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#she confirmed plans for our date night on Saturday and said I should come meet one of her family members when I go to pick her up
insanechayne · 10 months
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justkending · 3 years
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Moral of the Story (Prologue)
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Series Summary: From childhood friends, to highschool sweethearts, the two naive, young, and lovestruck teens decided the best way to keep a strong relationship during college would be to marry right out of highschool. No one batted an eye at the idea as everyone knew they were soulmates. However, college is a big step in a person’s life. You learn new things about yourself, you make new friends, find new hobbies… And maybe being newly weds and going to different colleges across the states wasn’t the best plan… After a falling out, and a tragic heartbreaking divorce, the two now hold grudges for how the other handled the whole thing in the past. Neither not really knowing both sides of the story. 10 years later, and they both get a call from the lawyers office that settled their divorce. Somehow the papers never went through and the divorce was never completed. So now, the exes, or should we say husband and wife, have to meet back up after all these years to settle their failed marriage once and for all. (This summary will be shorter in other chapters. I just needed to get the full concept out there;)
A/N (repeat): So the other day while I was doing my hair (quite the process), I was playing music and the song Moral of the Story by Ashe came on. Mind you, I’ve heard this song hundreds of times, but for some reason, this time I got a major story idea! Listening to the lyrics brought me to this new series. Of course, the lengthy summary above will give you an idea of what came to my brain, but I recommend you listen to the song still because it plays a big part in my thought process:) (Plus it’s a good song;) Enjoy and please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and comments with me! I love each and every single one<3
(I will release the first chapter at the beginning of next week! That way I can give myself some time to write more chapters before sharing it!)
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Y/N (Modern AU)
Word Count: 1200+
Prologue:
"Melody, have the papers for the Bee's Knees company come in yet?"
"Uh, no. But I can call them again and see if they faxed it or sent over a physical copy though," Melody answered from her desk, already typing away to find the company.
"Perfect. We have a meeting with a recycling plant next week and I want to get everything set before we go in with them," Y/N nodded, coming out from her office with a file in her hands. She turned to her assistant at the front desk who was about 20 emails deep and already finding the issue. "Hey, you're not coming in tomorrow, right?"
"Um, no, no. I am. I rescheduled that date," she answered bashfully as if she had been caught in the act of something.
"Melody..." Y/N drug out, hand on her hip.
"What? I- He understood. He said he was fine moving it to Saturday," the young woman shrugged, never looking back at her boss that was clearly sending her a motherly stare.
"You're already over your 40 hours this week, and you've rescheduled with him, what? 3 times now?" Y/N moved to the front of the desk so the young brunette had to make eye contact with her.
"Yes," she answered hesitantly.
"Is it just nerves or something else?" Y/N smirked.
"I'm not nervous... It's just been a while since I've had time for a date."
"Two things about what you just said in the past minute. One, clearly this guy likes you because he's rescheduled with you this many times and hasn't called it off yet. So if you're nervous about it not going well on his end, I think you're safe," Y/N pointed a finger at her.
"But-," Melody started.
"Second," Y/N cut off with a raised eyebrow. "I'm giving you time to go on a date and you're still not taking it. Work is no longer an excuse."
Melody stopped avoiding eye contact and looked up at the Y/H/C hair woman leaning on her reception desk.
"You've been talking with my mom again, haven't you?" she sighed.
"I promised I'd take care of you. So yes, I have. And though her reasoning for you dating is because she wants grandbabies, I just want you to have fun and live your life. You're 22. Don't waste your young years being scared."
"Ugh, fine. I'll text him now and see if he's still available for tonight," she groaned.
"Perfect!" Y/N grinned in victory as she started to walk back to her office. "I expect the details in the morning," she winked before she walked in.
"Oh, Y/N!" Melody stopped her. "A message came for you while you were in that last meeting."
"Who from?" Y/N quirked an eyebrow, moving back to the desk.
"Uh, I don't really know. Didn't sound familiar, but here's the name and number they said to call back from," she answered, handing her a note.
Y/N took the small paper and looked it over. Her face dropped and her eyes widened.
"You ok? Is it someone you know?" the young assistant asked, noticing what looked like horror on her face.
"Um, yeah. Yeah, an old acquaintance of mine," Y/N tried to quickly brush off. "Um, I'm going to take this. Can you hold any calls and if anyone comes to talk, tell them to just email me?"
"Oh, ok. Yeah, I'll take care of it," Melody nodded.
"Thank you."
Rushing back to her office and quickly shutting her door, she raced to her phone. She read the business name again, not sure if she was dreaming or if it was a hallucination.
Nope. Hammer Attorney was written in Melody's perfect penmanship on the paper with a number that held an area code from New York. A place she never thought she would hear from again and from a town she hadn't visited in almost 10 years._________________
"Buck, did you tell Fury about getting those new water therapy machines?" Steve shouted from his room.
"We're at home, Steve. Why are we talking about work?" Bucky groaned as he slouched on the couch. A beer in hand and a documentary with I Survived stories playing in front of him.
Steve came in from around the corner looking down at his phone in hand before moving his eye line to his roommate.
"Because I just got a call from the night crew saying that the last one that was working, finally went out tonight while they were running it for some test," Steve raised an eyebrow.
"Ugh, you would think that a facility run by a billionaire who literally makes his money on high-tech machines, wouldn't have to ask for those kinds of things," Bucky groaned, grabbing his own phone and going through emails. "Let me check to see if the email went through. He wasn't in office when I went to tell him."
As he was sorting through the hundreds of emails sent back and forth just this week alone, he found the reply message.
"Yeah, management confirmed it. They should be in by Saturday it looks like. Guess Stark was still working out the kinks to a new one and was waiting to send one our way until the last one died to get more time on his newest model."
Steve nodded before walking to the kitchen and typing Bucky's response to the other crew members.
"The man is always finding new ways to upgrade them before he can even send them to us."
Just as Bucky was about to throw his phone to the side again though, it started ringing. Looking at the caller ID, he didn't recognize the unknown number. It was from in-state but in his hometown area of Brooklyn. He pinched his eyebrows together confused at the call, but answered it anyway, thinking it must be someone from home.
"Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Mr. Barnes?" The other voice answered.
"Yes, this is him. Who's this?" he asked, sitting up a little and putting the beer on the end table.
"My name is Matthew Murdock. I work at Nelson and Murdock Law firm," he went on. Bucky shook his head not knowing what that was supposed to mean. "Well, you may actually know us previously as Hammer Attorney. We recently just took over their business after some fraud issues."
Bucky's heart stopped. He knew what that name meant.
"I hate to inform you, but we were going through some of their old files. Ones we were informed could be incomplete or done completely incorrectly due to little care in the actual cases, but more so in taking the money."
"Incomplete cases?" Bucky said softly. His brain was still trying to wrap around the conversation.
"Yes, unfortunately, it looks like a lot of cases having to deal with divorces that the past owners handled, were done strictly in order to launder money. They weren't actually certified, nor trained in handling divorce settlements."
Bucky froze. Eyes wide. Mouth agape.
He stuttered out a response when the man on the other line didn't continue.
"A-And talking about incomplete divorce settlements, you called because..." Bucky knew. He needed to hear it out loud because if he didn't, it wasn't true. It couldn't be.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Barnes, but it looks as though you and your wife, Y/N Y/L/N or sorry, Y/N Barnes, are actually not divorced."
(I will release the first chapter at the beginning of next week! That way I can give myself some time to write more chapters before sharing it!)
Moral of the Story Taglist:
@taylormobley @ximaginx @vicmc624
Marvel Tags:
@thejourneyneverendsx @death-unbecomes-you @heyiamthatbitch @lizzymacy555  @srrymydood @xa-dia @redhairedfeistynerd @morganclaire4 @connie326 @captain-asguard @mollygetssherlockcoffee @teenagedreams-bucky @shower-me-with-roses​ @pham-tastical 
My Lovelies forever:
@natura1phenomenon​ @lauravicente​ @kakakatey​ @traceyaudette​ @notyourtypicalrose​  @laneygthememequeen​ @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​ @sandlee44​ @thorne93​ @thefaithfulwriter​ @essie1876​ @greyeyedsmile14​ @capsiclehan​  @xostephanie​ @averyrogers83​ @awesomenursingstudent​ @gh0stgurl​ @cs-please​ @carls1022​ @jjlevin​ @rainbowkisses31​ @carls1022​ @anise-d-castle6​ @deannotmoose​ @their-bibliophile​ @kitkatd7​ @willowbleedsonpaper​ @mariaenchanted​ @snffbeebee​ @couldabeenamermaid​ @rebekahdawkins​ @alyispunk​
Bucky Barnes Tags:
@chloe-skywalker​ @charmedbysarge​ @jbarness​ @bellamy-barnes​ @katiaw2​ @aikeia​
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swtki · 3 years
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My Game - Spencer Reid x Reader
This is a part 2 to Teachers Pet
SUMMARY: After Y/Ns little test, she takes Dr. Reid up on his offer. She also takes him back to the apartment. 
WARNINGS: 18+ CONTENT, SMUT, FEM READER, PROFFESOR-STUDENT, TEACHER REID, ORAL (FEMALE RECIEVING), PENATRATIVE SEX, SEMI DOM-SUB
It had been three days since Dr. Reid emailed me. I hadn’t texted him yet, too afraid of not knowing what to say. When I pulled that little stunt at his desk, I expected nothing to come of it. Just seeing his cute and pink face was enough of a reward. But it was obvious to me in the days following, he wanted to cross his finish line.
My phone sat comfortably in my hands, the series of numbers lining the top of my screen. I had not an inkling of an idea of what I would say. Should I go casual? Professional? Sexy? I mean, did anyone ever know how to aproach their crush?
Y: It’s Y/N, sorry I took so long. I’ve been kinda busy.
S: No worries, I was beginning to think I had read the room incorrectly. What are your plans for Saturday night? Theres a great Italian restaurant next to where I’m staying in DC.
Y: That sounds wonderful, actually. I’ll meet you there at 7?
S: Perfect.
I reluctantly pulled my figure from the sofa, and soon eagerly jumping into the shower. When the water hit my face the entire day melted away, and left only the anticipation of that night. I felt so special, I mean I was living my most vivid fantasies and not every woman gets to do it with a genius professor.
With my makeup carefully applied, and my dress matching my shoes, I started down the stairs. As my heels made a clicking noise, I started to feel a familiar flutter in my stomach. I was nervous; First date nervous. Though I had met him many times, and most recently met his body with mine, the event of a first date was a pâté of emotions.
The door of the restaurant was cold against my hand. I didn’t expect a high end dining experience, and when I walked in the entry way I was glad it wasn’t. The entry way was filled with cozy items. The faded rose pattern on the wallpaper complimented the display of family photos.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for a tall brunette man, it was a table for two.” I said to the hostess. She paused for a second, tapping on her tablet as she checks the current table descriptions.
“Ah yes, party of two for Reid?”
I confirmed and she led me through a hallway to our left, which led into a small dining area. The room walls were a burgundy color, illuminated by the candle sitting at the head of each table.
I thanked the woman as I walked toward Spencer. He looked a tad bit cleaner than usual, his hair was combed and tucked away behind his ears.
“Oh, here let me get that for you.” He rose from his seat and rushed over to the chair across from him.
“How gentleman like, Doctor.” He laughed and we both took our seats.
“Please, call me Spencer.” His form was more relaxed than it usually was in class, giving him a calmer and peaceful demeanor.
Dinner progressed, a glass of wine was nursed, and he insisted on paying our check. Though I had been on dates before, this felt like my first real adult date.
“How did you get here?” He inquired as we stepped onto the rough parking lot terrain.
“I took a cab, I’m thinking I may catch the train though.” I said. His mouth spread into a displeased expression.
“Nonsense, please let me drive you home. I would hate for those statistics we learned last week be applied in this manor.” I laughed and rolled my eyes. I hesitated to answer for a moment, instinctually I looked down and shifted my weight on my feet. The thought of him driving me home could end up in a number of ways; Mostly good. But, if I did take the train, it would end in a few ways; Mostly unmentionable.
“Alright, since you asked nicely.” His cheeks grew red as he avoided eye contact with me. I knew right then where our night would likely head.
“Would you like to come up? We can have a drink if you aren’t hell-bent on going to sleep before nine-thirty.” I joked with him.
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you to feel forced into anything because I know that theres a certain expectation when-“
“Spencer, if I didn’t want to fuck you, I wouldn’t have asked you up.”
Sure, having to say it in blatant terms is less than sexy, but thats what I adored about our dynamic at that point; I led the relationship.
I leaned into my fridge, purposefully bending over so my skirt lifted to show my ass.
“Well...fuck,” I said, “As it would turn out, someone stole my wine bottle and filled my fucking vodka bottle with water.” I stood up and shut the door, walking over to the counter inches away.
“One time I took the drink turn when it came to our friend-team-dinner-night, the bottle was forty dollars, which granted is the cheap wine more or less. To this day I still have no idea who stole the bottle, because I wanted to take it home.” Spencer reminisced. I laughed at his unusual way of trying to understand.
“Wasn’t really mine to begin with,” I started walking over to the sofa where he patiently sat. “I’m not of legal drinking age. But of course it tastes better when its forbidden, everything does.” I stepped in front of the man, his knees only an inch from my shin. "Can I touch you, Spencer?” I said in a soft voice, the lids of my eyes relaxed in a sweet shift.
“Y-yes.” He gasped, obviously so turned on by the way I stood over him, in power of him. I threaded his hair through my fingers and tugged back, pushing his head as far up as I could. His eyelids fell and he was no longer looking at me.
“Look at me, sweetheart. I want you to see everything.” He opened his eyes, his irises were colored with lust and desperation. I connected our lips in a long a sweet kiss. Rather than just having a mess of tongues, the kiss was filled to the brim with emotion, of pleasure that this was happening again. His lips were slightly swollen when I pulled away to unbutton his shirt. While I fiddled with the garment, he put his hands on my hips firmly.
“Can I- can you sit on my lap?” he asked, a red tint forming on his face. I smiled and obliged, sliding his shirt off of his lean torso. I started kissing him once more, this time I made sure to press my dripping panties against the large tent in his trousers.
“Would you like to take this to the bedroom?” I ask,hands resting comfortably on his neck.
“Please”, I stood and laced our hands together, leading him to my bedroom. Once we both entered through the doorway, I pushed him onto the bed, he fell softly.
I reached my hands behind my back to unzip my dress, as I felt it fall past my legs and onto the floor, I saw his eyes scan every detail of my body.
“One might say you were planning this.” He eyed my matching lace set.
“Wanted to make sure Spencer Reid had the best.” I replied, climbing on top of him so that I would be straddling him. I felt his hands connect to my waist as we kissed, his hands were warm and excited me even more. He pulled away, quickly pressing his lips to my neck and collarbone. My breath hitched in my throat as he bit down lightly on the skin. “Lets get these off, shall we?” I motioned to his pants, which had to be killing him right now. While he does that, I reach into my drawer and retrieve a condom, laying against the plush material of my pillows after I set it down on the table.
He gets on top of me , pressing his lips with mine as he rubs the back of my bra, signaling he wants me to take it off. I ,of course, reach back and unhook it, tossing it onto the floor. He grabs my tit while dancing his tongue with mine, making me more wet than I thought was possible. Usually, these actions signified a need for control, but when Spencer did it, it was like a desperate sixteen year old boy. Its clear he needed me.
“Can I...” he nods down to my cunt, still covered by the thin material of my panties.
“Can you what, Spencer?” I lace my fingers in his hair and pull, earning a soft groan from the man hovering over me.
“Can I please eat you out?” He begged. I smiled and pushed his head down, spreading my legs when his face met my stomach. He started by taking his thumb and rubbing over my clothed pussy. I bucked my hips, desperate for more friction. “Is it okay for me to take these off?” His eyes met mine, searching for confirmation. I smiled and nodded, moving my hands to stroke his hair rather than tug at it.
As his fingers latched onto the last piece of fabric that covered me, instinctually I pushed my hips upwards. He looked at me, silently asking if taking the garment off was still okay. When I bit my lip, a rose hue covered his face. He was flustered by me, by the escalation of us. But nevertheless, he slowly pulled off the last piece of modesty I had.
To re-assure him, I lightly tugged at his hair. Thankfully, he took the hint and licked a long stripe on my clit. My voice was caught in my throat as he continued making flat-tongued movements. I felt his hands slowly wrap around my thighs, pushing my heat into his face more than it already was.
He devoured me without hesitation, but when he pulled away for air he replaced it with two fingers and then when my stomach tensed and my eyes rolled back into my head, he used three. I finished with his mouth sucking on my bundle of nerves and his fingers buried inside me.
“Do you want to keep going?” He raised his head up and his thumb stroked my thigh, which he was still grasped onto.
“Yes, God yes please, Spencer.” I whined, the high fading away. He stood up off the bed and removed his strained boxers. He was beautiful; His lanky form was now a lean masculine type. I smiled at him, to which he obviously thought he was being laughed at. He couldn’t make eye contact with me, resulting to the floor instead. “Spencer,” I crawled towards the edge of my bed and placed my hands on his shoulders, “You are so gorgeous, the reason I’m smiling is because you always hide it in those sweater vests.” he relaxed.
“Thanks” he mumbles, still avoiding my eyes.
“Now please, come back here and let me take care of you.” He climbed back onto the bed while I rested against the pillows. He was nervous, and obviously he wanted to do it right. I could see his hands shaking as he unwrapped the condom and put it on.
“You’re sure?” He asks, the tip of his cock resting on the top of my inner thigh. He was easily six inches, my hand could probably wrap around and be too small.
“Yes, please fuck me.” He slowly inserted himself into my dripping cunt, causing me to let out a lewd string of words. Once again, my hands flung to his hair and tugged harshly, causing his arms to almost buckle beneath his own weight. I could feel his pelvis against mine, his muscular bottom torso pressed up against my clit. “Move, baby, its okay.” I reassure him. His hips pull away from mine, then snap back with a nice pressure. He quickly started to pick up his pace, small grunts escaping through his clenched jaw. “Do you like the feeling of your pathetic little cock inside my cunt? I bet you feel like a special little bitch now.” I moaned into his ear. “Well, are you going to tell me how much you enjoy my cunt?”.
“God, yes! I love it so fucking-“ his moan paused the sentence and he focused on getting his movements right.
“So fucking what? Go on, finish the sentence baby.”
“So fucking good, I love being inside of you so much!” He was practically whimpering in pleasure.
“Be a good boy and make me cum all over that pretty little cock of yours?” I struggled to contain my moans, I could not fall apart this quickly.
“Yes I will!” His fingers reached down to rub my clit, impressively keeping a steady rhythm. I felt the knot in my stomach becoming hotter and hotter as the minutes passed by.
“Oh my god, such a good- oh my god!” my eyes rolled back into my head as the impact of my orgasm was full forced. When my head cleared, I tugged on his hair, pulling his head so he could look me in the eye. “Gonna cum soon? Are you going to cum all inside of me?” his thrusts got off beat, he was close.
“Yes, I’m gonna-“
“Ask permission to cum, Spencer.”
“Can I please cum inside of you? Please?” He whines.
“Of course you can, baby.” With that he makes a strained moaning noise and his hips slowly stop moving. We’re both panting, while he flushes the condom I walk into the bathroom next to him. I turn to the shower and twist the hot water knob.
“We might as well get clean together, yeah?” I said.
“Yeah.” he smiles and kisses me once more.
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blps · 3 years
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Are you having fun?
Pairing: Sakusa x reader
Genre: fluff! (And maybe also stranger to why am I stuck with you to oh nevermind I guess you are nice to hang out with to oh shit I think I caught feelings) anybody got a name for that trope??
Word count: ~2.6k
Summary: Your friend’s crush has four tickets to an amusment park, and so while your friend and her crush pratically abandons you with the none other than Sakusa Kiyomi
a/n: Wow thos is my longest fic, I think Sakusa is a bit ooc in this because of how fast he warms up to you but THIS IS FICTION SO WHO CARES haha ok anyways enjoy!
///////////////////////////////////////
You couldn’t believe you agreed to this. Currently in a car, hearing your friend besides you thanking you for tagging along and rambling about her perfect crush, you looked outside the window, thinking about how comfortable your bed was and how you wished you could have stayed in it.
But of course you had to agree to your friend’s offer. The pleading in their eyes made you feel guilty if you said no. She really liked him and you were pretty sure he did too. The both of them were just too shy to initiate the first move. So what could go wrong? Well the fact that you were going to arrive at 8am on a saturday morning was the problem.
And so with your little sleep hours you had, you encourage yourself to do this and make sure that your friend and her crush end up confessing by the end of the day.
One of your worries was the fourth person. Your friend informed you that you wouldn’t be third wheeling, another person would accompany you, wasn’t that wonderful? No. Doing first interactions with a new human being was nonexistent on your list of favourite things to do. Will you and them click off and could enjoy a day together? Or will it be awkward the whole time? What if you both will not get along? So many questions you weren’t so eager to find the answer.
Your friend parked the car, giving you a blinding smile as she got out of the car. You wanted to at least not ruin her first date so you switched your moody morning self to the ‘I totally want to socialise with you’ persona.
As you got out of the car, the sun warmed your skin from the fresh breeze of mornings. You walked behind your friend as you met with what would be the crush and your companion for the rest of the day.
Your partner for the day turned around, and you were just in awe of his beauty. He was tall, more than 6’. His dark hair curled nicely, perfectly framing his face. Well, the partial part you could see anyway as he was wearing a mask. But if that mask didn’t further accentuate his beauty then you didn’t know what else will. As you got closer, two beauty marks were more noticable and that was the last straw. He just took the prize for the most beautiful man effortlessly; it almost made you angry.
He introduced himself with the most soothing voice. You gathered yourself, not wanting to make him uncomfortable as you greeted him properly and his friend. The four of you then entered the amusement park, ready for a day of ups and downs.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You knew it would end up like this. As soon as your friend and her crush had a map of the place, they immediately left you and Sakusa alone.
It was silent between the two of you. Guess he wasn’t that much of a talker. You took a map for yourself. You were about to ask what he would like to do when his words cut the silence first.
“I’m not riding any roller coasters.”
Well, that was a really good start.
“May I ask why? Who would come to an amusement park and not try at least one rollercoaster?”, you replied.
“I hate germs and if you were aware, the seats are filled with strangers filth”, his eyes clearly judging you,” I’m sure you wouldn’t understand.”
Oh yeah his looks wouldn’t be able to save him now.
“Excuse me? Are you calling me unsanitary?”
“Considering how you touched the rotating metal bars with your bare hands at the entrance, I would agree. Do you even realise how many germs you just touched?”
His look of distaste was the only confirmation that he was in fact, a germaphobe. Great. Who would’ve guessed a germaphobe would be in an amusement park. You really hit the target for the least desirable person to spend a whole day with in your situation.
You sigh as you took your hand sanitiser from your bag and rubbed your hands vigorously, giving him the most infuriating glare you could do.
“Here”, you showed your hands to him,” there now should be 0.01% bacteria, if you don’t want to ride a rollercoaster, fine. At least let’s walk around and look for our friends since you wouldn’t gain more bacteria.”
You turned around, ready to do anything but be alone with the judging look all day. You should at least have a good time when you were forced out of your comfy bed to be here.
With your back turned to him and his face mask on, you wouldn’t have known of that tiny smirk on Sakusa’s lips.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Your plan didn’t go as well as you expected. You and Mr. Nofun were sitting as far away as you could from a bench. You were even surprised that he sat on it. Your friend ran along with your crush to who knows where and so you weren’t able to find her.
Silence once again ruled in the atmosphere. Only the faint sound of rollercoasters and people screaming were reaching your ears. You have texted your friend to meet up, you couldn’t handle being alone with him anytime longer. Maybe you should leave him. Why should you stay? You were fully capable of having a good time by yourself.
“I didn’t expect you to have a hand sanitizer with you.”
This was not the time.
“Why did you even come if you weren’t going to do anything? There really weren’t any more suitable candidates?”
You were both staring each other down, arguments ready to be unleashed when a new sound reached both of your ears.
The great rumbling of hungry stomachs.
Yours to be more precise.
Burying yourself deep in the ground was a very enticing idea right now, until Sakusa’s stomach joined in on the symphony of hunger.
With few words of agreement, you both went to find something to eat.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You were both eating, in silence once again. Sakusa finished his bite, and stared at you until your own eyes met his.
“No there weren’t any suitable candidates. No one wanted to spend a day with two lovers at an amusement park. And since I thought I would be alone, I planned to do nothing. I didn’t know you would be here.”
Your temper from earlier calmed down, you finished your bite as you answered back:
“Well fair enough but I still would like to enjoy myself you know? You're not the only one that is forced to be here. I didn’t even get to finnish my dream and next thing I know, I’m out of bed and onto one of the most social places you could be.”
Since his mask was off his face so he could eat, which was both a blessing and a curse, you were able to notice the small smirk forming.
“Well how about you do what you would like? Don’t bother about the others, enjoy your day.”
Well, maybe he wouldn’t be a pain after all.
“You have something stuck between your teeth.”
You spoke too soon.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Aside from his comments, it was actually going pretty well. You had participated in some mini activities and won some prizes. You had gained stuffed animals, a balloon, and more unnecessary gadgets. You wanted to at least try the haunted house but Sakusa refused to go in it.
You were currently in a ferris wheel for a little break, devouring a pink cotton candy while your now tolerable partner was doing his best in trying not to touch the metal security bar.
You let out a chuckle, the both of you arriving at the top.
“I’ll let you use my hand sanitizer. Just hold it if you want to feel secure”, your soft chuckle making his eyebrows furrow.
“It doesn’t work that way”
“Here take this”, you handed him your cotton candy as you searched your bag for your gloves,” here I had these gloves since we would stay to watch the fireworks and it would be pretty chilly at night.”
His eyes reflected surprise as you took your cotton candy back and handed him the gloves. You continued admiring the view and eating the sugar, oblivious to the man besides you who wanted to calm his heartbeat and the pink blossoming coloring his cheeks.
When you were back on the ground and walking around. You spotted one of your favourite activities yet so far. The prize was a living fish and you were just so excited to win one you grabbed Sakusa’s sleeve and dragged him eagerly to the stand.
Time flew by as well as your money. Your wallet couldn’t withstand another round. You just couldn’t beat the game and win the fish. Adding on to that, you felt Sakusa’s annoyance from your back facing him. He was probably tired of holding your stuff.
You accepted your defeat, ready to go, until you felt his presence besides you. His arm extended, cash on his hand.
“Another round please.” The host prepared the booth once again, happy with his earnings. Meanwhile, you prepared to not disappoint Sakusa, mentally forcing yourself to not screw this up. You looked over him, about to thank him. However, he only gave you your stuff back.
“You are so bad at this, let me just show you how it’s done”, his gentle eyes were locked with your surprised ones. It was different from the usual judgemental and disgusted look he had.
Before you knew it, he was facing you again, but this time, he held a plastic bag with a bright small orange fish swimming around.
“Shall we continue, the others are probably searching for us as well.” He kept on walking, not bothering to check if you were following him. Snapping out of your shocked state, you quickly catched up to him, thinking how to thank him.
“Um.. thanks, for winning the fish for me, I-“
“Oh I think you misunderstood,” he smirked, giving you a teasing look, “I won this fish. So I will be keeping it.”
Irritation washed over you. But before you could respond, your name was called out in the crowd. You saw your friend jogging towards you, hand in hand with her crush. At least this day was going well for one of you.
“I’m so glad we found you! We went to the randez-vous point you sent by text but you weren’t there-” She hugged you tight before whispering in your ear, “I’m sorry I didn’t see the text sooner,” before pulling away.
“We were going to our last roller coaster, if you guys want to join us. It’s getting dark anyways, better not be separated again.”
You glanced over at Sakusa, wondering if he was ok doing at least one. He reluctantly agreed, but made an effort nonetheless.
You were walking with your friend, a little behind the others so your conversation wouldn’t be heard.
“I hope you are at least enjoying yourself”, your friend looked at you with concerned eyes, waiting and searching for signs that you would like to leave, “I had a really good time so I wouldn’t mind if you would like to leave, I can drive you home.” You knew that if you felt uncomfortable in any way, she wouldn’t hesitate to take you home safely. However, you didn’t need to go home yet, you could continue a bit. 
You considered it. You really did. What was keeping you from leaving? Even if Sakusa was a pain, you somewhat enjoyed his company. No. That couldn’t be it. It must be something else. You convinced yourself that it must be the fireworks.
Ignoring your feelings, you reassured your friend that you were fine. You would enjoy the rest of the day for yourself, not letting anything, or anyone for that matter, to ruin it.
The four of you finally arrived at your final destination. Turns out that no feelings will be ignored. The roller coaster was a lover's tunnel. Guess who’s your partner.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was awkward. You and Sakusa were side by side on the swan shaped boat, not a word travelled between the two of you.
You were alone in the tunnel, the smooth warm lighting meant for couples not helping. If the situation couldn’t get more embarrassing, romantic music started to play and the both of you went stiff.
That was it. Better bicker about something else than being silent. Your heart beated frantically against your chest, a miracle it hasn’t bolted out and left you. You turned your face to face Sakusa, noticing the faint pink on his ears.
“So will you keep the fish?” You shouldn’t have talked, maybe it made matters worse. In this situation, perhaps it was better to keep silent and never speak of it again. But even if that was the case, you shouldn’t make a big deal out of it right?
You were certain you held no feelings for Sakusa. He was mean, teasing, insufferable, never having fun, a germ freak and handsome. Wait no, none of that attractiveness, when someone has an undesirable personality, they appear uglier. But was he really that unattractive or were you trying to convince yourself that even the idea of liking him was impossible. 
“I won it. Of course I’ll keep it”, he mumbled behind his mask. The atmosphere was falling once again in silence, besides the music playing.
You dug into your mind to find a new conversation. Or not. Maybe it was his way of wanting zero conversation. You hated this. Your mind was in total chaos and your heart was not stopping anytime soon, it only seemed to increase.
“I haven’t yet chosen a name though. If you want to help that is,” he was still averting his eyes, not completely facing your direction.
The rest of the ride continued with various propositions of names for the fish. And every single one of them ended either with a flat out ‘no’ or a mocking comment.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The sun was already setting, the night sky was ruling above as you sat besides Sakusa and your friend. You were waiting for the fireworks to begin, the final activity of the day. Finally this day seemed to stretch out forever. You were almost at your limit, the hours of sleep you skipped catching up on you.
Even at that, you couldn’t ignore that little sting in your heart at the realisation that this was probably the last day you would spend with Sakusa. He wasn’t the perfect choice, but he stayed by your side and let you have fun. The teasing was a bit annoying, but you enjoyed the insignificant bicker. Maybe if you had more time would you warm up to him. You wanted to continue spending time with him.
Your doubts were invading your mind. Perhaps Sakusa didn’t want to see you again. After all he was mean to you from the start. Did he enjoy your company? He did follow your lead all day. If he didn’t like you, wouldn’t he just go his seperate way?
“Did you have fun?” His question surprised you. You were captivated by his eyes. They didn’t hold the usual teasing look he gave you. You couldn’t quite decipher it, but they held something different this time. But you agreed. You did have fun today.
You knew he was smiling behind his mask. He looked like he wanted to say something,but your moment was interrupted by the loud noises in the sky.
In all but a few moments, Sakusa felt a weight drop on his shoulder. He stiffened, glancing down at your sleeping form. He was surprised you could sleep with all that noise. Your features were peaceful with the colored light illuminating your face.
He let you sleep, not wanting to disrupt your slumber. He had to admit to himself, he did have fun today too.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You woke up in your bed, your mind still urging you to continue to sleep. However you were distracted by the text you received from an unknown number. An image attached to it of an aquarium and a familiar looking fish in it.
Unknown number
We still haven’t found a name
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
a/n: Thank you so much for reading until the end!
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biggirllifestyle · 3 years
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Over the Rails: Cold Floors and Sparks
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Summary: After Peter posts, a video of him and his friends at the roller rink on the Avengers group chat Bucky can’t seem to get his mind off Peter’s friend who stole the show, and after getting goaded into going skating with the other avengers (Natasha’s conniving planning) where Peter’s friend works at Bucky can’t help but feel that there’s something more to look forward to.
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Plus-Sized Reader
Word Count: 3k+
Warnings: Swearing, Physical harm (from Roller Skating), Future Confrontational Violence, Creepers making woman uncomfortable, .
A/N: It’s long. Sorry. Enjoy.
Friday seemed to be getting closer and closer and Bucky couldn’t help the growing anxiety that he felt as the day grew closer. He didn’t have any issues with hanging out with the Avengers or even being around other people, he had worked through those issues with Xavier on one of his sessions so he knew he could get through it.
Bucky knew that choosing to call his therapist at three in the morning on a weekday would be an excessive thing to do but he thought that maybe dealing with it upfront would be so much better, as he huddled by the couch the rooms only illumination from the muted tv. Bucky heard the line ringing for a few minutes and growing anxiety grew as it kept ringing, as he was about to end the call the line picked and a disgruntled voice answered,
“Do you have any idea what time it is?”
Bucky stopped short the voice on the other line was not his therapist, pulling the phone away looking to see if he had accidentally dialed the wrong number, bucky pulled the phone back an apology at the tip of his tongue before he heard another gruff voice but this time with the hint of a British accent underneath,
“Eric, What’s going on? Who is that?”
Bucky heard a grumble from the man who answered before there was a shift of sheets and finally Xavier was on the line, there was an extra shift and an audible click before everything quieted again.
“James is everything alright?”
“Doctor I apologize for calling you so early in the morning but I-,” Bucky stopped short. He didn't know how to say what was wrong, he felt like his fear was inconsequential that did not deem a call at three in the morning. “I apologize for calling so early in the morning but I don’t know what’s wrong and I need your help.”
He heard Xavier humm, “James, we have talked about this, you do not have to apologize for seeking help. This is an improvement for you since never before did you seek help so I feel like this is a step forward, now tell me what can I do for you?”
“Doc, I know that our session is set for Saturday but something changed this week and I feel like if I don’t address it now it might become an issue for when it finally comes up.” Bucky didn’t know if he was making any sense; he couldn’t even say that he understood his words very clearly, so he was hoping that Xavier was able to understand him enough.
“Does this have anything to do with the video you had talked about from our last session, the one you were caught watching by Natasha?” Bucky made a small noise of confirmation, Xavier hummed as he seemed to write down what was being told to him, Bucky could hear the scratch of paper through the phone.
“Did something happen, James, I know from our last session you mentioned how you were looking forward to your outing with the others, so what is it about it now that's making you so anxious?” Bucky couldn't help the noise of shock that he let out, Xavier had a way of always knowing what Bucky was feeling and thinking and almost as if he was reading his mind, if it wasn’t for the fact that he survived the fall and Steve become ten times taller then he would say that Xavier was a mutant person with powers, well he still believes that no matter how much Xavier denies it.
“There is just so much that may go wrong that makes me nervous,” Bucky paused running a hand through his long hair, “ I just don’t want to disappoint, Nat had told me that this girl, Bibi, was a History major and according to Peter she did a paper the impact of Steve and I’s missions and how the war would have gone differently if we hadn’t been involved and that all that dedication she put into it-”
Bucky paused taking a small breath before continuing, “I just don’t want her to meet me and decide that I am a disappointment, that the person she spent such a long time researching, the person who I used to be, would make her disappointed because I am not him anymore.”
“James, you are and you will always be James Buchanan Barnes no matter the alias that was set for you or not, what HYDRA stole from you, your freedom, does not define who you were before or after the Winter Soldier, don’t let them take your future just because you are worried that people will still see you like the Winter Soldier, you have to understand that not everything revolves around that persona, okay? You are capable of going beyond if you just allow yourself to do it.”
Bucky was silent letting Xavier's words sink in, he was feeling much better now that he was hearing a word of reason at this time, Steve had been sent out on a quick mission overnight and he wouldn’t be back until later in the afternoon, he heard Xavier clear his throat before snapping him out of his mind.
“Now I am very curious about this girl you were mentioning, it seems that this person is the reason why you are feeling like this, and I can assume since you did show me the video that she is the one who fell at the end was it not?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“Well James, it’s currently too early in the morning you need your rest and it seems that this is something we will have to talk about when we are in the right state of mind, so let’s leave this conversation for our session on Saturday?”
“That sounds like a good idea Doc.”
“Great then it’s set,” Bucky heard a snap that could only be Xavier's notebook, “ And James I would like to apologize in regards to my husband Eric’s behavior earlier he just got back from a job and the jet lag wasn’t the best for him.”
“It’s alright Doc don’t worry I understand I mean I would have reacted the same way if someone would have called me at that time as well.”
“Well then goodnight James, or should I say morning instead”
“Night Doc, thanks again,” Bucky said before he hanged up, on the tv, there was a show going, one of Steve’s favorite that Sam and he would usually watch together constantly when off-mission, a sitcom of sorts of a man and women living in the suburbs as they try to hide their identity from their neighbors, Bucky shut it off enveloping the room in darkness.
Bucky knew that whatever happened on Friday, he would do whatever it took to prove that he was and could be James Buchanan Barnes again.
*
“When you told me you were going to buy me some Ice-Cream, I didn’t realize it came with the price of you dragging me to go shopping with you.” You said as you watched MJ browse around the bottoms section, it was hot outside the hottest it has been in New York since the first time you had arrived here, but not as hot as how Texas got in the summer that’s for sure.
After what had happened with Trevor, Ned and Peter had taken upon themselves to become your own personal escorts walking you to class and anywhere they could, at first you thought it was sweet being very grateful for friends who would gladly give you support but now all you could think about was a way to get rid of them for even just a second so you could breathe.
Finally the time cam when Peter was summoned by Mr. Stark for an experiment and Betty had taken one for the team and forced Ned to take her on a date keeping him away from you as long as she could, so here you were with MJ following her around as she looked for an outfit for the school banquet coming up. Searching through the plus size racks a shimmering material caught your eye and you couldn't help the trill that went through your body thinking that you had found something that you like , taking it off the rack you pulled it up to look at the size letting out a huff you put the shirt back into the rack your mood soured overtly being fooled that something so nice cold be offered to someone your size, starting to walk away you turned back tacking the shirt off and depositing it on another much similar sizes at its own not wanting someone to feel the disappointment just like you.
MJ had her arms covered in clothes and you couldn’t help the small ball of jealousy that went through you before squashing it down, giving up on finding anything for yourself in this store. “Hey MJ,” you called to her as she headed towards the dressing rooms, she turned towards you the clothes seeming to weigh her down, so you ignored that looking only at her face, “I’m gonna head over to the thrift shop two doors down, head over there when you’re done choosing something.”
MJ gave a nod of acknowledgement before turning back to the dressing rooms, stepping out of the air conditioned store you put on your sunglasses blocking out the sun as much as you could before beginning your trek down the sidewalk, sidestepping busy pedestrian you couldn't help thinking about the upcoming event would some very special guest. The Avengers were not a group that you would have thought to meet, yet here you were just mere hours before you finally had the chance to interact with the most powerful and out-of-ordinary individuals out there.
Dodging a skateboarder as he zoomed past you finally arrived at your destination ushering into the air-conditioned building, you could practically hear your mother telling you that what you were doing rushing in and out of the heat was not good for your health. The other reason for accepting MJ’s offer to go shopping, besides the free ice cream, was because you were still looking for an outfit to wear you knew you would be working but at the same time interacting with them was a big part of it so you wanted to look your best, and maybe it also had to do with a certain sargeant who had set everything in motion, even though of course he saw you fall on your face.
You blushed at the memory going towards the plus size isle seeing a variety of clothing awaiting you and you couldn't help the calm feeling that went over you when you realised there was no reason for you to feel in any way of disappointment for what you found. As you continue browsing from the corner of your eye you saw two extremely fit and thin women come onto your section beginning to browse where you had left off. The clenching of your stomach was unintentional almost as if you were sucking it in trying to make it less noticeable you shifted around adjust your shirt away from your body trying to stretch it out as much as you could wishing it wasn't sticking so close to your body, you heard one of the girls laugh at something the other had said and your thoughts began to go crazy.
“They’re laughing at you, they can see you for what you are a fat and l-”
“Excuse me, Miss?” you snapped out of your thoughts a tremor going through you as you turned towards one of the girls who was close to you, she had a bright smile on her face as she looked at you.
“Oh my!” she exclaimed, “It is you, it’s so nice to meet you I’m a huge fan of your videos, Are you out here looking for something? Do you happen to have your skates with you?” Shaking your head you realise what she was saying, your videos those videos of you skating around New York and campus, you looked down at your beat up sneakers dreading the fact tht you didn't have your skates feeling naked without them you looked at the girl shaking your head at her, “Sorry left them at home.”
You hoped she would go away feeling uncomfortable as she stood next to you, your anxiety rising as you realised that she was tiny and well compared to her you were just too much. Her friend said something too low for you to hear but the girl laughed looking at you from the corner of her eye and your throat began to feel as if it was closing up feeling squeamish you began to shift back trying to get away without being rude, just as you were about to step away you heard another voice and you froze completely.
You knew that voice it had been mocking at you for the past weeks, his words at a constant repeat as you avoided your reflection in the mirror. Trevor rounded the corner coming to stand behind the two girls before he noticed you standing there, he looked shocked before he shook himself out of it turning to the girl had been speaking to you, “Meg, baby lets go I still have to pick up my order on the way home and I don’t want to be late.”
He looked back at you dragging his gaze down your body, staring straight at your exposed legs and you couldn't help but shift at how uncomfortable that look in his eyes felt. You grabbed your bag placing it in front of you trying to. hide yourself from his look hoping that anything could come and save you in that moment, looking over their shoulders you found MJ stalking towards you murder in her eyes and it was all focused on Trevor, he turned trying to see what had caught your eyes when he saw MJ he paled before he practically draged his girlfriend and her friend away trying to get out before MJ could get to him.
You couldn’t help the breath you let out sinking on the floor letting your heated skin cool with the cold floor, trying to calm yourself as you sucked in deep and controlled breaths looking up at MJ who kept her distance knowing that you would ask for her help if you needed it. Finally after what felt like a lifetime you rose up MJ looked like she wanted to pull you in but she stopped herself knowing that you hated being touched after you had an episode, “Come on she said let’s go and buy that ice cream.”
MJ walked towards the exit calm as she could be you shuffled behind her trying to hide yourself away after what had happened, you gave yourself a sardonic smile, who knew that the day you shoo away your bodyguards would be the day you met your nightmare. As you both walked through the streets you couldn’t help your thoughts from going wild, how could this have happened on such a day, you thought about calling your therapist but thought against it last time you had talked to Xavier he mentioned Eric coming into town so you didn’t want to bother them at the moment.
When you finally arrived MJ opened the door letting you go in first, she was typing so fast her focus solely on her phone that she almost ran into a customer as we maneuvered around trying to find an empty seat, you pulled her aside dragging her along as you shimmied her into a booth you turned to your side and squeezed yourself in the table moving trying to accommodate to your size, the blush that rose to your face showed your embarrassment but looking around you noticed nobody had payed attention to you, so you calmed down at that.
MJ finally put her phone down with a satisfied look in her eyes and you couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor bastard who her anger was directed to, the first person you thought of was Trevor and you couldn’t help the small giggle you let out. MJ realized the cause of your giggles and gave you a huge grin before her phone began to blow up as she ignored it.
“So I bought you something,” she said as she pulled up a bag from the floor holding it out, you grabbed it gingerly as you opened it up and saw the shirt you had picked up earlier at the store, you closed the bag afraid of taking it out, “I saw you look at it earlier and I asked one of the workers to see if they had one in your size and they did it was their very last one actually and I just knew I had to get it for you.”
You looked at MJ not believing her words as you opened the bag again taking out the shirt and looking at its size, you couldn’t help the tears that came to your eyes at the sheer luck you had in having friends like MJ and the others who went above and beyond for you.
“MJ this is amazing thank you so much for this. I love it.” You gave her a watery smile beyond happy at it, she beamed up at you happy that she was able to give you something to smile for.
“Yeah I think it will look lovely on you, and hey,” She said as she got up, “Maybe you’ll even be able to catch the attention of a certain Sergeant at the party.”
*
Bucky stood outside the rink with the others as they waited for Peter to show up, earlier that day Steve and Bucky had gone out to eat a diner close to their apartment when Natasha had shown up raging about how excited she was about tonight’s event. She talked about how Tony and her had made a bet to see who of all the avengers was most likely to fall first and who would be the first one to give up.
Now here they were late in the evening waiting for Peter to join them so they would be able to get inside. Peter’s other friends were by the door, but Bucky couldn’t see Bibi anywhere and he didn’t know if to be nervous or not. After a few minutes Peter finally arrived swinging down from a building close by he landed close to his friends bumping fist with one and kissing the other on the cheek before finally turning towards them.
“Right, okay are you guys ready Bibi is in there waiting in on us so if you wanna follow me,” He turned back to the door making a series of knocks that sounded like a passcode when in fact they were just random noises being produced, the door opened and a head popped out a look of annoyance clear on her face and Bucky couldn’t help but think of it as adorable, Natasha had sneaked close to him as Peter and Bibi exchanged banter at door elbowed him in the stomach making a big gesture towards bibi a huge grin plastered onto her face, Bucky gave her an annoyed look as he moved away from her to Steve’s side.
Peter and Bibi must have finished their little fight since she finally pushed the door open and spread out her arms in a grand gesture, “Welcome Avengers to our humble, ummm” She paused glaring back at a grinning Peter, the girl next to him elbowed him but the smile never left his face, “Right, Welcome to our humble rink where I will take you for the ride of your lives.”
Peter smirked at the end of the speech before sauntering in as the other Avengers snickered at your words as they followed you inside the building, Bucky took a deep breath trying to calm his rising heartbeat before following. The building was lit up when they walked in most of the group had spread out from either talking to Peter’s friends or getting some skates from Bibi who was manning the counter, Natasha headed his way again before grabbing his arm to drag him to the counter, “Take charge, Sarge” she said before depositing him in front of her.
Outside he hadn’t gotten an actual look at her outfit but he couldn’t help but to admire her now, a nice sparkly top complemented her he could see now that she was wearing some sparkly skates a mid length skirt flared out around her legs and Bucky fought hard to look away. When he finally looked at her she was giving him a shy smile that made Bucky’s heart give a stutter.
“What’ll be Sarge?”
Prt.4
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mudhorn-djarin19 · 3 years
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Camping Trip - Chp 1 (Frankie “Catfish” Morales x f!reader)
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Summary: The boys take a couple retreat weekend and Frankie doesn’t want to be the only one going alone. So he invites you his best friend since high school to come along. Will the trip finally push you two who have had crushes on each other for years together? Warnings: mutual pining, language Rating: General. Will change in future chapters. Masterlist AO3 Link Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 Join my taglist via here! ___________________________________________________________ Frankie and the boys sat at the local bar discussing an upcoming camping trip. The Miller boys had a family cabin they inherited that the group often did weekend gatherings at. They wanted to do another weekend trip away but this time allow the significant others to join for a couple retreat. Everyone was all excited and down for it but Frankie sighed not too thrilled that he’d be going alone. He’s been single ever since the Colombia excursion and his lady left him after the events. “Hey cheer up Fish. You’ll still have fun!” Benny said. “You could bring a tinder date or a friend.” Santiago said. “I’m not getting a tinder date… I’m too old for that shit.” Frankie replied “Okay well a friend. What about that best friend of yours you’ve had since high school? Y/N?” Santiago asked. “I mean I guess I can ask. She’s already one of us so wouldn’t feel out of place.” He said. “Plus maybe a weekend away with her is just the push you need.” Benny picked, knowing Frankie’s had a crush on you since high school but never said anything in fear of ruining your friendship. Frankie rolled his eyes. “Shut up.” **** Later that evening as you sat at home watching tv you saw your phone light up with Frankie’s name. “Hey Fish! What’s up?” You asked, a smile on your face. “Hey so uh the boys and I are planning a weekend cabin trip next weekend. They’re all bringing their girls and I uhh… don’t want to be the only one not bringing someone. You already know us well and I think you’d get along with the girls. Would you want to come along if not doing anything? He asked nervously. “Fish, I’d love to come! You know anytime I can hang out with you is definitely a yes from me.” You chuckle. “Great great.” He chuckles back. “I’ll pick you up Thursday in the evening.” You confirm the arrangement and hang up the phone. You throw yourself back on the sofa and let out a big sigh. A whole weekend away with Frankie? During what is to be a couples retreat? Man this is going to be an interesting time. You’d had a crush on Frankie since high school and been with him through everything. The typical high school crap, him going off to the military, him coming home from the heist to find Maria had left with the baby who he can’t see anymore, his drug addictions and so much more. And he was there for you in return through things such as you going off to college and your rough engagement break off with Jim. You guys were like two peas in a pod and because of that you held off on saying anything to Frankie in fear of ruining and losing the thing you had going. **** The evening of the beginning of the trip, Frankie swung around after work and picked you up in his truck. You swear he’ll run that thing into the ground for he’s had it for years and seen it’s better days. “Ready to go?” He asks as you greet him at the door, him taking your bags from you. “Definitely. Thank you for inviting me. A trip away for some fun was definitely needed.” You smile. He smiles back and places your belongings into the back of the back seat of the truck before heading back to your side and opening your door for you, helping you up into the truck. Once back on his side he starts the truck and you two make your way on your journey to the cabin. The drive lasts for two hours but is a fun drive as you two chat about life, reshare memories, and jam to your favorite rock music. You guys arrive at the cabin pretty quickly and are met happily by the boys and their girls. “Hey Fish! You made it. And I see Y/N made it as well!” Santiago says bringing you both in for a hug. “Hey Pope. Good to see you again.” You smile, hugging him back. “You guys got the room upstairs to the right for the weekend.” Benny says. “Need help with bags?” “Nah I got it. Thanks.” Frankie says grabbing both your bags and heading into the cabin. You shake your head at him, taking more than he needs to and leaving you empty handed but follow him into the house to your designated room for the weekend. “Oh.” Frankie says as he drops the bags onto the floor in the corner. You wonder what had him a little shocked until you see the room only has one queen sized bed in the room. “I uh… I’ll make a cot on the floor for the weekend. You can take the bed.” He states quickly. “Fish… seriously?” You look at him, eyebrow raising a little. “You’re not sleeping on the floor in a cot.” “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable…” He says. “Oh my god. Grow up Fish… It’s fine. We’ve known each other for like half of our lives. Sharing a bed is nothing.” You chuckle, whacking him lightly on the chest. Frankie clears his throat and nods. “Y-yea…” Knowing this weekend is going to be torture for him even more so now. Once all your belongings are all settled in your room for the weekend you both head down to the kitchen to meet the rest of the gang and help them prepare for dinner. Santiago’s girl and Benny’s girl were both busy cooking while Will’s girl was setting the table. The boys were all standing around chatting and drinking. “Hey Fish, Y/N! All settled in?” Benny asked, giving Frankie a knowing wink. Frankie stared at him, glaring a bit and nodded. “Yea, I think we are.” He says grabbing a beer. You felt bad standing around and not helping the rest of the girls so went out to the dining room to help Will’s girlfriend finish setting up the table, leaving Frankie to chat with the boys. “Want some help?” You ask. “Oh! Sure thank you!” She smiles. “I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Shannon, Will’s girl. You must be Frankie’s girlfriend yes?” She extends her hand. “Oh… um. I’m not his girlfriend. Just a close old friend. My name is Y/N.” You shake her hand, blushing at hearing her call you his girlfriend. “Oh! My apologies. I just figured you were since is a couples retreat.” She chuckled. “It’s okay. I understand. I’m his plus one for the weekend so not so out of the loop.” You chuckle and help her finish setting the table. You all had gathered at the big table, passing the platters of food the girls cooked around and chatting about plans for the weekend. “I figured we can do bonfires most nights. Those are always fun. I know on Saturday us boys plan to go up into the mountains and do some shooting. So you girls can hang out and do… whatever girls do.” Benny said. “It’s so pretty out here we should do stargazing some night!” Will’s girl says. “Oh yea!” Santiago’s girl responds. “We can do that. There’s a nice clearing not to far from here we can go to and watch them.” Will responds. You all continue your chatter about the weekend not noticing how some of the girls are giving the interaction between you and Frankie looks. Already knowing you are both into each other. He has his arm draped across the back of your chair and anytime he says something or someone makes you laugh you lean into him, placing a hand on his chest. **** Later that evening you were all huddled around the campfire Santiago had made, roasting marshmallows and chatting. It was nice to spend time with your good friends and meet some new ones. The girls were really sweet. The boys were goofing off and tossing marshmallows back and forth trying to catch them in their mouths. All failing miserably for the most part which gave you all a good chuckle. The night was growing colder and you felt it as you shivered a bit, wishing you had grabbed a jacket but not wanting to leave the fun to run inside to get one. Frankie leans down from behind you and speaks into your ear, noticing you shiver. “You cold?” “A little. Should of brought my jacket out but I’m fine.” You reply. You feel a jacket drop onto your shoulder then and turn to look up at Frankie who is now in just his long sleeve shirt, having removed his thick jean jacket to keep you warm. “Fish… “ You start to say but he waves his hand to stop you, insisting you keep it. You sigh and smile, pulling your arms into it and laughing a little at how big it is on you. Frankie wasn’t a very big man but he was big enough that his stuff was baggy on you. You look back up at him and mouth a quite thank you, getting a nod in response. When you turn your head back to the group you see Santiago giving you a knowing smirk and you look at him confused before shaking it off. Not knowing Frankie behind you was returning that knowing smirk to him. **** That night you crawled into bed, snuggling under the plush covers watching as Frankie paced around the room getting ready for bed himself. “You sure your cool with this?” He asked again as he stood on his side of the bed. “Yes. Relax Fish.” You chuckled. He shut up and nodded, crawling under the covers beside you but making sure to keep a distance between you just to not push any boundaries. You let out a little chuckle in response and leaned over to turn off you nightstand light for you both to get some well needed shut eye before the adventures of the weekend start tomorrow.
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lazyunknownhideout · 3 years
Text
My light || Billy Russo x OC ch-1
new chapter is up on -- > lazy-ass-bitxh-blog also on my wattpad -> Rose_Davidson
Rose Wilson, an artist doing well in her profession, going out to party, traveling, living her best life. Although she gotta admit being best friends to the CEO of a multimillion military company had much of a hand in her blooming success.  
Billy and Rose have been friends for three years. After Billy returned from his first tour of Afghanistan, he found a new neighbor. A quiet girl showed up to his doorstep with a shepherd's pie, claiming it to be an introductory gift. And the next day the same girl showed up asking him to help fix her plumbing. After a few help with her plumbing and light fixing and car fixing, they seemed to have formed a nice bond. Soon Billy found himself going up to her place every weekend with a pizza and spend an evening watching movies and talking about the week, for that few hours Billy seemed to forget most about the horrors he faces at the front daily. He found a confidant in her and began sharing as much as he could about his experience in Afghanistan without breaching confidentiality. Even though Billy Russo was a ladies' man, always good to talk his way into their beds and their arms, she seemed to be the one you would like to sit and have a nice cup of coffee and talk all about your day.
On the day Billy had to go back to Afghanistan he told her all about his childhood, opening up all about the abuse the tortures. He figured if he died at the front he would know there was someone who knew all about him, and hopefully still thought good about him, and rose did just that.
"Well Billy, what would you like as your coming home meal?" Rose asked as he was packing up all his bags.
Billy looked at her and smiled, "If I do come back, I will have one of your pies"
"You will come back Billy, you're a stubborn man" Billy chuckled at her words.
"Well I hope I do, until then stay safe and happy okay rose?"
"Yep" She hugged him tight and smiled looking at him.
_____________________________________________________
Timeskip--
Anvil, Billy's company has been thriving, getting a lot of clients of high profile always kept the business going smoothly, however, a small inconvenience had popped up. Homeland security agent Madani seemed to have caught a sniff of operation Cerberus and going public about it would destroy all he has worked for. So Billy did what he does best, chatted her up, and made her trust him.
He just came home after having a drink with Madani, satisfied with the progress he had made, taking all the information out of her would be easy. As he went in to take a shower his phone ranged, it was Rose.
"Hey Billy, where were you? Your phone was switched off"
"Yea I was out confidential work, everything alright?"
"It's Saturday Bill, you didn't come for our pizza night" Her voice sounded sad.
"Shit sorry, It completely went out of my mind, I could come over now order something" He stepped out of the bathroom and started looking for a change of clothes.
"Hey it's alright, you must be tired, we'll just do it next week"
"You sure its alright?" He didn't want to upset the one person he cared about.
"Yea yea, its alright, I'll see you later kay?"
"Yeah see you"
The next morning Billy found her drying a piece of her canvas on her balcony as he was returning from his morning run. Deciding to apologize for last night he walked up to her door.
As she opened the door Billy couldn't control his laugh when he saw the state she was in, clothes splattered with paint all over, face half covered in red paint, and a pencil behind her ear.
"Well stop laughing and come in" Rose rolled her eyes at his reaction.
Billy walked, "Did you run out of canvases to paint on and decided to paint yourself?"
"Shut up Russo" She shook her head unable to hide a smile creeping onto her face.
"So as I missed out on last night, I was thinking maybe go for a cup of coffee and breakfast"
"Sure lemme wash up all these paints then"
"Right give me a call when you are done, I'll be at my place"
"Okay"
------------
Billy walked up to the counter, "An espresso and a caramel latte and two bacon with eggs"
"Well you know my preference Russo" He smiled at her, ordering exactly what she had in mind.
"What can I say, I'm pretty observant and I know you well" She smiled at him and sat down. As the order cane real soon they started eating. Rose was debating  whether or not to ask him about last night, deciding to just go for it she did
"Hey, so what was the work that kept you busy even on a saturday night"Billy looked up from his cup, "It was a meeting with an informant " He lied effortlessly,  although technically it was a 'meeting' she called him upto meet, and as he was trying to pry out information from her it did make madani an informant.
Rose nodded her head, "And how was your week Billy, saw you returning pretty late last few nights"
Billy smirked at her,"Have you been stalking me Rose, I must say Im a bit flattered"
Rose laughed at his reaction,"I can just see your ego inflate up Russo, that car of yours is hard to miss when it pulls up in the driveway, so I guess you can say I stalked your pretty car"
Billy's smirk never faltered,"just the pretty car not the very pretty man inside it?" Rose smiled at him, it was hard to imagine this man sitting infront of her, laughing and making jokes was a person with 300 confirm kills at the upfront and had a whole organisation of henchmen at his fingertips.
"Just finish your coffee Billy" Billy chuckled at her, and sipped his coffe, "How about you how was your week" "Non monumental"
They talked about their week and all other things while having their breakfast. It seemed easy for them to talk to each other, it was effortless Billy never had to  worry that she might judge him based on his work that he did, she always seemed to understand him. The only other person that he was this open with was Frank  but it has been 2years since he died, even though he missed him, it was comforting knowing Rose was here for him.
She never questioned too much about his work, some times when he returns home wounded up, he goes and visits her after cleaning himself up and one cup of coffee with her seems to ease the pain.
Rose had never met someone like Billy before, he had practically everything at his fingertips,  just one call away, she knew people feared Billy, she knew his service in the marines he had killed so many people, enemies, she knew everything he was capable of, but whenever she was with him, she just saw this man, someone who jokes around brings pizza for her, makes coffee sometimes and even goes shopping with her and patiently waits for her to try out many many clothes, and also provides some very constructive advice on fashion.
They walked back to their place and went on with the daily chores.
Back at Anvil things were getting quite busy with new recruiters coming in, Billy had to go in for orientation almost every day, a fresh batch of young men and women, eager to get recruited.
There was also the case of Madani, the sooner he gets to get all the information out of her the better, so far he had taken her out drinking and slept with her almost three days in a row and found out very little.
As the weekend approached Billy had the one thing he looked forward to after a rough week. It was Saturday evening, people at Anvil, finished their work for the day and were headed back. Billy thought to go grab the pizza and go straight to her place. As he was gathering up his stuff, his phone rang Dinah's name popped up.
He picked up the cellphone and answered with a gruff tired voice, "Dinah"
"Well, Mr.Russo you sound tired"
"Yea long day" Billy went on and locked his office, heading out.
"Why don't you come over then Billy, vent some of that tension out" She said in the best sultry voice she could manage.
Billy smirked, "Careful there agent Madani, this might just become a regular thing"
She chuckled, "Why do you have plans tonight?"
Billy took a moment before answering her, maybe if he called Rose she would understand, it was just pizza and movie, it wasn't like they were dating. And he couldn't miss any chance that he can get to search Madani's house.
"No, no I'm free I'm coming over, hope you are ready for me"
"Why don't you come soon and find out" She hung up.
Billy dialed Rose's number, hoping she wouldn't mind missing out tonight. She picked up after three rings.
"Hey Billy, everything alright?"
"Yea, listen um, something came up, so I won't be back like late tonight."
"Oh," She was upset it was evident in her voice.
"I'm sorry Rose" He said softly. "How about coffee like last week?"
"Yea don't worry Billy, it's alright. Job is important"
A tinge of guilt washed over Billy. He did still hesitate a bit but still, went on to Dinah's place.
-------------------------------------------
Rose looked over at the clock, 35mins since she ordered her pizza, "Well I should be getting it for free now then", she decided to watch a movie herself, after all, it wasn't Billy's fault that urgent work came over.
The doorbell rang and she went over to collect her pizza.
"That will be 8 dollars, ma'am"
"Shouldn't it be free, you are over 30min"
"No ma'am sorry, we don't have that policy"
"Alright then" She went in to get her purse, as she came back out she was shocked to see the pizza guy holding out a gun, pointing at her.
"Don't dare to scream or move, I won't hesitate to shoot"
Rose was frozen in place, too shocked to comprehend what was even happening. The man came up tied her hands behind her back, all while pointing the gun at her throat.
"What do you want!"
"Shut up girl! You are leverage for Billy Russo. Now don't make a single noise while I take you downstairs. One scream and the bullet goes straight in."
"If I'm to be leverage then I wouldn't be much use dead would  I?" Rose regretted it as soon as those words came out of her mouth.
The guy gave her a deadly stare and put gauged her mouth shut and shoot a bullet at her hand. Her scream was muffled by the gauge covering her mouth, she struggled to free her hands but the knot was too tight, the man dragged her to the door and pulled her up.
"Now don't cause a fuss and come quietly or the next bullet goes through the leg. Rose didn't dare to struggle against the guy, he was a foot taller than her, and manhandled her like she weighed nothing. He dragged her out and shoved her into the car. There were two more men inside the car, she tried to take a closer look at their faces when suddenly a hand came in and put a cloth over her face, and then she blacked out.
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chapter 2
A.N: Hey there guys!! hope you like this start, its just the first chapter so not much BillyxRose in here except a build-up of their relation, but there will be action in the next chapter so brace yourselves!
And also: review! review! review!
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hello!! could you write a fluffy (with a small amount of angst ofc) scenario with ushijima about how the reader thinks her love for him is unrequited after seeing him hanging out with another girl but he eventually realizes his feelings for her and confesses? 😳
Author’s Note: Ah!! I’m so excited for this! Thank you for requesting, this is actually my first one ever! And I apologize if this didn’t turn out how you wanted. I... also got a little carried away. Whoops...
Again, as always, shares and feedback are appreciated!
Word count: 2,746 (This is longer than usual, I know. I just got really, really into the groove. Please don’t expect all requests to be this long. Thank you!)
Summary: Ushijima has started hanging out with some girl more often. Coming to the conclusion that they liked each other, you end up in your dorm, crying to yourself because of the seemingly unreturned love. 
Warnings: none?? maybe some angst? a whole lot of nothing :’)  and maybe a couple of curse words. MAYBE TENDOU AND USHIJIMA ARE OOC. IF SO, I APOLOGIZE!!!!
---
“Can we help you?” Shirabu asked, pausing in front of the girl standing in the doorway.
The shy young woman perked at his question, her knuckles turning white as she grasped at her bag straps.
“A-Ah! I’m just waiting for Ushijima-san!” she answered, her pale face becoming bright red.
Shirabu tilted his head. “He doesn’t accept fangirls, if that’s what you’re here for,” he stated bluntly, sweat dripping down his forehead as he picked up the stray volleyball.
Embarrassed, the girl bowed down a little. “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you! But I actually-”
“Sato.”
Both students turned their head to see the one and only captain of Shiratorizawa’s volleyball team jogging toward them.
“Ushijima-san, do you know her?” the setter asked, tucking the ball under his arm as he gestured to the girl.
He nodded, returning his attention to the new arrival.
“I apologize for not getting out on time. Our practice ran longer than we intended. Please wait for a bit while we finish,” he said, staring into her wide eyes.
“O-Of course! I’ll just… uh, wait outside,” she stuttered once again, bowing in acknowledgement before stepping away from the gym, waiting by its doors.
You had seen the whole thing from your place beside the coach. As the manager of the team, you probably shouldn’t have been paying attention for so long, but the situation had made you curious.
Ushijima had a meeting with a girl? It was rare for him to pay any special attention to them. In fact, it was rare for him to pay attention to them at all.
“Oho, does Wakatoshi-kun finally have a girlfriend?” Tendou asked teasingly, leaning over your shoulder as said man came back to the court. His eyes squinted in curiousity as he rested a hand on your shoulder, knowing that he was getting right on your nerves.
“A girlfriend?!” Goshiki half-exclaimed as he came down from a hit, his aim almost hitting Semi’s face (please save him I-).
His exclamation turned the heads of a lot of the rest of the team. You hated it.
Ushijima stopped in front of you and Tendou, shaking his head in response.
“We aren’t together. We simply have a meeting arranged for today,” he answered.
“If you guys are done talking about this little love crap, I’d like to finish up practice here!” the coach added grumpily.
The team hurriedly resumed their exercises, shouting “Yes, coach!” in unison.
When practice was finally over, and everything had been put away, Ushijima bid his goodbyes and returned to the doorway. The young girl, Sato, approached him, to which he allowed. She was still blushy, and seemed even more nervous than before.
After a brief exchange of words, they walked away from the gym and to wherever their destination was. 
You stood on the other side of the gym with most of the team was on the other side.
With a pit in your chest, you stared out of the door where they once stood. Clutching the clipboard in your hands, you let out a sigh. Maybe it was of disappointment, or maybe it was because you didn’t have to see them together anymore.
Whatever if was, it wasn’t good.
“Don’t mind, Y/n-chan!!” Tendou reassured you. “Everyone knows you’re his favorite!” he cheered, patting your back encouragingly.
You honestly couldn’t tell if he was teasing you or actually trying to be helpful.
“I don’t mind!” you objected, turning to face him. “He can hang out with whoever he wants!”
The red-headed guess monster chuckled briefly before saying, “Oh? But I thought you liked him!”
“Could you say that any louder?!” you scolded hastily, hushing him.
He wasn’t wrong, though. You could admit that. Tendou was good at knowing what made you tick, and he also happened to know your crush on the stoic captain. You almost regretted telling him in the first place. But he was one of our closest friends, and that’s what you had decided to tell him.
Your feelings for Ushijima had lasted for a bit over a year. On one hand, it was fine with you since he never really gave any other attention with girls (except for today, of course), but on the other hand, you hated it since you knew it meant he probably would never like you back.
And today only seemed to confirm this fear. Not in the way you had thought it would.
Tendou blinked at your quiet outburst. “Ah, well, we all already know!” he said. “Besides, if he doesn’t have feelings for you, then there’s no way he’d have feelings for her!”
You knew it was supposed to be a compliment, but it still made your heart ache.
“And,” he suddenly said, his voice lower than before. “If he does happen to hurt you, perhaps I’d have to give him a bit of a talking,” he added. His eyes seemed to change, like the threatening look he’d give his opponents in games. Though, it wasn’t necessarily evil.
Surprised, and almost uncomfortable with his intense aura, you said, “N- no need. Even if he did hurt me, I don’t think he’d do so on purpose. I mean- he doesn’t even know about… my feelings.’
“Ahh!” he hummed, his attitude changing once again. Jeez, you could never read this guy completely. “Then maybe he should know!” he suggested, leaning down to meet your height. 
“Tendou, I love you, my friend. I really do, but confessing is the last thing I want to do!” you said, furrowing your brows. 
He paused, a mischievous look in his eyes. “Alright!” he agreed, stepping away from you. “Well, I’ve got to go, now. I’ll see you tomorrow, Y/n-chan!”
You sighed once again, just about done with your friend’s antics. Shrugging off your worry, you finished up what you were doing and exited the gym.
☆☆☆
At first, you had thought that maybe Sato was just a fangirl that Ushijima had finally agreed to talk to. But, to you, it didn’t look like that was the case anymore.
For the past few days, you’d see them walking together in the halls, talking for most of the time they were together. Even if you and Ushijima were hanging out with each other, she’d approach (though, very timidly) and give to him what seemed like letter(s).
And, sometimes, he’d even give her some back.
You had even noticed he seemed to be in a lighter mood, as well. Which was a bit unusual. You’d say you didn’t want her to make him feel such a way, but you were honestly glad to see him talk more and be more happy.
You didn’t ask him about what they were to each other. You were afraid it would raise suspicions, and, though you’d never admit it, you didn’t exactly want to know the answer.
So you just came to the conclusion that they were dating, or at the very least had feelings for each other.
Well… it was bound to happen sometime, wasn’t it? There was no way he’d have feelings for you.
The last sliver of hope you had in him reciprocating you feelings slowly went down the drain over that whole week and a half that they hung around each other.
☆☆☆
And now it was a Saturday, with you tucked away in your bed crying gently to yourself as you stared up at the ceiling.
You had promised yourself that you wouldn’t cry over a boy. Why did you have to do this now?
Meanwhile, a certain middleblocker and ace were sat next to each other, talking about nothing in particular.
That was, until Tendou finally popped the question you never could.
“Wakatoshi-kun,” he said, staring out of the window and into the night. “Do you like Sato Runa, by any chance?”
The abrupt change in the subject almost caught his friend off guard.
“She’s an exceptional student,” he answered.
Tendou grinned in amusement. 
“No, no! I mean romantically,” he cleared up, waving his hand in the air.
“Romantically?” he repeated, his eyebrows raising. “No.”
That was all the middleblocker needed. “Ahh, well, you make that hard to believe by just looking at you!” he said. “Well, Y/n-chan will certainly be happy to hear this!”
“Y/n? Why would she want to know?” the dark-haired boy asked, still not catching on.
Tendou’s grin only widened, like the cheshire cat playing with Alice’s mind. 
“Why, she likes you, of course!” he cheered. “Ohh, she’s been so worried you and that girl had gotten together. Imagine our poor little manager, heartbroken over nothing!” he said. 
Ushijima said nothing for a while, still sat straight, his hands in his lap.
“Y/n has feelings for me?” he asked, half curious.
Satori tilted his head, more amused than ever. “I know you aren’t great with romance, but even I’d thought you would’ve at least gotten a little bit of hint!”
Ignoring his little jab, Ushijima continued, “...she’s heartbroken?”
Got him, the spiky-haired boy thought. Oh, it was all going to plan.
“Well, she’d never admit it, but I know she’s at least a little upset about it! Must’ve been a lot of proof in her eyes if she’s as heartbroken as I think she is!” he hummed. 
“How long have you known of her feelings for me?” he asked, his voice never changing. To the average person, it’d seem as though he wasn’t too interested in your feelings. However, Tendou knew better.
“As far as I know, almost a year! If I were you, I’d take her out of her sad trance right away!” he added, clapping his hands together. “But the question is, Wakatoshi… do you like her back?”
There was a long, long silence. It almost put Tendou off, thinking that maybe he’d have to modify his plan.
Luckily, Ushijima had finally decided to make his move.
Standing from his seat on the bed, he excused himself from their dorm room, making his way for the yours.
☆☆☆
“Crap…” you murmured, looking at yourself in the mirror. You looked.... tired.
After letting your hair down, you leaned against the counter, staring at yourself.
How pathetic that he had gotten you so worked up.
Actually, no, how pathetic that you had thought that there was a chance that he liked you back.
Suddenly, there was a knock on your door. You jumped, trying to wipe away your drying tears and drying your hands afterward.
“Ah- one moment!” you called, cursing yourself for your sore throat (you had screamed into your pillow out of frustration prior to your little breakdown).
Opening the door, you were surprised to see the one and only Ushijima standing there.
“Y/n,” he said, immediately making eye contact. It was like he was scrutinizing you under his cold gaze.
“Ushijima-san! It’s late! How did you-” 
“Are you feeling alright?” he asked bluntly, referring to the still evident tear stains on your cheeks.
Coughing, embarrassed, you nodded. “Yeah, just… life stuff, you know?”
“Would any of that supposed ‘life-stuff’ have to do with me?” he questioned.
You tensed up. How did he know?
“How did you…” you started, trailing off. Oh. My. God. Tendo-
“It has been brought to my attention that you may have thought that I was in a relationship with Sato Runa. Is this true?” he inquired boldly. 
Wow, he really did not know how to sugar-coat it, huh?
You pursed your lips, obviously not wanting to admit the reason of your defeat. But you knew you shouldn’t lie to him.
“Yes,” you admitted, your shoulders lowering, and eyes suddenly finding the floor much more interesting. The confession made it too real, now. 
“And it was also brought to my attention that you’ve had feelings for me, and have become upset since you believed I was in a relationship with Sato. Yes?” he also asked.
Your eyes quickly shot back up to him in surprise, your cheeks suddenly hot and your chest suddenly in pain. He knew.
You didn’t want to answer, for obvious reasons. And Ushijima seemed to realize this. His gaze softened, rephrasing his words, “If you do not have feelings for me, tell me right now. Please.”
Ah, you couldn’t. Not to him.
This only confirmed his thoughts.
“Y/n,” he said, his voice still unwavering. “I’d like to clear up that I am not romantically involved with Sato Runa.” Wait. What? “I had asked her to be my tutor for a few of my classes since quite a few tests were coming up for the next two weeks. That is why I’ve been around her often.”
Oh. Oh.
So that’s what it was. The papers weren’t letters, but notes and studying ideas. It wasn’t little dates they were doing, it was study sessions. He was in a lighter mood because of how much easier school was for him, now.
You felt pretty stupid right at that moment.
“A-ah… good to know,” you nodded. “It’s alright. You didn’t have to clarify it with me, but thank you, anyway.”
“But I did,” Ushijima retorts. “Because I happen to be attracted to you, not her.”
I- were you dead right now? Was this a dream? A joke? A prank?
You pinched the inside of your hand to check that this was still real.
“I-” you pressed your lips together hesitantly. “Really?” you asked in disbelief.
He nodded. “I hadn’t realized it, but you are different. Perhaps I have not been attracted to you for a whole year, but in this current time, today, I am. You’re talented. You’ve got potential. Everything about you works together to make you an exceptional person. But even then, there’s more to it that I cannot explain.”
The heat in your cheeks only worsened. Honestly, his words were about to give you a full-on fever.
“I- I don’t know what to say!” you confessed, almost bursting. You were confused more than anything, even though your brain processed the situation just fine. “Just a few minutes ago I was crying over how you’d never like me- and now, and now you confess? I mean- I look like a mess, it’s almost past midnight, and-”
“You don’t look like a mess,” he objected, raising his hand to brush a few stray hairs out of the way. “And if you are unable to figure out what to say next, could I perhaps take this moment to ask you something?”
Blinking up at him, you nodded.
“Tomorrow after practice, would you... want to go on a date with me?” he asked. 
Yeah, okay, you were definitely dreaming, now.
Suddenly, you were tense again, trying to figure out if you heard him right. Where did this Ushijima come from? And what had he done with the real one?
“Y-Yes! Of course I would!” you agreed.
“Good,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning, Y/n.”
Leaning down to your height, his brushed his lips against your forehead as a farewell, not even giving you a chance to reply before he left. (I mean, it would be a questionable sight for him to be seen at a girl’s dorm so late at night.)
Holy shit. Holy shit! You had a date with Ushijima Wakatoshi! 
Your chest was feeling light clouds, your mind barely even able to wrap itself around the situation. Did that really just happen? Were he and Sato actually just acquaintances? Did he actually like you?
Excited, you sloppily got ready for bed and tucked yourself under the covers, ecstatic for tomorrow (of course, a little embarrassed by the earlier conversation, too). 
When you awoke, it took you a minute to remember what had happened the night before. Again, you tried convincing yourself that it was all just apart of your imagination, but that idea was quickly disproven when you checked your texts.
Ushijima Wakatoshi - Sunday, 6:30 a.m.
Do you have anywhere you’d like to go for today?
Tendou Satori - Sunday, 7:36 a.m.
don’t be mad, but I told him! and I have a suspicion that yesterday went great (not really, wakatoshi-kun told me this morning)! sooo… when’s the wedding, love birds?!
Sunday, 7:59 a.m.
are you not up yet? ah, y/nnnn-chann i’m getting impatient!! call me when you see this!
Smiling to yourself, you turned off your phone and rested it on your chest, shutting your eyes for a moment before getting ready.
Today was going to be a good day.
----
☆ taglist☆  (please ask to be added!)
@shou-kunn @warmbearhugs
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wiypt-writes · 3 years
Text
Riding On
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Ch 12- How Very European…
Summary: Frank and Fliss set a date for their wedding and, following her all clear at the six weeks postpartum check-up, she decides it’s time to get a bit frisky…only a little someone has other ideas.
Warnings: Bad Language words. SMUT (NSFW) NO UNDER 18s!
Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher
A/N:  Ok, so I had a LOT of fun with this one. I have never had a baby myself, but my best friend tells me some hilarious tales about all sorts of stuff- she has no filter…and neither do I in this chapter. I apologise in advance…
Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist
Chapter 11
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 Fliss smiled as she stood looking at the stretch of St Petersburgs beach. The sugar white sands, rustic boardwalks, and the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico had made her fall in love with the place when she has first come here with Frank and Mary almost 2 years ago. It was the place her and Frank had sat on one of their early dates eating Mexican and drinking beer…and it was a stunning backdrop for the beach wedding she had always wanted.
"So the Public Access area has a large metered parking lot for you and your guests. Private condominium rentals and boutique hotels are nearby and can be a great option if you and your guests want to walk to your Wedding ceremony." The wedding planner, a small woman named Bobbi spoke "Or if you fancy there's also Pass-a-Grille or Upham..."
"No." Fliss shook her head and turned round, her eyes shining as she looked at Frank who was stood next to her. "I love this part of the beach and it’s special to us. It’s perfect. " Frank's hand tightened around hers and his mouth turned up into a smile. "I like it too." "Well that was easy!" Bobbi smiled "are you 100% sure you don't want to see the others?" "Yeah." Fliss smiled as Frank pressed a kiss to her temple. "Alright." Bobbie nodded. "So, you mentioned next September?" Frank nodded. "We don't need a brunch or reception venue, we got that covered. Just the ceremony." Bobbi nodded and tapped at the tablet she was holding. "Well that makes it a lot easier. Any specific time of day?" "Afternoon." Fliss said. Bobbi hummed before she looked at them "You're in luck. There's a slot at four pm on the twenty-sixth of September. Does that work?" Frank looked at Fliss who nodded. He turned back to the woman and smiled. "We'll take it." Bobbi nodded. "Alright. Do you wanna head back to the car and I can take the details, get the deposit paid?" "Lead the way." Frank smiled. She turned and walked back over the sand, the two of them following hand in hand. It took them about fifteen minutes or so to get the formalities out of the way, but once that was done Bobbi emailed the confirmation over and it was done. They had officially set a date. After she told them a little more about what she would need from them legally over the next few weeks she shook both their hands and said she would be in touch. They both waved her off before Fliss turned to Frank, gave a little shriek of happiness before she flung herself onto his arms. He laughed, picking her up and twirling her round, giving her a soft kiss as he set her on her feet. "Three-hundred and sixty three days to go." She smiled "Sixty-four.” Frank chuckled. "It’s a leap year next year baby." "Details, details..." She waved a hand, her gaze flickering back over the ocean as she leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her as the stood looking at the area where they would become man and wife in little under twelve months.
“What time are you meeting Bonnie?” Frank asked, breaking the silence as he checked his watch. She should have been out for lunch with her best friend last but Mary had been violently sick on the Saturday night and really clingy to her, so they had rearranged instead for the following Saturday evening which was now upon them almost.
“Erm, half Seven. Why?” Fliss looked up at him, her shades covering her eyes.
“It’s Four now. Fancy a walk?” he nodded towards the sea.
Fliss hesitated, truth be told she wanted to get back to Alex. This was the first time they’d left him with someone else, and whilst it was her parents and she knew she could trust them implicitly, she was still a little on edge about being apart from him.
“Just a quick fifteen minutes.” Frank softly coaxed, knowing exactly what was on her mind “Then we can go and get the kids.”
Fliss nodded and the pair of them removed their shoes before they linked hands again, stepping onto the sand which was hot on their feet. The pair of them cursed and hopped from foot to foot, mumbling about how they really should know better now as they hurried to the cooler, wet sand, laughing as they walked through the light waves as they lapped around their ankles.
“So where are you going tonight?” Frank asked. “Rio’s.” Fliss replied. “Same as we planned last week. Apparently the new menu is amazing. Has a grill section, we should take Mary one night when Alex is a little older.”
“We could go now.” Frank looked at her “He’s plenty old enough. Feed him before we go, he can sleep whilst we eat.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Why are you so against taking him out?” Frank asked softly.
“I’m not, I take him out during the day.”
“I mean to somewhere like that.” He stopped to look at her. “I’ve suggested it a few times that we take them both out for dinner, a treat for Mary maybe, and you’ve vetoed it.
“I know, and I feel guilty enough as it is, I don’t want Mary to miss out.” “She’s not missing out.” Frank shook his head, “She’s spoiled rotten. I just want to know what the problem is. Talk to me, Honey, please.” Fliss hesitated and took a deep breath “I honestly don’t know. I just, well if he starts crying or he gets unsettled…” “Then we take him outside until he settles and bring him back.” “And if he doesn’t settle?” “Then we get the food wrapped up and take it home.” He shrugged “Lissy, babe, it’s not a big deal. You’re over thinking all of this. He’s a baby, he won’t know where he is, and if he did he wouldn’t give a shit.”
“Sorry.” She mumbled.
“Hey, there’s no need to apologise.” He took both of her hands. “I don’t wanna make you feel bad I just want us to enjoy our family time, you know. I couldn’t do any of this with Mary when she was a baby and I don’t want that for you.”
“I do enjoy family time.” She shrugged. “I honestly don’t know what it is Frank. I just feel safer with him at home. There’s no one there to look at me when he starts crying and be sat there judging me about what he’s crying for…” “Babies cry.” Frank shook his head “It’s what they do. Fuck what anyone else thinks.” “I wish I could be as relaxed about it all as you.”
“You keep saying this like I’m some kind of baby guru.” Frank arched an eyebrow over his shades “And I’m not. I had no fucking idea what I was doing with Mary. Still don’t. Look at the mess I made with the court case, sending her into Foster Care…”
“That was different.” “No, it wasn’t.” Frank shook his head. “I did what I thought was best at the time, but I screwed up. And we’re gonna screw up with Alex along the way and most likely Mary again as she gets older, it’s just a fact of life. But as long as they’re happy, safe and loved that’s all that matters.” “I know, I know.” Fliss took a deep breath as they turned to walk again. “I just don’t want to let him down. I don’t want to let either of them down. And I know I’m being stupid, I mean take earlier for example. When we left him with Mum and Dad, I cried for like half an hour.”
Frank chuckled softly. “I know, I was there.”
“Everyone told me I’d be glad to get some time away, but I’m not. I miss him already and…it’s pathetic, I know.”
“No, you’re just a new mom.” He smiled, squeezing his fingers around hers. “It will get easier, I promise.”
“I thought about cancelling tonight.” She admitted. “I was secretly glad last week was a no go, I mean I would have preferred it not to be because Mary was sick but I wasn’t ready. And that’s not because I don’t trust you with him because I do, and I know I’ve left you with him before when I’ve nipped out but it’s just…”
“Lissy, stop.” Frank shut her rambles down, dropping a kiss to her temple. “You don’t need to explain, I get it. Honestly I do, but you said you’re driving tonight so you can leave when you want to. Don’t cancel, Honey.”
“I’m not going to.” She shook her head “Bonnie would kill me. She’s really down at the moment.”
“Yeah?” Frank asked as the continued to splash in the shallow water.
Fliss nodded “She hasn’t told me what’s wrong. I’ll see if I can get it out of her tonight.” Frank pulled her closer, his hand leaving hers as he curled an arm round her shoulder and they continued to walk, talking as they did so. Eventually they reached the part of the beach which curved around the bay and headed over to the boardwalk so they could walk back to the car. As soon as she got back to her parents’, Fliss felt her earlier anxiety ebb away completely as Alex was fast asleep in the bassinet in the kitchen whilst Mary was playing in the pool with Bill and Steve. The entire family was over the moon when they announced they’d booked the date and Verity went off at 100 miles an hour talking about dresses and flowers until Bill gently reached over and squeezed her knee, reminding her it wasn’t her wedding. But neither Fliss nor Frank minded, it was nice to have their family so enthusiastic.
When Frank announced it was time to leave, Mary started protesting saying she wanted to stay the night. Frank refused, as she’d stayed the night before and he didn’t want Bill and Verity feeling obliged, but as usual Verity beamed and told her of course she could say. So they left her there and took Alex home. Once he had been fed, Fliss headed up for a shower and then contemplated what she was going to wear. Whilst she had lost the remainder of her baby bump so to speak, she was still bigger than she had been beforehand so her usual jeans didn’t quite fit yet. When she’d complained to Frank about it and said the last time she had been this size was after her accident, he had gotten a little frustrated at her, telling her that if she dared go on some stupid diet to lose it as fast as she had back then he would be seriously pissed at her. She’d bitten back, snapping at him that she knew it was out of the question. She didn’t want to for starters, as she had been so miserable when she’d been emotionally manipulated into doing so by John, and this time there was Alex to think about. If she was feeding and nursing him she didn’t want to be on some stupid crash diet. Besides which, she wasn’t eating that differently to how she had been before she was pregnant. It was the lack of exercise, as it had been back then. Frank had apologised for snapping, and she’d done the same assuring him that she would be sensible. She knew that she would lose most of it once she could go back to work and start riding again and if she didn’t, well, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Frank was constantly telling her she was beautiful and besides, what’s a few extra kilos when you have a gorgeous baby boy to show for it?
In the end she opted for a strapless, floaty lemon dress which she had worn in her early pregnancy days that flared out under her breast line and stopped just above her knees. She paired it with a pair of tan, leather gladiator sandals and left her hair down in the soft waves it dried in post her shower. She applied a little make up, smiling to herself at the fact this was probably the first time she had worn it since she had given birth. All in all, she couldn’t deny it was nice to actually feel like Fliss and not just momma bear even though the two went hand in hand now.
Grabbing her purse and dropping her lip gloss and phone inside she headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Frank was sat on the sofa, Alex napping in the little basket which lay on the coffee table. He looked up, blinking at her appearance and smiled softly.
“You look fantastic.”
“Thank you.” She smiled, heading over to give him a quick peck.
“You sure you don’t want me to drive you?” He offered again, nodding to Alex “He’ll sleep on the way.”
“No, honestly I’m not drinking. Well, maybe just one.” She shrugged.
“Back to grape juice instead of apple, huh?” Frank quipped and she smiled, running her finger over Alex’s rosy cheeks.
“Something like that.” She said, absentmindedly looking at her baby.
“Liss.” Frank spoke in a little warning tone, watching her and she turned to him “Go, we’ll be fine.” “I know, I know.” she nodded, taking a deep breath. “I’m going, I promise…” He chuckled and she gave him another kiss before she headed towards the door, she took a final look back at her baby and fiancée, the latter making a shooing gesture with his hands and she laughed, before she turned and walked out of the room. He heard the front door close behind her and let out a sigh of relief. He’d half been expecting her to back out but she hadn’t, she’d gone. Thankfully. He was desperate for her to go out and enjoy herself, she needed to see other people outside of their little family unit, it wasn’t healthy for her to be as isolated as she seemed to have made herself. He’d actually gotten a little worried to the point that he’d even asked his own Mother for advice and she had assured him that Fliss would settle, pointing out that it was nerve wracking being a new mum. He’d been surprised to learn that Evelyn hadn’t left him with anyone until he was almost four months old for fear something would go wrong, and that had comforted him a little to understand that this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. It had been slightly different with Diane as she’d leaned on him to help her a lot, but then again most things with Diane had been different.
He leaned back on the sofa, picking up the remote, his eyes falling once more to the basket.
“Just you and me tonight, Son” he muttered, flicking to the TV finding the sports channel, selecting a re-run of a Red Sox game on one of the sports channels. “Time to start your education.” *****
“Oooh, how exciting!” Bonnie exclaimed as Fliss smiled, having just told her about them booking their wedding “It sounds amazing, that’s a gorgeous stretch of beach.”
“Yeah, it’s special to us so…” she smiled, and looked up as the waiter came to take their drinks order.
“Erm, do you want wine?” Bonnie asked.
Fliss hesitated for a second, before she shrugged “Just the one.”
Bonnie smiled and ordered them a bottle of Chardonnay and a large bottle of water. Once the Waiter was out of ear shot Fliss leaned forward “This way I don't need to pump and dump.”
Bonnie laughed “I always find that odd. I mean pumping and dumping doesn't get alcohol out of your system does it?” “No, but if I wanted to go out and get drunk I’d have to wait until I was sure all the alcohol had left my system before I fed him again.” Fliss shrugged “He’s already bottle fed at night so Frank can help and I wake up and my boobs are like fucking water melons so you can you imagine what they would be like after like twelve hours or whatever if I didn’t.” she shook her head. “But one glass, well my mum, midwife and Doctor Google say if I'm not feeding in the next two or three hours I should be ok.”
Their chat turned to Mary’s adoption, Fliss filling Bonnie in on how they’d begun the process legally now, Greg sorting and filing the paperwork and contacting her biological father earlier that week. So far they had heard nothing but they should start to see things progress fairly quickly once he had given his consent.
“And even if he doesn’t, Greg seems confident the court would find in our favour, Mary having been in Frank’s care since she was six months old.” Fliss shrugged, thanking the waiter as he placed the two bottles on the table. “So we’re not concerned, it would just be a lot easier and smoother if he does the right thing, you know?” The waiter finished filling both their glasses then placed the wine in the ice bucket before he then poured them each a water and asked them for their food orders. They placed them, Bonnie opting for scallops and the ribs, Fliss deciding on calamari and the steak. Once he was gone Bonnie looked at Fliss, picking up her glass.
“Do you think he will? Object, I mean.” Fliss paused, pondering for a moment “I don’t think so, I mean why would he? He made no effort to find Mary before the court case and now, even though he knows where she is, he still hasn’t so…” she shrugged, picking up her drink.
“Well…” Bonnie leaned over, holding her wine glass up “Here’s to it going smoothly and your first girl’s night out since becoming a momma.”
Fliss smiled and clinked her glass against Bonnie’s, before she took a sip and let out a soft moan “God that tastes sooo good.” “Well you could always dump the car as well as the milk.” Bonnie gestured to the bottle that lay in the ice bucket and Fliss laughed, shaking her head.
“Maybe next time.” She pulled out her phone and took a snap of her glass, sending it to Frank with the caption “Ok, so it tastes as good as I remember…” before she dropped her phone on the table.
They chatted a little more about general things, what Fliss had in mind for the wedding, the type of dress she thought she wanted, colour for bridesmaids, most of which she couldn’t answer as she had no idea really. It was odd that it was going to be her choice, but exciting none-the-less. At one point, her phone buzzed and she picked it up, letting out a chuckle at Frank’s reply to her earlier message. It was a photo of a beer bottle and a baby bottle side by side on the kitchen counter along with the words “Boy’s night in.” She showed it to Bonnie who gave a snort and Fliss placed the phone down and looked at her.
“So, what’s going on with you? I can tell you’re down.”
Bonnie fiddled slightly with her cutlery, before she shrugged “Simon’s being odd. I mean odder than normal before you say it.”
Fliss smiled and waited for her to continue.
“The last week or so, it’s like his mind is elsewhere. I’m beginning to wonder where it is, or more to the point who it’s with.”
Fliss frowned, her wine glass paused slightly in front of her mouth “You think he’s cheating?”
Bonnie shrugged “Honestly, I don’t know. Something’s going on.”
“I don’t think he would.” Fliss shook her head. “Is he not just stressed with work? Frank can get a little sullen if he’s got a lot on.” “Maybe.” Bonnie mused “He’s just normally so attentive and fun. Oh, ignore me. I’m likely thinking too much into it, it’s probably nothing.”
“You should ask him straight.” Fliss said, looking at her “Tell him how you feel, give him a chance to explain. If there’s one thing the whole Vegas incident with Frank taught me is that things ain’t always what they seem Bon. It’s bound to be something really simple that’s just playing on his mind.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Bonnie nodded “I’ll ask him.”
At that point their starters arrived and they both started to eat, and Bonnie grinned. “So, anyway, back to your dress…you’d look fantastic in a straight, little lace number.” By the time they had finished eating and chatting, Fliss was wearing a bright, bubble-gum pink meringue complete with crystals and a sweetheart neckline to get married in-“because, you know- watermelons…” and the bridesmaids were all going to be in lime green. Fliss had told Bonnie to be careful what she was suggesting, as she didn’t think the woman’s skin tone would take kindly to be dressed in such a colour, at which point Bonnie had nearly choked and her eyes had filled as Fliss smiled and nodded, confirming that she’d just asked Bonnie to take the job. After a loud acceptance, Bonnie had jumped up and hugged Fliss, drawing curious glances from the tables around them.
Fliss dropped Bonnie at the condo she shared with Simon, along with an instruction to call her if she needed to chat again, and then she headed back home arriving just after eleven. Letting herself in quietly, she made her way into the family room and paused in the doorway, smiling at the sight in front of her. Frank was led on the sofa, Alex clutched to his chest with two strong hands, the baby boy fast asleep.
“Before you panic…” Frank spoke, making her jump a little “I’m not asleep. Just resting my eyes.”
“I wasn’t panicking.” Fliss said, honestly “I know you’d never let him fall.”
Frank cracked open his eyes and smiled. “You have a nice time?” He asked as she walked towards him. He gently shifted so he was sat up, Alex still held to his chest securely as Fliss sat next to him, peeking at the sleeping baby.
“Yeah, I did.” She nodded “The food was good. We definitely need to go.”
“Did you find out what was bothering Bonnie?”
“Yeah, she said Simon’s being odd with her.”
“Odder than normal?”
Fliss snorted, “That’s exactly what Bonnie said.” She took a deep breath. “She thinks he’s playing away.”
“Si?” Frank looked at her. “No, absolutely not. In fact, she couldn’t be further from the truth if she tried.”
“What do you mean?” Fliss frowned and Frank hesitated.
“He told me last week, and this cannot go any further as he will kill me, but he’s gonna propose.”
Fliss’ mouth dropped open before her face split into a grin “No shit?”
“Yes shit.” Frank nodded, smiling “Told me when he was drunk in Fergs.” Fliss leaned back against the cushions on the sofa, and her smile slipped a little “Oh crap.”
“What?” “I told her to talk to him, ask him what the problem was.” “Sensible advice in normal circumstances.” Frank shrugged “Don’t sweat it, it’ll be fine.”
“So when’s he gonna ask her?”
“No idea.” Frank shrugged “He didn’t say.”
“Did he not ask for ideas?”
Frank snorted. “I’m the last person he should be asking. I was carrying your damned ring around for weeks trying to find the right moment. I almost did it by the tree at the Rockefeller centre, and then that ass hole beat me to it.”
Fliss gave a soft laugh as she shook her head “The way you did it was perfect.” “Yeah, I got there in the end.” He grinned.
At that point Alex stirred a little, making a few gripey noises before he began to get more restless, rooting against Frank’s T-shirt. “Think he might be hungry.” Frank smiled “Good timing Momma.”
Fliss chuckled and took Alex in her arms, adjusting her top as Frank stood up, heading to the kitchen “You want a drink?” he tossed over his shoulder.
“Yeah, camomile tea if there’s any going?”
Frank put the kettle on to boil and watched from the counter as his girl nursed their baby, a deep sense of contentment brewing in his stomach, along with the usual low-key arousal he felt whenever she was doing anything with their son. Seeing her interact with his baby, the baby she’d carried and given birth to was purely amazing and he loved watching it. He made her a tea, grabbed himself another beer and then sat down next to her as she finished up feeding and he offered to take Alex to wind him as she sorted herself out and had her drink. Eventually he settled again and went back down, leaving the two of them to snuggle up on the couch. They stayed together for half an hour or so before Fliss yawned and said she needed to sleep.
“I’ll take him up. You coming?” she asked.
“I’ll be up shortly.” Frank promised as she sat up, cracking her neck.
“You gonna watch porn and jerk off?” She teased and Frank sighed, shooting her a look.
“You’re not funny.”
“Not trying to be.” She shrugged, leaning over to kiss him softly.
“What would you do if I was?” He mumbled against her lips and she paused, pulling back slightly, arching her eyebrows.
“Well, I’d probably have to remind you that the real thing is much better.” She said, her hand gently cupping at his crotch.
“Okay, you need to stop.” Frank’s voice was a low whisper before he let out a groan as she ignored him completely, her grip growing harder. His hand wrapped gently around her wrist. “Lissy, seriously…” “Oh, shut up.” She mumbled, before she shook off his grip and snaked her hand into the waistband of his shorts, taking his hardening member in her hand. She gave it a light pump or two before she pulled at his shorts, and he lifted his hips slightly to allow her to pull them down.
“Baby, seriously, you don’t-.” His protests died in his throat as Fliss bent down and took him to the back of hers.
*****
“Well, I’m happy that everything seems ok and back to normal.” The Ob Gyn smiled at Fliss as she moved away from where she had been examining her “So if you feel ok in yourself, no physical pain, nothing…” “Nope, nothing at all.” Fliss shook her head
“Well then Miss Gallagher your life can go back to normal” she smiled, “Well, as normal as it is 6 weeks post giving birth.”
Fliss smiled “So I can start riding again?”
“Yup, as long as you make sure you take it easy. As with anything, you won’t have used certain muscles in a while so be careful.”
“Ok.” Fliss nodded.
“Are you going to continue breast feeding?” the woman asked and Fliss nodded.
“Yeah, which is something I wanted to talk to you about. What contraception can I use?”
“There’s condoms obviously, I can prescribe the mini pill or there’s the IUD.”
“Is an IUD safe?” Fliss asked, “I don’t want to use condoms and to be honest, with my baby brain I’ll probably end up forgetting my pill. That’s what led us here in the first place and that was before I’d had a baby.”
The Doctor chuckled. “To be honest, the most effective contraceptives are intrauterine devices and they’re perfectly safe despite what you might read on the internet. The Mirena IUD releases a very small amount of hormone into the uterus, where it works locally and it won’t affect the quality and quantity of breast milk, and it’s also safe and effective for five years. It’s a good choice, one I prefer to recommend when I can.”
Fliss nodded “Ok, that seems like a good choice. How do I get one fit?”
“I can do it now if you want.” The woman smiled “And the best bit is it works immediately.” “Straight away?” Fliss looked at her “So…” “Yep.” The Ob Gyn smiled “You can go straight home and jump his bones if you so wish.”
Fliss laughed, and contemplated the woman’s words for a second. She did want. Truth be told she’d been low key horny since she’d blown Frank off on the couch a fortnight or so ago, but hadn’t wanted to rush anything, choosing to wait instead for the all clear at her 6 week check-up. Now, well, there was nothing stopping them getting physically close again and the thought drew a smile to her face. She couldn’t wait to have her Sailor holding her again.
“Okay, yeah” She nodded to the woman who smiled.
“I’ll sort the paper work, grab my kit and be right back.” The doctor smiled.
Driving home Fliss had all sorts of thoughts about how to make their night special. Romantic candles perhaps, maybe a little nice underwear…that is if she could find any that fit her still.
But of course, best laid plans and all that. In reality, the evening unfolded like any other, with shitty diapers, breast pumping, and a dinner eaten while taking turns bouncing a six week old baby in their laps as he had chosen that particular night to be awkward about settling after his feed, it was almost as if he could sense what Fliss had in mind and was doing his best to veto her plans.
Around nine pm once Mary was in bed and Alex had been bathed, changed and fed, Fliss slipped away to prepare her body for its first round of postnatal coitus. She took a bath to unwind and shaved her armpits and legs. She also considered tackling her lady bush, but realized that her razor wasn’t sharp enough for that jungle right now so Frank was just going to have to deal with the crotch afro if he wanted a bit.
She climbed out of the bath and wrapped herself in her robe, heading into the bedroom where she dried off and set about her skin care routine before she decided to go the whole hog and paint her toenails a deep crimson colour, replacing the shimmery baby pink that she had done a few weeks ago as celebration she could finally see her damned feet again. Then she shed her robe and stole a quick look in the mirror. All things considered she conceded she didn’t look too bad. She wasn’t so much bothered by the extra pounds but more so slightly disturbed by the way they seemed to have positioned themselves on her body. It was almost like small, flesh-coloured bread loaves stapled to her belly. But, like she knew she could sort most of that out with riding and getting more active again, what she wasn’t sure exercise would do anything for was her breasts. They were large, which in itself wasn’t a problem, on the contrary in fact, as Frank was a self-proclaimed boob man, but her nipples had starburst over her breasts without any clearly definitive ending points. She was debating whether or not to try and put a little foundation on them, to tone down the nipple extravaganza but stopped herself, realising she was being utterly fucking ridiculous.
This was Frank she was preparing for. The man she’d been with for years, her fiancée whose baby she had carried and given birth to. And she knew he loved her, starfish nips or not.
She set about finding some suitable underwear. She had a few nice sets, some she had bought for herself, some Frank had purchased for her but as she laid them out on the bed she knew she wouldn’t feel comfortable in any of them. Continuing her search she finally found a pair of black lace briefs that skated along her ass cheeks and a black sheer negligee that she had worn a few times pre- pregnancy, in particular one very raunchy night where she’d surprised Frank by wearing it in the kitchen one evening when Mary had been at Roberta’s, cooking their dinner as if it was perfectly normal to be dressed that way. Dinner had ended up burnt, the smoke detectors going off, and they’d sat curled up with a Thai take out and all the windows open in an attempt to rid the place of the smell of cremated lamb chops and potatoes.
She shimmied into it, and to her delight it fit, even if her breasts were a little larger. They spilled over the top but her cleavage looked Elizabethan in a sexy way, and she grinned as she knew exactly what Frank was going to say about that. Finally, she removed her hair form its high bun, which had served nicely to give it some volume and fluffed it up and decided that the overall effect was actually pretty good.
She lay back on the bed, grabbed her phone and turned it into selfie mode, angling it just right so that she could get the full effect before she checked it, and fired it to Frank with a downright filthy message accompanying it and lay back to wait.
***** Frank had nodded when Fliss had said she was tired and needed to go to bed, and promised he’d be up in an hour or so, wanting to give her the time to just unwind. She’d been for her 6 week check-up and had assured him that everything was fine, but her general demeanour told him she was keeping something from him.
Trying not to think about it too much, he settled Alex down and flicked over to catch a re-run of Game of Thrones. It was the Battle Of The Bastards, his favourite episode of the entire series, and he was just mumbling to himself, calling Rickon Stark a ‘dumb ass mother fucker’ for not zig-zagging when his phone went. He absentmindedly reached for it, wondering if it was Simon telling him he’d finally grown a pair of balls and proposed, but it wasn’t, it was Fliss.
He opened the message and as soon as he saw the image he spluttered and the soda he had just taken a drink of dribbled straight down his shirt.
“Jesus fucking Christ.” He choked, wiping at the spilled Fanta, as he stared at the photo. His girl was led on the bed, in a sheer negligee, her hair fanning over the pillow, eyes bright and mischievous and the shot was angled to give a perfect shot of the top of her cleavage. It was accompanied with the words. “Oh I forgot to tell you, your favourite legs are back open for business…”
“You devious little minx, Miss Gallagher.” He mumbled, suddenly understanding exactly what it as she’d been hiding from him, and his cock stirred in his pants. In a flash her was up off the sofa, shoving Thor out of the door so he could pee before he locked up, gathered Alex in his arms and made his way up the stairs as fast as he could, letting the dog into Mary’s room as he was scrambling at the door to get in.
“What kept you?” Fliss asked as he walked into the room, gently placing Alex in the bedside crib, making sure the blankets were arranged carefully.
“Well you kinda caught me off guard.” He smirked, lifting an eyebrow as he gently lowered himself over her on the bed, tugging her hips and pulling her down slightly before he propped himself up on his elbows, caging her between his arms and legs. “You look sexy as fuck, momma bear.” Fliss let out a grin as his lips met hers, and his eyes lowered to her cleavage and he gave a groan. “And I’m not supposed to touch these?”
“No.”
“At all?”
“Not unless you want a face full of milk.” She looked at him.
“Is it strange I find that a little kinky?” Frank grinned and she blinked, shaking her head with a snort.
“You have issues.”
“Yeah and right now they’re in the trouser department.” He mumbled, dropping his lips to hers “I nearly choked when you sent me that message.”
“You like?” She purred gently and he let out another groan and nodded.
“I did, I do. A lot.” His lips pressed to hers again. The kiss quickly became heated, his hands tangling in her hair has he held her head still, and then he felt her pull away a little, and he frowned as she looked at him, biting her lip.
“What’s wrong?”
"Is it weird that we’re like gonna have sex with our baby in the same room? Can he see us?” she asked, her head rolling to look at Alex. "No, he can't even focus yet, and it’s not weird. I’m a modern man.” Frank replied, his hand cupping her cheek and turning her face back to his. “This is how it’s done. It’s probably very European of us actually." "Frank I'm from England." She rolled her eyes. "Lissy." Frank sighed softly, “Look, if you don't wanna..."
“No I do, I really do.” She took a deep breath “Sorry, I just…” “It’s okay.” He gave her a soft smile, before his lips found hers again. In between the dizzying kisses Frank moved his right hand, his fingers gently tracing up the outside of her thigh and under the hem of the sheer lace slip she was wearing, and his mouth moved to lightly trail kisses across her bare collar bone. With a soft sigh she nodded, acknowledging his unasked question and his lips moved downwards peppering warm, open mouthed pecks across the swell of her cleavage, careful to take his time and stay gentle. Fliss let out a shaky whisper of his name, her hands tangling into his hair as he moved his affections upwards slightly, skimming his nose up her sternum, nudging her chin back so he could turn his affections back to her neck. This time her gentle whisper became a loud groan which she stifled with her hand as he nipped at her neck and he felt her shiver underneath him.
“You okay?” he asked quietly, looking down at her. She nodded and with a wicked quirk of his eyebrow he stood up, scrambling out of his clothes as fast as he could before he fell forwards again, his hands pulling down her underwear, lips kissing at the spot just below her ear.
Fliss was utterly gone now, consumed by the sensations she hadn’t felt in so long and she tilted her head back, sighing softly as Frank continued to nibble at her neck, settling himself above her. His fingers gently dropped between her legs and he felt her slick against the tips as he gently coaxed at her clit, continuing until she was nothing short of a writhing mess clawing at his back, aching for him. They locked eyes as he took her left hand in his, and slowly worked into her, both moaning simultaneously at the sensation, Fliss’ eyelids fluttering shut as she felt him fill her before the flickered open again and she looked up at him.
“Go steady.” She whispered and, with a gentle nod, Frank began to move his hips slowly, displaying nothing but absolute tenderness in his thrusts which weren’t measured in the slightest. His free hand kept hold of her hip, keeping her as close as she could possibly be, enjoying the sensation of once more being inside her, in top of her, surrounded by her.
Meanwhile, Fliss was just as lost, but in her own thoughts. For some reason as good as she had felt before, now she was starting to panic a little, that stupid voice in her head mumbling all sorts of dumbass thoughts.
Okay, this feels familiar. Sex feels the same. Does it feel the same for him? Is he taking longer than normal? Oh shit, maybe I’m super stretched out and it’s terrible. Maybe I’m different now, and I’ll never be as good. Maybe I was never THAT good to start with though? I’ll ask… “Is it good? Is it the same as it was?” She gasped out and Frank stilled, looking down at her.
“What?” He panted slightly. "I asked does it feel the same? I mean..." Frank leaned down, gently rubbing his nose against hers. “It’s great … it feels really good.” He reassured her and she nodded.
“Okay, you can go a bit faster…”
“I don’t want to.” He mumbled, giving her a deep kiss. And he didn’t. He was enjoying the slowness of it all, and he kept his lazy thrusts aimed perfectly on her spot, drawing those delectable sounds from her throat. Fliss’ senses were on fire, and she broke the long, lazy kiss that they were sharing to stifle a moan against his shoulder when she felt herself starting to unravel.
And then…
A loud cry came from the basinet. They both stilled, looked at one another, and glanced over to the side of the bed. Silence, no movement bar the waving of a little arm.
"He's going to cry.” Fliss stuttered between her deep breathing “If he cries, do we stop? Is it child abuse if we keep going until we finish?" "He's stopped." Frank turned his head back to her. “What if there's something wrong and we’re here just boning."
Frank shut her up with a languid roll of his hips and she gave a soft gasp, her hands grasping at his biceps.
“Liss, he’s fine.”
“'We’re the kind of negligent parents…oh fuck.” She whimpered as he tilted his hips again. “The one’s you’d see in a movie like Trainspotting."
He shook his head, pulling out a little before he sank back into her, her body moving with his slightly and she looked up at him.
“When the police ask what happened, do we lie? Or do we say we were having sex while our baby quietly suffocated a few feet away?”
“For fucks sake Lissy.” Frank spluttered in frustration. “You gave me a blow job the other week on the sofa and he was asleep in the basket on the coffee table.”
“That was different” “How?”
“We were on the couch and I wasn't naked.” “You’re not naked now.” He shook his head. “Will you shut up and let me make you feel good?” Her random, stupid worries stopped and she closed her eyes, nodding, and he started his movements again. It didn’t take him long to get them back to where they were, his thrusts deep and he picked up his pace ever so slightly, her hands flying to his bare back as she gripped him tighter, wanting to feel all of him, as close as she possibly could. His lips found hers and she took the kiss, it left her breathless as the heat began to rise in her belly and she let out a soft moan, which he swallowed with his mouth where it morphed into his own low, mumble of her name as he felt her clench around him.
The sheets rustled underneath them both as their pace continued slow and languid until the very end when Fliss’ let her head tip back, her throat bared to Frank in utter bliss as she came hard, the world spinning around her, her moans soft and breathy as her legs trembled, sheer pleasure spearing through her entire body. At that, after actively fighting back his high for what felt like an age, Frank gave a low grunt which tuned into a gasp as he clung to his girl, spilling himself into her, his hips slowing to a stop as he collapsed forward.
“That was fucking great.” His voice was muffled as his face pressed into her neck, and Fliss felt herself flush. She let out a chuckle as her hands gently slid up his back and into his hair.
“Yeah, we still got it Sailor.”  She quipped and it was Frank’s turn to chuckle as he moved and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
And then Alex did erupt into a full on screaming fit. Frank found himself thanking his son that he’d at least had the good grace to wait until he’d finished. He rolled off Fliss, landing on his back, hand running through his hair as she sat up and scooped Alex into her arms, sitting up against the headboard with him held to her, in the bed where his parents’ sinful deeds were likely still detectable. Frank looked at her, then to Alex whose tiny face was creased up in a loud wail as Fliss held him to her chest, trying to soothe him and he arched an eyebrow. "I take it the post sex snuggling is out?"
**** Chapter 13
61 notes · View notes
misscorn · 3 years
Text
Day 5
Favorite Couple
Surprise, surprise my favorite couple is Ritsu and Masamune LMAO so let's keep the nostalgia going @sihjrweek (again if you haven't then read my previous entries for context ❤)
***
"I won't be able to hang out after school tomorrow." Ritsu said, currently dressing and desperately wishing that his Senpai would STOP staring at him. However, Saga was perfectly content to stay naked under his covers and watch Ritsu put on his clothes. Of course, the older teen would've preferred that Ritsu keep them off and spend the night, but it was a school night and Ritsu's mother wouldn't allow it.
"Why not?" Saga asked, sitting up. It had been almost two weeks since White Day, the jar of stars on Saga's nightstand, some of them obviously unfolded and refolded. Although Saga was still understandably irked about his boyfriend having a literal fiancée (even if Ritsu insisted she wasn't one) he spent as much time with Ritsu as he possibly could. That included hanging out in the library after class every day. Maybe Saga was becoming a little clingy or needy, but he didn't care.
"My parents want to spend the day with me tomorrow since it's my birthday." Ritsu shrugged. He had finished dressing and now he had moved on to trying to fix his hair.
"Tomorrow's your birthday? Why didn't you tell me it was coming up?!" Saga asked. He had no time to plan anything! He had no present, no cake, no way to celebrate!
"Honestly, I sort of forgot my birthday was coming up until my mom said something yesterday. It's not really something I ever think about." Ritsu said, not seeing what the big deal was.
Saga huffed. "Well, start thinking about it, moron. I want to do something with you for your birthday." He said. "Let's celebrate over the weekend."
Ritsu blushed, flattered by the unexpected offer. "W-We don't have to do something, Senpai. I'm happy just seeing you." He said.
Crap, why did he have to say such cute shit like that? It made Saga want to yank him right back into bed and kiss him breathless.
"You see me almost everyday. I wanna do something more special than that." Saga said. He didn't like that it wouldn't be on Ritsu's actual birthday, but at least it gave him a little more time to prepare. He watched as Ritsu opened his mouth to protest. "Please?" Saga spoke softly before the brunette even got the chance.
"O-O-Okay." Ritsu agreed, a little caught off guard by the gentle 'please'.
"Come over on Saturday. You can spend the night."
Ritsu nodded. "I'll see you Saturday then." He said, trying not to think too deeply about what 'spending the night' would hold, otherwise he'd become a flustered mess.
"Wait, c'mere." Saga said after Ritsu grabbed his bag, clearly ready to leave.
Ritsu shuffled closer to the bed and Saga grabbed his hand before pulling him down to give him one last kiss. "Love you."
Ritsu predictably turned cherry red. "Y-you can't just sneak attack me like that!"
"What about that was sneaky?"
"Y-You know what I mean!" Ritsu quickly tried to put distance between them, but Saga held his hand tightly.
"Say it back."
"S-S-Stop teasing me!" Ritsu was not at all used to hearing Saga say the L word yet. It also seemed like every day Saga was becoming more affectionate. Not that Ritsu disliked it! Quite the opposite in fact! His poor heart just couldn't take it.
"Not letting you go till you say it." Saga said, leaving a few kisses on Ritsu's hand. Maybe if he embarrassed Ritsu enough he'd get the response he was looking for.
Ritsu's knees almost gave out from such a simple, but intimate action. "I-I can b-barely talk at all when y-you do things like that!"
'Damn it. I really don't want him to leave.' Saga thought. "You're sure you can't spend the night tonight?" He asked.
"My mother would kill me for even thinking about it." Ritsu said.
Saga sighed and flopped on to his back, still holding Ritsu's hand. "Fiiiiine."
"So...you have to let me go..." Ritsu reminded him, half-trying to wiggle his way out of his grip.
"You have to say it back first." Saga said.
"I-I love you too."
Saga, although he didn't want to, released Ritsu's hand. "See you Saturday. Around 12 sound good? We can have lunch together."
Ritsu nodded in confirmation, deciding to be just a little bold and kiss Saga's cheek before running off quickly.
Shit, that brat! Doing something cute like that and running away before Saga could grab him.
'Saturday.' Saga reminded himself before groaning. 'Fuck, what am I even gonna do for Saturday?'
The next day Saga decided to skip the library at the end of classes since Ritsu wouldn't even be there. Plus, he needed to use his free time to try to find a present for him. He felt like a book was a safe bet, but that was also just way too obvious. Still, the bookstore wasn't a bad place to start.
Saga took his time looking through titles, eventually reaching for a book. His hand ended up meeting another and he pulled away, looking over to see who was trying to get the same novel.
Kohinata An.
Saga couldn't help but to frown. Why, why of all people did it have to be her? Ritsu had told Saga that An knew about them, which didn't bother the upperclassman, but he still didn't want to see her.
"Oh, hello, Saga Senpai." An said before giving a knowing smile. "You're here to shop for Richan too, aren't you?" She had been invited to by Youko Onodera to spend the day with them and Ritsu for his birthday, but she had politely declined. She knew it was just a way for Youko to try to set them up.
Saga tried not to look too terribly annoyed at the question. She was Ritsu's friend, of course she knew when his birthday was and of course she'd be getting him a present, but something about it still bothered him.
"Yeah." He answered.
"Richan's sooooo hard to shop for. Every year I try to keep an eye out for something he might like, but I always end up resorting to books." She laughed, but slowly lost her smile when Saga did not react. "Um, Saga Senpai, I..." She trailed off.
"What?" He asked, hoping she'd leave him alone soon.
An hesitated, wanting apologize for what happened on White Day, but instead she smiled and grabbed the book off the shelf. She held it out to him. "You should get Richan this book. He's been reading a lot more fantasy novels lately and I've heard a lot of good things about this one. He'll love it."
Saga slowly took the book out of her hands. "...thanks."
An nodded. "Oh and, one more thing." She said before making herself look as stern as she possibly could. "If you ever hurt Richan, you'll be sorry. So you better treat him right!"
Saga was a little dumbstruck by that, having expected some declaration of rivalry instead, so he only nodded.
Still, that was enough to satisfy An. "Good. Have a nice day, Senpai." She said before taking her leave.
Maybe this An girl wasn't too terrible...
Saga would still keep an eye on her, but he supposed she wasn't the conniving boyfriend stealing witch he suspected her of being.
He looked down at the book he was holding, deciding to get it along with a new horror novel release. Ritsu didn't seem like the type to like that kind of thing, but Saga had been proven wrong by Ritsu's extensive collection of horror books.
'He reads horror but not shoujo...make it make sense.' Saga shook his head at the thought, leaving the store after making his purchases. He stopped in a bakery, getting a small strawberry cake for the two of them to share before heading home to work on his last gift. He needed as much time as he could possibly get for that one.
Once Saturday came, Saga tried to hide how excited he was to celebrate with Ritsu. He felt like such an idiot being so happy over something like this. He hoped Ritsu was just as happy.
"You're sure this is where you wanna go for lunch? We can go anywhere you want, it'll be my treat." Saga said, the two of them entering Pandaway together.
"Y-You don't have to-"
"I want to." Saga interuppted, not letting Ritsu try to talk him out of here.
"I want to eat here." Ritsu assured him. "I like this place, it reminds me of our first d-date." He admitted before he looked at Saga nervously. "That...was a date, right?"
"What else would you call it?" Saga asked as the two of them got in line.
"I just wanted to make sure." Ritsu said, now embarrassed for asking.
Saga just hummed in response. Ritsu was always asking things like that, but Saga hoped he'd be able to quell these insecurities of his.
"Want me to order for you?" Saga asked.
"That's even more embarrassing than stumbling and stuttering over my order." Ritsu said. "Besides, I'm a little more prepared than I was the first time." He added, determined to redeem himself.
Saga held back a laugh and shrugged. "Alright, if you say so."
The two soon got to the front, Saga ordering first. Ritsu ordered afterward, only panicking one or two times when he hadn't heard the employee correctly, but he actually managed to get through the process without wanting to die. Saga paid for them both before Ritsu could even attempt to pay for himself.
The teens sat across from one another with their food, eating and talking casually.
"What did you end up doing with your parents for your birthday?" Saga asked before taking a bite of his sandwich.
"Oh, it was actually really cool! My dad set up for me to meet the author Sumi Ryouichi. When I stopped completely panicking I got to talk to him about his books, including one that's in the works right now." Ritsu said with a bright smile. "After that we went to some fancy dinner, which was nice, but not really my thing." He added with a laugh.
"How the hell did your dad set that up?" Saga asked. He knew Ritsu's parents were wealthy, but what sort of connections did they have?
"My dad's company publishes Sumi Sensei's novels."
"Your dad's what?"
Ritsu frowned and furrowed his eyebrows a little bit. Had they not talked about this before? "My dad's company, Onodera Publishing."
"Onodera?"
"Yeah...like...my name?" Ritsu didn't understand what was confusing about this.
"Onodera...not Oda?"
Ritsu paled. No. Nonononono, this wasn't really happening! "Did I not ever properly introduce myself to you?" Ritsu squeaked out.
"No. I knew your name from the library cards. Are you telling me your name isn't Oda Ritsu?" Saga asked. Well, this was probably the most random and creative way to make Saga feel like the worst boyfriend ever. He hadn't even known Ritsu's actual name!
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Ritsu apologized quickly. "I-I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote down that name, I didn't want to seem like a stalker and write my real name, b-but now I realize that doesn't really make any sense." Ritsu put his face in his hands, wanting to hide forever.
"First a fiancée, now a fake name and you're suddenly an heir to a publishing company. You're not gonna tell me you're on the run from the cops next or anything like that, are you?"
"Of course not!" Ritsu hastily denied, not yet realizing that Saga was only teasing him. "I'm sorry, I swear I didn't hide this intentionally, I-"
"I know." Saga assured. He knew his boyfriend flip flopped between laser focused determination and totally scatterbrained, so he wasn't too mad about this. "But it would've been sort of funny if I still didn't know and found out after ten years or something." Saga said. That would've been quite a story.
"That would not be funny, that would be mortifying." Ritsu pouted.
Saga just chuckled and resisted the urge to reach over and ruffle his hair.
Once they finished eating and threw out their trash, Saga spoke up. "I was thinking we could go see the cherry blossom trees. If that's something you'd like."
Ritsu smiled. "I'd love to!" He said. "I love doing anything as long as it's with Senpai."
Saga held back the desire to frown. Why did Ritsu have to say cute things like that when he couldn't kiss him? He settled for reaching out and holding his hand.
"H-Hey!" Ritsu was quick to protest, but Saga held on.
"You can't just say something like that and not expect consequences." Saga said. "Come on, let's go." He walked, still holding Ritsu's hand.
Ritsu attempted to free himself a few more times, but to no avail, especially since him flailing his arm brought more attention than just the two of them holding hands.
Plus, not wanting to lose Ritsu among the other cherry blossom viewers was a good enough excuse to hold on to him. The crowd wasn't incredibly thick, but it was a pretty popular activity and it was a weekend as well, so there was a steady amount of visitors.
The flowers were in full bloom, painting the view a gentle shade of pink.
"I've never been cherry blossom viewing before." Saga admitted.
"Really?" Ritsu looked away from the flora, looking to his Senpai instead in surprise.
"Yeah. I'm glad I'm seeing them for the first time with you."
Ritsu turned as pinker than the petals around them. "W-Why do you always have to tease me?"
"I'm not teasing." Saga frowned a little. "I'm serious."
Ritsu looked away from him, unable to meet his eyes out of embarrassment. "Well...I-I'm glad you're with me too." He said softly, giving Saga's hand a slight squeeze.
Ba dump
Fuck, Saga didn't know if he'd ever be able to admit it out loud, but Ritsu was able to make his heart pound way too easily.
'I want to do this with him every year.' Saga thought. There was so much Saga wanted to do with Ritsu in general. He could only hope that he'd get the opportunity.
"Let's head back." Saga said after the two had been strolling together for a while. "I wanna kiss you and if I try to do that here you'll freak out."
Too late, Ritsu was already freaking out. "Y-Y-You can't just say something like that!"
Saga just shrugged. He was trying to be more open about his feelings, even if those feelings embarrassed the hell out of Ritsu.
"S-Seriously, it's like you're trying to kill me." Ritsu complained with a pout.
"Would love be such a bad way to die?"
Ack! The L word again!
"Yes!" Ritsu huffed.
Saga laughed.
Ritsu felt his entire body heat up. His Senpai...LAUGHED. He couldn't recall a time that he had heard his Senpai laugh before. He wanted to hear it more often, wanted to see him smile like that every day and be the reason for it.
"C-Come on, let's just go." Ritsu said quickly before he became overwhelmed with such thoughts.
Once they arrived back at the older teen's house, Saga took the opportunity to kiss Ritsu, just as he said he would.
"Sit. I'll get the cake and presents." Saga said after he pulled away.
Ritsu went to tell his Senpai that he shouldn't have gone through all that trouble, but he knew Saga would just insist that he had wanted to do this. So, instead Ritsu sat and said hello to Sorata, scratching under his chin. The cat curled up in his lap as Ritsu continued to give him attention.
Saga didn't take long, bringing the cake and presents into the living room. Sorata and Ritsu were definitely a cute sight together, making Saga smile a bit.
"Thank you so much for all this, Senpai." Ritsu said after they had cut the cake and he had opened his gifts. He was admittedly very exciting about his two new reads, even if that made him feel like a nerd. Plus, they were books that Senpai got for him, so that made them even more special.
"There's one more thing." Saga said. "It's in my room." He stood and left, heading up the stairs as Ritsu waited and distracted himself with keeping Sorata from eating the leftover cake.
Saga soon came back down, holding something behind his back. "So, I sort of stole your idea and I didn't have much time to get as good as you with the paper folding, but..." Saga brought a jar full of paper stars forward. They were pink like cherry blossom petals. He sat back down next to Ritsu as he spoke. "I noticed you still look so...shocked whenever I tell you I love you. Even now you're always saying stuff like 'we're dating right?' when I keep telling you how I feel. So, I thought that this might be a nice reminder. If you ever start doubting my feelings for you, you can read as many as it takes for you to stop doubting. This is real, Ritsu. What we have and what I feel for you is real and I don't want you to forget that." Saga said, handing the jar over. "These are only some of the reasons, though." He added, thinking there weren't nearly enough stars.
"Some?" Ritsu stared at the stars. This jar full was only some of the reasons Saga loved him? This couldn't be real.
"Well I couldn't fit all of them. I didn't have enough time." Saga said. "Because someone didn't tell me their birthday was coming up."
Ritsu just smiled. "Thank you." He said, excited to read all the little messages inside the stars, but he'd wait till he was alone so he didn't melt into a puddle right in front of Saga.
"Mm. Happy birthday. I love you."
"I love you too."
54 notes · View notes
seostudios · 4 years
Text
middle of the night: all about luv - p.js
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ALL ABOUT LUV ‣ MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
you just needed to pass your classes and you'd be out of this hellhole but of course you couldn't do it alone! it was a two man job with your lifestyle so the school assigned you to the one and only park jisung, clumsy straight a student who you may or may not have now taken a liking to....
pairing: park jisung x fem!reader
genre: angst, fluff
word count: 4.5k
info: rebel!reader, nerd!jisung, strangers to lovers!au, non-idol!au, high school!au
warnings: explicit/vulgar language, mentions of drugs, alcohol, little bit alcohol consumption
a/n: hey omg i can’t believe i finally posted a part to this series, i hope u guys enjoy it and PLEASE tell me if you want a taglist okay? thanks! 
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You were fierce, everyone knew. Even those who haven't even seen you and your tricks in-person feared when you attended school. Although you were known to play tricks,  rough-house, and start problems with the other kids who didn't even bother attending school or pursue their actual desires- you had one and was determined to make it come true one way or another. But unfortunately, you were pretty dim compared to the students who roamed the hallways, it never stopped you, Today you decided on approaching your math teacher since she was surprisingly the only one who cheered you on with your aspirations,
"So...I'm passing three of my four courses this semester!?" You eagerly questioned the woman in front of you, "Yes, you are" confirmed with the recent grade updates, you sigh in relief knowing you were passing most of your classes with satisfying marks, so you made your way to the exit. 
However, she pulled you back down to your seat. "You're failing Science Y/n," she added pointing at the 34, "Well I don't even know what's happening in there, how can I pass in such a short time?" 
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He stared out the window of the Science lab. He had plans after school, "Jisung? Park Jisung?" an unfamiliar teacher called from the door frame; his attention was mainly towards the girl behind her which sent shivers down his spine.
"Can you meet me in Room 284 after school?" Of course not, he's finally scored a fucking date with Lee Jieun one of the prettiest and popular girls of the junior division, he looked over to Jieun in the back of the class who was listening in on your conversation along with everybody else in the classroom, she looked disappointed but nodded permitting him to ditch their date, he smiled apologetically at the girl before focusing his attention to the door, 
"Sure."
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Knocks were heard from the door which made your busy teacher who was marking work signal you to go open the entrance to this quite cold classroom. Roughly around 5'11 probably 6'0 boy is wearing a worn-out white shirt, with a navy blue blazer, pants and a poorly tied tie. His attire was mandatory but his hair was unique, rocking pink-brown hair was not something you see every day unless they were idols. The sun shined passed the windows onto the boy making his rosewood hair turn into a more dark salmon colour. "Jisung!" Your Math teacher chirped to the boy pulling out a chair next to yours indicating you two to sit back down. She took a good two minutes out of your time to finish up on marking and organizing the sheets sprawled across the desk, you and Jisung just sat in silence. In all honestly, Jisung was shitting himself. You and the reputation you had here were most definitely the reason why. Shifting his position every ten seconds, the occasional glances to you, and bouncing his leg. Finally, she turned her attention to the pair in front of her, "So you two are probably really confused."she stated looking at Jisung, then you."Poor Y/n here, my favourite student-"She pauses looking at you with a smile and towards Jisung who looked confused on how,"which is surprising to the staff apparently which I have no idea how...she hasn't been...rebellious in a few weeks since she's trying to pass before the summer break."Clasping her hands together she looks up at you two, "Jisung I need you to tutor Y/n until she gets her final grade in." When I tell you his eyes widened enough for you to see the wrinkles on his forehead form, you did. You smiled accepting the help but it quickly seeing his distressed self, "Are you okay? Do you not want to tutor me?"You asked, and it was your first time ever speaking to the boy he never expected you to sound so soft and gentle; predicting beforehand that you had a rough deeper voice. His facial expression softens slightly at your hopeful gaze piercing through him- hoping he'd tutor you, cause frankly, you needed it more than anyone in your division at this point (Maybe you're being a little selfish but who cares.). Jisung was sitting in his seat, zoned out, probably processing all this. It took him a minute, but he finally looked up from fiddling with his fingers. "Oh Of course I will! I can do Wednesdays after school and Saturday around noon?"It was pretty shocking how confident he sounded ordering you around that second- which made the teacher grin at the shy boy's sudden dominance. Chuckling a little with a small smile plastered on your face you say "Works perfectly, I'll be leaving now. Bye Ms.," You said jolting up grabbing your backpack walking towards the door, but before you leave you gotta leave a nice impression on the boy plus its rude to not say goodbye isn't it. 
"Goodbye Jisung Park."
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It was Tuesday and Jisung was sitting in the Music room during lunch eating and catching up on his Health papers when you walked in. This was your usual spot in the late spring when you needed AC and a place to lay down. On a regular day for Jisung, he'd be in the front of the school on the bench working however it was too hot for him today so he opted to break into the already unlocked classroom to eat and study in. Sitting on top of the sink counter you lean to open a window pulling out a cigarette, you came here to smoke and it was a great place since it was deserted. "W-What are you doing?" Jisung asked looking up from his notebook sitting on the carpet. "Do I look like I'm about to jump out the window? no. I'm gonna smoke."You informed sarcastically on the boy. He was slightly taken aback you were so sweet yesterday and today your back with your bad girl reputation still strong. He threw you a quick look before getting up, putting his things in his bag, and throwing out the rest of his lunch. Now, walking towards you he takes the cigarette out your hand before you could even light it and threw it out the open window. "Hey! I wasn't done with that, and I didn't even start with it!" You raised your voice at him which did make him flinch but provoked him to argue back, "Yah! Your smoking is unhealthy and against school rules." He paused but started again, "You want to pass, don't you? I'm helping you pass, aren't I? Get your things together if you want my help Y/n."He spat. Honestly, you didn't think his words would affect you so much but it fueled the fire you started a minute ago. "Shut up Park, stop acting all tough when you know nothing about me, I never needed your help I was just going along with Ms." you argued back before grabbing your backpack and the lighter on the counter before hopping off pushing the tallboy to the side rudely, muttering something about bullshit.
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"I was helping her! And she says you know nothing about me Park! like of course I don't butt why does she need to be an asshole when I'm trying to help her out." Jisung complains to Chenle in front of him. "Maybe she's like addicted," Chenle says trying to make the best out of the situation "Look, she'll warm up to you eventually cause you two will be spending lots of time together now." Jisung huffs in disbelief that Chenle is basically on your side here, getting up from the grassy field to join the rest of his gym class in soccer.
From the corner of his eyes, he sees a figure under the bleachers; you. He knows you are upset with him as much as he is with you but he still wants to encourage you to pass Science with his help. "Park! Get your ass over here!" Yedam, his classmate calls him to grab his things on the field before heading into the change rooms.
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The school bell rang, you watched students walk out of their classrooms to their lockers, friends, lovers. You were leaning against the wall beside the empty Music room contemplating if you should leave and hang out with some friends by Unjeong Lake Park or stay in with Park Jisung to study for Science. Your thoughts were quickly interrupted by a voice, "Hey." Jisung stood in front of you, backpack resting on one shoulder and a Science textbook in his hand. "Hi," It was awkward being around him after you little tilt.
"Let's go," You trailed behind Jisung watching him take you to an unfamiliar part of the school, the West End. "Why are we here?" You question the pink-haired boy, but all you get in return is silence. At last, he brought you two to the old gym, it hasn't been used in almost 6 years but somehow it looks squeaky clean. "This is my hangout spot after school, I kind of made my friends go down to Unjeong for the day so we could study here until I find a proper place." He explains to you placing his books and bag on the stacked mats, offering to take your bag too, you let him. "So what Unit is your class working on now?" He asked you once the two of you sat on one of the many beanbags in the gym (Probably brought in from his pals), "Well my mom made me take Biology I and I know you are in my class I just don't show up..." You lean back on the beanbag playing with the lighter in your hands "What are we learning Park?" He visibly gulps at you doesn't even know why he's nervous himself, maybe because your scary? Probably.
"Well we're on our last unit of the year and the Unit test and Final Exam are what can get you to pass the class with at least a 60," He said moving to grab his textbook flipping to a page with sticky notes plastered all over. "We are in Unit 5, Plants: Anatomy, Growth, and Function. It's an easy Unit so we could go through it in two months then spend the two weeks before the final exam prep." Jisung finished speaking and handed you the textbook that was on the Unit page, it didn't look hard but you knew better to judge a book by its cover. "Alright, where do we start." You smile at the grinning boy who's suddenly amused by your aspiration to pass the course.
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It's 2:45 and you are in the middle of the last period, Science. It was your last day of the Science of the year, technically. You still had to prep for your final exam, but this was the final unit test which meant for the next month you'd be stuck in a silent classroom with your peers all silently studying over and writing recap notes for the final exam. You finish writing the date on your page and adding a little smiley face at the end of your name, flipping your paper over you take out your earbuds, and play music to pass time. 
Good, 15 minutes have passed, and you see students getting up to hand in their papers, this where you tag along and hand it in too. Patting the eraser ends on your skirt off you make it back to your desk sitting then turning to look behind you, a few desks down to a now chocolate haired boy. He was finishing up his test when he looked up to see you basically ogling at him. Throwing you an awkward half-assed smile he looks back to the girl behind him, Jieun. 
Jieun and Jisung took a very bad turn once Jisung agreed on tutoring you. She's ghosted the boy and took a liking to her lab partner, Taehyun. It was disappointing to see a girl get jealous over her date tutoring a very incompetent girl like you. If you were in her position, you might've gotten scared but wouldn't drop the kid; it was rude, and honestly, you were glad Jisung accepted that fate and moved on from her. He played with the end of his test sheet before sighing thumping his head against the desk, okay maybe he wasn't that over her yet but he's doing better than you ever would. Over these four months you and Jisung surprisingly got along well, you've opted to occupy a booth int he back of your town's ice cream parlor for studying instead of that abandoned gym in the West End. 
In all honesty, you felt bad about how you treated the tall boy in the first few weeks of tutoring. You showed up late which strung the classes longer making one hour, two. You complained, never listened, argued, actually punched him once. But after warming up to him you've started to take a liking, noticing his features a little more than you did last week, finding his beauty mark under his lip stunning. Nowadays he seems ten times more charming, appealing, engaging, and irresistible to you, memorizing his favourite things how he looks up to Kai, the teacher assistant for the seniors. And that he actually hates Science and prefers Gym and Sociology class. He likes all kinds of ice cream and tries new flavors every visit, he never writes with a red-inked pen since he prefers the black one and always lets you know that too ("Y/n did you know red ink stains are a nasty stain to get out, always use black ink."). You aren't the only one who's learned to love the newly blossomed friendship as he's learned as much as you about him, on how you've always wanted to become a Veterinarian, that your love for animals is just unexplainable and the only things holding you down is this horrible reputation you've built yourself over the two years of attending. But better late than ever to change your ways and Jisung was absolutely mesmerized by your determination to achieve the new milestones you've set for yourself.
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"PARK JISUNG!" You shrieked barging into the empty ice cream parlor to see the boy sitting idling on his device, he looks up at you running towards your booth. "Hey, shhh", he quiets your overly excited self-telling you to sit."I got my Unit Test mark," you stop talking to take your backpack off and pull out your Unit Test which was graded and with a big fat A on it. "Holy shit! Y/n this is amazing!!"He exclaimed eyes going wide seeing the mark, his hard work really did pay off. 
"Now we can start prepping for Finals," Jisung told you after handing your papers back, your shoulders sagged and your smile disappeared, you were hoping to possibly celebrate with your tutor and newfound friend. Shaking your head, you look at him again, "No sorry, I wanna celebrate this tonight," you inform Jisung who looks at you with a somewhat annoyed expression. "Sorry Y/n but one A isn't going to help you get to a passing mark, you need more than that and the only thing that'll help you pass Biology is your Final Exam which is what we need to prep for." What the fuck? Jisung Park, the golden student, and who you thought was your friend basically telling you that your grade wasn't worth all that cheering two minutes ago. That was unbelievable what type of asshole does that, oh wait apparently Jisung Park. You knew you weren't gonna pass with one test, of course not. You might've been dumb but not to that extent, you clench your fists wondering how all that admiration you had for someone just got poured down a drain so quickly. You chuckle heartlessly ' that thought lingered before you look at him and speak.
"Yea of course I know that but do you not understand how big of a milestone this was for me? I am one step behind passing my hardest subject of the semester and you telling me that it's not enough and we need to prepare for a final at the end of a month that has just started is fucking rude Park."You hiss at him now baffled on how he couldn't comprehend after four- almost five months of knowing you. Getting up you grab your backpack and phone and turn to exit the ice-cream parlor. 
You were now outside of the small store, and Jisung didn't even come after you. Sighing knowing you should've known associating yourself with someone with a better reputation wouldn't have been smart. Pulling your phone out, you dial in a friend who you knew would be there for you and who had more free time than most students his age. "Jeno," You stammered through the phone "Y/n? Are you okay?" You smile weakly at his concern, not even a minute into a call."Can you pick me up?" you asked quietly to the older boy. Looking through the big glass window to the back of the shop, you see Jisung sitting there watching you intently, and he knows he hurt you. It wasn't his intent to; he just wanted you to reach your goals and he thought celebrating could've been done another time instead not today, I guess he hit a soft spot seeing your facial expression so fragile.
He saw a motorcycle pull up beside you and a muscular guy go and place a helmet on your head after holding you in his embrace for a moment before the two of you hopping back on the ride driving off to god knows where.
You kick around an empty pop can on the sidewalk waiting for your ride. Jeno knew something upsetting you over the phone so he decided not to question it and get you riled up but to drink a couple of beers and play darts at his crib. A Black 2018 Kawasaki Ninja pulls up in front of you, the driver removes his helmet revealed to be your dear friend, Jeno. He felt your gloomy aura already deciding to just embrace you tightly, "Whatever it is, you did amazing." He assured you before breaking the hug to plop the helmet on you and hopping back on with you behind him seated.
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"Great job Y/n, I can see you making it through the year, I just finished putting in your final mark 89 is an amazing score and all on your own is shocking." Your Science teacher complimented you after holding you back to show your improvement to you, Jeno encouraged you to still study hard solo after acknowledging that you didn't want to work with Jisung anymore, hard work did pay off now your officially finished with your junior year and with flawless grades. "Have a great summer break," You tell her before walking out for lunch. Last day of school before the summer break, it's been a crazy weird year but you don't seem to be upset. Jisung seemed happy without you anyways, you've been skipping Music to sit out on the bleachers while he had gym class, and made sure to visit the West End more often. You didn't realize it yet but Jisung looking happy stung more than it should've.
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Fuck that bullshit Y/n is on, Jisung is miserable without her. He didn't take note of it but he was more than happy to spend his Wednesdays and Saturdays with you. He liked the way your eyes widened or how your jaw almost touched the floor when he teaches you something new, or when your eyed shimmered when your grades went up every quiz. How your nose scrunched up at a difficult question, the way you organized his pencil case when he wasn't looking because 'it had to be cute like him'. He was too much of a coward to keep you by his side, it's safe to say Jisung Park likes you back. Head over heels in love with you probably, but we shouldn't stretch it that far knowing he's working his ass off to get over you, and of his mind but when does he even succeed. It's the last day of school and possibly the last time Jisung gets to see you roam the halls, watch him in Gym class fooling around with his friends, or just see you until the next school year. No, Jisung made it his goal to win you back. He's never seen you that way, never thought he'd need you, all he wants is to see you, hold you.
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"No Park. She's not even here kid," Your friend, Yuna told Jisung who was at your doorstep asking for you. "Just, just tell her to text me." He said frustrated now leaving.
"I thought you said he didn't want anything to do with you?" Jeno asked sitting on the couch of Yuna's living room beside you. "He doesn't, I don't know why-" Yuna was quick to argue with you, "He likes you and you left." Jeno nods agreeing, "I see that happening..." He half-joked. "Listen I know he was a jerk in May, but it's June- July tomorrow! He's not being a jerk right now because what freaking jerk comes to your doorstep BEGGING to talk to you?" Yuna ranted. 
You know he's not a jerk and he meant no harm that day but it hurt. Everyone always sugarcoated things with you so when Jisung was pretty blunt with you, it stung. You whine at all this thinking about Jisung and feelings, plus even if he did like you, there was so much to unravel than just some lame highschooler who wanted to get her shit together. So so much more than just that. Drinking the rest of the alcohol in your plastic cup you sit up straight staring at the two in front of you who were dying to hear your say in this, "Okay so what if we have our happy ending, what'll happen then? He'll figure out how toxic I am and go running back to Jiwoo or whatever name is."Stopping and using a couch pillow to cover your face- did you seriously imagine yourself with a happy ending, you've fucked up so much that it seems impossible to turn back. Yuna notices your heartache and decided to tone down on his jokes and talk to you 'for realsies',"Sweetheart if he leaves you because your teeny issues were too overwhelming for him it's not worth it but from his recent actions it looks like he'd want to be there with you through those issues. Honestly, he could live a little too so dealing with you- and giving me and Jeno here a break should be thrilling."Adding a light-hearted joke was what you needed to place a soft smile on your lips.
“Now go get your man” Jeno says slapping your back playfully encouraging you to leave the house and venture off to him- wherever he is.
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"Can I help you?" A boy wearing Yonsei University sweatshirt asked you. 'This must be Jisung's older brother he told me about' You thought to yourself, "Oh Yes, is Jisung home?" You ask him looking up trying to look as innocent as you can. "Oh you just missed him, he went to get ice cream with his friends," he said. Shouting a quick thanks you run down to the only ice cream parlor Jisung probably knows in town.
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CLOSED is all you see in front of the ice cream parlor. Did Jisung's older brother lie to me? Now that you think of it, he and his brother aren't close enough to share those type of things from what you heard, and what type of boy would avoid the girl he supposedly likes. You sit down on the curb looking off into the little soccer field, watching kids play with their friends thinking, then it hit you. Did Jisung lie to his older brother? C'mon Y/n think of the one place Jisung and his friends could be...The park? Nah, too crowded. The mall? No, too far. Think Think Think, one place. Where in the world could Jisung- WEST END! God, why didn't you think of that in the beginning, of course, he's there. Getting up off the curb you make your way quickly to the back of the school, remembering Jisung telling you a back entrance to the West End.
Reaching the back entrance you see it open indicating someone (Jisung and friends) was inside. Maybe you shouldn't barge in and ruin their fun...opting to send Jisung a text you search your pockets to find, nothing. How could you leave your house without your phone? You're like addicted to it. "Excuse me?" A deep voice booms behind you, turning around you look up at the man. It's Jaehyun, the volleyball team captain. "Y/n." You know him, through Jisung, of course, why else would he be at the West End or know your name. "Hi," your breath rather softly which throws the older boy way off since he knows you for your snarky remarks or overly confident aura...Today you seem the opposite really. "Can you tell Jisung to come out for a second?" you ask avoiding eye contact and resorting to looking at the chalked up pavement. He gives you a thumbs up and heads in.
"Park Jisung-ah!" Jaehyun shouts for Jisung loud enough for it to echo in the empty gym. Looking up and seeing Jaehyun, Jisung excuses himself from his current conversation with Doyoung, Yuta, and Renjun to jog over to his Hyung. "Your chick is here," He says pointing out the door to you, Jisung's eyes lit up already knowing who Jaehyun was talking about peeking his head out the door to see you looking off into the parking lot, watching the sunset. He was pulled right back in by Jaehyun, "You better fix whatever's been going on between you, Y/n looks like an actual school girl being all shy and soft. I'm actually disgusted I need that spunky girl back before I force you two to kiss or some shit," Really Jaehyun? Some advice you got there.
"Alright kid go get your chick" Jaehyun cheered before pushing him and closing the door loud enough to alert and make you turn back.
It felt like a dream, none of this felt real. It hasn't even bee 24 hours since you last saw Jisung, but it's been a month of not interacting to get your heart racing this much. You looked unreal to Jisung, out of a fairytale actually and he looked amazing, like always. This is when he started to panic, you smiled weakly and started walking up to him. He looked down at his shoes not having the balls to look you in the eye, "Jisung look at me you pussy." You said so calmly but so rudely(?). It was funny and made Jisung giggle which made you short circuit.
Jisung looks up from his feet to see you staring into his brown eyes, taking in all his features again looking at him from head to toe; how fluffy his dark coffee bean hair was or his cheeks- god you always took the chance to pinch them when you could. His broad shoulders you always wondered how his hugs would be, probably so comfy and perfect. The beauty mark under his lip, fuck always wanted to kiss it. Your thoughts were disrupted when you felt two large hands enclose you in a tight hug; reacting almost immediately you wrap your small hands around his waist and rest your head on his chest while he brings his large hand to caress the back of your head. "I'm sorry, I know what I said was wrong and I shouldn't have made you seem so slow-witted when you totally aren't. I think over that conversation almost every night. I'm so so sorry Y/n," He finishes tightening the hug for a moment sympathetically.
You loosen the hug and tippy-toe up to the boy placing a small peck on his pink lips which caused his cheeks to go crimson. "You're forgiven, Park," you say giving him a tight smile. You see the tall boy pout a little and turn his reddened face to the side before mumbling "I was supposed to do that," which caused a fit of giggles from you. 
"You'll have plenty of opportunities in the future Jisung."
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artificialqueens · 3 years
Text
Galactica, Chapter 61 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica
A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫
Last Chapter: Violet opened up, Alaska chickened out, and Courtney finally had her date with Bianca.
This Chapter: Trixie widens his search for Aiden’s replacement, and Courtney gets a taste of the good life.
***
Courtney doodled absentmindedly on her notepad during Miss Fame’s Monday conference call. She was getting an update from the company that ran her European stores, and discussing the upcoming marketing plan with Alyssa. Courtney knew that she was only there in case Miss Fame wanted to add anyone to the line; since Ivy and Laganja were both on the call, she didn’t really need to be paying attention. She probably should’ve been anyway, but this was a case where a little negligence would be forgiven.
Which was good, because she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering, daydreaming about how wonderful the weekend had been with Bianca. Adore had come over on Sunday for dinner, after which Courtney almost went home, but Bianca pulled her in for an embrace and insisted that she stay another night. When she’d worried about not having any appropriate work clothes, Bianca promised to find her something from her own closet, even excited at the notion of styling her for the office.
At first, Courtney was a bit concerned about whether the thigh-high black boots were too hookerish, but Bianca was adamant that they were fashion - and she should know, right? At least her luxurious knit dress was in Fame’s approved color palette, so she was pretty sure she wouldn’t get scolded like the time she dared to wear a lime green top.
She looked down at her notebook, realizing that it was absolutely covered in hearts, and quickly flipped the page, embarrassed.
She clicked on her mouse, waking up the computer to check her emails. If she was gonna space out, she may as well make at least a halfhearted attempt at productivity. She saw that there were a few unread DMs and clicked on the window.
ROXY: Package here for you
ROXY: A big-ass box from Neiman Marcus
ROXY: From the Marie Claire messenger again
ROXY: You gonna tell me who you’re dating over there now?
COURTNEY: LOL, sorry. It’s brand new, I don’t think we’re ready to go public
ROXY: Bitch it’s just me, I can keep a secret
COURTNEY: Since when?????
ROXY: Since always!!
COURTNEY: On Friday, you told me that Jaida is getting IVF and Alyssa’s son is in rehab again
ROXY: Yeah and yet you tell me NOTHING
COURTNEY: LOL. Okay well when we’re telling people, I’ll tell you first. Deal?
ROXY: WHATEVER
*
ROXY: Another major delivery came for Fame’s asst from MC today
SHANNEL: OMG. BDR just came into Nina’s office in the weirdest mood. She was all smiley and she approved this dumb spread that Nina’s been pitching for 3 months.
ROXY: 21 year old pussy is good for the soul
SHANNEL: APPARENTLY
*
The second she could get up, Courtney raced to reception to grab the package, wondering what it could be. They’d put together a bunch of outfits with the stylist this weekend, most of which were still at Bianca’s--except for her ensemble for the party tomorrow, which was hanging in a garment bag on the coat rack, partially covered by Courtney’s jacket so as not to be too conspicuous.
When Roxy said “a big-ass box,” she wasn’t lying. Courtney’s eyes widened as she spotted the box, quickly taking it back to her own office, peeking inside while Fame was occupied with Raja. She pulled out the note first.
Stay warm. XX, B PS Don’t worry, the fur is faux
Extra curious now, Courtney reached into the box, lifting the tissue paper to see what was inside and finally just pulling it out--a beautiful, full-length, raspberry-colored winter coat with a fur-trimmed hood. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head as the utter extravagance of it all.
COURTNEY: OMG Bianca!
BIANCA: Do you like it?
COURTNEY: It’s beautiful! But it’s way too much. You’re spoiling me.
BIANCA: Get used to it ;)
Courtney smiled to herself, hiding the box under the table and standing to try on the coat, positively glowing with happiness. She glanced at herself in the mirror that Fame kept by the door for “last looks,” and saw that it fit her perfectly, even across her narrow shoulders, almost as if it was tailored to her body. Which...now that she thought about it, the stylist on Saturday had taken her measurements, so maybe it was.
Just then, the door to Fame’s office opened and Raja stepped out. Courtney whirled around, a guilty expression on her face.
“Oh are...are you done? I was, um...just going to get Miss Fame another coffee.”
“Yeah, we’re done for now, you should probably stick around. Nice coat,” Raja said, brushing past her on her way out. “I’ll be back at 2 to finish. Make sure she’s fed.”
“Okay, thank-” Courtney began, finishing with “-you,” just as Raja breezed from the room.
Courtney slowly removed her new coat, hanging it carefully on the rack before heading into Miss Fame’s office to ask what she wanted for lunch.
***
Bob closed the door to Trixie’s office behind him, making a beeline towards the coffee machine. It was mid afternoon, and while there still was a bit of a home stretch to go before the holiday break, the tough decisions ahead were out of his hands.
“All I’m saying Chachki,” Jovan smiled, the man leaning against the wall. He was wearing orange trumpet pants and a blue fuzzy sweater. “Is that I can totally bedazzle your crutches.”
“What an amazing offer,” Violet drawled, her tone completely dry.
“Hey guys!” Bob grinned, sliding in next to Maxwell, his boyfriend handing the cup he had just poured. “What are we talking about?”
“The Christmas Party,” Maxwell smiled, looking up at Bob who gave him a quick peck. He was wearing a pink shirt, the cotton stretched across his chest, the khakis he wore all year looking delicious on his pert little ass.
“Right!” Bob took a sip. The Galactica Christmas Party was one of the biggest fashion events in December, Miss Fame always going all out. Bob had heard rumors around town that there’d be gigantic ice sculptures, but Roxy had told him she had seen order confirmations for a forest of Christmas trees.
Some called him and Roxy the office gossip sluts, and if the name fit, Bob wasn’t going to complain.
“I haven’t decided what I’m wearing yet.” Violet was sitting on a chair, her curled hair fastened with a golden clip, her skirt just above her knees. “This is the first time I’m not going as Fame’s assistant and I don’t have to match her or blend into the background.”
That made sense, Bob really noticing how Violet’s wardrobe had shifted from the uptight prissy bitch who had first entered their floor, more color and sharp cuts showing up in Violet’s clothes as she got to express herself more and more.
“But since there’s a good chance she’ll actually look at me since I’m going with Sutan, I have to stay on theme without being flashy or cheap or one of the million other things she refuses to accept.”
“The bedazzling offer still stands,” Jovan smiled, taking the last bite of his afternoon muffin, and Violet rolled her eyes.
“How did you two meet anyway?” Maxwell took a sip of his coffee. “You and Sutan I mean.”
Bob perked up immediately, his stomach doing a happy flip.
“Oh?” Violet looked surprised, like she genuinely hadn’t expected them to be interested. “You want to hear about that?”
“Yes!” Bob grinned. “Yes yes yes yes.”
He and Maxwell had been discussing how to get Violet to spill the dirt the entire week, and now, the chance was finally here.
“Well.” Violet paused, tapping her fingers on the table, like she was trying to decide if she should share, and Bob was about to burst with curiosity.
“Spill it!”
“He bought me a drink at the Vogue Fashion Fund, and asked me on a date a few days later.”
Bob waited for a beat, but Violet was simply smiling.
“What?! That’s it?!”
Of all the things Bob had imagined, this was by far the most disappointing answer.
“Pretty much.” Violet shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee with a glint in her eyes.
***
IVY: okay so you know i hate gossip
ROXY: Oh yeah me too gurl
IVY: lol
IVY: No really
ROXY: Yeah yeah whatcha got?
IVY: The dress Courtney’s wearing today?
ROXY: Oh yeah, she’s really upping her game
IVY: Well...it’s familiar…
ROXY: Oh yeah?
IVY: I asked Laganja to run some photos. Here’s BDR at last year’s Monsoon Foundation Charity Luncheon
[Picture: Bianca wearing the dress]
ROXY: BITCH!!!!!!!!111
***
“So yeah, these are the ones I like...what do you think?” Trixie asked, chewing nervously on the inside of his cheek. “I really need to find someone that Fame will love, she was so annoyed at the last batch.”
As Pearl picked up one of the portfolios to glance through it, she couldn’t help but notice how rough her friend looked, like he hadn’t slept in a week. He probably hadn’t, she realized, the tension in the apartment so thick you could cut it with a knife. She’d been trying to give them both space, but maybe that wasn’t a good idea.
“So, um…” She looked through the first portfolio and then picked up the next one, pausing on pages she found interesting. “Is everything okay? How are you?”
“Uhh…” Trixie scratched his head, then finally said, “It’s been a hard week.”
“I’m sorry, man.”
��It’s okay,” Trixie sighed. “We’ve got our- She’s got an appointment with a doctor tomorrow. So I guess, after that, we’ll know for sure.”
“Right.”
He didn’t seem to want to talk about it any more, so Pearl dropped the subject for the moment. She pointed to one of the photos, a stunning blue piece with dramatic shoulders, exactly the type of shapes to which Fame was generally drawn.
“This is amazing.”
“Yeah, right? She seems super talented, although I worry that she’s only been out of school for less than a year. A little green, a little…” Trixie sighed again, “Over-confident sounds mean, but…over-confident.”
“Have you spoken to all of them yet?”
“Yeah, Rita checked all their references and I had Skype interviews with all the top candidates this morning. We’re trying to move quickly, I really need to get the ball rolling before we shut down for the holidays. And with the added bonus of getting them a visa...it could be a mess. Anyway, these are the very best, but I don’t want to put them in front of Fame unless they’re actually gonna impress her.”
“Uh huh. One question though…”
“Sure.”
“Are you looking for another sociopath, or are we moving in a new direction?” Pearl asked, a teasing smirk on her face.
“You’re hilarious,” Trixie deadpanned.
“I know.” Pearl tapped on the folder, saying, “I think this one is special. There’s a lot of range, and new ideas, but very classic and chic at the same time.”
***
“Ho...ly shit…” Bianca said, the door to her town car open, watching Courtney twirl in her new coat, then open it to give her a peek at the sexy sequined mini-dress underneath. Bianca pulled her into the car, giggling, a hand immediately sliding up her bare thigh.
She was mildly surprised when her fingers came into contact with soft cotton instead of the sexy lace she’d been wearing.
“Wow, these feel...breathable.”
Courtney laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m out of fancy underwear until my next trip to the laundromat. Sorry about it.”
“Nah, I like them. Reminds me of college.” She flashed a grin at Courtney, who was now straddling her on the leather seat, arms around her neck.
“Yeah?” Courtney tilted her head, teasingly evading a kiss as Bianca chased her lips.
“Mmm…” Bianca’s fingers slipped into the panties, squeezing her ass.
“I like this, too…” Bianca’s own coat was unbuttoned since the driver had the heat on full blast, and Courtney ran her thumb along the neckline of her blazer. “You look so sexy…”
Bianca said nothing, just gave her a wicked smirk, lips finally coming into contact with her neck, lingering there, hot breath against her pulse point making her whimper.
“We should probably wait until after the-” Courtney inhaled sharply, clutching Bianca’s shoulders. “-after the party.”
“Alright, alright…” Bianca acquiesced, pressing a soft kiss to her lips and removing her hands. “I can be good if you can.”
“Debatable,” Courtney responded, her eyes flashing with a naughty glint as she sat down beside Bianca, snuggling up against her.
“It’ll be a fun little experiment.”
***
Violet was standing in Sutan’s closet in her pajamas, flipping through her clothes, her lip between her teeth.
None of it looked right, and Violet had given up on even trying on the dress she had originally gotten to go as Fame’s assistant, the skirt's mermaid cut making it impossible to move in with her crutches.
If her foot hadn’t been broken, she would have trawled her preferred vintage shops weeks ago, or would even have made a dress herself, but the party was in two days, and because of Bianca’s birthday, she couldn’t even empty her savings account to get a dress that could live up to the expectations of a Galactica party.
She was completely, and utterly, fucked.
“Fuck,” Violet sighed, dumping down in the arm chair Sutan had been sweet enough to move to his closet so she could sit.
“Violet? Are you okay?”
Violet cursed to herself, Sutan naturally catching her at a moment where it absolutely did not suit her.
“I’m okay!”
But of course, it wasn’t in Sutan’s nature to leave her alone, her boyfriends head poking through the door seconds later, a concerned expression on his dumb face.
“What’s gotten into you?” Sutan was fresh from the shower, his black and grey hair in an unstyled cloud around his head.
“You’re going to laugh.” Violet crossed her arms, the annoyance still under her skin, rolling around her body.
“Try me.” Sutan stepped inside, a towel wrapped around his hips, his hand holding it in place.
“I don’t have anything to wear.”
Sutan snorted, and Violet pointed at him.
“See!” She exclaimed. “Don’t make fun of me!”
“Okay, okay, I admit that wasn’t my greatest moment,” Sutan chuckled, giving her a quick apology kiss, Violet sinking back into the chair as he walked over to his dresser. “but the good news is that your problem is easily fixable.”
“I can’t just go out and buy a new dress.” Violet tried not to roll her eyes, tried not to make this a fight, but it was like Sutan had decided to press every single button she had. “I can’t afford it.”
Sure, she had gotten a pay bump after moving to design, but she had already used her December budget on Christmas gifts for everyone, actually spending the day with people so much more expensive than what she usually did, which was a movie on her ancient laptop and wine by herself.
“Who says you have to pay for it?” Sutan pulled a pair of pajama pants out, throwing his towel to the side, now naked which would have been weird if Violet hadn’t been used to years of dressing rooms. “I’m planning on getting a new suit anyway,” Sutan balanced on one leg, pulling the pants on, “and the shoppers at Barney’s are great at what they do.”
“Are you serious?”
“What makes you think I’m not?”  Violet watched as Sutan pulled a t-shirt on too, running a hand through the hair Violet knew he’d struggle to style in the morning, but that he was also done dealing with it for the night.
“I don’t want your money.” Violet sighed, sitting up in the chair, Sutan finally ready for bed.
She liked staying with Sutan, she really did, the man kinder and more generous than Violet could ever have imagined, but she was also longing to go back to her own place, to have her own space and to spend time completely alone.
She knew her apartment wasn’t much, that it didn’t have air condition or an elevator, that she didn’t have a memory foam mattress or a dishwasher or a housekeeper that came to clean, but it was hers.
Violet knew a psychiatrist would probably consider her need for independence a flaw, something she should work on, but she didn’t want to rely on anyone ever, not even Sutan.
“I can figure it out.”
“Oh that, I don’t doubt,” Sutan smiled, holding a hand out to help Violet out of the chair. “But there is a difference,” Sutan pulled, his hand finding her hip as soon as she was upright. “Between being prideful and being stubborn, lovely eyes.”
Violet shot him a look, and Sutan laughed, giving her nose a quick kiss.
“I’m offering to buy you dresses, not a penthouse.”
Violet opened her mouth to protest, but for once, Sutan was faster.
“You’re going to several parties for my sake. Let me spend money on you.” Sutan rubbed his thumb up and down, gently caressing Violet’s hip. “Please?”
“I’ll consider it.”
***
Being at this elite music industry party with Bianca was thrilling, and Courtney was on cloud nine. She was beside herself with excitement when she got to meet Charlie Hides, unable to stop herself from gushing about her work on Tove Lo’s album.
“Well thank you, darling,” Charlie said.
“Courtney’s a singer too,” Bianca added, and Charlie’s face perked up a bit.
“Oh yeah?”
“Well, aspiring,” Courtney couldn’t help admitting, immediately kicking herself for her inability to fake it.
“She’s incredibly talented,” Bianca said, a hand touching Courtney’s elbow, grounding her.
“You should send me your demo,” Charlie said, picking up two glasses of champagne from a passing tray and handing them over.
“Really? Thank you so much!” Courtney exclaimed, momentarily forgetting that she didn’t have a demo.
“Sure thing,” Charlie said with a grin, before excusing herself to greet another guest. Before she left, she gave Bianca a hug, muttering, “Very cute, B.”
After she walked away, Bianca turned to Courtney with a smirk. “She’s subtle, huh?”
“I think I’m gonna pass out,” Courtney said, and Bianca squeezed her hand.
“You’ll be fine. You’re doing great,” she assured her. “I see another producer I know, let’s say hello. Olivia!”
She waved across the party to a beautiful Black woman with the most fabulous hair Courtney had ever seen in her life. The woman looked up, sending Bianca a beaming smile as she crossed the room to greet her.
“Bianca!”
“Hey Liv, I haven’t seen you in forever!” Bianca said, giving her a hug.
“I know! I’ve been in L.A. for most of the year. Just decided to come back to New York in time for this delightful gray sleet we’ve been having,” Olivia said, that dazzling smile softening her words.
Bianca laughed, turning to Courtney.
“Court, Olivia Lux is an awesome producer. Liv, this my friend Courtney. She’s a singer.”
“Hi!” Courtney prepared for a handshake or some air kisses, only to be swept up into a warm hug. “So nice to meet you!”
“Charlie wants to hear a demo, but she hasn’t gotten the chance to record anything yet,” Bianca said. “Any chance you’re free? Or are you still booked up solid until the end of days?”
“No, I’ve got some time in January. What kind of music do you do, sweetie?” Olivia asked, turning to Courtney with that lovely smile.
“Um… Well, I guess it’s kind of like… Pop, but kind of folk?” Courtney said, trying to think on her feet.  “Like Joni Mitchell meets Kylie Minogue?”
“Sounds absolutely glorious!” Olivia said, and Courtney felt her confidence grow. “I know what it’s like when you’re starting out. That shit is terrifying.”
“I’m gonna go grab us some drinks…You two have fun,” Bianca said, leaving Courtney Olivia to talk shop.
After a couple of minutes, Courtney found herself feeling like she was with an old friend. She was just so warm and open, telling Courtney about her own career as first a recording artist, then a producer and composer, making her feel completely at ease--and shockingly interested in Courtney’s own musical taste. When Bianca returned with three cocktails, Olivia put an arm around Courtney and told her, “I’m in love with your friend.”
“Oh yeah?” Bianca said, amused. She handed them both drinks, adding, “Glad you guys are getting along.”
“Getting along? We’re gonna elope,” Olivia said, and Courtney giggled, smiling brightly, happy to have found someone so kind and down to earth.
“Mazel Tov,” said Bianca, giving Courtney a wink.
“Seriously though,” Olivia said, turning to flash Courtney that megawatt smile again. “Why don’t you hit me up and we’ll arrange for you to come into the studio?”
“That would be amazing!” said Courtney. She was so happy, she had to fight an urge to kiss the bottom of Olivia’s glittery heels.
“Perfect!” Olivia said, leaving them both with another round of hugs.
“That went well,” Bianca said, smirking at Courtney over the top of her glass.
“Yeah!”
“Come on, I want you to meet my friend Derrick. She’s a choreographer…”
Later, after about the 20th intro, Courtney began to catch on to a troubling pattern.
“Hey guys! This is my friend Courtney…”
“Meet my friend Courtney…”
“Courtney’s a friend of my sister.”
Friend, friend, friend...
At no point, to anyone, did Bianca say (or even imply) that there was something going on between them-- and Courtney wasn’t sure what to make of it. It wasn’t like she expected for Bianca to call her “my girlfriend.”
They hadn’t had that conversation, and something told Courtney that after tonight, it was a long way off.
She tried to put it right out of her head, though, and focus on the positive. She was at a great party, meeting a ton of music industry professionals, and yeah, maybe Bianca called her “friend” about 800 times, but friends were good, right? Especially considering how much Bianca loved her friends.
She continued to enjoy herself, greeting people, trying her best to learn their names, and just being grateful that Bianca had even brought her through the door. So what if she didn’t want people to know about their relationship? Or if this was just a casual fling for her? She was still doing more for Courtney and being more supportive than anyone she’d ever known.
It was close to 2 am when Bianca put a hand on her lower back and leaned in close--the most intimate gesture since they’d walked in the door.
“You ready to take off?” Bianca whispered.
“Sure,” Courtney said, slightly relieved since she could feel her own energy fading, and knew that making it to work by 7:45 the next day would be a struggle.
They said goodbye to Charlie and grabbed their coats, making their way downstairs to the waiting towncar. It wasn’t until they were on their way that Courtney really let everything hit her, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I…” Courtney swallowed.
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
“You sure about that? What’s wrong?”
Courtney shook her head vigorously as traitorous tears slipped down her cheek. “Nothing’s wrong, everything’s perfect.” She wiped her face, disgusted with herself.
“Then why are you crying, angel?”
“Because…” Courtney squeezed her eyes shut,  positive that she was about to ruin everything. “Because you’re just…making all my dreams come true.”
“Okay. Yeah, I can see how that would be upsetting.”
“No, it’s just…I'm scared, that it’s all gonna disappear,” Courtney said, now unable to hold back the river of tears. “You’re gonna get bored, or meet someone else, and I…I’m falling for you so hard and I know it’s too fast and I-”
“Hey, look at me.”
Courtney turned to her, eyes liquid, sniffling.
“I have been having…the best time with you,” she said, taking one of Courtney’s hands in both of hers. “And I know that it’s still new, but I said that I’d help you with your career and I will. No matter what happens with us. I promise. And I don’t break promises. Okay?”
Courtney nodded slightly, then asked, “Why don’t you want people to know about us? Are you ashamed? Are you just...already looking for a way out?”
“What?”
“You just kept introducing me as your ‘friend’ all night, and I just thought that it meant you don’t care about us, or that-”
“No! I dunno, I guess we haven’t really talked about labels, and I wanted to make sure everyone took you seriously,” Bianca said. “Took your talent seriously.”
“Oh.” Courtney sniffled, feeling a little stupid for letting her insecurites get the better of her.
“Also…you know, a lot of the people there were…mutual friends of…”
“Of?”
Bianca sighed slightly, a sheepish smile on her face, then said, “I guess it’s time to come clean to Fame and Raja, huh?”
“Really?” Courtney looked at her with surprise.
“Well, yeah. I don’t want us to feel like we’re sneaking around. That shit gets old real fast.” Bianca kissed the back of her hand. “I’ve been selfish, I was trying to do this without getting them annoyed at me, but…It’s not worth it if it makes you feel like I don’t care. Because I do.”
Courtney bit her lip, feeling like she might burst into tears again, but this time from joy. She took a deep breath, trying to get her racing heart to calm down.
“When do you want to tell them?”
“Well…the Galactica party’s on Thursday. Wanna be my date?” Bianca asked, a sly smile deepening her dimples.
Of course, they’d both been planning to go to the party, but Courtney had resigned herself to the idea that they’d be there separately. She’d even asked Tati to come as her plus one, not believing for a second that going with Bianca was a possibility. After all, it was so soon.
“That’s in two days!” Courtney exclaimed, eyes wide.
“Yeah… Does that work for you?”
For a second, Courtney felt almost dizzy, imagining walking into the party on Bianca’s arm. There was no way in hell that it wouldn’t cause a stir...but the idea of everyone seeing them together, while a bit frightening, was also terribly exciting.
“Okay. Yeah, that sounds...perfect,” she said, eyes shining happily.
“Okay then,” Bianca said softly, pressing a kiss to Courtney’s cheek.
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Riding On Ch 12: How Very European...
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Summary: Frank and Fliss set a date for their wedding and, following her all clear at the 6 weeks postpartum check-up, Fliss decides it’s time to get a bit frisky…only a little someone has other ideas.
 Warnings: Bad Language words. SMUT (NSFW) NO UNDER 18s!
Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher
A/N:  Ok, so I had a LOT of fun with this one. I have never had a baby myself, but my best friend tells me some hilarious tales about all sorts of stuff- she has no filter…and neither do I in this chapter. I apologise in advance…
Chapter Song: Whole Lotta Rosie by AC/DC  
Series Masterlist //  WIYPT Masterlist
Wanna tell you a story, about a woman I know, when it comes to lovin’, she steals the show.
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 Fliss smiled as she stood looking at the stretch of St Petersburgs beach. The sugar white sands, rustic boardwalks, and the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico had made her fall in love with the place when she has first come here with Frank and Mary almost 2 years ago. It was the place her and Frank had sat on one of their early dates eating Mexican and drinking beer…and it was a stunning backdrop for the beach wedding she had always wanted.
"So the Public Access area has a large metered parking lot for you and your guests. Private condominium rentals and boutique hotels are nearby and can be a great option if you and your guests want to walk to your Wedding ceremony." The wedding planner, a small woman named Bobbi spoke "Or if you fancy there's also Pass-a-Grille or Upham..."
"No." Fliss shook her head and turned round, her eyes shining as she looked at Frank who was stood next to her. "I love this part of the beach and it’s special to us. It’s perfect. " Frank's hand tightened around hers and his mouth turned up into a smile. "I like it too." "Well that was easy!" Bobbi smiled "are you 100% sure you don't want to see the others?" "Yeah." Fliss smiled as Frank pressed a kiss to her temple. "Alright." Bobbie nodded. "So, you mentioned next September?" Frank nodded "We don't need a brunch or reception venue, we got that covered. Just the ceremony." Bobbi nodded and tapped at the tablet she was holding. "Well that makes it a lot easier. Any specific time of day?" "Afternoon." Fliss said. Bobbi hummed before she looked at them "You're in luck. There's a slot at 4pm on the 26th September. Does that work?" Frank looked at Fliss who nodded. He turned back to the woman and smiled "We'll take it." Bobbi nodded. "Alright. Do you wanna head back to the car and I can take the details, get the deposit paid?" "Lead the way." Frank smiled. She turned and walked back over the sand, the two of them following hand in hand. It took them about 15 minutes or so to get the formalities out of the way, but once that was done Bobbi emailed the confirmation over and it was done. They had officially set a date. After she told them a little more about what she would need from them legally over the next few weeks she shook both their hands and said she would be in touch. They both waved her off before Fliss turned to Frank, gave a little shriek of happiness before she flung herself onto his arms. He laughed, picking her up and twirling her round, giving her a soft kiss as he set her on her feet. "363 days to go." She smiled "364" he chuckled "It’s a leap year next year baby." "Details, details..." she waved a hand, her gaze flickering back over the ocean as she leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her as the stood looking at the area where they would become man and wife in little under 12 months.
“What time are you meeting Bonnie?” Frank asked, breaking the silence as he checked his watch. She should have been out for lunch with her best friend last but Mary had been violently sick on the Saturday night and really clingy to her, so they had rearranged instead for the following Saturday evening which was now upon them almost.
“Erm, half 7. Why?” Fliss looked up at him, her shades covering her eyes.
“It’s 4 now. Fancy a walk?” he nodded towards the sea.
Fliss hesitated, truth be told she wanted to get back to Alex. This was the first time they’d left him with someone else, and whilst it was her parents and she knew she could trust them implicitly, she was still a little on edge about being apart from him.
“Just a quick 15 minutes.” Frank softly coaxed, knowing exactly what was on her mind “Then we can go and get the kids.”
Fliss nodded and the pair of them removed their shoes before they linked hands again, stepping onto the sand which was hot on their feet. The pair of them cursed and hopped from foot to foot, mumbling about how they really should know better now as they hurried to the cooler, wet sand, walking through the light waves as they lapped around their ankles.
“So where are you going tonight?” “Rio’s.” Fliss said, “Same as we planned last week. Apparently the new menu is amazing. Has a grill section, we should take Mary one night when Alex is a little older.”
“We could go now.” Frank said, looking at her “He’s plenty old enough. Feed him before we go, he can sleep whilst we eat.”
“Yeah, maybe.” She said.
“Why are you so against taking him out?” Frank asked softly.
“I’m not, I take him out during the day.”
“I mean to somewhere like that.” He stopped to look at her. “I’ve suggested it a few times that we take them both out for dinner, a treat for Mary maybe, and you’ve vetoed it.
“I know, and I feel guilty enough as it is, I don’t want Mary to miss out.” “She’s not missing out.” Frank shook his head, “She’s spoiled rotten. I just want to know what the problem is. Talk to me honey, please.” Fliss hesitated and took a deep breath “I honestly don’t know. I just, well if he starts crying or he gets unsettled…” “Then we take him outside until he settles and bring him back.” “And if he doesn’t settle?” “Then we get the food wrapped up and take it home.” He shrugged “Fliss, it’s not a big deal. You’re over thinking all of this. He’s a baby, he won’t know where he is, and if he did he wouldn’t give a shit.”
“Sorry.” She mumbled.
“Hey, there’s no need to apologise.” He took both of her hands “I just want us to enjoy our family time, you know. I couldn’t do any of this with Mary when she was a baby and I don’t want that for you.”
“I do enjoy family time.” She shrugged “I honestly don’t know what it is Frank. I just feel safer with him at home you know? There’s no one there to look at me when he starts crying and be sat there judging me about what he’s crying for…” “Babies cry.” Frank shook his head “It’s what they do. Fuck what anyone else thinks.” “I wish I could be as relaxed about it all as you.” Fliss shrugged.
“You keep saying this like I’m some kind of baby guru.” Frank arched an eyebrow over his shades “And I’m not. I had no fucking idea what I was doing with Mary. Still don’t. Look at the mess I made with the court case, sending her into Foster Care…”
“That was different.” “No, it wasn’t” Frank shook his head “I did what I thought was best at the time, yes, but I screwed up. And we’re gonna screw up with Alex along the way and most likely Mary again as she gets older, it’s just a fact of life. But as long as they’re happy, safe and loved…that’s what matters.” “I know, I know.” Fliss took a deep breath as they turned to walk again, “I just don’t want to let him down. I don’t want to let either of them down. And I know I’m being stupid, I mean take earlier for example. When we left him with Mum and Dad…I cried for like half an hour after.”
Frank chuckled softly “I know, I was there.”
“Everyone told me I’d be glad to get some time away, but I’m not. I miss him already and…it’s pathetic, I know.” She shrugged.
“No, you’re just a new mom.” He chuckled, squeezing his fingers around hers “It will get easier, I promise.”
“I thought about cancelling tonight.” She admitted “I was secretly glad last week was a no go, I mean I would have preferred it not to be because Mary was sick but…I wasn’t ready. And that’s not because I don’t trust you with him because I do, and I know I’ve left you with him before when I’ve nipped out but it’s just…”
“Lissy, stop.” He smiled, dropping a kiss to her temple “You don’t need to explain, I get it. Honestly I do, but you said you’re driving tonight so you can leave when you want to.” He said, looking at her “Don’t cancel, baby.”
“I’m not going to.” She shook her head “Bonnie would kill me. She’s really down at the moment.”
“Yeah?” Frank asked as the continued to splash in the shallow water.
Fliss nodded “She hasn’t told me what’s wrong. I’ll see if I can get it out of her tonight.” Frank pulled her closer, his hand leaving hers as he curled an arm round her shoulder and they continued to walk, talking as they did so. Eventually they reached the part of the beach which curved around the bay and headed over to the boardwalk so they could walk back to the car. As soon as she got back to her parents’, Fliss felt her earlier anxiety ebb away completely as Alex was fast asleep in the bassinet in the kitchen whilst Mary was playing in the pool with Bill and Steve. The entire family was over the moon when they announced they’d booked the date and Verity went off at 100 miles an hour talking about dresses and flowers until Bill gently reached over and squeezed her knee, reminding her it wasn’t her wedding. But neither Fliss nor Frank minded, it was nice to have their family so enthusiastic.
When Frank announced it was time to leave, Mary started protesting saying she wanted to stay the night. Frank refused, as she’d stayed the night before and he didn’t want Bill and Verity feeling obliged, but as usual Verity beamed and told her of course she could say. So they left her there and took Alex home. Once he had been fed, Fliss headed up for a shower and then contemplated what she was going to wear. Whilst she had lost the remainder of her baby bump so to speak, she was still bigger than she had been beforehand so her usual jeans didn’t quite fit yet. When she’d complained to Frank about it and said the last time she had been this size was after her accident, he had gotten a little frustrated at her, telling her that if she dared go on some stupid diet to lose it as fast as she had back then he would be seriously pissed at her. She’d bitten back, snapping at him that she knew it was out of the question. She didn’t want to for starters, as she had been so miserable when she’d been emotionally manipulated into doing so by John, and this time there was Alex to think about. If she was feeding and nursing him she didn’t want to be on some stupid crash diet. Besides which, she wasn’t eating that differently to how she had been before she was pregnant. It was the lack of exercise, as it had been back then. Frank had apologised for snapping, and she’d done the same assuring him that she would be sensible. She knew that she would lose most of it once she could go back to work and start riding again and if she didn’t, well, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Frank was constantly telling her she was beautiful and besides, what’s a few extra kilos when you have a gorgeous baby boy to show for it?
In the end she opted for a strapless, floaty lemon dress which she had worn in her early pregnancy days that flared out under her breast line and stopped just above her knees. She paired it with a pair of tan, leather gladiator sandals and left her hair down in the soft waves it dried in post her shower. She applied a little make up, smiling to herself at the fact this was probably the first time she had worn it since she had given birth. All in all, she couldn’t deny it was nice to actually feel like Fliss and not just momma bear even though the two went hand in hand now.
Grabbing her purse and dropping her lip gloss and phone inside she headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Frank was sat on the sofa, Alex napping in the little basket which lay on the coffee table. He looked up, blinking at her appearance and smiled softly.
“You look fantastic.” He said, honestly.
“Thank you.” She smiled, heading over to give him a quick peck.
“You sure you don’t want me to drive you?” he offered again, nodding to Alex “He’ll sleep on the way.”
“No, honestly I’m not drinking. Well, maybe just one.” She shrugged.
“Back to grape juice instead of apple, huh?” he quipped and she smiled, running her finger over Alex’s rosy cheeks.
“Something like that.” She said, absentmindedly looking at her baby.
“Liss…” Frank said, watching her and she turned to him “Go, we’ll be fine.” “I know, I know…” she nodded, taking a deep breath. “I’m going, I promise…” He chuckled and she gave him another kiss before she headed towards the door, she took a final look back at her baby and fiancée, the latter making a shooing gesture with his hands and she laughed, before she turned and walked out of the room. He heard the front door close behind her a let out a sigh of relief. He’d half been expecting her to back out but she hadn’t, she’d gone. Thankfully. He was desperate for her to go out and enjoy herself, she needed to see other people outside of their little family unit, it wasn’t healthy for her to be as isolated as she seemed to have made herself. He’d actually gotten a little worried to the point that he’d even asked his own Mother for advice and she had assured him that Fliss would settle, pointing out that it was nerve wracking being a new mum. He’d been surprised to learn that Evelyn hadn’t left him with anyone until he was almost 4 months old for fear something would go wrong, and that had comforted him a little to understand that this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. It had been slightly different with Diane as she’d leaned on him to help her a lot, but then again most things with Diane had been different.
He leaned back on the sofa, picking up the remote, his eyes falling once more to the basket.
“Just you and me tonight son…” he muttered, flicking to the TV finding the sports channel, selecting a re-run of a Red Sox game. “Time to start your education…” *****
“Oooh, how exciting!” Bonnie exclaimed as Fliss smiled, having just told her about them booking their wedding “It sounds amazing, that’s a gorgeous stretch of beach.”
“Yeah, it’s special to us so…” she smiled, and looked up as the waiter came to take their drinks order.
“Erm, do you want wine?” Bonnie asked.
Fliss hesitated for a second, before she shrugged “Just the one.”
Bonnie smiled and ordered them a bottle of Chardonnay and a large bottle of water. Once the Waiter was out of ear shot Fliss leaned forward “This way I don't need to pump and dump...”
Bonnie laughed “I always find that odd. I mean pumping and dumping doesn't get alcohol out of your system does it?” “No, but if I wanted to go out and get drunk I’d have to wait until I was sure all the alcohol had left my system before I fed him again.” Fliss shrugged “He’s already bottle fed at night so Frank can help and I wake up and my boobs are like fucking water melons so you can you imagine what they would be like after like 12 hours or whatever if I didn’t.” she shook her head. “But one glass, well my mum, midwife and Doctor Google say if I'm not feeding in the next 2 or 3 hours I should be ok.”
Their chat turned to Mary’s adoption, Fliss filling Bonnie in on how they’d begun the process legally now, Greg sorting and filing the paperwork and contacting her biological father earlier that week. So far they had heard nothing but they should start to see things progress fairly quickly once he had given his consent.
“And even if he doesn’t, Greg seems confident the court would find in our favour, Mary having been in Frank’s care since she was 6 months old.” Fliss shrugged, thanking the waiter as he placed the two bottles on the table. “So we’re not concerned, it would just be a lot easier and smoother if he does the right thing, you know?” The waiter finished filling both their glasses then placed the wine in the ice bucket before he then poured them each a water and asked them for their food orders. They placed them, Bonnie opting for scallops and the ribs, Fliss deciding on calamari and the steak. Once he was gone Bonnie looked at Fliss, picking up her glass.
“Do you think he will? Object, I mean.” Fliss paused, pondering for a moment “I don’t think so, I mean why would he? He made no effort to find Mary before the court case and now, even though he knows where she is, he still hasn’t so…” she shrugged, picking up her drink.
“Well…” Bonnie leaned over, holding her wine glass up “Here’s to it going smoothly and your first girl’s night out since becoming a momma.”
Fliss smiled and clinked her glass against Bonnie’s, before she took a sip and let out a soft moan “God that tastes sooo good.” “Well you could always dump the car as well as the milk.” Bonnie gestured to the bottle that lay in the ice bucket and Fliss laughed, shaking her head.
“Maybe next time.” She pulled out her phone and took a snap of her glass, sending it to Frank with the caption “Ok, so it tastes as good as I remember…” before she dropped her phone on the table.
They chatted a little more about general things, what Fliss had in mind for the wedding, the type of dress she thought she wanted, colour for bridesmaids, most of which she couldn’t answer as she had no idea really. It was odd that it was going to be her choice, but exciting none-the-less. At one point, her phone buzzed and she picked it up, letting out a chuckle at Frank’s reply to her earlier message. It was a photo of a beer bottle and a baby bottle side by side on the kitchen counter along with the words “Boy’s night in.” She showed it to Bonnie who gave a snort and Fliss placed the phone down and looked at her.
“So, what’s going on with you? I can tell you’re down.”
Bonnie fiddled slightly with her cutlery, before she shrugged “Simon’s being odd. I mean odder than normal before you say it.”
Fliss smiled and waited for her to continue.
“The last week or so, it’s like his mind is elsewhere. I’m beginning to wonder where it is, or more to the point who it’s with.”
Fliss frowned, her wine glass paused slightly in front of her mouth “You think he’s cheating?”
Bonnie shrugged “Honestly, I don’t know. Something’s going on.”
“I don’t think he would.” Fliss shook her head. “Is he not just stressed with work? Frank can get a little sullen if he’s got a lot on.” “Maybe.” Bonnie mused “He’s just normally so attentive and fun…I’m likely thinking too much into it, it’s probably nothing.”
“You should ask him straight.” Fliss said, looking at her “Tell him how you feel, give him a chance to explain. If there’s one thing the whole Vegas incident with Frank taught me is that things ain’t always what they seem Bon. It’s bound to be something really simple that’s just playing on his mind.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Bonnie nodded “I’ll ask him.”
At that point their starters arrived and they both started to eat, and Bonnie grinned. “So, anyway, back to your dress…you’d look fantastic in a straight, little lace number…” By the time they had finished eating and chatting, Fliss was wearing a bright, bubble-gum pink meringue complete with crystals and a sweetheart neckline to get married in-“because, you know- watermelons…” and the bridesmaids were all going to be in lime green. Fliss had told Bonnie to be careful what she was suggesting, as she didn’t think the woman’s skin tone would take kindly to be dressed in such a colour, at which point Bonnie had nearly choked and her eyes had filled as Fliss smiled and nodded, confirming that she’d just asked Bonnie to take the job. After a loud acceptance, Bonnie had jumped up and hugged Fliss, drawing curious glances from the tables around them.
Fliss dropped Bonnie at the condo she shared with Simon, along with an instruction to call her if she needed to chat again, and then she headed back home arriving just after 11pm. Letting herself in quietly, she made her way into the family room and paused in the doorway, smiling at the sight in front of her. Frank was led on the sofa, Alex clutched to his chest with two strong hands, the baby boy fast asleep.
“Before you panic…” Frank spoke, making her jump a little “I’m not asleep. Just resting my eyes.”
“I wasn’t panicking.” Fliss said, honestly “I know you’d never let him fall.”
Frank cracked open his eyes and smiled “You have a nice time?” he asked as she walked towards him. He gently shifted so he was sat up, Alex still held to his chest securely as Fliss sat next to him, peeking at the sleeping baby.
“Yeah, I did.” She nodded “The food was good. We definitely need to go.”
“Did you find out what was bothering Bonnie?”
“Yeah, she said Simon’s being odd with her.”
“Odder than normal?”
Fliss snorted, “That’s exactly what she said.” And she took a deep breath “She thinks he’s playing away.”
“Si?” Frank looked at her, “No, absolutely not. In fact, she couldn’t be further from the truth if she tried.”
“What do you mean?” Fliss frowned and Frank hesitated.
“He told me last week, and this cannot go any further as he will kill me, but he’s gonna propose.”
Fliss’ mouth dropped open before her face split into a grin “No shit?”
“Yes shit.” Frank nodded, smiling “Told me when he was drunk in Fergs.” Fliss leaned back against the cushions on the sofa, and her smile slipped a little “Oh shit.”
“What?” “I told her to talk to him, ask him what the problem was.” “Sensible advice in normal circumstances.” Frank shrugged “Don’t sweat it, it’ll be fine.”
“So when’s he gonna ask her?”
“No idea.” Frank shrugged “He didn’t say.”
“Did he not ask for ideas?”
Frank snorted “I’m the last person he should be asking. I was carrying your damned ring around for weeks trying to find the right moment. I almost did it by the tree at the Rockefeller centre, and then that ass hole beat me to it.”
Fliss gave a soft laugh as she shook her head “The way you did it was perfect.” “Yeah, I got there in the end.” He grinned.
At that point Alex stirred a little, making a few gripey noises before he began to get more restless, rooting against Frank’s T-shirt. “Think he might be hungry.” Frank smiled “Good timing Momma.”
Fliss chuckled and took Alex in her arms, adjusting her top as Frank stood up, heading to the kitchen “You want a drink?” he tossed over his shoulder.
“Yeah, camomile tea if there’s any going?”
Frank flipped on the kettle and watched from the counter as his girl nursed their baby, a deep sense of contentment brewing in his stomach, along with the usual low-key arousal he felt whenever she was doing anything with their son. Seeing her interact with his baby, the baby she’d carried and given birth to was purely amazing and he loved watching it. He made her a tea, grabbed himself another beer and then sat down next to her as she finished up feeding and he offered to take Alex to wind him as she sorted herself out and had her drink. Eventually he settled again and went back down, leaving the two of them to snuggle up on the couch. They stayed together for half an hour or so before Fliss yawned and said she needed to sleep.
“I’ll take him up. You coming?” she asked.
“I’ll be up shortly” he promised as she sat up, cracking her neck.
“Oh, gonna watch porn and jerk off?” she teased and he sighed, shooting her a look.
“You’re not funny.”
“Not trying to be.” She shrugged, leaning over to kiss him softly.
“What would you do if I was?” he mumbled against her lips and she paused, pulling back slightly, arching her eyebrows.
“Well, I’d probably have to remind you that the real thing is much better.” She said, her hand gently cupping at his crotch.
“Ok, you need to stop.” He said, his voice a whisper before he let out a groan as she ignored him completely, her grip growing harder and his hand wrapped gently around her wrist. “Lissy, seriously…” “Oh shut up” she mumbled, before she shook off his grip and snaked her hand into the waistband of his shorts, taking his hardening member in her hand. She gave it a light pump or two before she pulled at his shorts, and he lifted his hips slightly to allow her to pull them down.
“Baby…” he said softly, but his protests died in his throat as she bent down and took him to the back of hers.
*****
“Well, I’m happy that everything seems ok and back to normal.” The Ob Gyn smiled at Fliss as she moved away from where she had been examining her “So if you feel ok in yourself, no physical pain, nothing…” “Nope, nothing at all.” Fliss shook her head
“Well then Miss Gallagher your life can go back to normal” she smiled, “Well, as normal as it is 6 weeks post giving birth.”
Fliss smiled “So I can start riding again?”
“Yup, as long as you make sure you take it easy. As with anything, you won’t have used certain muscles in a while so be careful.”
“Ok.” Fliss nodded.
“Are you going to continue breast feeding?” the woman asked and Fliss nodded.
“Yeah, which is something I wanted to talk to you about. What contraception can I use?”
“There’s condoms obviously, I can prescribe the mini pill or there’s the IUD.”
“Is an IUD safe?” Fliss asked, “I don’t want to use condoms and to be honest, with my baby brain I’ll probably end up forgetting my pill. That’s what led us here in the first place and that was before I’d had a baby.”
The Doctor chuckled. “To be honest, the most effective contraceptives are intrauterine devices and they’re perfectly safe despite what you might read on the internet. The Mirena IUD releases a very small amount of hormone into the uterus, where it works locally and it won’t affect the quality and quantity of breast milk, and it’s also safe and effective for five years. It’s a good choice, one I prefer to recommend when I can.”
Fliss nodded “Ok, that seems like a good choice. How do I get one fit?”
“I can do it now if you want.” The woman smiled “And the best bit is it works immediately.” “Straight away?” Fliss looked at her “So…” “Yep.” The Ob Gyn smiled “You can go straight home and jump his bones if you so wish.”
Fliss laughed, and contemplated the woman’s words for a second. She did want. Truth be told she’d been low key horny since she’d blown Frank off on the couch a fortnight or so ago, but hadn’t wanted to rush anything, choosing to wait instead for the all clear at her 6 week check-up. Now, well, there was nothing stopping them getting physically close again and the thought drew a smile to her face. She couldn’t wait to have her Sailor holding her again.
“Ok, yeah” she nodded to the woman who smiled.
“I’ll sort the paper work, grab my kit and be right back.” The doctor smiled.
Driving home Fliss had all sorts of thoughts about how to make their night special. Romantic candles perhaps, maybe a little nice underwear…that is if she could find any that fit her still.
But of course, best laid plans and all that. In reality, the evening unfolded like any other, with shitty diapers, breast pumping, and a dinner eaten while taking turns bouncing a 6 week old baby in their laps as he had chosen that particular night to be awkward about settling after his feed, it was almost as if he could sense what Fliss had in mind and was doing his best to veto her plans.
Around 9 pm once Mary was in bed and Alex had been bathed, changed and fed, Fliss slipped away to prepare her body for its first round of postnatal coitus. She took a bath to unwind and shaved her armpits and legs. She also considered tackling her lady bush, but realized that her razor wasn’t sharp enough for that jungle right now so Frank was just going to have to deal with the crotch afro if he wanted a bit.
She climbed out of the bath and wrapped herself in her robe, heading into the bedroom where she dried off and set about her skin care routine before she decided to go the whole hog and paint her toenails a deep crimson colour, replacing the shimmery baby pink that she had done a few weeks ago as celebration she could finally see her damned feet again. Then she shed her robe and stole a quick look in the mirror. All things considered she conceded she didn’t look too bad. She wasn’t so much bothered by the extra pounds but more so slightly disturbed by the way they seemed to have positioned themselves on her body. It was almost like small, flesh-coloured bread loaves stapled to her belly. But, like she knew she could sort most of that out with riding and getting more active again, what she wasn’t sure exercise would do anything for was her breasts. They were large, which in itself wasn’t a problem, on the contrary in fact, as Frank was a self-proclaimed boob man, but her nipples had starburst over her breasts without any clearly definitive ending points. She was debating whether or not to try and put a little foundation on them, to tone down the nipple extravaganza but stopped herself, realising she was being utterly fucking ridiculous.
This was Frank she was preparing for. The man she’d been with for years, her fiancée whose baby she had carried and given birth to. And she knew he loved her, starfish nips or not.
She set about finding some suitable underwear. She had a few nice sets, some she had bought for herself, some Frank had purchased for her but as she laid them out on the bed she knew she wouldn’t feel comfortable in any of them. Continuing her search she finally found a pair of black lace briefs that skated along her ass cheeks and a black sheer negligee that she had worn a few times pre- pregnancy, in particular one very raunchy night where she’d surprised Frank by wearing it in the kitchen one evening when Mary had been at Roberta’s, cooking their dinner as if it was perfectly normal to be dressed that way. Dinner had ended up burnt, the smoke detectors going off, and they’d sat curled up with a Thai take out and all the windows open in an attempt to rid the place of the smell of cremated lamb chops and potatoes.
She shimmied into it, and to her delight it fit, even if her breasts were a little larger. They spilled over the top but her cleavage looked Elizabethan in a sexy way, and she grinned as she knew exactly what Frank was going to say about that. Finally, she removed her hair form its high bun, which had served nicely to give it some volume and fluffed it up and decided that the overall effect was actually pretty good.
She lay back on the bed, grabbed her phone and turned it into selfie mode, angling it just right so that she could get the full effect before she checked it, and fired it to Frank with a downright filthy message accompanying it and lay back to wait.
***** Frank had nodded when Fliss had said she was tired and needed to go to bed, and promised he’d be up in an hour or so, wanting to give her the time to just unwind. She’d been for her 6 week check-up and had assured him that everything was fine, but her general demeanour told him she was keeping something from him.
Trying not to think about it too much, he settled Alex down and flicked over to catch a re-run of Game of Thrones. It was the Battle Of The Bastards, his favourite episode of the entire series, and he was just mumbling to himself, calling Rickon Stark a ‘dumb ass mother fucker’ for not zig-zagging when his phone went. He absentmindedly reached for it, wondering if it was Simon telling him he’d finally grown a pair of balls and proposed, but it wasn’t, it was Fliss.
He opened the message and as soon as he saw the image he spluttered and the soda he had just taken a drink of dribbled straight down his shirt.
“Jesus fucking Christ…” he mumbled, wiping at the spilled Fanta, as he stared at the photo. His girl was led on the bed, in a sheer negligee, her hair fanning over the pillow, eyes bright and mischievous and the shot was angled to give a perfect shot of the top of her cleavage. It was accompanied with the words. “Oh I forgot to tell you, your favourite legs are back open for business…”
“You devious little minx…” he mumbled, suddenly understanding exactly what it was she’d been hiding from him, and his cock stirred in his pants. In a flash her was up off the sofa, shoving Thor out of the door so he could pee before he locked up, gathered Alex in his arms and made his way up the stairs as fast as he could, letting the dog into Mary’s room as he was scrambling at the door to get in.
“What kept you?” Fliss asked as he walked into the room, gently placing Alex in the bedside crib, making sure the blankets were arranged carefully.
“Well you kinda caught me off guard…” he said, lifting an eyebrow as he gently lowered himself over her on the bed, gently tugging her hips and pulling her down slightly before he propped himself up on his elbows, caging her between his arms and legs. “You look sexy as fuck baby girl!” Fliss let out a grin as his lips met hers, and his eyes lowered to her cleavage and he gave a groan. “And I’m not supposed to touch these?”
“No.”
“At all?”
“Not unless you want a face full of milk.” She looked at him.
“Is it strange I find that a little kinky?” he grinned and she blinked, shaking her head with a snort.
“You have issues.”
“Yeah and right now they’re in the trouser department.” He mumbled, dropping his lips to hers “I nearly choked when you sent me that message.”
“You like?” she purred gently and he let out another groan and nodded.
“I did, I do. A lot.” He smirked, his lips pressing to hers again. The kiss quickly became heated, his hands tangling in her hair has he held her head still, and then he felt her pull away a little, and he frowned as she looked at him, biting her lip.
“What’s wrong?”
"Is it weird that we’re like gonna have sex with our baby in the same room? Can he see us?” she asked, her head rolling to look at Alex. "No, he can't even focus yet, and it’s not weird. I’m a modern man.” He said, his hand cupping her cheek and turning his face back to his. “This is how it’s done. It’s probably very European of us actually." "Frank I'm from England..." she rolled her eyes. "Lissy..." he sighed softly, “Look, if you don't wanna..."
“No I do, I really do…” she took a deep breath “Sorry, I just…” “It’s ok…” he gave her a soft smile, before his lips found hers again. In between the dizzying kisses Frank moved his right hand, his fingers gently tracing up the outside of her thigh and under the hem of the sheer lace slip she was wearing, and his mouth moved to lightly trail kisses across her bare collar bone. With a soft sigh she nodded, acknowledging his unasked question and his lips moved downwards peppering warm, open mouthed peck across the swell of her cleavage, careful to take his time and stay gentle. Fliss let out a shaky whisper of his name, her hands tangling into his hair as he moved his affections upwards slightly, skimming his nose up her sternum, nudging her chin back so he could turn his affections back to her neck. This time her gentle whisper became a loud groan which she stifled with her hand as he nipped at her neck and he felt her shiver underneath him.
“You ok?” he asked quietly, looking down at her. She nodded and with a wicked quirk of his eyebrow he stood up, scrambling out of his clothes as fast as he could before he fell forwards again, his hands pulling down her underwear, lips kissing at the spot just below her ear.
Fliss was utterly gone now, consumed by the sensations she hadn’t felt in so long and she tilted her head back, sighing softly as he continued to nibble at her neck, settling himself above her. His fingers gently dropped between her legs and he felt her slick against the tips as he gently coaxed at her clit, continuing until she was nothing short of a writhing mess clawing at his back, aching for him. They locked eyes as he took her left hand in his, and slowly worked into her, both moaning simultaneously at the sensation, Fliss’ eyelids fluttering shut as she felt him fill her.
“Go steady.” she whispered and with a gently nod Frank began to move his hips slowly, displaying nothing but absolute tenderness in his thrusts which weren’t measured in the slightest. His free hand kept hold of her hip, keeping her as close as she could possibly be, enjoying the sensation of once more being inside her, in top of her, surrounded by her.
Meanwhile, Fliss was just as lost, but in her own thoughts. For some reason as good as she had felt before, now she was starting to panic a little, that stupid voice in her head mumbling all sorts of dumbass thoughts.
Okay, this feels familiar. Sex feels the same. Does it feel the same for him? Is he taking longer than normal? Oh shit, maybe I’m super stretched out and it’s terrible. Maybe I’m different now, and I’ll never be as good. Maybe I was never THAT good to start with though? I’ll ask… “Is it good? Is it the same as it was?” she gasped out and Frank stilled, looking down at her.
“What?” he panted slightly. "I asked does it feel the same? I mean..." He leaned down, gently rubbing his nose against hers. “It’s great … it feels really good.” He reassured her and she nodded.
“Ok, you can go a bit faster…”
“I don’t want to.” He mumbled, giving her a deep kiss. And he didn’t. He was enjoying the slowness of it all, and he kept his lazy thrusts aimed perfectly on her spot, drawing those delectable sounds from her throat. Fliss’ senses were on fire, and she broke the long, lazy kiss that they were sharing to stifle a moan against his shoulder when she felt herself starting to unravel.
And then…
A loud cry came from the basinet. They both stilled, looked at one another, and glanced over to the side of the bed. Silence, no movement bar the waving of a little arm.
"He's going to cry.” Fliss said between her deep breathing “If he cries, do we stop? Is it child abuse if we keep going until we finish?" "He's stopped." Frank said, turning his head back to her. “What if there's something wrong and we’re here just boning."
Frank shut her up with a languid roll of his hips and she gave a soft gasp, her hands grasping at his biceps.
“Liss, he’s fine.”
“'We’re the kind of negligent parents…oh fuck….” She groaned as he tilted his hips again… “The one’s you’d see in a movie like Trainspotting."
He shook his head, pulling out a little before he sank back into her, her body moving with his slightly and she looked up at him.
“When the police ask what happened, do we lie? Or do we say we were having sex while our baby quietly suffocated a few feet away?”
“For fucks sake Lissy…” he spluttered in frustration “You gave me a blow job the other week on the sofa and he was asleep in the basket on the coffee table.”
“That was different” “How?”
“We were on the couch and I wasn't naked.” “You’re not naked now.” He shook his head “Will you shut up and let me make you feel good?” Her random, stupid worries stopped and she closed her eyes, nodding, and he started his movements again. It didn’t take him long to get them back to where they were, his thrusts deep and he picked up his pace ever so slightly, her hands flying to his bare back as she gripped him tighter, wanting to feel all of him, as close as she possibly could. His lips found hers and she took the kiss, it leaving her breathless as the heat began to rise in her belly and she let out a soft moan, which he swallowed with his mouth where it morphed into his own low, mumble of her name as he felt her clench around him. The sheets rustled underneath them both as their pace continued slow and languid until the very end when Fliss’ let her head tip back, her throat bared to Frank in utter bliss as she came hard, the world spinning around her, her moans soft and breathy as her legs trembled, sheer pleasure spearing through her entire body.
Frank gave a low grunt which tuned into a gasp as he clung to his girl, spilling himself into her, his hips slowing to a stop as he collapsed forward.
“That was fucking great.” he said, voice muffled as his face pressed into her neck, and she felt herself flush. She let out a chuckle as her hands gently slid up his back and into his hair.
“Yeah, we still got it Sailor.”  She said and it was his turn to chuckle as he moved and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
And then Alex did erupt into a full on screaming fit. Frank found himself thanking his son that he’d at least had the good grace to wait until he’d finished. He rolled off Fliss, landing on his back, hand running through his hair as she sat up and scooped Alex into her arms, sitting up against the headboard with him held to her, in the bed where his parents’ sinful deeds were likely still detectable. Frank looked at her, then to Alex whose tiny face was creased up in a loud wail as Fliss held him to her chest, trying to soothe him and he arched an eyebrow. "I take it the post sex snuggling is out?"
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black-streak · 5 years
Text
Saturday night's alright for fighting (but Sundays are meant for rest) - Settled
Part 14.
This is the last official chapter for this. Anything else will be random snippets I come with (also willing to take requests) but this is technically the end of the plotline, folks. It's been wild. Thanks for the support!
Tags: @emjrabbitwolf @mystery-5-5 @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @fandomkitty8 @dast218 @silvergold-swirl @shizukiryuu . @my-name-is-michell @kurogaya913 @elspethshadow @thecatnipmademedoit @shamefullove @ladylucina28 @crazylittlemunchkin @rayray384 @cassiejaydee @yuulxd @ladysblackcat @naclychilli @caffeinetheory @persephonebutkore @fertileleaf @hypnosharkrebeldreamer @weird-pale-blonde-person @st0rmy-w1th1n @littleblue5mcdork @dudet @naoryllis @disneyfoxuniverse @lordsmeldingtonthethird @taoiichii @resignedcatservant @iloontjeboontje @a-fan-fighting-for-equality
~---~
Today had been normal. Completely, bafflingly normal. Tim had pulled himself away from his computer to drive to work in the morning, dealt with the mundane process of working a board meeting into his favor, left for the manor, transferred a compiled section of files over to the mainframe down in the batcave for review, had dinner with the family and went separate ways before patrol that night.
Imagine his surprise to walk down to the cave only to find everyone already present and accounted for and more ominously, staring him down. Surely they hadn't planned another sleep intervention? Sure he skipped the last two nights, but he had made great strides of improvements in the last three-ish months! They could not expect a lifelong habit to change in such a short period of time. Dammit, he needed coffee if this conversation was to happen.
Turning on his heel, he started back up the stairs only to feel a hand grab his shoulder and pull him back towards the family. He saw faces come into his view one at a time as he was dragged past and promptly dumped into the chair at the Batcomputer. The hand belonged to Jason, who glared down at him and kept the same hand against the chair by his head.
"You want to explain yourself?"
No nicknames or playful digs. Something was very wrong indeed. Tim blinked up at him until he saw Dick in the background, face dark and twisted in a mix of confusion and anger, pointedly staring at the computer past his shoulder. Following his gaze, he saw one of his laptop files opened up on the desktop; specifically the file dedicated to Marinette, pictures of her splayed out for all to see, little comments and captions taking up the spaces between. And okay, that was mildly embarrassing, but not too far off from what one would normally expect from him concerning his girlfriend, right? So what seemed to be the problem? Well, besides that it obviously didn't belong on this screen. Turning back to the others, he blinked up at Jason who hadn't moved. Actually, he seemed to only grow more irritated.
"Ah, sorry, hadn't realized this file ended up in the compiled folder I sent over. I'll take care of it."
The fist by his head clenched harder.
"You'll take care of it? That's all you got to say for yourself?"
"Yes..?"
"Nothing about the fact that you're obviously stalking, Marinette? Nothing to explain the horrific amount of her privacy you obviously violated? How fucking creepy this all is?"
"Wait, wha-"
"Tim, you have to realize how bad this looks. Just explain to us why you have a file on her," Dick spoke in a faux soothing voice, taking a step closer only to be stopped by Bruce, who remained silent through the encounter, though obviously waiting for an explanation as well.
"Of course I have information about her on my laptop? Why wouldn't I? You know I have files on all of you, right? It's kind of what I do."
"We've seen the files on us. They're nowhere near as detailed or extensive. You're hyper fixating on Marinette," Bruce spoke slowly, as though trying to get Tim to put it together himself.
"So?"
That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say.
"The point is that it's creepy, Tim!" That was Dick.
"You fuckin pervert, you don't see anything wrong with taking pictures of her while she's sleeping?!" Jason.
"I thought perhaps you two had just found a common point of comfort in the naps, but perhaps I should have separated the two of you. You've obviously become attached to the point of obsession." Bruce.
"She's Damian's girlfriend, Tim, how could you?" And Steph- wait, what? Stephanie?
That's when it clicked. That's when he noticed Damian standing off from the rest, expression closed off, but humor hiding in the glint of his eyes. Stephanie stood a little off to his left, voice hard and accusing, but face barely holding back a gleeful, biting expression. 
Oh god, the bet.
Wide-eyed, he turned back to Damian, "They don't know?"
He shook his head.
"But after Stephanie found out?"
He shook his head again.
"Found out what?" The hard voice of Dick brought him back to his current predicament.
"I could have sworn I already told you," he muttered to himself, "you know that Damian-"
"Tim." Damian's sharp voice cut him off, reminding him of the parameters of the bet. Which left the question of what was worse, pissing off Mari and Damian simultaneously or dealing with his clueless older brothers and father figure right now. Yeah, he'd take his chance with the latter. Wait, was Cass behind him? 'I'll still take that risk.' He couldn't help but think.
Turning back to the steadily growing impatience before him, he sighed, "I thought you already knew."
"So what, you've been trying to steal her from your little brother? And thought our silence on the matter was approval? Of course we didn't know you were taking creep shots of her!" Jason shouted.
"They're not creep shots if she doesn't care."
That only threw them for a loop for a half second.
"She couldn't have realized the intention was this, Tim! And it doesn't make it right! She's with Damian!" Dick growled out.
"Says who?"
"What?"
"Damian has never said as much. Who's to say they are?" Tim worded carefully, never outright stating who was or wasn't dating, only asking who confirmed the information.
"You know they are, stop deflecting," came from Bruce.
"Did you ask them? Because I did. You should too."
That seemed to throw most of them off and he saw Damian seething in the corner of his eye. The two months of Marinette's wager ended tonight. As of midnight, she'd officially lose even if Damian didn't win outright. Bruce turned to his youngest then, a touch of concern entering his facial expression.
"You're dating Marinette, correct?"
Damian masked his annoyance and turned to face the others.
"No."
"What do you mean, babybat? You two are practically joined at the hip. We all have to steal her away to get you two separate." 
"She is my best friend. A literal angel on earth. Beautiful and sweet and dangerous. But absolutely not my girlfriend."
"Why not? You obviously love her."
"Platonically. We would kill each other in a relationship. I do not mean that figuratively either."
"Huh…"
"I think you two are missing the point," Jason ground out, cutting off the conversation between Damian and Dick, "those two may not be together, but that still doesn't explain you having a massive ass file on her. She's half naked in some of these, Tim! In her own apartment!"
"I'm aware of the photos there. I'm more annoyed you saw those, actually. How long were you looking through my files, Jason? Should I be worried about You creeping on Ma lutine?" And apparently he had no sense of self preservation left.
"The fuck did you just say? Your pixie? Oh fuck no, you do not get to make claims on her!" 
And that's when chaos broke loose.
Jason had backed off a bit before, but now he was advancing on him, murderous intent in his eyes, Bruce and Dick closing in on them; whether for him or to stop Jason, he did not know. Cass moved closer from behind and for a second he swore he saw Steph and Damian share a concerned look. For a fraction of a second, he resigned himself to his fate. As Jason lifted his gun, luckily only loaded with rubber bullets, but still potentially deadly at this range, he suddenly felt it. A prickling at the back of his neck. Everything happened too quickly.
Something unseen dropped down, the gun went off in response. It blocked the bullet with a hand shrouded in black, the force knocking it back into Tim's lap where he grasped it's hips to steady them on instinct, the body covering his in a protective manner as a growl ripped out of their throat. Everyone froze.
The shadow was here.
In the batcave.
Guarding Tim bodily, silver-blue eyes glinted dangerously at Jason like a cornered predator, ready to attack at any given moment. And Jason could only stare, because he knew who this was. Tim and Damian knew who this was. No one else knew and she had just put herself at the mercy of Batman, Nightwing, Orphan, Spoiler, and likely Oracle. All to protect Tim from Jason. Who had just shot her. The gun dropped. Jason dropped to his knees as the others converged on her. 
"Not. A step. Closer." She growled out, black energy flaring from her hands up her arms. 
"I'm so sorry. Vix, you have to know that I'd never try to shoot you. I didn't know, I'm sorry," Jason rambled, panick flaring up.
"It's okay, Jason. You know now. And you'll never aim at him again, will you? He's mine." She said this to the man in front of her, but her eyes stared down Bruce and Dick as they tried to gain ground. Cass stayed back, Damian and Steph having grabbed her shoulders. 
Damian wanted nothing more than to go up there and protect his best friend, but he knew she wouldn't allow it. This was her battle now. She had laid claim on Tim and someone was threatening her mate. He would never quite understand how the fox instincts inside of a human worked, but knew that she would treat this as she saw fit. Violently if necessary.
"Are you okay," a slightly rattled voice whispered from behind her, arms wrapping around her waist.
Watching the men in front of her, she dissipated the energy, pulling the hood down from her head and lowering the face mask slowly, allowing the entirety of her features to show and dropping the filters wrapping around her voice, letting Marinette shine through for all to see.
As dawning realization struck on the faces around her, she slowly turned in Tim's arms, hand coming up to his cheek, looking for any sign of pain in his eyes, keeping the others in her peripheral.
"I'll be fine. Are you hurt?"
"Me? You took a bullet, Mari!"
"Rubber."
"I don't care if it was made of gelatin, you were still shot!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry I scared you, but I couldn't just watch you get hurt over nothing," she soothed, pressing her forehead to his in a sweet gesture.
The moment was ruined by Batman, of course.
"Miss Marinette? You're Tim's shadow? The shadow of Gotham?"
She raised an eyebrow at the older man, "Duh."
"You've been stalking him this entire time. And I told him to figure out your identity and watch you. His entire file on you is my fault," at this, his gaze shifted to Tim, " and I accused you of being a pervert for it. I'm so sorry."
"Oh my God, is he always this dense? Is this why Ra's called you the detective?"
"Holy shit, you two are dating," Jason seemed to have come out of his panic on the floor, looking at the two in a new light, "how did I not see this before?"
"What?!" And Dick finally came unfrozen, "You're Teumessian? And you knew, didn't you?" He directed at Jason.
"Well yeah, she told me weeks ago. Or rather, showed me, I guess."
"And you never told us?"
"Not my secret identity to share."
"How many of you knew her identity?" Bruce barked out, only to see Damian, Stephanie, Jason, and Tim raise their hands. He could only heft a sigh. Why was he only good at mysteries that didn't involve his family? With that, he trudged off to brood on his own, still catching snippets of the conversation behind him. He was getting too old for this.
"Uh, not to interrupt the identity crisis, but could we get back to the fact that they're obviously together?" Jason cut in.
"They were quite obvious about it," Cass cut in quietly, seeming to have put the pieces together and found piece with them.
"Oh god, they cuddled in front of us. Blatantly. Numerous times. I feel like an idiot," Dick admitted.
"You feel stupid, I knew she was his shadow. I watched how responsive she was to him. She bent to his wishes and practically climbed him in front of me. In fact, she did! She literally climbed on his back and made him carry her!" 
"Yeah, you're all pretty stupid for being detectives," Tim glared over Vixen's shoulder, her now nuzzling his neck for comfort from the stress of this encounter.
"I'm so sorry, Tim, we should've known better than to doubt you," Dick said, puppy dog eyes on full display.
"Yeah, you should've. Ow!" Vixen nipped at his shoulder with a sharp canine.
"Be nice, they didn't know," she pointed out.
"And who's fault is that?"
"Damian's. Obviously. It was his idea to take bets on when the others would put it together."
With that, the others all turned to where Damian was only to find the spot empty. 
"And Steph, actually. She knew we were together too and still let them go after you for it."
Stephanie gave a nervous chuckle and then took off, the others giving chase after her and to find Damian. Screams echoed down the hall and suddenly Tim and her were alone. 
She dropped the transformation and slumped against him. Tim picked up her hand that had dissolved the bullet and cupped it close.
"Does it hurt?"
"It'll bruise, but I'll be okay. It'll look ugly for a little bit."
He pressed a kiss into her palm in response, whisper soft and reverent, "please don't scare me like that again."
"Then you don't needlessly endanger yourself like that again. I don't care what bet I had going, you should have just told them the second they cornered you like that. You could've told Damian that their demands for explanation was technically asking in a way you had to answer. You're too smart to not be using loopholes like that."
"I'm sorry for worrying you, love."
"You better be," she kissed his neck and curled closer, settling in his lap.
"We should relocate."
"No. If they're going to make stupid accusations, they should have to stare at the stupidity of their actions."
"You're cute when you're vindictive, but could we please move to the couch? It'll be comfier," he tempted. Blushing, she peaked up at him.
"That does sound nice… but only if you carry me," she smiled, giving a little excited wiggle.
"Think I can arrange that," he softened under her gaze, picking her up as he stood and made his way up towards the living room couch, patrol forgotten for the night, "hey, who technically won, anyways?"
"Who even cares?... Though I think I did."
475 notes · View notes
bechloeislegit · 4 years
Text
High School Heartbreak
Prompt from Tumblr User Anonymous: Bechloe prompt: High school AU - Beca loves Chloe but Chloe is dating Tom. Chloe finds out Tom is cheating and thinks it was Beca but Beca was taking the fall for Chloe's best friend Aubrey.
Beca was walking to her locker in the near desolate hallway when Aubrey suddenly came out of the janitor's closet.
"Oh, um, hey, Beca," Aubrey said, smoothing her hands over her hair. "Are you riding home with me and Chloe?"
"Yeah," Beca said, taking in Aubrey's appearance and looking back at the door to the janitor's closet. "I just have to grab a few things from my locker. Chloe said she'd meet us at the car."
"Oh, good," Aubrey said. "I'll just go wait with Chloe."
"Okay," Beca said. "Tell Chloe I'll just be a few minutes."
Aubrey smiled and stayed in front of the door. Beca shook her head and continued walking toward her locker.
Beca slowed her walk when she heard what sounded like a door opening and then some harsh whispering. She got to her locker and stared down at the lock. She pretended to be opening it as she cast a side glance toward the sounds, and noticed Aubrey and Tom Henderson in a heated discussion.
Beca's eyes almost fell out of their sockets when she saw Tom kiss Aubrey before hurrying down the hall toward the boy's locker room. She noticed Aubrey glance in her direction but Beca was going through her locker. She gave another quick glance and saw Aubrey hurrying toward the exit.
Beca stood with her mouth hanging open. It was obvious what Tom and Aubrey had been doing and she was shocked.
"Holy shit," Beca thought. "Aubrey and Tom? I can't believe Tom would cheat on Chloe and with her best friend. I can't believe Aubrey would do that to Chloe either. Should I tell Chloe? If I do it will hurt her. But if I don't and she finds out I knew, it will crush her."
Beca grabbed what she needed and hurried out to meet Chloe and Aubrey.
"About time, Mitchell," Chloe said as Beca approached the car.
"Sorry," Beca said. "I had, uh, had to look through my notes to see if I needed my History book."
"Let's go," Aubrey said.
Beca got into the back seat and noticed Aubrey looking at her nervously. Beca could tell she was trying to figure out if Beca saw Tom coming out of the closet.
Beca got lost in her thoughts. Debating with herself on whether she should tell Chloe what she saw. She also thought about confronting Aubrey to find out what was really going on between her and Tom.
"Are you in, Becs?" Chloe asked from the driver's seat.
"I'm sorry, what?" Beca asked, coming out of her thoughts.
"We were talking about a girl's night," Chloe said. "Just the three of us. Maybe catch a movie and grab a pizza or something. What do you say?"
"Um, when are we planning this for?" Beca said.
"I have a date with Tom on Friday," Chloe said smiling. "So, how about Saturday? We could turn it into a sleepover."
"Sounds good, Chloe," Aubrey said.
"I'm in," Beca said as Chloe pulled in front of her house.
"Great, it's a date," Chloe said. "See you tomorrow, Becs."
"See ya," Beca said as she climbed out of the car.
Chloe waited until Beca was in her house before pulling off.
"Did Beca seem off to you?" Chloe asked Aubrey.
"What do you mean?" Aubrey asked.
"I don't know. She was awfully quiet on the ride home." Chloe said, furrowing her brow. "I hope everything's okay with her. You know how she gets when she gets lost in her own head."
"It's been a long week and it's only Wednesday," Aubrey said. "Maybe she's tired."
"You might be right," Chloe said as she pulled in front of Aubrey's house. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow," Aubrey said and climbed out of the car.
Chloe waited for Aubrey to get inside her house before pulling off.
~ High School Heartbreak ~
Beca spent a restless night, thinking about what to do about Aubrey and Tom. She knows she should tell Chloe, but she also knew how devastated Chloe would be. Maybe she could talk to Aubrey and get her to confess to Chloe.
The next morning, Beca was quiet on the ride to school. Chloe noticed but didn't say anything until they arrived at school.
"Hey, Brey," Chloe said as Aubrey was unbuckling her seat belt. "I'll catch up with you later. I want to talk to Beca for a minute."
"Sure," Aubrey said hesitantly. "I'll see you later."
"I really should get to class, Chloe," Beca said, starting to get out of the car.
"Just a minute, Beca," Chloe said, jumping out of the car to stop her. "I just want to make sure you're okay. You've been a bit off since yesterday."
"I'm fine, Chloe," Beca said. "Just a lot going on with school and things at home. I promise I'm okay."
"If things are getting to be too much at home for you, come talk to me," Chloe said. "Okay?"
"I will," Beca said. "Now, I really need to get to class."
Choe looked as if she was going to say something else. But, instead, smiled and linked her arm with Beca. "Let's go."
The rest of the day passed quickly. And no matter how hard Beca tried she could not get Aubrey alone to talk to her. She knew Aubrey was avoiding her but Beca was determined to find out what was going on with her and Tom.
~ High School Heartbreak ~
The next morning, Beca woke to a text from Chloe asking Beca if she would mind driving to school that day. Beca responded that she didn't mind.
Beca got dressed and drove to Chloe's house first. Chloe got in and Beca looked at her. Chloe looked upset which concerned Beca because Chloe was definitely a morning person.
"Are you okay, Chlo?" Beca asked.
"I think Tom is cheating on me," Chloe blurted out.
"Um, why do you think that?" Beca asked.
"Can we just go?" Chloe asked, ignoring Beca's question.
"Sure," Beca said and pulled off.
Chloe was quiet for the short drive to Aubrey's. Aubrey was waiting for them and got into the back seat. She looked at Chloe and then at Beca.
"Is everything okay?" Aubrey asked.
"Chloe thinks Tom is cheating on her," Beca said, looking at Aubrey.
Aubrey swallowed and turned pale. "Why, um, why do you think that, Chloe?"
"I called him last night to confirm our plans for tonight, and he didn't answer," Chloe said. "So, I texted him asking him to call me. He did and we talked for a bit. A few minutes after the call, I got a text from him. Only, it wasn't meant for me."
"What did it say?" Beca asked.
"It said, sorry, babe, Chloe just called," Chloe said. "He then sent another text that said, meet me tomorrow at the usual place."
"That's messed up," Beca said and glared at Aubrey. Aubrey looked away, avoiding Beca's glare.
"Did you text him to let him know he was texting you and not this other person?" Beca asked.
"No," Chloe said. "I decided to confront him at school about it."
"We should go so we're not late," Aubrey said quietly.
"Right," Beca said.
The rest of the drive to school was quiet. Beca split her time looking at Chloe and glaring at Aubrey. Beca noticed Aubrey texting and frowned because she was sure Aubrey was texting Tom to give him a heads up.
Beca parked in the school's lot and turned off the ignition. Aubrey immediately got out of the car, while Chloe remained, looking out at the school.
"You okay to go in, Chloe?" Beca asked, lightly touching the redhead's arm.
"Yeah," Chloe said. She chewed her bottom lip and looked at Beca. "Do you think it's weird that I'm not that upset over this?"
"Um, kind of?" Beca said.
"I thought so," Chloe said. "Well, I guess we should go in."
Beca nodded her head and the two got out of the car. Aubrey had already made it to the door of the school and turned to look back.
Beca saw this but Chloe was looking down at the ground as she walked. The first bell rang and Aubrey continued inside.
"Are you going to be okay, Chloe?" Beca asked as they reached the main doors. "Do you want me to come to class with you?"
"No, I'm good," Chloe said, turning to look at Beca. "I won't be able to talk to Tom until lunch. Will you be there?"
"Of course," Beca said.
The two quickly parted ways and went to their classes. Beca was on edge the entire time before lunch.
Beca left her class and made her way to her locker. She noticed Tom standing by the janitor's closet, looking around. He then went into the closet.
Beca was fuming. Was he really trying to meet up with Aubrey now?
Beca stormed over to the closet and jerked open the door. She rushed in slamming the door behind her. Tom let out a squeal and Beca rolled her eyes at him.
"Um, uh, B-Beca, what are you doing here?" Tom stuttered.
"Are you seriously expecting to meet up with Aubrey right now?"
"She, uh, texted me to meet her here before lunch."
"I can't believe you're cheating on Chloe," Beca said, shaking her head. "And with her best friend. What is wrong with you two?"
"It's not like that," Tom said, leaning his back against the wall and running a hand through his hair. "It just happened."
"Then why didn't you break up with Chloe when it did?"
"I wanted to," Tom said. "But, Aubrey said she wanted to talk to Chloe first. She knew Chloe would be upset and she wanted to find a way to tell her about us without Chloe hating her."
"And you kept stringing Chloe along while still messing around with Aubrey?" Beca said. "God, you both are such dicks. You need to break up with Chloe and tell her about you and Aubrey."
"I can't do that," Tom said.
"Yes, you can," Beca said and turned to walk away.
Tom grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. He turned her around and was holding onto her arms.
"Please, Beca," Tom said. "Let Aubrey handle it."
"You're nothing but a fucking coward," Beca yelled and opened the door.
Aubrey saw the janitor's closet door open and Beca step out while facing Tom. She quickly hid around the corner when she saw Chloe walking by, turning back in time to see Chloe stop at the same time Beca yelled at Tom.
"You tell Chloe or I will."
Aubrey gasped and watched as Chloe stared wide-eyed at Beca.
"Chloe," Tom mumbled.
Beca turned to see Chloe standing behind her, looking angrily at her and Tom. She had tears in her eyes.
"Shit," Beca muttered.
"Beca? You're the one Tom's been cheating on me with?" Chloe asked, looking at Beca.
"What? No, Chloe," Beca said, reaching out a hand toward Chloe. "It's not-"
"I can't believe this," Chloe said, moving away from Beca. "You're supposed to be my best friend. I hate you! I hate you, both!"
Chloe turned and ran off down the hall. Beca stood there unable to move.
"I thought she wasn't that upset about Tom cheating," Beca thought. "What's changed since this morning?"
"Beca," Tom said, reaching for her.
"Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me," Beca said through gritted teeth.
"Give her a chance to calm down," Tom said. "Then you can talk to her and clear this up."
Beca turned to face him. "How about you grow a fucking pair and tell her the truth?"
"Why didn't you just tell her yourself when you saw her standing there?" Tom yelled.
"I don't know," Beca yelled back. She lowered her voice when people started murmuring around them. "She surprised me." Beca felt tears stinging her eyes. "You know what? Tell her, don't tell her; I don't care. It's probably for the best anyway."
Tom didn't know what to say or do, so he stood there and watched as Beca walked away. Once Beca was out of sight, Aubrey ran over to Tom.
"Are you okay?" Aubrey asked.
"You need to tell Chloe about us."
~ High School Heartbreak ~
Chloe rushed into the cafeteria, looking around for Aubrey. She was upset and sat down at a table and put her head in her hands. Jessica noticed Chloe sitting alone, looking upset and walked over to her table.
"You okay, Chloe?" Jessica asked.
Chloe lifted her head and said, "No."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jessica asked.
"I can't," Chloe said. "Can you sit with me? I don't want anyone to bother me."
"Sure," Jessica said and sat across from Chloe.
Aubrey came running in a few minutes later and rushed over to Chloe.
"I heard what happened," Aubrey said, sitting next to Chloe. "Are you okay?"
"I was just betrayed by my best friend," Chloe mumbled. "I don't think I'll ever be okay."
"What happened?" Jessica asked.
Chloe told Jessica that she knew Tom was cheating on her and found out that it was Beca he was cheating on her with.
"I don't believe that," Jessica said. "Beca wouldn't do that to you."
"I didn't think she would either, but she did," Chloe said.
"I'm sure it's not what you think, Chloe," Aubrey said.
"I saw them, Brey!" Chloe said, turning angrily to look at Aubrey. "What else do people do while hiding out in the janitor's closet? And she said if Tom didn't tell me, she would. She wants to be with Tom."
"I'm so sorry, Chloe," Jessica said. "Can I do anything for you?"
"I think I want to go home," Chloe said.
"I'd take you, but, um, Beca drove today," Aubrey said.
"Don't say her name around me," Chloe said, gritting her teeth.
"I have my car," Jessica said. "I'll take you."
"Thanks, Jess," Chloe said.
"Chloe!"
Chloe and Aubrey both flinched when they heard Tom call out to Chloe.
"Go away, Tom," Chloe said. "We're done and I don't have anything to say to you."
Aubrey sat staring down at the table. She knew she should say something but couldn't find the words.
"I'm sorry I cheated on you, Chloe," Tom said, keeping Chloe from walking away. He glanced at Aubrey and then returned his gaze to Chloe. "I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did. But, you got it all wrong. It wasn't-"
"Shut up!" Chloe screamed. "Beca was my best friend and I-." Chloe stopped and swallowed. Her voice was quiet as she said, "She was my best friend."
Chloe shoved past Tom and Jessica jumped up to follow her. Aubrey looked up at Tom before she, too, stood to hurry after Chloe and Jessica.
Tom whispered, "I'll call you later," as Aubrey walked past; Aubrey nodded without stopping.
~ High School Heartbreak ~
Beca doesn't know how she did it, but she made it through the rest of the day. After school, she got to her car and, without thinking, waited and watched for Chloe and Aubrey to come out. It took her a minute to realize that Chloe would not be meeting her for the ride home.
Beca started the car and looked once more toward the school's entrance. Her eyes widened when she saw Aubrey and Tom walk out together. Beca turned off the car and got out. She stormed over to Aubrey and Tom stopping just in front of them.
Aubrey stepped back into Tom when she saw how angry Beca was. She thought that Beca would physically attack both of them.
"Are you two really going to keep doing this?" Beca asked. "Do you plan to tell Chloe about this at all?"
"We don't need to now," Tom said with a shrug. "She broke up with me so I can be with anyone I want."
Beca's fists clenched and it took everything she had not to punch him. She turned her glare to Aubrey.
"And you're okay with this?" Beca asked her. "Chloe's devastated and she needs her best friend. Is he really worth giving up a lifelong friendship?"
"What about you?" Aubrey asked. "You gave up your friendship with her."
"She said she hated me," Beca yelled. "She threw our friendship out the window and I let her for my own stupid reasons. But, I thought by now you two would have pulled your head out of your asses and told her the truth. You and Tom only care about yourselves. You're both selfish bitches and deserve each other."
Before either could say anything, Beca turned on her heel and stormed off. She was halfway to her car when she was stopped by Jessica and Ashley.
"Beca, are you okay?" Ashley asked.
Beca looked at them as tears ran down her face. Jessica looked at Beca and took her by the arm. She led Beca to her car; Ashley followed.
Jessica let go of Beca's arm and looked around. They were in a somewhat deserted area of the parking lot.
"I took Chloe home during lunch," Jessica said. "She is devastated by what happened, Beca. But, I think she was more upset with you than she was with Tom."
"I'm not the one who Tom cheated on her with," Beca said.
"But you know who it is, don't you?" Ashley asked.
Beca looked at Ashley and then turned her head away without answering.
"We believe you, Beca," Jessica said. "But, Chloe thinks it was you."
"Is this supposed to be a pep talk?" Beca asked.
"No," Jessica said and sighed. "I promised not to say anything, but she told me something that I think you should know."
"Don't tell me," Beca said quickly, shaking her head. "I don't want you to break her confidence like that. It would hurt her if you did. I think she's hurting enough today, don't you?"
"But-"
"No, please, don't say anything more," Beca said and started to walk away.
Ashley grabbed Beca's arm to stop her.
"Beca, let her tell you," Ashley pleaded. "Jessica wouldn't suggest breaking Chloe's confidence if she didn't think she should."
Beca sighed and looked down at the ground. She looked up at Jessica and slowly nodded her head.
Jessica told Beca what she and Chloe talked about while she drove Chloe home.
~ High School Heartbreak ~
About two hours later, Beca was sitting in her room, going over in her head what Jessica told her.
"Chloe told me that she wasn't that upset about Tom's cheating," Jessica said.
"She told me as much this morning," Beca scoffed. "Tell me something I don't know."
"Okay," Jessica said. "Did you know that she's had a crush on you since last year?"
"What?" Beca asked, clearly surprised by this.
"That's what she told me," Jessica said. "She said she wanted to tell you but that she didn't think you felt the same way."
"That can't be right," Beca mumbled.
"It's true," Jessica said. "Don't you wonder why she is more upset that you were the one who she thought Tom was cheating on her with than the fact that Tom cheated on her? Because she likes you, that's why."
Beca didn't know what to say to that. She stood there with her mind racing. Could it be?
"You should go talk to Chloe," Ashley said. "We know you have a crush on Chloe." At Beca's shocked look, she added, "You don't hide it very well. Maybe you can tell her how you feel about her and work things out."
"She's right, Beca," Jessica said with a smile. "I, no, we both think you two belong together. The question is, do you think you two belong together?"
Beca swallowed and ran a hand through her hair. "I, um, I-. Thanks for telling me."
"You're welcome," Jessica said. "Go talk to her. And we hope everything works out for you two."
Beca nodded and watched as Jessica and Ashley got into Jessica's car and drove off. Beca slowly made her way to her car and drove home.
Beca thought about calling Chloe but feared she'd ignore her calls or has already blocked her number. What she needed to do was to go over to Chloe's and make her talk to her.
Beca wasn't sure she could tell Chloe how she felt because she couldn't believe that Chloe really said those things about having a crush on Beca. Or that she did say it but didn't mean it.
"But, what if she did?" Beca thought.
Twenty minutes later, Beca found herself sitting in front of Chloe's house. She took a deep breath and got out of the car.
She was halfway up the walk when the door opened and Tom and Aubrey stepped out. Beca stopped and her jaw dropped when she saw Chloe hug them both.
"What the fuck?" Beca mumbled.
"Oh, hi, Beca," Aubrey said when she noticed Beca standing behind her.
"Beca?" Chloe said, moving so she could see Beca, too. "I'm glad you're here."
Beca continued walking and stopped in front of Aubrey and Chloe. Tom stood behind the two girls.
"I'm guessing they told you what they'd been up to?" Beca asked Chloe.
"Yeah, they did," Chloe said with a smile.
"What the fuck, Chloe?' Beca asked, causing Chloe's smile to drop. "They told you they'd been fooling around behind your back and you're okay with it and hugged them? I didn't even do anything and you said you hated me. This is all kinds of fucked up!"
"Beca, listen-"
"No," Beca said, moving back a step. "I can't believe you. Or you two."
Tom and Aubrey tried to hide their smiles at the way Beca was acting.
"You think this is funny?" Beca asked as she glared at the two of them.
"Beca, let-"
"Unbelievable," Beca scoffed, cutting Aubrey off.
"Beca, please, just let me-"
"Let you what, Chloe?" Beca asked. "Let you tell me you hate me again? No thanks-"
Suddenly, Beca yelped as Chloe's lips smashed into hers. Beca pulled back and looked at Chloe with wide eyes.
"Sorry, but I needed you to shut up," Chloe said.
"You could have just told me to shut up," Beca grumbled.
"I like this way better," Chloe said, smirking. "May I talk now?"
"Whatever," Beca said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Remember how I told you I wasn't that upset over finding out Tom was cheating on me?"
Beca looked over at Tom and nodded.
"It's because I was planning on breaking up with him because I was interested in someone else. Deeply interested in someone else."
"But why did you get so mad at me when you thought I was the one Tom was cheating on you with?"
"Can we stop talking about my cheating, please?" Tom asked. "I've apologized and it's all good now."
Beca glared at him.
"Beca, I was upset because I thought it was you Tom was cheating with," Chloe said.
"Seriously? More about my cheating?" Tom asked, throwing up his hands. "Brey, can we go?"
"No," Aubrey said, smiling. "I've been waiting for this for a year."
"I'm getting confused," Beca said, looking from Aubrey to Chloe. "What are you talking about, Chloe?"
"I was upset because you're the person I was interested in and wanted to break up with Tom for," Chloe said, letting out a breath.
"So, Jessica was right. You do like me?" Beca asked, a smile spreading on her face.
"Yes, I do," Chloe said. "So, does this mean you like me, too?"
"I do," Beca said. "Is being boyfriend-free so you could be with me the reason why you so easily forgave those two?"
"Yeah," Chloe said. "Don't get me wrong, I was upset when I found out Aubrey was the 'other woman.' But, they explained everything and I realized I was glad because now I'm free to pursue you."
Chloe smiled as Beca's face reddened.
"Pursue me?" Beca asked. "You do know you already have me, right?"
"I do?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah, you do," Beca said and kissed Chloe.
Aubrey smiled and looked at Tom. "Now we can go."
92 notes · View notes
taexual · 5 years
Text
HOLIC - 44 | jb x reader
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pairing: Im Jaebum x Reader
genre: enemies to lovers au | roommate au
warnings: it’s just raw angst
words: 7.2k
disclaimer: i do not own the gif, please let me know if it belongs to you, so i can give proper credit
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It only took you a few days to finish editing all of the pictures you’d taken of Jaebum that night. You ran them by him first – and smacked him when he tried to make you swear he’d always be your only model – and then emailed them to his agency. You still needed their approval so, even though Jaebum had insisted you take these pictures, it was possible that his employers were going to end up hiring someone else, after all.
Except, as you learned on your way to work that Friday, they didn’t. As it turned out, the only problem Jaebum’s producer had with the pictures you’ve taken was that he couldn’t choose one. It felt like the biggest compliment you’ve ever been told.
The entire day would have been wonderful – Fridays already carried a certain aura of just being plain great – had it not been for a text Jiho sent you right when you were wrapping up, ready to head home. Apparently, his old friend was holding an exhibition at one of the out-of-town galleries he’d worked with before so you needed to keep your Saturday free.
Grateful that he’d warned you—sort of—in advance this time, you texted back in confirmation and were surprised to learn that Jiho actually expected you to bring your camera to the exhibition. For a moment, you thought he’d found out you’d taken Jaebum up to the balcony and had completely stolen Jiho’s photoshoot spot, so he was now going to get back at you by taking your camera and locking it away or something equally as unrealistic. But then you realized that made no sense – even if he had learned about your impromptu photoshoot, why would he try to get back at you? You’d done nothing wrong. Quite the opposite, actually.
Getting the approval of Jaebum’s agency provided you with a huge boost of confidence that you obviously needed. They liked your pictures so much, they didn’t know which ones to use – that had to mean you were, at least, somewhat better than average at what you did. What was more, that had to mean that, perhaps, you’d been too pessimistic about the number of opportunities you would get to make yourself known. Maybe you wouldn’t have to completely rely on Jiho to get your name out there, after all.
In the time leading up to the exhibition you had to attend with Jiho that Saturday night, you couldn’t get the memory of the photoshoot with Jaebum out of your head. Taking pictures of him had been nothing short of wonderful. You both had fun – although you did nearly freeze your hands off – and just seeing him through the lens of your camera inspired you so much, you had come up with three new ideas for a photoshoot if this one didn’t work out. But it did work out. Not only did you thoroughly enjoy the photoshoot itself, but the end result was also splendid. You couldn’t have been happier.
However, ruining the utter bliss of your routine with Jaebum as the two of you munched on pizza in his bed that Friday night, you got a call from Hyojin who was demanding to see you immediately. Normally, you’d have turned any offer to go out down – there was simply nothing you’d have rather done that what you’d already been doing – but because she was one of your best friends and, frankly, she sounded absolutely terrifying on the phone, you forced yourself out of bed.
“Are you seriously leaving right when Johnny Depp discovers the—”
“Oh, no,” you stopped Jaebum by extending your hand in front of his face. “Just because you’ve seen Sleepy Hollow before doesn’t mean you get to spoil the ending for me. Or watch it without me. Pause it, I won’t be long.”
“That’s not the ending, it’s barely even the middle,” he mumbled, pausing the movie nevertheless. “And are you saying I’m going to have to stare at the ceiling while I wait for you?”
“It’s just fifteen minutes,” you said. “Jacob’s dropping her off in front of our building. There’s no way Hyojin will make him wait for very long.”
“Why is she coming all this way over here, anyway?” he asked, already knowing all about your friends and their boyfriends. “And, at this hour, nonetheless?”
“It’s nine on a Friday night,” you said matter-of-factly. “She was probably out drinking like normal people do. It’s just you and I who get drunk on a Monday night instead.”
Jaebum grinned at the jab. “Fair point. I’ve paused the movie for you – consider that when you’re out and don’t keep me waiting for too long.”
“I will keep your sacrifices in mind,” you leaned over to kiss him and then stumbled out of his bedroom, your jeans still only halfway on.
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Hyojin hadn’t been to your neighborhood before and it showed – she had her boyfriend drive around the block three times before she called and got you to come to the building they’d eventually parked outside of. But even despite getting lost, she looked like she thought that coming all the way over here was worth it.
“It’s great to see you,” you told her after the two of you hugged hello. “But, seriously, what’s up? You’ve never driven this far for me before, usually we just—”
“No, I know,” she cut you off, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “But you need to see this. I couldn’t text you the link because, well, yelling at you over text is not the same as yelling at you in real life. So, here. Look.”
She pressed something on her phone and then passed it on to you.
From the looks of it, Hyojin had opened up a tabloid site – with some very bad formatting that warped the text in every second paragraph – but you didn’t get to check what kind of site because your eyes immediately caught Jiho’s name in the headline. And then your name following right after.
“Oh, shit,” you muttered under your breath, reading on.
The article seemed to be a quick recap of the dinner you’d attended with Jiho earlier this week. It was accompanied by some high-quality pictures of the people who were there – and thus, you realized that this wasn’t actually a tabloid site at all, this must have been a blog-like website by one of the dinner guests – but its’ main focus, without a doubt, was the “budding relationship between the most promising young photographer” – Jiho – “and his muse” – you.
“I’m not—this wasn’t supposed to—oh, fuck,” you tossed around helplessly, handing Hyojin her phone back. “How did you even find this?”
“I didn’t. Jacob showed it to me,” she replied, her face executing every sign that she was about to scold you good. “One of his friends from publishing was at that dinner, so he was showing Jacob the pictures and Jake thought he’d recognized you. Turns out, his friend was actually looking forward to meeting you. He’d referred to you as “Jiho’s girlfriend.”
“God, no, it’s not—”
“Yeah, I sure hope it’s not,” Hyojin continued, too fired up to let you finish, “because this implies that you’re still in touch with that asshat and, not just that, but you’re also dating him.”
You momentarily recalled your last conversation with May at Mark’s bar. Evidently, she’d kept quiet about the revelation that your entire future depended on Jiho, so Hyojin was completely in the dark about it all.
“I’m not. I swear, I’m not. I would never! Jaebum—he’s right upstairs, waiting—God, this is messed up,” you brought your hands over your face in an attempt to collect your thoughts so you’d finally form a coherent sentence. “Listen, you can’t tell anyone because I’m not sure if I’m allowed to speak about this – at least not to the press – but—”
“Well, go right ahead,” she urged, “I’m not the press.”
“Yeah, but Jacob is,” you nodded your head towards the car Hyojin had just stepped out of – or, perhaps, sprinted out of would have put it more accurately since she hopped right out, slamming the door shut before you even got a glimpse of her boyfriend.
“He’s not that kind of press,” Hyojin rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t care about some photographer that’s fresh out of the womb. No one does. No offense.”
You didn’t take offense – she was right. As Mark had pointed out in his bar the other day, the only people who cared about photographers were other photographers.
“Right,” you swallowed. “Well, this was Jiho’s idea. He thought I should get some exposure before my exhibition.”
Hyojin frowned. “Why does he get to decide that?”
God, you thought you appreciated May for not telling the rest of your friends about this – she must have thought you should have been the one to do that – but now you wished she had, just like she revealed the truth about who your roommate was. You’d planned to keep Jaebum’s identity a secret but ended up spilling it all to her while wine-drunk and, in turn, May had told the rest of your friends. If she’d done the same thing now, perhaps you wouldn’t have had to face Hyojin’s judgemental eyes.
“Because,” you closed your eyes, “it’s his gallery.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” you groaned, your fingers suddenly very drawn to your scalp and, particularly, ripping your hair out of it. “God, it’s a long story.”
“Honey,” your friend put her hand on your shoulders, a very determined expression on her face, “I’ve got all night.”
Jacob pulled his window down, having overheard her say this. “You really don’t, love. We have a movie to catch in half an hour. Hello, by the way.”
“Hey, Jake,” you gave him an awkward wave which he acknowledged with a nod and then slid his window back up, giving you and Hyojin some privacy – even though he could, clearly, hear everything from inside of the car anyway. “You should go, Jin. I swear nothing’s happening. His gallery reached out to me and offered me… something. It’s not just an exhibition, it’s a whole ton of other stuff, too. It’s a great contract, really. But before I get to lay claim to any of those perks, I have to become more well-known so that my first exhibition isn’t a complete bust. That dinner is a part of a-a PR stunt, you know? Like, we were supposed to appear together as two photographers, having dinner—”
“Is that not what you did?” she asked, interrupting you.
“It is, but—well, they’re calling me his muse,” you replied. “Not his colleague. So, that’s not exactly what was supposed to happen but, I guess, it’s still exposure.”
“Are you going to do something about this, then?” she continued.
“I don’t know what I can—”
“And what does Jaebum think about this wonderful stunt?”
Her questions already made it difficult to catch your breath but this last one seemed to punch you right in the lungs.
“He doesn’t know,” you wheezed out, not raising your eyes from the pavement.
For the second time that night, Hyojin’s jaw opened and froze in that position. “What?”
“N-no, I mean, he knows I’m doing these events for publicity,” you tried to explain, guilt flashing all over your face. “He just doesn’t know—”
“That they’re with Jiho?” she raised her eyebrows in an oddly accusing manner. “Babe, what are you doing?”
“I’m—”
She shook her head, choosing not to listen to another excuse. “You have to tell him.”
“I will!” you said, sounding far too exasperated. You’d already told everyone but Jaebum and the constant promises you made about telling him were starting to weigh down on your consciousness. “He’s just been so happy, getting that contract with an agency, and all. Everything’s going so well, it just doesn’t feel right to piss on his parade. He wanted this for so long.”
That sounded like an excuse and both of you knew it.
“Don’t think you’re doing him a favor by not telling him,” Hyojin reprimanded immediately.
“I know I’m not,” you said. “And I will tell him. Just not right this moment.”
“Well, if he sees the article, it will be too late, won’t it?”
“He won’t see it,” you said and then, after a moment of panic, added a fearful, “will he?”
Hyojin sighed. “Honestly, no, he probably won’t. The only reason Jake even saw that was because of that co-worker who showed it to him. There are probably, like, six people who read that website and I don’t think Jaebum is one of them. I hope that isn’t the kind of publicity Jiho meant.”
“I hope not,” you echoed. “Although it makes sense that no one cares about this. We’re irrelevant.”
“No, he had one thing right – people don’t care about these dinners but they do care about who’s dating whom, even if the people in question aren’t too famous,” she said. “Sex sells—”
Your eyes widened. “Sex?”
“You know what I mean,” she waved your surprise off. “People care about that shit. They want to know who’s sleeping with—”
“It’s just—just a few events,” you cut her off, just the mere mention of anyone assuming you and Jiho were having sex enough to send your stomach into a panicked frenzy. “Any publicity is good publicity, right?”
“Well, Jake would disagree but he’s not trying to become a celebrity. He just writes about them.”
“Right,” you nodded, allowing the looming awkward silence to finally engulf you both.
“Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?” Hyojin asked another uncomfortably long moment later.
“No. I’m not sure about anything,” you replied honestly. “But I want that exhibition and if that’s the only way—”
“You know it’s not,” she disagreed right away. “And, frankly, faking a relationship with someone doesn’t seem worth it.”
You continued to count the tiles on the pavement, feeling – and looking – like a scolded kindergartner. Any other time, you’d have felt like she just didn’t understand your situation. Merely a few days ago, you were convinced you weren’t good enough to find a place to host your exhibition some other way, but now you’d achieved a huge breakthrough with the pictures you’d taken for Jaebum. Now you believed in yourself a little – oh, alright, a lot – more.
“This isn’t long-term,” you decided to say. “It’s just a few weeks tops. That’s two or three more events and I’ve got another one tomorrow night. It’ll all be over before long: I’ll have my exhibition and then I can forget all about Jiho.”
“Hmm,” Hyojin had crossed her arms and was now looking decidedly skeptical. “And, I suppose, you’ll tell Jaebum about this another decade later, yeah? I don’t really understand why you—”
“I’m afraid,” you cut her off. She didn’t seem to understand why you sounded so agitated so, after sighing so deep, your whole chest began to ache, you explained, “I don’t want to lose him. I’ve already fucked up before and it lead to some hefty arguments. But that was before we were together, so they weren’t as significant.”
“When are arguments ever not significant?”
“Fine, they were significant,” you said. “But they never posed a threat to our relationship because there wasn’t one. And now that there is, I’m afraid that if we fight, it will break us up.”
“So, what, you’ll spend the rest of your life walking on your tip-toes, avoiding arguments with him because you’re afraid?” Hyojin asked. The more she talked, the less your words made sense to you. Suddenly, you couldn’t understand why you kept talking at all.
“No,” you said awkwardly. “No, that’s just stupid, I can’t avoid arguments with him for the rest of my life, but it’s so soon. We’ve only been together for, what, a few weeks, a month—”
“When did you move in with him?”
“I-I don’t know, a few months ago,” you blinked, not sure how this question was relevant. “Maybe three, three and a half—”
“Alright, so you’ve been with him for three and a half months, then,” Hyojin concluded.
“No, but we weren’t together before—”
“No,” she declared louder so she could talk over you – just like she seemed to do the whole night tonight. “No, babe. Every argument you’ve had with him since the day you moved in was equally as significant, and yet, not a single one posed any threats to your relationship. Not-a-single-one, you hear me? Because, from what you’ve told me, you and him have gotten pretty intense with each other before and yet, neither of you moved out. Not even when you didn’t think you were going to end up together. You have some real stuff between you, you know what I mean? The kind of stuff that can’t be broken by arguments… but might get irrevocably stained by secrets.”
You didn’t have a response to give her and sighed instead but Hyojin understood everything you couldn’t say just from your breath.
“You don’t want to do this with Jiho, either,” she said gently. “So, don’t put yourself through something you don’t want to do. Do it your way. So what if it takes longer?”
It wasn’t the first time someone had said that to you and it certainly wasn’t the first time that you considered the weight of these words. They were heavy but that was the case with the truth – it weighed you down until you could barely move.
“We said we were going to do this together,” you whispered under your breath, the engine of Jacob’s car nearly drowning your words out. “So, if I don’t do this, I’ll just have to watch him walk away from me.”
“Walk away from—honey, no,” Hyojin sighed, wrapping her arms around you, her sweet perfume so familiar, you almost started to cry. “He wouldn’t.”
“He wouldn’t have a choice,” you insisted. “That’s how life works sometimes. I don’t want it to. I don’t want him to—I just want us to do this together.”
“And you will,” she promised, pulling away slightly so she could look at you. “But maybe at different speeds. But who the hell cares? You were together before fame and you’ll be together after. You’ll wipe your stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame together and then walk into the sunshine, hand-in-hand. Who cares if you’ll host your exhibition a month, or a year after he releases his album?”
You cared, sniffling as you refused to meet her eyes. “A lot can happen in a year.”
“And a lot will,” she nodded. “But you two had already gone through so much, you might as well go through a little bit more.”
“What if that’s where the breaking point is? What if we don’t have a year—”
“Sweetheart,” she stopped you, suddenly grave serious. “What if I reach down inside of you, grab that paranoia of yours, and strangle it so it no longer bothers you, hmm? That would save us all a lot of time.”
You couldn’t control the snicker that passed your lips and got Hyojin to smile as well.
“Go back,” she told you then. “And don’t forget where you’re going, okay?”
Your eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean? Where am I going?”
Hyojin smile meaningfully. “You’re going home.”
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Hyojin’s last words helped you more than you’d realized at first, and you woke up the next morning with a decision – tonight was going to be the last event you’d attend with Jiho. Once it was over, you would sit him down and tell him that you had to find another way because you simply couldn’t approve of this one. He’d have to agree to let you host your exhibition right now and not “when you were more popular.” You’d tell him about the pictures you’d taken of Jaebum and how much his agency liked them if he refused to listen to you.
And then, if he’d agree, you’d go home, talk to Jaebum, host your exhibition, and live happily ever after. And if he wouldn’t, you’d still go home, talk to Jaebum, and find a way to live out your happily ever after without getting your exhibition.
You hoped for the former but, as you applied your make-up for the night, you braced yourself for the latter. You knew that the chances of Jiho agreeing to just cut straight to your exhibition were slim – you and him were only seen together twice; surely, that wasn’t going to be enough in his eyes – but you trusted your ability to sound convincing. He’d insisted the gallery wanted you for your potential, so, maybe he’d fight harder to hold on to you and agree to your terms, after all.
In the end, whatever happened tonight, this was going to be the last time you were out with Jiho for publicity.
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You nearly blacked out when, after leaving a note to let Jaebum know you were off to a photography event, you walked out of your building and saw Jiho step out of a limousine. A sleek black limousine – as if you two were headed to your wedding or something.
“W-what is—” you began but didn’t get to finish before Jiho’s bright laughter cut you off.
“I thought we’d arrive in style! What do you think?” he asked. You thought he was a lunatic. “Attract some more attention, hmm? Come on, get inside – got your camera? Good! – there’s champagne.”
You felt like you’d just skipped through, at least, three chapters of your life when you climbed into his limousine. Who were you, exactly, to have this expensive ride with undoubtedly equally as expensive glass of champagne thrust into your hand as soon as you sat down?
It was impossible to understand what was happening – although, from the laid-back way Jiho was acting, you’d have thought he took the limo to go to work and do his grocery shopping, so this wasn’t weird to him in the slightest – and, what’s more, it was impossible to figure out what would happen next.
As it turned out, what happened next was silence. Jiho was texting someone on his phone, so the only sound in the car was the rapid click-clacking of his fingers against his screen and the ever-so-often sip of champagne. You, on the other hand, refused to drink and remained completely quiet and overly alert the entire ride. When thrust into a situation you’ve never experienced before, it was probably best to stay sober and aware of your surroundings.
Once the limousine stopped – tossing your heart from your chest to your heels – about fifty minutes later, Jiho finally put his phone away and turned to look at you.
“Here’s the plan,” he declared in a way that made it seem as though you two were about to rob a bank Bonnie-and-Clyde style. “I didn’t tell you to bring your camera just so people would know you’re a photographer. That will come up anyway. I asked—”
“Will it?” you cut him off reflexively.
“What?”
“Will it come up?” you repeated, deliberately this time. You had decided to tell him you didn’t want to do this – even though he had to know that himself already – and you were going to stick with that decision. “Because, judging from the article written about us after the dinner, I’m not actually a photographer at all. I’m just a girl on your arm.”
Jiho, for some reason, hadn’t expected you to have read the article. Once the initial surprise wore off, however, he looked pleased that you’ve seen it and was almost inclined to ask who’d shown it to you. Clearly, you had your own sources and he was all the more curious to know who they were.
“Right, but that’s where it starts,” he insisted. “Slowly, more and more people will stop focusing on the fact that we’re together and, instead, will start to focus on us as individuals. I mean, come on, there are only so many speculations that can be made about the relationship of two people. Sooner or later, people are bound to get bored.”
“If they’re bored, they’ll ignore me and focus on you,” you said, “and I will still be the girl—”
“Quit thinking I’ll be quiet through it all,” he cut you off, showing you, for the first time since you’ve met him, that he also had the ability to get annoyed. “I’m doing this for you—for the gallery. Obviously, I will do everything in my power to make it clear that we are both photographers. Hence your camera here, tonight. I want you to capture this event from your own point of view. I will use one of your pictures in my review of tonight’s exhibition – with proper credit, of course – and that’s how everything will kick off.”
You bit your lip, looking down. If he’d told you of this plan earlier, perhaps you’d have felt less revolted riding this limousine with him. Still, though – was the expensive car so necessary?
“Fine,” you said, choosing to leave the conversation about how you wanted to finish doing these events until after the night was over. You were sort of an expert at postponing potentially complicated conversations. “Let’s just get this over and done with.”
Jiho smiled in response – the smile, that was most likely fake, looked so real that you started to wonder if he’d been faking this nice exterior the whole night tonight – and, opening the door of the limo with one hand, extended his other one to you.
“What do you want me to—”
Not waiting for you to start questioning his motives again, he took your hand against your wishes, and helped you get out of the car. There were three people taking pictures of the guests arriving at the exhibition and all three of them suddenly had their cameras on you and Jiho, eager to capture you two stepping out of the car, hand-in-hand. It was almost blinding and most surreal.
“Good to see you, Jiho!” one of the photographers hollered, his flash going off every two seconds. You were sure you had your eyes closed in every single picture he took. “Is that the missus?”
You cringed – but hoped it wasn’t too noticeable – and tried to pull your hand out of Jiho’s grip now that you were out of the car, but he didn’t let you.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Jiho replied sneakily, shooting a wink in the direction of the camera. “I’m here to have a grand night, admiring the artwork of a dear friend with a dear friend.”
“Is she just a friend, then?” another one asked. You felt yourself clutch the camera in your hands tighter in hopes of drawing more attention to it. “A close friend, perhaps?”
“She’s all of that and a lot more,” Jiho replied and you felt a cold wave wash over your entire body at his words. “And she’s one of the most talented young acts I know. Careful, boys, her pictures tonight might just overshadow yours.”
“We’re looking forward to it, Jiho!” the photographer said as Jiho lead you inside. Your feet were nearly frozen solid. “Have a great night!”
“You, too!” Jiho wished with a gentle wave of his hand and the two of you finally escaped the cameras by entering the building.
As soon as the photographers were behind you, you pulled your hand out of Jiho’s a little more forcibly than you’d intended and gave him a horrified look.
“What the hell are you saying to them?!” you demanded, not even trying to keep your voice down. “You told me you’d leave our relationship up for speculation and then you went ahead and—”
“And what?” he snapped, your sudden outrage frustrating him much more than your persistent doubts in the limo did. “What was it that I said to them that wasn’t precisely that? I’m planting the seeds of doubt—”
“You’re planting rumors!” you disagreed vehemently. “Do you really think they’ll care about my photographs now that you’d made it seem as if we’re together? As if we’re in love?”
“Of course, they will—”
“They couldn’t care less about that shit!” you continued, noticing how each swear word out of your lips made Jiho cringe and look around to see if anyone heard. “All that their cameras focused on was you holding my hand. I’m nothing to them—”
Jiho cut you off by taking a threatening step towards you, his face dangerously close to yours as he whisper-yelled through clenched teeth, “how do you expected to be something when you haven’t done anything? Popularity is earned. I’m earning it for you so show more gratitude and stop making a fucking scene.”
He stepped away a second later and, if you hadn’t been there, listening to him curse and put you down, you probably wouldn’t have believed it. Jiho was a fantastic actor, truly – the way he kept his composure around you all of this time was admirable. But there had to be a reason why you were so adamant to get away from him at all times; clearly, it wasn’t just because you’d misunderstood his intentions the first time you met him. It was also because somewhere deep in your subconscious, you figured he was just playing a role of Jiho, the sweet and eager-to-help photographer, while his real personality was buried deep underneath.
Well, you’d caught glimpses of his real face just now and, when he told you to straighten up and proceeded to wrap one hand around your waist to enter the exhibition hall, smiling as if you hadn’t just argued, you knew that the decision to drop everything, cancel the contract, and find another way to get your name out there was the right one.
“Jiho, I—”
“Shh,” he hushed sharply. “I need you to stay quiet right now. I’m looking for the host, I’m going to introduce you and then off you go, taking your pictures. Got it? I’m not in the mood to talk to you right now.”
“Me neither. I was just—”
His grip on your waist tightened. “What did I just tell you?”
His voice sounded like it came straight from hell and yet, instead of feeling intimidated, you felt incredibly relieved. You weren’t wrong, Jiho may have just been the devil incarnate with some very well-trained – albeit pretend – manners.
You stayed quiet, allowing him to search for the host of the night because you figured that if you had to end the night without a contract – you didn’t think it was possible that Jiho would agree to cut short to your exhibition instead of just dropping you right away – then it’d be great if you would get to meet a few more influential people beforehand. They probably weren’t going to help you out, knowing their relationship with Jiho, but it wouldn’t hurt to have them learn your name.
As soon as you shook the hand of the photographer whose pictures hung on the walls of the hall around you – your face hurt from all the fake smiles already, even though you’d only been here for less than twenty minutes – something happened that made you regret leaving your house tonight even more. You should have bolted in the opposite direction as soon as you saw the limousine approach, really.
“Hello,” an awfully familiar voice sounded next to you. You thought you experienced what falling from the twentieth story of a skyscraper must have felt like when you turned around to meet Jackson’s eyes. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Oh. H-hey,” you choked out, painfully aware of Jiho’s hand still on your waist. “I’m here with—”
“Hello,” Jiho turned around as soon as the host of the exhibition walked away. You may have feared Jaebum meeting Jiho but you couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going to happen when one of Jaebum’s best friends met him instead. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m—”
“Could you excuse us for a moment?” Jackson asked, his hand coming to rest on your waist instead.
Taking advantage of Jiho’s confused features, Jackson pulled you away from him and – before you could protest – walked you to the closest bathroom he could find, closing the door behind you.
“I’m sorry for cutting it straight to the chase,” he spoke as calmly as he could given the situation, “but, shit, who the hell is that?”
“T-that’s Jiho. He’s—”
“A scumbag that’s about to get his ass kicked, I hope?” Jackson finished for you. “What are you doing here with him?”
“I’m—God, it’s a long story,” you said, the exhaustion you’ve felt since you signed the contract showing in your voice. “I’ve signed a deal with his gallery, so I have to—”
“Does Jaebum know you’re here?”
“Jackson—”
“Because, I swear to God, I have no idea what you’re doing but I—”
“Jackson!” you said louder, suddenly afraid of the fire behind his eyes. He looked frantic. He looked like he was going to knock Jiho out right after he left the bathroom and his hand was already reaching for the door handle. “Please listen, I’m just—I came to the exhibition. I’ve signed a contract with a gallery Jiho represents and I need some exposure—”
“Some exposure?” he frowned, the look on his face depicting every frustration you were feeling inside. You were afraid to look him in the eyes. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I can’t host my exhibition while no one knows who I am,” you answered. “I need to—”
“That’s bullshit!” Jackson snapped. “How are you supposed to get exposure without hosting any exhibitions? Did he convince you this was a good idea?”
“No, I don’t think this is a good idea, I—”
Jackson threw his hands in the air, startling you. “Well, then what the fuck are you doing here?!”
“I’m trying to get my name out there!” you replied in agitation. Jackon’s accusing tone and the questions he was firing at you confirmed that your raised voices in this bathroom were going to be nothing in comparison to the storm this would cause with Jaebum. “Fuck! I’m just—I’m trying to get some publicity. That was part of the contract.”
Jackson scoffed. “That guy has you pressed against his side like you’re his trophy wife. I don’t know what kind of publicity you’re seeking but I can assure you, this isn’t it. Jaebum—fuck, is he on board with this?”
You almost flinched when he mentioned Jaebum again.
“Of course he’s not—actually, uh, he doesn’t know the—”
“He doesn’t know?!”
To say that Jackson was appalled would have been an understatement.
“He doesn’t know the details!” you tried to explain, feeling yourself tear up but desperately trying to remain calm – or, well, as calm as you could with Jackson looking at you like you’d just killed your way through the West Coast. “He knows I have to attend these events for a little while, he just—I didn’t tell him about Jiho. The three of us go way back, he hates the guy.”
“Oh,” Jackson said in an uncharacteristically high-pitched voice. It was scary to hear his deep, somber tone take such a sarcastic chirp turn. “So, that makes all of this better!”
“It doesn’t,” you tried. “And I’ll tell him—”
“Like hell, you will.”
“W-what?”
“If you hadn’t told him yet, clearly, you’re not that eager to tell him at all,” he stated.
“No, I want him to know,” you insisted but you weren’t sure if you meant it. Hearing Jackson voice your real intentions was the ultimate turning point and every single ounce of guilt came pouring out of your eyes in tears. You really didn’t want Jaebum to know. “I-I just don’t want to fight with him about this—”
“Then maybe don’t do this!” Jackson continued, still as loud as before but gentler now that you started to cry, “if you’re doing something that’s going to start a fight with your boyfriend when he finds out, then you’re probably stepping out of line in a major way, don’t you think?” he paused as soon as he realized how riled up he was. He brought his hands through his hair to calm himself down. “God, I’m sorry, I can’t—I seriously have a hard time understanding this. W-why did you think this was a good idea? How the hell did you think faking a relationship with someone was going to go under your own boyfriend’s radar?”
You sniffled, trying to focus on your breathing so you wouldn’t sob out loud, “I’m not faking a relationship—”
“Oh, okay, well, don’t worry about that – that guy out there is doing it for you,” Jackson countered.
“No, I—this,” you felt yourself hiccup, “it w-wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
“Fuck, what was it supposed to be like?” Jackson asked. “Because last time I was on the phone with Jaebum, he was in my studio, writing a fucking song about you. I definitely didn’t think I’d hang up the phone, turn around, and see his girl walk right past me with another guy.”
You barely had enough time to process what he had just said when a knock came on the bathroom door.
“Is everything alright?” Jiho’s voice called out. “I hate to bother you but we should probably get back out here. We’re here for your benefit, after all.”
“In a moment!” you replied through a stuffed nose. Jackson sighed, his hands on his hips and his eyes focused on the floor. The fact that he couldn’t even look at you felt like a whole new stab of pain. “Look, this is the last event I’m doing. I’m ending it tonight. If they won’t let me host an exhibition, I’ll find another solution. I won’t do this anymore.”
You wiped the tears from your cheeks and tried to steady your breathing.
“How many events like this have you done already?” Jackson asked another moment later. He may have been angry with you but he hated to have been the reason why you started to cry.
“Just a few, it hasn’t been that long—”
“And how long were you planning on doing this for?”
“N-not long,” you said, your breath hitching again. You exhaled slowly before finishing,  “ideally, I want to end this tonight.”
“But you’ll still work with him – with a guy who’s obviously very interested in making the public think he’s dating you – and Jaebum will still not know about it, is that what you’re planning?” Jackson continued, watching your eyes fill with tears again but not being able to stop himself. He’d have put his life on the line for his best friend and it was starting to feel like that was exactly what he was doing right now because he knew he was going to wish he was dead as soon as this blew over. The sight of you crying because of the things he’d said was too awful to bear. “Jaebum will come to your exhibition, not having the slightest clue that there’s a guy who’s—”
“I’ll tell him!” you shouted desperately, pain spilling from your eyes without the slightest intention of stopping. “God, I will! I’ll tell him everything.”
“Will you? Will you, really? Because he’s my best friend. I can’t just stand here after I learned about the shit that he doesn’t know but should know. Fuck. I think you’re great, I really do. And, God knows, I’m so sorry I’ve made you cry tonight,” he added and then, even despite all that he’d just said, stepped closer to provide you with some comfort by carefully wrapping his arms around you, “I think the two of you are perfect for each other but, fuck…” he sighed after hearing you sob against his shoulder, “you know his heart better than I do, but even I can tell that you’re walking dangerously close to breaking it.”
“I wouldn’t,” you whispered, pulling away from him to look him in the eyes. “I couldn’t. I would never, I-I—”
“I know you probably don’t mean it,” he said softly, releasing you. “But he’s going to hate the fact that you’re keeping this a secret.”
“I know he is,” you nodded, stepping away from him and sniffling before slowly bringing your index fingers under your eyelids. Your make-up was most definitely destroyed but that was the least of your worries right now. “That’s w-why, the longer I stay quiet, the harder it gets to find a way to tell him.”
He sighed again. “You know someone has to.”
“J-Jackson, I—”
“Just go, okay?” he asked, turning away from you and resting his hands on the sink, his head hanging low. It was you who felt beyond ashamed and yet he looked like he was the one making the biggest mistake of his life. “That guy’s waiting for you out there.”
“Please, I’ll tell Jaebum about this, I just—”
“Go,” Jackson repeated. “Please.”
You reached the door but turned around as soon as the last tears slid down your cheeks. You waited for him to turn around to look at you but he wouldn’t.
“I don’t want to hurt him,” you said slowly, the ball in your throat from the tears and the pain and the guilt suffocating you. “I love him.”
Jackson whipped his head to face you. “Does he know?”
Looking down again, you didn’t even dare to shake your head – and you didn’t have to, Jackson knew the answer already. This was another thing you’d never gathered the courage to tell to Jaebum.
Jackson looked away again and, after another torturous moment, you dared to exit the bathroom, closing the door behind you and feeling yourself tear up yet again as soon as you saw Jiho’s polished shoes.
“What was that about?” he asked you right away.
“Jiho,” you said sternly, your vision clouded with tears. You thought you saw him take a small step back in shock once he saw your puffy red eyes. “I won’t do this anymore. I need an answer right now – can I host my exhibition at your gallery or not? Because if not, I’m ending the contract right this moment.”
“Well, of course, you can,” Jiho replied, surprised. His fake face was back on and you wished nothing more than to claw it off. “You just need a little bit more exposure and—”
“No,” you shook your head. “I don’t like this. I didn’t like the article written about us, I didn’t like what you told those photographers out there, and I don’t like the fact that we’re, essentially, pretending to be in a relationship. I’m not—I don’t want to do that. Either, I host the exhibition now or I’m leaving.”
“Well—that’s—where is all this coming from? I thought we’d reached an agreement. You’re so close to—”
“The only thing I’m close to is ruining the only thing that makes sense in my life,” you were the one who kept cutting him off this time. It was nice to have the upper hand for a change even if you had a feeling it would backfire. “So, tell me right now: will I have the exhibition at your gallery or not?”
“I-I can’t give you an answer immediately,” he replied. “I need to check in with the gallery and we need some time to consider this.”
“Okay. Consider it, then,” you said, exhaling shakily as you turned around towards the front door of the hall. “And give me an answer as soon as possible.”
“Wh—right, but where are you going?”
You didn’t stop as you answered curtly, “I’m going home.”
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