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jiminie-and-his-pinky-finger · 3 years

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Keep You Cool

[Synopsis] Ziya was on a trip to the beach with her family, but the hope of reaching it to cool down, however, was wearing thin. It wasn’t the best car ride there and all of the fun seemed to be draining. Will the stranger she meets by the cola stand bring it all back?

[Pairing] ColaStandBoy!Taehyung x OC

[Genre] fluff, angst

[Warnings] There’s some flirty romance 😏 And also taehyung from the pictures above 😔 very harmful to the heart

[Word Count] 3.5 k (ack i'm so proud T-T this is my longest story yet?)

[A/N] I’m back with another one already, this is one that I started just because a certain friend wanted to read something. I hope you enjoy this 😘 and thank you for coming to read it!

*○※○*

"Mom, did you see him!?"

Ziya rubbed against her arm as she felt the sting of her brother's punch start to hurt more. She had had enough of her siblings' antics in the car ride today, and she didn't - she couldn't - take another hour of the non-stop whining that happened around her.

They'd been in the car for about 3 hours already and none of it would be categorized under the usual fun she had on roadtrips. Ziya was relieved that she could take a break from driving as she was with her parents. But that was the only thing going for her, and now she wished she would have driven to avoid being caught in her brothers' constant bickering.

"Zee... we're almost there. Please don't work each other up over small squabbles. And Andrew, stop it."

That was the end of the loud fighting, but Ziya could still hear her brothers whispering about a little dare they were planning with their cousins. If it were just them, she could've avoided her siblings over the next week. But her cousins and their parents, and even her grandparents, found time to come enjoy with them.

She wasn't so sure about how much she could manage with all of the awkward silences, hot summer heat, and terrible wifi they'd have.

Ziya turned away and looked out the window. She'd thought that the vacation would be a break away from the mountain load of work her college had been assigning. But here she was caught in the crossfire between wanting peace and quiet and spending time with her family.

This trip didn't seem to be going so well.

...

"Kiddo, can you get the bags from the car? Your brothers and I are gonna get some food for tonight."

Ziya was in no rush to drag all of their suitcases from the trunk all the way to the elevator.

They'd booked a somewhat larger room for their 2-nights stay for the beach and packed even more than necessary. They planned on staying at her grandparents house for the next week so that it would be easier to do things with them.

She somehow succeeded in putting everything into the elevator and slumped onto the floor as it began its ascent. Ziya hadn't even been there for an hour yet and she was already missing her friends and, more importantly, her comfy bed. She could feel her eyes becoming heavier as the elevator took its time going up the big building.

About a few seconds into dozing, Ziya thought she heard the faint ding of the doors opening and someone mutter a soft "oh" before the doors closed again. She opened her eyes and rubbed against them, looking around to see if anyone was there.

No one but her and her suitcases.

She stayed awake for another few seconds before the doors opened, and she yelled out for her mom to come help her.

...

Ziya flopped onto her bed and stared up into the dark room. She was thankful to have a bed to herself for these two days, because if she had to deal with one of her brothers during the night too, she would probably go sleep on the couch. Or better yet, the floor.

She was so exhausted that she didn't have to rely on anything but closing her eyes to drift to sleep.

...

Having slept till 11 in the morning, Ziya felt a bit more rested the next day. She was finally getting to go to the beach and relax in the new bathing suit she’d received for her birthday.

It was a black one piece that had semi circular cuts by the waist. It also had a beautifully carved emerald at the base of the v-neckline. It was fake, but that wasn’t important. It was a gift from one of her friends, who had a somewhat matching swimsuit in white and a ruby in place of Ziya's emerald.

She'd quickly thrown it on under some comfy trousers and a t-shirt with a cardigan and hopped into the car. This time, she sat beside her dad as he drove, leaving her mom sighing as she got into the back and shut the door.

The drive wasn't too bad, and Ziya even had the chance to spot a few of her cousins in their cars before they reached and found parking spots. She knew she wasn't going to be having a blast with her cousins because she was much older, but she still felt that happiness of being surrounded by people she could call her own.

She did, however, spot her grandma and ran up to hug her, earning a hearty chuckle from both of her grandparents. Ziya hadn't seen them in over a year and the short week they'd be spending with them was too little for her to accept. So she wanted to be with them as much as possible.

...

"Does anyone want any drinks?"

Ziya spotted a few of her cousins walking to and from the concession stands towards the back of the sandy shore and asked her brothers.

"Well you already know my answer to that," the oldest of her younger brothers, Darius - or how they liked to call him, Dare - said, smirking. He was the one that got on Ziya's nerves the most, but she was going to ignore it today.

"Which is...?"

"That I'll take double if you are the one getting it?"

Ziya rolled her eyes and grabbed the tiny purse she'd brought with her. She was going to head over to the raspberry lemonade stand she'd seen earlier, but decided to get her brothers' drinks first. She turned around and searched for a soft drink stand, wanting to give her brothers the chance to drink them to their heart's content just this once.

To her luck, she found the Coca-Cola stand not to far from her and squeezed through a huge line for the snow cones. The line for the cola wasn't too large from where she stood, so she could get to her lemonade without worrying about them running out anytime soon.

Once she got up to the table, she scanned it and found glass bottles of Coca-Cola slipped into cases of ice.

"How much is each bottle, please?"

"$2.45 for each one."

Who she saw in front of her when she lifted her head up could only be described as a movie star. He was dressed in an almost cropped Coca-Cola shirt - how funny - with a silver chain and black cargo pants to complete the look.

"I like your shirt."

"Thank you! I'm guessing this is your first time here?"

Ziya raised an eyebrow at that. How...?

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. It's just anyone who comes here regularly knows that I wear this shirt every single day."

The boy didn't look much older than her, but at the same time, the voice that was tickling her ears was not that of a 19 year old. It was a deep, hearty kind of voice, a baritone if she ever knew one. But one with a particularly strong accent.

"Sorry, forgot to introduce myself. I'm Taehyung."

Perhaps he spoke another language?

"Ziya."

"Long story short, I showed up wearing this about a year ago after finding it at nice store and my boss thought that it was perfect. It showcases what we sell and it also makes me stand out. Whatever that meant."

That he did. Ziya wanted to explain to him how his muscles seemed to be spilling out of the short sleeves on his top and the people standing up in line - mostly girls - were noticing them, too.

"Well, at-least you didn't show up without a shirt. From what I can see, he would've made you a model showcasing more than just coke bottles."

Taehyung widened his eyes at her comment and burst into laughter.

Ziya fell into the rhythm and chuckled, her stomach twisting and untwisting itself in the process. She was so nervous in front of this handsome boy, but his laugh made her ease up a little bit.

"Thank you for the compliment. And I have to agree. It's better having to repeat this shirt rather than have people gawk at my body while serving drinks."

Ziya scanned around them and spotted at-least 3 girls taking quick glances at the boy in front of her. He seemed to catch onto her findings and chuckled deeply, nodding.

"Rather than having more people gawk at my body, I should say."

"Oh yeah. Thank you for the drinks!"

Taehyung glanced at the girl as she cradled the four drinks in her arms and disappeared into a crowd. She was something interesting.

...

"Zee, I told you to not make a big deal out of what he does! Honestly I don't know why you can't just leave him be. If he gets in trouble, that's on him, you don't have to get involved."

Ziya bent her head down in anger and to cover the embarrassing tears falling out of her eyes. She never liked being blamed for what her brothers did, but in front of her entire family? This was nothing but humiliating and she just wanted to get away for some time.

She didn't respond to what her mom was going on about and waited for her to give up. Once she felt no one was watching her, she took off towards the other side. Somewhere she could sit and get away from the loud chatter of her family.

...

Ziya found a spot along the shore, about a mile away from the group and sat down to stare at the water. It was rippling up against her feet, and she liked feeling its cold touch. But it wasn't enough to cool the unbelievably hot evening heat and her scorching anger.

She never understood why she was the one to be blamed even if she were the only responsible one in the situation. At one point, it would've made her angry enough to shout. But now all she could do was wipe away at the constant tears that kept wanting to spill.

"Hello again!"

Ziya turned to look up at the boy she saw earlier at the cola stand and widened her wet eyes. She quickly looked back down to wipe at her eyes and bit back another sob. "Hey! Nice seeing you again."

"Are you... alright? Why are you crying?"

Taehyung sat down next to her, his knees bent in front of him. He looked over at her slightly, wanting to know why the eyes that were so beautifully clear earlier were now so full of tears.

Ziya shook her head and smiled up at him. She wasn't one to share her sadness, especially not with a boy she'd just met. She would've rather swam across the ocean in front of her than talk about her problems. Besides the better question was why did such a beautiful boy have an interest in her?

He was just sitting there staring at her with a look of concern. A multicolored scarf was tied around his forehead to keep away the bangs that were styled away from his face. Ziya wasn't sure how he could groom himself this perfectly, not that he needed it. Taehyung looked to be a natural beauty, with his broad shoulders and strong legs clearly visible. She was sure that he worked hard everyday to maintain himself, but no matter what the rest of him looked like, his face made him look much younger.

"Just irritated because of the heat, that's all."

Taehyung seemed to think about her answer and didn't ask to avoid prying. He wanted to see her beautiful smile again.

"Well, we'll just have to find a way to keep you cool, huh?"

Ziya watched as he stood up and offered her his hand. He smiled, his cheeks protruding, as he gestured her to come with him. She gladly accepted, pushing away the earlier events.

Maybe an evening exploring with a cute boy was just what she needed.

...

He still didn't let go of her hand. Ziya kept looking down at their entwined hands and felt her cheeks get a bit warmer. Taehyung seemed to be searching for something, anything at all, that would be a step closer to making her feel a bit cooler.

Taehyung stopped running and looked down at her. She was considerably shorter than him, perfect for him to pick up and carry on his back. He shook the thought out of his head and reached up to scratch the back of his neck. The thought only came into his mind because it would help her catch the wind and really cool down. Right?

"Okay, stop one! Do you want to eat watermelon?"

Ziya almost burst into laughter upon hearing Taehyung's serious voice. He made it seem like getting her to cool down was his mission, and it was cute.

"Sorry, I don't eat watermelon."

"Oh... well that's okay. I'll have watermelon and we can get you some other juicy fruit. How 'bout... strawberries?"

Ziya clapped her hands together and nodded. "Perfect."

...

Ziya was uncertain as to how they ended up at the same place as earlier. They'd been eating their fruits - and she found out that he loved strawberries, too - and chatting about her college and his odd jobs.

"I work this cola stand for a few weeks every summer. Been doing it for about 5 years now, and the rest of the time, I help out at my dad's farm. I've tried retail, but arguing with the nasty bunch is not my thing. If I ever encounter someone like that here, I press the special button my phone, and someone - who I like to call Zero - shows up to remove them from the premises."

Ziya could understand why Taehyung sounded a bit more mature for his age. They weren't little kids, that's for sure, but he was definitely a bit more experienced and thoughtful about helping out and earning money while her classmates back at college only cared about being in relationships and talking about tv shows they hated. "Zero?"

"Oh, because once he's called, there's zero noisy customers left."

Taehyung made an 'O' with his hand, emphasizing the result of this security man's presence.

"I see."

"Well, anyways, how are you feeling?"

Ziya stopped in her tracks and looked down at the warm sand. She'd been walking in it for a few hours now, but the feel of it made her feel grounded for some reason. Was a boy she just met asking her how she was doing again? It shouldn't have been a surprise, it was just a simple question.

But she didn't get much of that question back home. It was always her trying to power her way through work, school, and her family. There was never time for anyone to sit down and ask about her without it turning into a sobfest of some kind.

"I'm feeling a bit better, thank you."

"Why of course, beautiful lady. You are very welcome."

"B-beautiful?"

Taehyung looked down at her widened eyes and held back a chuckle. He didn't know if he wanted to tell her, but she looked rather adorable with her wide, surprised eyes gazing up at him. If only he could lean in a little bit more...

'Get these thoughts out of your head, Tae. What would she think if she knew you keep thinking of her this way? And she'd waiting for an answer?! Come on!"

"Y-yeah... very. In fact, you reminded me of a beautiful flower that grows back home, where my mom lives, in Korea. It's called a mugunghwa, or a hibiscus. It can be more than one color, making it seem lively and very beautiful to look at."

Ziya hung onto every word he was saying. No one had ever compared her to the beauty of a flower. Much less one that was in a different language. She could feel her heart strumming with happiness as she tuned out everything around her. The ocean's lapping at the shore was audibly dimmed. The chatter of the people surrounding them seemed to come to a stop. And even the birds going home for the night seemed to have stopped chirping to let her listen to him.

"Just like you."

Taehyung tried winking, but his eyes seemed to have other plans. Both of his eyelids closed, ending in a blink instead.

Ziya giggled and brought a hand up to cover her mouth. Not once did her eyes want to leave his, her greenish orbs stuck in some kind of a loop of staring into his dark brown eyes. Once her laugh stopped, she gave him a small smile.

"Let's head back now?"

...

Ziya picked up her phone and glanced at the time. The two of them had been gone for at-least a few hours too much for her family to be unconcerned about her.

Sure enough, she could see a few people running around a small campfire, shouting what was close to her name. Ziya motioned for Taehyung to stop, and she rushed over to one of her uncles.

"Oh my god, are you okay?!"

She did her best to reassure them and tell them that she just went out exploring. It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth. Ziya couldn't help but want to get out of her family's sight again to say bye to Taehyung. As much as she hated that the day was coming to an end, she couldn't keep him waiting.

She waited for her mom to stop squeezing her from her tight hug and thanked everyone for looking out for her. Then she ran towards the boy, who was kicking tiny hills of sand into the ocean.

Taehyung looked up at her and grinned, his teeth somehow glowing enough for her to see in the darkness. The moon was just starting to rise and they had a great time with each other. Something the two of them weren't sure how to put into words.

"So... is everyone okay? They seemed really worried."

"Yeah, just a bit concerned because I didn't tell anyone I was going off by myself. Or... with you."

"Oh. Well I enjoyed this evening too much to regret that."

Taehyung looked down and noticed his sandals were covered with the sand. He wanted to kick it off but he couldn't seem to move. He was blushing, and the reason wasn't simple to him. But he liked standing before this girl he just met and having to cover his face from her. Even if it was too dark for either of them to see clearly.

"I did, too. Thank you for making it so much fun."

Ziya was having a hard time with trying to think of the right words to say. Taehyung seem to have turned her whole day around. And as magical as a boy making her trip better sounded, it was sadly coming to an end. She was about to say her goodbyes and thank you's again when Taehyung spoke.

"Wait... if you don't mind. May I have your number?"

He wanted to be sure he was asking in the friendliest way possible. They'd just met and it was still likely that Ziya thought of them as nothing more than coincidental acquaintances. But he liked her, and her presence. He didn't need more of a reason to want to contact her for another fun day like today.

"Oh... yeah of course!"

Ziya was beyond elated. She was sure that she wasn't doing her best to hide it. She was just surprised that he wanted to talk to her again one day. She gently grab the phone that he held out to her and typed in her number. As she turned the phone off, she noticed a picture of a dog on his wallpaper and smiled.

"I guess this is goodbye for now..."

"Yeah... thank you again."

"No problem! I'll get to see you again?"

Ziya could feel her cheeks on fire as he continued to say the things that made her heart race. She wanted to know what this feeling was, crawling up all over her.

"I sure hope so."

...

Ziya was woken up by her brother the next morning, her hands shoving at the wrinkled bedsheets and her hair covering her face. She'd had such a good night of sleep after a while and even managed to avoid her usual weird dreams.

All she could think about was that boy, though.

Her eyes shot open as she thought of him again and reached over for her phone from the nightstand. Was he really there... or was it all part of a good night's dream?

Ziya wasn't certain about what she was looking for, but as she kept thinking about the boy and what had happened, she remembered what he'd called her. She searched up "cola boy" and there it was. His contact beside an emoji of a dog, the one she now remembered putting in right before he said goodbye.

Unsure of what to do with it for now, Ziya turned her phone off and grabbed at her pillow. She held it close to her and smiled up at the ceiling, her hair draped around her.

Maybe this trip wasn't going to be so bad after all.

*○※○*

[A/N Pt. 2] AHHH i'm so happy to have finished this and I hope it was good because I loved writing this one 🥺

[Tagging] @softbobamilktae + @taehoneycheeks

#taehyung fluff #taehyung angst #taehyung fanfic #taehyung fanfiction #taehyung scenarios #taehyung x oc #bts fluff #bts angst #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bts scenarios #mystories

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dreamterlude · 5 years

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headcanons for your skater au?? also highkey relate to keeping hands in bags where else u gonna put the ones who steal 😩😩

See, someone who supports Neil!! Anyways, this took days to reply, but here’s some insight into this au:

First of all I think it’s time I said what each fox is majoring in/what kind of job they have so!

Both twins work at Eden’s, Aaron is studying medicine (of course) while Andrew is doing an art course

Matt works at a mechanics and he studies engineering at night

Dan works at a café some days and she studies marine biology

Kevin is studying history and he doesn’t work

Neil studies maths and some languages on his free time! also Matt got him a job at the mechanics as an assistant

Nicky works at a clothes store (and sometimes he babysits) and is studying marketing

Seth is a part-time DJ and studies audiovisuals

Renee is an english lit major and she works at a flower shop

Allison is a law major and she doesn’t work because Money (but she does volunteering with Renee uwu)

Now, actual insight on their group dynamics, what they do, sutff like that owo

The gang has movie nights and they build blanket forts, usually at the Matt/Dan/Neil flat (yeah they live together!!), they take turns choosing the movie and everyone hates Kevin’s picks

Seth takes videos of the foxes at the skate park and makes edits of the cool tricks they manage to do (almost nothing at first, but they do get better)

Andrew is The Art Guy, he paints over skateboards (Neil’s, Renee’s) and he also paints over the foxes’ bedroom doors, something that’s close to each of them (like Ireland’s flag on Kevin’s)

They also have sleepovers at Matt’s trunk and it’s not big enough because it’s only a trunk and it’s 10 of them so what they do is: they take some mattresses and put them next to the truck so that the ones that dont fit in it don’t have to sleep in the grond lmao

They also have impromptu roadtrips if they can, half of them in the truck, half of them going by skate. They go to the beach maybe, spend th enight there under the stars, make a bonfire and gossip

In one of those roadtrips Dan teaches Kevin how to swim

Renee is a sweetheart and usually makes small bouquets of flower pouches for the gang

(Andrew hangs his by the window and smells them every morning)

(Allison puts them in a flower crown and Renee kisses her)

Aaron, med student, is the supreme mom friend, always worried about his family’s health, he’s the one to go when you’re sick (probably carries stuff like ibuprophen on his backpack. Seth and Matt call him ibubrophen)

Seth goes full musical prodigy and makes playlists for each of the foxes as a gift to show how much he cares about them

Renee is that bitch that dances in her board while skating down the street. The sheer power she has

Allison has a snake tattooed on her thigh and “I love my trans body” on her left hip

Renee has flowers on the inside of her arms!!

Andrew has a septum and he also wears a dangly earring that’s a bee

Nicky dyes his hair obnoxious colors to cope but also to match his boards

Seth is very into skincare and often sends videos of him doing putting on facemasks to the foxes gc

(They give him shit for it but tbh his skin looks good as fuck so they also ask for advice)

They organize graffiti races around the neighbourhood in which the one to draw more in a period of 3 hours wins (these are held from 12pm to 3am, usually on Saturdays)

(Usually, Andrew wins)

They celebrate the gangs anniversary by spending the night at the twins’. Erik bakes them a cake, they each get a plate of it and throw it at each other’s faces. They’re stupid and they’re a family

They have karaoke nights and they end up drunk and sing creaming All Star and/or Sk8r Boi

There’s a non spoken rule that if someone texts or says “everytime” another person must reply with the lyrics from Cascada’s song

(This is based on another ask but) they do in fact own shirts that say skate or die and each of them has customized it a bit to their own liking!!

They used to be the joke gang at the skate park but now they’re kind of respected

They get in fights with the Ravens, their rival gang and shit gets nasty. They usually end with bloody knuckles, broken noses, spray paint in their clothes and legs sore from running away at the sound of police sirens

Andrew and Neil have been pining for exactly 3 years and 11 months but they’re fucking stupid and also best friends so shit’s wack (they have moments of intimacy that they both think shouldn’t be allowed, but how could they say no to them)

Seth and Kevin are a thing that eventually happens and it’s way more tender than the rest of the foxes ever thought it possible

Matt and Dan go on cute dates like going to a park and having a picnic there, taking pics of each other and cuddling watching vines

Allison and Renee have the absolute power. They go to fancy restaurants and order a lot of food (thanks Allison’s parents) which they then proceed to carry in take-away boxes to homeless people. Then they go to their flat and eat pizza from the grocery store and watch trashy rom-coms

Aaron definitely had a Tiktok phase but we dont talk about that

(Seth talks about it. Constantly)

Gonna cut it there because this is too long already, hope you enjoyed these uwu

#skater foxes #aftg #tfc #nathalieshieldss #ask #♡

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spicykoreantatertots · 5 years

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roadtrip - part one

pairing: yoongi x reader

genre: angst, fluff, and eventually smut; high school au, friends to lovers au

warnings: mention of drugs, car accident, hospital

word count: 3k

part one - part two

A knock on the practice room door steals your attention from the sheet music in front of you. Who could it be at this hour? You think to yourself, checking the clock. It reads 8:45pm. You open the door to see the custodian.

“Oh, hi Bea. What’s up?” You were used to seeing Bea around during the evenings when you stayed in the band hall to practice. Working on various etudes and solos had consumed your evenings since you got into the French Horn studio at the Manhattan School of Music, one of the most prestigious music programs in New York.

“Is this your phone?” She hands your phone to you. “I found it on a table. It’s been ringing for the past few minutes.”

“Oh thank you.” You close the door and return to the chair in the practice room to scroll through your notifications. Oh it’s the group chat. Haven’t heard from those guys in a while. The smile that quickly spreads across your face disappears just as fast.

>>bangtan squad<< 37 unread messages

Jimin: yes i can pick u up tae. 20 mins

Tae: Can someone give me a ride????

Tae: Oh shit.

Mina: Does anyone know anything yet?? Jin??

Hoseok: on my way from tennis practice!

Jimin: i can be there in like half an hour

Ami: I'll be there as soon as possible.

Tae: what the fuck.

Okay what is going on? Why do these messages have to show up in backwards order? You finally unlock your phone and scroll back to the first message. First one in a few weeks, actually.

Jin: Yoongi was in a car crash. He's in surgery now. Meet at St. Mary's ER waiting room asap.

You don't even bother to read the rest of the messages before shoving your phone in your pocket, packing your things, and rushing out of the band hall. You feel the sting of tears in your eyes as you reach your car. You take a deep breath and wipe your eyes before speeding out of the dimly lit parking lot.

~~~~~~~

As you run into the waiting room you wipe a few more tears from your cheeks. You immediately survey the room to find your friends. You quickly spot Jin, sitting alone. His legs bouncing up and down. The worry is written across his face. You rush over to him.

"Jin, have you heard anything?" He stands to embrace you, holding on just a little bit tighter than usual.

"No, I haven't. They won't tell me anything because I'm not family. Isn't that fucking ridiculous?" Jin sits back down. You join him, settling in for what you know will be a long night.

"Where are the Mins?" You look around the waiting room, not seeing any other familiar faces.

"They had to book a private jet back from Chicago, I'm assuming they'll be here as soon as they can. They had to call me because they were out of town for some album release party." Jin has a frustrated look on his face, you reach over and place your hand on top of his.

You have known Jin since the two of you were children. Your parents were part of the same country club. That's actually how you met Namjoon, Mina, and Yoongi too. The original five members of the Bangtan Squad. Those carefree days seem so long ago now.

Jin's phone rings and brings you back to reality.

"Hello. No they won't tell me anything. Okay, see you later." Jin put his phone back in his pocket. "That was Namjoon. He just got the messages. He can't find someone to cover his shift, so he's staying at work until 11:00."

"As if his shift at the library is so important." You can't help but roll your eyes.

"Oh... he's not at the library anymore. He found a better paying job at a cafe. Apparently he's the only barista available right now." Jin tried to stifle his laughter.

"Namjoon? Working food service? I never thought I would see the day." You smile to yourself. He never seemed the type that would get a job in the service industry.

"Well it pays a lot more than the library and since his parents cut him off -"

"His parents cut him off?!" Your jaw almost hits the floor. Namjoon's parents are commercial real estate agents and they are very well off. You can't believe they would actually do that. Namjoon and you are so close. Why didn't he tell me? "What the fuck did he do?"

"Apparently the maid found his stash and well you know how the Kims are about drugs. I'm surprised they didn't disown him completely."

"But I thought Hoseok was keeping his stash for him?" You questioned.

"Well he's been busy with Tennis so they stopped doing that about three weeks ago. God, where have you been?" Jin joked, but the truth was that you have missed out on a lot of things lately. Concert band kept you busy during the spring. Performances, competitions, and not to mention the audition for music school. You had worked tirelessly on your solo and it paid off.

"I guess I've missed a lot." The regret was evident on your face. "I miss spending time with you guys. We need to bring back Thursday night hangouts." Jin nods in agreement.

"As soon as theater rehearsals are over. Tae, Jimin, and me are booked through the end of the month." Suddenly you remember why the hang outs were cancelled. Everyone is so busy with their own activities. You try not to let the thought bring you down further.

"Remember that time when we all met at the bowling alley and Taehyung paid the guy to let him bowl while wearing his Jordans and then -" Jin says, seeing the regret flash across your face.

"And then Yoongi accidentally dropped his bowling ball on Tae's foot." You start laughing at the memory. Before long, you and Jin had gone through dozens of funny moments shared between you and the Bangtan Squad.

"What could you two possibly be laughing about?" You look up to see a very upset Mina. She looks like she had been crying on her way over here too.

"We were just... reminiscing." The smiles fade as Mina sits across from you and Jin. Without any new updates, the three of you sit making small talk as the rest of your friends start showing up.

~~~~~~~

Jimin and Taehyung arrives shortly after Mina. They were arguing about Jimin's driving.

"Well next time you can get an Uber!" People around the waiting room were glaring at Jimin who was being very loud.

"Shut up and sit down." Jin was not having any of Jimin's whining tonight. "And your driving really is terrible." Jimin frowns and sits down next to Mina. Taehyung takes the seat next to you.

You lean your head onto Taehyung's shoulder and he gently pats your head. You and Taehyung are the most affectionate in the group. Although you could often be seen holding hands or sitting in each other's laps, your friendship never turned into anything more. He never admitted it out loud, but you're pretty sure Taehyung has a crush on either Mina or Jungkook, it’s hard to tell which. And of course you've always had a thing for Yoongi...

Hoseok arrives, his signature smile missing from his face. Thankfully he took the time to shower after his tennis practice. The next to join the group is Jungkook. He sits on the ground and pulls a deck of cards out of his backpack. "Anyone want to play a round of Go Fish?"

After an awkward pause, Hoseok finally gives Jungkook a big smile. "I'll play."

"Me too." You chime in with an eye roll and take a seat on the floor next to Jungkook. Jimin takes a seat on the floor too and the game of Go Fish quickly turns into a few rounds of poker. The somber mood of the group shifts to something a little more bearable.

"Hey where is Ami? I thought she would be here by now." Mina sends a text, probably to find out where Ami is. "She's the last one. Well besides Namjoon." You look at your phone. No notifications, but the time read 10:30pm.

"She probably found a really interesting science book and she couldn't put it down." Jimin smirked.

"No pizza for you Park Jimin." Ami laughed behind the three large pizza boxes she was carrying in. Ami... she always thinks of everything. "Why don't you grab some sodas." She motions for Jimin to go to the vending machine in the corner.

You and your friends sit huddled around Jin's phone watching old vines and eating pizza. For a moment, it's just a Thursday night hangout. Tonight it's bittersweet, but you really missed this feeling of being surrounded by your friends.

~~~~~~~

"Did you save me any pizza? I'm starving." Namjoon walks in still wearing the green shirt and khaki pants that you assume are his new work uniform. When you see your best friend, you stand to hug him.

The smell of coffee beans is strong. He wraps his arms around you, has it really been so long since you've seen Namjoon? Has it really been that long since you talked to the person you considered to be your best friend?

"Can we talk?" Namjoon's face falls a bit when he sees the look on yours. He grabs a slice of pizza and the two of you step outside the ER waiting room so you can get some fresh air.

You breathe in the smell of incoming rain clouds before breaking the silence. "So you're a barista now?" You look over at Namjoon, who is already finishing off the pizza.

"Yeah I guess... Did Jin... Did he tell you the whole story?" You nod in response to his question.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Your brows furrow. "I could have -"

"You could have what? As soon as my parents saw that bag of weed it was over for me." He interrupted you, but he was right. You wouldn't have been able to help him. "But you're right. I should have told you, I'm sorry."

After another beat of silence you ask the question that's been on your mind all night. "How did this happen, Joonie?" Suddenly you feel your eyes filling with tears again, but not for Yoongi this time. At least not only for Yoongi. "Are we growing apart?"

You feel Namjoon's arms wrap around you again. You hide by burying your face in his mocha scented shirt.

"This is what happens. We're all busy with different things and soon we'll be going to college and I mean... this is what happens when you grow up." These words sting coming from your friend. You struggle to find your breath, feeling an anxiety attack coming on.

"So we grow up. Grow apart. Then maybe see each other once a year until we take turns speaking each other's funerals?" Your voice catches on the last word.

"Don't say that!" Namjoon responds harshly. In your gut, you both know Yoongi will be okay, but the uncertainty still hung in the air. You feel Namjoon's hands quickly grab yours and place them on top of your head. "Just breathe for a second. In and out." Namjoon slows his breathing so you can follow suit. He has always been good at helping you get through anxiety attacks. After a few moments your breathing returns to normal and you dry your tears. Your red eyes meet Namjoon's and he pulls you in for another hug.

"Y/N," He slowly pulls away from the hug. "You've been really distant lately. I know you've been working on music and stuff, but I thought it was your way of accepting that things were changing. I mean we're all heading in different directions in the fall, but that doesn't mean things will have to change that much, right? Not if we don't want them to." The hopefulness in his voice makes you feel a little better.

"I guess I was trying not to think about it too much." Things will be different when we graduate. You think quietly to yourself for a moment. Things are already different. You look through large windows into the waiting room and see your friends sitting together.

"Hey. Let's try to enjoy it while we can and we can cross the bridges as they come." You look back at your friend, smiling down at you, dimples showing. You nod in response and the two of you return to the waiting room and join the rest of your friends.

~~~~~~~

Eventually the nine of you begin to fall asleep in the waiting room. The Mins had still not arrived so there was no news about Yoongi. Jimin snores quietly while leaning on Mina's shoulder. Mina's head is tilted back against the wall, her mouth hanging open. Ami's head rests against her hand. Taehyung is laid out on the floor, Jungkook and Hoseok using him as a pillow. Jin rests his head on Namjoon's shoulder. You sit in front of Namjoon on the floor, resting your head in his lap. The nine of you tangled up together unable to stay awake any longer.

This is how the Mins found you all, sleeping in the waiting room. Around 3:00am, they finally made it in. Mr. Min pauses when he sees the group of his son's friends. He hasn't seen you all together like this in months. He quickly snaps a picture before coming to wake you.

"Hey, guys." You jolt awake when you hear the familiar voice of Mr. Min. "Yoongi is gonna be okay. He's in a recovery room, if you'd like to move in there. He probably won't be awake for several hours, but I know he'd love to see you when he wakes up."

The nine of you cram into an elevator with the Mins. Pizza breath and body odor fill the enclosed space. You all try to quietly follow the Mins down the silent hallway to the hospital room. You take a deep breath before you enter the room that the Mins stop at. When you see him, your heart drops.

Yoongi laid in the hospital bed. His already thin frame looks so weak. His pale complexion was spotted with cuts and bruises. A couple of bags were hanging, attached to the IV in his arm. You feel a wave of sadness as tears rise up again, until you hear the heart monitor. The proof that his heart is beating gives you the ability to swallow back the tears.

The Mins take the seats next to Yoongi. You wanted desperately to grab his hand and wait for the smile to return to his face. But you take a spot on the small couch in the back of the room. Sitting next to Taehyung, you watch as your friends settle back in for part two of this impromptu slumber party.

~~~~~~~

You wake up to the sound of the Mins arguing in the hallway. Mr. Min decided he needed to go to his office, but Mrs. Min wanted to go home to shower, but she insisted one of them stay with Yoongi. You took this as your chance to sit next to him. You pull the chair so close to the bed that your knees are touching it. You grab Yoongi's hand with both of yours and lean in to get a closer look at him.

His cheeks seemed sunken in and there was a deep cut on his left cheek that would surely turn into a permanent scar. The soft features you had once been so familiar with seemed foreign. It had been over a month since you even talked to Yoongi. The guilt was rising in your throat and a few tears escape down your cheeks.

"I won't let us grow apart anymore, Yoongi. I promise." You notice the clock reads 5:00am before you lay your head on the thin mattress and fall back asleep.

Only a few hours later, the sun begins to pour into the hospital room. You open your eyes and see most of your friends are still sound asleep. Jungkook was leaning against the door frame eating a protein bar. He smiles over at you when he sees you lift your head.

"Do you want one?" Jungkook whispers to you, moving closer to Yoongi's hospital bed. You shake your head in response.

"Uhm, did the Mins leave?" You ask, looking around the room once more. Jungkook shrugs, still trying to be quiet. You give him a small nod before turning your attention back to Yoongi. He hadn't changed in the few hours you slept.

"Good morning, I'm here to check on Mr. Min's vitals." The nurse walks in with a clipboard. She goes to the side of and looks at the bag connected to the IV. Taking some notes, she walks over to the side of the bed that you're on. You realize you're in her way and unlink your fingers from Yoongi's.

You take this opportunity to stretch your legs. You pace around the room while the nurse finishes taking her notes.

"When will he be waking up?" You question her as she moves to leave the room.

"Could be any minute now. His vitals look good."

You make your way back over to the side of the bed. You lace your fingers back in with Yoongi's. The noise from the nurse and movement of your hand must have woken him, because a few moments later you feel his hand tighten around yours. You quickly look up to his face just in time to see him try to open his eyes.

"Yoongi. Hey." You couldn't help the smile that spreads across your face. He blinks a few times and looks over at you. He seems confused. He looks around the room and closes his eyes again. He swallows hard.

"Y/N? What's going on?" His raspy voice is soft.

"Kook call the nurse." You look over at Jungkook. He quickly leaves. "Yoongi, uhm, how do you feel?"

He opened his eyes again, surveying the room before his eyes landed back on you. He tries to give you a weak smile before closing his eyes again. "I'm in a lot of pain, but... I'm alive." He squeezes your hand, bringing another smile to your face. "What is everyone doing here? And uhm, do my parents know I'm here?"

"Your parents stepped out to shower and change clothes. They were here all night." That's mostly the truth. You think to yourself. "Yoongi, as soon as we heard about the accident we all came rushing here. We love you." You give his hand a little squeeze back.

The nurse came back in and explained a few things to Yoongi. You had to let go of him again so she could run a few more tests. The tests cause everyone to wake up. They are happy to see Yoongi awake. The hospital room was quickly filling with the happy chatter and smiling faces your friends.

Friends that you weren't willing to give up just yet.

Author's Note: Hey thanks for reading! This is my very first fan fic, so I hope you enjoy reading it. I would really appreciate any feed back you have for me. I've written two other parts and I've got the general plot planned out. I'm hoping to do weekly updates!

I’m new to the community here, so let’s be friends! I’m an avid bts fan fic reader and I would love to see what you’re working on too!

#bts #bts fanfic #fan fiction #reader x yoongi #yoongi x reader #yoongi/reader #bts angst #bts fluff #first fanfic #new writer

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morethanmylife93 · 6 years

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I was tagged by this little sunshine @rafaelsolanoes ... I am going to answer as clearly as possible ( and with only one answer :P )

1) Who is one fictional character (from any media) who you relate to on a deep personal and visceral level?

- Well the first one is always the hardest so here we go: I f I may make a combination of three characters cause I have traits from all of them... First I think I have some of Rebekah Mikaelson bc I too believe in love ( any kind of love ) and that no matter how many times you get disappointed you always have to try and find it no matter the form of it ( family, romantic, friendly ). Then it’s Amy Santiago cause she is such a big nerd and a dork like me which I looooove so much. And last one is Monica Geller simply bc we share so many OCDs such as cleaning and organizing our space with such detail ( lol ) but no srsl she is one of the very first tv characters I ever loved so yeah.

2) What does friendship mean to you?

Friendship is probably one of the most valued things in my life... I once read a very beautiful quote about friendship ‘’Friends are the siblings ( family if you want to say ) that we get to choose’’. This bond is one of the few ones that we probably cannot live without. The people we choose to make friends are the ones that we usually want to share important things of our life so it surely is very important.

3) Do you have siblings? If yes, are you close? If not, do you wish that you do?

- Yep, I have an older brother who constantly teases me :p whenever he angers me to the point where i want to bang his head with a bat he always does a funny face or says something ridiculous and I end up laughing my heart out... Yeah he is a pain but whatever I laugh at him.

4) What is one thing that you’d love to study and have a career if money were a non-issue?

- One of them would definitely be cultural development throughout the centuries ( how the human kind went from just hunting in order to survive to creating major cities and archeological buildings without this generation’s tools ) and the other one is probably the history of art ( meaning ancient greeks/egyptians to modern day paintings ).

5) What was the last book you read that resonated with you on a deeply personal level?

- It is probably the one that I am about to start reading called ‘’Askitiki’’ by the amazing Kazantzakis in which he raises questions about life/death/love/kindness and stuff like that... The best thing is that he puts these questions in such a simple and approachable way that any of us can sit and read it ( i know it bc I have already read a few chapters of it ).

6) Speaking of books, favorite genre?

- YA with mystery and supernatural in it such as Cassandra Clare’s books <3.

7) Who is your favorite painter?

- I will have to say Boticelli bc his paintings are heavenly masterpieces and Vincent Van Gogh bc even though his condition he managed to find an escape in painting thus giving us an insight to his mind and world.

8) What would *you* spend ten million dollars on?

- Easy one: First I’d buy a nice home for me and another one for my parents. Then I’d use a major part of it for traveling around the world and doing fun activities ( free fall, scuba diving etc ), another part in studying whatever the hell I wanted, buying things that I find interesting or beautiful without having to think about it twice, probably invest too...

9) Do you believe in an afterlife? If so, what does that look like for you?

- This may sound funny to some but hell yeah I believe in an afterlife simply bc we cannot possibly do all the things that we want in one. There will always be obstacles whether they are financial/social or personal so we all need another chance in making them real. Personally, I think that in my afterlife I will probably be spending my life either locked up in a university’s library studying my a$$ off or in a constant roadtrip exploring the world.

10) What is an unforgivable flaw to you? What would a person do that would make you completely erase them from your life?

- Treating me or other people in a crappy way. When someone doesn’t appreciate you and the traits that you have then that’s it for me. Don’t take anything or anyone for granted show them how much you care for them...be kind.

11) Is there an objective reality outside of our subjectivity?

- I think so yeah... reality is like a mirror: the further away you go from it the more you can see.

My questions:

1) If you could re-live a moment of your life which would it be and why?

2) What is the craziest thing that you want to do but you can’t bc of the money?

3) What do you like about your country?

4) If you could live in a different era which would it be?

5) Best quote you’ve heard/read/seen in a movie?

6) A movie that you didn’t like and thought it was a waste of time watching it?

7) What is the tv show you’d like to live in?

8) Has a friend/family member made you watch something and then became a big fan of it?

9) Perfect idea of summer vacation?

10) If you had an hour to talk with a famous person which one would be?

I am tagging: @queenkatofhell @robbmadden @meliorn @there-are-wolves-in-my-head @outofcoffee @icebluecyanide @ksjmygjhsknjpjmkthjjk

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green-eyeddragonfanfiction · 7 years

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Time: Chapter 11

Summary: Soulmate!AU/Reincarnation!AU. Female!Reader lives in a world where alien invasions and hordes of death robots occur and past lives and soulmates are very real. Like most people, she gets brief glimpses of her past. although a person’s past lives and their current life may have little to nothing in common, soul mates tend to transfer between lives, the core of a person staying the same throughout the eons. Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader, Steve Rogers x Female!Reader Warnings: Language, angst, fluff Word Count: ~3,911 A/N: Did someone say road trip chapter? I heard road trip chapter. Apparently this is a roadtrip AU with team Cap now. I swear it’ll go back to normal soon? I’m writing the second half of this while intoxicated and my mind keeps coming up with horrible ideas, but I do it anyway. I always get mad at people for forgetting Rhodey, but I totally almost did it too this chapter. Shame one me.

Masterlist // Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

“It’s a shopping trip, Steve. Not a mission to break into the Pentagon. It’ll be okay,” Clint argued as he pulled off of the freeway.

“If anything happens, we’re better equipped to deal with it,” Steve argued.

“Wait, I have an idea that’ll make everyone happy,” Scott piped up from the ground.

“Well, let’s hear it, Tic-Tac,” Sam said, eager to end the bickering.

It turned out Scott’s bright idea was shrinking down and accompanying you to the store. Steve had begrudgingly agreed to the compromise, and now you were inside the nearest store, perusing the aisles.

“You should get one of those,” said Scott from his perch on your shoulder.

“One of what?” you mumbled, trying to move your mouth as little as possible.

“One of those triple tiered chocolate cakes on display over there,” he said.

You glanced around, unable to see where he was pointing. Sure enough, there were some scrumptious-looking cakes on sale on a display table in the middle of the aisle. “I’m not getting a cake, Scott,” you hissed. “Would you please focus on keeping lookout?” you pleaded, smiling at a woman who gave you a funny look. You didn’t blame her. You looked completely crazy.

“Fine, fine. But you should still get the cake,” Scott insisted.

“Do you want me to flick you off my shoulder? I will flick you off my shoulder,” you threatened.

“Alright, alright. Geez. I get it, no cake,” Scott said, clearly put out.

You sighed. “If I get you a slice from the bakery, will you be happy?” you asked, glancing down at the speck on your shoulder.

“Yes, that would be very nice, and I’d appreciate it very much” he said with what you could tell was forced calm.

“Alright, fine. We’ll grab it before we leave,” you said, happy to have come to an agreement.

“Hell yeah, cake!” he yelled, whooping for joy on your shoulder.

“Shh!” you hissed, blood draining from your face as everyone around you turned to look at you.

“Shit, sorry,” Scott whispered.

“Let’s get out of here asap,” you whisper, quickly grabbing the last few things on Clint’s shopping list. On the way out you grabbed a piece of the chocolate cake Scott wanted; it came in a convenient little plastic box. You paid quickly with the cash Clint had given you and exited the store hastily, avoiding eye contact all the way back to the van. Scott whispered apologies the entire way.

Once inside, Scott returned to his normal size and proceeded to grovel on the shag carpet.

“Scott, it’s alright. Let’s just get out of here,” you said, running a hand over your face.

“What happened?” Steve asked, alarmed.

“I got a little too excited about cake,” Scott explained before he returned to apologizing.

“We should leave. Now. Just in case,” you said to Sam, who was sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Say no more, little lady,” Sam said as he turned the engine over; It sounded a little less awful this time, at least.

“I’m still a little confused. What is this about cake?” Wanda asked, glancing between you and Scott.

“I promised to buy him cake, and he was so happy he yelled. It was really awkward. People stared,” you explained, sighing.

“Did you at least get everything on my list?” Clint asked from his spot on the zebra chair.

“Yeah, Clint. It’s all in there,” you said, motioning to the bags on the floor.

“Sweet. Do you want to learn how to make a Molotov cocktail?” Clint asked, rifling through the bags.

“Hell yeah,” you said at the same time Steve said “Clint, no!”

One very fun chemistry lesson and a state border later, you were relaxing on the couch with Wanda. Scott was in a sugar coma on the floor, Sam was driving with Clint co-piloting, and Steve was dozing in the zebra chair (the sight of which made you laugh; he was definitely too big for that horrid chair). The fresh batch of explosives sat in a box away from anything prone to sparking or catching fire.

“So, what, you don’t hate Tony Stark? Even after all that?” you whispered, not wanting to disturb the guys.

“Well, I got a lot of my feelings out during our fight at the airport. I dropped a parking garage full of cars on him. That helped a lot,” she said, smirking.

“Ha, nice,” you said, smirk breaking out on your face as you nodded your approval.

“To answer your question seriously, though... I’m not sure. It wasn’t him who dropped the bomb on my family. You don’t blame a gun manufacturer when someone is shot, you know? It took a long time for me to think about it that way. I still struggle sometimes.

“And with Ultron... He never meant to create that. A sentient machine, yes, but not a psychopathic murderer. I think if he had known how evil Ultron would be, he would have at least been more careful about it,” she said, tilting her head as she thought about it. “My brother would still be alive, but we’d still be with Hydra, and Vision wouldn’t exist. Life is full of twists and turns, unforeseen consequences. I believe that Tony Stark has the best intentions. I know he wants to protect humanity; I saw it for myself when I read his mind. It’s just the execution he has trouble with,” she said, sad smile painting her features.

“So what you’re saying is that he’s a chronic failure with good intentions?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

She considered it for a moment. “Yeah, that about sums it up,” she said, chuckling.

“Same idea with the Sokovia Accords, I’m guessing?” you asked. You were startled at how quickly her face darkened.

“Ah, yes. The Accords. I thought about signing them, you know. I thought that maybe it would make people less afraid of me, but it took help from some friends to realize that signing a piece of paper wouldn’t change that,” she said, grinning at Clint who was in the passenger seat, talking to Sam. “Told me it was time to get off my ass, too,” she said, snorting.

You chuckled, glancing from Clint to Wanda. “Clint said that? I guess I can believe that,” you whispered, smirking at the older man.

To your surprise he turned to look you dead in the eye. Had you been talking loudly? You could have sworn you were quiet enough that only Wanda could hear you.

He used his index finger and middle finger, pointed at his eyes, then turned them on you in a classic I’m keeping my eyes on you motion, glaring good-naturedly at you for good measure. He smirked and turned back to Sam, continuing to give him directions.

You turned to Wanda, eyes wide, and she hurried to cover her laugh with her hand. “He can read lips,” she explained between giggles.

“Of course he can,” you groaned and leaned back into the couch.

Wanda covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle her giggles. It failed and you looked away, refusing to make eye contact with her. Something caught your eye when you glanced at Steve.

Your head whipped back to him and your brows knit together in confusion. He looked... upset? It seemed like he was still asleep; his head was lolling to one side. It looked somewhat uncomfortable. His brows were creased, though, and he kept twitching slightly every few seconds, as though he was trying to shake something off.

“Bad dreams...” Wanda whispered beside you, frowning at Steve’s sleeping form.

You knew she was right. When Steve was a kid he’d had bad dreams all the time. You should have recognized the signs sooner. Without thinking consciously about it, you stood, stepped carefully over Scott, and placed a hand gently on Steve’s cheek.

“Stevie, wake up. It’s a nightmare,” you whispered quietly, other hand shaking his shoulder gently. His eyes snapped open, locking on yours immediately. You could tell he wasn’t completely awake, and the sight of you didn’t seem to help bring him back to complete consciousness.

“Thanks for waking me, Rosie,” he said, smiling blearily at you. To your surprise, he pulled you into his lap, arms clutching you to his vast chest. Your eyes widened in shock and you struggled fruitlessly to try and look at Wanda, wanting to get her help, but it was impossible to move in his iron-like embrace. Unable to get anyone’s attention for help and not willing to wake Steve up from what was likely the only amount of sleep he’d gotten recently, you resigned yourself to your fate and drifted off to sleep in his arms. Truly, there were much worse places to be.

“Wake up, sweetheart. We’re here,” came a voice in your ear.

“Five mo’ minz, Stevie” you mumbled, burying your face deeper into the warm surface you were sleeping on. It took your half asleep mind a moment to realize you were sitting up, not laying down. You opened one eye and immediately closed it again. It was much too light out for you to want to open your eyes, much less actually wake up. You tried again, this time keeping them narrowed to slits. You thought for a moment you’d been teleported into an alternate dimension where everything was a horrid shade of orange. You slowly opened your eyes more and blinked blearily up at Steve.

“Hey there, sunshine. How’d you sleep?” he asked, smiling down at you. His smile was infectious and you couldn’t even muster up any anger at being woken up at what you were sure was an ungodly hour. You smiled back at him, and your still half asleep mind didn’t think twice about reaching up and giving him a gentle peck on the lips, eyes closing as you smiled against his lips.

“Mornin, Stevie,” you mumbled, sitting back, grin plastered on your stupid, oblivious face. When he didn’t respond or even move, you opened your eyes and looked at him in confusion. He was staring down at you, shock clear on his face, and it took you a second to realize why. Your eyes widened in horror and you quickly hopped off of his lap. “I’m- I’m sorry. Shit-” you mumbled, quickly jumping out of the van’s open doors. You jogged forward, not caring where your feet took you so long as it was away from Steve and any guilty feelings you had because of how you felt about him.

“Wait, (Y/N),” he said, surprising you when he grabbed your arm. He was strong, but his grip was surprisingly gentle; almost tender. You looked down at the ground, unwilling to face him yet. You were afraid of what he would say.

“We’re going to be here for a few days. It’s a safe house. Tony and Nat know it’s here, but they’d never tell anyone about it. We’ll be safe here. You should go get cleaned up and get breakfast, if you want,” Steve said, beckoning to the southern-style house you hadn’t noticed before. You saw Wanda, Clint, Sam, and Scott on the porch talking to a pretty woman with long dark hair, two kids clinging to her legs, staring up at the ragtag group in awe.

“Where are we?” you asked, purposefully looking at them instead of Steve.

“Clint’s house, actually. Those are his wife and kids the others are talking to. She had a baby recently, actually. He must be inside,” Steve said, fondness for the family seeping into his voice.

“Hawkeye has a wife? And kids?” you asked, raising an eyebrow at the sight in front of you.

Steve snorted. “Yeah, surprised the rest of the Avengers, too. Kept it a damn good secret. I think only Natasha knew for a long time. He wouldn’t bring us here if he had any other choice, though. We’re only staying a few days so we don’t put them in any danger,” he explained, finally releasing your arm.

“Because he’s a criminal now,” you said, face darkening with anger.

Steve sighed. “Yeah. We’re all criminals now,” he said glancing at you worriedly.

“It’s not fair,” you said, turning away from Steve and the others to glare off into the distance. You would have glared a hole through the world government if you could, but alas; they weren’t around and neither was Tony Stark.

Steve thought for a moment before responding. “I know. But I don’t regret anything, and neither do Sam, Clint, Scott, or Wanda. I don’t think the others regret much of what they did, either. We all fought for what we thought was right, and eventually the truth came to light, for better or for worse,” he said, lip quirking up at the corner in a sad smile.

Thoughts of recent events brought you back to one place: Bucky. You shook your head vigorously as though it would help you clear your thoughts. It didn’t.

“I think I’ll take your suggestion and go get cleaned up,” you said, smiling in his direction but not meeting his eyes. Maybe it had been a mistake coming here. You’d only end up hurting Steve at this rate, and it was the last thing you wanted to do. He deserved better than that, but the guilt you felt overwhelmed most of your other feelings.

You walked towards the house, not looking back no matter how much you wanted to. You knew what you’d see; he’d have a frown on his face, worry creasing his brow. You wished he wouldn’t worry for you; of the two of you, he definitely deserved the concern more.

Laura and Clint were gracious hosts. They showed you the way to the guest room and you quickly took a shower, wanting to rid yourself of forty year old van smell as fast as possible.

You got two whole steps out of the shower before you realized you weren’t alone in the guest room. Steve was frozen in his chair next to the small desk in the corner.

Your eyes widened in horror as you attempted to wrap the towel all the way around yourself. You’d only left it draped over your front, held in place with one hand, thinking you didn’t have to worry about anyone coming in the room. In your haste, you dropped your dirty clothes on the floor and reached over to pick them up with both hands. Realizing a second too late you hadn’t tucked it in, it came open, revealing your entire front to the whole room.

“Fucking hell,” you hissed, quickly wrapping your towel around yourself again, tucking it into itself so it’d stay closed this time. You grabbed your clothes and tossed them on top of your bag that Sam had been nice enough to bring up for you earlier. You could feel the heat in your cheeks, neck, and ears and slowly raised your eyes to meet Steve’s.

He had his hand over his eyes, but even that wasn’t enough to hide the fact that he was as red as a tomato.

“How much did you...?” you asked, dreading his answer.

He peeked at you with one eye from between his fingers. Once he deemed it mostly safe he lowered his hand a little bit so he could look at you with both eyes. “Would it make you feel better if I lied?” he asked, unsure and clearly embarrassed.

“Not after that comment, no. Not really,” you said, groaning.

“I’ll just go-” he said, moving to get up.

You held a hand up to stop him, other clutching the towel for dear life. “No, it’s alright,” you said, wincing as you relived the entire thing in your head for the fifth time since it had happened fifteen seconds ago.

“I’ll just... close my eyes, then?” he said, question clear in his tone.

You simply nodded your head, unwilling to trust your stupid brain to not say something stupid after that debacle.

“Alright,” he said, nodding, as he closed his eyes and placed a hand over them for good measure.

You quickly dug through your bag, pulling out whatever was both clean and closest to the top, not wanting to make Steve wait.

After a moment you were fully clothed, dirty clothes in a neat pile next to your bag. You looked down at yourself and groaned internally. You’d chosen a low cut tank and a pair of short workout shorts.

“Okay, it’s safe,” you told Steve, eyes glued to the floor.

You heard him shift in his chair as he opened his eyes. “I should have said something,” he said, voice apologetic. “I just didn’t expect you to...” he trailed off, unwilling to say it, color returning to his cheeks as he looked at you.

Your eyes snapped up to his, horrified. “You just startled me is all! I should have taken a change of clothes into the bathroom. We’re all crammed into this house; I should have assumed someone would come in this room,” you said, not wanting Steve to blame himself.

“Ah, yeah. About that...” he said, running a hand through his hair. You recognized the nervous tick immediately.

“What is it, Stevie?” you asked, suddenly suspicious.

“This is going to be our room while we’re here,” he said. It was as though he was talking about defusing a bomb, his tone was so tense and delicate.

“What.”

“With Nathaniel’s nursery taking up an entire room, they only have one guest room. This one. The others thought you’d feel most comfortable with me, so Laura told me to share the room with you while we’re here. I, uh, told them Wanda might be a better fit, but they insisted,” he said. It seemed he was unable to look away from you, studying your face closely.

Your mind was going a hundred miles an hour, trying to process what he’d just said. You looked dumbly from him to the bed and back. Then back to the bed. The Queen-sized bed. Then back to Steve.

“There’s only one bed,” you said once you were sure your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you, hiding a second bed from your consciousness.

“I know. It’s yours. I don’t sleep in beds very often anyway. Too soft,” he said, smiling sheepishly.

“You’re going to sleep on the ground?” you asked, surprised. The Stevie Rosie knew had loved soft beds, never willing to leave hers unless he had to, though he’d never admit it.

He chuckled. “Yeah, habit I picked up from the war. Beds are just too soft after you get used to sleeping on anything and everything,” he said eyes far away.

That explained why you didn’t know about this habit. It was after Rosie’d died. You wondered what else you didn’t know about Steve.

“You don’t have to,” you said, words coming out before you could stop them.

His eyes suddenly focused back on you, brows knitting together in confusion and... was that hope? Your heart beat a little faster in your chest.

“I mean, I’m not going to force you to sleep on the ground if you don’t want to,” you explained quickly. “I’m not heartless,” you said, eyes darting from his face to the floor and back.

“I appreciate that, (Y/N),” he said, smiling sincerely at you.

His smile chased away nearly all of the embarrassment and doubts from a moment before, leaving you feeling calm and safe. “What were you doing, though? While I was in the bathroom?” you asked, glancing over his shoulder at the desk behind him.

“Oh, drawing. It-”

“Helps you think,” you said, nodding, at the same time he said “Helps me think.”

He beamed up at you and you felt your heart flutter.

“You wanna see it?” he asked pointing his thumb at the sketch pad behind him.

“Of course,” you said, grinning. He beckoned you over, flipping a page or two back in the pad until he found the one he was looking for.

Turned out it was multiple sketches.

“These are...?” you asked, looking on in awe at the detail he put into his drawings.

“The team. The whole team, including Thor and Banner, who’ve been conspicuously MIA,” he said, smiling at you as you studied his drawings.

You snorted when you got to Stark. “You captured him perfectly. I can feel the bravado through the paper,” you said, smirking down at the tiny Drawing Stark. Your eyes traveled to the others on the page. The first one held Pietro, Natasha, Bruce, and Thor. The next held Clint, Sam, Scott, and Wanda.

You flipped the page. Steve made a move to stop you, but he was too engrossed in your reaction to realize what was happening until it was too late. Your stopped breathing. Your mind barely registered Rhodey, Vision, and Thor on the page, too enthralled at the drawing of him to pay them too much mind. There, staring up at your from the page in perfect pencil recreation, was Bucky. It was a Bucky somewhere between the one Rosie knew and the one you knew now. He had your Bucky’s long hair and stubble, but had Rosie and Steve’s Bucky’s winning smile and sparkling eyes. Every time you’d seen that light in his eyes over the last two years, it was quickly extinguished by some unknown force and you wouldn’t see it again for weeks.

“(Y/N)?” Steve asked, voice deadly quiet.

You jumped, startled by his voice, thoughts years and a lifetime away. Steve closed the sketch pad and placed a hand on your arm and gently squeezed. The sensation was enough to break you out of the lingering remnants of your reverie and you forced a smile onto your face.

“Those are amazing, Steve,” you said, motioning to the notebook. “I’m going to go see if Laura needs any help around the house,” you said, turning to sprint out the door before Steve could stop you.

Steve’s POV

His arm dropped to his side as he watched you run out the door, unable to get away from him fast enough.

“You’re an idiot, Steve,” he groaned, slamming his arms down on the desk, burying his head in his hands. The desk rattled ominously, but Steve only spared it a cursory glance. He ran his fingers through his hair angrily. He’d forgotten Bucky had been one of those sketches. He’d needed a cover, and fast, unwilling to show you what he’d really been working on. He pulled the small notebook out of his pocket and put it on top of the larger sketch pad. He flicked it open to where he’d been working last and sighed. You stared up at him, half finished, brilliant smile on your face. He’d started it while you’d been chatting with Wanda, too distracted by whatever the two of you’d been talking about to notice his doodling. He stared at it a few moments more before he flicked to the front of the book. The very first page contained the sketch of Rosie, the other of Peggy. He stared at the both of them before he heaved out a sigh and tucked the booklet back into his back pocket. He’d really put his foot in it now.

Chapter 12

This series is finished, but if you want to be tagged in my other fics, check out this post! Sorry, but responses to this post asking to be tagged will be ignored, so send me an ask or like one of the taglist posts!

☕ Buy Me a Coffee! ☕

#steve rogers #steve x reader #steve rogers x reader #Bucky x Reader #bucky barnes x reader #marvel fanfiction #wanda maximoff #clint barton #scott lang #sam wilson

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s3venpounds · 5 years

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1 - 102

ASK MEE RIDICULOUSLY PERSONAL THINGSSSSSSSSSSSS YEEEEEEEEEEEE i love this shit

thanks for the ask anon, at this point im sure yall already know everything about me but hey whats a couple more questions c:

1.) what’s a song you depict with your childhood?

YIKES tough right off the bat huh? it would have to be the opening to digimon frontier ayyyyyyyyyy i still listen to that shit every fucking month. its that or disney’s hercules i can go the distance that shit was just MMMMMMM good shit2.) did you have a memorable childhood pet?

yep a blue and white love bird my family called quick silver we taught it to do adorable little tricks like pick up our pencils when we do homework and it rolls away3.) have you ever been drunk?

hehe yeah fun times4.) have you ever tried drugs?

yup! curious about trying more hard drugs but also i dont wanna get addicted or like idk die/get arrested5.) have you ever completely regretted what you’ve said?

ALL THE FUCKING TIME. infact at work i told a customer we didnt have a thing and the customer was like whats that right behind u, and it was the thing they were looking for i felt so stupid lmao6.) have you ever made someone cry?

yeah.7.) has someone ever made you cry?

yeah.8.) have you ever been in love? if so, describe the moment you knew it.

honestly idk if i ever have been in love. I would think that i have but yknow you never know what the future holds so looking back something in the past could pale in comparison to something in the future9.) which came first the chicken or the egg?

the chicken, evolved from some other bird10.) are you part of the lgbtq+ community? do you support them?

dunno if im part of the community by status but i wholeheartedly approve and support them. speaking just for myself though I just think I’m me and nothing else. whether im non binary or male or female or something else doesn’t matter to me. im attracted to who im attracted to, feel what i feel, and do what i want with a hint of salt. If plants can have like 10 000 genders or whatever, then anyone can be whatever they want unless its something fucked up like age fluid lmao if youre 60 youre 60 even if you have the “mind of a 14 year old”11.) how many siblings do you have?

412.) have you ever been in love with someone you couldn’t love?

yeah in fact just recently13.) are you a good cook?

fuck no. i fucking wish tho, not even a good cook i just wanna be able to copy recipes on tasty’s facebook page hahaha14.) what is your favorite tv show?

right now i dont have one and i definitely dont watch tv shows often unless you count anime then haikyuu!! or My hero Academia15.) what is the last movie you cried during?

i think it was a tyler perry movie something about a funeral and a family reunion honestly i cry when any movie has a really strong family sorta bonding specially if the family was broken at first and they all healed together and became closer as a result16.) what are songs you’ve cried to when you first heard them? (if any)

none, i did cry whe i was listening to wild wild love by GRL and pitbull for some reason? 17.) do you have a middle name?

nope i do have a nickname given to me by distant relatives18.) have you been out of your country?

yeah thankfully ive been out of canada multiple times19.) are you a chocolate fan or not?

love chocolate in fact im drinking hot chocolate right now, little cold going on so i need it20.) how many people have you kissed?

lips? less than 15, in general no matter where? couldnt count21.) what is your favorite album?

the only album i loved in its entirety has been marianas trench master piece theatre22.) what is your dream car?

2003 dodge viper23.) what is your lucky/favorite number?

i always wanted to be ironic and say 13 but i’ve kinda been leaning towards 10 like hinata’s jersey number24.) what is your favorite flower?

lilacs cuz the color25.) books or movies, why?

movies, less thinking for me26.) have you ever been on a blind date?

nope but i’d love to try it27.) has one of your friends ever backstabbed you?

yep28.) have you ever backstabbed one of your friends?

i dont think i have? not consciously.29.) what thing do you symbolize love with?

an act of self sacrifice or something handmade or personally tailored to the individual receiving30.) do you have neat handwriting?

i adore neat handwriting! its like a breath of fresh air, simple and precise to read, and it feels like you can read faster when it is31.) do you have a friend with benefits?

nope but i’d love to have one!32.) do you want a friend with benefits?

just said but yeah i’d love one!33.) if you could be anything in the world, what would you be?

A hero.34.) have you ever been blackout drunk?

nope but my body refuses to drink any more alcohol once i get to my good buzz point. like all alcohol makes me wanna throw up the second i get past the point its almost like my mind and body are two seperate beings lmao35.) have you ever met someone famous?

i think i have? one time when i went bowling with some relatives, there was a crowd gathering around this blonde dude who was playing house of the dead and this one guy in the crowd approached me saying “ do you know who he is? hes famous?” and then i blanked out after that because i just wanted to watch someone play and mentally check out for an hour36.) how many concerts have you been to?

3 concerts! all which were very fun !37.) which concerts have you been to?

one was an ed sheeran concert for his divide album, another was a marianas trench concert in klondike days edmonton, and the last was a country concert im not sure who it was my sister wanted me to go with her38.) do you have a hidden talent?

i can match any generation 1 pokemon just from their cries some generation 2 but beyond that only a handful from each other generation39.) what do you do when you’re stressed?

masturbate. honestly its the only sure fire thing i’ve done that clears my head for the longest time and relaxes me lmao40.) do you think money can buy love?

of course! just depends how you use it! like if youre just throwing money at random people like “hey love me” itll be fake, but if you say, pay off a struggling student’s loans in full and give em a good fresh start im sure theyll be grateful to you for years to come. or if you pay for someone to get super super expensive surgery so they can die from old age rather than a disease or something then yeah they’d love you forever41.) how old would you date?

honestly not sure, i havent really tried dating anyone a lot older than me i usually date within 4-5 years older or younger? though i dont think i’d see a problem dating someone 10 years older than me42.) have you ever done something illegal?

hehe. ye.43.) what is your biggest fear?

death. too long to elaborate44.) what is an unusual fear you have?

fear of what happens after death45.) can you drive?

nope but i plan to learn how to and take my exam within the next 2 ish months46.) do you believe in supernatural creatures?

of course! as many evolutions that were made common place theres bound to be evolutions that somehow spurred legends and mysteries47.) do you believe in karma?

of course! 100% of the time i expect some stranger to just walk up to me and start slapping me or punching me or throwing water or soda in my face for something i did, though i also prepare myself to say” okay i probably deserved that but can i ask why?”48.) what is one quality you need in your partner?

need to love physical affection, if not i dont think i can last with them, physical affection is so important to me its just as important as saying i love you, it like reassures me that theyre there with me in that moment and that theyre happy and just. physical stuff tells me a lot ok49.) do looks matter?

on first impression? oh hell yeah. keep in mind strictly first impression. im not gonna cut off a potential friendship or relationship because someones not my type or whatever i cut people off if they do something fucked up and horrible50.) does size matter?

to some people im not one of them51.) who is the last person you forgave?

I can’t really remember, i forgive people for small stuff all the time but with big personal mistakes i usually hold grudges52.) what is your favorite ice cream flavor?

French Vanilla53.) what languages can you speak besides english?

none but i plan to learn sign language eventually that and visaya54.) ever been on a plane?

yep! i’ve been out of the country so that definitely means by plane i dont know anyone who goes on roadtrips long enough to get out of the country55.) ever been on a boat?

yeah! i thought i’d be seasick but turns out i enjoy being on the water its kinda calming56.) is there anyone you’ve lost touch with that you wish you hadn’t?

yeah my childhood friend ralph, cool dude but our friend groups and interests just kinda diverged57.) are there any friendships you regret?

yeah..58.) are there any friendships you wish you could make?

oh hell yeah! there was this one girl who always ate at the same cafeteria as me and my friend group and i regret not inviting her over and being her friend59.) have you ever stayed awake for 24 (+) hours?

yeah! specially during summer it really sucks and i only do that when my mental state is at a record low self punishment i spose60.) have you ever walked outside after 12 am?

hell to the yeah! its the best! like a music video or adventure but it really just helps me clear my mind. oh wait i guess that kinda counts for the calms me down thing so late night walks and masturbating bahahaha61.) have you ever seen a sunrise completely through?

yep! one time with an ex girlfriend! we stayed from 2 am till 10 am i think singing songs and talking and cuddling on those big swings with a bowl at the bottom62.) are you scared of rollercoasters?

NO !!! I LOVE ROLLERCOASTERS!!!! im kind of an adrenaline junkie!63.) on a scale of 1-10 how stressed are you usually?

i personally feel like a 3 but thats probably because im already used to a 7 because of old issues i need sorted out that i’ve just kinda grown to live with the stress64.) do you have any plans this weekend?

considering its sunday? no, next weekend? im working65.) do you miss anyone right now?

yeah. i miss em a lot.66.) who do you wish you were talking to right now?

K,Z, and C i miss em67.) if you could have any superpower, what would it be?

the power to fly or have wings that can make me fly. I associate flying with true freedom. 68.) who is your favorite superhero?

All Might69.) are you dirty minded?

ridiculously70.) what is your favorite song from every decade starting at that 80’s?

im too lazy for that shit bro…71.) how many kids, if any, do you want?

2 preferably? 72.) who is your biggest OTP?

im not super into shipping just cause it can get pretty toxic but asami and korra73.) what is your favorite food?

aw man im too much of a carnivore to pick just one thing man. uhh fried chicken or this one pork dish my mom makes thats super easy to make its like canned beans with this orange sweet kinda sauce and pork belly slices and potato chunks omggggg i eat so much of that. the last time my mom made that i actually ate the whole thing and i had to make more for everyone else lmao74.) do you want to be married one day?

yeah. it’d be nice not to have to worry about being alone for the rest of my life75.) dogs or cats?

dogs are great and so are cats though i have more patience for cats than i do for dogs. dogs to me are like energetic little kids and thats fine as long as im not dealing with them for an extended period amount of time i get drained pretty easy. cats are like roommates show you love and attention when they want but arent opposed to keeping you company the whole day76.) do you drink enough water daily?

i have no fukcing clue i literally just drink water whenever i have an excuse to drink.77.) have you ever seen a shooting star?

not that i know of? like theres a few times i think i did but i wanna see one thats like unmistakably a shooting star or comet thatd be neat too78.) if you had the opportunity to go to the moon, would you?

not long term? yeah id love to, just to feel what zero g feels like and the view of earth

79.) how many best friends do you have?

3 ish……..80.) when was the last time you cried?

a few nights ago when they stopped talking to me i cried like a little baby lmao ahhhhhhhhhh yikes81.) have you ever laughed so hard you peed yourself?

nope82.) have you ever made anyone laugh so hard they peed?

i think? there was this one dude who literally thought everything i said was genuinely funny though to this day i have no idea if he was serious or not. i also have not seen that dude ever since83.) if you could travel any where in the world, where would you go?

Venice Italy.84.) what are 3 words you would use to describe yourself?

Lonely, Filth, dependant85.) do you consider yourself a loyal person?

no, if my loyalty gets in the way of what i think is the right thing to do then i disregard the loyalty86.) what is your favorite season and why?

Winter. for some reason growing up i always felt like winter was unappreciated and i had this train of thought like “ even the cold needs to be loved” that and most of my wardrobe is just winter stuff. plus midnight walks feel so much nicer since its so cold out you know for a fact no one else would be walking around because whos gonna wait in a dark alley at -30 to mug, rape or kidnap someone.87.) have you ever told anyone you loved them, and didn’t mean it?

nope. if i ever said it i meant it.88.) do you know how to play any instruments?

not reliably. like i know some songs on guitar from youtube tutorials but i can’t play the guitar in all circumstances yknow like i learned the song without mastering the basics89.) do like like falling asleep to music or not?

nope. i need like silence to sleep but ambient noise is preferred. music gives my brain something to focus on and thus stay awake90.) what are you allergic to?

pet fur or feathers and stuff. my eyes get puffy, my nose clogs up and my skin itches91.) have you ever wanted to be someone else for a day just so you could see what there life is like?

a sad, extremely rich person and a happy, extremely poor person. to show me what to be grateful for92.) if you could be any character from your favorite tv show would you, and if so, who would you be?

huh, thats tough… if its haikyuu i’d love to be daichi, if its my hero academia its hawks or deku93.) if you could be best friends with any celebrity who would it be and why

Gal Gadot, I feel like she’d be such a positive influence on my life and that thing she does to people who are shorter than her where she cups their face in her hands omg i’d melt everytime. i just kinda wanna be like a little brother to her lol

94.) are you outgoing?

i would say i am?95.) have you ever wanted to kiss someone, but weren’t brave enough to?

oh fuck yeah im fucking gutless96.) are you a good flirt?

nope. awkward and weird af97.) have you ever been turned down, or have you ever turned anyone down?

yup all the time. part of life98.) which planet is your favorite?

never really thought about planets much but i do stan pluto as a planet99.) are you superstitious?

to an extent100.) are you a good listener?

i’d like to think i am101.) are you a good kisser

also like to think i am probs not102.) would you kiss any of your friends?

all of them honestly well not all of them. mostly cuz yknow theyre taken or theyd probably hate me if i did some of them are super defensive about physical intimacy

#ask me shit

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alchemyphan-blog · 7 years

Text

Don’t Look Through Me

word count: 8k

style: au

desc: every time you look in a mirror, you see your soulmate for a moment instead of yourself. dan had spent his whole life waiting to meet his, and little did he know that phil had been begging to meet his as well. when dan decides he’s not just going to wait around for the universe to bring them together, a train he falls asleep on brings him somewhere he hadn’t planned on.

May 22, 7:42am

It was a Saturday in May, and Dan’s body was so adjusted to waking up before the sunrise every week of every month for school that he woke up at a respectable time. The window above his bed allowed light to bleed onto the brown walls and leave patches of brightness on the carpet.

Rolling over, he unplugged his phone from its charger, and in that small amount of time it happened, like it always does. That second before the phone screen lights up and you can see your own reflection. Of course, what you really see first is the person you’re supposed to be with. Dan never questioned this, as when he was a very young child, asking why there was a boy in the mirror who didn’t look like him at first, then slowly transitioned to his own familiar features. Light brown curls, matching dimples, big chocolate eyes. That was over a decade ago, the first time he noticed it wasn’t him in the mirror.

“Actually, when you look in the mirror or into a puddle or anything you can look into and see your reflection it’s a very special person called your soulmate,” Dan’s mother explained to him when he was six.

“But, why? How does that even work?” he questioned.

“We don’t really know, honey, but what we do know is that the world is a magical place full of magical things, where things will always end up the way they are supposed to.”

Those words followed behind him his whole life, words he always reminded himself of when he did poorly on a test, when his grandmother died, when he was bullied all through school.

He finally got out of bed half an hour later, picking out some clothes to put on after a shower. The steam fogging up the windows and the glass surrounding him were a nice escape for him in the morning, like he was finally alone. Whenever he was in the shower he thought about the person he saw in the mirror, maybe because as soon as he got out of the shower he knew his face would be staring back at him, as if this man was looking into his eyes at the same time. He remembers when he was a child the boy had bright orange hair, spotty freckles covering the top half of his body. Over time, though, the orange faded to brown, and in the last few years has turned to jet black.

“You look nice like that, it suits you well,” he said softly to the mirror, beads of condensation rolling down either side. He took off his towel and used it to wipe away the fog blurring the glass, but as soon as he put it back on his body, the boy was gone.

Letting out a quiet sigh, he resumed getting ready, brushing his teeth, drying his hair, putting on clothes. He finally wandered downstairs, smoke lightly billowing from the stovetop, the microwave beeping, the sound of coffee trickling into its pot. Dan’s father liked to think of himself as some chef extraordinaire, but his mother would say otherwise.

“Your aunt and uncle are coming over for breakfast, so your father decided to make everything in the house,” scoffed Dan’s mother.

“It’s nice to be a good host! Dan, you’re welcome to eat with us - pancakes are here, sausage is cooking, coffee’s on, cereal, anything you want.”

Before Dan could answer, there was a knock at the door. Without waiting, his mother’s sister and her husband of sixteen years entered the house, conversation growing loud over the bustle of the kitchen.

Dan decided he would join them. Lately, he’s been very interested in this whole soulmate thing. He would turn eighteen next month, and he wants, no, needs to know how this happens.

“Aunt Clara, how did you meet Denny?” Dan asks over breakfast. Dan’s parents look at each other with mutual confusion and excitement, as they realized that this was Dan’s way of saying he wanted to finally meet his soulmate.

“Well, I was in line at McDonald’s because I was on a roadtrip with a bunch of friends and it was three o'clock in the morning, we were all starving, and no other place was open. I was the last of my friends to order, and when I got to the counter, the man who I had seen everywhere was real and right in front of me ready to take my order,” his aunt replied.

“It was actually my first shift there, and two weeks later I had quit the job to go on a two month safari with your aunt.” Dan’s uncle stared into space blankly with a smile tugging at his lips, most likely reminiscing on such memory.

“Well, your mother’s is even more crazy than that, even though a safari is pretty crazy after you’ve only known the guy for two weeks,” Clara said, looking at her sister. Dan’s mother laughed, recapping the story they’d all heard many times about how she lost her shoe leaving a party and a psycho man had been going all over town trying to find whose shoe it was, eventually leading to her.

“Stupid fairy tales come to life,” Dan muttered a little too loud, which actually earned him a few laughs from the table.

Dan looked in every reflective surface he could find. Soon, he became addicted to this boy staring back at him. He began to really know him - seeing his outfit changes every few hours, his array of bright-patterned socks and pajama bottoms, his bedhead, the way he looks before he shaves. He wondered where this boy lived, if he had been living across the street or across the world from him, how they’d meet, the thoughts never stopped. This impending doom started to scare Dan, soon coming to the realization the universe knew something about the future that he didn’t. He wondered how it was possible that everyone’s soulmate had been calculated before their birth, as if someone pressed fast-forward on life itself. Sometimes he’d think far too long about it and scare himself for the entire day, so he decided it was best not to question these mystical forces that will one day bring Dan to his soulmate.

June 11, 8:18am

“Happy Birthday, Dan!” called familiar faces from every hallway he entered. It made him feel a little bit like a celebrity. His birthday and the last day of school (and his last day of high school). A smile had been plastered onto his face all day, even hearing his name on the announcements that afternoon as they announced cancellations for certain sports practices and reminders about club meetings.

“As today is your last day in this school, and soon you will go to your respective universities or what have you,” Dan’s favorite teacher, Mr. Johnson, started, “it’s time I give my yearly speech. Sometimes you’ll make great decisions, sometimes you won’t - and that’s okay. The world is a magical place full of magical things, where things will always end up the way they are supposed to.”

Dan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Sometimes he’d hear parts of his mother’s quote on billboards and in books, but never verbatim like this. At this exact moment, Mr. Johnson turned to Dan, winked, and looked away quickly. There’s no way that he could’ve known that, Dan thought. The wink was just a coincidence.

He walked out of school that afternoon, turning his back to the parking lot to take one final glare at the school he’ll never have to enter again. Luckily Dan lived just down the street so he could conveniently walk to his house. As he passed the houses in his neighborhood leading up to his at the end of the road, he passed by the windows of his neighbors stopping to stare, not to intrude but to see his soulmate in the glass. As always, there he was, a huge smile on his face. He was wearing a graduation cap and gown. Did he just graduate too? Looking closer Dan could see a small logo on the tassels of his cap reading University of York. Before he could even react, the image was gone.

Dan ran into his house, threw his backpack onto the ground, raced up the stairs up to his room, and googled University of York. He saw today was their graduation ceremony. And that they were four hours away.

Well, it could be much worse, Dan thought. He could be fourteen hours away instead. He lives in this country.

Dan turns eighteen today, and his soulmate is four years older than him, and just graduated from the University of York. He started to wonder what his soulmate knew about him, if he even wanted to know him. There’s no way Dan was meant to be with someone horrible, or else they wouldn’t be meant for each other. He’d only ever thought about what he knew about his soulmate, and not what his soulmate thought of him.

June 11, 2:43pm

“Philip M. Lester,” announced the speaker, prompting Phil to walk across the stage. His nerves had short-circuited, leaving him to sweat while grabbing his diploma and apologizing to the woman whose hand he shook. Crossing to the stairs, he followed the stream of pupils getting their graduate photos taken. Bright beams of light contrasted with his forest green cap and gown, acting as a white LED background.

“Alright now, big smile!” said the cameraman. Before the flash went off, though, he noticed in the lens of the camera a small figure with a bright, beaming smile. It’s him, Phil thought. He’s watching me graduate.

When he was first born, Phil couldn’t see anyone but himself in the mirror. He’d always heard stories of his parents and brother seeing their true loves looking back at them. At first his parents were worried, thinking he wouldn’t have anyone when he got older. Phil’s father told his mother to wait, that maybe his soulmate was just younger, which ensued the deal that if by the time he was ten years old and still didn’t have a reflection, they would worry.

“You can’t just live without someone in this kind of world,” Phil’s mother would cry. “It just doesn’t happen here.”

Luckily one day when Phil was four and a half, him and his family were all watching television until the sun went down. While getting Phil’s brother ready for bed, Phil was left in the living room, looking out the window. That’s when it first happened - he saw a small infant swaddled in a white blanket wearing a blue cap. Phil screamed, thinking there was a baby outside their house. Phil’s father came into the living room, and Phil explained what happened, turning back to the window to show him what happened. His father quickly called for his wife, taking Phil to the nearest mirror to explain to him that this was the person he was supposed to spend his life with when grew up. It didn’t make much sense to Phil at the time, but when he got older he was so desperate to meet this boy that he used to pray to God every night, asking if the next day could be the day they could meet.

Now, eighteen years later, they still haven’t met. Sometimes, if it’s late and Phil is sad, he’ll pray like he used to as a child.

I can’t be expected to keep waiting like this, he’d plead. Please, make it happen soon. I haven’t even met him and I miss him like crazy.

This always left Phil thinking no one ever heard him, or that someone was just playing a cruel joke on him.

But now, Phil had graduated. He was 22. It was time he got a full-time job, got a more mature apartment, lived his life. He always felt stuck though, thinking he was putting himself further away from his love. He knew whatever money he was making from YouTube wouldn’t be enough to support an apartment, bills, groceries, and maybe one day his reflection.

That is, until one day, he was offered a deal for a year long contract with YouTube. This would pay for everything, allow him to do YouTube full-time, but he’d have to leave his family and move across the country to London.

Would this bring him away from his true love, who was all he ever thought about?

July 13, 9:09am

“I promise, everything will be fine. I’ll be fine. I’ll be home before you know it,” Dan coaxed his mother.

“I know you’ll be fine, but I’ll just miss you is all! You’re going all by yourself, it’s such a big city, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Everything will be okay. It’s not like I’m going to be alone all the time. I mean, I’m sharing a hotel with three other people, we’re spending the whole weekend together. Plus, we’ve been to London hundreds of times, you don’t need to worry,” Dan relayed. He kissed his mother on the forehead. “Love you.”

“Love you too, honey,” she said, clutching her husband by the waist. He waved to Dan, shutting the door behind him.

The truth is though, he wasn’t going to London to have a fun weekend with friends.

He wasn’t going to let another day go by without his soulmate. He was going to university the next fall, and he wasn’t about to start a whole new chapter of his life still wondering when he’d meet his one true love.

So, pretending to go to London, Dan was actually travelling all the way up to York, where his love must live somewhere near. He knew it was a big city, that he didn’t even know if he was there, but he couldn’t just sit back and wait for nature to take its course when Dan could make it happen himself. He put his headphones on, turned up his playlist, and walked the three blocks to the subway station. Having stayed up all night making the plans, he began to doze off on the ride, missing his stop to take him north, instead taking him east.

Looks like he’d have to go to London after all.

July 12, 10:17pm

“It’s a big switch, I know. But this is what I really want to do, and this is where I have to go to do. I can visit though, all the time,” Phil admitted to his parents. He had decided to take the job in London. YouTube was his passion, what he’s supposed to do, and he just hopes that his soulmate finds him there.

Always having lived no more than ten minutes from his parents house, he knew it’d be a big change to live on his own. His parents had called a car to help take all of his things, which had just pulled up.

“We know it’s late, but somehow it costs half as much to do so in the middle of the night,” explained Phil’s father, even though he knew how much of a nightowl his son was.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye for now. I’ll call you the second I get there. I’ll miss you guys,” Phil said. He fought back the tiny urge to cry. His family was all he had growing up, and they were extremely close. The three of them embraced, his brother waiting to have his own hug with Phil. He wheeled his suitcases out the front door, waving goodbye before shutting the door behind him. He exhaled, looking up at the constellations he’d renamed as a child to keep him company on lonely nights.

In the early hours of the morning, nearly 3am, Phil’s driver kindly removed his bags from the trunk, helping him into the building and to the nearest elevator. Giving him a generous tip on top of the payments his parents made for the driver, they shook hands and Phil watched as he put the car into gear and drove away.

There was no one in the lobby, no one at the front desk, so he pressed the button up to his apartment. Walking down the corridor until getting to the door number he'd memorized beforehand, Phil noticed a bright purple key laying on the mat placed outside his door. They must really trust their tenants, he thought, noticing the obvious risk the landlord was putting himself at to leave a key to an empty apartment out in the open.

To his surprise after turning the lights on, the apartment had been furnished. Black leather sofas and matching chairs all surrounded a new flat screen TV, a bed frame and mattress awaiting bright blue and green sheets. Wandering through the house, he found a note on the bar in the kitchen.

Surprise! We didn’t actually go to a reunion, we came to London for the day! The landlord was nice enough to let us break in and furnish your apartment.

We hope you enjoy, and welcome home!

Mum and Dad

If he didn’t start to well up after leaving his parents, he surely did now. Looking around while wiping his tears, he stared out of the massive windows in the living room. It was all dark in London, most of the city lights even gone. That’s when he saw him again. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he’d been stressed over a computer screen, his hair a wavy mess. Before he could disappear, Phil pressed his fingers against the glass, only he knew he wasn’t actually touching him. He closed his eyes, leaning his head against the glass as he felt his love slip away.

He left all the luggage in the living room, only taking his bedding with him and plugging his phone in and placing it on his new wicker nightstand. His head hit the pillow, and instantly he fell fast asleep, the last image in his brain the brown-haired boy with cute dimples.

July 13, 9:16am

Sunlight poured through the obnoxiously large windows in Phil’s new bedroom. He knew he had to get up quickly, as he had about thirteen suitcases and two moving boxes filled with things needing to be unpacked.

In his two decades of living in the comfort of his family dwelling and university, he never really had to worry about a constant supply of food at his disposal. This didn’t hit him until he wandered into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and realized he had no food. Although unpacking is important, it wasn’t quite as vital as eating, since he hadn’t in over half a day. The lining of his stomach began to twinge with hunger, so he grabbed his wallet, left his empty, yet somehow slightly messy apartment to buy enough groceries to last time until the following week.

As it was his first day in this new city, he swiftly became aware of the fact that he had not prepared. At all. No maps, no research, nothing. So when Phil stepped out of his apartment building, he didn’t know his right from his left, leaving him to follow the occasional road sign to signal him in the direction of the nearest grocery store. Since there was none in walking distance, he figured he’d have to ride the underground, and wrote a mental note to himself to get out and explore his new city.

Descending down the stairs, he came to the realization that oh shit, London is really busy. Clearly he had not done enough research, as he was corralled into the train doors, barely comprehending the situation. The tube was packed - literally, another human, no matter how small, could not fit on this train car. As it was rush hour on a work day, men and women in their suits were running through the train cars as if people were invisible, shoving them left and right to be the first one out. Phil had been among the victims, and was pushed so hard by an official looking man that he fell sideways, into a (luckily unoccupied) seat.

That’s when it happened.

July 13, 9:57am

Without moving, Dan opened his eyes and noticed he had really messed up. There were hundreds of people on the train, and not to mention the fact he had no idea where he was. He assumed he had landed himself in a busy city, as everyone was wearing their nicest work clothes and acting their very snobbiest. His neck began to ache from leaning his head sideways against the glass.

He removed his headphones, as his playlist had been duly disregarded due to his nap. His ears began to pop as he looked around, stretching his neck and legs out, and accidentally kicked the person next to him who had just been rudely pushed into the seat.

“Sorry,” he started before looking up.

It happened. It was happening right now.

“Oh my God,” the boy whispered.

He just couldn’t believe just how blue his eyes were.

“Mirrors don’t do you justice,” Dan finally said. The boy laughed.

“I can’t believe this is happening right now. Oh my god.”

Dan had noticed he was kind of freaking out, so he placed a hand on the boy’s knee to signal him to look up instead of around. “Dan- Dan is my name. Daniel Howell.”

Oh my God, Phil thought to himself constantly. He remarked the fact that he hadn’t really said anything. “My name is Phil,” he said. “Lester.”

“Phil,” Dan whispered to himself. “I’m Dan.”

“You already said that.”

“Oh, sorry. I just- wow.”

“Yeah, I know.”

It just felt too unreal to be true.

Eighteen years, Dan thought.

Twenty-two years, Phil thought.

“What are you even doing here?” Dan asked. “Didn’t you graduate from the University of York, like, yesterday?”

“How do you even know that?”

Dan’s cheeks flushed pink from embarrassment. “I, uh, your cap and gown yesterday, I saw it. And the fact that it said University of York on it.”

“I thought I saw you yesterday. I was taking a photo after I walked across the stage. You were in a camera lens. Of course you were upside down and distorted, but I still knew it was you. But anyway, I got offered a job here in London for the next year and-”

Dan stopped Phil. “Wait, I’m in London? Right now?”

“Um, yes? Aldgate station, we just left it,” Phil told him. “Why?”

Dan began to laugh, leaving Phil confused.

“I was on my way to see you, actually. In York. And I told my parents I was going to London so they wouldn’t worry.” Dan shook his head in disbelief, the rosy cheeks coupled now with a smile.

Phil just stared at him. All he could think was how marvelous his soulmate was. To think that this boy who had never met him before was about to travel however many hours just to find Phil, something he didn’t think anyone else ever would. “You would do that for me?”

“I know we hadn’t actually yet, but I kept saying to myself that I missed you, and I didn’t want to start this whole new chapter of my life without knowing who you really were. I was fed up with waiting, and I wanted to take matters into my own hands and find you myself, which now I realize I didn’t have to travel very far to find you.” Dan felt a little bashful admitting to Phil that he was coming to see him, hoping he didn’t find him to be stalkerish. “But, luckily I don’t have to travel all the way up to York.”

“So what are you going to do now?” Phil asked him, hoping he could offer his home to Dan, because he was not about to let him slip away after just meeting him.

“Well, there’s not much to do now, since I found what I was looking for. I guess I should just find somewhere to be for the weekend-” Dan thought aloud, but was quickly interrupted by Phil.

“-My house!” Phil exclaimed, then realized just how loud he’d said it. “You should stay with me.”

“You really think so?” Dan couldn’t fight off the butterflies intruding his nervous system.

“Of course. Firstly who wants to pay for a hotel in the middle of London, and it’s you, and now we’re together, and I want to spend every moment possible with you.” Phil’s eyes met Dan’s, and they appreciated the moment where they could stare at each other, knowing either one won’t slip away, leaving their own reflection searching for something more.

“Obviously I’d love to stay with you.”

Dan truly couldn't believe it was actually happening, and how smoothly things were going. It was as if they had known each other their whole lives, as if they'd spent hundreds of hours together.

Then again, they sort of have.

Dan accompanied Phil to the shop, assisting in what foods to buy and what apartment essentials he knew Phil didn’t have yet. It was very clear just how idiotic they looked carrying huge bags of food and batteries and extension cords onto a compressed train car.

They made their way up to Phil’s new apartment.

“I’ve never seen an apartment so high up,” Dan said, looking around at the minimalist furniture, the suitcases in the hall, the gargantuan windows.

“I know, I get a little bit scared if I think too hard about it. But I really need some color in here and whatnot,” Phil retaliated, orchestrating a new organizational system for his food, his back to Dan. Dan wandered around, looking into the empty bedroom, bathroom, the living room with two couches. A feeling of home washed over him, even with the white walls and cream-colored carpet and the windows overlooking an intimidating city he was unfamiliar with.

Phil watched as Dan aimlessly ambled his way through the living room, into the hallway he’d barely explored himself, watched him exhale deeply in the center of the apartment and let his shoulders sink. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he heard Dan whisper to himself excitedly.

Once Phil had finished stocking the fridge and cluttering the counter, he walked across to Dan, who was staring out at the morning commuters seen from the window.

“When I look out this window tonight, and when I go into the bathroom, I'm not gonna see anymore,” Dan said sadly.

Phil hesitantly put a hand to his back. “But it's okay, because the only reason we hadn't seen each other was because we hadn't met yet. Now you're real. Now it's all real. And I think that’s a lot better than only getting to see you in a mirror, never hearing your voice, being able to see you in person.”

Dan turned away from the glass, swinging his feet to reflect Phil’s. With a shaking hand, he slowly put it against waist. From the proximity he could hear Phil’s quiet sigh, see his eyes flutter closed for a moment.

“Dan…” Phil said softly. Before he could say anything, Phil had grabbed the back of his head, strands of hair swishing between his fingers. Dan isn’t one for suspense, so he leaned in close, touching his forehead to Phil’s and connecting their lips. Dan hadn’t really ever kissed anyone, he noticed in that moment, as he decided that being kissed in the playground when he was seven and then four years later didn’t quite count.

“Phil, I haven't...I mean, I’ve never…” Dan trailed slowly against Phil’s lips. He was barely eighteen, he embarrassingly enough has never even finished a glass of alcohol let alone been on any level of intimacy with another person.

“It’s okay,” Phil whispered, bringing his lips up to Dan’s forehead, then moving sideways into his hair, kissing down his jawline then circling back to Dan’s lips. “Do you want to, um, sit?” he asked, gesturing to the nearby couch, which Phil hadn’t even sat on himself yet. Dan nodded, as Phil walked him over and sat them both down in one fluid motion, their bodies keeping in contact the whole time.

Gently, Phil placed himself overtop Dan’s body, looking down at the boy beneath him. His brown locks were tactile. The plump lips, the little chip in his tooth, it was all tangible. Phil could hear Dan’s hard palpitating over the sound of his own. He knew that Dan was young, nervous, but he could see it in his eyes - that look of pure amazement.

“Are you okay? Do you want to keep going?” Phil breathed against Dan’s skin.

“Yes.”

“It’s alright if you aren’t ready. We just met and everything.”

Dan grabbed Phil by the collar of his shirt, bringing him in close. “I have known you my whole life, Phil Lester.”

To Phil, it almost looked as if there was a sparkle in Dan’s eye. Sitting him up, he removed Dan’s thin white shirt and gulped hard, looking at every bone and inch of skin on Dan’s chest. It was remarkably beautiful. He leaned down, kissing the center of his sternum. Phil removed his top as well now, starting a pile on the floor.

“You’re beautiful,” Phil said in Dan’s ear, his hands tracing over the protrusions of his bones, the soft skin on his stomach, his arms and his shoulders and everything there is to look at. Dan stretched a hand out, grabbing onto the side of Phil’s chest, pulling him in close. It was like a magnetic field had encased them in this position, electrons around them so powerful you could see sparks when Dan touched Phil’s skin.

Phil kissed Dan, a slow kiss, the kind you melt into, the kind that speeds up gradually and turns intense and makes the sun set and the stars fill the sky. Phil had removed Dan’s jeans after taking off his own, their limbs tangled half-on-half-off the two-seater sofa. Dan wrapped his arms tight around Phil’s waist as the gentle motion of their bodies back and forth turned acute and Dan could feel Phil’s hand dip beneath the band of his boxers, a loud gasp erupting after he grabbed him lightly.

“I’ve never...I don’t know...what to…” Dan found himself saying again.

Phil reached a finger up to Dan’s lips in shushing motion. “I know. Don’t worry about anything. I’ve got you.”

With these words Dan sank deep into the couch, to where he was practically laying down. Phil used his knees to prop himself up while straddling Dan, taking his hands up to sweep the hair out of Dan’s face and kiss him hard. Hearing him moan quietly, Phil wanted more from Dan. He knew he wanted everything in this moment. Dan looked up at him, nodding.

Bit by bit Dan’s underwear made its way to the pile, and they were both naked.

“I’ve never been naked in front of someone before,” Dan said softly to Phil.

“Well, if it’s any consolation, you are extremely breathtaking. I’m so lucky to have you finally.”

Phil positioned Dan’s legs open slightly as he leaned back to align their bodies.

“Okay, are you ready?” Phil asked, a thumb stroking Dan’s thigh.

Dan, a tiny bead of sweat emerging from the side of his head, his face bright rose-colored, pupils dilated, nodded quickly. His head extended out beyond the couch as soon as Phil entered him, eyes rolling back, a moan louder this time protruding from his lips, along with the first letters of Phil’s name.

“It’s okay? You’re okay?” Phil asked immediately.

Dan grabbed him by the shoulder, bringing their bodies flush together. “I’m great, Phil. I have never been as okay as I am right now.”

“I think I love you already,” Phil said hushed, thrusting cautiously slow in and out of Dan, careful not to hurt him.

“I know I love you, too,” Dan half said, half moaned against the skin of Phil’s neck.

“I, Phil, I’m-” he started. Phil took the hint, leaning down to kiss his member before wrapping a hand around, causing Dan’s breath to hitch and his moans to occur closer together before he finished over the sound of him saying Phil’s name once more in synchrony with Phil, as if they were in a movie.

Phil pulled out, grabbing a towel and the blanket from his bedroom. Cleaning them both, he wrapped himself in the duvet and climbed on top of Dan once more, engulfing him in the warmth with both arms bringing him close to Phil’s body.

“Thank you,” Dan whispered against the skin of Phil’s chest, Phil’s fingers intertwining in his curly brown hair.

“No, thank you. For coming to find me,” he said.

“If this is what I waited eighteen years for, it was so worth it.”

July 13, 7:14pm

“What do you want for dinner?” Phil called from the kitchen. Dan had just gotten out of the shower, washing off the train and restless night and sex from his body.

“I dunno, wanna order something?” he said halfheartedly. He was more interested in the mirror, more importantly the fact that it was just him. Phil was gone. For the most part, he was thrilled. He’d never lived a life where he was the only thing he saw in a mirror, he’d begged for the day that he finally got to say he only saw himself. A small part of him missed it though - the anticipation, the beckoning late at night, wondering why he was tormented like this. It was nice to see him whenever he pleased in real time, though he knew that it meant he had never seen him in real life. This is much better, he finally decided. After all, he was looking in Phil’s mirror.

He finally left the bathroom, sporting a pair of his cartoon pajama pants and a hoodie that belonged to Phil.

As he watched Phil order takeout from his phone, he couldn’t help but notice just how nice he looked without a shirt on. He only had on a pair of sweatpants, one hand in his messy hair, the other confirming their food order. Dan sat down at a barstool across from Phil, who was finally setting his phone down, a playlist of familiar songs softly sounding from his speaker.

“You weren’t in the mirror,” Dan said, smiling.

“You aren’t in my mirror either, you’re right here,” Phil said as he cupped Dan’s face in his hand, placing a light kiss to his lips before walking over to the TV asking Dan what he’d like to watch.

The teapot Phil put on the stove started to whistle, and Dan poured their tea into two plastic cups, since Phil still hadn’t bought mugs or plates or anything useful. He joined Phil on the couch as he channel surfed, stopped when Dan jumped at seeing the Great British Bake Off come up.

Twenty-five minutes later, the time passed by covering one another in the large green and blue duvet and harshly judging the contestants, there was a knock at the door and a man in a red hat holding a large paper bag expecting money. Thankfully enough they wisely ordered chinese food so they wouldn’t need to use their own utensils, which they seemed to have very few of.

And all night, they spent it watching reruns of baking shows, picking at their dinners, opening each other’s fortune cookies, kissing, admiring the view from so high up where no one could find them.

July 15, 10:39

Phil sighed loudly. They’d already made breakfast, brushed their teeth, but decided to get back into bed. He was holding Dan close, sitting up and spooning him from behind.

“You have to leave today, don’t you,” he said sadly.

“...Yeah.”

Dan turned around, looking up at Phil, a hand reaching up to hold and shoulder and kissing him. “I won’t be gone for long. Promise.”

And in that moment, Dan got a great idea.

“Come with me.”

“What?” Phil asked.

“Seriously, my parents think you’re actually really cute. You can meet my family. I haven’t committed to any university yet, they know how much I wanted to meet you and whatnot, you can come home with me for a few days…” Dan rambled.

And, in that moment, Phil was the one with the great idea.

“Dan. Live with me. Go home, pack all your things, and live here with me. Go to university here. Make videos with me. Hell, start your own channel. We can make this work.”

“Phil, are you serious?”

“I am. I’m not letting another week slip by where I’m without you. I’ll come home with you, I’ll meet your family.” Dan turned bright pink again, this time with excitement. He jumped up, bouncing on the bed. “Yes!” He reached down, grabbing Phil by the hands and forcing him up too. Phil scooped him up when he was mid-jump, holding him in the bridal position before kissing him hard and falling back onto the bed with him.

“More, once more before we go home,” Dan pleaded quietly, followed quickly by Phil ripping off his and Dan’s shirts and slipping his tongue into Dan’s mouth.

They wasted no time fully undressing, but this time Phil ran out of the room and rummaged through his bags to find a small bottle of cherry lube.

“Phil, what is that?” Dan asked, looking puzzled at the small red container.

“If you thought last time was good, just wait,” Phil growled against the skin of Dan’s neck, his head bobbing down and kissing every inch of his cinnamon-colored skin until reaching his waist. Rocking back onto his knees, Dan watched in the broad daylight as Phil coated himself with the scented lube and fell back onto his thighs, head at the center of Dan’s rib cage and eyes looking down to center his aim.

He looked back up at Dan, placing a kiss on his collarbone before locking eyes with him.

“It’ll be different this time, just so you know. Ready?”

Dan nodded passionately in time with Phil thrusting in roughly once, the sensation causing Dan to claw at Phil’s back and his voice to go up two octaves.

“Oh my God, Phil- I ca-Phil,” he managed to stutter through a string of moans, his head tapping the headboard every second.

“Dan,” Phil whispered in a hungry tone.

The sound of Dan’s moans was enough to send Phil over the edge quicker than normal, pulling out and taking a hand to Dan and pumping him in a fluid motion until giving out, breaths uneven and chest heaving.

Before rightfully collapsing back onto the bed, Phil took the initiative to clean Dan up with a washcloth, miraculously not getting anything on the bed.

After climbing back into their embrace, Phil swept the hair out from behind Dan’s ear and kissed him gingerly.

“Phil, did that last like literally ten minutes?” Dan asked a few moments later.

“Yeah, it really did,” he answered, sending them both into a fit of laughter.

Eventually, though, Dan packed up some of his things and made his way to the underground with Phil to catch a ride back to Berkshire. On the hour long ride, Phil explained his career to Dan, who was impressed, to say the least, and Dan went into depth about his family tree.

As the intercom buzzed on, the man stated inaudibly that they had reached their destination. Phil grabbed Dan’s duffel bag and carried it all the way back to Dan’s house, an easy ten minute walk back to his house.

As they approached his front steps, Dan’s hand shook as he reached for the doorknob.

“You okay?” Phil asked him in an effort to calm him.

“Yeah, yeah, just a little nervous. They’re gonna be pretty shocked, you know?”

He placed a hand on Dan’s arm. “It’ll be okay, trust me.”

Dan took a sharp breath in before turning the knob slowly. No one was by the door, but he heard his mother call “Dan?” from the kitchen.

“Mum, I’ve got something to tell you,” he said nervously.

“What is it?” she asked, walking out into the living room, still sporting a pair of oven mitts. Upon seeing Phil’s face, she stopped dead in her tracks. “Well, hi there.”

She walked closer, taking off the mitts and extending a hand to Phil. “It’s very nice to finally meet you.”

Phil’s cheeks turned a light tint of red as he shook Dan’s mother’s hand, saying, “It is very nice to meet you too.”

She invited them to sit, as she was just finishing making dinner for later that evening.

“You’ll stay, won’t you?” she asked. Dan looked at Phil questionably, grabbing his hand and replying with a yes from both of them. They decided that over dinner they would confess their future plans.

“Oh, by the way,” she called, “you got some letters from the unis here on the table if you want to open them.”

Dan hadn’t planned on telling Phil all the places he applied to, as he hadn’t committed anywhere yet. However, though, he did happen to be expecting a letter from the University of East London, a short ride on the tube from their new apartment. He applied to several others around the country, including one in America, but now he knew where he was destined to go after having a terrible time deciding where to go. Of course, all the places he’d applied to were equally great - sufficient programs, nice cities, lots to offer, but with them all offering the same accommodations it made it very hard for Dan to decide.

They joined Dan’s mother in the kitchen, filing through the mail on the table to find several letters from nearby universities. He tossed aside the ones from Manchester, Plymouth, Newcastle, until he got to the final one - the one he’d hoped was there. He didn’t show Phil that he’d gotten one for London as not to get his hopes up, but after seeing the big block letters and the exclamation points he couldn’t hide the giddy feeling and started jumping up and down in place.

“London! I got into East London!” he exclaimed.

His mother and Phil joined him in his cheers, receiving hugs from both.

July 15, 6:41pm

“So, we kind of have something to tell you guys,” Dan started.

Phil grabbed his hand underneath the dinner table.

“Well, you see, when I was going to London, before I even got there, this guy got pushed into the seat next to me, and well, I think you can guess who it was. We’ve spent all this time together, actually, at his flat in London. He just moved there. So, what we decided is that instead of paying for room and board at university, I’m going to move in with Phil and commute. There’s a train station five minutes from the apartment and it’s a short ride to East London. We know it’s short notice, but I guess I didn’t really realize just how magical it really is, like how you always said.”

Phil stepped in.

“I know you really don’t know me, I mean besides seeing me for eighteen years and whatnot, but we talked about it a lot, and we really believe this is the wisest decision, as now that I finally found him I don’t want to spend a day without him. I’m sure you know what it’s like, after hearing a story like yours.”

Dan’s parents sat back, taking it all in, eyes wide.

“So you’re sure, 100%? Because if this is what you two really want, we understand,” Dan’s mother said after a moment.

Dan turned to his mother, his eyes gleaming with certainty. “We’re sure. Promise.”

“Well, what do you think?” his mother said to his father.

“I think…” he began.

“I think it’s wonderful. I’m just so glad you found each other.”

Dan was ecstatic. The smile tugging at either side of his face was pulled so tight his teeth were showing. He turned to Phil, intoxicating him with his smile.

That night, Phil helped Dan pack his things up into bags while his parents went out to buy moving boxes and call the same car service Phil had used just days ago.

“I can’t believe this is happening. It’s all happening, Dan!” Phil shouted, scooping Dan from under his arms.

“I know, Phil. I know.”

In some other universe, things may not be as perfect as here. But in this one, you fall in love with your soulmate before you even meet them. You are destined to find this person and spend every moment brightening each other’s lives. Others may not understand how this works, and Dan himself may not understand how it works, and Phil may never be able to wrap his head around how lucky he is. Luckily though, in this universe, the world is a magical place full of magical things, where things will always end up the way they are supposed to.

September 8, 7:05am

Today is Dan’s first day at the University of East London.

“You look cute,” Phil said, adjusting Dan’s collar and straightening out the straps on his backpack.

“You’d say that anyway,” Dan joked.

“Thank you for an amazing summer. I hope you have a great day,” Phil said.

Phil watched as Dan skipped up to him, kissed him on the cheek and then on the lips, told him he loved him, then closed the door behind him.

He exhaled happily.

“I love you, too, Dan.”

#phanfic #alchemyphanfics #too fast paced? not fast enough? lmk!

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theblondegoesabroad · 5 years

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Day 91 and 92

Monday 19th August and Tuesday 20th August 2019

The last few days have consisted of a heap of travelling. The not so fun kind. For Jamie, it was thousands of kms in a plane and for Benoit and I, it was about the same amount of kms by car – well it felt like it. We arrived in our respective homes at around the same time which is absolutely crazy. I for one am 100% over driving, I don’t think I have driven for that long before in my life (because Benoit needed to study I was the driver from Madrid to Home) and no longer want to even look at the car for at least a few days! It was hard dropping Jamie off at the airport, it was so cool to have him in this hemisphere with me and I am going to miss him and his crazy energy a lot!

Here are some numbers; 6555km driven, 5700 euros spent, 2716 photos taken by yours truely, 666 times Jamie described something as ‘sick as fuck’ – which rapidly declined when we started calling him out on it, 510km walked – each!, 350 incredible tunnels driven through, 210L of water drunk, 130 flights of steps climbed – each!, 101 aperol spritz’s drunk, 99 times that we listened to our unofficial roadtrip song, 50 photos that Jamie probably took, 30 incredible days, 21 years old - the birthday present that got this thing started, 18 incredible destinations we stayed at, 11 hours of me singing on the way back to Belgium, 7 pairs of sunglasses bought (2 lost – both by Benoit), 6 countries visited, 5 languages ‘used’, 4 Toyota Hilux utes spotted, 3 now tanned humans, 2 minor collisions* and 1 promise – to do it all again as soon as we can.

Here’s what I can’t quantify; the constant smiles on our faces, the laughs we had, the incredible amount of bad jokes, the amazement of what we saw each day, the excitement that was absolutely fizzing through Jamie at every new destination we saw, the strengthen bond between us all and the memories that we will have from now on. I won’t go over everything we did and every place we stopped because after what we saw, it would take way too much time and hopefully you have already read about it on the previous blogs. But to sum it up; we had the experience of a lifetime. Three best friends travel Europe on a summer roadtrip. Sounds like a synopsis of an average American movie (that I (and Jamie) would probably watch)! But it was. It was a dream. It was an unforgettable experience. It was exquisite.

I like to think we have seen some pretty incredible things. I asked the boys for their highlights of the trip. Benoits main highlight was our night we spent camping in the beautiful Switzerland, we had the perfect set up, hammocks, a view and some beers. The tiny streets of the swiss towns (one that was like a 45 degree angle, one way and only just big enough for us to fit through), the incredible views we got driving through the swiss alps, the mountains, the fresh air and the overall cleanliness of Switzerland. Another was the open-air concert we went to in Norcia, Italy, our favourite band, hardly any people there, 2m from the stage, the sun setting behind them and a vibe like no other. Plus it was cheap as chips!

For Jamie; he had a few. Which is good news. Some that were up there was the view we got of Paris when we were exhausted after a day of walking around, we climbed for what felt like hours up to the Sacre Coeur and got the incredible view from the top; it was rewarding and breathtaking. Another was seeing Gaudi’s works, the incredible architecture of the Sagrada Familia, which makes you marvel the building and feel incredibly humbled. But for him, the main one was the excitement of arriving in Europe, walking through the airport gates, a goofy grin (probably some relief that he got on the right plane) and seeing Benoit and I, the promise of an amazing month to come, the unimaginable reality that was about to happen, ‘the moment before it all starts’.

For me, it’s difficult to pinpoint a highlight, I have so many good memories, I feel so lucky to have experienced all of them with my two favourite boys. It was honestly incredible to share it with them. I loved Italy, the history, the small towns, the landscapes, the fiats but I have always loved Italy so that was not a surprise. I also loved the food in Italy, I don’t think I have eaten so much gelato and pizza in my life and I am completely happy about that. But if I really had to choose, I think it would be when we stopped in Reims, found the place that Mum, Dad and I went to get dinner and a despos at and did the same. In the moment, we were hot, sweaty, tired, sick of driving and still needing to get to Paris, really just needing a large glass of ice water but looking back it was a full-circle moment, and pretty special. I was there five years ago with Mum and Dad and now again with Jamie and Benoit, having a despos seeing how much has changed. How much I have changed. And how cool it was to share that moment with Jamie. After all – travel is the only thing that costs money but actually makes you richer – and possibly slightly heavier thanks to Italy.

Here I would also like to thank everyone that made this ‘trip’**possible.

Firstly for getting Jamie over here, for me, it started off as an idea that I thought would put me into the best sister in the world books for the rest of my life, but I never could have dreamed of how much better it was than that initial idea. In my opinion, we have succeeded. We were able to show Jamie how much the world has to offer, how much more there is to see and how there is so much more to look forward to. If only you all could see him and the big grin that was permanently pasted on his face that makes you want a some of whatever he is on! For me it was probably one of my highlights of the trip, seeing him so happy again. So thank you, to Mum and Dad, Gran and Deeda, Jo, Nico and Jt, Nan, Grant and Jill and of course, Benoit and myself. You all contributed to a bloody good cause and I was lucky enough to benefit from it too! Now its his job to fill you all in, answer your million questions, show you all the photos and to thank you all individually for helping him have a pretty amazing time.

Secondly to all the amazing people that opened their homes to us, who shared with us their corner of paradise, their family and showed us more than we would have seen alone. We are so incredibly grateful to the homes that were opened up to us without question. So without further a due; thank you to Joelle and Paul who hosted us for Jamie’s first weekend in Europe (and who continue to host me), seeing Liege with Benoits family who Jamie and I both feel very close to was magical and we wished for more time with them. I think that was my only planning error, we all wished for more time with each other. But never the less we had an amazing weekend, a famous pizza party, and a climbing session; so a rather good introduction to Benoits family life. Thank you to Joelle and Paul and Pauls brothers (Marc and Benoit) for letting us stay at Stavelot. An incredible house where we watched an amazing sunset and Jamie discovered the pleasures of Belgium beer with Benoits friends who made the effort to come out to see us. Thank you to the LeBouc’s (Marie’s lovely family) who welcomed us into their home with open arms, just like they did when Mum and Dad came to visit me five years ago. I will forever be grateful to Rotary for connecting our families. Thank you to Vincent Henry and his wife for hosting us at Saint Lion in the south of France for two nights, sharing with us their slice of mountaineering paradise, their love of nature, wine, honey and fried courgette flowers. Thank you to Marc Henry at Goussargues for letting us use his holiday home as a base for a few days and even giving us a welcome cocktail – spritz! We still miss that incredible pool. And thanks to Daphne (his daughter) who let us crash her time there with her friends. Thank you to Denis and Isa at Carcassone for having us for one incredible night where we felt like prised guests rather than gate crashers after the amazing reception dinner we received. And last but not least Eric – the partner of Murielle (Benoit’s aunt) who hosted Benoit and I on our very big journey back home. To all the above, thanks again and I hope one day we can return the favour.

I am at a loss of words to how to sum this up. How to write the final (for now) “Jamie in Europe” blog post. I kind of just want to rewind about a month and do it all again. So instead of me finishing it up, I shall rely on a literacy genius, someone well known for his way with words and simply say that was ‘sick as fuck’. Love Kate xxxxx

*one by me -someone reversed into us at a queue when I was driving, one by Benoit – he backed into a pole.

** Trip is a word I truly dislike, it is so small, it hasn’t got any presence about it and it definitely doesn’t get close to describing the amazing month of travel that you just experienced, the things you saw, what really affected you, how you felt. None of that fits into the word ‘trip’. A ‘trip’ is going to Auckland and back, not a mind-opening month of travels! Anyway, rant over and I shall endeavour to find a better word.

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bowlsister75-blog · 5 years

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This Is Us Reveals Jack and Nicky's Post-Vietnam Relationship, What Really Happened on That Boat

Need to catch up? Check out the previous This Is Us recap here.

What we thought might’ve happened on a horrible day in This Is Us‘ Vietnam storyline… didn’t, this week’s episode reveals. Jack’s brother Nicky didn’t go out on a boat with a box of explosives because he wanted to end his life, or because he was so high he didn’t know any better.

But the truth of what did happen on that day during the war is so, so much worse — as Kevin, Randall and Kate learn when they track their uncle down.

Read on for the highlights of “Songbird Road: Part 1.”

POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE | That postcard Kevin found at the end of the last episode wasn’t isolated: Turns out, Nicky had been sending them to Jack at the office for some time, with messages like “Hope you’re well,” “Need to talk,” “Abandoning hope” and “Just 5 minutes,” all signed “CK” — aka “Clark Kent” — and all featuring the same return address on Songbird Road in Bradford, Pa. Every time Jack received one, he angrily shoved it in a drawer. But when Nicky sends the last one to the house, Jack decides he needs to take action.

So he lies to Rebecca and the kids, telling them that he has to visit a lumber yard for work on a Saturday, and he drives to 2125 Songbird Road. He finds a scruffy Nicky waiting for him in the same trailer we saw in a previous episode; though earlier Jack had been visited by memories of the two of them fishing as kids and talking about the lives they would lead, now he’s steely as he demands that his brother not write to him at home. “You drove all the way from Pittsburgh to tell me that?” Nicky asks. “That’s how much I mean it,” Jack says gruffly, turning to leave. But Nicky offers him a beer, and then some Nesquick upon learning he’s sober, and soon the siblings are sitting down inside.

TWO ROADS DIVERGED | Nicky gives Jack some photos from their time in Vietnam, and they reminisce about their mother’s inedible chili lasagna. (Side note: That actually sounds delicious to me.) But when Nicky broaches the subject of what happened during the war, Jack swiftly shuts him down. “I don’t want to go back there. I want to leave that right where it is,” he says. “I’ve relived that day so many times in my head. I didn’t mean for that boy—” Nicky continues, but Jack refuses to listen. (Side note:At this point in the show, given the way the story cuts between the past and present, we know what Nicky’s referencing. We’ll get to it in a moment in this recap, I promise.) “I’ve got a wife and a family. I’ve moved on,” he says, getting up to go. “Did I ruin your life?” Nicky asks, and something about the earnestness in his voice must give Jack pause, because he tells his brother that he has “a good life” and shows him a photo of Rebecca and the kids.

After Jack departs, he stops at a convenience store before he gets on the road to home. For a brief moment, he considers going back to his brother’s place. But in the end, he turns toward Pittsburgh. The moment Jack returns home, he confesses to Rebecca that he lied, but he doesn’t tell her the whole truth, either: He says he was visiting “someone I knew from the war” and speaks vaguely about “something bad that happened there.” She asks if the visit helped. “A little, maybe? I don’t know,” he answers. But when she brings up the idea of talking to someone who can help him, he acts like he didn’t hear her and leaves the room, saying he’d like to get cleaned up.

FAMILY REUNION | In the present, we join The Big Three and Rebecca just as Kevin has filled Kate in — via FaceTime — about Nicky’s existence. “Mind completely blown,” Randall says. Bradford, Penn., is a six-hour drive from Alpine, N.J., and Kevin is planning a roadtrip. Does anyone want to go? Randall is in, but Kate points out that she’s in California and pregnant (so that’s a no), and Rebecca seems very bothered by the whole situation. Mama Pearson does not want to go, she tells her kids, but she does volunteer to watch the girls while Beth is busy with some upcoming job interviews.

Later, after helping quell Beth’s nerves about her job prospects, Randall confides in her that he’s worried that Kevin will be disappointed by Nicky — likely because he won’t be able to find him. “And I’ve got to be there for him,” Randall tells her. So the brothers prepare to hit the road, and when Kate surprises them in New Jersey, she’s on board for the adventure, as well.

A quick recap of the car ride: Randall packs terrible snacks. Kate has to pee. Oh, and Kate can’t fathom how she’s been lied to her entire life… until Randall points out that this is Whopping Lie Number 2 he’s had to encounter in the past couple of years. Eventually, they arrive at the trailer… but no one is home and it looks like it might be abandoned. But then a man approaches with a brown bag-wrapped bottle in his hand and wants to know what is going on: Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Old Uncle Nicky. (Hi, Griffin Dunne!)

‘I NEVER GOT TO TELL HIM’ | “Jack know you’re here?” Nicky asks, which leads to them giving him the bad news. He doesn’t really react, and he doesn’t seem to want them to stay, but Kate puts her foot down, pointing out that Kevin traveled the world for some answers about their pop. “We’re not going anywhere,” she finishes. “Yeah, you’re Jack’s kids all right,” Nicky observes.

They all sit down, and he begins to lay out what happened in Vietnam. “I was a medic who sampled his own inventory,” he says, adding that Jack tried to clean him up but that “he should never have come to me.” Then Nicky has a flashback to one morning when he woke up by the water in Jack’s camp to find a little Vietnamese boy staring at him. In the flashback, he taunts the kid by eating a chocolate bar in front of him, but then the kid grabs his glasses and teases him, smiling and laughing. Pretty soon, Nicky is laughing, too. He trades the remnants of the candy for his glasses, then says, “Let’s go fishin’.”

Nicky rows them out into the middle of the lake, where we see he’s brought along a box of hand grenades — or, as he calls them, a “secret weapon.” He pulls the pin on one and tosses it over the side; there’s a muted boom and a bit of bubbles, then some dead fish float to the surface. Nicky and the kid happily toss them into a basket, then Nicky rows them to another part of the lake. But when the kid playfully grasps for another grenade after Nicky has already pulled the pin, Nicky fumbles the bomb and it lands in the boat.

In agonizing slow motion, we watch as he tries to get the boy to jump off the boat and swim for his life. But the boy thinks it’s all a game and stays put. Eventually, Nicky has to abandon ship in order to save himself. After the blast, Nicky surfaces, unharmed, but the boat is destroyed and the boy is nowhere to be seen.

Jack and his men eventually pull Nicky from the water. But when the elder Pearson sees the boy’s sandal floating in the wreckage, he starts screaming, “What did you do?! He was just a kid!” at his brother. On the shore, the boy’s mother collapses in grief — the boy was the one Jack helped with the fever in a previous episode.

Nicky is loaded onto a helicopter and taken away, and Jack doesn’t even watch it happen, barking orders to his men as if it’s a normal day. In the present, Nicky softly laments, “I never got to tell him.”

Nicky still carries his guilt, and he tells The Big Three that he’ll never forget the boy’s mother as she wailed on the sand. He also says that Jack saw everything in black and white. “That’s why he had two lives,” Nicky explains: the one before “I ruined everything” and the one after. Then he politely kicks his nephews and niece out.

CRISIS AVERTED? | Back at Randall’s, Rebecca wonders whether she could have done more to help her first husband when he was struggling with the emotional fallout of his time in Vietnam. “I think there was a darkness inside of him. I think that he was afraid if that darkness got out, then it might swallow up the light that he got from you, from the kids,” Miguel reassures her. “And make no mistake: You and the kids were everything.” She’s not convinced. “I used to love that answer,” she says flatly, “because I wanted to believe it. But now, I want the truth.”

After Kevin, Randall and Kate leave Nicky’s, they stop at the same convenience store where Jack decided to go back to Pittsburgh. But then Kevin remembers Jack telling him that kids can repeat their fathers’ mistakes or they can correct them. “I can’t leave him like Dad did,” Kev announces, putting on his blinker and turning back toward Bradford.

It’s probably a good thing he does. When they return, the trailer door is unlocked, and Nicky is sitting at the table with a handgun very close by. Randall delicately moves it away, but his uncle barely seems to notice. “I never got to tell him. It was an accident,” Nicky says despondently, and Kevin puts a comforting hand on the older man’s shoulder.

Now it’s your turn. What did you think of the episode? Sound off in the comments!

Source: https://tvline.com/2019/01/22/this-is-us-recap-season-3-episode-11-songbird-road-part-1-jack-nicky/

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yve-1428-blog · 7 years

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Diary ♥

September 26 Today we have our summative test in Science. And to the other subjects we just listen to the lectures of our teachers. After our class me and my friend went to our house and eat our lunch , after that we decuded to continue our activity that we didn't finished in school. It took us an hour to finish that math problem (nit good at solving math problems) , but atleast we got the real answers. September 27 An exciting and interesting day.♥ One of our teacher gave us a game which we raelly enjoyed. Our other teachers continued their lectures, and we enjoyed listebing too because she's connecting a story which is matched to our topics. We also experienced mananaging a microscope, but this is not the first time that i hold a microscope because i already do when I am at Junior High School. September 28 Surprising day! ♥♥ We didn't expect that our Aunt will arrive today that's why we were very surprise when we saw her entering our house. We didn't even prepared something for her because we didn't know that she'll arrive. But she said that's "it's alright because she's here to be with us not to eat." She even gave me allowance before I go to school. So I thank her because even though we're not close enough she still knows my name and was updated on me. September 29 On this day at our classroom most of our time was being spent watching movies, our teacher allows us to watch because they are busy, and some of them finished their lessons for this week. September 30 A very tiring day but I enjoyed. I can't resist seeing our house dirty. So I decided to clean up my room first. Then I cleaned our house and washed our clothes. Then went to take care of my little brother at our other house. Then I went home to take some rest, while taking my rest someone messaged me and it's my classmate telling that our project in Personal Development was uploaded and we need to mention friends so they can react on it. October 1 New chapter for this month! :-D October 1st and it is Sunday. Sunday means having a quality time with family and God. With my family we went to atend mass. Then after that, we went home and our grandma asked us to cook "meryenda" (miki and sinuman). Then we asked, "Why miki and sinuman?" Then she replied "Beacuse today is the death anniversary of your grandfather." So we immediately run to the market to buy some ingredients. Then we cooked. At 3:00 p.m I went to Miramar to help continue our project. October 2 1st day of school for this week and month. New lessons and discussions, we had our surprise quiz in Philosiphy. We planned for our project in Komunikasyon. October 3 Accompanying my friend was FUN! ♥ After school me and my friend went to Vigan. We went there because I awe my friend a treat. We ate at McDonald's. While eating we talked about lot of things. Then questioning each other and sharing thoughts. And then she said that before we go gome, we will going first at NBI near Arcade. Then we're there, we waited for almost 20 mins., beacuse my friend needs to checkbif all the info about her was correct. After that the girl tells us thatwe need to pay at seven eleven (7/11) infront and near St. Paul. After paying, they asked us again to go at the station of NBI (Vigan) to get the papers there. After that we find a photoshop so my friend can have a 2x2 pics. because that's one of her requirements. And lastly we went home. October 5 Practice makes perfect! ♥ ;-) (Afternoon) We are asked to attend the pracrice for choir. After practicing the songs for the mass our classmate asked the teacher who is practicing us if He could play the piano for us and play "Tuloy Parin." So then we practiced the song that we will dedicate to our teacher-adviser-mother. October 6 ♥♥♥♥♥ Double Celebration ♥♥♥♥ Today was a big day because we celebrated the First Friday Mass on the morning and the Tacher's day on the afternoon. While waiting for the mass to start we practiced the mass songs again. It almost took us 1 hour practicing then the mass started. After mass we went to the photobooth to have a class picture with our adviser. October 7 ♥ Yey! Weekends! ♥ When i woke up this morning my siblings, and my cousin and my grandma already left the house, because my sister went to apply work, my brother and my cousin went to their classmates house to make their projects and my grandma went to attend Senior Citizens practice for their dance. Well I am the only one remained, so it means I did all the household chores. :-( October 8 ▶BLESSED SUNDAY◀ Today I attended the mass. I went early today because K know that lot of people will attend today because our Bishop is the one who will take incharge for the mass. It is already past 9 but the mass didn't started yet, the start of our mass here is 8. Some of people didn't wait for the Priest to come so they decided to go home. But me and my friend finished the mass even though our Priest taked over because Bishop can't come. After mass me and my friend decided to go at pagempanadahan to eat. And since we missed each other we stayed there for a few hours talking at our new environment now and having fun. October 9 No classes for this day! 100% I took this day as an opportunity to make my assignments and finish my requirements. And on the afternoon I went to Miramar to help finish our project in Science, even if it's raining. Thank God we finished already, just going to past it. October 10 NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST We took our NAT today. Our surname was alphabetically arranged l, since my surname starts with "U," let's just say that I'm at room six the last classroom. Thank God, our proctor was my teacher when I'm at Junior High School at St. William's Institute. I don't have close friend on that room so I just talked with my former teacher. October 11 Passing Requirements Today we passed our project in Science. We also took our summative test in Physical Education. Actually, I didn't took a review because I forgot that we will have a test, good thing that our teacher in Komunikasyon was not around so me and my classmates took the opportunity to review on her time. Thanks to my classmate who lend me some of her reviewers. October 12 Finding a nice and good plant for our dish garden. On this afternoon me and my classmate went to their house (Sarsaracat) to find a good Bermuda Grass. Then we went to Patong to get our classmate. (short ROADTRIP ♥) and see if they have good plants in their backyard so we can get it. After that we went to our house to continue making our dish garden. October 13 CLASSES ARE SUSPENDED! We have no class today because there was storm which cause signal number 1, here in Ilocos. This whole day I took care of my little brother so my mother can work. October 14 Time for my work again.! It's weekend so I need to clean and do household chores. I washed our clothes and cleaned our house. Then went to take care my little bro. October 15 ♥♥♥FAMILY TIME♥♥♥ Today I didn't go anywhere after the mass because Sunday is a family day for us so all of us stayed home and enjoyed the company of each of us. ~~~~~~~¤♥¤♥¤♥¤~~~~~~~ -Yvette Marie L. Urcia

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smoothshift · 7 years

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GT350 Roadtrip: 1 week, 9 states, 4400miles. Lengthy post, pics included. via /r/cars

GT350 Roadtrip: 1 week, 9 states, 4400miles. Lengthy post, pics included.

TLDR: It was a lengthy but short roadtrip. You're welcome.

Ain't got no time for readin and stuff? I got you: http://ift.tt/2vmKRwc

States visited: OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, CO, UT, AZ, NV

Notable locations: Glacier National Park, Pike's Peak, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Zion National Park, Shelby Museum/Factory/Store

I left San Francisco on Saturday 8/12 at 5:30AM. Returned Saturday 8/19 at 11:45PM. Following are the notes I took on the trip and recollections after. I hope you enjoy. I certainly did.

Northern California: Nothing notable, I live here. Took 80 East to 505 North, later merging into 5 North. Met two guys with built-out BRZs in Suisun Valley; they were headed to a meet. Cars were tastefully modded and I favored the burnt orange and black wing combo car. Didn't talk long, but the burnt orange guy wanted to know if I was "driving the ecoboost?" Nah, this isn't the ecoboost. Those are good cars, though, and I envy the MPG.

Oregon: Fast-forwarding to the land of "thou shalt not pump your own gas." Really weird but whatever, Oregon has the most beautiful semi-populated back country I've seen. Didn't find any technical driving roads but the long straights and gentle sweepers were nice. Fantastic ranches you guys have, btw, wow. When the sun hits the golden fields as you're blasting by and the horses look up ya think, huh. I can dig this. P.S. your speed limits are terrible, not updated since 1912 or some such.

Washington: Ah, crossing the border with that feeling of anticipation, the wonder of sights unseen, the joy of... 2 KA bands and 1 laser hit. WTF Washington, nice welcome wagon you got there. But you're not done, no sir or ma'am. Pasco, WA, aka interchange city. So. Many. KA. Bands. And. 2. Laser. Hits. I get it, you need the revenue. But not from me. Motored along merrily on 90NE/E to Spokane, crossing into Idaho.

Idaho: Coeur d'Alene. Wow. Amazing roads; long sweepers in the mountains, gentle and lengthy elevation changes and fantastic scenery. You win, Idaho.

Montana: I'm on the way to Glacier National Park. 3 things of note in this state:

1 - "Keep Right Except to Pass." I've seen posts about this on r/Cars and never really "got it", but now I do. Montananians have this down to a science and it works. Granted the population is sparse but its a model of managing traffic flow and speed. Consider me a full-time convert.

2 - I pulled in to a rest stop on Highway 2; it was 11:30 at night and the area poorly lit. A family was setting up a giant tent on the grass; it was just them, me and a semi parked in the lot. Blacked out the car windows (sunscreen and blankets) and made myself cozy. 3AM and I'm suddenly awake, its time to visit the facilities and take care of urgent business. As I approach the men's room I hear a noise, it's a loud buzzing and a man's booming voice. Montana rest stops have speakers playing the weather report ("The weather in Big Fork was clear, and the wind was..."). This speaker was blown due to the loud volume setting. Creepy at 3AM, moreso with dim fluorescent lighting. Good news though: Bathroom is clean and I've got my choice of two stalls. I take the luxury stall aka the doublewide aka the handicapped version. Oh. Lock is broken. NP, I switch to the economy stall and run down the checklist. Door locks, check. Floor and seat clean, check. Enough TP to build an assnest on the seat, check. We're locked and loaded and I'm going in, Cap'n. Except for one thing: The lone bit of graffiti on the door. It read: "8/11. Let's %$# or at least piss on me. Tap foot." Imagine its 3AM and you're groggy with so few hours of sleep and that's me, mouth slightly open, brow furrowed with squinty eyes trying to comprehend this lonely missive of love and bodily fluids. First thought: Is it the 11th? No, ok good. Second: I'm the only one in here. Third: I no longer have the urge to do anything but GTFO; the creepy factor went from 3/10 to 10/10. Not that it mattered to the disembodied man's distorted voice; he continued belting out the weather report as I left a contrail of relief denied.

3 - Glacier National Park. My first must-see destination and it was so worth it. Lovely, narrow roads albeit packed with appliance cars. On the West Glacier Road there's a spot to park and take a shuttle bus up. Not for me but it's a popular thing. Some tourists get bored waiting and attempt to hitchhike; as I rounded a curve I saw a hitchhiker sorta gently shove his (I presume) SO away and say loudly in his Brit accent, "I know what I'm about!" Hey brother. You're ok hitchhiking in a park, but don't do that anywhere else. Unless you like the song Goodbye Horses in which case have at it. Anyway, GNP: Pictures can't convey it well, nor can they convey the batshit crazy old lady driving a minty green Fiat ... Fiat uh, not the Abarth but the lower spec model. Old lady, her Fiat and personal GNP Formula 1. Like everyone else she'd pull over for pics, but when I saw her coming I got out of the way.

Wyoming: Plains. Plains as far as the eye can fall asleep.. I kid. Beautiful state, really. Pulled over and listened to a thunderstorm slowly roar across the open land. Amazing, spiritual, awe-inspiring. Congrats, Wyomingians. All 3 of you.

Colorado: Colorado is amazing, and as a California native I'm genetically predisposed to moving there. But don't worry, Coloradorians.. eh, Coloradori, F it, lets just go with Pot Smoking REI Junkies and Rednecks. As I was saying, I won't move there, ever. Not me. Nuh uh. Well. Not unless I get bored, or ... wait. Wait a second. Huh. Zillow says I can buy how many bedrooms, with how big a garage and a backyard that's spacious in a good neighborhood for how much? Hmmmm.

Pike's Peak. You've heard about it. If you've not gone, go. Don't expect a Hill Climb though, the usual appliance cars and Lifted Lambos (trucks) clog the roads - although I did get lucky in spots, and did a Matt Farah a few times by making a gap on the straights. 14k elevation, no big deal, I've done that before in Ladakh (India, Himalaya foothills). Think again, that 14k kicked my ass. Just taking pictures of the car was wearing me out. While at the summit some lady hiked down (apparently there's a trail) and needed rescue, she simply could not climb up. I believe it.

Great Sand Dunes National Park. Yep. It's sandy. The approach road (well outside of the park) is minimal to no traffic, you can go 10 mins without seeing a car. I may or may not have done a triple. Or as I call it, 25 MPH in Mexican school zone. Because I'd never do that in the US. Not me.

Small towns. We all know its common for small towns to be speed traps. Colorado small towns take it to the next level. Its dark, I'm in BFE, and 1-2-3 small towns in a row: K Band, X Band, KA Band, no apparent falses. In one case the local popo followed me about 3 miles out of town. My very first police escort, I'm so proud.

Montrose, CO. I'm a coffee nerd so this trip has been mostly hell. The hell of McD's coffee or worse, gas station coffee. Swill. So what makes Montrose, CO, special? La Zona Colona Coffee off Highway 550. You're going to pass it when heading to Silverton, so stop. Clean outside and in, tastefully done decor and, crucially, outstanding coffee with what seems to be an extra dose of caffeine. I suspect this because it wasn't long before I was road raging pretty hard, I mean come on. LANE CAMPERS RADKJEKEJREKJFDKJ gargle scream do nothing but wait to pass. Yep. Road raging. Best coffee I've ever had.

Silverton,CO. Quaint, preserved old-timey Western town. They even have a steam train and stagecoach, actual ones that move along and make old-timey choo choo noises and whatever sounds horses make. Popular place.

Highway 550 to Durango. Rounded a curve and a blond guy with man bun waved me down. He and his GF were stuck, older Toyota with a dead battery and as it turns out, bad alternator. I had a battery charger but no cables (ugh) so he plugged it to the battery and we waited. I suggested waving down a truck as those guys must have cables. Cars go by, no one stops or acknowledges his waving. Weird; he's young, good looking and dressed in Mountain Chic - I mean, he's not scary looking and its full daylight. Finally a red F150 stops, older guy with cables. He's a little sauced, not drunk but he's had a few. Engine turns over and I follow the Toyota couple a while, and it dies again. This happened 4x til we made it to the guy's house in Durango. On the last pullover the red F150 guy shows up again. "I wanna see how fast this Shelby can go," he says, slightly slurred, "It's ok, I party with the cops in Durango." This was just not gonna happen, Durango's not a little town with deserted roads and I didn't see any signs for open track night. I politely ignored him and we got the Toyota couple home, wished them luck and off I went.

Utah: I dunno, it's Utah. Mostly impressed with the people vs. the places, although those are nice too.

Four Corners. Not sure what I expected, maybe something grand to commemorate 4 state borders, maybe some good dining and driving roads. Nope. You get a short dusty road (fine, its the arid desert), a $5 entry fee, signs saying cremated remains cannot be spread here (huh, who, why?), vendors selling Navajo-themed jewelry and stuff and that thing. That thing set in concrete marking the celebration of 4 state borders meeting. I was done before I got there and was walking back to the car when I saw her. No, not the love of my life. Rather a woman wearing an awesome tshirt which just then struck me as hilarious. Pic taken. Nice lady, she was a riot. She liked the GT350 too.

Zion National Park. 105 degrees. Two European guys driving below the speed limit in a rental Focus. I get it, you're here to see the sights. But uh, pull over. Thanks bye.

Kanab: Nothing notable here other than I stayed in the Quality Inn's "suite." But there was one cool encounter at the local car wash (I detail my car religiously): Mr. Walker with his 1965 Thunderbird. OMG. Maroon paint, black leather interior, dusty engine. Overall excellent shape (driving condition, not concours) and he's the second owner with all maintenance records from new. Mr. Walker liked the Shelby and had a lot of questions; I had just as many for him. He showed his car and apologized for being unable to wipe down the front and rear chrome due to his age. Not a problem, yours truly wiped it down for him and it was a pleasure doing so. What a car. Tip of the cap to you, sir.

Nevada AKA Las Vegas: Stopped to visit the Shelby Factory, Museum and Shop. The shop is the first thing you see once inside and lemme tell ya. Need a Shelby leather coat? They got you, Holmes. Socks, tshirts, bottle opener, model car, hat, travel mug, earrings, key chain? No problemo. I made a dad joke (tm, not an actual dad) after buying some shirts: So uh, you guys have everything, literally everything for sale, don't you? Sales lady: (thinking FFS not this again): Yes, we do. Me: Great, I'm in the market for a new fridge. Sales lady: Points to her left and there it is, a I-kid-you-not-Shelby-branded-fridge. Joke's on me; abort abort mission failure RTB.

Walked outside and there was an Aussie family sorta standing by my car. The dad went on about how much they liked it, and a US friend of his was considering buying one. Told him to tell his friend, yep, buy it.

... And that's pretty much it. Went to SoCal but there's 2 kinds of SoCal: coastal (nice) and inland desert (less nice). At Barstow I couldn't take it anymore, GTA got crappy desert towns right. Connnected to 5 North and pulled over for gas: $3.89 for premium, the good ole welcome home price. Drove 6 hours north to SF, woke up the GF and flopped right into bed. Best parts about coming home: GF reunion, Game of Thrones and 7 hours detailing the car. Still haven't got all the bug bits off the grille.

Random stats:

23.1 MPG

Cheapest gas / Premium: $2.48 (Wyoming, Ethanol blend)

Oil consumption: 2 quarts

Breakdowns and flats: 0

Truck Stop Hookers Observed: 2

Drunk Drivers Observed: 1

Accidents seen (after the fact): 3

Road rage battles seen: 1 (SoCal. Of course)

Live deer: Too many (Montana, but especially Colorado)

Dead deer: 12 +

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