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peralta-guaranteed · 3 years

Note

Jake and Amy single parents AU.

Pretty please! :))

oh! Oh, I strangely love this one!

- Amy is a police-widow with little Mac (no, Teddy was not the father, it was a non-canon detective), while Jake is at the better end of a really messy divorce from Sofia, who very quickly handed over all alimony of Maya to him to focus on her career.

-Amy tries her best to juggle the newly single parent life with her full-time position running a bookshop, while Jake is not too happy about having to bring Maya in to the precinct all the time, but it can’t be helped (and Scully makes a surprisingly good babysitter). The squad’s had his back through the entire break-up, and they all love his little girl to bits, so at least she won’t be missing the family aspect in her life - and will always have an amazing female role model in her Auntie Rosa, who’s already planning to teach her Spanish just so she can trashtalk her dad with her without Jake knowing

- Mac + Maya meet at daycare and absolutely hit it off, despite the age difference of two years. Mac has apparently seen another curly headed toddler and immediately decided to brother the sh*t out of her. He takes her along to all his games and helps her pick colours for her pictures and shares his apple slices with her in exchange for a bit of sandwich (which is much nicer anyway).

- the daycare workers absolutely adore the little duo, and can’t help remarking how much they look like siblings anyway. So of course Jake has to meet the mom of the adorable little boy who always bring his daughter over to him for pickup by holding her hand.

- he’s a bit afraid of having to deal with the usual “Aw they’re little boyfriend and girlfriend” comments he’s expecting, but obviously Amy is having none of that. Instead, she tells him how glad she is that Mac has found a little friend to protect. “He’s always trying to protect everyone so much, ever since his dad... well...”

- (Jake knew, distantly, that she was the widow of one of his colleagues from another precinct, but apart from the usual condolences they’d all sent it had never really registered in his mind that there was a wife and a child left behind.)

- “Oh well Maya is so happy too. She’s a bit shy and scared at the moment, so having a big friend help her get out of her shell is great. Your little boy is a sweetheart, too.”

- Amy smiles at him, and he’s pretty sure his heart should not be doing what it’s doing, so he beats it down and tries his best to ignore it. Which is hard, because she smiles at him a lot in the coming months when they meet up for playdates, Mac over excited to show Maya all his favourite spots at the park or the coolest fish at the aquarium.

- Jake moans during one of their meet-ups about a case that has been dragging on forever and is going to need an allnighter to finally be solved, and his partner Boyle is really trying his best alone, but he’s the primary on it and- it feels great to talk about it with someone who understands, outside of his squad, even if Amy sometimes nods with the saddest look on her face when he mentions parts of his job. But she offers him last minute babysitting if he ever needs it, considering her job finishes promptly at 5pm each day, and he can’t help but take her offer when another case hits that needs him on a stake out at 10pm.

- so Maya gets a lovely sleepover with Mac, and Amy gets the biggest box of her favourite pralines as a thank you, because Jake has never, not once, given Maya to a babysitter to go to his job without feeling remorse and guilt, not even his own mom, but he had to deal with none of that when Maya gladly ran up the stairs to Amy’s place where Mac was already shouting her name.

- needless to say that Amy and Jake become the great friends they always are over time. He brings coffee and muffins to their park playdates, and she brings over frozen meals from Mac’s abuela for kid movie marathons at Jake’s place. They know each other’s schedules to help out with the kids, Jake has convinced everyone in his friend group and workplace to only buy books at her store from now on, and Amy is already planning the christmas gift she needs to pack for Maya and her daddy.

- it would be a nice, supportive friendship of equals, and a good help in their single parent life, if it wasn’t for the fact that Jake realised about three playdates in that he was falling for Amy faster than a shooting star. It took her a little longer, but realisation hit when she was packing Mac’s lunchbox, her own lunchbox, and Maya’s lunchbox too after a sleepover, and subconsciously already wanted to bag up a fourth set of sandwiches with some gummy bears and a soda thrown in for good measure.

- Rosa tells him to ‘grow a pair and ask her out, she sounds perfect for both you and Maya’ when Jake confides in her. And that is rare praise coming from Diaz, because no one is good enough for Maya in her eyes, sometimes not even Jake himself. But he can’t take advantage of Amy’s friendship like that, not when it risks losing both her and Mac for Maya... and there is always the underlying fear that Maya will bond with a new woman in her life and be left behind yet again if they don’t work out, just like with her mom, whose biggest contribution to her life since the divorce has been the alimony payments each month.

- Kylie, meanwhile, warns Amy not to risk too much when she confides in her. She sadly remembers the many days she had to spend at her friend-coworker’s side after the funeral, cleaning out half of a closet and half of a shared home, basically. She’d been hoping that Amy would find love again, maybe in a few years time, but when she heard the news about her ‘great new friend’ being a detective himself, her heart dropped because she knew what that might be heading towards, and Amy very much shares her fears. She’d vowed to an absolute ‘no cops’ rule for her planned restart of dating in two years, perfectly scheduled with Mac’s start of school.

- as it is, both of them dance around their emotions in a perfectly synchronised waltz while still getting closer and closer as friends and parents, to the point that the daycare workers don’t even bat an eye anymore when Amy brings both Mac and Maya in, or when Jake picks both of them up into his arms with an excited ‘ready for ice cream and games?!’ before they meet up with Amy for a Coney Island afternoon.

- until one day, when the daycare offers a ‘star gazing sleep over’ event after the story of the stars and night sky was the theme of the week, and it falls right on the day Amy and Jake were planning to take the kids to a movie. “We could still go.” Jake mumbles while Maya runs into the daycare center, not shy at all anymore, and Mac follows her. “You want to go see Paddington’s Big Adventure... without the kids?” Amy jokes, but he looks so serious. “No, of course not, but I mean - we - uh - we both got the evening off now, don’t we? I told my captain I won’t be in no matter what. Seems like a waste of time just going home. We could see that period drama you talked about, that will definitely get an Oscar?”

- Amy hesitates only for a second, but they do go. They watch the drama that Jake has to admit is pretty damn good for a movie where nothing explodes or is set on fire, and that praise does not only come from the fact that Amy grabbed his hand with a gasp during a particularly emotional scene, and then kind of forgot to let go afterwards.

- but then the movie ends and Jake still doesn’t want to go home. Neither does Amy, apparently, because she offers up an ‘amazing 24h diner’ around the corner for some late night snacks, during which they laugh and flick chocolate chips at each other and end up blushing like mad when the waitress comments on what a ‘cute couple’ they are.

- he walks her to her front door, and they both kinda don’t know what to do as they say goodbye, because this kind of date night should usually end on a kiss, but it wasn’t really a date, was it, they would’ve taken the kids along if it hadn’t been for the day care event, and-

- “Ames, I’m - this is terrifying, but I think I’ll hate myself even more for not ever saying anything - and, and, I kind of, maybe, I think you might also-” She takes his hand again, a lot softer than she did in the cinema. “I think this is the kind of talk that needs a coffee and a good couch.”

- That’s how they end up at her place that Jake already knows so well from bringing Maya over, from the perfectly styled bookcases down to the absolute mess of a playroom that is Mac’s kingdom. They both grip their coffee cups tightly as they talk it all out, about what they’re afraid of, what they would risk if they gave ‘them’ a try.

- “I wouldn’t ever want to put Mac through losing another cop-dad even if it wasn’t from work, and I won’t let Maya lose another mom.” “Me neither. And I promised Mac I’d never forget his papa, but... I can clearly see him love his new daddy, too. He already looks up to you so much. He wants a flannel shirt for christmas.” “Maya introduced you as Mama Amy to one of my aunties. Which was quite a thing to explain.” Amy laughs, and then smiles at him, and his heart does that thing again, like it has been doing for months now, but this time he doesn’t beat it down. This time he lets it lead him to lean in for the most careful kiss, a kiss that Amy gladly returns, just as carefully.

- they agree to take things slow, be mindful, not drop it on the kids immediately or rush into things from the pressure of friends or family.

- and then three months later Amy finds the perfect apartment for the four of them, and Jake aks Gina and Rosa for ring preferences and proposal tips, and ‘slow and mindful’ has flown out the window the second Maya brought home a picture she did with Mac at daycare showing their little ‘family’ before Amy or Jake had even talked to them about their possible dating.

- Maya grows up with her Mama teaching her Spanish along with Auntie Rosa, and an abuela and abuelo who love to spoil her with Cuban sweets just as much as her big brother. Mac gets to ride along in his Daddy’s police car sometimes, and hears stories about his brave Papa from his colleagues. His auntie Gina is so proud of him for taking care of his little sister the way she took care of her little brother too. And Jake gets to see Amy smile all the time now, and knows it’s him and their kids that is making her smile so much.

#B99 #Brooklyn 99 #Peraltiago #Jake Peralta #Amy Santiago #headcanons #mac peralta #maya peralta

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simpingforsoftboys · 3 years

Text

Not Everyone Gets A Happily Ever After

ft. Iwaoi, Atsumu Miya

!Gender Neutral Reader!

Pt 2 to this

*Male readers just pretend that you and Tsumu have a mix of female and male friends each who can be both groomsmen and bridesmaids

Anon thank you for requesting- I live for angst and this was super fun to write- even if I cried while doing so. IwaOi is my comfort ship but they’re not perfect. People make mistakes- in life, love, and everything and anything in between. Sometimes they repeat those mistakes, other times they learn from them, either way everything happens for a reason and sometimes it’s for the better. Unfortunately, not everyone winds up happy with the results- and that’s okay.

Also I kind of made it into a song fic (listen to Sign of the Times by Harry Styles while you read)!

Just stop your crying

Hajime and Toru were sitting in the second row on your side of the aisle, pretending that they couldn’t feel the sharp gazes from your family and friends. They had some nerve showing up to your wedding, despite being invited, especially after spending five or so years treating you like an outsider in your own relationship. The reception itself hadn’t yet started, Atsumu had just stepped onto stage- his twin right beside him as the best man.

It's a sign of the times

Atsumu was looking incredibly dapper in his midnight blue suit, his blonde hair combed perfectly to the side. He looked incredibly anxious, whispering to his brother if he looked alright. Hajime thought it was a stupid question- obviously he looked great- but then again he supposed he would have done the same, had he been in Atsumu’s shoes.

Welcome to the final show

Toru’s gaze flitted to the front row where your parents and close friends were sitting. Some were commenting on his and Hajime’s choice to attend the wedding still, but it was your mother’s words that surprised him.

“I’m glad it’s Atsumu (s)he’s marrying, he’ll treat them right.” That woman had been like his aunty since childhood, hearing her say that caused another crack in his heart.

Hope you're wearing your best clothes

His suit’s collar felt like it was strangling him, Hajime reached up to loosen it slightly. Despite doing so, he still found that he had trouble breathing.

You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky

The trainer wondered if he and Toru would go to hell for breaking your heart- only to mend it again with false promises, for telling you that they loved you when it had been lust the whole time.

You look pretty good down here

Maybe they were already damned to an eternity in hell.

But you ain't really good

They were good liars- him and Toru- maybe that’s why they were able to lie to you, to themselves, and to each other. Lied about their true feelings, convinced themselves it was lust and not love.

If we never learned, we been here before

It felt familiar, Toru thought, being here, like when he got invited to weddings in the past and he’d only bring Hajime as his plus one.

“You wouldn’t enjoy it Y/n- so I’ll just bring Haji okay? We’ll be back in no time- I promise!” The brunette had told you mournfully, as if they weren’t going to be staying in the Bahama’s for a week in order to attend a wedding. Now that he thinks about it, all the fees were covered- they totally could have brought you if they wanted.

Why are we always stuck and running from

He pretended he didn’t hear the hitch of your breath once his back was turned to you, not wanting to deal with your water works.

‘It’s fine,’ he had told himself, ‘(s)he’s just being dramatic.’ It’s not like it was the first time they’ve gone without Y/n after all.

The bullets

We never learned, we’ve been here before

Yes, it was a familiar sight. Sitting together side by side in a wedding venue, awaiting the arrival of the bride/groom. Yet, there was a stark difference this time. This wedding wasn’t for just some coworker or old friend, this was your wedding.

Why are we always stuck and running from

The bullets

Just stop your crying

Someone squeezed his hand- it was Hajime- his normally piercing olive green eyes were cloudy with unshed tears. They hadn’t even laid eyes on you yet and the two of them were already ready to start sobbing. Semi Eita- who had been one of your close friends in high school- gave them a judgmental look.

It's a sign of the times

‘Why are you two crying? You had plenty of chances before now. Get over it.’ His fiery gaze told them, it was then directed elsewhere- since the music had started and the groomsmen and bridesmaids began streaming down the aisle. It was a little later than usual, apparently there had been an issue with the flower girl- so they had the wedding party wait a moment.

We gotta get away from here

Just stop your crying

Others were tearing up all around them, but Hajime and Toru remained ignorant to them. The ring bearer- a little boy- they recognized him as your siblings youngest son, since they had accompanied you to see him be born. The kid was about six or seven now, and he was every bit as charming as you were.

It will be alright

He strode down the aisle proudly, chin raised in a way that reminded them of you. When you were feeling particularly stubborn or prideful, you would raise your chin just like that.

They told me that the end is near

Next up was the flower girl- or flower girls. Hajime didn’t recognize them whatsoever, they must have been around your nephews age. It was likely that they were from Atsumu’s side of the family. The girls scattered white rose petals down the aisle, it was a magical sight- watching them flutter to the ground.

We gotta get away from here

They had been expecting this moment, ever since they agreed to attend the wedding.

Just stop crying

To his right, he heard Toru stifle a sob.

Have the time of your life

It was you. Hajime couldn’t remember when he last saw that smile on your face. You were donned in white, smiling from ear to ear- hair done perfectly, eyes tearing up- but for a different reason from them. You were happy. Excited. Today was the day, not sparing them a glance, the only person who mattered to you was at the end of the aisle, waiting for you to join him.

Breaking through the atmosphere

Taking a step onto the raised platform, facing Atsumu, you let the tears fall. Unbeknownst to you, Toru and Hajime cried alongside you.

Things are pretty good from here

“Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Miya Atsumu and L/n Y/n in matrimony commended to be honorable among all; and therefore is not to be entered into lightly but reverently, passionately, lovingly and solemnly. Into this - these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together - let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

Remember everything will be alright

Toru’s entire body tensed up. Hajime placed a firm hand on the setter’s thigh, preventing him from even considering objecting. Semi cast the two of them a evil look, promising violence should they dare to object.

We can meet again somewhere

"Miya Atsumu and L/n Y/n, if it is your desire to take the vows which will legally unite you at this time, please respond, 'It is,’.”

Somewhere far away from here

Atsumu and you continue staring lovingly at one another, not even hesitating a second before saying “It is.”

If we never learned, we been here before

“Do you, Miya Atsumu, take L/n Y/n to be your lawfully wedded wife/husband? From this day forward, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?”

The entire audience held their breath in anticipation- as if there were any reason to doubt his love for Y/n. Even Toru and Hajime couldn’t find it within them to wish he declined. Y/n deserved a loving husband- even if it was just one person- so long as he would dedicate himself to her/him entirely.

Why are we always stuck and running from

“Course I do.”

The bullets

Everyone’s gazes fell upon you.

The bullets

“Do you, L/n Y/n , take Atsumu Miya, to be your lawfully wedded husband? From this day forward, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?”

We never learned, we been here before

You’re wiping your tears away, that wide smile- Hajime realizes that in all his years of knowing you he has never seen you this happy- never slipping from your face.

Why are we always stuck and running from

“I do.”

The bullets

The ring bearer comes up, shining rings placed a top the red, velvet pillow.

The bullets

Toru’s never hated red as much as he does now. Not even when he was playing desperately against Japan during the Olympics.

Just stop your crying

“Atsumu, please take the ring you have selected for Y/n. As you place it on her/his finger, repeat after me: 'With this ring, I thee wed.’”

It’s a sign of the times

Your groom picks up your shining gold and diamond wedding ring/band and delicately slips it on your ring finger.

We gotta get away from here

“Y/n, I’ve been enraptured by yer beauty since the first time I saw ya. Even before I fell for ya I’ve always admired how kind hearted and understandin’ ya were. There’s not enough words t’ capture or explain my love for ya. So I want to spend the rest of my life tryin. Yer it for me Y/n... so I can say without a second thought. With this ring, I thee wed.” He murmurs, salty tears spill from his eyes. He’s finally going to get the s/o of his dreams, he realizes.

We gotta get away from here

Hajime and Toru hold onto each other with vice like grips. They realize it too. There’s no do overs.

Just stop your crying

“Y/n, please take the ring you have selected for Atsumu. As you place it on his finger, repeat after me: 'With this ring, I thee wed.’”

It will be alright

Your hand reaches for the single wedding band still resting on the pillow. It shines brilliantly between your fingers.

They told me that the end is near

“Atsumu, you’ve been there for me time and time again. You lifted me off the ground when I was broken, kissed my tears away from my eyes, and helped me learn how to love again. You’ve seen me at my best and my worst and loved me through it all. And it’s with complete faith and love that I say this. With this ring, I thee wed.” Atsumu’s wedding band matches yours, and slides on his finger perfectly.

We gotta get away from here

If we never learned, we been here before

The vows had been short but sweet. Toru would have been able to recite a whole paper- had he stood in Atsumu’s shoes.

Why are we always stuck and running from

“Seeing as the two of you have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, by authority vested in me by the state, I now pronounce you husband and wife/husband. You may kiss your bride/groom!”

The bullets

But he’s not in Atsumu’s shoes.

The bullets

You yank Atsumu down and press a passionate kiss to his lips, throwing your arms around his neck to pull him closer. He reciprocates immediately- all tongue and open mouthed. Neither of you pay any mind to the fact that everyone is watching you make out. All you see is each other.

We never learned, we’ve been here before

Neither is Hajime.

Why are we always stuck and running from

The bullets

There’s no second chances.

We don't talk enough

No talking it over.

We should open up

You weren’t L/n Y/n any longer.

Before it's all too much

You’re now Miya Y/n.

Will we ever learn?

Devoted to and utterly in love with Miya Atsumu.

We've been here before

Is this what it had been like for you?

It's just what we know

Watching the two of them be so in love- eyes locked on each other- with no care in the world about who was watching.

Stop your crying baby

About who they were hurting.

It's a sign of the times

They didn’t even get the chance to ask why you did it- why you stuck around for so long and loved them, despite them not feeling the same.

Now they never would get that chance again.

We gotta get away

We got to get away

We got to, we got to

#iwaizumi x reader #oikawa x reader x iwaizumi #oikawa toru x reader #miya atsumu x reader #atsumu x reader #iwaizumi hajime x reader #oikawa x reader #oikawa angst #semi eita is a good friend

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toastedqueso · 3 years

Text

Take A Shot

Pairing: Jungwoo x Original Female Character | Reader

Words: 6k

Genre: Comedy, Smut, Strangers to Lovers

Warnings: Alcohol consumption (drink responsibly), Betting, Explicit sexual content

Summary: A handsome stranger at Yuta’s soccer match watching party catches Ella’s attention. Unfortunately for Ella, the stranger, Jungwoo, is rooting for the enemy. They get entangled in a bet and maybe both of them are winners.

A/N: This has idea has been floating around for a while since I found out Jungwoo is a Manchester City fan. The fic has been sitting around for a while and it’s time I finally posted it. Thank you for reading!

Ella clutches the bottle of Prosecco close to her as she walks the short distance from where her Uber driver dropped her off to Yuta’s townhouse. Ella was looking forward to this party all week. Yuta had been planning for a while to host a soccer match watching party on his brand new fancy TV, which he couldn’t stop bragging about. He let Ella as his soul sister have the honor of the first viewing event be an important match for her favorite soccer team, Liverpool FC. The match is against Manchester City and regardless of how much money Man City spent in the offseason on new players, she’s confident Liverpool FC will win.

Yuta had told her that the party would be just her and a few of his other friends she had hung out with before. They seemed nice from their previous encounters, but she was ready to put them in their place if they questioned her soccer knowledge.

Ella takes a deep breath to relax. She can feel her pre-match nerves creeping up and she needs a drink fast. Ella rings the doorbell when she reaches the front door. Yuta opens the door before she drops her hand away from the doorbell.

“Welcome! Come on in, sis!” Yuta bear hugs Ella and takes the bottle of Prosecco. “Nice. I was in the mood for some mimosas.”

“When aren’t you? You always act like you’re on ‘Real Housewives’,” Ella gruffs and ducks befor Yuta can rufflle her hair. She slips her shoes off and follows Yuta into the townhouse.

Yuta and Ella became fast friends when they started working at the same Graphic Design company 4 years ago. They’re known as “Double Trouble” at work for all the chaos they cause. Some of their nosey coworkers initially suspected they were more than friends, but they quickly quashed those rumors when they started referring to each other as siblings and Yuta brought his girlfriend, Maria, to their office parties.

Ella gives Maria a hug when she spots her in the Living Room. She scans the room to see that the guests are already here sipping their drinks and eating nachos. She greets Johnny, Taeyong and their girlfriends, then notices an unfamiliar face. Yuta has quite a few attractive friends, but this friend was different. His soft brown hair frames his pretty face, which nicely contrasts his tall physique. When he stands up, he towers over Taeyong and Yuta, but stands a hair shorter than Johnny.

“Woah,” Ella quietly says to herself as she tucks a strand of her wavy black hair behind her ear. She now wishes she put in more effort in her attire. She hastily threw on her Liverpool jersey with her medium wash jeans. Fortunately, she did curl her hair and put on some light makeup to highlight the golden glow of her skin.

Ella and the stranger make eye contact and she notices his eyes go wide for a second. Before she can introduce herself to the stranger, Johnny calls his name to grab his attention. Jungwoo.

The guys huddle by the TV to admire it like treasure. While they discuss future viewing plans for Yuta’s brand new fancy TV fit for King, Ella watches Jungwoo bite his lips as he inspects the TV. He catches Ella’s eye as he’s scanning the room and smiles. Ella breaks her stare and looks around to find Maria.

“Want a drink?” Maria asks, noticing Ella is still drinkless. Ella definitely feels far too sober to have to spend the next few hours with the handsome stranger. If Maria suspects anything from Ella's actions since stepping into the townhouse, she doesn’t mention it.

Breaking the awkwardness she feels from possibly getting caught in the act, Ella heads to the kitchen and pours herself a glass of white wine. She practically chugs the wine down and pours herself another glass to sip slowly. Getting drunk before the game would lead to her being really loud and maybe breaking Yuta’s new TV if the game didn’t go how she hoped and she didn’t have new TV money.

Ella heads back to the living room, wine in hand, and settles in on the couch. She gently swirls her wine glass while contemplating how to introduce herself to the stranger. She’s so deep in thought that she almost misses that the handsome stranger is heading towards the kitchen until he’s screaming if anyone wants anything. She watches him walk into the empty kitchen before she chugs the rest of her wine. She gets up too quickly and has to grab onto the sofa arm to steady herself.

“Fuck it. It’s now or never,” Ella tries to hype herself up as she heads into the kitchen.

She finds the stranger concentrating on pouring a mix of liqueurs into a cocktail shaker.

“What are you making?” Ella asks, causing the stranger to jump a little.

“Oh! You’re just in time! I’m mixing my special drink. I call it ‘Jungwoo’s Special’!” Jungwoo announces as he shakes the cocktail shaker.

“What makes it ‘special’?” Ella asks bluntly.

Jungwoo laughs. “Be prepared to be amazed!”

“I’m Jungwoo by the way. I meant to introduce myself to you earlier, but Johnny dragged me away. A TV over a girl, he’s so inconsiderate,” Jungwoo replies.

Ella blushes. She doesn’t want to read too much into Jungwoo’s words, but she lets herself hope he meant something more by it. “I’m Ella. I’m one of Yuta’s work buddies.”

“Oh! You’re the work sister! I guess I need to be extra gentlemanly,” Jungwoo laughs.

“So is the ‘Jungwoo’s Special’ something a gentleman would offer a lady?”

“Why don’t you try it and find out?” Jungwoo gives Ella a mischievous look. Jungwoo pours the drink for Ella and hands it to her. She takes a sip and nods her head. It’s a good drink, but guessing by the bottles he left uncapped, it was a potent drink.

“It definitely knows how to treat a lady,” Ella says. Taking a step closer to Jungwoo, she can feel how much bigger he is than her. She has to crane her neck to look up at him. She notices Jungwoo looking down at the Liverpool FC badge on her jersey and smiles.

“Liverpool fan?” Ella cocks her head. Jungwoo gives her a sweet smile. With all the liquid courage in her, she takes a step closer to Jungwoo.

“Man City,” Jungwoo replies with a playful glint in his eyes.

“Wow, you’re a glory hunter.” Ella gives him a horrified look and shoves his torso. If she wasn’t feeling her pre-game rage and animosity for Manchester City, she would’ve commented how his abs felt solid like a rock.

“If that’s what you want to call supporting the best players and manager in the world, then sure!” Jungwoo teases.

“It’s a TEAM sport. It’s about how everyone works together to win, not just a bunch of megastars.” Ella retorts.

“You make it sound like Liverpool doesn’t also buy the best players and have a great manager,” Jungwoo points out. Ella couldn’t argue with that.

“Touché. But at least we don’t throw all our money at everything.”

“How about we place a bet?” Jungwoo propositions. He knows they won’t get anywhere with their argument, but maybe a bet could make things interesting.

“Seriously? A bet?”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. It’ll be some extra fun for the match,” Jungwoo coaxes.

“Fine, what are the terms of the bet that you propose?”

“If Liverpool wins, you get to pick what to do and If Manchester City wins, I’ll get to pick what to do. To make this a little more fun, not only does the winner get to pick what to do, but they get to pick a thing or wish for each goal their team scores.”

“What if it’s a draw?”

“We can go with who had the most possession in the game.”

Ella sips her drink and contemplates whether to accept or not. She had come into the kitchen to expect a bit of talking, maybe some flirting, but not a bet. The only downside would be if Man City won, but Ella was pretty confident Liverpool had this game in the bag.

“You have yourself a deal, Jungwoo.” Ella stretches out her right hand for Jungwoo to shake. Jungwoo lights up and shakes her hand.

“No matter who wins or loses, I’m sure we’ll both end up winning at the end.” Jungwoo winks at Ella before he chugs the rest of his ‘Jungwoo Special’ drink.

They settle into the couch in front of Yuta’s fancy TV. The players complete the pre-match rituals of pennant exchanges and hand shakes and then the kick off. Liverpool gains possession early and builds up momentum. The two teams go back and forth creating chances, but no one scoring. Ella glances over at Jungwoo from time to time and notices even Jungwoo seems to feel the tension. Then in the 39th minute, Liverpool breaks away with the ball and scores a spectacular goal.

“FUCK YES!” Ella screams and jumps around. Yuta high fives Ella to celebrate.

“In your face!” Ella says with satisfaction to Jungwoo.

“Don’t get too cocky. The game is far from over.” Jungwoo playfully shoves Ella when she sits down.

Ella rolls her eyes and shoves Jungwoo back. Five minutes remain for the first half. Each team approaches the last few minutes differently. Liverpool seems to be playing it safe while Manchester City is looking to equalize. Ella nervously takes a sip of her drink. Even if Liverpool is leading, she can’t help but feel something worrying looming in the air. Unfortunately, her gut instincts were right. As soon as she puts her drink down, Manchester City takes possession of the ball and scores. Jungwoo starts jumping up and cheering. Ella huffs and lays back onto the sofa.

“We’re even now,” Jungwoo says as he shakes Ella’s shoulder.

“Whatever. There’s still another half,” Ella replies. She lightly smacks Jungwoo’s thigh. Jungwoo laughs at her reaction.

Both teams seem to just pass around the ball to wind down time before the referee blows the whistle to signal half time. Jungwoo springs up to head to the kitchen. Jungwoo asks if she needs anything, but Ella just waves her hand to indicate she’s fine. Ella needs a few moments to wallow in her misery. In the middle of her self pity, she feels someone land on the couch next to her.

“Ooooh you two are getting cozy,” Yuta comments.

Ella rolls her eyes. “It’s nothing. I’m nice to everyone.”

“You can lie as much as you want, but I know you better than that.” Yuta nudges her arm. “Really though, he’s a good guy. You guys are getting along. You obviously think he’s hot. I saw you chase after him and go to the kitchen.”

“Can we not talk about this right now? He’s the enemy. I have a bet to win.”

“Hate sex is a thing you know.”

“Don’t imagine that, please,” Ella groans, rubbing her forehead.

“Are you imagining it?” Yuta gives Ella a quizzical look. “You totally are! I won’t tell him. Do you. Or rather, do him.”

“Do who?” Jungwoo chimes in right as Ella picks up a pillow to smack Yuta while he’s laughing.

“The only thing I’m doing is going to the restroom,” Ella replies as she gets up.

Yuta continues laughing at his own joke and Ella smacks him with a pillow before she heads to the restroom to freshen up. The game is tied 1-1 and she really needs to channel some positive energy into Liverpool. She freshens up and grabs a bottle of water from the kitchen then settles back into the couch next to Jungwoo.

“Here. I got you some pizza.” Jungwoo hands her a plate with 2 slices of cheese pizza. “I can’t have you throw up on me.”

“Wow, that’s really all you care about?” Ella scoffs.

“I care about you! You should eat. Win or lose, your health is most important” Jungwoo replies. The pizza may have lost its oven fresh heat, but the gesture is still sweet. If she wasn’t trying to fight for her team's honor, Ella would probably kiss Jungwoo.

“Thanks,” Ella meekly says as she turns her attention to the pizza. She hopes he can’t see her blush while she’s nibbling on the pizza.

The second half starts and Ella’s nerves are back. Both teams are picking up momentum and creating chances for a goal. Feeling her stomach churn every time either side attempts to score, Ella puts the pizza on the coffee table. She nervously taps her foot and hopes Liverpool can keep possession if they can’t score a goal.

“Have you thought about what you want if you win?” Jungwoo tries to break the tension. He leans back into the couch.

“No, have you?” Ella asks. Following Jungwoo’s actions, she leans back too.

Jungwoo looks like he’s in deep thought when the game commentator starts screaming. They bring their attention back to the TV and watch Manchester City score their 2nd goal in the 88th minute.

“OH FUCK.” Ella deflates on the couch. Jungwoo is high-fiving everyone, almost spilling Taeyong’s beer on him.

“Well, that’s it then,” Jungwoo says. He plops down on the couch

“There’s still extra time.” Ella knows it’s unlikely to win, but if Liverpool can scrap up a draw, then maybe she might have some hope.

“Don’t worry. Even if I win the bet, you’ll still feel like a winner too,” Jungwoo says with a playful look.

The remaining minutes of the game are uneventful and Man City grabs the win, much to Jungwoo’s delight. Jungwoo spreads his arms inviting Ella in for a hug. Ella shoves his shoulder away instead.

“Aww don’t be like that! That’s not good sportsmanship. Or sportswomanship!” Jungwoo complains. He slowly inches closer to Ella. She rolls her eyes and finally relents. She would be lying if she didn’t admit that Jungwoo gave great hugs. Yuta looks over in their direction and gives Ella a look that says he’s definitely interrogating her later.

“There you go! That’s the spirit!” Jungwoo commends, patting her back.

“Congratulations. Have you thought about what you want?” Ella asks

“Already in a rush to claim the prize?”

“I’m pretty sure you won and it’s your prize.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it just as much as I will!” Ella feels nervous as Jungwoo takes his time to contemplate what to ask for.

“Don’t leave me in suspense!”

“Okay! Okay!” Jungwoo raises his hands in defense. “My first reward is that we exchange numbers.”

She hands Jungwoo her phone and watches him add his number. He texts himself from her phone to make sure he has her number too. Ella was hoping for something grander, but she’ll settle for that now. A part of her was hoping he wouldn’t stick to being a gentleman as he said before.

The rest of the weekend passes by in a blur and Ella finds herself back at work too soon for her liking. She’s looking through her email inbox when Yuta comes in and smacks her on the shoulder.

“Good morning!” Yuta shouts at her. He plops down on her desk, causing a few stray papers to crumple. Ella opens her mouth to complain until Yuta shoves an iced coffee in her face.

“Thanks Yuta. I desperately need caffeine,” Ella says, taking the iced coffee from Yuta.

“Soooo tell me about you weekend, my dear friend.”

“I did laundry on Sunday.”

“And Saturday.” Yuta gives her a pointed look as he sips his coffee.

“I was at your house to watch a Liverpool match,” Ella deadpans. She knows he’s trying to weasel all the gossip out of her.

“Yes, tell me more. More than just the game and where you were. Tell me all the other details.”

“What are you trying to get at?” Ella squints at Yuta. She knows what he’s after

“This development of you and Jungwoo. Don’t think we didn’t notice!”

Ella rolls her eyes and turns back to her laptop. “Thanks for the coffee, Yuta. These emails aren’t going to delete themselves.”

“Don’t ignore me! I’ll get my answers at lunch!” Yuta gets up and leaves to his desk on the other side of the divider in front of Ella.

Ella turns back to her email. She has a few design mockup requests from clients she needs to get to this week. Some clients were better with their requirements than others. She was already dreading the long email chains and meeting after meeting with clients who couldn’t describe their requirements well. She knows at some point during the week she has to set up some time to work with Yuta on a project for one of their bigger clients. She knew the cat would be out of the bag by then and Yuta’s nosiness would only get worse.

Jungwoo (9:02 AM): Good morning beautiful ❤️

Ella feels a little flustered seeing Jungwoo call her beautiful.

“Thank God Yuta left already,” Ella thinks to herself. If he saw the message, he’d never let her live in peace.

Ella and Jungwoo spent the entire Sunday texting back and forth, but Yuta didn’t need to know that. She learned that he’s a Mechanical Engineer, which she hadn't expected at all. They talked a lot about their lives and interests. Ella was glad she was getting to know him better and didn’t let a football rivalry get in their way.

Ella (9:03 AM): Good morning! Don’t you have work to do?

Jungwoo (9:03 AM): But I like talking to you!!!!! Talk to me!!!!!

Ella (9:10 AM): Can’t right now. Maybe in a few hours? Yuta is going to grill me at lunch 💀

Jungwoo (9:11 AM): I’m bigger than him. I’ll hurt him!!!

Ella turns her phone face down and turns back to her laptop. She has a design draft halfway completed that she wants to get done before lunch. She puts her hair up in a messy bun and gets back to work.

Lunch time comes around sooner than anticipated. Yuta’s head pops up from the other side of the divider.

“Ready for lunch? I’m starving,” Yuta announces as he stretches.

“Yeah let’s go. Poke?” Ella suggests. She grabs her purse and phone and walks towards the door.

“You read my mind!” Yuta follows closely behind.

They complain about their workload on their short walk over to the Poke restaurant. Although it was nice they had a constant stream of clients, they needed more designers to balance the workload. After ordering their food, they settle down at a table by the window.

“It’s so nice outside. It’s criminal that we have to work indoors,” Ella comments as she digs in.

“Hmm, yeah,” Yuta gives a short reply, as he scarfs down his food. “Enough about that. Now tell me about Jungwoo!”

“What do you mean ‘tell me about Jungwoo’? He’s your friend! You know more about him than I do!” Ella replies. She knows what he’s getting at, but refuses to give into his demands for gossip so quickly.

“You know what I mean! You two have something going on!”

Ella rolls her eyes. “It’s not like that! We just had a bit of friendly competition and banter on Saturday and we’ve been talking.”

“Uh huh, right. ‘Banter’. Next thing you know, you’ll end up in bed together!” Yuta accuses, pointing his fork at Ella.

“Can’t you keep it down! We’re in public!” Ella whispers.

“Everyone could do with some gossip on a boring Monday.” Yuta shrugs. “Whatever is going on with you two, I approve.”

“God, you're not my dad!” Ella rubs her forehead. She knows Yuta isn’t going to let this conversation go easily.

“Thank God for that!” Yuta agrees. “Anyway, all of this was part of my master plan anyway. I guess Johnny was too tall. Taeyong was too pretty. Jungwoo is slightly shorter and I guess slightly less pretty.”

“Johnny and Taeyong are also very much taken,” Ella points out. “And why are you insulting Jungwoo behind his back?”

“I’m not! There’s no point in being the tallest or prettiest. He has the right amount of both,” Yuta explains, shoving the last spoonful of his Poke in his mouth.

“I’m going to expect updates!” Yuta says. He gets up to throw away his empty bowl and trash.

Ella looks at her phone notifications and sees 10 texts from Jungwoo. She’ll have to read them once she’s back at her desk. She can’t risk Yuta’s prying eyes seeing the messages. Once Yuta’s back, they leave and take their post-lunch walk before they head back into the office.

After she settles back into her chair, Ella pulls out her phone and goes through Jungwoo’s messages. The texts have jumped from 10 unread to 20 unread messages. Most of the texts are of Jungwoo sulking about Ella ignoring his texts.

Ella (1:10 PM): Sorry, just got back from lunch with Yuta

Jungwoo (1:11 PM): I thought you ghosted me! But I forgive you. I don’t want you to starve.

Jungwoo (1:11 PM): What was he grilling you about?

Ella (1:12 PM): You duh lol

Jungwoo (1:12 PM): ME??

Ella (1:13 PM): Actually about us

Jungwoo (1:14 PM): He’s just jealous. He doesn’t have what we have.

Ella (1:15 PM): What? Soccer rivalry?

Jungwoo (1:16 PM): OK that and he’s not as hot as us

Ella takes a moment to think how to reply when she sees Jungwoo typing again. She decides to wait and see what he says before replying.

Jungwoo (1:18 PM): Speaking of us…I believe I’m owed a 2nd wish. Let’s grab dinner Friday night? At the new Brazilian Steakhouse you mentioned?

Ella (1:20 PM): Sure! I’ll meet you there at 7?

Jungwoo (1:20 PM): It’s a date 😉

Ella feels butterflies thinking about their date. Suddenly all of her work seems a lot less important than planning her attire for her date. She makes a mental note to go through her closet as soon as she gets home.

Fortunately, the work week breezes by quickly. Unfortunately, it’s Friday afternoon and Ella still hasn't decided what to wear on her date. Although they aren’t dining at a formal restaurant, Ella wants to dress up a little this time. Sorting through her dresses, she finally settles on an off-the-shoulder forest green dress that sits right above her knee.

With her outfit picked out she does her makeup. She decides to do a bronze smokey eye to accentuate the bronze glow of her skin and complement the color of the dress. Ella decided to do a nude mauve lip. She curls her black hair into even waves and sets the waves with hairspray. After she’s done with hair and makeup, she changes into her dress. After surveying her look in the mirror, she decides to put some bronzer and highlighter on her collarbones to accentuate them. After she’s satisfied with her work, she checks the time -- 6:15 PM. She had to put her jewelry and shoes on now if she wanted to be on time.

Ella picks out a pair of golden strappy stilettos to wear with the dress. She accessorizes her outfit with gold hoop earrings and several gold bangles on her right wrist. She does a final check in the mirror and is finally satisfied with her appearance. This look definitely had the glam factor to balance her casual look from last Saturday.

Grabbing her purse, Ella rushes out of her apartment to meet her Uber. The Uber ride takes about 25 minutes and Ella arrives at 6:55 PM. She sees Jungwoo check in with the host as she walks into the restaurant. When Jungwoo turns around and sees Ella walk in, she notices his eyes widening.

“Wow.” Jungwoo keeps scanning her from head to toe.

“Hello to you too, Jungwoo,” Ella greets. She giggles at his reaction.

“I forgive you for being a Liverpool fan. I might even become a Liverpool fan now,” Jungwoo replies. He comes closer to give her a hug. Ella laughs and smacks Jungwoo’s arm away.

“I tried to look good for you too!” Jungwoo points to himself. He did look good. He’s wearing a beige sweater, which accentuates his wide shoulders, and black jeans.

“Okay fine, you look good too,” Ella says, going in to give him a hug.

“Of course I do. I did it all for you,” Jungwoo whispers in her ear. Ella buries her face in his chest hoping he doesn’t notice her blushing.

“Sir, your table is ready,” their host announces. They jump apart quickly and follow the host to their table. Ella keeps her head down to hide her embarrassment as she makes her way to the table.

The host explains to them how the ordering will work. The waiters will come around with different cuts of meat and give them a slice. They each get a green card and red card - green to indicate to the waiter they would like more meat and red to indicate they don’t. They both order a glass of red wine. While they wait for their wine to arrive, their waiter serves them a basket of Pão de Queijo, Brazilian cheese bread, and their salads.

“You know, I’m really surprised you’re a Mechanical Engineer,” Ella says before taking a bite of Pão de Queijo. The bread tastes like a deliciously cheesy cloud and she has to stop herself from moaning.

“Why? Do I look dumb?” Jungwoo asks, holding his Pão de Queijo next to his pouting lips.

“No, no! That’s not what I mean! It’s just that you look, I don’t know, you’re tall and handsome.” Ella hopes she didn’t offend him.

“Just say you think I’m really hot. Is a hot nerd one of your fantasies?” Jungwoo teases.

“Let’s see if you get to find out,” Ella says with a glint in her eye. She isn’t going to let him win so easily.

A waiter comes by with some meat and they start piling up their plates. They compare which cuts and marinades they like the most.

“Say ‘aah’. Let me put this meat in you,” Jungwoo

Ella leans back and gives him a pointed look.

“What? You don’t want my meat?” Jungwoo asks suggestively.

“Just that little piece?” Ella leans forward and whispers, “You need to give a girl the full experience.”

Jungwoo chuckles. “I was waiting for you to ask, babe.”

Jungwoo leans over and places the meat closer to Ella’s mouth. Ella looks into Jungwoo's eyes and bites the meat off the fork. She leans back and slowly chews. They seem to be having a staring contest, which neither wants to lose. Ella slides her right foot slowly up his left leg while maintaining eye contact. Her foot makes it up to his thigh before Jungwoo squirms and closes his eyes.

“That’s cheating!” Jungwoo grabs her ankle.

“Hey, no one said there were rules.” Ella laughs.

“Babe, you don’t want to play dirty with me,” Jungwoo warns. He slowly moves his hand up her calf.

“Maybe I do.” Ella smirks and drinks the last bit of her wine. “I came here to win.”

“Your place or mine? I’ll grab the bill now or I’ll do you right here.” Jungwoo leans over, letting go of her leg.

“Mine. I’ll call an Uber,” Ella replies. Her clothes were probably strewn everywhere in the bedroom, but at least the rest of her apartment was spotless. She couldn’t be as sure about Jungwoo’s place and didn’t want the potential mess to ruin her night.

Jungwoo gently places a kiss on her cheek and walks over to a waiter to pay their bill. Once he’s out of sight, Ella pops a mint in her mouth and requests an Uber. Jungwoo comes back soon and they leave the restaurant hand in hand.

Their Uber arrives a minute after they leave the restaurant. Ella rests her left hand on Jungwoo’s thigh. She teases him the whole ride by slowly moving her hand up his thigh and giving his thigh light squeezes. Jungwoo silently curses and grabs her hand to prevent her from going any higher. Fortunately, they arrive at Ella’s apartment sooner than their estimated time and they scramble out of their Uber quickly.

“Thank God! Another minute in there and I would’ve started making out wit you in the back seat!” Jungwoo exhales.

“Can’t keep it in, huh? You’re really playing to lose,” Ella comments.

Jungwoo stands behind her and grabs her hips. “If it means we’ll take our clothes off sooner, I’ll gladly lose.”

She giggles at his impatience and quickly types in her apartment code.

“Just a few more minutes. And no funny business in the elevators. I can’t have a Man City fan ruining my rep in public,” Ella jokingly warns.

Jungwoo back hugs Ella and moves close to her ear to whisper, “Don’t worry. I like to do my ruining in private.”

Ella giggles as they make their way into the elevator and presses the “5” button for her floor. Thankfully, the elevator goes straight to her floor and they’re at her door soon. Ella tries to focus on opening the door while Jungwoo is pressing light kisses to her neck. Finally, she finally manages to get the door open despite the distractions. Jungwoo pushes them in and quickly pins her to the door, causing it to slam closed.

“Fucking finally!” Jungwoo shouts.

Jungwoo dives in for a kiss. He slides his hand up from her cheek and grabs her hair. Ella can feel the pent up frustrations from the way he deepens the kiss. He breaks their kiss to trail soft kisses down her neck sending shockwaves of pleasure through Ella. He finds the sensitive spot on her neck and begins sucking. His actions make Ella quiver, causing him to smirk.

“Fuck, Jungwoo,” Ella moans.

“Where’s your bedroom?” Jungwoo asks.

She points to the closed door on the opposite side of the apartment. Jungwoo goes to lift her up, before she stops him.

“I’d fuck you in these stilettos, but shoes on my bed are an absolute no.” Ella starts untying her right shoe. As good as her whole look was, she was now wishing she opted for easier shoes to get out of.

“We’ll do that somewhere else next time, Princess.” Jungwoo bends down and helps her out of her other shoe.

Once Ella’s shoes are off, Jungwoo throws her over her shoulder and heads to her bedroom. He pushes her door open and throws her on the bed. He makes quick work of taking off his sweater. Ella gasps at how ripped he is. She had felt through his clothes he was toned, but seeing his abs up close was a different kind of thrill.

Jungwoo hovers above Ella and gives her shoulder light kisses.

“Where’s the zipper?” Jungwoo asks.

Ella takes his right hand and leads it to the zipper on the back of her dress. He hastily unzips her dress, almost breaking the zipper. She slips out and tosses the dress to the side onto the pile of rejected clothes for their date. Ella unhooks her strapless bra and tosses aside as well.

“God, since I saw you in this dress, I wanted nothing more than to take it off,” Jungwoo confesses.

“Well, are you going to do anything or just talk?” Ella questions. She crawls back to Jungwoo on the bed.

Jungwoo laughs before he seals their lips. This time he moves slower, relishing the feeling of her pouty lips against his. Ella tugs his lip and lightly swipes his lower lip with her tongue to push him to pick up the pace.

“Anxious?” Jungwoo questions. He begins to trail kisses down her neck, chest and torso. He softly licks below her belly button to the hem of her underwear before he slides her underwear off. He moves his fingers down her folds, feeling her wetness.

“So wet already. You really want me, huh.” Jungwoo continues rubbing his fingers on her folds to tease her.

She gives his head a light shove, inciting a laugh from Jungwoo. He slowly rubs her clit, causing her to tremble. She arches her back when she feels him lick up her pussy. His tongue focuses on licking her clit as he slowly inserts a finger. She tangles her fingers in his hair giving it a slight tug encouraging him to continue. He adds another finger and pumps his fingers faster. The sensations drive Ella to dig her heels into Jungwoo’s back.

Jungwoo slips his fingers out causing Ella to whine. He begins kissing her while he reaches down to unbuckle his belt and slip his jeans off. Ella slides her hand down his abs, caressing his solid muscles. Her hand makes its way down to his boxers, feeling his hardness through the fabric.

“Don’t worry about that,” Jungwoo says. He shakes her hand off and hastily takes off his boxers.

“I just want to be inside you already.” He gives his already hard cock a few strokes. “Condom?”

Ella points to her night stand. Jungwoo quickly rips open the packet and puts on the condom.

“Ready?”

“I’ve been ready for hours.” Ella grabs the back of Jungwoo’s head and gives him a kiss.

Jungwoo breaks the kiss and laughs at Ella’s impatience. Ella leans back on a pillow and Jungwoo places soft kisses on her shoulder before he lines himself up to her entrance. He slowly enters Ella’s pussy.

“God,” Ella moans. Her toes curl from the pleasure she feels.

“Keep calling me your God. I’m going to fuck you like one.”

Jungwoo picks up the pace and thrusts deeper each time. The sensations cause Ella to wrap her legs around Jungwoo’s hips, trying to feel more of him. He reaches down to rub her clit, causing Ella to shake in pleasure. Ella feels her orgasm building up and digs her nails deeper in his back.

“I’m gonna come,” Ella’s voice comes out in a whisper.

Jungwoo rubs her clit faster and her orgasm finally hits her. Her pussy pulses as she rides out her orgasm. Jungwoo thrusting becomes more erratic and he takes a few more strokes before he comes too. He collapses on top of her after he’s done, almost crushing Ella's body. She’s reeling with the sensations of her orgasm and how much bigger he is than her. Jungwoo gets up after he catches his breath and discards the used condom in the bin. He slips back into the bed and snuggles close to Ella. They lay entangled together, basking in each other’s presence.

“If you won, what would you have wished for?” Jungwoo asks, after he places a soft kiss on Ellas lips.

“You really want to know that?” Ella raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I can handle it.”

Ella laughs. “I would’ve just asked to fuck.”

Jungwoo gasps. “Seriously? Did you think I was that easy? I told you I’m a gentleman!”

“You just said you wanted to rip my clothes off at the restaurant!”

“But we got to know each other first at least!”

“Whatever you say, Jungwoo. I’m sleepy. We can discuss our kinks in the morning.” Ella curls up closer to Jungwoo.

“After the Man City match.” Jungwoo muffles into her hair.

“NO! You’re not watching that trash here!” Ella shoves Jungwoo away.

“Please? We can go for round 2 before and I’ll get us breakfast.” Jungwoo pleads.

Ella contemplates for a moment. “I’ll think about it. Now let me sleep.”

Ella cuddles up to Jungwoo and rests her head on his shoulder. Maybe sleeping with the enemy wasn’t such a bad idea.

#jungwoo #jungwoo scenarios #jungwoo smut #jungwoo x reader #nct scenarios #jungwoo fanfic #nct fanfic #comedy #romantic comedy #smut #nct smut #strangers to lovers

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pixiedoodlein · 3 years

Text

10 days until school and I’m no more decided than I was a week ago. I flip flop ten times day about what might be best. A is sick of hearing me talk about it. He doesn’t disagree with my risk assessment but he is sick of talking about it.

It caused an issue with his friend, a friend who is his best friend and is unvaccinated and works in a jail. Months ago we told friend he could only visit (this place is their boyhood dream) once he’s vaccinated. Friend typically believes in science and is very health conscious but his gf is a moron Trump lover and her family the same and that’s who he’s been spending all his time with since this all started. When I asked friend why he’s not vaccinated he said he’s young & healthy, didn’t trust the vaccines, would do it when they got full fda approval. Plenty of young healthy people are dead of this. Anyway then I asked ok so what if you give it to someone who isn’t and dies, people incarcerated in the jail he works in and don’t have the luxury of social distancing, and he was like eh whatever. So yes friend is an asshole, but his best friend for decades, friend has always been kind of an asshole but has many redeeming qualities too. So we said no visit. But then in July when there was no covid here and no covid where he lives and we were blissfully living our covid free lives we loosened up and said he could visit with two negative tests. But then covid got bad again and when asshole friend contacted A the other day to say he took time off in late Sept to visit, A said sorry, it’s fully fda approved now you have no excuses not to vaccinate, we’re worried about our unvaccinated kids, and as of now you can’t visit but hey maybe if you get vaccinated and the numbers look better we can reassess in a month and you can come. Friend was a total dick about it, didn’t understand our point of view at all, stressed A about it, who was in a bad mood about it for days afterward.

Then there’s the neighbors. I had a chat with the kids and a chat with the mom. I framed it as we love them so much and I know they’re careful but I think we should all be more careful while the numbers are so rising (aka only outdoor hangouts) and we are careful but I’ve heard terrifying stories from doctor friends about kids and babies getting very sick, and they have a baby who I don’t want us to make sick, and she said she agreed. The kids have been pretty good about making the adjustment from constant sleepovers to playing outside but M keeps asking me “the kids need to pee are they allowed to use the bathroom, the kids are hungry are they allowed to come inside even for one minute for a snack,” and I feel like the villain (I’ve been saying yes to pee, snacks I’ll bring out). Everyone’s been understanding but nobody is getting what I mean when I say only outdoor socializing. All the kids keep asking me when I’ll take them to town again for ice cream, “but it’s outside” (um yeah but the car’s not), asking their mom to ask me for sleepovers even though they know what the answer will be. The other day they were playing in our yard then it started raining and they were like “we can’t walk home in the rain”- I don’t want them to walk home in the rain, but again the car is indoors!- so I drove them home (but made M stay at our house). They’re not my kids so I can’t make them wear masks and it feels like now I am in the position of being the mean parent who’s psycho about covid, which in a way I am, but it would help me to stick to my guns and feel okay about sticking to them if the government policies matched the severity of the situation, ie mask mandates in public places (instead of stores posting polite recommendations), vaccine mandates, virtual learning options, etc.

Which brings me to school. After selling M hard on real school, then I sold her hard on home school. She already “did” 3rd grade last year (as much as me teaching her in my pajamas counts as doing), but this district has an earlier cut off than the city, so she’s in 3rd grade again here. Which is fine by me- her birthday is the same day as the very late nyc cut off (12/31) and I hated that she was the absolute youngest. I used to beg the school to hold her back and they’d say “but why she’s doing so well!” not understanding that I was thinking ahead to the teen years. But anyway, despite her haphazard pj’d professor, she seemed to learn a lot last year so homeschool this year could basically be unschool. She’d traipse around the forest identifying birds and trees with A and her brother, reading for pleasure, and I’d spend an hour here and there reviewing some worksheets with her so she’d be on track when she starts real school after she gets vaccinated. She was into the idea, until she found out she and one of the neighbor kids are in the same class. Now she absolutely wants to go to real school, AND ride the school bus. The school bus part makes me very nervous. While there is now a school mask mandate (but will it be enforced? what are their lunch procedures, what % of teachers are vaccinated, what % of the older kids in the same building as the little kids are vaccinated, did they actually really update their ventilation system?) and a bus mask rule, it’s a long rural route (15 min drive or 45 min bus) and I have no faith that bus windows will be open and all riders will be masked the whole time.

So just tell her she can go to school but has to be driven by a parent, right? Not so simple. I was offered a job at a (somewhat, commuting distance) nearby nonprofit- an easy low stress job in a bastion of liberalism with very very nice smart coworkers, excellent work life balance, a writing job that sounds made for me, like the job description is exactly what I would put together if I were putting together my dream job (except the pay, which is half what I was making at a fancy DC nonprofit, but high for this area, and our housing cost is half so it should be fine if A can get away from little guy long enough to bring in some money too). It’s mostly remote but approx one day a week in the office and some days there will be things I need to attend out in the community (not necessarily our community, they serve the whole region). It won’t always be the same day in the office and the office is an hour away- so on those days A would have no car to get her to and from school, since I’d need to leave before school starts and get home after it’s done. So I guess we need to buy a new car? Aside from this issue we really don’t need a second car now, were planning to get one eventually, but not until A’s business has enough projects to justify the cost.

Despite its many demands/challenges/ stressors, home school is sounding easier to me at this point (especially because she already did this grade), except she WANTS to go to school. Someone talk me out of putting some lipstick and a pantsuit on her and taking her to get vaccinated. I know, I know: the 5-11 dosage is 1/3 of the 12-adult dosage. The doctors I’ve spoken to are split on this hypothetical kamikaze mission. The doctors I’ve spoken to are also split on me and A going to a pharmacy now for booster. It’s been almost 6 months since our 2nd dose. We do not have compromised immune systems. This county has way more doses than demand and I would feel better sending M to school (bus or not) if we had our boosters and she had a first dose- moral and scientific quandaries aside- because there is A LOT of covid here now, a lot of covid everywhere now, and I feel like we are returning to regular life at the time when we should be most hunkered down.

Which brings me to the data. Per capita there are as many known cases here as in nyc, except nyc has a 50% higher vax rate, much more mask usage, better medical system. People are not getting enough tests here, there is a higher positivity rate, and so I think the actual number of cases is much higher than the reported number of cases. It seems like, friends here and in the city and in the suburbs (I just broke up with a friend in the suburbs because she professes to be a good democrat but is hosting a bonafide super spreader event and vacationing in a place with 39% positivity and a collapsed health care system), are thinking of covid as something you catch from strangers- they wear masks in stores- but aren’t careful at all around close friends and family (so many extended family gatherings, so many, cousins and grandparents and half-siblings and aunts and uncles and whoever), when this is a disease that kills via the people you love most, the ones who’d never intentionally hurt you.

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fantastic-bby · 3 years

Text

Pairing: Reader x Jinyoung (ft Mark)

Word count: 1.7k

Genre: Fluff | Comedy | Best Friend!Jinyoung

Summary: After a massive break up, Jinyoung thinks that the medicine you need might just be revenge.

Prompt: “I didn’t get soaked wet through walking to your house for you to say no to pizza. I have beer too. I know you’re sad, so let me in.”

Warnings: Mentions of cheating | Mild vandalism (?)

Masterlist

[23:51]

You should’ve known. The moment you saw your partner—now ex—gawking over the person you both saw at the gym was a dead giveaway and you hate yourself for not realising it sooner. Or maybe you hate yourself more for putting so much trust in him. There was always something that your ex did that made you doubt your entire relationship and it makes you wonder why you didn’t see all the red flags until you saw the two in his bed.

Your first thought was to rant about it to someone, but who were you supposed to tell? You can’t tell your siblings, they’d be on your ex’s ass in seconds. You also didn’t feel close enough with the friends you made at work, which left you alone and yearning for someone to comfort you. It was only when you heard the doorbell to your house ringing that you realised there was one person you could rely on—the person that you actually didn’t want to tell.

Your phone lights up beside you and you wipe your tears with the blanket in your lap to see the screen clearer.

Jinyoung: I know you’re home, loser [23:51]

You feel the tears building up in your eyes once again. Why did Jinyoung choose to come over now? Out of all days and all the time he had before, why did he choose to come when you felt like you were at your lowest?

Jinyoung: (Y/n)? I can see your living room lights Open the door I have pizza [23:54]

You see, Jinyoung was someone you met mutually through a friend at work—his name’s Mark—and you clicked pretty well with him. The only problem was that Jinyoung always seemed to catch you at the worst times, which made you feel bad because he always shows up whenever you’re having a breakdown or plotting some form of revenge on your coworker who decided to take your lunch from the pantry. Thunder claps and lightning flashes from outside the window to your bedroom and only then do you realise that it’s storming. Which means that Jinyoung’s standing at your doorstep in the pouring rain.

Jinyoung: I didn’t get soaking wet walking through the rain to your house just for you to say no to pizza. I have beer too [23:59]

You stare at his messages, debating whether you actually wanted him to see you like this. He doesn’t even know whether or not you’re crying.

Jinyoung: I know you’re sad Let me in [00:04]

Oh.

You force yourself out of bed and down the stairs of your home to open the front door. Jinyoung stands at your doorstep, water dripping from the strands of his wet hair and sliding down his face. In his hands are a large pizza box and a plastic bag filled with bottles of beer.

“How did you know?” you ask softly as you move aside to let him into your house. He rubs his feet against the plush carpet right in front of your door, trying to get his feet as dry as possible before making his way into your kitchen. Jinyoung’s hand gestures for you to sit on one of the barstools at your kitchen island while he pulls his wet coat off of his shoulders and balls it up before leaving it on your counter; making a mental note to clean that up later.

“I always do,” Jinyoung mutters as he opens the pizza box. He’s thankful that he somehow managed to keep the pizza dry or else he would’ve had to be faced with both your tears and rain pizza. You’re silent as he pushes the box towards you before pulling out two bottles of beer from the orange plastic bag that’s now perched on your countertop. You give him a weird look that makes him sigh, “Mark hyung told me.”

“And how did Mark figure it out? I didn’t tell anyone.” You pull one of the slices out of the box and take a bite out of it. It isn’t as hot as you’d prefer your pizza to be, but you can’t expect Jinyoung to have fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza when you left him standing outside in the rain for more than ten minutes.

“Mark hyung introduced you to the cock head. Of course he’d know,” he says as he pops open both bottles of beer, sliding on towards you. “What happened?”

“What do you want to know?” you look away from the slice and let your eyes meet Jinyoung’s. His face and body language never seemed to show that much emotion, but his brown eyes always held every single word that he wanted to say.

Jinyoung’s shoulders raise into a shrug, “whatever you want to tell me.” You hesitate with pizza in your mouth, chewing slowly before you sigh and tell him everything. Half a pizza and three beer bottles later, you feel relieved.

“And now I’m just sulking in my house,” you mutter when you finish your fourth slice of pizza. Jinyoung blinks a few times and his eyes drift away from you for a moment as he takes in the entire story.

“I have an idea,” he speaks up after a moment, his back straightening as the idea brews in his mind. “I’m not usually one who condones revenge because it’s petty and it wastes my time, but…” Jinyoung trails off when he sees you perking up.

“What’s your plan?” you quickly ask.

He smirks, “I’m thinking lots of toilet paper and lots of glitter.”

“Why am I here again?” Mark asks but Jinyoung quickly shushes him.

“We’re here to get back at (Y/n)’s ex.” The older man gives him a weird look but obliges anyway, hands grabbing at the envelopes filled with glitter and signed with different names and addresses to avoid suspicion. “Are you ready?” Jinyoung turns to you and you nod as you pull the hood of your jacket over your head to hide yourself.

“You do know that we could get arrested for vandalism, right?” he points out.

“That just fuels the adrenaline,” you hum with a smile when you turn back to him. The corners of Mark’s lips lift into a smile when he sees the mischief painted on your face. You’ve convinced him only because Mark’s a bit of an adrenaline junky and he’d do anything just to feel alive.

The three of you climb out of Jinyoung’s car and quickly make your way into the bushes of your ex’s garden, hiding under the cover of night with a bag full of toilet paper rolls. Mark tears himself away from you and Jinyoung to stuff the envelopes into the empty mailbox before regrouping. Each of you get a few rolls and the revenge plot begins. Call it childish, but you had never felt so much rush within you from throwing toilet rolls. You swing one of the rolls over the house, frowning when you see the way it bounces off of the wall and falls back into the garden.

“Watch this,” Jinyoung chuckles. You watch as he swings his arm with more strength and force, the roll flying straight over the roof and leaving a trail of toilet paper behind it that drapes over the top of the house.

“Show off,” Mark snorts as he throws a roll. Jinyoung scowls at that and throws the roll right at his head, earning a whine from your coworker. “Is that all of them?” he asks. You rummage through the now empty tote bags and nod just as the lights to one of the rooms turn on.

“Fuck, we have to go.” Jinyoung grabs onto your wrist and the three of you run out of the garden and straight into his car. The front door swings open and you hear distant yelling just as Jinyoung slams his foot on the accelerator, speeding out of the neighbourhood as fast as he can to stop your ex from seeing his license plate. Giggles and laughter erupt from the three of you once you’re out of the neighbourhood.

“Feel any better?” Mark laughs when he sees how bright you look as compared to the past two weeks and how dull and tired you’ve been.

“I feel fucking amazing,” you breathe out a laugh, turning to your side to look at Jinyoung who laughs from behind the wheel.

“I’ll be taking food as thanks,” he jokes.

“Oh, shut up,” you roll your eyes playfully, unable to stop the smile that feels permanently etched on your face. “I’m actually surprised that you, out of all people, thought of this.”

“That’s exactly what I said when he called me,” Mark chuckles.

“I don’t know,” Jinyoung shrugs with a content sigh. “Never really liked that guy anyway. I felt like you deserved better, so revenge was the first thing that came to mind when you told me.” You keep your eyes on him for a moment, basking in the adrenaline that courses through your veins. Mark cocks an eyebrow at the way the car slowly falls into silence.

“Thank you, Jinyoung,” you hum after a moment.

“Yes, thank you, Jinyoung,” Mark snickers. “It’s nice to see you having all this fun when you’re usually so stone cold.”

“I’m not stone cold, I’m just unresponsive,” Jinyoung corrects him.

“Unresponsive until someone grazes your shoes with theirs,” you quip, making Mark laugh.

Jinyoung gasps, “those shoes were white and they were expensive! Anyone in the right mind would be upset!” You and Mark’s giggles are only heightened at how Jinyoung starts nagging you two for stepping on his white shoes once a few years back.

“Alright, alright,” Mark says in between laughs, “we’ll be more careful when you’re wearing white shoes.”

“I wouldn’t mind if it was (Y/n), but hyung,” he emphasizes on ‘hyung’, hinting at the fact that Mark acts like a teenager despite already almost breaching his thirties. “I would’ve expected at least some respect for my white shoes from you!”

“Dude, just soak them—that’ll take the stain right off.”

“They’re leather!”

“Let’s just agree not to ruin Jinyoung’s white, leather shoes, so that he’ll stop nagging at us,” you giggle. Jinyoung whines in response as he glances at you. Mark makes another comment that has Jinyoung practically fuming. He’s lucky that it’s a red light because he puts the gear into neutral and reaches behind to grab onto the black hoodie of Mark’s jacket, the older man whining and crying in response while you watch with pure glee.

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thisisawonderfulusername · 4 years

Text

let's save the world

season two, episode one

five hargreeves x reader

summary: after getting stuck in 1963, you think you’re alone again, until five comes back with the news of another incoming apocalypse.

trigger warnings: cursing, mental instability

word count: 3k

a/n: it’s a biiiiiit shorter but the first ep of the second season was more of an exposition so it didn’t have much lol. i did my best to get more, but i did cut out luther’s bit at the end, as i’ll be putting it in the next part :P hope you like :D

as you look around at the others, you see their younger selves, and you wonder if the same thing will happen to them, before a large flash blinds you.

suddenly, you’re falling out of the sky.

you land on the ground below you, falling to your knees and barely saving yourself from falling forward by planting your hands in front of you, you feel the stinging on your hands and knees that already tells you that they had been scratched up from the impact.

“holy shit.” you breathe, pushing yourself up to stand, brushing off your hands as you look around you. when you see that you’re the only one in the alleyway, your eyes widen, and you quickly spin around in a circle, willing anyone to be there, but none of the siblings are.

your breath gets caught in your throat as you feel your eyes sting with tears that try to escape. “no.” you whisper, suddenly freezing as you look out at the road in front of the alley, shaking your head. “no. this isn’t happening right now.” your voice cracks as you stumble forward, onto the sidewalk where passing pedestrians look at you with confusion.

“they’re around here somewhere.” you mumble to yourself, wiping away the few tears that managed to fall from your eyes. “i just have to find out where here is, and then i’ll find them.” you nod to yourself, taking a deep breath as you look around.

walking quickly down the sidewalk, you come across a newspaper machine. your eyebrows furrow as you look at it. you definitely haven’t seen one of those in a long while. you lean forwards slightly to get a better look at the preview of the paper inside, your lips parting in surprise when you see the date.

september twenty-third, nineteen sixty-three.

you take in a deep breath, looking up and down the street at all the people passing by. you should have noticed that something was wrong. the way people were dressed was different, the buildings that lined the road were older looking and you didn’t recognize any of them. looking back to the paper, you sigh when you see that you’re in dallas.

“alright, this is fine.” you whisper to yourself shaking your hands out, “everything’s fine. five will show up eventually.”

running your fingers through your hair, you turn on your heel and go back to where you came from, sitting down next to the dumpster in the alley with your slightly bloodied knees pulled to your chest.

“all i have to do is wait.”

that was two months ago. two months ago that you fell into this unfamiliar world, two months ago that you sat in that alleyway for days waiting for literally anyone to show up, fall out of the sky as you had.

once you grew too hungry to stay any longer and nobody had showed, you decided to give up. if they weren’t going to come around then, they would find you when they did. or you would find something that lead you to them.

you couldn’t starve on the streets, so you had gotten a job. for the first time in your life, you were working a normal job to earn money. not traveling through time to assassinate people and make sure time went on as it should. it was a small cafe, the nice old lady who owned it, margaret, who was maybe in her sixties, took you in when you asked if there were any cheap places she knew of to stay. there was a small apartment above the cafe, which she let you stay in in return for working there.

you had already gotten used to this life, even changing out of that stupid uniform, replacing it with some clothes that you had found (or perhaps, stolen from a store nearby). you even got rid of the idea that any of the others would find you. you thought that you had gotten stuck in time without five, somewhere far away from him, just like what had happened when you got stuck in the apocalypse.

it hurt to give up hope again, but you couldn’t wait around for another forty years with the fantasy that you would be saved from a nightmare of being stranded in an unfamiliar time without anyone you knew. maybe you still had a daydream that one day five would walk in, asking for a cup of coffee before realizing it was you behind the counter with a notepad in hand.

imagine your surprise when that actually happened. of course, it wasn’t exactly like that, but it was close enough.

it was a slow day, only a few customers in the shop, and you stood in the back room with the other girl on your shift, stacy, chatting about the people that came in. margaret poked her head into the kitchen to see you, a small smile on her face. “y/n, there’s a young boy out there asking for you.” she walks past you to grab something from the pantry, presumably making someone’s order.

your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and stacy nudged you with her elbow, “you have a boyfriend you didn’t tell me about?” she grins, and you roll your eyes.

“not one that i know of.” you mumble, walking out of the small kitchen, your gaze immediately catching on the young boy she was talking about. your eyes widen at the sight of him, and you believe your in a dream for a moment. “five?” you step past the swinging gate of the counter, slowly walking towards him.

he has a small smile on his face, his dimple showing as you hesitantly bring your hands up to hold his face. “i guess this is where i say, ‘surprise.’“

“holy shit.” you can’t help yourself from planting a kiss on his cheek before you crush him in a hug, unable to stop your laughter from the joy you’re experiencing. “it’s really you!” you pull away, your hands resting on his shoulders, “you fucking asshole! where have you been? it’s been months!”

shaking his head as he looks to the tiled floor for a moment, he chuckles softly. “i just got here. sorry to keep you waiting.” you bite down on your lip, your hands slowly moving down his arms before dropping to your sides.

“i thought i lost you again.” your voice is barely above a whisper and you feel the tears building up your eyes, “god, i thought i would have to wait another forty years.”

you don’t realize that the tears had escaped and were running down your face until he quickly wiped them away. “well, you didn’t. but... there is some bad news.”

sniffling, you look at him with confusion written all over your face, “i mean yeah, we’re stuck in the sixties. that’s pretty bad.”

“that’s not the only problem we have, in fact there’s something even bigger than that.” he stands from the stool and you step back slightly, waiting for him to explain. “we have another apocalypse to stop.”

you stare at him for a moment, your shoulders slumping slightly. “fuck. another one?” you look back to the door to the kitchen, seeing stacy looking through the small, circular window in the wood, before her head quickly ducks down as you look. “i’ll be right back.”

you go back through the swinging gate and push the door open with your hip as you untie your apron, throwing it on one of the counters. “i have to go.” you look between the two waitresses, and they both look at you in confusion.

“jesus, y/n. one boy comes by and your hopping out of here?” your coworker is surprised by your sudden need to leave, and you sigh softly. “never thought you were the type to run away with a guy.”

“trust me, i’m not.” you chuckle, already backing up towards the door, “this is an important one, though.”

margaret sighs, but she has a small smile on her face. “alright, you go then. when will you be back, dear?” she grabs the apron you had thrown without care, taking the notepad out and folding it up nicely.

frowning slightly, you look to the side. “i don’t know.” you tell them softly, fidgeting with your fingers as they practically freeze in their spots.

“well,” the older woman clears her throat, slowly nodding. “i hope it will be soon. wouldn’t want you just disappearing on us.”

you bite the inside of your cheek, giving a small nod. “i promise it will be soon. maybe even within the week, i just have something i need to do.” you sigh softly, “so i’ll stop by some time.” you didn’t know if that was a lie or not. even though it hadn’t been long, they had become your only friends in this place.

with a small wave, you’re out of the room, and you look to five. “let’s save the world- again.” you laugh lightly, following him out of the cafe that you had called home for a few months. “you have any idea where your siblings are?”

“i know where diego is. might be a bit hard to get him out, though.” you look at him with furrowed eyebrows and he pulls out a folded up piece of paper, “check it out for yourself.”

you take the paper from him, seeing that it’s a page from a newspaper that had been ripped out. as you walk, you unfold it, seeing the mug shot of his brother. you chuckle at the text.

disturbed man with multiple knives arrested outside ten twenty-six north beckley

you fold the paper back up and give it back to him. “he made this pretty easy for us, didn’t he?”

“sure did.” he sticks the ripped page back in his pocket, “let’s pay him a visit.” he grabs your hand and you guys disappear from the street, no doubt leaving confused pedestrians behind.

as diego is escorted into the room, you grin slightly at his appearance. he had changed a lot. his hair was longer, now down to his chin, and his stubble had grown out into a full beard. he no longer wore his outfit decked out in knives, as it had been replaced by a white t-shirt and pants.

“five. y/n.” he looks between the two of you, slowly taking a seat across the table.

“hey, diego.” five nods at him, “you look good in white.”

leaning back in his seat, the disheveled man gives a bitter grin. “about time you two showed up.”

“how’d you know we’d be back?” five asks, an eyebrow raised.

“because that’s the kind of shit you pull.” he leans forward over the table, his eyes narrowed at the both of you.

“where are the others?” you question, not wanting them to get into some kind of argument if that was where this was leading. it’s not like you could sit here for hours.

he looks at you for a second, “they’re not with you?”

you press your lips together, a bit disheartened from the answer. you expected that the siblings would have found each other, but then again you weren’t hoping for too much.

five sighs, looking to the white walls before turning his gaze to the table. “we’ll find them.” he looks back up to him, “how long have you been here?”

“seventy-five days.” he stares down, tilting his head to the side slightly, “landed in the alley behind commerce and knox.” five says the names at the same time as him, pursing his lips and nodding as he glances to you. diego raises an eyebrow, “what about you?”

“got here this morning.” five straightens his uniform jacket, and the other man looks at you.

“you don’t look like you got here this morning.” he points out your outfit, which was no longer the same uniform you had stolen from either of the girls’ old wardrobe.

sighing softly, you look down at the sweater you had taken for a second. “i got here a few months back. didn’t know you were in here, though.” you chuckle, looking around the visiting room, “probably would’ve come to see you before now. nice place.” you grin.

diego grunts slightly, looking back to five. “how did you find me?”

five lets out a breathy chuckle, pulling the newspaper page out of his pocket. “disturbed man with multiple knives arrested outside ten twenty-six north beckley.” diego falls back in his chair once again, a grin on his face as the younger looking boy pushes the paper across the table. “that’s lee harvey oswald’s house.” he points out, his eyebrows raising. “care to explain?”

diego laughs softly, “let’s just say, dallas law enforcement has not been supportive of my attempt to stop the assassination of...” he leans over the table, his voice dropping in volume, “john f kennedy...”

you roll your eyes, leaning in just as he had. “that’s because it hasn’t happened yet.” your voice is at the same level as his as you raise an eyebrow at him.

“and it’s not going to happen. not on my watch.” he shakes his head before taking a quick glance at the guard standing in the corner of the room, watching the conversation. “look, i’ve been shaving down the bars in my room. another day or two and i’ll be out of this place, then i’m gonna stop oswald and save the president. you want in,” he gives a discreet wink, “say the word.”

five narrows his eyes at him, “listen to me very closely, you gibbering moron. you are not gonna do a goddamn thing.”

“why not?” diego challenges, tilting his head with a grin.

“because we have to stop the apocalypse.” you mutter softly to him, and you realize that you all probably look suspicious with how you’re all leaning so close together. you would question it if you were either of the people watching, but they didn’t so you ignored it.

“no shit,” he speaks through gritted teeth, “but that doesn’t happen for another sixty years.”

five sighs softly, “not that apocalypse. this is a new one, it followed us.” he glances to the table, “i’ve seen it. nuclear war, in ten days.”

diego grins after looking at him for a moment, laughing softly as he sits back in his chair. with his arms crossed over his chest, he looks between you two. “and i’m the one they locked up, huh?” he shakes his head, “fine, i’ll play along. what causes it?”

five scoffs, “i don’t know.” he tells him in exasperation, taking in a sharp breath through his teeth, “maybe some looney-tuned asshole with a hero complex tried to save the president and screwed everything up.”

“so you’re saying it worked?” diego raises his eyebrows, a triumphant smirk on his face, “i saved the president? i knew i could do it.” he nods as he looks back and forth, his eyes wide. he really had gone crazy in here, and it showed. he balls his hands into fists as he looks at the two of you, “okay, okay, i’ll help you-” five is about to sigh in relief, but he continues, “-after i save the president. then you swing us back a few decades so i can slit hitler’s throat with a butter knife.”

you nearly bang your head into the table, not wanting to hear all of his nonsense. “this is why you’re locked up.” you mutter quietly, barely audible to either of them.

five clicks his tongue, “you know what?” he stands from his seat and you quickly follow suit as he grabs the guard’s attention, “my brother is plotting an escape, the bars in his room have been shaved down.”

the two men don’t waste any time in pinning him down when he tries to jump across the table at you two, seething in anger. you almost felt bad, hearing his cries for them to not use ‘the needle’, but then again, he had gone crazy.

five leans towards you, “we’ll be back for him.” you nod, sighing softly as the crazed man passes out.

taglists

main: @horrorklaus

tua: @rasberrymay @noodlextrash

five: @anapocalypseinmymind @five-hargreeves-official @insatiable-ivy @coffee-e-addict @xplrreylo @fandomfreakff @colie-babi

lstw: @aspiringwriter1 @thetrashypanda423 @lilacs-lavender @wow-lookit-all-the-fandoms @ohmyitsfaith @xplrreylo @fandomfreakff @onedollarduck @sleepygal124 @faith-quake @stripedchickens @youcandalekmyballs @pettyjayy @libidinexx @bts-chub @theoriginalkat @flowertoty @whenyouwantdeath

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calwrites · 4 years

Text

The Illusion (part 1)

Summary: Reader has tried her hardest to keep the rest of the BAU from learning about her past. When her father dies and she has to go home, her secrets might come out.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Umbrella Academy!Reader

Warnings: none

Word Count: 4.8k

This is kind of a crazy, stupid idea, but I’ve read a couple fics where the reader is like an Avenger or a vampire and the team finds out and I think they’re really fun, so I decided to give it a try. Part 2 will come out in a few days probably. I’m trying to decide how far into the show to go.

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

“Well I don’t know about you guys, but I am so ready to go home,” Derek groaned. The rest of the team echoed his sentiment as you all followed him into the small town police station that you had been in way too much this past week. You were more than ready to get back to your apartment and not talk to anyone until Monday.

In the back of your mind, you knew that Allison’s new movie had just come out. She had probably been getting ready for the premiere as you were tackling the unsub. Still, you should probably see the movie this weekend, while you had some free time without a case. Even though the premise didn’t exactly entice you, you should at least see it so you could text her about how good she was in it. It had been too long since you had talked to your sister. A few texts after the news of her divorce broke and some empty promises to hang out soon, but you hadn’t had a real conversation with her in over a year. It had been a lot longer since you had talked to the rest of your siblings, with the exception of Diego, who would appear occasionally to ask for your help in whatever “case” he was working. You had learned that it was easier to help him find whatever information he was looking for and then send him on his way. He was less likely to break into your apartment or try to hack your work computer that way.

Still, it would be nice to see Allison again, even if it was just on a screen. Your eyes flicked to Spencer before you could stop them. He invited you to so many niche events that maybe he wouldn’t question why you wanted to see the new Allison Hargreeves movie so badly or why you invited him.

You weren’t really sure if you two had been on any actual dates or if you were just two friends hanging out. He always had some reason why he was inviting you specifically. You knew Russian, so he wouldn’t have to translate the movie for you. You knew Roman comedy, so the two of you could discuss whether the performance was historically accurate. You knew Japanese art history, so you could carry out a conversation about the new exhibit. None of those reasons stopped the crush that you had on Spencer Reid.

But you couldn’t say anything. Besides the fact that he was your coworker, you couldn’t risk him getting dragged into any family drama. None of your coworkers knew about your family. As far as anyone was aware, you didn’t have a good relationship with your family, and you certainly didn’t like to talk about them. They probably had their own theories about why. What had your family done that made you not flinch when cases took a turn like this last one did? Why weren’t you surprised that a father could kill his child and then pretend to be the picture of grief? Because as far as you were concerned, your father had killed two of his children and had killed everything good about the other six.

These thoughts ran silently through your head as you helped the team pack everything up. Soon, you would be on the jet, heading back to DC. And tomorrow, you would see your sister’s new movie. Hopefully, with Spencer.

A noise from the TV in the corner of the station shook you out of your thoughts. Breaking news, apparently. You turned back to the papers you were organizing, prepared to ignore whatever celebrity cheating scandal they were about to break.

“...the death of the world’s most eccentric and reclusive billionaire…”

The words made your breath catch. There was only one person they could be talking about. You made yourself look at the TV. Staring back at you was your father’s face. Or a picture of it, at least. Though really, you saw pictures of your father more than you had ever actually seen your father in person.

“Wow.” JJ’s voice beside you startled you a bit. “Reginald Hargreeves. I haven’t thought about him in forever.”

“I can’t believe he died. I kind of assumed he would live forever,” Emily said from your other side. It seemed the TV had caught everyone’s attention. “I mean, he was a crazy billionaire. Aren’t they supposed to find the secret to eternal life?”

“Y/N, are you okay?” You met Spencer’s kind eyes, but couldn’t find any words for a few seconds. Finally, you managed a smile.

“Of course. It’s just kind of shocking, I guess. Why?”

“You’re rubbing your arm. You do that when you’re upset.” You hadn’t even realized that you were doing it again. Had you always done it? You must have, if Spencer had noticed.

You could still remember the first time. It was a few days after you had gotten the stupid tattoo. Your skin was still sore, but you had scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to get the tattoo to wash off, until your skin was red and raw. You knew it wouldn’t wash off. You knew, yet you tried constantly. Even now, apparently. Now your father was dead and you would still have that stupid tattoo that marked you as one of his. As one of the Umbrella Academy kids. A freak. A soldier. A pawn.

Shaking your head a bit to clear your thoughts, you looked at Spencer. “I think I’m just ready to be home. It’s been a long case, and this is weird news to get at the end of it. I’m just tired.”

You weren’t sure if Spencer believed you, but he nodded and didn’t question it. The team continued packing up in silence. It wasn’t until you were back on the jet that anyone brought it up again.

“So who was your favorite Umbrella Academy kid?” Derek asked, breaking the silence of the jet.

“Let me guess, yours was Spaceboy. You wanted to be super strong like him,” Emily teased lightly.

“For your information, my favorite was The Kraken. If he was that good with knives, imagine how good he would be throwing a football,” Derek corrected her, an easy smile on his face. How strange that everyone else could talk so casually about them. Of course, as far your team was concerned, they were just names and faces from TV or trading cards. They weren’t real people.

“Well I wanted to be The Rumor. Imagine how much easier sneaking out would be if you could just tell your parents to let you go.” Emily laughed as she said it. She didn’t understand how easy it was to get caught up in that power. You had seen it happen, though.

“I always liked The Illusion. I mean, making people see whatever you wanted them to would be so cool. Plus, reading minds would be helpful. It would make interrogations go a lot quicker.” It was only because of years of practice that you didn’t react to JJ’s words. The rest of the team began discussing how helpful it would be to be able to read an unsub’s mind. Not that you would know. You refused to do it.

“Project your consciousness into their brain. Know their thoughts. See what they see.”

Those words were some of your earliest memories. You would stand across from one of your siblings, reading their thoughts, seeing through their eyes, hearing through their ears, feeling what they felt, while your father kept repeating those words. That was before you had realized the true extent of your powers.

“Y/N, who was your favorite?” You blinked in surprise at Derek’s question. Everyone’s eyes were on you.

“It changed, I guess.” It was a lame answer, but they accepted it and continued to argue amongst themselves about who was the best. It was the truth, though. You had always been close with Allison. That had never changed. The girls had to stick together. You guessed that you were probably close to Vanya when you were younger, but you saw her less and less as you got older and training began to occupy more of your time. You certainly weren’t close to her now. Not after what she had written about you.

You and Five had been close for a time. Both of you were desperate to prove to your father that you were more powerful than he thought. That you weren’t worthless just because you were on the lower half of the rankings. But then Five had disappeared, and you discovered a new aspect of your powers.

It was because of Luther. A few weeks had passed since Five’s disappearance, and Luther, in a horrible attempt to “be a leader” and “boost morale” had said that Five brought the disappearance on himself because he hadn’t listened when Dad told him not to try time travelling. Something in you had snapped. You wanted Luther to experience what you had imagined Five did. Lost in darkness, unsure of where or when you were. Just an expanse of nothingness.

You didn’t even know you were doing it at first, but Luther started to scream. It was over as quick as it began, thanks to the shock of Luther’s yell. He shivered as he explained that suddenly he couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything. It was like nothingness. Luther never quite forgave you for that, but you would never forget the joyful look in your father’s eyes as he realized that it was your doing. That not only could you tap into another person’s brain. You could manipulate it.

But it was harder to control. And after you accidentally left one criminal permanently blind, you were scared of your powers. Klaus and Ben understood how you felt, and the three of you became inseparable. Even after Ben died, that didn’t change. None of your siblings knew that Ben was still around, but you did. Klaus would let you use his eyes and ears so that you could talk to Ben. You missed them. Klaus would show up at your apartment sometimes, looking for money. You would get him to stay for a few days and take some time off work so you could watch him. The three of you would hang out like old times. But eventually you would have to go back to work, and you would come back to find an empty apartment and missing cash.

Despite the fact that Diego was the one you talked to most often now, you two hadn’t gotten along as children. There were rare times when you would click, but for the most part it was constant bickering. You two were too much alike. Quick to anger and slow to forgive.

You were stuck in these memories for the rest of the flight. No one said anything about your silence, but you did feel Spencer’s gaze on you often. You continued to rub your arm, like you would be able to rub off the tattoo that was always covered by your sleeve.

Most of the team left the office pretty quickly once you arrived back in DC. They dropped off whatever needed to be dropped off, then headed home. You lingered, wanting to catch Hotch alone. It would be easier if there was no one around to question what you needed to talk to him about.

“Do you want me to wait up, Y/N? We can take the metro back together.” You smiled genuinely at Spencer’s question. The two of you lived close to each other, so you often left together, either carpooling or taking the metro together.

“No, it’s fine. I need to talk to Hotch before I leave. I’ll see you soon.” Spencer gave you a small wave as he left. You watched him go, feeling strangely sad. How you wished you could walk out with him and ask if he wanted to go see a movie tomorrow night. It seemed so long ago when that had been your plan.

“Hotch.” You knocked on his door, waiting for his answer before opening the door. He was looking over paperwork, as usual, and barely looked up when you came in. “I was wondering if I could have a few days off.”

That made him look up, his eyes drilling into yours. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” No. “I just need a few days. I don’t want to be gone long. It’s my brother.” It was the same thing you said whenever Klaus or Diego showed up. You waited for Hotch’s answer, a carefully blank look on your face. There were always a few seconds where you would worry that he had somehow figured out who you were. That the fake last name and fake childhood records weren’t enough. But they always were.

“Of course, Y/L/N. Take as much time as you need. And we’re here if you need anything.”

“Thank you, sir.” You smiled at him as you walked out of his office, though smiling was the last thing you wanted to do. Now you had no reason not to go back home. You would have to try to mourn your father. You would have to see your siblings.

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

The house looked exactly like you remembered. Big and empty. The sound of the door echoed as it closed behind you. You wondered if anyone else was here yet. You heard the steps of someone walking towards the entryway. Allison, if you had to guess, based on the footsteps.

“Y/N!” You were right. The smile that lit up your face was mirrored on Allison’s as you two rushed to hug each other. “I’ve missed you.”

“You too. I hope you don’t mind if I don’t make it to your movie this weekend.” The two of you laughed for a few seconds before remembering why you were there. “How are you doing?”

Allison shrugged and shook her head slightly. “I already lost my husband and I’m not allowed to talk to my daughter. Now my father is dead. It’s been a rough year. How are you? How’s the genius you’re almost dating?”

“I’m good. We just finished a rough case yesterday, so I’m a little bummed that I don’t get to relax this weekend. Spencer is also good. The other week we went to a shadow puppet theater festival. He said that he was glad he had a friend who was willing to go to stuff like that with him, so I don’t think he’s interested in me.”

Allison linked her arm through yours. You walked slowly through the halls, not talking. It was comforting enough just being with someone who understood what you were going through. With Allison, actions spoke louder than words.

“Is anyone else here yet?”

“Diego and Luther. I haven’t seen Klaus or Vanya. Who knows if they’ll show up.”

“Klaus will show up if he knows about it and isn’t in rehab. I wouldn’t be surprised if Vanya doesn’t show. She’s already said a lot about Dad. I don’t know if she has anything more to add.”

“You’re still mad.” It wasn’t a question, but you nodded anyway. “You know how excluded Vanya was growing up. Can you blame her?”

“That wasn’t our fault. If she wanted to tell her story, that’s fine. If she wanted to drag Dad’s name through the mud, that’s fine. He more than deserved it. She didn’t need to write about the rest of us though. I mean, my coworkers read that book. One detail that’s too specific and they could have figured out who I am. ‘So desperate to prove that she’s worthy of being called a hero that even now she devotes her life to fighting crime.’ She might as well have told everyone that I’m an FBI agent. I’ve tried so hard to build a normal life, and she could have ruined it all.”

A car pulled up outside the house as we passed by a window. You paused, watching as Vanya got out of the back. “Speak of the devil.”

Allison gave you a disapproving look. “I’m going to go see her. Coming?”

“Definitely not. I’ll see you later.” You could hear the door open and Vanya’s voice come floating up. You continued walking until you found myself outside of your father’s room. You could hear the floor creaking inside. Too heavy to be Diego. Must be Luther.

“What are you doing?” You asked as you walked into the room. Luther was standing by your dad’s bed, inspecting it. He was a lot bigger than the last time you had seen him. And his mind seemed to be screaming about why. You tried not to read his thoughts, but Luther’s head had always been a bit of an open book.

“This is where he died. Where Pogo found him.” Didn’t really explain what he was doing, but you could guess.

“No sign of a struggle.” You walked over to a window. It was locked. All of the windows were locked. “No sign of forced entry. No way someone could sneak in without Pogo or Mom knowing.”

“She’s right.” Diego entered. His eyes widened when he saw Luther. “Oh, you got big, Luther. What’s the secret, huh? Protein shakes? Low carbs?”

“What do you want?”

Diego pulled some paper from his pocket, holding it out to Luther. “The autopsy report.” Of course, being Diego, he pulled it back when Luther reached for it. Anything to rile up Luther.

“And you have this why?”

“Well, that’s because I broke into the coroner’s office. And surprise, surprise, Dad’s death was normal.”

“Y/N, he’s not allowed to do that,” Luther said, pointing an accusing finger at Diego as he looked at you. “You’re an FBI agent. Arrest him.”

“I’m not arresting my brother at Dad’s funeral. And I’m not on the clock. Grow up, Luther.” You took the report from Luther, glancing over it quickly. Heart failure. Normal. No reason to question it. But Luther would, and you didn’t want to be there when he and Diego started to fight. “I’ll leave you boys to it. I’m going to see if I can find Klaus.”

You left quickly. Where would Klaus go if he was here? You rolled your eyes when you realized the obvious answer. Dad’s office. Not only would there be valuables there, it would also be like giving the old man a giant middle finger. Typical Klaus.

Sure enough, you could hear him rummaging around the desk before you could see him. “Looking for something?” His head popped up, a grin splitting his face when he saw you. You wouldn’t stop him from taking anything, and he knew it. You didn’t need to enter his mind to know that he was high. You could see it in his eyes just as clearly as you could see the fresh rehab bracelet on his wrist. “Fresh out of rehab and already high? I don’t know how you manage it.”

“I guess I’m just incredible.” You rolled your eyes at him, but still accepted his hug with a smile.

“I know that this is hard for you, but Ben should be here. Even if the others can’t see him. He should get a chance to say goodbye.”

Klaus’s eyes were glued to the floor as he spoke. “I know.”

You didn’t get a chance to say anything else before Allison came in. It was nice, just the three of you. You three never fought. Mostly, you and Allison used to just laugh at whatever bit Klaus was doing.

“Number Three,” he was saying in a bad impression of your father’s voice when he was interrupted by Luther.

“Get out of his chair.” Of course. Perfect Number One was still so worried about following your father’s orders. Even now, he made Klaus empty his pockets as the two of you tried to leave so Luther and Allison could talk in private. But once you two were out of the room, you grinned and handed Klaus some things that you had snuck in your pockets before Luther came in. Nothing important or too valuable. It was really just a gesture to tell Klaus that you were on his side.

“And whatever is in your pants, make sure it’s nothing important before you sell it.” Being Klaus, he pretended to have no idea what you were talking about, but he shot you a wink before he wandered away.

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

You stood at the bar next to Klaus, wondering who was going to speak first. Your money was on Luther. You accepted the drink that Klaus handed you without bothering to ask what it was. Any alcohol would help you get through this.

“I guess we should get this started.” You were right. You took a seat as Luther stood up. You mostly tuned Luther out, as you always had. He was talking about scattering your father’s ashes.

“Dad had a favorite spot?” Allison asked.

“You know under the oak tree.” Everyone looked blankly at Luther. You remembered watching your father and Luther talking there when you were younger. It used to make you jealous. Now, it just made you mad. “We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?”

“No, Luther. We didn’t. He didn’t like any of us.” You gestured to the rest of your siblings as you spoke. You shouldn’t be doing this. You shouldn’t be lashing out. You were an FBI agent. Surely you were better than that. But there was something about being in this house with your siblings with the focus on your father that turned you into a child again.

And it didn’t matter whether you added fuel to the fire or not. Someone was bound to set everything off.

“Listen up. There’s still some important things we need to discuss.”

“Like what?” Diego asked. You knew what Luther was going to say before he said anything.

“Like the way he died.”

“And here we go,” Diego muttered.

“I don’t understand. I thought they said it was a heart attack,” Vanya said, confusion evident in her voice.

“Yeah according to the coroner.”

“Well wouldn’t they know?” You hated to agree with Vanya, but you had to.

“Luther thinks that there was foul play,” you explained. “However, there was no sign of forced entry and no sign of a struggle.”

“Well, Y/N is an FBI agent. Why don’t you trust her?” Allison asked Luther.

“Look, I’m just saying something happened. The last time I talked to Dad, he sounded strange.”

“Oh, quelle surprise,” Klaus interjected as he gurgled his drink. That wouldn’t help Luther’s anger.

“Strange how?” Allison asked.

“He sounded on edge,” Luther explained. “Told me I should be careful who to trust.”

“Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man, who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles.” Of course, Luther defended your father before turning to Klaus.

“Look, I know you don’t like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad.”

Klaus laughed. “No I can’t. I’m not in the right frame of mind.”

“You’re high?” You didn’t know how Allison was surprised. It was obvious.

“Then there’s the issue of the missing monocle.”

“Who cares about a stupid monocle, Luther?” you groaned. You noticed the way Diego’s face shifted for a second. So he had the monocle. Or he at least knew what happened to it. “No one is going to break in without alerting Mom or Pogo, kill Dad and make it look an accident, then take the stupid monocle. No one that smart would be that dumb.”

“Exactly! It’s worthless. Whoever took it, I think it was personal. Someone with a grudge.”

“Where are you going with this?”

You shook your head as Diego said what you were thinking. “Isn’t it obvious, Klaus? He thinks one of us killed Dad.” The stunned faces of your siblings looked at Luther. You shook your head in disgust.

“Way to lead, Luther,” you said sarcastically. Allison and Vanya both got up and left the room.

“Can you blame me? I mean, you’ve never tried to hide how much you hate Dad. And Diego’s some sort of vigilante now. Both of you could easily sneak in and kill him.”

“You’re crazy, man. You’re crazy.” Klaus shook his head as he got up and headed back to the bar.

“I can’t believe you, Luther.”

“Do us all a favor and go back to the moon, monkey boy.” Luther’s eyes widened at my words before his face turned red with anger.

“Get out of my head,” he growled.

“I don’t need to be in your head to figure it out. Besides, your brain is so empty that your thoughts come floating out begging to be heard.”

“Neither of you are denying it,” Luther said finally. You threw your hands up and Diego stood up suddenly.

“Why would either of us decide to kill Dad now. What’s the trigger? It doesn't make sense. Unlike you, Luther, we moved on with our lives,” you explained slowly, like he was a child.

“Don’t talk down to me just because you’re an FBI agent.”

“You think there’s a murder. I catch serial killers. You should be begging for my help.”

“Unless he thinks the two of us teamed up to kill Dad,” Diego said. The two of you turned to look at Luther. He at least had the decency to look a little ashamed that he was thinking that exact thing. At that point, everyone’s voices had risen so much that you barely noticed the knock at the door.

“I’m out of here,” Diego said softly when Luther didn’t respond.

“No you’re not. Not until we figure out what happened.” Luther grabbed Diego’s arm, so Diego, of course, punched Luther in the face. Within a few seconds, they were fighting in earnest. Diego had his knives out and everything.

“Oh, you guys, don’t do this now,” Klaus whined from the bar. “Y/N, will you do something? Take away their sight or something. I’m too sober for this.”

You hadn’t used your powers in years. Ideally, Allison would come in and rumor them to stop, but you didn’t know where she had gone. Taking a deep breath, you focused your consciousness like your father had taught you. You were careful to only enter Diego’s and Luther’s minds, leaving Klaus out of it.

Darkness.

You focused on darkness, blocking out everything that your brothers were seeing. You could do this. You could control it, at least until Allison was back. Of course, being unable to see didn’t stop your brothers from blundering around.

“Y/N, stop!” Luther’s words were accompanied by a sharp blow to the back of your head. “Oh no, Y/N, I didn’t know you were right there. I can’t see anything. Just stop this, Y/N.”

“I’m just trying to stop you two from destroying the house. Besides, isn’t this a great way to honor Dad’s memory? Fighting with each other is what he always made us do.” You tried to stand back up, but your head was spinning from the blow and from the strain. There was once a time when you could hold ten people in the darkness with ease, but you weren’t used to using your powers anymore. You no longer had to spend hours each day inside other people’s minds. You could feel your control slipping, but you couldn’t stop. Your head hurt.

“Y/N!” Klaus yelled in terror. “I can’t see, Y/N.”

You had to stop. You had to stop. You couldn’t. Your head hurt and you couldn’t seem to find a way out of their minds. You were aware of other minds in the house. More than there should be. But why? And why did your head hurt so bad?

“Y/N, what are you doing? Ahhh my head!” Diego yelled. He sounded like he was in pain. You were making him feel your pain. Since when could you do that? Your Dad would have been so happy.

“I heard a rumor that you stopped.” Allison’s voice rang out. Suddenly, you were back in your own head and the splitting headache was just yours. Diego and Luther both collapsed on the floor with you. Klaus was by your side almost instantly, a new glass in hand for you, which you gulped down quickly before handing it back to him for a refill.

“Remind me not to mess with Y/N again,” Diego sighed. You met his eyes with an apologetic smile. It felt so much like you were kids who got a little carried away during training.

“I guess I got a little carried away.” The two of you laughed, and even Luther joined in eventually. The laughter stopped abruptly when a new voice spoke.

“Y/N?”

#spencer reid #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fic #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds fluff #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds fic #spencer reid x y/n #calwrites

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retvenkos · 4 years

Text

“you realize you have enough late fees to pay for this book twice over, right?”

requested

A MODERN! LIBRARY! AU WITH THE PEVENSIES? UMM... YES. THAT HAS TO GO LIKE THIS...

the pevensies first started frequenting the library after they came back from narnia

it was susan’s idea - none of them really knew this world anymore and so, maybe, if they read about it, things would come back to them and they’ll feel more comfortable in this place

edmund teased her, saying she just wanted to quiz him on the dictionary, again.

but, really, he liked the idea. he felt comfortable amongst the endless shelves, it was like he was in the libraries in cair paravel, again, and he was home

and even when they had adjusted to england and had no reason to go back, anymore, they kept going

it was routine at this point - the only time all of them were really together, talking about their lives and all that had happened

and as the years passed by, it felt like a home away from home - a place in england that was t h e i r s

they weren’t sure where they belonged, anymore, but the library was a good a place as any

peter found himself again in the stories of king arthur and the histories of battles and sacrifices - those things that lie heavy on the chests of anyone else.

he loves audio books and documentaries - things he can listen to. he loves to hear it - the interest in people’s voices, the sympathy, the words they use.

he has his headphones in 99.99% of the time, and lucy will sneak up on him to scare him.

he has been kicked out of the library several times, thanks lucy

and edmund? love of mysteries

he went through a sherlock holmes phase. susan watched sherlock with him and they would argue over theories

lucy told him once that he looked like benedict cumberbatch and it was single handedly the best compliment he had ever received (for the time, anyway).

he also got into a few of the classics

he read don quixote and loved it, don’t lie to yourself

he is also constantly checking out rosetta stones - edmund loves languages and you can pry that concept from my cold, dead hands

susan was able to distract herself with love stories, magazines, and other classics

jane austen? yep. susan loved her.

she would browse a lot, taking her time before deciding on anything

she also loved using the computers

she always has some passion to look up or another, and it was easier to use the computers to look something up than to search for a book.

when she knew what she wanted, susan went after it. when she wasn’t sure, she browsed.

lucy, on the other hand, loved ya fiction

the action? the romantic subplots? they were her obsession.

and sometimes susan would read one with lucy and they would talk about it, but no one ever found out. susan would rather die than tell edmund she was team edward

and no, i never read twilight but i have seen the films and susan was team edward i don’t make the rules

lucy also chronically checks out movies at the library and then forgets to take them back until a week after they’re due

and edmund will tell her it’s on netflix, she doesn’t need to check it out, but she says she likes a hard copy, sue her.

she eventually gets into comics, and she and edmund read them together

oh, i guess i should address when you come into the picture

so you work at the library and it doesn’t take you long until you have met the pevensies and have chatted with this chaotic but surprisingly functional family

they’re only in their mid twenties, but they have the dynamic of 40-50 year old siblings?

clearly i’m ignoring their fatal end because we only want fluff, here

all of your coworkers agree that they have those very specific vibes.

and you find these frequents odd and amusing - no one in their age bracket really comes to the library frequently, but this family is constantly here.

i mean, it’s great because their traction is much needed, but it’s just confusing.

the easiest pevensie to talk to is peter, if you ever catch him without his headphones in

he’s just super chummy with everyone he meets and when you first talk to him, he feels like an older brother

he has the c h a r i s m a

“you and your siblings come here, a lot.”

“yeah, there’s a lot of sentimental value, here. this place... it helped us find ourselves, once.”

“well, there’s not better way to know yourself than between pages. books have a way of changing your perspective.”

“but they can also help you erase who you once were.”

and you notice him looking at susan

so you not-so masterfully change the subject

“do you realize how many fines you have?”

but it works

“they’re edmund’s, trust me.”

the second easiest to talk to is lucy - peter may have a natural charisma, but lucy is just kind and pleasant to chat with

she’ll talk to you about anything and everything, even if she has zero idea what you’re talking about

but that’s kind of hard because the amount of collective knowledge the pevensie’s have is insane.

and lucy is definitely the sibling you can befriend the quickest, the gateway to the rest of the pevensies because you just feels so comfortable around her

she introduces you to susan and edmund, and you’re actually able to hit it off with them, too?

the pevensies are great at talking to strangers and i just,,, can they pLEASE teach me their ways???

it’s all those years of being kings and queen, talking to other diplomats, being generally sociable

anyway, you start to hang out with them outside of the library, too, after you’ve formed a bit of a friendship

and maybe you have a particular soft spot for edmund...

and the pevensies start to tell you more of their stories - those that happened to them when they were young, when they were kind of odd - like adults in a child’s body

and you can see susan stiffen with each subsequent story, and you think back to what peter said to you, once...

“but they can also help you erase who you once were”

and so you decide to talk about those stories with edmund, when the two of you are hanging out alone

and you not-so masterfully change the subject

“have any of you watched harry potter, recently? i get big harry potter vibes from all of your stories.”

and lucy and peter are vvv excited, because they used to read harry potter with each other and love it a whole lot

and later, edmund tells you about narnia, about susan not believing, and about where they are, now

coping

all of them

and you nod your head understandingly

“if you ever need me, you know where to find me.”

“yeah.”

“but wouldn’t it be wonderful if they were stories?”

“for others to read?”

“yeah - like story books.”

“yeah... that would be nice.”

and one night, when all of the pevensies are together and susan has gone to the bathroom, edmund tells his siblings about your idea. about writing about narnia... as though it were a story.

and susan hears through the door.

and maybe she puts her english major to use, writing down a story she tries desperately to believe isn’t real

AND FLUFF ENSUES.

-- taglist: @musicallisto, @babyplutoszx2, @locke-writes, @brokenandheadoverheels // message me if you want to be added to the taglist!

#chronicles of narnia #narnia #the pevensies #edmund pevensie #peter pevensie #susan pevensie #lucy pevensie #x reader #reader insert #x you #platonic #platonic!reader #imagine #would include #headcanons #fluff

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volturicangetit · 4 years

Text

A.V/J.V- Loved at last

Summary: After getting rejected by your imprints, Emmett and Rosalie, you needed a fresh start. So you go to Italy where you meet two interesting vampires. Maybe they can show you what’s it’s like to be loved.

Reqeust: YES/no @rexburn12 : Where Male Reader Was Banished From La Push For Imprinting On Emmett, and Rosalie They Reject Him Which Almost Kills Him, and Makes Reader Extremely Sad and Reader Moves To Volterra, Italy To Work As A Mechanic. Alec and Jane Smell A Amazing Scent They Follow It To See Their Mate Reader At Home Who Looks Sad Which Makes Them Growl in Anger and It Catches Reader's Attention He Looks At Them, and Imprints On Them Making Him Shocked. Since Imprinting Is A One Time Thing For Shifters.

Warnings: swearing, self hate

Wordcount: 3226

A/N: I’m turning 17 tomorrow ( may 19 )! I can’t really celebrate my birthday but at least I can celebrate it with my parents and siblings. Also I’m born on the same day as Jojo Siwa so that....nice?

PART TWO

MASTERLIST

Saying that you ' hate yourself ' can't even express the amount of disgust you feel towards yourself. You know that it's something you can't control, something that isn't a choice. But still feel like it's your fault that you imprinted on not one, but two vampires. You didn't even know that it was possible to imprint on something that died decades ago. The fact that they both rejected you didn't help. You knew that they wouldn't love you but you were hoping to at least be friends.

" You fucking what? " Rosalie screams at the top of her dead lungs. You flinch as she takes a step towards you, lowering your head. " They can't control it, " Carlisle tries to reason, but Rosalie and Emmett ignore him. You feel Emmet wrap his hands around you and lift you off the ground. Within a second you're outside of the house where he roughly pushes you onto the ground, right into the mud. You sit there on your hands and knees trying to regain yourself which is very fucking difficult when your covered in mud and getting soaked slowly by the rain pouring down on you. It was like the universe wanted you to suffer even more.

" Did you seriously think that we would accept you? You're a fucking dog. " Rosalie says as she and Emmet are standing on their porch. It's only now that you see the contrast between you all. They're standing dry in their expensive house while you're laying in the mud, which comforts you for some odd reason. You stand up quickly, pushes some of the rain of off your face.

" Please, you know I wouldn't have come here if I could just go without you. ". Your voice cracks at every word. You came here vulnerable and onto the land of your enemies. If Sam knows that you're here, he will rip your head off. Emmett shakes his head but doesn't say anything. He can't bring himself to do so. Sure, he wants to scream at you. To yell some words at you he knows he's going to regret but it's like his mind has shut off. Rosalie, on the other hand, can't stop the words from flowing out. " Go away, you disgusting thing. "

You let yourself slide down the side onto the floor of your shower. The water streaming down onto your already burning skin is way too hot, yet you don't care. You don't deserve nice warm showers. No, you deserve scolding hot showers that makes your skin feel like it's going to fall off. A sob breaks out of your body, causing your shoulder to rumble along with it. You tried so hard to stop yourself from crying. But now you let it all out. Every emotion, every pent up bit of anger, every sad thought. It all comes it whether you want it to or not. Whines and groans come out of your mouth along with the sobs. You know the other pack members can hear you, not just crying, but also through your mental bond. Their voices and questions of concern are being blocked out by you. The only thing you can hear if your own sobbing and a dull ringing in your ears.

You don't know how long you've sat in the shower, but you do know that you're going to have a ridiculously high water bill this month. When you get out of the shower and have gotten dressed in a simple pair of sweat pants and a sweater you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. You stop in your track and stare at your own reflection. Your face seems foreign to you. Your normally gleeful eyes are now puffy and look so sickly that you might as well be dead. Your lips are broken from all the screaming and biting at them you've done. It looks weird to see yourself look so broken, but then again, it is said that rejection by your imprint is sometimes not even survived. " What's going on? ". You jump a little as you quickly turn around to see Paul standing behind you. He's leaning against the doorframe, glancing between you and the mirror. " Nothing, you lie. ".

" Oh, come one. We can hear your thoughts, remember? " he says as he taps his temple with his pointer finger. You nod, still looking down at the ground. When you remain quiet, Paul sighs and pulls you into a hug. You freeze at first. He never hugged you, or anyone for that matter. " Those bloodsuckers rejected you? ". You nod as you bury your face into his chest. You needed this. A hug, to help ground you and get you back to reality. " They don't deserve you, you know? ".

" I think I...I think I need to go away for a while, " you keep your voice soft while you speak to try and keep it from cracking. Paul nods before he lets his chin rest on top of your head. " How about Italy? The weather is a lot better there. I know some people there, " Paul suggests. You pull him closer to you. Italy. Nice, warm Italy. Away from Emmett and Rosalie, away from the pack. It will hurt like shit, but it's the best for you. A fresh start. A normal life. No vampires living right next door, no pack fights, no drama between Jacob, Bella and Edward. Just you and Italy. " Yeah, it sounds nice, "

---

Two months. Two months without cloudly Forks. It has done you good. Extremely good. You didn't realize how depressed that place made you until you left. The moment you felt the comforting Italian sun hit your skin was the moment you knew you made the right choice. You didn't talk to Paul's friends a lot. You got a place of your own after a couple of weeks, due to how small the town was everyone who was trying to sell their house was practically begging you to buy their house. You picked up your hobby of tinkering again, now using to be a mechanic though. The town needed one so you were happy to oblige. It was refreshing to have new faces around and a new environment. The sadness that once had its grip on your has disappeared, now only present in dark memories.

You pick up an apple that is laying on your kitchen table before making your way out of your house and towards your work. Not many costumers would come in, if at all. A festival is being celebrated in a nearby town. Naturally, almost everyone in the village has gone there to have a party. You didn't want to do that though, be around people and all. Plus this new free time would give you time to catch up with work and make some preparations for the next day. The walk to your work is short, yet you still enjoy it every day. Back in Forks, you hated the sound of the birds singing but here you enjoy it so much. The birds sing a different song here. One of joy instead of sadness.

" Buongiorno, " you say to your coworker as you walk into the store. Your Italian is far from perfect but it's getting better every day. " Come va? " your coworker, Piero, asks. " Bene. And you? ". He just nods at you with a smile before he resumes to fix what looks like a clock. You really couldn't tell though, most things that come to the store for fixing are broken beyond recognition. You sit down at your workspace and take in the mess that is laying before you. You need to clean that, definitely. You have enough time today to do so anyways

Going for a stroll through the city isn't something the twins would normally do but today was an exception. A sudden rainstorm has been hovering over the area, blocking out the sun and allowing them to go outside without fear. That and the fact that most inhabitants of San Cipriano were now in Volterra for the festival. They dressed down, replacing their usual robes with a dress in Jane's case and jeans and a sweater for Alec. They talked about normal things like the new store that just opened up down the block and books they've read. It feels nice to them to feel so normal. Anyone who saw them would think that they are just a brother and sister enjoying the cool afternoon weather and not two vampires who work for the three kings.

" They have this machine that can induce dreams, " Alec says as he tries to explain the plot of ' Inception ' to Jane. She nods as she only half listens to his story, more focussed on watching a group of children play hide and seek on the other side of the road. The two siblings are sitting on a bench right next to the cemetery, ironically enough. " Sounds fascinating, " Janes says.

Alec nods before resuming his explanation. Jane enjoys seeing her brother so happy. They were both way too serious for their age, not having enjoyed their childhood years as they should have. Seeing him so passionate and happy about something surely put a smile on her face. Alec stops his words however when a sudden gust of winds blows a particularly sweet smell towards them. Both siblings look at each other as they inhale the scent. " Apple, " Jane says

" And rust. Delicious, " Alec adds. Jane slowly points towards the direction of your store. Alec nods and stands up from the bench, getting what his sister means. Both twins slowly stroll to your shop, they want to see who this scent is coming from but at the same time are to content to feel any sort of rush.

The sound of a bell ringing notifies you that someone entered the shop. " Un momento! " you call out from the back of the shop. You quickly wipe the oil that has been building up of your hands with a cloth before making your way to the front of the store to help the new costumers out. The moment you lay your eyes on the twins is when the world stops. You'd be lying to say that they aren't beautiful. Every birthmark on their skins seems so perfect that it has had to be placed there by the angels themselves. A sudden rush of adrenaline fills your body. Every detail about them become highlighted. You know this feeling, you know what this means. You didn't think you could imprint again but here you are, imprinting on the twins. Apparently, your wolf seems to have a preference for imprinting on duos. " I...I...Can I.... ". Your mind can't seem to form words at the moment. It's too busy with taking the twins in, to memorise every single thing about them.

The moment your mind starts to get clearer, you can start to smell them. The dry, campfire-like smell that comes of them suddenly starts to make sense. Vampire. Of course, you had to imprint on vampires again. Jane and Alec also caught the hint of dog and forest in your scent, both realizing that they're in deep shit now. They know you're their mate, they didn't need to notify the other on it. The way they both feel this need to protect you and the way your scent has intoxicated them both said enough. " You're our mate, " Jane says softly. Her usually cold and stern voice now sounds honey sweet.

The realisation of the whole situation only seems to be catching up to you now. The whole two months you spent here, trying to rebuild your life and your mental health seems to be for nothing now. They will reject you. Those words seem to float around your head. You shake your head softly, feeling tears pricking up into your eyes. You take a couple of steps back and away from them. " I-I'm sorry. I can't. Not now, " you say before disappearing into the back of the shop and leaving the confused twins behind in the shop.

You can feel your wolf aching under your skin, begging to be let out. You rush out of the store through the backdoor. You chose your place of work strategically, right next to the forest, which you are very thankful for right now. You let your walls down and let the wolf in you come forth. The ache under your skin stops as your shift begins. Within seconds you're in your wolf form. Tall and frightening for most you stand there for a second, looking back at the store before making a run for it and into the forest. You sit there in your own mind, drowning in your own thoughts as the wolf takes control of your body. Normally, you would try to at least have a sliver of self-control, not now, however. Now you want nothing more than to get lost into the woods.

It doesn't feel like your in your own body, it feels like your floating above it. Memories is all your seeing. Rosalie and Emmett screaming at you. The disgusted looks in their eyes and the harsh words them threw at you without a second thought. They'll do the same. You're sure of it. How could a vampire ever love you? How could someone ever love you?

---

Wet grass brushes against your cheek. The prominent smell of dirt and daisies fills your nose. Slowly, you open your eyes. You're laying on your back, which you only realize now. You stare up at the dark sky above you. The sun is long gone. Now it's replaced by the moon and a thousand stars. It must be later than three a.m. Maybe even later. You should probably move and get inside before you catch a cold but you can't bring yourself to do so. You're to mentally and physically drained from your shift earlier this evening. After regaining yourself, you finally find the strength to get up from the grass. Every bone in your body aches as you stand up for the first time in hours. You stretch a little, getting used to your human form again. Slowly but surely you walk to your front door. The warmth that meets you the moment you open your door falls over you like a blanket. Sudden tiredness washes over you. You let out a jawn as you walk over to your living room, reading to crash on your couch.

Instead of an empty couch, you find two vampires sitting on it, the same there were in the shop earlier. " What are you doing on my house? " you ask. Your body fills with adrenaline again. A warm fuzz fills your brain now that you're around your imprints. " I'm Jane, ". You nod at her statement.

" Cool, and I'm very fucking confused about why you're in my house. ". Both twins laugh a little at your joke. " You got humour in you, alright. " Alec says. You nod, slowly walking a little more towards them. You hate that you're so drawn to them. They like us. You stop in your steps. Why could you hear Jane's thoughts? Is this another part of this weird vampire-imprint thing?

" I'm sure that you have some question, " Alec begins. You cut him off before he can finish his sentence thought. " Yeah like why two members of the Volturi are in my house. ". Both look at you with big eyes, confused as to how you know them. You throw your arms up in the air. " Oh come one, I lived in the same town as the Cullens! You guys came over like every other weekend for Bella and Edward! ".

You sit down on your couch. Letting your elbows rest on your knees so your hands can hold your head up. You let out a deep sigh. Why did this kind of shit always happen to you? " Look, I know you won't want me and that's fine. Just break the news to me, we don't have to tiptoe around it, " you say, just trying to get them to get to the point. Alec's hand is suddenly underneath your chin. He angles your head in a way so that you're looking up at him. " You think we don't want you? ". You nod.

" No, don't ever think that, " Jane says as she sits down beside you. " It's maybe a bit...unusual to have a wolf as a mate but we definitely want you. If you want us. ". You can't help the small smile from spreading onto your face. They want you. They didn't reject you or call you a dog. " Of course I want you, have you seen yourself? You're both hot. ". The twins send each other a smile. Jane gets up from the couch and stands in front of you next to Alec. She holds her hand out for you to grab. " Come home with us. ". You nod at her before grabbing her hand. Finally, you can go to a home where you're loved.

---

The ringing of the phone seems to go on so long that you're afraid you're calling won't be picked up. You wanted to call home, to tell them how well you're doing. You just hope that someone will pick up. Finally, the call gets picked up. " Hello? " Seth says on the other side of the line. " Seth! " you call out happily. The annoyance in his voice is gone in an instant and replaced by happiness. " Y/n! You called! How are you? ".

" Better than ever, " you say happily, glancing over at Jane and Alec who is standing on the other side of the room talking to Demitri and Felix. You know that they are probably listing along to your call but you don't care. " I'm really good. I um...I imprinted again. ". You wait anxiously for Seth's response. " Really? That's great! Who is it? ".

You and Seth continue to talk for another thirty minutes. Back home things are going great for him and the pack as well. Apparently, Emmett and Rosalie are really sorry but you couldn't care less about them. Not now that you have Jane and Alec. " It was nice to talk to you again. Give my greetings to the rest, yeah? Bye-bye. ". You hang up the call. Within a second, Jane and Alec are standing next to you, both giving you a questioning look.

" He's happy for me. Really happy, " you say with a bright smile on your face. Alec grabs your hand and gives you a kiss on top of your knuckles. " See, I know he would be. ". You nod at his comment. You stand there for a moment before pulling both the twins in for a hug. They wrap their arms around you. Sure, it's a little awkward to hug with three people, but it's comforting at the same time. You take in their scent. At first, you hated the smell of vampire but now it smells like home. You feel happy, truly and utterly happy. Maybe someone could love you after all.

TWILIGHT TAGLIST:

@scuzmunkie @thanossexual @prettyinblack231

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hopeshoodie · 3 years

Text

I can’t believe it took me until part 8 to do my favorite boy but

Here are the pros and cons of dating

Noah

Cons

Noah is really non confrontational, so he tends to let issues fester. It’s not that he’s trying to let things build up, it’s just that he doesn’t think they’re important enough to bring up. He won’t start a fight about them when they’ve built up, but if MC is angry about something he’ll mention that there’s a bunch of things he’s let go but not have specifics. It ends up coming out like ‘yeah well what about all the other things?!’ ‘what other things!?’ ‘I don’t remember!!’. He’s not actively keeping track of all her mistakes, he genuinely does forgive and forget, but then when tensions come to a boil he needs to point out that there has been conflict that he just ignored. He’s not trying to guilt or gaslight MC, but sometimes it feels like it. If she thinks especially little of his intentions, it feels like he’s just pulling things out of thin air to be mad instead of focusing on the issue. That’s not what he’s doing- he just doesn’t address little things until they feel like big things. But of course he hasn’t done the introspection to truly understand how doing this is hurtful or articulate that he doesn’t mean it to be.

When he and MC disagree, he lets things go wayyy too easily. This is fine if MC is a really mature, self-reflective person who can see that she’s crossed a line after the fact. But if MC is a little more selfish/immature, like Lottie, this is a huge con because he doesn’t give her accountability that would help her grow. We saw this with Hope- she wasn’t able to recognize how harmful her temper was when she was dating Noah because he never pointed it out, he just rolled over. If there’s a genuine problem- financial, emotional, logistically, he’ll ‘let it go’ until it’s a way bigger problem (and much harder to solve).

Sorry that most of these cons are about how he fights with people, but that’s what we saw in-game lol. I’d love to know more about how Lucas or Rahim fight with their partners. But when you’re arguing, Noah tends to focus on really little details of what you said instead of listening to the whole thing and getting a sense of the bigger picture. So let’s say the issue is ‘Noah, I need you to tell me when you’re borrowing my car because you took it to the gym and then it went from having enough gas to get me to work in the morning to being on empty. This morning I had to stop for gas and that made me late.” The issue there is actually ‘please tell me when you’re using my car”, but he fixates on the gas part and says “well fine I can fill up your tank”. So he focuses on little details that he can fix instead of acknowledging the actual problem.

He internalizes things so fucking hard. Yes he intellectually knows that when MC gives him feedback on things she’s talking about his BEHAVIOR and not him as a person, but he definitely feels like shit about himself if he makes a mistake and MC calls him on it. He’ll definitely beat himself up about things for weeks after it happens, and his internal dialogue in general is pretty toxic.

I can see him being a bit of a workaholic. Not in the same sense that Camilo is in Boat Party, but Noah definitely will go into the library on a day he’s scheduled to be off if he has projects to work on or will stay late because he got engrossed in research. Same thing now that the library’s closed because of COVID- it takes him two times as long to put everyone online and work from home, so he’s spending more time working than ever. He views it through the lens of the ‘greater good’- getting that display set up for the patrons is more important that seeing his wife two hours earlier because many members of the community outnumber one person. Plus he just cares so much about his work that he has a hard time seeing it as an inconvenience to other people.

He loves his family so much. Even when MC and he get married and have kids, he struggles to prioritize them over his siblings and parents. So if his little brother Arlo needs money, Noah won’t hesitate to give him a loan even if he and MC are struggling financially. If his aging mom or dad can’t live alone anymore, Noah will invite them to move in with his family, even if their house isn’t big enough to accommodate more people. I can see this being a huge point of contention, especially in that second scenario where MC would have to take on a caretaker role as well. Noah just wants to help people so bad and has a hard time saying no, so that can sometimes impede his partner.

He’s really used to living on low income, and so he has a lot of frugal habits and concessions that he thinks are normal that someone more middle or upper class might find irritating. These are all coming from my experience and things partners have complained about- but think things like only eating out once a month or refusing to turn the heat on until it’s dangerous or making his own laundry detergent. He grew up doing them out of necessity (and still does, student debt on a public librarian’s budget? I couldn’t do it), so he doesn’t realize how strange or frustrating his habits might be to someone who isn’t used to it. He also has a really hard time justifying spending excessive amounts of money, so if MC has lavish taste there’s going to be some conflict.

He doesn’t like initiating anything. Conversations, activities… you know *smirk emoji*. He will, but the ratio of when Noah suggests something to when MC does is like 1:8

My boy is beautiful, and his clothes look lovely, but he has 7 outfits that he rewears all the time. The closest thing to fashion is him putting a different button up shirt underneath his vest. It’s definitely a joke at work that he wears the same sweater, button up, and quarter length shirt just in different colors. You know that vine where the teacher walks into the room wearing the same shirt in different colors, saying the same ‘hello’ for like a million days. Noah’s coworkers remake that with him, because that’s exactly what he does.

He’s a bit of a homebody, and loves routine. For me, massive plus, I love that. But for someone who wants to party regularly or be spontaneous, I can see constantly changing plans and going out with people being really draining to Noah. He has a small group of close friends, so he’d struggle to remember MC’s friends' names if she has more than five. Don’t get me wrong, Noah will take MC to galleries and dates at least three times a month, but it has to be discussed and scheduled in advance.

Pros

Honestly, what isn’t a pro about him? Noah is a steadfast, thoughtful, and kind person. His politics are about taking care of people, providing them dignity and respect, and building community. He loves his family and is incredibly patient. He’s incredibly smart but not at all classist or condescending about it. I know this is supposed to be about how the islanders affect the person they’re dating, but oh my god he’s such a good person I love him. Let’s just say the pro for this is his positive aura.

He’s really good at group dynamics and listening, so he goes out of his way to make everyone feel heard and valued. If someone says something and no one acknowledges it, he’ll specifically engage with them so they’re not left hanging. If someone’s trying to get a word in but can’t, he’ll get everyone’s attention then say ‘so and so had an idea’. He’s not one to boisterously laugh in group settings, but he always makes eye contact and smiles if you make a joke that flops or say something he agrees with. If people are teasing about something, he picks up if it’s gone too far really easily and will gracefully change the subject/tell them to knock it off.

He’s super conscientious about respecting boundaries and ensuring the people around him are taking care of himself. If MC and him are long distance and texting after 10pm, he’ll be like “I love you, but we’ve both got to sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow”. He’ll always check and make sure people have eaten when meeting up with them, and if they haven’t he’ll insist they get food from somewhere. 100% gives you his jacket, brings you water bottles, in general just wants you to take care of yourself.

Above all else, Noah just always ensures the people around him feel safe. The last thing he’d want to do is make people uncomfortable, so safe driving, safe spaces, safe sex are all musts. He’s really good in crisis situations because he can calm people down and encourage them to think critically.

Building off of that, he’s really aware of how much of the housework is being done by who and always tries to ensure he’s doing his part. I bet that was a big thing he ripped on Rahim for- Rahim expects his woman to clean up after him and do the bulk of the domestic work, and Noah knows that’s bullshit. I think Noah likes cleaning, anyways, and will usually take laundry/disinfecting bathrooms/cleaning dishes over cooking or running errands. But the mental load of keeping track of recipes/groceries that need replenishing and keeping up with kids needs, he’s aware of the imbalance and does his part. Obvious plus, because it sounds fucking exhausting to date a man. He fucking hates vaccuming though, and will splurge on a roomba.

He has a dry sense of humor that’s very based in puns and hyperbole. Sometimes it’s hard to know when he’s joking or not, but he never makes you feel bad for missing a joke or dwells on something for too long. He absolutely subscribes to the Mcelroys’ No Bummers rule, there are some things you don’t joke about and he’s happy to shut down inappropriate comments or ‘jokes’. He definitely prefers physical gaffs and dumb ways of saying things, so his favorite comedians are John Mulaney and Chris Fleming. While humor isn’t an important part of how he relates to other people, Noah enjoys being around funny people and won’t shut down their energy like Rahim, Marisol, or Hope.

This is just me projecting again but Noah is generoussss. Even though he doesn’t make a lot of money at the library, he still has a ‘mutual aid’ budget each month (and goes over it often). He’s the first one to give money to panhandlers, donate to gofundmes, and give friends/family personal loans. That definitely gets him into sticky situations sometimes, because he has a hard time saying no and can get taken advantage of, but ultimately I think it’s a pro because he’ll never forget where he came from and always prioritize helping other people.

He has a really pretty, deep singing voice and this is a pro to me because fuck I meltttttt.

The shit he says to his partner or spouse? THE most romantic thing in the world. You think Mr. “you’re made of stardust” doesn’t shower his lover with the most meaningful lines at random times? You think he’s not quoting sappho and jane austen when he’s at a loss for words? You think he’s NOT going to turn over in bed on a lazy Saturday and say ‘this is the most perfect my life will ever be’? It’s not even prompted either, yes he’ll compliment Bobby or MC when they get all dressed up for date night, but more often he’ll profess his adoration in the middle of dinner, then take another forkful of food.

Fantastic with kids, and this is a huge pro because people who can work with kids and be patient/positive with them make me so fuckim soft. But if/when (hopefully when because if MC didn’t want kids I don’t think it’d last) they had kids, Noah is happy to be on bottle duty, wake up early to the baby, and generally be a really involved parent. He’ll take a big chunk of paternity leave, and generally be there as much as humanly possible. Even when they have multiple little tyrants running around, he always makes time to be alone with MC and make sure she’s not taking on too much.

He’s basically a lesbian, which is definitely a reason I love him so much. Hear me out- loves milfs, loves 80s music, communicates affection through meaningful glances and playing with hair but will die before explicitly saying any of it, crushes on his best friend for the longest time but never makes the first move, puts way too much emotional meaning and personal metaphors into objects and then presents them as gifts, is into fandoms and actively collects pop figures, is attracted to assertive/powerful women, wears beige skinny jeans, wears VESTS….. That’s a lesbian. He’s a bisexual man, but he’s also an honorary lesbian.

A really good confidant. Noah’s an amazing listener and never judges people harshly- his life philosophy is as long as you’re not hurting anymore or yourself, everything else is details. So you can definitely tell him secrets and confess regrets to him and he’ll listen with those soft eyes and gentle nods. Talking to him about mistakes always feels like unburdening yourself. And he’d never tell your secret to anyone. Doesn’t matter if you cheat on him, lie to him, or die, he’s never going to tell anyone your secrets.

#litg #litg noah #pros and cons

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smokedstorybara · 3 years

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More thoughts on the secret band au:

It starts with Fuyumi.

She hears about an open mic night at some cute little cafe from the parent or sibling of one of her students and thinks “I haven’t gotten to sing or play for anyone but my students in a long while, it might be nice”.

She doesn’t tell anyone; she knows her father wouldn’t care and her coworkers think she has no personality, and she doesn’t want to be disappointed if Shouto and Natsuo don’t come.

She spends the whole week worrying but then she gets on stage and she plays some sad song that had been stuck in her head for a while and afterwards she feels… happy. Lighter. Like she could float.

And the next day she realizes… none of those people recognized her, none of them knew who she was - who her family is. The song she sang will have no impact on her home life, no people asking questions about the number two pro hero’s family.

She could sing anything, and not have to worry.

She starts to use open mic nights as an outlet, playing whatever sad or angry song has stood out to her the most recently.

Then comes Izuku.

He and his mom have dinner at a nice little cafe during open mic night and he sees this meek looking woman play this angsty song, and he sees her face after. Her smile. He sees the weight slide off her shoulders as she sings.

And he thinks “I want that.”

And he thinks “I could do that.”

So he saves up his allowance and buys himself a guitar, and he goes to open mic nights to watch the performers and he looks up lessons online while his mom is at work, and he practices and practices. Until finally he feels ready to play at his first open mic night.

Fuyumi takes one look at this little middle schooler hiding his hair under a hat, the way he holds himself, the song he plays, the same realization and relief she felt all those months ago slipping into his face as he looks into the crowd of strangers after he’s done.

And she thinks “Oh.”

“Oh, he’s like me.”

“Oh, this is a child. One who needs support and guidance.”

“Oh, I’m gonna be that for him.”

So she approaches him at the end of the night and offers to teach him and asks if he’d like to play together at the next open mic night.

Izuku, of course, accepts - both.

So she teaches him. And they play together. And it’s good, they’re good.

But open mic nights at quaint little cafes aren’t quite the right place to really let loose built up negative emotions.

So one of them suggests a change. Suggests they start a proper band.

Izuku does some research and they talk it out and they end up putting an ad for tryouts for a bass guitarist and a drummer online. They make sure to mention that they both want to keep their identities secret and will be using false names even with each other.

Hawks sees the ad by chance.

His first thought is “why would anyone need to hide their identities to play in a punk band?”

His second thought is “I would need to hide my identity if I wanted to play in a punk band.”

His third thought is “I could play in this punk band. I’d just have to be very very careful.”

So he goes to tryouts and he tells them he doesn’t know how to play an instrument but he’s willing to learn. And they look at his face, at the careful control, the blank eyes. And they see themselves. And they say “we’ll teach you.”

Hizashi comes across the ad more deliberately, and his decision to try out is more calculated.

He makes sure to set time aside every week to look into new and coming bands, find what’s good, what could use some support. He’s a pro hero with his own radio station, he’s in the perfect position to boost the otherwise overlooked.

So of course he comes across their ad.

And of course he thinks “they could use someone with experience. Someone with connections.”

Then he thinks “it’d be nice to be in the background for once. To really let loose without worry.”

So of course he auditions for drummer. And of course he gets in.

And once they’ve got their drummer, it’s like everything just clicks into place.

And the band Alter Ego debuts

___

The band is called Alter Ego cause all of them are hiding their identities from each other and their listeners while hiding that they’re in a band at all from everyone in their day-to-day lives - but also cause half of them are pro heroes and of the other half, one is the child of a pro hero and the other wants to be a hero - so, y’know, it’s a pretty fitting name

Of course, within a month Izuku knows all their identities, he just decides not to say anything

Also, Hawks knows the others all totally know who he is - he doesn’t always show up with his wig and makeup already on so there’s no way they don’t - but as long as no one mentions it, he’s fine

Hizashi has mentally adopted all of them, but especially their little lead guitarist

And he knows if Shouta ever watches even a single song of theirs he’d know Hizashi is the drummer, but he also knows they’re not Shouta’s usual genre so he thinks he’s safe

He’s not

Au of the au: Bakugou figures it out at some point, but instead of saying anything he’s like “hey that’s actually a pretty good idea” and becomes a secret electro-pop musician to vent out all the positive emotions he never lets himself show

#bnha #bnha au #todoroki fuyumi #midoriya izuku #present mic #bnha hawks #keigo tamaki #yamada hizashi #secret band au

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thelarriefics · 4 years

Photo

MPREG FIC REC: Below you’ll find fics where either Harry or Louis are pregnant.

📖 Such Good Luck by @casuallyhl (66k)

an Edwardian AU where Harry is a young aristocratic lord and Louis is a working class dairy farmer. Secrets are a necessary part of their relationship, but Louis has one that could topple their whole world.

📖 Two + Two = Four by @chelsea-frew (58k)

In the middle of the Where We Are Tour, Harry and Louis find themselves feeling a little amorous after attending Louis' mum's wedding. After indulging in some unprotected sex on an L.A. beach, Harry ends up pregnant, expecting twins just weeks after the end of their On the Road Again Tour.

📖 Got It Backwards by @flamboyantommo (45k)

The one where Louis and Harry are having a baby and Louis is afraid that he isn’t ready, until he remembers how he and Harry first fell in love.

📖 Fallen Far From the Tree by @sadaveniren (41k)

Harry and Louis go through the ups and ups of pregnancy

📖 Hooked on a Feeling by @dandelionfairies (37k)

Louis is a famous actor. Harry is not. He also has no idea who Louis actually is. After a one night stand, Harry ends up pregnant. Louis finds out the day he walks into the bakery that Harry owns. From that moment, he makes it known that he plans to be in the baby’s life. Over a short time, their own friendship builds into something more. How will Harry handle knowing who Louis actually is? How will they handle it all when the paparazzi get a hold of the story?

📖 Falling For You by @halosboat (28k)

Harry is a homeless, pregnant uni student after a one night stand gone wrong and his parents cut him off. Louis is a wealthy lawyer who has always been missing something in his life - family. One day, he notices the homeless man sleeping outside across the street from his office, with a suspicious looking bundle under his coat.

📖 smokey vanilla by @onlyforthebravee (25k)

Louis is the sole guardian to his younger siblings, and he's fallen pregnant. A new neighbor moves in next door, Harry, and they become good friends. Harry is kind and beautiful. Louis can't help but fall for him.

📖 If We Have Each Other by @pocketsunshineharry (23k)

AU where Harry is a single father and a one-night stand is going to change his life forever.

📖 Going My Way by @jacaranda-bloom (20k)

the one where Harry gets a replacement LYFT driver, Louis is just trying to earn some extra cash before the baby arrives, and they both end up with way more than they bargained for.

📖 Souls; Plural, Parallel by @londonfoginacup (19k)

Soulmates are rare, the sort of rare that means everyone has a story about a friend's sister's coworker or a brother's roommate's cousin. But the fact of the matter is that most people never meet theirs. It's unfortunate then, that Louis finds out the hard way that he met his soulmate in a club, and the guy never texted him back.

📖 Dancing With Masks by @softfonds (18k)

With awards season coming up and new films on the way for both of them, Harry and Louis' managers decide it's time for them to date for publicity. They don't mind, given that they are best friends and have known each other for ages. Besides, after years of sexual tension built into a fake relationship for press, what could possibly go wrong?

📖 On His Way Home by @stnbutterflies (16k)

the one where Harry is set up on a blind date with his sister's best friend's brother

📖 The Sunshine Stays by @becomeawendybird (15k)

It's three years after One Direction got back together, and Harry and Louis have just come off a world tour. They're enjoying a much more relaxed schedule the second time around, allowing themselves to bask in married life. Until, one day, Louis surprises Harry on vacation, and there are some surprising consequences.

📖 Another One For The Road by @reminiscingintherain (15k)

the one where Louis' on tour when he finds out the hard way that men can get pregnant too....

📖 This Glorious Mess by @louisdaffodil (14k)

An accidental pregnancy isn’t exactly how Louis expected his breakup to go.

📖 you fit me better than my favorite sweater by @brightbluelou (13k)

the one where Harry and Louis are friends-with-benefits and Harry unexpectedly gets pregnant. Harry never wants to stop getting pregnant after that, but Louis thinks seven kids is probably enough.

📖 Come In and Change My Life by @lightwoodsmagic (12k)

Harry and Louis become friends when Harry looks after Louis' cat during away games, until one night at a party changes everything between them. It's just a shame Louis' going to be away for the FIFA World Cup for three months.

📖 Leap of Fate by @happilylouie (12k)

Radio Show Host Louis Tomlinson is going to be the father of Harry Styles’ baby, the only problem: He has no idea.

📖 Couldn't See Past Me, Till I Saw You by @lululawrence (12k)

Or the one where Harry and Louis have been best friends since they could remember and their friendship has withstood it all...but an unexpected pregnancy might change everything.

📖 With a Capital P by @jumperlouis (8k)

As fate would have it, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson met each other one late night, waiting for a bus.

#mpreg fics #mpreg fic rec #masterpost

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renegadepisces · 4 years

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Bright Imagine: Kandomere accidentally meets your family Part 4 FINAL

Fandom: Bright Pairing: Kandomere x reader Tags: slow build, fluff, eventual nsfw Note: also on AO3 as Serendipity & Caffeine

A/N: Thank you all so much for hanging in there. It’s finally finished!

If anyone had told you in the miserable weeks since Kandomere kissed you and fled your apartment that he’d be sitting on your sibling’s couch watching a Disney movie with your nephews and niece curled up between you, you would have started the paperwork to have them committed to a psychiatric facility right then and there.

Weeks had slipped into months since Kandomere kissed you in your apartment. It was enough time for you to be fairly certain that he hadn’t filed a complaint with human resources or asked for you to be transferred to another division. As grateful as you were to still have your job, the time had underscored another, more uncomfortable point. Unfortunately, it was also enough time for you to really miss whatever your relationship had been before that night.

Overnight, he’d stopped coming by your desk and making friendly conversation. In meetings, he always put himself in the seat farthest from you. Almost all work-related communication came from Montehugh now, because apparently even calling you was a mistake.

The word haunted you. With the exception of a few curt greetings and orders, those were the last words you’d heard from him. But you hoped tonight’s plans would take your mind off them. Your sibling and their spouse were taking a long weekend to celebrate their anniversary. You’d agreed to move into their home while they were away and take care of your nephews and niece. Tonight was the first night of what they’d called ‘the long sleepover’, and you were excited to spend some time with them after weeks of pressure at work.

And your mind had admittedly been pleasantly distracted until you’d investigated some suspicious noises coming from the back patio and found two would-be burglars trying to reach a second-story window and break in. Thankfully, yelling loudly that you were a federal agent and waving your stungun at them had been enough to subdue one and send the other fleeing into the night.

Even without discharging your service weapon, the incident still created a bureaucratic headache. Any kind of police response to a law enforcement officer’s home was a cause for alarm. Both the LAPD and the county sheriffs committed units to patrolling the area and checking local hospitals. Your sibling’s supervisor had even volunteered to station a patrol car outside the house all weekend in case the suspects came back.

Most shocking of all was watching Kandomere arrive in furious style in his polished black sportscar. He barely paused to put the vehicle in park before stomping up the drive toward you. Even the most senior officers on the scene had rarely crossed paths with federal agents of his rank, much less the elven commander of the Magic Task Force.

You were pretty sure damn few people had ever seen him quite like this. His usual scowl was harder and more deeply etched into his otherwise handsome face than usual. He seemed to have forgotten his blazer. His vest hung open, unbuttoned and slouching against his expensive button down shirt. His sleeves were rolled up, highlighting his bare forearms and the lack of cufflinks or his watch. He’d also seemed to have taken off his tie.

Had he come from his home? Had he cut his night short to rush over to your sibling’s home? He seemed so disheveled that the horrifying thought that he might have been on a date sent your heart plummeting into your stomach.

You nearly spit out the swig of water you'd taken when he fixed the ranking officer on scene with his most polite and unsettling smile and told them he’d personally keep watch. It was irregular, but no one was going to argue with him. Except you, of course.

You were tired. More importantly, Kandomere’s rejection still stung and you weren't keen on being near him in an otherwise comfortable and private space. But all your arguing was futile. Between his infamous intimidation and mentioning that he’d been invited into the home before while casually dropping your in-law and all the kid’s names, he’d convinced the ranking officers to let him watch the house.

As the last squad car pulled away, you whirled on him. Your tone was polite - he was still your coworker after all - but your rigid shoulders and crossed arms practically advertised your displeasure.

“Coffee?” you asked curtly.

He nodded, his eyes seemingly grazing over yours rather than really looking at you, and followed you into the house.

Your nephews were thrilled to see him and you didn’t want to think too hard on why that made you unhappy and, more importantly, what kind of relative that made you. If Kandomere was at all put off by your frosty behavior, he didn’t let it show. Halloween was approaching, and you and the kids had been immersed in Hocus Pocus before you’d heard the would-be burglars’ shoes scuffing against the side of the house. That felt like hours ago. The perfect ease with which Kandomere inserted himself into what was otherwise a perfect slice-of-life snapshot from the suburbs was alarming.

Movie night? Check.

Blanket and pillow fort? Check.

Three excited kids fighting sleep as the TV flickers in front of them? Check.

Hot elven boyfriend staying the night? Not quite.

Soon enough, the boys lost their uphill battle with their own weary bodies. While they didn’t fully comprehend the potential danger of what you’d prevented, the excitement of so many strangers coming to the house had worn them out. Your niece had been put back in her crib about twenty minutes after you’d resumed the movie.

That left you alone with Kandomere, despite the two tiny bodies laying in their make-shift fortress of pillows and blankets. You didn’t dare look at him. For all you knew, he probably found this movie offensive. You knew Halloween was a human holiday linked to Samhain, which was a big holiday for elves. You’d heard plenty of elves complain about hating Halloween and about it being a watered-down version of Samhain. As the final credits finished rolling across the screen, the living room was engulfed in still and silent darkness. Kandomere was the first to break it.

“Seems a shame to move them,” he said, “They’re sleeping so well.”

You kept your silence, considering the options. The boys could sleep through the night in their pillow fort. That wasn’t the problem. But you had to deal with Kandomere. You had planned to sleep in the guest room, but you could hardly let him sleep in your sibling’s bedroom. That was simply too intimate a space for your coworker, who had met your sibling a total of two times, to spend the night in.

“They’ll be fine here. The guest room is made up. It’s the last door on the left,” you told him as you gingerly rose from the couch to avoid waking either of your nephews.

Without saying another word, you gathered up the handful of cans and juice boxes scattered on the coffee table and made your way to the garage. You needed some privacy - just a minute of privacy - to collect yourself. The near break-in was bad enough, your nerves were too frayed to let you sleep tonight. Having to interact with your Kandomere after he rejected you was the gritty, bitter icing on an awful, lumpy cake.

After gently placing the cans and cartons in the recycling bin, you braced yourself against the wall. It was covered in a layer of soundproofing material, which felt soft against your fingers. Your sibling had told you once that the previous owners were musicians and used to practice in the garage, hence the soundproofing. Screwing your eyes shut tightly, you inhaled deeply and exhaled in a huff.

Your frayed and frantic nerves, aggravated by the night’s earlier adrenaline, ensured that you heard Kandomere’s footsteps approaching from the hallway. You hadn’t turned the light on, so you couldn’t see him. It was childish, but you harbored a dim hope that he wouldn’t speak to you.

“We need to talk,” he murmured.

“No, we don’t,” you countered.

“Y/n,” he chided, “I don’t want things to be like this between us.”

“Like what?” you retorted, “There’s nothing between us. Which is why I don’t understand why you’re here.”

“That’s not quite true, and you know it,” He sighed, grimacing.

“Really? I’m surprised we even have a work relationship anymore given how hard you’ve been avoiding me Kandomere.”

You couldn’t see his face in the dark, but his voice wavered enough to tell you that your words hit their mark. Hurt lingered in his tone when he answered.

“I owe you an apology. I handled it poorly. But I’m here because I - I heard the call and had to see you. I care about you, and I had to know you were okay.”

“Didn’t take you for the kind of man to make the same mistake twice,” you hissed. There was less venom in your voice than you’d intended, but you still weren’t proud of it.

Instead of replying, you heard him draw closer. You could feel warmth rolling off him as he neared, despite the general chill that always lingered in the garage, which was less insulated than the rest of the house despite the soundproofing.

His lips crashed into yours as his arms wrapped around your waist. You wanted to argue - this was just as bad an idea as it had been weeks ago in your apartment. But you found yourself leaning into his embrace instead of pushing him away. Finally, you tore your lips from his, panting breathlessly into the nape of his neck.

“The mistake was mine. I should have been more honest with you about my feelings. But I was worried you’d put in for a transfer or file a complaint.” he whispered, not loosening his grip on your waist.

His words brought you out of the reverie of his touch and back to reality. How could he possibly not know?

“Kandomere, you’re not actually my boss. You lead the MTF, but I don’t actually report to you. I was appointed by a completely different division of the FBI.”

He blinked, as if to clear his eyes from some intrusive debris. They glinted like stained glass in the dim light spilling in from the corridor leading into the house.

“What do you mean?” he rasped.

“We work in two different departments of the FBI. The MTF is part of the Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services branch. I was appointed to the MTF to represent the intelligence branch, and I still report to that side of the agency,” you explained.

“So, you don’t actually report to me at all?” He quizzed, pinning you with a sharp, serious gaze that made you feel something like a butterfly pinned to a display.

You nodded.

His features broke into a wide grin. His teeth - sharp and glinting in the dim light like ice under moonlight - were fully visible. In a flash, his weight settled against yours and sent you backward a few inches until you were leaning against the wall.

“This isn’t any less of a terrible idea than it was in my apartment,” you whispered as his lips descended on the soft, delicate skin beneath your jaw.

“Actually, it’s an even worse idea because there are three children in this house.”

“Then you’ll just have to be quiet,” he teased, and put his warm, deft fingers over your mouth before attacking the waistband of our jeans with his other hand.

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atlafan · 4 years

Text

Take it Slow - Part Seven

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

(Dialogue heavy part. Also, I plan to make a masterpost with a link in my description so all the parts are easy to find in one place, and I can keep adding to it.)

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six

Harry spent most of the day with you Sunday, and went back to his place a little before dinner time. You woke up early Monday so you could get your workout in at home, and showered. Feeling fresh, you were thankful you had plenty of slacks to wear for the week. You hated wearing skirts or dresses on your period. You couldn’t wait to see Niall to ask him about Sarah.

You stop at the coffee shop and grab yours and Niall’s coffees. You get up to your office, and go right to his. He’s just settling in, and smiles at you.

“Hey there, lady killer.” You said handing him his coffee.

“Shh.” He looks around and closes his door. “Did she tell you anything?”

“She said she had a great time with you. Have you texted or called?”

“We’ve texted. I could kill you for not setting me up sooner.”

“I could say the same thing to you about Harry.”

“Fine, we’re even.”

“Besides, she was in between guys, I didn’t even know she was available. She raved about you, so I hope you guys see where it goes.”

“I’m hoping to see her Tuesday after work for a movie.”

“Oh, nice.” You smile at your friend. “You know if it goes well, the four of us could go on double dates, how much fun would that be?”

“Not so much.” Your face falls.

“Why not? I feel like we never hang out anymore.”

“Well, you’ve been busy, which is perfectly fine. And, I don’t really like double dates with Harry. I feel like I have to compete with him or something.” He shrugs, sipping his coffee.

“Compete with what?”

“I don’t know, everyone finds him so charming.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now. Sarah may decide the only thing she likes about you is your tongue.” You tease. Niall nearly chokes on his hot drink.

“She, she told you?”

“Only a couple of details.” You lie, you didn’t want to embarrass him. “It was all good things though, she was very impressed.”

“I honestly have to thank Harry for help in that department.”

“So I’ve learned.” You say blushing.

“Hold on a second.” He sits down next to you in the chairs across from desk. “Did you two get a little frisky this weekend?”

“Maybe a little.” You play with the top of your coffee lid.

“How do you feel?”

“Safe.” You lock eyes with him. “I only let him do��that. I didn’t let him use his hands or anything.”

“What made you want to do it?”

“Honestly, I was curious.” You shrug. “And I was just feeling really close to him. He, um, asked me to be his girlfriend.” Niall jumps up with a huge smile on his face.

“That just made my whole morning!”

“You don’t think it’s too soon to be official?”

“Not at all, in fact, Harry hasn’t had an actual girlfriend in like two years. He really does like you, (y/n).” You can’t help but giggle at his praise. “You haven’t changed your relationship status.” He says checking Facebook.

“I honestly hadn’t thought of it since he doesn’t have a Facebook.” You say getting up. “I’ll ask him if he minds if I change it.”

“Why would he mind?”

“I don’t know, then it’ll like really be official. Everyone will know I’m seeing someone. I don’t know if I’m ready for my parents and siblings to be up my ass.”

“Fair point. Okay, I’ll tell you what, things go well with Sarah, and all four of us can hang out some time.”

“I would love that.”

You go to your office, and get some work done. Lunch rolls around quick. Before you can go meet Niall you see a name on your phone. It’s Kate.

“Hello?”

“Hey, (y/n).”

“Um, what’s up?”

“Nothing, just saw the pictures Rachel posted of the three of you. Thanks for the invite.”

“You wouldn’t have come anyways.”

“So, it’s still nice to be included.”

“Well, I wasn’t the one who made the plans, so take it up with them.”

“You’re my best friend, you should’ve texted me.”

“Kate, I’m at work.”

“You’re on your lunch break.” There’s an awkward pause. “Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing someone new?”

“Because it’s still really new.”

“Still, I hate hearing things from other people about you.”

“Who told you?”

“Rachel. She said some guy showed up to the club, and his friend took Sarah home or something. Apparently he’s super-hot.”

“You’ve met Niall before. Remember? He came with me to your wedding?”

“No, I mean the guy you brought.”

“His name is Harry.”

“Harry what?”

“Don’t bother looking him up, he doesn’t have a Facebook, and his Instagram doesn’t have any pictures of him.”

“Great, so you’re seeing a serial killer.”

“You could be happy for me. He’s really into me.”

“I just think you need to be more cautious.”

“I am. We haven’t done anything…serious.”

“Define serious.”

“I don’t owe you any explanations.” Usually, you and your friends were very open about sex, but lately it was hard to talk to Kate about these things.

“(y/n), you were practically ra-“ You cut her off before she could finish the word.

“Stop it! Harry is nothing like Jake!” Niall walks into your office horrified. You wave him in, and put your finger up to signal you’re almost done. “Kate, I’m not doing this with you right now.”

“Fine. Look, Kevin and I are spending the weekend in the city, and we were wondering if you’d wanna hang out. Maybe the four of us can do a double date.”

“You know, it would be nice if just us girls could get together. You never come here alone.”

“You know how Kev is.”

“Possessive, controlling.”

“Enough. Do you want to see each other or not?”

“Of course I do. I’ll see what Harry’s up to. When did you want to get together?”

“Friday night? Dinner at our spot?”

“Alright, I’ll text you later, I need to go eat.” You hang up in a huff and nearly throw your phone across the room, but you stop yourself. You look at Niall.

“Was that Kate?”

“Yeah! God, she is so fucking infuriating. She has no problem making me feel bad about my past, but the second I call her out on something.” You try to steady tour breathing. “And now I have to see her this weekend.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I miss her, Niall. She used to be so much fun.”

“Well, if you bring Harry, just be prepared, he’s not going to let someone speak to you like that.”

“Great, dinner and a show.”

You show up to Harry’s after the gym. You drive there sort of on autopilot. You let him know you’re outside, and he buzzes you in. You have an open sweatshirt on over a sports bra. Your hair is up in a messy bun, and you’re wearing cropped leggings. You only went to lift weights since you got your cardio in this morning.

“This is a nice surprise.” He says kissing you on the cheek. He makes you stand in front of him to get a good look at you. “Sexy outfit.” Your cheeks flush. “Want something to eat? I was just making dinner.”

“I don’t want to impose, love.”

“S’not an imposition.” He smiles. “ I always make extra.” You walk over to the stove to see what he’s making. “Nothing special, just roasted chickpeas to top my salad.”

“It smells delicious. I’ll have a little.”

“Good, go sit.” He makes a plate for you, and sits down at the table with you. “So, what do I owe this honor on a school night?” You giggle.

“Well, I got a call from my friend Kate today.”

“The one you miss who’s married?”

“Correct.” He nods. “Her and Kevin, her husband, are coming into town this weekend, and she wanted to know if we’d have dinner with them.”

“We huh?”

“Mhm.”

“I didn’t even have a chance to tell her about you. Rachel told her I was seeing someone.”

“What night?”

“Friday.” He takes out his phone and checks his calendar. “Um, yeah that works. I have to work late that night, so if they’re okay with an eight o’clock dinner…”

“That would work well I think. I’m sure they’ll hit traffic. The place we’re going is kind of swanky, so you may want to bring a change of dress clothes with you to work.”

“Alright.”

“Is this okay with you? If you don’t feel comfortable-“ He puts a hand over yours.

“I would love nothing more than to meet more of your friends. Plus, she seems important to you.” He shrugs.

“I have another question?”

“Shoot.”

“So, we’re together.”

“Correct.”

“And typically, when two people make things official, it’s customary for them to change their status online, to let others know they are no longer available.”

“Are you asking me if it’s okay to change your Facebook status?” You smile nervously and he starts laughing. “Go ahead, baby. I mean, s’not like you can tag me in it, so it’ll just say you’re in a relationship.”

“I know, it seems silly. But now that Kate knows, and Sarah and Rachel…I mean, god I haven’t even told my mom.” He furrows his eyebrows at you.

“So wait to change then.” He takes his phone out. He goes into Instagram, and you get a ping on your phone. “style2294 has requested to follow you?” You smile at him.

“That’s my private Instagram. Told ya it wasn’t really under my name.”

“Very cryptic that you left it as style and not styles. Is that your birthday?” You ask, accepting the request, and follow him back. He accepts.

“Yup.”

“That’s around my half birthday.”

“Wait, don’t tell me.” He thinks for a moment. “August?”

“Bingo.”

“What’s the date?”

“The fourth, ’95.”

“So you like just turned twenty-four only a couple months ago. You young thing.” He teases.

“Oh stop, you’re literally a year and half older than me.” You go to scroll through his pictures, but he stops you.

“Wait to do that until we’re not together, please, some of those pictures are old, and embarrassing.”

“Alright.” You stop to think about your own photos. “I have some embarrassing ones too.”

“I’ll bet.”

“So, Friday, you’re sure?”

“Positive.” He takes both of your empty plates and places them in the sink. “Now then, come here so I can kiss ya.”

You go over to him, and he holds you in his arms, and kisses your cheecks, nose, forehead, and jawline. His hands move down to your bum, and you jump back with a squeak.

“Still got my period.” He gives you a funny look.

“So that means I can’t squeeze that glorious-“ You put your hand over his mouth.

“Please, I’m begging, don’t finish that sentence.” You say looking up at him with big eyes. He smirks at you. “What?”

“Lil horny are we?”

“Harry!”

“You are, aren’t you?”

“It’s not funny!”

“I’m not laughing!”

“Your smile says it all.” You cross your arms over your tender breasts. “It’s the hormones.”

“Sure it is. How were your cramps today?”

“Much better. What you saw yesterday was an anomaly.” You look down at your watch. “I should probably head home now.”

“I’m going to be really busy this week. With the weather still nice, and the leaves just turning, I’ve racked up some freelance stuff. I don’t want you to think I’m ignorin’ ya or anything.” You give me a hug and rest your head on his chest.

“Thank you for letting me know.” You kiss him on the cheek. As you’re about to break the hug he pulls you in, and kisses you on the mouth.

“Didn’t think I’d let ya leave with just a peck on the cheek?”

“What was I thinking?” You kiss him again. “Thanks for dinner.” You say on your way out.

Your period ends Thursday, thank god. Kate texts you saying that eight is perfectly fine for dinner Friday. You and Niall find yourself chatting before you leave for work Friday.

“You never told me how the movie with Sarah went.”

“We never made it to the movie.” He winks at you.

“You dirty dog.” You tease.

“So, tonight is your big double date?”

“Yup, I gotta go home and change.”

“Where are you guys going again? That Italian place?”

“Yeah, it’s really nice. Kate and I used to save up our money once a month to go there when we were in college.”

“Well, I hope it all goes smoothly. I know Harry will be there, but if you need anything, I’m there for you.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I’m seeing Sarah and Rachel with Kate and Kevin tomorrow.”

“Yeah, Sarah told me. I’m seeing her tonight.”

“Dirty, dirty dog.”

You go home, and freshen up. You pull out a red dress. It has a high neckline, but hugs tight around your thighs, accentuating your bum. You know Harry will love it, and Kate won’t be able to say anything because your chest is covered. The back is open, so you opt to not wear a bra. Instead you just tape yourself up. The material is thick enough that you can’t see your piercings through it. You curl your hair and brush it out to create your waves. You put on some red strappy heels, and uber to the restaurant. You want to be able to leave with Harry in his car later.

Kate and Kevin are standing in the lobby of the restaurant, it’s ten of eight. You two smile at each other and take each other in for a big hug. You give Kevin a much smaller embrace.

“You look amazing!” Kate beams at you. “That gym membership is doing wonders for you.”

“The best part is my company pays for it. I think laying off the meat has helped too. I mostly am forced to eat fruit and veggies.” You hear Kevin scoff.

“I still can’t believe you’re a vegetarian. It’s like you crossed over to the darkside.” You flip him off, and he rolls his eyes.

“Harry’s a vegan, and I don’t want you making fun of him.”

“What the hell is he supposed to eat here then?”

“He’ll get some gluten free pasta and a salad or something.” You shrug.

“Where is he anyways?” Kate asks.

“It’s only eight now. He said he might run late, he had a really busy work week.”

“What does he do?” Kevin asks.

“He’s a photographer, a highly sought after one at that.” The two look at each other. “He works for a magazine, and does some freelancing on the side.” You take your phone out to show them his professional Instagram.

“Wow, these are actually really good.” Kate says.

“Don’t sound so surprised. Niall wouldn’t have set me up with some idiot.”

“Oh, you two met on a blind date?” Kevin asks. “Kate didn’t tell me the story.”

“That’s because she didn’t tell me the story.”

“Well, you can both hear it soon, when he gets here.”

“I hope it is soon, I don’t want them to give our table up.” Kate says harshly.

You feel a gust of wind, and turn around. Suddenly everything feels like slow motion. Harry walks in with damp hair, accentuating his natural curls. He’s wearing a light blue suit and a white dress shirt. He has brown dress shoes on. He looks heavenly.

“That’s him.” You say to Kate before walking over to greet him. He takes you in his arms, and kisses the top of your head.

“So sorry I’m wait, love, I had to have a shower. I was rolling in dirt all day.” He looks over at Kate and Kevin whose mouths are hanging open. “Hi, I’m Harry.” He sticks his hand out and they each take a turn shaking it. They both furrow their brows at his nails. He must have gotten them done this week because they were now a pastel pink and blue. His forefinger and middle finger were both pink on one hand and the rest blue. The opposite hand had the same, but opposite. He notices them notice. “Right, shall we?”

You all go to the hostess, and she seats you. Harry pulls your chair out for you, and helps you in. He takes his suit jacket off, and puts it over the chair. Kevin and Kate just sit down. You put your hand on Harry’s leg and give him a gentle squeeze.

“It’s great to meet you, Harry.” Kate finally says.

“Likewise.” A waiter comes over before anything else can be said.

“Hi folks, I’m Matt, and I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you all off with a drink?”

“Vodka tonic for me please.” You say.

“Lime?”

“Yes, please.”

“I’ll have a glass of pinot noir.” Kate says. You frown for a second. She’s drinking, which means she’s still not pregnant.

“I’ll have a corona.” Kevin says.

“I’ll, um, have a gin and tonic.” Harry says.

“Perfect, be back with those in a few.”

Harry squints at the menu trying to see what he can actually eat. Another server brings over some bread and butter, and fills the water glasses. Harry leans into you.

“You look lovely, by the way.” You giggle.

“Thank you.”

“What are you going to eat?”

“Not sure yet. Maybe some ravioli?”

“So, Harry, (y/n), tells us you’re a vegan?” Kevin asks.

“Um, yeah.”

“If we had known we could have gone somewhere else.” Kate says, trying to make you look bad.

“It’s really no problem. There’s actually a lot I can have. They have zucchini noodles it seems. I’ll probably have that.”

“Don’t you feel hungry all the time without the protein?” Kevin asks.

“Not really, I eat a lot of nuts and beans.”

The waiter comes over with the drinks. He notices Harry’s nails.

“Oh, sir, I don’t mean to sound weird, but I love your nails.”

“Oh, thanks mate.” Harry smiles up at the young boy.

“So, um, did we have a chance to look over the menu?” Everyone nods. “Great, miss?” He nods to you.

“Can I please have the cheese ravioli, and can I have a side of whatever today’s vegetable is?”

“Of course. Sir?”

“I’ll have these zoodles with the roasted vegetables on top. No sauce, please.”

Kevin orders steak tips of course, which nearly makes you gag. Kate orders the raviolis as well. The two of them dig into the bread, and you also have a piece.

“Since the waiter brought it up, can I ask why you paint your nails?” Kevin asks. You want to kick him under the table, but glare at him instead.

“Just something I do for fun.” Harry shrugs. “I’m sure as an oral surgeon, you’re probably not allowed to have yours painted.”

“Even if I could, I wouldn’t. It’s a little girly.”

“Kevin.” You say, warning.

“S’alright.” Harry says. “I know it looks a little weird. But, I don’t necessarily think it’s girly. I like having clean nails. Why should women be the only people allowed to have a manicure?” He sips his drink.

“You can get a manicure without getting your nails painted.” Kate interjects.

“What’s the fun in that?” Kate looks down at his hands.

“The rings are nice.” She says.

“Thanks.”

“Is that an anchor on your wrist?” Kevin asks.

“Yup.” Harry rolls his sleeve a bit so they can better see it. “Can’t remember when exactly I got it, but it was a while ago.” Kate sees the cross on his hand.

“(y/n) is Jewish, you know?” Harry raises an eyebrow at her, then looks at you. “We all are, that’s how we became friends at school.”

“I didn’t know that.” He says looking at you, and smiles. “Guess the mezuzah in your front hall makes more sense now.”

“You didn’t tell him?”

“It didn’t come up, Kate.”

“Alright, so, how exactly did you two meet?” Kevin interjects.

“We have a mutual friend that set us up.” Harry rests a hand on your thigh.

“Niall, right?” Kate asks. “He came to our wedding with (y/n).”

“Yup, Niall. He and I were mates in school, and he works with (y/n), obviously.”

“What did you do for a first date?” Kevin asks.

“We went to dinner at that tapas place.” You say, smiling at the memory. “And then after that we just kept seeing each other.” You lean close to him.

The food runner brings all of your plates over. You stare at the steak tips. They smell heavenly, but as soon as you see the juices drip down Kevin’s knife, you find yourself standing up.

“You alright?” Harry asks, slightly standing.

“Yeah, just, um, excuse me, I need to use the ladies room.”

“I’ll go with you.” Kate says standing up.

You two rush to the bathroom, and you splash a little cold water on your face.

“What’s wrong?” She rubs your now clammy back.

“Nothing, I thought I was going to puke. He had to order steak tips?”

“I thought you weren’t an ethical vegetarian.”

“I’m not, Kate, but jesus, I can’t help being absolutely disgusted.”

“Is this because Jake ate steak on your first date? Is it triggering?”

“No! You mentioning his fucking name is triggering.” You turn to face her. “You both could also stop grilling Harry so much. He’s really sweet and you both are judging him. Nail polish on men is becoming more and more popular, it’s really not that fucking weird.” She sighs.

“You’re right, we’ve been rude. I’ll settle down a little. Just please come back and try not to look at his food.”

While you both are in the bathroom, Harry and Kevin wait to eat.

“I hope she’s alright.” Harry keeps his eyes locked on the direction you ran in.

“She’s fine. So, how long have you two been seeing each other?”

“It’s been a month this weekend, actually.”

“I think that’s the longest she’s ever seen someone.” He laughs. “She was pretty wild in college.”

“Who wasn’t?” Harry shrugs off the statement, taking a sip of his drink. He sighs in relief when he sees you walking back to the table, and stands up. Kevin stays seated. “Alright?” He says sitting back down as you do.

“Yeah, just needed to powder my nose.” You keep your eyes locked on your food. Everyone digs in to their own.

“(y/n), I was thinking we could all go back to your place tonight after dinner.” Kate says. “That way we can keep getting to know each other.” She says with a smile.

“Um, sure, we could do that.” You look up at Harry who is giving Kate a funny look. “Does that work for you?”

“Sure does.” He smiles at you.

The waiter comes over and asks if anyone wants dessert, you all say no, and he leaves the check. Harry and Kevin reach for it at the same time.

“Your money’s no good here.” Kevin says. “We asked you both here.” You guess all men have this rule.

“I insist, at least let me split it with you.”

“Sure, we can split it.” They each put their credit cards in, and the wait come by and grabs it. He brings it back in no time, they both sign the slips. Harry leaves some extra cash on the table.

“Where’d you park, love?” He asks putting his jacket on.

“Oh, I didn’t drive here, I took an uber. I figured I’d just leave with you.” You shrug. He smiles and kisses you on the cheek. “Right, so we’ll just meet you guys at her place?”

“Sounds good, see you soon.” Kate says.

You and Harry don’t say much on the car ride to your place. Once you’re inside, you quickly tidy up. He sighs.

“What?” You ask, as you run around.

“Kinda rude to invite herself here, don’t you think?”

“That’s Kate.” You pull up a playlist on your Spotify, and connect it to your Bluetooth. “It’s a late 2000s playlist, should help lighten the mood.” You say, taking your heels off. “They won’t stay long anyways.”

“Kevin is, interesting.”

“He used to be more fun too.”

“He mentioned you used to be wild.” Harry puts his hands on your waist. His touch burns into you. “This is a really nice dress.”

“Thank you, and he’s just talking smack. I did used to party probably a little too much. But who doesn’t when they’re in college?”

“That’s what I said.” The buzzer goes off, and you buzz them in.

“Harry, could you open that bottle of wine for me please?” You ask pointing to the one in the kitchen, as you go to open the door.

“I love what you’ve done with the place.” Kate beams at you. “You really should be an interior decorator.”

“Oh stop, you know my Nannie picked everything out.”

“Nannie?” Harry asks.

“My grandmother, I call her Nannie.” You say giving him a peck on the cheek. “You guys want some wine?” You take out four glasses.

“Yes, please.” Kate says. You pour the wine into the glasses.

Kate and Kevin sit on the couch. Harry sits in the large chair adjacent to the couch, and you sit on the arm rest of the chair. He takes his arm, and moves you to sit on his lap. You giggle, and make yourself comfortable.

“So, how did you all meet?” Harry asks.

“Oh god, well (y/n) and I met at an activities fair. We both were looking for a film club.” Kate says. “I think you and Rachel were roommates freshman year right?”

“Yup. Then we met Sarah at that Jewish students meeting, that school had a club for everything. You and I roomed together sophomore year.”

“Awe that was such a good year. Then the four of us lived together our last two years. We met Kev our junior year.”

“And when did you two start dating?”

“Mid-way through our senior year.” She squeezes his hand. Kevin smiles at Kate.

“Yup, and then I stole her away.”

“That’s an understatement.” You say, sipping your wine.

“Excuse me?” Kevin says.

“Nothing, we just barely saw Kate after. You two stopped hanging out with us.” You shrug.

“We were busy.” Kevin says with a smirk.

“Kev, please, don’t flatter yourself.” Kate says, teasing. “You know we had a lot of classes together second semester, we were studying together a lot.”

“You practically moved out of our apartment.” Harry taps his hand on your thigh to the beat of the song playing, and you lean back further into him.

“I’m surprised you didn’t notice, with how little you slept there.” You shoot daggers at her. “And at least I was staying with the same person every night, not just throwing it around for anyone who would take it.” She takes a large sip of her wine.

“That’s because you got all of that out of your system your freshman year, remember?”

“I do remember, I remember you saying how jealous you were of me.”

“Little did I know there wasn’t much to be jealous of. You’re still bitter that Eric stopped seeing you because he wanted to see me.” You take an even bigger sip of your wine.

“Really? You’re bringing up Eric?”

“You started it.”

“Well, at least I never got an STD!” You stand up and so does Kate. The guys just look at the two of you.

“Kate! For the last time, I did not get scabies from sleeping with someone!”

“Oh no? Then you how else do you get scabies?”

“I don’t know, but I didn’t sleep with any dirty guys.”

“Are you sure? Sophomore year you fucked anything with a dick! And you wanna know why we stopped hanging out with the three of you that last year? I told Kev how you felt about him, and he didn’t want to be around you anymore.”

“How I felt about him?” You point at Kevin. “I didn’t have feelings for Kevin, fuck Kevin.”

“Yes you did, you told Sarah that you wanted to fuck him, and you knew I liked him!”

“Well good fucking thing you married him, Kate! And I never told Sarah that, I never wanted to fuck your fucking boyfriend.”

“Then why would she have told me you did?”

“She was probably talking about Kevin from the track team. Did she tell you when she was drunk? She probably got confused. And just like always, instead of you just talking to me about an issue, you let it blow up for no fucking reason.”

“What do you mean like always?”

“You always make mountains out of mole hills, and you always think you know better than everyone else. Guess what, just because you’re married doesn’t make you any better than me.”

“There it is, you’re jealous that I’m living the life that you want.”

“What is there to be jealous of? You never have any fun, Kevin never fucking lets you go out!”

“Stop it.”

“You’re afraid of him, right? You’re afraid he’ll leave you? Personally, I think you could’ve done a lot better than him, but you needed the security right? You’re lonely, and you get mad at us for actually having lives. I didn’t tell you to run off with him, and buy a big fucking house. No one had a gun to your head, you made your choices.”

“Would you shut up!? You’re making me sound like I’m this idiot that can’t make a life for myself. Kevin and I love each other, and you’re just jealous of that because you can’t stand to see a married couple happy.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Ever since your parents separated you haven’t been able to stand the thought of marriage! I think you’re mad at yourself, you’re a slut, just like your mom!” You’re about to raise your hand to Kate, but Harry grabs your wrist.

“Alright”, he turns the music off. “I think that’s about enough of that.”

“Who are you?” She says to him.

“Kate, he’s right, you went too far.” Kevin says standing up.

“I won’t sit here and listen to you talk to my girlfriend like that.”

“Girlfriend? You two just started seeing each other!” She looks at you. “You said you were going to take it slow this time.”

“I did, we are!”

“Then how is he already your boyfriend, Jesus Christ, you are so fucking stupid! You trust people way too easily.” She shakes her head at you. Your blood is boiling, and you go to lunge at her, but Harry wraps his arms around you and holds you back. “Go ahead, let her hit me, it’s what she wants.”

“I think it’s time for you both to leave.” Harry says, still holding onto your shaking body. You steady your breathing, and tap his hands.

“You know something Kate, I know what you’re really mad about.” You smirk.

“What’s that?”

“You’re not actually angry with me, you’re angry at the fact that you married a guy that hasn’t been able to make you orgasm since you met.”

“Woah, what?” Kevin interjects. Kate’s mouth falls open.

“Speechless? That’s a first.”

You don’t register what’s happening until you feel Kate’s hand connect with your cheek. Harry steps in front of you.

“You need to get the fuck out now.” He says to her with dark eyes. You’re holding you’re stinging cheek.

“Have fun with your fru fru boyfriend, and his photos and his painted nails. Let’s see how long this one lasts.”

You don’t say anything, Harry follows them out. He comes back to you, tears streaming down your cheeks. You can barely breathe, your mascara starts to sting your eyes, and you can feel your cheek swelling. Harry crosses the room, he goes to touch you, but you flinch away from him.

“I’m so sorry all that happened. I should have interjected sooner, but it just seemed like you two needed to get something out.”

“It’s not your fault.” You say with a crack in your voice. “She’s just a bitch, and I should have stopped talking to her a long fucking time ago.” You press your fingers slowly to your cheek. “Fuck.”

“Let me get you some ice, go sit on the couch.” You do as he says. He pulls some ice out of your freezer and puts it in a baggy, then wraps it in a towel. He sits next you, and lightly dabs your face.

“Thanks.” You sniffle.

“She’s not worth your tears, love.” He takes his thumb and wipes just under your good eye. You lean into his touch.

“Baby?”

“Mm?”

“Will you please take me to bed?” He smiles and nods.

He scoops you up in his arms, and carries you to your room. He gently sets you down on the bed. He goes over to your bureau, and pulls out a t-shirt and shorts for you.

“I’m just gonna go down to my car. I, uh, packed an overnight bag just in case.” You nod.

You go into the bathroom, and wash your face, your cheek is still sore, but it shouldn’t leave a mark. You didn’t want anyone thinking Harry hit you. You change, and grab your phone. You sit down at your desk, and you call Rachel, knowing Sarah is with Niall.

“Hey girl.” She says to you.

“Kate fucking slapped me.”

“What?!”

“That bitch fucking slapped me!” Harry walks into your room, and starts to change in front of you. You can’t help but watch while you talk to your friend.

“Why? What happened?”

“She started a fight with me…I know I added fuel the fire, but she called myself and my mom a whore, so I blurted out that Kevin can’t fuck her right, and she slapped me.”

“Jesus, and she did this in front of Harry?”

“Of course she did!”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, it just stings a little, she slapped me with one of her rings on.”

“Well, you know how she likes it rough.” You and Rachel burst out laughing.

“Oh yeah, she a freak.” You stifle your laughter, as Harry gives you a very confused look. He looks heavenly in his grey sweat pants.

“So, I’m assuming we’re not all hanging out tomorrow?”

“I’m not seeing her again.”

“Alright, maybe Sarah and I could come by to see you then. You know Kate is going to twist this whole thing around. I’m glad you called to tell me first.”

“Me too. It’s sad how much she’s changed.”

“I think if she just left Kevin she would be so much happier. They’re not a good match.”

“We tried to tell her, Rach.”

“But mother knows best.” Rachel groans. “Is Harry still with you?”

“Mhm.”

“Alright, then go be with your man. I’ll text you tomorrow to see when we should come by. Probably in the afternoon. Sarah is with your friend again tonight.”

“Oh, I know. And sounds good, talk to you tomorrow.” You hang up the phone, and look at the man sitting at the edge of the bed.

“What was so funny?”

“Nothing, Rachel just reminded me of something that Kate likes.” You shrug. You stand up and walk over to him until you’re standing between his legs.

“Do you wanna just go to bed? I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

“Yeah, would you cuddle me?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

You both get cozy under the covers, and he spoons you nice and close to him. You wiggle your bum against him a couple of time, and he adjusts himself.

“If you keep moving against me like that, we’re going to have a problem.” He says into your ear. He starts laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, I just can’t believe she slapped you.” You start laughing with him.

“She’s an idiot.” He hugs you closer to him, and nestles in your hair. You both slowly drift off into sleep.

Early that morning, you hear your name being called by a familiar voice. Harry jolts awake and you look at each other.

“How many friends of yours have a key to this apartment?” He asks getting up.

“Too many.” You hide under the covers. “Make her go away.” He gets up, and leaves the room.

Kate looks much different from last night. She’s in sweats, her hair in a messy bun, and no makeup. She looks up at Harry. Her eyes are swollen and red, probably from crying. He crosses his arms when he looks back at her.

“I really don’t think she wants to see you.”

“I just need to talk with her privately. I need to apologize, I can’t lose her.”

“Seems like you lost her a long time ago.” She sighs and stands up. She starts to walk to toward your room, but he stands in her way.

“Move.”

“No.”

“You don’t get to decide who she speaks to.”

“You’re right, but she did ask me to make you leave. And you should probably leave that key on the counter on your way out.” Kate brushes past Harry, and she bursts into your room. She closes the door quickly behind him and she locks it.

“Harry!”

“She locked the door!” He yells. You get out of bed, and stand with your arms crossed.

“I have some explaining to do. I acted like a psycho last night.” You roll your eyes at her. “I suppose I was just taking all of my frustrations out on you.”

“Like you always do. I can’t be your punching bag.”

“I know that. I’m so sorry. Kevin and I stopped trying to get pregnant, and I haven’t wanted him to touch me. I may have lied about him not being okay with me coming to visit you guys.”

“What do you mean?” You both sit on the bed.

“Well, I made it all up. The truth was, it hurt to hang out. I was jealous of your lives. My parents pressured me into staying with him, and I stupidly listened. I love him, I do, but there’s no passion. Not like there was. We’re, um, going to separate for a while.” She chokes back a few tears. “I don’t expect you to feel bad for me, because honestly I deserve everything bad that has happened to me.”

“You don’t deserve to be unhappy, Kate.”

“Yes, I do. I’ve been having an affair for the last month. I told Kevin last night.”

“Oh my god, with who?”

“One of his colleagues.” She says looking down. “I was always attracted to him, and one night we met up and just fucked, all night. It was incredible. He, um, likes the same things that I do.” Her cheeks grow red.

“Where are you gonna go?”

“Kev’s gonna sublet an apartment closer to the hospital so I can stay in the house. At least until we figure everything out. We’re probably going to get divorced.”

“What did he say when you told him about the affair?”

“Well, he asked why I would do that. And he asked how he could better satisfy me, and I told him what I was into, and he said he just didn’t feel comfortable with it, and I told him I knew that. He knows it was just a sex thing. We’re both still so young, and we don’t want to waste anymore of each other’s time.”

“What will you do?”

“Well, I’m almost done with my master’s degree, and once I have that I’ll start making more money so I’ll be able to move out. He said once I’m a month into my raise we’ll put the house on the market.”

“You figured all of this out last night?”

“Yeah, we were up all night talking. God, my parents are going to be pissed.”

“It’s not their life, Kate.”

“I know. Listen, I am so sorry I said that stuff about your mom, I never should have gone there.”

“I’m not going to say it’s okay, because it’s not.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to move on from this?”

“You assaulted me.”

“I really shouldn’t drink anymore. I’m sorry.”

“I’m going to need some time. I know I said some hurtful things to you too.”

“I told Rachel and Sarah what happened in a group text.”

“I called Rachel last night.”

“I cancelled our plans today. Kev is waiting in the car downstairs, I just wanted the chance to explain.”

“I appreciate you being honest.” You reach out and hug her. “I need some time to cool down from all this.”

“Okay.” She breaks your hug and stands up. “When will we talk next?”

“When I feel ready, I’ll call.” She nods. “Kate, I still care a lot about you, and I want to be there for you. But…”

“I made this mess, it’s time I cleaned it up.” She opens the door. Harry is leaning against the hall closet. “Thanks warden.” She says to him. She looks back at you, and then to him. “Treat her right, she’s special.” Kate leaves the apartment, and leaves the key on the counter like Harry said. Harry sits on the bed next to you.

“Good talk?”

“Sort of. Her and Kevin are going to separate. She’s been having an affair with another doctor for over a month.”

“I heard a little, why exactly did she stray from Kevin?”

“Kate, how do I put this, she likes to be a little rough when she has sex.”

“She likes to be rough, or she likes when someone is rough with her?”

“The second one. We all know about it, and promised not to say anything. At first she said she was just into like being tied up, you know little fantasies, but she’s into some really dark shit. Not to kink shame.” You say in defense. “People like what they like.”

“Define dark shit.”

“God, don’t make me say it.” You say a little embarrassed.

“What is it, a daddy kink?”

“Yeah, but like it’s more than that. She likes when a guy is like really dominant, like scary dominant. Like one time she came back from hooking up with this guy, and she showed us her butt and it was beat red, like it left this giant bruise. I guess he spanked her like ten times in a row or something. And then she told us that he like choked her and would spit in her mouth.” It sends a shiver up your spine. “Gross.”

“And Kevin wasn’t willing to do any of that with her?”

“Not really. He was scared of hurting her, which I completely understand. Ugh, this whole conversation has turned my stomach. Could you imagine spitting your own come into someone’s mouth?”

“Wait what?” He bursts out laughing.

“Some guy came inside of her, went down on her, licked it up, and spit it into her mouth and made her swallow it.”

“And she liked that?”

“Loved it!” You start laughing. “I really shouldn’t laugh, it’s not her fault she’s into that sorta thing. She just discovered it.”

“At first I thought you were just grossed out at like regular spitting, but I can see how that would gross you out. Even I wouldn’t do that.”

“What are you saying exactly?”

“Regular spit isn’t gross, you’re already swapping spit as it is.” He shrugs. You put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m only going to say this once. Please, do not ever spit into my mouth.” He chuckles.

“You got it.” Your phone starts to buzz, it’s Sarah.

“(y/n), are you okay????”

“Yeah, Sarah, I’m fine.”

“I felt so bad, Rachel told me everything and I didn’t get Kate’s texts until a little while ago. Do you want us to come over?”

“No, I think I’d like to just hang out with Harry today. I’ve had my fill of girl time, but I’ll check in with you guys tomorrow.”

“Alright, sweetie. Talk soon.” You hang up, and fling your back on the bed and groan.

“I just want to turn my brain off!” You look at him, he’s smiling at you. “What?”

“You wanna spend the day with Harry huh?”

“Sorry, do you have other things you need to do?” You say apologetically.

“Nope, I just thought it was sweet.” He climbs on top of you, and you wrap your legs around him. “Let me distract you for a little while.” He says into your neck, and he starts to kiss you slowly.

“I really should take a shower.” He sighs, and gets off of you. You get up, and look at him confused. “Well?”

“Well what?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Aren’t you going to join me?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I wanna be close with you.”

“You realize I’ll be naked, and you haven’t seen me yet.”

“But I’ve felt you. And who says I would even look?” You say playfully. “C’mon, come shower with me.”

He doesn’t hesitate, and gets up, following you into the bathroom.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fic #harry styles x reader #harry styles y/n #harry styles y/n fic #harry styles fluff #harry styles fluff fic #take it slow #photographer!harry

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