvis push towards him.

Your body craved more and he delightfully responded, his actions growing fast, but still keeping his hand in yours. You bit your lip to remain quiet, still not forgetting you had an audience downstairs. But soft moans and whimpers streamed out of you. You were so close, so very close. Andy seemed to sense it too as his tongue became ever so slightly more determined.

"Right there," you managed raggedy. He kept at it and you were gone.

A flutter in your belly raging like a wildfire burned through you, tightening your chest and quivering your legs. A whimper of his name slipped through your lips as your hand tightened around his.

Andy slowed down as your orgasm faded out, but didn't stop entirely. He tenderly still enjoyed you as your essence coated his beard.

Slowly, seemingly so as not to overly sensitize you, he completely backed away, kissing away from your outer lips and above your mound before going up your belly as his hand released yours, between your breasts, your clavicle, the hollow of your neck, up your neck to that spot behind your ear, over your jaw and to your lips. You could barely feel yourself on his lips, nearly taste you on his tongue, but you didn't care.

The two of you shared a deep, knowing gaze before you kissed Andy again, just soft, your lips holding around him. Your hands went to the waistband of his sleep pants as you felt the weight of his hardness against your thigh but he was quick to stop you.

"No, Angel, I'll be fine," he kissed you again, slowly sitting up. "Come on let’s get cleaned up and then I’m going to call Black Cat and make a dinner reservation for all of us. My treat."

You were shocked, and you hoped it wasn't on your face, "You wanna go out for dinner with my family, again?"

Andy chuckled as if it were obvious, “well yeah, they’re part of your life so they're a part of mine now."

“Okay," you smiled, "thank you, I’d like that.”

"Great, we'll go after your finished having a shopping spree with your mom and Pen."

You wrinkled your nose, “do I have to?” You knew full well you were still going shopping but staying in bed with Andy wasn't a bad alternative.

"Your promised them shopping in Denver, you have to. It's the day after Thanksgiving, biggest shopping day of the year," he said as if he were an advertisement.

“Okay, okay… but if Pen starts being a bitch again I won’t be held responsible for my actions.” You shrugged, referring to your sister.

Playfully, Andy rolled his eyes at you, "you're terrible. You got your mom to knock her back into line.” Andy’s hand gently brushed a strand of hair off your face. “She behaved yesterday. Although I still don’t know what you were arguing about.”

"It's nothing important, it's sorted," you shook your head.

"Good." He sat up and brought you with him, "now, let's get going before they come find us."

"They probably think we're sleeping again."

"Good, hate to think otherwise." He smirked devilishly. "You know, while you're shopping, get yourself something to wear tonight, something new and to your liking."

Now you rolled your eyes, "Yes, Counselor."

He arched a brow, but continued. “And you can swing by my place, pick me something up to wear too, if you don’t mind.”

"You trust me to pick your outfit?”

“You have good taste,” he shrugged before a devilish smirk crossed his face, “you also taste good.”

"Andrew Barber!"

He laughed as you playfully slapped his arm and he grinned, kissing your head.

"Wait, if I'm shopping in Denver, what you gonna do? What's my dad gonna do?" It dawned on you.

"Oh, simple, he talked me into going to the indoor driving range. Coincidentally, they're open today."

You snorted, “Mom is so gonna slap him.”

"It was her idea." He shrugged.

“Really?”

"Yep," Andy walked towards the bathroom. "You know, she should have been a lawyer. She planted that seed so well, he had no idea it was her idea but his own." He started the shower and poked his head out, "she's good."

You pondered what he said for a moment, wondering when on earth he’d had time to even speak to your mom that way but it didn’t matter. What did, was that he had. He wanted to get on with your family and he encouraged your interactions with them.

You shook your head and with a chuckle you headed into the bathroom after him. He gave you a look as you stepped into the shower cubicle.

“Angel?” His hands fell to your hips and you shrugged, backing under the spray.

“Saves water and time.” You grinned, pulling the hair tie from your hair.

“Yeah, something tells me that’s gonna turn out to be a load of bullshit,” Andy grinned, dipping his head to kiss you.

**** Chapter 8 Part 1

#consciousness of guilt #andy barber #andy barber x reader #andy barber x you #andy barber fanfiction #defending jacob #chris evans #chris evans characters

204 notes · View notes

munsnz · 3 years

Text

Bittersweet Critic — Steve Harrington ☘︎︎

TW: Cussing??

Requested: None

Pairing: Steve Harrington x GN! Reader

Lydinous Radio: Bittersweet— Kennen

Summary: Steve is sick and tired after working at Family Video for months after the Starcourt incident. Christmas break comes up, meaning more people coming over to their homes. Unlike him, a witty college student comes by for an odd request, making him look like that douche from years back. Days later, he finds this person again, wanting to apologize for the prude actions from the previous..

Masterlist — Requests are open!

Another boring day.

Cold everywhere.

Showing where the bathroom was.

Rummaging through movie posters.

Checking out the pretty girls.

Organizing VHS shelves.

Another Thursday in the cold mornings in Hawkins, Indiana. Steve Harrington had been sick of working at Family Video after working here for 3 months since the incident in July. Now he and Robin were taking different shifts in days and rarely got time to work together at the same times. Watching the customers coming in and out of the store, he sighed due to boredom working there. He would’ve been off to college, possibly coming back for Christmas Break since everyone was coming home for Christmas. More families and couples came in and out of the store now, happy-looking faces, and cheerful moods. Steve realized how lonely he was, after his heartbreak with Nancy, the rejection from Robin, just grew on him, leaving him with the group of kids he mentally adopted. Where was he going with his life now? Was there a possible future for him? Is there-

“Hello? Are you deaf or something?”

The voice made him snap out of his thoughts and feelings to find a conventional rather good-looking person who stood upon him. Steve shakes his head to focus on his attention. “Sorry I was..... I was.....”

”Distracted?” You smiled at him and tapped your fingers on the counter.

Steve nods at your response and shrugs, “I suppose you’re correct.”

“I’m always correct,” You boasted while trying to sound humble about it. There was a silent chuckle shared between the two of you, but continued with the silence, “Anywho, I was wondering if you could give me a good movie recommendation.”

”A what now?” He questioned while being throughly confused by the weird request given by this person who he had just met in 5 minutes.

You sigh at his reaction and lean closer, “I need a good movie recommendation.”

”Oh... Oh...Right,” Steve looks around, trying to remember the movies he’s seen. Although working at a video store, it was hard to keep up with the most popular movies nowadays. He snaps with his fingers and looks up at you, “Back to the future is a good one.”

”I’ve watched it and it wasn’t that good.”

Well, there went one shot. Steve tried to keep concentration in this memory from the last film he saw while dozing off to look at you. Realizing another movies, he chuckles, “Star Wars?”

”A new hope?” You say, furrowing your eyebrows. It reminded Steve when he first got the job at this shithole.

”I don’t really know,” He mumbles, digging his fingers into his hair and watches you cross your arms.

“Well isnt this store supposed to have good staff that actually know a bit about film?”

Steve squints his eyes and clicks his tongue, “Well, I’m just a teenage boy who couldn’t get into college and is trying to earn a living, so I don’t know much.”

“Oh,” You sigh, looking down at your feet, and slide your paper from a notebook harshly across the counter, “Thanks for the help dipshit.”

”Are you a movie critic or something?” He desperately blurts out, wanting to continue to talk to someone,making you turn back to him.

In awe, you look at him up and down, sternly as you said, “I’m not, but I’m studying to work in the film industry in the future as if I’m here to fill out this assignment about the public’s perception on movies, but it’s okay if you don’t want to help, you don’t seem like it.”

”No! It’s actually okay,” Steve apologizes, softening his face and extended his hand to give him the paper, “I really got nothing else to do.”

You watched his hand, almost with pleading eyes to do something in such boredom he was in. After a hot minute of decided, you smiled and breathed to walk away to the exit of the store, “No thank you dipshit! Just remember first impressions are important!”

”What?” Steve gasps, with his mouth open at such rejection, watching you swiftly walk outside into your car to drive off. First impressions were important, he had looked like a total asshole in front of them. Now this was just a huge blow for him, no luck.

☘︎︎ ☘︎︎ ☘︎︎

“So..... what are you doing tomorrow?” Dustin questions, shuffling his feet in the snowy cement, putting his small hands in his pockets to avoid frostbite.

Steve sniffs, watching the people inside relaxing inside the cafe on a Tuesday morning in Hawkins, it was still Christmas break and now both guys were going to have their own day after the holidays.

”I don’t know, I’ll probably catch a movie,” He sighs, shivering in the snow falling on his hair. Watching the people inside, he sees that one familiar person. That movie critic. Different it was though, the person looked awfully stressed with a huge amount of papers scurried everyone on the table, not that one put together person he saw a few days back. His stomach dropped at the sight, not wanting to interact with them, “oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, can we cancel this? I’m not comfortable.”

Dustin looked up at Steve, “Why not? We get a free time to hang out together, I heard they give the best hot chocolate!” Seeing Steve flustered, Dustin turned to see at what he was looking at before getting so weird, it seemed to be a person, somewhat Steve’s age, good-looking meanwhile scribbling notes onto sheets of paper. He hangs his mouth open and nudges Steve with a sly smile, “Oooooh! Someone’s got a crush!”

”Shut up,” He snaps, making Dustin stop giggling like an idiot. Steve gulps and feels a bit anxious about it, after all this time, why did he feel this way?

“Try talking to them,” Steve’s friend advices, both of them watching her through the window in deep concentration, “Until you feel the electricity.”

Steve glances at Dustin, “Don’t use my advice against me.”

”It’s not that bad, Steve,” Dustin claims, moving his jacket around a bit, “Maybe this is your chance.”

”Chance,” He scoffs at the comment, “I haven’t felt like this in months, what ever happened to the glory days where everybody would fall for me at first sight?”

“They probably like you,” Dustin shrugs and looks up at his friend hopelessly sigh, “What’s the matter? Do they not?”

“Well......” He mumbles, trailing off, “I made a really bad impression on them, they came over to the store and I seemed like an asshole, they don’t like me.”

After peering through the window, both boys noticed that same person’s eyes meet theirs. Panicked, they looked away rapidly, trying to not make the situation awkward. The person they were eyeing went back to their task, Dustin ran to the door, dragging Steve inside, “Go talk to them.”

Steve flattened his jacket and breathed deeply, feeling Dustin’s pudgy hands push him forward, making the bell ring as soon as he walked inside. Feeling awkward, he slowly trudged towards the table where you were sitting.

”Hey,” He shyly whispered, ruffling his hands inside his sweater, you looked up to meet his warm, brown eyes, confused of who this might be.

”Hey?” You watch him stand weirdly in front of you, feeling a sense of awkwardness in the air, “Take a seat if you want.”

Steve pulls the chair back to sit, scooting himself forward into the table. He looked over at Dustin who was grinning from the outside of the cafe, “How are you?”

”Fine, but have we met?” You squinted, trying your best to remember him, although you couldn’t, then went back to scurrying through your assignments.

”I believe so,” He watches you scurry through more and more assignments, writing quick notes on each page, “What are you working on?”

After finishing the second to last pair of notes, you reply, “Assignments, it’s crazy how college still wants to make you work your ass even though you’re on break. And how have we met?”

”Film student right?” The comment he made making you look up, he was correct. You nodded, watching his every move on how he knew, he sighs and goes on, “Well I’m that asshole that couldn’t do your stupid assignment for college.”

Wide eyed, you nodded your head and breathily giggled, “Oh yeah, the dipshit.”

”The dipshit,” He nervously repeated, remembering the brood impression he made on you, “Yeah so...... how did that go?”

”No one else wanted to do it,” You huffed as the memories of what dick he had been towards you, he seemed sorry for you, rapidly making sharp eye contact and looking away.

Steve watched your expressions changed as your thoughts did too, “Sorry about that.” Was all he said.

“It’s whatever,” You shrug, getting irritated a bit, but before you could comment anything else, he blurted out.

”Wecouldgowatchamovietogetheranddothatwork.”

All you did was giggle at his flustering comment he gave you, he looked so hopeless and dazed off. Taking a sip of your French Roast coffee, feeling the bitter taste touch your taste buds, a new burst of energy filling you, you scratched your head, “Not so easy..... Dipshit. A. I don’t even know your name and who you are, B. you’re desperate.”

”I- w-what?” His words tumbled off his mouth, denying the answer, “I’m not, I-I just wanna help you.”

His dumbfounded expression made it harder for you not to laugh, “It’s okay, I was just teasing you. And I’m free around 4, if that works out.”

”O-oh, yeah I mean I have work but a day to skip won’t hurt,” Steve chuckles, feeling tingly around his hands, he had never felt this for years on end. Cliche much right?

You raised your eyebrows up and a tiny smile escaped your lips, “Okay, just so you know, it’s going to be a challenge to warm up to me.”

He nods his head, bringing his hands together in front of you, “Well I’m up for that challenge!”

”You dipshit.”

”You movie critic.”

#Steve Harrington #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington masterlist #steve harrington smut #steve harrington x original character #steve harrington x reader #steve Harrington x you #steve Harrington x gender neutral reader #Steve Harrington x gn reader #Robin buckley #stranger things #Stranger things oneshots #Stranger things x reader

168 notes · View notes

gameshortghost · 2 years

Text

Day of Death

There’s not much to say about working in the local Game Short. The building is small with grey walls that are falling apart and dusty shelves that seem to always be covered in a thick, grody layer of dust despite being cleaned twice a week every week (the manager of the store claims that there is something wrong with the ceiling and that’s why it’s always dusty—the ceiling is sinking in just a little, so maybe she has a point). The walls are decorated with the cases of video games (the discs themselves are, of course, not inside the actual cases—theft is a thing, and it is very common in this particular little store). There are five gondolas in total, and they are spread out with three going down the length of the store on one side, a cash-wrap on the other side, with the last two gondolas setting spread out beyond the cash-wrap towards the back of the store. They’re currently—for now, at least—stuffed to the brim with collectibles, clothing accessories, toys, blankets, plushies, etc. Mostly collectibles—such as action figures.

There are four consistent workers of that take partial residence in this particular Game Short, with three part-time general associates that make their presence known mostly during the holidays (though sometimes, if there are enough hours, they’re brought in throughout the year). Nyx is a five-foot-seven, twig thin guy with blonde hair brightened by the sun and ocean eyes darkened by years beyond his twenty-one of life. Bee is an incredibly tall girl, probably sitting just at the six-foot mark if one were to guess, very tiny and absolutely the most intimidating of the bunch (she’d kick you in the face, don’t test her.).

Mercury is the assistant manager, a five-foot-two bundle of thinly veiled anger and even thinner patience with greening blue eyes full of all the curse words she can’t say to you out loud. January (Ry—pronounced like with an i instead of an e, for short) is the grand leader (manager) of this particular Game Short; a small lady with black hair shaved into an undercut and thin rimmed glasses that truly suit her face and kickass personality. The four of them make up the pseudo-family of the small-town Game Short.

Tonight, Mercury is working alone, Nyx having left four hours earlier with a cheery “good luck tonight” as his departing words (she responded with, “you too, be safe!”. Tired as she almost always is, she’s in the middle of standing on her tiptoes on the very top step of the tiny step ladder provided by the company, the tips of her fingers brushing the shelf holding the backstock headsets. She grunts out a pained, “fuck,” as she slips and lurches forward, only barely catching herself on the lower shelves. She curses quietly a second time, pushing away from the wall and climbing down the step ladder.

“Fuck this, I’m taking a break.” She’s been working on changing the planogram for every wall in this store for six hours now—her back aches from the stretching to reach the top shelves and hooks. She walks around the cash-wrap, eyes squinting to try and make sense of the distorted black and white print out of the audio section. Specific brands that are stretched or pushed together to look like tiny, boxed blobs of absolute nothing—shelves evenly spaced and not at all in the same metrics as the actual shelving units. Not to mention, she’s pretty sure the shelving unit in this picture is a good head or two taller than the one that’s actually in store, and she sure as hell isn’t about to try and elongate the damn thing. She can’t even reach the top from her step ladder as it is now!

Heaving the millionth sigh of the night, she makes her way to the backroom in search of a display shelf. Ry said that they’d be with all the other shelves, but she’s been back to look three times and still hasn’t managed to pinpoint the type that she needs. She throws open the backroom door, pinning it open with a heavily weighted thing that holds a stretchy band that she’s pretty sure they used to use for big launches and stuff (literally, what are these things even called?). Cussing out the entire architecture of the small store as she pushed through empty boxes that can’t be thrown out until tomorrow, she finally bursts into the girl’s bathroom with an aggravated huff.

Now, here’s the thing about the back room of this Game Short: it’s really freaking small. The system room, while larger than some of the other’s that she’s been in, is stacked floor-to-ceiling with boxes and shelves and systems. Every last thing that they could fit in there has been shoved into some corner, nook, or cranny until it looks a mess—an organized mess, but a mess, nonetheless. Grand Leader Ry really does try to clean it up every week or two, but with the amount of inventory they have in at the moment it’s about as good as it’s going to get for a while. The main room of the backroom is set up with the walls being covered in boxes (for used consoles that they take in, or for boxes used to pack up stuff meant to be shipped from the store). The system room sets on one side of the right wall, while on the other side (in the main room) there’s a cabinet holding backstock video games, a desk where the workers can eat their lunches or where Ry and Mercury take conference calls, and a mini fridge to store said food for lunches. One the left wall, there’s two doors leading to the bathrooms (the doors display “male” and “female” signs, but everyone but one of the general associates uses the “female” bathroom because it’s the cleanest). Inside the “male” bathroom, there’s a variety selection of the bags they use up front, hooks for the walls, cleaning supplies, etc. In the “female” bathroom, there sits two stalls; in the handicap stall, stacked front to back, are shelving units, boxes full of things that Mercury doesn’t even know what the use of them is for, baskets, and pretty much everything else that doesn’t count as inventory and can’t fit in the system room.

Mercury is currently fighting for her life trying to pull the display shelf boxes from the very back of the over-packed stall. She shoves heavy box after heavy box to the side, grunting and cursing and screaming internally, as well as externally. This works, until she grabs the wrong box, and everything goes to quite literal hell.

The wired basket is wedged between two sturdy boxes, but as far as she could tell it’s not holding anything up. She tries to nudge it to the sides so that she can get a good grip on one of the heavier boxes beside it. When that doesn’t work, she tries to push the boxes away from the basket so that she can easily slide it out from between them. That doesn’t work. With an exaggerated groan she wedges her fingers between the wired bars of the basket and the box closest to the entrance of the stall. “Fuck this shit.” She grumbles angrily, giving the hardest tug of the basket that she can manage. It doesn’t budge and she’s seeing red.

“Fuck this shit,” she repeats, pulling again. It doesn’t even slide a little. “Gods, fuck me.” At this point, she’s kneeling on top of the boxes standing between her and the basket. Both hands wrapped around the wired bars, she puts her entire body weight in throwing herself back and pulling the shelf. Still doesn’t move.

“God fucking damnit.” She glares at the basket, trying to pinpoint the best way to grab the box beside it, instead. Taking a deep breath, she grabs the sides of the box (the top part that’s not pressed against the basket), with great struggle to wiggle her fingers between the tightly packed box and the wall of the stall. “Fuck this bullshit. Come on you stupid fucking box,” she’s not quite yelling, but her voice isn’t a raspy, exhausted whisper anymore. It’s not even that she needs the box anymore, it’s that it pushed her last fucking button and she’s going to lose her fucking mind if she loses to it. Call it competitiveness, or maybe call it her being stubborn to a fault. Either way, she’s getting that damn box.

With more strength than she’s ever possessed, she pulls back. Her fingers slip and she falls off her cardboard pedestal and straight on her ass. “Gross!” This part of the bathroom floor has not been mopped in years, she’s almost dead certain of that. There’s no way in hell Bee had time to move all these boxes the last time she deep cleaned the bathroom.

“I hate this,” she’s repositioning herself on the boxes, getting back into position to grab the box once more. She’s going to get it this time, she knows she’s going to get it. With the strength of the Hulk she pulls, digging her feet into the box she’s using to sit on to make sure that she doesn’t slide.

The box gives in after two minutes of her cussing it with all the strength of a twenty-two year old’s vocabulary. It barely budges at first, but then it’s moving entirely with her and she’s moving backwards and it’s probably the best moment of her life.

Of course, the universe has never been kind to her and that’s always a dark side to the few bright coins that she’s been granted.

The box tumbles on top of her as she, once again, falls flat on her ass. It knocks the breath out of her, the weight of whatever the hell is inside fully laying her out. She can’t even get out a strangled fuck before the boxes piled above the toiled tumble forward. Apparently, they hand been balanced just on the very edge of the top of her box. They fall one by one, tumbling forward until they land on her box, falling from there, to around her.

Staring in complete horror, Mercury meets her demise on the dirty bathroom floor of the small town’s local Game Short. Twenty-to-thirty-pound boxes falling mercilessly from the sky, crushing bone, crushing lungs, crushing ribs, and finally…after a torturous forever (not even five minutes), crushing her head.

And that is how the Ghost of the Game Short came to be.

#writing #shorts #short story #fiction #i'm so tired #this is literal three am bullshit #this started as a notecard story #so there's that

18 notes · View notes

blu-joons · 3 years

Text

DATING SEVENTEEN A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Kwon Soonyoung

A ⇴ AFFECTION

Soonyoung is always incredibly soft with any affection that he gives you, he loves to have his arms around you, whether it’s your waist, neck, or shoulders, he’ll take whatever he can get when it comes to being close to you.

B ⇴ BEFORE DATING

You were instantly drawn the charming smile he had when the two of you first went to the same coffee store. He caught your eye in the queue, and you could only manage a smile back at him before the waitress called you forwards and took your order, aware that Soonyoung’s eyes were firmly watching you.

C ⇴ CONFESSION

The two of you coincidentally kept bumping into each other at the store most mornings, almost as if it was fate. You never said a word to each other until one time you went to give your order only to be told it was already sorted. Soonyoung had learnt your order off by heart and paid for your coffee when he saw you walking into the store on the promise that you’d let him take you out for dinner whenever you had the time.

D ⇴ DATES

You’re both fond of adventuring on your dates and exploring plenty of new places. Soonyoung will drive you around for hours to find hotspots for dates and quiet places. Sometimes just driving around is enough for the two of you, especially at night. You’ll stop by a drive-thru and order yourselves from food, turn the speakers up high in the car and just go in whichever direction you decide, making the most of the peace and quiet from it all and also the time that you get to spend with each other and just be able to talk.

E ⇴ EXPERIENCE

Soonyoung had zero dating experience before he met you, and so he relied on those around him to give him a lot of tips when it first came to impressing you. You could tell that he was nervous when your relationship first began, he often mumbled apologies out of fear that he was doing something wrong or had perhaps missed a trick. It took a lot of reassurance from you to allow him to settle and trust that what he was doing was alright, but as he learned more about dating, he definitely began to settle in your relationship more too.

F ⇴ FIGHTING

If there’s ever something that has upset you or angered you, Soonyoung is always very understanding and willing to help to make a change. He’s not someone who gets upset if you find yourself wanting to argue, he’s the first to admit that he’s not perfect, and if he can do something to make your life easier, then he’ll definitely do it. Similarly, with you, if something frustrates him about you, he’ll understand that the two of you are different people and at sometimes differences can appear, it’s just about working through it and moving forwards. It takes a lot to argue with him, or at least try and create a disagreement between you both.

G ⇴ GETTING TO KNOW HIS FAMILY

Finding the time in Soonyoung’s busy schedule is hard to be able to meet his family, but whenever he has the chance, he’ll take you to visit his family. They’ve heard enough about you from Soonyoung to know that they’ll love you but meeting you in person far exceeds all of their expectations for the person that you are.

H ⇴ HOME

He often spends more time at the studio then his home anyway, so Soonyoung won’t be too fussed wherever he settles. If it’s easier for him to head back to the dorm at night, then he will, or if yours is better, he’ll arrive there. Soonyoung is in no rush to find a place together, which you’re understanding of when he’s so busy.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”

When he came home from tour and reunited with you, Soonyoung couldn’t help but tell you that he loved you. He never imagined that he’d struggle as much as he did with not being able to see you, but as he thought about it, the emotions that he felt of not being able to be around you added up to one answer, that he loved you.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

Soonyoung is someone who is full of confidence, so he’ll pit himself against any other guy quite happily and know that you’d pick him, therefore he doesn’t tend to get jealous too often. He also appreciates that you have other people in your life who aren’t him, and so if you want to spend your time with someone else, then he’ll understand that and won’t allow himself to get jealous. Although he can’t hide the fact that he’ll be relieved when you get home to him, and answer all of his questions about how your day was.

K ⇴ KIDS

The two of you talked about your future from time to time, finding it important to see if you were on the same trajectories. Soonyoung loved to tell you all about how he hoped to be able to teach his children dancing in the future, having kids was a huge deal to him, but having children that would hopefully follow in his footsteps was a thought that made him very happy, and very excited for a future with you too.

L ⇴ LAUGHTER

There is never a bad day whenever you’re in Soonyoung’s company, he’s one of the main members who can help to create a light and happy atmosphere. He also hates whenever you’ve had a bad day and come home sad, he always works hard to pick up anyone when they’re feeling down, but especially you. He’ll work tirelessly to try and make you smile again, no matter how long it takes or how down you’re feeling. He cares a lot about making sure that you live a happy life with him, and will put all his efforts into making you laugh, cracking joke after joke and forever making cheeky remarks that will make you grin.

M ⇴ MISSING

The true sign that the other members need to know that Soonyoung is missing you is when his own mood drops, and he becomes quiet. He’s always the one to pick the others up, so they’ll be the first ones there to pick him up whenever he needs it too. He’ll force a smile onto his face whenever he calls you, because he knows that you miss him. and he doesn’t want to make things worse for you. Not having him around to brighten the mood will be hard on all of the boys, they rely on him too, so they’ll try desperately to pick him up, not just for his own sake, but for keeping the moral of the rest of the group high as well.

N ⇴ NICKNAMES

You often end up calling Soonyoung, ‘energiser,’ because he just never stops. If he’s not dancing or singing, he’s talking or running around the place looking after you, he never seems to take a moment to breathe.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

He’s obsessed with your smile and making sure that you’re happy. Just the thought of you being down is heart breaking for him, so he’ll do whatever he can to make you smile.

P ⇴ PDA

Soonyoung is confident in your relationship, so he definitely doesn’t mind about being affectionate with you in public. Whilst he doesn’t do anything to draw attention to the two of you, the way he holds you in public sends a clear message to those watching you both that he’s in love with you and a very happy guy too.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

Whenever he comes up with a new routine or sequence, Soonyoung will often ask you about it and see what you think. Your opinion means a lot to him, and so any steps that get approval from you instantly go towards the group too.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

His phone album is full of random photos of you that he’s taken over the years. Quite a few of them are unflattering and taken from the worst angles, but those ones are also Soonyoung’s favourites because even though you’re at your worst, he still loves the way you look. Every single photo goes a long way to helping him when he’s on tour and picking his mood up whenever he’s missing you, bringing a smile back to his face.

S ⇴ SEX

Soonyoung has a lot of energy when it comes to getting intimate with you, he never tires, and never complains either. He’s always very physical around you, he loves to keep you nice and close and guide you into positions that he loves to get you in. There’s never too much distance between the two of you, and if you start to tire, then Soonyoung will encourage you to relax and let him do all the work to make you feel good.

T ⇴ TEXTS

If he’s not able to see you throughout the day, then he’ll often send you videos of the things that he’s getting up to so you can still feel as if you’re there with him and take note of the places he’s visits for your future date nights too.

U ⇴ UNIVERSE

Your support is by far the thing that means the most to Soonyoung, knowing that he has someone who is permanently backing him and pushing him to achieve his dreams is the boost he needs to make sure that he keeps going.

V ⇴ VACATION

Going on holiday is a treat for you both regardless of where you are in the world. The two of you will often decide on a place, and if you can’t, you’ll take a globe and drop a pin in it, wherever it lands, the two of you go. As long as you’re adventuring then you’re both happy no matter where you are in the world.

W ⇴ WHINING

Soonyoung tends to lean towards liking your attention, and whilst he can deal without it for a while, if you leave it too long, he’ll let you know about it.

X ⇴ XXXXX

Kisses from Soonyoung are always soft and sweet, whenever he has you in his hold it becomes an instinct for him to press a kiss against your cheek or against the side of your head. For him, your kisses are another form of support, almost as if you’re sealing your approval that he’s doing well and reminding him that you’re right there with him. They’re incredibly comforting and reassuring for him to know that you’re there.

Y ⇴ YOU

You’re his number one fan, always his cheerleader on the side-lines supporting him.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

He loves to be close to you at night, it’s comforting for him to be able to feel the quiet sounds of your breath and the feeling of you wriggling beside him as you try to get comfortable, settling eventually in his arms.

---

Masterlist

182 notes · View notes

pascalpanic · 3 years

Text

Caffeine Rush: Chapter Three / Cappucino

Summary: Javier shows up to your coffee shop again, at an ungodly hour.

W/C: 3K

Warnings: food/eating, coffee, implied age gap (reader is about 25)

A/N: I don’t have anything to say I just hope you guys enjoy :)) OH JK YES I DO: I’ve decided that Caffeine Rush will come out on mondays or tuesdays, alternating every week!

previous chapter || next chapter || masterlist

Cappuccino: two-thirds frothed milk, one-third espresso. Light and airy, full of fluff. Has a stronger coffee flavor than a latte.

As you drive him back to the hotel, you smile over at him. He looks so gorgeous, his dark hair dampened from the snow, his lips soft and extra pink from being pressed to yours. “How long did you say you’re in town for?” You ask him.

“A month,” the man tells you with a nod. “There’s a whole policy with vacation time. Use it or lose it, basically. They told me I had to use it now, so I told them to give me a month. I really have about… three months saved up now,” he chuckles.

The thought makes you grin. Javier will be here for Christmas. He’ll be here for New Year’s- that is, if he’s staying. “And what are your plans for it?” You ask softly. You hope whatever they are, they won’t take him away from you.

Javier is eating the second red velvet cake in the passenger’s seat, and you giggle at the sight before turning back to the road. Crumbs gather on the top of his shirt and in his mustache, flecks of red in the warm brown.

He smiles at your laughter. “I have none. I have no work to do. I can’t go back to Colombia early- well, I could, but I won’t be working so it wouldn’t be worth much,” he sighs, thinking aloud. “I could go home and visit my father, but I couldn’t stay there for very long. My hometown is a place you only want to stay for two or three days, at most.”

Your eyes watch his face, that surprisingly soft skin and how it moves with his expressions. Your eyes are holding a question, even if you don’t ask it aloud. Javier can read it without your words as he turns to look at you. “I’ve heard D.C. is nice over the holidays,” you offer softly. It’s less of an offer and more of a silent question: please stay. I want you to stay.

Turning back to you, there’s cream cheese frosting in his mustache and an adorable smirk on his face. Just when you thought it was impossible for this man to be any more beautiful. “I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. Then, like I said earlier, I have time to properly romance you.”

You grin and stare at the road. “I don’t normally kiss on the first date. I don’t think it’ll be hard for you to romance me,” you tease. “I can be your personal tour guide to the city. I only work mornings, so we can do whatever we want all day and night. Which is good, because the Smithsonians are only open during the day, and I want to take you to all of them.”

You ramble when you’re excited. Javier can already tell, can see you slowly leaving that shell you’ve hidden yourself in through all of your time in D.C. Your eyes glimmer in excitement as you consider the things you can do, the places you can take him.

Javier smiles back. “You’ll have to show me everything. I’ve never been here for anything other than work.”

“Oh, trust me,” you laugh. “I know all the best parts of the city. You’ll never be bored with me around.”

Javier’s immediately certain that’s true.

You told Javier last night that you work from 5:00 to 10:30, and he told you he’d swing by for a coffee. What else did he have to do without you?

What you didn’t expect was for the door chime to jingle at precisely 5:34, and for the customer that enters to be none other than the newest head of the DEA’s investigations into the Cali Cartel.

Rushing around the counter, you laugh and throw your arms around him. “Hi, Javi,” you chuckle and bury your face into his neck. He wears a warm red flannel and dark blue jeans, boots beneath them and a thick black coat over it all. He smells like soap and aftershave.

“I’m starting to like the fact that you’re a hugger,” he laughs as he hugs you back, resting his head on top of yours.

You break away and brush off your apron. “When I said you should come visit me, I meant, like, at normal human functioning hours. Like, maybe 9 or something.”

Javier frowns a little as he looks at you. “This is when I normally get up. Later than normal, actually,” he shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets. “You got a dark roast this morning?” He asks as he nods his head to the side, gesturing to the big vats of brewing coffee.

You smile at the question, chuckling a little. Of course he’s observant and remembers little details- it’s his literal job. “We do. Large redeye?” You ask, already heading behind the counter and back to the ceramic mugs.

The man tilts his head. “Actually… I think I changed my mind. Can I do another peppermint mocha?” he asks, a shy look on his face.

Looking up at him, you bite your lip at his expression. He’s so goddamn cute, really, even when he’s being ashamed for something stupid. “You don’t have to be shy about it,” you tease and nod. “There’s nothing less manly about you for ordering something sweet. In fact, most of the sweet drinks we make here are ordered by the business guys or Congressmen.”

Javier chuckles and leans forward on the counter on his elbows. “Oh, yeah?”

You nod and laugh at the memory of other customers. “Matthew, he works at the senators’ offices downtown, he’s a regular. He orders a caramel frappe with marshmallow and vanilla. Full shots of both.” As always, you happily chat as you make the recipe you know by heart.

Javier’s brow furrows. You’ve known the man maybe 24 hours, but you’re starting to get a good read on him. You can tell when he’s confused or worried or happy or stressed by the way his eyebrows position themselves. This one is a lighthearted confusion. “What’s a frappe?”

Your eyes glimmer with uncharacteristic excitement for so early in the morning. “Wait. So you’re telling me you’ve never had one?”

He shakes his head, pulling his leather jacket tighter around him. The shop is cold this early in the morning, before the body heat of customers and the steaming espresso machines warm the building. “No. What is it?” He asks again.

“It’s delicious, oh my god,” you grin. “It’s kind of like a coffee milkshake. It’s frozen and creamy, blended with ice and coffee. It’s my favorite in the summer, when hot drinks just feel too much.”

“So it’s light?” He asks, gratefully accepting his ceramic mug when you hand it over. It’s peaked with foamy white cream and pieces of candy canes. Javier thinks it reminds him of you. Soft, warm, sweet and indulgent. Energizing. Not like anything he’s ever had before, but he’s already addicted.

“Not really. Like I said, it’s really creamy. It’s like a milkshake, really. That’s the best way to describe it. Do you want me to make one and you can try some?” You offer as you stir the spare espresso shot with a little cream and sugar in a to-go cup for yourself. The warm sugary scent rises and you smile to yourself.

Javier shakes his head. “Not if it’s a cold drink. It’s too cold outside anyway. And in here. You do have heating in here, right?” He asks dryly as he sips the hot drink. You can see his broad shoulders soften, the tension rising into the air with the steam from his mocha.

You roll your eyes but shrug. “It’ll get hot in here later. I just appreciate that it’s cold now,” you chuckle and chug the espresso shot, tossing the paper cup into the garbage. “What can I get you for breakfast?” You ask as you nod to the pastry case further down the bar.

He shakes his head. “Don’t eat breakfast.”

You frown. “That’s going to have to change. You seem like the type who doesn’t take care of yourself, thinks he’s too good for it,” you tease and fold your arms on the countertop, leaning into it.

Javier scoffs. “I am not too good for breakfast,” he says, amused.

“Then eat.”

The mustached man rolls his eyes. “Fine. Maybe I don’t take very good care of myself, but I don’t need you to take care of me.”

That makes you frown. “Well, that’s too bad, because if you want to kiss me like we did last night, you’re going to have to let me take care of you, Javi.”

Javi. No one ever calls him that. He’s always Agent or Agente Peña, usually just Peña for the sake of convenience. Those who know him better call him Javier, people like Steve or Trujillo. True, he asked you to call him Javi, but the name is like a song from your lips, as soft as calling him baby. He absolutely fucking loves it. Can’t get enough of it.

You begin to babble on about the baker here and his skills, talking about the various treats beneath the glass case. There are muffins and scones, donuts and sweet breads, croissants and various puff-pastry delicacies. Javier is overwhelmed. He normally doesn’t eat many sweets, even though he loves them.

A cinnamon-sugar sprinkled pastry twist calls to him. He asks for one of those and insists that he pay for it, even as you wander away from the cash register to prove he can’t pay.

Javier stands at the bar as you make yourself your own hot drink, chatting as you stir the syrup with the espresso. God, you love that mustache, you think as you smile to yourself and look down. “So. How did the mustache come to be?” You ask him, smiling and tilting your head to the side in question.

Javier raises an eyebrow. “This?” He laughs, smoothing it down with his forefinger and thumb. It brushes out some sprinkles of cinnamon and sugar from his pastry and you bite your lip to hold back a laugh.

You both have to talk a bit louder as you begin steaming the milk for your cappuccino, but it hides your giggle as you say your next words: “Yes, the porn stache.”

“Hey,” he frowns and sips his drink, setting it back down and smiling again. “It was a thing with my father. When I turned 30, he told me I was a real man now, and real men wear mustaches. He always had one, so I said okay. He shaved it for me and taught me the right way to do it and everything. I liked the way it looked, and it stuck, I guess,” he shrugs and chuckles.

“Really? Because that thing looks straight out of 1975, but I don’t think you’re old enough for it to be that old.” You giggle. The mustache is very retro, certainly behind the times and the fashion of ‘93. “You can’t possibly be… what would that make you from ‘75… 45?”

Javier shrugs. “Well, you’re not far off. I’m 40.”

Your brow furrows. You certainly hadn’t expected that. He looks so young, really. 40 wasn’t even a thought in your mind- maybe a stressed-out 30. “Really?” You ask, though you doubt he’d lie and make himself seem older. He should probably know that you’re around the proper age you are, seeing as you’ve told him about just finishing grad school.

He frowns too. “Is that a problem?” He asks hurriedly, standing up straight from his hunched position, where he leaned over the counter to be closer to you.

“No, no,” you shake your head, and his body relaxes. “Of course not,” you smile and put your hand over his. “You just look really young for 40.”

Javier shakes his head, smiling a little at the compliment. He doesn’t get many of those, the ones where people tell him he looks young or he’s cute or any non-sexual compliments in general. “No I don’t. You’re just being cute.”

“No!” You laugh happily. “You saw my face. You’re a special agent of the D-E-A,” you say, drawing out the letters. “Head of the Calí Cartel investigations. You can read me like a damn book, Javi,” you smile at him. “Tell me, do I look like I’m lying?”

Javier shakes his head, the smile growing wider and his cheeks turning a slightly warmer shade. These kind of honest, pure and uncomplicated compliments make him almost embarrassed. “Yeah, yeah,” he sighs, brushing it off.

You’re absolutely beaming by now. “You’re not used to this, are you?” You tease as you scoop the foam from the milk pitcher into your ceramic mug, with chocolate and almond syrup in the bottom already. Mandy’s in the back stocking something, and no one else is in the shop yet. With this privacy, you lean across the counter, and Javier matches your position.

His face is painfully close to yours. You can feel his coffee breath, and you giggle softly. “Hey. Javi.”

“Yeah?” He asks teasingly.

“I like you a lot.”

Javier laughs genuinely, kissing you softly for a moment before breaking away and standing up straight again. “I like you too, abejita,” he says and finishes off his peppermint mocha.

“What does that mean?” You ask him. You’re nearly fluent in Spanish, from having studied it for years, but the word is unfamiliar.

“Little bee,” he chuckles. “You’re fluttering around this coffee shop like you’re on an adrenaline rush and it’s 5:30 in the goddamn morning.”

Little bee. It makes your heart race in your chest like a bee’s wings, a million beats per second. Goddamnit, this Javier knows what he’s doing, you think to yourself. He must be doing this for the sole purpose of stealing your heart; why else would he be this fucking sweet and sexy and flirtatious?

“It’s the caffeine rush,” you shake your head and wave a hand dismissively. You’ve already chugged a few shots of espresso, and your chocolate-almond cappuccino is about halfway gone now. Either way, Javier makes your resting heart rate double just from looking your way.

“Sure,” he teases and raises an eyebrow. “I’m gonna hit the bathroom. Be right back.” He sticks his hands in the pockets of his heavy wool coat as he heads to the restrooms, near the front of the store.

You take his mug back and Mandy wanders out from the back. “Wow. Who’s got you so chatty?” She asks out of genuine curiosity. She didn’t see Javier come in or go to the bathroom.

You’d talked with Mandy while you prepared the store, filling her in on all of the details of last night’s date with Javier. “It’s, uh, Javi, actually,” you laugh softly as you pull more espresso shots to make him another peppermint mocha.

“You’re kidding,” the woman squeals, her curls flipping over her shoulder as she tosses them back. “Why is he here so early?” She asks in confusion, making herself a drink on the machine next to you.

Your foot taps out a quick rhythm against the tile floor beneath you, the energy already flowing through your body. “Beats me. He says he wakes up this early normally. I don’t know if I believe it, but…” you shrug and stir the shots into the peppermint syrup, scooping chocolate chips into a steaming pitcher with milk and putting it under the steaming wand.

“He’s in the DEA, isn’t he?” She asks. “Maybe they start work really early in the morning. I’ve heard they work really long hours.”

“Well, he did say he works a lot,” you nod. “I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. He’s here now and he’ll get to see me cry my way through the morning rush,” you say sarcastically.

Mandy nudges your shoulder. “Says the most competent barista who works here,” she scoffs. “You have everyone out the door in under three minutes. That’s no easy feat.”

“Okay,” you roll your eyes and pour the chocolate milk into the syrup and espresso, stirring it with a long, twisted spoon. “I doubt that, but thank you.” You swirl a perfect peak of whipped cream on the top, then sprinkle the candy cane pieces on.

“I think she’s right,” you hear Javier’s voice from the other side of the counter.

“Stalker,” you tease and put his mug in front of him.

“Am not. Just think you’re good at what you do.”

“I made you a refill,” you say, ignoring his compliment. “Oh, Javier, this is Mandy. You might remember her from yesterday. Mandy, this is Javier.”

She nods and shakes the hand that Javier offers. “Nice to meet you- well, again,” she says with a bright smile. “You got the prettiest girl here.”

“Mandy,” you roll your eyes. She just laughs as she makes her way to the back of the store again.

Javier watches her then turns back to you with a smile. “I think she was right on both of those,” he comments with a smile on his face.

“Go sit down, stop flirting with me, and drink your damn coffee, Javi,” you teasingly scold him with a smile, turning away to go wash the steaming pitcher and spoon you used to make his drink.

Another customer walks in the shop. You can tell from the jingle of the bells on the door. With that, Javier finds a table in the lobby and sits at it, reading the daily newspaper and sipping his peppermint mocha. He’s starting to see why you’re so addicted to these. To him, they taste like you. -

taglist:

@remmysbounty @mishasminion360 @blo0dangel @binarydanvvers @sleep-tight1 @apascalrascal @randomness501 @spideysimpossiblegirl @notabotiswear @pedro-pastel @sanchosammy @lv7867 @greeneyedblondie44 @hunnambabe @astoryisaloveaffair @emesispo @pedritobalmando @magikfanatic @yooforia @oceanablue @sara-alonso @pedrosmustache @feelingmadclever @hnt-escape @radiowallet @obsessivelysearching @sugarontherims @a-court-of-feysand-and-elorcan @linnie0119 @1800-fight-me @autumnleaves1991-blog @toilet-keeper @evelynseventyr @metalarmsandmanbuns @shannababyy @sambucky21 @princess76179 @starless-eyes-remain

#javier peña #javier peña x reader #javier peña fanfiction #javier peña x you #javi peña #javi peña x reader #pedro pascal #jose pedro balmaceda pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal x reader #narcos fanfic #narcos fanfiction #narcos #caffeine rush

178 notes · View notes