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greatwyrmgold · 1 year

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Beat & Motion & Dreams

So, Beat & Motion seems to be establishing a major theme, one that fits the other stuff it's been doing pretty well. Tatsuhiko gave his animation dream another shot after his band fell through, and he was rewarded with a chance to keep doing animation professionally.

And this hits a personal spot for me.

There were a lot of great anime in 2021, but Aquatope on White Sands was my personal favorite. It's about an idol whose idol dreams fell apart, was given a chance to work at a struggling aquarium, and found joy in it. It aired when I was realizing my dream of becoming a biologist had failed, and was trying to find the joy in accounting work. (Which does exist, depending on the job, but that's a topic for another post.)

My point is, B&M is taking a radically different perspective than Aquatope. Aquatope is about realizing that you don't need to follow your childhood dreams to find happiness. B&M is about rediscovering your childhood dreams, vague as they might be.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a biologist. That's it, "a biologist." I wanted to be a scientist who studies animals and stuff. I never really questioned this dream, I merely iterated on it. My plan was simple: Get a basic biology degree, find some entry-level biology work to figure out exactly what I wanted to do, get a graduate degree in that field, get a better job. I failed step 2, and that's why I'm in accounting school now.

Maybe if I'd picked a field, stuck through several more years of school, and gotten a PhD or something, I could have been a biologist. Maybe that would have worked. But maybe not, and I don't think I would have done it without foreknowledge. I thought I had a dream, but I kinda didn't.

That's the thing about dreams. They're not bound to reality.

The freedom of dreams can be a good thing, but it also makes dreams hard to act on. I couldn't become "a biologist" without a more specific, more grounded idea of what that might entail...and I never got that idea. I would have basically needed an opportunity handed to me.

Luckily for Tatsuhiko, that opportunity came in the form of Nico. On one hand, she literally provides an opportunity for Tatsuhiko to follow his dream, in the sense that she hires him to animate her music video. On the other hand, she also pushes him to pursue his dream.

Nico is dreaming unhindered, not worrying about practicality or tact or anything. Tatsuhiko wants to be an animator, so he should be an animator—and he should try to be the best d**n animator possible, the most skilled, the most successful.

From a plot utility perspective, this makes Nico a bit of a manic pixie dream girl. But she doesn't just wander into Tatsuhiko's life and start making things better just because. She only wants to work with Tatsuhiko because he posted that random butterfly animation. Tatsuhiko took the first step himself, of his own volition, moving himself towards his near-forgotten dream and away from the practical yet dull reality of...a failing rock band?

In case you'd forgotten, Tatsuhiko's job before the animation thing was as the bassist in a crappy band. It lasted a few years, but broke up right before Tatsuhiko listened to a drunk woman rant at him. That lead to him digging out his old drawings, animating on a whim, etc etc.

But before that, he was in a band. A failing band. So on one hand, Tatsuhiko didn't have much to lose by pursuing his dream, which isn't a broadly applicable truth. (Contrast, say, Recovery of an MMO Junkie; Morihito chose to give up a high-paying office job to play MMOs.)

But there's a more fundamental issue here. Bands are also a common dream, an artistic endeavor which few people can turn into an actual career. So why was Tatsuhiko's animation dream successful and his band dream a failure?

I wish I could say I expected this question to be explored in later chapters, but I don't think the band has come up once since chapter 1. Analysis of this question is limited to chapter 1, which doesn't go into much detail. And the detail provided isn't great. There's plenty of framing suggesting that the band is a bad dream, but I can only find one possible reason which makes any sense.

Tatsuhiko's band dream wasn't a "real" dream, because it was forced on him by an outside source. He was talked into his band dream—which, to be clear, was genuinely held. He gets excited about it, just not in the first few panels after he's recruited.

Contrast this with his animation dream, which sprang fully-formed out of the forehead of Zeus...

...or not. It's also the result of someone telling him he should be an animator, this time an old animator giving a presentation at his school. Which is probably a good thing, because it means I don't have to try and litigate the difference between a dream that comes from "inside" and one that comes from "outside". Your insides are shaped by the outside world, after all!

So if that's not it, what's the difference? A few possibilities:

Is it honesty? As far as we know, the animator was just being nice and didn't mean it, while all indications point to the band members being genuine. So...probably not.

Is it initial excitement? Probably not; that's just an absurdly superficial reason to judge a dream "real" or not. It's probably just another way to frame one dream as "good" and the other as "bad," not the reason one is good.

Is it ulterior motive? The band members convince Tatsuhiko to join the band for extrinsic rewards, while the animator doesn't have any apparent motive at all. I guess that's not nothing, but it's barely there.

Did the author, knowing that the band was just a distraction for Tatsuhiko and not his Real Dream, not actually bother to explain why?

I think that the last factor is, at least, a significant component. Beat & Motion isn't terrible—it has its strengths, a clear artistic vision, and a solid idea of how to execute that vision—but it's no masterpiece.

The underdeveloped "band dream" thing isn't a crippling flaw. Generally, an author can just show us that a thing in the protagonist's backstory is Not Good and expect the audience to accept this as true without having to explain why it's Not Good. And this is basically that.

The problem is that the Not Good Thing overlaps with something the story considers extremely good—chasing your dreams. It's not intentionally part of the series's thematic construction, but that doesn't mean it doesn't influence it. You can't write a story about following your dreams, throw in a band failing at their dreams, and not have the latter affect the former somehow.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope Beat & Motion circles back to the question of what dreams should be pursued and which should be abandoned, because that's a pretty significant question for a chase-your-dreams narrative. (And, you know, one that's raised by the protagonist abandoning one dream.)

But that's the state of things, three chapters in.

#hopefully this falls off my queue before chapter 4 drops #beat & motion #manga #meta #media analysis #dreams #themes #eighth-grade book reports

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procrastinatingsapphictrash · 3 years

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The rest of my life

Word count: 1226

Genre: A little angst and fluff

Pairing: Natasha x gn!reader

Warnings: A little bit of swearing (let me know if I need to add more)

Request: Could u do a natasha x reader with the quotes 4,6 and 13 ? Thanks ! Have a nice day ! 4- “Marry me” 6- “I really, really love you, but I also wanna hit you with a chair” 13- “I want to have kids with you” (lines are bolded)

Summary: Natasha thinks that the reader deserves a more stable life than being with her but the reader doesn’t agree.

A/n: This is another request from @fayhar and from this prompt list (still taking requests from the list). I hope everyone likes this because I don’t know how to feel about it myself. Anyways I tried to do the queue thing again so hopefully it works because I want to get a fic or chapter of something out everyday and what I’m working on right now is taking some time so I wanted to get ahead by a few days.

You anxiously pace the hallway outside of Natasha’s hospital room. She had just gotten back from a mission a few hours ago and had been whisked straight into a room you weren’t allowed to enter. Luckily because it was in the medbay of Stark tower, where you worked, you knew a few of the nurses and they reassured you that although she was injured, she was in stable condition.

“Y/n?” A voice says and you spin around to face it. “You may go into the room now.” You don’t even register which doctor had spoken to you because you rush into the room, eager to see Natasha. She is unconscious, lying on the bed and in moments like these you see how small she truly is. It’s tough, seeing her broken and injured when normally she’s a complete badass, especially since this is the worst you’ve ever seen, but when you look at her you can’t help but think how proud you are of her for risking her life on the regular to help others.

“She should be out of it until morning,” the doctor says, and you realize it’s Helen, “why don’t you try to get some sleep and come back in the morning?”

“I want to be with her until she wakes up,” you tell her, grabbing Natasha’s hand to prove that you’re serious, “but thank you.”

“I suspected as much,” she says with a fond smile, “just call me if you need anything.” You nod at her and she walks out of the room, probably to treat the others that had gotten hurt, luckily none of them as bad as Natasha. You stroke her hand a few times and look at her resting face as the emotions of the day catch up to you and you suddenly feel exhausted. You let your head roll onto your shoulder as you drift off, making sure to keep a firm grip on her hand before falling asleep.

“Y/n, Y/n…” Natasha’s voice wakes you up and you smile brightly at her.

“Tasha! I’m so glad you’re ok!” You exclaim which makes her laugh.

“I’m fine, it looked worse than it was but I just need to keep my arm in this sling and take care of my stitches but I can get out of bed pretty much right away.” She explains. You are skeptical so you turn to Helen who noticed Nat had woken up and made her way to the room.

“Don’t worry, Natasha’s telling the truth this time,” she reassures you, knowing you didn’t want her to push herself too much again, “although she does need to take it easy so she doesn’t accidentally reopen any stitches.”

“Good to know!” You tell Helen cheerfully, feeling much better now that you know Natasha’s injuries weren’t as bad as you thought.

“I just need to check her over one last time before I can let her leave, so can you step out of the room for a minute?” She asked and you obviously agree.

“Actually I’m going to start breakfast so Natasha can come eat as soon as she’s done.” You say, moving to leave the room and smiling when you catch Natasha looking thoughtful, lost in her own mind.

You make your way down to the common floor, humming as you move about the kitchen getting all the ingredients for Natasha’s favourite type of omelette. It smells quite good and you’re just putting it on a plate when Natasha comes down and sits herself in a chair, looking more upset than earlier. You don’t comment on it, knowing she likes to think things through herself but you make a mental note to mention it later if she still seems troubled.

“Well dig in!” You say impatiently after a few seconds pass and she just pushes her food around her plate.

She still doesn’t start eating and instead takes a deep breath. “I think we should break up.”

“What?” You say, not believing you heard her correctly.

She looks away from you. “We should break up.” Your eyes fill with tears, knowing you did indeed hear her correctly the first time as much as you wish you didn’t.

“But why? Do you really want to give up on three years of us being together?” You choke out.

“I get injured a lot in my work and that’s not fair to you. You need someone who is always there for you, not someone you need to take care of and you deserve to start a family with someone, a normal family, one where nobody is ever in danger.” Although you are sad that she feels as though she doesn’t deserve the stuff she said you did you feel relieved that this seems like a problem you can fix and not an actual breakup.

“I really, really love you, but I also wanna hit you with a chair.” You say, chuckling at her confused expression.

“What?”

You laugh again. “I don’t care what you think I deserve Tasha, I want you!”

“But I can’t give you a normal life.” She counters.

You sigh. “Look, Tasha, as much as I love you I won’t stand in your way if you actually want to break up with me, but I won’t let you break up with me because you have some crazy idea that you are not good for me.”

“But what about a normal family?” She asks, softening but not giving up completely.

“I couldn’t give a fuck about a normal family,” you say, “if I ever have kids, I want to have kids with you.”

“Yeah?” She asks and you hug her in confirmation.

“I don’t know where you come up with these crazy ideas but next time talk it out with me instead of trying to break up.” You tell her, not wanting to go through that experience again.

“Sorry.”

“It’s ok,” you tell her, pulling away from the hug to smile at her, “I wouldn’t let you go easily, I do plan on spending the rest of my life with you after all.”

“Marry me.” She says and you laugh. “Marry me,” she says again, “I’m serious.”

“Actually?” You ask her, not believing that just a few minutes ago she was trying to break up with you and is now asking you to marry her.

“Yeah, I don’t have a ring or anything but we can go to the store and pick out matching ones later today. Only if you want of course.”

You can’t even speak so you just nod your head, tears popping to your eyes for very different reasons now. She also tears up when she sees your response and you press your lips to hers in a gentle kiss that’s the best one yet despite the saltiness of your tears. She pulls back and presses her forehead and nose to yours, her lips only an inch away.

“I love you.” You tell her.

“I love you too, so much, I’m so glad you are stubborn enough to not let me make stupid desisions like breaking up with you.” You laugh, feeling happier than you’ve ever felt already picturing your wedding in your head.

“I love you.” You repeat and she says it too until you both keep whispering your love for each over and over, losing track of the time.

Taglist: @fayhar @stephanieromanoff @stop-drop-and-drumroll @acertainredhead (if you want to be added, comment, send an ask, or message me)

#natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #black widow #black widow x reader #avengers #marvel fanfiction #x reader

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emilia3546 · 3 years

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Shadowsinger Part 6 - Gwynriel

ACOSF Spoilers! Do Not read this unless you have finished ACOSF and the Azriel bonus chapter

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

*****

Azriel was still asleep when she opened her eyes, his hair falling over his eyes as his head dropped onto the back of the chair, had he slept there all night? She couldn't think how he actually managed to fall asleep in a chair of all places. He opened his eyes as she sat up,

"Morning, sleepyhead," she laughed, and he yawned,

"Morni-" and yawned again, setting Gwyn laughing again,

"C'mere, you're hair's all messy." She leaned towards him, quickly tiding it up, brushing it backwards through her fingers, not quite registering how still he had gone until she had finished and sat back, "There we go, that's better,"

"Thank you," he said, his voice much lower than usual, still with notes of sleep in it, she had never noticed it before, and she had to force herself to get up normally, and wash her face, without thinking about that voice. She stared into the mirror for a few moments, mentally preparing herself to face him again, "Gwyn, I'm gonna go and get dressed, I'll see you at breakfast."

"Okay," she shouted back, shit. How was the sound of his voice slowly shredding her self-control? It was just the change in his voice, nothing else, it couldn't be anything else she told herself. She was foolish to even consider it.

Apparently, Cassian and Nesta hadn't emerged yet, so it was just Gwyn and Azriel at the dining table that morning, forcing Gwyn to try to control her thoughts, to push any thoughts of him aside and focus on her food. She hated the silence, it felt wrong, unnatural, and she sighed, anything to break the stillness around them. Even that small sound seemed to wake Azriel,

"Gwyn," she looked up, startled, and smiled, "I just wanted to talk to you about what's going on in Illyria." Oh, she'd forgotten to ask Nesta,

"Okay,"

"I don't know how much Nesta's already told you,"

"I haven't had a chance to ask her yet, so very little."

"Okay, well, the bottom line is that there are those among the Illyrians who hate the changes Rhys has been implementing. Banning wing-clipping, and enforcing it, forcing them to train females, and putting systems in place for those who want help, so they can contact us easily, without their families knowing." Gwyn nodded, good, she'd heard about wing-clipping, seen what had happened to Emerie, it was about time it was finally gotten rid of, completely.

"Okay, so, some of them don't like it, then,"

"No, there are some who have been attempting to ignore the laws, and have failed," he added, seeing her worry, "And then there are those who are restless, hating that they fall under Rhys' jurisdiction. They want an independent Illyria, and freedom to treat their females how they wish." Gwyn gasped,

"They wouldn't survive on their own, right? They don't have a unified leader, anyone who wanted would be able to invade easily, and their army is paid by Rhysand, they couldn't afford it otherwise."

"Exactly, that's why the wannabe rebels are a minority, but they are there. I promised you no secrets, it's no good trying to protect you from this. There's nothing that could happen in Velaris though, any potential fighting will be in Illyria."

"You're going to fight?" He'd only come back from another war a year ago, and she couldn't face the thought of him, of any of them, on a battlefield.

"Maybe. Hopefully it won't come to that. Hopefully, the loyal Illyrians will be able to stop a full rebellion before it starts. Most of them do support Rhys' new laws, but the minority are very vocal."

"You need to know who is stirring up violence then. And where, and how many, and how strong they are."

"Y-yeah, exactly, have you been reading about this?"

"No, why?"

"Never mind, it's just, you seem to know exactly what to look for, and at dinner last night, you were paying attention to everyone."

"I was just trying to work out what to talk about, I doubt I'd remember it."

"Oh, really, who was complaining, quietly I might add, about the wine running out?"

"Mor."

"Yeah, and what did Rhys say?"

"That it served her right for drinking all his best wine." Azriel raised an eyebrow,

"And Feyre?"

"Laughed at both of them, and called Rhysand a pretentious prick."

"So you don't remember anything?" Gwyn laughed,

"I don't know."

"You instincts are spot-on. It takes months of training for some of my spies to learn to listen to a room like that," he mused,

"Then train me."

"What?"

"Train me. To be a spy, maybe I can help with Illyria."

"Absolutely not, you've not even trained to fight for that long, I'm not letting you anywhere near rebellious Illyrians."

"That's stupid, Az. Train me to help, or at least to listen, I visit Emerie at Windhaven quite often, so I can at least help you get a picture of what it's like there, if nowhere else. Please, I want to be helpful, I'm done being useless."

"You've never been useless, Gwyn, and I will train you, but only so that you have an extra skill set to defend yourself, not so you can go and spy in Illyria." Gwyn huffed,

"Az. You're being stupid, stop trying to keep me safe, train me, and then let me use those skills."

*****

Gwyn was glaring at him, annoyance glimmering in her eyes, he was being stupid, but some part of him couldn't bear the thought of her in danger. She kept her gaze on him as she finished eating, giving him a chance to think,

"I won't say yes," Gwyn shot him another exasperated look, "But," he continued, "You can be a last resort, only if my usual spies can't get in, or can't find anything, then you can go." She narrowed her eyes, considering, and nodded,

"Perhaps Em has heard something, we should ask her today." Azriel nodded, and quickly tidied up their plates,

"You wanna help set up for training?" He grinned, "Should be fun today," Gwyn sat bolt upright,

"Oh no, no, I know that look, you're going to be mean, is there an obstacle course of something?"

"You'll have to come if you want to find out," he slipped out of the room, chuckling as she swore and scrambled out of her chair to follow him. Gwyn's eyes widened at the sight of the course he and Cassian had secretly set up last night before dinner,

"What is it?" She breathed, pretending to be nervous of it, but Azriel noticed how she was shifting her weight from foot to foot, how her voice raised in pitch slightly, she wasn't scared. She was excited,

"It's sort of an obstacle course, but this one simulates enemies, so Cass and I can both watch you fight, without one of us having to be the opponent. And, as a bonus, the second half is brilliant for silent movement training, which is what we'll work up to if you want lessons from me." Gwyn nodded gleefully, and Azriel chuckled at her excitement, "There's only a few things I need to get set up now, the moving parts and stuff. If you like, you can get the weapons racks out and ready while I do that."

As expected, Gwyn was right at the front of the queue to tackle the course, with Nesta and Emerie right behind her, she was bouncing on her toes, waiting, waiting,

"Go!" Cassian's shout spurred her into action, and she leaped over the wall obscuring the course from her view, immediately ducking the padded bar swinging towards her head. She kept light on her feet as she ducked and weaved between moving obstacles, one wrong step and she'd be sent flying. Gwyn kept her focus on one obstacle at a time, facing one, and moving to the next, she rolled sideways, and leaped onto a wall to avoid the final bar, and it slammed into the wood next to her. She gasped, and glared at Azriel, but he chuckled, it wouldn't have really hurt her if she hadn't moved, just left a bruise perhaps, but the near-miss spurred her on, and she sprinted for the next obstacle, but her undivided focus left her exposed for the first 'enemy' to knock her feet out from underneath her. Gwyn gasped and rolled, and Nesta craned her neck to try to see at the sound, glaring at Cassian, and mouthed something at him,

"She says that if Gwyn's hurt, she'll kill us both," Cassian whispered, and Azriel snorted,

"She can try," Gwyn had rolled forwards, her hands automatically raising into her guard, and she easily blocked the next blow from the padded gloves,

"Wait! Az, how do I win?" She shouted when she ducked past and landed a blow, but barely ducked the backhanded counter-strike,

"You run, Gwyn. Run!" He shouted, "You have to beat the obstacles whilst avoiding your enemies, try not to activate the rest of them," Gwyn shot him a look before taking off, and made it past the next obstacle, before another 'enemy' activated, and she was trapped between the two of them. Azriel deactivated them with a quick command to his shadows before they could hurt her, but she was still stuck,

"Azriel!" She shouted, "Make them move, you idiot!" He didn't respond, and just chuckled at her annoyance, "Azriel!" She snapped again, and he reset the course, offering her a hand over the fence to the training ring, and chuckled when she slapped it aside, climbing over herself,

"Not bad for a first try. But, you've got to be aware of your surroundings a bit more, focus on the obstacle, but be aware of the rest of them, both of those enemies were avoidable, in fact, all of them are. When I tested this yesterday, I didn't set any off, Cass set off a few, but you should be able to avoid all of them. You're smaller than us, more agile, use that to your advantage." Gwyn nodded, and grinned when he marked her place, "Beat that next time."

Nesta came within spitting distance of Gwyn's record, a sprained ankle as she underestimated the distance of a jump sending her sprawling to the floor. She was still leaning against Cassian as he fussed whilst Emerie ran the course, only losing when a wing clipped an obstacle, knocking her off balance. She swore, but scrambled over the fence to join her sisters to watch the other females.

"Make sure you cool off, ladies," Azriel called, "Gwyn, you're with me," he stepped aside to a quiet corner of the ring. "First off, I want you to learn to move silently, it should be easy here, there's no stones to move, or creaky floorboards. Go and stand by the wall, and try to reach me without my hearing you."

"Your shadows-"

"They won't betray you, I honestly think they'd rather betray me than you," Gwyn snorted, "Make sure you place your feet carefully, and move slower than you think you need to." Gwyn nodded and Azriel turned his back, waiting for her footsteps to halt as she reached the wall. Ten meters. That was all she needed to cross. She took a deep breath, and fell silent, but after what must have been only a few steps, she rushed, placing a foot too quickly, and Azriel whirled, "Start again, you rushed, move slowly," Gwyn alerted him quickly three more times, groaning in exasperation each time he sent her back to the start, but gradually she started getting closer, only her excitement getting the better of her. She was one step away from him when she scuffed the ground,

"No!" she hissed when Azriel turned to face her, "I can do it, I can."

"I know you can, don't celebrate too early, that's the only issue." Gwyn sighed, and started again, this time remaining silent until she poked him in the shoulder and let out a whoop of delight, grinning at him, and he laughed. She was shining, and his heart leapt with her, his shadows too, her joy becoming his own, and she practically bounced up to him and beamed up at him. There was just something about her, her mere presence lifted his worries, and let his shadows roam, not constrained, but freed. She didn't chase them off as Elain had, or even Mor, she made them sing. He blinked, and realized he'd been staring, so coughed, and forced himself to look away, "Grab a sword, practice your basic movements silently."

Gwyn picked everything up remarkably quickly, it had only taken her half an hour to reach him, and now she was already adapting that technique to the swordplay, even moving the sword silently through the air. Azriel had begun coaching her through it, but now he too fell silent, just watching her, only occasionally offering pointers, and stopped her when he noticed her swings slowing down, her breathing speeding up,

"Go jog a lap, then stretch off, that's enough for today." Azriel stayed to watch, making sure she cooled off completely before leaving her to bathe and change, he should have reports to read from all his spies by now anyway, and Rhys would want an overview this evening.

*****

Gwyn toweled her hair off, and for the first time since she could remember, she had no work to do, Merrill hadn't sent her any messages, any demands more like, and she didn't feel like just sitting and reading on her own. She grabbed her book off her nightstand, and went to find Nesta, but made a face when she heard suspect noises from her friend's room, turning on her heel and heading back the way she had come. She still didn't want to be alone, so she knocked on Azriel's door, and pushed it open at the grunt from inside,

"Can I sit with you, Nesta is, uh, y'know, and I don't want to be on my own. I won't disturb you," she added, noticing the paperwork on his desk, and he smiled,

"Of course, it's just reports to go through,"

"Anything interesting?"

"No. Not yet, but I've only read through a couple, hopefully someone will have something." Gwyn nodded, and settled into an armchair to read. They fell into a comfortable silence, each reading their own material, at ease in each other's company.

As time wore on, Azriel's brows scrunched together, and he narrowed his eyes, even his shadows seemed agitated as they flitted between the two of them. Gwyn set her book aside, and crossed to his side, gently resting a hand on his shoulder,

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing important," he offered her a small smile, "Don't worry," Gwyn squeezed his shoulder softly,

"Az, what is it? Even if I can't help, let me take some of the burden. I won't pretend to know what your job's like, but please, let me help however I can."

"You are helping, by being here, by being safe, you're helping. I have so many people to worry about," he raised the papers, "I can't easily protect them, but you, and the rest of you here, I can keep you safe here. That burden lessens when you're all here." Gwyn softly cleared a spot on the desk, tiding the unusually messy papers, and sat in front of him,

"Did something go wrong?"

"No, I'm just worried it might, honestly, Gwyn, I'm fine." Gwyn narrowed her eyes disbelievingly but before she had a chance to respond, Azriel pushed his chair backwards, and made for the door, "I need to clear my head a bit, I'll be back in a bit."

"Oh, okay," of course he didn't want her help, she was probably just a nuisance, she couldn't possibly understand the stresses he faced on a daily basis. If he needed help he'd ask Cassian, she should leave him alone. But, even as she allowed him time, something made her feet move, made her climb the stairs to the roof.

The stars were beautiful, shining together, and she relaxed at the familiar sight, counting the stars as she had since she was a little girl. She stopped moving at the sight of another figure sitting on the edge of the roof, hunched over, his knees drawn up to his chest, with his great,beautiful wings drooping behind him. Gwyn made her presence known as she crossed the roof and sat beside him,

"Az," she whispered, and put an arm around his shoulders, "Please. Talk to me." he shook his head, staring into the distance still, even as a wing shifted closer to her, "What's wrong?" He just turned to face her, his beautiful face filled with despair, his eyes, usually so full of life were dimmed, empty. Gwyn moved before she knew what she was doing, cupping his face in her hand, and he leaned into the touch, "What happened?" She breathed,

"Nothing. That's the problem. Nothing. I can't even do my job." He broke off and turned away, but Gwyn turned him back,

"Talk to me."

"Rhys has a meeting with all the Camp Lords tomorrow, it could be the make or break moment for the rebellion. I was supposed to get information, who tries to fight his new laws, who wants to fight back, you know. I have nothing. He's going in blind. It's my fault, I failed him. Again." Tears pricked Gwyn's eyes at the despair in his voice, the self-loathing.

"You didn't fail anyone. You did everything you could."

"I could have gone in myself."

"To Illyria? They'd have clammed up completely at the slightest whiff that you were there. You have to trust your spies, and sometimes they won't find anything, and it isn't your fault."

"I couldn't even get them in to some camps."

"Again, they couldn't get in, not you. They work for you, but something that goes wrong on their end does not mean that you let anyone down. Sometimes things go wrong, and no-one is to blame."

"I can't keep letting him down."

"You don't keep letting him down. You could never let him down."

"I did. I wasn't with him when he went to that meeting. I could have stopped it." Gwyn knew the meeting he was talking about, "There was no-one to sniff his drink, if I had been there, she would never have been able to sink her claws into him." Gwyn just nestled into his side, letting him talk, "Fifty years, Gwyn. I failed to find a way to save him for fifty years! And then when he got back, I got injured at Hybern, I forced Feyre to go back to Spring. I am the reason that he almost lost his mate as soon as he found her. I should have known that the queens were after Feyre's sisters in the first place, but I failed them, too." Gwyn rubbed his shoulder, holding his gaze as he spoke, "I was too slow in the battle, he died because I couldn't help."

"No." Gwyn breathed, “He died to heal the Cauldron, you couldn't have done anything.”

"Yes, I could. I was with Helion, his specialty is spellwork. If I'd gotten him there faster, they could have worked together."

"You got him there fast enough to revive him."

"But without Feyre, we never would have had the chance. I can't risk something happening again, for all I know, they might all attack him at the meeting. He'd be fine, but still, I should know if there's a plan like that." Azriel finally stopped for a breath, his gaze returning a little, actually looking at her, not just seeing.

"Az, you have done everything and more that anyone could possibly expect. Plan for what might happen, with what you have, but we can't use what we don't have, so don't beat yourself up about it. Please." It broke her, seeing him like this, miserable, thinking he didn't deserve everything he had built for himself. She couldn't bear the thought of him suffering, alone, thinking that he'd failed those he loved most. Before she could reconsider, she was singing, singing the only song she knew would help him, his mother's lullaby,

Arrorró mi niño

Arrorró mi sol

Duérmase pedazo

De mi corazón

Cierre los ojitos

Ya se va a dormir

Que el pícaro sueño

No quiere venir.

Azriel's gaze remained on her as she sang, his breathing becoming more regular, until his shadows began to dance. She was still leaning against his side when the song finished, and she started again, tears pricking her eyes when he joined in, no hint of the misery left in his voice, just hope.

"Let's get to bed, it's late," she whispered, and Azriel didn't complain as she led him back to his room, but when she turned to leave, she couldn't. He needed her now. She perched on the bed beside him, setting a pillow against the wall, and sang again, stroking his hair as he drifted off to sleep, his head in her lap.

*****

Azriel actually felt rested for the first time in far too long, his mind clear, focused, and he carefully lifted Gwyn into his arms. She snuggled into him as he carried her back to her own room, leaving her sleeping, safe in her own bed. He left her a note,

Gone with Rhys to the meeting, I'll be back this evening. Thank you.

He stole one last look at Gwyn's sleeping form before slipping away.

#fanfiction #fanfic #acotar #acosf #a court of thorns and roses #a court of silver flames #Azriel #azriel x gwyn #gwyn #gwyn acosf #gwynriel #gwyneth berdara

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sugagimmesugar · 5 years

Text

Only Fools Fall for You Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Both. RM and Namjoon.

Chapter. 1 2 3 4 5 6 (In Progress)

“Why are you laughing?”,she asks, confused by his reaction.

His face drops, unsure whether to tell the girl he just met about RapMonster. Why can’t he just be Namjoon for a day? A few seconds of silence as he struggles to decide who to be today…..

Both. Both Namjoon and RM.

“ Actually, that’s me, I am RM. I am kind of on holiday right now, at least I have the whole day today and until tomorrow at 12 off, but in general I am in town for almost a week cause my band is playing some shows here. I was trying to be just Namjoon today but… I am RM too. Thanks for the compliment by the way, nobody’s ever recommended my own music to me.” He shoots her a shy smile, taking in her shocked reaction. Seconds later her expression changes to a mocking grin.

“Yea sure. Hozier my old buddy just popped by last week. I should really start a wall of fame in this place, with all these international celebrities dropping by all the time.” She rolls her eyes at him and leaves him sitting at the bar alone.

With a sigh, Namjoon takes out his phone, opening Spotify and starting up a playlist. “only fools fall for you” he hadn’t missed everything from her recommended album after all. While fixing a playlist he was lost in thought. He really liked this girl, hopefully he didn’t scare her away. Suddenly he comes to a solution, how he can easily convince her that he isn’t just some dickhead being cocky. He quickly checks with his manger, who reluctantly agrees.

A few minutes later, she returns, an annoyed expression on her face.

“Show me your music then, RM.”, she says, dragging out his name in a mocking manner and looking him straight in the eye.

“I am working on a proper playlist right now. But, I actually have a little, well, lets say a proposal for you.” He smirks, taking in her surprised and questioning expression. “How about, I repay you for this coffee tonight? As in, I buy you a drink. And we actually talk a bit. If you end up liking me and we enjoy each others company as much as I think we could… I fixed a backstage pass for the show tomorrow for you. It’s just an opportunity, I don’t wanna push anything on you. I just think you could have a fun night out.” She is looking shocked… again… So after a few seconds of awkward silence he decides to get back to the most important thing: “...Please, show me some more of your music! I’m really liking it so far.”, he laughs. He can see her processing what he just said. He cant help but smile at her overwhelmed look.

She shakes her head, a cautious smile on her lips, and turns to help some customers who just entered the store.

As he picks up his phone again he sees it blowing up.

*BTS GroupChat*

Hobi: RM youre bringing a girl tomorrow?

Jin: When did you meet a girl?

Jin: You havent even been out that long? Why bring her to the concert already?

JK: oooh hyung met a girl!

JK: Is she cute?

JK: Is it a date?

JK: Send a pic!

Joon: I met her today, we are getting along great and she doesnt believe me that I am RM so I decided to prove it to her. Also maybe its a date? We will see! She hasnt even said yes yet…..

Hobi: She hasnt even said yes yet? Well done, bro.

RM: JK I cant just take a picture of her, thats creepy.

Suga: why are you guys blowing up my phone like this? let rm try to get some swedish ass and let me nap.

V: *pic of him and Jimin doing the finger heart* cheering for u hyung!

He laughs, everybody is reacting as expected.

Getting back to the playlist he finally decides to add some BTS songs. Why not brag and prepare her for tomorrow night? He keeps on adding to the list, waiting for her to return.

“Wow, how many “favourites” do you have?” he almost jumps at the voice suddenly right behind him.

“You didn’t tell me there was a maximum number of songs allowed. I am making a playlist, putting in everything I like that you might like as well.” he turns around, facing her with a smile.

“I guess that’s valid…. But there’s no way I can listen to all that before our drink later. How ‘bout a top ten? And show me some of your band’s stuff, I wanna know what kinda concert I’m committing to before I say yes to you, stranger.” she laughs, picking up his empty coffee and putting down a notepad in front of him. “Write me a top ten list of songs you recommend by your band and some other stuff. I’ll put it on here at the store and then we can see what i decide.” she turns to leave with a wink.

He grabs her arm: “Wait, you believe me all of a sudden?”

“First of all, you can’t just grab me like that, I am still theoretically at work, even though there isn’t much to do. Secondly, I googled you, dumbass. Can’t really deny that you have the same face as RM… So I believe you. Its fucking weird, yes, but I guess the dude who’s album I have been spamming for days somehow found his way to me.” Another wink and she leaves him to sit alone… again.

A top ten list, with songs to convince her to come to the concert tomorrow? That’s surprisingly much pressure.

Eternal Sunshine by Epik High

Midsummer Madness by 88rising

So Far Away by Agust D

I can give you heaven by HONNE

U by HER

Personal by Kehlani

Make it Right by BTS

Spring Day by BTS

Baepsae by BTS

Mikrokosmos by BTS

It takes him a while but eventually he finds a way to narrow it down to 10 songs. Some of his general favourites but through the view of what y/n could like.

With a broad, dimpled grin, he waves her over. She just throws up a peace sign and nods, acknowledging his wave. A few minutes later she saunters over, two coffees in her hands.

“Thought we could both use some more caffeine, RapMonster.” she says with a small giggle. He flinches and she quickly continues “Anyways, I am ready for your list! I saw you redo it so many times I was afraid you weren’t gonna finish it today. So, hand it over and I will put it on. Any special order or just any of them? Is it a ranking?”

“Ok, so it’s not a ranking or anything, just the 10 songs I decided fit your taste best, or at least I hope so. BTS, as you know, is the group I am part of, so you can take those last. Agust D is one of the other members in the group and the song is from his solo-mixtape. Since you liked mine so much I thought you might like his stuff, too. Other than that it’s some friends of mine and general songs I jam to myself. I hope you like it.” He hands her the notepad, his 4 earlier drafts already in the trashcan closest to him. She takes it and smiles: “Oh, Kehlani! I love her! Let me just queue these and then I will be right back for the coffee.”

The two sit and drink coffee while the music plays, only occasionally interrupting the listening silence for some lyric explanations.

With the time being close to closing time, the store is empty once again, and unbothered by customers, y/n has slowly started swaying and occasionally dancing along to the music, fixing small things around the store or just dancing up and down behind the bar, just going along with the music. When “Make it Right” starts, she is fixing the last small things behind the bar. He can see her really jamming to the music and it makes him smile, he knows that ARMY loves the song and he has seen the stats and all that, but it’s something different to see someone in front of you, in such a casual way, just enjoying themselves and your music.

** Oh, oh, I can make it Right**

As the chorus hits, she is just grinning at him, dancing around him and actually singing along to it, messily since she doesn’t know the lyrics but still. A bright smile lights up his face at the view, as he watches her move through the room, putting away their mugs and lastly going to get her stuff, getting ready to leave. She emerges with a leather jacket over her arm and a bag on her shoulder. As the last notes of “Make it Right” are sounding out, she hits the pause button.

“Sorry, I’m gonna have to stop this here. I gotta lock up now so we gotta get going. Is it chill if we head to pub right away? I need to eat something before I can let you buy me a drink. I know a nice small place close to here, I doubt any of your fans would go there, so you don’t have to worry about getting recognized.” She shoots him an apologetic look as she turns off everything at the register. He gets up and gets ready to leave, waiting for her just outside the shop.

“Lead the way, you’re the local. I’ll eat anything and to be honest I am not picky with pubs, I would just prefer not to cause a scandal tonight by getting photographed at a pub with a girl.”

She laughs, “Oh god yea that would be bad. It’s just this way. Let’s go!”

#only fools #bts rm #bts suga #bts jimin #bts jin #bts v #bts jungkook #bts jhope #bts namjoon #bts taehyung #bts imagine #bts fanfic #namjoon x reader #namjoon x y/n #rm x reader #rm x y/n

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emulateharry · 7 years

Text

story of my life

Chapter 7

A/N: I know that certain events that I have taking place at the Indy OTRA show actually happened at different ones. But this is fiction. Big thanks to my dear friend Alex, @niallandharrymakemestrong, for her ideas and help on this one.

Kacey called every ticket outlet to try and get tickets to the sold out One Direction concert in Indianapolis. Nothing. She called her agent to see if she could pull some strings. Nothing. As a last resort, she turned to e-bay. Unbelievably, she found two pit tickets and meet and greet passes up for auction. The notes explained that the seller’s teenaged daughter had been getting in all kinds of trouble; getting caught shoplifting and sneaking out of the house at night. The last straw was catching the girl smoking weed with her boyfriend. Mom and dad, going for the ultimate punishment, grounded her and put the prized tickets that they had held for a year up for sale. When Kacey found the auction, there was only a half hour left to bid. The highest bid was up to $3000 for the pair. Determined to get the tickets, Kacey signed in and placed a maximum bid of $4000. Within seconds she was outbid by someone willing to go higher. With ten minutes left, Kacey placed another bid, this one outrageously high. She watched nervously as the bid climbed steadily. Chewing her thumbnail, she saw the total hit $9000 with two minutes to go. Oh please, please don’t let someone snipe her at the last second. She had typed in an even higher bid and was ready to hit the enter key as the last seconds ticked off. Time was up! She had won the auction. She was trying to imagine the surprise on Harry’s face when she showed up at the meet and greet. All for a mere $10,000. Her accountant was going to have kittens but it would be worth it.

She messaged the seller to inquire whether she could pick up the tickets rather than wait for mail. Fortunately, they were located only about 40 miles away in southern Indiana and Kacey made arrangements to meet them the next morning. Whooping for joy, she ran down the hall yelling for Laura.

“I got some! We’re going to see Harry!” she shouted over and over again. Laura indulged her by jumping up and down and shrieking with her but silently wondering how she was going to keep her best friend calm for the next week and a half.

It had taken all her restraint and some considerable acting ability to keep the surprise from Harry on their Facetime sessions. Kacey could hardly contain her excitement and talked about it non-stop, much to Laura’s chagrin. She had barely been able to write anything since returning from LA and was sure that her editor was going to complain but she just did not care; she couldn’t wait to see Harry. She spent two days deciding what to wear; it had to be perfect. She dragged Laura to every store in town to find just the right outfit. She wanted to be somewhat sexy but also able to dance without falling out of her clothes. She finally settled on a chambray romper with a broomstick lace cover up and converse. Cute, sexy with enough buttons undone, practical: perfect.

Concert day arrived and she awoke to a surprise: One Direction had dropped a new single while she slept. She couldn’t hit the Spotify button fast enough on her phone. She listened to it and actually squealed out loud when she got to Harry’s solo at the end. Kacey put Drag Me Down on a loop and snagged her headphones from the desk so it wouldn’t drive Laura mad. She was dying to call Harry but knew he was tied up in promo all day. Instead, she sent him a text gushing about how much she loved the new single and how awesome it sounded and how she hoped to talk to him tonight after his show. She hoped that her surprise was still intact and he had no idea. The meet and greet started at 4 and it was two hours to Indianapolis so they planned to leave at 1. She wasn’t sure she could make it until then. He was so close, so close.

They decided to take Laura’s car to Indy. She had a fully restored 1965 Mustang with a killer sound system and a massive engine that she tested as often as possible. Today Kacey wanted speed over her fun antique VW fastback. They piled in the car and pulled out the drive, Laura being a good neighbor by waiting until they were on the ramp to the interstate before cranking the stereo up. Singing loudly to classic rock songs heavy on the Led Zepellin and Rolling Stones, the trip seemed to take no time. Before she knew it, they were exiting to downtown Indianapolis and heading to the stadium. It was just after three when they parked the car and walked to the meet and greet venue. Showing their passes, they got in line chatting to the other fans waiting.

Kacey made sure that she and Laura were the last ones in the queue, letting any newcomers go ahead of them. She did not want to be rushed out by other fans waiting in line when she saw him. Her nerves began ramping up as they moved closer to the head of the line and she started to second guess her plan. What if he wasn’t happy to see her? What if he was annoyed? Oh my god, what if he had another girl here with him?? Laura thought she might have to slap Kacey to keep her from hysterics but, fortunately, holding her hands and talking her down worked instead.

The line crept forward and at last they were standing at the doorway to the room where the boys were. Kacey hid behind Laura and peered in. Harry had his back to them and was hugging the fan who had been right in from of them. The security personnel signaled for them to move in and Kacey stepped through the doorway. Niall was looking at the door, his attention fully on Laura, smile bright. He was hoping that she was there for him when he glanced to her right and saw Kacey. He did a classic double take, his face broke into a huge grin and he looked over at Harry who still had his back to them. Liam and Louis were curious as to what Niall was excited about, looking at the girls, when he motioned for them to watch. Kacey could barely make her feet move, her heart was pounding and her hands sweating, she was walking toward him as if in a trance. There was a lump in her throat that made swallowing difficult. Harry was turning around and his eye alit on Laura who was in the front. She moved over toward Niall and that enabled Harry to see Kacey behind her.

A look of confusion passed over his face and he blinked several times as if to clear his vision. “Kassidy?” he whispered, incredulous. She nodded, smile growing on her lips. Once he realized that it was really her and not his imagination, he took three long strides and dipped down to wrap her in a hug lifting her off her feet. He was holding her against him, inhaling her scent, and stroking her hair. His heart was thumping as he drew back to look at her. Liam and Louis were staring at him as if he had lost his mind, Niall was smiling beatifically, and Laura was watching to make sure that Kacey was okay. Putting her down, Harry took Kacey’s hand and pulled her behind a partition, out of sight of any stray fan and their camera. Watching the two of them scurry away, the boys all turned to Laura.

Realizing that three very good looking men had their attention focused on her made her a tiny bit nervous. She cleared her throat and declared “Laura O’Hara, best friend of the brazen hussy.” She reached out her hand to the boys, but instead they smiled and moved in. Surrounding her in a group hug, Niall was hugging just a bit tighter than the others.

Behind the banners, Harry caressed Kacey’s cheek looking at her like she was a dream. He bent and kissed her as if it had been years since he had tasted her. He was holding her close, touching as much of her body as he could with his own, memorizing the feel of her. They broke apart and he kissed her forehead and then her eyelids before touching the tip of her nose with his and saying “Hi, beautiful.”

Kacey smiled and replied “Hello, handsome.” Harry grinned at her then moved to hold her face gently and kissed her again, his thumbs stroking her temples. They were startled out of their kiss by a loud “Oi” and looked over at Louis who was standing with arms crossed, apparently waiting for an explanation with Liam beside him looking puzzled.

Harry gave them a huge smile and said “This is Kassidy Day. Kassidy, Liam and Louis.”

“So, you’re the one he’s been hiding from us,” Louis exclaimed as he moved to greet her properly. Liam followed and they were both giving her hugs when Niall came around the screen with Laura in tow. Kacey greeted Niall and then introduced Laura to Harry. Laura was looking a tiny bit dazed which Kacey attributed to a certain blond Irishman.

Kacey looked up at Harry and asked hopefully “Were you surprised?”

“I still am! How did you get tickets? This one has been sold out since last year,” Harry inquired of Kacey.

“E-bay. You really can buy anything on there. I swear I saw a kidney for sale last week,” she replied jokingly. Harry laughed but the other three just looked bewildered.

“Don’t worry, you get used to it. Eventually,” Laura assured them wryly.

“I was ‘highly motivated’ to win the auction,” Kacey said silkily to Harry. His gaze was intense as he raised one eyebrow at her.

The tour manager came up to the group ready to usher the girls out and the boys to their dressing rooms. Harry interceded and explained that they would be needing some credentials because the girls were coming with. Clearly unhappy about this unplanned course of action she tried to object but Harry just looked placidly at her, blinking slowly but otherwise not moving, until she radioed for badges.

Kacey leaned in and whispered “I don’t want to cause any trouble! We have tickets and…” Harry interrupted her with a kiss.

“It will be no trouble, love. People come to visit us all the time. I’m really glad that it’s you this time,” his voice as soft as his smile.

Louis and Liam had walked on ahead to the dressing rooms when Laura, watching Kacey and Harry, turned to Niall and asked “Are they always this gooey together?”

Niall snorted out a laugh and replied “I would bet on it. Only seen them together once. Seems worse now.”

Kacey retorted “I am not gooey!”

Harry smirked and said quietly “Not yet…”

“I heard that! Watching you Styles!” Laura’s voice came from behind them. The corridor echoed with Harry’s laugh.

Backstage before the show there was little time for them to be alone. Kacey and Laura were fascinated by the hum of activity that constituted show prep; the million little details to attend to. Niall and Laura seemed to be hitting it off well and he offered to give her a quick tour. As soon as they walked off Harry grabbed Kacey and headed for his dressing room. They managed five minutes in his room, with the door barred by a chair, during which they tried desperately to consume one another. Harry was kissing along her jaw while unbuttoning Kacey’s romper, delighted to find no bra underneath. Pulling it open, he snagged a nipple with his lips and licked, sucked and nipped gently with his teeth until Kacey wanted to scream. Moving to the other breast he repeated the process until he had Kacey moaning and tugging on his hair, trying to push his head lower. He had just raised his face to hers and captured her mouth, her hands trying desperately to get inside the waistband of his jeans, when there was a pounding on the door alerting him to get ready for stage. Cursing under his breath, he heard her whimper in frustration. Pulling her into a fierce embrace, they held each other until they could breathe normally and the passion eased enough for them to let go.

“After the show,” Harry said thickly, “The hotel is close.”

“Um, that could work. Or, you could come home with me for a few days…” she trailed off, afraid to look at his face to see the ‘no’ there.

Harry was quiet for a moment, thinking furiously. Was there anything that he couldn’t get out of during this break? No. He had planned to fly to LA but there was nothing pressing.

“That sounds like a plan,” he said with a grin, tilting her face up to his.

Her eyes lit up and she squealed before scattering kisses enthusiastically all over his cheeks and lips. Laughing he pulled away and buttoned her romper again then moved to unblock the door.

“We’d better get you to your seats,” his tone reluctant. One more kiss and he opened the door to find Laura and Niall standing there, arms crossed, with knowing looks. “What?” he asked guiltily.

“Missed a button there, Kace,” said Laura pointedly while Niall sniggered at them and Harry just looked very pleased with himself.

Kacey blushed and hastily redid her buttons then reached to kiss Harry on the cheek. She had noticed the chemistry between her best friend and Niall and the way that he was looking at Laura. She managed to get Laura’s attention and inquire, via subtle facial expressions, if she wanted to invite Niall to come home with them too. Getting an affirmative, Kacey mentioned to Niall that she had plenty of room in her house if he wanted to join them for a few days. His face lit up as he accepted the invite. The boys hustled to the bus to grab the bags that they had packed before arriving at the venue and returned them to the dressing rooms. Asking Laura for her keys, Harry had one of the staff retrieve her car from the lot to have it near the exit so they could get out of the stadium before anyone in the crowd realized they were not in the buses. Harry had arranged for a security guard to escort the girls to VIP seats and to bring them back after the show. Kacey and Laura walked out into the stadium while the boys made their last-minute preparations. Not ten minutes later the intro video began and the crowd came alive.

Harry was having some difficulty keeping his mind on his job. He had been swaggering and gesturing more than usual, showing off for Kacey in the audience. He had almost missed his cues a couple of times already and Louis was getting annoyed with him while Liam just shook his head. He took a spectacular fall while dragging a microphone stand behind him as he strutted across the stage, his attention on Kacey instead of where he was walking. To be fair, the stand caught on a flap of stage floor that was loose and the mishap was not entirely due to Harry’s inattention. The wipeout was embarrassing, and a little painful, nonetheless. Fans laughed as he lay there for a few seconds before getting up and brushing himself off. He gave them a deep bow and sheepish grin, knowing that it would be all over the internet before the concert was even over. He looked over at Kacey and saw her scowling. For a moment, he thought the expression was aimed at him and his heart sank, then he noticed Laura’s hand on Kacey’s arm. She was talking animatedly in Kacey’s ear while Kacey glared at the fans around them, her hands flexing and clenching repeatedly. He couldn’t see anything wrong but made a mental note to find out about it after.

Kacey and Laura were having a great time dancing and singing along. Niall and Harry seemed to spend quite a lot of time in their section of the stage. Niall was playing directly to them on ‘Alive’ and they responded with some headbanging and hair flipping that would have made any metal head proud. Harry was oozing sex all night, his hips demonstrating just how well he could move. His signature crotch grab was aimed directly at Kacey and he finished it off with a slow lick of his lips. The antics were whipping the girls around them into a fever of adolescent sexual agitation. Her emotions were running just as high as Harry’s and each of his moves spoke directly to her nether regions.

When he fell, Kacey saw his grimace of pain and watched, concerned. When the fans around them started laughing and calling him clumsy, it was all Laura could do to restrain her.

“Kacey! You cannot go slap the shit out of teenaged girls. You’ll get arrested. KACEY! You won’t get to see Harry after the show if you’re in jail!”

The last entreaty cut through her anger and made it to Kacey’s brain. Reluctantly she let Laura draw her back into the show. Occasionally throwing a vicious glance at the girls behind them, she resolved to let them live.

The show was almost over when the bass line for Drag Me Down started. The crowd went crazy. Kacey was enthralled and when Harry belted out his solo at the end she was screaming along with everyone else in the stadium. The air was thick with electricity and sex and, when he looked at her after the last note faded, it took almost every ounce of her self-control to not fling herself at him. Her already intense longing for him was exacerbated by the nature of the situation. A close look revealed that his jeans were somewhat more snug than they had been. As much as she had enjoyed it, she was glad that they concert was almost over. The boys were making their last speeches when the security guard from earlier arrived to escort them back stage. As they moved out of sight of the crowd the intro for ‘Best Song Ever’ began.

They only had a few minutes to wait in Harry’s dressing room before the man himself arrived with Niall right behind. Trying to hurry, they decided to hold off on showers and settled for just changing clothes. Grabbing their bags, they headed for Laura’s car and had a quick discussion about seating arrangements. It was decided that Niall would sit up front with Laura while Harry and Kacey sat in the rear but Laura had one stipulation.

“Okay, you can sit back there but NO SEX IN MY CAR!” Laura said sternly pointing at them.

Kacey answered with an indignant tone “Laura O’Hara! That you would even suggest such a thing!” as Harry said, in a loud whisper, “Does she read minds?”

“No, I do not read minds, I just know a certain Kassidy Day very well. You can wait until we get home, Missy,” in her best mom voice.

“Yes ma’am,” Kacey replied, somewhat abashed. Niall and Harry laughed.

Everyone settled into their places, Niall and Harry covering their heads and faces just in case someone looked into the car. Laura turned the key, whipped the Mustang into drive and headed out of the parking lot ahead of the throngs of people streaming to their cars. It took only minutes to hit the entrance ramp of the interstate and they relaxed a bit.

As Kacey and Harry snuggled in the back seat, she and Laura entertained the boys with stories about their college years.

“So, Laura, your family’s Irish, is it?” Niall asked curiously.

“Oh yeah, we’re just three generations removed from the Emerald Isle” she responded in a thick brogue.

Niall smiled at her attempt while Kacey said “Wow, Laur, you can do an Irish accent too? I thought you only did French.”

Laura laughed and Niall turned to Kacey for explanation.

“We were in this bar one night and Laura pretended to be a French exchange student. ‘I am studying American Law at ze university.’” Kacey imitated a bad French accent. “These poor, dumb guys believed her. For two hours! They were just charmed and giggling at every little thing she said. It was quite the performance.”

“That was funny, but exhausting!” Laura laughed and the boys joined in.

“Have you ever been to France?” Harry asked.

“No. I just took a couple of years of it in high school. Kacey took French too. And Spanish. And Hebrew,” Laura informed proudly.

“I heard about that, actually. My friend Jeff told me about you talking to his dad at one of the parties after your premiere,” Harry said to Kacey.

“Oh! That’s right! Jeff Azoff, Irving’s son, right? Yes, that was fun. I only speak a little though,” Kacey replied. “I can say important things like ‘Hayom anee holechet el ha mo-adoan.’ That means ‘Today I am going to the community center.’”

“That could be very useful one day,” Niall laughed. “Harry has this one phrase in French that he uses in every interview.”

“What, Niall? It has served me well,” Harry defended, grinning. “Je suis alle au cinema avec mes copain et ma famille.”

“You’re going to the movies with your friends and your family? Who does that?” Laura asked, laughing.

“It could happen,” Harry retorted.

Kacey just smiled at his faux indignation and kissed his cheek.

They kept up easy conversation the rest of the short trip. It was nearing 1 AM when they pulled into the drive at Kacey’s. The landscape lighting provided enough illumination that they could see the house. Niall let out a whistle at the sight. Harry was impressed not only at the size of the place but also that it looked very inviting. It was a fitting home for Kacey.

Laura parked by the front porch and they climbed out into the warm night air. Grabbing their bags, they walked up the few stairs and Laura unlocked the door with the keypad and fingerprint scanner. Seeing the guys’ expressions, she shrugged and explained “Kacey likes gadgets.”

Harry loved the airy foyer, the double-sided stairs and the formal living room beyond. Niall, looking around, called out “Nice place you’ve got here…here…here!” in his best echo impersonation.

“Property is much cheaper here than in England. This was actually less than my flat in Belsize Park and came with 5 acres,” she explained.

Looking at Harry, Niall said “Remind me to look for a house here.”

“Okay, I know you guys have to be tired. Come on Niall, I’ll show you the bedrooms and you can pick one,” Laura invited.

They all headed up the stairs. On the second floor, Laura guided Niall to the left while Kacey and Harry went to the right toward the master. Calling their goodnights, they walked into her room. Closing the door behind him, Harry pulled Kacey into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. “Been waiting to do that all night,” he murmured. “I really want to make love to you, Kassidy, but I definitely need a shower first.”

Suddenly warm, Kacey took his hand and led him to the bathroom. Demonstrating the controls for the jets, she turned to leave when he pulled her back. “Join me?” he whispered.

“I thought you’d never ask,” she smiled.

“You have one of those instant heat water heaters in this house too?” Harry asked hopefully.

“Oh yeah,” she grinned at him.

“Best news I’ve had all day, baby” he muttered, bending to kiss her. Unbuttoning her romper, he brushed it from her shoulders and let it slide to the floor.

#soml7 #harry and kacey

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sugagimmesugar · 5 years

Text

Only Fools fall for You Chapter 2

The second chapter of my ReaderXNamjoon fic. First chapter is here. Hope you enjoy! Please give me some feedback if you can spare a minute! Thank you 💜🤟

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“Why are you laughing?”, she asks, confused by his reaction.

His face drops, unsure whether to tell the girl he just met about RapMonster. Why can’t he just be Namjoon for a day? A few seconds of silence as he struggles to decide who to be today…..

Both. Both Namjoon and RM.

With a sigh, Namjoon takes out his phone, opening Spotify and starting up a playlist. “only fools fall for you” he hadnt missed everything from her recommended album after all. While fixing a playlist he was lost in thought. He really liked this girl, hopefully he didnt scare her away. Suddenly he comes to a solution, how he can easily convince her that he isnt just some dickhead being cocky. He quickly checks with his manger, who reluctantly agrees.

A few minutes later, she returns, an annoyed expression on her face.

“Show me your music then, RM.”, she says, dragging out his name in a mocking manner and looking him straight in the eye.

“I am working on a proper playlist right now. But, I actually have a little, well, lets say a proposal for you.” He smirks, taking in her surprised and questioning expression. “How about, I repay you for this coffe tonight? As in, I buy you a drink. And we actually talk a bit. If you end up liking me and we enjoy each others company as much as I think we could… I fixed a backstage pass for the show tomorrow for you. It’s just an opportunity, I dont wanna push anything on you. I just think you could have a fun night out.” She is looking shocked… again… So after a few seconds of awkward silence he decides to get back to the most important thing: “...Please, show me some more of your music! I’m really liking it so far.”, he laughs. He can see her processing what he just said. He cant help but smile at her overwhelmed look.

She shakes her head, a cautious smile on her lips, and turns to help some customers who just entered the store.

As he picks up his phone again he sees it blowing up.

*BTS GroupChat*

Hobi: RM youre bringing a girl tomorrow?

Jin: When did you meet a girl?

Jin: You havent even been out that long? Why bring her to the concert already?

JK: oooh hyung met a girl!

JK: Is she cute?

JK: Is it a date?

JK: Send a pic!

Joon: I met her today, we are getting along great and she doesnt believe me that I am RM so I decided to prove it to her. Also maybe its a date? We will see! She hasnt even said yes yet…..

Hobi: She hasnt even said yes yet? Well done, bro.

RM: JK I cant just take a picture of her, thats creepy.

Suga: why are you guys blowing up my phone like this? let rm try to get some swedish ass and let me nap.

V: *pic of him and Jimin doing the finger heart* cheering for u hyung!

He laughs, everybody is reacting as expected.

Getting back to the playlist he finally decides to add some BTS songs. Why not brag and prepare her for tomorrow night? He keeps on adding to the list, waiting for her to return.

“Wow, how many “favourites” do you have?” he almost jumps at the voice suddenly right behind him.

“You didnt tell me there was a maximum number of songs allowed. I am making a playlist, putting in everything I like that you might like aswell.” he turns around, facing her with a smile.

He grabs her arm: “Wait, you believe me all of a sudden?”

“First of all, you can’t just grab me like that, I am still theoretically at work, even though there isnt much to do. Secondly, I googled you, dumbass. Can’t really deny that you have the same face as RM… So I believe you. Its fucking weird, yes, but I guess the dude who’s album I have been spamming for days somehow found his way to me.” Another wink and she leaves him to sit alone… again.

A top ten list, with songs to convince her to come to the concert tomorrow? That’s surprisingly much pressure.

1. Eternal Sunshine by Epik High

2. Midsummer Madness by 88rising

3. So Far Away by Agust D

4. I can give you heaven by HONNE

5. U by HER

6. Personal by Kehlani

7. Make it Right by BTS

8. Spring Day by BTS

9. Baepsae by BTS

10. Mikrokosmos by BTS

It takes him a while but eventually he finds a way to narrow it down to 10 songs. Some of his general favourites but through the view of what y/n could like.

With a broad, dimpled grin, he waves her over. She just throws up a peace sign and nods, acknowledging his wave. A few minutes later she saunters over, two coffees in her hands.

The two sit and drink coffee while the music plays, only occasionally interrupting the listening silence for some lyric explanations.

** Oh, oh, I can make it Right**

“Lead the way, you’re the local. I’ll eat anything and to be honest I am not picky with pubs, I would just prefer not to cause a scandal tonight by getting photographed at a pub with a girl.”

She laughs, “Oh god yea that would be bad. It’s just this way. Let’s go!”

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