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casuallyimagining · 3 years

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Fix You (1)

hybrid!Min Yoongi x female!reader

Summary: When you take in a stray cat, you have no idea he’s secretly a hybrid trying to escape his past. Can you help him heal? Genre: hurt/comfort, angst, slow burn, fluff Word Count: 3,660 Rating: M Warnings (may not appear in every part): minor character is a dick to animals, mentions of a gun, main character injury (non-serious), discussion of physical abuse, emotional abuse, discussion of sexual abuse, discussion of self-harm

Notes: This is for the March project for @thebtswritersclub. The prompt word was ‘adventure’ and I mean, what’s more of an adventure than adopting a pet? Banner by @birbdae; thanks to @voiceswithoutlips, @taetaesbaebaepsae, @hoebii and @aroseforyoongi for editing various parts of this for me.

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“That cat got into Rick’s chickens again. Killed a couple chicks. He said he’s going to kill it if he sees it on his property.”

Your dad had said it nonchalantly, barely glancing over his newspaper. Without a second thought, you were out the door. There was no way to be sure, not really, but the sinking feeling in your stomach made you run a little faster down your parents’ driveway.

You could have sworn you saw that cat slinking under Rick’s fence on your walk earlier.

Rick’s property neighbored that of your parents, but you wouldn’t necessarily consider him their neighbor. If you stood on their front porch, you could just barely make out Rick’s house through the stand of trees that served as the property line. Your parents had chosen to let their piece of the world be natural, carving out just enough space for a house and a decent sized yard all those years ago. It had made for some great childhood adventures in the woods: pretending fairies were real, living out your childhood fantasies of being some sort of wizard, making friends with the trees--normal kid stuff.

Rick, on the other hand, had turned his land into farmland, even though he neither farmed nor cared for the land. The vast rolling fields of Rick’s “farm” were mostly bare. He had a pond in one corner on the other side of the property, and he had a small cabin for hunting when game season started. Mostly, though, Rick raised chickens. Annoying things, the chickens were, not unlike Rick himself. It wasn’t uncommon to hear the hens’ incessant clucking from your parents’ house, and the roosters never seemed to shut up.

When you moved to the city to attend college, you were elated to get away from the chickens.

According to your dad, the cat had showed up in the woods a few weeks ago, and it had made an enemy out of Rick almost immediately. The poor thing was skinny--too skinny, like it had been living on the streets for a while--and though its dark fur was ruddy and matted, you could tell it would be a beautiful onyx if taken care of.

As you got closer to Rick’s farm, you heard barking and a sharp yowl, and you hurried in the direction of the sounds, afraid of what you’d find. Rounding the corner of the chicken coop, you gasped in horror.

Rick stood with his back to you, shotgun in his hands. His dog, an old bird hound with caramel spotted fur, had the cat clutched in his mouth, the dog’s teeth sunk directly into the cat’s shoulder. The cat, to its credit, had puffed itself up greatly, its tail nearly double its normal size. It was growling and hissing, and, despite the pain it was almost certainly in, was swiping at the dog with its front claws.

“Call your dog off, Rick.” Your voice was steadier than you thought it would be. You were out of breath from the run over there, and being anywhere near Rick with a gun and his snarling dog made you a little uneasy.

“Fuck off.” The man barely turned his head to you. “Damn cat’s been a pain in my ass since someone dumped it here. It killed four of my chicks.”

“Look at it. Of course it’s going after your chickens. You don’t keep them in their coop. It’s starving.”

“Damn thing should stay at your soft-ass parents’ house if it wants handouts.” Rick cocked his gun, pointing it at the cat. The cat’s copper eyes flashed to Rick at the sound. It looked terrified.

The fact that it knew what a gun was and knew to be afraid of it broke your heart a little bit.

“Call off the dog,” you said again, taking a step toward him, hands splayed out in front of you placatingly. “Calm down. I’ll get the cat out of your hair, and you won’t have to worry about it again.”

“Ain’t going to replace my chickens.” Rick’s voice was gruff, but he lowered the gun.

“I’ll pay for your chickens. Just call off your dog.”

He stared at the cat, the gun clutched in his hands but no longer pointing it at anything. For a second, you thought he was going to sicc the dog on the poor thing just to spite you and make a point. You had a feeling he was the type of person to do that. But after a tense stare down, he whistled through his teeth.

“Drop it,” he commanded the dog. The dog looked to its owner, and he repeated the command. It took a second, but the dog released its bite, and the cat slumped to the ground. Rick regarded the cat with a sneer before turning to you. “Take care of that thing. If I see it on my property one more time, it won’t be so lucky.”

You nodded tensely, and he whistled again. The dog trotted over to Rick’s side and the two walked off. You stared after him for a moment. A pained yowl drew your attention back to the cat.

The cat looked angry, and you didn’t blame it. Its tail was still puffed up, and you could tell that if it hadn’t just been attacked by a dog, its hackles would be straight up. Its copper eyes glared at you, its ears flat against its head. You approached cautiously, and it growled deeply in its throat.

“Hey, it’s okay,” you soothed, crouching down to make yourself less threatening. “I’m going to get you help. Is that okay?”

The cat hissed at you and attempted to back away. It made two limping steps before collapsing into the mud around the coop.

“That’s alright. It’s okay.” You sighed, unsure of your next steps. You didn’t want to traumatize the cat by coming any closer, and you really didn’t want to risk injuring it further by picking it up and having it fight you.

You looked at the cat, blinking slowly when you accidentally made eye contact with it. You had read somewhere that blinking was a way to show a cat that you weren’t a threat, and though you felt kind of silly, at this point, you were willing to try anything.

“What am I going to do with you, kitty?” you questioned, sitting down in the mud. The cat looked at you curiously, as if asking what the fuck you were doing. “I don’t want Rick to hurt you,” you confessed. “I’d like to take you somewhere safe.”

Truthfully, that was part of the reason why you were even visiting your parents. Your mom had told you about the cat, and how it didn’t seem to be wearing any collar, and while you were visiting them you wanted to try to trap it, either to bring it to live with you, or to take it to a nice shelter where it could get a good meal and hopefully find a nice family.

“Can I take you to the vet, at least?” You really were desperate, talking to the cat as if it understood what you were saying. The cat, to its credit, looked at you, copper eyes staring into your face before it blinked, just once, slowly and deliberately.

When you reached out to it, it didn’t growl.

You stood and approached the cat, doing your best not to make any sudden moves. You scooped it up gently, careful not to jostle his left shoulder too much, and cradled it close to your chest.

The walk back to your parents’ house was slow, but the trip to the vet was even slower.

It was a weekend, so the vet in your parents’ sleepy little suburb was closed. You had no choice but to pack your bags back up and make the trek home to the city to take the cat to the 24/7 emergency veterinary hospital.

You tapped your hand on the steering wheel. Traffic wasn’t usually this terrible on a weekend, but there was some sort of sporting event happening, so of course, all the roads into the city were clogged.

Stopped at a red light, you spared a glance toward your passenger seat. The cat laid on his side--it was a him, your mother had confirmed--his breathing labored. You could tell he was still on edge. His tail was still puffed up like a cat-of-nine-tails, and he kept eyeing you warily. But he had let you wrap him in a blanket and carry him to your car, and he had stayed on the seat, almost like he knew it was the safest place for him.

“Almost there, kitty,” you mumbled, changing lanes, finally free of the congestion. “Hang on just a little longer.”

Thankfully, the vet wasn’t busy, and you were able to get in with the assistant almost right away. You explained everything that had happened to her as she examined the cat, tutting slightly as she checked his shoulder.

“There are some punctures, but nothing that’s too worrying. I can bandage it and give you some antibiotics.” The assistant pulled her hand back as the cat swatted at her for touching his shoulder a little too forcefully. “Do you know if he has an owner? It would be helpful to know his shot records.”

You shook your head. “He just showed up in the woods one day.”

“We’ll get him a full round of vaccines, then, too.” Copper eyes met yours, and for a second, you thought you saw a look of concern cross them. But then he blinked, and it was gone.

The vet ordered an MRI, and thankfully, because it was a large veterinary hospital connected with the local university, they were able to do it the same day. So you ended up staying at the vet for two hours as they anesthetized the cat and did the scan. While the cat was waking up, the vet called you into the exam room.

“We checked for a microchip, and there was none,” the vet--Dr. Jung--informed you, his brow furrowed. “Based on the cat’s malnutrition and the condition of the coat, it’s likely he was a stray for at least a few months.” You nodded. The poor cat. “We should have the MRI results soon. I’ll give you a call in a few hours once I get a chance to read them. Normally, since he’s a stray, we would contact our foster network to see if anyone would be able to take him in. But since you brought him in-”

“I’ll keep him,” you said quickly. You were planning on it anyway. Just because he was hurt didn’t mean you were willing to give him up.

“Good.” Dr. Jung smiled at you. “My assistant is wrapping his shoulder now, and we’d like to just monitor him for a few more minutes to make sure he’s coming out of the anesthesia well, but you should be clear to take him home after that.” He placed a box on the table between you. “This is Clavamox. One millilitre twice a day for seven days. I don’t think he’ll develop an infection, but since he was so dirty, I think it’s probably better to be safe.” You nodded and pocketed the box. “We also gave him a rabies shot while he was here. It’s standard because he was bitten. If you notice any symptoms, please call us immediately. Once he’s feeling better, we can get him the rest of the vaccines he needs.”

You nodded. This was a lot all at once. And you didn’t even know what you wanted to call the cat yet.

Dr. Jung seemed to be able to tell you were feeling overwhelmed, because he offered you a comforting smile and patted your shoulder. “I’m going to go check on him. You can come if you want.”

As soon as you entered the room, groggy copper eyes were on you. The poor thing looked stoned out of his mind, but there was recognition there, and that gave you some comfort. At least he wasn’t glaring at you anymore. Dr. Jung’s assistant had wrapped his shoulder, so he had a bandage from his upper left front leg wrapped all the way around his chest and up around his shoulders.

“What are we going to do with you, kitty?” you questioned softly, reaching out and gently placing your hand on his head.

After checking the cat’s vitals one last time, Dr. Jung let you leave.

He was limp in your arms as you carried him into your apartment, still a little drugged up from the anesthesia. The whole way back to your apartment, he had sat in the passenger seat and looked out the window like a drunk, moody college student.

“It’s up to you if you want to stay, kitty,” you told him, gently laying him down on your couch as soon as you kicked your shoes off. Of course you wanted to keep him. You had grown attached to him in the few hours you had been with him. But if he was miserable, you were willing to help him find somewhere that was more suited for his needs.

He tried to stand, succeeding only long enough to give a dramatic wobble before collapsing back into the overstuffed cushion. While he was completely recovered from the anesthesia, Dr. Jung had warned you that the cat might be feeling the side effects for a day or so. You reached out to pet him, but his copper eyes slanted into a glare, and you pulled back.

Assuming the cat was hungry, you left him alone and headed into the kitchen. You had some chicken in the fridge, and you thought maybe he would enjoy some fresh meat he didn’t have to steal. You weren’t sure when his last real meal was, so you wanted to go easy on his digestive system until you knew he was feeling better. You’d have to stop and get cat food at some point, but for now, chicken would do.

You did your best to trim off all the fat from the chicken breast. You knew he wouldn’t mind eating it--cats ate weirder things from fresh kills, after all--but you figured with how thin he was, lean meat would probably be better. Carefully, you cut it up into small, easy-to-chew chunks and put some on a plate, wrapping the rest and putting it into the fridge for later. You used a dropper to evenly spread the required dose of the antibiotics onto the chicken in hopes that it would make it easier to give him the medicine.

Returning to the living room, you noticed that the cat hadn’t moved aside from doing his best to curl up as small as possible in the corner of the couch. You tried not to make eye contact with him as you pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and draped it on the cushions. You weren’t particularly keen on having raw chicken all over your furniture, but you sat the plate on the blanket anyway. There was no way you trusted the cat to be able to jump down off your couch at this point.

“Here’s some chicken, kitty.” You gestured toward the plate, and he eyed it warily, unmoving. You supposed he would feel more comfortable eating if you weren’t in the room. “Don’t leave it too long--it’ll go bad. I have to go do some work. I’ll be in my office if you need me. It’s just down the hall.” As you stood up, you paused. You were talking to a cat. You were talking to a cat as if it could understand exactly what you were saying.

Maybe your parents were right. Maybe you had been living alone for too long.

Your mother had suggested you get a hybrid when you first moved to the city--a nice, loyal, protective one, like a German shepherd hybrid or a golden retriever--but you had never gone further than passively looking.

You were happy for the hybrids. A majority of them were still owned, but they could move about their lives freely and without question. It was illegal to treat them as servants, and all ownership had to be consensual, though you weren’t sure how well those rules were enforced. You didn’t really understand how someone could just own a hybrid--they were people, after all, even if their DNA was a little altered. It was weird to you, owning another sentient being like that.

Their lives were certainly much better than they had been. Some hybrids were naturally occurring, but others--a majority of them--had been created by rich and powerful individuals and the government in secret during some shady human experiments in the early 20th century. And, of course, because they were experiments, it created a whole host of problems regarding rights and discrimination.

But despite all the improvements, there was still a long way to go. There was nothing wrong with owning a hybrid if it was consensual, but that didn’t mean you were necessarily comfortable with it.

After a few hours of sitting at your desk working on your most recent graphic design project for work, you turned away and stretched. If you had to stare at the color chartreuse for ten more minutes, you thought you would go blind. It was time to check on the cat anyway, and you wanted to make sure you threw away any chicken that was left on the plate you had given him so he wouldn’t get sick.

When you entered the living room, you were immediately confused. The cat was gone, but so was your blanket. The plate was still on the couch, almost exactly where you left it, but it was entirely empty. Wonderful. You had taken in some sort of Houdini cat.

You grabbed the plate and put it in the sink, trying to look for your blanket as you went. You found it when you returned to the living room, the corner sticking out from under your TV stand. There was just enough space between the bottom shelf and the floor for the cat to fit under, and apparently he had taken the blanket with him. You couldn’t really blame him--it was April, and it was late evening, and your floors were still a little chilly.

“Hey kitty?” you called, bending down to see if you could see him under the shelf. You had thought about it while working, and at this point, you were just going to lean into the whole ‘talking to the cat like he’s a person’ thing. “It’s starting to get late. I’m going to go get ready for bed, okay?” You could just barely see his copper eyes hidden all the way under the TV stand. His pupils were blown wide to capture all the ambient light they could. “You can explore or whatever you’re comfortable with tonight, but please don’t ruin my stuff. Please be a good kitty.”

He blinked once and continued to stare blankly at you.

“Okay, well… if I don’t see you, goodnight.”

You stood and headed off to your bathroom to start your nightly routine. It only took you about a half an hour, but you were soon laying down in bed with your book. You had started it a few days ago, but you were hooked, and you were already almost done with it. The author had managed to somehow insert a space alien robot into today’s modern digital age, and you found it fascinating. You would never look at social media and influencers the same way after reading this book.

It was cozy in your room with the little bedside lamp on, snuggled up in your blankets. Your bed was soft--it was one of those that you could change it using a remote to fit your mood and preference, but you almost always preferred it soft--and you had plenty of blankets and pillows to make it comfortable.

You only had a few pages left when you noticed it, the shadow lingering in the hallway, slowly getting closer to your open bedroom door. It started out against the wall across the hall. When you next looked up after glancing down to your book, the shadow had moved to your doorway. He even had turned his head away like he was pretending it was a coincidence that he had ended up in your room.

He was walking with a slight limp, which was unsurprising given the bandage and the fact that he was attacked not even 12 hours before. He was much more lucid than he was when you first brought him home, though you could tell he was still a little groggy. You didn’t say anything to him--you figured if you did, he would bolt, so you let him do what he wanted.

After a few minutes--maybe 15 or 20--you closed your book quietly, careful not to startle the cat. You glanced at the doorway and didn’t see him, so you put your book on your nightstand and turned off the light. It took you a second, but you snuggled down into the blankets, pulling them tightly around you. You were just about to drift off when you felt it.

Something landed gently on your bed by your feet. It paused for a moment before slowly making its way up the bed to your head, its gait uneven. When it got to the other pillow, it laid down. You risked opening an eye then, and were met with copper eyes staring back at you.

He watched you warily, as if waiting for you to yell or kick him off the bed. When you didn’t, his eyes narrowed, and he slowly allowed himself to lay down, his head on his paws, curled up as best as he could be.

You fell asleep to the sound of him snoring lightly.

As always, your feedback is appreciated. Feel free to pop into my ask box with questions or thoughts about the series. I’d love to hear from you!

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#yoongi x reader #min yoongi #min yoongi x reader #hybrid yoongi #hybrid yoongi x reader #bts hybrid au #hybrid au #thebtswritersclub #yoongi hybrid au #hybrid bts #hybridyoongi #yoongi hybrid #yoongihybrid #yoongi angst #bts angst #min yoongi angst

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yukippe · 3 years

Text

wonder what she thinks of me

for @yuekiweek day 3: reunions | word count: 2.3k | read on ao3

“you need to buy your books suki!!” sokka lectures through the phone. last year suki didn’t buy the books for any of her classes and she was fine. she isn’t actually planning on buying books this year either, except now sokka’s roped her into coming to his book club and she can’t lie and say she doesn’t like to watch sokka rant about something dumb while enjoying the baked goods that sokka will have convinced his gran gran and his parents to make for them.

unfortunatley, this means suki has to brave the bookstore during some fancy author signing to try to buy the book sokka’s demanded everyone read for next week. he’s still talking through the phone, though suki’s mostly tuned him out. she’s normally much better at listening to sokka’s rants, but the bookstore is packed with awkward high school students and suki would rather not, at the moment. she slips around a table of overpriced waterbottles and planners and weaves past a random grandpiano over to one of the computers with the bookstore directory. “sokka,” suki asks as she almost trips over a four year old holding a picture book. “why did you have to send me to this bookstore at this time?”

there’s a huff on the other end of the line and suki sighs deeply, “suki, please you should be thankful! they’re running a special discount if you buy a tote bag to go with the book this weekend!!” well. okay, maybe suki collects tote bags and sokka is probably being a good friend. but suki hasn’t been to this store before, having not bothered with buying her textbooks last year and getting anything for fun as an ebook. but sokka believes in the experience of a physical copy or whatever, so tote bags and author signings it is.

suki puts her phone between her shoulder and ear as she sets her fingers onto the keyboard of the computer directory, “hey, what’s the name of the book again?”

“have you listened to anything i’ve ever said to you?” sokka asks her. suki can picture him in their apartment at his desk, doing something fancy with math as he coaches her through a bookstore, pinching the bridge of his nose out of frustration. suki doesn’t actually need him to tell her the name of the book, she just likes to rile him up sometimes. she types in the title. suki thanks him for his help, asks him if hes found his glasses yet (the same glasses she hid before she left) and hangs up with a smirk.

adaptation by malinda lo. there, young adult section. it’s supposedly sci fi thriller and sokka, though he lacks taste in most things, has always had solid book taste. suki looks around for the sign to section she needs and spots it, tucked behind a tech display and next to the little cafe. suki walks over, eager to grab her book and get out of the shop. she walks through the shelves searching for the author’s with the last name l. malinda lo. there, suki reaches out to pluck the book of the shelf, when the back of her hand brushes against someone else.

suki steps back, book in hand, to look at the girl next to her. she has brown hair in a pretty updo and really cute heart shaped beaded earrings. she looks familiar, but suki isn’t sure where she recognizes her from.

“hi,” the other girl says, her voice sounds like a princess. all bells and whistling wind.

“uh,” suki coughs, smiling crookedly and titling her head. “hi!”

the other girl giggles at her, but her smile is warm and suki finds herself settling. “i’m yue - so adaptation? what made you interested in it?”

“oh, my friend is hosting a book club and this is this months pick,” suki tells her. maybe she should have done a little more research on the book before she’d shown up. she hadn’t really pictured a bookstore as the spot to meet a cute girl.

“oh!” yue says, surprised. “i have the same one assigned for my book club. do you want to grab something to drink and let me tell you about it?”

“sure,” suki says, her smile growing even wider. “that sounds great”

yue winks at her as she grabs the same book of the shelf, “perfect, there’s this bubble tea place a block a way i want to show you.” yue turns on her heel, her hair falling onto her back as yue bounces in her steps. suki checks to make sure her flannel is neat and her docs are tied before hurrying after yue.

the two of them wait in line one behind the other at the register and yue flips through the display before the register of pins and pens and bookmarks. a rainbow lion turtle eraser set catches suki’s eye and she lifts it up to her face to look at it closer. it’s the type of thing aang would like, so suki puts it on top of her book when she gets to the register. after she picks out the simplest canvas tote bad (most of them have obnoxious book puns katara would make fun of her for months about) and pays, suki finds yue waiting by the door peeling a sticker off of a sticker sheet suki remembers seeing on the display.

“so,’ yue asks. “where do you want your sticker?”

suki blinks, “what?”

yue waves the - oh it’s a hello kitty sticker with fairy wings. suki blinks at it, “um. cute?” she gets a smile for her efforts and then yue leans in and grabs her wrist, turning suki’s hand around and carefully placing the sticker onto the back of suki’s right hand.

“so,” yue says, after failing once more to steal a drink of suki’s boba. her mouth is screwed up in a light pout, but it feels teasing. “do you go to ba sing se u?”

only a little while later, they are wandering to nowhere in particular, still holding hands. yue keeps trying to steal a sip of suki’s drink even though when suki ordered yue had made a face at the idea of coffee boba. yue’s own drink is sweet like her. strawberry, reportedly to match yue’s nails which are done up in a neat mimic of the fruit.

suki nods, squeezing yue’s hand and lifting her drink over her head, too high up for yue to reach, though that doesn’t stop yue from playfully batting at it. neither of them caring about what passerby might think as they wobble on the sidewalk smiling at each other full of silliness. “yeah, i’m majoring in gender and women's studies with a minor in literature and art.”

yue lights up, the way she’s done every time suki’s shared a fact with her. suki’s face feels flushed, yue makes her feel like she’s on her first date ever. “oh wow!” yue says. “i’m majoring in four nations politics with a minor in theology and spiritual studies but i would love to see what your classes must be like. i think i could be a student forever, you know?”

and then yue doesn’t let go of suki’s wrist. instead, she links their fingers together and suki watches their hands held together hang between them. she looks up and smiles at yue, stupidly happy for a moment. and really, suki doesn’t even know for sure if yue is into girls even if yue does seem to be flagging. for now, suki just lets yue tug her down the street as her phone buzzes in her new tote bag with texts from sokka she’ll ignore for now.

“hm, not really, i think one degree is enough for me. but academics are cute,” suki says, watching as yue swings their hands back and forth as they walk. they’re both absolutely terrible at walking together, suki’s noticed. they can’t seem to walk in a straight line and suki’s almost fallen off the sidewalk twice already. it’s nice. suki’s finding that yue makes her comfortable everywhere.

“oh?” yue asks, her eyes twinkling. “does that mean you think i’m cute, suki?”

“hmmm,” suki teases out, a trace of laughter in her voice as yue finally manages to dart forward to steal her drink, finally realizing her success would be increased if she let go of suki’s hand. suki doesn’t even mind that much, wow. “well,” suki settles, after a moment of false consideration. “yeah, i think you’re pretty cute.”

yue winks at her, the same way she did in the bookstore, and takes a sip of suki’s bubble tea. then she makes a completely disgusted expression shoving suki’s drink back at her. “suki! that’s so gross, tui and la, how do you drink that?”

suki can’t help the laugh that spills out of her as yue sticks her tongue out and crosses her eyes, making a fuss that shouldn’t be as sweet as it is. well, suki’s always been a sucker for clowns. suki reaches out and links their hands back together and they both sip at their drink as they seem to stop together at the bus.

they make shy eye contact as a bus comes up to the stop. “so,” yue says. “i’ve got to go, i’m meeting up with a friend. but this was really fun, right?”

suki smiles, “yeah, it was really fun.”

“that’s great! i really liked talking with you!” yue informs her. then, yue leans forward and kisses suki’s cheek before turning around, and her earrings sparkle in the sunlight as she jumps onto the bus right before the bus doors close and it pulls away with the rest of the flow of traffic. suki blinks and watches it go, still feeling the soft touch of yue’s lips on her cheek.

when suki pulls her phone out of her bag to video call sokka he immediately points out the lipstick mark on her cheek and she resolves not to give him any details, no matter how much he pesters her

two weeks later, after bemoaning to ty lee about how she was dumb and completley forgot to ask the cute girl she met at the book store for her number, she sees yue again. at sokka’s book club.

the members of the secret book club hadn’t been a surprise for the most part, consisting of sokka (obviously), aang (one of sokka’s only friends who wasn’t a gay girl), azula, mai, ty lee and suki (the gay girls sokka was friends with). sokka’s parents, hakoda, kya and bato, had baked with sokka all last night and prepared a whole table full of snacks that sokka had made her haul over to their apartment. suki thinks it’s a ridiculous amount of food for their handful of friends, and then she and sokka ate a good section of it before their friends even show up.

mai, sokka and azula are arguing over the finer points of the book already even though the meeting has yet to officially start. sokka and azula, to be fair, have actual opinions that they are fiercly defending from their spots on the floor as mai causes problems on purpose on the couch she and ty lee stole as soon as they stepped through the front door.

there was only one person that had yet to arrive, and apparently only aang had met her before. azula had raised an eyebrow at the pronoun and asked sokka if he’d made friends with another gay girl. the answer had been yes, and suki who was looking for another chance at talking to a cute gay girl after flopping earlier in the month and failing at getting yue’s number or social media or anything, was looking forward to meeting the newest cute gay girl sokka was friends with.

sokka had impeccable taste in cute gay girls (besides azula). so really, maybe suki shouldn’t have been so surprised to answer the door when the bell rang to find yue holding a tray of pastries.

yue stands out in the hallway with its broken light, looking as pretty as the moon in the sky. her face breaks into a smile at the sight of suki, and suki’s sure her expression matches. “suki?!” yue asks. “wow, small world huh?”

suki nods back, her cheeks starting to hurt with how big she was beaming. “so,” suki says. “do you think i could make up for last week and get your number?”

laughter comes from behind suki, and suki knows her friends are probably making fun of them right now, but she’s too interested in yue’s answer to pay any attention.

yue rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t stop smiling, “of course suki, now do you want to help me bring these in so i can program it into your phone? no excuses not to call me this time.”

“don’t worry,” suki says as she takes the sweets from yue. “i’ll be sure to blow your phone up more than sokka when he’s trying to prove a point.”

she’s rewarded with another kiss to her cheek (and teasing from her friends at another lipstick stain) and yue’s number in her phone saved as yue🌙💖😘.

yue, through suki’s phone, texts something to herself and suki leans over yue’s shoulder to see what it is.

omg yue you’re so hot please go out with me <3

suki bumps yue’s shoulder as best as she can with her hands full and raises an eyebrow. “so, yue?” suki asks. “will you go out with me?”

yue giggles, her lipgloss sparkles and suki wonders what it tastes like, “of course, suki.”

a few seconds later, suki has her question answered and can confidently report that yue’s lipgloss tastes like mango.

suki passes the tray off to sokka, who was helpfully waiting right behind her with the tried familiar expression of accidentally setting up his exes. then, suki tugs yue into the loveseat, kicking out aang who had been sprawled across it.

book club is much more fun than suki was expecting, though almost all things are improved, suki finds, when she’s hanging out with her friends and eating sweets and practically sitting in the girl she likes lap while yue braids her hair and teases sokka with her. yue winks at her as aang and ty lee stop azula and sokka from getting into a fistfight with mai and sticks another hello kitty sticker onto her cheek. suki leans over and kisses the same spot on yue. fair is fair after all.

#atla #yueki #yue #suki #yuekiweek #r.txt #rey's writering #i love how i post before im finished bc im impatient and then i edit for days/j ;_; /

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softlass27 · 3 years

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Flufftober Day 29 – thunderstorm dedicated to @robertssvgden, because she loves the idea of robron + seb and eve as a family unit, and she deserves nice things x

AO3 link here

As they stood shivering in the schoolyard, Robert glanced above them.

“The heavens are gonna open any second now.”

Aaron tilted his head up to see dark clouds rapidly filling the sky, the wind picking up with every passing minute. They’d been getting weather warnings all day, broadcasters promising that tonight was guaranteed to bring a seriously wild storm their way.

Paddy was stuck on an overnight callout with some heavily-pregnant cows, and Aaron’s mum had called him about an hour ago to say that she didn't feel safe driving on the motorway in this weather, so she was stuck in… some hotel, she was pretty vague on the details. She’d told him she was away to meet with potential new suppliers, but between her terrible lying and the sound of an unexpected male voice in the background, Aaron suspected wherever his mother had gone had nothing to do with work.

Either way, Eve had no one to pick her up or look after her, so his mum had begged him to take her for the night – possibly the weekend. Like she needed to ask.

So now they were stood in their usual spot with the other parents at Hotten Primary, waiting to collect two kids instead of one.

Just as the first few droplets of rain began to hit their cheeks, Eve came out of the doors, her eyes quickly scanning the yard until she spotted them and ran over, schoolbag swinging in the air. When she was just a few feet away from them, a violent gust of wind blew behind her, pushing her tiny body along the last few steps until she crashed into Aaron’s legs with a small oof.

“Windy,” she said, blinking up at them.

“Yeah, squirt.” Aaron took the bag from her before it blew right out of her hand.

“Is Mummy not coming?”

“Her and your Dad are both stuck because of the storm. They can’t come back just yet so you’re gonna stay with us tonight, okay?”

“'Kay,” she nodded, pushing her increasingly wild hair out of her eyes.

“Just need to wait for Seb, then we can get home and out of this crazy weather.”

As the three of them stood waiting for the Year 3's to come out, another, even stronger, gust of wind nearly sent Eve flying to one side; Robert snagging her by the hood of her coat was the only thing that stopped her from tumbling to the ground.

“Right.” He grabbed her securely by the waist and picked her up. “Think I’d better hold onto you before you actually blow away, missy.”

“Wish Seb’d hurry up,” she mumbled, pulling her hood up and tucking her face into Robert’s neck, out of the stinging rain.

“Don’t we all?”

As much as Aaron adored his son, he was a notorious dawdler, always chatting to his teacher or messing around with his mates on his way outside. He’d take the rest of the afternoon to reach the school gates if he could.

Eventually, Seb made his way to the yard, surrounded by his usual gaggle of classmates. Any inclination he’d had to keep chatting to them was swiftly curbed by Aaron’s firm get over here now gesture. He jogged over sheepishly, cramming a beanie on top of his head.

“You get lost or summat?” Aaron rolled his eyes fondly, taking his PE kit from him.

“I went to check if my art project was dry and – ”

“Yep, lovely, you can tell us all about it on the way home,” Robert grumbled, wrapping his free hand around Seb’s shoulder and ushering him towards the car. “We need to get inside before this storm kicks off properly.”

They all clambered in and set off, Robert navigating the usual school run traffic with practiced ease.

“Dad?” Seb asked after a few minutes of driving.

“Hm?”

“Miss Brooks told us this is gonna be the biggest storm Yorkshire’s had in more than 20 years,” he said, wide-eyed. “The biggest since 2003. Was that one really massive?”

“It was, I remember it,” Robert nodded, flicking the windscreen wipers to faster setting. “New Year’s Eve. It put a massive hole in the pub roof n’all.”

“My pub?” Eve chimed in, eyes turning even bigger than Seb’s.

“Yep, it caved right in. I didn’t see it happen though; I was living on the farm, and I had to help my dad get all the animals inside so they’d be safe.”

“Woah.” Seb sounded so impressed, Robert didn’t have the heart to mention that someone had unfortunately died as a result of said hole in the roof.

“2003. That's so long ago,” Eve mused, fingertips following the paths of rainwater sliding down the window. “Years and years and – ”

“Yes, okay,” Robert said loudly. “I feel ancient now, thanks for that.”

Eve and Seb just laughed, like the demon spawn they both were.

“Do you remember the storm too, Dad?” Seb asked, a hand over his mouth failing to suppress the grin on his face.

“Nah, I wasn’t living in the village then,” Aaron smirked. “Was a bit before my time, I’m a lot younger than Old Man Sugden over here.”

“How old are you, Rob?”

“50,” Seb said with a snort.

“100!”

“150!"

“Kids, come on, he’s not a day over 72,” Aaron drawled, only to yelp when Robert briefly took a hand off the steering wheel to swipe at him, which only made the backseat passengers cackle even harder.

The laughter was suddenly cut short, however, when a wayward tree branch hit the bonnet with a loud bang, before bouncing off onto the road.

“Jesus!” Robert jerked the car in surprise, before quickly regaining control and continuing down the road in silence, hands gripping the wheel tightly.

Aaron glanced back to see both Seb and Eve’s smiles had been replaced with slightly nervous looks, Eve biting her bottom lip anxiously.

“It’s okay.” He quickly reached a hand back to pat her knee reassuringly. “It was just a tiny branch, practically a twig, nothing to worry about. We’ll be home soon.”

By the time they arrived in the village, the rain was lashing down, pelting the roof of the car so loudly they struggled to hear themselves talk. There was hardly anyone outside, and the few that were looked like they were quickly retreating indoors. They passed Leyla leaving her office with her head down, tottering unsteadily on her stiletto heels, and David and Jacob quickly pulling potted plants and buckets of umbrellas back into the safety of the shop.

As they pulled onto the drive, the ominous first sounds of thunder could be heard rumbling overhead.

“Okay, inside, go go go!”

The four of them scrambled out of the car and dashed towards the house, Robert fumbling with the keys to unlock the door.

“In your own time,” Aaron grouched, hunching over to shield the kids from the worst of it as best he could.

“Hang on, I can’t feel my bloody fingers.”

Eventually, he managed to get the key in the lock and they burst into the warmth of the house, already drenched in the brief minute it had taken to get inside.

“C-cold,” Seb shivered, peeling off his sodden hat and jacket and dropping them on the rug.

“So cold you forgot how to use a coat peg?” Robert said exasperatedly, picking it up. “Why don’t you two go upstairs and have a couple of nice, hot showers while I get tea started? Eve, you can use our mine and Aaron's bathroom, if you want? Aaron’ll help you turn the taps on.”

“Can I use your fancy shower gel?”

Robert sighed and ruffled her damp hair. “If you must.”

Eve grinned and began to follow Seb up the stairs, only to freeze at a flash of lightning.

“The storm won’t put a hole in this roof, will it?”

“You think Robert would let that happen?” Aaron smiled at her. “Nah, we built our place to be extra strong,”

“Storm-proof, even,” Robert added from the kitchen.

“See? We’re safe as houses in here, I promise. Go on upstairs, I’ll be there in a minute, yeah?”

Seemingly satisfied, Eve nodded and carried on up the stairs. They heard the sound of her feet running along the landing, presumably to what was unofficially dubbed as “her room”, since she spent so much time in it, before the door gently clicked shut.

“What’s for tea?” Aaron sighed, padding over to the kitchen and hooking his chin over Robert’s shoulder.

Robert hummed and leaned back against his chest while he chopped some veg. “Shepherd’s pie, should warm the kids up.”

“So domestic, you,” Aaron grinned, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. “I just hope the power doesn’t go out tonight.”

“Me too, otherwise we’ll have to keep them entertained the old-fashioned way.”

“What’s the old-fashioned way?”

“Er… how good are you at shadow puppets?”

A minute later, Seb came downstairs to find his dad frantically plugging every laptop and tablet into its charger.

#robron #my writing #flufftober2020

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rainbowglittr · 3 years

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Love and Marriage - Chapter 10 (Mature, Minors DNI)

Description:

After a loss in the family uncovers a family secret, Jaleia and her husband Jesse are forced to balance one family crisis after another along with their budding careers and their plans to expand their family. Will the pressure to keep everyone else together ruin their own relationship? Can ruined relationships be fixed before it’s too late?

Chapter 10:

Jesse's POV

I opened the door to our hotel room. I slept on the plane and I was still tired.

"Ooooooh." Diana said walking into the room behind me. We had a two room suite. I turned to Diana.

"Pick whatever room you want, shake out the blankets, and sleep. We got a busy day tomorrow. Or today." I rubbed my face. Diana slept on the plane and now was wide awake, touching everything in the room.

"Di, go to bed, I'm tired."

"Sorry, I'm just so excited. I can't even sleep! We haven't been here in so long. Thanks for bringing me. Oooh, let me take pictures by the window." She ran to the window.

"I'm going to bed, don't do anything crazy. Night." I said.

"Kay, night Jess!" She said

I found the bigger room and collapsed on the bed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"I miss you already, babe! I couldn't sleep." Jaleia said. I was face timing her before me and Diana left for the day. It was 5AM her time but 8AM in Cali.

"I miss you too, love. I haven't had to go away in a while. "

"I know. I hated it when you lived in L.A."

"Yeah, you kept telling me."

"So what's the schedule like?"

"Today me and Di are hanging out. This week and next I'm working with the new artists. The week after next is when I work with some famous people."

"Sounds fun. I'm going back to sleep. Love you."

"Alright baby, don't over sleep. Love you."

I hung up. I grabbed my wallet and keys and walked out the room. Our suite was nice, it had two rooms, a common area, a bathroom and a small kitchen area. It looked expensive as hell so I was glad that the studio was paying for it. I make decent money but sure as hell not enough to stay here for three weeks. Maybe not even 3 days.

I walked to Di's room and knocked on her door. After the "incident" we've all been more aware of knocking first.

"Di are you done? We gotta go!" I yelled through the door.

"Almost! I just gotta find the right shoes!"

"Well hurry up! We gotta pick up the rental car." I said. Because we were going to be here for a few weeks I got a rental to make it easier to get around. Having lived her before I knew the traffic was going to be shit.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Diana had not stopped talking since we left the hotel. It was making my head spin. We had just picked up the rental, and now we were now on our way to see the Hollywood Star Walk of Fame. Diana had been bugging me to take her. And as I predicted we were stuck in traffic.

"And hopefully we have time to go to Universal or Disneyland or world or whatever the one on cali is called. I can't wait to take selfies. What do you-"

"Di."

"I cannot wait so see L.A, like really see it.-"

"Diana."

"I'm just so Excited!!"

"DIANA!"

"What?"

"Just a second of silence, please." I said.

"Sorry." She said.

"Don't be, my head is killing me." I said which wasn't exactly a lie but I felt bad for killing her joy.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We got back to the hotel at midnight. Diana made me feel old. She dragged me everywhere on the Hollywood Stars to find her favorite stars. My feet and back hurt. I was done.

My phone rang and I groaned. I had spread out on the couch in the room while Di took a shower. I looked at the screen. Jaleia was face timing me. I answered.

"Hey Jess!" Jaleia said. She looked like she was in our bed.

"Hey bae." I said, trying to keep my eyes open.

"Awww, you look tired, how was your day? Diana drag you around?"

"Hell yeah! We went to the Hollywood Walk of fame. When I tell you I'm tired. I'm done! It was fun but damn."

"Aww, you're a good older bro. You look so tired. It's adorable."

"Woman, I am not adorable. I'm a man. I'm not adorable. "

"Yes you are! So cute when you're tired. I'll let you get some rest, make sure you call me. I love you."

"I promise I'll talk more tomorrow. I love you, bae. Bye."

"Bye."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The first few days in the studio were great. They knew what they wanted, what sound they were going for and they were already talented in music. There were three artists this week, Alana who was looking for a pop sound, Smoke R&B, Jazmyne soul. We worked on about three tracks in for each of them. When I'm in L.A it's a much bigger song writing and producing team. I got my man Dre, best friend since NYU, who produces, JD, Dre, Mandy all produce, and Mark, Green, and J.T and I all write. We do melodies and help produce as well but mostly we do the lyrics. I produce as well but my strength is in the lyrics. It's a lot of noise in the studio with more six people and usually it's hard to work like that but we've been doing it together for years and we're able to cut through all the nice to get the sound it words we need. We usually work in teams to produce an album.

Diana had been having a good time from what I could see hanging around the studio and watching us work. Anytime I could fit in I took her to different places around L.A, mostly places to eat because that's all we had time for. She couldn't get over the fact I used to live here before I got married. It was so hard to move but I had to, Jay couldn't since she was in her residency. But someday we're moving back. I had Diana on lunch duty, so she could get out from the studio for a moment. She picked up our lunch when it was within walking distance. She didn't mind because she once ran into Luke James and hasn't stopped talking about it since. So she volunteers to get lunch now.

On Wednesday, everyone decided to go out for lunch. I let Diana go with them since Dre was going and I knew he would look out after her like I would. He's known her since she was seven. I stayed behind to finish a track we were working. It was just me in the studio and I was so into working I didn't hear someone enter.

"Jess! How are you?" Imani Redd walked into the room. She was wearing a bra and those shorts girls wear where their whole ass is out. She hadn't changed much since I had last seen her in person except her hair was now blonde. She still looked good. I got up from my chair.

"Hey Imani." I said.

She laughed and said "You don't have to be so formal. We good. You looking hella nice. You didn't dress like that when we were together." She gave me a tight hug.

"What's up?" I said sitting down again.

"I heard I would be working with you and just wanted to swing by and say hello. I know we didn't leave on the best terms-"

"Fucking understatement of century there." I said, crossing my arms.

"But I wanted to make sure we were cool and that you knew how very sorry I am for doing that to you. You didn't deserve that. I loved you, I really did. I hate that I screwed it up, especially for a guy that wasn't even worth it. Are we good?" She said walking toward my chair. She bent down in front of my chair, putting her hands on the armrests of the chair. I leaned back to get her breasts out my face.

"Cause if we're not, I'm sure I can make it up to you." She whispered in my ear. I started to sweat.

"Um, we're good, what's in the past is in the past, there's no need to bring ANY of it back up. I'm actually glad what happened, happened, I wouldn't have met my WIFE if it hadn't." I said, rolling my chair back. She turned around and like I figured, almost her entire ass was out. As she bent down in front of me to pick some imaginary object off the floor, I stared at the ceiling.

"That's too bad," she said, now standing over my legs, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Cause I love to make a man happy and I've only gotten better. Congrats on getting married, Jess. I'll see you later. And please let me know if you need anything." She slid her hand down my chest slightly brushing my crotch. Her hips swayed as she walked out the room. I let out the breath I was holding in. I wasn't scheduled to work with her until the last week I was here but I could already tell she was going to be a problem.

>>>>>>>>

It was past 2AM in the morning as we sat and talked in the studio. Diana had passed out on the couch. All the artists had gone home and it was just Dre, Green, J.D and me left still trying to finish some tracks. Admittedly we stopped working a while ago.

"So you used to bag Imani?" Green said. Green was a 35 year old white guy who slept with any girl who would sleep with him. He's been divorced five times, all for the same reason - infidelity. He was a terrible partner but a great somgwriter.

"I used to date her, yes."

"How was she?" Green asked. Green was also a pothead, and had a few edibles earlier. He was still as vile sober as he was high. I wouldn't let him eat them anywhere near the studio, since I had Diana with me. Usually I didn't care but she was staring to get better and she wasn't going to pick up bad habit now.

"You know I don't talk about women like that. Especially since I'm married. " I said.

"Hmm. Yeah you let your wife whip you. But I would love to get that Imani in the sack. She got it all."

"I'm not whipped." They all gave me a look.

"Y'all think I'm whipped? Trippin."

"Nah, man I hate to say it, but she got you wrapped around her finger. Ain't nothing wrong, that's your girl. But hell yeah you whipped." Dre said.

"I'm not fucking whipped."

"I bet you had to beg her to come here. Especially once she found out about Imani. " J.D said.

"We talked about it but I ain't got to beg for shit!"

"Yeah, okay man." J.D said.

"I'm not whipped!"

"What happened between you and Imani anyway?" J.D asked.

"She did him dirty as hell. Played his ass." Dre said.

"We were engaged and she was cheating on me for months. I only found out because I walked in on her with another guy."

"Damn. She really had you going."

"He really acting like she wasn't shady before that though." Dre said.

"How was I supposed to know?"

"This nigga really gon ask that? She used to "go away" for the weekend and have "late night recording sessions" and never could show him a demo. You know that this nigga right here wrote like seven songs for her? Almost her whole first damn album. She played the hell out of you. I even told your stupid ass that she was doing you wrong. And you ain't want to hear it." Dre said.

"I was young and in love." I said. When he put it like that I did sound stupid for not knowing she was using me.

"More like young and dumb as hell!" J.D said. They all laughed.

"And you had the nerve to be all depressed afterwards, acting like you ain't know she was no good. I got sick of your Mopey ass. I guess the sex was that good. But I got to say you married well." Dre said.

"I did, didn't I? Well it's not like you had it together either. Remember that girl who tried to claim that you were her deadbeat baby daddy?" I said.

"Oooooohhhhh. She was a fucking nightmare. Almost ruined my relationship." Dre said. J.D's jaw dropped. We had met J.D after we got out of college.

"Followed him around campus everywhere. Dressed the kid just like him. You've dated some crazy ones, don't play me like that!" I said.

"Look, I would cheat on my girlfriend just to hit that ass. Imani got that ass." Green said.

"We know." We all said at once.

"I would never cheat. My girl would kill me if she ever found out." J.D said.

"I never want to lose my wife again. Not again. " Dre said.

"You cheated on Eva?"

"Before we got married, we were engaged. Wasn't worth it, it was the worst mistake I ever made. I would never do that again. And Jess is too whipped to even think about cheating. " Dre said.

"Fuck you... But you right about that." I said as they laughed.

"I know what it's like to be cheated on, so I would never do that her." I said.

"But you got to admit that Imani is fine. You would hit that again if you were single. "

"I'm happily married."

"He didn't say no."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"So what are you trying to say with the hook because it's really confusing. Is the relationship worth saying or not?" I said to Jazmyne. We were finishing up one of her songs and the chorus just didn't flow right.

"What I'm trying to say is I don't know what I want from the relationship. I guess I could make that more clear."

"Yeah, I really want that point driven home in the chorus. You're stuck between two feelings and you just want something worth fighting for."

"Oh my God, that's it!"

"Let's try it." I picked up my guitar and started to strum the melody.

Baby I'm stuck in the middle,

Of this one single issue

Don't know what I'm saying

And you seem to think I'm playing

Not sure if I don't want your love

Cause it feels like it's from above

I'm sick of being ignored

I just want a love worth fighting for

Jazmyne sang.

"I love that! I like the switched melody, and I love that new line. You are a freaking genius!"

"Nah, you did all the work. You ready to lay the vocals down for real?" I said.

"Yes!" She went into the recording booth, a couple of takes on the chorus and she was done.

"How does it feel to have all of the tracks to your first album ?"

"I'm so freaking excited! This shit was lit. So what happens next?"

"You're going to pick your favorites, and the ones you don't want on the album. You'll play it for some executives on the label and they'll give you feedback, you skim the tracklist and songs down more, hopefully get it approved. And then work on the cover art. They'll give you a date and some promo, and your album will be released. There's a bunch of other bull in between that but that's really it."

"I'm so excited. Wow that's a lot. But I'm so happy with everything, thanks for your help. Can I listen to them all?"

"Sure, they'll be unfinished of course."

"Yeah, it's fine. Thanks." I handed her some headphones.

Alana was almost done with her album. Jazmyne was done with hers. Smoke however, had a lot more to be done.

Usually writing an album takes several months and it did for them. We were just here to polish the songs they had, write any ones they were missing, and really curate the style they were trying to have and finish the demo album.

It was my second week in L.A and it had been great so far. Last weekend I took Diana to Disneyland and we had a great time. She was such a good sport about being cooped up in a studio for so long I really wanted to do something special. It was Friday night and it was going to be another night spent at the studio.

My phone started vibrating on the control panel. I put down my guitar and looked at screen. Jaleia's face lit up. I answered, propped my phone up nearby and started to strum my guitar lightly.

"Hey Jess!"

"Hey Love, what's up?"

"I miss you. I'm sorry I keep saying it and calling you and-"

"I never get tired of you. Call me anytime."

"How's Di?"

"She's having fun, I'm sure she'll tell you allllllllll about it when we get home."

"I feel kinda stupid."

"Why?"

"I cried cause I missed you so much. The house is a mess, I've been late so much lately. I can't wait for you to come back."

"Aww, I'm sorry baby. It's only one more week. I miss you too."

"I know."

"Did you see all the organization tips I left you? I know it's hard for you to adjust your schedule suddenly. "

"One of the worst parts of ADHD I guess. Your wife's a mess. What's new?"

"Jay, you're not a mess, don't talk like that. What you up to tonight? You look cute." She had a low cut silky night shirt on.

"Um, I am having a sleepover with the girls. I finally convinced everyone. A quiet girls night. Movies, wine, snacks and shit. Should be fun. I'm really lonely, please come home soon."

"I'll be home real soon, alright."

"Oh and Jess? I found your present. And it's beautiful. I'm wearing it now. I always wanted a tennis bracelet! Now I get to brag about how great you are. When you get home, you will get the biggest thank you ever. Whatever you want. Trust me."

"I knew you'd like it. And I'm looking forward to that thank you."

"I have a little sneak peak of something I bought for you." She said and pulled her shorts down a little so I could see the top of her lace panties.

"You like these?" She said pulling her shorts back up.

"Hell yeah, you look sexy. I'm still on the studio Jay, so I gotta call you back. I love you, Jay?"

"Yeah?"

"I really miss you too. You're amazing and I love you! Have fun tonight."

"Love you too Jess! I'll talk to you later!"

#love and marriage #original story #original writing #writers on tumblr #black writers #black characters

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kumeko · 4 years

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A/N: For the @todokamizine. I both hate and like this piece. Ahahaha.

Summary: Denki hadn’t expected to get a ride to work from a hot stranger. Then again, he didn’t expect the snowstorm or his car breaking down either. Hopefully, his luck was turning for the better.

…

There were few things that were as soul-crushing as the colour white. To be precise, as seeing the entire neighbourhood blanketed in the colour white. Denki had expected snow; almost everyone had texted him complaining about the winter storm on its way and the shovelling they’d have to do. He had expected it and yet, somehow, the sight of it still surprised him.

It was just so much. The roads, the houses, and more importantly, his car was just buried in snow. Maybe on the weekend, it’d be fine, but today was Monday. He was already late enough as it was without having to stop and clean his car.

“Fuck,” he swore as he took a deep breath. The cold cut into his lungs and this was going to be one those days. He just knew it. Mondays were the worst. Donning his gloves and hat, he reluctantly pushed open the lobby door and stepped out into ankle-deep snow. A little bit spilled into his boot, sending an ice-cold chill up his spine.

That was okay. He could do it. He just had to make it to his car, which was like three lots further down that it should have been because Bakugou was a bastard who stole other people’s parking spots. Denki glared at his neighbour’s window. Tonight, he was totally going to sick Kirishima on him.

Buoying himself with that thought, he marched toward his car, ignoring the bone-chilling winds and ice water in his boots. Maybe Kirishima would cook, and that thought fueled at least twenty minutes of distracting images of food as he brushed the snow off his car.

Before he left, he tossed a pile of snow at Bakugou’s car. The bastard had it coming.

-x-

Denki squinted at the roads over his steering wheel. Traffic was at a crawl and he wasn’t sure if he was in a lane anymore. The cars in front of him were misaligned from one another, like two lines that were trying and failing to merge into one. As long as he didn’t slide off the road, he could manage. At least, considering how bad the weather was, his boss had to be late too. Hell, maybe he could get to work earlier than his boss and ask him What took you so long and—

He wasn’t moving. Cars trudged forward around him, merging back into the single lane ahead of him, and he wasn’t moving.

Fuck.

“Oh no no no,” he muttered, pressing the gas as hard as he could. The car still didn’t move. He was trapped. Stuck. Panicking, he watched as everyone ignored him, heading straight to work. No one was going to help him and he was going to die and—no, he could do this. Hatsume, his mechanic, had prepared him for a situation just like this. What was the first thing she’d said again? She said to check the engine. Denki stared at the dashboard. The lights were on. Good. He pressed his foot on the gas and the engine rumbled as the car strained to go forward. Also good; his engine was fine.

Actually, no, this was terrible. Denki grimaced as he realized just what that meant. His tires were stuck. His tires were stuck in snow that was piled higher than his ankles in subzero temperatures. Well, there went his dream of getting to work today. Or anywhere at all.

Opening the door a crack, Denki flinched as a stream of cold air entered the car. Quickly, he slammed the door shut. Shit, that was cold. Maybe he could just call a tow truck. Pulling out his cell, Denki impatiently tapped on the screen to no avail. The battery had died. Of course it’d died. Today was Monday.

Nothing ever went right on Mondays.

Steeling himself, Denki opened the door once more and forced himself out. Snow spilled into his boot again, causing a chill to run up his spine. Resisting the urge to jump back into the car, he trudged to the back and checked the back wheel. A pile of dirty, mushy snow had gathered, stopping the car from moving any further.

Maybe if he pushed it—Denki laughed at the idea. With his scrawny arms? Impossible. The car would just roll back and hit him. No, he’d just have to rely on strangers. Waving at the incoming traffic, he gestured at the wheels. “I’m stuck! Help!”

No one stopped.

Okay. Maybe they couldn’t hear him. Clearing his throat, he yelled louder. “HEY. I’M STUCK. I’M GOING TO DIE. HELP.”

Still no one stopped. Fine, that was fine. Denki knew just what to do in situations like this. It was time to pull a page from Bakugou’s book. As the next car passed by, he jumped in front of it. “STOP DAMNIT!”

Which might not have been the best thing to do, but traffic was slow as it was. The car struggled to stop, skidding through the snow as the driver tried to avoid hitting him. It stopped just centimeters from his legs. Through the windshield, he could see a driver staring at him with wide eyes, just as surprised as he was.

“Oh, god, it worked. It worked.” His shoulders relaxed and now that he was paying attention, his heart was going a mile a minute. That had been scary. Pressing his hands on the hood of the stranger’s car, he bent over and took a deep breath, releasing his tension.

He’d stopped a car. He was going to get help. It would be fine.

“What the hell was that?”

Well, it would probably be fine as long as this guy didn’t stab him out of anger. Standing up shakily, Denki smiled shakily. “Car troubles?”

The other man stared at him, speechless. In the pale light of the morning, Denki stared at the guy’s hair, a half-red, half-white combination. Did the guy grow too old on one side? Was it a fashion statement? He wasn’t sure only that it looked really good on him. Maybe it was to distract from the burn mark that covered half his face. There was a pun to be made, about how hot he looked, but that would probably be insensitive.

Cars honked, angry that now half the road was blocked, and Denki remembered why they were here. Right. Clearing his throat, he gestured at his car, “I’m stuck.”

“I can see that,” the other guy replied dryly, and damn, his voice.

No, this wasn’t the time to get distracted. “Help?” Denki pleaded, clasping his hands together.

The man stared at him for a long moment. He then glanced at the road ahead and at the snow at his feet. With a resigned sigh, he ran a gloved hand through his hair and nodded. “Alright, I guess. It’s not like I was going to get there on time anyways.”

“Oh, thank you thank you thank you!” Denki resisted the urge to just hug the guy. He was saved! He was rescued!

“So, it’s just that your car’s stuck?” the guy asked, stepping closer to inspect the car.

“Yeah, the engine’s fine and everything. The back wheels are…buried.” Standing by right back wheel, he crouched and pointed pitifully at the pile of snow around the wheels. It looked even worse than it had before.

The man crouched beside him and now that he was closer, Denki could pick out a musky cologne. “Well…we could try pushing it out.”

“Pushing it out?” Distracted, he watched as the stranger went to the trunk, resting both hands on the car. His thick jacket didn’t indicate much of his physique. Maybe the guy was jacked. He certainly acted like he was.

“Yeah.” He stared at Denki expectantly. When he didn’t move, the guy sighed. “The steering wheel?”

“Right!” Denki flushed a dark red as he hurried to the driver’s seat. Turning the car back on, he slowly pressed down on the gas. There was a small jolt as the stranger pushed and for a brief second, he though the car would move.

Then a snowman knocked on his door. Before Denki could scream, the snowman wiped his face revealing a now really grumpy hot guy. Gingerly, he rolled down the window. “It didn’t work?”

The glare the guy gave him could have melted ice.

-x-

Half an hour of struggling to move the car didn’t do much for traffic. It was still slow as hell, but now Denki was finally moving with it.

Though, not in the way he’d expected. He glanced over to the driver, the stranger he’d more or less forced into this situation. Now that they were sitting in a cozy car, the guy had unzipped his jacket a little, revealing the top of a suit. A businessman, then. Resisting the urge to ogle, Denki smiled nervously. “It’s, uh, so nice and warm here.”

“We’re in a car,” was the deadpan response.

He wanted to bash his head against a wall for the stupidity of his comment. For once, he couldn’t even blame his job for this. “Yeah. Uh…Oh! I’m Denki Kaminari.” He almost held out his hand to shake before remembering they were in a car.

The other man stared at the road, his brow furrowing, before he finally replied, “Shouto Todoroki.”

A name. That was a good start. “Thanks for helping out and giving me a ride and, well, everything.” Denki sighed, remembering the call to the tow-truck. “I can’t believe it’s going to take an hour for them to get here.”

“Considering the weather, that’s pretty fast,” Shouto disagreed shortly.

“Oh. Right.” Was he going to say anything right? “Still, thanks.”

“Couldn’t let you freeze out there.” Shouto shrugged. Taking a hand off the wheel, he pulled out his phone and handed it to Denki. “Do you need to call anyone else? Your office?”

“I didn’t want them to know I’m late, but this is a great excuse, right? Man, though, they’re going to give me so much shit for not charging my phone.” He was rambling. Denki was aware of it and yet his mouth refused to stop. It was the curse of the passenger seat: he had to say something, anything to keep the silence at bay. “I’m an electrician, so the jokes kinda write themselves.”

“An electrician?” Shouto’s brow furrowed even more and for a moment, Denki wondered if he’d said something wrong. Did this guy have a vendetta against electricians?

What if he was an axe-murderer or something? He’d seen movies about hitchhikers getting murdered in the woods. With all this snow, his body wouldn’t be found till spring. “You’re not going to kill me, are you?”

“What?” Shouto stared at him, perplexed.

“Nevermind.”

Giving him one last confused look, Shouto shook his head and chuckled. “No, it’s just…you’re an electrician.” He laughed a little louder, his shoulders shaking and a smile growing on his face. “And your name is Denki Kaminari.”

Well, damn. If he looked hot stoic, Shouto looked even better when he smiled. “I get that a lot,” Denki managed to reply.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh.” Shouto swallowed back his laughter, but he looked a lot more relaxed now. Denki couldn’t tear his eyes away, it was like watching the beast transform into a prince. “It’s just…”

“My friends said the same thing.” Denki grinned, rubbing his neck as he remembered his best friend’s face. “And my parents were just—well, they didn’t really get to talk since they named me.”

“It’s really on the nose,” Shouto agreed. “Not that my name is much better.” He gestured at his hair. “This is actually natural.”

“Really?” Leaning to his side, Denki stared at Shouto’s strange half-and-half hair. “How?”

“A strange mutation.” Shouto shrugged. “Half my mom and…half my dad.” The last word he almost spit out, his expression darkening.

Clearly there was some bad blood there too. Trying to lighten the mood, Denki forced a laugh. “I guess we have really literal parents! Don’t tell me you’re a fireman, that would be too much.”

Shouto blinked before breaking into a smile again. “No, that would be too much. I’m a lawyer. It’s my first day, actually.”

“A lawyer?” Denki rubbed his forehead, remembering just how he’d jumped in front of the car. That wasn’t legal. There was definitely some law he broke. “You, uh, won’t sue me for this?”

“No, don’t worry about it.” Shouto laughed again and Denki felt an irrational surge of pride. He was getting good at pulling laughter out of him. “I’m only after actual criminals.”

It’d be better not to mention the stockpile of speeding and parking tickets he had, then. He glanced at Shouto. They looked like they were about the same age. “Your first day, huh. That’s gotta be fun.”

Shouto’s expression darkened again and he bit his lip. “I suppose,” he answered, sounding almost as frigid as his name.

“Or not.” Denki backpedaled as fast as he could. Wow, today was a great day for putting his foot in his mouth. Mondays. “First days suck, they’re the absolute worst. You have so much paperwork and it’s boring.” Was that a hint of a smile he spotted? Motivated, he rattled on, “Jobs suck too but not as much as first days. Or Monday’s.”

Shouto glanced at him, quirking his brow. “Hate your job that much?”

“Well…” Denki shrugged. “It’s not bad, I like everyone there, but.” He paused, mulling it over. “I’d just rather be home, playing video games.” Realizing he’d said more than he’d meant to, he covered his mouth. “I mean I…” What was a sophisticated hobby? “I play pool.”

Judging by how Shouto’s cheeks puffed with barely suppressed laughter, pool wasn’t half as cool as he thought it’d be. Sighing, Denki slumped against the door, staring morosely through the window. “I’m sorry, I’ve been told I ramble.”

“Don’t be.” Shouto looked cheerful as he turned the steering wheel. “I’ve been told I don’t talk enough.”

“No, really?” Denki couldn’t stop the sarcasm and he covered his mouth with a hand before anymore escaped.

Somehow, Shouto didn’t look the least put out. As the car slid to a stop, he merely nodded. “Yeah.”

Maybe he didn’t get sarcasm. Denki didn’t know if he should correct Shouto or just let him continue down this tragic path.

“To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to work.” Shouto turned toward him now and Denki got the full brunt of his stare, the bright blue eyes boring into his. His expression looked tranquil now, nothing at all like the stoic man who stopped his car. “But…I don’t know. I feel better about it now. Thanks.”

Denki flushed a bright red. His skin only burned hotter as Shouto reached forward and shook his hand. “I-I didn’t do anything.”

Shouto shook his head. “No, you did. Thanks.”

For a long moment, they sat there in silence, staring at one another. Denki didn’t know what he wanted to do next but a not-so small part of him wanted to lean forward and kiss the man. Which was stupid, he’d known this stranger for like thirty minutes. Sure, he was hot, but come on. As much as his friends teased him for being a disaster, in more than just the bi way, he wasn’t so far gone that he’d get attracted to someone that quickly.

Dimly, he was aware that Shouto was looking at him expectantly. Did he feel something too? Want something too? Denki was about to say something when he realized where they were: a parking lot at Starbucks.

“OH!” No wonder the guy was staring at him. This was the part where he was supposed to get out. Scrambling to pull on his hat and gloves, Denki tried to keep his voice even as he thanked Shouto. “Didn’t realize we were here—thanks for the ride.”

“It’s nothing. You’re the one who stopped me.” Shouto’s eyes shone with withheld mirth and Denki wanted to pull the laughter out of him one last time. “Literally.”

“You did say you wouldn’t sue me for that,” Denki replied playfully. “Guess I got lucky you weren’t cop.”

Shouto pursed his lips and for a brief second, Denki wondered if he’d said something wrong again. Just as quickly, Shouto pulled out of whatever dark thought he had, his lips twitching as he tried not to smile. “My dad is one.”

“Seriously?” He paled. What sort of cursed luck was that? “You, uh, aren’t going to get me arrested, are you? I swear I’ll pay my tickets. All of them.”

“He’s not in traffic either.” Shouto laughed and Denki watched, mesmerized. “You’re safe, though you should probably pay those tickets.”

“Yeah.” Denki reached into his pocket, scrounging around for one of his business cards. His fingers hit a hard edge and impulsively, he pulled it out and pressed the card into Shouto’s hand. “A-anyways, if you need anything, just let me know. I owe you one.”

Without waiting for a response, he burst out the door and ran into the Starbucks. Okay, so maybe he was just that level of bi-disaster. Making a beeline to the closest power outlet, he pulled out his phone charger from his work bag.

Maybe, if he was lucky, he’d find a text when his phone turned on.

Maybe Mondays weren’t so bad after all.

#shouto todoroki #todokami #denki kaminari #bnha #kaminari x todoroki #fanfic

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asthepheonixrises · 5 years

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After 87 years I finally wrote a thing

This (probably terrible) thing is for @thewintersoldierdisaster because that super super cool person passed the bar exam and I can’t even imagine the amount of hard work it took, and they definitely deserve a pat on the back. Or... a fic in their notifications??

Anyway. This is a Hopper x Reader fic, and the reader happens to be an almost lawyer! (Also pretty gender neutral!) Enjoy!

There was nothing better than coming back home after time spent in the city. You loved the hustle and bustle, but nothing beat the lazy ‘traffic’ that made up Hawkins’ Main Street.

A tired smile made its way to to your face as you made your way onto the porch, Jim’s face appearing behind the front door.

“Finally,” Hopper huffs, closing the door behind you. “It was gettin’ too damn quiet in here without you and the kid.”

You toe your shoes off next to Hopper’s boots, drop your bag beside them; and turn directly into Hopper’s chest, slowly winding your arms around his middle.

“Missed you.” You mumble into his chest, letting our body sag against his much larger frame.

He chuckles, a warm hand rubbing against your back. “How ‘bout we get you some dinner, and into bed early, huh?”

“Mmh, just gon’ stay here.” Jim can barely make out your words, your face is pushed so far into his shirt.

The older man laughs at your response; it was clear he was going to have to move you if he wanted to leave the doorway.

Hopper moves your arms from his waist to his shoulders, bends down and grasps the back of your thighs, causing your knees to give out so he could pick you up.

You let out a quiet sound of surprise, arms tightening around his neck. “Why are we moving?” You pout slightly, but make no effort to get away from the man as he walks through the cabin.

“Gettin you outta these damn work clothes, that’s what I’m doin’.” Jim huffs, setting you down in the bedroom and giving your hips a squeeze.

“How’d you think it went?” He asked quietly, sitting on the end of the bed as you unbuttoned your shirt.

The ‘it’ he was referring to was the bar exam you had taken several hours prior in Indianapolis. You had gone to law school; commuting into the city every week and returning on weekends to spend time with Jim and El, and you had spent the last few months studying non-stop for the bar exam.

You shrugged your shoulders as you tugged your slacks off, letting them fall to the floor with your previously discarded shirt.

“I won’t know for a day or two. I think I did okay, but I don’t know, I mean I could’ve completely failed, i have no idea!” You shove your fingers through your hair, a nervous habit.

“Hey, hey,” Jim leans forward, his large hands finding your hips and pulling you in between his legs. He kisses along your ribs, his hands sliding up and down the backs of your thighs.

“You are the smartest person I know, and you’ve studied so hard for this-“ you make a noise somewhere between a whine and a grunt, twisting slightly in his grip.

“Hey-“ his hands raise to your lower back, and press you into his chest. “‘m serious. You’ve worked so damn hard, there’s no way you coulda failed.” He lays a kiss on your breastbone, mustache tickling the delicate skin.

You make a face, winding your arms around his neck once again, your fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

He looks up at you, waiting for you to make eye contact.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if I fail.” You whisper, staring at Jim’s left ear.

“You won’t.” He answers immediately.

You roll your eyes, about to protest, but he starts talking before you can argue. “But if you do, and that’s a big if darlin, if you do fail, you’ll just try again. Study more and do more of those practice tests.”

Taking a deep breath, you start to pull away from Jim to continue getting undressed; the comfort of one of his flannel shirts was calling to you.

“Where d’you think you’re goin’?” Jim tightens his arms, creating a cage.

“To get my pajamas on, Jim, lemme go.” You giggle, pushing half heartedly at his broad chest.

“Mmh, I think I can think of something better to do.” Jim teases, his lips grazing your abdomen before he kisses across your belly.

Your hands find their way back to Hopper’s head, fingertips sliding beneath the collar of his shirt.

A loud bang from the front of the house startles you both, Jim’s head snapping to look out into the living room, his entire body drawing taut.

“I’M HOME!” El’s voice carries clearly into the bedroom, making you chuckle into the side of Jim’s head. You kiss his temple quickly, before slipping out of his grip to pull on one of Jim’s flannel shirts and a pair of shorts.

“Did Steve drive you?” Jim raises his voice slightly as he pushes himself off the bed and steps up to you as you’re buttoning your shirt.

“Yes! He took me home first so the pizza is not cold!” El shouts back, and you can hear her getting something out of the refrigerator.

Hopper chuckles as he leans down to kiss your cheek.

“I’m proud of you, darlin’, no matter what happens.”

“Thank you, Hop.” You whisper, smiling up at him.

The three of you spend the evening watching Magnum PI reruns, stuffing yourself full of greasy goodness while Hop grumbles beside you about the inaccuracies.

Three days later, you get a letter in the mail from the Indianapolis Bar Association.

Congratulations is the only thing you manage to read before you’re peeling out of the post office parking lot, most definitely speeding, as you rush to the police station.

Your sudden arrival startles Flo, and scares Callahan so badly he spills his cup of coffee all over his desk; but you pay them no mind as you tear down the hallway to Jim’s office.

You practically slam yourself into the door as you fling it open, the handle bouncing off the wall behind it.

Hopper jerks in his chair, mouth open to ask where the fire (or demogorgon) was, but your best him to the punch.

“I passed the bar.” You whisper, slightly out of breath from your antics.

“Wha-“ Hopper stands up behind his desk, frowning, not having really heard what you said.

“I passed the bar.” You repeat at a normal volume. “I passed the bar!!!” You’re yelling now, but you don’t care.

“Yes!” Hopper claps his hands together as he hurries out from behind his desk, enveloping you in a bear hug before you can even blink.

“I’m so damn proud o’ you, darlin’.” He says into your ear, still hugging you to his body.

“I’m gonna be a lawyer Hop!” You cry, a few tears slipping down your cheeks.

Jim sets you down gently, but doesn’t let you go far. “I can’t wait for you to be kickin ass right here in Hawkins with me, baby.” He grins, swiping a big thumb across your cheek.

You swat at his chest, pretending to glare at him. “I’ve been kicking ass this entire time, Jim Hopper!”

He laughs, tipping his head back before looking back down at you, his eyes sparkling.

“I knew you there was a reason I was keepin’ you around all this time.” He winks comically, a grin breaking out on his face.

“You’re a menace.” You snicker, grinning back at him. “I’ll make a cake to celebrate with tonight after dinner, hows that sound?”

Jim nods, wild grin turning to a soft smile.

“Sounds good to me. El’ll be really excited.”

“About the news, or the cake?” You ask, a laugh escaping you.

He snickers, rubbing a hand over his beard. “Both, but the cake will probably take priority.”

You nod, heading for the door. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.” You stop in the doorway, smiling back at the most amazing man you’ve met. “Thank you, Hop. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

He waves a hand, returning to his desk chair. “You definitely coulda done it with out me, babe, studying just wouldn’t have been as fun.” He grins again, leaning back in the chair and resting his foot over his knee.

You point a finger, scolding him. “A menace, Jim, you’re a menace.”

This is unedited and I read through it maybe once, and it’s the first thing I’ve posted in literally 100 years. I also posted on mobile so it’s probably hella fucky. Apologies.

And babe, I hope it’s okay that I tag you, and dedicate this to you, I just got a writing bug in my ear and felt like I should! So I did lol.

#chief hopper x reader #jim hopper x you #jim hopper x reader #hopper x reader #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfiction #my writing #imma reblog this to my brand spankin new stranger things side blog #I hope you like it babe!!!#I also kept it as gender neutral as I could bc I don’t know your pronouns and I didn’t want to assume!#the last thing I posted writing-wise was like - at least 5 years ago lmao #also im terrified of writing smut lmao #I tried several times and I took it all out

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sakuswritersblog · 5 years

Text

Don’t Want To Be Scared Anymore - A Noah Centineo Imagine

A/N: Hey Everyone! After a long hiatus I’m finally back with a new Noah Imagine. This prompt is probably the longest one I’ve written so far (18 pages) but it’s also my favorite one so I hope you all like it as much I liked writing it! Thank you for your request and for giving me a chance to improve my writing, I really appreciate it! As always thanks to my amazing friends @freeyourheartandsoul and @noahcenttrash for helping me out! Make sure to check their blogs out too! Now, enjoy reading and let me know what you think :)

Prompt request:

#14 “Wait, no, don’t stop kissing me.”

#24 “Daddy why aren’t mommy and you together?”

****

Unfortunately life, doesn't always turn out the way you want it to which, is something (Y/N) experienced first-hand, when she found out she was pregnant at only 18. As she was staring at the pregnancy test in her hand, she didn't know how to feel. She loved kids and always dreamed about being a mother someday, but now was definitely not the right time for it. She was barely a freshman in college and could barely take care of herself. And she knew that the guy she'd been seeing on and off for the last few months, who was also the father of this baby, wouldn't be able to take care of them either.

Noah was an aspiring actor, trying to make it in Hollywood. He'd been in a couple TV shows and movies but hasn't had his big break yet. She met him at a party she'd been invited to a few months ago where they immediately hit it off. Even though they've been hooking up and going out for a while, they weren't officially dating. It was more of a casual thing between them and she was happy with that. As much as (Y/N) liked Noah and wanted to keep seeing him, she wasn't really ready to commit to him just yet. She was still young and going to college and she wanted to make the most of the time she had there. At least that's what she'd planned for herself, but now that she was going to have a baby, she had to make new plans for her life. She also had to talk to Noah, which she was really nervous about.

Noah was great and treated her like no guy has ever treated her before, but neither of them talked about where their relationship was going, so she wasn't really sure how he'd react about the unexpected pregnancy news. Of course she would obviously still love her kid, even if Noah decided not to be in his or her life, but deep down she was hoping that she wouldn't have to go through this journey by herself.

Despite the initial shock at first, (Y/N) was really excited about this unexpected pregnancy. She already loved this kid so much and couldn't wait to meet him or her.

Once Noah found out about (Y/N)'s pregnancy he fully dedicated his time to be with her. He went to all of her appointments and baby classes with her, and even offered to live with her to help take care of the baby. (Y/N) dropped out of college to be there for the baby and for Noah, who had quickly become an important part of her life. Noah and (Y/N) were officially a couple and decided to raise this kid together. Over the last nine months he had taken such good care of her and (Y/N) learned so much more about him. It didn't take her very long to fall in love with Noah and she knew he felt the same way about her too. Being able to raise this kid with a loving boyfriend was even more exciting and she couldn't wait for the baby to arrive. Everything seemed perfect and (Y/N) had never been this happy in her life. But life as we know it is never really perfect which (Y/N) had to find out quite quickly.

A few weeks after their beautiful daughter Luna was born, Noah got offered to play the role of Jesus Foster, which was one of the lead characters on the hit show 'The Fosters'. Noah was really excited about the offer because that's something he'd been waiting for ever since he started his career as an actor and (Y/N) was happy for him too. She knew how much he'd wanted that job and how much it meant to him, but a part of her was hoping that he wouldn't take it and stay home with her and Luna instead.

Obviously Noah, did not turn down that role and spent most of his time on set to film while (Y/N) was at home, taking care of their daughter. She loved Noah and wanted to support him and his career but (Y/N) couldn't help but feel neglected after a while. He wasn't just busy with shooting episodes and being gone for most of the week, he was also doing promotions and interviews and barely had time for (Y/N) and their relationship. Noah still managed to be there for Luna and fulfilled all his duties as a dad, but he didn't manage to put the same kind of effort into being there for (Y/N) as her boyfriend. Even though (Y/N) still tried to make it work between them, their relationship unfortunately didn't last in the end. Noah chose his job over her and their relationship, which broke (Y/N)'s heart.

She wanted to hate Noah for breaking her heart, but she just couldn't. Despite of how much she was hurting, she couldn't take Luna away from her dad. Even though Noah had been a terrible boyfriend to (Y/N) these last few months, he had always been a great dad to Luna. They had an amazing father-daughter-bond, which (Y/N) couldn't take away from either of them.

So instead of taking all of his rights away from him, the both of them decided that Luna would stay with him on the weekends while she was living with (Y/N) for the rest of the week. It was the best thing to do for their daughter, and Luna's happiness was all that really mattered. After their break-up (Y/N) and Luna moved out of their shared apartment with Noah and stayed with her best friend Mia for a while. It was hard to manage everything, especially now that they weren't living together anymore, but they eventually got used to this new situation and managed to find a good routine that worked for both Noah and (Y/N).

****

Four years have passed since then and (Y/N) and Noah's relationship was a lot better now. Even though it took some time for (Y/N) to get over their breakup, she was in a good place now and even managed to become friends with Noah. They learned to support and lean on each other as co-parents and still took care of their daughter together. Life as a single mom was hard, but she was happy to have Noah back in her life, especially when things got a little overwhelming sometimes.

(Y/N) and Luna lived in downtown Los Angeles in a small apartment together, which was only a few blocks away from where Noah lived. He was the one who found and rented this place for them and (Y/N) was really grateful for that because finding a good, cheap, place to live here in LA is almost impossible, especially for a single mom like (Y/N). She only worked part-time as a waitress in a small restaurant and couldn't even imagine being able to afford a place like she lived in now, but thankfully Noah's financial support made it possible for them. She really didn't want his financial help at first, but Noah had insisted on stepping in and helping out. He was Luna's father and just as responsible for her happiness and well-being as (Y/N) was, which is why she agreed to accept his help in the end, even if she felt a little guilty about it.

It was Friday afternoon which meant Noah would be here soon to pick Luna up for their weekly father-daughter-weekend. (Y/N) was in Luna's nursery, packing her bag together for the weekend while Luna was playing with her dollhouse.

“Mommy, come play with me, please.” Luna called from behind her, holding one of her dolls out to (Y/N).

(Y/N) smiled at her daughter before she walked over to her. She squatted down and said, “I'd love to play with you, but your dad is coming to pick you up for the weekend any minute now and we have to get you ready for that. But we'll play together when you get back, okay, sweetie?”

Luna shrieked excitedly at (Y/N)'s words. “Daddy is coming today?” (Y/N) nodded and picked her up. She walked over to her bed where she sat her down to change her clothes.

“Are you excited to see your daddy again?” She asked as she changed Luna's dress.

“Yes! I love daddy!” Luna's eyes lit up as she talked about her father and (Y/N) couldn't help but smile at that. She loved how close Noah and Luna were and how much she adored her daddy.

“I know you do. But I hope you love your mommy too.” Luna nodded her tiny head and wrapped her small arms around (Y/N)'s neck.

“I love you too, mommy.” Luna said, making (Y/N) smile even more.

“and I love you, my little princess.” She kissed her daughter on the cheek before she finished getting her dressed.

“Okay. You're all done, beautiful. Let's get your things and wait for daddy in the living room, okay?” (Y/N) helped Luna down from the bed and grabbed the bag she had packed for her before heading over to the living room to wait for Noah. (Y/N) put Luna's favorite show Peppa Pig on to kill the waiting time while she started with some of the chores she needed to get done. A few minutes later she heard a knock and (Y/N) hurried over to open the door.

“Hey, sorry, I'm a little late. Traffic was crazy on the way here.” Noah apologized as he stepped over the threshold to enter the apartment.

“Don't worry about it. Luna's happily distracted with watching Peppa Pig, which as you know always saves the day.” (Y/N) said, making Noah laugh.

“Oh yes, I definitely know what you're talking about.” He responded as they made their way over to the living room, where their 4-year old daughter was focused on the big TV screen.

“Luna, sweetie, look who's here.” (Y/N) grabbed the remote from the table and paused the show, which made Luna immediately turn around. Once she saw Noah she leaped up from the couch and jumped right into his arms.

“Daddy!” She squeaked happily as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. Noah was beaming as he held her close to him.

“Hey, little munchkin. I missed you.” Luna poked his nose and giggled happily.

“I missed you too, daddy!”

(Y/N)'s heart melted at the sight of them and couldn't help but smile.

“Okay, say goodbye to your mommy, munchkin. It's time to go and start our daddy-daughter weekend adventure.” Luna pulled away from Noah and opened her tiny arms for a hug from her mom. (Y/N) picked her out of Noah's arms and hugged her tightly.

“See you on Sunday, sweetie. Have fun with your daddy, okay? I love you.” She kissed her daughter goodbye.

“I love you too, mommy!” (Y/N) smiled and let Luna back into Noah's arms before grabbing Luna's bags and handing them over to him too.

“Here's everything she needs for the weekend. If you need anything else or there's something missing, just give me a call, okay?” (Y/N) said, looking at Noah.

“Don't worry. I've got this. It's not my first weekend alone with this little monster.” He said as he made his way back to the door with his daughter and her bags in his arms. (Y/N) followed them and opened the door for them.

“I know. I just hate saying goodbye to her. It's the worst.” She looked at their daughter again, her heart stinging at the thought of being away from her until Sunday. Even though they'd been doing this for four years now, saying goodbye to Luna was still the hardest part of these split weekend arrangements.

“I know how you feel. It breaks my heart each time I have to drop her off back here. But hey, at least we're making it work. Not every separated couple with kids do. And if you really miss her that much just Facetime me and you can see her whenever you want.” Noah gave her a reassuring glance before walking out of the door.

“Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Noah. I'll see you on Sunday.” She smiled at him before kissing Luna one more time. “Bye, princess.”

Luna waved her tiny arms at her. “Bye bye mommy!” (Y/N) waved at them one more time before she closed the door behind her and walked back into the living room. Noah and Luna had barely left and (Y/N) already missed her like crazy. She didn't want to spend all weekend thinking about her daughter, which is why she distracted herself by cleaning and finishing up the rest of the chores she needed to get done for the day.

Sunday had finally arrived and (Y/N) was in the kitchen, cooking some dinner for her and Luna. She was stirring the pasta sauce she'd cooked, when she heard her phone ringing. She grabbed her phone and smiled when she saw who was calling her.

“Hey, mom.” She put the phone between her head and shoulder so she could continue cooking.

“Hello, honey. How are you doing?” Her mother asked through the phone.

(Y/N) answered, “I'm good. Just cooking some dinner for us right now. How are you doing, mom?”

“I'm very well, thank you, honey. I actually called you because I have some news. Good news.”

“Okay. What kind of good news do you have?” (Y/N) asked, curious about what her mom had to tell her.

“Well... you know that your sister's graduating college next week and since you can't be there to celebrate with us, we thought we'd all come to Los Angeles and visit you! We already booked our flights and found a nice hotel to stay at that's only 5 minutes away from your apartment. We'll be there next weekend and finally get to meet that handsome boyfriend of yours and see our beautiful granddaughter again, isn't that great, honey?”

(Y/N)'s heart stopped for a second when she heard the news and even felt the colors draining from her face. Her family coming to visit her should usually be good news, but in this case it really wasn't. Especially if meeting Noah for the first time was one of the reasons why they were visiting her in the first place. She never told her family about their break-up or about the fact that they weren't living together anymore, because she knew it would break their hearts. (Y/N)'s parents were really protective of her dating life because of something that happened to her when she was in high school and therefore wouldn't have reacted well to the way things ended between her and Noah. She wanted to protect Noah from her parents and protect her parent's feelings as well. So instead of telling them the truth, she kept telling them that Noah and her were still dating and that they lived together as a happy family in (Y/N)'s new apartment.

She even sent them family Christmas cards every year just to keep her story straight. She felt terrible for lying to her entire family but, it had all worked out really well... until now at least. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't tell them not to come because they'd get suspicious and ask all kinds of questions, but if she told them to come, they would find out that she'd been lying to them for years. And then they'd probably never talk to her again and, of course, (Y/N) didn't want that to happen. Whatever she decided to do, someone was going to wind up hurt and (Y/N) didn't want that either.

Stay calm, (Y/N), you're gonna figure something out. Don't worry about it. She thought, calming herself down.

(Y/N) took a deep breath before she answered, “Yeah... you're right. That's definitely great news mom.”

“I know, right? We're all so excited to see you again! Oh and make sure your boyfriend is there when we visit you. You've been trying to keep him to yourself for years now, but it's finally time to share him with us. Oh honey, I can't wait to meet him.” Her mom said, her voice filled with excitement.

“Yeah, I know you are, mom.” Before she could say something else, she heard someone open the door. It was probably Noah, who had a spare key to this apartment. (Y/N) waved at him when she saw him standing in the hallway with a sleeping Luna in his arms. Noah smiled at her before making his way over to Luna's nursery.

“Look, mom, Noah just got home from work and is super hungry so we're having dinner now. I'll call you back later, okay?” She felt bad for lying to her mom again, but she just wanted to escape this conversation as quickly as possible.

“Alright, tell him I said hi, okay? I love you, honey.”

“I love you too, mom. Bye.” She pressed the hang up button and put her phone away before letting out a heavy sigh.

“Hey, are you okay?” Noah's voice startled her. She turned around and saw him looking at her with concerned eyes.

“Yeah, I'm fine. How was your weekend? Did everything go well with Luna?” She quickly changed the topic.

Noah nodded, his hands hidden in the pockets of his jeans. “Yeah, it was great. We went to the zoo together and had some ice cream too. Luna loved it.”

(Y/N) smiled at that, “Sounds like you two had a great weekend then.”

“We did. Luna had two very adventurous days and immediately passed out on our ride over here. I put her down in her bed and she's still out like a champ. She will probably sleep through the night because I couldn't really get her to take naps when she was with me, no matter how much I tried.”

“Oh, that's okay. Don't worry about it.” She gave him a small smile before finishing up dinner. He smiled back at her before making his way back to the door.

“Hey, would you like to maybe stay for dinner? I cooked for me and Luna but since she's fast asleep in her bed I have a lot of food left.” (Y/N) asked, poking her head out of the kitchen.

Noah looked at her surprised, “Uh, sure... but only if it isn't too much trouble for you.”

“No, of course it isn't. You're family and there's never too much trouble for family. And there's actually something I would like to talk to you about.” She said as she set up the table for the both of them. Noah nodded and walked back into the kitchen, where he took a seat at the dining table. (Y/N) placed a plate of spaghetti in front of him before taking her own and sitting down next to him.

“Wow, this is really delicious, (Y/N).” Noah complimented, looking up from his plate.

“Well, it'd be kind of sad if I messed spaghetti up. It's like the easiest dish to cook.” She commented before putting another portion in her mouth.

“Oh, trust me, I've had a share of messed up spaghetti in my life and yours definitely isn't one of them.”

(Y/N) blushed a little at that. “Thanks.”

They ate their dinner quietly for a while until Noah broke the silence between them. “You said you wanted to talk about something?” He looked at (Y/N) again.

(Y/N) sighed. She had an idea on how to solve the whole family situation, but she wasn't sure whether Noah would agree to help her with her plan.

“Yeah, I do.” She paused for a minute to take a sip out of her glass before she continued, “I talked to my mom earlier and she told me that they're coming to visit me next weekend. She also wanted me to ask you if you're free around then because she and the rest of my family would love to meet you.”

“Uh... wow. I don't know, I mean wouldn't it be kind of weird since we're not together anymore?” He asked, raising his brows.

“No, of course not. I mean you're Luna's dad which makes you family and you should never say no to meeting your family. Besides, they're really excited to meet you.” (Y/N) answered but Noah still didn't seem convinced about spending next weekend with his ex-girlfriend's family.

“What about Luna? She's supposed to stay with me.”

“We're doing this for Luna. She hasn't seen her grandparents and aunt in over a year, and you know how much she loves them. Besides, I'm sure she wouldn't mind spending one weekend with both of her parents together. Please, Noah. It would really mean a lot to me if you came.” She looked at him with pleading eyes.

Noah sighed, running a hand through his curly brown hair. “And you're sure your family doesn't mind having me there? Even after the way things ended between us?”

“Yes, my mom specifically asked for you to be there. Besides... they don't even know that we broke up in the first place, so things definitely shouldn't be weird between you guys.” She whispered the last part but Noah still managed to catch it. He looked at her with wide eyes and almost choked on his food.

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold on for a second. Did you just say that your family doesn't know we broke up?”

(Y/N) nodded, “Yeah... I did, because it's true. My family still thinks that we're dating and living together in this apartment to raise Luna together.”

“But why would they even think that?” He asked, still confused about the whole situation.

“Because that's what I told them.” She answered, finally meeting Noah's eyes. He just gave her a look that she read as him wanting an explanation.

“Look, my parents are really overprotective of me, especially when it comes to dating. I've had my heart broken before when I lost my first boyfriend in a terrible car crash my junior year of high school and my parents saw how much it affected me and how hard it was for me to move on from that. I didn't go out with anyone for a while until I met you and that's when everything changed. For the first time after his death I felt a connection to someone besides him and, even though you and I weren't exclusive for a while, I really liked what we had. Then I obviously got pregnant and even though I was scared, you made this whole journey so much easier for me. You were always there for me and made me excited about having this baby with you. And when I told my parents about my pregnancy and how well you were taking care of me and the baby, they got so happy and excited for me. They loved the thought of me being taken care of and with someone who would always be there for me and our kid. But then we broke up and I just couldn't bring myself to tell them. I didn't want them to be worried about me so instead of being honest with them, I made up this perfect life with you that they still think I have. I'm sorry about involving you in all of this. If you really feel uncomfortable about next weekend, you don't have to be there. I'm sure I'll think of something to say to them.” (Y/N) explained, feeling relieved that the truth was finally out.

Noah deserved to know the truth and even though she was scared of his reaction, she felt this huge burden lift off her shoulders. She waited for him to say something, but Noah just stared at her for a minute or so, before he spoke up.

“Wow, I had no idea. I'm so sorry, (Y/N).” He said, his voice soft and full of concern.

(Y/N) gave him a smile, “Thanks. It's been a while since it happened, but it still hurts sometimes.”

“I get it. Losing someone you love is hard and it never really stops hurting. Look, if you really want me to meet your family next weekend, then of course I'll be there.” Noah reached out and put his hand on top of (Y/N)'s. The second his hand touched hers, (Y/N) felt electric currents run through her entire body.

She tried to ignore them but the longer he held her hand, the worse it got. She tried to distract herself by asking, “Really? You're actually gonna come?”

Noah nodded, a small smile on his face. “I can tell how important this is to you and you're really important to me... so of course I'll be there. Besides, you were right. They're just as much my family as they're yours so it's finally time for me to meet them.”

(Y/N) gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you so much, Noah. It really means a lot to me.”

“I know.” He smiled back at her and for a moment they were looking at each other, both of their hearts pounding like crazy. After a moment Noah asked, “So your family still thinks we're together right? So what do you want us to do when they're here? Is there some sort of plan?”

“Well... I thought maybe we could pretend to be a couple for a day or two just until my family leaves. But I totally understand if you feel uncomfortable with that, I'm honestly just grateful you're gonna be there at all.” (Y/N) said but Noah shook his head at that.

“Don't worry about it, (Y/N), I'm definitely in. Pretending to be someone else is literally my job and, as you know, I actually do have some experience being someone's fake boyfriend.”

“Yeah... you literally blew up after you played Peter Kavinsky and yet you still manage to always be there for your family. That really shows character, Noah. Thank you for agreeing to do this with me. I really do appreciate it.”

“Of course. I know you'd to the same for me.” Noah said, smiling at (Y/N) again. Him, smiling at her like that, made (Y/N)'s heart pound like crazy again. She hasn't felt that way about him since they broke up and she didn't really know what it meant. She definitely didn't have feelings for him anymore... right?

“So, maybe I can bring some of my stuff over during the next week so it actually looks like I live here too. Because right now it just looks like an apartment of a single mom and I know that's not what you want.” Noah suggested, pulling (Y/N) out of her thoughts.

“Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. We should probably also have a couple family pictures on the walls. The only one I have of us three is the one from the day where Luna was born.” (Y/N) pointed to a picture in the living room of Noah and her with Luna in their arms only a few hours after she was born. It was the only picture she kept of them as a family because it was the first picture they'd ever taken together.

“Oh yes. I have a few more of Luna and me at my place, so I can bring them too.”

The two of them kept chatting about their plans to pull off this whole fake dating thing for a few more hours until Noah had to leave.

For the next few days the two of them spent a lot of time together, turning (Y/N)'s single parent apartment into a family one. They took a few new family pictures to hang up on the walls and made sure everything else was set for the weekend too. (Y/N) and Noah even talked to their daughter Luna and made sure she wouldn't spill the beans to (Y/N)'s family. Under normal circumstances they would never encourage their daughter to lie to her own grandparents, but everything needed to be perfect in order for this plan to work out.

****

The big weekend had finally arrived and (Y/N) was more nervous than ever. There was a lot at stake here and she was scared that somebody would wind up getting hurt because of her. She just hoped that everything went well and after their plan, especially the part where she and Noah had to act like they were still in love with each other. Noah had been such an amazing help this past week and even reassured (Y/N) many times by telling her that she had nothing to worry about, which (Y/N) was really grateful for.

(Y/N) just arrived at the airport to pick up her family while Noah was at home with Luna, making sure everything was set up for when her family arrived. She parked her car and made her way over to the arrival section to wait for her parents and her little sister Lucy.

“Mom, Dad, Lucy!” (Y/N) waved at her family as they walked out of the terminal.

“Oh, honey, it's so good to see you!” Her mom was the first one to rush over to her, embracing her in a loving hug.

“Hi, mom. Welcome to L.A.” She greeted her as she hugged her back.

Her dad was the next one to greet her with a big smile on his face. “I missed you so much, baby girl.”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes at that, “Daaad. Don't call me that. I'm not your baby girl, anymore. I'm 23, not 13.”

Her dad quickly answered, “You'll always be my baby girl, (Y/N).” before kissing her forehead. (Y/N) couldn't help but smile at that before greeting her little sister Lucy.

“Come here, shorty.” She pulled her sister in for a tight hug.

“Gosh, I've missed you so much, big sis. I can't wait to spend this weekend with you.” Lucy whispered to her sister before pulling away from her. “I missed you too!” She answered as they pulled away from each other.

“Well, I'm glad to have you here. Welcome to L.A. you, guys.” (Y/N) said, looking at her family.

“And we're happy to be here, honey. So... where's that handsome boyfriend of yours?” (Y/N)'s mom asked as they made their way over to grab their luggage.

“Noah's home with Luna, but he's very excited to meet you all.” (Y/N) grabbed her parents' luggage before they made their way over to her car. Once they were all inside, (Y/N) drove over to her apartment, her heart nervously pounding in her chest.

A few minutes later they arrived at (Y/N)'s apartment, where she parked the car in front of the garage. She helped her parents with their luggage before she made her way over to the door.

“Please don't embarrass me in front of my boyfriend, okay?” She turned around to look at her parents before she opened the door to let everyone in.

“Hey, honey. We're back home.” (Y/N) called out as they entered the apartment. Noah, who was looking very sharp in his black button-down shirt and blue denim jeans, walked over to (Y/N) and her family with Luna in his arms.

“Hey, babe. I missed you.” He greeted (Y/N) with a kiss on her cheek, playing the part of (Y/N)'s fake boyfriend. Her heart was pounding like crazy after he kissed her, but she didn't think too much about it. It was probably beating so fast because of the whole situation they were in and not actually because of Noah, right?

She pushed her thoughts away and looked up at him with a loving smile, playing the perfect part in front of her family.

Luna shrieked happily when she saw her grandparents and her aunt Lucy and, Noah put her down on the ground so she could greet them.

(Y/N)'s dad immediately picked her up and kissed his granddaughter on the cheek. “Oh, look at you, my little angel. You've gotten so much bigger since the last time we saw you.”

Luna nodded, smiling at her grandpa. “Yes, I'm a big girl now. I even have a big girl bed now.”

“You do? Oh wow, that's wonderful, sweetheart.” (Y/N)'s mom said as she greeted Luna with a kiss.

“Hey baby girl, don't forget to say hi to your favorite aunt.” Lucy pouted at her niece, who immediately reached over to hug her.

“Oh, no, look how rude we've been to our future son-in-law, William.” (Y/N)'s parents both walked over to Noah, who was standing next to his fake girlfriend, his arm wrapped around (Y/N)'s shoulder.

“We're so sorry, darling. This wasn't the first impression I wanted you to have of us.” (Y/N)'s mother said, looking up at Noah.

He just shook his head and smiled at them, “Oh no, please don't worry about that. I'm just really happy to finally meet all of you. (Y/N) has told me so much about you.” Noah reached his hand out to them, but (Y/N)'s parents both wrapped their arms around him and pulled him into a friendly hug.

“You're family now and this is how we greet each other in our family.” William said once they pulled away from the hug.

“Yes, my husband is right. Welcome to the family, Noah. We're so pleased to meet you, darling. Thank you so much for taking care of our daughter and for being such a good father to our granddaughter. We really appreciate it.” (Y/N)'s mom said, holding Noah's hands.

Noah, who seemed a little overwhelmed by all the love, just smiled back at her friendly. “It's my pleasure, Mr. and Mrs. (Y/L/N). Your daughter means a lot to me and I'm very grateful to have her in my life. She's not only an amazing girlfriend but also a great mom to Lucy and it's all because of the way you two raised her. So, thank you, for bringing someone so special into this world.” (Y/N) felt herself blushing as Noah said all those things about her and turned away from him so he wouldn't see it. Did he really mean all those things he said about her or was he only saying them for show? Noah was a great actor, so it was really hard to tell if he was being sincere or not.

“Oh, no, we're family now, so no more Mr. and Mrs. (Y/L/N). We're Joanna and William, okay, darling?” Her mom said, pulling (Y/N) out of her thoughts.

(Y/N) looked up at Noah who nodded at her parents. “Okay, Joanna and William it is.”

Noah then turned his attention towards (Y/N)'s little sister, who was staring at him in awe. Lucy was a big fan of Noah and his work and probably the most excited out of her family to meet him.

“Hey, you must be Lucy. Your sister has told me so much about you. It's really nice to finally meet you.” He said, smiling at her.

Lucy stared at him a little longer before finally speaking up. “It's nice to meet you too, Noah Centineo. Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're actually here and standing in front of me. I'm like your biggest fan. You were so amazing as Peter Kavinsky in To All The Boys I've Loved Before. I watched it like twenty times. It's my favorite movie ever.”

(Y/N) felt embarrassed at her sister's introduction but Noah just laughed it off.

“Woah, that's a lot of times. You've definitely seen it more than I have, but I really appreciate it. Thank you for your support Lucy, it means a lot.” He smiled at her again before pulling her in for a hug. Lucy squeaked a little as they were hugging, which made Noah laugh even more.

“Your family is so awesome, babe.” Noah said after the introductions ended, but (Y/N) shook her head at that, “You mean our family is awesome. I mean you're clearly a part of it now.” She corrected him, earning an approving look from both her parents.

Noah laughed at that, “Sorry, my bad. Of course, I meant to say that our family is awesome.”

“Okay, I think that's enough chit chat, you guys. Let's give you a little tour of our apartment before we sit down for some coffee and cake.” (Y/N) looked at her family, who all nodded in agreement.

So for the next half an hour Noah and (Y/N) gave them a tour around 'their' apartment, showing them everything they'd set up over the last week such as family portraits and pictures, Noah's and (Y/N)'s shared bedroom, cards and presents they'd given each other on birthdays or anniversaries and the list goes on. (Y/N)'s family was very impressed by everything they saw, which meant that all the hard work they'd both put in over the last week had definitely payed off.

After (Y/N) and Noah gave the tour, everyone gathered in the living room, where they spent most of the day, just chatting and getting to know each other better. They also played a few games together like charades or catchphrase where it even got a little competitive between them. During all of this, Noah and (Y/N) played the perfect couple her family still thought they were, which wasn't very hard for them. In fact it, actually felt kind of natural to them. They both knew what it felt like to be in love with each other, so holding hands and kissing each other from time to time wasn't uncomfortable at all.

Hours had passed and now it was time for dinner. (Y/N) and her entire family were sitting at the dining table, eating the lasagna(Y/N) had made for them.

“So, tell me Noah, how's your career going at the moment? Any new projects that you're working on?” Lucy looked over at Noah before taking a sip out of her glass.

(Y/N) rolled her eyes at her sister, “I don't think Noah wants to talk about his work right now, so you shouldn't talk about it either.”

“No, it's cool, babe, really. I actually appreciate how much interest your sister shows in what I do.” Noah chimed in.

“See, he appreciates it, sis.” Lucy poked out her tongue at (Y/N) before turning back to Noah who just grinned at them.

“Back to your question Lucy. I'm actually shooting the sequel for To All The Boys I've Loved Before in Vancouver soon. Of course I'm very excited to get back to filming and see everyone again, but it's also gonna be hard to be away from (Y/N) and Luna for such a long time. I know I'm gonna miss them a lot.” He said, looking at (Y/N) and Luna. (Y/N) gave him a sweet smile before reaching over to hold his hand.

“I'll miss you too, honey, but I know we can make this work. We'll still talk all the time and we can Facetime whenever we miss each other too much.” (Y/N) reassured Noah and she meant it. She knew how hard it was for both Noah and Luna when he was shooting outside of the country for a while and even though she'd never admit it to him, it was hard for her too. Everything was easier with him being there for her as a co-parent and she also liked the thought of him only being a phone call away if she ever needed anything.

“Yeah, you're right. Thanks baby,” Noah's eyes met hers before he kissed her hand, lightly. The electric currents were shooting through (Y/N)'s body again, but she tried to ignore them.

You guys are just pretending, (Y/N), don't forget that, girl. She thought to herself as they were looking at each other.

“Oh my gosh, that's so cool. I am so excited for the sequel! Can you tell us anything about it?” Lucy interrupted, making them both jump. (Y/N) pulled her hand away from him quickly and looked over to her sister.

“I don't think he can, sis. He probably had to sign one of those non-disclosure contracts which means he can't talk about it with anyone. Not even with his girlfriend's little sister. Sorry, but you gotta be a little more patient, Lu. I'm sure they'll reveal a few more details about the sequel soon though, right, honey?”

Noah nodded, “She's right, I can't tell you anything, even if I wanted to. Sorry, Lucy. Just wait a little longer and you'll get all the information you need, I promise.”

Lucy shrugged, “Well, it was worth a shot.”

While they were finishing their dinner, (Y/N)'s phone went off, signaling that it was Luna's bedtime. She looked over to her daughter, who was already half asleep on her high chair.

“Luna, sweetie, it's time to get you to bed. Say good night to everyone.” (Y/N) got up from her chair to grab Luna, but Noah gestured for her to sit back down.

“I've got this, babe. You stay here with your family.” He walked over to their daughter and picked her up. (Y/N) mouthed him a 'thank you' before sitting back down on her chair.

“Okay, it's time to say good night, little munchkin.” Noah said, kissing Luna on the cheek. She looked up and waved at us, “Good night, mommy. Good night pop-pop and nana and auntie Lucy.” (Y/N) blew her daughter a kiss before Noah headed off to her nursery to get her ready for bed.

“Honey, that boyfriend of yours is so wonderful. I'm so happy for you two. You make a beautiful couple.” Her mom said, smiling happily at her daughter.

Her dad nodded in agreement, “Yes, your mother's right. He's a great guy and a fantastic addition to our family. I'm so happy to see how much he cares for you and Luna. I really am.”

(Y/N) smiled at her parents, “Thank you, guys. I'm really happy with Noah and knowing you approve of him and seeing how much you love him makes me even happier.”

“You deserve it, sis. More than anyone I know.” Lucy chimed in, making (Y/N) smile even more.

After they all finished their dinner, it was time for (Y/N)'s family to leave.

“Honey, we had a blast today, but we should head to the hotel and get some rest. We'll see you again tomorrow, okay? We are probably gonna come over after breakfast, so around 10 or 11.” Her mother said as they made their way over to the door.

“Okay. Thank you for coming, I had an amazing day. Love you guys.” (Y/N) said before saying goodbye to everyone. Once they were all out the door, she let out a long breath before going back to the kitchen to clean up.

“So, Luna's asleep now. While I was getting her ready she, told me how much she loved having both of us here today and how happy she was to see everyone. She's so freaking cute. I can't believe she's ours, sometimes.” Noah said from behind her.

(Y/N) turned around from the dishwasher and nodded, “Yeah, I think that every time I look at her. I mean she's literally perfect.”

“She really is.” Noah answered before helping (Y/N) with the rest of the dishes.

“When I put her down she, asked me something that surprised me a little.” He said as he pressed the start button on the dishwasher.

(Y/N) looked at him curiously, “What did she ask you?”

Noah leaned against the kitchen counter before he answered, “She asked me: 'Daddy... why aren't you and mommy together?' and even commented on how we've been acting like a couple all week and how we asked her to lie to grandpa and grandma.”

(Y/N)'s eyes widened in surprise, “Did she really? Wow, I had no idea she was thinking about that. Well... what did you tell her?”

Noah answered, “I told her that it's something she doesn't have to worry about and that whether you and I are together or not, we'll both always love her.”

“Thank you, Noah.” She gave him a grateful smile.

He smiled back at her, “Of course. She's only four. She doesn't have to worry about stuff like that.”

(Y/N) made her way over to the couch in the living room and sat down. She looked at Noah and gestured for him to sit next to her, which he did.

Once they sat next to each other (Y/N) said, “I wouldn't have been able to pull this off today if it wasn't for your help and support, so thank you, Noah. I really do appreciate it and I mean it was so worth it. My parents loved you and I'm pretty sure my sister is even more obsessed with you now than she already was before, so yeah.”

Noah laughed at that, “Yeah, your family is pretty awesome. I loved hanging out with them today and can't wait to spend the rest of the weekend with everyone.”

“Yeah, me too. Oh, while we're speaking about my family, I should probably mention that they're coming over after breakfast tomorrow, which is why I think you should stay here for the night. I mean it's just a lot more convenient that way, you know?” (Y/N) said, looking at Noah.

He seemed a little surprised about the offer, but then nodded in agreement. “Uh, yeah... you're probably right. I already have some of my stuff here anyway and I can just sleep here on the couch tonight.”

“Yeah, okay.” (Y/N) said, meeting his eyes. They just looked at each other for a while until Noah eventually spoke up, “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Ever since Luna mentioned it earlier, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it and I just need to know... why aren't we together, (Y/N)? I mean there's clearly still something between us and I know you can feel it too.”

(Y/N) was taken aback by his question, but quickly pulled herself together and answered, “What do you mean why aren't we together? You know exactly why, Noah. I mean you're the one that broke up with me.”

“I know and it was the stupidest decision I've ever made, and if I could take it all back I would do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately life, doesn't work like that and people have to learn from their mistakes and I have. I've been trying to make it up to you ever since we broke up and I learned how much you and Luna and this little family of ours actually means to me. Please don't let this mistake get in the way of a possible future together. I want to be with you and, I know that there's still a part of you that wants to be with me too.” Noah grabbed (Y/N)'s hands and waited for her to say something.

(Y/N) just stared at him for a minute, trying to collect her thoughts. She had no idea that Noah still felt this way about her and, she didn't know what to tell him. Of course there had always been a part of her that wanted to get back together with him, but after how much he hurt her, she just couldn't allow herself to go back there with him.

She let out a breath before she said, “I appreciate and accept your apology, Noah, but I just don't think that us getting back together is a great idea. It took us a long time to get to where we are right now and, I don't want to ruin that. I'm sorry.”

He scoffed at her, “We both know that's just an excuse, (Y/N). You and I spent so much time together this last week and today when we were pretending to be a couple, it didn't feel like we were just pretending. It felt real and natural like we were supposed to be together again. I felt it and I know you did too. We still have this undeniable chemistry between us, so don't just tell me that you can't be with me because you're scared to ruin the great relationship we already have. Screw that crap, (Y/N). The only way you could ruin this relationship is by not giving it a chance to become something even greater.”

“I'm sorry, Noah, but I just can't. I can't be with you no matter how much I want to.” (Y/N) felt tears forming in her eyes but managed to push them away. She looked down at her feet because she knew that if she looked at Noah again, she'd start crying.

“You just admitted that you want to be with me and yet there's still something that's holding you back. I don't get it, (Y/N). What is it that you are so afraid of?” He lifted her chin with his hand, forcing her to look at him.

(Y/N) tried to blink the tears away but they were already rolling down her cheeks as she locked eyes with Noah. He stared at her with a look that was a mixture of confusion and worry while waiting for her to respond.

“I'm afraid of you, okay? I'm afraid to be with you and fall in love with you and get my heart broken again. After my first boyfriend died, I didn't think I could ever be that broken again, but then you came along and broke my heart again.”

She paused to take another breath before she continued.

“And the worst part about all of it was that, in spite of everything that happened between us, I still loved you. In fact, I don't think I ever stopped loving you. But it doesn't matter how I feel, because I know I can't ever be with you again. I'm too scared to put my heart through that again.”

Noah sighed, guilt written all over his face. “I'm so sorry for breaking your heart, (Y/N). I never meant to hurt you and I want you to know that. I was young and dumb and let the whole Hollywood thing get to my head. I thought I knew just what I wanted when I chose my job over our relationship, but the truth was I didn't know myself at all. Instead of appreciating what I had with you, I took you for granted and let you slip through my fingers and until this day it's my biggest regret. I know you're scared of getting hurt again, but I promise I'm not the same guy I was back then. I'm never going to take you for granted again and I'm gonna prove it to you once and for all if you give me another chance. I love you (Y/N) and I know you love me too.”

He took (Y/N)'s hands again, his eyes filled with hope. (Y/N) let out a heavy sigh before she said, “I know how sorry you are and I forgive you, Noah, but I just can't give you the answer you want. You're an amazing father to Luna and we will always have a connection to each other because of that, but that doesn't mean we have to be together. Of course I love you and I probably always will, but I just can't allow myself to go there with you. Not after how much you hurt me. And I know you can't promise me that it won't ever happen again, right?”

“I know you built up this wall around your heart to protect yourself from getting hurt again, but the best part about being in love is the intensity of our feelings and emotions. The good kind of feelings where your whole body tingles when you look at the person you love such as the bad kind of feelings, where your heart feels like it's going to break. They're all part of this beautiful journey called love and make being in love so exciting and painful. And you shouldn't shut yourself off from feeling all those things just because you had your heart broken before.”

(Y/N) shook her head. She had enough and didn't want to hear any more of what Noah had to say.

“Please stop, Noah. I really appreciate how hard you're trying to win me back, but there's nothing you can say or do that's gonna change my mind about us, okay? So, please just let it go.” She got up from the couch and made her way over to the bedroom without looking back at him again. But Noah wasn't one to give up easily and quickly followed her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him to stop her from leaving. He then put both of his hands on each side of her face and crashed his lips against hers. After the initial shock wore off, (Y/N) easily fell into the kiss, her hands running through his curly brown hair. She felt tingly all over like she did the first time they'd ever kissed and was immediately taken back to a time where everything was simpler between them.

(Y/N) knew that kissing him like that was a bad idea, but she also couldn't deny how good it felt to be so close to him again. It suddenly felt like every fear and doubt she ever had about getting back with Noah just went away as they were kissing and, she really enjoyed feeling that way. Maybe Noah was right and, she just needed to allow herself to open her heart again. Maybe getting hurt and having your heart broken was just as much part of being in love as the good things were. Maybe there was a reason why it felt so good to be with him again and why she still loved him after all these years.

Maybe you and Noah are meant to be together after all. (Y/N) thought to herself as her heart was pounding in her chest.

When Noah slowly pulled away from her to catch his breath, (Y/N) whispered, “Wait, no. Don't stop kissing me, please.”

“I wasn't going to. I just needed to catch my breath for a minute.” He whispered before kissing her again, his hands running down her back until they rested on her hips. (Y/N) smiled as she kissed him back, her arms wrapped around his neck. Once both of them felt their lungs burn for oxygen, they pulled away from each other.

“I know I hurt you and I can't promise you that it won't happen again, but what I can promise you is that I will never let you go again because I love you, (Y/N). I always have and I always will.” Noah whispered as he rested his forehead against hers.

“I love you too, Noah, which is probably the reason why I'm so scared of everything. I'm still scared that you're gonna break my heart, but most of all I'm scared of the way you make me feel.”

Noah put his hand on her chest, over her beating heart and said, “I'm gonna do my best to protect and care for your heart, if you let me.”

(Y/N) nodded slowly. “I don't want to be scared and guarded anymore. I wanna love and do this whole thing with you all over again. My heart... it's all yours, Noah Centineo.” She leaned in and kissed him again. Noah kissed her back and when they pulled apart again, he grinned at her.

“So I guess there's no more pretending tomorrow, huh?”

(Y/N) shook her head, laughing a little. “No, I'm done pretending. No more lies. No more hiding behind my fears. Let's give this relationship another shot and go all in.”

Noah looked at her in a way (Y/N) couldn't describe, but she knew he had never looked at anyone else like this. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her. Noah did the same and held her close to him, knowing that this time he wouldn't make the same mistakes again.

“Luna is gonna be so happy when she finds out that we're back together again.” He whispered as he pulled away to gaze into her eyes.

(Y/N) smiled and said, “She's not the only one who's gonna be happy, because I am too. I'm so happy.”

The end.

#noah centineo #noah centineo prompt #noah #centineo #to all the boys i've loved before #peter kavinsky #noah centineo imagine #imagine #prompt #writing prompt #fanfic #fanfiction #peter kavinsky prompt #actor #actor fanfiction #sierra burgess is a loser

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heartthrobcityimagine · 6 years

Text

Who Is This??/ Part 7 (part one)/ Noah Centineo

A/N: Guess who’s back, back again. Guess who’s back, tell a friend. Hey guys! So, as you can see Part 7 is going to have multiple parts, 2 in fact. There’s a lot that will be going on in both parts! It will not be another week before I post part 2, I plan to have it up either tomorrow or Sunday!

Warnings: Language (as always), sexual content.

LEHH GO!!

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Where we left off in part 6:

" Please don't do this." You heart cracks, his voice was completely broken, almost making you change your mind.

Tears were streaming down your face rapidly. Realizing you weren't going to change your mind he places a soft kiss to your wet cheek. Your eyes flutter shut as harder sobs jolt your body. He lets go of you and walks to your door.

With a deep sigh he opens the door, just as he goes to walk out he turns to you,

" I can't leave without you knowing that I've fallen too." WIth that he closes your door, leaving you to collapse back on the couch and wallow in your tears.

=============================================================

It had been over a month an half since you had seen Noah. You don’t know what you are expecting, him to run back in and beg for you? He shouldn’t have too. You knew you had made a mistake the second he left but couldn’t swallow your pride enough to go after him.

You had spent most of your time sulking in your apartment. Jace was busy with Travis as their relationship had gone into full swing. You haven’t heard from Tye either. You had filed and been granted a permanent restraining order. He wasn’t allowed within 1500 feet of you and thus far he hadn’t attempted to break that.

It was nearing the middle of July, the summer heat was sweltering so you didn’t mind staying in the air conditioning, at least that’s what you’d tell yourself. You had been studying and rehearsing for your summer music program and your final performance was at the local music festival tonight. The program you were taking was creative and personal composing.

For your final grade you had to perform an original piece. You were petrified. You had rehearsed yesterday and almost threw up before and after. The main stage was massive and the more you pictured a crowd in front of you the more nervous you got. It would be the first time anyone has ever heard your songs outside of your classroom and Jace of course.

*TING* *TING*

You glance down at your phone rolling your eyes.

Jace: OMG I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR ASS PERFORM! YOU GON’ ROCK THIS SHIT!

Jace: Remember us small people when you get famous!

You shake your head.

You : Uhhh, it’s just a music festival. I wouldn’t even be doing it if it wasn’t for a grade.

Jace: that’s the problem. You should be playing all the time, I have never heard someone play piano as beautiful and passionate as you do. .

Jace: also.... I know I said it would be just be us tonight... but do you care if Travis comes.

You sigh, third wheeling with those two was becoming your normal routine and you didn’t know how you felt about it. Jace had always just been yours. Sure, he had other boyfriends but none this serious. He spent all of his time with Travis.

You had to stop yourself for a second. You bet he felt the same way when you had boyfriends. He never complained. You suddenly felt really awful for even thinking of being jealous.

You: Of course! I love Travis! Plus you’ll need someone’s hand to hold while I perform 😂

You knew it would make Jace happy and more comfortable to have someone to be with.

Jace: need us to pick you up?

You: No, I’m good. I have to be there around 5:30 for mic check. Let me know when you get there though and we’ll check out the other bands and performers if you want!

Jace: of course! Love you 😘

You: And I you ♥ .

It was 3:00 p.m. now, you needed to hurry and get ready, traffic was terrible this time of day and with the festival being outside of town you needed to get a move on.

You quickly get ready and rush out of the door grabbing your keys and sheet music on your way out.

You finally arrive to the location where the festival was being held just outside of L.A. Immediately your eyes meet a large flower Arch that had not been up yesterday when you came to rehearse. Strung across it was a banner that read: Welcome to the annual Innovation of Music Festival.

The festival was a mixture of composer, artists, bands etc, from various music colleges around the area. Music from classical to heavy metal would be playing throughout the weekend. Thankfully, when you signed up at the beginning of summer you were able to pick what day you performed on, you had picked opening day to go ahead and just get it over with.

People were already starting to show up and the various amounts of vendors began opening up their stands. Your palms become sweaty, your breathing picks up and you can feel your pulse began to race. You weren’t sure if you were ready for this or not.

You take a few deep breaths, reminding yourself that you had to try out for the program to even get in, therefore if you weren’t good enough you wouldn’t even be here.

You make your way to backstage,finding the red head you were introduced to yesterday. “Kat!” You say waving her over. “ Hey, (Y/N)! Okay so all we need to do is confirm you made it, check that, you look great by the way!”

A slight blush makes its way to your cheeks. You hadn’t gone with anything fancy, just a pair of dark denim shorts, a lace white top and some lace up sandals. Typical festival wear, and let’s be honest, it was hotter than hell outside and there was no way you were going to wear anything but shorts.

“ Thanks Kat” you say bashfully. She gives you a wide grin, “ Okay, so you aren’t performing until around 7:30, you need to be back here around 7 so we can go over set up okay? Got your sheet music?” You hand her the slightly crumpled sheets with a sheepish smile, guess you had been gripping them a little too hard. She give you a laugh and takes it placing it in her folder she had been carrying.

*TING*

Jace: HEY BISH! WE ARE HERE!!

WIth a grin you take off to go find Jace and Travis.

Leaving the backstage area, your eyes widen. The amount of people had almost doubled just in the short amount of time you were backstage. Your eyes frantically search for Jace when you hear a loud cackle. Your head whips to the left, you knew that laugh anywhere.

You slide past a few people and finally spot a blonde head of familiar hair. You stopped just short of Jace and Travis, he was laughing at something Travis was telling him. His smile reaching his eyes. A smile crosses your face, you hadn’t seen him this happy in a while.

You make your way over. “Hey guys!” “ (Y/N)!!” Jace slings his arms around you, enveloping you in a hug. His tall frame hovering over yours. You hear Travis’s muffled greetings as Jace clings to you.

“Jace! I can’t breathe!” you yell laughing. He loosens his grip but keeps an arm around you, pulling back to look at you.

“ Shew, you look gorgeous! Ready to do this thing?”

You give him a nervous glance, “ Not really. I’ve been sick to my stomach all week just thinking about it. What if I vomit all over stage?” you exclaim, horror written all over your face.

“Babe, you’ll be fine. No different than in class.” You look at him ridiculously.

“Jace, there are maybe 25 people in my class.... There are going to be hundreds here tonight.”

“Eh, small difference. If you sucked they wouldn’t have even let you play so..” He says, mimicking your thoughts from earlier. You give him a small smile.

“Sooooo... have you heard anything from him?” You knew who he was asking about. “No, and I don’t think I’m going to.”

“ You know, you could always just call him..”

“ Yeah, no.” you say cutting off the conversation. You knew you could call and apologize but what would that make him think of you? You broke things off with him before you even really were a thing. Besides he had probably moved on by now.

You knew he had been doing various promo interviews and posting to instagram, because you may or may not have practically stalked all of his social media for a greater part of the summer but, that was besides the point. He had posted a number of photos with his co-star Lana, many of which had very intriguing captions. My girl. that one had stung a bit. A small part of you hoped he hadn’t moved on, that he would sit and wait for you this whole time, but that wouldn’t have been fair to Noah. He deserved to be happy, whether it was with you or someone else.

You, Jace, and Travis strolled around the festival checking out the vendors, they had everything from clothing to vinyl records to taco trucks. You mentally marked the location of the taco truck, you’ll definitely be back by to visit that before the night was over. It was nearing 7 o’clock and you told Jace you were going to go ahead and go backstage to get ready.

He grabs your shoulder spinning you around to make you face him, “ Deep breaths, positive thoughts, you have this. You have spent all summer practicing and rehearsing over and over. It’s a second nature at this point, just gotta let it out to fly.” He gives you a kiss on your forehead and spins you back around. “ Now go fly my little butterfly,” he says dramatically shoving you towards the backstage.

You quickly find Kat and she takes you to the left side of the stage, handing you your sheet music. “ Okay, (Y/N), just like yesterday, once the act before you finishes, the lights will go dark, piano will be wheeled out by Josh, your microphone will be on top, you will follow behind Josh, go ahead and adjust your microphone, the lights will come up, and you can begin. Got it?”

Your head swims with her fast information, attempting to make a mental checklist. Follow Josh, get set up, perform. You realize she’s still staring at you and you nod your head in understanding. She opens her folder from earlier and pulls out your music handing it to you. “ Should be all set yeah? You’re on in about 15 minutes.” Hearing that makes your stomach start to churn. 15 minutes until hundreds of people would be watching you perform. 15 minutes and you hoped and silently prayed that you wouldn’t throw up.

You watch with wide eyes as the band before you plays the last notes of their song and takes their bow. Your heart begins pounding in your chest.

The lights go dark, out of the corner of your eye you see Josh start to move the piano. Your legs somehow find the will to move and your quickly following behind him. He places it in the middle of the stage, another stage hand bringing the bench for you to sit on. WIth wobbly knees you take the few steps to the piano and place your music on it. Slowly sitting down you adjust the mic just like Kat had said. Your heart was in your throat, you were sure of it. You hands were shaking furiously and with a deep breath you connect eyes with Josh, nodding your head that you were ready. It was now or never, a little too late to tuck tail and run now. He speaks in to his radio and slowly the lights shine on you.

Closing your eyes, your fingers find the keys, your foot on the pedal, you take a deep breath, your mouth opens as the first notes begin to play. You inhale and on your exhale you begin to sing. You had played piano in front of your class, that wasn’t what you had been terrified of, it was singing. No one, not even Jace had heard you sing, they had all heard the musical portion of your songs, this would be your first lyrical performance ever.

“What are we even fighting for... we try and try to settle the score... You and I are a driving force, but can we make it through this storm? Hold me close and don’t let go, even if we lose this war.”

As you progressed into the first chorus the world around you disappeared, as it did everytime you played. Except this time it wasn’t just music that filled your mind. It was Noah. The way he looked at you the night you ended things. It was the way he had told you he had fallen for you just like you had him. It was the way you wanted nothing more then to tell him you didn’t mean it but something in you refused. You knew he wasn’t like Tye, that he would never hurt you the way he did but you couldn’t get rid of the doubt, of the insecurities that had been carried around for so long. As the last note of your song plays. streams of tears run down your face. Deafening silence follows your last note, then a roar of applause ripples it’s way through the crowd. You take a glance out in the audience, the lights making it hard to see, you regain your focus searching for Jace. Your eyes meet a familiar pair, shock written on your face.

What the fuck was he doing here??!?

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Soooo.... ready for part 2?? Let me know who you think it is, what you want to see. Like I said part 2 will be up sometime between now and Sunday, so be on the lookout! As always, let me know what you think!

Also, I’ve got a shit ton of requests, I will be trying to get them up this weekend as well.

#Who Is this??#noah centineo #noah centineo imagine #noah x reader #noah centineo x reader #noah x reader imagine #to all the boys i've loved before #tatbilb #peter x reader #peter kavinsky x reader #peter kavinsky #peter kavinsky imagine #lana #sbial #jamey #Part7 #reader #imagine

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omgnct · 6 years

Text

Fated from the Sky

A/N: Requested tutoring AU. Credits to owner of GIF.

He was sitting at a small table in the corner of the library. His books were stacked neatly in front of him but his eyes shifted from side to side, searching for who he was waiting for. He had been waiting for awhile and hoped that he wasn’t being stood up.

You jogged into the library in a hurry. You were embarrassed that you were late on your first day of tutoring someone. You scanned the room before walking to the table and taking a seat. The boy who sat in front of you gave a polite smile as he watched you set all your workbooks and textbooks on the table. You let out a small breath before returning his shy smile.

“I’m sorry I was late, Jeno,” You said as you opened up one of the workbooks. “There was a lot of traffic and the bus made tons of stops.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. I wasn’t waiting long anyways,” Jeno said with a bright smile. His eyes scrunched up into small crescent moons. You couldn’t help but laugh as he beamed at you. Jeno had an aloof expression on his face as he watched you giggle. His face turned a dark shade of pink as he looked down at his lap.

“Anyways,” You said as you cleared your throat. Jeno looked up at you with expectant eyes. “I think we should get started. Math isn’t easy and there’s no way you’re going to learn if we slack off!”

With that, you got to work.

_______________________________________________________

“You know, I’m surprised that you memorized the formulas so quickly,” You told Jeno as you packed up your belongings. He giggled to himself as he put his backpack on. He waited as you zipped up your bag and put on your hoodie.

“Oh, you don’t have to wait for me, Jeno,” You reassured him. He gave you a small smile but stood his ground.

“I have to take the bus home, so I might as well ride it with you!” Jeno replied optimistically. You smiled and started to walk out of the library. Jeno politely held the door for you and you thanked him.

You walked out into the cool night, your breath fogging in the air. You shoved your hands into the pockets of your hoodie as you walked to the bus stop. Your stroll was filled with small talk with Jeno. The boy was quite shy yet he easily rambled on when there was silence that needed to be filled. You kept a smile on your face as you listened to him prattle on. You stopped at the bus stop and looked around, hoping that the bus would arrive soon.

“I’m sorry it got so late. I’m just terrible at math,” Jeno said with a small laugh. You shook your head as you dismissed his comment.

“It’s no problem, Jeno,” You answered. “And, you’re not that bad. I’ve tutored worse.”

The quiet night was filled by Jeno’s laugh. You couldn’t help but laugh along with him. The joyful sound made you happy and you were glad that you would get to hear it in the next coming weeks. Just then, Jeno’s phone began to ring. He apologized and answered it.

“Oh, Hyuck! What’s up?” You heard him say. You weren’t too familiar with Jeno’s friend group so you were left to stand there quietly and observe the stores around you. Before you knew it, Jeno was hanging up with an apologetic look on his face.

“I’m sorry about that! I’m going to meet up with some friends right now. You’re welcome to join,” He said as he waited for your response.

“I’m fine, but thanks for offering, Jeno. I have homework to finish so I’ll do that instead,” You replied. You were a bit disappointed that you wouldn’t be able to more spend time with Jeno. However, you got happy as you thought about your next tutoring lesson with him.

“Do you want me to wait with you until the bus gets here?” He asked worriedly. You refused and he gave one of his signature smiles before walking away. You watched his retreating back as you waited for the bus in the chilly weather.

Even as you rode the bus your mind continued to be filled with thoughts of Lee Jeno.

_______________________________________________________

Over the weeks, you’ve gotten to know Jeno better. Occasionally, you would hang out after tutoring lessons and get ice cream. Other times, you would text or call each other during the weekends. Unfortunately, today was your last day of tutoring Jeno. You’ve felt gloomy all day. You weren’t looking forward to the last day that you would get to spend time with him.

You walked into the library and searched for the familiar face that you had grown so accustomed to. The grinning boy waved at you as you headed over to the table. How bittersweet...

“Hey, Jeno!” You greeted as you set your stuff down. He gave you another smile before returning your greeting.

“So, what are we doing today?” He asked eagerly. You raised an eyebrow at him as you pulled out a review packet. It was filled with equations that you had tutored him on over the weeks. Jeno groaned as he looked at the paper in your hand.

“Did you really think you weren’t going to do anything today?” You said. “It might be the last day of tutoring, but I want you to pass your class.”

Today was a dreary day. The last day filled with Lee Jeno. You weren’t sure what to do.

You jumped as you felt the packet being taken from your hand. Jeno’s fingers brushed yours as he took the packet from you. He apologized before getting to work. You smiled at him softly before looking away.

You stole glances of him as you sat there. He was deep into solving the equations as he scribbled all over the paper. His brows were furrowed as he read each question carefully. Often times he would let out a small breath after he finished each equation. You smiled at the thought of the little quirk he had.

Finally, Jeno set down the pencil and sat back against his chair. He let out a long sigh before looking at you. You giggled at his reaction before taking the packet.

“I’ll check this later and grade it for you,” You said as you safely stored it in your folder. For a second, you ran your finger over his name before closing the folder and shoving it into your backpack. How disappointing...

“So, do you want to get out of here?” Jeno asked as he started to pack up his things. “I can finally go home and go to bed early!”

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” You replied as you stuffed everything into your backpack. You were hoping that you would have a little more time with him. You didn’t want to go back to a boring school where you would have to tutor students who could care less about their grades. Jeno actually cared and did the best that he could with what information you gave him. And, for once, he was someone that you actually liked.

Like?, you thought. You pushed the thought deep into your mind. You didn’t want to sadden yourself any further. You looked up to see that Jeno was patiently waiting for you. You hurriedly put on your hoodie and thanked him for waiting.

You walked out of the library, the cool air enveloping you. You noticed that the sky was slowly turning dark. A few stars were twinkling in the multicolored sky. You looked at Jeno to see that he was looking at the sky too. The glittering stars were reflected in his dark eyes.

You stopped at the bus stop and looked away from Jeno. Your face heated up as you tried to keep your thoughts together. All of a sudden, you heard Jeno’s phone ring.

“Oh, Hyuck? What do you need?” Jeno answered. You were immediately brought back to the first day of tutoring Jeno. This time Jeno hung up quickly and you turned to see another apologetic look on his face.

“Sorry, [Y/N], I have to go. I’ll call you later, okay?” Jeno said. You were hoping something like this wouldn’t happen. How cruel...

All you could do was nod and watch Jeno’s figure walk away until he blended into the crowd. You felt your heart drop as you stood there. You looked up at the sky once again and smiled painfully to yourself.

Lee Jeno was as beautiful as the starry sky.

_______________________________________________________

It had been two weeks and Jeno hasn’t called you since you ended your tutoring lessons with him. You constantly stared at your phone, hoping for a notification from Jeno. Occasionally, you would see him messing around with his friends in school. Sometimes he glanced at you before returning to what he was doing. Other times he completely ignored you.

You walked into the coffee shop and pushed your hood off of your head. You were glad that you were finally in a warm place after walking in the chilly air. The library had been packed with people and the new student you were tutoring was as boring as watching paint dry. You basked in the warmth as you waited in line.

“[Y/N]?” You heard from behind you. You turned around to see Jeno right in front of you. He gave you a shy smile before speaking.

“It’s been awhile,” He said as he brought up a hand to his hair. He ran his fingers through the tresses as he waited for your answer. All you could do was nod at his words. Jeno giggled to himself before standing next to you.

“I’m going to treat you today,” He announced. “Coffee and desserts on me!”

You were confused that Jeno was being so friendly after ignoring you for so long. You weren’t sure if you should be happy or afraid, but you stood next to him as you waited in line. You let Jeno order as you stood next to him. You could feel heat radiating from his body as you stood next to him.

“Let’s go grab a seat,” Jeno directed as he held the tray that had your coffee and desserts. You chose a seat in the corner of the shop that was less crowded. You sat down and took a sip of your drink, savoring the deep flavor of the roasted coffee.

“So, what have you been up to?” Jeno asked as he brought a forkful of pastry to his mouth.

“I started tutoring someone else,” You said as you looked out the window of the shop. “Someone from the soccer team or something.”

You looked at Jeno and saw that he was looking down at his plate. His face was flushed as he dragged his fork around his plate. You glanced outside again and was surprised to be met by raindrops hitting the windowpanes.

“Jeno, look! It’s raining!” You exclaimed jovially. You giggled to yourself as you watched the rainwater collect into puddles on the streets. You admired the gray sky as you enjoyed your hot coffee.

Little did you know that Jeno wasn’t looking at the sky. Another thing had caught his attention, and that thing was you.

_______________________________________________________

You ran to your house, Jeno following behind you. You laughed at the situation you were in. The rain was pouring as you struggled to find the keys to your house. Jeno giggled along with you as you opened up the door and invited him in.

“That was crazy! I didn’t think we’d get out alive,” You said dramatically. You saw Jeno playfully roll his eyes at you before chuckling. You headed into your bathroom and grabbed a towel. You chucked it at Jeno’s face and watched as he dried his hair.

You sat down on the couch and let out a tired sigh. It had been so long since you’ve had this much fun. Your days have been filled with tutoring and studying. You worked yourself even harder after you stopped tutoring Jeno. It has been long since you’ve sat down without thinking of what homework or project you had to complete. You felt a prickling sense of realization and turned to see Jeno looking at you with a serious expression.

“Is something wrong?” You asked as your brows furrowed. Jeno threw the towel to the ground and walked towards you. He stopped in front of you and kneeled down until he was at your level.

“I want to tell you something, but I’m not sure how,” He said as he looked at you. His dark eyes flitted from you to the ground. You were anticipating what he was about to tell you, hoping that it was some special secret he was ready to share with you.

“I-I miss you,” Jeno stuttered. You didn’t acknowledge his words immediately. At first, you smiled before stopping and realizing what he had actually said.

“W-What do y-you mean, Jeno?” You fumbled over your words. You tried to look at anywhere but him. His eyes were too passionate as he stared at you.

“I like you, [Y/N],” Jeno whispered. All of a sudden, it felt like a weight lifted from your shoulder. You looked down at your feet as you hid your glee. You had shoved your feelings into a box and pushed it into the darkest corners of your mind, but now you finally knew what it felt like to embrace them. All of a sudden, you felt Jeno’s fingers grab your chin and turn your face towards him.

“So, what do you think?” He bit his lip nervously as he awaited your answer. You smiled before throwing your arms around him and burying your face in his neck.

“I like you too, Jeno,” You said. You pulled away and looked at his face. His eyes were tiny crescent moons as he smiled brightly at you. His eyes twinkled like stars as he grinned. You never wanted to forget that expression and hoped that you never would. Jeno cupped your face in his hands and rested his forehead against yours. He breathed out a defeated sigh as he basked in his happiness.

“I’m so glad,” You heard Jeno say. You studied his face and watched his peaceful expression.

Lee Jeno truly was as beautiful as the sky.

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legrandepapillon · 6 years

Text

3 Times James Madison Hated Himself [And The One Time Thomas Wouldn’t Let Him] (jeffmads)

Summary: James’ jokes have been getting darker and darker lately, and Thomas is growing steadily concerned. Prompt: ‘Look I know your self-deprecating humor isn’t jokes do you need a hug? A therapist? You’re a great person don’t feel that way’ Author’s Notes: tw: Suicidal thoughts, self-deprecating humor, suicide attempt

Early autumn evenings were Thomas’ favorite kind of day─especially when he was spending them with his best friend. James had been putting off this coffee date for weeks in favor of working from home, but Thomas had finally triumphantly convinced him to come out for some fresh air and sunlight. It was too often that James let his sickness and depression eat away at him, holed himself up and away from the world so that no one would see him at its worst state. Things got better after he separated himself from his homophobic father and had gotten that prestigious job he’d been gunning for. But lately… lately James had been backsliding something awful. And Thomas simply wouldn’t stand for it.

“Ain’t it a lovely evening?” Thomas asks, after retrieving their coffees from the barista and setting them on their table. He’d gotten a lovely booth near the window that allowed the sun to filter in. He can’t help but notice at the way it made James’ dark skin glow. “Perfect for a walk in the park, don’t y’think?”

James sniffles quietly─recovering from a cold, the colder seasons tended to do that to him─and attempts to pull his coffee cup closer to him. Instead, he accidentally backhands Thomas’ cup─sending the coffee tilting and splashes against the table, Thomas’ new jeans, and the floor. After the ensuing yelps of pain from the taller man, and James hurriedly running to get napkins to get the hot coffee off his best friend’s skin, the two manage to settle down. The throbbing pain slowly but surely subsides in Jefferson’s leg, and James eventually returns with a new drink for him─looking both disappointed and angry, though neither seem to be pointed at the man seated across from it.

“Heh. I’m such a fucking clutz, I can’t even grip right. I’d be a great sidekick,” James chuckles after about twenty total minutes of silence, barely noticing that Thomas isn’t partaking in the ‘joke’ with him. Jefferson looks up from where he’d cleaning the last of the spilled coffee from the seat, brow furrowing. “I’d just run around tripping over all the bad guys, like some bumbling idiot.”

“I s’pose. It’s not that big of a deal, Jemmy, y’know it’s just a dollar cup of coffee, right?” Thomas asks hesitantly, taking a few napkins and dabbing at the mess. “And I’m not even really hurt. See? Just a little burn, probably, nothin’ that some Neosporin won’t fix.”

“Yeah, sure. It was just a joke, Thomas.”

The second time is on the roof of Jefferson’s house, at nearly midnight. James doesn’t know what came over the taller of the two of them to climb a fucking house, but that’s exactly what Thomas comes knocking on his door at eleven in the evening to do─luckily, James hadn’t been sleeping much so he’s awake and able to accompany his far more outgoing friend on another ‘wacky adventure’. After picking up James from his apartment and driving the 50 miles to the outskirts of town to his perfect three-story home, Thomas grabs some blankets and snacks and uses a ladder to make the trek up.

Thomas’ house is far taller than James remembers. Or it must be, because his eyes keep cautiously darting to the edge─where, should anything ‘accidentally’ happen, there’d be nothing but a cement driveway to break a fall.

James voices this exact thing─in the middle of Thomas attempting to point out the Orion constellation─and it sends his best friend to a grinding halt. With all his blabbering about stars and belts, Thomas hadn’t noticed that James had been slowly shimmying towards the edge of the roof so that his feet dangled just slightly over it─it would just take a nudge forward, a slight lean, to send the boy tumbling down to the hard concrete. His hands grip the edge of the roof tightly─so tightly that his knuckles visibly pale a bit─and there’s something dark in his eyes. Something that Thomas had only seen once before, when a girl he’d liked had smiled at him in the hallway.

Longing.

“Dare me to jump? I bet you five bucks I could let on my feet,” James whispers, a faint bit of joking tone coating the edges of his voice─but still not quite there.

“No… because, you wouldn’t, James. You’d die,” Thomas splutters. This seems to snap his friend out of whatever trance he was in, because James looks up and lightly socks him in the shoulder─though the look of longing doesn’t disappear.

“I know that, stupid. It was a joke. Don’t get all butthurt.”

Thomas almost isn’t sure about the third time. They’re hanging with friends─something that had taken three months for James to allow Thomas to plan─and for the first time in a long time, it looks like James might be doing a bit better. He’d showered that morning, and had slept a full eight hours last night─both of which were better than the pattern he’d been keeping up for the last six months. Some of the bags under his eyes were gone, and his eyes were twinkling.

James just needed to get out more… didn’t he? That must’ve been it. Depression was only a state of mind after all, and once someone started putting their mind to it, it could be cured. All he had needed to do was cheer up a bit.

Or at least, this is what Thomas tries to convince himself all night while controllers are passed around─each person trying to beat James’ current winning streak in Injustice 2, and failing miserably. James was wiping the floor with every one of his friends, and it seemed like he was having a fairly good time.

At least, until Peggy got hold of the controller. It wasn’t uncommon knowledge that Peggy gamed professionally─she had a very popular Twitch stream, and an even more popular YouTube account. There wasn’t a game someone put in front of her that she couldn’t beat on the first try. Hell, she had even started a gaming channel with other gamers that discussed every aspect of games and did co-op gameplays. She was very good at gaming─as she had to be, it paid her bills.

When Peggy begins winning against James, much to the utter amusement of Alexander─who James had Flawless Victory’d in twenty seconds─the young man becomes visibly frustrated. Though not in a sore-loser type of way, just in a way that someone who couldn’t beat a particularly hard level would become.

And when Peggy finishes him with the Harley Quinn super move, James laughs and tosses the controller to Aaron─who was next up on the rotation to play.

“Ah, I’m garbage. Just gotta throw the whole James away, start fresh,” he jokes lightly, stepping over Angelica’s legs to get over to the kitchen. The comment earns a few chuckles from John─but for the most part, everyone in the party just looks… concerned. The relaxation that Thomas had been slowly allowing to ease into his bones dissipates, and he worriedly searches James’ face for any sign of truth to the sentence. Was James going to do something ‘throw himself away’? Or was it a silly passing comment?

“You alright, Jemmy?” Thomas asks, stopping the young man on his way to get another beer. There’s a brief flash of sadness in his eyes, but James shrugs Thomas off in place of saying whatever he was going to. Instead, he calls back,

“Don’t be a worry wart! Loosen up a little!”

(1)

Usually, Thomas would work through lunch on Friday’s─cramming in as much work as possible in order to have the best possible weekend. He didn’t want Martha calling him in the middle of one of his binge watching sessions to review a new advertisement design or put together a presentation for one of their products─he’d rather just get it all done and be able to kick back for the entire weekend.

However, he hasn’t seen James in going on two weeks and he has to admit─he’s becoming a bit worried. It’s not entirely his fault that he had abandoned his best friend, there had just been too much going on. There were those interviews for the companies Fall Fashion line they showcased, and then the catalogues needed to be finished and sent out and he had to make sure the catalogues were being shipped to stores on a good publishing date. Then there was that company stalker scandal that he had to scramble to distract the media from… he’d just been far too busy to check in on his friend like he usually would. Working PR for a big time fashion line was hard work, and besides─Jemmy would be fine, wouldn’t he? It wasn’t like his depression handicapped him─if he needed someone, he knew how to call Dolley or Martha.

Even despite this mantra repeating in his head, Thomas can’t stop the gnawing guilt that eats at him during his work day. So much so, he doesn’t even have the energy to insult Alex’s terrible fashion sense. All he can think about is if James is okay, and what would happen if he isn’t?

As the clock strikes eleven, he simply can’t take it anymore. Calling to Martha that he’d be taking an early lunch, Thomas snatches up his jacket and hurries as fast as he can out of the building. The second he gets behind the wheel, he goes as fast as he can without getting caught─which, with the noon traffic, isn’t very fast at all. Every second seems to tick by, going faster than Thomas can keep up with.

It takes a total of twenty-one minutes and thirty-four seconds for Thomas to properly get inside of James’ apartment, and just a second more for him to locate his best friend curled in a ball in the center of his bed─certainly looking worse for wear. Its obvious─if judging by the trash can by the side of the bed is anything to go by─that he’s been vomiting, and for a second Thomas thinks he’s simply got another stomach bug. And oh how he wishes it were just a stomach bug. But then the glaring orange bottle of painkillers on the nightstand catches his eyes, along with the bottle of vodka sitting half-empty beside it.

Approaching the bottle, Thomas’ prayers to God go unanswered when he finds the bottle of medicine is indeed empty. James had tried to kill himself, and now his body was rejecting the medication.

“James…”

“Hush, Thomas, save it. I already know. I’m such a fuck-up, I can’t even kill myself properly.” The joke comes out dry, it definitely falls short of landing. Sighing in both exhaustion and deeply seated sadness, Thomas grabs the young man by the shoulders and lifts him up so that he can rest against the headboard. After double-checking to make sure there are no more pills within arms reach of James, he heads into the adjoining bathroom to get a warm towel.

The entire time, Thomas finds he’s unable to fight the urges that bubble up inside of him. The urge to yell at him, the urge to slap him, the urge to leave. He’s angry. And don’t get him wrong, Thomas knows that’s not the appropriate response. He should be comforting James, holding him, assuring him that everything will be alright. But… Thomas is at the end of his rope, and if he had lost James, he doesn’t know what to do.

“Mads… I… are you purposefully stupid or just blind? Killing yourself? What the hell would that solve, huh? You… that’s… it’s selfish! I could’ve lost you, forever. And if I had… if you hadn’t of failed, I─” Thomas cuts himself off as he sits on the edge of the bed beside him, wiping the vomit, tears, and general grime from his best friend’s face. James’ expression softens with each word, until he’s eventually leaning into Thomas’ touch with his eyes closed.

“You don’t think I know all that, Tommy?! I get it, okay, I’m a selfish piece of shit and I don’t deserve how good you are to me. I get it!” James’ voice is helpless as he says that, filled with a pain that Thomas had never heard before. Mads was exhausted, and all his actions did was prove just how much so.

“That’s not what I meant, James, I’m just… I’m just angry. Okay. I’m sorry. I just don’t know how to help you and that frustrates me. I know you’re going through a lot but I don’t… I don’t wanna lose you. So do you want to see a therapist? Do you need to be on some more medication? What do I do?”

“Just… hold me, for now? Don’t leave me.”

And so, Thomas obliges him. He wraps his arms around James’ slight figure, pulls him close against his chest and holds him. He doesn't move when his lunch is over, or when the sun begins to set. He doesn’t move when James begins snoring, he when he needs to pee. He stays. It’s the least he could do.

They’d figure this out. They’d get through it.

#hamilton #thomas jefferson #james madison #platonic jeffmads #jeffmads #thomas jefferson x james madison #thomas jefferson/james madison #tw suicide #tw suicide attempt #tw depression #an idealism #my writing #writing #hamilton fanfic #drabble #ficlet #boy do i have a queue for you

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bamby0304 · 6 years

Text

The Hart II: Highway

Summary: Off on her own, without the Winchesters, Bobby, Ellen or Jo, Lizzie tries to get back to what she does best… hunting. But time is running out, Dean’s soul is on the line, and now everyone knows Lizzie is psychic like Sam. Can the brothers and Lizzie work through their problems? Or will they lose everything?

Bamby’s Masterlist The Hart Masterlist The Hart II: Highway Masterlist

Part Four: Children of the Corn Anyone?

Warnings: Violence, maybe a tiny bit of angst?

Bamby

EPOV

I was walking over to the bench where I'd told Ben to wait. But instead of seeing Ben sitting there, I sighed at the sight of Dean.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, taking a seat next to him.

"Saw Ben, thought I'd come over," he answered as he gestured in front of us.

Looking over, I just caught sight of Ben as he kneed some kid in the privates twice. Once the kid was down Ben took the game out of the kid's hand, said something to him and then hurried back over to Dean and I.

I'd flinched when Ben had kicked the kid, but I felt a little proud too. He was suck a little badass.

A wide smile on his face, Ben high fived Dean. "Dude, that was awesome."

Dean smiled back at him. "Nice work."

But the celebrations were cut short at the sound of Lisa's voice. "Benjamin Issac Braeden." She stormed over to us. "What's gotten into you?"

"He stole my game," Ben told her defensively.

"So you kick him? Since when is-" She stopped and looked to Dean. "Did you tell my son to beat up that kid?"

"What?" Dean shrugged, trying to act casual. "Somebody had to teach him how to kick a bully in the nads."

The look Lisa gave him was only a look a mother could give, and it had me backing off and looking away. "Who asked you to teach him anything?"

"Just relax, I-"

Dean didn't get to finish as Lisa grabbed his arm and walked him a few steps away so she could talk to him without Ben or me hearing what she had to say. Little did she know, we could still hear her, and we were both listening.

"What are you still doing here? We had one weekend together a million years ago. You don't know me. And you have no business with my son."

Dean looked offended. "Lisa."

Turning away, she moved to Ben. "Just leave us alone," she told Dean as she got Ben to his feet as she looked to me. "When I hired you to watch my son, I didn't mean you could let others teach him bad habits." With those harsh words, she stormed off.

Before they got too far, Ben pulled away from her and rushed back to Dean, throwing his arms around him. "Thanks." He smiled up at Dean, and then he was off again, heading back to his mum.

It was a sweet moment, and the fact Dean might be his dad made it sweeter… but also a little painful.

Sighing, I got to my feet and stepped up to Dean, hoping to lighten the mood. "You just got me fired."

But instead of responding, he just frowned, looking at something over my shoulder. I turned to see what was wrong. That when I noticed three kids standing a few feet away, just watching us.

I shuddered, the looks in their eyes putting me on edge. "Children of the Corn anyone?"

SPOV

The hotel room door opened as Dean and Lizzie walked in.

"Something's wrong with the kids in this town," Dean noted before he'd hardly taken a step inside.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I nodded. "So, what do you know about changelings?"

"Oh, my God. I'm so stupid," Lizzie groaned. "Changelings, of course. They're babies or children monsters. They have the ability to change themselves into the perfect image of another child, replace said child."

"Yep." I grabbed a picture showing a bird's eye view of the neighbourhood. "There's one at every victim's house," I noted, pointing to the marked houses. "And you know the mark on the windowsill today? There's one at every house."

"So the changeling grabs the kid, assumes it's form and joins the fam. Just for kicks?" Dean asked.

"Not quite." I shook my head and got up, moving to where I'd assembled some flame throwers. "Changelings feed on the mum. Synovial fluid. The mums have these odd bruises on the back of their necks."

"They can drain them for a few weeks, but the mum eventually dies," Lizzie added.

Dean moved over to sit on the bed. "Then there's dad, the babysitter-"

I cut him off, knowing where he was going, "Yeah, seems like anyone who gets between a changeling and its food source ends up dead."

Lizzie grabbed the flamethrower. "Fires the only way to kill them."

"Great," Dean sighed. "Now, we'll just bust in, drag the kids out, torch them on the front lawn. That'll play great with the neighbours." The sarcasm was so thick. "What about the real ones?" he asked, serious now. "What happens to them?"

"According to lore, they stash them underground somewhere," I answered. "I don't know why, but if it's true, the real kids might be out there somewhere."

Dean shrugged. "Better start looking." He went to head for the door, but paused. "So... any kid in the neighbourhood's vulnerable?"

"Yep."

He pulled his keys out, moving to the door. "We gotta make a stop. I wanna check on someone."

"If the real-"

Lizzie stopped me from going on. "He wants to check on Ben. Just let him."

DPOV

I knocked on Lisa's door, a moment later, she answered, only this time there was no bright smile. "Dean, what are you-"

I cut her off. "Hey, I was thinking, uh, Ben's birthday, I didn't even bring him a present."

"That's okay."

"No, no. No, I feel terrible." Pulling out my wallet, I grabbed one of my credit cards. "So, here. Take a long weekend. Just the two of you. On me."

She took the card, though was clearly confused. "What?"

"Yeah. In fact, I hear Six Flags is great this time of the year. Go now, avoid the traffic." I gave her one of my more charming smile, hoping it would work.

But instead she looked down at the card and read the name written on it. "'Siegfried Houdini'. Whose card is this?"

"Mine." When she didn't believe me, I shrugged. "Never mine. It'll work, I promise."

But she just handed it back. "You should leave."

"Lisa."

"Mummy?" Ben appeared behind her. "What's wrong?"

Lisa turned to him, but I was the one to answer him. "Nothing, Ben, it's cool."

He just ignored me, still looking to Lisa. "Make him go away, mummy."

My smile fell and my blood ran cold as I looked to the kid in front of me. Only it wasn't a kid and it wasn't Ben, not anymore. No, it was a changeling. I was too late.

Son of a-

"You heard him." Lisa shrugged as she stepped back. "Get out."

There was no way I was leaving her with that thing. "Lisa. I don't think it's a good idea."

"Get out!" she snapped, and then slammed the door in my face.

EPOV

I was sitting on Baby's hood when Dean ran back to the car. "They took Ben. He's changed."

My time with Ben and Lisa may have been short- just a few days, really- but I liked the kid, and his mum had been pretty nice too. They were a sweet family and they deserved better than this.

Sliding off the hood, I moved to my door. "Did you check-"

"The windowsill? Yeah. And I don't think it's blood," he told me, getting in the front seat with Sam. "I think I know where the kids are."

Dean stopped the car in front of a half-built house in the newest section of the neighbourhood that was still a working progress. We all got out and moved to a pile of dirt by the road, the colour familiar.

"Red dirt." Sam shook his head. "That's what was on the window."

Dena got straight to business. "Sam, you take the front. Liz and I'll go around."

I handed Sam one of the bags I'd pulled from the back seat. "Our main priority is the kids. You find them, you free them."

"Got it." Sam nodded to me before he headed to the building.

Dean and I walked off in silence, both of us keeping an eye out as we moved to the back of the house. Once we found the back door, we entered slowly and carefully, trying to keep as quiet as possible as we walked further in.

We hadn't gotten too far before we found the kids. They were locked up in cages.

SPOV

"What do you think you're doing?"

I turned, startled. But it was only the realtor. Or so I thought. Catching a glimpse of her reflection in some glass, it showed me who she really was. Or what she really was. An adult changeling.

"This is private property. I'm calling the police," it threatened. "You heard me. Get out!"

I lifted my hands up in defence. "Just let me get my bag." I nodded to where it sat by my feet. "I'm going. I don't mean to cause any trouble." Bending down, I pretend to grab my bag, but instead I grabbed the flamethrower.

With it in my hands I turned and flicked on my lighter, sending flames in her direction. But as they died, I found she was already gone

DPOV

"Ben?" I hurried over to the cages, keeping my voice low as the kid looked up at Liz and I. "Ben, it's okay. We're gonna get you out of here, okay?"

"Move out of the way." Liz grabbed my shoulder and pulled me behind her. Lifting her hands, she looked to each of the locks and concentrated before she used her mind to break and pull them away from the cages, freeing the kids.

I stepped up to Ben, helping him out. "Come on."

"How'd you do that?" he asked, looking up at Liz.

She shook her head, moving to help the other kids. "No time to explain. We gotta get you kids out of here."

Once Ben was on his feet I helped Liz with the other kids, getting them all out of the cages. While we did that, Ben comforted the ones already standing. I came to the last cage, finding a woman in there instead of a child. It was the realtor, one of the mums from Ben's birthday, the red head.

With everyone free, Liz stepped up to the closest window, which was small, and a bit too high.

Ignoring those facts, she lifted her hands and looked down at the kids. "Everybody back. Cover your eyes!" As soon as they all looked away, she flicked her wrist, smashing the glass.

"Here. Use this." Ben offered her his jacket.

"Thanks." She took it and laid it out so the kids could crawl through the window without getting cut.

I stepped up to help her. "All right, come on." I gestured to the kids. One by one they walked up to me. I lifted them up to the window so they could climb out, while Liz kept a look out just in case.

"Dean! Lizzie!" Sam yelled, running into the room. "Guys, there's a mother."

That was news to me. "A mother changeling?"

"Yeah, we gotta get these kids out. Quick." Sam moved to help me.

"I guess that's why the changeling's keeping the kids alive, so the mum can snack on them," I noted.

"No!" Liz yelled before something heavy flew across the room, to the other side.

I looked over, seeing the realtor, only this one was the changeling one, seeing as Sam was helping the real one stand- she was pretty out of it.

"Sam, get the kids out of here," I told him, moving away from the window. "Liz and I will deal with the mum."

Liz and I hurried over to the changeling mum just as she got to her feet. I reached for her, but she was stronger than I thought, and with a quick turn and a hard punch, she sent me stumbling back.

"You're messing with the wrong hunters, bitch," Liz sneered at the thing, lifting her hand. The changeling struggled against the invisible hold as Liz pushed her against the wall, holding her there. "Get the flamethrower! Now!"

"Dean!" Sam called.

I turned in time to catch the flamethrower. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my lighter, ready to torch this thing.

But she was strong, too strong for Liz. The invisible hold gave way, free the changeling. She lunged forward and grabbed Liz's throat, lifting her off the ground and in front of her, blocking my aim.

"Lizzie!" Sam yelled, hurrying over to help.

"Do it," Liz croaked, finding it hard to speak or even breath as the changeling squeezed the air out of her.

I hesitated. If I did it I would kill the changeling and save the kids. But if I did it I would also kill Liz, and I wouldn't- and couldn't- do that.

Dropping the flamethrower, I hurried over, punching the changeling. It stumbled back, letting go of Liz in the process. As Liz recovered, Sam and I circled the changeling, keeping it at bay. The three of us were thrown into a fight, two brothers against an evil monster.

Despite how strong the thing was, and how fast it was, Sam and I managed to keep it from doing too much damage, getting a few hits in as it hit us as well. But we worked together, giving Liz enough time to do what she had to.

As if right on cue, the changeling was pushed back by a hard an unseen force.

It stumbled to the ground as Liz stepped up to Sam and me, flamethrower in hand. The three of us stood there, watching as the changeling mother turned to us, seeing the flamethrower. In that instant, it knew this was the end.

Lifting the lighter, Liz didn't waste another second before torching the bitch.

EPOV

Ben had been constantly asking me questions the whole ride back to his place, as the two of us sat in the back of Baby. I sat there and answered them all, telling the whole truth. He'd seen enough for me not to lie. Besides, he was cool enough to be able to handle it all.

"So, you're like some kind of super hero?" He looked up at me, smiling widely and excitedly. "My babysitter's a super hero."

"I'm just a girl, Ben. There's honestly nothing special about me," I insisted.

He rolled his eyes. "Right, because having the power to move stuff with your mind is totally normal."

Dean laughed from the front seat as he pulled up to Lisa's house.

The front door opened, Lisa rushing out. "Ben?"

"Come on." I opened the door and got out, the kid right behind me.

"Ben!" Lisa run up to him. "Baby, are you okay?" Bending down, she grabbed and lifted him into a tight hug.

"I'm okay, mum," he assured her.

"Oh, my God." She buried her face in his neck, sobbing.

Dean and I shared a look then. We'd talked about me explaining everything to her, but I had a feeling this was something he should do. I may have bene a babysitter for a few days, but Dean had shared something more with Lisa.

With a short nod from me, he turned to the mall family and walked over to them.

Lisa put Ben down as she looked to Dean. "What the hell just happened?"

"I'll explain everything it you want me to but trust me, you probably don't," he told her. "Important thing is, is that Ben's safe."

"Thank you." She wrapped her arms around Dean into a hug. "Thank you."

"We're gonna give you guys some time." Sam nodded, moving to the driver's side of the car. "Dean, just call us when you're ready."

Lisa and Ben turned for the house as Sam got in the car. Dean and I looked to each other again. There were mixed feelings coming from both of us. I had no idea what he was feeling, but there were a few things I knew for sure.

For starters, I had to stop this. I'd decided distance was the best thing for me, yet here I was again, doing another job with the Winchesters. It was about time I made my mind up and stuck to my decision.

I gave him a small smile. "Catch you around."

He didn't need me to say anything else to understand what I meant. By the time he'd be done with Lisa and Ben, I'd be long gone. So, without a word, he turned and headed into the house as I got into the car.

DPOV

"Changelings?" Lisa asked. I'd just explained everything to her, seeing as she'd wanted to know.

"You know how I never mentioned my job?" I shrugged. "This is my job."

"I so didn't want to know that." She sighed and turned to Ben as he sat at the dining table eating a sandwich. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I think he'll be fine." It was the truth. He was so calm about it, like it was all normal, which had me wondering again... "Okay, seriously. I mean, you're a hundred percent sure that he is not mine? Right?"

She laughed, nodding. "You're off the hook. I did a blood test when he was a baby. There was this guy, some bar-back in a biker joint." When I gave her a look she laughed again. "What? I had a type. Leather jacket, couple of scars, no mailing address, I was there. Guess I was a little wild back then. Before I became a mum. So yeah. You can relax."

I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel about that news. Ben not being mine. On one hand, I was glad. I mean, I was going to die, and my life wasn't exactly kid friendly. But I'd enjoyed spending time with him, and some part of me had always wanted kids.

Looking over at the kid, I wondered what it would be like to be his dad. I could picture us fixing the car, going camping, goofing around. We were so a like, there'd be no boring moments. It would be nice. Having a family, a kid, it would be nice.

"I swear you look disappointed," she noted.

I hesitated as I turned to her, before giving a short shrug. "Yeah, I don't know. It's weird, you know. Your life, I mean, this house, the kid. It's not my life, never will be. Some stuff happened to me recently and... Anyway, a guy in my situation, you start to think, you know. I'm gonna be gone one day and what am I leaving behind besides a car?"

"I don't know. Ben may not be your kid but he wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you. That's a lot, if you ask me."

It wasn't much, but her words were enough to make me feel a little better.

Nodding, I turned to head to the door, ready to go. I took a few steps before stopping to turn back to her. "You know, just for the record, you got a great kid. I would have been proud to be his dad." I smiled at her.

She rushed forward and leaned onto her toes, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. Pulling back, she smiled up at me. "Look, if you wanna stick around for a while, you're welcome to stay."

As tempting as it was, I knew I couldn't. "I can't. I got a lot of work to do. And it's not my life." With another smile, I nodded before turning around and leaving.

SPOV

I'd been on the phone for a few hours, going through the list of my mum's old friends and family members, just like my new stalker that told me to. What I had found wasn't exactly good.

"They're dead." I stood in front of the woman as she sat on the table in the hotel room. "All of them. All of my mum's friends, her doctor, her uncle. Everyone who knew her systematically wiped off the map one at a time. Someone went through a hell of a lot of trouble trying to cover their tracks."

"Yep. Yellow-Eyed Demon."

"So, what's you deal? You show up wherever I am, you know all about me, you know all about my mum."

She grinned. "I already told you, I'm just-"

I cut her off, done with her games and bullshit. "Right. Right. Yeah, yeah. Just a hunter. Just some hunter who happens to know more about my own family than I do. Just tell me who you are."

"Sam, it-"

"Just..." I shrugged, wondering why it was so hard for her to understand. "Tell me who you are."

"It doesn't matter."

I stepped up to her, leaning down so I could look her in the eyes. "Just tell me who you are!"

"Fine." She closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were black.

I backed up, moving to my bag.

"Think twice before going for that holy water," she warned.

"Give me one reason," I told her, opening my bag still.

"I'm here to help you, Sam."

"Is that some kind of joke?"

She raised her right hand as if reciting an oath. "God's honest truth. Or whatever."

"You're a demon," I sneered, pulling out my flask of holy water.

"Don't be such a racist." She got off the table and stood. "I'm here because I wanna help you. And I can, if you trust me."

"Trust you?" Lifting the flask, I held it between us.

"Sam, calm down."

"Start talking. All those murders, what was the Demon trying to cover up?"

"I don't know."

"What happened to my mother?

"I honestly don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out. All I knew is that it's about you."

I tensed. "What?"

She laughed. "Don't you get it, Sam? It's all about you. What happened to you mum, what happened to her friends. They're trying to cover up what he did to you." She shrugged. "I wanna help you figure it out."

"Why would you wanna help me?"

"I have my reasons. Not all demons are the same, Sam. Not all of us want the same thing. Me? I wanna help you from time to time. That's all. And if you let me, there's something in it for you."

"What could you possibly-"

"I could help you save your brother."

Bamby

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greatpretending · 7 years

Text

This City Never Sleeps

Word Count: 3421

Pairing: Eventual Peter Parker x Female!Reader

Requested: Nope

Warnings: Light cursing.

Summary: You learn Peter’s secret, and it doesn’t take long for him to learn yours.

Note: This is really reader-heavy. but I really felt that in order to move on in this verse I had to develop that character and her relationships with the other characters. So, sorry if you wanted more Peter, but I promise there will be more of him in future installments. Also this is the most self-indulgent thing I’ve ever written in my life.

“(Y/N)! Has Peter told you about his new internship yet?” Ned asked excitedly, sitting down at your usual lunch table. Peter wasn’t there yet, but that wasn’t abnormal. He had chemistry before lunch and had recently taken to spending some extra time in the lab before coming to eat.

“No,” you said. “I haven’t really seen him yet today.”

“Oh, man, I don’t want to spoil it for you but it is crazy!” Ned said.

You ate your lunch quietly, listening to Ned ramble about the previous night’s episode of Game of Thrones while you did your math homework. The more work you did before you got home, the more time you could spend in the workshop. Eventually Peter joined you.

“Hey guys!” he said, sitting down next to Ned.

“Dude! Tell (Y/N) about your new internship!” Ned said immediately. You closed your textbook and slid it into your bag.

“Yes, do tell,” you said, leaning your elbows on the table.

“Okay, you’re never going to believe this,” Peter started, digging into his food. “But I got an internship with Tony Stark!”

You felt your stomach drop and the blood drain from your face.

“I-I’m sorry, what?” you asked.

“Yeah!” Peter said. “The Tony Stark!”

“Did you actually meet him?” you asked, trying to keep your voice from shaking.

“That’s where I was this weekend!”

“Isn’t that so awesome?” Ned asked.

“Uh-huh,” you replied. “That’s… that’s really cool.”

Breathe, you thought. In… out… in… out…

“Dude, are you okay?” Ned asked you. “You don’t look too good.”

You stared at Peter, searching for any sign that he knew your secret. But all you were met with was confusion and worry. Peter was a terrible liar, you would know if he knew.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. I gotta go,” you said, picking up your bag and swinging it over your shoulder. “Girl problems.” It was an awkward excuse, but you knew they wouldn’t dare ask questions later.

You hurried down out of the lunch room and down the hall, pushing past students as you felt anger bubble up in the pit of your stomach.

“PURDUE, call Tony,” you said sharply, locking yourself in the only single-stall bathroom in the school. The bop of a march seeped through the walls from the band room, too cheery for your firey mood.

“Dialing Mr. Stark.” PURDUE said.

You held your left wrist up eye level and waited impatiently for your uncle to answer your call. When he did, you could see that he was sitting at his desk in his office in Malibu, where he still spent a decent amount of time, despite having “officially” moved to New York after, well, New York. He was totally relaxed, feet propped up on the desk and smiling.

“What’s up, kiddo?” he asked cheerfully.

“Do you want to explain why my friend Peter came to school today after mysteriously going out of town for the weekend, the same weekend you went to Berlin, I might add, and is suddenly gushing about some ‘Stark Internship’?” you rambled, gesticulating wildly with your free hand. Tony put his feet on the floor and sat up slowly.

“Wait,” he said, tone serious. “You’re telling me Peter Parker and your friend Peter are the same person?”

“How the hell do you know Peter? What happened this weekend!?” You tried to keep your voice down, but you were growing more hysterical by the second.

“Damn…” Tony said, contemplative. Then he shrugged. “Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag now. Your friend Peter is ‘Spider-Man’,” Tony said, doing air-quotes around the superhero’s name.

“Excuse me?” you asked incredulously.

“I needed more people on my side to fight Cap this weekend,” Tony said nonchalantly.

“So you put my friend in danger!?”

“I didn’t know he was your friend!”

“Regardless, he’s just a kid! I can’t–” you were interrupted by the sound of the lunch bell ringing. “I have to go to class,” you sighed, “but I am so not finished with you. Clear your afternoon, you and I have a lot to talk about.”

“Have a g-” you ended the call, covered your watch with your sleeve and exited the bathroom. You felt a little bad hanging up on your uncle, but you were still stewing in anger.

I’m sure it’s not the first time an angry woman has hung up on him, you thought, thinking of Pepper.

Making your way to your next class, you were relieved you didn’t run into Peter or Ned. You needed some time to think. Luckily, your English class was the perfect place to do that. You were able to make it appear you were doing the assigned reading while your mind was elsewhere.

You had been living with your Uncle Tony since you were ten, and no one knew about it. Peter and Ned knew you lived with your uncle, but they didn’t know who he was. You didn’t want people to know. You’d seen first-hand how people would “befriend” Tony for his money, and you didn’t want that out of your friends.

Living with Tony had it’s ups and downs. The first few years he wasn’t around much. He didn’t want to disturb your life any further than it already had been, so he purchased a penthouse in the city so you could stay in your school with your friends. However, his company was still based in Malibu, so he had to spend most of his time on the west coast, only coming to New York for a few weekends each month.

You learned to live for those weekends. After you became adjusted to your new life, you and Tony grew close very quickly. Even at a young age you weren’t unfamiliar with robotics, and the two of you would spend hours upon hours in the workshop, tinkering and developing new tech.

The first thing Tony did was gift you with your own AI, which you promptly named PURDUE, which stood for “Parental Unit Replacement Developed Under Egomaniac.” You weren’t in a great place emotionally at the time, but Tony laughed when you told him what it meant, so you knew there were no hard feelings.

PURDUE resided mostly in the smartwatch Tony built for you, but also in the earring you wore in the tragus piercing in your left ear, which was actually a tiny headset. He could do basic smartwatch things like make and receive phone calls and video calls, send text messages, and browse the internet. He could also monitor your health by tracking your heart rate, your temperature, and more. Most importantly, though, PURDUE was able to track your activities. It wasn’t invasive, but PURDUE would notify Tony if you were ever in a potentially dangerous situation. He also notified Tony the one time you tried to sneak out to a friend’s house after your curfew. That got you grounded.

“I would have let you go to the party, (Y/N),” Tony had said. “All you had to do was ask.”

That was when you realized Tony was actually really chill, and your bond grew tighter. You never felt like you had to lie to him, and therefore he never felt the need to keep you on a tight leash.

So yeah, you had a big secret you had been keeping from your friends since you met Freshman year, which is why you justified Peter keeping his secret. You just wondered how long your secrets would stay safe.

It turns out, it didn’t take much longer for your secret to come out. Less than a month later the three of you were at Ned’s house, cramming for a Spanish test. It was nearing midnight, and you were tired, frustrated, and a little hangry. Peter and Ned were arguing over a particular verb conjugation, and eventually you got fed up with it.

“PURDUE, what is the imperfect, ‘vosotros’ conjugation of ‘poder’?” you asked, not looking up from your notebook.

“That would be ‘podíais.’”

“There, are you happy?” you asked the two boys, throwing your hands up in exasperation. They just stared at you, eyes wide and mouths hanging open. “What?”

“Did you just talk to your watch?” Peter asked you, and you froze, replaying the last sixty seconds in your head.

“Shit,” you said.

Suddenly, your friends exploded with excitement, grabbing your wrist to get a better look at your watch.

“When did you get a smartwatch?”

“What brand is it?”

“Why did you call it ‘Perdue’?”

“Isn’t that a college?”

“Why didn’t you show us this before?”

“Can I try it out?”

“What all can it do?”

“Is it touch-screen?”

“It doesn’t look like a Samsung, maybe a Fossil?”

“Okay, okay! Stop!” you finally said, overwhelmed.

“You might just want to tell them” PURDUE said into your ear. You sighed.

“I will tell you everything, just please someone get me a Dr. Pepper. We’re in for a long night.”

After grabbing some snacks and soda, you settled back into Ned’s bedroom, the boys looking at you eagerly. You pushed up the sleeve of your hoodie and held up the watch for them to see.

“PURDUE is more than just a smartwatch,” you started. “He’s artificial intelligence. He can do basically anything I want him to. Make calls, book appointments, order pizza, monitor my heart rate, tell me when I’m getting dehydrated, tell me the weather for the day and what current traffic is like, the list goes on.”

“Wow…” Ned said, as Peter scooted closer and swiped through the different displays.

“How did you get your hands on this?” Peter asked.

“I’ve had it since I was ten,” you admitted. “My… my uncle made it for me. My uncle… Tony Stark.”

“WHAT!?” Ned exclaimed, and Peter dropped your wrist immediately.

“Shh! Keep it down!” you said, your heart racing. You had literally never told anyone this secret before. Anyone who needed to know already knew.

“You’re saying that this whole time we’ve known you, you’ve had a bad-ass artificial intelligence watch that was built for you by Iron Man, who is your uncle who you live with?” Ned clarified. Peter was still silent. You couldn’t look at him.

“…Yes,” you said.

“Peter, did you know about this? Is that how you got the internship?”

“No!” you said immediately. “Peter didn’t know, and neither did Tony. I already asked him about it- he didn’t know that the Peter he hired is the same Peter I’m friends with. And honestly, I had no idea he was going to start giving out internships, so I couldn’t have put Peter up for it if I wanted to.”

You snuck a glance at Peter, hoping he didn’t suspect you knew what the internship really was. Thankfully, he seemed pretty calm, so you doubted he was suspicious.

“Wait, so do you live in like, a mansion?” Ned asked.

“I live in a penthouse on the corner of 172nd and Jewel.”

“Can we come over!?”

“Maybe this weekend?” You said, unsure. “I’ll have to ask Tony, but I doubt he’ll have a problem with it.”

“Will he be there?” Peter asked, speaking for the first time since you dropped the bomb.

“I don’t think so,” you said. Then you looked at your watch. “PURDUE, what’s Tony doing this weekend?”

“Mr. Stark has a meeting with the United Nations in Paris.”

“Yeah, no, he won’t be there.” Peter looked relieved, and Ned looked disappointed.

“I’ll introduce you next time he’s in town, I promise,” you said to Ned, which cheered him up considerably. “I should really get home though,” you continued, gathering up your things. “It’s really late, and I want to be well-rested for this stupid test tomorrow.”

“Shall I call the car?” PURDUE asked.

“Yes, please,” you responded, zipping up your bag.

“ETA is 7 minutes.”

“Thanks, PURDUE.”

“You never told us why it’s called ‘Purdue,’” Peter pointed out, and you felt your face heat up with embarrassment.

“Uh… it stands for Parental Unit Replacement Developed Under Egomaniac,” you said.

“That’s… fitting, I suppose,” Peter said with a chuckle, and you smiled. Ned looked between the two of you and threw up his hands.

“I can’t believe I’m the only one in this room who doesn’t know Tony Stark.”

“You want me to let you have two boys spend the night when you have little-to-no adult supervision?”

You were standing in your living room that friday morning, talking to your uncle via video message on the large television. He seemed particularly intimidating projected on the screen at twice his actual size. He was sitting at his desk in his condo in Paris, wearing a suit with the tie undone. He must have just gotten back from his meeting.

“I know what you’re thinking, and I swear I have no interest in either of them,” you said. Tony raised his eyebrows.

“You’re telling me you aren’t interested in a cute superhero who happens to be one of your best friends? Sweetie, you know you can tell me if you’re gay. I once spent a weekend in Provincetown, and it was quite the eye-opening experience,” he said, over-sharing as usual.

“Tony.”

“I know, I know. The only superhero you have eyes for is Cap.”

“Tony,” you said again, blushing.

“It’s not you I don’t trust, you know that,” he sighed, twirling a pen between his fingers.

“You can have PURDUE monitor us the whole time,” you bargained, and Tony scoffed.

“I already planned on it.”

“I’m not asking to throw a huge party,” you sighed, “I just want to invite a few trusted friends over. They’re the only people who even know about me living with you. It’d be nice to not have to keep hiding my life from my best friends.” Guilt-tripping your uncle was not easy, and not something you tried to do often. After a few moments of silence, Tony responded.

“Fine. Are they going to tell their parents that they’re spending the night at a girl’s house?”

“Uh… well, they planned to say they’d be at each other’s houses.”

“…”

“Tony?”

“Thanks for being honest. You have my permission. No sex.”

“TONY GROSS! I’m fifteen!” you shouted, horrified.

“That means nothing to me. I have to go now. Get your homework done before they come over.”

“Thank you!”

“Love you, kid.”

“Love you, too.”

The screen went black and you did a victorious fist-pump. You pulled out your phone to send a text to Peter and Ned.

Pack your bags, boys! Operation: Live Like Stark is a-go!

By the end of the day, waves of excitement were radiating out of your friends, and you couldn’t help but smile yourself. You led them about a block and a half from the school to your usual meeting spot with your driver.

“You take a private car to school?” Peter asked, and you nodded. “I always assumed you rode the bus!”

“The bus is loud and I would have to get up half an hour earlier,” you shrugged.

“Holy crap! Is this a Tesla?” Ned exclaimed as you approached the car.

“Yep,” you said as the trunk popped open. You dropped your bag inside and the boys followed suit.

You opened the door to the back seat and gestured for Peter and Ned to slide in. Closing the door behind them, you hopped in the front.

“Good afternoon, (Y/N),” you driver, Paul, greeted you.

“Hi, Paul,” you said. “This is Peter and that’s Ned.”

“Hello,” Paul said to them, pulling away from the curb.

“H-hi,” Ned said, petting the leather seats. “This is the nicest car I’ve ever been in.”

“It is a very nice vehicle, yes,” Paul replied.

“I would say the same, but Mr. Stark took me for a ride in his Jaguar last week,” Peter said.

“Peter’s doing an internship with Uncle Tony,” you explained at Paul’s quizzical look.

“Ah,” Paul said, understanding. “How’s that going, Peter?”

“Pretty well,” Peter said. “Though, I don’t think Happy likes me very much.”

“Mr. Hogan doesn’t like anybody very much, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. You stepped out into the gallery and heard a soft “whoa” come from the boys behind you. You guided them to the living room, dropping your bag onto the couch. Before you could say anything, PURDUE spoke over the in-home speakers.

“Mr. Stark is calling.”

“Answer it on the TV,” you said, and the monitor flicked on.

“Hello, my dear, sweet niece,” Tony said. It was nighttime where he was, and he was standing on a balcony, champagne flute in hand, while a cocktail party moved about through the glass doors behind him.

“Hi, Tony.”

“Peter! Always nice to see you. Funny coincidence I happened to hire one of (Y/N)’s friends.”

“Yes, sir, we were both very surprised when we found out,” Peter replied.

“And you must be Ned!” Tony continued.

“Breathe, Ned,” you whispered, fearing your friend would soon lose consciousness.

“Hello, Mr. Stark, sir. You have no idea how much of an honor it is you meet you, sir, even through a video message.” Ned gushed.

“That’s very nice of you to say,” Tony said, unfazed by the teenager fan-boying over him. “Now! I have a few house rules I’ll ask you to follow.”

“Yes sir, anything you want, sir,” Ned babbled while you looked at your uncle, confused. You had no idea what his ‘house rules’ could be.

“Number one,” Tony began: “Eat whatever you want. Number two: do whatever you want. Basically, mi casa es tu casa. The only thing I really ask is that you don’t go into the workshop. Maybe next time I’m home I can show you around, but I’d rather you didn’t go in without supervision right now.”

“Don’t worry,” you said, smiling. “I would dream of letting these clumsy dorks near my work.”

“Good!” Tony said as Peter put a hand over his heart in mock-offense. “Now, if you need anything, put it on the card. Other than that have a lovely night, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Or anything I would do.”

“There’s a gray area in there, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked with a smirk on his face.

“You got it, kid.”

The call ended, and you turned around to find Ned sitting on the couch, fanning himself with his hand.

“I think I need some water,” he said, and you and Peter shared a smile.

Once Ned had recovered, you spend the rest of the night giving them the grand tour, then watching the latest blockbuster action movie on the huge 3D TV in the den. After the movie you had PURDUE order an ungodly amount of pizza for the three of you. You ate it out by the pool while you watched the sun set over the city.

You and Peter hadn’t discussed the elephant in the room yet- that you knew he had been working for your uncle longer than he knew Tony was your uncle. When Ned eventually fell asleep on one of the bean-bag chairs after playing with Tony’s VR gaming system, you and Peter quietly made your way out onto the terrace.

You leaned your elbows onto the railing, looking out at the Manhattan skyline. The silence between you was comfortable, and the night was as peaceful as it could be in the city that never sleeps.

Eventually, Peter spoke up.

“So, this whole time I’ve been talking about the Stark Internship, you didn’t bother to mention I’ve been working with your uncle?” he asked. You turned your head to look him in the eye.

“Peter, the whole time you’ve been talking about the Stark Internship, I’ve known exactly what it is,” you confessed.

“Oh… shit.”

You turned back to face the city lights, but you could feel Peter’s gaze on you, waiting for you to continue.

“I didn’t tell you I knew because I figured… you’re entitled to secrets, too. It would be pretty hypocritical of me if I got upset over it,” you explained.

“Uh… yeah, I suppose so.” Peter said. There was a brief pause before he continued. “It is nice knowing someone knows, though. It’s… relieving.”

“Just…” you took a deep breath, looking at him again. “I already have an uncle who’s basically a father figure as a superhero, and now my best friend is one, too. The amount of worrying I’m doing just doubled. Please, please be safe, Peter.”

“Of course. Yeah, I… of course.”

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notsoguiltykpop · 7 years

Text

The Tenth Floor pt7

Min Yoongi had gone through 34 secretaries in the past 24 months, and each one of them left in tears. This fact alone should have warned you against taking the job, but the pay was too good to pass up. Surely you could put up with a billionaires temper-tantrums, right?

Yoongi x Reader & Taehyung x Reader

Genre: Fluff, humor, probably some angst

Warnings: Strong language at times, maybe some slight smut eventually

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

“Wait, right now?” You asked, trialing after Yoongi out of his office. He wound his scarf around his neck as he walked, and you grabbed your jacket from the back of your chair. You had picked the wrong day to wear a pencil skirt, you realized; as soon as the sun went down, you were going to freeze.

“No better time than the present.” Yoongi replied.

Seokjin was walking the other way when he saw the two of you, and caught your elbow gently. “Where are you going?” He asked, looking from you, to Yoongi, and back to you again.

“To the carnival, I think.” You said. Seokjin looked even more confused at this, but didn’t have time to press you for questions.

“Hurry up.” Yoongi snapped, standing in the elevator impatiently. “We don’t have all day.”

You left Seokjin standing there to join your boss, and as the doors closed, you realized just how strange all this was.

“What happened to those reports you said you needed to review?” You asked, your voice echoing slightly in the small space.

“They can wait.” Yoongi shrugged.

“But didn’t you tell Taehyung they were important?” You asked.

“I lied.” Yoongi gave you a rare smile. “We’re taking my car, by the way.”

You weren’t sure if you should be offended by this or not, but you weren’t about to argue; your car might have gotten you to work, but that didn’t mean it would get you and Yoongi to and from the other side of town.

“Yoongi?” You said carefully. “You know the carnival is open on the weekend, right? Why do you want to go today?”

Yoongi shrugged. “Why? You don’t want to go? You’re getting paid either way, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

You frowned. Yoongi was definitely acting weird, and you suspected that, given his noncommittal answer, he didn’t know why he was going, either. But you supposed it didn’t really matter; if your crazy boss wanted a day out, you didn’t see the harm in it. As long as he wasn’t yelling, you could follow him around the carnival until he figured it out.

To say Yoongi’s car was nice when you saw it would be an understatement. The hard-top convertible Audi looked as though it had just been driven off the car lot, and while the brand suited Yoongi, the baby-blue color didn’t quite.

It made your car look like a piece of crap, and you made a face as you slid into your seat.

“You don’t like it?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow as he started the car.

“No, it’s... Very nice.” You settled.

“I know.” Yoongi said. “So why do you look so uncomfortable?”

“I’m not.” You lied. How were you supposed to explain that sitting in such a fancy-ass car made your second-hand skirt feel shabby, or that you were terrified you were going to break something because you couldn’t afford to fix it. “I always look like this.”

Yoongi didn’t respond to that, and drove in silence for a while. There was something about sitting in the car, someone else driving and paying attention to the road, that reminded you of Taehyung. You thought you might have preferred his slightly beaten up taxi over this.

But Taehyung-the-taxi-driver wasn’t just a taxi driver, and you were sure you’d never call him again, so you tried to keep your mind off of him. You were working (kind of), and needed to focus on the job at hand.

“Yoongi, why am I here?” You asked after a while, when you knew you were getting close to the fairground.

“On earth, or in my car?” He asked, sounding slightly distracted by the traffic.

“Why did you want me to come along?” You clarified, though you were curious what he would say if you asked him what your purpose in the universe was. That would have to wait for another day.

“You’ve been there before, right?” He didn’t wait for you to answer. “I want to know what normal people do for fun, so you’re going to be like my tour guide.”

“Am I the only ‘normal’ person you know?” You didn’t think you wanted to know the answer, but you asked anyway.

Yoongi thought about it a moment. “Yes.”

Somehow, you resisted the urge to roll your eyes.

The carnival was packed, more so than you would have expected on a week day. But judging by how many kids were there, school must be out.

“Now what?” Yoongi asked, looking around.

“We buy tickets.” You pointed to the small booth where a long line waited.

“Why.” Yoongi gave you a look that very much said that he would rather do anything else in the world than wait in line.

“So we can go on the rides.” You explained. “Have you really never been to one of these before?”

“Why would I want to go on rides?” Yoongi asked, rather than answer your question.

You were about to answer when you realized that it was pointless. Yoongi wasn’t getting anywhere near that line, and there wasn’t a thing you could say to change that. “You don’t. So we’ll just walk around for now.” You sighed.

You didn’t get very far before someone working at a stand was yelling at you, trying to get you to try his game.

“IT’S ONLY FIVE DOLLARS!” He announced as he reached out as though to grab your arm. Yoongi quickly switched sides with you, so he was closer to the outstretched hands. As he did so, he gave the man a look that had him recoiling in a matter of seconds.

“I thought you said this was fun.” Yoongi said, looking around at the madness that surrounded the two of you.

“It is.” You said. You had approached another booth, where a young couple was throwing darts at balloons. “Watch them.” You pointed, and Yoongi did as he was instructed. Their darts were soon all on the ground, and the man slammed down another ten dollars. It wasn’t long before those were gone too, and the couple walked away laughing.

“That doesn’t look fun, it looks like a scam.” Yoongi gave you a look this time, and you shrugged.

“Do you want to try, sir?” The man working at the booth asked, giving him a smile.

“No.” Yoongi didn’t look or sound swayed.

“What if I gave you the first three darts for free?” He wiggled his eyebrows, and Yoongi looked mildly disgusted.

“Still no.” He said flatly.

“You said you wanted to know why this was fun.” You pointed out. “And you wanted to know what normal people do. You should try it.”

Yoongi looked at you, and then at the three darts laying in front of him. “Five free darts.” He said, folding his arms. “Then I’ll try it.”

“I beg your pardon?” The man working at the booth laughed. “You’re asking me to--”

“Yes.” Yoongi gave him a cold smile. You couldn’t believe this--Yoongi was acting like a business man at a carnival, treating this like it was some kind of important transaction. You bit back your laughter, curious to see where this would go. “So do we have a deal?”

“Sure.” The man put two more darts in front of Yoongi and stepped back. “Why not?”

You weren’t sure what you were expecting--maybe for Yoongi to be terrible at it? Or perhaps pop a single balloon? But it was neither case.

Yoongi casually threw the first dart perfectly, and you clapped on instinct. “That was good!” You said, and Yoongi rolled his eyes.

“You sound surprised.”

The next four followed quickly, with scarily accurate precision. The man behind the booth looked less than happy, but pulled down a small teddybear anyway.

“Congratulations.” He deadpanned. “You won.” He held out the stuffed animal for Yoongi to take, but Yoongi took a step away from it.

“What am I supposed to do with that?”

“It’s your prize, dumbass. Do you want it or not?” The man was clearly loosing patience with Yoongi quickly.

“I--” Yoongi started.

“Look, if nothing else, you can give it to your girlfriend over there.” He waved it towards where you stood.

“She’s not--oh, whatever.” Yoongi snatched the teddybear from the man’s hand before walking back to you, holding it out as though it was going to explode at any moment. “Here.”

“You don’t want it?” You asked, reaching out for it.

“Do I look like I play with stuffed animals?” Yoongi wrinkled his nose as you took the bear, straightening it’s bow with a smile. “What is that smell?”

“Popcorn.” You said, holding your new stuffed animal close. “And vomit.”

You walked around the carnival for a while before you pulled Yoongi over to a food truck that sold candy apples. Slowly, he was starting to feel less like your boss, and more like a strange man who had no idea what was going on. It was kind of cute.

“Have you ever tried one?” You asked, and Yoongi shook his head.

“I’ve had candy. And I’ve had apples.” He didn’t look impressed. “What’s the big deal about the combination?”

You made a face at him, but before you could argue, a small voice interrupted.

“Excuse me, have you seen my mother?” You and Yoongi both looked down to see a young boy blinking up at you. You half expected Yoongi to ignore him, or perhaps start yelling, but neither happened.

“I don’t know, what does she look like?” Yoongi asked before you could say anything.

“Well, she’s tall, and has eyes, and hair...”

“Okay, let’s try something else.” Yoongi knelt down by the boy. “What’s your name?”

“What does that have to do with finding my mom?” The boy turned to you. “Have you seen her?”

“No, but I know someone who can find her.” You said, having spotted a sign that said “LOST PARENTS”. “Come on, I’ll bring you to them.” You held out your hand to the child, and he took it happily. He didn’t seem nearly as panicked about losing his mother as some kids, which you were grateful for.

Yoongi stood, and the boy took his hand too. Yoongi didn’t seem to mind, and for a second, you thought you might have seen him smile.

You explained the boys situation quickly to the security guard before joining the boy and Yoongi on a bench in the shade.

“They’ll find her in no time.” You assured him, and he sighed.

“She’s always getting lost.” He rolled his eyes.

“My mom was like that, too.” Yoongi said. “She even left me at a grocery store one time.”

“Mine forgot me at the mall.” The little boy replied. “Sometimes I think she doesn’t care if I’m there or not.”

“I know. But she just has too much on her mind, that’s all. She loves you.”

The boy gave Yoongi a suspicious look. “You think?”

“I’m sure.”

The three of you sat in silence for a little longer before you remembered you still had a stuffed bear in your hands.

“Do you want it?” You asked, holding it out. The boy made a face at you.

“Does it look like I still play with stuffed animals?” He asked, and the similarity to what Yoongi told you earlier was uncanny.

It wasn’t long before a young women was hurrying towards the bench, pulling the boy into a tight hug, and then scolding him for wandering off.

“I can’t thank you enough, I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to him...” She said to you and Yoongi as you stood.

“He would have found you sooner or later.” Yoongi said with a shrug. “He’s a tough kid.”

When the two were gone, you turned your attention back to Yoongi. “Did your mother really forget you at the grocery store?” You asked.

“Yep.” Yoongi nodded, already walking away. “She didn’t even notice until she got home.”

“I’m sorry.” You said instinctively. “It must have been scary.”

Yoongi shrugged as he walked back to the candy apples. “Like I said, she had a lot on her mind.” He bought two apples, handing one to you as he inspected his own carefully. “This looks like death on a stick.” He informed you.

“Maybe, but a sweet sugary death, at least.” You said, nudging him with your elbow. “Can I be honest? I’m surprised you weren’t professionally chauffeured around as a kid.”

Yoongi snorted. “Pretty sure that only happens in the movies.”

The rest of the day passed in a bur, with you explaining things, and Yoongi generally not understanding their purpose completely. You got him to try cotton candy, which he hated, and even talked him into getting on a spinning ride that made him feel rather sick. Somehow Yoongi’s scarf ended up around your neck with the excuse of Yoongi getting too hot, but you thought it might have been because he saw you shiver.

“I’m hungry.” Yoongi stated once the sun had gone down and the stars twinkled in the sky.

“All you had for lunch was an apple covered in candy.” You pointed out. “So it’s no wonder.”

“That’s all you had, too.” Yoongi pointed out, pulling his phone from his pocket to look something up. “There’s a ramun place around the corner.” He said after a second. “It gets good reviews, let’s go there.”

You wanted to argue, but couldn’t think of anything reasonable. All you could do was hope that it wasn’t the same place you thought it was.

You left your stuffed bear and Yoongi’s blazer jacket in his car before walking to the packed little cafe. You found a seat by the window, and hoped against hope no one would recognize you.

The waitress was new, to your relief, and you got your food without any issues. But just when you thought you’d got off scotch free, you heard your name called from across the room.

“Look who’s here on a week night!” Jay waved enthusiastically, pulling an empty chair over to sit down at your table. Yoongi just watched him curiously as he did so.

“Hi Jay.” You said with a sigh, looking to Yoongi. “This is my mechanic. His mother owns this place.”

“Wow, you sound so happy to see me.” Jay said sarcastically. “So how’s it going with your psyco boss?” Yoongi chocked on his food before recovering quickly.

“I never said he was psyco.” You said, deliberately not looking at Yoongi.

“Maybe not, but he totally is.” Yoongi interrupted. Your eyes widened as he continued, noticing that he looked two seconds from bursting into laughter. “The other day, her boss started screaming because he thought someone moved his glasses. Turned out they were on his face the whole time.” This had actually happened, but you couldn’t believe Yoongi was telling Jay about it.

“Sounds like a dumbass.” Jay laughed along. “Didn’t you say he’s really paranoid, too?” He asked you.

“He is.” Yoongi cut in again. “One day, she’ll probably walk into his office and he’ll have a tin foil hat on.”

Jay let out another chuckle at that. “What was your name again?”

“Min Yoongi.”

There was a pause. “But isn’t your boss’s name...” Jay started, looking at you as you nodded. “Shit. I’m going to go... Somewhere else.” He was gone in a moment, and you looked down at your hands.

“I, uh...” You didn’t know where to start.

“Don’t worry about it.” Yoongi said, still looking amused. “I know I act batshit crazy.”

“Act?” You repeated. It suddenly occurred to you that the angry-screaming-Min-Yoongi had changed the second you were out of the building, replaced by a much calmer (though just as strange) version. “It’s an act.” You said slowly, and Yoongi grinned. “Why?”

“No one wants to mess with a screaming paranoid conspiracy-theorist CEO with a nasty temper.” Yoongi shrugged. “It makes my life easier.”

“That’s absurd.” You muttered.

“It isn’t completely a lie. I just exaggerate some of my less stable qualities.”

You rolled your eyes, but couldn’t help but to laugh. “So you’re saying you knew your glasses were on your face the other day?” You asked between mouthfuls of food.

“No, I really thought someone took them.” Yoongi said seriously. This fact only furthered your giggling.

Before you knew it, you were walking back to Yoongi’s car, your hand in his (though you weren’t sure how that happened).

“Thank you, for today.” Yoongi said, walking with you to the passenger side of the car. “For humoring me.”

“Had you really never been to a carnival before, or was that an act, too?” You asked teasingly.

“I really hadn’t.” Yoongi confirmed. You were painfully aware of how close he was standing, and how perfect he looked in the dim light. You weren’t sure why, but on a whim you leaned in, connecting his lips with yours. For a moment, he didn’t respond and you pulled away hurriedly.

“Sorry, I--”

He cut you off as he leaned in to return the kiss. It was innocent enough to begin with, but as his hands found their way to your hips and your own wound around his neck, it quickly turned needy and desperate as he pinned you between him and the car.

He pulled away just far enough to look at you, his breath a little ragged. “Do you want to keep going?”

All you could manage at that point was a nod, but it was all Yoongi needed to fumble for the door handle. You half fell into the seat as you tried to keep kissing Yoongi as you sat, and Yoongi had it reclined in a moment, pulling the door closed and hovering just above you, careful not to put his weight on you.

Your hands were already trying to unbutton his shirt as his were running up your thigh, pushing your skirt up as his mouth traveled from your lips, down the side of your jaw, and to a spot on your neck that made you gasp. One of his hands then moved up to just under your shirt, his thumb running along your skin before pushing the fabric further out of the way.

“My god, you’re beautiful.” Yoongi murmured, and that was when it hit you. You were in your bosses car, halfway through unbuckling his belt, in a rundown parking lot where anyone could walk by and see you.

And you were falling into the stereotype of secretaries who slept with their boss to keep their job.

“Yoongi, stop.” You said, and he froze immediately.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, pulling away to look at you. “I have a condom somewhere--”

“No, I--I want to get out of the car.” You could feel yourself starting to panic, and Yoongi seemed to catch on fast. He was off of you in the blink of an eye, getting out of the car so you could do the same.

You tried to button your shirt quickly--had he unbuttoned it, or was it you?--before standing. You were sure you looked like a mess--lipstick smudged, skirt wrinkled, hair mussed, but you couldn’t care less for the time being.

“Are you okay?” He asked, starting to reach a hand out before dropping it quickly. His hair was sticking up in all directions, his shirt untucked and unbuttoned, and one shoe was half off his foot. “I misunderstood--”

“No, I did.” You muttered, grabbing your purse out of the car. You had a horrible suspicion that this whole day was just some ploy to get in your pants; you had seen firsthand that Yoongi calculated everything, and there was no doubt in your mind that this was no different. “I have to go.” You said, trying to smooth down your hair to no avail. You took a step backwards, and you could see the shock and confusion in Yoongi’s eyes.

“Let me drive you home at least.” He tried. But the thought of Min Yoongi seeing the crappy apartment building that you lived in, on an equally crappy street made your stomach turn.

“Don’t worry about it.” You shook your head. “I’ll take the bus.”

You walked away before Yoongi could argue, and hoped against hope that he wouldn’t follow. After you were fairly sure he wasn’t behind you, nor could he see you, you sat down on a nearby bench.

“Shit.” You said to yourself as you dropped your head into your hands. Whatever chance at this job you had, it was gone now. Even if Yoongi’s plan hadn’t been to fuck you, after this whole thing, he would surely fire you.

You took out your phone, trying to keep your hands from shaking as you typed out the a simple text with your location. Not fifteen minutes later, a pair of shiny shoes walked over to you. You eyes traveled up to see familiar eyes with an unfamiliar frown.

“Your carriage awaits.” Taehyung said as you stood. “Wanna talk about what happened?”

“Nothing happened.” You said, avoiding his eyes. You could feel tears prickling at your eyes, to the point where you couldn’t see quite clearly.

“You wouldn’t have called me unless it did.” Taehyung sighed, and you started crying. You weren’t sure what triggered it, maybe it was what he said, or maybe it was just that you knew Taehyung wouldn’t judge you.

“I fucked up.” You managed as he pulled you into a tight hug. It was warm, and felt so safe. “I fucked everything up.”

Taehyung ran a hand through your hair soothingly. “It’s okay.” He whispered, kissing your forehead gently. “I’m here. And I’m going to make him pay.”

A/N Ayy another cliffhanger bc I like them!! :D Another long chapter wow. Thank you for reading, and I still haven’t proofread properly. But I’m tired, and I want to update tonight, so oh well. Thank you for reading! Do you trust Yoongi? Do you trust Taehyung? Has reader gotten herself into a mess, or is she maybe over reacting a little? Let me know how you feel!! <3 <3 <3

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blustersquall · 7 years

Text

Only Make Believe // Chapter 16: Redcliffe, Interrupted

As before, because of tumblr’s interface, the link to this chapter on AO3 is in the source link of this post. <3

December 23rd

"I don't remember Redcliffe being as busy as this." Nevena tore her gaze away from the bustling crowds of people long enough to cross the road. Everywhere she looked there were people laden with shopping bags, barking at each other as they wrestled to get to the places they needed to be.

She knew she shouldn't be surprised. It was almost Christmas Eve, and there were always last minute gifts to buy and food to prepare. She was sure the atmosphere at the manor house in Haven would be unbearable with Ineria snapping left and right because things weren't perfect. Nevena was glad not to be a part of that.

Cullen walked at her side, the grand arch and circular stained glass window of the cathedral not far in the distance. She was able to spot the building as they drove into Redcliffe. It was bigger than she remembered. Redcliffe itself was far more different than she remembered. Having visited only once when she was nine-years-old, she remembered a quiet, quaint town with wide streets lined with tall, narrow buildings. Hardly a car in sight.

Now the modern age had caught up with the town she remembered turning it into a small city. The tall, narrow houses were still there, but many were now converted into flats. The roads that were once cobble were now tarmac, and every other street was beset by traffic lights and pedestrian crossings.

A part of her was sad to see such a picturesque town succumb to the invasion of technology and modern life. Another part of her knew it was simply inevitable. Things sometimes had to change, or they would disappear into obscurity. She could take happiness in knowing Redcliffe was still on the map, and that the cathedral - it's crowning glory - had not been touched or become a victim of progress.

"When was the last time you were here?" Cullen asked. He quickly dodged around an elderly couple who stopped to look at the menu of a restaurant they were passing. Nevena heard him mutter something under his breath but didn't push. She noticed that since the early morning he seemed a little off, and he started complaining of a headache when they reached Redcliffe. She assumed he was simply fatigued and did not want to cause any problems or antagonize him.

"Long time ago," Nevena answered brightly. "I only ever came here once with my family for a weekend vacation."

"Some vacation spot," Cullen snorted.

Nevena shrugged. "It's nice in the summer. When the sun is just right, it makes the natural red colour of the stones look like they're on fire." She smiled. "It's why this place is called Redcliffe." He didn't say anything in response, simply continued striding ahead at a pace Nevena found herself almost jogging to keep up with. Worry gnawed at her. Had she done something wrong? Upset him in some way? She wracked her brains as she hurried her steps to match his.

The day before things seemed fine between them. They'd slept, joked, talked about nothing, made mocking comments at the various shows they flicked between on the television. It felt like even though they didn't do anything, it was a good day overall. Better than many of the previous. She enjoyed their quiet day of doing nothing, and she believed he had as well. Now she wasn't so sure. She wondered if perhaps he had another bad nightmare. She didn't hear him screaming during the night and she listened out for it specifically, but then maybe not all his nightmares resulted in screaming.

She wanted to ask. But given how terse Cullen was being, she did not want to risk upsetting him. She was stuck. All she could do, all she knew how to do, was put on a brave face and hope his mood improved throughout the day.

"Did you see much of Redcliffe when you came with Josef and the boys?" Nevena asked Cullen while they walked. The silence was too uncomfortable for her to keep up with. Small talk was better than not talking at all.

"Not really," he said, coming to a stop at a pedestrian crossing. "We went to the retail park to pick up a tree and drove through town. That was about it."

"What do you think?"

"It's a smaller version of Denerim." He shrugged his shoulders and began crossing the street. "I'm sure the people who live here like it well enough."

"You... don't?"

Another non-committal shrug. "It's fine."

Nevena clenched her jaw, sinking half her face behind her scarf. If he didn't want to come to Redcliffe, why didn't he just say so? He clearly didn't want to be there. She wouldn't have minded so much, except it was he who suggested the visit. Not her. Now he was being monosyllabic and distant, acting as though he would rather be anywhere else but there.

She was disappointed and confused. Maybe she was reading too much into things? She knew she had a habit of over-thinking. This was likely one of those times, only made worse because of how mixed up her feelings were towards him. She was doing what she always did: trying to blame herself for someone else's bad mood. She did it with Rick because it was easier. With Cullen though... aside from a headache, and she couldn't think of any reason why he was being so off with her.

The closer they walked to the cathedral, the more Nevena wracked her brain. She didn't want to spend the next few hours with him if things were going to be as tense and uncomfortable as they were now. She was already on tender hooks. If this kept up all day, she would be a wreck by the end of it.

Thinking back to the day before, she considered possibilities that might have upset him. After she finished her phone call with Roselyn she remembered him being a little quieter and he put a significant distance between them on the couch. He also didn't mention who was at the door when he answered it. Could it have been bad news?

No... No. If it was bad news he would have said something. Wouldn't he? That's what people did. If it was really bad he'd have said and gone to deal with it.

Maybe he was feeling odd about all the things she told him about Rick and the past. Maybe he wasn't sure how to stomach it all or comprehend it. Maybe he was reconsidering his stance regarding the kind of person she was. Maybe since the other night, he'd been able to see that, yes, she was a terrible person for her actions. For breaking up with someone who just proposed to her. Maker, she hoped that wasn't it.

Her stomach turning itself into tight knots, Nevena recounted the previous day on her fingers. They went to bed around four in the morning and were both awake early because Cullen had a nightmare. Then... Then she sat up with him on the couch until he was resting and didn't have the heart to leave him. He was still trembling and pleading breathlessly to the images that tormented him. She could have returned to the bedroom and ignored it, but she didn't. That resulted in her waking up on the couch with him in the afternoon. And then... they settled in to watch terrible television and recharge. He tickled her, she pinned him and...

Nevena wanted to slap herself. Before the knock at the door and phone call, they'd been all over each other, practically. At one point he had her pinned and she told him not to get off when he suggested it. He'd asked her what she wanted and she never gave him an answer. They were interrupted. After that everything changed. The atmosphere wasn't as relaxed as before and he put a deliberate distance between them. Flames, but she was stupid to not realise it before now. She'd never answered his question and never addressed the situation they found themselves in. It was just hanging there between them. The elephant in the room.

Of course just assuming that was the issue was out of the question. She didn't want to assume anything because there was the chance she was wrong and it was just a headache and he was tired. If she accused him of being upset with her because of the day before then he would become defensive. She needed to get the truth from him, willingly.

"Hey, uhm, Cullen?" Nevena reached a hand out towards him and quickly pulled it back before she made contact or he noticed. Cullen glanced at her, eyebrow raised and she came to a stop. He paused and turned towards her. "Is... Is something wrong?"

"No." Stepping to the side of the street took them out of the way of oncoming people. He slipped his hands into his pockets. "Why?"

Nevena tutted, "It's just, well, you've been kind of off since this morning. I know you said you have a headache. I just was curious if there was anything else?" She flexed her hand to resist reaching out to him and curled her fingers into a fist at her side. "You know you can tell me."

Cullen's eyes narrowed a little and Nevena wanted to shrink into non-existence, still, she did not avert her gaze. She held his eyes and waited for him to speak again, whether to give her an excuse or the truth. The truth was preferable.

"Just the headache," Cullen said eventually, sighing. Nevena kept her expression impassive to conceal her disappointment. "I get them sometimes and they just... cluster behind my eyes. It's annoying."

"That's it?" She opened her satchel and began to dig around inside it. "Nothing else? Nothing you want to talk about?"

"No..." Cullen arched a brow. He stared at her, squinting and folded his arms. "Unless there's something I'm supposed to be upset about?"

"No," shrugged Nevena. "No. I just... y'know, if you want to talk about anything or address anything... I'm here." She grimaced. Too obvious? Too obvious. Finding what she was after, a small, clear cylindrical bottle, she offered it to Cullen. "Painkillers. I keep them for cramps, but they're good for headaches."

He looked at the bottle as though it were labelled as poison. "Thanks, but I don't like taking medication unless it's necessary. And even then I'm iffy."

"Okay...?"

"Thanks." He smiled briefly. "It'll pass eventually. It's not that bad." Nevena returned the bottle to her bag and closed it.

"If you're sure," she muttered.

"I'll be fine," insisted Cullen. He turned and began walking back towards the cathedral. His stride was slower now, so Nevena kept up with relative ease. She watched his expression as they grew closer to the building, how his eyes widened at the sheer immensity of it, and the circular stained glass window.

Nevena knew very little about the building itself, beyond what she read on the website and the fact it was built before Andraste became a figurehead of religion. The stone was once white, though it had greyed over time. It was mined from the Frostback Mountains and made the whole building stand out against the more natural and familiar rust colour that gave Redcliffe its name. Each block appeared to be the size of a car, stacked carefully and with precision on top of one another. The main entrance was two double doors made of heavy, dark wood. Over that was a self-supporting archway, a feat of early Theadosian engineering; and fixed behind that into the high walls was the stained glass window that made the cathedral so popular and kept it busy. There were more windows fixed in the walls and dotted around the building, but one above the doors was the most impressive. It was supposed to be the culmination of the story all the windows told and depicted some kind of epic battle between old Gods and the men that worshipped them.

It was all history and religion and epic stories, and Nevena loved it. She always planned to visit Redcliffe again after her first visit as a child. She was happy to finally be seeing the cathedral again, and with someone, rather than alone. Even if that someone was being guarded and closed off. She wouldn't push the issue. If he insisted it was just a headache, then it was a headache. It didn't stop the gnawing sensation in her stomach but it was not worth getting any more worked up over.

So, she wouldn't. At least, she would try not to.

Cullen came to a stop about forty feet from the entrance. His head was arched so far back Nevena believed it must have hurt. He was simply staring, wide-eyed like a child at the building and the grandeur of it.

"I don't know what I expected," he said after a few seconds. Nevena smiled to herself. "I remember the cathedral in Kirkwall. I thought it was huge. This place... dwarfs it."

"I think it does that to a lot of buildings."

"How did I never know this was here?!" he exclaimed.

"It's never been hugely publicised," Nevena shrugged. "I know large parts of it have been under repair and restoration for a while, that could have something to do with it too. According to the website, they only recently finished making the high dome safe for the public to walk in."

"The high dome?"

"It's right at the very top of the main structure. The ceiling is stained glass, and apparently, there are constellations in each pane." She rocked back and forth on her heels. "The people in charge are beginning to think the cathedral itself is an extremely early Tevinter structure. There are astrariums dotted around on the roof."

"What are... astrariums?" asked Cullen.

"Supposedly, they were used as a way to track constellations and the movement of planets before telescopes." Nevena's smile warmed, pleased to see someone else as enthralled as she was by the building. Happy too, to feel the coolness between them beginning to thaw. "I'm sure there's a tour we can go on. If you want?"

"Sure." Cullen smiled down at her in a way that made Nevena's stomach plunge to her feet. "Lead the w -"

"Cullen?" The sound of a woman calling gave Cullen and Nevena both pause. Cullen glanced around, as did Nevena, looking for the source. "Cullen Rutherford?" The voice was closer. "I knew that was you!"

A woman came into view from behind Cullen. He turned towards her and immediately a glimmer of shock and pleasure dashed across his face, before settling into pleased surprise. Nevena noticed she was a good few inches taller than herself, and not much shorter than Cullen. Straight, dark brown hair left loose hung down the front of her stylish green coat to about her elbows. It was perfect, not a hair out of place despite the cold and the light wind. She was dressed in expensive clothing, not dissimilar to the kind of things Ineria liked to wear. The coat looked designer, as did the skinny jeans and the furry winter boots. She carried a leather handbag dangling off her right arm and gave Cullen a one-armed hug which he reciprocated.

Nevena blanched, feeling small and untidy. Her hair was messy, her jeans were old, and her jumper sat several sizes too big hanging off one shoulder. She scuffed the heel of her boot on the ground.

"Small world!" the woman said. Her hand was resting on Cullen's shoulder. Why was her hand resting on Cullen's shoulder? Why hadn't Cullen moved yet? Why did he have one hand on this woman's waist? "What are you doing in Redcliffe?"

"Visiting the cathedral," Cullen said, stepping away from the woman a little. "With..." He gestured to Nevena. "Oh, this is Nevena. A friend of mine."

Nevena's chest constricted and she struggled to breathe for a moment. A friend? That's what she was? A friend? Of course, she was but in the past, he'd called her his girlfriend. When dealing with the paramedics at the cable car station and the security guard in Edgehall. So why now was she just a friend?

"Nevena, this is Solona Amell." His gaze was on Solona as he spoke. "She's an old girlfriend."

Solona looked at her, beaming and perfect. Her eyes were a gorgeous grey-green colour and she had the straightest, whitest teeth Nevena had ever seen. "Oh, I didn't realise you were with anyone!" She patted Cullen's shoulder again. "I'm sorry, how rude of me." She offered a hand for Nevena to shake. "Nice to meet you."

Nevena shook her perfectly manicured hand. "You too."

"A pleasure." Solona dropped her grip and turned her attention to Cullen. Nevena suddenly wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. She might as well have not existed give the way the two of them looked at and spoke to each other. "It's so weird to see you! Talk about coincidence!"

"Yeah." Cullen ran a hand through his hair. "It must be, what? A year? Or two?"

Solona laughed. "Give or take."

"You..." Cullen looked her up and down. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Liar." Solona batted his upper arm. "But I'll take compliments where I can get them."

Because I'm sure you're in terribly short supply of those, Nevena wanted to say. She bit her tongue. She would not stoop to a level of petty jealousy. She was not that kind of a person. Cullen and Solona would catch up briefly and then the day could continue as planned. Besides, she had nothing to be jealous about. It wasn't like there was actually anything between herself and Cullen. Nothing worthy of note or merit at the very least. And Cullen said himself, Solona was an old girlfriend. Old. As in from the past. What did it matter if they were on friendly terms?

"How have you been?" Solona asked, shifting her weight from one hip to the other.

"Good, good." Cullen nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "You know, can't complain. What about you?"

"Same, pretty much."

They fell into silence. Nevena glanced between them, the awkwardness growing. Now all one of them needed to do was make an excuse and everything would be fine. If neither of them spoke, she would make it for them.

Solona snapped her fingers. "We should catch up. Properly. I have an hour before I need to be anywhere. You're not busy, are you?" she asked Cullen, not sparing Nevena a look.

Nevena took the opportunity, "Well, we-"

"No. No, not at all," Cullen interrupted. Nevena slammed her mouth shut so fast her teeth clashed together.

Solona’s smile widened. "Did you want to grab a coffee or something?"

Cullen shrugged, "sure."

Nevena furrowed her brow. "We were going to the cathedral," she stated as boldly and as loudly as she dared. Cullen and Solona turned their attention to her, as though suddenly remembering she was there. Cullen looked shocked she'd spoken up and as though he only just remembered they had plans.She gave him a furtive look, silently asking him to pick her over coffee with Solona. Cullen glanced between both women. "Cullen, come on," Nevena laughed weakly.

"The cathedral's not going anywhere," he explained, with an apologetic smile. "It's only an hour. Look, I'll text you when I'm done and catch up to you. Okay? You can fill me in."

No. It was not okay. Not okay in the least. They were meant to go and enjoy the cathedral together. To go on the tour and make ridiculous comments and enjoy each other's company and... and... It was not okay that some random woman just sashayed in and was figuratively sweeping him off his feet and stealing him away. Not that he could be stolen. He didn't belong to Nevena, she knew that. And there was nothing between them to be broken up or tarnished.

Why was he choosing Solona over her?

More to the point, why did it hurt so fucking much?

Realising she hadn't answered, Nevena forced herself to smile and nodded. "S-sure... Okay." Cullen smiled. The first genuine smile of the day and it was because he was going to spend time with someone else.Nevena was sure she felt something inside her crack. "Just text me when you're on your way back."

"Of course."

"Let's go, Cullen!" Solona looped her arm through Cullen's and started walking with him in the direction she just came from.

"It was nice meeting you!" Nevena called, but neither Solona nor Cullen regarded her again. "Bitch," she added under her breath.

Nevena turned to face the cathedral, her cheeks burning with embarrassment and a sense of shame. She glanced around to see if anyone else had witnessed what just transpired and therefore her inability to be assertive. No one was paying her any mind and she felt a sense of relief from that. At least her failings as a person and a woman weren't closely witnessed by anyone else. She took a deep breath to settle the ache in her chest. It didn't work, in fact breathing in so deeply made it hurt more, but she told herself it helped.

Dropping and squaring her shoulders she approached the huge double doors. She could enjoy the cathedral perfectly well by herself. She didn't need Cullen to enjoy it, and he'd made his choice to spend time with an old girlfriend. That was fine. Everything was fine.

She entered the cathedral and stood at the entrance out of the way of other people for a few moments staring up at the ceiling. Despite all the people milling about and the low hum of conversation, Nevena found herself feeling utterly alone.

Solona took Cullen to a small bistro a five-minute walk from the cathedral. He could still see it quite plainly from the window - but he was sure the cathedral could be seen from most windows. It looked smaller and less imposing, even from a short distance away. He hoped Nevena was alright, that she didn't mind him taking an hour to catch up with an old girlfriend. He said it himself, it wasn't as if the cathedral was going anywhere.

He grabbed a table while she ordered and paid for coffee. She insisted given she was the one who, in her words, dragged him away from his plans. The bistro was stuffy and overcrowded. Cullen was boiling under his clothing but sitting outside in the winter wasn't a good idea. The heat made his headache feel worse, pulsing behind his eyes and pushing against them. He considered it a blessing that he was still awake and functioning. In the past, his headaches were debilitating and had caused blackouts, muscle weakness, and a myriad of other side effects. This current one was mild by comparison. Mild, but still irritating.

Cullen ran his thumb and forefinger across his forehead to try and ease away the pain as a baby a few tables over began to whine. He pinched the bridge of his nose too, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply through his mouth.

"You still have headaches?" Solona set down a tray in front of him before sitting herself. Cullen took the black coffee closest to him. Solona tore open two sachets of sugar, poured them and stirred her frothy drink. "I thought they were meant to stop?"

"They have. Mostly," Cullen said. "This is just one off. Before today I hadn't had a bad one for months."

Solona smirked, "You must've known you'd bump into me."

"You always were good at giving me headaches," Cullen replied with a slow grin. He took a sip of his coffee and returned the mug to the saucer. "What are you doing in Redcliffe?"

"Visiting some friends for Christmas. I've got a dinner with them tonight and then I'm driving back home tomorrow." She smoothed her hair back behind her shoulders and looked around as she drank. Solona was always a people watcher. Clearly, a habit that hadn't gone away with time. "What about you?"

"Visiting the cathedral."

"Right," Solona grinned. "Day trip?"

"Yeah."

She nodded. "What have you been doing with yourself since I last saw you?"

"Working, mostly," Cullen replied. Maybe getting a drink with Solona wasn't such a good idea. He could feel the air between them was tense like she was skirting around what she really wanted to talk about. Another habit she had when they were dating. The tangible unease did not make Cullen's headache feel any better. "I'm fully certified in rehabilitation therapy now."

"Oh, wow? Really?" Her eyes widened with interest. "And you're okay? Working with vets?" She tilted her head to one side. "No flashbacks?"

"Solona..." sighed Cullen. He chuckled through his nose. "Your tact still needs work, I see."

"Guilty." Shrugging, she stirred her drink again.

"What about you?" Cullen asked, slipping his hands around his mug. "How's life treating you?"

"Pretty good, actually." She tapped her fingers on her cup, making a steady clinking sound. Cullen noticed for the first time a gold band around her left ring finger.

"You're married?"

"I am!" She offered her left hand to him to show him the ring. As far as rings went, it was nice. Gold, with what Cullen could only assume was a diamond - precious stones weren't his forte. The stone itself was not a small pebble by any means. "Ooh, Cullen, you'd really like him! He's handsome and boyish, and deliciously uncomplicated."

"So, the opposite of me."

"Oh, I don't know." Solona reached out and squeezed his hand. "You're rather handsome." She giggled and sat back in her seat. "But the uncomplicated part? Yes... Yes, he's definitely the opposite of you in that regard."

"It wasn't all my fault," Cullen remarked staring down into his coffee. "There were a lot of variables in the mix that contributed."

"I know, Cull, I know." Solona smiled wearily. "You always got so defensive. Nice to see that hasn't changed." Sighing, she leaned her cheek in her palm. "I wanted to catch up, not fight."

"We're not fighting."

"Cullen..."

"I should go. I don't want to -"

"Don't leave, Cullen." Solona grabbed his wrist before he stood up. "Come on, at least drink your coffee and then you can go." He stared at her a few seconds. Stared at the woman he was once painfully in love with and who left him when he needed her most. She broke his heart... but he had broken hers as well. It was a hard time for the both of them. He didn't make loving him or being with him easy. After she left, he never thought he would feel about anyone the way he had felt about her, but those feelings were stirring again. Rousing slowly from a long hibernation. He relaxed. Solona smiled, clearly pleased. "We won't talk about it."

"Okay."

Solona sipped her drink, glancing around as she did so. Her eyes landed on the cathedral and Cullen watched as she thoughtfully pursed her lips. "So, tell me about your new girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," Cullen replied, barely managing not to roll his eyes. If this was the reason she asked him to get coffee, so she could dig into his personal life, she was going to be sorely disappointed.

"Really?" Solona lifted a fine brow and carefully returned her cup to its saucer. "Are you sure about that? I mean, the way her face fell when you agreed to come with me was..."

Cullen shifted in his seat. "It's complicated."

"Isn't it always?" Solona chuckled through her nose. Her cheek returned to her palm and she sighed, looking Cullen up and down. "You want to know something?"

"Depends on what it is." Cullen's guard was up. Solona was very good at making him wary with a word. Perhaps it was a latent reaction from when they were together but it happened too naturally around her, he didn't even think about it.

Solona gave a deep sigh before speaking. "I was so ready to marry you when we were together," she stated. Cullen almost choked on the mouthful of coffee he was drinking. His eyes watered as he fought to contain it and swallowed it down. Solona laughed and handed him a napkin.

"Where did that come from?!" demanded Cullen, louder than he intended. Several other patrons looked over at the table, their conversations pausing for a second or two. He mopped his mouth with the napkin and quickly thumped his chest to clear his airways. In the four years since they split up, and the two years or so it had been since they last met up with each other, Solona never told him that.

A brief shake of her head and Solona shrugged. "After Kirkwall and your discharge, I thought: 'that's it. There's nothing in the way now. No distance or deployment. He'll ask me. He has to ask me.' I swear, every time you would say my name I would stop breathing and hope I would turn around and you'd be on one knee," she sighed. "You never were... You never did ask."

Cullen was burning up. He could feel warmth flooding his face and was sure every inch of him was fire truck red. Where was this coming from? Why was she telling him now? Was it because she saw him with Nevena? Or because she was married now? Was this her way of telling him she missed him? He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm... sorry?" He stared at her, uncertain if that was what she wanted to hear.

"It's fine, now." Solona brightened. "I'm pretty sure if we were married it would have been a disaster anyway."

"I'll agree with you on that." Cullen folded and unfolded a napkin. "And reason you're bringing it up?"

"Your 'friend', Nevena?"

"What about her?"

"Don't waste your time with her." Solona leveled him with an all too familiar look of severity. It was one he grew accustomed to towards the end of their relationship.

"What?" Cullen squinted. "What do you mean, 'waste my time'?"

She hissed through her teeth. "You were always so slow on the uptake and wary with me."

"Solona..."

"Since me, how many relationships have you had?" she cut him off, leaning on the table. "And I mean real relationships. Ones that weren't a few weeks."

Cullen closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose again. His headache was pressing on his eyeballs and the pulsing felt more like someone smashing the side of his face with a sledgehammer. "None," he answered finally. "I've dated a little. To be honest, I found it pretty hard to move on from you. You did leave at a bad time for me."

"I know," Solona's voice softened. "And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for leaving a letter, rather than telling you directly. But I knew if I stayed, I'd be slowly killing myself."

"Hm."

"And it looks like you got through it okay."

"I had friends. And my family rallied around me. Now the withdrawal is mostly the occasional headache." Cullen drummed his fingers on the table. "I wasn't blaming you for leaving. I think I would have done the same thing if the shoe were on the other foot."

"No, you wouldn't have, Cullen." Solona shook her head slowly. "You're not selfish. You would have stuck it out. All of it. The bad and the good." Her lips curved into a small smile. "That's why I'm going to offer you some free advice."

"Oh," scoffed Cullen, rolling his eyes a little. "This ought to be good." He leaned an elbow on the table and rested his cheek in his hand, watching Solona lazily, quietly amused.

"This woman," she began. Cullen opened his mouth to respond but Solona held up a finger. "Complicated or not, don't waste your time being slow and cautious. She likes you, it's so obvious. I met her for thirty seconds and I could tell." She paused. "And you like her...?"

Cullen shrugged his shoulders in a non-committal way. He avoided her gaze, preferring to stare down at his drink and let the silence linger. He'd only just admitted to himself that he liked Nevena and that his feelings towards her were far more than that of friends. He didn't want to go admitting to everyone, let alone an ex-girlfriend who was freakishly good at reading people.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"I didn't say anything."

"Of course," Solona grinned, "which means I'm right."

"You're impossible."

"I'm trying to help." She leveled him with a small glare. "You deserve to be happy. After I left. After everything you endured in Kinloch and Kirkwall. With the lyrium, and the shit that came with that... If you've met someone who you like and who is clearly interested in you, you should go for it."

Cullen wanted to laugh. Solona was always upfront and it was refreshing to know that aspect of her personality hadn't changed. He found it funny that she was urging him to approach Nevena about how he felt and his interest towards her, and that was his plan all along.

He'd hoped to find somewhere quiet in the cathedral where they could sit and talk. Somewhere on impartial ground that meant neither of them would feel uncomfortable or awkward. He would tell her everything. Although she already knew the very base details of Kirkwall and Kinloch, he would explain things more clearly. Explain the nightmares, tell her about the lyrium and the headaches. Lay it all out on the table so she had a clear view of what she would be getting herself into if she felt the same.

And that was the issue; what if she didn't?

What if he went to all that trouble, and the way she felt wasn't the same as him? What if he'd been reading the signs wrong, or imagining the connection they shared? He was sure he hadn't. After all, she kissed him back in the kitchen. She almost kissed him the other night, although she was the one who put a stop to it.

No. He was certain she felt the same. That there was that same insistent tug in her chest when he was around, as there was when she was around for him. It was all a case of being brave enough to tell her the truth and the facts about it all. Even the parts Cullen himself didn't much enjoy thinking about.

"What if it goes wrong?" he asked, staring hard at the mug in front of him. "What if I tell her everything, because I don't want her to get involved with me blind, and it's too much? What if she leaves like you did?" he took a long breath, staring at a bubble in his mug. "What if I hurt her? Or I risk my heart and get it broken, again."

"I left because I couldn't handle the way the lyrium withdrawal affected you. How angry it made you. And the nightmares, you wouldn't tell me about," Solona spoke quietly but firmly, her face drawn into a softly determined expression. "You blocked me out. I wanted to help, but you wouldn't let me. Don't do that with this girl, and you'll be fine."

Cullen grimaced. "I'm sorry, for what it's worth, for blocking you out. I suppose, in some weird way, I wanted to protect you."

Solona snorted, smirking, "Doesn't bother me anymore. I found someone who... doesn't have any demons hounding their past." She quickly glanced at the slim silver watch on her wrist. "Speaking of which..."

"You need to go meet him?"

"Yeah." Solona began to stand, gathering up her bag and the shopping she'd done already.

Cullen finished his coffee, pulled on his jacket and was buttoning it as they exited the bistro into the cold air. He was relieved by the briskness and the wind hitting his face, immediately causing his skin to cool. Cullen waited as Solona quickly wrote and sent a text. He proceeded to hold her things as she fastened her jacket.

"It was good to see you," Cullen handed her things back to her, "even if it was only brief."

"You too." Solona hugged him, a tight and heartfelt embrace that Cullen returned just as fiercely. Despite how things ended between them, he was glad they were able to work past it and still remain friends. Even if they were only friends who saw each other once every two years. It was still better than cutting her out of his life entirely. "You look after yourself, okay?" Solona gave him a hard look as she released him.

"You too."

"And remember what I said." She nodded firmly. "Stop wasting time, and just... go for it."

"Yes," Cullen laughed. "I will do just that."

"Good," nodded Solona. "Good." She hugged him again. "See you, Cull."

"Bye, Solona." Cullen waved and watched her walk away until she disappeared into the crowds of people coming and going on the streets.

Taking a long, settling breath, Cullen pulled out his phone and started walking towards the cathedral.

Solona's just left. Coming to the cathedral. Where are you?

He sent the message and kept his phone in hand as he waited for a reply.

Hey everyone~ Thanks, as always, for the comments on the previous chapter. I felt a nice break from all the angst and general heaviness was needed so I'm glad it delivered. For those of your getting frustrated with the to-ing and froing of our main leads, I ask only patience. All good things, etc. :p

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And eagerly await to see what comes up in the next one. I'm certainly looking forward to reactions on this one. XD

Also, if you’re enjoying Only Make Believe, or any of the other fics I upload, I have a donation page set up on Ko-Fi, if you feel like you want to donate. I’m not going to hold chapters to ransom, or anything - but if you like what you read, maybe think about it. It would help out a lot with bills and stuff. Ko-Fi

#cullen rutherford #cullen #dragon age #dragon age fanfiction #dragon age inquisition #da:i #dragon age au #dragon age modern au #cullen x inquisitor #fake relationship au #cullen x trevelyan #nevena trevelyan #cullen x nevena #writing #long fic #update #my writing #only make believe #new chapter

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therewillalwaysbeapril · 4 years

Text

Chapter 4: Sixteen Hours

6:30 AM The alarm rang abruptly in the stillness of the morning, a rude shrill noise, splintering our warm, nocturnal embrace and throwing us both into the coldness of the day.

“April, we gotta get up”, I said, mumbling as I shook off the last remnants of sleep. She groaned softly, rolling over and pulling the covers away. “Hey, get up. Geee-tta UGH-PUUUU! Get TU DA CHOPPAH!” I did my terrible Arnold Schwarzenegger impression loudly and poorly, adding in a loud grunt for full effect.

“Argh, I need muh clothes, my boots, my motorcykalll”, she said, in the same bad Austrian accent without opening her eyes. “Come ONN, do it. Do it Nah-OW!”

Stumbling out of bed, vision still blurry, and nearly tripping over the corner of the blanket now fallen to the floor, I reached over and grabbed from the basket the first item of clothing on the pile of clean laundry that we neglected to fold from the previous night. I pulled open the top drawer of her dresser and felt around for a bra. I threw both toward the bed as I made my way to the bathroom. April put on her top as she stood up. Hair a mess and eyes barely open, April exuded a dreamy, other-worldly quality as she floated from the bed to the sink wearing the dark red floral patterned shirt dress I had bought for her the weekend before. I blow dried my hair into a more presentable state and shaved as she washed her face and finished combing her hair.

I packed April’s belongings into her backpack for her, the both of us hurrying downstairs to my car. After stopping by a McDonald’s drive-thru on the way, we ate Egg McMuffins sitting in the early traffic heading toward Downtown LA. I looked at her as she opened a ketchup packet.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful!” she said, laughing as she carefully squirted the ketchup onto her hashbrown.

Briskly walking up the parking lot escalators and half-skipping across Pershing Square, April got to the bus stop just in time as the vehicle screeched to a halt. “WESTWOOD/SANTA MONICA” said the display. A quick kiss goodbye and she was off to class.

8:00 AM The office was dark as I stepped out of the elevator. Walking toward my desk, I was greeted by lights flickering on as motion sensors began to stir. Fresh cup of coffee in hand, I left the kitchen for the far side of the floor toward my favorite viewing spot.

The Los Angeles morning was peaceful when viewed from high above. Cars moved slowly down Broadway; I could hear their distant honking noises in the early rush hour. Construction workers below near Third Street walked carrying their equipment, passing by the shops just beginning to open in Grand Central Market. From my hawk’s nest I saw a cyclist zipping down Grand Avenue past the Museum of Contemporary Art, in front of which a food truck was beginning to set up shop. My breath and the steam from my coffee fogged the glass as I stepped closer to look at the crowd of people gathering by the Broad. The early light bathed my city in a warm amber glow, thawing its sleepy commuters as a new workday began. Flecks of gold and saffron twinkled as the dawn bounced from the stirring skyscrapers and automobiles, blinding me. I, too, was beginning to wake as I finished my coffee.

With my headphones on, back at my desk, I continued sketching out the wireframe concepts from the day before. Wireframes are the foundation of plotting out designs for interactive products such as apps and websites. They are a high level way of designing ways in which someone can use a product and the organization for which types of information and interaction appears on which screen, before a designer has to focus on the finer details such as animations, visual appearances, and the style of smaller items such as buttons. Even though the other designers created wireframes in programs I was also familiar with such as Adobe XD or Sketch, I always took great care in sketching out early ideas neatly on paper. I felt there was a purity in shaping ideas away from a computer, a kind of humility in making things with my hands.

8:30 AM The office is still dim as I make myself a second cup of coffee. This was one of those sluggish days; I felt slow to start, and was glad to still be the only person in the office. There was less pressure this way. I returned to my desk and cleaned up my lines with an eraser, reinforcing others with a Sharpie. Boxes with crisscrosses represented images, various other shapes representing icons and call-to-actions. Simple line patterns signified text, clearly showing the underlying grid to the layout. Adding final touches, I drew an outline of an iPhone over all of the screens before using a green colored pen to create the markings that showed how a user interacted and navigated from screen to screen. I felt pride for the cleanliness of my draft, as I never knew whether the second draft in the computer would be made by myself or a different designer. Finished, and satisfied with my work, I walked over to the simple Kanban board on the far wall and moved the task’s corresponding post-it note from the column labeled “in work” to the column labeled “done”.

Aside from a few coworkers from accounting, the floor was still mostly deserted. Sitting back and listening to the rest of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on my headphones, I fidgeted at my desk for a while. Impatient, I walked back over to the job board and grabbed one of the tasks from the column labeled “backlog” and moved it to “in work”. This should keep me occupied, I thought.

10:00 AM Standup was always kind of fun. Normally I have always preferred to work alone, with headphones on, lost in thought as I built designs and mockups, in an almost-meditative state of flow. However, I liked my coworkers very much, and it was also nice to see everyone at the beginning of the day and update one another on our work progress in the morning as we created the pieces of our product together. I enjoyed this kind of organized interaction that afforded me boundaries and space to create.

<Walalala..>, texted April. It was her way of greeting. Warm and cheerful, albeit at times a little silly, it was a greeting that I had come to love. It would also be a salutation I would receive less and less over time until I would not see it at all. <What you doing?>, she added.

<Lol. You should pay attention! I’m pretty tired too. I don’t think I woke up yet>

<Haha, I miss you a little too.>

<Pfft, you still need me to remind you?>

<Ha, you should pay attention in class. Your mom will kill me if you fail because of me>

11:00 AM Sketches spread out on the table before me, I began to create the second round of digital wireframes. As much as I enjoyed sketching, this step was also one of my favorite things to do. The useful aspect having hand sketches was their looseness — from a high level perspective, during this stage there were still so many possibilities. Creating the first digital wireframe versions, despite their inherent roughness, narrowed down those possibilities. To do so felt like taking a camera lens and turning it slowly into focus. At this stage, it was not a crisp focus, but much more recognizable as a coherent direction. The process was therapeutic as it was methodical; moving through it step by step, there was room to make improvements on the fly, perfecting each idea. However, today, my process of refinement would be interrupted by a different task.

There needed to be a version of our project for a new client, said marketing. A simple mockup of our app must be made in the style of our new client, a baseball team. The refinement of the new screen designs would have to wait. Grumbling to myself a little, I closed the program and neatly piled the sketches into my drawer.

<Heyyy, why u ignoring me?>

<Sorry, some other stuff came up at work>

<I’m sorry. Would you feel better if you ate something? What are you gonna get for lunch?>

<Expensive grass, haha>. “Expensive grass” was April’s name for salad. They always cost more than they should, she would remark.

<btw…>

<what’s wrong?> Nothing good ever happened when April said “by the way”.

<We’re not breaking up. We can make this work>

12:00 PM It is lunchtime. Mood now sour, I didn’t feel like leaving the building. After informing my deskmates that I was taking my lunch break, I grabbed a stale bagel from the kitchen and microwaved it with a slice of cheese. Taking that and a diet soda from the fridge, I returned to my viewing corner.

We had only recently moved into the forty fourth floor of the building from six floors above. The company had now grown bigger and the fiftieth floor was not enough space. However, it was only the design, marketing, and accounting teams on this floor, leaving most of it empty. In fact, we only occupied one corner, leaving the other three quiet and deserted. I enjoyed taking walks around the empty areas, sometimes even bringing my cello to work and practicing in one of the empty rooms during breaks. Today though, I only wanted to look outside and think.

Now midday there was visible smog in the Los Angeles air. Protestors were forming on Grand Avenue. I looked closer, curious as to the reason for this group. I could not make out the writing on their signs. A car accident was visible further down on the 2nd Street intersection, blocking it off. The authorities closed off one of the lanes, backing up traffic. A bus awkwardly took up both lanes as it attempted to merge into the available space. An adjacent driver made a rude hand gesture out of his window. I sighed, feeling exhausted as I learned against the wall near the window. I sat on the floor as I drank my soda and looked out of the floor to ceiling window, thinking. The conversation I thought of was not with April, but one with someone else, from a different day, in a different language.

•••

<Yeah, I took her to the airplane museum the other day.>

<Well, she kept asking me to stay over, and then I had to stay with her after she crashed her car. Lately though, she tells me she just doesn’t like it when I’m away. It feels weird, but I’m really happy with her and I love her, so I guess I’m not complaining. She’s been coming to work with me and taking the bus to school too>

<Hey, you should pace yourself. All couples need their space from time to time.>

<Maybe? Sometimes I go to work and five minutes after I leave she texts me that she misses me. I think she’s very sweet.>

<Okay, I’m just looking out for you. What if she turns out to be one of those possessive types?>

<Hey! I knew it!! Is that why you didn’t answer any of my calls or texts last winter in China?>

<Sorry. I guess it’s just weird, what happened between us.>

<Well, nothing happened between us!>

<I know! Well, I don’t know. You are one of my best friends, and what happened affected me very deeply. It may have been nothing to you, but it was definitely something to me.

<I’m sorry about that. I really am. I was as confused as you too. I never meant to be cruel. I hurt you, and I ended up hurting myself too.>

<I’m glad we’ve moved past it and we’re still friends>

<Yes, I remember. And I will keep my word. I just need to figure this out. She’ll come around eventually. I really think the two of you would become great friends.>

<Well, you gotta figure it out eventually, because this is just awkward what you’re doing>

•••

1:00 PM I snapped back to reality as my phone alarm went off. It was time to go back to work.

The caffeine was beginning to wear off. Still debating whether or not I should have a third cup of coffee, I flipped through the Android Material Design Guidelines online, pondering what visual branding treatments were acceptable within Google’s design parameters. Writing down the correct color hex values on a notepad, I began to change colors on app elements in Photoshop, reskinning the interface. The phone beeped again, as another text message arrived from April.

<I’m sorry. I want to stay with you too. But I’m so worried>

<About what?>, I answered.

<Yeah, but what if we DO break up eventually? You’re not a doctor and I’m supposed to marry a doctor.>

I stopped working. Taking off my glasses, I sat back in my chair, rubbing my forehead. I was getting very tired.

, I texted back.

<There’s nothing wrong with what I do. I am a designer and I’m good at it. I make a decent salary and I like my life>

<It’s different>

<Well that’s just your viewpoint. We’re just different, I guess>. I saved my work and walked to an empty conference room.

<Why do you even love me?>, I texted. My thumbs began to sweat. Typing was becoming difficult.

<I’m getting back to work>

I stomped back to my desk, angrily chucking my empty soda can into a nearby wastepaper basket. A couple of coworkers stared.

3:00 PM For the next two hours, I tried my best to focus on creating more animations. More interactions. I compared the mockups I made against the Android and Apple guidelines. So far, so good. Sending the finished mockups back to marketing, I went back to the kitchen and made myself the third cup of coffee.

I chugged the hot beverage, nearly searing my throat. I went back to designing the wireframes. There were only three hours left in the workday, and I originally wanted to have had this perfected at the end of the day.

<Are you done with class yet?>. There was no answer from April.

Frustrated, I placed my phone face down on the table and returned to the designs. These have to get done, I thought. So little time. Fuming, I angrily threw the boxes together on the computer screen, connecting the button hotspots together as violently as someone could inside a digital space.

“Hey are you ok?”. It was Julie, who sat across from me behind my monitor. “I can hear you breathing from here”

“I’m fine”, I said. I sat back in my chair and looked at what I’ve made. It was sloppy and nowhere near the level of detail that I have been known for around the office.

“Take a break man. I just got an email that we have until the end of the week for these screens now”

“Oh…”

“Yeah. You can just chill”

“I think I’m gonna take a walk then.”

4:00 PM I looked at my watch as I waited in the elevator. Who does she think she is, I thought. So what if I’m not a doctor? Life can’t only be about status. I was so mad. That is such a shallow way of thinking! And it wasn’t me who started all this. I was just minding my own business working. She was the one who had to bring up Taiwan, and her parents’ crazy expectations for who she should be dating.

I walked outside briskly in the shade of the tall buildings. It was much louder now that I left the lobby. A street performer was beating a drum across the intersection. A crazy person was yelling about the end of times on the other corner. Good. Noisy enough that no one could see how angry I was.

And I hated the way she texted. How am I supposed to always be at her beck and call? I have a job to do; I can’t be there to simply answer every time she worries about crazy hypotheticals. I was doing fine today, I should’ve simply not answered. And now that she’s finished ruining my day, she’s stopped texting and has gone back to whatever she’s doing leaving me to pick up the pieces. Every single month, we have to have some fight about something completely stupid like this. Every single month —

Oh.

April had complained about being tired. April had experienced stomach pains during class. I counted the days since the last time I remembered similar complaints. There were many things I remembered for her. April could be so forgetful.

“Twenty-seven, twenty-eight….”, I counted in my head. I knew what she was going to need.

I stopped at the Rite Aid on 5th and Broadway. Quickly making my way through the aisles, I picked up a pack of Ibuprofen, a box of what appeared to be feminine pads, and a bottle of water. The cashier handed me the items in a paper bag after I made my purchase. Strolling further south, I began to think about what transpired.

Did she really mean all that she said? Perhaps a deeper question was, WHICH of what she said did she actually mean? You can’t tell someone you love them for who they are but also want to change them, I thought. Girls just say crazy things during their time of month right? I checked my phone.

Still no answer.

This is bad, I thought. Perhaps I was too harsh. Her car is in working condition. She chose to take the bus because she genuinely wanted to spend time with me. And now she’s probably on the bus home, in pain. All for me. I’m such a jerk, I thought.

Ducking into Bottega Louie on 7th, I bought a box of half dozen French macarons. They were rather pricey, but came in a beautiful box and were, I had heard, delicious. The small rigid box was not unlike jewelry packaging, with beautiful calligraphy and gold speckles dotted throughout its powder purple surface. It was a small gift that was sure to brighten up anyone who was having a less than perfect day.

6:30 PM The workday was now over as I closed my work laptop and packed away my things. The bus from UCLA arrived as I waited on a bench in Pershing Square.

“Hey what took you so long?”, I asked as I took April’s bag from her.

“I had the most horrible day!” she said.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize I sounded so mean—

“No, not you! My period started and I forgot to bring pads so I had to use tissues. And my phone died, and then the bus had to take a detour. So I needed to get off and wait for another bus, but I couldn’t use Google Maps and I’m so tired and I just want something to eat”

“Well, first things first I guess”

I handed her the box of macarons and discreetly showed her what was in the paper bag. “Let’s find a bathroom,” I said.

She looked into the paper bag. She looked at me. She started giggling, the happiest I’ve seen her all week.

“What? What is it?”

“Have you never bought pads before?”

“Well, no, but I figured you needed them. Was I right?”

“Those are panty liners, not pads!”

“Oh.”

“It’s okay, I’ll be alright. Cmon, let’s eat”

•••

8:30 PM After April had a chance to change, I took her to a nearby Hong Kong styled cafe. It would be nice to have some porridge, she said.

As we sat down and waited for our food, by reflex I folded April’s chopstick wrapper into an origami chopstick stand, as I have always done since our first date. I looked out the window into the dark.

The San Gabriel traffic outside was a lot calmer compared to the city. It was quiet and I could just make out the sounds of crickets. A high school couple walked out of the boba shop across the street, laughing to themselves, carefree. An elderly man picked out a newspaper from a box near the entrance. I felt a soft caress on my forearm.

April handed me a crudely folded flower made from a chopstick holder.

“I’m sorry about today. I keep forgetting how to fold that fancy origami, but I want to thank you for taking care of me.”

She smiled the familiar funny smile.

•••

9:30 PM As we walked in the darkness at a nearby park, digesting our meal, I stayed quiet. How can I make all nights like tonight?, I thought. Is there really an expiration date to our happiness?

Perhaps reading my mind, April said, “I don’t know what we’ll do if I really have to leave…”

I looked at her and kissed her forehead.

“Whatever”, she added. “If I have to go back to Taiwan, I guess I’ll just get another boyfriend, and it’ll be a doctor this time! HA HA!”

I did not laugh.

I let go of her hand and walked a few paces ahead, sullen.

“I’m kidding!” April grabbed my arm. “I really do love you, alright?”

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