#this dropped at like 11pm last night and i was there so early it still had abt 80/20 ratio....its abt 12/88 now | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mountttmase · 9 months

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A Mountain To Climb: The Sequel

Chapter Two

Note - thank you to everyone who left me feedback for the last chapter 🩷 this is technically the first chapter where something new happens so I really hope you love it 🙊 feedback would be appreciated as always 🥰

Pairing - Mason Mount × Reader

Word count - 3.3K

Warnings - series will contain fluff, smut and angst

Masterlist

Sunday nights were your favourite. You loved getting into bed early with fresh sheets and new book but tonight your usual routine was out the window.

It was almost 11pm and you were still sat on your sofa, trying to find the courage to pull yourself up when your phone buzzed.

Before you knew it, your phone was ringing and you couldn’t help but smile as you hit the answer button.

‘Mason, what are you playing at?’

‘Go look out your living room window’

‘What?’ You laughed, getting up slowly and making your way over but Mason kept quiet, the only noise coming from him was a few little giggles that made your heart thump. You pushed the curtain ever so gently so you could peek outside but now you knew why he was giggling. There he was, stood outside of his car as he waved up at you with that cheeky smile of his you’d missed this last week or so. ‘Mason Mount, what the hell are you doing here’ you laughed as you waved back at him.

‘Was on my way back from Chilly’s and I’m a bit peckish. Thought you might want to join me for a late night drive through run’

‘Mase… I’m in my pjs’ you giggled and you could see him laugh from the window.

‘I don’t care. We’ll be in the car so it’s not like anyone will see you. Come on, be a little reckless. I haven’t seen you in over two weeks’ he teased and you hated to admit he was right. The last time you’d seen Mason in person was two Fridays ago when you’d gone over to apologise and explain yourself. You’d spent the whole day together in the end but the pair of you had been fairly busy after that and even though you’d spoken every day you hadn’t managed to see each other.

Your resolve was quickly wearing away as you looked down at him and when he playfully dropped his lip you knew you were done for, huffing and rolling your eyes as he smiled up at you.

‘Get in the car, I’ll be five minutes’ you told him and you watched him celebrate like he’d scored a goal as he made his way round to his door.

You quickly ran to your room, slipping out of your shorts and into a pair of joggers before pulling on the matching hoodie and a pair of trainers. Your hair was a mess on top of your head but you didn’t have time to do anything with it let alone sort your face out so you grabbed your phone and keys and made your way down.

His head shot up as soon as you slid into the seat next to him and you offered him a shy smile as you got plugged in. You could feel yourself blushing as your heart thumped in your ears at being so close to him again and it took all of your willpower to glance over to him. He was looking back at you with the same red cheeks and shy expression and you felt a bit better.

‘Hi’ you smiled before letting out a little laugh and he smiled back before starting the car.

‘Hi’ he winked, before focusing on the road. ‘Thank you for joining me’

‘Didn’t really give me much choice, did you?’

‘I mean if you were comfortable with leaving me on the street then you could of but I’m glad you came to the right decision’ he joked and you rolled your eyes whilst trying to surprise a smile.

‘Did you have a nice time at Bens?’

‘Yeah it was alright, his girlfriend is away so-‘

‘So you can finally be together freely without her watching’ you cut him off, teasing him about how close they were but he just huffed with a smile.

‘Very funny’ he grumbled, but he couldn’t say anything else as he pulled into the queue for the drive through. There were only a few cars in front and he was soon enough he was relaying his order to the employee before facing you. ‘What would you like?’

Rather than tell Mason so he could repeat it, you unplugged yourself so you could lean over him, his face right next to yours and you spoke your order into the speaker and you almost jumped when you felt his hand gently rest on the back of your right thigh that was kneeling in the edge of his seat. Once you’d finished you turned to him, his face a lot closer than you realised and his eyes automatically looked down to your lips, seemingly too caught up in you to hear anything else that was going on.

‘Mason?’ You asked and he looked up just as you nodded over to the speaker.

‘Oh shit, sorry’ he laughed as you made your way back to your seat. ‘Sorry can you say that again?’

‘Can I get you anything else?’ The employee laughed and you watched as he scratched over his chin nervously.

‘No thanks mate, that’s all’

The drive round to the next window was quiet, the pair of you only speaking when you offered to pay. He brushed you off like you were delusional and it wasn’t long before he was parked up and you were dishing out his food to him.

‘You know for a small guy you sure do eat a lot’ you told him, horrified by the amount he’d ordered.

‘Who you calling small?’ He laughed, trying to flex his arm muscles and you’d be lying if you said your weren’t a little bit impressed. ‘Ive been putting loads of work in thank you very much’

‘Yeah but surely eating all this crap this late in the day can’t be good for you?’

‘Ah I’ll just put in an extra hour at the gym tomorrow it’s fine’ he winked and you felt yourself blush again.

Everything felt so new again with him, like you were just starting to get to know him. It was true in a way as this time you knew what direction you would be heading in and although you were still nervous about it you were also excited to finally be with him how you had always wanted to deep down. You could tell you were still both incredibly shy with each other but you just needed a little time to get into the rhythm of things.

‘I can’t believe we’re sat in a McDonald’s car park this late a night. I need a picture to commemorate this’ you laughed, grabbing your phone and awkwardly taking a picture of the pair of you with all your food and your heart thumped at his cheesy smile.

‘So what’s new’ he asked before shoving a handful of chips in his mouth and you couldn’t help but laugh at how goofy he was.

You sat and talked as you ate, updating him on the very little that had happened since you’d seen him a and he told you about training and the last game. You could tell he was a bit shy too but as you spoke the pair of you grew in confidence and the conversation flowed.

‘You’ll have to come to the next game, give you a chance to wear your Chelsea shirt’ he winked and you nodded at him nervously.

‘I never did thank you for that’ you laughed as you polished off the last your your drink. ‘So thanks’

‘Anytime’ he winked before he started rubbing his belly liked he’d eaten too much. ‘Maybe that extra burger on the side was a bad idea’

‘You think?’ You smiled, gathering all the rubbish into the paper bag so you could leave his car clean. ‘I’m just gonna pop to the loo so I’ll dump this inside’ you told him, scurrying off. You fancied something sweet on the way out so you sneakily ordered a small McFlurry and made sure to ask for an extra spoon. When you got back in the car he raised his eyebrow at you when he caught sight of it before laughing. ‘I got an extra spoon so we could share. You want some?’

‘Well it would be rude not to’ he smiled and you both lent in so you could share.

‘I thought you would be too full up for this’ you smiled and have gave you a little shrug.

‘There’s always room in my dessert tummy’ he winked ‘which reminds me, I need to put an order in for some more cookies’

‘Does that mean I’ll get paid this time?’

‘In a way’ he laughed and you felt your face flush at what he was implying as he finished off the last spoonful. ‘You fancy going for a bit of a drive?’ He asked and you nodded at him with a smile, glad he didn’t want to take you home yet.

You’d been driving for around 20 minutes when he told you he wanted to talk you somewhere close by but you’d been driving through country lanes for a while and you weren’t sure where he could want to take you but you agreed anyway.

‘What is it with you and taking me to weird forest’s. At least you had the decency to take me in the day last time’ you commented as he began driving up a muddy path that lead to god knows where and even though it was dark and no one could probably hear you scream for miles, you still felt safe.

You watched out the window as he pulled into a little empty car park, but it was the view in front of you that had you awestruck. The twinkling lights of London were shining in the distance and you turned to give Mason a smile, only realising then that he was already smiling at you.

‘Come on’ he motioned, making out like he wanted you to get out of the car and you looked back at him like he was insane. ‘What?’

‘It’s midnight, Mason. It’s bloody freezing’

‘Well we can keep each other warm’ he told you before opening his door and stepping outside. You thought he was mental, but the thought of maybe being close to him outweighed anything else you were thinking right now so you got out and followed him round to the front where he was perched on the bonnet. When you were in reach he pulled you by your arm so you could stand in between his legs, your back to his chest as he wrapped his arms around your middle and you felt yourself melt into his body as you rested your arms on top of his. This was the sort of contact you’d been craving from him for two weeks and you felt your heart pound as he settled his chin on your shoulder. ‘Is this okay?’

You could only nod, too nervous and afraid that your voice would betray you but he held you tighter so you could look out at the view together. It all felt so romantic and surreal as you felt his heart beat faintly against your back and you slowly stroked circles over his hands with your thumbs.

‘Should I find it weird you know so many romantic places in the woods?’ You asked him quietly, trying not to disturb the comfortable silence but you smiled as you felt his chest rumble with laughter. ‘I know you said we’re mountaineers now but I didn’t expect you to bloody take me up one’

‘I wouldn’t exactly call this a mountain, more of a large hill. And since you’re the first person I’ve ever brought here then no’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, saw it online last week and I knew we were close by so I thought we could check it out’

‘Aww have you been researching cute date ideas for us’ you joked but by the way he held you tighter and nestled into your neck you knew you’d hit the nail on the head.

‘Hush up’ he laughed, and you turned in his arms to face him. Your hands planted on his shoulders as his wrapped around your waist and you could still make out his cute blush in the dark.

‘So is this what this is, a date?’ You joked and you watched his face get even pinker.

‘You’re such a tease’ he laughed before you lent forward and kissed him on his nose. When you pulled back you could see he was looking up at you with a shy smile before he kissed your cheek, sending a shiver down your spine as you finally felt his lips on yours in some sort of way before he pulled back to bump his nose against yours.

You wanted to kiss him so much, and you were pretty sure he wanted to kiss you too but you were both a little scared so you took the plunge first, leaning forward to attach your lips to his for the sweetest most innocent kiss you’d ever shared with anyone. Lips barely touching at first as you both smiled but you felt everything you needed to, just like you always did around him.

‘I’ve been waiting for you to kiss me all night’ he whispered, causing you to laugh as you nestled into his neck and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pulling each other impossibly closer as your heart thumped from nerves.

‘I’ve been waiting for you to do it’ you chuckled, smiling onto his skin as you felt him rub his nose against your cheek in order to get you to look at him again so you looked up with a blush before he lent over to kiss you. He was more forceful with you this time but only just, pulling you in with one arm whilst the other snuck slightly lower to pinch your bum as you threaded your fingers through his hair. A soft hum of appreciation filtering through his lips as he gently kissed you.

‘Thank you for coming out with me tonight’ he told you, brushing some hair behind your ear as you felt your knees go weak.

‘Thank you for making our first official date McDonald’s’ you laughed as you placed a gentle kiss on his nose.

‘You do that a lot’ he laughed and you looked back at him confused.

‘Do what?’

‘Kiss my nose’

‘Oh, I didn’t realise’ you laughed, blushing and you hid your face from him.

‘Don’t hide. I like that you do it’

‘Really?’ You asked quietly looking back to him and his soft smile was melting you.

‘Of course. It’s very cute’ he told you before pressing a quick kiss to your nose. ‘It can be our thing’

‘I’d like that’ you laughed before pulling him back into a hug. You fit together so perfectly and you felt an overwhelming sense of calm take over as he held you in his arms, your head slightly tucked into his neck as he rested his lips on your temple. You were both silent, the only sounds you could hear were a few leaves rustling in the wind and the odd cricket or two and even though you were starting to get cold you were pretty certain there was no where else you’d rather be. ‘You know what this reminds me of?’

‘What’s that?’

‘Remember we went for that walk when we first met?’

‘Yeah, took me days to convince you to see me’ he laughed, pinching your sides gently as you nuzzled into his neck a little more.

‘Oh shush’ you laughed, rolling your eyes at the memory of trying to get Mason to leave you alone. ‘It feels like we’re at the end of our walk where we got look out again. Like we’re back to the start so we can restart’

‘I like that’ he told you softly, kissing along your jaw and you could sense the smile in your voice.

‘Me too’ you smiled, holding each other even tighter as another comfortable silence took over you.

‘You cold, baby?’ He asked you after a few moments of quiet and you smiled into his neck at the pet-name before shaking your head against him. ‘You are, I can feel you shivering. Come on, let get back in and I’ll crank the heat up yeah?’ He told you but you showed no sign of moving, too comfortable in his arms. In the end he stood up, moving forward and causing you to step back. Still holding on to him for dear life as he walked you to your door and even though you couldn’t see a thing and you were relying on him guiding you, you felt safer than you had in a while. ‘Come on, let’s get you in’ he laughed and you pulled back to give him a cheeky smile.

‘I want a kiss first’ you whispered and it didn’t take much for him to dip his head down and kiss you again, squeezing your sides gently as you got lost in each other for a few moments.

‘Come on you big baby’ he chuckled before opening your door and gently pushing you inside. He was slipping in next to you just after and it was only when he started blasting the heat you realised how cold you were. Without a word he reached over and took your hands in his, rubbing them together so he could get you warm quicker before bring them up to his lips to blow onto. Once he felt like you were sufficiently warm you watched him press kisses along your knuckles and you felt yourself melting at the gesture before he looked back up at you with sad eyes. ‘I guess I better get you home. It’s nearly one and you’re gonna be miserable tomorrow if you don’t go to sleep soon’

‘I’m not ready to go home’ You pouted, knowing that he was right but you weren’t happy about it.

‘How about we compromise and I take you the long way back?’

‘That could work’ you smiled and with a final kiss placed on your hand, you got plugged in and he set off.

He drove with his hand placed on your thigh now and you played with his fingers as you spoke about some upcoming plans.

‘So if you’re free, maybe I can take you out? Like on a proper date rather than for a big mac’ he laughed and you gave him a shy nod. ‘Perfect, I’ll sort something out for us’

You were home quicker than you’d of liked to of been and you huffed as he pulled up outside your building, resting your head on the shoulder of the seat so you could look at Mason and he did the same meaning you were only a few inches apart.

‘Thank you, Mase. I had a nice time’ you whispered and his whole face softened as he smiled.

‘So did I’ he told you before leaning over and kissing you lightly. ‘Come on I’ll walk you to your door’

You both traipsed up the stairs hand in hand and you had to lean against the door when he gave you a kiss goodnight since your knees felt so weak which only got worse when he pulled back to smile at you.

‘Night gorgeous’ he whispered and you responded by kissing his nose which he reciprocated with a smile.

‘Night Mase’

‘You make sure you go straight to sleep, yeah?’

‘I will I promise’ you laughed as you finally pulled away from each other, unlocking your door and stepping inside. After a final kiss he made his way back downstairs and you watched from your window as he made his way to the car, peering up one last time to give you a wave before driving away.

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presidenthades · 8 months

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I am doing very minor revisions of Daemon’s Handbook (mostly formatting and continuity errors), and I wanted to do some behind-the-scenes commentary before too much time passes and I forget my original thoughts. Here’s Chapter 11!

(Note that these commentaries aren’t canon to the verse until/unless the author writes them into the series. I might change my mind on a few points later, but these are the thoughts I had while writing.)

In my early outline, the big scandal in the last chapter was supposed to be Luce and Aemond getting caught in flagrante by somebody aligned to Otto (the servants’ passages scene in Chapter 9 didn’t happen in this version). I was writing it as a parallel to the Episode 4 brothel scene, so I was going to have it take place in the city somewhere, and there was going to be a lot of drama with Luce and Aemond being forcibly separated while Daemon searches for Luce. But the pacing was off and the necessary sequence of events was too contrived, so we got the version that currently exists in the fic.

I kept wondering if it was plausible Clement Celtigar to be stupid enough to unwittingly act as Otto’s lackey. I decided the answer is yes. I try not to character bash, but the Celtigars make it too easy. 😭 Seriously, read about them on the ASOIAF wiki (and look at Edwell and Bartimos’s pages).

I imagine that Otto pretended to be more familiar with Rhaenyra’s side of the family than he actually is, and he dropped some hints (without outright saying it, because like Daemon thinks in this chapter, young men want to believe they come up with their own ideas) that Luce favors Clement, and that she enjoys visiting the library late at night. Then Otto had the note forged in Aemond’s handwriting and left it for Luce. I’m sure this scheme was a lot smoother and sneakier than my bullet points can convey.

I picked the library as the setting so I could play with the trope in a lot of Aemond/OC fanfics (which I really enjoy! But I also enjoy flipping tropes) where Aemond and his love interest rendezvous in the library.

ASOIAF has names for hours of the day (eg hour of ghosts), but GRRM hasn’t revealed all the names. So I extrapolated names for all 24 hours of the day. “Hour of the cat” in the forged note is 11PM.

I spent a while debating how badly Luce injures Clement. I considered making it a lot more grievous (with a knife involved, as a redux of Driftmark), but that would have drastically darkened the story’s tone and changed the fallout from the event. So Clement gets away with a bit of testicular torsion, which Dr Google tells me *can* be serious if not quickly given medical treatment.

Bartimos comes close to calling Luce a whore. If he said it, Daemon would probably have given him the Episode 8 Vaemond treatment. Again, that would’ve been a very dark tonal shift, so Barty stays quiet.

Clement wants 8 sons and 2 daughters because a crab (his house sigil) has ten legs total, two of them being pincers. But Luce doesn’t care about the symbolism, and she ain’t having that many kids.

Normally Luce would have sneaked off alone to meet Aemond in the library. But she brings Rhaena because the argument with Daemon is still fresh, and she’s smarting from his (reasonably accurate) accusation that she doesn’t think enough with her upper brain. So in a strange way, Daemon’s diatribe benefited Luce because if she’d gone alone, there wouldn’t be any witnesses to defend her.

Daemon’s snooping around the girls’ letters is also proving to be surprisingly helpful several years later! If he hasn’t read Aemond’s letters to Luce, Daemon wouldn’t notice the handwriting discrepancy.

Daemon spends the entire fic paranoid about Hightower schemes, and he’s FINALLY right! He finally gets validation! 😂 But he also has zero evidence, literally just gut feelings and vibes.

Baela has been having a great time with Cregan Stark (who canonically has a thing for bisexual tomboys). The Northerners are staying around longer than most wedding guests because the distance is so far, so Baela has plenty of time to keep seducing him. By the time Cregan leaves, I imagine he’s going to make an offer to Baela, but she’s going to put him off for a while longer; she’ll *probably* accept him eventually, but she’s not sure Moondancer will like the cold.

After Daemon confronts Aemond, Aemond goes to the Tower of the Hand to confront Otto. I’m not sure what exactly they say to each other, but afterwards, Aemond tears his room apart looking for the present he planned to give Luce three years ago. I don’t know where he eventually finds it, but it’s probably a laughably obvious spot he totally overlooks at first.

Jace has already been setting up a gossip/whisper network in the Red Keep, so she’s able to hear first thing the next morning about the library incident.

I like Paddy Considine’s take that Viserys *does* have the “blood of the dragon,” he just forces himself to control his temper because he’s trying to be a good king. Also, when he’s a walking corpse in Episode 8, he has the wherewithal to draw his dagger and threaten to cut out Vaemond’s tongue. Viserys would 100% call for Clement to be gelded and gossipers to be silenced. So, for once, Viserys strongly approves of Daemon’s violent streak. 😇

I spent a while debating Clement’s punishment. He kissed Luce when she didn’t want it, which, for most girls, would unfortunately be swept under the rug since he’s the heir to a notable house. But things are different with the royal family. Luce doesn’t want an unnecessarily cruel punishment; she was friendly with Clement until recently, and in Chapter 7, she’s restraining Aemond from violence against Ulf. Even though she’s quick to defend herself by any means necessary, she’s by no means a sadist. She was also deeply affected when Aemond lost his eye (which she partially blames herself for), which leads to her resisting punishments that involve maiming.

Jace also advocates for less violence, but not because she’s a softie. She prefers the diplomatic route, which is harder if you’re trigger-happy to forcibly amputate your vassals. But she knows a monarch has to make hard decisions sometimes, and she’s willing to do what it takes. For example, if Clement had done worse than kiss Luce, Jace *would* want him to be gelded, and she’d have no qualms about it.

Helaena did not have a vision or prophecy about Aemond and the book. She just saw him panicking in his room and figured out what he was up to, because she’s his sister and she knows him. 😂 And because she knows him (and Luce) so well, she can deduce they’re probably going to patch things up, so she packs his bags for him.

No God’s Eye duel in this verse, but I couldn’t resist slipping in a reference about Luce jumping into Vhagar’s saddle 😭

ASOIAF book readers can probably deduce what Joff’s candle is. And that’s all I’m gonna say about it until we get Joff’s POV. 👀

Joff kisses Daeron’s cheek purely to distract Daemon from asking more questions about the candle. Daeron is now very confused. I like to imagine he runs off to Jace and Aegon’s room screaming “Aegon, Joff kissed me, what do I do????” But Jace and Aegon are newlyweds so Aegon isn’t going to appreciate Daeron’s interruption 😂😂😂

That’s it for the Handbook commentaries! Fingers crossed that I have an update this weekend about my next fic in this AU-verse. 🤞

#my writing #hotd #house of the dragon #hotd fanfic #meta #hotd fic #house of the dragon fanfic #daemon’s handbook

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ijustloveharry · 2 years

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Prompt ; "Hii can you write Harry styles × sister where she is younger than him and feels like he is neglecting her and favouring her twin more and also she is bullied at school . Something angsty with a happy ending." / 4.8k words / platonic anst & fluff & sibling stuff

Requests are open.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry loved his sisters, and he'd do anything for them.

Gemma was older; she could take care of herself but Harry still felt responsible for her wellbeing.

Natalie and Gwen were a year younger, and Harry felt even more pressure to make sure nothing happened to them.

They didn't attend the same school as him this year, Harry had just graduated and was off to college. He stayed in town in case his mum and sisters needed anything.

Natalie got a boyfriend over the summer - and Harry wasted no time making sure to check if he was worth her time. He was. Harry and Jason got along pretty well and after getting his seal of approval, Gwen felt Natalie bonded with Harry in a way Gwen never got to.

Gwen loved her older brother. She loved her sister. But she always felt second best to everyone in their family; she didn't have any special people to bring home, she didn't have any major hobbies or extra curriculars. She did okay in school and worked a weekend job at the bowling alley.

Harry came with his friends most Saturdays - Gwen loved that he would visit her at work and grill her coworkers about her life and how well she was doing. She didn't have anyone to go out with on the weekend so seeing Harry and his friends made her feel like she was a part of something.

Until Natalie and Jason started getting invited.

Gwen didnt want to be petty. She couldn't come right out and tell Natalie that it was her and Harry's thing and that maybe she could just fuck off for once in her life. Natalie and Gwen loved each other but they were "much too different to hang out together all the time."

I guess Harry and Natalie weren't too different to hang out as friends, though.

Gwen began to dread Saturday nights, She even tried to switch to the morning shift, but no one wants to work Saturday nights. They all have plans with their friends.

Like clockwork, they rolled in around 830pm. Gwen always had a lane reserved for them, and bowling shoes ready. Harry always came early to make sure she was having a good shift before his friends showed up.

The last couple weeks, though, Natalie and Jason had arrived first. Natalie didn't talk to Gwen, avoided her almost, and by the time Harry showed up they were all eager to start their game.

Gwen hated Natalie for that. She didn't say anything, though. She just shut up and kept working.

When they were finished with their rounds, the group piled to the counter to drop off the shoes they had just finished with. They were discussing an upcoming party, and Gwen tried to tune out so she didn't feel too horrible about not being in invited. Harry noticed she was checked out.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked. Gwen shrugged.

"You guys should come on Saturday - a couple guys girlfriends are your age so it'll be good. I think it's at Bryan's - let me check the texts"

"I'll be there. But I dunno why you bother with her, Harry, she's not going to want to go to a party"

"Sure I do." Gwen said swiftly "Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh, it's just, who would you hang out with?"

Harry looked at Natalie puzzled, before turning back to Gwen "It's at Bryan's, 11pm. I'll bring you guys some booze."

Natalie didn't get Jason to give Gwen a ride. She said they wanted to hang out just the two of them before heading over. Gwen opted to take the bus. She bought a new outfit, she thought she looked pretty cute. The top was a bit smaller than what she'd usually wear, but that didn't bother her for once. She felt good; she looked good. And she wanted to meet people and her usual clothes weren't prepared for this kind of social interaction.

Gwen brought a bottle of vodka. She had gotten it from their aunt years back and never had anyone to drink it with. She was in twelfth grade, she decided she didn't need anyone to share vodka with.

"Hey - I told you I was gonna get the liquor." Harry teased, He was not impressed with his sister's low cut shirt but decided to leave it.

"Where'd you even get that, anyway?" Natalie asked. Of course she was already here.

Gwen chose to ignore her and headed towards the kitchen. She placed the bottle in the sea of others and mixed herself a drink. She didn't know what she was doing but she figured confidence was key.

It wasn't. She was sure she had never had anything that tasted worse, and she stood in the kitchen until she finished her drink to try again for round 2. It was just as bad.

"Damn, looking to get fucked up?"

Gwen stopped pouring the clear liquid, turning to the source of the voice. She didn't think she had ever met this guy before.

"Steve" he introduced

"Gwen" She smiled.

"Let me show you" Steve offered, using a shot glass to measure the amount of alcohol for the drink. "Two shots is usually more than enough"

"Oh, I put way more than that"

"I saw." Steve laughed "Wasn't sure if you just liked your liquor."

"Not a big drinker" Gwen admitted

"Not yet" He winked, clinking his cup against hers.

"Harry's sister?" Steve asked her

'Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I dunno. Similar vibe."

Gwen wondered what that meant, but decided not to ask. Harry had a good vibe, she thought.

"I think they're playing never have I ever in the living room if you want to mingle"

"Sure" Gwen shrugged. She didn't really know what people were 'supposed' to do at parties.

"Can we join?" Gwen asked, piping up when they entered the circle

"Gwen - you've never done anything, so I'm not sure you'll get much out of this game." Natalie giggled, rolling closer to Jason. Gwen's grip tightened around her cup.

"Never have I ever.... fucked in a car"

Most people drank, including Natalie, but Gwen wasn't embarrassed that she hadn't had sex. She was 17, she was fine.

They went around the circle, and Gwen was starting to get a bit sweaty. She hadn't drank once yet.

"Never have I ever.... kissed someone in public"

Gwen decided to drink. It wasn't really true, but I mean - she had kissed her relatives on the cheeks and that counted enough for her topsy state.

"C'mon, you know she's lying." Natalie mocked, pointing directly at Gwen "The past five minutes is the most attention she's ever gotten in her life."

It was that moment Gwen decided to leave the game and head back to the kitchen.

"You're such a bitch, you know that Natalie? Why do you always have to make everything worse?" Harry's voice could be heard, Gwen tried not to care about any of it.

The colour in Natalie's face drained, clearly not expecting her brother to scold her in front of a room of college freshman.

"Let me, man. Enjoy yourself." Steve smiled. Harry didn't like that.

"All good - seriously, all good." Harry threatened.

"Hey, are you okay?" Her brother asked, joining her in the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm good." She smiled. Honestly, she was good. Those drinks she had were pretty strong.

"Don't listen to her, she's just going through it-"

"I don't give a fuck about Natalie, Harry." Gwen interrupted, finishing off her drink "She's always like that."

Harry was surprised to hear that. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she goes out of her way to make sure people don't want anything to do with me. It's fucking weird, but I'm used to it. I don't know what her problem is and I don't give a fuck."

Gwen poured herself another drink and Harry eyed her skeptically. He wondered how much she'd had.

"Jesus - I'm fine." She said. She wasn't fine. She was drunk.

"Uh huh." Harry wasn't convinced.

"Thought this was a party" She mumbled, finishing mixing up her drink the way Steve taught her. "What do you know about Steve?"

"Don't talk to Steve." Harry said simply. He didn't elaborate.

"O-kay." She smiled "Who should I talk to them?"

"No one. This was a mistake."

That pissed Gwen off. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I thought you were gonna wear a cardigan or some shit not come here looking like you're trying to get laid."

Gwen raised her eyebrows at her brother.

"I'm not.. trying to get laid, Jesus. Does it look that bad? Should I change?"

Harry realized his mistake, and cursed himself for commenting on her appearance at all.

"No - God, no. I've just never seen you dress like that, is'all."

"Maybe I should more often" She smirked, grabbing two clean shot glasses from the stack. "Now do a shot with your baby sister?"

Harry chuckled, he didn't want to condone her drinking any further but he also wanted to give her room to be a teenager. He was still a teenager himself and he needed to remember that.

"Sure."

He watched as Gwen poured the liquor into the small glasses, clinking them before they shot it back. Gwen winced. That was the worst.

"Harry, I'm not really feeling well. I think I might need a ride home." Natalie was standing at the kitchen door; she looked absolutely fine, for the record.

"Guess it pays not to drink so much in never have I ever." Gwen mumbled. Harry caught it but he refrained from chuckling at her remark.

"I thought Jason was driving you?" He said simply, He'd just started drinking. He didn't want to leave.

"He wants to stay" Natalie pouted "Please? I wouldnt ask if I didn't have to"

Harry cursed to himself and agreed, heading to the door to find his keys and jacket.

"Shotgun." Natalie smirked to her sister

"I'm not gonna go just cuz you are." Gwen said simply, glancing through the different types of alcohol on display. "Have fun at home though."

Natalie was about to protest, but Harry came back and wiggled the keys at her.

"Ready?"

"Gwen says she's not coming, I can just wait until she's ready to go." Natalie said, sighing "Annoying but I'll be okay"

"All good. She can cab home with me later. Tell Jason he's a dick for me."

Gwen saluted them goodbye, and was left alone in the kitchen again. She decided to explore.

"Hey, I'm Gwen. How do you guys know Bryan?"

The group stopped their conversation, huddled around the fire in the backyard. They were passing around a joint, Gwen assumed before walking up, and she figured they would be the most open to meeting someone new.

"Econ." One guy finally said "You're Harry's sister?"

"Yeah." She shifted. She wondered how they knew Harry.

"You must be the hot one, right? I heard one of the twins was smokin and the other one was a total loser. Must be glad you're not your sister."

Gwen shuffled uncomfortably. Did Harry say that?

"Unfortunately I think I might be the loser." She joked. "Glad I can pass as Natalie though."

"Yikes, my bad. Jason was telling everyone that, I didn't realize the other sister was even here. Want a hit?"

Gwen hesitated before taking the lit joint, inhaling the smoke way too much. She coughed slightly, but suppressed it enough to play it cool.

"First time smoking weed?" The girl next to her asked "Hey, sit down."

She shuffled over slightly and Gwen found a seat next to her.

"I'm Carmen, this is Zack. The asshole, over there, is Dex. Don't listen to him."

"Yeah my bad." He interjected "You definitely look like the hot one."

Gwen smiled to herself at that, proud she went out of her comfort zone. The shirt showed a lot more chest than what she usually opted for so she was happy to hear it was paying off.

"You're in grade twelve, right? Do you know what you want to do when you graduate?" Carmen asked, smiling at her warmly.

Gwen did know, but she debated sharing.

"Neuroscience." She finally said

"Fuck yeah, smart and hot. My kind of girl." Dex said. Gwen blushed.

"Shut the fuck up, Dex, Harry will beat your ass to a pulp." Zack cut in

Gwen rolled her eyes. "He probably wouldn't even notice."

She was right. Harry had come back and was playing beer pong inside. He knew Gwen was somewhere. Natalie was home and Gwen was around - that was good enough for him.

"Yooo can I have a puff?" A girl leaned in, smoking the joint from Gwen's fingers. It had just been passed back to her and was nearly gone,to her dismay.

"I'll light another" Carmen read her mind, passing it over to Gwen. "Neuroscience is cool. I'm in education, which sucks so far."

Gwen nodded. She had yet to meet any of the people her own age that Harry had mentioned earlier that week.

"Like you wanna be a teacher? Ewwww" The drunken girl exclaimed. Gwen never caught her name.

"What do you want to do?" Carmen asked her politely

The girl shrugged, plopping to take a seat on the grass.

Gwen maintained conversation - she was surprised she could keep up when they discussed their intro classes. Who knew all her reading would benefit her at a party so much?

"Hey - there you are."

Harry's voice cut off Carmen's story. Gwen was really invested so she waved Harry away.

"Hey Harry" Dex smiled, standing to give him and embarrassing bro hug. Gwen hated seeing Harry talk to his male acquaintances.

"Keeping and eye on her?" He raised an eyebrow at Carmen. She laughed.

"She can take care of herself."

Gwen smiled at that, but her felt the ping in her chest when he immediately walked away. He would have stayed and looked out for Natalie.

"Wanna go inside? I could use another drink" Gwen turned to Carmen. She nodded and gathered the few things she had askew on the seat next to her. She told Gwen it was to prevent guys from 'helping themselves and feeling her up'.

They did a shot in the kitchen before moving to the basement. It was the only place Y/N hadn't ventured yet but Carmen immediately headed that way.

It was busier down there. There was a pool table and a steady flow of beer pong rounds going on.

Behind the table was a whiteboard - Harry's name scrawled at the top. He was the current champion, I guess.

"Wanna play doubles?" Steve came up to the two girls, wagging the ball.

"I don't do beer pong." Carmen rejected "But you go ahead."

Gwen shrugged. Why not.

They played against another couple, Gwen couldn't quite remember their names. (Jen and Mike? Jesse and Mal? She didn't know).

Her and Steve won, to her surprise she was actually pretty good.

"Damn Styles, where you been hiding your sister?"

Gwen froze at Steve's forward remark. She knew Harry wouldn't like it.

"The library." He slurred. Oh, he was drunk. She had never seen him proper drunk before.

"Well all that physics or whatever helped her slay at beer pong. We'll have to vs you and Hannah sometime."

Harry stopped for a moment, before carrying on without another word. Two hours ago he told her not to talk to Steve, and now he was totally fine to leave her alone with him? What the fuck, Harry?

"Think I need another drink" She didn't "Wanna head upstairs?"

Steve nodded and the trudged up the stairs. That, Harry noticed. He got a scolding for embarrassing Natalie on the car ride home - he wasn't going to make that mistake again. He'll leave her. She's fine. Steve's fine.

"Have you had fireball before?" Steve asked, pulling a Mickey from his back pocket

"No" She admitted, reaching for a shot glass.

"Nah" He brushed her hand away, passing her the plastic bottle "Just swig it from the bottle"

Gwen obeyed, downing the liquid quickly. It burned, really burned, and she decided she liked fireball.

"Good, right?" Steve asked, taking a swig for himself. "So tell me about you."

"What about me?" Gwen asked, leaning on her hands on the counter "Not much to tell."

"Tell me what you like. About your friends. I dunno." Steve was leaning with his back against the counter, fully looking at Gwen

"I don't have many friends" She admitted "I don't get along with people my age much."

Steve smiled at that. He liked her.

"People your age kinda suck." Steve said

"Yeah." Gwen agreed "Especially my sister."

"You have a sister?" He asked

Gwen was about to tell him that she, in fact, had two, when Harry trudged up the stairs.

"Wanna come out for a blunt?" Harry asked

"Sure" Gwen replied, glancing at Steve expectingly. He shifted awkwardly, declining Harry's offer.

"Don't smoke much." He shared "I'll catch you around"

Gwen pouted at his swift exit, following after Harry to the back porch.

"So, who's Hannah?" Gwen teased. Harry didn't look over at her.

"Literally no one." He finally replied "I told you not to talk to Steve"

Gwen shrugged "It's not like you were talking to me."

"I'm not your fucking babysitter" He mumbled, kicking a rock as he puffed on the freshly lit joint.

"Exactly. I can talk to whoever I want."

Gwen was proud of herself - really proud. The liquor looked good on her, she thought.

"You're still my sister." He said, passing it over to her. "And Steve is no good."

"He was nice to me." She stated "And didn't cross any lines."

Harry scoffed, finally taking a seat beside her.

"Not yet. Did he offer you fireball?"

Gwen got defensive, why was he being like this?

"So what if he did?"

"Exactly" Harry chuckled "Fuckin Steve."

"I haven't done anything wrong"

"I didnt say you did."

"Well you're implying-"

"I am not implying anything. I'm just telling you not to talk to Steve."

"You're being an ass, and I'm going back inside."

Gwen left the porch swiftly, joining the sea of people. It was just before 2am, and it seemed like the party was in full swing. She glanced around for anyone she may have met earlier.

"Hi! I'm Fatima." A girl smiled, coming into Gwen's line of sight.

"Gwen" She said, relieved to have joined a conversation instead of continuing to awkwardly looking around. "Got busy all of a sudden."

"Yeah, that always happens at Bryan's parties." Fatima smiled knowingly "I'm Bryan's girlfriend, by the way."

"Nice to meet you." Gwen said "I'm having a great time."

"Do you go to school with him? What's your connection?"

"Harry's sister."

"Ohhh." Fatima said knowingly "He gave a pretty hefty pep talk to the guys before tonight. Said everyone better leave you alone or there'd be hell to pay. Probably scared them all off, hope you haven't had a hard time meeting people tonight"

She talked fast, Gwen almost missed what she had said. She found Harry's protective nature endearing - maybe she should find him and apologize.

"Wait, I thought his sister name was Natalie?" Fatima stopped, pulling someone over "The girl Harry was warning everyone about, what was her name again?"

"Natalie." The girl confirmed "She left though"

Gwen stood there awkwardly, unsure how to respond to the current conversation in front of her. Guess Harry really wasn't worried about anyone being interested in her.

"Oh, I'm Cherry by the way." The girl stuck her hand out "Harry's girlfriend, if you know Harry."

Gwen smirked. Oh, so Harry had a girlfriend?

"I'm Gwen, Harry's sister. Natalie is my twin, she went home cuz she wasn't feeling well." Gwen suddenly felt very, very petty. "Guess she can't handle her liquor."

"Guess not." Cherry said "have you seen Harry? He left to play beer pong ages ago but I haven't seen him awhile."

"Last I saw he was talking to Hannah." Gwen smiled "Looked friendly."

Cherry looked at her baffled. Guilt immediately flooded to her gut as she realized what consequences could come.

"Interesting. Excuse me, I'll be back."

Fatima looked at her, eyes wide.

"Do you know who Hannah is?" She asked, Gwen shrugged.

"No but Harry's a fucking prick so I'm sure he'll deserve what he gets."

At that, Gwen turned on her heel and headed towards the kitchen.

Carmen and Zack were about to pour shots, which Gwen gladly agreed to join in on. She poured herself another drink and chatted with them in the kitchen for awhile. She had almost forgotten about Harry, until he came storming in.

"Gwen, can I talk to you?"

"Kinda busy" She brushed off. Carmen eyes the two anxiously

Harry's eyes narrowed at the empty shot glasses and the half finished cup in her hand.

"I was thinking we could go now."

"You can do whatever you want Harry, it's none of my business."

Harry was getting frustrated. He obviously couldn't leave her here, but he was ready to go home.

"I met Cherry, She seems lovely." Gwen smiled sickly. Zack scoffed.

"She's not." Carmen said, removing the cup from Gwen's hand "But Harry knows that."

Harry rolled his eyes at the pair, narrowing them slightly.

"So have you two fucked again?" He asked. Carmen froze and looked over at Zac. Zac was glaring at Harry

"Again? Zack what the fuck." Carmen slammed her cup onto the counter and stormed out. Zac cursed and followed after her.

"Spoiler alert: they haven't fucked yet." Harry said. Gwen shrugged

"Who cares if they have." She picked her cup back up from the counter and continued to sip on it slowly. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend" He mumbled, pouring himself another cup "Thinks she is though"

"I think that means you have a girlfriend." Gwen stated "better break up with her if it's not serious"

Harry was tense now, more tense than Gwen had seen him in awhile. She wondered about the inner workings of his love life, but he always spared the women in his life of the details. There was no one serious enough for him to talk about.

"Think that's done now." He admitted, downing the rest of his drink before promptly refilling it "On my ass about how my sister said I was making out with Hannah"

Gwen snorted, placing her empty cup on the counter next to Harry's. He hesitated before filling it with water.

"That's not what I said"

"Well whatever you said - thanks. Been trying to get her to leave me alone since grade eleven."

That surprised Gwen. They went to the same school for two years - she had never even seen Cherry before. She wondered what else she didn't know about her brother.

"I was" He said. Gwen looked at him questioningly "Making out with Hannah, I mean."

"Oh" Gwen didn't know what she was supposed to say to that. "Was it good?"

"No" Harry laughed, tapping the cup of water in her hand.

Gwen obliged and sipped the cup.

"Sorry to hear that." She finally said

Harry shrugged. "Such is life."

"Not my life." Gwen said quietly and Harry glanced at her

"I've never kissed anyone" She admitted

"What?" Harry asked, He didn't believe her "Don't you have like a nerdy study boy - er or girl? question mark? that you run off to all the time?"

"No" Gwen laughed "Is that what you think? I head to the library at night to meet a mystery boygirl"

"That's what Natalie thinks."

"Natalie is a pro at making shit up."

"Yeah." He agreed. "So you just run off by yourself and, what, read?"

"Basically, yeah. Sometimes I cry."

Harry frowned.

"Well why don't you ever want to come hang out?"

"What?"

"Like parties and stuff, Natalie always says you don't want to come."

"Natalie has never onced asked me." Gwen said

"Of course she hasn't." Harry mumbled "What a bitch."

"Yeah, I mean you've never invited me either. Natalie's always with you" Gwen said pointedly "Literally always."

"Yeah because she begs me to come." Harry rolled his eyes "She's so annoying."

"She is annoying" Gwen agreed. Tonight has been very eye opening.

"I knew you'd like my friends more than she would - sorry, I guess I shouldn't have taken her word for it."

"Why do you think that?"

Harry shrugged. "Because we get along better."

"We do?"

Harry looked at her like he had been hit by a bus. Suddenly Gwen felt bad, really bad. She clearly didn't know Harry as well as she thought she did.

"I mean - yeah. Uh, I thought so.."

"I always thought you liked Natalie more."

"I mean, you're both my sisters and I love you guys, obviously I love her to death. But she's always needy and she's kind of stupid so I don't love to have her around all the time because I feel like I gotta keep an eye on her, or whatever. I dunno. I guess I just trust you more to handle yourself."

Gwen laughed to herself, and Harry joined in shortly after.

"Yeah I used to be really beat up she didn't want to hang out with me - be my friend, I guess, but as I get older I just think she's right. We don't have a lot in common."

"Yeah but honestly I think that's what kills her. She's pretty insecure, and I think you make her jealous. Did you see her face earlier when you said you aren't gonna leave? I thought she was gonna shit"

Gwen laughed. She wished she had confided in Harry sooner.

"Love her though." Gwen said.

"I love her too, but it's always about her. I don't think she wants to come and meet my friends - I think she wants to tell her friends she has college friends."

Gwen knew that was probably true, but she didn't comment on it further. She had never heard Harry complain about Natalie. It was refreshing.

"Gotta protect her or whatever but God I would love to stop worrying about her all the time."

As if on cue, Jason came in, giggling, hand in hand with some blonde girl Gwen had never seen. Harry's jaw tensed.

"Let me." Gwen eased.

"Don't mean to be a party pooper, but this guy gave my sister, his GIRLFRIEND, chlamydia. Might want to avoid him." Gwen said to the girl.

The girl looked at Jason disgusted, and stormed back to the basement. Jason was about to scold Gwen off before he realized who she was. His mouth dropped to an o, and Harry watched the scene unfold from behind the island.

"Yeah. You should probably just go."

"I dont-"

"Get the fuck out, Jason." Harry said, not moving from his spot.

Jason rolled his eyes and left. Harry and Gwen burst out laughing.

"She deserves it though." Harry said "Obviously I wouldn't tell her that and he did seem kind of nice but I'm not surprised that she doesn't know how to pick them."

"I don't know how to pick them either." Gwen teased. Harry looked at her confused

"Steve?" She reminded

"I really like Steve."

"What?" Gwen laughed "Well then what the fuck was your problem?"

"I know Steve." Harry said simply "He's nice. Of course you find the one nice guy whose ass I don't want to have to kick. I figured Natalie would be my problem tonight, not you."

Gwen smiled to herself. She liked Steve too.

"Never in a million years would I have guessed it would be Nat going home early. I figured you'd bus out of here at like 1130 or some shit and she'd get shitfaced and I'd have to hold her hair back."

Gwen was surprised, and clearly her face showed it because Harry lightly shoved her shoulder, pointing to the last few sips of her water.

She finished it off and tossed the cup in the garbage.

"Ready to go?" Harry asked

"Sure." She shrugged. She felt she had gotten what she wanted and more out of tonight.

"Oh! Are you guys leaving?" A voice snapped Harry and Gwen to the patio door, Steve was walking in and slid the door shut behind him.

"No man - just me. Take care of her for me, yeah?" Harry smiled at Gwen knowingly

"Of course. Have a good night."

Gwen was about to protest but Harry waved his hand to stop her. "Have fun."

"Bye Harry" Gwen smiled at her brother. He gave her a quick hug.

"Text me if you need anything" He whispered, Gwen softly nodded onto his shoulder.

"Be safe!" Harry called back, heading out towards the front door.

"So, how about another drink?" Steve smiled

#ask and you shall receive #harry styles fic #harry styles one shot #harry styles #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #older brother harry

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luthien-under-bough · 9 months

Text

signature - Daemon Targaryen x Rhaenyra Targaryen

Not Rated, 1225 words, Text fic, Prompt Fic, Modern AU

Summary:

Daemon gets drunk on a boys' night out - and decides to demonstrate his love for Rhaenyra in a rather permanent way.

Written for the HotD Summer Snippets & Stories prompt event.

Prompt word: signature

Italics is Daemon Bold is Rhaenyra

friday, 3:45pm

do i have to go yes rather stay home with you im not staying home im going out with laena ;) you know what i mean brat oh stop, you’ll have fun plus laenor and the boys need an old man to show them how it’s done im having 3 drinks max then im coming home whatever you say, love and dont think ill forget that 'old' comment youll pay for that later oh im counting on it :) now get back to work!

friday, 6:00pm

how do i look? [ATTACHMENT: (1) IMAGE] oh fuck you are you SURE i cant convince you stay home?? 0:) have fun old man xx

friday, 7:14pm

im the only one here why is no one ever on time being early is very uncool im not early! im punctual! if youre on time youre early need to be at least 15 min late im rolling my eyes so hard right now oh heres laenor and harwin finally laenor is already pissed LOL laena says hi [ATTACHMENT: (1) IMAGE] tell laena she needs to teach her brother how to hold his liquor

friday, 8:10pm

this pub smells like piss and regret im too old for this shit loosen up baby take a couple shots cant even remember the last time i did a shot all the more reason to do one! youre a bad influence i learned from my uncle ;) your uncle sounds hot oh he is he does shots, too does he? mmhm cmon, ill send a pic of my tits if you do

friday, 8:16pm

[ATTACHMENT: (1) IMAGE] atta boy believe im owed a tit two, even patience!

friday, 8:21pm

[ATTACHMENT: (3) IMAGES] fuck now im hard prove it

friday, 8:25pm

[ATTACHMENT: (2) IMAGES] mm maybe i shouldve stayed home still time ditch laena say the word ill leave right now think i like the idea of u having a wank in a pub bathroom instead fucking tease yeah. what are you gonna do abt it? :) adding to the list of things to punish you for fair i deserve a firm spanking ;) youll get more than that

friday, 9:11pm

well?? did u cum? in the bloody bathroom stall? im not an animal rhaenyra tsk tsk wheres ur sense of adventure come here and ill show you wouldnt dream of crashing boys night what if i beg i do like when u beg so is that a yes...? have another drink ;) youll regret saying that when youre holding my hair back later

friday, 9:57pm

kept doing shots terrible idea think im drunk now thats the spirit! harwin wants to go to a strip club have a lapdance i like when u come home all riled up ;) dont need a lapdance for that can just look at that pic of your tits again flatterer its true. best tits in all of westeros what abt essos? dont be greedy :'(ok ok best tits in all of essos too. and sothoryos and ulthos while were at it thats more like it :)

friday, 10:46pm

see8ng naked women ujst mkes me miss you :(( aww <3 how drunk are you?? lmao im serous tour so beuatiful i miss you[MISSED CALL: ♡Daemon♡]

friday, 10:48pm

sry love too loud here were at karaoke im up next gonna sing You're So Vain is rhat about me i bet you think so ;)

friday, 11:53pm

awful quiet over there u still alive? YES yes sintbe a brat Have s durprise for you layer oh gods laena just dropped me off heading to bed xx naked??? of course probe it

saturday, 12:02am

[ATTACHMENT: (3) IMAGES] i lvoe toy youre so fuscking hot sexiedt woman on esrth goodnight<3

saturday, 1:40am

[MISSED CALL: ♡Daemon♡]

saturday, 1:41am

[MISSED CALL: ♡Daemon♡]

saturday, 1:42am

[MISSED CALL: ♡Daemon♡]

saturday, 1:45am

[ATTACHMENT: (2) IMAGES] WHAT IS THAT DAEMON! OMG ??? i love you baby xxxx i love you somuh much oh my god hahahaah you are going to be SO MAD at yourself tomorrow

saturday, 12:04pm

"About time you woke up. Thought you were dead." Daemon squints, the light sending a blinding pulse of pain directly between his eyes. He can barely lift his head, but he can see just enough to know he somehow made it into his own bed. His head is swimming, his mouth tastes like an ashtray, and he can tell by the way the sheets rub against him that he's completely naked. Beside him, slightly blurred, is Rhaenyra, wearing an undeniably smug grin. "How did I—" "Harwin poured you out of a cab around three a.m." Harwin. Right. Boys' night with Harwin and Laenor. "Fucking hells, I drank way too much," Daemon groans, shoving his face back into the pillows. "That's not all you did," Rhaenyra says cryptically. Daemon lifts his head, craning his neck to get another look at Rhaenyra. She's smiling broadly, pointing a finger vaguely in the direction of his back. That's when he's hit with a stinging surge of pain in his lower back. Oh shit. Oh fuck. "Don't worry, love. I took a photo. The ones you sent me were rather blurry." Rhaenyra holds up her phone, right in front of his face. He blinks a few times, praying that each one might resest his brain and reveal that he's just imagining it—but the tingling sensation tells him it's very much real. A tattoo, right about his ass, in large, curling script: Rhaenyra "Oh my god." "That's what I said," Rhaenyra says. Daemon groans. Pieces of the night return to him in flashes: doing that first shot, then another, then another. Several anothers later and they were at a strip club. Somewhere around their third bottle of Veuve Clicquot, Daemon became convinced that he simply must get a tattoo in honor of Rhaenyra. And Laenor and Harwin apparently did nothing to talk him out of it. "What I'd like to know," Rhaenyra says, unable to keep the giddiness from her voice. "Is where you got my signature from? It's a perfect likeness." That memory returns to him, too. A fragmented image of him waving a dinner receipt around like a lunatic. He sighs loudly. "I had a receipt in my wallet. From when we went to that Dornish restaurant. You paid." Rhaenyra laughs wickedly. "Oh, I can only imagine what it would have looked like had you not had a reference on hand." "I'm going to kill Harwin," Daemon mutters. Rhaenyra sinks down beside him, stroking him lightly along his spine, careful not to disturb his fresh ink. "Oh, come now. I rather like it." Daemon turns his head to the side to narrow his gaze at her. "You do not." "I do!" she insists, her eyes sparkling. "It's sweet. You love me so much you're willing to permanently disfigure yourself. Quite romantic, honestly." Daemon can't help but laugh. "Suppose I'll keep it, then." "Yes, you have to. How else will the whole world know that you're mine?" Daemon reaches out to cup Rhaenyra's face. His beautiful wife. He strokes her cheek, and her smile outshines any other thought or feeling rattling around in his head. "In that case, it's only fair..." he trails off, raising an eyebrow. "What?" "You'll just have to get one to match."

[ao3 link]

*banner by wandanatromanova

#daemyra #daemon x rhaenyra #house of the dragon #hotd #hotd fanfic #my fics #prompt fic #text fic

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sassykattery · 2 years

Text

A Lover and a Friend, Pt. 3

Welcome to the third part of this chapter!

CW: MC is afab, she/her pronouns used. This is mostly fluff and storyline.

Themes: Jealousy (oooo wait for this one y'all), teasing (a little humor/crack), jokes about nudity, scent

Characters: all brothers (assumed), Diavolo, Barbatos, MC="You"

18+

Minors and ageless blogs DNI

Masterlist

It was morning. You slowly came to your surroundings, still not ready to open your eyes.

"Mm," you murmured while nuzzling into the neck of the demon you were held by. You breathed a heavy and content sigh. It was warm, cozy, familiar, and you wanted to stay forever. So, you scooted in even closer to relish the comfort, tangling your legs into the demon's. Then your eyes popped open to realize which demon exactly you were snuggling up against. You froze.

"Good morning, MC," the demon mumbled. You stared straight ahead at the neck and jaw of Lucifer. Slowly pulling back, you looked at him. He looked absolutely exhausted.

"... You look tired," is all you managed to say. You had questions but of course that was the statement you chose to say instead.

"Do I? I guess I didn't get my beauty rest," he mumbled, looking down at you over his nose with raised brows. Your mouth twitched to say something but chose to remain quiet. "You had a nightmare last night," he said.

"Oh..." is all you said. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you up," you said regretfully.

Lucifer looked down at you. He could see how much better you looked after some sleep, and that was a relief to him, at least. It did ease the ache of sleep deprivation just a little. He decided to be coy.

"It's alright, you jumped right into my arms and insisted you be held all night like a baby," he said. Your face instantly reddened. You knew he was teasing. Right?

"I most certainly did not," you replied indignantly.

"Right, and you most certainly didn't nuzzle yourself into my neck a minute ago," he retorted. You opened your mouth and promptly shut it, rolling your eyes while trying to untangle yourself from Lucifer. He smirked, he loved flustering you still; you just made it so easy for him. You rolled back to your side of the bed onto your stomach and groaned into the mattress.

Lucifer smiled, remembering how much you hated mornings just like him. You often just laid there for as long as you could get away with, avoiding conversation with even him. He reached over and grabbed his D.D.D. and saw a message from Mammon.

Mammon: Match is tonight. 11pm. Heard he's going to the match but has a guy coming to The Fall to place bets.

Lucifer: Very well, let's meet later to discuss the plan in regard to this information. Thank you.

Lucifer put the device back down and looked over at you, still laying there motionless on the bed. He looked at your form, not really thinking about anything in particular, just you. His eyes followed the lines of your body, the way your shoulders and back curved, the shape of your hips that beveled into your thighs, your butt-

He averted his eyes and sighed.

"Why are you sighing? It's too early for sighing," you mumbled into the mattress.

"I didn't realize sighing had a timely occasion, I'll be sure to do it when it's appropriate next time," he replied, slightly annoyed.

That instantly rubbed on your nerves, and you turned your head to look at him but continued to lay flat on your stomach.

"You think you're funny, right?" you muttered.

"I've heard I'm hilarious," Lucifer replied.

"Said no one ever," you replied faster.

"I wasn't aware you were no one," he quipped.

"I've never said you were hilarious," you growled.

"I believe there was that one time, sans clothes, that you-" he started to say.

That finally got you riled up, "Nope! I definitely did not say you were hilarious, especially not naked!"

"Oh? And what am I when I am naked?" he teased. Your eyes widened and you turned your head the other direction and groaned again at his stupid joke. Lucifer smirked and chuckled to himself. He won.

He dropped the smile quickly and said, "The next match is tonight."

You finally hoisted yourself up off the bed and sat in the middle, legs crisscrossed and facing him. "Oh," is all you said.

"Mammon says he should be at the match itself, so there may not be a lot happening at The Fall," Lucifer said, trying to quell your fears. You nodded.

Someone tried to jiggle the doorknob at Lucifer's bedroom door, finding it to be locked. You both looked at the door, waiting to see if the person would announce themselves or try to break down the door, but neither happened. Lucifer growled at whoever was standing there and there was the sound of running footsteps down the hallway.

"Mammon?" you asked.

"Seemingly," Lucifer replied.

"Shall we get ready?" you inquired. He nodded.

You sat there collecting your thoughts and Lucifer went to his closet. You were just staring into space when Lucifer turned around.

"Do friends watch each other change clothes?" he asked, smirking, with his hands on the sash of his sleeping robe. Your head snapped back to him.

"Uhh... well I mean my friends do but..." you muttered.

"Oh? Is that right? So, I get to return the favor when it's your turn, correct?" he pulled at the sash some more. You immediately bolted and ran out of his room, slamming the door behind you. He chuckled for just a moment before returning to his more serious thoughts. He walked over to his D.D.D. and messaged the Demon Brothers group chat.

Lucifer: House meeting in 5 minutes, dining hall, all are required to attend. No arguments, no skipping.

With that, all had read it with no replies of discontent, much to Lucifer's surprise. He knew you wouldn't be downstairs for a while, so he wanted to talk to his brothers before you made your way down for breakfast. He proceeded to get dressed quickly and headed to the dining hall.

There sat all six brothers, waiting for Lucifer's arrival. He cleared his throat and sat down.

"Thank you all for coming. I need to tell you about the task that Diavolo, Mammon, Asmo, MC, and I are about to take on, but I also require your help on this as well for everyone else." Lucifer said.

"Why is MC not here?" Levi asked.

"That's what this is about," Lucifer replied. "MC will be at The Fall with Mammon and Asmo, but I need you four on standby in case things go awry tonight. She may summon any of you, you may get called one by any one of us, so be ready. Our target is apparently rather slippery, and I anticipate there being some tricks."

"Why don't the four of us just join them at The Fall?" Satan asked. "That way we mitigate the risk."

"Unfortunately, we have to try and not raise suspicion in this situation. If our target gets wind that all of you are at The Fall, he may cancel the match in favor of waiting for a quieter night," Lucifer replied. "And we have to try and make it seem like Asmo, Mammon, and MC are all just on a night out."

They all sat quietly, thinking about the situation. Eventually there were nods from everyone around the table and Lucifer took that as his answer. He explained the timing of everything to the brothers and what he and Diavolo will be doing. Just as he finished explaining this, they all heard your footsteps down the hall, finally joining for breakfast. Lucifer shot everyone a glare and they all proceeded to act natural, as if they were just having breakfast as usual.

"Good morning, MC!" Asmo said cheerfully. You looked at him with exasperation, as you usually did this early.

"Morning, Asmo, everyone," you replied. Breakfast proceeded as usual.

You went with Lucifer to the castle to talk about tonight's plan with Diavolo. You three had tea in the dining hall, and the conversation changed to politics that didn't quite concern you, so you went to the kitchen to see if Barbatos would accept your help with cleaning.

Occasionally, you offered to do this since you were spending so much time at the castle as of late, and you felt bad about Barbatos serving you. He appreciated your help and always accepted it. It was one of the ways he could spend time with you too, and he certainly didn't mind the politeness you demonstrated in offering, another admirable quality he appreciated about you.

Meanwhile, Diavolo and Lucifer continued talking after you left, and there was a lull in the conversation. Diavolo had been studying the both of you ever since you two walked in. It didn't pass by Diavolo that you smelled heavily of Lucifer when you gave him a hug as you arrived, and he wasn't sure what that meant. He noted how Lucifer eyed you when you left a while ago. You didn't seem upset, but you were also good at hiding it, so that wasn't a good indicator for what was happening.

"I'd like to stretch my legs, let's go for a walk around the castle, Lucifer," Diavolo suggested, standing from his chair. Lucifer inclined his head in agreement, and they went outside to the palace grounds.

After some time, walking, Lucifer finally spoke his mind:

"What is it that you didn't want MC to hear? I'd say we're out of earshot," he said neutrally.

"Ah, observant as always," Diavolo replied in equal measure. "I wanted to know how things were going between you two."

"Shouldn't it be me asking you that question?" Lucifer asked, brows furrowing.

"It should, shouldn't it? Considering she's mine, after all," Diavolo said, stopping when he said "mine." Lucifer also stopped and faced the prince. "But what I'm asking about is if everything is okay between you two?"

Lucifer remained silent, a frown lining his lips. He looked at the palace walls behind them, and said, "She wants to be friends, that's all. You don't need to feel threatened." It was bold of Lucifer to accuse Diavolo of such a thing, but it was unlike Diavolo to ask such a question so directly. He usually gathered enough information through observation and judge of character.

Diavolo took a step closer to the other demon, boring his golden eyes into Lucifer's crimson ones. "I suppose I don't need to, no. However, I want to be sure her wishes are being respected, and that none of us are crossing her boundaries," he replied, layering on thick his displeasure with Lucifer.

Lucifer looked him dead in the eye, eyebrow raised, "I assure you, she's making all the moves at the moment, my lord. I would never imagine such a thing," he retorted.

"Ah, is that right?" Diavolo challenged.

They stood there, both with arms crossed, the tension hanging in the air so thick one could cut it. Lucifer didn't reply, standing by what he had already said. It felt like an eternity as the two exchanged silent glances, seeing if the other would make a move first.

"Very well, I'll take your word for it," Diavolo finally said with a smile, relaxing his shoulders. This time Lucifer felt a little unnerved by that smile but elected to not aggravate him further.

The two returned back to the inside of the castle to hear you laughing with Barbatos as he showed you how to make Hellfire Mushroom Rolled Cigar Cookies. It brought joy to both of their hearts to see and hear you be so happy. You were nothing short of a little miracle to both of them, how easily you charmed them with just a smile, how it was so hard to ever be mad at you or ever want to stay away from you. You happened to look over and saw them watching you and Barbatos, and you waved a flour-covered hand with the biggest grin. They could have melted on the spot for you.

"Shall we prepare for this evening?" Lucifer asked, still watching you from afar.

"Let's," Diavolo agreed, doing the same.

Thanks for reading~ <3

Post made by sassykattery. Do not repost. Reblogs and likes appreciated.

Masterlist

#obey me shall we date #obey me #obey me fanfic #obey me diavolo #obey me lucifer #obey me mc #diavolo x mc #obey me f!mc #obey me female mc

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mynameaintdavid · 1 year

Text

11pm:

Mico sang to himself as he cleaned up the kitchen.

"Night job! Night job! I got myself a night job! Night job! Night job!" He spun out from the counter doing a little jig.

"where are you going." The voice drifted through the room, echoing earily off the walls.

"HOLY SHIT" he turned around in fear dropping the keys to his scooter on the door.

"Bou you can NOT keep doing that. Ur gonna give me a heart attack." He braced himself against the counter, his other against his heart as he breathed heavily.

"Sorry. But why are you leaving? Night job? You should not be working you should be sleeping. Fulgo is not the only one with school in the morning." Bou's 'voice' seemed to fill the room with a comforting warmth. Like late afternoon sunshine against a class vase of sunflowers.

"we need to get food somehow bou." He said pulling himself up onto the counter top.

The Silence before bou spoke felt heavy. "I can make food. I can make money. I can set you guys up for life!" Bou's voice sounded watery. As ofc they were on the verge of tears. With no eyes to show for tho it was shard to tell.

"sure there will be flowers everywhere but I can do that for you 2. Your both still so young. Your not even 18 yet!" Bou's voice pinged harshly around the room.

"Bou, you don't have to do that. It's okay. It's just me and Fulgo. I can handle us. I have been handling us." Mico leant back his arms supporting him as he looked at the ceiling of the warehouse turned home.

"I really appreciate all you've done so far. I can't even remember the last time we had a real kitchen. It's nice. But you really don't have to. I-" A couple tears slipped from his eye as he bit his lip to stop himself from continuing.

Bou's voice seemed to overflow the room. And Mico's mind. "You have pushed yourself so hard. I want to help. I can't, I cnt be there for you like someone with a body can. I can't be a shoulder to cry on or someone to reliable be at your side. Which is something you both deserve. How old were you when your parents died again? 12? You were a child."

Mico's breath hitched as he bit back a whimper. "How do you know all that- it's-" he sniffled bring his legs up onto the counter to rest his chin atop his knees. "It's fine. I've got it handled I can-" another restrained whine breaks past his lips. "-I can do this. I HAVE to do this."

wind blows through the warehouse. Bringing with it memories for Mico; of sitting on the back porch if a rural house. watching storm clouds tumble clumsily over their lighting bolts.

"You graduated early and your pushing yourself, so, so hard. Let me do this."

As they speak a large case of money clunks down besides Mico. 20 and 50 dollar Bills filtering out of it.

"that's so much Money- Bou I don't know what to say I-" he hugs his legs closer to himself. "You are here for me. For us. More then anyone has been in years." He sniffled rubbing pathetically at his nose.

"it means a lot." He smiled. Just as bou began.

#//not done yet! but i am switching accounts!#david has had his moment #now its bou's turn >:)#hug chronicles

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theretirementstory · 2 years

Text

Bonjour et bienvenue, it is 28c and the mercury is set to rise, expecting 33c this afternoon.

It has been a quieter week, less dashing about, but of course I have still found things to do.

However, it was not quiet for part of my family in the UK, “The Daddy” has been doctor and nurse as firstly my grandson was sent home from nursery with “tummy troubles”, then during the night his sister was vomiting and to cap it all “The Mummy” was unwell too! Obviously, the children improved faster than the adult, hopefully now they all feel a lot better.

I appeared to have a “new lease of life” on Monday and surprised myself with all of the jobs I tackled. Unfortunately, this did not continue, although I have been outside (in the heat) doing jobs in the garden. I went out to buy a garden riddle/sieve, as I was sterilising used compost for next year. I hadn’t realised it was such a dirty job until I came back into the house looking like a “coal man”. While I was out looking for this purchase, I spotted some geraniums which were a good price. Of course I then had to buy planters……. honestly, sometimes I need reining in!

It was the “Fête Nationale” on thé 14th, the fireworks started at 11pm on the 13th ( only for 30 minutes). A nearby village was holding a “vide grenier” on thé 14th, so I was up and out early to see if anything caught my eye. Apart from the beautiful setting and lovely scenery nothing else interested me. I am always looking for something “quirky” for the garden, the guéridon I bought for €5 at the last vide grenier was a bargain, as the shop in town has a slightly larger one, which is very corroded in one part, and he wants €19 for it!

I have been knitting for the refugee lady who is expecting a baby, she really wanted a little girl, so I bought wool which would suit a girl. She went for her scan on Monday and was told it is another little boy. She said she cried and cried! I am going to finish the little grey hat, which matches the bootees and I have a little cardigan which I could finish for her too. I need to get that done quickly as they are going to be moved on very soon.

Monique sent another video of her twin grandchildren. They are just six months old, one was laid on her tummy, had her legs like a little frog and managed to get herself mobile…… the other one is always reaching out to touch her sister either poking her face or kicking her head, it’s so funny to see.

I think Anie still has her family over from Indonesia, she is enjoying her time with her granddaughter, plus her son and daughter-in-law.

“The Paralegal” has been on a high this week (is that even possible) as he had good news regarding his work. I think, as I write, that he will be researching and preparing documents.

The garden is looking a lot worse for the high temperatures we have been having. Tomatoes are ripening, strawberries are coming on a treat, I have had two more beetroot, they tasted delicious, but “something” has got the raspberries, and they are not fruiting (maybe they are all finished now). The hibiscus has flowered again although the leaves are turning yellow and dropping off, my blue hydrangea has the teeniest little flower head, I have however, realised that the paniculata “Little Lime” needed more water, and it now has bigger blooms on it. The grass, unfortunately, is well and truly scorched.

Yesterday, I had music playing for hours, going into the garden I was surprised to hear the music outside, then thought no more of it. I had just finished a wonderful duet with Paul Rodgers, the Middlesbrough lad of Free and Bad Company fame, when I realised the French doors were wide open (shutters were down) but we would have been serenading the neighbours 🙈.

I was looking for a poem about summer, now who can remember having to sing this, I think it may have been when I was in the school choir or even just in music lessons (remember those?). Believed to be the oldest example of part-music in existence, this 13th century middle-English song is a round.

« Summer is a coming in,

Loudly sing cuckoo,

Soweth seed and bloweth mead,

And springeth wood anew,

Sing cuckoo! “

The ironing needs to be done, plus another couple of jobs which I won’t get time to do tomorrow as I have a rendezvous. Plus it’s lunchtime and nothing is prepared yet! What have I done with this morning!

Have a great week.

#barsuraube #photography #trees #nature #champagne #summer #bad company #france

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umichenginabroad · 10 months

Text

Week 2 - A Week in Paris

Sorry for posting a little late, this week kept me so busy! Last Thursday, we arrived in Paris, dropped our stuff at the hotel, and a group of us headed to the city to walk around. We stopped by a few classics - the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe - and I scanned as many new space invaders as I could (I got 9 new ones since the last time I was in the city). Space invaders are just little mosaics of, well, space invaders (like from the game) and but now includes other things like Mario characters put up by the street artist Invader around the city, and there are so many that an app (Flash Invader) was made to collect them all! I'm nowhere near the total (there are thousands), but it's still fun to look out for them as you walk through the city. We couldn't stay too long, though, because our hotel was not really in the city center and we couldn't miss the last RER (like a regional train) or we'd be stranded.

Obligatory Eiffel Tower photos

Friday, we had a little welcome day and overview of our time in Paris, followed by our first class on launchers. After class, I headed out with a classmate to wonder the city before we had a dinner cruise with everyone on the Seine (the main river through Paris). I'm not a fan of seafood, but the dessert and champagne they had were really good! The cruise was 8 to 11pm, so we got to see the city lit up at night from the river, and it's so beautiful. Since the dinner ended so late, we had to bus or Uber back the the hotel anyway, so a few of us headed out to a bar where we drank and danced for a while. The night was still relatively young though, so a few of us split a bottle of wine along the Seine before headed home. We didn't want to spend the money on an Uber, so we took the very, very long night bus back. It was probably a two or three hour journey. I think we should have just Ubered, but hindsight and all that.

Me with my favorite bridge in the background (Pont Neuf, I love the silly faces), and the Eiffel Tower lit up at night from the Seine.

Saturday, despite arriving home at 4:30 in the morning, found three of us waking up early to hit the Louvre by 11 (since we aren't staying in Paris, it was about an hour or so of travel to get there). The Louvre is so cool. If I weren't going into engineering, I'd go into archeology or something, so the Louvre is a treasure trove for me. I love seeing really old items (tools, toys, writings, etc) and knowing that someone so long ago used it, marked it up, changed it, and all of that survived the hundreds or thousands of years to get to us, where maybe we don't know exactly what happened to it, but the mark from that person so long ago is still there. Sorry, sorry, that was very cliché, but it all makes me a little emotional and I have to gush about it somewhere. After a few hours in the Louvre, we met up with a larger part of the group and walked to the Arc de Triomphe, yes, again, but this time we actually walked up the stairs and took in the view from the top. I'd been up the Arc de Triomphe twice before (no, the view does not ever get old), but I had only just then learned that there used to be huge gold statues at the top, at least during the time of Napoleon. There's always something new to learn about the city! After all that walking, we decided it would be a great idea to walk up the tallest hill in Paris to visit the Sacré-Coeur, a very large and beautiful church in Montmartre (I think I hit over 30 thousand steps that day).

The Louvre from the side and French sculptures under one of the pyramids in the Louvre

A serious and a not-so-serious view from one side of the Arc de Triomphe

Sacré-Coeur and the sunset down a street in Montmartre, featuring some of the people in the program

Sunday, I went off on my own. Originally the plan was to go to Musée de l'Orangerie, but that was booked out until after I left Paris, so instead I ate lunch at and enjoyed the Tuileries Garden, which is full of different statues, ponds, and plants and sits just at the edge of the Louvre. Sadly, my favorite statue from last year (Theseus fighting the minotaur) was not there (though the base for it with the placard was...). Then I hopped on the metro and went to the Musée des Arts et Métiers and accidentally spent like 4 hours there. There was just so much to see, I thought it would never end. It's a science and technology museum organized by type of technology (tools - like for navigation or measurement - communication, transportation, construction, and more!). I got to see some cool old astrolabes and pocket sundials, but also a " Squirrel Robot" that was built to climb inaccessible places in nuclear power stations to report on equipment in the 90s! The last part of the museum was in the adjoining church, and there were suspended old plane models and a multiple story walkway with old cars on display. It was a very cool way to end the museum. After that, I met up with everyone by our hotel, ate dinner while we watched F1 racing and some of them attempted to teach me the rules, and (only a few of us) watched Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which is currently my favorite movie. No spoilers here though, so I'll move on.

The empty statue spot and Tuileries Gardens, including the view of the Louvre

A pocket-sized astrolabe from Musée des Arts et Métiers and a plane hanging in the church

Monday and Tuesday just had long, long class days with a little shopping Monday after class, but Wednesday, we had a trip to Versailles! I've been before, but it's so beautiful and massive that there's always more to look at. I love looking at the old furniture especially! It's sometimes weirdly shaped, and it is always so intricate (with SO many keyholes?? I started counting on the less extravagant second floor and lost count after 100). After Versailles, we actually had to go back and switch hotels because the one we were staying in couldn't accommodate all of us for our entire stay in Paris, and it was SO exhausting to move all of my stuff. We had to catch a train with our luggage, then walk about 20 minutes (including over the steepest arched bridge I have ever seen) to get there.

The castle from outside the gate, an old dresser, and a selfie in La Galerie des Glaces (the Hall of Mirrors) at Versailles

Tomfoolery from some of the guys as we waited to check in at the new hotel

Thursday, we took our exams. French was good for everyone because there wasn't actually an exam, but most people did poorly on the launcher controls exam, so we went to a mall (?) (activity center?) near our school and went bowling, played laser tag, and went go karting. It was crazy fun and exactly what we all needed to get our minds off of the exam.

Bowling, where I somehow made a comeback to second place after scoring zero points the first two frames

Friday was the Paris Air show. I won't lie, I wasn't super stoked about it because I'm more of a space girl than an airplane girl. Then we showed up and it was ridiculously hot and I was even less stoked haha. I did have fun looking at all the planes on display, but the actual show didn't start until over 3 hours after we'd gotten there (the majority of which was spent in the sun), so I saw about 3 helicopters and a plane fly around before I couldn't take the heat anymore (I got so sunburned) and left with a friend. We went back into Paris and to a little museum that was free, Musée des Arts Romantique. It was mostly about a few specific people (I couldn't exactly figure out the entire story because the long story descriptions were only in French, of which my knowledge is not very extensive), but I did see a painting inspired by Dante's Inferno about Paolo and Francesca, which was beautiful and exciting because Hozier just released a song a few weeks ago about them (called Francesca, go listen), and I'm currently obsessed with him, so that was a fun little intersection of interests.

Me with a big A380 plane, and Gina and I seeing which flight suit fits us best

Paolo and Francesca caught out...

After the museum, we went to a café and got some cold drinks, recharged our phones, and used the bathrooms. It can be VERY difficult to find a free bathroom in France. Most require you to pay between 50 cents and one euro, but normally if you buy something from an establishment, you can get use the toilets for free (this is not always true!). Because of this, whenever we see a free bathroom, we use it just in case it'll be a while before the next one. Anyway, we were going to start heading toward the Louvre to find something to do over there to burn time since we had tickets with a few friends later, but we spotted a cute little park, sat for a bit, then decided to take a nap sitting on one of the benches. This actually is pretty common in parks I've seen in Paris! It was SUCH a refreshing nap and helped me power through the rest of the day. We went to the Louvre for about 3 hours right up until closing and got some fun pictures. I went right from the Louvre to the bus stop...for reasons you can discover on next week's blog (that I will really just post later this week haha).

A happy deer-shaped pot from around 1700 BCE, a lion statue from 200 BCE, Gina and I in front of and copying some Egyptian replicas, the Louvre pyramid as the sun sets, and the sunset on my way to the bus stop.

Until next time,

Aryanna Thompson

Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace Summer Program

P.S. Sorry some of the pictures are huge instead of being grouped together and smaller - it looked like those ones were getting cropped on my end, and I wanted the full picture available!

#umichenginabroad #ipeaerospace #AryannaThompson #ipesummer23 #france

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jungwoniics · 2 years

Text

all night long. — OT7

↦ pairing: ot7 / ot7 x reader

↦ synopsis: when you want to pull an all-nighter to revise for your exams

↦ genre: fluff

↦ rating: pg

↦ w/c: 0.7k+

↦ warnings: none

↦ a/n: hellaur ^_^ idt anyone reads the a/n but i apologise for not posting for so long but im back with another headcanon hehe :D dw i'll be updating rumours soon to those who have been waiting ^^ also i have exams coming soon so i will probably be semi ia but i'll be sure to post whenever i can !!

➵ taglist status: open — send an ask/dm or fill in this form!

➵ network(s): @kflixnet

≡;- ꒰ ° 𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗨𝗡𝗚 . ꒱

suddenly calls you while you’re doing your work

“y/n? why are you still awake?” “you called me, though” 🤨🤨

“no but i was expecting you not to answer because that would mean you’re asleep ☹️”

heeseung… ???

“ok point is… you better go to bed within the next 5 mins or i’m going there and tucking you in” 😡😡

heeseung, i would stay up for another 5 mins just so you will come and tuck me in 🤭🤭

no because he’s just worried that you won’t get enough rest before your test tomorrow ☹️🥺

#bestboyfriend #youcouldnever /hj 😆😆

you were already in bed scrolling through your phone when you hear the sound of your window opening 🪟

you quickly drop your phone and closed your eyes, knowing who it was 👁👄👁

you feel his hand caress your hair gently as he kisses your cheek softly

“sweet dreams, baby” ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

≡;- ꒰ ° 𝗝𝗔𝗬 . ꒱

he knew you were going to stay up studying even before you told him #jaysspecialability

comes knocking on your window at 11PM with a box of goodies in his hands 😋😋

“what are you doing here?” you feel guilty that your bf is still up just to accompany you ☹️🥺

“i’m making sure you don’t tire yourself out just before the exam, duh 🤨”

his eyebrow raise will be the death of you ❤️‍🩹

just sits next to you, feeding you while you study 🥺😻😻

occasionally helps you when he can

≡;- ꒰ ° 𝗝𝗔𝗞𝗘 . ꒱

would stay up to study with you (1)

he’s knocking on your window as early as 9PM and guess what he brought???

his physics book if you hadn’t guessed 😭😭

you’re lying on your bed while he’s lying on the floor as the both of you study

and you’re listening to the spotify playlist he had created just for occasions like these 🎶❤️‍🔥

who’s the best boyfriend/study partner? jake. 😻😻

≡;- ꒰ ° 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗚𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗡 . ꒱

keeps bothering you (1)

he’s been standing in front of your mirror for the past 5 mins

“i look so handsome” 😆🔫

he sits next to you and watches you do your revision

“y/n, aren’t you tired” “no, hoon”

“y/n, don’t i look handsome” “yes, sunghoon.”

^^ the exact conversation literally happens every few mins 🤭

sunghoon, you are incredibly handsome but please let your s/o do their revision in peace 😭🙏🏼🙏🏼

≡;- ꒰ ° 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗢 . ꒱

drops by your house at midnight with an entire box of snacks yum 😋😋

BUT WAIT. the snack aren’t for you ☹️

“excuse me? who said i brought them for you 🙄💅🏼”

gosh sunoo, can’t you spare just one packet of crackers ☹️😭💔

will go on a private tour of your room uninvited

stops at your mirror and goes “gosh, my cuteness and handsomeness is on another level” 😆🔫

sunoo, i agree 💯

you wonder if he’s just here to tease you 😅😅 but he’s really here to keep you company while you study ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

≡;- ꒰ ° 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗚𝗪𝗢𝗡 . ꒱

would stay up to study with you (2)

you’re both on call with one another since you live quite a distance from each other 📱

“y/n, do you want to play a game” 🤨🤨

“what game” “whoever completes five math problems last has to pay for food on our next date 😏😏”

you’re afraid since your bee eff is really good at math but you accept his terms

and so the ‘game’ begins.

“y/n, what question are you on”

he keeps asking you that while you were busy completing your last two questions 🤭

“OMG IM DONE AHA! 😱😆”

jungwon has the widest grin on his face as he watches you happily celebrating your success 🤓

“well, i guess i’ll be paying on our next date” 🤷‍♂️ he glances at the piece of paper in front of him with his solutions to the 5 questions

yes, he had gone easy on you BUT! to be fair, which gentleman would make their girlfriend pay for their food on a date, right? 🤨

jungwon best bf fr. ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

≡;- ꒰ ° 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗜 . ꒱

keeps bothering you (2)

“y/n, do you want to play with me?” “sorry riki, i’m busy right now.”

“y/n, are you done studying yet?” “no, not yet.”

“y/n, will you play with me now?”

he gives you puppy eyes as if begging for you to entertain him 🥺🥺

“a couple more minutes, riki 😁☝️☝️”

“fine” his sigh is so loud it makes you laugh 😆🔫

“alright alright, i’ll play with you now” sorry, you couldn’t handle how cute he was being in that moment 😫😫

“YAY 🎉🎉”

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kookkyra · 3 years

Text

T H A T S O M E T H I N G

CHAPTER 3

summary: Pogues aren’t supposed to mack on other pogues, and if you were to actually listen to that stupid rule, that would leave tourons who left after a week, or your sworn enemies. But what happens when you catch a kooks eye? You know the stigma around Rafe Cameron, you’ve heard all the rumors, and he’s one of the last people you would ever want to be associated with. And you thought the feeling was mutual.

wc: 3k

warning: none. maybe language

a/n: i didn’t proof read and i honestly, just wanted to get this out while the muse was still high. i hope you all enjoy it. also, i had gotten rid of the taglist for this series bc... after a year i assume those people dont want to be tagged. as always, feedback is always appreciated and encouraged.

series masterlist || chapter 2 || chapter 4

__________________________________________ Summer in the Outer Banks was like a never ending party. At least, that’s what you thought before you were old enough to work. It was just hanging out in the water, in the sand, or riding bikes until the early hours of the morning. Now that you were working, you were trying to force yourself awake past 11pm. You and Kie were usually forced off the chateau couches by the boys and dragged to The Boneyard, and tonight was no exception.

“JJ, get your hands off of me, I’m trying to sleep!” You huffed, eyes still shut as he pulled you up off of the couch.

“No way, there’s a party tonight and we’re all going to be there.”

“Pope, if you don’t get your hands off of me, I’ll break both your wrists.” Kie barked. The two of you slowly opened your eyes, glaring at the two boys who held you against your will. How did you get so old, so fast?

Looking to the girl across the room, you sighed, mumbling a small fine as you watched her also give in. You knew you were going to have to, anyway. You would be dragged to the party in your sweats if you didn’t agree- at least this way, you could look a little decent.

The smug smile didn’t leave JJ or Pope’s lips, the way you had both given in so easily. You Kie stomped off to the spare room- the room that JJ had claimed as his own on the nights that he was too drunk, high or upset to go back to his own home. While the blond may have claimed the bed for nights on end, the one thing he didn’t claim was the dresser, or at least not fully.

“Gonna wear cashmere for your boyfriend?” JJ teased, brow raising as he leaned against the door frame. Kiara and yourself were busy rummaging through the clothing you had both shoved into the wooden draws, your eyes rolling at his comment. When were they going to drop this stupid joke? It had long lost its humor in your mind, though it was never very funny to begin with.

It was wishful thinking to think that your friends wouldn’t continue to tease you at the party. Despite only looking at Rafe once, your friends taunted and teased about how you two were giving each other ‘bedroom eyes’. If you were being honest, you wanted to rip your hair out at this point. You felt like the only two options you had were to never be in the same vicinity as Rafe Cameron again, or you had to fuck him, or even worse, date him. None of the options seemed great, because you both loved to party and the thought of being naked in the same room as Rafe made your skin crawl.

Maybe they’ll drop it if you stop reacting to it, you thought. The same way to teach a toddler not to do something. Your friends were pretty similar to toddlers now that you really thought about it.

---

Floorset day.

It was the worst day, right ahead of shipment day. Having to unpack all of the new clothes, unwrap them, put them in size order and backstock was a nightmare. But you would rather do that than completely rearrange the store and dress mannequins.

You were fighting with a mannequin arm to try and put it back in its socket, you had already been whacked in the head, nearly tackled by a plastic person, and now you were standing with an arm between your legs, trying to shove the other one on. Letting out a huff as you continued to struggle, you heard the ding of the door. Of course someone had to come in right now. It’s always how it happened. Always when you were on the ladder changing a light bulb, or fighting with the mannequins- they couldn’t just wait ten more minutes to buy some overpriced clothes. Pulling the mannequin arm out of the polo shirt, you placed it on the table, turning to look at the door and who had just come in.

“Hi! Welcome in! I apologize for the-” You stopped, eyes glancing over Rafe who was looking right at you. Pulling your hair that had clung to your lipgloss, you stumbled over your words. “Uh- apologize for the mess. We just got in some new items.” Taking a deep breath, you smiled. “Let me know if I can help you with anything.”

He was alone, and if it wasn’t for his behavior, you would have written it off, and turned your attention back to the mannequin, back to the ipad with how the floor needed to be set up. And despite your best efforts to pull yourself from the thoughts of Rafe Cameron that consumed and confused your mind, you couldn’t help but watch as he moved around the store. An internal fight broke out inside of you, wanting to just let the kook do whatever it is he came here for. He had already picked up his items- he came in empty handed so he wasn’t returning anything. Hell, you had told him to let you know if there was anything you could help him with, so why were you still watching?

You hadn’t seen him in a few days, your last interaction, if you could even call it that, was at the party a few days ago. No texts, not that you really expected any- it wasn’t like you had previously texted him on a regular basis.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to walk in on you manhandling your boyfriend.” He smiled. And you swore your heartbeat picked up. What the hell was going on with you? Distance makes the heart grow fonder or whatever bullshit Shakespear would have said? Your life was not some cheesy romance movie.

“It’s okay, I prefer when I have an audience. I think it teaches him more of a lesson.” His lips pulled further into a grin, looking down at your joke back. He paused by the rack of new items you had gotten in the day prior, eyes flickering to you as if silently asking if he was allowed to look through the racks. “Wait, actually there’s something we got in and I thought of you when I opened it.” You pulled the mannequin arm from between your legs, heels clicking as you stepped closer to him.

“You thought of me?” His brows raised and you felt a heat take over your face. You did what you did best and ignored his question, eyes trailing down the rack as your finger lightly ghosted each piece of clothing until you pulled the sweater out.

“So this is similar to that shirt you got before, but the fabric is a little thicker for when it gets colder. This color is a good transition color for going into fall, but-” You pause, pulling out another color. “This one is going to let you transition from fall into winter with the deeper tone. Not to mention you can put a button up underneath it to dress it up and also give you another layer. The style is also going to last you a while since it’s a staple piece, and if you like the color enough, it doesn’t matter what colors are in, you know?” You could feel his eyes on you instead of the sweaters you had pulled out, but once your sales side came out, there was no shoving her away. This is what you were good at, it was how you made bigger commission checks. “I noticed you wear more bright colors when you’re out during the day, assuming the country club? And then you wear darker when you’re with friends or at a party. And don’t flatter yourself with me saying I take note of these things, I like clothes. Anyway, you’re obviously not going to wear this sweater out with your friends or to the yard, it’s cashmere and wool- you would be sweating but I don’t know if you’re really going for pink sweater vibes either.” You grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards the second rack. “I think this striped one is literally so nice. The navy and white stripes but not all the way up? It’s nautical but also just yells fall, paired with some brown pants-” You stopped yourself, almost embarrassed with how much you had rambled.

You watched as Rafe’s blue eyes scanned the clothing you had tossed his way, along with the newest sweater you had brought his attention to.

“New shoes I bought have navy on ‘em, right?” His brows furrowed, turning his attention to you. Your face perked up a bit.

“They do, and if you have the plain white, which everyone on The Eight does,” you paused, pulling at the original sweater you had shown him. “This would go, obviously because they’re white. They go with everything.”

---

You weren’t entirely sure how it happened, but Rafe was now helping you shove the arm onto the mannequin. He had bought almost all of your recommendations, despite the brown pants you reassured would be a good choice. He had nearly laughed in your face, but said he would be back if needed. Aka, he would be back when he realized you were right.

“So you’re the only one here today?” The brunet asked, a popping sound happening from the mannequin before he slowly released the arm, it staying in place on the torso. You nodded, arms up, ready to catch the arm should it fall.

“Yeah, they trust me to run the store?” You laughed, shaking your head as the concept still baffled you. Lowering your arms, you smoothed out your blouse, running your fingers through your hair as you looked around the store. It wasn’t perfect, but it was getting near the end of the day and the last thing you wanted to do was start another project and stay later than you needed to. “I’m not supposed to be the only one working since I lock up and could obviously take something, but I think my boss knows I need the money and I would be dumb to steal and lose my job.”

He nodded, taking a seat on the arm of a chair. Looking lost in thought, your own mind began to wander. The hour or so you had just spent with Rafe was actually… nice. Throwing different clothes his way, laughing as he huffed in the fitting room, mumbling a few “absolutely not’s” and rolling his eyes as he came out in a few of the ‘older’ styles, as you called them. He had even convinced you to try on a few outfits, and you couldn’t help but laugh at one of the combos he had chosen. You both laughed until your stomachs hurt.

It was almost domestic in a way, like the two of you had been friends for years. If you were being honest, the past drama, or whatever it had been was nowhere near on your mind. The way your friends teased you, the way Rafe stomping up to you on the beach made you feel - the only thing you felt was happiness. You never expected to find yourself laughing with Rafe Cameron, never expected to have anywhere near a good time with him.

And now you found yourself locking up the shop, Rafe waiting for you outside as you set the alarm code and locking the back door. Your heels clicked along the cement, and with the fresh air hitting you, that’s when what you were doing really hit you. You were going to be seen out in public with a kook. Not just any kook, but Rafe Cameron. He seemed sure of it, had rattled off the two of you going to Duke’s a small restaurant that you had heard had amazing food, not that you could ever convince any of your friends to go. You accepted without much of a second thought.

But the second thought was hitting now.

“Did you want to put your things in your car?” Hands fumbling to put your keys in your purse and grip onto your sunglasses. He nodded as you slid your sunglasses on, he followed your motions, take his own off his head and covering his eyes with the shades. Following him to his car, you slid your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’. While a small bit of worry was coursing through your veins at the thought of getting dinner with Rafe, the last thing you needed was your friends bothering you- or figuring out where you were and making fun of you for actually giving him the time of day.

“You look nice today, you know.” Rafe’s voice was casual as he tossed the large bags into the backseat of his Range Rover. 2020 you assumed, maybe 2019, but there was no way it was any older than four years old. Despite the people you imagined getting in and out of it, it still faintly smelt like new car. You wondered how he kept the smell lingering around for so long. “You looked nice the other day, too. But I don’t know if cashmere is really something you should be wearing in the summer. You’ll sweat.” Oh, so he wanted to tease you now about what you had said to him earlier? Eyes rolling at his comment, you couldn’t help the corner of your lips pulling into a bit of a smile.

“It’s August, Cameron. It’s basically fall, and it was feather cashmere, anyway.” Your hand waved him off, a light giggle escaping your lips. “But thank you. I’m usually fighting the mannequin in a skirt or dress, but I learned this time.”

“You mean to tell me that Paul puts up a fight every time?” Of course he remembered you telling him how you had named all the mannequins, because why wouldn’t he? How could he possibly make himself anymore desirable in the moment? He couldn’t- you were sure of it.

It pained you, if you were being honest. The way he effortlessly made you laugh, and the way you were able to tease each other, firing back at one another. It reminded you of your nights with the pogues, though the sexual comments were yet to be found. He was actually respectful, which surprised you. Was it because he was alone? Why was he alone? Were you just some last resort when all of his friends were busy? You couldn’t think of that right now, no matter the reason, you had already spent time with him, you had already had a good time. You had already agreed to dinner.

The bet ran through your mind. Was this his way of making money? A second shot at getting you out?

You couldn’t think of that right now. In fact, you didn’t want to. You wanted to continue to have the good time you were having, it was different, but it was nice.

Dinner had taken longer than you had expected- but it wasn’t in a bad way. You had actually learned a lot about Rafe, which was something you never thought you would say. That he’s a lefty golfer, which was a bit weird since he was a righty. He was going to take a gap year and already had a few opportunities for college lined up for himself- not to mention he was taking a few courses in the meantime. You learned that despite living in Kildare his entire life, he didn’t have his boating license, and he was allergic to strawberries.

Your cheeks hurt from how long you had been smiling. When was the last time you had smiled that much? You couldn’t exactly pinpoint it, not that it really mattered.

He smacked away your card as you attempted to tell the waitress to split the bill, a huff escaping your lips as you glared towards him. “I could have paid, you know. At least half.”

“Could have, but aren’t going to.” He said simply, flashing you a toothy grin.

“Well, I’ll leave the tip then.”

“Or, you could let me handle it.”

“Is this for some stupid bet?” You finally blurted out, surprised by the words that rolled off your tongue. There it was, that sly smirk again. You were right, weren’t you. What was the bet now? If you had gone out with him Topper would repay him for the dinner and give him extra cash?

“Bet’s over.” His words held the same simplicity they had prior and now you thought about what you were missing.

“Over now that I had dinner with you?”

“No, it was over when you rejected me the other week.” So he actually asked you to have dinner with him because he wanted to. He scribbled on the receipt the waitress brought back, giving her a smile as he thanked her, which you echoed. Rafe brought his attention back to you, raising a brow. “Ready?”

You walked a little closer to him on your way back towards the shop, hands brushing up against one another here and there- though you didn’t dare take his hand in yours, no matter the urges that ran through your brain.

Rafe walked you all the way to your car, and a part of you wondered if he had this idea of you being a kook, just because of the clothes you wore- knowing damn well that when he saw your car, the facade would be smashed, and maybe he would be brought to his senses.

“Thank you for dinner, really.” You smiled up to him, pushing your hair behind your ear. “I had a great night, which is kind of-” Stopping yourself, you wanted to be cautious as to how you proceeded.

“Weird? Surprising?” He finished for you, both of you laughing at the word choice.

“I also didn’t hate dressing you in the grandpa sweater.” His hand reached up, shoving your shoulder lightly, you knew how much he hated the grandpa sweater, thinking back to how he jokingly asked you if you had any baby powder to give the full look.

“I wouldn’t hate seeing you again..” His eyes wandered your face, you could only assume he was looking for any hint of what you were thinking on your face. But you worked in retail, you didn’t wear your facial expressions for everyone to see.

And that was when it happened.

Rafe Cameron’s lips were inching closer to yours. The same lips that sipped a glass of red wine at dinner. The lips that had nervously been licked by his tongue time after time during the hours you had spent together. Hours. With Rafe Cameron. The lips that would never taste a strawberry were against your own, and it only took a moment for you to kiss him back.

Not because you felt like you had to, but because you wanted to. There wasn’t even a slight amount of doubt in your mind, which was probably the most confusing part of it all.

It wasn’t like you hated him, you hated the front he put on in front of his friends. You hated the way he treated your friends sometimes.

But you didn’t hate the way he had made you feel for the better half of your day. You didn’t hate the way his hand lightly caressed your face, or the way his other hand was gently placed on your waist. You didn’t hate the way his lips felt against yours.

Finally pulling away, you smiled, nodding. “I wouldn’t hate seeing you again, either.”

He pecked your lips one more time before telling you to get home safe, tapping the top of your car and turning the direction of his own.

It looked like avoiding Rafe Cameron was now out of the equation.

#rafe cameron imagines #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron #outerbanks imagines #outer banks imagines #outer banks imagine #outerbanks #Outer Banks #drew starkey fic #drew starkey imagine #drew starkey imagines #drew starkey

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writingformount · 2 years

Text

Santa Claus is coming to town - Mason Mount.

Happy Christmas Eve my loves, hope you all have the lovely few days however you spend it 🎄✨

Your house was complete chaos during the month of December, trying to juggle two toddlers who were just beginning to understand the concept of Santa during the busiest season of premier league had both you and mason counting down the days until the big man arrives as well, your two twin boys now at the age of three liked to question everything wondering how Santa could fit down the chimney or eat so many cookies all in one night, sometimes wishing to go back to the time where they were oblivious to how the whole thing worked just being happy that they got some new toys.

“Guess how many sleeps now boys?” The whole month just consisted of boys asking how many days till Christmas and groaning at how that is ‘a million years away’ but now as you all snuggled in bed as a family for the first time in far too long your sons quickly figured out that Father Christmas must be on his way if daddy is not busy with work, mason getting up a Santa tracker up on his phone the news that he now starting his journey on the other side of the world meant that your plans of a lie in were officially ruined as you clearly had lots to do to prepare for the big day.

Since Santa is always watching your boys had been good as gold for the month of December but that doesn’t mean their own father brought out there cheeky side, hearing giggles coming from behind you as they lightly ran into you with the back of the trolley “mason mount if you don’t stop it you can wait out in the car with your sons” your hushed words now quieting your husband as he looked like a child after being told off by his mother, always referring to the boys as his kids whenever they were being cheeky as they clearly got their personality from mason, after the birth of your twins people often questioned if you had any input at all, feeling as if you had three of the same people running around after you as if one was not enough.

“I don’t think Santa would like white chocolate chips in his cookies” you sent a warning look over to mason as he clearly was more concerned about the cookies he will be eating in the early hours of the morning then letting the boys bake some treats. “I think he’s going to love them and look what I got in the shop two carrots for Rudolph this year” you couldn’t help yourself as you watched mason face drop in disgust, memories of last year of him dramatically gagging as he tried his best to eat the carrot making you buy two this year, for your own entertainment.

As you finally got the boys settled into to bed after bath time and lots of Christmas movies, it was nights like this where you wondered who’s idea it was for your two boys to share a room, quite whispers being heard hours after you tucked them both into bed, making many trips back up the stairs as they insisted that they heard something on the roof and that you both must go to bed as well, since Santa won’t be able to come down the chimney if he knows mummy and daddy are still up watching Christmas movies.

But night was only getting started, going on 11pm before it was time to set up presents under the tree, mason leaving you to the last minute wrapping as it would be morning time before he figured out how to wrap a toy train set, sitting comfortably eating his cookies as he watched on at you finishing up the look of content of your face as you imagined the look of joy on your babies face in a few hours time.

“I’ve never been this happy before” you admit settling into your husbands side as you helped him finish off the cookies, both of you enjoying your Christmas spent with just the two of you but nothing compared to the excitement that filled your home during the count down the Christmas with two small kids not wanting to think about the day were all the excitement will leave.

“Are you not happy?” You question noting how he had not spoken a word since his once again dramatic attempt at eating Rudolph’s carrots, “look at all that Chelsea wrapping paper, wouldn’t it be nice to have some princess wrapping paper over in that corner next year” mason had been hinting at having another baby basically as soon as you left the hospital, being completely in love with the role of being a father and as the boys grew more like him everyday his desire for his own little girl grew, wanting you to have your own twin.

“That can be your birthday present this year then” his practically shot up in surprise usually receiving a dig into the chest at even suggesting having another little one to look after, “but if it’s another boy you will be in charge of the night feds I can’t deal with another mini mason” the feeling of content now washing over him as it felt as if all his Christmas wishes had come true, falling asleep imagining the type of Christmas you would have next year as a family of five, sure to be even more hectic then this year but one he had always dreamed of.

#mason mount #mason mount blurb #mason mount imagine #mason mount x reader #mason mount fluff

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floralseokjin · 4 years

Text

⤑ made-up love song i.

Your first encounter with Kim Seokjin doesn’t go so well, nor your second, or your third… and maybe that’s because it shouldn’t work on paper. You’re an elementary school teacher living with your best friend, and have never left the country despite hitting the third decade of your life not so long ago. He’s the dad of one of your students, nearly a decade older than you and divorced. Oh yes, and just another minor detail – he’s a multimillionaire.

Your lives are lightyears apart, yet somehow, your paths having now crossed, things just seem to fall into place…

pairing; kim seokjin x reader genre/warnings; strangers to lovers, romance, eventual smut, eventual angst, single dad! seokjin, ceo! seokjin, elementary school teacher! oc, age gap (oc is 30, seokjin is 37), seokjin is a dilf, not really much to warn in this first chapter, there’s some flirting, oc doesn’t want to admit she finds seokjin dishy, she’s possibly in denial that there’s a spark there, jimin and soobin appear 🥰 words; 11,028

↪︎ chapter index

chapters; i • ii • iii • iv • v • vi • vii • viii • ix • x • epilogue (+ drabbles)

You hated being late. Not only did you pride yourself on your impeccable time management but sleeping through your alarm always threw you out of whack for the rest of the day. You blamed the annual student reports that had to be written. No matter how organised you were, every year they seemed to sneak up on you and disrupt your prompt 11pm bedtime. You’d been still awake past 1am last night, determined to give each student the report they deserved. The yearly parent-teacher meetings were tomorrow (Friday) and Monday evening; it was officially the end of the school year countdown, which was ironically the most difficult time of the year.

No wonder your stress levels were so high lately. You felt like a ticking timebomb, wondering what on earth would set you off – because it was inevitable. This morning it could have been a number of things… Your inability to awake when your alarm went off, the fact your clothes were still slightly damp from insufficient drying time, your forgotten lunch still at home in the refrigerator, or now, your current predicament – you couldn’t find a space to park your car.

You always got to work an hour early, that way you had enough time to get ready for the school day before the student’s turned up and the teacher’s parking lot was empty. You had your pick of spaces. Today however, with just fifteen minutes to spare before class began, you didn’t have much choice. The spot that required you to reverse in between two cars, or the one that was secluded but came with a price – the sun’s hotspot.

You were stopped idly between the two, mentally making you decision while also damning this day to hell, when suddenly there was a thud and you jerked forwards, a gasp escaping your fallen mouth. Your hands had unconsciously clenched around the steering wheel so you ever so slowly eased up, straightening your back as you caught a look in the rear-view mirror.

“Oh, my god.” You breathed quietly, reaction time delayed greatly. Shock probably.

You watched as a black car – twice the size of yours and almost blindingly shiny – pulled away from the side of your vehicle, back into the space they’d just reversed out of. They’d hit you. You’d been hit. As if this day couldn’t get any worse. It wasn’t even 8am.

There was a clunk of a car door and then a man in a suit came hurrying into view, as fast as he could manage, a look of pure horror on his face. Still on autopilot, you felt your hand reach for the handle of your door, pushing it open to find yourself getting out.

“Are you okay?” The well-dressed man asked, panic evident in his voice. The very well-dressed man. His suit was a three-piece, black and white houndstooth. It looked expensive. Which just seemed to piss you off for some unexplainable reason.

You were fine of course, dazed maybe, the blow hadn’t been that serious at all, but that was besides the point. This man, in his very obnoxious suit (even if it did hug his body in extremely cruel ways) had not been concentrating. He’d reversed straight into your poor little car that was no match for his hefty thing. Your shock was shifting. In its place grew anger.

When you didn’t reply, than man carried on. “I am so sorry, Miss.” An annoying shrill sounded between you both. The cell phone in his hand. He ignored it – or at least tried to. “I really am. I was–”

He stopped abruptly midsentence, letting out a huff. Whoever was calling him wasn’t relenting. He picked up, talking quickly, an air of authority to his voice that caught your attention. “Kim Seokjin, speaking. Please can I – I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to call you back. There’s been an emergency.” A pause as the person on the other end of the line spoke. They weren’t given much time. “Thank you for understanding. Goodbye.”

The man – Kim Seokjin apparently – hung up, attention immediately back on you. “I’m just so sorry. Is there any damage?” He made his way over to the place he’d hit, just above your back wheel, crouching down, and grimaced. “Oh god.”

You followed, coming face to face with the black scratches that now marred the white paint of your vehicle. It wasn’t so bad, he hadn’t sped out of the space, but something had definitely scraped the steel, and again, that was beside the point. He’d still reversed into your car.

“The bike rack,” he muttered to himself. Your answer. He looked across at his car, brushing a hand through his hair. It stayed perfectly in place, pushed back above his forehead. He was a striking man, you’d give him that. Features made up of, what you could only describe as soft angles. Actually, thinking about it, he was pretty intimidatingly beautiful. That just made you angrier. How dare this stranger unnerve you with his good looks.

“What happened?” You asked hotly.

He looked up at you, taken back by your tone, but composed himself fairly quickly. “I-I was distracted for a moment, I didn’t realise–”

“Were you on your phone?”

“I’m sorry?” You looked down at the device still in his hand. On cue it started ringing again. He hit ignore straight away. “No, no. God, no.” He protested, shoving the phone into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He straightened up, head and shoulders above you. You crossed your arms and waited for his explanation, straining as tall as you could get. His cologne smelt amazing, you tried to ignore it.

“I was – I was trying to get the handsfree to work in this damn car and last time I checked there was no one there.” He seemed flustered. A far cry from the authoritative figure he’d been on the phone call. “I wasn’t thinking, I just backed out –” He stopped, as if he suddenly realised something. “Why… Why were you on stop directly behind me?”

“Excuse me?” You instantly got defensive, hands waving about animatedly as you explained “I wasn’t stopped, I was trying to find a space.”

You hadn’t been aware there was someone occupying the vehicle. No one left the staff parking lot in the morning so there was never any worry about somebody reversing into you. This was all on him. He wasn’t going to try and turn it around on you.

“I’m sorry, but do you even work here?” This school was small, he definitely wasn’t a teacher here, and you doubted he was a substitute. He was too well-dressed for a start. Who the hell was he?!

He looked momentarily confused. “Work here? No.”

“Then why are you using the teacher’s parking lot?” Your arms were folded across your chest again.

His eyes widened in horror, realisation setting in. “Oh no. I didn’t realise...”

“It’s signposted.” His mistake seemed genuine, but that really wouldn’t cut it. Because of his mistake your car was now scratched. You’d have to contact your insurance company and god only knows if they would pay out seeing as the damage was really only cosmetic, and if they did, it would probably take an age.

“It’s my first time dropping off my daughter at this school. I didn’t know where to go, and I was getting so many phone calls, I was just trying to…” He petered out, realising you probably didn’t care about his morning. So what? He was having a shitty one? So were you!

“There’s no excuses for this.” He lowered his head in apology. “I’m truly sorry and I feel awful.”

You found yourself softening. He did sound extremely genuine. You opened your mouth to reply, to accept his apology, but he spoke up again. “Let me sort this out. Money is no object. I can call my mechanic straight away and–”

“There’s no need,” you told him immediately, horror stricken.

“It’s really no problem.” He insisted. “Come on, if we wait for our insurance companies to sort this out god knows how long it will take. No, I’ll phone the mechanic I use right now and they can come and pick your vehicle up. It’ll be fixed in no time. You won’t have to pay a thing.”

“No, thank you.” Your anger was growing again. Irritation itching your face. Who did this man think he was? Money didn’t solve everything. Most people didn’t have that luxury.

“No?”

His bewilderment made you see red. “I don’t need your help or your money.”

You could be very stubborn when you wanted to be. You’d been told so throughout your life; family, friends, exes… No, you’d just pay for the repairs yourself. You’d rather wake up late for an eternity than take his money.

“But I did this.”

He really wasn’t getting it. “It’s fine, just –” You were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone again. “You’re obviously very busy, just forget about it. It’s a few scratches.” You turned your back to him, glancing at your watch. You had just under two minutes to decide on a parking space and get to your classroom.

“Wait,” he called out.

“Goodbye,” you called back, rounding the front of your car to dive back into the driver’s seat.

“But – Argh!” You heard him let out a yell, his phone still shrilling loudly. He sounded frustrated when he answered. “Soobin, what is it?! Yes, I already told him I’m – What? He said they were…”

He became inaudible as you slammed your door shut, using his distraction to drive off – straight into the easiest parking spot available… You guessed your poor car would have to turn into a damn sauna for today.

After the morning you had you were thrown all out of whack. All day you didn’t know whether you were coming or going, your students seeming more hyper than usual and by 3pm you were ecstatic to see them leave. Your head was throbbing by the time half 4 rolled around, the final touches to your student reports complete at least. Not long after you trudged in the direction of your boiling hot car, stomach still queasy from the canteen slop you’d been forced to eat today and stress levels now barely manageable. Only one more day until the weekend, yet now you’d be forced to deal with finding an affordable mechanic with your free time.

You were still in disbelief over today’s events. That frustratingly handsome stranger with the concentration levels of a two year old and more money than sense. You scoffed to yourself, how dare he try to flaunt his wealth around like that. What had his name been again? He’d said on the phone… You couldn’t remember, your temper had been too distracting…

Whelp. You were having second thoughts… Maybe you’d been too harsh earlier… You hadn’t been overly rude at all, but you had been quite curt. He did seem genuinely sorry after all, and maybe you’d misjudged what you guessed was an act of kindness. After all, you had been on stop behind him, and while he should’ve double checked before backing out, it wasn’t all on him. You were both to blame. You felt guilty for not thanking him for his apology. For your preconceived opinions on him. You didn’t even know the man and there you were making judgements –

You stopped dead in your tracks as you got closer to where your car was parked, thoughts immediately interrupted. “What the –?”

Stopped in front of it was small towing vehicle, Park Esteem written along the side in bold orange font. A man rounded the corner of the truck, a clipboard in his hand as he looked around, presumably for the owner of the car he seemed so eager to tow. You. He was looking for you.

You jumped to action, breaking into a run. “Excuse me, Excuse me!” The guy with the clipboard looked up at the sound of your strained voice calling out. It was shrill as you came to a halt right in front of him, demanding an explanation. “What are you doing? Why are you towing my car?!”

“You’re the owner of this vehicle, Miss?”

“Yes!” You exclaimed in disbelief. “What’s the problem?”

He looked down at his notes, visibly confused by your reaction it seemed. “Uh, Mr. Kim has requested I pick up your vehicle and take it to be fixed for the damage he caused?”

Mr. Kim?! Who the hell was – wait. Kim Seokjin. His name came back to you instantly. He’d gone behind your back after you explicitly said you didn’t want or need his help. How dare he. And there you’d been feeling guilty for the way you’d treated him not two minutes previous.

“He said to be here at 4pm as you should be finishing work around then…” The mechanic carried on, voice softening, as if he was about to bear bad news. “I’ve been here for thirty minutes, Miss. I’m afraid I’ll have to bill him for that separately. Time is money after all.”

You checked your watch on autopilot. It was coming up to twenty to five. Shaking out of it, you straightened your shoulders, back to fighting mode for the second time today. “You can’t just take my car without my permission.”

The man grimaced slightly. “Well see, he’s already paid for the towage, and Mr. Kim is a very valuable and trustworthy customer.”

“Trustworthy?” You scoffed. “He’s stealing my car! I’m sorry but no, I refuse this…” You paused to think. “This service.” This was so absurd. Not only had this Mr. Kim totally disregarded your wishes, the towing of your car was incredibly over the top. The damage was cosmetic, everything was in fine working order. It didn’t need to be helped to the workshop. The thought of something so dramatic was infuriating.

“I’m afraid that’s impossible, Miss. Mr. Kim already paid for the towage upfront so I can’t actually do anything about it now…”

You stared at the man, telling yourself to take deep breaths. It wasn’t his fault. He was just doing his job. “So I have to let you take my car?”

He gave you a gentle smile. “I’m afraid so…unless…” He hesitated. “Unless you pay for the reversal…”

“And how much is this reversal?” Your arms were crossed for what felt like the hundredth time today.

You nearly keeled over when you were told the price. Damn that arrogant handsome man. Damn him straight to hell. Kim Seokjin, you would never forget that name now. What a complete and utter d–

“I’m sorry for the confusion, Miss. I was under the impression you knew Mr. Kim.” The mechanic apologised.

You found yourself softening. He had a gentle voice. A gentle face too. It was that conceited so-and-so you were mad at. You were glad you’d left the classroom late today, not many cars left in the parking lot which meant less chance of a co-worker seeing this embarrassment.

“So, I’m going to need to take your details now.” He continued, holding his clipboard out, sounding hopeful that you’d calmed down. “Just so I can arrange drop off at your address tomorrow.” You nodded slowly, watching him stretch out a hand. “I’m Jimin, by the way. Park Jimin from Park Esteem Car Services.”

You shook it, introducing yourself automatically. “I’m Y/N.”

He gave you a dazzling smile. “Lovely name. How do you spell that?”

Ten minutes later your poor car was hooked up to Jimin’s truck, ready to go, just as a sleek black car with tinted windows pulled up alongside you. Out rushed a tall young man. He looked a little frazzled as he straightened out his suit jacket but smiled your way. “Hello, are you the owner of this vehicle?”

“Yes,” you replied rather woodenly. What fresh hell?

He smiled wider, outstretching his hand. “Hi, lovely to meet you. I’m Mr. Kim’s personal assistant, Mr. Choi, but you can call me Soobin.”

You completed your second handshake of the day – two too many and introduced yourself too. Inside you had a million and one questions. It began with ‘Why was his personal assistant here?’ and ended with ‘When would this day finally be over?’

“I’m so sorry I’m late.” The young man – Soobin – apologised. “Things have been incredibly hectic at the office today. I’m so glad you’re still here.”

Jimin appeared by the side of you then. “Hi, you work for Mr. Kim?” Soobin nodded, tilting his head in curiosity. “Well, there have been a few misunderstandings this afternoon. Mr. Kim said he knew the client but she really has no idea who he is. Other than he was the one who hit her car.”

Soobin grew flustered, bumbling over his words. “Oh, well, um…”

“It’s fine,” you shook you head, not wanting to put the poor boy in an awkward position. This Mr. Kim seemed to like passing the buck onto innocent people.

Jimin nodded. “Maybe just let your boss know that next time he should probably inform the person whose car he’s having towed…”

Soobin laughed then, making light of an awkward situation even if it was forced. “Sure, sure.”

“Okay, well, nice meeting you,” Jimin turned to you. “I’ll have this done by tomorrow, shouldn’t take too long, there’s not much damage at all.” You had the sudden urge to apologise for wasting his time but you stayed quiet. “You said you’ll be home by 7pm?” You nodded. “Great. Someone will drop it off shortly after that.” He tapped the side of his truck and smiled. “Have a lovely rest of your day, Y/N.”

“Thank you, and you.” You waved him off – waved your car off too as Jimin started to drive and it disappeared into the distance, then you turned your attention back to Soobin. What was he doing here?

On cue, he began to explain. “So, Mr. Kim is giving you a temporary loan of one of his cars for the time being, as apology and, well, a gesture of good faith. He really is awfully sorry about this morning.” There was silence as you made sense of his words. “The tank is full, no need for any expense on your side.”

You forced yourself to speak. “Wait, hang on, he’s loaning me his car?”

“One of them, yes,” Soobin smiled. One of them. How many did this man have? “He really doesn’t use this one, so don’t feel like you’re an inconvenience, it’s really no bother at all.” He pulled the key fob out of his pocket and handed it to you with a kind but awkward smile. “Here.”

“So… I’m just riding his car home?” You’d told Jimin you’d call your best friend to pick you up when he’d offered you a ride home. You could still very well do that, but refusing this young man just seemed plain mean. After all, he had driven here despite a busy schedule. You didn’t want to waste his time. Poor boy was just doing what he was told, this Mr. Kim’s dogsbody.

“Yes,” Soobin nodded, looking a little confused now. As if he was wondering why you weren’t understanding what he was saying. “Oh, wait,” he suddenly remembered, pulling a piece of paper (cream wove) out of his breast pocket. “Here’s a contact number for him to arrange the pick-up of the vehicle tomorrow evening. It might be me, but it depends on my schedule.”

“Okay,” you mumbled, still a little dazed, looking down at the number. You folded the paper and dropped it into your purse, suddenly realising something. “Wait, how are you getting home?”

“Hm?” He wasn’t expecting that question. “Oh, subway probably.”

You anger flared once again. “So this Mr. Kim instructs you to ride one of his cars to my place of work, loan it to me and then expects you to just walk to the subway station?”

Soobin blinked slowly a couple of times, hearing the attitude in your voice. “Well, when you say it like that you make it seem…bad. Your tone...” He shrugged and then gave a small laugh that wrinkled his nose. “I’m happy to walk, you know, exercise, get that blood pumping…” He finished with a few nimble stretches just to emphasise, before looking comically aghast. “Sorry. Ignore my unprofessionalism.”

You jerked your head towards the car. “Get in.”

His mouth hung open in confusion. “What?”

“I’ll give you a ride home. Do you live far?”

“Not too far, Miss.”

He waited for you to get into the driver’s seat and then followed quickly, getting in beside you. He couldn’t have wanted to walk that much then... “Call me Y/N.” You told him with a kind smile. “I don’t like all this professionalism. Besides, I get called Miss all day, every day. It gets tiring after a while.”

He nodded dutifully in reply, back straight.

You were on pins driving all the way home, eager to drop Soobin home so you could let go of your composure. This car was way too nice for you. Why did this stranger trust you with it?! His car. He didn’t know you. You could be the worst driver in the world for all he knew. You weren’t, but you could be.

After you’d pulled up in your driveway you stayed there for a few minutes, needing some silence, just to calm yourself down, because you knew soon enough you’d get bombarded with questions. Sooner than you thought actually, because there was your front door ripping open, your best friend and roomie, Soojung, rushing out. “What is going on?” She demanded as you pushed the car door open. “Taken up car theft in your spare time?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” you sighed, already trudging to the house.

She followed behind closely. “Um, you’re talking about it alright. You can’t just park up in a car worth more than both our salaries a year and expect me to not bat an eyelid.”

You scoffed at her dramatics, hanging your purse over the coat rack. “It’s not worth that much.”

“Y/N, I mean this with the least possible offence, but you know absolutely jack shit about cars.” You had no time for a comeback. “Now tell me where the hell did you get that car?!”

After the third degree from Soojung for over an hour, you managed to shut her up with an in depth description of your car thief (as you were now calling him), which included in no particular order: what he looked like, his estimated age, his outfit and how rich you thought he was. You insisted you were in no way bothered by any of these factors and you were only humouring her for some much needed peace and quiet. She spent the next ten minutes begging you to call him and put him on loudspeaker so she could hear his voice, but you outright refused. You were not calling him tonight, you couldn’t trust yourself not to raise your voice. It could wait for tomorrow, when your first round of parent-teacher meetings were over and you had your own car back in your driveway. Mr. Kim could wait for his, it was the least he could do after all the trouble he’d caused today. You bet he had another six cars anyway – one for each day of the week.

Soojung made you both a late dinner and not long after that you crawled your way to bed, exhausted and not at all mentally ready for tomorrow. You did wake up ten minutes before your alarm though, which you chose to take as a good sign, remembered your lunch too, and you hated to admit it, but your loaned vehicle drove like a dream once you weren’t so scared of accidentally careening it off a cliff, or something equally as impossible.

You day actually went by without a hitch. All the children were well-behaved, much more subdued than yesterday, but maybe that was because your stress levels had rapidly decreased with the positive signs from this morning. They had raised a little when Mrs. Jeon from third grade had enquired about the new car she’d seen you driving into school, but after giving her a very much condensed version of yesterday’s events you both had a little laugh together, where she then proceeded to joke around and tell you that you shouldn’t give the car back… or at least you thought she was joking… However, other than that, the school day breezed by.

Better yet, all the parents scheduled for meetings today were on time, and despite the rush end of year reports brought, you genuinely did love the opportunity to talk with your students’ parents one on one. You’d been teaching the first grade at the same school for over seven years now and despite the ups and downs being a teacher brought, it really was the most rewarding and fulfilling job. Especially at a school like this. This place was like a home to you, all you had ever known, and your students meant the world to you. Each and every one. Class sizes were always small at Primrose Hill, and that always made your connection with the kids even greater.

There was always a sadness in your heart when May rolled around, the school year nearly over and you had to get ready to bid goodbye to the children who’d been a part of your life for over nine months. Of course, come September you would greet a new class of students once again, but it was always so bittersweet…

It was just gone half past six now and you were waiting on the last parent of the evening. 5/6 parents on time was still a success. Hopefully Monday you would see full marks. You were waiting on the father of your newest student, Kim Arin. She’d only been with you two months, and it was very unusual that a child joined you so late into the year. You didn’t know all the details, but it seemed that her parents were divorced and she’d recently moved to live with her dad. You liked Arin, she was a sweet little girl, quite timid at times, especially in the beginning, but that was to be expected of course. It was always nerve-wracking to start a new school. She’d gradually come out of her shell, made friends and she was incredibly gifted in storytelling for such a young age. In a few years, if she kept it up, who knew what she’d be creating. You couldn’t wait to tell her father that. You’d grown very fond of her very quickly and you would definitely miss her come September.

“Come in,” you called, a knock on your classroom door breaking you from your thoughts. Your back was to the entryway, preoccupied with collecting Arin’s report and classwork on your desk, so you didn’t see who entered, although presumably it was her father.

“Oh, hello again.”

You froze at the sound of the voice. That voice. Why was it so familiar? Why did it get your hackles up? As if you needed to prepare for a fight– Oh.

You turned abruptly, eyes wide as you came face to face with the car thief. What on earth was he doing here? Had he come to collect his car?! Maybe you should’ve rung him last night, but it seemed a little unbelievable that he was chasing this up so keenly. You weren’t the thief in question. He was. How insane was it to track you down like this. Who had given him your name? Who had told him what class you would be in? Surely it was forbidden?

“If this is about the car business, we’ll have to sort it out later on, I’m expecting a parent of a student any minute now.” Straightening your back you held eye contact. He was very amused, eyes twinkling as he smiled at you, cheeks rounded. It made you feel slightly unnerved, but by damn had you forgotten how infuriatingly handsome that face of his was. Jerk.

He held up his hand slightly and laughed. “I’m the parent in question.”

“What?”

You stood there limply like an idiot, blinking slowly as you tried to mentally put the pieces together. Kim Arin. Mr. Kim. Kim Seokjin, the arrogant, money can solve everything so-and-so was Arin’s father? Great. Absolutely gr–

“You’re Miss. Y/L/N?”

“You’re Arin’s father?” It was obvious by now, but maybe there was that 0.001% chance he’d gotten the wrong classroom. Maybe.

“Such a small world,” he grinned, all hope lost. He held out his hand for you to shake. “It’s nice to officially meet you.”

There was a teasing to his tone, it got you pissed again, but you had to take it. You were in a professional setting now, you were his daughter’s teacher. His hand was warm, soft, grip gentle. Maybe you squeezed too hard, maybe he didn’t notice. “Please take a seat, I won’t be a minute.”

Your tone was clipped, unable to sound at all breezy like you had with the other parents, and you turned back to your desk, rifling through more papers even though you had everything you needed. In all honesty, you just needed some thinking time. Get through this twenty minute meeting, you told yourself. Pretend like he wasn’t the man who hit your car and then got it towed a few hours later. You could do it.

You felt him take the seat behind you, amusement still strong as he asked you a question. “So, are we just going to pretend yesterday didn’t happen?”

You collected Arin’s work and rounded your desk, taking a seat directly in front of him, careful to keep your expression neutral. “Right now’s not the time to discuss personal matters. Let’s just wait until this is over.” Twenty minutes and then he’d have it. He wouldn’t be smirking then.

Although surprisingly, immediately after you said that he grew serious, nodding his head in agreement. “Of course. My apologies. Sorry I was late, by the way, I couldn’t escape the office.”

Taken back by his sudden change in demeanour you shook your head. “It’s fine.” You weren’t expecting it to be so easy, but he listened.

“So,” he prompted when you didn’t follow up with anything. “Should we get started?”

You jolted, unaware you’d been lost in thought and silently cursed yourself. He was going to think an idiot was in charge of teaching his daughter. Not that it mattered what he thought, but still, you needed to snap out of it. He was here to talk about Arin and as her teacher you had plenty to say.

Seokjin was highly focused throughout the whole meeting, taking on bored everything you had to say with earnest. He wanted to know how his daughter was getting on at her new school and was interested in all the work she had completed in the short amount of time she’d been here. He didn’t have to, but he gave you a small explanation about why she’d had to switch schools so late into the year, and even though you already knew it was because she’d moved to live with him, you stayed silent, letting him carry on. He sounded so genuine, so worried about what the move could’ve done to Arin’s education and mental health that it ended up touching you. It was visibly obvious how much he loved and cared for his daughter and that was refreshing to see. A lot of the time it was the mothers who attended these parent-teaching meetings, you rarely had the chance to speak to the dads, so you did relish in this opportunity, discussing Arin’s talent in creative writing in depth, showing Seokjin the collection of short stories she’d written, and giving him tips when he asked on ways she could improve.

That would come with age, you said, but there was one small thing she may want to stop now rather than later. Her most recent story, a beautiful and creative fantasy piece that she unfortunately ended with the ‘it was all a dream’ trope.

“What’s wrong with that?” Seokjin asked. You instantly sensed that his defensive was up. It made you smile as you gave a slight shrug.

“Nothing per se, it can just be a little cliché. There’s much better ways to end a story.”

“Sure, but she’s only 6. It can’t be that serious?”

Your smile grew. “I understand that, Mr. Kim. Like I said, Arin is truly gifted for her age, it was just a pointer that you asked for.” You wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise, but he seemed thoroughly into this discussion now.

He tilted his head in thought. “What if it was the legitimate ending of a story? There’s obviously famous novels with such conclusions.”

Amused, you mimicked him. “For instance?”

“Hm?”

That caught him off guard. “What novels? Name me some.”

His eyes grew comically wide at your request, and just as you suspected, he couldn’t answer. He chuckled, looking a little embarrassed. Was that a little colour on his cheeks? “You’ve put me on the spot.”

You were both so engrossed discussing Arin that the time seemed to fly by. It was near to 7pm by the time you wrapped things up, and you’d enjoyed yourself so much you almost forgot you’d made a deal with yourself to start chewing Seokjin out the moment it was all over. He ever so kindly reminded you.

“You know, I was expecting a very angry phone call last night. I was quite surprised when it never came.”

Both of you were now stood up, your desk still between you. Seokjin held copies of Arin’s stories that you’d given him to read over in his free time and you with nothing to fiddle with, folded your arms across your chest. Ah, here we go again. The playful lilt to his voice back from earlier, that infuriating smirk too.

He was dressed in a much less flashy suit today. A simple slate grey two piece, his dark hair styled against his forehead, the smallest peek of forehead visible. It made him appear younger – not that he looked old anyway. Your guessing was mid 30s maybe, but this hairstyle made him appear softer. The faintest of lines around his eyes provided the slightest of giveaways, but then again, you only noticed them because you were searching for any clue to his age. His hair was still thick and dark and it definitely didn’t look like he dyed it. His body was… hm, he was built well. He certainly seemed to look after it. Not that you were looking, of course.

You could definitely see the resemblance between him and Arin. Their eyes were the same almond shape, both deep brown in colour, and while their noses were slightly different, Arin’s cheeks obviously rounder, their plump lips were uncanny.

Despite very much in thought, you kept your expression unreadable, nose in the air as you replied. “Perhaps I was too mad for words.”

He raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. If they were natural, life was incredibly unfair. “And now?”

“It would be unprofessional of me to start yelling at my place of work.”

“You want to yell at me?” His eyes twinkled with silent laughter. It was obvious he was holding it in.

You were glad he found this funny because you didn’t. No matter how much he’d impressed you as a father it still didn’t change yesterday. “You had no right just stealing my car like that.”

He scoffed. “It was hardly stealing. Who steals a car to pay for the damage he caused?”

“I didn’t want you to pay!”

He still looked baffled by your stubbornness. “That’s just absurd.”

“You’re calling me absurd?”

He sighed. “Of course not.” He was getting flustered now, similar to yesterday. It was funny to watch. “I just…” He trailed off, catching the grin on your face. “You’re enjoying this.”

You rolled your eyes. “Yes, I love a complete stranger backing out into my car to then subsequently steal it from right under my nose.”

He eyed you hesitantly. You knew he couldn’t tell if you were joking around or not. Your words and posture said no, but your eyes and lips gave it away eventually. “We’re still on this stealing business?” He paused, lips quirking. “Besides, I’m not a stranger. I’m your favourite student’s father.”

You laughed in disbelief. This man was so full of himself. “I’m a teacher, I don’t do favouritism.”

“Oh?” He seemed sceptical.

You shook your head, he really was unbelievable, but you couldn’t stop the smile that creeped its way to your mouth. “If that’s all, Mr. Kim.” You pointed to the door. It was getting late now, your car should be getting dropped off soon too.

He chuckled as he started to make his exit, you following closely behind. When he stopped abruptly, turning back, you weren’t expecting him to be so close. You could notice the beginnings of stubble growing above his top lip, a sure sign you were in too close a proximity.

“She likes you a lot.” He murmured, serious once again. You wished he’d stop doing that. Was he an obnoxious rich jerk, or a caring, hardworking father? You would have gone with the former right before this meeting, now you had no clue. Maybe you’d gotten him all wrong. That would teach you for judging a book by its cover…

“Arin,” he added, as if it wasn’t obvious. “She’s always speaking about you when I ask how her day went. You’re her favourite ever teacher.” He grinned then, laughing, amused by himself.

You groaned. “Stop trying to guilt me.” He laughed harder, throwing his head back. Was all that true? Arin talked about you? You were her favourite teacher? Or was he just making it up for reaction? You didn’t ask.

“Although, I will say it’s nice to put a face to the name now.” Maybe you didn’t need to ask. “Just wasn’t expecting it to be the woman whose car I drove into yesterday morning…”

No, neither were you.

“I really am sorry about that.”

He sounded nothing but sincere, you couldn’t not accept his apology, despite being still annoyed by what he had done afterwards. “You keep saying.” You gave an accepting sweep of your hand. “Let’s just forget about it, accidents happen, right?”

“Right.” He gave a quick nod of his head, followed by a shrug. “…aand I guess you were parked behind me so…”

You opened your mouth to refute such a claim but his laughter was so loud, so unlike his outer appearance, if that made any sense, (all high-pitched and squeaky almost), you were dazed for a moment, couldn’t help but join him – quietly so, but it was something. This man obviously thought he was hilarious.

He opened the door, hand resting on the handle as he spoke again. At this rate the janitor would appear for his shift and you’d still be here talking to Seokjin. “Listen, I can’t find anyone to pick up my car tonight so how about tomorrow? Is that okay for you? You can give me a call in the morning and we’ll arrange a time suitable.”

Oh yes, you’d forgotten all about that. Too distracted. By what? Him? “It’s fine. I can drop it off myself tomorrow.”

He raised that perfect eyebrow again. “You can?”

You gave him an affirmative hum. Why was that so surprising to him?

“How will you get home?”

Shoot. “Subway,” you thought quickly.

“Are you sure?” He looked even more surprised, was about to suggest something else it seemed, until you spoke again.

“Saves that kid wasting his weekend.”

“Kid?”

“Soobin.” No doubt he’d be the one to pick the vehicle up, being Seokjin’s personal assistant after all. You needed one of those. They could mark the children’s homework and plan your lessons…

“Oh. He really wouldn’t mind,” Seokjin reassured.

“Really?” It was your turn to raise an eyebrow. Both of them actually, but they weren’t as devastatingly shaped as his. That reminded you, you needed to get them threaded again soon. “Poor boy was about to trek to the station yesterday before I offered him a ride.”

“You took him home? He didn’t tell me that.” Seokjin sounded surprised.

“I wasn’t going to let him walk after he went to all that trouble for me.”

He nodded in understanding. “You’re very kind.”

You felt a little panicky, unable to read his reaction very well. “He won’t get into trouble?” You couldn’t see why he would, but you never know.

“No,” Seokjin laughed. “Is that what you think of me?”

You shook your head. “Of course not, I was just…” You stopped, unsure what to say.

“I wonder what you do think of me,” he pondered, voice low, lips curled.

“I don’t think it really matters what I think of you.” You replied cryptically.

He liked that, chuckling softly. “Can’t a guy be curious?” You remained tight lipped. “My employees love working for me, for your information.” He added. Maybe as damage control, who knew.

You rolled your eyes for the second time this evening. “You’re very full of yourself, Mr. Kim.”

“Please, call me Seokjin,” he requested.

You nodded, but you still didn’t think you were at that type of pleasantry yet. You could think of him as Seokjin but to say it aloud felt wrong almost, you didn’t know him. Thinking about it, it wouldn’t really matter come tomorrow anyway.

You watched him pull out a small notebook and an expensive looking pen from his inner jacket pocket, holding the copies of Arin’s stories under his arm as he used the door for support to write his address down for you. Ripping out the page perfectly, he passed it to you with a smile. “Drop the car off around 3pm. I should be long done at the office by then.”

He was working on the weekend? He certainly was a busy man. Who looked after Arin while he wasn’t there? These curiosities you had couldn’t very well be asked, not unless you wanted to appear nosey and overstep the mark…

“Okay,” you replied. “Then we arrange repayment.”

“Repayment?” He looked bewildered. “You’re not paying me back.”

“I am.”

“You’re not.” His tone was stern. You could be sterner, you were sure of it.

“I am.” You insisted, staring him down. “The mechanic informed me yesterday that you’d be charged separately because he had to wait an extra half hour.”

“Oh, that.” He shook a hand. “I knew that might happen because I was uncertain when you finished work. It’s really no bother.”

No bother? Was this man adamant to hear you raise your voice? “I’m paying you back.”

He feigned confusion, teasing you. “I don’t think you are.”

“I – Look, we’ll sort this out tomorrow.” You’d be here arguing until Monday otherwise.

He scoffed. “There’s nothing to sort out.”

You shot him glare. It was a warning. Tomorrow you’d let him have a piece of your mind if he continued to refuse. You didn’t think he took it seriously.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t just sit here and I say he wasn’t flirting with you.”

“He wasn’t.” You were adamant. Soojung had made you relay your whole conversation with Seokjin as soon as you’d let slip this evening’s revelation. You were regretting it now. You were trapped on this couch forced to listen to her insane claims. There was no way in hell that man had been flirting with you.

“You were definitely flirting back.”

You felt yourself flush, voice raising as you insisted that she was wrong. “As if.” She shot you a look that told you she didn’t believe a word. “He’s rich and arrogant.”

She laughed. “You say rich as if it’s a bad thing.”

It wasn’t a bad thing, it just wasn’t your thing, but if rich made him smug and think he could throw his money around when you’d explicitly stated you didn’t want him too, then yes, it was a bad thing.

“I wonder how loaded he really is…” Soojung thought aloud. “Millionaire status? He didn’t say where he worked?”

“Didn’t come up,” you replied shortly. You were done talking about him now. In your eyes it was nearly over. Your car was back in its rightful place on your driveway and Seokjin’s would soon follow in its rightful place – surrounded by a handful of others. You would never have to see that frustrating man ever again – hopefully.

“Find out tomorrow.”

“I am not finding out tomorrow,” you exclaimed. It wasn’t important. He worked in an office, nothing out of this world amazing. “I’m just going to drop off his car, write out a cheque and be on my merry little way.”

Soojung snorted. “Bitch, you’re going to be repaying him back a dollar a week.” You glared at her but she wasn’t fazed. “There’s no way you can afford it. He probably uses the most expensive mechanic in the city.”

“Shut up.” You didn’t care if you had to use your savings account. He was getting his money back one way or the other. You refused to be indebted to him. You were a little nervous though… “It can’t be that much. He only had to repaint some scratches,” you worried.

Your best friend ignored you, nestling in closer, an overjoyed grin on her face. “Tell me again, is he dishy?”

You sighed – loudly. Why couldn’t she let the topic drop? “I’ve already described him to you, and besides, that’s not the point.”

She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. “So that’s a yes then. You’re into the Dilf!”

You didn’t bother replying, instead choosing to throw a cushion at her. She was unbelievable. But why did her teasing annoy you so much right now?

Saturday and Sunday’s always allowed you to sleep in, although 8am probably wasn’t what most called late. You liked to make the most of your weekends and today was no different. After breakfast you showered and got ready, putting aside an hour to go over the student reports for Monday instead of wasting your Sunday night instead. You and Soojung had made plans to go out for coffee late morning as it was rare to see her free on a Saturday. She worked hectic and last minute hours as a department store manager, but she’d finally bargained her first full weekend off in months.

Somehow your coffee turned into a little bit of a shopping spree, your credit card violently cursing you, but after the past few days you’d had you couldn’t find it in you to give a damn. You ate a late lunch at a one of your favourite cafés and then sadly, it was time to rush home and drop off Seokjin’s car back to him. You were very much dreading it – happy it would soon be over, don’t get you wrong, it was just the thought was making you all fidgety and nervous. Soojung wasn’t making it any better, she wouldn’t shut up about it, trying her best to get you give his address up. As if. You knew better than that. She’d be straight on her phone, google maps up in an instant.

You said a begrudging goodbye to her half 2, promising you’d call her straight away with all the details once you were done. She was spending the night at her boyfriend Taehyung’s house tonight but that still wouldn’t stop her innate need for gossip. Your phone acted as GPS on the way to Seokjin’s house, having no idea how to use the fancy one in his car. Not that any of it helped. His house seemed impossible to find. It did not take the predicted twenty minutes your phone told you. No, it was near forty by the time you finally found the concealed long road you’d driven past three times that led to it.

You came to a stop outside a pair of intimidatingly large gates and nearly choked when you saw his house. Well, you couldn’t really call it that. It was a mansion. Eight times the size of the house you and Soojung rented together, maybe more. He really was loaded. You just hadn’t realised how loaded until now. You felt a little sick as you spotted the intercom system on the wall, wondering if you could just ditch the car here and run as fast as your legs could carry you. Why had you not just let Seokjin arrange someone to pick it up from your house? Why were you always so stubborn?!

Taking a deep breath you got out of the vehicle and walked over to the intercom, feeling partial relief to find it didn’t have a camera attached. You would absolutely die of shame otherwise, hopelessly unphotogenic and camera shy. Your teacher’s ID card would forever haunt you.

It rang for a few moments before a woman picked up. “Hello, may I ask who it is?”

You weren’t expecting the female voice so you were stumped for a moment, stumbling over your words before you managed to settle on something helpful. “Hi, yes, this is Arin’s teacher, Miss. Y/L/N. I’m here to return the car Mr. Kim loaned me…”

“Hello, love” the woman greeted sweetly. “Drive up to the front of the house. I won’t be a moment.”

“Okay.” You were thankful she hung up first because you let out a shriek when the gates started automatically opening. You dreaded to think if there were security cameras near.

With a delay you got back into the car and started it up again, thoughts a little preoccupied now that it wasn’t Seokjin who’d picked up. You’d taken it he lived alone, not that he’d told you that. Maybe he had a new girlfriend, you were unsure how long he’d been divorced for. Although you didn’t recall Arin mentioning a woman’s name when she talked about her father. Not that you’d like to admit it, but you’d spent a generous portion of time last night while you waited for sleep trying to recall times when Arin had mentioned Seokjin. You didn’t know why, curiosity you guessed.

But anyway, if Seokjin in fact did have a new partner, then you also guessed Soojung’s theory was incorrect. He had not been flirting with you. Which wasn’t a surprise. It had been a long time since a guy had flirted with you… You were probably to blame there, but it didn’t particularly bother you. Your life was busy enough as it was, throw in a man and you’d hit your breaking point.

The woman who’d answered the call was waiting for you outside as you pulled up, older than her voice had made her seem. You stopped the car and got out, greeting her.

“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Arin’s Nanny, Misook.”

Oh. That made sense. You guessed your imagination had run wild with you for a few unexplainable moments. You felt almost embarrassed as you stood there awkwardly. Was she going to take the keys? Could you leave?

“Please come in.” She smiled kindly. “Seokjin won’t be long, he’s just showering, work ran late.”

Come in?! Oh no, no, no. That wasn’t part of the plan. It was drop the keys and run. However, like a fool, you were unable to say no, looking behind you at Seokjin’s vehicle. “Is the car okay here?”

“Of course,” she nodded. “He’ll place it in the garage later. Follow me.” She turned her back and started making her way inside.

You followed with heavy feet, not quite ready for this. Your first three encounters/dealings with Seokjin had been interesting to say the least. How would the fourth go? You felt a little rude entering your way inside his house (mansion) but Misook wouldn’t have invited you inside if it wasn’t okay, right? Maybe Seokjin wanted you here…

“Make yourself comfortable while you wait.” Misook said once you’d taken off your pumps and she’d led you to the room nearest the entryway. The living room? The lounge? The family room? You didn’t know what else to call it, descriptions too basic for this grand home.

Not that the décor and furniture were too elaborate. In fact, everything looked so homely and cosy inside. The couch was definitely leather but the throw draped over it and the cushions out of place made it look lived in. The colour scheme was minimalistic, walls cream, accents mostly teal blue and grey. Seokjin had style, or perhaps he’d hired an interior designer. You suddenly wondered what the rest of his home looked like.

“Do you want anything to drink? Anything to eat? I’m just making Arin a snack.” Misook offered, but you immediately shook your head, not wanting to put her out.

“Oh, no thank you. I ate before I left.”

She nodded and left the room, leaving you to your own devices in a stranger’s house. The stranger who had hit your car and then proceeded to steal it from right under your nose. The stranger who had let you borrow his car and the stranger who was Arin’s dad. The world worked in mysterious ways. Or it was just mere coincidence, whatever.

You perched yourself on the end of the teal love seat nearest the large bay window, fluffing up the cushion behind you to at least look a little comfortable. You looked around the room casually, spotting a hardback book on the coffee table – The Rough Guide to the 100 Best Places on Earth. Did Seokjin like to travel? With a seemingly busy lifestyle and a child it seemed pretty impossible. Maybe he just liked to dream? Maybe he’d travelled in his younger days? Wait, why were you thinking about these things? You looked over to the impressive brick fireplace, the obvious focal point of the room; it was stunning. A chunk of waxed driftwood sat above it, acting as a shelf and in the middle of it was a photo of Arin and Seokjin in a silver frame. Both their faces filled the image, grinning widely and they really did look so alike. You found yourself smiling, jumping a little when you heard your name.

“Miss. Y/L/N!”

You followed the tiny excited voice, finding Arin in the doorway smiling shyly at you. She gave you a little wave.

“Hi, Arin,” you greeted.

That was all she needed to skip inside, sitting on the end of the couch closest to you. “Daddy told me you were coming today.” Well, at least she wasn’t surprised to find you in her living room. “He told me what he did. Silly daddy.”

You let out a polite laugh. “It’s okay, accidents happen, huh?” You couldn’t very well say your daddy was an idiot, could you? “How are you today, Arin?” You asked, changing the subject, finding yourself in teacher mode instantly. “Do you have any plans?”

“I’m okay,” she let out a comical sigh. “Daddy is taking me bowling.”

“That sounds like fun. Why are you sighing?”

“I was supposed to see my mom but she was too busy…” She answered rather dejectedly.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” You tried to think of something to say to reassure that little sad face of hers. “I’m sure she’s just as disappointed.”

Arin gave a little shrug. “She’s always busy.”

In the two months you’d been her teacher you’d never seen her mood like this. Yes, for her first week in class she’d been quiet, but that was because of nerves, today she looked deflated. You found yourself struggling for something to say, which was unlike you, especially with all your training. It was your job to reassure children after all.

“I’m so sorry to keep you waiting.”

Your head jerked up at the sound of Seokjin’s voice. There he was in the doorway, smiling your way. There was something different about him. What was it? Oh – his clothing. You noticed eventually. He was dressed incredibly casual today – normal. A beige coloured sweater and dark blue jeans. His hair wasn’t styled, flat to his forehead and still partly wet, his skin flushed from the heat of the shower. You still couldn’t place his age. You were sure he was older than you, but by how much was difficult to say.

“Mr. Kim, hi,” you greeted, standing up for some reason. You still couldn’t bring yourself to call him Seokjin unless it was in your own head.

He walked towards you, in slippers. You didn’t know why but the thought was so bizarre. You were being ridiculous. Of course he wore slippers, why wouldn’t he?

“Daddyyy,” Arin sung, running towards him and hugging his legs. She looked up at him, asking sweetly, “Are we ready to go?”

He chuckled, rubbing her hair. “Soon, sweetie. Go and find Misook in the kitchen so you can have your snack before we leave.”

She looked at him coyly. “Can we have pizza later?”

He laughed again and gave a small shrug. “Sure. As a weekend treat.”

You watched on, not realising there was a smile on you face. They were cute together. You noticed Arin peeking at you, then she looked up at her father again. “Is Miss Y/L/N coming too?”

Seokjin had the brazenness to look across at you, raising his eyebrows expectantly, as if it was your call. Was he insane? Not only was it implausible, it was downright unprofessional. You were Arin’s teacher. Yes, for just a few more weeks, but this interaction was already out of your comfort zone.

“Uh,” you started, feeling awkward. “No, sorry, Arin. I, um, I have plans today.”

You didn’t want to let her down, but luckily she didn’t seem to mind, giving you a roll of her shoulders and a cute smile. “Okay. See on you on Monday, Miss.” And off she skipped, out the door and to where you presumed was the direction of the kitchen.

“Sorry about that,” Seokjin chuckled, stepping closer, as if he hadn’t pretty much invited you himself. What if you’d said yes? He’d have been okay with that?

You felt yourself begin to heat up at the close proximity. You had no idea why he made you feel like this, especially now. You’d handled it so well yesterday, but then again, maybe that was because there’d been a desk separating you. In a professional setting. Right now you were out of your comfort zone, out of your depth. In his home, in his living room, a mere few inches between you both. Why did you find it so intimidating? Why did you find him so intimidating?!

That face… That face with that infuriating smile, and those eyes that seemed to twinkle with amusement, as if there was a joke you weren’t aware of. Multiple jokes. What did he find so funny? Was it you? You felt instantly defensive. He probably used those good looks to unease people, to make them do as he wanted. Not you.

You took a step back, your legs brushing the love seat behind you, and reached for your purse, pulling out your cheque book. “So,” you began, hating the way your voice faintly shook. “Let’s settle. How much do I owe you?”

His smile instantly disappeared as he rolled his eyes slightly. You caught them and it made you want to fight. “You’re still on this.”

“Yes, I am,” you bristled “They washed my car too.”

“Don’t look at me like that,” he groaned. “It was part of the service.”

“Just tell me how much I owe you.” You were adamant.

“No.” So was he.

“Mr. Kim.”

“Seokjin,” he corrected, a small smug smile on his face.

“Tell me!”

He brought a hand to his temple, tapping the skin with his fingers as he let out a grunt. “You know what, I can’t seem to remember. It’s been a busy week, memory’s a little fuzzy.” The grin on his face told he was messing with you.

What an exasperating bastard. You didn’t swear often, but he’d just driven you to it. Any more and it was out loud. Maybe your face gave something away because he soon changed his tune, falling serious, like he could so magically do sometimes. “Look, it was my fault, so I paid.”

You wanted to scream. “What if I had an accident in your car? Would I have to pay the damage?”

Instantly he looked worried, those perfect eyebrows furrowing in alarm. “Have you? Are you okay?”

It looked like he was about to reach out a hand to comfort you, and you panicked, rushing into explanation, taken back by his concern. “No, I’m fine. I-I was just being hypothetical.” He looked confused. “By your logic, I would have to pay, right?”

“My logic,” he mused, chuckling softly. “I’m just doing the correct thing. But yes, I suppose you’d have to pay.” He gave a shrug, that annoying smile back on his face. “Good thing there were no accidents then.”

He was probably right. You weren’t that angry to prove a point. You’d probably have to take a lifetime loan to pay the damage off. You felt defeated. What more could you do? Write out a cheque for a guesstimated amount? Imagine the humiliation if you totally undervalued it. No, maybe you should just let it go. Bite your tongue and take this “gift” from a stranger. He had backed out into your car after all, regardless if you were hovering there, he just hadn’t been paying attention. He felt a guilt, a need to repair the damage caused so you’d just let him, even if it went against everything you believed in – your morals. He could obviously afford it and never miss the money.

So you let him win this one, let him walk you to the door before you were late for those important plans that may or may not involve being sat in front of the television all evening watching sitcom reruns on the comedy channel. (He didn’t know that of course.)

“Alice in Wonderland,” he said suddenly, just as you were coming to a halt by the grand wooden door. You turned to see him grinning and looked at him questioningly. What on earth was he on about? “A famous novel that uses that ‘it was all a dream’ trope you hate.”

You raised an eyebrow. “I think someone may have been on google last night.”

He held up his hands. “Guilty as charged.”

You let yourself laugh, genuinely amused. You weren’t so nervy now, as comfortable in his presence as you were going to get. “Goodbye, Mr. Kim.”

He tutted. “If you call me that one more time I’ll be forced to take that cheque from you.”

Really? Interesting… “Mr –

“I take it back,” he interrupted quickly, realising his mistake. “But please, call me Seokjin. I get called too many formalities within the week, I hate it.”

You had to agree with that, you knew that feeling all too well. “Fine,” you gave in. “Goodbye, Seokjin.” There, you’d bitten the bullet. Calling him by his name aloud made you feel funny. “Thank you for… everything.”

He mulled over your gratitude, seemingly satisfied. “I’ll take that.” You ignored him and turned to leave. He stopped you, his hand touching your elbow and warmth spread throughout your body instantly. “Are you really taking the subway home?”

You nodded.

He looked dubious. “The nearest station is quite a walk from here.”

“How far?” Now you were too.

“Let me give you a ride there.” He offered. “I’m taking Arin downtown anyway. Her plans with her mom got changed last minute so I’m trying to cheer her up.” At the mention of his ex-wife his voice became tense, his expression darkening for a moment before he shook himself out of it, a smile back on his face. “So, what do you say?”

“Okay.” You agreed, smiling back. “You can drop me off.” In all honesty, you had no clue where you were going anyway, this part of the city unfamiliar to you. That, and your cell phone had only 20% battery life left after the palaver of trying to get yourself here. Driving you to the station wasn’t going to put him out so it was fine.

“Great. Oh, by the way,” he slipped in, as if he’d suddenly remembered something. Or maybe he was just trying to sound casual. “Are you ever going to tell me your name or do I have to live in mystery for the rest of my life?”

You grew surprised. Of course, he didn’t know your name. You’d never told him. Maybe subconsciously you’d imagined Soobin would’ve relayed that piece of information back to him, or maybe, and most likely, you’d never actually thought about it at all. No wonder you hadn’t realised. You felt almost rude.

“It’s only fair,” Seokjin said, mistaking your silence as indecision. “You know mine, and I can’t keep referring to you as Miss. Y/L/N. It’s a bit strange, don’t you think?”

That was interesting. When was he planning to refer to you again at all? Not that you needed to be persuaded. But you were being polite, that’s what you told yourself. You knew his name so like he’d said, it was only fair. There was no other reason, and of course the idea of him being curious about your name made you feel nothing whatsoever. Okay?

You gave him a quick smile, feeling a little coy for some reason. “It’s Y/N.”

“Y/N,” he repeated, murmuring it softly as the mystery unveiled itself.

That was dangerous. Hearing the syllables roll from his tongue so gently sent a rush of heat through your body. It settled on your face, tingling, and you prayed it wasn’t visible.

What the hell was wrong with you?!

#seokjin fanfic #bts fanfic #jin fanfic #seokjin smut #bts smut #floralseokjin:writings #fic:mls

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may-b-a-u-shewritestoo · 3 years

Text

The feeling is mutual | | Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader | |

A little fluffy 2 part series that I wanted to drop real quick to get back into the swing of things, I hope you like it! It feels good to be back but I’m terrified. I feel like a little deer in headlights! Feedback is most welcomed ALWAYS. ✨

PART 2

Summary; You’re both profilers, analysing behaviour and making connections. So why is it so hard to read each other?

Includes; mentions of sex, mentions of being on period, mention of serial killer unsub (if you know what movie i’m referencing then I love you), fluff! ✨

Word count; 1.2k ✨ (second part will be longer! this is just a little part 1 to see what y’all think)

“I literally want nothing more right now Spencer but I can’t.”

Stood in the break room at work, you mixed the sugar into your coffee and sighed at the very eager colleague beside you.

For a few months now, you’d been having a physical relationship with Spencer. No deeper or hidden feelings had been discussed, you guys were friends who had needs, and those needs could be met by each other. Nothing but trust, friendship and safety with a side order of good sex.

However, Spencer was usually good at keeping things subtle; he’d at least wait until you were both off and out of work to pursue things further. But not today. He’d clearly woken up with a motive. Which was apparently to be inside you by the end of your shift.

Unfortunately for him it was that oh-so-wonderful time of the month and as much as you debated it in your head the second you saw the dark desperation in his eyes, you were not in the mood for all the effort of cleaning up after. Especially not at work.

“You called ME last night, Y/N. It took all of my self control to NOT to get in my car and take you until sunrise.” Spencer grew closer to you, his attitude not remotely intimidating because of the whiny tone in his voice. He was right, you’d been particularly needy the night before; calling him up and breathily whispering down the phone in an attempt to get him to come over. But you both had an early start so you eventually changed your mind.

You just giggled and sipped your drink, misjudging how hot it would be.

“Ah you - stupid fu-‘ Immediately grabbing a bottle of water from a mini fridge below the counter, you took a gulp to soothe your throat.

“I’m just saying, what’s suddenly changed in 16 hours and 42 minutes that’s so drastic?” Spencer looked down at you, ignoring the entire hot drink charade, but having a genuine concern on his face for something else.

Rolling your eyes and standing up to speak to him properly, you took a hold of your coffee cup once again and attempted your most serious face.

“First off, I’m allowed to change my mind. Secondly, I got my period this morning and - no, before you even attempt to convince me ‘oh it’s fine’ I’m not in the mood. Now get your blood rushing back to the right head because I do believe we’ve got a case.”

***************

The unsub was suspected to be a woman in her mid to late 30’s, using a technique similar to that of Ted Bundy and Aileen Wuornos. So far the team had deduced she would lure the victims with seduction at local bars in the area, pretend to be extremely drunk in order to attract creeps and when they took her home she would kill them.

The plan would be for Derek to go undercover at a bar that all the victims had attended and hopefully find the unsub. But first they all needed rest. They’d been working from 8am, after landing at 7am, and now it was 11pm.

Hotch had agreed everybody needed to recuperate and get together around midday the next day, as he knew the unsub would only be out and preying from late evening.

The hotel you guys were staying at was actually pretty luxurious considering the urgency and location. Hoping to share a room with Tara or Emily so you knew you would get some sleep, you grabbed your bags and headed up to see your roommate.

Keying the card and gaining entry with a jolly beep, you noticed it was still dark. Had you been lucky and scored your own room? Flicking the lights on, you let out a frustrated groan when you saw him sitting against the headboard.

A smug grin stretched across his face before it dropped back into that familiar pursed concern look.

“I didn’t do this to annoy you Y/N, I just wanted to spend more time with you. I can switch with JJ.” Spencer began to shuffle off the bed and you just tutted and put your bag down.

“No, stay. I’m not mad. At least not annoyed mad. I’m frustrated. But not with you. I’m just-“

“Y/N.”

Tiredly dragging your palms down your face, you opened your eyes to finally make eye contact with the poor man who was victim to your hormones.

“I’m sorry. I’m just miserable.” you walked around to the side of the bed where Spencer sat on the edge. His eyes followed you, watching your face in an attempt to profile whatever you were thinking. His hands came up to rest at your sides, thumbs stroking lightly across your hips.

“Do you want me to leave so you can get some rest? You’re tired, I can tell.”

“Don’t profile me Spencer.” you chucked lightly, your own hands coming to rest over his. He smiled softly up at you, waiting for your answer.

“Stay please.” Matching his gentle smile, you looked over at your bag before looking back at him. “I need to shower and then I’ll be right in okay?”

Spencer nodded and leant to reach just beside you, where his bag sat on a chair. You knew he was getting a book out, so that he would distract himself while waiting up for you; the one thing you admired and got excited about was falling asleep next to him.

******************

“Do you always do that? I’ve never noticed it before?” Spencer asked quietly into your ear.

You were cozily tucked into his neck, one hand resting against his chest and the other squished between your bodies. Legs entwined with one another, you were absentmindedly rubbing your foot up and down along his. It was a comfort for you, you mostly did it to yourself when you were sleepy.

“Mhmm.”

“It’s cute. Are you anxious? Or stressed? It’s actually a very common limbic response to anxiety, it releases endorphins so you know, you’re essentially giving yourself a massage.” Spencer rambled onto the top of your head, the vibrations sending shivers down your spine.

“ ‘M not stressed. Not anymore.” you hummed into his neck, snuggling in closer than you thought possible. You could feel his pulse quickening slightly against your cheek, hear him swallowing with nervousness as you readjusted yourself; throwing a leg over his hip and latching onto him like a little koala. “Calm down Spence, I’m just getting comfy.”

“Sleep well Y/N.” He spoke so softly it almost lulled you into sleep. His breathing settled as yours did, the arm he had wrapped around your shoulder holding you tight. His other hand drawing lazy lines up and down your spine as he too adapted a comforting stimulation that was going to send him off too.

Spencer couldn’t help but think about how perfectly you slotted against his body, how much you felt like home. The sharp but sweet scent of your shampoo overloaded his senses and bypassed the oestrogen-filled attitude, the drop in energy and the rise in other types of tension. He would do anything you asked him to. But he was sure you didn’t know that. He was even surer that he wouldn’t tell you. Instead, he would appreciate the seconds, minutes and hours you spent together and let his mind drift off onto what the next day would bring him.

#spencer reid fluff #spencer reid fic #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds fic #fluff #criminal minds #feedback pls #i genuinely proofread this once and didn’t want to look anymore #i can’t remember how to write #so #i’m sorry in advance if this is gross #i love you all a lot #i missed you

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crackheadgeminibby · 3 years

Text

better for you

pairing: chris evans x female!black!reader

warnings: age gap, angst, language

word count: 2.7k

a/n: this lowkey sucks and is very poorly edited, i’m sorry but on the plus side, i surpassed 400 followers yesterday!! so thank you to those 400+ people🤍🤍

i do not consent to my work being copied in any way, shape of form or reposted on any other platform

not my picture

You didn’t consider yourself a jealous person. Much less a jealous girlfriend. Not at all. Never had and you thought you never would.

You had practically raised yourself as your parents had always been more preoccupied with their jobs. You loved your parents, you really did, but when your high school counselor told you that you could graduate high school a year and a half early, you took the opportunity to start college immediately and move out of your parents’ house. This drastic change when you were so young made you become extremely independent. Which is why your relationship with Chris worked almost perfectly. You valued your independence, as he did his, and you respected his independence, as he did yours.

As a corporate lawyer that had multiple firms around the country, you traveled a lot, needing to meet with clients. Chris, as an actor, also traveled a lot.

You both trusted the other without a doubt at the beginning of the relationship despite that Chris was, at first, a little wary of being with someone as young as you. As a 24-year-old, he thought that you should be living your life, partying, sleeping with whomever you wanted without being tied down, but you had explained to him that despite your age, those were not the things that you wanted.

You and Chris were truly made for each other, knowing the other more than they knew themselves. You would even dare to call yourselves soulmates.

Which is why you could not fathom why you were in your current situation.

You had left early in the day for California, where you were overseeing the opening and start-up of your newest firm. Chris, on the other hand, had left 3 days ago to go on some trip his publicist had arranged for him. You hadn’t bothered asking what it was about, assuming that it was about ASP. Plus, you didn’t mind it: he had to do what he had to do.

But now, you couldn’t believe yourself.

You were sitting on your hotel bed, in a white and fluffy robe, fresh out of the shower. Your computer was open in front of you, the TV was blaring the news and you had your phone in your hand. It was almost 11pm but you had been doing this for at least 3 hours. All three electronics were talking about the same thing: Are Chris Evans and Lily James dating??

It was a bit your fault that people gave themselves the right to assume things like that, to be honest, since you had been the one to pressure Chris about keeping your relationship secret. You knew that people would talk and judge you for your 15-year age gap. You, personally, didn’t care and neither did Chris but his career was dependent on his public image and you didn’t want to hold him back, especially not at a pivotal moment in his life like right now.

So, you had agreed on telling your families and your very close friends and Chris had convinced you to let him tell his publicist, Megan. God, she fucking hated you. When Chris arranged for you guys to meet, she had called you “a walking, breathing PR disaster”. You had laughed it off calling her funny, but you knew that she was 100% serious. You really shouldn’t have been surprised that she would do something so fucked up at some point.

A bunch of different news outlets were pumping out new stories every 30 minutes, each article a little more detailed than the previous. It was all over the Internet and it seemed to be the only thing that people cared about today.

Considering the 8-hour difference between London and San Francisco, you hadn’t been able to talk to Chris at all since you got to your hotel. You weren’t even sure if you wanted to talk to him. He hadn’t even tried to talk to you. Why was he avoiding you and acting like he had something to hide?

You’re reading the latest Daily Mail article on your computer about how Chris and Lily apparently got to his hotel in the same car when you hear your phone ring on the nightstand. You don’t even bother looking at the caller ID as you reach for your phone, eyes still glued to your computer and answer,

“Hello?”

You hear a loud exhale on the other end of the phone before you hear Chris’ tired voice, “Baby, hi.”

You tense up slightly before asking, trying to seem nonchalant, “What’s up?”

“Have you watched the news today?”

You bite your lip, thinking, before replying, lying through your teeth, “No, why? What’s going on?”

Chris sighs again before answering, “Nothing, it’s fine. How was your day?”

You roll your eyes. Was he seriously not going to say anything?

“Fine, but it’s really late and I have to get up early tomorrow so good night.”

You hang up the phone before Chris can answer anything. You throw the phone at the end of your bed, frustrated beyond belief.

You continue to read the Daily Mail article as you hear a message coming in. You don’t bother to get up to pick up your phone as you see the message appear on your computer screen a couple of seconds later.

chris💙, 11:01pm:

Good night baby girl. Good luck tomorrow🤍

You groan loudly at his message. Even when he had pissed you the fuck off, his words still brought butterflies to your stomach.

You disregard his message and finish reading the article. You roll your eyes as you close your computer and get up to put it on the hotel desk. As you’re walking back to bed, you take your phone from the end of the bed and put it on its charger, ready to go to bed.

You’re not sure how you manage to fall asleep that night as your mind swirls with unending thoughts.

When your alarm wakes you up at 6am the next day, you feel groggy, having slept very badly last night. Which was to be expected.

You get up and change while eating a protein bar before heading to the hotel gym: you needed to do something to get your energy up. Once you finish your workout, you head back to your room to get ready for the day.

When you get out of the shower, you open your computer and, having left the Daily Mail website open last night, you see a new article posted 2 minutes ago: Chris Evans and Lily James seen on a date in a London park.You groan loudly, closing your computer as you hear that your cell phone is receiving multiple texts.

You reach for your phone on the hotel desk and your eyes widen as you see your lock screen.

5 missed calls

12 messages

You open your Phone app seeing one call from Chris, two from your best friend, one from your brother and one from your mom.

You open the Messages app as a new message from your brother comes in.

will, 7:31am:

When did you break up with your boyfriend? And why didn’t you tell me?

you, 7:32am:

i didn’t

yet

will, 7:32am:

You know i’m gonna fucking murder him right?

You smile fondly at your brother’s concern, chuckling softly as you type your reply.

you, 7:33am:

as you should(:

You open the rest of your messages, mostly asking the same thing. You didn’t feel like talking about it anymore so, you ignore them until you get to your conversation with Chris.

chris💙, 5:22am:

Hey, I’m sure you’ve seen the articles by now.

I’m so sorry

Call me when you can, please. I really need to talk to you.

You bite your lip as you think about what to answer. You didn’t have the energy to deal with this right before your firm’s opening. Shaking your head, you lock your phone, putting it back on the desk, getting dressed.

As you get back to your hotel room, exhausted from your day, you hear your phone signal an incoming text for the millionth time today.

You sigh loudly: you knew it was Chris texting you again. You had been ignoring his texts all day because you didn’t want to get in a bad mood while you were opening the firm.

You put your purse and work bag on the floor, unlocking your phone. You open the conversation with Chris, scrolling through his messages.

chris💙, 6:15pm:

I’m leaving a bit earlier than I planned, I should be home tomorrow morning.

Are you back in Boston or are you gonna stay in LA?

You sigh, feeling guilty that you had been ignoring his texts all day. You start typing a reply, your finger hovering over the send button for a couple of seconds before clicking on it.

you, 6:17pm:

i’m still in san francisco i’m leaving tomorrow morning

As soon as your message goes through, you see the three dots pop up in the conversation.

chris💙, 6:17pm:

Oh my God, hi. Are you okay?

Can I call you?

You chew on your bottom lip: you really didn’t think he was going to answer that fast.

you, 6:18pm:

i’m about to take a shower then i’m gonna go to bed i’m really tired sorry

chris💙, 6:18pm:

Okay, I’m sorry

Good night

You groan loudly. You really didn’t know why you felt so guilty: he was the one running around with another woman. As you think about this, you realize that you didn’t really know who she was.

You shake your head at yourself as you pull up Google on your phone and look for her. You don’t even realize it but, 20 minutes later, you were now at the oldest post on her Instagram.

You curse at yourself, dropping your phone on your bed, and head to the shower.

You stay under the hot stream of the shower for at least an hour before you finally get out, toweling off.

You order some room service for dinner, settling down in front of a random show playing on the TV. After pushing your food around for half an hour, you sigh loudly, put the tray on the hotel desk and get under the covers before finally falling asleep.

You had not slept very well so you had been in a rush to leave the hotel and catch your flight to LAX in the morning. You were exhausted and hungry when you got to your shared LA home with Chris but there was no food in sight, considering that neither of you had been here in a couple of months.

As it was not too late in the day, you decide to take a nap and order some food after.

When you wake up a few hours later, the sun has already completely set and the house is pitch black. You rub the sleep out of your eyes and take your phone before heading to the living room to order some food.

As you enter the kitchen and are about to head to the living room, you hear a deep voice, “Hey, you’re up.”

Taken by surprise, you throw your phone in the direction of the sound and scream, “Holy shit!”

“Ow… What the fuck?”

You’re breathing heavily, clutching your chest as you turn on the kitchen lights, brightness illuminating the area as you see Chris holding the side of his head.

“Jesus Christ, Chris! You almost gave me a fucking heart attack!”

Chris rubs at his head as he looks towards you. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Your heartbeat starts to slow down as you roll your eyes.

“What are you even doing here?”

Chris frowns and replies, “Well, you never told me where you were going to be but when I got back to Boston and you weren’t there, I assumed you were coming here.”

You groan silently, crossing your arms over your chest and raising your eyebrows,

“So, London seemed to be very fun.”

Chris shakes his head, looking up at the ceiling, before making eye contact with you, “I didn’t know that’s what the trip was about.”

You chuckle humorlessly, “Really, Chris? Since when do you go on trips, not knowing what they’re about?”

Chris exhales loudly, taking a couple of steps towards you, “I promise that I didn’t know. Megan planned everything and just sent me the info.”

You snort loudly, rolling your eyes. Chris frowns before asking, “What?”

“Megan, Chris? Really? She fucking hates me, of course she would pull a stunt like this.”

Chris frowns again, shaking his head, “What are you talking about? She doesn’t hate you.”

You laugh, this time, actually finding this funny, “Chris, she literally called me a walking disaster.”

Chris struggles to find an answer to that: he knew that Megan used this exact kind of formulation so he couldn’t deny it.

“And you know what? It’s fine. Maybe you really should be dating her instead of me.”

Chris’ face contorts in a mix of hurt and anger, “Why the fuck would you say something like that?”

“Because it’s true, Chris. She’s better for you. She’s actually your age, not a fucking child compared to you. She can give you the things you want from life that I can’t. Maybe it’s better that way.”

“What way?”

You shrug your shoulders, looking at your feet, mumbling, “If we weren’t together.”

Chris scoffs, “You literally have to be kidding me.”

Chris takes large steps, making his way towards you and takes your chin in his hand, forcing you to look at him.

“Y/N, I’ve told you before and I will tell you again. I do not give a shit about your age. And I thought you didn’t either. So, what’s the problem here?”

You bite your bottom lip nervously, “Because what if what Megan said is true? I mean… If people find out that we’re dating, the shit talking would never stop. I can’t do that to you.”

Chris sighs, enveloping you in a hug.

“Baby, it doesn’t matter. None of it matters if we’re not together.”

He lets you go, stroking your cheek, “You’re it for me. There is no one better for me than you. And no one is going to take that away from us. Not you. Not Megan. And certainly not my fans. If they love me as much as they say they do, then they’ll respect you.”

You chuckle slightly, “Chris, I don’t know what kind of fantasy you live in, but in real life, that’s not how things go.”

“Okay, but who cares? There’s two people in this relationship, you and me. Not you, me, Megan and my fans.”

You scoff, mumbling, “Yeah, tell Megan that.”

“I will. The same goes for her. I didn’t know she actually meant those things about you and I’ll tell her that she needs to knock that shit off.”

You sigh, nodding slightly, “Okay.”

“And, baby, I’m sorry.”

You furrow your brows, trying to understand, “I never should have agreed to Megan’s little plan thing. But, most importantly, I should have told you as soon as I knew. It’s just that I kinda owed Lily a favor and she needed this. But it doesn’t erase the fact that I should have been honest with you and I’m sorry I wasn’t.”

You sigh, “I know, it’s okay. I knew this kind of thing could happen when I decided to be with you, and I overreacted a bit so I’m sorry too. I knew it wasn’t true and I should have asked you about it instead of ignoring you. I just… couldn’t let go of the fact that maybe you should be with her.”

Chris shakes his head, “I shouldn’t. And I never will be.”

Chris laughs a bit before continuing, “Sorry, but you’ll have to try harder to get rid of me.”

You laugh loudly, throwing your head back. Looking back at Chris, you smile warmly before hugging him,

“I love you, Chris. Like, a lot.”

Chris chuckles, squeezing you tighter, “I love you too.”

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