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#sometimes i spend days just adding new ideas to idea banks
midnighteraser · 1 year
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Just curious but what's your writing process? Like how do you come up with an idea and how do you start writing it and such
My writing process is a whirlwind, that's for sure! I'll put it under a read more because it's very long!
Usually, I'd get inspiration for something and instantly go to write the idea down in a Google Keep note I call the "Idea Bank". I'm very forgetful, so these help me brainstorm and add detail to ideas. I have an Idea Bank for all of my main AUs and ones for random stories/AUs I come up with, and at the moment I have 22 of the latter. (Thanks to Keep's word cap.) I often go back and add new ideas/little details if I think of them.
I recommend having wherever you keep ideas easily accessible so you can note ideas down the moment you get them! Google Keep has this cool widget you can access from your phone home page! (The line of Keep applications is because they removed the part of the widget that let you quickly go to the app. :( )
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This is where my process changes dependent on my mood.
If I suddenly get inspiration, I tend to write in any important parts out and stick them in the idea bank. If this gets too long, I open a new Keep note and copy and paste it there for me to flesh out later.
If I have no inspiration, I jot down very briefly a description/summary of what the idea is about. It's often a summary then the notes are taken underneath the idea. For example, it could be something as simple as this:
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Or a long-ish summary/scene with details underneath, like this:
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Now onto the actual writing.
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I said, onto the writing.
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Why do I have so many empty Keep notes.
As you can see, I have a bad habit of starting a note, adding the title, and then imagining what happens rather than writing it down. It happens! Sometimes I get a cool title and then don't know what to do with it.
Most often than not, I start by opening up an Idea Bank and skimming through the ideas I have. If one sticks out, or if I already knew what I was writing from the start and just needed reference, I start to plan out what happens in my head. (Unless I already have a timeline of events or very vague notes on where the story goes, which makes life 10x easier.)
Sometimes, rarely, if a piece of writing is dialogue-heavy, I write up a script first.
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Then, I flesh out some parts.
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And I'd go back later to detail it. I often go back and flesh out parts I really like then revert back to script format for the parts later.
However, my main way of writing is what I like to call "Let's goooo". I have a vague idea, I kind of have an image in my head, I can wing this, surely! That's probably why half of my stories get stuck at a point and I don't know how to continue, but sometimes I get a streak of inspiration and write a whole story for me to edit and make sense of later!
I have a few Keep tabs open. These often include:
The Idea Bank for what I'm currently writing
The story I'm writing
The random ideas Idea Bank (in case I get inspo for something else)
Random other thing I'm using to procrastinate (Chatfic, other story, etc.)
Keep tab that isn't on a note, in case I need to use Keep for something and don't what to lose my place in my other tabs
So my window often looks something like this:
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The issue with me is that I have a million ideas and can't stick to one for long enough to finish writing a story for it. It's a miracle if I finish one!
Sometimes I'm too lazy to swap tabs and have the description/script of what happens in the story in the same Keep note, separated by a divider of sorts. I may also have what comes next underneath what's already written.
But most often than not, I have random important scenes held together by dividers! When I feel more inspired, I go back to connect the scenes together with whatever happens in between.
This example is a sort of mix between those styles!
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If I ever actually end up finishing something, I put it onto a Google Docs note to edit! Because the red lines under words doesn't appear on mobile Google Keep for some reason, if I'm writing on my phone I move to computer.
I'd usually check through with Grammarly to be extra safe (but I often have it off because it annoys me), then reread and add/remove words. Sometimes I end up adding entire paragraphs!
Then, I'd add the "Finished" tag on Google Keep, so I know the story is finished and I don't have to continue writing it. I also have "Ao3 Posted" so I know what I've posted and what I haven't.
Even then, sometimes I go back to finished stories to read and edit them! You can never be too thorough!
That should be everything regarding my writing process! The only other things I can think of mentioning is how I often write with music on! It gives me lots of inspiration, which is why I often write song fics! I also often write crossover and AU fics, but these never go posted because there's so much hidden lore that I can't explain it all with one fic! You see, I start in the MIDDLE of an AU, not the start. I have so many stories that are so far into the AU that they literally don't make sense to anyone else. (Which sucks D:)
I also tend to write at unholy hours of the night. For some reason, my brain decides the best time to come up with ideas is when I'm trying to get some sleep.
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Brain please. I want to sleep.
Also sorry for the late answer! I've been thinking about this ask a lot and wanted to get everything about my writing process in!
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my-head-is-an-animal · 10 months
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Unfinished Sentences
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A Ben Mendelsohn fic.
Summary: You’re a actor who’s known for your indie work, but when you get a job working for on Secret Invasion with Ben Mendelsohn as your partner in crime, things may get complicated.
Story Masterlist
Chapter 1
You were pretty happy with where you were in your life, having just wrapped on filming another project, you were about to head into the promotion period for Marvel. You had been told how gruelling it could be, but you were partnered up with your partner in crime, Ben Mendelsohn. So, at least it would be fun.
    Before you entered into the booth where you would conduct your routine set of interviews, you looked over at Ben dressed in his smart navy jacket and light blue shirt, and took a moment to remember where all this began.
 Shooting the show was great, the people were kind and generous and they loved what they did. You were loving the opportunity to try something different, and it was certainly different from all the indies you’d previously worked in.
    In fact, it was an indie film that had Kyle Bradstreet, the creator, looking in your direction in the first place. A quirky little comedy about two people who get high and, with surprising success, rob a bank. You’d taken the film to Toronto a couple of years earlier where you ran into Ben for the first time. He was complimentary about the project, saying how much fun it was as an entertainment piece, which was exactly what you hoped it would be, nothing serious, just some fun.
    When Marvel called only a couple of days later, you were told so little, but suspected your new Australian friend may have been talking you up to the producers. You’d gotten used to that by now, that’s how it all worked, you have one good conversation with one person and everything you ever wanted could happen, the hard part was proving your worth, and you certainly intended to do just that.
    The character you played interacted with Talos a lot, so much of your down time was spent listen to Mendo talk about music, Australia, his family and, honestly some weird shit… a lot of weird shit came out of that man’s mouth. But you loved it, he was eccentric and fun and playful and most importantly, he was kind. He had a wicked wit that you found yourself adding to every chance you got. Your relationship was one people almost came to hate, when you two were together, you were unstoppable.
    Your favourite jokes had been the ones where Mendo would come in first thing in the morning, say something in jest to you quietly in the make up trailer, and you’d spend all day laughing about the little references made to it.
    When it was over you hugged everyone and both yourself and Mendo were on the verge of tears, you’d never have another experience like this, probably not get another opportunity to work with him again and the chances of seeing each other regularly were slim at best. This was it.
    You’d come into the make up trailer that morning and there were no jokes immediately. You looked at each other and Mendo got up to hug you.
    ‘Alright my Angel.’ He said, quietly, a nickname he’d come up with when he realised you were just as filthy as he was. ‘It’s going to be a good day, we’ll get through, don’t you worry about that.’
    ‘Fuck, this is going to be hard.’ I sniffed, trying not to cry.
    Mendo pulled back shaking his head. ‘Nah, easy part is the work, we’ll do the hard part at the end.’ He stroked your hair, affectionately as he sometimes did, and you appreciated it.
    The day really was hard, every scene you had with Mendo was another reminder of how you would never get this lucky again. At lunch you sat together, Sam and Olivia were chatting away as they often did when you two sat like naughty school children in the back of a class.
    You suddenly remembered something and looked at Mendo, about to tell him for the sake of having any conversation that wasn’t about work, but immediately stopped yourself; that was a bad idea under any circumstance.
    ‘What?’ He asked, noticing something was on your mind.
    ‘Nothing, don’t worry about it.’ You brushed it off.
    ‘Oh, you’re going red.’ He smiled that wicked smile. ‘You were going to say something dirty. Now you have to tell me.’ As loud as this guy could be, you appreciated he was being quiet at that moment.
    You folded your arms, knowing full well that he would not give up until you told him. ‘Okay, but you cannot make fun of me.’
    ‘I wouldn’t dare.’ He promised, eagerly awaiting your response.
    ‘I had a dream about you last night.’ You got it all out in one go.
    ‘Oh really?’ His blue eyes widened, and his wicked smile became uncontrollable. ‘A dirty dream?’
    ‘Well, obviously.’ You could feel your face aching with how red it was.
    ‘Was I good?’ He teased you, as he often did.
    ‘Bro, it was my fantasy, of course you were.’ You told him, making him cackle and deciding to own it instead of getting embarrassed by it. ‘But it wasn’t just you.’
    Mendo frowned.
    ‘Jason Sudeikis was there as well.’
    ‘Okay well that’s just ruined everything.’
    ‘Oh believe me, it was an improvement on some things.’ You joked, making him laugh that boyish laugh he had.
    You were called pretty soon after for a scene, but you kept catching his eye and it made you both laugh. The whole cast and crew were used to it by now, they probably thought you were just giddy and laughing at nothing, but that so rarely was the case. You had so many inside jokes and secret laughs that you lost count after a while. You’d miss this.
    After you’d wrapped for the day and everyone had their moment to say goodbye, you all decided to grab a drink in the hotel bar. You’d gotten used to hotel stays, not living in London yourself, it was nice to see the city from a new light.
    Mendo had positioned himself next to you all night, no one thinking it that unusual, but you could feel a shift in the air, unsure of what it was exactly.
    The night rolled on, drinks were ordered, shots consumed. You were basically drunk, but sober enough to know when to stop. Sam was telling one of his wild stories from working with Tarantino, but you were struggling to stay upright.
    ‘I think I’m going to call it a night.’ You said, mostly to Mendo as everyone else was engrossed in the story. ‘I need my bed.’
    ‘You want some company?’ He asked, teasingly, making you hold in a laugh, but you could tell from his expression he half meant it. You needed to get out before it became awkward.
    He got up to have a smoke outside, again not an unusual thing for him to do, but you decided to make a quick escape to stop yourself thinking anymore filthy thoughts about your friend. It just wasn’t appropriate, and you didn’t want to ruin the good relationship you had with him.
    ‘Goodnight, guys.’ You said and everyone stood up to hug you.
    ‘Pleasure working with you, Y/N.’ Sam said as he hugged me. ‘Call if you’re ever over my way, and I mean it, it’d be good to see you again.’
    ‘I will.’ You promised, half laughing to yourself about how lucky you’d gotten to be able to call Samuel L. Jackson a friend.
    You made your way to the lift and ran into Mendo coming back in on your way.
    ‘Making a sneaky escape?’ He asked, jokingly.
    ‘Yeah, I’m trying to get away from this guy who I dreamt about.’ You made him giggle. ‘God, he was an absolute machine in my head, but it’d never work out in reality.’
    ‘And why’s that?’ He bit his lip, trying to contain his laugh.
    You don’t know what came over you, but all the joking went away, and you decided to be honest. ‘Because I love him too much to ruin what we have.’ You watched him face take in yours, he sighed, nodding. ‘Fuck, I’m going to miss you, Ben.’
    ‘I’m gonna miss you too.’ He let a heavy breath go. ‘Can I walk you to your room? I promise I won’t joke about it anymore.’
    ‘Sure.’ You shrugged.
    You didn’t really want to leave him just yet, you made a friend for life and you didn’t know how you were going to function not seeing him every day.
    Mendo pushed the button for the lift, he was always a gentleman when he got the chance to be. You loved that about him, always a jokester but a big heart that surfaced occasionally. It was late enough that you ended up being the only two inside. You pushed the button to your floor and sighed, leaning back.
    ‘Fuck, my head is spinning.’ You said, trying to take deep breaths and stop the alcohol ruining any chance you had at making it to your room.
    ‘You’re okay, just keep breathing slowly.’ Mendo put his arm around you for support, making sure you didn’t collapse. You could smell him, that familiar cologne he wore, there wasn’t anything special about it, just that he was the one who wore it. He kissed the top of your head and sighed. ‘I’m gonna miss you so much.’ He whispered.
    ‘You already said that.’ You chuckled, wrapping your arms around his waist, getting comfortable.
    ‘Yeah…’ he said, with no clear end to the sentence.
    The lift arrived at your floor, and it took a moment for you to unwrap yourself from around his body. You were a little more unsteady than you thought, making him giggle behind you.
    ‘Take your shoes off, it might help.’ He chuckled.
    ‘You’re a genius.’ You could feel your throat drying as you bent down to remove your heels, they weren’t that high, but walking bare foot made things so much easier.
    ‘Do you want some help?’ He couldn’t stop giggling at you leaning against the wall.
    You tried to straighten yourself up and took a deep breath. He always brightened your mood and made you silly.
    ‘You can carry my shoes.’ You said it pretending to be an entitled arsehole and it only and whim laugh harder.
    ‘Your majesty,’ Mendo bowed theatrically. ‘It would be the greatest of honours to carry your shoes.’ He placed his hands out to take your shoes and you placed them in the middle of his palms, sauntering away towards your room.
    You turned back to see his eyes suddenly darting up to yours.
    ‘Sir, I believe you were checking me out.’ You teased, but it was his turn to go red, try not to smile and give himself away.
    ‘Sorry.’ He really did seem apologetic.
    ‘It’s okay, you were doing a lot more than that in my dream.’ You winked, watching him place his hand on the wall next to your door, his breathing was definitely heavier, and his jaw clenched for a moment.
    ‘Are you sure you don’t want your dream to come true?’ He asked, half meaning it.
    For a long moment, you screamed yes inside your head. You couldn’t imagine anything better than spending a night laughing with this man while he did unspeakably good things to you. You had a good feeling it wouldn’t be awkward either, you knew each other well enough that you would simply give in and go with the flow. You knew it would be good.
    You cleared your throat, putting your key card into the slot to open the door. He hadn’t stopped staring at you with his beautiful blue eyes, they were mesmerising.
    ‘I think it’s best we don’t.’ You finally said.
    He half smiled in disappointment, looking down at the ground for a second, before looking up.
    ‘That seemed to take a long time for you to say.’ He pointed out.
    ‘Yeah…’ You said, not really sure of where the sentence was going. ‘It was a lot to think about.’
    Ben nodded, still watching your face for any sign of you changing your mind. You weren’t sober enough to be able to control where your eyes were being drawn to. You scanned his handsome face, taking in everything, finally stopping on his lips, before drawing your gaze back up to his now very dark eyes.
    The sound of your shoes being tossed into your room was what drew you to the reality of the situation you found yourself in. His hand brushed the side of your waist, making you gasp from the contact, his other hand gently brushed your hair behind your ear and there was no stopping any of this now.
    You gently pulled him into your dimly lit hotel room, he guided you against a nearby wall and stopped just millimetres from your mouth. You could feel each other's breath, you held the lapels of his jacket tightly, silently begging for the contact.
    ‘Ben.’ You breathed.
    His lips grazed yours and it wasn’t nearly enough of what you needed. You listened to him sigh with relief, before sinking down into a surprisingly affectionate kiss. Where your dream had been hot and heavy, this was gentle and affectionate, like he was trying to say something words couldn’t express.
    You felt him pouring into you, his quiet hums of satisfaction were to die for, his scent was intoxicating and all consuming. You remembered vividly in your dream where things went from there, you remembered the image of him on his knees for you and groaned at the thought that his mouth could work this way somewhere else. Fuck, he was beautiful.
    You felt his hand wrap around your body, pulling you flush against him, his lips gliding over yours, teasing the notion of descending to your neck, but he never went that far.
    Suddenly he brought everything to a slow, his lips placed lazy kisses against yours and his hands loosened their grip around your body.
    ‘I’m sorry.’ He whispered. ‘I don’t want to do it like this.’
    You frowned, still feeling his mouth against you. ‘Like what?’
    Ben brought both of his hands up to your face, gently stroking his thumbs across your cheeks. He kissed you again.
    ‘Can I say goodbye to you in the morning?’ He asked. You weren’t sure what the question meant. ‘I don’t want to leave things on an awkward note.’
    ‘Sure.’ You nodded, still craving more of his kisses.
    He sank once more into you, before pulling away, resting his forehead against yours, finally the whisper of a smile appeared.
    ‘You think you could let me go?’ He asked, trying not to laugh. It was only then you realised you were still holding onto his lapels.
    ‘Oh, sorry.’ You suddenly let go.
    ‘It’s okay.’ Ben shook his head. ‘If I’d been another drink down, I might not have asked.’ He made you chuckle with him. ‘Goodnight, Angel.’
    He gently placed one last kiss to your lips before leaving your hotel room. You slid down the wall and asked yourself: what just happened?
  If you liked this, please consider supporting me ☕ thanks for reading!
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I haven't made an entry in a while. I have a second partner now, and we are in love. We started dating about 4 months ago but it feels like we have been together for a long time.
He is so affectionate and helpful. He gets along well with my husband (primary/nesting partner) quite well. We even play dnd in a group together and that is more fun than I thought it would be! It is my first campaign ever.
My bf is in college still, but he is set to graduate within a year or so. My husband and I are staying in this area for about 2 more years. I already have hopes and dreams about moving somewhere (possibly new), and bringing my partner with us. I wish my husband found another partner like that as well. He does have a current partner, but he told me that when he talked to her about the future it didn't sound like she wanted the same things as we do. They are still together and enjoying their time for now, but I wish she was on board with planning to live together someday.
I know for most couples 4 months or so isn't long enough to decide if you want to move to another state with someone though so maybe in time she will change her mind. If not, I'm sure there are plenty more fish in the sea (especially moving to a more urban area, we are currently in a rural area with few polyamorous or queer folks).
My husband and I have a dream that one day we will own a decent sized house that can accommodate 2 additional partners. We will live life all 4 of us together, helping eachother.
My husband and I already decided that only he and I will have shared bank accounts (we have always chosen to share finances completely since marriage), but it would be a more comfortable life with 2 more household incomes with no kids. (sorry to say, but he and I refuse to date anyone who has children).
I think we both just really yearn for a communal life, even if we wouldn't want to do anything like go off grid. We really like the idea of having our own chosen family.
As a bisexual, it isn't what I had in mind to end up with another male presenting partner, but I simply fell in love with him. I think a lot of what attracts me to my other partner is that even though he identifies as male, he is very feminine. He is smaller than me, and when I hold him it feels similar to holding a woman. I really like that tbh, he has a very androgynous appearance and way of carrying himself.
My husband identifies as nonbinary, more so than I do (although I consider myself probably gender fluid if I had to describe it.) He presents pretty masculinely, but he has feminine qualities in his personality and takes on some more "feminine" gender roles in the house (like cooking, which I do not do.)
My husband's current partner is really cool, I like her a lot. In my opinion, they have more space between them than I do with my bf but it doesn't seem to bother either of them. Maybe this is because they know it may not last beyond the 2 years we are living in this area. It would be so nice if she grew to consider moving with us when we leave, but even if she decides not to stay with my husband it is nice to spend time with her as a "polycule" now.
Since my husband's partner does not seem to cling to him as much as my bf does to me, it feels like I need to work on spending more time with him. Over the next couple of years I definitely need to work on my dynamics juggling my time with both of my partners. Sometimes I still think it would be nice to have a gf as well, but I honestly don't think I could easily juggle my time for a true relationship with another added person. Maybe when I feel I have the dynamics of the 2 I have now down pat, it would be possible... But I would be satisfied to just have a platonic relationship with my husband's partner. I just feel overall I'm lacking in close relationships with women and I would at least like a close female friend again.
I am friends with my husband's current gf, and I enjoy spending time with her but she has always operated as sort of a lone wolf even in her romantic relationship with him. That makes it hard to get close to her tbh, but I know she has reasons why she is the way she is. It's not anything personal.
All in all, I have just found myself daydreaming about the future a lot. I really have faith that my partner is serious about joining our life in a couple of years and it feels nice, but still we have quite a bit of waiting and time here before we enter the next step of our lives.
I have a positive outlook and I'm really happy to have 2 wonderful and loving partners. I can't wait to see what our futures have in store
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thesilversolution · 2 years
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What Is The Number One Home Business?
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People have various meanings, as far as what a home based business should be. The number one home business for every one is different. For some people, that means being able to work from home and for others, it means running a business from home. Running a business from home does not mean that you are home a lot. You can still run a home business from home and be out on the road more than even for a regular job. Many self-employed people like plumbers, handymen of all sorts, or even copy machine maintenance guys, can spend even up to 12 hours on the road sometimes. Many people just kind of settle because they do not know any better. In fact, they would argue like it is life and death, that they are in the number one home business on the planet. There is a proverb that your father has the largest acres of farmland until you go to another person's father's farm.
One thing I would like to address, is that a business man should never assume that they have the best anything. A business owner needs to understand that there should always be room for improvements. This is how we all grow in life and business. There is a thin line between being confident about your business and being straight up blind and not open to bigger and better things. There is also a thin line between jumping from one home business to another one due to your lack of skills and moving to a better situation simply because it is a better deal. There are way too many home based business owners jumping from one home business to another thinking the grass is greener when in fact they need skills.
One day, I went out to Barnes and Nobles to pick up a few Magazines. We were looking up business names to bid on in Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing, which is a pay per Ad click version of online advertising on Google Marketing platforms, like Adsense, where clicks received are through mini search engine Ads, based upon chosen keyword searches. I was astonished at how many companies that are offering business opportunities. Inside the franchise opportunity magazines, so many business were calling themselves home business franchises.
If your goal is to have more time with family at home, many of these home based opportunities do not cut it. You will end up in another rat race that is just worse than having a job. Many home businesses will only take more hours away from the free time you had after your day job and reward you with an empty bank account. Today, when you say home business to some people, it is a buzz word. It automatically reminds them of some type of scam. This is simply because many have lost their life savings on investing in home business opportunities that have not been so clear up front with people.
Instead of investing hundreds of thousands in borrowed money in an opportunity first, invest in your education first, along with knowledge and proven techniques from successful business people. In fact, home business education, and even training, is free these days. Note that you do not have to invest your life savings in some number one home business opportunity. Many home businesses cost less than $1,000 to start up these days. The rest of any other investment will be in even further education for you--the business operations itself.
There are so many people who have started a work at home business that are making full-time finance. This is great news because working from home gives you the opportunity to be flexible whenever you need time for in your personal day-to-day lifestyle. However, you still need to operate your home business with priority in mind, as your business is your means of financially sustaining your personal life, whether you are single or have a family.
Making finance in a successful home business is one thing, and another thing is actually spending what you have earned on frivolous things that quickly deplete your hard earnings.  It is always a good idea to save, while building your financial stability long-term, when running any home business... no matter how successful it starts and plays out in the long haul.  Things can always happen in everyday life, which can easily cause financial setbacks and hardships.  Therefore, it is always a great idea to have "nest egg" when operating a work at home business.
A lot of people, who are making regular finance, from home, are spending their finance as soon as they get their hands on it, which isn't a very smart thing to do. I made that same mistake several years ago, but have since then learned from my mistakes. Of course, you need to have some finance for yourself just to keep your sanity intact, but you first need to plan a budget for your business as well as for yourself. If you do not make a budget for your business, you are jeopardizing the future of your business due to the fact that you are not preparing for any slow periods or potential downfalls (even if only temporary).
Overall, a number one home business consists of something you choose in particular as enjoyable for you. When running any type of work from home business, your attitude should be operating a business that you truly enjoy, which can bring success based upon whatever product or service you are offering. As with any business, the products and services being offered on a public or private bases, can determine  your success potential, as products and services are essentially inclusive to what people want versus what they need. More businesses in modern days tend to focus on offering things that people actually need, therefore plugging-in to the 'supply and demand' factors in life. On the other hand, many businesses tend to focus on what people want, based upon popular products and services that revolve around desire and entertainment factors for peoples' personal enjoyment.  These are just some of the things to consider when choosing the number one home business for you to be successful in your financial endeavors.
Here is what many have considered a number one home business for 2022 and the future economy. You can get started by visiting: http://thesilversolution.net 
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lexa-lives-in-us · 3 years
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Saving Tips for Hard Times
I found this old document where I collected a series of tips to save money. This is all part of my experience of when I was near homeless, and some work depending on where you live, some don’t. Here we go.
BILLS:
1. The optimum temperature for refrigerator operation is 5°C, and -18°C for freezer operation. As a rule of thumb, for each additional degree of refrigeration output about six percent more electricity is used.
2. Unplug your appliances. Lamps, microwave, tv, computers etc. They don't need to be plugged until you use them, and it saves energy to keep them unplugged. Therefore, money.
3. Do homework for phone companies and internet plans. Call them! Often they are toll free and if you mentioned that you were already with them or thinking of going with them and then found out another company had a better deal, they could offer you deals for lower prices. I had to do it all the time for my phone, until they couldn't really offer anything better.
4. BIKE. Invest in a used bike if you can, especially for the warmer months. It offsets the transit costs and better your health.
5. WALK. That's the same as the bike, honestly.
6. Pay your bills on time, you will avoid late fees which can up to HUNDREDS of dollars wasted over the course of a year. If you can, set up automatic payments so you don’t forget.
FRIDGE:
1. Every time the refrigerator door is opened, cold air escapes and warm ambient air enters. To compensate for the temperature increase in its interior, the refrigerator must then use energy to bring the temperature back down. Always avoid opening the door unnecessarily and for too long.
2. When defrosting frozen food place it in the refrigerator. Not only does this ensure that the food is carefully defrosted, its presence cools down the refrigerator interior, reducing the amount of work that the compressor has to do, and therefore lowering energy consumption.
3. Never put warm food in the refrigerator as this will heat up the interior, as well as other stored foods. Hot food should always be allowed to cool to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator
MONEY:
1. Keep all the containers like glass bottles, juice bottles, jars, cans etc. Look for your Return-It depot and have trips to return them. They give back coins for laundry, small expenses etc
2. Use that junk mail. Go through it, find coupons for food, for essentials like toilet paper or shampoo.
3. CHECK. THAT. DOLLARSTORE. They often have things like pasta, ketchup, toilet paper, batteries etc for literally 1 dollar.  Pasta is pasta, toilet paper is toilet paper. Seriously. Don't need to spend 5$ on a shampoo bottle when you can have it for 1/5 of the price.
4. Do homework and check with different banks for which one offers a better plan. Some of them are willing to help out. Sit down with their advisors, find the best solution!
5. Use the envelope system! For example, one envelope with a label “food” the other with “entertainment” the other with “bills”. Then set the right amount of cash for each. That’s what you’re allowed to spend each month. If you realize you need more for food, grab it from the entertainment envelope. Adapt and arrange as needed.
6. If you can, set up an automatic saving (example 50$ every paycheck) for both regular saving AND an emergency fund.
7. Use the 24-Hour Rule. Avoid purchasing expensive or unnecessary items on impulse with a self-imposed 24-hour rule. For any non-essential item, wait 24 hours before purchasing. It’s perfect for online shopping where your items can simply be added to your cart to purchase later.
8. Make a grocery list BEFORE going to the grocery store and STICK to it. You’re going to avoid buying things you don’t really need.
9. DO. NOT. SHOP. WHILE. YOU. ARE. HUNGRY. Or you’ll end up buying food that you actually don’t need just because you feel snacky!
10. Only use ATMs from your bank, or you get charged small fees.
11. Set a “No Spend Day” per week, where you consciously DO NOT spend any money for that day.
12. Ditch the paper: Cutting out paper towels and using cloths and napkins that you can simply wash and reuse is a simple way to save.
13. After you wear clothes, hang them outside your wardrobe, on a door or something. You can air them out a bit, then stick them in the closet without washing. You can basically reuse the same clothes two or three times without having to wash them, sometimes they just need a bit of air and they won’t smell AT ALL.
14. If you don’t own or want to spend money on an iron, hang whatever blouse you need to iron in the bathroom while you shower. The steam will humidify the fabric and straighten it up.
15. Hang stuff to dry. Really don’t need to spend money on the dryer.
16. Sign up to the library. They have so many books and DVDs nowadays. You can also just go, sit at the library and stay warm for a while, so that you don’t have to sit at home and either suffer the cold or use money on your own heat.
17. Budget, budget, budget. Get a lil notebook, write down the monthly expenses, cut what you don’t need. It gets easier with time.
 FOOD:
1.       Make a meal plan. Write 10-14 days worth of dishes that you can do (lunch, dinner, everything you need). You can then toss them around as you go on with your week, but that way you have a pretty clear idea of what you use and the food you go through for how long. It also reduces the risks of getting take out since you already have plans for what to eat.
2.       Cook double! Seriously. Make that dinner and double it up. Leftovers can be frozen or put in the fridge for the day after.
3.       Meal prep. Once a week, prep a bunch of different recipes. Let them cool down, stick them in the freezer. At that point you’ll already have all these meals at the ready to just thaw/microwave or oven up.
4.       You don’t need pop. You don’t need alcohol. You most likely don’t need milk, but go for it if you wanna. Just remember dairy products go bad WAY more quickly than non dairies, so consider getting food and drinks with no dairy in them. Mainly, though. Water. Just drink water. Lots of it too! Sometimes our brain can’t tell the difference between hunger and thirst. You think you’re snacky? Drink some water instead! It’ll quell your hunger.
5.       Freeze fruit! If you think you’re not gonna be able to eat fruit in time, put it in a Tupperware or a ziplock and slap it in the freezer. You’ll be able to then use it for smoothies.
6.       Use the Italian saying “Colazione da re, pranzo da nobili, cena da poveri.” Which quite literally means “Breakfast as a king, lunch as a noble, dinner as a poor.” Breakfast should be very filling, carbs, protein, vitamins. It carries you for the whole day. Lunch should be quite filling too! But supper doesn’t really need a lot of it, and if you REALLY have to skip a meal, skip supper. Your body doesn’t need that much sustenance while sleeping.
7.       This is for the desperate times but I’ve done it, and I would do it again if I ever had to. Go to markets that have like… Fruits and veggies. Talk to them. Ask them “HEY, can I have the fruit/veggie that you have to throw away?” Ask them if you can have the ugly produce, the one that doesn’t look pretty enough to be put out. Or ask them to have whatever extra they have to dump because is past the expiry date. EXPIRY DATE IS USUALLY MUCH LONGER THAN WHAT THE LABEL SAYS. I wouldn’t risk it with dairy stuff or with things that are VERY expired, but one or two days? Totally fine, I promise. And if you have to? Dumpster Dive. Especially at markets with fruit and veggies that have to be sold on the same day (because it’s not considered “fresh” past that day.) Or behind pizza places like Dominos or Panago or whatever chain. They get pizza orders wrong all the time. Just give a peak behind these buildings and look inside their boxes. You have no idea how many times I found perfectly fine pizzas. For free! IF YOU DUMPSTER DIVE, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GLOVES, A MASK AND PLASTIC BAGS TO PUT YOUR STUFF IN. ONCE AT HOME, DISCARD GLOVES AND WASH PRODUCE THROUGHLY. Also check tumblr for your divers community, they usually know the best spots.
 CLOTHES:
1.       Thrift shop! So many GOOD used clothes are out there! Honestly! My whole wardrobe is thrifted and everything looks brand new. It takes a bit of research and maybe that shirt you liked is not in your size, but you can find EVERYTHING, from socks to bras, at a thrift store. Don’t thrift underwear though. You want to go new with those.
2.       Invest in some needle and thread, then open youtube. There are SO MANY tutorials that teach you how to mend holes in socks and underwear. And really, no one will really notice if a mend is perfectly done or not. After a week, you’ll forget it too! But that prevents you from throwing away clothes that could just be mended a little.
3.       Something doesn’t fit you? Too small, too big? YouTube, homie. They have tutorials on how to fix these kinda things! All you need, again, is needle and thread.
4.       Organize clothes swaps with friends and/or neighbors. Everyone brings clothes they don’t need, put them in a pile. Go through the pile and grab whatever there is. There’s no money exchange, one could go home with 1 item and one could go home with 50 items. Who cares? The extra stuff… DONATE IT TO A SHELTER.
Feel free to add more, and stay safe!
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myhockeyworld87 · 3 years
Text
What Happens In Vegas...Doesn’t Always Stay There - Jacob Markstrom - Part 5
Word Count: 6,353
POV: Reader
Warning: Language, Smut, NSFW, Pregnancy stuff
Notes: Sorry I meant to post this last night, but that game left me barely able to function. As such, you are getting this today. This fic takes place during the 2018-2019 season and during that season Jacob’s dad was still with him, so I will be mentioning him in this and the next chapter, along with his cancer. If that bothers you, please skip this and the next chapter. I just felt that it needed to be written into the story. As always feedback is welcome. Happy Reading!
What Happens In Vegas…Doesn’t Always Stay There Masterlist
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It took three weeks back in LA to get everything taken care of before the move to Vancouver. Work thankfully wasn't a problem. With more and more movies and television shows being filmed in Canada, the firm liked the idea of having someone closer. Most of your work could be done remotely anyhow and you could just video chat conference calls or anything else you needed. It ended up being a win for everyone.
 By the time you could actually move in, Jacob was on the tail end of a ten-day road trip. He'd insisted on hiring you a moving company, even though you said you could handle it, not that he thought you couldn't; he just felt you didn't need the added stress. Though packing wasn't the stressful part. It was the unpacking and not knowing where to put things with Jacob not being there that was causing your anxiety to rise. You felt like you were invading his home. Most of your furniture you kept in storage, but you still had a few things you wanted to take with you, yet you didn't know where to have the movers place it. Then there were your clothes. Jacob had a gorgeous master bedroom, with a closet to die for, but all his things were in it. You were unsure if you should move them to make room for yours or just take up the closet in the spare room. Which while spacious, was nowhere near as nice as the one in Jacob's room. Everything would've been much easier had he been here.
 In the end, you split everything up, putting half your stuff in his closet and half in the other room. You figured the two of you would be doing a lot of compromising and this would just be one of them. You had his office moved around to accommodate your work desk, since you'd be working a lot from home, and you had to wonder how often he came in here, as the pile of papers on his desk looked like the size of Mount Fuji, volcanic eruption and all. You were tempted to straighten it out for him, but opted not to, not wanting to invade his privacy.
 You were just putting away the last of your stuff when you heard Jacob walk through the door. "Prinsessa, I'm home." He'd taken to calling you his Swedish princess lately and you had to admit you didn't hate it.
 "In the bedroom," you hollered back. It was late in the evening, too late for you to be up, but you wanted to see Jacob and make sure everything you'd done so far was fine with him.
 "I was surprised to see all the lights on when I pulled up. Couldn't you sleep?"
 "I just wanted to finish putting away a few things." He dropped his bag on the floor and came over to you, wrapping you up in his arms and dropping a few kisses to your lips.
 "I missed you these last couple of weeks." It was weird but you'd missed him as well. You had talked every day, sometimes several times, but those few days that you'd spent in Vancouver, had just brought a new closeness to this relationship. If a relationship was what you could call it. He did refer to you as his girlfriend, but the way you two had gotten here was definitely the road less traveled.
 You slid your arms up his chest, savoring the feel of his well-toned muscles there. "Funny...I didn't miss you at all." You had a hard time keeping a straight face.
 "Really?" Jacob asked. There was this twinkle in his eyes, right before his hands slid under your ass and he lifted you on him. You didn't even have a chance to wrap your legs around him, though he held you with ease. "Maybe I need to do a better job at leaving you some reminders for next time." His mouth went to the crook of your neck where he sucked on you and gave you little love bites. You were pretty sure there were going to be marks there.
 "And here this whole time I thought they called you Marky because of your last name," you teased, yet moved your head to the side to give him greater access.
 "Oh, I plan on leaving more than just this one." He carried you over to the bed, where he gingerly lowered you down. You loved how he could be slightly rough with you one minute and then next so gentle.  Admittedly, you'd like to see a little bit of his rough side, but hopefully, that would come with time.
 His hands slid under your shirt, along your sides; the callousness of them rough yet the touch tender, making you shiver. "No bra?" he asked, eyebrows shooting up with delight as he skimmed along the undersides, before cupping each breast.
 "I opted out of it a while ago." Though your body hadn't changed much in these last ten weeks, you did notice your breasts were more sensitive and sometimes you just couldn't stand having them confined longer than necessary. Tonight happened to be one of those times.
 "Well if it's an option, you don't ever have to wear it again." There was a devilish look in his eyes. "I like this ease of access." He was rolling your nipples between his thumb and index finger, eliciting moans out of you so that you had no chance to answer. Scrunching your shirt up, he dipped his head down to lavish attention on those same nipples he had been tweaking. Your body squirmed, as he swirled his tongue around it before sucking on it gently. He wedged his thigh between your legs and you found your body grinding against it while he played with first one nipple and then the other. "Oh prinsessa, I think you did miss me."
 There was no denying that your body missed this. Craved was more like it. You had a feeling there would never be a time that you didn't want him. What was surprising was the sense of loss that came with just simple day-to-day actions, like brushing your teeth together and sharing a meal. Those were the things you'd found yourself longing for these last few weeks.
 Jacob started to travel down your body. Trailing kisses as he went, yet stopping to whisper something in Swedish to the baby. He didn't spend long there, and before you could ask what he said; he was pulling your sweats and panties down. "Du gor mig galen med hur vat du ar." (you drive me crazy with how wet you are) You were going to have to start picking up Swedish or something in your spare time, as he seemed to always revert to his native language in the heat of the moment. There was no time to ask what he said, as he dove right into your pussy. Licking a stripe right up to your clit causing your hips to lift off the bed.
 You sucked in a breath when he repeated the action again, your body on fire like never before. When he flicked his tongue over your clit, you were gone. The orgasm hitting you hard and fast like never before. "Fuck," you screamed out, as your body trembled and spasmed.
 Jacob worked you through it, somewhat astonished with how little he had done to make you cum so quickly. Once, you finally stopped shaking he picked his head up from between your legs. "Are you alright, prinsessa?"
 "Yes," you sighed in a state of bliss, not knowing if it was the pregnancy or the fact that you hadn't seen Jacob in three weeks that made you climax like that.
 You lay there panting, still catching your breath. "Shall we do that again?" The smirk on Jacob's face had you laughing, but after a long day of unpacking, you knew your body wouldn't last long.
 "Do that and I may be done for the rest of the night." You were only half teasing but he chuckled and made his way back up your body, taking the hint.
 "Rather have this," Jacob flexed his hips into you and moaned out into the room again. He was out of his boxers in no time. Cupping his cock in his hand, then guiding it into you. "God, prinsessa, you always feel like heaven."
 "Mmm," was all you could answer back as he was buried deep in you, for he felt like heaven as well. When he finally started to move it felt like every nerve in your body was alive and tingling. With each thrust he took you to new heights you never knew were possible. "Oh Jacob," you moaned. "Don't stop...please...yes...oh god..."
 "Yeah, you like that prinsessa?" A smirk of satisfaction crossing his lips at knowing he was bringing you such exquisite pleasure. "Does my cock make you feel good?" He was pounding into you and you didn't know how much longer you were going to be able to hold on for. He must have felt the small flutter your pussy gave, as the first tremors of orgasm began. "Cum for me (Y/N)." You shattered at his words, climaxing once again with a force you never felt but just minutes ago. "Fuck, ya." He groaned out, spilling inside you as his orgasm hit as well.
 Your body was still quaking as he rolled you both onto your sides. His cock going flaccid yet still inside you. "God, you're beautiful," Jacob whispered those words, as he pushed strands of hair out of your face, before dropping kisses to your nose and lips. "If this is what happens when I get home from a road trip, I can't wait to go on another one."
 "Stop," you said playfully swatting at his chest.
 "I'm just teasing, prinsessa, though I do like coming home to you here. I think this will be good for us." You hoped it would, considering that you both had a lot banking on this working out. If this were to go south, then what would you do? Move back to LA with the baby? Stay here so that Jacob could be a part-time dad? There were so many questions swirling around in your brain, but when Jacob softly took his thumb to rub your cheek they all seemed to evaporate. "I didn't get to ask how you're feeling today?"
 "I'm good, well, we're good. That's three whole days without morning sickness." It was small, but it was progress. Hopefully, you were on the upswing of that as you went into your eleventh week.
 "Good, I can't see how that's good for either one of you." You couldn't either, even though everything you read and everyone you talked to, said it was normal. "When you were moving in did you figure out which room you wanted for the baby?"
 "I thought the smart thing would be to keep it next to our room. Oh, I mean your room."
 "No, you were right the first time. This is our room." He kissed you quickly before adding, "If we're going to make this work then everything is ours."
 You yawned, completely exhausted from the babe and moving in. "Ok," you somehow managed to get out, agreeing with Jacob.
 "Sleep, (Y/N). It's late." You weren't sure if it was the combination of his soft whispered words while he rubbed your back or sheer exhaustion, but the minute you closed your eyes you were out.
 Jacob just chuckled to himself as he watched you fall asleep. He was fighting the feeling himself, though he just wanted to steal a few more glances as you slept on peacefully in his arms. It was strange to him, someone who wasn't ready to settle down, how much he loved this. Just holding you in his arms and watching you sleep. Ever since he'd met you, something inside him had changed. You made him want more than just random hookup after random hookup, and now he had that something more with you. Though pretty soon there would be a little one as well. His hand stole down to your belly. He thought for sure there would be a bump there, after not seeing you for three weeks. The little blueberry inside you had grown to a strawberry now. He knew this because of course, he had to google it, along with so many other things. Like how to change a diaper, and what he should expect at each week of your pregnancy. He knew that right now you could start with mood swings, and be crying one minute and happy the next. He was just waiting for that to happen. He was trying to be prepared as best he could to help you out with the baby growing inside you. His baby. God, it sounded weird, yet so good at the same time. It was thoughts of his little one that had him drifting off to sleep.
 Jacob was home for the next five days before off on a short road trip before Thanksgiving. It was after a one point loss that he brought up finally being able to tell people about your pregnancy. The two of you were driving home after the game and you could tell his mind was preoccupied, you just assumed it was about the game. That was until he spoke. "I think we should tell everyone." It was sort of out of the blue and you had to admit you weren't sure if you were ready.
 "I don't know Jacob."
 Before you could say more, he looked over at you saying, "why?"
 "It's just...I'm the new person here. I've only been to three games counting tonight." He looked over again when you came to a stoplight, confused by what you were saying. "They're going to judge me." When he still didn't understand, you added, "They're all going to think I baby trapped you."
 "No, they won't."
 "Please, I know women, and you said it yourself; they're a family. I'll be looked at as the outsider that wanted to get her claws into a famous athlete."
 "I don't know about famous," he joked and you noticed that he tended to do that a lot. When you just gave him a look, he reached over and squeezed your thigh, letting his hand rest there after doing so. "I'm teasing (Y/N). I know these guys, they aren't going to think that way once we tell them. Hell, I'll take full blame. I mean I should've worn a condom, but if I'm being honest...I'm glad I didn't."
 You were shocked at his words, to the point that you had none yourself. "Don't look so shocked," Jacob said breaking the silence. "I'll admit, that kids weren't in my plans right now, but they were in them. And I have to say now, once I saw blueberry, who's now strawberry; I'm kind of excited to be a dad. I guess that's why I want to tell everyone."
 Well, shit, now he had you all weepy. You understood where he was coming from, there was something about seeing the baby on the ultrasound, even though you had no clue what you were looking at, and then hearing the heartbeat, well it made you feel the exact same way as he did. "Ok."
 "Ok?"
 "Ok, we can tell people."
 "Really? I didn't say that to make you change your mind or anything." His hand was running up and down your thigh now, more in an excited manner than seductive, yet it still sent tingles through your body.
 "I know, but I'll be twelve weeks in a couple days and then we're pretty much out of the woods according to the doctor." That had been your main concern, having a miscarriage. It would be hard enough on you let alone having to tell everyone who was sharing in your happiness.
 "Oh," Jacob exclaimed and you could tell that was something that hadn't really crossed his mind. "Well, we can wait then."
 "What if we compromise." After all, the two of you had been doing that a lot recently, no reason to stop now. "You're only gone a couple short days. We can tell everyone when you get back, at Thanksgiving." When you were with the other wives and girlfriends tonight they had mentioned that they were going to be doing a group thanksgiving dinner for those who wished to celebrate and didn't have family in town. It was a no-brainer to say yes, though you probably should've talked to Jacob first. It was too late for that now, as you were already down for bringing a couple pies for dessert.
 "That actually sounds like a good plan. Even if I didn't know we were officially going." There was that damn squeeze of your thigh again to let you know he was teasing. This time you played along.
 "Hmm, I don't remember you being mentioned in the invite, but I'm sure I can bring a plus one." You were half tempted to reach over to grasp his thigh, but you settled for just linking your fingers together with his, liking the fact that you two had this easiness with each other.
 "I'm fine with being your plus one anytime, prinsessa."
 Once the matter was settled the two of you concentrated on other things until you got home and he whisked you up to the bedroom. You had read that your sex drive might decrease some during these weeks of pregnancy but you were not finding that to be the fact. If anything, you were constantly, well the only word for it was, horny. Just being in Jacob's presence drove you wild, and it seemed to be the same for him. Though the two of you did have your tender moments, where you cuddled up on the couch to watch hockey; Jacob explaining the premises of the game better to you. There were also nights you would just lie in bed and talk about the baby. Jacob gently caressing the small bump on your belly that wasn't even noticeable unless you were naked, which around him seemed to be often.
 Before you knew it, he was off on another road trip. Immersing yourself in work during the day was easy, it was the nights that were long. Game nights, you found yourself at one of the other ladies houses watching the game together or just laughing and enjoying each other’s company, but then you would head home to an empty house and an even more vacant bed. It wasn’t lost on you that just a few short months ago, this was the life you wanted. No craved. Now here you were wishing that Jacob was home with you, preferably in bed, but just being in the house would be enough for you. Though you couldn’t complain too much as Jacob would call and facetime you several times each night.
 It wasn’t too long of a roadie, and before you knew it, he was back in Vancouver and you were getting ready for Thanksgiving. With each pie you baked, you had to admit you were getting more and more nervous at the idea of telling Jacob’s teammates. You’d taken the morning to tell his parents, who while not exactly thrilled about the way it happened, were happy for the both of you and excited about having a grandchild. Yours were pretty much the same, now understanding that your move to Canada was more than just business.
 Hours later, you were in the car headed to Chris Tanev’s place, where he and his girlfriend Kendra were hosting. You couldn’t stop your legs from bouncing as you went past neighborhood after neighborhood. “I’m telling you there’s nothing to be worried about,” Jacob insisted, placing his hand over your knee in an effort to get you to stop.
 “Yeah, well I’ll be better when it’s over and I don’t have to see the disapproving stares.”
 “You weren’t this nervous telling our families.”
 “I was for yours. I just wasn’t showing it on the outside.” Admittedly, you had been scared about telling them, but Jacob’s parents were just so kind. There were also words exchanged in Swedish which you had no clue as to their meaning, but Jacob assured you it was nothing bad at all. “Besides our parents aren’t going to judge us at the end of the day. Family kind of has to love you, even when you make mistakes.”
 “Mistakes, huh?”
 “That’s not what I meant.”
 “I know, just trying to take your mind off of everything. So, you’re cool with my parents coming over for a bit. I mean dad and I will be on the road a couple of days, so it’ll just be you and my mom, but I know she’s really excited about meeting you.”
 “Yeah, I’m actually looking forward to it.” Which was the honest to god’s truth. You wanted to learn all about Jacob and his family, for no matter what happened between the two of you, they would always be a part of the baby’s life. “I’m sure she’s got some good stories about you growing up. You know the ones that are way too embarrassing to tell, but mom’s do anyhow.” He groaned and you laughed. There were obviously some he didn’t want to be told and you were looking forward to hearing about those the most.
 “Maybe I should be rethinking this.”
 “Don’t you dare.” As the words rolled off your tongue, you realized you were pulling up to the Tanev residence.
 “Ready?” You took a deep breath, steeling yourself for the next few hours. You planned on just following Jacob’s lead. It wasn’t like you were going to walk in and simply announce that you were pregnant; however, and whenever, he wanted to tell them, was his choice.
 He squeezed your hand one last time before the two of you exited the car. You grabbed the desserts, tossing two pies at Jacob before taking the last two, and heading to the door. “Welcome, guys,” Chris said as he opened the door, then took one of the pies off your hands. “Come on in.” Not everyone was there yet, which was rather nice. There were a few of the single players there, along with Sarah and Erik. You knew for sure Holly and Bo were coming as well and a few more of the couples, that you weren’t extremely close to yet, they just hadn’t arrived yet.
 Mike Del Zotto was quick to come up and throw an arm around you. “Hey (Y/N), it’s good to see you. Glad you two decided to join us. I thought maybe this guy would keep you all to himself. I know I would.” He gave you a quick wink, but it was the look on Jacob’s face that had you laughing. He was not happy with DZ flirting with you by any means.
 “Keep it up and we may just have to head home,” Jacob countered, though in a joking manner.
 “Men,” Sarah said, grabbing you from Michael’s hold so that she could hug you. “Why don’t you boys run along and watch football or something. Let’s go put these in the kitchen.” She took the pies from Jacob and headed off.
 Jacob came over and pecked you on the lips, before slyly asking, “You good?”
 “Yeah,” with that he gave your hip a final squeeze then went with the other guys to the movie room.
 “These look amazing,” Kendra told you, checking out the baked goods. “Where did you get them from?”
 “Oh, I made them. I hope that’s ok.”
 “Ok? Oh my god, of course, they’re probably way better than store-bought. Though you have me feeling guilty now because I did not make any of the food.” It was then that you noticed large tinfoil pans here and there in the kitchen with a couple in the oven. “I like to cook, but not for this herd. I don’t have enough oven space for the number of turkeys we’d need.”
 “Well, I’m still amazed at you having everyone,” you told her, for it had to be a feat hosting this many hockey players along with their significant others. “Everything looks amazing and your house is gorgeous by the way.”
 “Thank you. Would you like a glass?” Kendra held out a bottle of red wine, literally your weakness any other time than right now. “I was just pouring us a second.”
 “Yeah, join us,” Sarah added. “We’re going to need it with all this male testosterone today.”
 Somehow at the last couple of get-togethers, you’d managed to get out of drinking simply by saying that you had work the next day, but that would not be the case tomorrow. “I really shouldn’t, but a bottle of water would be great.”
 “One water coming up.” Kendra headed over to the fridge when you saw Sarah eyeing you funny.
 “Ok, so I have to ask.” This from Sarah as she still had that look on her face. It was the one Kennedy always made when she knew something. Nine times out of ten your best friend was always right, but then this was Sarah, someone who you considered a friend but didn’t know near as well. “You haven’t been drinking at any games and you’re not today. Are you….?” She paused letting the word pregnant just hang in the air, for you to fill in the blank.
 “Are you?” Kendra asked now fully into the conversation, yet still, neither said the word.
 All you could do was take a deep breath and say, “Yeah, I am.” Still not saying the P-word as if that would change the circumstance of your situation.
 “Oh my god, congratulations.” Sarah came running around the island to hug you. "That's amazing." You were stunned there wasn't a hint of disapproval on her face. And when you looked back at Kendra who was waiting her turn to hug you, all you could see was happiness as well.
 "Jacob is going to be a great father," Kendra told you when she wrapped you up in an embrace. "How far along are you?"
 "How far along is what?" Chris asked.
 "I hope you mean dinner because I'm starving," Del Zotto added.
 Bringing up the rear of the trio was Jacob and all you could do was give him a sheepish grin as Kendra broke the news. "Congratulations, Daddy."
 Both Michael and Chris turned to him, with shocked looks on their faces. "Why didn't you tell us, man?" Chris spoke first, as he clapped Jacob on the back then gave him the standard bro hug.
 "I planned on it today," Jacob answered while giving you a look both shocked and thrilled that you were the one spilling the beans. "Just hadn't found the right time."
 Del Zotto came up and hugged you first, followed by Chris, and the next thing you knew the whole place was congratulating the two of you. It was nothing like you thought, not one person questioned the fact that you'd just moved in together or started to see one another. Jacob had been right all along. They were just like your family, supportive of the decision the two of you had made. You were beginning to believe that this may work out. Especially, as your relationship with Jacob only seemed to grow stronger with each passing day.
 After Thanksgiving, things seemed to be moving in fast forward. You hit the twelve-week mark in your pregnancy, which meant another ultrasound and another chance for you and Jacob to further bond over the baby. It went from being a strawberry to being the size of a lime, according to the chart, and this time you could both see it was an actual baby growing inside of you. There was a distinct shape to its little arms and legs, which made the whole thing that much more real and exciting. Which is how you found yourself asking the girls how you would go about getting a little Canucks jersey with Jacob’s number and Daddy written on the back as a Christmas gift for Jacob. It was the first baby item that you bought and it felt so perfect.
 As Christmas drew near, you found yourself decorating Jacob’s house for the holiday season. Even though you’d been living in the house for several weeks, it still didn’t feel like your home quite yet. Jacob had few holiday decorations, so you found yourself shopping more than you cared to admit. By the time he arrived home, you had the house transformed into something worthy of a Hallmark movie. It wasn’t what Jacob was used to by any means considering the Swedes are more classic and subtle when it came to holiday décor, but he loved it all the same.
 Christmas was a quiet affair. You opted to stay in Canada with Jacob, figuring that you might as well start making some new traditions, like celebrating on Christmas Eve as is done in Sweden. The two of you tried to mesh your holiday traditions as much as possible, so you agreed to open one present Christmas Eve after you had eaten some classic holiday dishes from Jacob’s homeland, then opting to open the rest Christmas morning as your family had always done. Jacob bought you a beautiful charm bracelet. There was a Welcome to Vegas charm, as well as a hockey stick, and Canucks one, but the one you loved the most was the one that had Mom to be written on a heart.
 “This is beautiful,” you said leaning over to give him a kiss. “Thank you.”
 You handed over your gift to him, which he took with a silly grin on his face. Tearing through the paper, he unwrapped the box in no time, then pulled out the tiny hockey sweater. “This is great (Y/N). I can’t wait to see him or her in it at the game.”
 “There’s more.” He looked at you curiously then peered back inside the box, seeing the gold chain lying inside. You’d seen him wear one on a few occasions but this had a little charm on the end. He looked at it several times before you finally gave in. “It’s the doppler sound of the baby’s heartbeat. I had told you I’d record it for you before we did the ultrasound here in Vancouver, but I still wanted you to have something to remember that moment.”
 His eyes started to well up, just like they had that day when you heard the heartbeat. “This is…wow…I love it.” It was Jacob’s turn to plant a kiss on your lips, only this one became a little more heated. He finally pulled away, but only to say, “Can you put it on me?”
 Thankfully he was seated on the couch, so you got up and placed the chain around his neck. The moment it was secure, he looked down at the charm and smiled, before reaching to grab you and pull you close again. This time speaking hushed words to the baby in Swedish as he always did.
 “I think for my New Year’s resolution, I’m going to learn Swedish. I’m dying to know what you tell the baby.”
 “That time, I said that they are so lucky to have the most wonderful mom in the world.” Well, if that didn’t make the heat rise to your cheeks. “There might have been a few other things as well. I’m more than happy to teach you though if you’d like to learn.”
 “I think I would. It would be nice to teach our child your native tongue, and they say to start as early as possible. Which it seems that you are.” He just grinned then hauled you down on his lap, cradling your small little bump once you were seated.
 “Well here’s your first lesson. You say God Jul for Merry Christmas in Swedish.”
 You repeated the words, butchering them a bit, then repeated it again much better. “Very good, prinsessa. Obviously, you know that one as well.”
 “I do. Though I wonder if I shall still get that title if we have a girl.”
 “Hmm, might have to change it to Drottning.”
 “I have no clue what that means, but it’s not nearly as romantic.” Jacob let out a bark of laughter.
 “No, I don’t suppose queen sounds as good in Swedish as it does English. I guess I will just have to think about it.”
 “Which makes me wonder, do you want a boy or a girl?” Everyone knew that all you both wanted was a healthy baby, but you wouldn’t lie and say that you’d love to see Jacob with a son. One he could teach all his hockey moves to, though he could just as easily do that with a girl. Maybe it was that you wanted a boy just so that you could see Jacob through him. One that had his sense of humor and good looks. Though your child would probably never be in trouble if he could replicate his father’s grin. It melted your heart every time you saw it. You had to shake yourself from where your thoughts were leading for you never saw yourself as this person; the kind that wanted to see the man that they loved reflected in their children.
 Did you literally just think that you loved Jacob? Certainly, you had feelings for him, but love; no, it couldn’t be that. You hadn’t known Jacob long enough to say you were in love with him. Hell, the two of you were in the process of getting a divorce. Weren’t people falling out of love when that happened and not into it?
 “Either will be fine, just healthy.” Jacob's voice brought you back to reality and where your train of thoughts was leading. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to explore those feelings; now was just not the right moment for it. Later, you thought, when you weren’t wrapped up in his arms with this warm fuzzy feeling from the holiday season already bubbling inside you.
 “Well, we both want that, but isn’t there one you want a little bit more than the other?” You probed further, ignoring those earlier thoughts.
 “Not really prinsessa.” He had to have some preference just as you did.
 “So, then you don’t want to know what we’re having?”
 “Not if you don’t.” He was too damn accommodating at times or was that he was disinterested. He was always talking to the baby, so you didn’t think that it was the latter.
 “We have a few more weeks to think about it.” No point in making the decision right now, maybe he would change his mind. “I made the next appointment for when you’re back, on the fifteenth. We’ll have to know by then.”
 He kissed your temple, hands running under your shirt so that he could caress the tiny baby bump. “We will, for now though, we better get to bed before Santa comes.”
 “Is Santa coming the reason you want to go?” you teased as you could feel his erection growing against you.
 “Well, if you let me, prinsessa, Santa won’t be the only one cuming.” God, you loved his sense of humor. There was that word again. It had you jumping off his lap in order for your mind to not wander down that path again.
 “Guess we better head to bed then.” He was swift to follow you, sweeping you off your feet and carrying you to the bedroom, where he definitely kept his word.
 It was two days later that he was headed off on a ten-day road trip. You were definitely not looking forward to it, as the house always seemed empty without him in it.
 The team played on New Year’s Eve and had it been anywhere else than New Jersey you would’ve gone to watch only so you could ring in the new year together. Instead, you spent that night with all the Canuck ladies, facetiming Jacob as the new year approached. Jacob was still going to be on the road for another five days, so you busied yourself by taking down all the holiday decorations. You decided to make the place a bit homier, adding pictures and artwork here and there. The place was really starting to feel more like home.
 The only room that still needed work, was the office. While your desk was neat and organized, Jacob’s was a disaster. Had been since the day you moved in. You were seriously starting to wonder how things got done with the mountain of papers on his desk. All those papers had been driving you crazy every day you came in to work. Jacob needed someone to organize him, or at least that’s what you told yourself as you sat in his chair and started to sift through piece after piece of mail and documents.
 There was a pile for bills, all of which somehow got paid, though you didn’t know how. A pile for legal documents and a miscellaneous pile that you needed to figure out where to put. Once you organized the first two, you moved on to the random ones that you weren’t one hundred percent sure of. You were halfway through when you came across a familiar envelope; the same one you’d sent the divorce papers back in. Why it hadn’t caught your attention when you first separated it, you weren’t sure?
 You opened it up, assuming it was a copy of the document you’d signed. What you found inside shocked you. It was the original paperwork. The blue ink you signed it in staring back at you, but that wasn’t the part that told you it was a copy. It was the fact that Jacob’s signature was nowhere to be found. He hadn’t signed it. Why? You’d both agreed to the divorce, it was practically a done deal, only now it wasn't.
taglist: @iculyrea​  @fiveholegoal​  @raysofcrosby @leafs-lover​ @sexysidney87​ @lovethepreds​  @miranda0102​  @stbluesbrat21  @perrieeloise  @mandypants95​  @hockeyunits​  @liz96893  @golfergirl1982​  @princessphilly​  @ajstylesworld​  @zinka8  @dontworrybeekappy​  @hiimana  @meishaabae​ @heatherawoowoo @beauvibaby @hockeybabe87 @leafs-forever @dancingonmyown87​ @himbos-on-ice
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7fckingidiots · 4 years
Note
Would you be alright with writing some HCs about the brothers and a MC who's a trans guy? Sorry if it's a tall order or too vague, they're a big comfort for me and I'd like to see what ideas you have bcs your headcanons are fantastic ;w;
HELL YEAH DUDE!!!! IM ALSO TRANS!!! AH!!!!! demigirl rights :3 but i also find a huge comfort in the boys and i hc all of them as trans because no one can Stop Me •• but i really hope you enjoy these and remember you’re valid and i care u so much! Also i hope you don’t mind but i kinda made it gender neutral so every trans folk could enjoy!
The Brothers With A Trans MC
Lucifer
He didn’t know until you came out to him honestly. He knew all his other siblings were trans but with all the work Diavolo gave him and adding new students from different realms on top of that he hadn’t really had time to notice any minor changes in you.
He feels guilty about this and immediately makes sure(like everyone else)to ask for your pronouns, name, and how you would like to present yourself from now on.
Fixes your ID cards and your papers with Diavolo right after dinner
God. He’s such a dad and he gets you things that have your new name on them. You wake up to see you have a new pencil case with your name embroidered on it with matching pencils. God.....he’s so weird i love him so much
Asmo does most of your clothing shopping but for formal wear he takes you shopping! He’s not about to buy you some cheap tux or gown ok it’s gonna be over 2000 grim and he’s gonna get you three of them STOP HIM
He’s not the best with verbal affection so he writes down notes that are like “you looked very handsome/pretty today.” or when he first starts writing them they’re like “you’re a boy/girl/kid. i’m proud of you.” Thank u mr morningstar
You want surgery or to start hormones??? He will stop all his work with Diavolo and spend forever looking up things for you, he wants you to be as safe as possible(pls he almost fainted after he realized you’d have to give yourself a shot like everyday dhdhdhjdhd hc that demons/angels don’t have to do hormone therapy i’m so JEALOUS)
Practices saying your pronouns in his study when you first come out. He just wants to make sure you feel as safe as possible in his care(and he remembers how terrible it felt to be misgendered)
Guess what....he loves you no matter what :)
Mammon
You’re blind as hell if you couldn’t see his top scars but I respect it
King DOES slip up on your pronoun change but always immediately corrects himself. Satan has a spray bottle that he sprays Mammon with when he does it. Mammon is NOT amused but the same can’t be said for Belphie.
Gender affirming activities??? Oh yeah like robbing a bank?? That’s pretty gender neutral and trans right?? Yeah!!! Wow such a good supportive brother.
If you want you can wear the formal wear Lucifer bought you to the said bank heist. Boom trans rights
You can practice painting his nails or doing his makeup if you’re too nervous to do it on yourself first!! Dw if it’s bad he also can’t do makeup or paint nails so once you let him return the favor you’re both laughing and Asmo is distraught.
KING at dying hair he will get you whatever you need and if you want an entire different hair cut entirely he’s ON it
Very used to being Loud and Brash but if you need someone to talk to about anything really he always calms down and sits down to listen to whatever you have to say.
Lots of gendered gifts from him. This said for men??? Oh ok adds to cart. Oh pink??? For ladies??? yeah that can go in there too
You’re never gonna believe this.....But he loves you and supports you :)
Levi
He was the first one to come out to you at the house!! He was just so excited! Same hat!!!
Gets literally any video game where you can design the protag/have custom pronouns and will play games like that with you for hours
Would you like a pride flag.....for u.....He has too many.....Please take the trans flag please he has no room....he bought in bulk for a pride event and didn’t consider the consequences of his actions
Miku binder but irl. He will get if for you but unironically.....thanks King. He just likes binders with patterns and i respect IT
Dysphoria?? He gives you his hoodie bc that was his trademark dysphoria hoodie and i GUESS for you he can share............he would give u anything just ask nicely he’s sensitive
Reads any character that matches up with your gender and is like!!!!! That’s you!!!! OMG!!!! You in da IRL
Goes back and edits his tweets if they use your old name or pronouns(also has he/they in his bio. this is for nothing just makes me :D)
If you haven’t chosen your name he’s gonna suggest so many fictional characters. POV levi kin assigns you.
You listen to music together that just has Trans Vibes.....maybe u cry together but there’s no judgment!! It’s just nice :)
God it’s wild but! He loves u and thinks ur great :)
Satan
Enby Satan. That’s all :)
He’s very quite about it, he supports you! He’s just not loud like his brothers
He brings you book about gender studies and LGBTQ history that he thinks would interest you(there some of his favorite books and they’ve made him feel the most comfortable in his gender)
Gives you a name list if you haven’t named yourself yet! He cares about you and wants to make sure you have the right name that suits you
He’s the one that tells you that it’s ok if you’re still figuring it all out, learning about yourself is a very tricky process and if anyone knows that it’s Satan
Any of the brothers would kill anyone who misgendered you but with Satan that shit is ON SIGHT
Asks you how you know and what were the signs that gave it away to you, but only if you’re comfortable telling him!! He just finds everyone’s experience interesting and would like to know yours as well.
Spells for fucking DAYS Satan personally kills body dysphoria the best he can(mainly bc he’s HIGHKEY afraid of you getting surgery he hates knives so much)
Makes your comfort food for you when you’re feeling down about yourself and will read whatever you want to hear outloud to you.
!!!!!! GET THIS !!!!!! He loves YOU :0
Asmo
Fucking excited!!!! This means you two are going to buy so much clothing together and he gets to style you let’s GO
Buys you whatever you want but he will make you try it all on so be CAREFUL what u wish for.....ur gonna be there till the store closes yeah......
Paints your nails with the trans pride flag!! Also does your makeup and gives you tips on how to look more masculine or fem!!
VOICE LESSONS
He will help you lower or raise the pitch of your voice if it KILLS him. It eventually becomes like a mini class after school
Helps with internalized transphobia! Hes dealt with his fair share and knows how awful it can be and he will NOT being having you experience that as well we r practicing Self Care now
Picks apart any one who misgenders you until they’re crying he has NO fucking time for that behavior in this HOUSE
Sometimes self care is eating whatever you want and sitting in the dysphoria hoodies while watching chick flicks with Asmo
He likes dressing you up but he’s always sure to set boundaries so he never puts you into something that makes you feel uncomfortable
ALSO edits his posts and takes down anything that makes you uncomfortable!!
He loves you so much!!!!
Beel
another one to hand you The Dysphoria Hoodie and it’s very large and comfy!
he’ll help you make out a work out routine that will help you get the body you want and it makes him really happy to work out with you :)
he’s gonna hold your hand if you have to take shots and will give you puppy eyes if you don’t let him. He’s just worried!!!! He wants to help
stands behind you whenever you’re nervous about coming out to someone, he will NOT have someone making you feel bad or misgendering you
he’ll see food with trans pride colors and gives it too you, probably doesn’t even know what it is half the time but it made him think of you so he makes sure to get it for you
he doesn’t trip up on any of your new pronouns or name and makes it seem like he never even knew them. dead name???? what’s that??? a type of sauce?????
will let you vent to him whenever needed and will always make you a sundae after you’ve finished. it’s comically huge but it’s tasty and does make you feel a lot better, thanks beel
makes sure you remember to take off your binder if you’ve been wearing it for more than eight hours! and if you’ve been wearing heels to feel more fem he reminds you to take those off too and has a pair of slippers for you in his room that you can wear instead
hey! get this! He loves you so, so much :D
Belphie
you’re trans? ok kid join the club. he doesn’t make a big deal at all
are you still gonna cuddle with him and join him in his quest to make lucifer’s life difficult? yeah? ok then cool what’s ur name 
if he hears someone misgender you he waits till you’ve left the room and just kills whoever did it, dude’s unhinged what did you expect from him honestly
he’s actually really curious about any hormone therapy you’re on and likes listening to you rant about it to him. he likes seeing your face light up and it partly reminds him of lilith
calls your hormones something stupid like “oh dude, your gamer girl juice arrived.” or “hey your little man potion is here.” ...thanks belphie
will NOT let you sleep in a binder or push up bra!!! not healthy!! let ur chest breath guys 
like mammon, he gets you gendered gifts but they’re so fucking weird? you didn’t need a girls version of a collectable hot wheels set???? he got you blue lightning mcqueen sheets?????? those EXIST here????!!!!! when does he even shop......
introduces you to new people like “this is our resident boy/girl/human. they don’t do much but i think they’re cool.”
he really does care about you but he remembers when he came out he just didnt want people to make a big deal about it so he’s just doing what would have made him feel the most comfortable, but you can still see how much love he has for you when you look into his eyes
he loves you, so, so much :)
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digital-corruption · 3 years
Text
Haunted by the Past Part 76
I don’t think I ever saw Jake fall asleep as fast as I did that night. I always heard about people being asleep as soon as their head hit the pillow, but I never witnessed it. I hadn’t even finished myself ready for sleep so I quietly turned off all of the lights, slipped into bed next to him and gently kissed his forehead before drifting to sleep as well.
For once I woke up the next morning and found Jake still in bed, but even more surprising, he was still completely out. I wasn’t entirely sure how to handle this so I just ended up watching his sleeping face. He was just so innocent and peaceful. Eventually his eyes fluttered open and he wasn’t so innocent anymore. He grabbed me like I was his teddy bear and pulled me against him. His arm and even his leg held me trapped against him.
“Go back to sleep,” he grumbled.
“I can’t, I’m wide awake now,” I laughed.
“Then you’re stuck here wide awake,” he grunted. “It’s too bright,” he winced and pulled the blankets over our heads.
I tried to stay still and just relax, but I started to get fidgety. Jake groaned and held me tighter, using his arm and leg to stop the fidgeting parts of me.
“What’s it going to take to get you to stop moving?” Jake complained.
“I can’t help it! As soon as I feel restricted I need to move!” I laughed.
Jake turned my head so he could kiss me softly as an attempt to calm my nerves. That only lasted a little while after the kiss finished.
“Come on sleepy head,” I sat up. “We need to get up and finish our work. We can spend entire days in bed when it’s all over.”
“Hmm, I could just get a second laptop,” Jake contemplated.
“You’re reaching a new level of laziness,” I ruffled his hair.
“It’s not laziness,” he mumbled.
I stared at him for a bit. He looked different. “Your dark circles are nearly gone,” I smiled. “That was the first time you properly rested in a while.”
“A momentary lapse,” he insisted.
“Just imagine how well you'd look if you slept properly every night!” I poked his side. “Now, up and at them! Those files aren’t going to decrypt themselves!’
--
After a hardy breakfast and another long stint of decrypting files, we finally finished going through them all. Jake didn’t hold back this time, or he was rested enough that he was able to work at full speed. At any rate he was clearly twice, if not thrice as fast as me. Next came the difficult part, trying to make sense of it all and finding any evidence of corruption.
“When I found those files all those years ago, it had to be pieced together. They purposely spread information out so not one file was compromising on its own,” Jake explained. “I expect the same here. We need to look for links between them.”
“Well the schedules form an archive of what's happened. From the dates, we have a way of cataloguing the rest of the agendas, the meeting notes and the reports,” I pointed out.
“Yes, good. It'll help us organize all of these. The schedules also lists who the Senator was meeting with,” Jake added.
“Uh, not always. Sometimes it’s just a location,” I skimmed through the schedule for last month.
“The location has a dual meaning. He knows who he is meeting at those locations. Those ones could be the most important,” Jake flipped through several files. “I have bank accounts, but I don’t know whose.”
“I'm guessing you can't hack those,” I glanced over to look at his screen.
“Not a chance,” he shook his head. “I have to presume he was making payments to these accounts though. You wouldn’t keep the numbers of your debtors.”
“Ok, making secret payments, that’s something sus. The DA could probably find out who for us,” I suggested.
“I’m not giving him anything until we have a clearer idea,” Jake frowned.
“Ok, ok,” I sighed and opened up the next file. “Ah! Receipts!”
“What? Really?” Jake moved over closer to me to see my screen.
“Well how else are the taxpayers going to pay for all his expenses!” I beamed.
“He’s paying for multiple meals on that one,” Jake pointed. “Who is he paying the meals for?”
“Whoever he’s meeting I guess,” I tilted my head. “Doesn’t say in his schedule though.”
“He's paying for meals and at the same time hiding who he’s meeting?” Jake moved back to his computer. “Take note of receipts like that one. Those are important.”
“Um, hang on. The dates and times are matching up, but the location on the schedule doesn’t match the location of the receipt,” I kept flicking back and forth.
“Make a list of all locations listed without names on the schedule, then we trace all references to those locations through the files!” Jake instructed.
“There’s quite a few,” I sighed. “Here I go!”
--
After a long, arduous afternoon of piecing various fragments together, we finally saw the greater picture that the Senator had been hiding. It was far more sickening than I could have imagined.
“So we’re thinking 37?” I looked at Jake.
“37 that we have so far, which is only recent events. The Senator’s been in office for far too long. There could easily be more,” Jake scratched his head.
“How much do we reveal? I mean if we reveal everything, this could shake up the entire Senate,” I pondered.
“Some of these are just minor. I don’t feel the need to reveal those. However, some of these are just as repulsive as the core crime,” he frowned. “No, if we’re to make Hathaway’s crime known, we have to reveal all of the facts with it to make it a concrete argument. Can you write up a full summary? I'll work on preparing the release.”
“Ok, partner,” I grinned.
Jake smiled, “We do make a good team.”
I wasn’t intending to make it another long night, but we were both in the rhythm. And, well, who could keep quiet about the knowledge we had?
--
Enough is enough, Senator Hathaway. Your corruption runs deeper than any river, thicker than any blood and it ends now. The People will be lied to no longer. The Senate will be manipulated no longer. We have freed the coerced Senators from your control, though we must thank you for keeping such detailed records of their own crimes so that we may bring to light the level to which you withheld vital information from the Justice department for your own selfish benefit. This country was never yours, Senator. We are simply taking back the power you so wrongly held.
To the People, please understand that this man has not only misused his influence to enact military operations on private citizens domestically, but has been blackmailing at least 37 senior members of government to do his bidding and to speak in his favor. We have released the details of each crime he and his people have purposely covered, perhaps even set up.
We leave you now, Senator, to face your crimes and the people you were elected to represent. Sleep while you can. Your party's witch hunt begins in the morning and you will find few friends remaining. You reap what you have sown.
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Text
Long Nights - part 2
Neil x Reader
Chapter 2: Praise you
(see chapter 1)
summary: you found tremendous joy in coming up with new ways to make the lockpicking sessions challenging. And entertaining. 
...even if the last part was mostly a one-sided thing.
warnings: 18+, explicit language, teasing, implied smut I guess? oh, and of course - ✨hand content✨
author’s note: Took me a while, but it was fun to write! Didn’t expect it to get this long, but here we are - over 4,2k words of shameless hand content
The song for this chapter is Fatboy Slim - Praise you
Anyway, enjoy! All feedback is greatly appreciated, let me know what you think?
——————
Tag list: @vaneilla @gallifreyan-uprising​ @ergunbilge @invertedneil @wanderedaway​ @truly-insatiable​ (let me know if you want to be added or removed from the list)
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-----
You cracked it.
It took you a good while, though. A whole sleepless night, even.
And half of the morning after that.
But maybe the absolute exhaustion was the key, pun intended.
At first, it boggled your mind so much that you were dangerously close to using brute force just to examine that lock. You tried every technique that you could think of - to no effect. It wasn’t like anything you’d seen before. The mechanism wasn’t responding as usual, it was more like a thing from goddamn Upside Down, or however the fuck that was called.
It became a matter of pride.
The sun had risen over an hour ago and the sunlight was pouring through the gaps in the blinds. Grasping at the last strands of sanity, you decided to take a break. You put on your headphones and danced around your apartment to the sounds of a song with that one bloody line that somehow seemed fitting for this madness.
Is it worth it? Let me work it, I put my thang down, flip it and reverse it
Because it felt exactly like that was what had happened to it. And no amount of cursing and switching tools would help in the face of glitched reality.
And when you sat down at your desk again, with your head so empty that your last brain cell was amusing itself by yodeling and listening to an echo, you bound the first pin. The sound was so distorted it almost startled you. The last thing you needed right then was to break the hook inside the keyway, so you leveled your breath and continued, even though your fingers cramped painfully. That wasn’t enough to stop you. Not as you finally got proof that the task was actually within your reach. 
With every click like a backwards version of the sound you knew so well, the next pins got set quicker and smoother. And when you opened the lock, you couldn’t help the cheerful scream that escaped your mouth.
“Fuck yes!” You punched the air, the adrenaline rushing through your veins, the biggest grin lighting up your face.
That’s when you knew there was no way you were going to sleep anytime soon. Besides, you still didn’t know how you managed to convince that device to cooperate. You had to prove to yourself that it wasn’t dumb luck, and should you ever come upon a bloody nightmare like that, you’d be able to use the experience to crack it open. Because of that, you spent the next couple of hours reverse-picking it (which turned out to be another level of bonkers) to lock the damn thing, only to open it back again. And again. And then three times more. When you got comfortable with the process, your eyes were burning, your fingers stiff and trembling, but the immense satisfaction was worth every bit of it.
You were about to crash on the bed as your phone buzzed, and you glanced at the incoming message.
//did you pick it?
At first, you assumed you got it from Mahir, but as you were typing in a long rant, you realized that there was no history of the previous conversations on the screen, so you checked the sender again.
Neil.
Huh.
You’d exchanged the numbers the day before, but you didn’t expect to hear from him until they got everything ready to start the lessons. Oh well. You snapped the picture of the open lock and sent it back, adding a short message.
          //that was fun, hope you have more of them
As you faceplanted on the bed, the phone buzzed with a reply.
//N: you bet
You couldn’t wait to get all the answers about how they managed to manufacture the most bizarre and mind-bending thing you’d ever seen, but there was no point in asking those questions over the phone. Plus, you really needed to get some rest.
          //awesome! now excuse me, imma get some Zs - let me know when you  guys are ready to start
After a second, you typed in another text.
          //ps. how’s your nose?
//N: will do, sleep well!
//N: as for my nose...let’s say I’m glad it wasn’t the straightest one in the first place
That cheeky bastard.
          //hey, don’t try to guilt-trip me, i’m trying to sleep
You almost drifted off, but you couldn’t resist checking that last notification.
//N: ...I wouldn’t dare
Snorting, you rolled to the side.
Then you fell asleep, dreaming of the impossible locks.
-------
It took them another day to prepare all the stuff, and after several further messages you got a date and location.
The building looked like a contemporary tenement house, definitely standing out from two older ones at its sides. You always assumed it belonged to one of those fancy start-ups, but apparently it was some sort of temporary headquarters of your new associates.
It didn’t surprise you that you weren’t given a tour of the place, you assumed you needed to have some sort of clearance to walk freely through the area. For now, you were restricted to the ground floor, or rather to the lobby and your classroom - a rather cozy space, but equipped with everything you needed to begin.
Neil turned out to be a fast learner, at least when it came to covering the theoretical side of lockpicking. You walked him through the basics, but you couldn’t help the itch in the back of your brain. After the encounter with the preposterous lock, your mind started to question everything that used to be unshakeable.
And of course you asked Neil about that bloody device as soon as you saw him, but he just smiled lightly and said that The Protagonist insisted on telling you all that himself when the time was right. So you had nothing left to do but to continue with the lessons, hoping that you the man himself would decide to grace you with his presence sooner than later.
You propped the chin on your hand and watched as Neil grabbed the tools. Your gaze wandered over his outrageously long fingers as he gave the lock a try, but apparently, the most idiotic grin on your face didn’t go unnoticed.
“Hey, eyes up here,” snorted Neil, and you looked at him just to meet his amused face. He caught you shamelessly staring, and there was no point in denying it.
Trying to salvage your mental coherence, you choked out, “Dude, your hands are--”
“What?” he asked, tilting his head.
“...huge,” you finished, the wide smile not leaving even for a second. You bit your lip and glanced back at Neil. “Don’t mind me, I’m just gonna stare for a bit longer.”
A hint of a blush crept upon his cheeks. My, oh my. Blinking rapidly, he cleared his throat and proceeded to bind the first pin, pressing his mouth into a thin line in an attempt to keep a composed demeanor. The sparkles in his gaze were quite telling, though.
The sight was utterly adorable, but more importantly, it planted a rather gut-busting idea into your head.
You stifled a giggle.
All in due time.
____
One of the perks of the location was a small cafe on the other side of the street.
Neil took you there on your second day during a break, walking in with a confidence of a true regular. He knew the staff by name and vice-versa, so it didn’t surprise you as he charmed his way through the conversation.
“I’ve got this,” he said, raising a hand to stop you before you could place your order. “One black coffee and one--...” he hesitated, still preventing you from chiming in. You crossed your arms and watched as his forehead creased, the confidence leaving him with every second passed. He narrowed his eyes, and you could almost hear the gears grinding in his head.
Whatever he was doing, or trying to do, it was time to put him out of his misery.
“Iced mocha for me, please,” you said, wondering which one of you had a more puzzled expression. “Cat got your tongue?”
Neil shook his head.
“No, it’s just…” - he let out a small sigh - “I can’t read you.”
“Good,” you snorted. “Why would you want to, anyway?”
The young barista smiled, putting the first coffee on the counter.
“Oh, your colleague here has a thing.”
“Oh?” You arched a brow. “Do tell!”
“It’s nothing,” said Neil, cringing slightly, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the enthusiastic answer from spilling from the barista.
“He likes to guess the orders of his companions, but this is prolly the first time I ever saw him freeze like that. Can’t wait to tell Doris!”
Neil groaned, avoiding your amused stare. “Spare me, Max.”
“Aww, man, I’m honored to be your first!” you teased, nudging his arm lightly and snickering at the absolutely done face he gave you in return.
That cafe quickly became your place of choice during breaks, but sometimes, if the weather was nice enough, you ordered to-go, just to spend that bit of free time between lockpicking sessions sitting on a grassy hill overlooking a bank of the river. You chatted about everything and nothing in particular, or simply sat in silence, enjoying the ambiance, beverages, and each other’s company.
The last thing took you by surprise, in a way. You’d expected those brief moments of a break during the day to be your sacred moments of solitude, the usual necessity to avoid getting too cranky around people. As Neil joined you on that second day, you found out that his presence was not bothering you, or at least your social batteries weren’t being drained in their regular manner. Sure, it probably helped that he was incredibly easy on the eyes, but a real treat were those moments when you ventured onto a territory he felt strongly about. In a wink, he was ready to drop his typical composure just to go straight into bubbly rants, gesturing wildly, the blue irises lit by the fire that he most often kept under wraps.
There was nothing more boring than people who lacked passion.
Lucky for you, that was not the case with Neil.
Moreover, he made you laugh.
A dangerous combination.
Alluring, even.
Good thing that you were not one to become smitten that easily.
That didn’t mean you couldn’t have some fun, though.
--------
“You need to listen to what the lock has to say,” you prompted, pacing through the room and watching as Neil struggled with a new type of mechanism. “It’s all about feedback.”
He pulled out the tools and rubbed his face, trying to hide the first hints of frustration.
“What if we apply heavier tension to amplify it?” he said and glared at the lock as if it was taunting him from its place on the practice stand.
“Sure, “ - you leaned over the table to rest the chin on your laced fingers - “but can you think of any reasons not to do that, my dear Physics Boy?”
“The higher possibility of breaking tools?”
“Precisely,” you said as you snapped and pointed your fingers. ”Also, you risk binding the pins too tightly and you wouldn’t want that, either.”
Neil sighed and slumped his shoulders.
“So...patience, then?”
“Yes,” you beamed. “It really comes down to one thing - you have to feel it.”
A corner of his lips twitched. “I’ve heard it before,” he said, shifting in his seat.
You shrugged, eyeing him curiously.  
“Maybe because that’s one universally useful advice?”
“Would help if I understood it, too.” He gave you a weak smile, but his expression told you he wasn’t convinced.
You hummed in acknowledgment.
“Listen, I can smarten it up for you, but let me just show you what I mean.” You grabbed the second pair of tools from the table and placed them inside the keyway, but as soon as you opened your mouth to provide some follow-up instructions, you got struck by a better idea. Your eyes flared up. “Okay, know what? I’m just gonna-- if you could scoot back a bit--...” you said, shuffling in his direction. Neil’s brows snapped together in consternation, but he moved back. Without further ado, you sat down in front of him, nestling yourself between his spread legs on the edge of the chair, and let out a content sigh. “Should be easier now. Put your hands on mine.“
Neil tensed, and you could swear you heard him swallowing hard behind your back. He followed your suggestion, wrapping his arms around you and placing his hands on top of yours.  
“Now, lay your fingers on the tools just above mine,” you continued as you slid your digits back to make more room for him. “Great, try not to press them and focus. Close your eyes, if you want.” As you gently moved the tools, you couldn’t resist but to add, “You can breathe though, you know?”
“Blimey.”
You giggled at the sarcastic bit in his tone and drew a long breath, hoping that Neil would follow it, and focused back on the lock. Purposefully slowing down your movements to allow him to feel how the mechanism responded to your ministrations, you kept sliding the hook back and forth the keyway, setting pin after pin. Neil relaxed after a moment, his shallow breath ghosting over your shoulder got deeper and more steady. His palms rested heavier on your hands, and you marveled at their size again, nibbling on your bottom lip. With all your senses sharpened, you stole a brief moment of self-indulgence, closing your eyes and relishing in the warmth radiating from Neil, the way it enveloped you, carrying a scent of his cologne - airy citrus undertones mixed with hints of powdery musk, a fresh and unostentatious combination you found fitting him so well.
The final click, more pressure and voilà - the lock was open.
“Did you feel it?” you asked softly, weirdly unwilling to move, hoping to linger in the position for a little while longer.  
“Yes,” said Neil, and his husky voice made you turn your head to look at him. As he pulled his hands back somewhat hesitantly, you noticed his dazed expression and slightly flushed cheeks.
“Good,” you chirped, grinning, then reached out over your shoulder and lightly booped his nose, enjoying probably a bit too much the way his eyes widened. “Your turn.”
-----
Days. Weeks. Or was it months, plural?
You lost track of how much time had passed since that morning in the Old Town district.
The progress was counted by the number of models you introduced to Neil, showing him all the tricks you’d learned over the years. You still waited for the meeting with The Protagonist, although, ever since your student spilled a little too much information during one of his enthusiastic rants at the breaks (seriously, how could a person that bad at keeping secrets survive so long in any sort of spying business was beyond you), your initial curiosity itch had been scratched, and you were now in that blessed moment before it got unbearable again and demanded taking further actions.
It also helped that you found tremendous joy in coming up with new ways to make the lockpicking sessions challenging. And entertaining. Even if the last part was mostly a one-sided thing.
Neil was clearly feeling confident that evening. He really started to get a hang of this, and you loved watching him like that - fully focused, blonde strands falling to the eyes, with the tip of the tongue poking out...
It would be a shame if someone was to test his level of concentration.
“You know, I spend so much time looking at your hands that they recently started making cameos in my dreams.”
The blue eyes darted at you from under raised brows.
“Is that so?" asked Neil, switching his attention to the lock again.
“Yep. Mind you, most of those dreams are rather uneventful.” You pouted, sliding from your place on the windowsill. “Still waiting for one that is not so boringly PG-13.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line and swallowed with effort.
...warmer...
Circling the table, you stopped behind Neil’s chair.
"I’m just saying,” - leaning over, you purred right into his ear - ”that such long fingers like yours can give a girl all sorts of ideas--"
Snap.
You bit back a satisfied smile and smacked your tongue. “Those were perfectly fine tools, you know.”
Neil turned in his seat and gaped at you.
“Why are you like this?” he complained, helpless and flustered.
You shrugged. “I thought it was a high time for a little stress test. Might come in handy later.” Snickering at his puzzled face, you added, “What? You’re not exactly in a stress-free line of work.”
He shook the head lightly and scoffed. “... yeah, I see your point,” he said, a corner of his mouth curling into a half-smile. “But I don’t think there’s a high risk of someone trying to seduce me in the field.”
“Do you think that’s what I’m doing?” you asked, arching a brow, your tone nothing but serious.
“I-...”
The panicked look on his face as he blinked rapidly was more than enough to break your deadpan façade.
“Oh man, I’m just pulling your leg. You should’ve seen your face though.” Giggling, you grabbed a fresh lock from a shelf and tossed it to Neil. He sighed and replaced the messed-up device. “Besides,” you continued, “if there is one thing that the espionage movies have taught me, it’s that the spy always has plenty of beautiful creatures willing to keep his bed warm.”
The playful sparks appeared in Neil’s eyes.
“Is this a very elaborate way of asking me if I’m seeing someone or are you volunteering?”
Well, well, well.
“What if it’s both?”
“Then the first answer is no. As for the second one--” he hesitated, tugging the bottom lip between the teeth. “...a follow-up question - is it a good idea?”
You tilted your head, sitting down on the edge of the table in front of him.
“Why?”
“What if it’s gonna make things… I don’t know, weird?”
You gestured vaguely. “Can’t get any weirder than all your timey-wimey, inverted entropy bullshit.”
“That’s not exactly--”
“I know what you meant,” you sighed and met his darkened gaze, a shade of smile tainting your lips. “And yet, you’re trying to appeal to my reason while looking at me like that.” You left your seat and grabbed your backpack. “It’s getting late. Finish with this one and get some rest.”
Then you left, not waiting for a reply.
It was one of the warm nights and you decided to take a walk. A promenade near the river was not as crowded as you expected, making your journey home way more enjoyable. With your favourite tunes seeping through the headphones, you took in the view, the city lights reflecting in the water only added to the ambiance.
The phone buzzed in your pocket.
//N: I can’t believe you left like that
You chuckled, texting him back.
          //why, you had any plans?
The answer came almost instantly.
//N: maybe
He was adorable. But--
          //have you finished with the lock?
//N: …no    
//N: wait are you gonna use our conversation as some sort of motivational tool now
Even if you weren’t, after getting a message like that?
You just had to.
          //maybe?
//N: jesus
          //sex is but a great metaphorical carrot. besides - it’s all about that delayed gratification and whatnot
A moment of silence.
And then:
//N: you’re evil.
That spiteful period at the end got you snickering loudly, earning you some curious looks.
A huge grin lit up your face.
          //gn <3
-----
You must admit, that game was quite exciting.
And Neil was getting better at it, and soon implying became no longer enough to make him lose his focus.
At first, it was relatively easy to prompt a blush or a slight tremble of a hand. But with every next attempt, he grew more and more resilient, and soon, the only indication that he heard you was the fire burning in his eyes.
Then you got really mean, throwing some ambitious tasks in front of him, tricky locks and complex mechanisms, as your teasing got more straightforward.
And descriptive.
It became hard to shake it off once you left the training room. The lingering looks. The accidental touches. The atmosphere, almost electric. In other words - the heat sink was ready to be popped, and it was no longer a matter of if, but more of when.
“4 minutes.”
Neil barely nodded, lips pressed together and brows knitted in concentration.
3 locks in 15 minutes. Difficult, but doable, considering his current level of skill. Too bad he’d slacked at the second one, not leaving too much time for the final push. Sure, you didn’t go easy on him along the way, but the real challenge was supposed to be a race against the clock, so now you just watched him with bated breath.
Click.
You checked the time.
“45 seconds”
“Goddamnit!” he uttered through gritted teeth, readjusting cramping fingers on the tools.
“Come on, you’ve got this,” you said, taking a step closer.
Another click.
He didn’t know that there was only one pin left to set. You did, that’s why you tried your best not to reveal it with your expression. Too early to celebrate, anyway.
“Nine... eight… seven… six… five…”
That’s when you heard a final click and you looked up from your phone, only to see the lock giving in and opening up.
“Yeah!” Neil cheered, banging a fist on the table and tossing the tools away.
You smiled, hiding the phone in the pocket. “Good job, I knew--” but before you could finish a sentence, Neil sprung up from his chair and closed the gap between you, then cupped your face with his palms and kissed you hungrily.
You froze for a second, but as your mind caught up, you kissed him back, tugging at the light blue shirt. He smiled against your lips and made you back away until you hit the wall, huffing at the sudden coldness of the surface. But he was bent on kissing you senseless until you both ended up gasping for air.
“You’re so paying for all that teasing,” he panted, running the tip of the tongue through his swollen lips. “Not to mention, you’ve given me a few fascinating ideas, and I’m very much willing to give them all a try.”
You grinned, fighting with your evidently short-circuiting brain for a grasp of coherence as his hands traveled down your body.
“My, my, all of them?”
“The night is young,” - his throaty chuckle sent a wave of heat through your body - “and I’m up for a challenge.”
“I’m counting on it,” you breathed, burying your fingers in his hair, and pulling him into a kiss again.
Actually, the challenge started right away, and that meant getting to Neil’s place, as the company conveniently rented him a room in a nearby hotel. Walking distance, but in your current quite heated state, every distance seemed way too long. Especially when you had to keep up appearances.
At least until the elevator’s door closed behind you.
The dark gaze fixed on you. Your breaths intertwining. His bottom lip between your teeth. The five o’clock shadow under your fingertips. Your hands sliding under his shirt. His knee parting your legs. The intoxicating smell of his cologne. Your quiet moan. His tongue slipping into your mouth--
A quiet sound announced you reached your floor, and you stumbled out into the corridor, giggling, unable to keep hands and lips off each other.
Your back hit the door, barely missing the knob. Without skipping a beat, Neil reached to the pocket of his pants, then into the other one. When he tried the third one, you broke the kiss, your expression nothing but innocent.
“Looking for this?” you asked, showing him a key card.
He furrowed his brows. “Yes, thank you, I don’t know how--...” he started, but when he tried to snatch his property, you hid your hand behind your back. His jaw went slack as it dawned on him and he stared at you in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I am.”
He groaned.
“You’re unbelievable,” he uttered as he pulled out his wallet. “Credit card?”
“Only if you’re not overly attached to it.” The roguish lights danced in your gaze. “Especially when you’re in a hurry,” you hinted, palming over the bulge in his pants. Neil squeezed his eyes shut, biting back a moan, and you stifled a chuckle. “Try any membership card.”
He glared at you. “You’re so in for it, you have no idea.”
“Promises, promises,” you pouted, trying not to burst into laughter at his wounded expression. “Work it.”
“Gladly, just tell me what to do.”
So you walked him through the process.
Fortunately, Neil really was a fast learner, making the door give way in no time.
“Good boy,” you hummed, and the blue eyes flared up.
He crashed his lips on yours, closing the door behind you.
Then he gave you a taste of what was coming for you.
And then some more.
And then…
...he gave you all.
(next chapter ->)
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Californian Dream (Pt. 05 of 11)
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Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader
Word count: 3 K
Summary: Being part of one of the richest families of California doesn't mean you're happy. Your life is boring, and you're surrounded by meaningless people and their meaningless talk. Even during Summer, with the break you have from college, there's nothing good going on. Nothing but the new pool guy, Billy, the most handsome man you ever saw. You were successfully avoiding him, not wanting to act like an idiot in front of the guy until Billy accepts to be your date for a fancy gala you're forced to attend. The night was going well, even better when he sneaked you out to go to the beach. But a gang of criminals breaks into the party, kidnapping the heirs to the wealthiest families, which includes you. So, for your safety, your parents want you to stay with Billy, living in his apartment until the criminals are caught. And that could take weeks, maybe even months.
Warnings: Light violence
<- Previous part (04)
Next part (06) ->
{Stranger Things Masterlist}
{Dacre Montgomery Masterlist}
×
Rebel
On the next morning, you're still feeling a little anxious, afraid of what he said last night was just to keep you from moving out. But, since you were sleeping on the couch, you woke up just when he was leaving for work, and you were so relieved when he didn't just say ‘good morning’ and left. He asked if you slept well, and said that you can try and sleep a little more on the bed now. It's just a little thing, but it's different from before. And you hope it lasts. You also got the chance to tell him not to bring anything for dinner. He has been spending too much money with that, so you told him you'd cook something yourself.
And that's what you doing now. The chicken breasts are in the oven, almost ready and you focus on finishing the potato salad, adding mayo, a drizzle of olive oil, and seasoning it, mixing everything together. You're happy with what you could come up with, and it did help you pass the time since there's nothing to do here other then watch the news, and that only makes you anxious. After checking the chicken once again, you sit on the table, pinning your hair up on a ponytail, and that's when Billy comes back, your eyes immediately finding him on the door as he closes it shut.
“Hey.” You mumble, running your fingers through the ponytail. For the first time, you notice the uniform he has to use. A nice, black polo shirt with the logo of the company on the left side. On all of those days, you were avoiding looking at him, since he seemed like he didn't want anything to do with you. “You look like such a good boy in this shirt.” You know he doesn't usually wear stuff like that. Billy doesn't know it, but you went through his wardrobe a couple of times, and there is nothing like that that shirt in it.
“That's company policy.” He sounds a little annoyed, and you can tell he doesn't like to wear it. “It smells nice in here. What are you doing?”
“Lemon roasted chicken with potato salad.” You gesture at the oven. “It's almost done.”
“You... Can cook?” Furrowing his eyebrows, Billy comes near the table, giving the oven a look. “Like, actually cook?”
You get what he means. The girls don't usually know how to cook since they'll always have someone to do that for them. “Well, in my house, my parents always choose what we'll have for the meals. So I figured out if I wanted something different, I'd have to cook it myself.” Shrugging your shoulders, you stand up to check the oven again. “So Amelia taught me everything I know.”
“You're a box full of surprises,” Billy mutters, so low it makes you wonder if he wanted you to hear it. “I'll shower. If you wait we can eat together.”
“If it's not in an uncomfortable silence, I'll accept the invitation.” Leaning on the countertop, you give him a look.
“Good.” He stands there for a few seconds before moving away, and you can't help but try to understand why he always does that. It feels like he wants to say something, but he never does.
You patiently wait, and when he comes back, hair still damp, you both serve yourselves and take the usual seats on the table, across from each other. Billy takes a look at his place and squints his eyes, right before staring at you. “(Y/N)?”
“Huh?”
“Where did you get these peas?”
You didn't think he'd notice. “Uhm... There's a nice grocery store just around the corner.” It sounds like a question, but before he can say anything you raise a hand. “I know, I know. But I do look different and I borrowed your sunglasses just to be sure. I didn't speak to anyone... Well, I did chat with this old lady, but that was it.”
“You gotta be careful. I know it's far from your neighborhood, but even so.”
“I was careful, I just... It sucks being in here all day doing absolutely nothing.” You didn't want to rant about it, but it just comes out. “And, inevitably, I will watch the news channel.” Then, you're not hungry anymore... Despite skipping lunch again.
“Did they find anything yet?” Silently, you just shake your head no, deciding to push the food in, even though the heavy sensation on your stomach. “Sorry.”
“Don't apologize, it's not your fault.”
Then the silence hits again, and it goes on for way too long for your taste, a leg bouncing nervously. “It's really good, by the way. Much better than what I can come up with.”
“Thanks,” you mutter with a smile.
“I've been meaning to tell you. I usually go to the gym with some friends a couple of times a week. I've been coming straight back because–”
“No, no. Please, go. I don't want to mess with your routine. More than I already did.” Reassuring him, you feel relieved when he nods. “Oh, you mentioned something about college. What do you study?”
“Marine Biology.”
“That's so cool.” You exclaim, imagining what Billy could work with. California has a lot of opportunities for marine biologists. “I bet it's amazing.”
“It is. What about you?”
“It's not that cool.” Warning him, you can't help but feel bored just to think about it. “Law. At Cali's Elite Academy, obviously.”
“It doesn't sound like you enjoy it very much.”
“I don't.”
“Then why do you do it?” As he speaks, Billy moves to the fridge, muttering something when he opens it. And you know why. “You also bought soda.”
“Yup.” Turning towards him, you take the can he offers you, cracking it open and taking a sip. “You know why I do it. Mom wanted me to, father is a lawyer already, so you get the picture.”
“I hope to be around on the day you decide you had enough of this shit and rebel against everyone who tells you what to do,” Billy says as he goes back to his chair, his eyes focused on you. Sometimes it feels his eyes can see right through you, even the parts you try to hide from yourself. The places you rather keep secret, locked deep inside. He also brings to life things you didn't even know existed. A true need to break free from everything you can't take anymore, everything that has been drowning you, suffocating you.
“Maybe it won't happen.” You burst out, pushing your plate away, still half full. “You said it yourself on the night I came here. I'll probably just slip into anything my mother wants me to do and be as frustrated as she is. With nothing in life but some millions in the bank.” There's a lump in your throat, a cry you're holding back. You don't want to be like your mother. Or like anyone else from her circle. But would you be able to shake this away? You're so used to doing this, avoiding conflicts and being the good, obedient daughter... Could you be more?
“Don't you remember what you said after?” Billy leans forward, elbows on the table, those ocean blue eyes burning through your skin. “That you'd leave California before she forced you into being another stupid girl pushed into a loveless marriage just to add up to the family's fortune.”
“I remember.” Whispering, you look down at your hands, hoping he can't see your teary eyes. “I get brave when I'm sleepy, that's why I say those things but... I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to just leave like that.”
“I came back here a year ago. My father forced me to move to Hawkins, Indiana, a dipshit small town that I hated more than anything.” His words and the weight behind them makes you raise your eyes again, meeting his stare. Billy never told you anything about his past, and you want to hear it. “I have no good memories of that place, and the moment I turned eighteen and got my High School diploma, I got into my car and left.” There's power in him, courage. You know there's more to the story, but you won't push him into sharing it if he doesn't want to. But you can picture it, Billy running away from somewhere he hated, hitting the road and leaving it all behind. You're mesmerized by it, you're not sure why. “And I came back here. I came back home.”
“California never felt like home to me.” That you remember saying. “I... I really wish I had a place where I could feel–”
“Free?” Billy finishes off for you, and you nod. “I don't think California is the problem. I think–”
“Me. I'm the problem.” Crossing your arms, you sigh. You have no idea why you're telling him all this, or how he so skillfully stormed through your walls, but you feel like Billy is the only person who can understand. Who won't think you're stupid or crazy. “I feel so... Lonely and desolated, even when I'm in my bedroom. I feel better when I'm at the beach, all alone than when I'm in the comfort of my bed. I know it's insane, but it just... It's just what it is. Of course I wish I could run away like you, but maybe I can't.”
“It's not from California you have to run away, it's from this person you pretend to be just to please everyone.” Billy stands up, taking both your plates and moving to the sink. But you stay there, motionless, thinking how you could do that.
“Tell me how and I'll do it.”
“Be the girl you were at the party.” He says, and you decide to stand up as well to help him with the dishes... But also because you want to be near him as if he's the only one who could help you do this. What exactly, you don't know. But Billy was brave enough to do something you wish you could. “The girl who doesn't care if her company is just the pool guy, who doesn't care if she almost hits a waiter, and doesn't mind having to suck some chocolate off her thumb.” Billy glances at you, and you start taking the dishes and drying them with a dishcloth. “The girl who ran from a very important beneficial gala and was very happy about it.”
“Yeah, but if you weren't there, I would never do that.”
“I might have given you a little push, but you made the decision.”
You'd never take Billy for the guy who would say these things. By what people told you about his behavior, you'd never think he'd be this... Kind. “Are you always this nice with girls?” Trying to light up the mood after the emotional conversation, you ask him, chuckling.
“No, I'm not.” He passes you the last fork, and you dry it and put it on the drawer. “Definitely not.”
“I get it.” Lying the dishcloth down, you shrug your shoulders. “Guess some girls like the bad boy.”
Billy giggles, taking the dishcloth to dry his hands. “What about you? Good boy or bad boy?”
“A guy like you would be nice.” Wait. What? It takes a couple of seconds for you to process what you just said, and what it means. “Uhm... I'll... I'll organize some of my stuff.” You quickly manage to say, turning your back at him and leaving the kitchen.
When you reach the bedroom, you shut the door behind your back, wondering what the hell just happened to you. It's completely out of question to start liking Billy. You're literally living with him for who knows how long, it would complicate things to such a high level that you would really have to move out. You're already too lucky he doesn't bring girls here, but out there... Suddenly, the names Gisele gave you start flashing through your mind, and you groan, throwing yourself on the bed.
“Don't be stupid.” You mutter, pulling the sheets over your head and expecting a calm, dreamless night.
• • •
Before, you were anxious. Worried. Now, you're just angry. Another week has passed, and nobody knows anything. A bunch of people were abducted, in huge black vans, and nobody knows where they went. It's plain stupid by now. You're already up when Billy opens the bedroom door to shower and change for the day, and you move to the living room, putting on the news channel again and letting yourself fall on the couch. The boredom won't help either. Besides going to the grocery store, you're locked in here, doing absolutely nothing other than housework.
You're by the window when Billy comes out, already in the company uniform. Turning around with your arms crossed, you stare at him. “We gotta talk because I'm losing my mind.”
“Does it has to be now? Because if I don't leave in five minutes I'll be late.”
Then, the best idea you ever had in days comes to your mind. “Take me with you.”
“What?” He bursts out, eyebrows furrowed.
“Take me with you. Where are you going today?”
“William's. The mansion by the cliff.”
“They don't know me very much, my parents hate them. Please, take me with you. I can't stand being in here all day.” Walking over him, you grab his hand. “C'mon, Billy. I can help with something.”
“I don't think it's a good idea.” He looks down at you, a thoughtful expression on his face. “If anyone recognizes you it could be dangerous. Everyone thinks you were taken too.”
“See? Nobody will hope to see me hanging around.”
“(Y/N)...”
“I swear to God if you don't take me I'll head to the beach and stay there until sunset.” It wasn't a plan, but now it is. Stepping back, with both your hands on your hips, you wait for Billy's reaction.
“Is it a threat?”
“I don't make threats, only promises.” Shrugging your shoulders, you cross your arms. “So?”
“You have three minutes to change out of these sweatpants.” He's still speaking when you're moving, quickly taking your pj's off and putting the first thing you find. Short jeans and a black T-shirt that's a little bit similar to Billy's. Not so much, but it's the best you can do.
When you're back in the living room, dramatically putting Billy's sunglasses on, you rush through the door when he opens it, more than eager to spend the day somewhere other than in the apartment.
And, as if on purpose, Billy takes one of the most beautiful roads of California. At least in your opinion. On your side, you can see the ocean, and since the waves here are more violent, the beach is empty, except for some surfers. Billy has the windows open, and the wind messes with your hair. But you like it. Closing your eyes, you stretch your arm out, feeling the wind brushing in between your fingers. Maybe it's the speed, or the daylight, or the fact that you're finally outside after weeks of confinement. Maybe it's the company... But this feels good. Almost overwhelming. There's a smile on your face that doesn't look like it's leaving anytime soon, and for the first time in... Since you can remember, you have no worries. You allowed the wind to carry them all away.
“I forgot how beautiful this place is.” You tell Billy, holding your hair out of your face so you can look at him.
“Beautiful.” He says, his eyes on you instead of on the ocean outside the window. You squint your eyes, just about to ask what he's looking at when he clears his throat, eyes on the road again. “But we're almost there. Look.”
Some miles away you see the William's house. Huge, way bigger than yours, built by the cliff, which gives them an amazing view of the ocean.
A few minutes later, you're being guided inside by one of their employees. There's nobody home, and by what the old man said, they'll only be back by nightfall, when you and Billy will be far away. So there's no danger. You're taken to the pool, and Billy starts moving around.
“What do I do?” You ask, taking a look at the enormous pool. It's so big it has an isle in the middle. The last time you came here, you were a kid, and you didn't remember it to be so big.
“I'll start with emptying the pool skimmer.” He looks around and then points at the skimmer net. “Think you can get rid of those leaves floating?”
“Yup.” Moving to get the skimmer, you start with your task.
As you move around the pool, catching the leaves and placing them on a plastic canvas Billy lied on the deck, you notice him giving you a few glances. But you only know that because you're also staring every now and then, as he comes and goes from the supply closet. Soon enough, you get so nervous about it that you can't help but giggle as you walk to the plastic canvas, dropping some more brown leaves on it. Since he's coming your way, you wait there, using the pole to sustain some of your weight, your free hand on your hip.
“Getting tired, princess?” Billy mutters in a mocking tone, and you roll your eyes. “Still half of the pool to clean.”
There's that pet name again, and at the very mention of it, you feel something on your stomach, like tickles. “I'm alright so far.” You mumble, hoping you're not blushing. As soon as he walks by, you resume your task.
The truth is that you're very tired already, and the skimmer is heavy. And the wind starts blowing the leaves all around, which makes you walk around the pool too many times. It's past 1 pm when Billy is over, and you decide not to get the four leaves left in the water.
“Let's go.” He says, and you get up from the wooden bench you've been seated for the last five minutes after he locked the supply closet, following him.
“I'm starving.” You mumble, letting your hair down from the ponytail as you get into the car again. “Where do you usually have lunch?”
“In a restaurant associated with the company. Which means employees don't pay.” He glances at you. “And I guess you didn't bring any money, so...”
“I would have if you told me that.” Pulling the door close, you take a deep breath. “Just buy me an ice cream and I'll be fine.”
“Absolutely not.”
“I'm fine. You did the hard work.” You buckle up when he speeds away, once again hitting the road. Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath when you feel the fresh wind on your face. “What are you doing next?”
“Got a fancy car to fix.”
“Uhm...” Opening your eyes again, you look at Billy's side, taking in the beach. It's completely empty now. But your eyes wander to Billy. In this perfect light, he looks amazing. Breathtaking. His grip on the wheel is loose, and he has a hand out the window, looking carefree. Billy loves this place, you can see it on his eyes, on his posture. He's home. “Do you think we have a few minutes to spare?”
“What for?”
“I just wanted to take a walk on the beach. But it's ok if you can't.” Looking away, you focus on the road ahead. But Billy is slowing down, pulling over to the side of the road. Biting your lip, you wait for him to stop before stepping out of the car. You're already crossing the road when you notice Billy is still in the car. So you stop, turning to look at him from the middle of the road. “Hey! Aren't you coming?”
“It sounded like you wanted some alone time.”
“I had plenty of alone time in the apartment.” Rolling your eyes, you gesture for him to come. “Let's go.” Reaching out your hand, you smile when he leaves the car, patiently waiting for him. You were just about to put your hand away when he takes it, rushing you to move since there was a car coming that you didn't see. It makes you giggle a little, your other hand coming to hold on to his forearm. “Seriously, you have to stop saving my life.”
“Then stop putting your life in danger.” It takes a little too long for him to let go of your hand, your fingers brushing against each other.
“I'll try.” When you get to the edge of the road, you don't see any steps leading to the sand. Only a rock that someone placed here to offer some help, but it's still a little too high for you. “Isn't it a buzz killer?”
“I'll help you.” Billy easily jumps to the sand, not even using the rock. “Come.”
“If I fall, I swear to God...” Sitting on the edge, you try calculating if you could just jump to the ground.
“You won't fall. C'mon.” Billy comes to stand right in front of you, both his arms raised to catch your fall.
Taking a deep breath, you push yourself forward, closing your eyes on the process, so you only feel when you collide with Billy. His hands are quick to hold your waist, sustaining your weight, and not allowing you to reach the ground. The sudden change makes you open your eyes, and you immediately take in how close you stand. His face is only three inches apart, and as he pulls you down, you hold tightly on his biceps. Billy's eyes are locked on yours, and even after you're safe on the ground, he doesn't move. His hands remain on your waist, his face still close enough to kiss, if only you were brave enough to stand on your toes. Your stomach feels funny, and your heart is trying to beat its way out of your chest.
But a car passing by snaps you out of it, and you both move at the same time, stepping back.
“Sorry.” You mutter, clearing your throat. “But thanks for not letting me fall.”
“I told you I wouldn't.”
×
@multific @dontxfearxthereaper @nope-thanks @nikkixostan @shinydixon @clockworkballerina @infinitelycharmed23
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annab-nana · 3 years
Note
Drew dating a High School Teacher?❤️
Ooo I like this (mainly because I want to be a high school teacher and I want to date Drew) but anyways here we go
Also we’re doing a headcanon for this and it got kinda long haha sorry
You two met in college after having a class together and became great friends
However you knew about his big dreams of becoming an actor so you had prepared yourself for him to leave North Carolina one day
And that day came quickly
You were both sad to part with each other but he promised to come back often and you told him you’d try to visit him during breaks
And that’s what you two did
You visited each other and FaceTimed all the time
He’d read over scripts and practice his lines while you’d do your lesson plans and try to find new ways to make your content more fun for your students
Then he landed the role of Rafe Cameron in a new Netflix show called Outer Banks where he’d film in South Carolina
You both were so excited to be closer to each other meaning you guys could visit each other more often but y’all were still very busy people
One day you FaceTimed him while he was in between scenes and asked him what fund raisers he did in high school since you were now the lead sponsor for the student council at your school and needed some new ideas
“Wait is that y/n?” you heard a voice, one that particularly belonged to a female
“The y/n?” A guy asked after the girl
“Starkey, did you get a girlfriend and not tell me about it?” you joked right before a blonde popped on the screen
“It’s her, Chase! She is even more beautiful than we thought,” the girl squealed with excitement and grabbed the phone from Drew
“It is so good to finally meet the girl he never shuts up about! I’m Maddie!” She chirped with a huge grin
“And you must be Chase?” you asked the shaggy-haired boy with a bandana around his neck and what looked like a bad bruise on his eye
“Yes ma’am,” he told you with a salute
“It’s nice to meet you guys. Drew tells me a lot about you guys,” you told the pair before Maddie laughed
“There is no way you hear about us more than we hear about you. You should come down here sometime. We’d all love to meet you in person,” she suggested
“I’m actually gonna come down on Friday since we have a three day weekend.” 
After the words left your mouth, you watch her smack Drew on the arm
“What was that for?” he groaned as he held his arm, pretending as if it actually pained him
“You didn’t tell us the almighty y/n was coming. We have to celebrate!”
You and Drew collectively rolled your eyes at her before laughing
Soon Friday came and you had arrived at Drew’s place
He opened the door wide and wrapped you tightly in his arms for a huge hug, lifting you off the ground momentarily
He sat you down but kept his arms around you
“I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too, Starkey.”
Maddie had been waiting for you to come so when she heard you and Drew, she ran out of her place to greet you
Then she invited you to dinner with the rest of the cast so you could meet them all so you did
You met Austin before you all left for dinner together and then at dinner, you met Rudy, JD, Madison, and Deion and they were all so nice and welcoming
Once you were back at Drew’s, he pulled you into his room to talk and it honestly scared you seeing him so serious
But all was well when he finally told you his feelings and you told him yours
So you two started dating officially
But your time in South Carolina was cut short by a phone call from a fellow teacher who needed you to cover for her at the ticket booth at the basketball game on Saturday night
So you took in your time with Drew and left first thing in the morning after saying goodbye to the rest of the cast
You stayed on the phone with Drew for most of the ride home
You told him how you would come back the next weekend but you were going to be swamped with grading tests and the next weekend you would be helping your students make signs for homecoming
You were both too busy each weekend until Christmas and even then, y’all would be with your own families
The weekend after you were at Drew’s, you were sitting at the counter with several tests sprawled out everywhere when you got an unexpected knock at your door
And to your surprise, it was Drew
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see my girlfriend because I didn’t get to see her much last week.”
“I’m sorry about that, but now you’ve ruined my surprise,” you pouted while Drew followed you to the stool you were just sitting at
“What was your surprise?” he asked, taking a seat next to you
“I was going to try to get all this done early and try to go down and surprise you either late tomorrow night or early on Sunday.”
“Well, can I help you get it done and then we can spend the rest of the weekend together without any work?”
“That sounds lovely, Starkey,” you grinned before pressing your lips to his cheek
So you set the answer key between you both and you got the grading done twice as fast
Then he helped you look up ideas for the homecoming signs for next week and things you’d need to get for them which you would both go get tomorrow morning
You plugged in all your grades into the computer system to update them with the tests you and Drew just graded and with the two homework assignments from the week as well
Once you had done that, you decided you were done and anything else that needed to be done could be crammed into your planning period or you can do after school sometime during the week
Now you were focused on Drew and spending your time with him, especially since it was cut down so short last time
“All done?” he asked when he looked up from his phone to see you closing your laptop
“All done,” you confirmed
“What do you want to do?”
“Honestly? Go to bed. I’m so tired.”
“Then let’s do it sweetheart,” he said before scooping you in his arms and taking you to your room 
Even though you were both very busy people, you managed to find time for each other whether it was surprising the other with a visit or if you had to do things virtually on FaceTime
But he made it all worth it because he clearly loved you 
And you loved him
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nikki-writes-stuff · 4 years
Text
Sweet As Sin - Part One
Summary: After losing your job and having to spend all of your savings, you find yourself completely broke as you desperately search for a job. On a whim, you join a website for sugar babies and sugar daddies can meet, and you’re surprised when you immediately make a connection with Captain America, of all people. But as you grow closer to Steve, you start to realize that there may be a dark side to America’s golden boy. 
Pairing: SugarDaddy!Steve Rogers x Reader, with eventual Dark!Steve Rogers
Read Part Two here!
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After reaching a certain point in life, people generally come to the realization that the old adage of “when it rains, it pours” is true. At least, that was what you were thinking as you walked to your car, cheeks still burning with shame from what had just transpired in the grocery store.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but your card was declined. Do you have any other methods of payment?”
The words echoed in your ears as you drove home; of course you didn’t have another method of payment. You hadn’t ever since your job laid you off. You’d been living off of unemployment for a few months now, barely able to afford rent and living off a diet consisting mostly of ramen noodles. What’s more, you’d just had to get your car fixed after someone t-boned you at the intersection across from your house. So now, you didn’t even have any more savings to fall back on. It was even worse than when you’d been in college; back then, there had at least been a goal in mind. Just graduate, you’d told yourself, and then you’ll find a job.
Well, you’d graduated a year ago, and now you were back to where you’d started – broke and desperate.
You slammed the door shut when you entered your apartment, kicking your shoes off before throwing yourself onto the sofa. You lay on your back, looking up at the ceiling as your stomach growled at you.
“Yeah, I’m hungry, too,” you told it. Looks like it was noodles in broth for dinner again, tonight.
Anxiety was constantly clawing at your chest these days, especially now that you were too broke to afford your medication. Later on that evening, you stood over your stove while typing ‘how to make money fast’ into Google. It was a cheap shot, one that you didn’t foresee getting you anywhere, but it was at least something to take your mind off of things while you waited for the water on the stove to heat up.
That was when you saw the add. ‘Finding Arrangements – Where beautiful, successful people find mutually beneficial relationships’ – basically, a website for Sugar Daddies looking for a pretty set of tits to spend money on. You huffed a laugh and scrolled past it, only to return to it a few seconds later.
You chewed on your lip, pondering the link sitting right there on the screen, so engrossed in your thoughts that you jolted when the water started boiling over, sizzling onto the stovetop beneath it. With a curse, you turned down the heat and added the noodles, stirring them in with the seasoning packet as you thought it over. It wouldn’t hurt to check, right? Just a quick glance wouldn’t hurt; if you signed up and didn’t like any of the people you matched with, you could just delete your profile and pretend it never happened.
Your thoughts lingered on the idea as you sat on the couch, still hungry after finishing your meager meal. You’d brought the link up on your laptop, and now you were staring at the site’s homepage. To the right, there was a link to sign up, and to the left, there was a picture of a man in a business suit surrounded by three beautiful women. You gulped, starting to psych yourself out as you stared at the image. But then you closed your eyes and thought about the number in your bank account, and it was enough to motivate you to start typing.
You filled out your personal information and clicked the link the website sent to your email, confirming your new membership. When it came to choose a profile photo, you chose one of yourself from your graduation day. You were standing in your college’s auditorium, wearing a dress made out of gold fabric that was covered with thick black lace; it was your favorite picture of yourself, and you hoped that the dress wasn’t too revealing. It had a high neckline, but it had only come down to about mid-thigh.
You filled out the ‘About Me’ section and then paused when you came to the next question – What are you looking for in a relationship? You thought for a moment, biting your lip and turning over your words before starting to type again.
This is my first time trying out a relationship like this, you wrote. So I would like to find someone who I can trust to guide me through it. In return, I would like to be able to give my (you cringed as you typed the next two words) Sugar Daddy a fulfilling, comfortable relationship in return.
After reviewing your profile, you uploaded it, forcing yourself to sit back from your laptop and breathe. It was out there now; people would see it. Wealthy, presumably powerful people would see it. You closed your computer and hurried to put a movie on, choosing one of your old favorites; it had helped you when you were feeling anxious before.
By the time you finished the movie, you’d mostly calmed down, controlling your nerves until they were just a dull ache in your chest. Before you stood up and went to bed, you checked your phone, eyes bulging when you saw that you already had five replies to your profile.
You opened your notifications, scrolling through the different profiles. Four of them were from men with one of them being from a woman. Your nose wrinkled up when you saw that one of the men were in his 70s, and you quickly deleted his message without even reading it. The next one was in his early 50s, and his profile picture was of him standing in front of a car that looked like it cost more than the entirety of your college tuition. You didn’t delete his message, but you definitely felt dismayed as you skimmed through the rest of them.
You paused, though, when you saw the last one. His profile said that he was 38, making him the youngest of those that had replied to you. His username was Captain_Grant, and his profile only showed his silhouette outlined against a setting sun. The only thing you could see about his features were his defined, slightly-crooked nose and the shadow of a beard against his jawline, but you were more interested in seeing the message he’d sent you.
Good evening, miss. I hope you’re having a nice day. I saw on your profile that you liked to read?
You furrowed your eyebrows, laughing a little. The other ones had pretty much sent you the same thing – “hi”. One of them had had the courtesy of adding a smiley face afterwards, but the fact that this guy had actually taken the time to read your profile made him stand out amongst the rest.
Good evening, you typed back. I do love to read; right now I’m in the middle of a great book.
His reply came only about a minute after you sent your response.
What’s it called?
You typed out the title of the book. After another minute, Captain sent you a picture. You held your breath as you opened the attachment, praying that it wasn’t a dick pic, and you were pleasantly surprised to see a photo of a bookshelf. The book you’d mentioned was resting on it along with a few others by the same author.
I’m a fan of theirs, too, as you can see.
You grinned and got up, taking a quick photo of your own bookshelf and sending it to him. You’d bought it from IKEA years ago, and its thin shelves had started to sag under the weight of all of your books, but you loved it anyways.
You have quite the collection, miss.
You chuckled at how polite he was and sent him a message that he call you by your first name.
‘Miss’ just seems so formal, don’t you think?
I was going more for polite, but I see what you mean. Well, then, you should call me Steve. ‘Captain’ isn’t really formal so much as it’s just weird. …I’ve been told I’m not good at picking out profile names.
You giggled at that; Steve seemed like a dork. But a cute one.
I think your profile name is great, for the record, but I’ll stick with Steve. What made you join this website, Steve?
It took him a few minutes to respond, and you worried for a second that you’d asked something too personal. But as you got ready for bed, you saw that he’d finally responded.
I’m an old fashioned kinda guy, and in the past I’ve been told that I’m a bit too…overbearing in a relationship. But I’ve always believed that a man should take care of the woman he’s with. So a friend of mine suggested this site, and I figured I would try it out. You’re the first girl who I liked enough to send a message to, though.
You smiled at that, feeling warmth bloom in your chest.
What made me different from the rest?
All the other girls on here only talked about what they wanted to get out of a relationship in their profiles. You were the only one who mentioned what she wanted to give.
You felt as if butterflies were flying around your stomach, and your thumbs started typing of their own accord.
Do you think we could meet sometime? Maybe grab a cup of coffee?
I would love to, doll. I’m out of the country right now, but I get back in a week. How about we meet up then? Your profile said you live in Brooklyn; is that right?
It sure is; I’ve lived here ever since I finished college.
You’re a girl after my own heart; I grew up in Brooklyn. There’s a bagel shop that also serves coffee that I highly recommend. We could meet there if you’re up for it.
You didn’t even think before you answered him back.
I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
________
Over the next three days, you and Steve messaged each other as much as possible. He was so easy to talk to; you’d almost forgotten about the financial element of your relationship. During the day, when he was busy with work, you found yourself missing him. Right around the evening, you would start jumping for your phone any time it buzzed, and your heart would sink with disappointment when it wasn’t Steve.
You were on such a high from meeting Steve that you’d forgotten all about the things that were causing you anxiety. That was, until your landlord sent you an email talking about how rent was going to be raised an extra $50 each month. The news had washed over you like a bucket of iced water, sending you into the worst panic attack you’d had since college.
You’d spent the next few hours either pacing across your living room or crying in bed, curled up as that same feeling of helplessness that had haunted you for the past few months settled over you heavily. You hadn’t even realized that your phone was buzzing. At least, not until the fifth or sixth buzz. Wiping away your tears, you pulled your phone out of your pocket and opened it up, seeing several missed messages from Steve.
Hey, doll, just got done with work for the day.
How was your day?
You ok, doll? You’re usually around by now.
Are you ok?
I’m sorry for hovering, I’m just worried about you.
You there?
You felt guilt settle over you as you began to type with trembling fingers.
I’m so sorry, Steve. I just had a really rough day; I didn’t even realize that my phone was going off.
His reply was instantaneous.
God, you scared me, doll. Are you alright? What happened?
My landlord raised the rent by an entire $50. Rent is due by the end of the week, and I have no idea how to come up with the money.
You sniffled and waited for him to reply, and when he did you felt you felt your tears subside for a brief moment.
Is that all? That’s why I’m here, hon. Do you have a PayPal?
Steve… Are you sure? This is so much.
You could almost hear his laughter in his next reply.
Doll, I promise that $50 is NOT a lot to me. Besides, that’s part of this whole thing, isn’t it? Me taking care of you?
But I haven’t done anything for you in return…
He waited a few more minutes before responding.
Well… What if you did something for me tonight? Would that make you feel better?
Your felt your heart start to beat faster at his words, wondering what he would have you do.
What do you have in mind? you replied, trying to keep your words neutral.
Give me your phone number and let me call you?
Your breath puffed out at such a simple response, and you sent him your number without a second thought.
A few seconds later, your phone began to came, and unknown number appearing on your screen. You took a deep breath, feeling your heartrate skyrocket once more; you’d only known him for a few days, and yet a simple phone call from him was enough to make you feel breathless.
You fumbled with your phone, accepting the call and hesitantly raising it up to your ear.
“Hello?”
“Hey, doll. It’s Steve. Although… Well, that was probably obvious, right?”
Your laugh sounded more like a hiccup, and you cringed at the sound, trying to blink away the tears that were still trying to escape.
“Hi, Steve,” was all you could sigh. “It’s…really good to hear your voice.”
And it really was; it was somehow even better than you’d imagined it – not terribly deep, but warm, so warm that you wish you could curl up and get him to read bedtime stories to you.
“Have you been crying?” he asked, a touch of worry working its way into his voice.
“Oh, um… Yeah,” you sighed. “This whole rent thing has really got me anxious.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he replied. “Can you give me your email address?”
You gave it to him, hearing the typing of a keyboard in the background.
“Thanks, doll. Just give me a minute, ok? I’m still trying to get better with my typing skills.”
You chuckled, picturing him typing with his two pointer fingers, but you still didn’t understand what he was asking you to give him a minute with.
“What are you doing, Steve?” you asked.
“Just wait; I’m almost done.”
After a few more seconds of typing, you felt your phone buzz, and you pulled it away to see that it was an email from PayPal. Your eyes went wide as you opened it, audibly gasping when you saw the message waiting for you when you opened your account. You have $250 waiting to be accepted.
“Steve!” You heard his laugh from the other line, and for a second you were caught off guard; you immediately loved the sound more than you’d loved any other laugh you’d ever encountered.
“This is too much!” you cried out. “I only needed $50! Steve, I’m no mathematician, but you gave me two hundred more than that!”
Steve only laughed again.
“I won’t apologize for taking care of my girl,” he said, making your cheeks heat up at the term of endearment. “You deserve it; you’ve had a rough day. Go out and get a massage, or buy something nice for yourself. Do something that’ll relieve some stress.”
Your eyes went half-lidded for a second at the thought of a massage; you couldn’t remember the last massage you’d gotten. But no; you needed to be smart with your money.
“Well… Thank you, Steve,” you sighed. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
“Every penny is worth getting to hear your voice,” he murmured. “It’s even prettier than I imagined it.”
“Steve…no…”
“No?”
“You gotta stop saying such nice things. It’s bad enough through text; actually hearing you say them is gonna make me spontaneously combust.”
Steve’s laughed rumbled across the receiver once more.
“Well try your best not to. At least not until we meet face-to-face.”
“Tell me about it. I still don’t know what you look like.”
You could tell by his voice that Steve was smiling when he spoke next.
“What do you imagine I look like?”
You grinned and stretched out in bed, your anxiety from before completely melting away.
“Well… You’re probably tall,” you started. “No… You’re definitely tall. I can tell.”
“Really? What gave it away?”
“You just seem like a tall person.” He chuckled at that, but you kept going on. “I could tell from your profile picture that you have a beard, and I bet you keep it trimmed all nice and neat. And… I’m going to guess that you have brown hair.”
“Well, I’ll be back in three days. There’s only one way for you to find out if you’re right.”
“I know. Still planning on the bagel shop at 9 am sharp, right? On Sunday?”
“Absolutely, doll. It’s a date.”
_______
The next day, you were able to pay your rent early, much to your landlord’s delight. After that, you decided that you would treat yourself to some actual groceries. Having a full shopping cart was a novelty to you; usually, you would load up with a basket containing ramen, maybe some chicken, some eggs, and whatever toiletries you needed. But today, you actually put together a meal plan and a list before going shopping.
Later on that day, you were grinning ear to ear as you put your purchases away in your tiny kitchen. There were green things in your fridge again! And they weren’t mold!
You were cooking a late breakfast for yourself when your phone rang, and you let out an excited squeak when you saw who it was.
“Steve!”
“Wow; someone sounds happy today.”
“I just got back from the grocery store,” you told him. “Thanks to a very wonderful, generous person, I was able to get food! Like, fancy food!”
“Fancy food, huh? What kind of fancy food?”
“Um… Well, I got stuff for salads! And I’m going to make a casserole for dinner. And I have some pasta, some beef, some taco stuff-“
“…Baby, that doesn’t really sound like fancy food. It sounds like regular groceries.”
“Well, it’s fancy compared to what I usually eat,” you pointed out.
“And what is that?”
“…Um…Ramen, mostly. Not that I mind! It’s better than nothing. I’ve got really creative with ramen recipes; it’s a skill I learned in college.”
Steve let out an exasperated sigh.
“That’s gonna have to change,” he asserted. “From now on, I’ll take you grocery shopping once a week, and I want you to get food with actual nutrients in it. Understood?”
You grinned as you flipped the omelet in the pan.
“Only if you let me cook for you sometime,” you bargained. You felt your cheeks heat up when he let out a groan.
“God, I can’t remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal,” he sighed. “I wish I could come back sooner.”
“You can make it for two more days,” you said. “I believe in you.”
“Well, I’m glad someone does.”
The two of you talked until your breakfast was ready, and for the rest of the day you worked on applying for jobs. You kept the news on your tv at a low volume, but later on, while you were cooking your casserole, you heard something about Moscow that made you perk up; Steve had mentioned that he was in Moscow on his business trip.
You hurried to pull the casserole out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack before jogging into the living room and turning up the volume.
“….in Moscow today. It is reported that the small terrorist organization was eliminated by Captain America, Natasha Romanoff, and a group of American agents with them. Luckily, the attempted bombing was stopped before there could be any casualties.”
You watched as the footage cut to Captain America standing in front of a group of reporters, decked out in his uniform with his signature shield strapped to his back. He shifted on his feet, looking out over the room before starting to speak.
“I’m relieved to inform you that the terrorist threat has been eliminated,” he began, and you frowned at how familiar his voice sounded. If you didn’t know any better, then you would think that it was Steve talking to you, your Steve, but you knew the idea was ridiculous. You smiled at the thought; you’d have to ask him later on if anybody else had noticed the similarity.
“The group was small and disorganized, and we believe that they acted independently of any larger organization,” he continued. “Our men and woman, however, are keeping a close eye on any and all other suspicious activity in this and the surrounding countries. For now, we advise you to rest easy, and-“
You muted the tv once more, heading into the kitchen to grab a plate of food. You sat down on your couch and pulled your phone out, dialing Steve’s number. You frowned when you reached his answering machine, but you left a message anyways.
“Hi, Steve! I just saw something on the news about a terrorist group in Moscow… I guess I just wanted to call and make sure you were okay. Just shoot me a text or give me a call when you’re able to. I’ll talk to you soon!”
After that, you ate your food, reveling in having something on your stomach other than the same old noodles. It was while you were wrapping your casserole to put in in the fridge that Steve called you back, and you rushed to answer the phone.
“Hello!”
“Hi, doll,” Steve sighed.
“You sound so tired.”
“Yeah… I guess I am. It was, uh… A rough day at work. But the good news is that I get to come home a day early. Think we could move our date to tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? You can get here all the way from Moscow tonight?”
“Sure can. I’m on the plane right now.”
“Wow. Talk about company benefits…” Steve chuckled, and you smiled fondly as you closed the fridge. “I worried about you when I heard about the terrorists. Is everything ok? No one you knew got hurt, did they?”
“Nah, we’re fine, doll. But you’re sweet to ask.”
“Well, I saw Captain America talking on the news about it and just wanted to make sure. Hey, have you ever noticed that you sound a lot like him?”
“Uh… You think I sound like Captain America?” Steve seemed flustered, and you grinned as you walked back to your couch.
“Yeah; you guys have practically the same voice,” you grinned. “Crazy coincidence, right? You sound like him; you have the same first name… And did you know that he’s grown a beard since-“
“Hey, doll? The plane is experiencing some turbulence. Would it be ok if I let you go?”
“Oh. Yeah! Sure thing, Steve. But we’re still planning on tomorrow morning?”
“You betcha. I’ll see you at 9, and I’ll text you the address.”
“See you soon!”
With that, he hung up, and a few minutes later you received the text with the address. You sent him back a smiley face before getting ready for bed; you would need to get up early to get ready for your date.
It took you a while to fall asleep that night; your mind wouldn’t shut off. Over and over again, it would play possible scenarios of how meeting Steve might go – about what he would look like, what you two would talk about. Eventually, though, you were able to fall into a peaceful slumber, and even your dreams seemed happy that night.
______
You surveyed yourself in the mirror, looking for any imperfections that needed to be sorted out before you left. You’d somehow wrangled your hair into a nice-looking style, although you were pretty sure you’d killed half of the remaining ozone layer with how much hair spray you’d had to use to keep it that way. You were wearing a red set of leggings with an oversized, cream-colored sweater overtop it; despite the fact that the clothes were old, they still looked good, and you hated the fact that you didn’t have better shoes to complete the ensemble. You pulled on your black high-top Converse, deciding that they were the best looking pair of shoes you had, and you checked yourself out in the mirror one more time before walking out the door.
The bagel shop was only fifteen minutes away from where you lived, but the drive seemed to last for fifteen seconds and fifteen eternities all at once. You tried in vain to calm the frantic beating of your heart, but it was still pounding by the time you pulled up in front of the restaurant. You took a short moment to calm yourself, letting out a deep breath before getting out of your car.
You tried to walk with confidence as you walked into the bagel shop, inhaling the scent of baked bread, cinnamon, and coffee that lay heavy in the air. The walls inside were painted a bright, sky blue, and black-and-white sketches were hanging on the walls. The entire wall behind the display case had been turned into a chalkboard, and the various menu items were written across it in neat cursive font. One of your favorite songs from the 60’s was playing over the radio, and you smiled; you already knew that this place would become one of your regular hang outs.
At the moment, though, your eyes were scanning the shop for Steve. All you knew about him was that he had a beard; that is, if he hadn’t shaved it since taking his profile picture. There were only a few people dotted around the room, and most of them were with someone else. In fact, there were only two people there who were sitting alone. One of them was sitting at a nearby table, and he was a man who looked to be in his late 50’s; you hoped to God that he wasn’t Steve.
The only other person there was sitting at a table in the far corner, and he had his back to you. His hair was blonde and slicked back neatly, and his shoulders were incredibly broad. Letting out a sigh, you started walking towards him, wringing your hands as you grew nearer.
“Steve?” you finally asked when you were close, and you saw him straighten up.
When he turned around to face you, though, your eyes grew wide and your lips parted in surprise. There had to be some mistake; this couldn’t be him.
“I… I’m sorry,” you stuttered. “I’m here to meet, um…”
Captain America, or rather, Steve gave you a soft, sheepish smile, and he stood up to face you.
“Hey, doll,” he sighed.
“…I can explain.”
921 notes · View notes
muilkyu · 4 years
Text
Treasure's Types of Dates
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🐷 Hyunsuk
"This would look so good with the new shoes I got last week." Hyunsuk gushes while picking up a pair of shades.
"Hyunsuk, that's amazing, but my feet hurt now. Can we leave now?" You whine. 
"Just one more store babe. I saw this dress the other night that would look adorable on you," he says. Then he walks away, spotting a different pair of shades that he just needs.
Thrifting dates are a must for both of you
You both drag each other to underground fashion shows when you can
If you are staying home you decide to have a runway date with both of you just playing around with different types of styles 
For lazy nights it's just face masks and a Netflix movie party
🐼 Jihoon
"Tilt your head to the left!" Jihoon yells from across the field of wildflowers he's crouched down eyes squinted holding his camera trying to get a good picture, "Extend your foot. A little more! Okay perfect!" 
The sky is a beautiful orange shade that compliments the wildflowers and your sundress. Jihoon was right about this being the perfect place for a photo. 
"Okay. You look gorgeous. Come look," He says again. You make your way over to him looking at the photo. He really does have a talent for photography. "These are my best ones yet. I don't know if it's the sun or the model I should be staring at more."
Jihoon likes to visit places where you can get a pretty picture
He finds the best cafes for dates. Even though he wants a picture before you can eat which can take forever
You often travel outside of Seoul to see even more of Korea
You got to Busan often for your dates just spending a day walking around and enjoying the city
🐯 Yoshi
"If you fall I will catch you."
"I trust you, but I also can't take the chance of that happening," You say placing a foot on the skateboard. It's staying still for right now, but any second it also could move forward, "Just hold my hands and guide me." 
Yoshi was 100% determined to teach you how to skate. Even though you told him you had no interest in skating. When he told you he wanted to teach you his face lit up so you agreed.
The type that wants to share his hobbies with you so that's usually your date idea 
Yoshi likes to make you laugh on dates 
You don't do too many dates at home unless you are playing a game or something
Sometimes you spend time helping him make art which leads to a big mess and paint staining both your cheeks and clothes
🐨 Junkyu
"We have been here before," you point out as Junkyu lays out a blanket on the grass.
"I know, but it gets even prettier every time we come back." He says laying down on the blanket.
"Don't you think we should go somewhere else next time? We have been to the Bank river on just about half of our dates."
Junkyu shakes his head patting the blanket, "Nope. Now let's lay down and watch the clouds."
Not the best at planning dates at all
You can tell he tries however so you let it slide
Dates are usually more relaxed than exciting
When you want to have full-on fun he makes you do something 'crazy' aka roller coasters
🐹 Mashiho
"Bend your elbow a bit more so you can aim properly," Mashiho says pushing your wrist back.
"I won't make it either way." 
Mashiho smiles, "Exactly why you have me as a teacher. Now bend your knees and shoot." 
You do as he says. You watch as the ball hits the back of the rim and then slowly falls into the basket. 
"You did it! I told you I was a great teacher."
Dates with Mashiho are always playful
You end up either playing a game outside or shopping for cute toys and plushies around Seoul
You pick up hobbies together that interest you both 
You rarely go out to eat or order food for dates, but when you are getting food you stop at a bakery for sweets
🦁 Jaehyuk
"We will take whatever the chef recommends," Jaehyuk tells the Waiter. He's decided to bring you to a very fancy restaurant, definitely one that you don't deserve to be at, but he insisted. 
"This is all so amazing Jae." You say looking around. You're sitting right next to the window which allows you to look out into the Seoul nightlife.
"I know right. I've always wanted to eat here and now I can with you it makes it all that more special."
Fancy dates. At nice restaurants and cafes. 
He likes to pamper you when you go out together so he doesn't hold back
All of the money he has saved up goes towards making you happy
A true romantic at heart he loves to spoil you and make you feel loved
🤖 Asahi
"Which color should I use for the flowers?" You ask digging through the pencil bag of markers. 
"Why are you adding flowers on my self-portrait?" Ashai questions. He's still sketching he's very focused on his drawing. 
"I know, but I went above and beyond and gave you a background. I should get extra points." 
He chuckles at that remark, "I'm highly doubtful you can beat me, but you should do pink."
Homeboy dates 
You end up trying to cook homemade pizza which turns out horribly so you just order in
One time he built a fort and you snuggled inside with a movie marathon and hot chocolate 
🦊 Yedam
"We should get green tea and a banana nut muffin," Yedam suggests as he looks over the menu. You're at your favorite cafe that's just down the street from your dorm. Yedam suggested you have a study date today which is exactly what you agreed on. 
"I want a muffin, but order a different drink. I'm not in the mood for tea." 
"Okay," he circles the option on the menu and sets it aside. A worker will walk past soon and pick it up. He unzips his bookbag pulling out a binder and a workbook ready to work, "What are you going to study?"
"I think I am going to start on my Language Arts report. I just need to decide on a topic." You say pulling your laptop out from your tote bag. 
Yedam smiles, "I can help you with that."
Study dates happen often because grades are important to you both
Sometimes you end up at a Karaoke bar because you would be a fool to not love his voice
You walk around in parks often just looking at the scenery and enjoying nature
🐰 Doyoung
"Are you sure you should be adding so much salt?" 
"I'm only adding a little bit. Trust me It Will taste amazing." Doyoung smiles. 
"After your strawberry jam disaster, I don't think I should trust you." You say looking down into the pot at the bright red liquid boiling. 
Shrugging off the comment Doyoung reaches for the sesame oil adding a teaspoon, "It will taste fine. Now can you please set the table?" He pushes you towards the table so you leave him to his work.
Doyoung is a wildcard for dates
At times he will bring you to a restaurant for a nice dinner
At other times he will insist on cooking something
Sometimes he finds really weird places for dates such as going to a token food market or he books a ceramics class
One time he tries to teach you a dance one can only imagine how that went
🐏 Haruto
"So what do you have planned for me today?" You ask pulling off your crossbody bag hanging it on your chair. 
"I was thinking we should watch a horror movie." He says. 
You laugh, "No seriously what are we gonna do?" 
"I am serious we should watch a foreign film together and eat popcorn." 
"Are you sure this is a good idea? The last time we watched one you wanted to be the knight in shining armor, but I had to walk you home." You point out recalling the memory from a few months ago. 
"I promise I can handle it. Let's pop some popcorn."
Spoiler Alert: You only made it 15 minutes into the movie before you had to turn it off. You ended up watching Wreck-It Ralph instead.
Haruto doesn't really plan for dates be just goes with the flow
Most nights you just enjoy the presence of each other talking for hours 
Haruto seems quiet but when he is comfortable he loves to sit and talk with the people around him
🐺 Jeongwoo
"Why did you tell me to wear pants?" You ask as you meet Jeongwoo. 
He just smiles, "With what I have planned you'll be happy you wore pants." 
-
"You're not going to win!" You shout while running after Jeongwoo. He's decided to bring you to an indoor jumping park. The floor is filled with trampolines and there are sections for different games. 
He has a head start already making it to the jumping area, "Hurry up. I want to beat you in dodgeball."
Jeongwoo has a lot of energy so most of the time he has you moving around when you meet to go out. 
Sometimes you're screaming your lungs out on a roller coaster other times you're racing him just to see who will win
When you want to just stay home your still moving around either just singing and dancing till you can't anymore or eating ice cream and watching YouTube
🐮 Junghwan
"There is a zombie behind you!" Junghwan shouts. He's right next to you, but he still feels the need to shout. 
"Kill it more me I'm still smelting the iron!" 
He shakes his head, "No you do it I have to go look for more diamond." 
"Wow, you're not gonna protect me from a zombie. I'm gonna take all the diamonds and leave you then." You say turning your character around to kill the zombie. 
"I was just kidding. I'll kill any monster that tries to hurt you."
Video Game dates at home 
You both enjoy taking each other down or working together to meet a goal in a game
When your not gaming for a date you just walk around Seoul till you find something fun
Him being from Iksan he's only really looked at bits and pieces so you just walk to you find interesting shops and stores
-
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed!
99 notes · View notes
eberles · 4 years
Text
Love, Rafe♡
Part 6 - The End
Rafe Cameron x OC
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(gif is not mine, if it’s yours lmk and I’ll credit you!)
A/N: omg it’s the last chapter!! this has been such a fun story to write!! thank you to everyone who has stayed along reading it!! I really appreciate all the love and support it’s gotten!! 🥺🥰
Warnings: swearing, angst
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five
——————————————————————————————————————
“We’re getting married! The wedding is next week, we know it’s fast, but it was the only time that worked since i have a movie to shoot soon. You have to come, obviously. Zoe wants you to give a toast.” Jeremy interrupted Zoe when she started to say it and she kept staring at Rafe through the screen. The only thing Rafe could do is smile and nod his head. He didn’t know what to say, if he had read the letter when it was delivered, things would be much different right now.
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
“Today is the happiest day of your life…” Rafe started his speech, trying to keep his voice steady trying to hide the fact he had been in the bathroom crying leading up to this moment.
Rafe was currently at his best friend, Zoe James’ wedding. The girl of his dreams. The girl he was in love with. The girl met when he was 6. It all started one day in first grade when recess took an interesting turn. A group of kids were picking on Zoe, this wasn’t the first time, but it sure as hell was going to be the last once Rafe Cameron stepped in. Ever since that day on the playground, the two young kids were joined at the hip.
“...Choosing the person that you want to share your life with is one of the most important decisions any of us could make, ever. Your friendship has been the best part of my life and I hope I didn’t take it for granted. Except, I think I did. Because sometimes you don’t see that the best thing that’s ever happened to you is sitting there, right under your nose. But it’s fine because no matter where you are or who you’re with, I will always, honestly, completely, truly love you.” Rafe was still choking back the tears and trying to steady out his voice so it wasn’t obvious. He took a long pause while him and Zoe made deep eye contact.
“Like a brother loves a sister and a friend loves a friend. To the bride and groom!” Rafe added one awkwardly and finished his speech. Zoe looked like the wind had been knocked out of her and she too was on the brink of bursting out into tears. Jeremy was sat beside her shifting around very obviously uncomfortable as he looked between the two staring at each other.
Rafe had stepped out into the hallway during the first dance not wanting to see Zoe and Jeremy cozy up to each other.
“Katie?!” Rafe called out as he saw Katie running down the hallway he was standing in. Zoe had witnesses Katie starting to run off and she separated herself from Jeremy and followed her to make sure she was okay.
“What are you doing up here?” Rafe asked, once he and Zoe had found Katie sitting on the roof of the banquet hall where the wedding was being held in.
“Toby kissed me!” Katie said frustrated.
“Is that such a bad thing?” Zoe asked, knowing Rafe always felt uncomfortable talking to his daughter about boys.
“Of course it is!” Katie said back.
“You guys are good together, you’re a team, Katie.” Rafe said back, trying to reason with her a bit.
“Don’t you get it? It would be like you two kissing or something. I’ll just tell him to forget it.” Katie said with a sad look on her face.
“That’s a terrible idea. If you turn him down now, he is going to spend his entire life searching for someone that’s as good as you. And then he’s gonna end up marrying someone he doesn’t even want to be with and he will be lying to himself everyday, but they won’t be you, you know?” Zoe said while maintaining eye contact with Rafe, as if she was trying to tell him that too.
“But you two never actually kissed? Right?” Katie asked looking between the two.
“Of course not.” Rafe said quickly while he looked at Zoe. Before Zoe could say anything else about the subject, Toby came running onto the roof looking for Katie. Once she saw him she ran up to him and kissed him and they made their way back down to the party leaving Rafe and Zoe alone.
“Zoe?” Rafe asked.
“I just realized tonight that you forgot. On your 18th birthday, we did kiss, before you cracked your head open.” Zoe said averting eye contact with Rafe.
“So...that’s why you went to the dance with Jeremy?” Rafe asked and Zoe nodded.
“And you went with Olivia.” Zoe said shrugging her shoulders a little bit while finally making eye contact with Rafe while he just let out a sad chuckle in return.
The next day, Zoe and Jeremy brought Rafe, Katie, and Toby to the airport so they could fly back to Outer Banks. Leaving Zoe in the airport with Jeremy was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do, but he knew he needed to, for everyone’s sake.
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Another year has gone by and Rafe is finally taking over his fathers business. In fact, it’s the grand opening! He invited Zoe and Jeremy to attend, but he really wasn’t planning on seeing Zoe show up. Especially not alone.
“Hmm, I heard this place had a new owner.” Zoe said casually waiting for Rafe to notice her entering the building.
“Zoe?!” Rafe asked surprised while looking around for Jeremy.
“Jeremy isn’t with me.” Zoe said as if she was reading Rafe’s mind.
“We both knew it wasn’t right.” Zoe continued as she started at Rafe, watching as his eyes started to pool with tears.
“Let me show you around, yea?” Rafe asked, trying to ease the tension.
“Sure, i’d love to see what you’ve done with the place.” Zoe said while following Rafe. Rafe led Zoe to his office in the back hall, locking the door after they entered.
“I had a dream about you last night.” Zoe said as she walked into Rafe’s new office.
“Oh yea?” Rafe said and smirked a little bit while Zoe tried to hide her very similar smirk as she walked closer to Rafe standing directly in front of him.
“And I was there too, and I took you into my arms and I said ‘Rafe Cameron, I want YOU to take me to the dance.” Zoe spoke as she wrapped her arms around Rafe’s shoulders, moving closer to him.
“Better late than never.” Rafe responded smiling widely as he mirrored Zoe’s movements and wrapped his arms around her waist holding her close.
They stood like this for a few seconds just looking into each others eyes and laughing with their foreheads pressed up against each others. Until they stopped laughing and Rafe pulled Zoe’s chin in and kissed her slowly, but passionately. Zoe kissed him back immediately putting her hands on the sides of her face attempting to bring him closer. Swiftly, Rafe picked Zoe up and sat her down on top of his desk while never breaking the hungry kiss. Good thing he locked the door.
The End
taglist: @maaybanks @maybankiara @ssjiara @fav-imagines @jjmaybankx @drewsephsmiles @downbytheouterbanks @beautyandthebleh @spilledtee @rretrophilee @teeks-konecny @kitluvs1 @snkkat @pixelated-pogues​ @hoodcal96 @famousstarsandkelly @ilovejjmaybank @northcarolinanative @drewxxrudy @prejudic3 @whoreforouterbanks @afterglowsb-tch13 @k-k0129 @teenwaywardasgardian 
76 notes · View notes
yyxgin · 3 years
Note
dunnae worrae bestie ❣️ life gets in the way sometimes (and responsibilities)
okay so i just liked the kind of air to love alarm? idk it just made me feel like i was somewhere else bc i felt the production quality was that high. some of it was questionable i do agree w that but also song kang is total heart-eyes 😍 and meteor garden was sweet for like a minute each episode and the rest was me groaning in agony just wishing dong shancai would snipe daoming si’s mother. shancai did so much too?? like four episodes in she won a cooking competition against a girl who had literally been professionally training to impress one of the boys ✋ but shancai literally came from almost nothing. also — i’ve never been more frustrated w a drama than meteor garden like sis was literally dirt poor, came close to being evicted twice and her parents moved back to their fisherman hometown leaving her in shanghai (i think?) to make money bc they couldn’t afford the city but she had the newest phone 🛑✋
very early on in my kpop days i had no idea who to bias or however that worked and i was like ‘well i like stray kids i’ll just buy an album’ anyway one of the pc’s i pulled was a polaroid type thing for changbin and i said to my friend wow that’s such a boyfriend picture and that’s the story of how i ulted changbin. im so blasé about so much it’s worrying sometimes 🙀🙄✌️✌️ im not too bad about watching things. i used to struggle a lot but bc i’ve trained myself to read fast enough to see the subs and then flicker to the scene on screen so i don’t get bored. i do feel sometimes as if i am following when i’m looking at my phone but realistically i shouldn’t be this bold 😬
noice!! i’m still new to adulting but i’m p sure ive been at it for longer than i think. when i was fifteen and working in a hotel i was asked if when i was finished for the summer i was going back to uni 🤡 all i keep thinking about is finally having a job again and being able to spend an entire pay check on albums ngl i haven’t impulsively bought anything recently and i’m itching to be irresponsible w my money again 🤠 i know some girls who have preordered all the versions of dream and MAN am i tempted 😭😭😭 this is getting so out of hand at this point i’m going to have to strap myself to my bed until june this is not it ☹️
i have read for nct members certain members are more popular in like eastern us? i imagine it’s to encourage trading or to buy more albums so i could only guess that’s what’s happened to me w mamamoo 😭 theyre thé only gg i am properly into. i didn’t want to be thirsting over boys all the time bc... idk i just wanted some variation so mamamoo it was! twice is too many people for now (don’t even say but nct has 23, ik ik but i was only on my second group and i refused to acknowledge more than one unit for like 7 months bc i was scared) and blackpink has like 2 songs 🤡🤡 i added this bot called zephyr to my discord server and me and my friend roll for collectible kpop cards (it’s p neat and i’ve found groups i wouldn’t have been able to find myself otherwise) and she’s helped me discover so many groups! i think i was enjoying a fromis_9 song earlier <3
i’m always having good days these days 🥺 so i hope yours was good too!! also i don’t expect you to reply to these straight away (bc they’re unnecessarily long) i just try my best to reply straight away otherwise i’ll forget i even sent sumn in the first place! ~🌻
the production quality was definitely very high with love alarm, it looked so nice and aesthetic :(( but like,,the storyline ?? when they kissed in the first ep?? i- that was it for me. i couldnt watch it any longer. my best friend  finished it tho and i think she liked it,,so like-- fair.
PLEAAASE METEOR GARDEN SOUNDS SO MESSY i lowkey wanna watch it just for the shits and giggles now,,i can’t,,, like the cooking competition? that sounds like a fucking disney channel plot to a movie. i am all here for it tho
YOU HAVE A CHANGBIN POLAROID OKAY BESTIE I AM ON MY WAY TO ROB YOU NOW. DROP YOUR ADDRESS,,,DEADASS. AAAAH also i am bad at watching things to the point when i forget to turn on the subtitles sometimes and then get surprised when i dont understand a shit anD THATS when i realise somethings wrong. 
i am so new to adulting pls,, this is my first part time job and i also didn’t have a bank account until literally today. i am a babie,, i couldn’t even do things by myself like i can’t fucking order for myself in the restaurant because i am socially anxious hihi. bUT i figured working with people might help me get rid of that and i am also fullfiling my childhood dream of working behind the cash register now, so that’s cool. the only thing i need now is to graduate, go to uni and do my driver’s licence and then i’ll be adulting for real imo
i am really good with money surprisingly?? i dont spend much, because i dont have money lmao and when i do i keep it because i just like the thought of having money and not the actual spending. YOUR FRIEND BOUGHT ALL THE VERSIONS OF THE DREAM ALBUM??? LOWKEY ME FDKAJ no but fr i think i’m just gonna order the boring version once i start working because it fits my aesthetic the most and i love the concept photos. also if i pull that one specific renjun photocard i might just cry my eyes out but i’ll be happy with anyone bc i literally ult the entirity of dream at this point. 
ooh i dont really enjoy the sound of girlgroups i think ?? i need some noise if you know what i mean :( im not into like chill songs that much. bUT uhh i like itzy and i am gay for them pls. i also havent listened to their comeback yet so i am a fake fan i guess but i’ll fix that soon i prOMISE
i am doing well and i am also glad you are doing well !! <3 your asks make me so happy dfjka i finally dont feel as invisible on this stupid site lmao. also thanks for understanding that i dont reply that quick, but i tend to just uhh leave things be for a while ?? like i get a message and i dont always reply straight away for some reason. but yea. thank you !! <3
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Price to be Paid - Chapter 31
Wahoo my favorite chapter, read on AO3
The bliss from your wedding could only last so long, and you knew that, but it didn’t lessen the blow when things had to return to normal. 
“This is it, Dutch, our last big score!”
Hosea had poured over a map of Saint Denis for days mapping every possible route into the bank, the job Dutch claimed over and over was going to save the gang. 
“I’m telling you, this is the way to do the job. The best way! The distraction will buy you all the time you need.”
Arthur groaned from underneath you. You had fallen asleep in the morning sun and the voices from downstairs carried far too much for your liking, waking you up to the harsh light of day. 
“All they talk about lately is that damn job,” Arthur muttered. “If I heard ‘Saint Denis bank’ one more time I am going to lose it.”
“Arthur!” Dutch yelled from the bottom of the stairs. “Get down here, we need your help with this.”
The past few weeks since your wedding had been as blissful as they could when you lived with a large group of people on the run from the law. You and Arthur had enjoyed many free days where no one asked a thing of you. The lake was the perfect spot for picnics and more than once Arthur had suggested you slip away and relax at the water side. It was perfect and everything you could hope it would be.
But all good things had to end. 
“I’m coming! Arthur hollered back. He groaned as he sat up and you decided it was best to greet the day as well. 
“You know they trust you, that’s what they’re trying to say,” you spoke as you dressed. 
“They sure have a strange way of showing it.”
You were quick to follow Arthur down the stairs, greeting folks as they passed. Most were still rubbing the sleep from their eyes or drinking a cup of coffee. 
“I...I don’t like it.”
Dutch’s hesitation was palpable. For days he had been telling Hosea something about this job felt off, his intuition saying this was not the way. It struck you as odd because Dutch had been searching for one more score, one big was out and when presented with the idea he shrugged it off. 
You leaned against the doorframe watching Arthur approach the bickering old men. They went back and forth, agreeing and disagreeing about the best way to proceed. 
“It’s the right plan. We’ve done the work. I’ve been in town, looking, watching and waiting. I’ve tested it as well as I can. It’s the right plan.”
“I know,” Dutch chucked at how worked up Hosea had become. “I know. But between us, I’m...nervous. I suppose that’s it.”
Hosea placed a hand on Dutch’s shoulder and squeezed. “You’re never nervous, that’s been my job all these years.”
It was clear Hosea was leading this robbery. He had timed the whole operation out and wanted it to move like clockwork, each cog and arm greased up and ready to go. You could see a younger man shining through; one who spent days and weeks putting heists together, using each member of the gang in s specific sequence so everything would be just right. 
As the three men got to talking, Micah walked in and watched behind you. It was unpleasant to have him over your shoulder but you remembered your vow to keep the peace with him as best you could.
“What’re they planning in there?”
“Bank job. Last one to get us out of here,” you responded softly. 
“The big bank? In Saint Denis?” Micah scoffed. “That’s one lofty goal for our ragtag crew, don’t you think?”
You shrugged. “I don’t know, Hosea has it all planned out. What could go wrong?”
“Oh, girlie, there’s plenty could go wrong. But let’s hope none of it does and we make out on top.” Micah shot you a wink that made you shutter and walked back out the front doors, taking off for somewhere or something in town. 
“Every plan is a good plan if we execute it properly. Every problem we ever had was because we did not execute properly.”
Hosea spoke impassioned. He needed Dutch to see he was right. 
“You’re right.” Dutch stood dramatically and looked between his lifelong partners in crime. “Let’s rob this bastard. We’ll leave tomorrow morning. Look smart. Travel light.” 
The leader passed you with a half smile before going to track down Mrs. Grimshaw and Pearson to tell them of the new plan. At least we had some notice this time and didn’t have to throw everything around in a hurry. 
Arthur asked you to help clean the room and you packed together, chatting to keep the nerves away. There had been a moment where he wanted you to go with Hosea and stay away from the action but you refused; if your husband was going in so were you. He didn’t fight you on that very long. 
The thought of leaving Shady Belle filled you with melancholy. It was strange to think that one building could hold so many memories from just a short time. The gang really hadn’t been there that long but they had managed to make a lasting impact that could be seen as you walked the halls for one of the last times. You had to look forward; things would be better. How much more suffering and pain could one group take?
You found Abigail playing outside with Jack later in the evening, staring up at the night sky and admiring the stars. You plopped down next to her and tilted your own head back, thinking about the heavens. 
“You ever wonder if our destinies are planned?”
“I sure hope not. To think that someone put all of this together for us means we have no free will, no choice would be our own. And they would put us through all that pain!”
“Sometimes...I guess it’s just nice to think that I wasn’t the one who made all the mistakes in my life. That I could blame someone else for the way things turned out.”
Abigail spoke in hushed tones but never looked down from the sky. Her words echoed in your mind. 
“Your life isn’t full of mistakes, it’s full of love.”
“Yeah,” she snorted. “Sometimes a bit too much love if you know what I mean.”
She and John had been fighting again. From your shared room with Arthur you could hear them through the walls going on about raising Jack and trying to show him a better life. 
“Jack will be just fine, he’s got a lot of us who care. And so will you. You know I’ll never leave, you’ve got a friend for life.” You wrapped your arm around her shoulders and sat like that, enjoying the view and marveling at the size of the world around you. 
It was hard to sleep that night. 
You tossed and turned with anticipation of the next day, knowing everything would be different after the sun rose up in the sky. It could be a good change; like fire burning away the underbrush to allow for new life. Or it could be disastrous. 
The dichotomy of the choices made you restless. 
Arthur shook your shoulder gently that it was time to go. It was much too early, and the terrible night of sleep made it hard to drag your body from the warm bed and you tossed it a sad smile knowing it was the last time you would see the room you called home. 
The look on your face must have told Arthur something for he gave your hand a squeeze after you met him at the bottom of the stairs. 
“You know what?” He looked at you softly. “At the end of today, we’re going to look back and know we did everything right. We faced the day together as wife and husband. I’m never letting you go.”
With a kiss to your hand you felt your confidence rise back into place. All it needed was a boost from Arthur. Today was going to go smoothly, nothing could bring you down from the high of life you were riding. 
Everyone was dressed to the nines. Fine black suits with hats for the men, and clean flowing gowns adorned every woman. It was almost as if you were headed to a Sunday mass instead of a bank robbery. Even Jack had found a flower to stick in his coat pocket. 
“You got everything Arthur?” Dutch called as he handed Hosea a suitcase to load into a wagon. 
Arthur nodded. “Sure, house is cleared out of everything we could grab.”
“Just think!” Hosea spoke up brightly. “Within six weeks we’ll be living life anew in a tropical idyll spending the last of our days as banana farmers?”
The plan was for Hosea and Abigail to serve as the distraction. On their wagon sat crates of dynamite that when lit, would bring enough police attention that the robbery in town wouldn’t be able to pull them all away, giving the group enough time to slip out unnoticed. Hosea had looked over the details for days on end and everyone trusted him to know this plan backwards and forwards, no small part missed. 
You were riding in and acting with the robbery. At first, Arthur had asked that you go with Hosea and Abigail for they were far less likely to be caught. But to you that was out of the question. Now that you and Arthur were married you didn’t want him running off into battle alone, something you had to repeat over and over before Hosea finally relented and added you to the bank detail. It just made sense that you would be there. 
With your nerves shoved to the back of your mind, you sat next to Arthur on Eclipse as Zues stamped his feet anxiously.  
“Let’s get out of this god forsaken place and go rob ourselves a bank!”
A chorus of cheers rang out as the gang envisioned what life could be like after today. No more running and hiding, no more threats from the law, no more being told that their way of life was wrong or backwards, just freedom and the incredible feeling of hot sand between your toes. 
You were more than ready to be out of this place. 
Micah led the group up and out of Shady Belle, the horses moving much quicker than the wagons. It was slightly comical to watch a large group in impressive threads leave such a ratty and worn down home. Over the past few weeks you decided firmly that sleeping with four walls around you was a comfort you preferred. 
“This is it, ladies and gentlemen! The last one.”
Dutch was gearing up for a big speech as he rode behind Micah. 
“Where have we heard that one before?” John asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. 
“What has happened to you, John? You lost all your heart.”
“I’m just trying to stay real about all of this.”
“Real!” Dutch spit. “Oh how I detest that word. So devoid of imagination.”
The group rode over the railroad tracks and your heartbeat started to pick up. This was real, you were taking part in a bank robbery. Oh if only your father could see you now. The lawman’s rebel daughter. 
“How soon are we shipping out?” Micah called from somewhere ahead. 
Dutch replied, “As soon as we get the passage organized. A boat down to Argentina, then another around the cape.”
“What about the money in Blackwater? We’re just gonna leave that behind?”
“Forget that, it's gone.” Dutch swiped a fly and the question away. “You all talk like it’s the only goddamned money in the world. We’re gonna take that and more, take it from the people who take it from us. This isn’t some hick town, hundred dollar operation. This is a big city bank!”
“Right,” John broke in. “With security, guards, police.”
“Hosea has done his reconnaissance,  we’ve been over this.” Dutch almost sounded tired. “The plan. One last time. Hosea and Abigail will draw out the police, we go in fast and calm. John and Lenny, secure the front doors. Javier takes the side exit. Bill, Micah, YN, and Charles, control the crowd. Me and Arthur deal with the bank manager and the vault. Got it?”
Everyone agreed that they did. Most of the other women were leaving with the camp supplies and not participating, and the look Dutch gave you was not lost as he took in his crew. 
Hosea reckoned they needed about fifteen minutes to set the distraction with Abigail and pull enough police and that sounded fine by Dutch. As the others rode off with the wagons, Sadie threw you a smile of encouragement and you spurred Eclipse on to keep up with the others. Nothing, not even your nerves, would hold you back from this job. 
Arthur had talked about when to tell Dutch that maybe sailing to another part of the world was not in the cards for you two, but it still hadn’t come up. Before the bank job seemed a poor choice as it would only take away Dutch’s focus, so tentatively the plan was set for later. There was a lot to think about lately and that was just another worry to add to the pile. 
“Everybody know the drill! We head in hard and stay calm. They won’t be expecting us. Any minor trouble, head back to camp. We’ll leave in a few days.”
Your nerves must have really been showing through as even Micah threw you a half grin. It wasn’t pleasant, but you accepted it nonetheless. 
Bill and Charles rode ahead to break up the group, hoping that it wouldn't look like a giant posse riding in together. The five of you left held back a few minutes and then rode into town, through the gates of Saint Denis and into the belly of the beast. You couldn't tell if your shaking hands had more to do with being on horseback or the impending mission, but you steeled them to stay still as you moved through the streets. 
Arthur pulled Zeus back and rode next to you. 
“How’re you doing?” 
Despite the bundle of nerves moving through your veins you had to smile. Arthur was clearly a bit worked up about the whole thing too; his words had a slight twang to them as he spoke. 
“Oh, I’m fine. I remember what you taught me. Just…” you looked around and remembered the first time you marveled at Saint Denis. “What if something happens?”
“It won’t, I promise you’ll be safe. Hosea went over this so many times he knew we had to get it right.”
You nodded. You had heard him mumbling the details for days.
Before you could respond your destination came into view and your mouth went dry. Lemoyne National Bank. The imposing building stood nearly three stories high with gold and white paint covering the exterior. The sun beating down was hot and you wiped beads of sweat off your brow after hitching Eclipse up next to Arthur and Bill. 
Charles made his way over. “Just wanted to say good luck. I know you’ll be fine, but...you know.” 
You smiled at your friend. His words brought you comfort even though they were minimal, but knowing Charles this was the equivalent of a long speech. You patted his arm in thanks and followed the group over to Dutch. 
“Foks. Robbing thieves, it ain’t no crime at all. People like this...they stole what this country could have been.” The men grunted in agreeance. “Now, act natural. Wait for Hosea to do his thing.”
As a trolley rolled slowly in front of you Arthur took your hand in his. 
“Now, it ain’t too late and no one would say a thing if you decided to leave. I’ll put you on this trolley and collect you myself as soon as we’re done and we can leave; put this city behind us and head off to freedom. You just have to say the word.”
You searched Arthur’s eyes and saw nothing but love and worry. The beautiful way the blue and green and maybe in the right light grey mixed together filled you with happiness and you knew your answer before speaking. On your tiptoes, you pressed a kiss to Arthur’s cheek and beamed at him. 
“You know I’m staying. I’ll be right at your side.”
Just as Arthur opened his mouth to speak the ground shook violently below you. You grabbed Arthur’s arm for support as the screams and voices rose through the city. 
Dutch let out a full laugh. “I love that Hosea! He’s a true artist.”
And with that, he led the way across the road and into Lemoyne National Bank. 
You pulled your mask up over your face, hands still slightly shaking. Javier whispered something before slipping around the corner to guard the side door, and on his signal Dutch burst through the bank doors, pistols drawn. 
“Ladies and gentlemen! This is a hold up.”
The room was filled with screams and the bustling of shoes on the tile as you aimed your gun at the innocent folks going about their day, corralling them back into an office to be locked up and unable to disrupt the robbery in progress. Bill was stuck with a particularly loud customer, so you poked the end of your gun into his back to shut him up, shoving him into the room. You got a grunt of thanks from Bill as he locked the doors. 
“Arthur! We have found the manager. Would you kindly have him open the vault?” 
A man dressed in a long purple coat shook like a leaf as he twisted and turned the dial to find the correct combination. He looked around the room for any willing pair of eyes but no one was able to help, simply sneered as he pleaded silently with Arthur’s gun only inches away from his face. 
The air was tense around you as John and the others patrolled the entryway. All of them were on the lookout for anything suspicious outside, any sign that this wasn’t going to work. But it had to. It simply had to; this was much too large of a show to go off with a hitch. 
A loud scraping sound resonated as the vault door creaked open with the poor bank manager pulling as hard as he could. Arthur cast you a look before heading in, his brow filled with worry to get this over with as soon as possible. You sent him a small smile, hoping he could read it under your bandana, and nodded for him to go on. 
Anxiety pumped through you. The bank manager stood outside and at Bill’s command called out the combination, his legs shaking from the stress. The seconds ticking away felt like hours and you wanted nothing more than to run away from all of this mess. 
“We got trouble! Looks like the law.”
Your head whipped around at John’s yell. His voice was tense and Dutch ran over to get a good look at the situation with anger and fear in his eyes. The others were quickly behind him. 
Everyone knew this operation had to be executed precisely. Anything short of perfection would mean failure and a real risk of death. With Hosea’s attention to detail and the way everyone knew their part Dutch had been confident this would go off without any problems. He already felt the warm, island air rustling through his hair, the grainy, hot sand beneath his feet, and the sweet, sticky mango juice bursting in his mouth. This was going to work. This had to work. Because if it didn’t, there was no way out. 
Unfortunately Dutch didn’t count on your father. 
“Come out! It’s over!” 
No, no, no, no. Not him, not now. Your heart pounded in your chest so hard you were sure the others heard it, and at the same time your stomach dropped down to your feet. How on Earth had he found you?
John said something about Abigail but a rushing sound filled your ears and you couldn’t make it out. Everyone had pressed themselves up against the wall in cover and you did the same, hoping you would be able to act when it came down to it. 
“Dutch! Get out here. Get out here now!”
A silence fell over the bank. Agent Milton walked out from behind a wagon across the street brandishing a pistol that was shoved into the back of Hosea’s head. Dutch let out a groan. 
“Someone must have squealed!” 
“We never should have gone after Bronte, Dutch,” John spat. His eyes were on the mother of his child just beyond his reach. 
“Mr. Milton?” Dutch’s voice lost its usual silk and instead was filled with fear, cracking slightly. “Let my friend go. Or folks are gonna get shot unnecessarily.”
“Your friend? Why would I do that?” Your father’s voice was loud and full of confidence. It sent slivers of fear through your spine as your mind raced. 
“C’mon, Milton!”
“It’s over! No more bargains, no more deals.”
“Mr. Milton, this is America. You can always cut a deal.” 
He was reaching his finale. Your father always loved making a show of capturing ‘the bad guys’ and you knew from his stance that you were running low on time. If someone didn’t do something Hosea would be dead, the rest of you following shortly. 
“Hey girly, remember way back when you and I made a deal?” Micah was standing much too close to your back for comfort and in your agitated state you tried to shake him off. This only made him mad and he grabbed your arm tightly in his grip. “You owe me, I’m cashing in. Only one way this thing and it’s with you outside of those doors while we escape.”
“What?” you asked, your mind racing and unable to comprehend his request.
“Daddy Dearest is out there about to blow us all to hell. We need a distraction and you are the golden ticket.”
You froze. Micah was asking, no, telling you to sacrifice yourself on the slim chance your father wouldn't kill you on sight. It was insanely risky, but it would give the gang and the people you had grown to love a chance, albeit slim, to get away safely. All around you were the tense faces of people who had time and time again proven they were good and loving, more than you could ever say for your own father who stood on the other side of the street with the power of the law behind him. In a way, you felt this had always been coming. Rushing towards you like a train in the night. Eventually it would have to reach its destination. Your hands shook as you realized that this might be the only plan, and you couldn’t risk the chance of your newfound family dying because you weren’t brave enough. Your father wouldn't listen to anyone else and as the seconds melted away you steeled yourself against the tide that would surely try and knock you over. 
“Well?” Micah shook you impatiently. 
You looked around. Dutch, Bill, Lenny, John, Javier...Arthur. These were people you would gladly sacrifice yourself for. Memories came flooding back of sitting around the campfire singing, hours spent in the fields hunting, and the times you and Abigail laughed yourselves silly. Your eyes watered at the thought of leaving, but it had to be done. 
“I’ll do it,” you spoke quietly. “But I have one request.”
“And what’s that?” 
Micah had started making his way to the door and Arthur, noticing you moving about, was heading towards you too. You met his eyes for a moment and you swore he knew what you were about to do. His footsteps picked up and you had to act. 
Leaving him was of course the hardest. Never had you imagined a love so brilliant and bright, and knowing that you were willingly throwing it all away tore you apart. The ring on your finger felt heavy with guilt but you clutched your gun tighter until Micah tore it from your hands. Arthur opened his mouth to whisper something and you knew waiting would make it worse. 
“Tell Arthur I love him.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” Micah snorted and unceremoniously shoved you outside the giant bank doors before slamming them shut. Something on the other side slammed against them and you guessed it was Arthur, livid at the unexplained sight. A voice yelled something and then everything went quiet, and you looked up at the scene before you. 
Hosea stood in the middle of the street covered in dust and watching you with worried eyes. He shook his head slightly, telling you to leave, but you cast him a watery smile of reassurance. 
Behind him every gun held by the Pinkerton Detective agents was trained on you and ready to fire. You looked up and down the line realizing just how many there were. This had to be a set up, no one was ready that fast. 
A strangled cry that turned into a laugh came from the head Detective. He took a faltering step forward, then looked at you with utter bewilderment. 
“Put your guns down,” he said. The detectives looked over at him confused. “I said put them down!”
“Sir?” questioned one of the men to his side. 
“Because…” Agent Milton spoke slowly, still trying to process the change in events unfolding before him. 
You placed both hands up in the air and spoke with much more confidence than you felt. 
“Because I’m his daughter.” You looked directly at him, taking a deep breath before saying, “Hello, Father. Good to see you.”
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