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junetuesday · 4 years

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sweetener - [twelve]

Tastes of Freedom

Pairing: Tom Holland x Female Reader - uni AU

Word Count: 5913

Warnings: studying, exams, fluff, smut, food mentions

A/N: only a 7 week break between updates this time!! getting better!! maybe?? idk im sorry lmao. as always pls pls let me know what you think i literally live for comments and feedback even if its just a keysmash and some emojis!!

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Updates: listen i am not in control of this don’t ask me

This is what happens when i’m left unsupervised

Tom laughed under his breath as he read the caption of your Snapchat - a picture of a pile of flashcards on your bed, a cup of tea in your hand in the bottom right corner of the image. He just replied with an eye roll emoji as he tossed his bag into the passenger seat of his car, setting his phone down on top of it before he started to drive home.

He’d gone to the gym in an effort to take his mind off revision, but he’d had to put his phone on airplane mode because he kept stopping to text you and not actually doing anything. Which, normally, he wouldn’t have minded, but he’d driven all the way there so it seemed a bit pointless if he was just going to go in, text while walking on the treadmill, and then go home. And besides, he hadn’t been exercising a lot lately, besides a run or two with Tessa over Christmas, and rugby training would be starting back up again soon so he figured he had better get back to it. Plus, he did actually enjoy it; it made him feel good about himself, stronger, more refreshed - physically and mentally, which was something he definitely needed after all this studying.

So, once he’d actually gotten into it he’d had a good workout, and was feeling pretty good. His first exam on Monday had gone well, and he only had one more to do on Friday morning. You were also halfway through, having sat your first paper that afternoon. You were supposed to be taking the evening off to give your brain a break before your next and final exam on Friday, just giving yourself a rest really. It didn’t seem to be going that well though, judging by the texts you’d been sending wondering if you shouldn’t just go over some flashcards or just read over your notes or just something, and without Tom replying telling you to just chill out you’d apparently decided to go with flashcards. Which was fine, if that was what you wanted to do, but you’d said quite a few times that you were going to take the evening after your first exam off so you didn’t overload your brain, so it seemed to Tom like studying flashcards wasn’t really how you wanted to spend your evening.

The thought played on his mind as he drove off campus, and he wondered if maybe your message was your way of asking for supervision. He could do that - plus, the protein shake he was drinking wasn’t really cutting it in terms of satiating his appetite, so perhaps he could convince you to get a takeaway or something. So, after a quick check in the mirror to see how sweaty he looked - not too bad, considering - he drove to your house instead of his own.

It occurred to him as he was hovering outside to your front door (after spraying himself liberally with the deodorant he kept in his gym bag) that your bedroom was on the top floor, and judging by your Snapchat that’s where you were, so it was unlikely that you would be the one to answer. He debated whether to text you and say he was outside, but it was too late for that now, he’d already knocked, so all he could do was hope that whichever one of your housemates answered would recognise him. If they didn’t, what would he say? He took another big gulp of his protein shake as he waited - just for something to do more than anything - swallowing harshly when the door swung open.

Thankfully, it was Liv who answered - and he knew she would recognise him, seeing as she was always in his house. Not that he talked to her very much, but he saw her often enough when they crossed paths on the way to/from the bathroom. She looked a bit more… frazzled than she normally did though, her hair escaping from a messy bun that had migrated from the top of her head to somewhere near her ear, and an enormous fluffy dressing gown engulfing her entire body.

“Oh hey,” she smiled tiredly, stepping back to let him in. “She’s upstairs.”

“Thanks,” Tom murmured, trying not to hit her with his gym bag as he squeezed past her into the hallway.

Liv just nodded in reply before going back into the living room, and Tom thought he heard her say his name just before the door swung shut behind her. As he made his way up the stairs to your room, his calves beginning to burn by the time he reached the second flight, he wondered why you complained about his house being so cold - yours was just as bad. No wonder you wanted to steal his hoodies.

Tom knocked on your bedroom door once he reached the top floor, pushing it open after you answered with a rather distracted sounding ‘ yeah?’. He was greeted by the pleasant, if a little overwhelming, scent of vanilla coming from the candle burning on your bedside table. Your room was also considerably warmer than it was out on the stairs, he noted as he entered the room, so maybe he took back his previous comment.

You were sitting cross-legged on your bed, leaning back against the headboard and looking down at the cards in your hands, not bothering to look up to see who was coming into your room.

“Hey…”

Your head jerked up at the sound of Tom’s voice, your emotions showing plainly on your face - confusion, then recognition, then confusion again. You smiled as you sat up straighter, lowering the cards in your hands onto the bed.

“Hello?” you watched him as he dropped his bag at the foot of your bed and shut the door behind him. “You...what?”

Tom smiled as he sat down on the edge of your bed beside you. You looked very cute, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt with a pair of fluffy socks on your feet, and he would very much like to kiss you. Were you at that stage, he wondered? A hello-kiss stage? When he sat down you had sort of leaned towards him, so he took that as an opening.

“Thought I’d come and supervise you,” he twisted to face you more as he spoke, leaning across your crossed legs.

“Oh,” you smiled against his lips before they met yours softly. “Okay. Hi.”

“Hey,” Tom murmured between kisses, pulling back after the third (or maybe it was the fourth, he wasn’t counting). “How’s your night off going, then?”

You both looked down at the pile of flashcards between you as you sighed.

“It was going okay -” You broke off when Tom looked at you skeptically “- it was! But Liv and Mads started revising in the living room ‘cause they’ve got an exam tomorrow and it was stressing me out so I came up here to try and chill…”

You gestured to the candle on the cabinet and your laptop beside you on the bed, the screen dimmed on the Netflix homescreen, sighing. “...and then, I dunno, I just keep thinking how annoyed I’ll be if like, something comes up and it’s like ‘oh I was gonna look over that but I couldn’t be arsed so I didn’t’, you know?”

He did know, sort of anyway, so he nodded.

“Makes sense.”

“I’ve still got all day tomorrow and Thursday though, so like I want to take tonight to do nothing, but I got bored and…” you trailed off, lifting up a flashcard in lieu of finishing your sentence.

“I see,” Tom nodded. “Well, do you wanna watch a movie or something? Or I can go - sorry I should have asked before coming over-”

“No!” you reached out and put your hand on his knee, stopping him from going anywhere (not that he was really that set on leaving anyway). “No, you’re fine - it’s fine. Stay.”

“You sure?”

“Mmhmm, yeah. Movie sounds good. Though, actually…”

Tom raised an eyebrow at you questioningly, humming for you to continue.

“Would you mind testing me on some stuff first?”

“Sure - these?”

You nodded when Tom gestured to the cards scattered across the bed, so he gathered them up into a pile while kicking off his trainers.

“You’re not allowed to laugh if I pronounce stuff wrong,” he warned, lying back on the bed and holding the cards above his head.

“I promise.”

You ended up going through pretty much all of your cards - or at least all the ones you had out, Tom wouldn’t have been surprised if you had more stacks elsewhere - and you knew everything on them except for a few tiny little details, so why you were even stressing was beyond him. You were all huffy and frowny about anything you didn’t get, which was cute, reaching out to take the card from him to read it over before asking him to put it to the back of the pile to come back to at the end. After a little while you lay down too, your head resting on his stomach and your feet propped up on your pillows, which meant he could peek under the cards at you when you scrunched up your face while you thought about his questions, staring at the sloping ceiling like it held the answers. It wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind for coming over, but it was nice to spend time with you all the same - especially having you lying on him like this. The only trouble was he was getting hungrier and hungrier, and his stomach was not being quiet about it.

“Yep, I think you got it all - sorry,” he groaned, cringing when his tummy rumbled for the third time in the time it took to go through your last two flashcards.

“S’okay,” you looked up at him as you spoke, laughing softly. “You hungry?”

“Yeah, sorry, haven’t eaten yet.”

“Me neither,” you shook your head, yawning as you sat up. “Can’t be arsed making anything though.”

Tom sat up too, propping himself up on his elbows and setting your cards down on the bed.

“Wanna get a takeaway?”

You looked over your shoulder at him, your eyes practically shining as you grinned.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes please,” you nodded enthusiastically, until your eyes went wide and you gasped. “Oooh or we could go to McDonalds?”

“Drive through?”

“Obviously.”

Tom considered your proposal for approximately 0.003 seconds before he nodded back, sitting up. “Sounds good to me.”

With that you got up and grabbed a familiar looking hoodie off the back of your chair and pulled it on, shoving your phone and purse into the pocket. You tried to put a pair of trainers on while Tom did the same, but unfortunately they didn’t fit over your fluffy socks, so you were forced to change to a much less cosy pair of regular trainer socks, and less than five minutes later you were in the car on the way to 24 hour McDonalds (after running back up the stairs to blow out your candle).

You talked the whole way there, pausing only to order and pay (Tom tried to pay but you leant over and tapped your card against the reader before he had a chance). You talked while you waited for your order, you talked while you parked up in the almost empty car park (10:30pm on a Tuesday was clearly not their prime time), you talked while you ate - about exams, about your night out plans for Refreshers week next week, about Tessa (Tom’s personal favourite subject), about anything and nothing and everything in between. You talked on the way home (after a second trip through the drive through because Liv texted you while you were eating so you had to get a McFlurry and a Happy Meal for her and Madison), until you were parked up outside your house and Tom had to regretfully decline your invitation to come back in. He wanted to, he really did, but he knew he’d fall asleep and he had work in the morning - he’d managed to get most of his shifts covered to give himself time for exams and hangovers over this week and next, except this one - so he was forced to bid you goodnight after a goodbye kiss (or five or six goodbye kisses) in his car.

The next two days went by in a flurry of cramming and stressing, but before long Friday afternoon rolled around, bringing with it the sweet relief of freedom - for both you and Tom. Exams done and dusted, gone in a matter of hours after weeks of work, the plan going forwards for this: chill, go for a celebratory Nandos, possibly nap (definitely nap), then get ready and go out to the End of Exams party at the SU. Step one (‘Chill’) was well underway - for Tom, at least, who was lounging quite comfortably on your bed while you shoved your revision notes into boxes and files so you never had to look at them again.

“My back is killing me,” you groaned, sitting up straighter in your desk chair and rolling your shoulders back until they clicked. “Might go for a massage as post-exam treat.”

“I could give you a back massage?”

You laughed but didn’t reply, just turned back to what you were doing at your desk.

“No seriously,” Tom continued, looking up from where he was scrolling aimlessly through Instagram on his phone. “If you want - I mean I’m not a professional but I’ll give it a go.”

You laughed again, but spun your chair around to face him this time. “Okay, sure.”

Tom moved to let you sit down on the edge of the bed, setting his phone aside and kneeling behind you once you were settled. He wasn’t really sure what he was going to do, but like he said, he’d give it a go. Sitting back on his heels, he began to rub your shoulders, working your muscles with the pads of his thumbs. You rolled your shoulders back again as he massaged them, cracking your neck to each side with a sigh.

After an indeterminate amount of time - time had a weird habit of going both too fast and too slow when he was touching you, Tom had come to realise - you twisted your arm behind your back, gesturing between your shoulder blades with your hand.

“Can do you like, this bit?”

“Sure,” Tom thought for a moment, paused, then swallowed harshly before continuing. “Probably easier if you uh, lie down and like...takeoffyourbra.”

“Oh you think?” you laughed, looking over your shoulder at him.

“Just a suggestion,” Tom shrugged, putting on his most innocent smile.

“Fine.”

You sighed as you rolled your eyes, reaching behind you to unhook the clasp of your bra. Watching you intently as you wiggled out of your bra without taking your top off like some sort of circus performer, Tom shuffled down the bed to give you room to reposition, kneeling beside you once you lay down on your front. His fingers brushed over yours as he helped you push your t shirt up to expose your back.

“Do you have any, like, I dunno-” he began as he ran his hands over your back, stopping when you cut him off.

“Are you about to ask me if I have any massage oils?”

You looked at him out of the corner of your eye, your cheek pressed to your pillow as you lay with your head to the side. Tom didn’t know quite what to say, feeling his face heat up as the seconds ticked by.

“Uhh…”

“Why would I have massage oil?” you laughed, shaking your head (though your head movements were pretty restricted given your position).

“I dunno…” he shrugged, laughing too when he thought it through, hearing it how you would have heard it and realising it was a pretty bizarre think to ask. What did he think you were, a masseuse?

“I have body lotion on my dresser though?”

“Right, okay, that works.”

Scrambling off the bed, Tom made his way over the chest of drawers on the opposite side of the room. He scanned over the bottles and tubs sitting on the surface, trying to decipher which one might be most appropriate. After a moment he settled on one in a rather large bottle with a pump dispenser, ‘Smoothie Star Deep Moisture Milk’ printed on the front along with a picture of a milkshake - or perhaps it was a smoothie, given the name of the product. Either way it seemed like it would do the job, and according to the label it had an “irresistible scent” so that was promising.

Definitely not noticing that he could kind of see the outline of your underwear through your leggings now that your top was no longer covering your bum, Tom climbed back onto the bed and set your moisturiser down on your bedside cabinet. He knelt by your side for a moment, before deciding to just go for it and swing one of his legs over yours, careful to support most of his weight as he sat atop your thighs. Reaching over, he pumped a generous amount of ‘body milk’ (which now he thought about it didn’t really sound all that pleasant) into his hand, rubbing his palms together to try and warm it up a little before he touched you.

“Sorry s’cold,” he murmured as he started to rub it into your skin, hearing your breathing hitch slightly.

“S’okay.”

Your voice was a little muffled, your face pressed more firmly into the pillows as your body relaxed, but he heard you well enough. He started to massage the area you’d asked him to do, varying the pressure of his fingers and thumbs as they worked your muscles, sliding smoothly over your skin. You sighed contentedly as he continued his work, moving up to your shoulders, then back down to do between your shoulder blades again, until the majority of the lotion had been absorbed into your skin.

Tom was trying very, very hard to concentrate on what his hands were doing, he really was, but the thing was that your skin was very soft and warm, and the scent of the body lotion really was quite nice. He wasn’t sure if he’d go as far as irresistible but it was sweet and comforting - almonds, oats, and brown sugar, apparently, he saw when he squinted to read the label. In any case the whole experience was quite pleasant, and your thighs were warm and firm underneath him, and then he moved his hands to massage your sides and accidentally-maybe-a-little-bit-on-purpose touched the side of your breast, and he became rather more aware of other, lower parts of his body. Oh no.

His eyes flicked to your face to gauge your reaction - if you didn’t react, or looked uncomfortable, he’d stop and go back to your shoulders. He could only see the side of your face, and your eyes were closed, but he was fairly sure there was a flicker of a smirk on your lips, so he figured he could test the waters a little. You must have known this was a possibility though, surely? Surely it had occurred to you that a backrub might not be 100% innocent? Not that that had been his intention, but still, he was only human.

Tom’s hands moved down to your hips and then inwards, his thumbs working into the small of your back. You hummed appreciatively, which was encouraging, so he shuffled further down your legs as his hands traveled lower and lower until they were on your ass, and he could have sworn you pushed back against him. Tom squeezed your bum, gently at first and then a little firmer, his thumbs tucked under your cheeks. You hummed again, but this time there was definitely something more than just appreciation for a good back rub in there, so he leant down and pressed a kiss to your bare shoulder, then another to your neck, nudging your bunched up t shirt aside with his chin. He watched your face as you smiled, sighing. You began to shift beneath him, his hands moving to hold your hips loosely as you turned onto your back.

“Better?” he mumbled against your lips before you kissed him, your fingers weaving into his hair as you pulled his face down to yours.

You just hummed into the kiss, so he took that as a yes, and moved one hand up to your breast. Slipping beneath your t shirt, his hand kneaded your breast firmly, feeling your nipple hardening beneath his palm. You whimpered softly into his mouth when he pinched it between his fingertips, his tongue dipping into your mouth as your jaw slackened.

Grinding against you as you kissed, Tom moaned at the sensation of his hardening cock rubbing up against you, even through his clothes. His lips left yours as he moved to kiss down your neck and chest, pushing up the front of your top to expose your body.

He sucked your right nipple into his mouth while his hand continued to play with your other breast, rolling his tongue over it until it was firm between his lips. You whined, and he was very thankful that he managed to open his eyes and look up just in time to see you biting your bottom lip, your eyes fluttering shut. He switched his hand and his mouth then, his fingertip tracing small circles over your damp nipple while he covered the other with his tongue, sucking it into his mouth until you whined again, tugging on his hair.

Scattering kisses across your stomach as he went, Tom continued his way down your body, his hands tugging down the waistband of your leggings and underwear together. Pulling them down, he moved down the bed until he was at the foot of your bed, helping you wiggle out of the tight material with a breathy laugh when it caught on your ankles.

Your leggings finally cast side, Tom knelt between your legs as you spread them open for him. His t shirt soon joined your leggings on the floor before he lay down, his fingertips brushing over your inner thighs as he pressed kisses to your hips. His hands and lips travelled down over your body, his middle finger slipping inside you as he sucked hard on the soft skin at the very top of your thigh. Searching for the spot he found last time, Tom twisted his wrist, curling his finger - and judging by your sharp intake of breath, he found it. Adding a second finger and crooking it at the same angle, he couldn’t help the satisfied smirk that spread across his lips - but with his face buried between your thighs, you wouldn’t have seen it anyway.

Your fingers toying gently with the tufts of hair at the nape of his neck as he worked, Tom took his time; flicking his tongue in firm circles, tracing long lines up and down, sucking and licking your clit while his fingers alternated between slowly pumping in and out of you and curling to stimulate that spot inside your walls. He savoured all your little moans and gasps, the twitching of your thighs, the tightening of your fingers in his hair, until:

“Oh fuck-”

Between your whimpered curse and the tension in your body, Tom knew you were about to come. He moved his hand faster, fucking you with his fingers until your back was arching, your hips jerking up as you squeaked out a moan, your walls clenching around his fingers as you came. He’d learnt by now that when he thinks he should stop he should actually keep going (and then stop), so he kept on moving his tongue in firm circles over your clit even once you stopped grinding against his mouth, your nails digging into the back of his neck as your orgasm continued to shudder through your body. He only slowed his fingers down once you began to relax, your hands leaving his hair as you let out a long, deep breath. Tom tilted his face to the side, kissing your thigh softly as he looked up at you, your eyes just blinking open and your teeth releasing your bottom lip from between their grasp.

Your hands rubbed his shoulders as he moved back up your body, giggling when he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he kissed you. His arms bracketed your head as you kissed, supporting his weight over you as he lay between your legs. You cupped his face with one hand, the other trailing down his torso to undo his jeans. Tom sighed in a mixture of pleasure and relief when you pulled his boxers down enough to free his cock, your hand beginning to pump his length. Your thumb brushed over the head with each movement, his sensitive skin tingling beneath your touch. He tilted his head to the side as you moved to kiss his neck, sucking just hard enough to leave a mark just below his jawline. He had just about been able to stop himself thrusting into your hand up until then, but if you were going to be doing that, or nibbling on his earlobe, or moving your other hand from his cheek down to squeeze his ass, then he could hardly be blamed if he pressed his body closer to yours, your fingers tightening around his cock as he thrust into your hand. Your hand on his bum was pulling him closer to you anyway, so he didn’t have a choice, really.

It wasn’t long you both wanted, needed more, though, so with swollen lips and heavy breaths Tom off you to take his jeans off, pressing one more firm kiss to your lips before he did so. You sat up and took a condom from your bedside cabinet while he discarded his jeans and boxers, passing it to him once he was back kneeling between your thighs. He always felt like he had to fight the urge to say thanks when he took a condom from you, which didn’t really make any sense, like you needed it as much as he did? But anyway, this was not the time to ponder the proper etiquette of receiving condoms - you had one, it was now in situ, so he had more important things to think about.

Tom groaned as he eased into you, kissing your neck as you lay with your head nestled among the pillows, your legs spread open wide. He pushed into you slowly, gradually getting deeper with each thrust in and out until he was about to bottom out inside you. Looking down between your bodies to watch, he pulled out almost completely then pushed all the way back in, feeling your breath hot on his skin when you moaned.

Your fingers threaded through his hair once he was settled over you again, pulling him closer. You kissed his neck as his hips ground against yours, moving to suck just above his collarbone when he began to thrust steadily into you. Your teeth nipped at his skin, your tongue soothing the sting as his cock hit deep inside you with each jerk of his hips.

Squeezing your breast with one hand while the other held your waist, Tom dipped his head, burying his face in the crook of your neck. He started to kiss your neck, but you all but panted his name in his ear and tugged on his hair, so he ended up kissing your lips instead. All roaming tongues and smacking lips, you kissed messily, you whimpering into his mouth when he shifted the angle of his hips and hit deeper inside you. Your bodies weren’t positioned quite right for him to carry on hitting that angle, though, so he was forced to pull away from your hungry kiss and get to his knees (glancing behind him as he went so he didn’t hit his head on your stupid slanted ceiling).

Your arms fell either side of your head as it dropped back into the pillows, bending your knees to adjust to the new position, his legs slotting into place under your thighs. His hands gripping your waist, pulling you down onto him to meet each thrust of his hips, Tom looked down at you through heavy lids, watching your face, your body. Your mouth hung open slightly as you gasped out quiet ohs and fucks each time he thrust into you, your brow furrowed in pleasure and your breasts bouncing under your t shirt with every jolt of your bodies, your back arched as you gripped the pillow behind your head. Every now and then he reached down, his thumb brushing back and forth over your swollen clit.

“Oh my god,” you moaned, your pussy pulsating around his cock as he rubbed your clit.

He was close, he knew, but thankfully he knew that you were too. You bit down on your bottom lip and looked up at him with almost pleading eyes as you lifted your legs higher still, bringing your knees closer to your chest as Tom shifted to lean down into you more. His fingers dug into your thighs as he held your legs up at your sides, one of your hands reaching down between your bodies to replace his, your fingers working your clit. The bed creaked under you as Tom thrust into you hard and fast, forcing himself to keep his eyes open to watch you come apart beneath him. You released your lip from between your teeth as you came with a heavy moan, your thighs shaking under his palms and your walls clenching around his cock - and that was it, he couldn’t hold out any longer. Eyes squeezing shut, he groaned as he came, slowing down his thrusts to a steady grinding inside you to try and draw out both your highs.

Doing his utmost not to collapse on top of you, Tom shifted to rest his weight on his forearms as he kissed your neck, breathing heavily. You wiggled under him, lowering your legs slowly either side of his hips as you smoothed stray hairs back away from your face.

“What?” he mumbled against your shoulder when he heard you breathe out a laugh. Tiredness tugged at every one of Tom’s muscles, but he mustered up the strength to pull up and out of you, falling down onto his back once you’d shuffled to the side to make space on the bed beside you. “Why’d you laugh?”

“Just thinking- ” you mused, turning your head to look at him. “- interesting type of massage.”

“Yeah, well,” Tom chuckled, shrugging as he sat up. “Special clients only, you know?”

“I feel very privileged,” you smirked at him as he stood up to get rid of the used condom and its long-discarded wrapper.

Tom looked over his shoulder at you just as you were sitting up, pulling your t shirt down over your stomach and looking at the floor around your bed, presumably in search of your underwear.

“What sides are you getting?”

“Huh? Oh,” It took Tom a moment to catch up with the sudden change of subject, slightly preoccupied with cleaning himself up with a tissue at that precise moment. Truth be told, he’d kind of forgotten about your plans to go to Nandos. He was pretty tired anyway, after being up late last night cramming and then up early for his exam this morning which in itself was mentally tiring, and now this exertion of physical energy was more than enough to push him over the edge into nap territory - especially if he was going to go out tonight. But, you had been very excited about it, and he was quite hungry now that he thought about it, so he supposed he would make the effort. And now that he was thinking about it, he came to a decision as to which side dishes to get pretty quickly. “All of them?”

You nodded, seemingly satisfied.

“Good choice.”

Tom just about made it through driving to and from Nandos and eating without falling asleep, though driving back was significantly more taxing. On the way up to your room he grumbled internally about the decision to go back to yours - there were just too many stairs between the front door and bed for his liking - though he supposed it did make sense for both of you to get ready at yours. He’d only needed to bring like four things with him, whereas who knew what manner of equipment you’d need to get ready. And, as you were saying as you finally made it to your bedroom, you didn’t even know what you wanted to wear yet.

“What are your options?” Tom stifled a yawn as he took off his jacket, sitting down on your bed and kicking off his shoes.

“Ugh,” you sighed, throwing your own jacket on the back of your chair and opening your wardrobe. “I think these?”

You took out three dresses on hangers, holding each one up for him to see before tossing them onto your bed - or at least, he assumed they were dresses, but who knew, honestly. They all looked nice enough to him, and you always looked good anyway, so he asked what he considered to be the most sensible question:

“Which one is comfiest?”

You hummed, thinking for a moment before replying. “The black one.”

“Wear the black one then.”

You looked from the dresses (?) to Tom, then back again, then nodded.

“Okay,” you said decisively, bundling the clothes up in your arms and dumping them unceremoniously on your desk chair before wiggling out of your leggings. “That was easy, thanks.”

“No problem.”

Tom struggled to hold back another yawn as you closed your blinds, blocking out what remained of the daylight trickling through the window above your desk. Taking off his jeans and kicking them off the end of your bed, he shuffled over as you pulled back the duvet to get into bed beside him. Turning onto his side once he’d joined you under the covers, Tom smiled sleepily as you lay down facing him. He was pretty sure you smiled back, equally sleepily, but he hardly saw it, his eyes already closing without his consent nor permission. He felt like he was about to say something, but he couldn’t remember quite what it was, and he was falling asleep now, quicker than even he expected. Never mind, he resolved, if it’s important it’ll come back to me later - later...later! That was it, he was thinking should probably set an alarm so the two of you didn’t sleep too late and miss predrinks or something disastrous like that.

“What time-”

“Shhhhh!”

Tom opened one eye to see you shaking your head, your eyes closed even as you reached out to blindly press a silencing finger to his lips (well, his nose first, but it was clear you were going for his lips).

“Nap now, words later.”

Okay then, he closed his eyes again, already feeling sleep pulling at his mind and body, nap now it is.

⋘ ELEVEN | THIRTEEN ⋙

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#tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland fic #tom holland fanfic #tom holland imagine #tom holland blurb #tom holland headcanon #tom holland smut #tom holland fluff

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blue-lions-baby · 4 years

Text

Operation Confession (Dimitri x Reader) [Ch. 1]

hi!! so sorry for the inactivity! i’ve been super busy preparing for college n stuff, so i didn’t really have time to write anything... but like i also didn’t want to go *another* week of not posting anything so lol

i’ve been working on this fic for almost a month now and as i was approaching the 5000 words mark, i figured it would probably be best to chop it up into more.... manageable sections ^^’ please enjoy~

spoiler-free and pre-timeskip fluff!

~*~

Oh, this was perfect.

Sylvain watched in pure amusement at the scene playing out before his very eyes. Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, future king of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, reduced to nothing more than a blushing schoolboy antsy with the love bugs and raging hormones. He weakly disguised his chuckle with a cough when he saw yet another quill snap in the blonde’s hand, most likely in reaction to that adorable pouting face you had put up. You had absolutely no idea what type of effect and the severity of said effect you had on the prince.

Which made it all the more entertaining.

You didn’t mean to-- in fact, you weren’t even aware of the raging feelings Dimitri held towards you.

But Sylvain knew.

And you could bet your ass he was gonna do everything in his power to help his longtime friend man up and confess to the girl of his dreams.

Dimitri’s cheeks, once dusted with only a faint pink, suddenly became a hodgepodge of every shade of red when he realized that was the third quill he broke in this hour alone. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, helplessly looking to his teacher for help.

“Your Highness... Have you broken another quill?” Dedue murmured beside him, concern eminent in his voice. Dimitri looked down at the large splinter running down its side and mentally banged his head against the desk.

“It appears so... I will request a replacement from the Professor.” He muttered back, silently rising to his feet and making his way to the desk up front. He was suddenly stopped on his 4-step journey when Byleth (with a crinkle in their nose and a sigh) redirected their frazzled student to a whole box of spare quills behind the blackboard. Dimitri-- very much aware that this box filled with ludicrous amounts of quills were entirely for him-- bowed deeply to the professor, picked up the feathery thing, and hurried back to his desk.

You looked up from your work to give your eyes a break from their swimming lessons and accidentally made eye contact with the returning prince. You both paused for a split second before you flashed him a heartfelt smile; a gentle warmth kissed the surface of your cheeks and you averted your eyes back to your studies.

A resounding snap reverberated throughout the quiet classroom.

“Dimitri?”

“Y-Yes, Professor?”

“See me after class.”

“Yes, Professor...”

♠ ♥ ♣ ----------------------------------------------------------- ♣ ♥ ♠

While the rest of the class huddled outside the door and watched their house leader write “I will not break another quill” line after line on the blackboard, Sylvain looped an arm around your waist and winked.

“Hey, (F/N). Mind if I steal you for a bit?”

“Um... Sure.” Wary of his skirt-chasing tendencies, you were reluctantly led away from your classmates and into a more secluded part of the monastery.

“This better not be one of your tricks again, Sylvain... I already told you, I don’t like you in that way.”

“Ouch. That hurt.” Sylvain’s lips formed into an exaggerated pout and you couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Nah, this ain’t about me for once. It’s about a certain... someone.” He continued rather vaguely.

“A certain someone? Sylvain, are you sure this isn’t about you?”

“It’s really not, I swear.” He put his hands up in surrender and seeing him genuine for once, you decided to believe him.

“Well, before I continue, I just wanna know if you... y’know.” Sylvain’s eyebrows wriggled very suggestively and a teasing smirk splayed his features. Your heart thundered in your ear, already knowing where this was going.

“If I...?” You whispered, taut fingers knotting the fabric of your uniform.

“Like, like-like anyone?”

Sylvain wished with all his heart that he had some way to capture the look and flood of colors that quickly took hold of your face. He watched in silent amazement as your face shifted from a barely-there pink to strawberry red in a matter of seconds. Gotcha.

“W-Well, I mean--” You took a shaky step backwards and your jaw clenched so tightly you were certain you were gonna chip a tooth. “There is this guy... Wait, why am I telling you this?! It’s none of your business!”

You rammed past the tall male with enough force to almost knock him over as you promptly made your way back to where the rest of your classmates were.

Satisfied with the laughable drop in quality in Dimitri’s penmanship, Byleth finally let the poor male join his classmates outside. His fingers twitched in an unsightly fashion and his wrist throbbed and cricked with every motion he made. He let out a guttural groan, making small, crackling adjustments to his neck and shoulder. The only thing he had left to do today was train, but he’d probably just go ahead and retire to his bed, at least for a little while...

Past the sea of heads crowding around him, he saw a flash of (H/C) streak across his vision, followed shortly afterwards by a head of shaggy red. (F/N)...? What were you doing with Sylvain?

Crippling exhaustion transfigured into searing jealousy and his eyes narrowed at his childhood friend with cold suspicion. Sylvain could easily feel the scorned prince’s hard stare like a knife in the back.

Was he at all fazed? Not in the slightest.

In fact, thought Sylvain as he sidled right up next to you, he wanted to toy with Dimitri’s heart just a little bit more...

“Excuse me everyone, but I must speak to Sylvain immediately.” He emphasized the last word sharply, gently pushing his way through the crowd. While he brushed shoulders with Ashe and waltzed around Ingrid, he spun around and ended up face-to-face with... Oh Goddess, his legs were turning into jelly.

“Dimitri...? Is something wrong?” You breathed, fumbling with your clammy digits.

“O-Oh!” Said male rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “Nothing, Belov-- (F/N). Please excuse me, but it is imperative that I have a little... talk, with Sylvain.”

He left you no room for response as he quickly latched onto the toothy-grinned noble and practically dragged him away on his heels.

“What seems to be the problem, Your Highness?”

“Let us discuss the issue in my quarters.”

“Your quarters? Oh ho ho.~”

“Stop it, Sylvain. ... We’re here now.”

Dimitri watched Sylvain plop on the edge of his bed, his lips upturned in a carefree fashion. Dimitri lowered himself on his uncomfortable desk chair, his hands anxiously squeezing his kneecaps.

“So what would you like to talk about, Your Highness?”

“It’s about (F/N).” Dimitri spoke resolutely. “Sylvain... I know this will sound nothing short of mad, but--”

“Let me guess. You like (F/N).”

Dimitri’s bodily organs ceased to function; every ounce of blood in his body mutated into sharp, prickling icicles that seized his heart in a snare of terror and dread.

“I-- Wait, how--?”

“Your Highness. No offense, but pretty much everyone knows how you feel about her. You’re not exactly... subtle.”

Dimitri? Not subtle? Even after the extraordinary lengths he went through to make sure you remained ignorant of his true feelings for you? His brain filed through each and every interaction he’s had with you, combing through each word and shaky glance and awkward blush exchanged between either of you. Well, sure, he’s no master of disguise, but he wasn’t that bad... right?

While Dimitri’s thoughts remained in utter chaos, Sylvain coolly continued.

“Hey, about that lil’ act earlier... I was just messin’ with you, Your Highness. (F/N)’s a serious cutie, but I’m really not after her. I swear.” Sylvain winked. “Plus, she doesn’t even like me. She actually told me she likes--”

“WHO?!” Before Sylvain even had time to process-- well, anything-- Dimitri was on his feet rattling the poor noble to and fro, completely forgetting the crippling strength his Crest bestowed him.

“Gah! Stop it! That hurts!” Sylvain cried, trying with all his might to pry Dimitri’s iron grip from his shoulders.

Coherency finally returning, Dimitri immediately unclasped his digits from Sylvain. An expression of apologetic horror shot through his eyes as he stumbled back, back, back against his desk. The chest of both men heaved violently; raspy and hasty apologies slipped out of Dimitri’s lips while pain-stricken groans and a few obscenities raced out of Sylvain’s.

“I’m so-... I’m so sorry, Sylvain, I-- I’m so, so sorry--”

“Augh, Goddess... You’ve got quite a grip there, Your Highness...” Sylvain chuckled weakly, feeling his skin swell and bruise.

“Allow me to fetch a healer for you!”

“N-No worries... Ugh... Just, I need to talk to you.”

“Sylvain--”

“Please. Seeing you skirt about this issue is far more painful than any bruise you could give me... But I’m not gonna lie, this one comes pretty close.”

Dimitri drew in a deep breath and settled in his desk chair, its wooden legs creaking slightly from his weight. He planted his elbows firmly by his kneecaps and rested his chin on folded hands.

“Lemme ask you a question, Your Highness. Do you truly love (F/N)?”

“Yes.” Dimitri answered unfazed, but suddenly realized the gravity of his response and drooped his eyes towards the floor.

“Then tell her!”

“I... I can’t. I’m afraid I lack the confidence to waltz up to a girl and profess my feelings to her. Especially with what happened to...” Dimitri shivered at the awkwardly painful memory and continued. “Sylvain, what if she doesn’t like me in that way? Then I’d have made a fool of myself in front of everybody. But most importantly, her...”

“Well, since she didn’t tell me exactly who she liked, there’s no surefire way to know...” Sylvain acquiesced. “But I’ve got a real good feeling about this. Trust me! If there’s one thing in the world that I can help you with, it would be something like this.”

“Well, I suppose you’re right...” Dimitri pondered, sighing in defeat. “But regardless of whether she likes me or not, I am unable to simply walk up to her and tell her my feelings. That’s...”

Dimitri trailed off, dejection glossing his pastel blues.

“I don’t deserve someone like her.” He breathed out just above a whisper. Poignancy took hold of Sylvain’s heart after hearing the sincerity in Dimitri’s voice. One look at the despondent royal was enough to tell him how much he believed those words-- how much Dimitri believed that he, a beast stained by blood and vengeance, could never have a beauty as tender and loving as you.

“Hey, come on Your Highness... It’s not fair on your part to be giving yourself so little credit.”

“Sylvain, look at me.” Dimitri cupped his throbbing head in his hands and he growled. “I am a monster. I can not drag someone as pure, lovely, and beautiful as (F/N) into...”

He paused, choosing his next words carefully.

“She deserves someone else-- someone who can bring her true happiness. Someone who’s... not me.”

Sylvain gritted his teeth from the dark and pulverizing atmosphere. Dimitri was spiraling. Further, faster into the void.

“Cheer up, Your Highness!” Sylvain bubbled half-heartedly, desperately trying to reel his friend from the abyss. “You’re a great guy! Hey. Remember when we went out to cull some bandits outta that one village? And some bad guy almost got (F/N)? You managed to swoop in just before that happened! You saved her, Deems. The look of pure adoration and gratitude in her eyes after the battle... It felt good, right?”

“I... suppose.”

“Oh! And remember when (F/N) was having a hard time grasping the concept of that battle formation the other day? Who came in, and spent the rest of their afternoon tutoring her until she could explain why you needed to send the flyers in first?”

“... I did.”

“Yup! And who’s the chivalrous, hard-working leader of the Blue Lions that everyone looks up to?”

“I am.”

“Atta boy, Your Highness! See? You’re a great guy! And the fact that you’re a prince doesn’t hurt your chances either.” Sylvain’s eyebrows danced smugly.

Dimitri’s chest rose and fell in laughter; Sylvain’s eyes lit up like a star. He managed to save him-- at least for now.

“Thank you, Sylvain. I really needed that encouragement. I... I apologize for--”

“No worries, Your Highness. ... I’m just glad I was able to help.” Sylvain clasped a hand on his friend’s shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.

“Um, Sylvain...”

“Hm?”

“How do I confess to her? Properly?”

Sylvain clapped his hands together and rubbed them gleefully.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ve got a plan.”

#fire emblem #dimitri fire emblem #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #fe3h dimitri #dimitri x reader #x reader #x reader insert #x reader fanfiction #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem three houses fanfiction #part 2 coming soon!!#sylvain would make the best wingman ngl

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glowonu · 4 years

Text

nerdy love by ph-1

here is a cute little songfic i wrote, please enjoy!

https://youtu.be/FFkLoUwQ9a4

I wake up to the sound of the alarm It rained yesterday but the sun is out now Dress up in the outfit I picked out last night I like to look neat Don’t really care about brand names I’m in a rush to pick you up

Wonwoo rushes around his college dorm, dressed in the outfit he picked last night. The pale sweater contrasts against his black pants. He grabs his keys, wallet, phone, and glasses in a frazzled rush, he wants to see you as soon as possible. The environment looks a little brighter, a little cleaner from last night’s rain. It’s only just cleared up, the clouds quickly disappearing yet raindrops coat the leaves on the trees and the bitumen is soaked dark.

You light up as you see him across the campus hub. Your heart squeezes as he jogs over to you. He looks incredibly soft, and a little nerdy, but you don’t mind, you wouldn’t have him any other way. You smile up at him and he swears you outshine the sun. Taking his hand, you giggle and head to the river near campus.

I heard you like yellow sunsets I want to be a cool lover for you But I can’t stop being so damn nerdy Like the male lead in last week’s drama that we watched together I wanna show you a passionate and fiery love But I don’t really have much I’m not that manly And I’m sure sometimes You want a cool, real man

The sun is shining, and the breeze is a little chilly but it’s alright where you’re sitting, on top of your weatherproof jacket, spread across a spot on the bank of the river. You’re chatting about your favourite drama, particularly about the main character who has stolen your infatuation and Wonwoo can’t help but feel a little, well, different from what seems to be your ideal type. He’s mellow, subtle, quiet, nothing like the loud, exuberant and extravagant Ahn Minhyuk, who shows his affections passionately without a care. As you talk about him animatedly, how well he protects the main lead and how he acted on the couple’s last date, he starts to think that maybe you want someone, well, cooler than he is.

That’s not what love is, stupid If you can’t stop being you I’ll just be a nerd for you too You know I’m happy seeing you be yourself If you can’t stop being you I’ll just be a nerd for you too It’s not nerdy boy It’s you just sweet babe I’m happy that you’re you

The conversation quietens yet, you’re content. You look over at Wonwoo, he has a faraway look in his eye. You know this look, the one where he gets caught up in all his thoughts. You sit there for a little, just taking him in. His sharp visuals and dark hair, the elegant way his glasses sit on his face, the pink colour of his lips. You smile at him, scooching closer to take his hand. He jumps a little and you giggle at him. Kissing his cheek softly, you try to do what he does so effortlessly; expressing your adoration, so whole and so full, into simple gestures that make your heart burst. His cheeks tinge red, as his eyes widen before he smiles a small, yet very, very cute smile down at you.

I know you’ll be compared too Your friend’s boyfriend He has a good build, he can piggyback his girl I saw you like that picture Making me feel so small When we’re in a crowded subway car I’ve never pulled you close And I don’t know how to kiss you till your head grows blank I don’t really know baby

After your block of classes, you’re sitting in the library, back with Wonwoo. You have your legs hooked over one of his legs and you’re scrolling through your phone. Wonwoo is reading quietly and unlike you, Wonwoo isn’t as chatty, but it’s okay, you’re content just spending time in his presence.

You let out a strange half sigh, half surprised exclamation and Wonwoo peers over at you. You’ve tapped on your friend’s instagram page, and the feed is filled with her and Cheol in cute situations. You like the one where your friend is hiked up on Cheol’s back as they pose at the beach, and another one, that was an obvious candid of them held close to each other on the busy tram. Wonwoo really doesn’t like how his brain instantly compares himself to the self-confident Seungcheol. Wonwoo knows he’s shy, he can’t do all those things, and he has to admit that this isn't the first time he’s thought that you might want more from him. He blushes and tries to go back to his book, finding it difficult to focus on the words on the page.

I’ve been feeling like a huge nerd lately But even though I’m such a loser Why are you looking at me With such a bright smile? I wish I really could change for the better Maybe your every day is a sacrifice for my pathetic self

Maybe if he wasn’t so shy, if he was a little more extraverted, maybe even stronger, maybe he’d feel like a better boyfriend. But there’s this thing about you, that whenever he gets too far into his own head, you bring him back to air, even if you are completely oblivious to his thoughts. This time, your small taps to his cheek grab his attention, and your bright smile is a breath of fresh air for his mind that is drowning in his thoughts. You look at him like a sunflower looks at the sun, but Wonwoo doesn’t understand why, when you’re the brightest entity around.

I don’t really have much I’m not that manly And I’m sure sometimes You want a cool, real man

Wonwoo wants to give you the world, but for now he squeezes your hand back as you lead him to a surprise date location. You picked him up from his dorm at noon, knowing that he would sleep in. Greeted with a sleepy bed head at the door, you giggled as his eyes widened and rushed to finish getting ready. You’re leading Wonwoo to a surprise that you know he’ll love, and it’s probably not something you’re dying to get involved in, but it’ll make his day, and you really miss his cute little nose scrunch.

Your heart swells at the sight of one of Wonwoo’s cutest expressions, his shocked, yet very happy face. His eyes are wide and his mouth has formed a small ‘o’ shape. You giggle, and lead him into the Internet cafe with a small exclamation of ‘Surprise!’.

Wonwoo looks at you with a bright grin on his face, his eyes sparkling. “You really want to spend our date here?” He asks amazed.

“Baby, you love this kinda stuff… I may not understand a lot of it but, you love it, and that just, it makes me happy,” You reply shyly, grinning up at him.

He flusters around a little before, whispering a soft “Thank you,” as he presses a kiss to the top of your head.

You really don’t understand a lot of what is going on, but it was one of the best dates that you’ve spent with the man that holds all of your affections.

I don’t understand What’s wrong with me? I can’t sleep Every night I’ve been losing sleep for you My feelings are free for you

It’s late, and Wonwoo’s phone reads 2:01am but he can’t sleep. Thoughts of you keep him up, and nothing can stop you from overwhelming his mind. Suddenly your name pops up on his notification panel, distracting him from the void of whichever SNS feed he was scrolling through aimlessly.

[2:03] sunflower: hey babe?

You’re never usually up this late, and Wonwoo anticipates your next message as he watches the three dots appear and disappear multiple times before he receives another message from you.

[2:04] sunflower: i cant sleep, do you wanna, idk, go to the convenience store? [2:04] sunflower: i’ll meet you there?

Wonwoo inhales sharply, and types out an impulsive message, sending it quickly. Your phone flashes with the alert of a new message, you release the breath you didn’t know you were holding as you reply.

[2:04] nerdy loml: dont worry about it, ill come pick you up. [2:05] you: ok [2:05] you: thanks babe ❤️

I just don’t want to regret anything Cuz we’re special, you and I Can’t stop being so damn nerdy Tell me why am I so damn nerdy

The night air is crisp and fresh, its nippy and cold yet it refreshes your drowsy heads. Your fingers are intertwined with Wonwoo’s as you walk along the bank of the river, licking at the ice cream you bought at the convenience store a mere five minutes ago. The both of you are silent, and there are a lot of unsaid words floating between the both of you. Wonwoo has so much to say yet, he doesn’t want to pierce the silence, he can’t bring himself to express everything he wants to. Yet, he finds he doesn’t have to.

Once again Wonwoo finds himself floating to the surface again, yet this time, it’s almost like a bucket of cold water has been crashed over his head, waking himself up from the drowsy clouds of his mind as you start talking. “I don’t think there is any other person that was meant to be with me like this, as you are Wonwoo,” You whisper into the night, your breath condensing as it meets the cool air. The both of you are facing the river, standing against the fence under the bridge. “You, you’re nerdy, and you’re dorky, but I don’t think I could ever consider asking for someone different.” You continue, “I think I'm the happiest when you are yourself, when you’re comfortable in a hoodie and a beanie at 3 O’clock in the morning, or dressed up for a date that ends up at the PC Bang,” You take a breath and look at him, his eyes locked on you. “Jeon Wonwoo, I love you so much, I hope you know that,”

In all of a sudden, you’re pulled close to him, and he presses his lips softly to yours, kissing you slowly yet with a fervor that he has never kissed you with before. He pulls a fraction away from you, and whispers to you softly as his forehead is pressed against yours, “Thank you,” He starts, “For loving me as much as I love you, Sunflower,” He punctuates his confession with another sweet kiss. You giggle, full of love, the both of you smiling awkwardly into this kiss.

After all, the both of you wouldn’t have it any other way.

#on hiatus #but here you go #wonwoo fluff #wonwoo oneshot #wonwoo songfic #wonwoo scenario #wonwoo #jeon wonwoo #seventeen wonwoo #seventeen fluff #seventeen oneshot #seventeen songfic #seventeen scenario #seventeen drabble #wonwoo drabble #my writing

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ouronlyangelhes · 5 years

Text

Still The One: Harry Styles One Shot

Hope you love it! Send me requests as always or send me an ask if you just wanna talk about Harry!

Harry has always been a kind-hearted, genuine, and full of love kind of guy. And he has always done everything he could to show you that love, he has been no different with your children. With 4 children all under the age of 8, your house is very rarely calm. The lowkey calm life you had once known was no longer. You wouldn’t trade it for anything, your children are everything and more to you. It’s just sometimes you miss those days when it was just you and Harry.

Those nights you didn’t have to be home at any certain time because you had to relieve the babysitter, those nights when you could go out and be as wild and crazy as you wanted and not have to worry about getting up early to take your children to school.

Maybe it was selfish of you to feel this way, but you couldn’t help it. Your youngest child is 6 months old. You loved your children, but this last pregnancy had been way harder than the others and it was safe to say your days of having any more children were over, at least in your mind.

Harry was due home from the studio any minute. You loved it when Harry came home. Whether it was from the studio, the grocery store, or a couple weeks away. You never got tired of seeing his smiling face walking through the front door of your home.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Your eldest called out as soon as she heard the front door open.

“Hi sweetie, have you had a good day?” He asked as he picked her up.

“Yes. I drew lots of pictures and colored. Here, I made this drawing for you.” She said as she handed Harry the picture she had made him.

“Bub, this is beautiful. I will put it on the fridge with the others.” Harry said as he studied the drawing she had made for him.

The next thing you knew, your other two kids were rushing down the stairs to hug Harry. His attention was a hot commodity that sometimes you felt like you missed out on. You had no doubt that Harry loved you, sometimes you just felt a little invisible in your household.

You weren’t a small child that spent her days drawing pictures for her father, you were a tired and busy mother who was trying her best. You didn’t want to seem needy, you just wanted Harry to have the same excitement to see you that he had for his little ones.

You heard footsteps going up the stairs and you knew Harry was most like checking on his littlest one that was having her nap.

After a while, Harry finally made his way down the stairs to you.

“Hi love. She’s so precious when she’s sleeping. Part of me wanted to wake her up but I know better than to do that at this point.” He said talking about your youngest who was not the easiest to put down for a nap.

“Yeah, she’s not exactly the easiest to get to sleep.” You said.

“What have you been up to today?” He asked.

“Nothing too crazy. Just made lunch for the kids and they’ve been coloring and being all artsy today. I know they get it from you because that is definitely not from me. How was the studio?” You said.

“It was alright. I didn’t get as much done as I had hoped but that’s just sometimes the way it goes.” He said as he grabbed a water from the fridge.

“Are you alright? You seem a bit off today.” He asked. You didn’t seem like your normal bubbly self to him and that was causing him some concern. He knew it wasn’t an easy task to have to chase around 4 small children but somehow you managed to it with such grace. He knew that you were busy and probably in need of a little break.

“Just a little frazzled is all. I don’t know this is gonna sound awful but sometimes I just miss the old days. When it was just me and you. When we didn’t have to chase around the little ones and we could just go wherever the wind took us. I miss that. And I’m not in any way saying I don’t absolutely adore our children because you know I do, I’m just a little burnt out is all. Sometimes I just feel so small. I feel that the kids are all you see me for anymore and I’m just the one you call when you want another baby.” You said as Harry was stunned by your words.

You hadn’t meant it in a spiteful way, you were trying to communicate how you were feeling.

“I don’t know what to say to that. How could you honestly think that the only reason I’m around is because I use you to have kids? That’s so beyond hurtful I don’t even know what to say. I am sorry that you feel that way but I feel like I’ve made my love for you as obvious as possible since day one. My goal is to never make you feel unseen or small. But maybe you’re right, maybe we do need to have some time without the kids and just reconnect.” Harry said to you.

You were happy that he suggested having some time away from the kids.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for everything to come out so harsh. I guess I’ve just been keeping all of these feelings in just because I didn’t want to sounds cruel for wanting some time for us.” You said trying to get him to understand your perspective.

“You’re not cruel love, you’re a lot of things but cruel wouldn’t ever be one of them. I don’t blame you for the way you’re feeling, I don’t want you to apologize for being a little overwhelmed.” He said as he hugged you.

“Thank you. Thank you.” You said as you hugged him tighter.

The rest of the evening was spent making dinner, reading your kids a bed time story, and tucking them into bed.

“I spoke to mum today. She said that she would be cool taking the kids for a couple days. She loves spending time with them and I know the kids enjoy going over there. She said she’d watch them for as long as we wanted.” He said as he crawled into bed next to you.

“That’s sounds great. Thank you for calling her. I really appreciate you making all these efforts to get us some time together.” You said to him.

“Of course. I miss time with you too, it is much needed I think.” He said as he turned out the lamp on his nightstand.

The next day was spent packing the kids up and taking them over to Anne’s to spend a couple days. You were beyond excited to have some days alone with Harry and you knew that Anne loved spending as much time as she could with her grand babies.

“Thank you again for watching them. We really appreciate it. Besides, they love coming over here. I know that you spoil them.” You said as you stood in the doorway.

“Anytime! You know I love them! And besides we have fun together. We do lots of baking and crafts. It’s the best. And besides, you two need to make time for each other. It’s so important. I know it’s hard with four, but it’s worth it.” She said as she looked down at her smallest grandchild that was in her arms.

“Thank you again.” You said as you walked out the door.

“So are you going to tell me where we are going or are you going to keep it a secret the whole time?” You said as you got in the car.

“I know that you get a little antsy with surprises so I guess I’ll go ahead and tell you now. I remember how much you loved Italy when we went and I made us a reservation at that hotel you loved so much.” He said as he watched your eyes light up.

“Italy?! I am more than okay with that. Talk about surprises!” You said as you noticeably got more excited.

Harry even after all this time, still knew just what you liked. It was like he was inside your head and could guess exactly what you needed. Who wouldn’t want to jet set away to Italy for a few days?

After your plane landed, the two of you made your way to the hotel. You had come here around 3 years ago and absolutely fell in love with the city and the hotel. The sights, the architecture, the food, all of it had become something that you loved.

“So I was thinking we could head to the hotel, drop our stuff off and go get something to eat. Or if you want to take a nap or something before we do that we can. It’s up to you.” Harry said as he smiled.

“I don’t need a nap, I think I’m running on excitement for being here at this point. I’m good with going to grab dinner.” You said as you looked out the window of the car.

“Do you want to go to the usual spot or adventure and see what we come across?” He asked you.

“The usual. We have plenty of time to get adventurous later.” You said.

You went back to the hotel, freshened up, and the headed out to grab dinner.

“Thank you again for doing this for us. I really do appreciate it. I know I’ve said it a million times already but this time with you I never take for granted. I really just love us.” You said as you took a sip of your wine.

“I really love this time too. I’m glad just to be here with you and just not feeling rushed. We can enjoy Italy and have some fun. That’s what it’s all about.” He said.

After dinner, the two of you walked around a little bit before heading back to the hotel.

“You wanna know when I knew that you were the one?” Harry asked you.

“I thought you said it was on that trip to Holmes Chapel where I met your mum and Gemma for the first time.”

“Well that was the first time I told you I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. The moment I know you were the one was after our third date.” He said.

“Shut up.” You said not sure if he was trying to butter you up.

“I’m serious, as soon as the date was over and I dropped you off I knew that I would be a complete fool if I let you walk away and I missed out on getting to be lucky enough to love you.” He confessed to you as you got in the elevator in the hotel.

“How come you’ve never told me this before?” You asked.

“I dunno, I guess I just didn’t wanna seem too cheesy. Because I know how you are with cheesy and I didn’t want to make you hate me for that.” He said as he laughed.

“Well, I guess you know me too well then.” You said as he took the key card out of his wallet and opened the door.

The rest of the trip was everything and more. The two of you got to catch up and reminiscence on old times. While also realizing how great this trip was, you did really miss the craziness of your life. You missed hearing the little feet latter around the kitchen floor in the morning, and the begging for one more story at bedtime.

Even though sometimes you were beyond tired and felt like everything was impossible, you wouldn’t trade this life you and Harry had built for anything in this world. You loved the crazy and he did too.

#harry styles fanfic #harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles writing #harry styles au #harry #harry styles one shot #harrystyles #harry styles series #harry angst #one direction one shot #one direction imagine #one direction writing #one direction

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borrovvedyoongi · 5 years

Text

Off Season pt 2

part 1

kinda like that one taylor swift song but not really, promise. instead, it involves basketball

jaehyun x reader

word count: 2,543

Summary: Jaehyun does something unexpected for what he believes is the cutest band nerd ever- you.

It was a race against time to see who can type a response the fastest, it seemed like. The group chat is always like that after something insane happens, like Doyoung getting hit on by a guy (who is totally out of his league), Yeri passing the Great Gatsby test with flying colors in english class when a majority of the class made below sixty percent, and you, having the school’s cutest boy taking you out in an hour.

“What do I say to him during the date? I can’t make conversation for shit when I’m under pressure.” you say while Yeri curls a strand of your hair. You were too worried that you would burn your fingers considering how you’re so frazzled at the moment.

Doyoung holds your fluffy cat close to his chest and absent-mindedly responds, “I think you’re making this a bigger deal than it is.”

Yeri huffs while starting on the next strand of hair, “I think you’re not getting the big picture. What if this date turns out amazing and they start going out? She will become the it girl among the band and the locals!”

“Yeri, stop calling them locals. It’s demeaning and makes them sound like bland people. You don’t even know the popular kids enough to label them like that.” you say.

Yeri chuckles,”You know damn well those kids are boring and have no ounce of weirdness in them. They. Are. Locals.”

“What if Jaehyun is boring and doesn’t respond well when you show him memes?” Doyoung says, now fully aware of the situation.

You sigh.”We’re so getting off track. Help me think of what to say!”

Yeri soundly responds,“Honey, it’s no big deal. Talk to him like you would talk to us. He’s probably freaking out like you, because you know, you’re such a babe.”

Doyoung giggles at you swatting at Yeri for her comment.

“Only he gets to call me that.” you say with flushed cheeks.

“Alright, fine, fine. From this moment on we will be actually helpful.” Yeri says.

“Make sure you don’t talk too much about yourself, makes you look full of yourself.” Doyoung says while petting the cat.

“Ask how his friends are like...and mention us if you wanna.” Yeri says. The last part was barely audible.

“You want to get with his friends, don’t you Yeri.” Doyoung says, more as a statement than a question.

“Want me to burn you with this curling wand? And so what if i want to get with his friends? Leave me be.” Yeri says.

“Doyoung, do you know what would be fun?” you say.

“What, Y/N?”

“Guessing which boy she likes.”

“My money is on Ten.” You can visibly see Yeri grip the curling wand out of the corner of your eye.

“Shut up..” she says quietly. You smile, realizing that your friend is doing you a huge favor, and that you should return the favor as well.

“I’ll ask him if he’s available.”

“You don’t have to do that, you know.”

You turn in your seat to fully face her.

“I need to finish your hair-”

“Yeri, you’re doing my hair. You’re here for me. You could be doing anything else way better than this, but you chose to stick by me. I want to do it, so let me.” you say.

“Accept the favor, accept the favor!” Doyoung whisper yells.

“Alright. You can ask, now turn back around. I’m almost done.”

Yeri and Doyoung hug you before they leave, both wishing you good luck. Jaehyun arrives any minute now, and you feel confident. All those nerves from before has turned into bewildering excitement. Even if this date crashes and burns, you look great and feel great.

It felt like the text couldn’t come any sooner, but you finally get the “here” text. You race out of your room and bid your mother a kiss goodbye, and nonchalantly walk out of your house like it’s no big deal. Jaehyun greets you by rolling down his window and flashing those adorable dimples. He gets out of his car to give the most gentle hug you’ve ever received. He held you like a china doll and it made your heart feel so full. He grabs your hand and walks you to the passenger side. He of course opens the door for you. You were worried you would hit your head getting in and make a fool of yourself. So far, so good.

His next actions make you want to combust. You expected him to open the door like a gentleman, but what you didn’t expect were those five words.

“Can I hold your hand?” Your eyes widen at the question.

“While you drive? Is that safe?”

He lets out the most melodic laugh pass his lips.

“We’ll be fine.”

With that being said, you offer your hand and hope that they’re not as clammy as you think they are.

The drive to the little boba cafe was quiet and peaceful. The only time Jaehyun let go of your hand was to move the gear shift and unbuckle his seatbelt. Walking into the cafe, he continued holding your hand.

“You’ve been here a few times, right?” he asks.

“Plenty.” you smile up at him. You remember the numerous times you, Yeri, and Doyoung have been here. It was the hang out place for your school, so many people would visit. There have been multiple times where both Jaehyun and you were there at the same time, sharing glances at each other from across the room. Neither of you knew how into each other you were- so oblivious to feelings shared. It was highly obvious to friends surrounding, though.

Jaehyun offers to order for both of you, and thank god he did, because the nerves are coming back and you’re worried you’ll be a stuttering mess. You both get situated on the table near the window. Along the window were pretty fairy lights around the border. Such small and delicate lights made Jaehyun’s eyes beam in the most beautiful way; the reflection in his eyes reminded you of stars. It was impossible to look him straight in the eyes when he looked that charming and handsome.

“Tell me about yourself.” His words snapped you out of your trance and brought you back to reality.

You softly smile and nervously put a strand of hair behind your ear. Simple stuff like that keeps your anxious hands occupied.

“I’m co-section leader of the clarinet section, I’m a cat lover but dogs are still a weakness for me, I always wanted to have my hair lilac, and I love doing what I do- performing.”

Jaehyun intently listens as you tell him about yourself. He has his chin resting in the palm of his hand, a habit he has to keep his nervous hands at bay. He’s lost in the way your mouth moves and the way words roll off your tongue. Everything you say sounds like a catchy tune he can put on repeat all the time. You’re so beautiful, yet so unaware of it.

“You sound passionate about music, can you go into more depth about it? I love artsy people. There’s something inviting about them.”

You blush. “Am I inviting?”

“So much so, I can listen to you all day.”

You vividly remember Doyoung telling you not to blabber so much about yourself, but in this moment, you’re going to hang onto every little command Jaehyun gives.

“I love the ache in my hands when I’ve been holding my clarinet for too long, it means I’ve been playing for a long time, which means progress, which means hard work being made. I strive for progress. I want to be better than I was yesterday, and better than I am today and tomorrow. I don’t know what I would be playing without the clarinet. The flute is pretty but it takes too much air, saxophone players have such big egos, but so do trumpet players. The clarinet is just..for me.”

“Go on.” he urges.

“I wish the band got more recognition. They work so hard as a unit, they grow as a family. It’s very near and dear to my heart. I don’t know where I would be without this program, and I don’t see myself anywhere else. I just wish we had more funds. The band grows each year, and some students don’t have the access to purchase their own instruments, so the program lends it to them.”

The guy behind the counter already called for your order, but Jaehyun is so engrossed into what you have to say, he doesn’t want to leave his spot.

“The thing is, we’re limited on everything. Some school owned instruments are ten years old. It costs $20,000 for a bass drum. Do you know how many holes are put into those things? Percussionists have no self control.” Jaehyun chuckles at your statement. He feels like he’s speaking to the band director himself.

“Go get our drinks, all this talking is burning the hell out of my throat.” You pretend to be exhausted and start fanning yourself. Jaehyun lets out a beaming smile, and does what you asked.

Not only has Jaehyun learned how passionate you are, he learned about how compassionate you are with the people around you. He’s in love with how big your heart is and how much care you put into your craft. You of course ask if Ten is seeing anybody for Yeri’s sake, and Jaehyun’s heart drops for a second, thinking the question was for you to ask. You chuckle and smoothly say you have a way hotter guy in front of you. This time he’s right in front of you, so you can see the blush forming on his cheeks. It’s not your imagination.

The date unfortunately comes to an end, and he has to take you home. Before he lets you go though, he spares you a kiss on the forehead. Again, the group chat goes bonkers. Doyoung says “he should’ve went in with a proper kiss, a real one.” Yeri says “who gives a rat’s ass, a kiss is a kiss.”

On Jaehyun’s end, things go down similarly. Ten tells him “Good job, I hope you had a good time :)” and Johnny says “you aren’t even that tall, you could’ve totally bent over and ACTUALLY kiss her. Dumb ass.”

All night, Jaehyun thinks of ways to thank you for the night shared between you two. He could kiss you next time, but he thinks it’s too sudden. He could take you on another date, but he wants to do something more grand. Something that will pull at your heart strings and put the biggest smile on your face. Something you won’t forget. It suddenly hits him once he thinks over all those things you said about your biggest love- band. He runs down the stairs of his house and begs his mom to make several dozens of her infamous cookies.

“Um, why?”

“Just please say yes.”

“Fine, but you owe me.”

You were in on the best gift a boy has ever given you.

The weekend rolled around and you wasted more time doing nothing than you care to admit. The walk in the hallway is always bustling and loud, but on this Monday morning, everything seems to be more eccentric. The sounds weren’t surrounding you, it was coming from one source and one source only. A large group of people were bunched together in no particular order. You couldn’t see the commotion for yourself yet, because Yeri and Doyoung came running towards your way with cookies in hand.

“Did you put him up to this? You’re such a genius!” Doyoung exclaims.

“So like..did y’all bang or something? Spell coconut with your hips maybe?” Yeri says with a mouthful of cookies.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, and no! We’ve only been on one date!”

“A lot can happen in a few days..” Doyoung says.

“What the hell is going on? Someone, anyone, please tell me.”

“Wait..you seriously have no idea?” Yeri says, shocked.

“Was there a fight or something?”

“So like..you have no idea where we got these cookies?” Doyoung stammers.

“I figured it was from the cafeteria and plus, this isn’t the center of the issue here.” you usher at the large group of people nearby.

“Jaehyun is selling cookies for the band so we can buy more equipment! Isn’t that amazing?” You’re at a standstill as soon as Yeri lets the words spill out of her mouth. Your heart started beating faster than you could think, and your ears started heating up like mad.

You immediately barged your way through the crowd to find Jaehyun. Were you going to thank him? How are you supposed to react? You were thankful for sure, but shocked anyone would go out of their way to do an act of kindness like that for you. You finally found him, smiling and accepting money from people as Johnny handed out cookies.

You're staring at Jaehyun once again like that Friday night during the basketball game. He's stunning, not just in looks, but within his soul. He captured your heart, and the action has you feeling overwhelmed. No one would ever go out of their way to talk to a band nerd like you, let alone do an act as big as this when it doesn't benefit you alone, it benefits a whole union of kids with dreams like yours. He's your biggest dream, and he came to life before your eyes.

"Would you like a cookie? Free of charge." You're brought back to reality once you see Jaehyun right in front of you.

"W-why?"

"What do you mean babe?" If you weren't flustered then, you surely are now.

"Why? Why do this for me?"

"Because people with dreams deserve a wish come true."

"Jaehyun.."

"Take a cookie. Please, I made too much." Both of you laugh, and you gladly accept a cookie or two.

“Did you do this for me?”

“Yes, but I also did it for the band.”

“I know I’m getting repetitive and you already answered this, but just why?” He looked at you fondly and grabbed a hold of your unoccupied hand.

“Because your people aren’t recognized for the effort you do. Not nearly enough as you should be, everyone deserves to be appreciated for the work they do. I want more people to be proud of you- I’m proud of you.”

Tears almost brim your eyes, but you try so hard to hold it back. It’s been a long time since someone outside of the program said they were proud of the band. Your heart starts to swell, and you just break right then, right there. You throw your arms around Jaehyun and bury your face into his chest, and let the tears roll against your cheeks. Jaehyun holds you, and lets you sob softly. You two are in your own world, and you don’t care if people are watching. You loosen your hold on Jaehyun and look deeply in his warm brown eyes.

“You’re unbelievable, did you know that?”

“That’s good though, right?” You crack a small smile.

“Is a G flat the same as an F sharp?”

“Er, yes?”

“Yes, it’s good.”

A/N: this story is very special and important to me because it reflects what my dreams are as a musician, and as a person in an amazing program that is more than just some extra curricular activity. it’s home, it’s work, it’s what i love. thank you so much for reading <3

#jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun scenario #jaehyun imagines #jaehyun imagine #jaehyun #jung jaehyun #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct imagine #NCT #NCT 127

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lyrical-panic · 4 years

Text

Don’t Do it, Please

Author’s note

This is an original story. It talks about suicide and mentions self harm. If you have ever had the urge to do either of those things, I encourage you to find help. This is not meant to romanticize these topics, it’s meant to shed light, and hopefully provide some interesting reading. I hold all rights and claim over the characters and story, so please do not reuse them. I’ve gotten to know them quite a bit, and I’d like to keep them for myself, thanks. Feel free to reblog this, tho! Just don’t take claim to it. Thanks!

Synopsis: Fern, deciding she’s had enough with the world and with her life, decides to end it all. However, when she’s up on the school roof, she meets someone with similar intentions....

Trigger Warning: Talks of suicide, self harm, depression, being outed (as gay), strong language, and overall shitty backstories

This is part one. If you’d like to see more of the story, please let me know! And let me know what you think!!

-Green Rose

Fern ducked out of the classroom, keeping her head bowed. She darted in between students, quickly weaving her way through the waves of teenagers.

The girl leaned inconspicuously against the door to the roof stairs, casually turning the handle, and pushing experimentally. Unlocked. Fern slipped into the staircase, closing the door quickly behind the sea of unknowing, chattering, students.

Strictly speaking, students weren’t allowed on the roof, or in the staircase. However, the door was hardly ever locked, because no one really tried to go up in the first place. There wasn’t much to see, anyway. Just maintenance stuff. Nothing interesting.

No one would notice her goin in there, anyway. No one ever seemed to notice Fern do anything anymore.

Fern felt her way along the wall as she climbed higher, squinting up the dimly lit staircase. She fumbled with her backpack at the same time, slinging it onto one shoulder and unzipping the front, pulling out the neatly folded not with two fingers.

She unfolded the note and scanned it quickly, double checking she had the right paper. Her eyes flitted over the overly familiar words; “it seems like the whole world is crashing down on me, and I’m the only one who can keep everything together.” “I’ve tried so hard to like who I am, but the people around me make it really hard for me to do that. They make it so hard to like the world I live in.”

Fern re-folded the paper, content with her preparation. She placed the note between her lips, and zipped the bag back up. Still climbing, she return her words to her fingers again, frowning into the darkness. “How long does this thing go?”

Finally, she found herself pushing open the rooftop door, stepping out into the sunlight. She hesitated for a second. This was the threshold to the end.

No turning back. She nodded to herself. I’m done with this world, anyway.

Snide comments from her parents, her peers’ passing over her, Fern was ready to leave it all behind.

She took off her backpack, and after a second thought, started unlacing her tennis shoes. “May as well,”

Fern slipped her shoes off, and placed them on the ground on top of her note. She hummed softly to herself as she took off her yellow sweater, folding it neatly and laying it on her bag.

Suddenly, the door opened again. Like a deer in headlights, Fern stared, wide-eyed and frozen at the new comer.

A short girl with rectangular glasses stared right back. She, like Fern, clutched a note in a band-aid plastered hand. She blinked a few times, her face shifting from a set, determined look, to a slightly amused one.

“Well, this is awkward,” She said lightly. “Would a ‘hey, don’t do it please’ suffice? Or would you rather we both just go about our business?”

Her laid back words startled Fern back to reality. She watched as the girl’s face split into a crooked grin. “I-uh-what?”

“Well, I think it’s pretty clear what we’re both here for. Either we can get into sob stories, or just go on and do our separate things.”

“I.. um…” Something about another person being here made Fern feel a little embarrassed, even if she was here for the same reason.

“Oh you know what? Never mind.” Fern shoved her shoes back on, not bother ing to tie the laces, plunged the note into her pocket, and jerkily grabbed for her things. “Do whatever you want. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Glasses Girl said evenly, still grinning. “See ya.”

Yeah, sure. Fern marched off of the roof, cheeks burning. She could still feel the girl’s gaze on her back as the door swung shut. She could practically still see that light hearted grin as she tripped down he stairs.

. . . . . . . . . . .

By sixth period, Fern was very aware of two things. One: Glasses Girl was still very much alive. Two: she was in her biology class. Fern had just never took note of her before, she typically kept her head down and tried to avoid as much contact as she could with her classmates. She watched bug-eyed as Glasses Girl passed Fern at her desk, flashing her that cheeky grin.

For forty-five minutes, Fern stared at the back of her braided head of hair. Glasses Girl was pretty quiet. She didn’t say much, but she was always working. Writing. Her head bowed over a small, silver not book, her blue mechanical pencil skimming across its pages. Whatever she was writing about, Fern had the distinct feeling that it wasn’t lecture notes.

She hastened to pack up before the bell rang, determined to get out before Glasses Girl could pin her down. To Fern’s surprise, though, Glasses Girl didn’t say a word to her. She did make a point of walking beside her as they left class, even giving her a mild smile. She brushed right past her when they reached the courtyard, leaving Fern flustered and bemused.

What is her deal? Fern tried to brush the encounter off as an unlucky coincidence. An unlucky coincidence that happened yet again about an hour later.

As Fern spilt out of the school gates with the rest of the students to walk home, she saw Glasses Girl once again. She didn’t seem to notice her this time though. She was preoccupied with hiding from someone from the looks of it. She kept ducking behind and around other kids, but she always had her eye on something. Fern couldn’t pick up what she was looking at, but whatever it was, Glasses Girl was glaring it at with such animosity, she was glad she hadn’t been noticed yet.

She keeps popping up. Fern mused as she watched the girl furiously clean her glasses on her shirt. Is she trying to find me? Am I being stalked? She doesn’t really seem like a stalker, or at least not a good one.

Fern slipped into the back of a group of friends before Glasses Girl saw her. Not that it would’ve been a problem, seeing as she was still glaring daggers at someone in front of her as though they had killed and eaten her pet goldfish.

. . . . . . . . . . .

There she was again. Glasses Girl was showing up everywhere. The next morning, as Fern was heading to her locker, there she was, sitting on the floor a few feet away, once again scribbling away in that little silver notebook. She gave Fern a smirk, accompanied by a two-fingered salut. Frazzled, Fern walked right past her locker, and didn’t bother to return to it, even when the first bell rang.

That girl is starting to creep me out. Fern watched from a safe distance as Glasses Girl put her pencil in her mouth and her notebook under her arm, power walking to the Spanish building. What’s her deal? Where does she keep coming from?

It took Fern about twenty seconds to realize that she was also going to the Spanish building, and scurried after the girl.

Please don’t be in my class, please don’t be in my class, please don’t be in my class, please don’t be in my class, please don’t- goddamnit.

Even Glasses Girl look pleasantly surprised when Fern appeared at the doorway, grinning at her again. She was ignored, and Fern pointedly walked to her front row corner seat, as Glasses Girl watch in amusement from the third row.

Is she in any of my other classes? Fern wracked her brain, but it couldn’t seem to produce any memory of the girl in any of her classes, even Spanish in biology. Glasses Girl seemed to be trying to fly under the radar like she was, and it was apparently working.

Was that the impression she was leaving on everyone? It couldn’t be just Fern who hadn’t noticed that she existed. And further, was that the impression that Fern was leaving as well?

. . . . . . . . . . .

“Are you kidding me?”

Glasses Girl had beaten Fern to the exit to the roof. She sat at the foot of the door, her hands tucked behind her head.

“Hey,” She said casually, as if they hadn’t been unintentionally chasing each other around for twenty-four hours. “It’s locked today.”

“What?” Fern snapped, squinting at the odd girl.

“The stair case,” She elaborated, pointing a thumb behind her. “Guess they remembered to lock the door for one. Wanna go elsewhere for lunch?”

“I didn’t really plan on eating lunch today,” Fern’s ears burnt, and she shoved her hands into her sweater pockets guiltily.

“I figured. I’ve got some money on me, so I can buy you something from the vending machines.” Glasses Girl stood, grinning roguishly. “Better than nothing! C’mon.”

“Uh, sure.” Seeing nothing better to do, and honestly with curiosity getting the better of her, Fern followed the girl.

#short story #original writing #original #writing #writer #aspiring author #depression #suicide warning #self harm warning #please stay safe #i love you #dont steal my shit #thanks

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timelock97 · 5 years

Text

Love Without A Name

Chapter Eleven: Impending Panic

Word Count: 3031

Masterlist

Warnings: Fluff, Language, Anxiety, PANIC ATTACK AT END OF THE CHAPTER

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

"Counting down the days yet?" Tom's voice comes from the speaker of my phone.

I smile, brushing my fingers through my damp hair. "Less than seventy-two hours, then I can have you back in my arms again."

"I miss you; miss the apartment, miss Tess and Phoebe. Just want'o be home."

"Well, at least the last leg will be shot in London. You get to come home to your own bed."

"And my girls, don't forget that," He hums, shifting on his side of the phone. "Anything new happening? I feel like I just rambled for the last hour while you were getting ready for bed."

"But I miss you, so hearing you ramble is second best to you being here. Um," I roll over in bed and wedge the phone into the pillow so I can shut my tired eyes while I talk. "Nothing new, work is work. Your mom came and had lunch with me today. Which was nice 'cause she wanted to do dinner tonight but I wasn't going to get home till late. What else-" I rub my hand over my face before letting out a soft 'oh'. "I get out early tomorrow, so I am going to run to the mall and pick up some stuff 'cause my favorite pair of jeans decided to rip, so they are unwearable now."

Tom chuckles gently, "I'm glad my mum came and kept you company. Haz said that he's been to the flat a few times in the past few weeks."

"Yeah, he came over to have dinner 'cause I was lonely," I giggle, thinking about the first time I called Harrison after Tom had left.

After Paddy had gone back home, going back to the empty apartment was hard, especially after a bad day. I had had a shit day at work. Not one thing had gone to plan, I was tired, and all I wanted was someone to sit and watch a movie with me. So while walking home, I called Tom's family. His brothers had already had plans for the evening and his folks were at his grandparents. I pout at the reactions, but tell them not to worry and order take-out anyways. When the food arrived, I realized I ordered way too much. On the way up to my floor, I take a last-minute glance at the floors and press the fifth. The doors open quickly, and my feet carried me down the hall to the old apartment. I hadn't realized I had knocked until I heard Haz call a quick 'one minute!' When he opens the door, he looks surprised, seeing me dressed in a pair of baggy sweatpants and one of Tom's sweatshirts.

"You okay?"

"I got way to much take-out," I lift the bag in defense before avoiding his gaze. "Was hoping you hadn't eaten yet? It's okay, if you have, just, honestly really lonely and didn't realize I had ordered so much."

Haz had let out a small laugh before reaching for his keys, "Let me grab my phone, then we can go upstairs and throw on a movie, I'm sure Phoebes and Tess would prefer we were up there since you've been gone all day."

I nod, and let out a small laugh while I wait for him. When we walk back to the elevator, I smile at him before bumping his shoulder with mine. "Thanks, I hope I wasn't interrupting anything-"

"No, was just about to throw something in the oven, wasn't really in the mood for cooking either so it's cool. And, hey," he nudges my shoulder back, "don't feel bad for coming to bother me if you're lonely. We all get that way, and I can only imagine how hard it is since Tom is gone; especially since it's the first time."

"Thanks, Haz."

"I'm just glad he lets me come and bug him, it's helped, and I might as well bug him since he's in the same building." I let out a small yawn, trying to disguise it but am unsuccessful.

"It's late, I know. You should head to bed-"

"No..." I whine, rolling back onto my back. "Wanna keep talking to you."

"You have to get rest, love. I'll call you tomorrow, promise."

"Wish you were here; sleep better when you're here." I whisper, the darkness of the room making it that much harder to stay awake.

"I know, my love, I'll be home soon."

I smile as I let out another yawn. "I love you, Tommy, so so much."

"I love you too, (Y/N). Go to sleep, only two more sleeps till I'll be able to sleep beside you."

"Can't wait." I murmur, cuddling closer to my pillows. "Goodnight, handsome."

"Goodnight, darling."

It was like the universe was telling me that I should have stayed home that morning. I should have called in sick, went to visit with Tom's family, spent the day at the apartment and clean. Anything but go into town.

I wake up to Phoebe kneading the comforter that rests over my shoulders. My eyes pealing open, blinking a few times confused at the amount of light that was seeping into the room from behind the blinds. I slowly lift my hand from under the pillow and reach for my phone, going wide-eyed as I notice the time was twenty minutes until I had to be at the clinic. "SHIT!" I spring out of bed, Tess jumping and barking at me as I scramble to change out of my pjs and into my work clothes, thankful I could wear jeans and a solid colored tee-shirt since it was Friday. I slip inside the bathroom, brush my hair, pin it away from my face, and brush my teeth before running to the kitchen and fill the cat bowl. I start to list the things that need to be done while I rush Tessa to the elevator to wee, only to rush back inside and dial Haz's number.

"'Ello?" Haz's sleepy voice comes from the speaker.

"Fuck, I'm sorry, my alarm never went off and I'm going to be late for work if I walk and-"

"I'll meet you in the lobby."

"Thank you!" I practically sing into the receiver before hanging up and slipping on a pair of shoes. "Bye babies, be good!" I call as I lock the door and run to the elevator. Once in the lobby, I throw my arms around Haz's neck and whisper a quick thank you again before the two of us make our way out to his car.

Harrison hands me an apple, smiling softly. "Figured you didn't grab breakfast."

"I didn't, thanks again."

He shakes his head, his hair sticking straight up, pointing every which direction.

When he pulls up to the clinic, I have two minutes until my first patient will be ready to come back and see me. "I owe ya one!" I call as I get out, grabbing my bag from the floor.

"Nah, don't worry about it, (Y/N). Have a good day!"

I run inside, smiling at Wilma as I pass to toss my stuff at my desk and log in. Take a breath, you're fine.

As the day went on, one of my regular kids comes in the building frazzled, and upset. "You okay there, Johnny?" I coo, kneeling on the carpet floor to get to his level.

His mom scoffs, obviously annoyed. "There are two men at the back of the parking lot, Johnny believes that they are secret agents and is afraid. Do you happen to know why they might be out there?"

I lift my gaze to meet her eyes, my eyebrows pulling together. "No, I don't know why they would be out there; let me check the front office." I stand from my crouched position and walk over to Wilma, leaning against her desk. "Hey, Wil?" I hear her hum, so I continue. "Do you happen to know why there is a van in our parking lot that isn't a patient?"

Her head snaps up, confusion and annoyance crossing her features. "Again?"

"Again? This has happened before?"

"Yeah, and it looked like they were taking pictures." She leans forward and goes to grab the phone, "I think I am going to call the main clinic and have them send one of their security guys over to take care of it."

I nod at her, my eyebrows pulling together as I fidget with my wedding ring. Taking pictures...? I force a smile as I make my way back to the little boy in front of me, "C'mon lil man, let's go play, yeah?"

"No scary men?"

"Nope, no scary men." I smile as he takes my hand and allows me to take him down the hall, my mind still wandering back to the van.

Once my session was done, I walk the boy to the door before popping in to check with Wilma, only to see that Jeff, the main security guard from the main office sitting in there as well. "Hey, Jeff, Wilma. Everything get cleared up?"

Jeff nods his head, "Yup, thankfully they left without us having to call the police."

"Did they happen to say why they were here?" My fingers tighten around my wrist nervously.

"Said they were trying to get pictures for their magazine, wouldn't say of what."

I nod, muttering a quick 'okay' before smiling at my last patient that walks in the door. They could be here for the clinic, right? That's a possibility.

As the clock finally ticked over to two o'clock, I finished my last report. I sign my name at the bottom before logging out of the account and walking to the main office to tell my supervisor that I was leaving for the day, and I would see him tomorrow.

"Have a great day, (Y/N)!" He called as I walked out of view, fishing my phone out of my bag to text Harrison that I was leaving and that I was headed to the mall to go shopping then would be back at the apartment. My feet carry me up the street, pausing at the post office to drop off a letter to my parents.

Once inside the mall, I wander around to get a look at what stores I might want to look at. After about twenty minutes I end up at a general clothing store. My eyes scan the racks until I find the section I am looking for, looking for my jeans size before placing a few over my arm and leave to find a dressing room. Where those girls looking at me? My eyes glance to the side, a small group of girls looking at clothes, but occasionally look over at me. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear before walking the rest of the way to the dressing room.

The jeans I try on don't fit as well as I hope, slumping in places they shouldn't and just all together, not fitting. I exit the dressing room, noticing more people had started to gather inside and out. It's still summer, maybe people are getting a head start on a school wardrobe?

I stroll back to the section and filter through the jeans again before finding a few more pairs and make my way back to the dressing room. On the way back, I notice a powder blue sundress. I smile as I add it to my pile. I return to the dressing room and try on a few more jeans, deciding on two that fit the best. My eyes lift to look at myself in the mirror, moving to the side to see the dress hung up behind me. I turn back to the dress, pulling it from the hanger and smile at it as I tug my tee shirt over my head and letting it fall to the floor. I pull the dress over my head and let out a little giggle at how beautiful I look. I turn and let the dress flow up slightly at the movement. I smile wider, grabbing my phone and taking a few pictures before shooting them to Tom.

-----

Spooderman<3

You look positively beautiful

I'm so damn lucky

My Princess

So I should buy this?

Wear it for when you get home?

-----

As I send the message, I flinch at the noise of a bang hitting my stall door. "Uh, occupied!" When there is no other noise, I shrug and pull the dress over my head, gather my discarded clothes on the floor, and get dressed. I rehang the dress and jeans, making sure to place the ones I wasn't planning on buying in another pile. As I walk out to hang up the unwanted jeans, a voice catches my attention.

"Miss? Can I ask you a question?" She has her phone in hand, as I give her a short, yet nervous nod. "Are you the girl from the picture?"

I take a small step forward, but not enough to get too close. The girl is maybe sixteen, but that still doesn't settle the nerves in my stomach and the little voice in my head telling me to 'just say no and walk away.' My eyes focus on the photo, and my breath hitches at the image. It's of Tom and I, he has his arm around my shoulder as we walk Tessa through the park and from the looks of it, it was the day before he had left. I shake my head gently, taking a cautious step back. "Uh, nope, sorry, it's-" I swallow, "it's not me."

The girl's eyebrows pull together as she looks back at the photo, "But it has to be you, you look just like her."

I shake my head one more time as I walk back into my dressing room to grab my clothes, but when I walk back out, my heartrate picks up. Outside the door is a small group of girls, with a few more adding on directly in front of the exit. I swallow, taking a small step toward the exit, toward them. "Excuse me, I just want to get past you, the room is open though-"

The girl who had stopped me gives me a funny look, "You lied."

"What?"

"You lied," she moves her phone to show that she had more pictures of me, some were with Harrison, others were of me with any of the Hollands.

My heart tightens in my chest, and its suddenly really hard to breathe. "I'm friends with the Hollands, but-"

"So why didn't you just say that?" Another step toward me, another step I take backwards. I begin to notice that other girls were walking in, none with clothes in hand.

"You aren't exactly being friendly, and it's easier to say no." Another step backwards, my fingers feel like they are growing numb.

The girl lets out a laugh, "So you aren't his girlfriend?" I don't answer, my phone buzzes in my pocket. Her eyes dart down as my hand tightens around the clothing in my hands. "Or are you lying about that too?"

It's a blur, but suddenly I am back inside the dressing room, the lock shaking in my hand as I latch it shut. The girls on the other side are banging their hands on the door. There is yelling, a mixture of people telling me I should tell the truth, that I am not good enough for him, and people yelling at them to back off turn into a jumble of noise as my body betrays me.

You're dying.

You're having a heart attack.

My eyes cloud with tears as faces begin poking under the door, voices coming at me as if I was underwater.

"Just tell the truth!-"

"What does he see in you?"

"Leave her alone!"

"Ugly skank-"

My body hits the back wall, sliding until my butt hits the ground. My mouth is dry as I try and to get air into my lungs. You need to breathe-

The girls continue to yell, and I feel suddenly feel like I am going to pass out- no, I'm going to die- I let out a loud sob as my stomach rolls, the room spinning as my ears ring.

"If you need anything call Haz-"

I reach into my pocket as the pounding on the door becomes distant, dialing Harrison's number from my speed dial, praying he'll answer.

"Hey, (Y/N)-"

"Haz, I need- I need-"

"Woah, hey what's wrong?"

"Can't breathe-"

"You need to breathe with me-" Someone bangs on the door, causing a sob to leave my mouth; I can hear Harrison curse on the other side of the phone. "Where are you, can you remember the store name?" I must have told him, my mouth processing it before my mind. Harrison yells to someone on the other end, but I can't tell what he says. "Harry is calling the store, I'm on my way, I'm going to stay on the phone with you, okay-"

The phone is yanked from my hand, voices drowning me.

I'm going to die-

It's so loud-

My vision begins to get spotty, my body growing cold as my hands tremble.

Suddenly, hands are on my shoulders, someone else is yelling, but it carries something else in its tone. People are being pulled out of the room, the person in front of me squeezes my shoulders as she speaks. "Miss, you are having a panic attack, you need to breathe-"

"I can't-" I choke out.

"You're going to pass out if you don't," I think I'd rather that right now- "In and out with me, okay?"

Breathe-

You need to breathe-

You're panicking

Breathe-

A breathe finally fills my lungs, a familiar voice filling my ears, "I'm her husband's best friend, move mate." My eyes lift and Harrison is suddenly kneeling beside the woman in front of me, grabbing my hands as the security guard moves his head to the side to speak into his radio. "You're safe, you're okay." He moves to sit closer to me, "Breathe, (Y/N)." Another sob shakes my body as I attempt to take in a breath. "That's it, you're okay."

You need to breathe-

You're safe

Just breathe-

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Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! Reblog and comment! Hope today was amazing, and if not, than I hope tomorrow is <3.

#cg writes #love without a name #tom holland x reader #tom holland fanfiction #strangers to lovers #arranged marriage #husband!tomholland #tw: panic attack

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themurphyzone · 5 years

Text

Oneshot: Perfect Child

Summary: Roger is polite, Heinz is not. Roger can charm the sternest military general, Heinz would just get himself booted out. Roger is an angel, Heinz is not. That's the way the world's works, right?

AN: This concept has been on the back burner for months but I think it would be interesting to do a little switcheroo, don't you think?

The award ceremony was today, and everything was perfectly in order. His kickball uniform had been lovingly ironed, his cleats were dust-free, and an empty spot on the mantle awaited an engraved trophy.

His lucky red kickball was bouncy and clean, perfect for the kicking demonstration Roger would give when the coach called his name.

"Good morning, Mother," Roger greeted as he walked into the kitchen. "Breakfast smells lovely today."

Mother muttered something, pushing a hand to her face tiredly as she stirred the eggs.

The motion drew Roger's eyes to her hair, which was tucked in a messy bun with several brown strands escaping their confines. That was odd. Part of Mother's morning routine involved spending forty minutes combing her hair into a perfect, neat bun.

He filled the coffeepot with the correct amount of water. He prided himself on his ability to make coffee his mother liked.

Father's coffee was harsh and bitter, an unforgiving mass of swirling black tar. He always claimed it was how real men took it. And if Heinz didn't blow up the coffeepot with some weird invention, his mugs tended to contain enough sugar to put an entire doonkleberry cheesecake to shame.

Really, there was nothing hard about brewing the perfect mug for Mother. One scoop of beans, water to the third long black line, brew, pour into ‘Ich liebe Mutti’ mug, add one teaspoon of sugar and two tablespoons of cream.

"Mother, your coffee's ready," Roger announced as he set the mug on a placemat.

Mother didn’t fully wake up until she had her coffee. Roger was a skilled navigator when it came to handling her more irritable moods. Just say things she liked and the problem was solved.

Father didn’t care for open displays of emotion.

Heinz would frazzle her nerves the moment he opened his mouth.

But Mother simply plated the eggs and potatoes, her back turned to Roger. There were three plates laid out.

That wasn’t unusual. Heinz must’ve done something to earn a less tasty breakfast.

Mother set the loaded plates on the table. Steam rose from the potatoes and eggs, filling the room with an enticing scent. Roger eagerly took his seat, closing his eyes and allowing the familiar smell of Mother’s cooking surround him.

Mother glared at him.

Roger just smiled. She hadn’t touched her coffee yet. Maybe she was so tired she mistook him for his crazy brother. “You make wonderful breakfasts,” Roger said amiably, figuring that compliments would cheer her up.

Mother’s glare didn’t waver.

Roger fiddled with the tablecloth, averting his eyes completely. Silence always worked when Father was angry. Stay quiet, stay still, and he didn’t notice.

But Mother was never angry at him. She was perpetually frustrated with Heinz’s antics, but Roger didn’t do the sort of things that Heinz did. Roger didn’t test her boundaries, he didn’t blow stuff up, and he certainly didn’t question her decisions.

Mother knew best.

Heinz didn’t understand that.

“Porridge is in the icebox,” Mother snapped. She yanked the plate of eggs and potatoes away.

Roger’s stomach grumbled in protest, but he slid off his chair obediently and took out the bowl of cold porridge. There would be enough to satisfy his hunger, but it just wasn’t eggs and potatoes.

She was probably concerned about his weight. He’d always been chubbier than his peers.

He was halfway through with his bowl of porridge by the time Heinz walked into the kitchen.

“Looks great!” Heinz exclaimed, shoveling eggs into his mouth at an alarming pace.

Roger winced at his brother’s appalling lack of table manners.

“So hungry!” Mother declared as she sipped her coffee. “Make sure you eat all of it. You’re too thin.”

“Ye’th Mo’er,” Heinz said through a mouthful of potatoes.

“Mother, may I have eggs please?” Roger asked.

Mother’s smile evaporated. “Is the porridge not enough?” she barked. “You’re not starved. You’re not a common street whelp.”

For a single, terrifying moment, Roger’s limbs wouldn’t work. His hands dug into the tablecloth, rooting him to the spot. He had to say something.

Defuse the situation. Make her not angry anymore.

What did he say if Heinz mouthed off and Mother was still angry after she punished him?

“You’re right, Mother,” Roger agreed. “I apologize. I won’t ask again.”

He avoided looking at Heinz’s plate, which had a second helping of eggs on it.

Mother sniffed. “Your brother knows how to show gratitude. I carried you for nine months, the least you could do is appreciate it.”

Heinz gulped loudly enough that Mother’s attention flickered to him. “I just got an idea I wanna sketch out. No idea what I’m calling it yet, but it’s gonna be cool. Roger can take the rest of my breakfast if he wants. Can’t wait much longer, see ya!” he yelled, shoving his plate in Roger’s direction before sprinting out of the room.

Roger didn’t take the plate, half-afraid Mother would snatch it up before he could take a single bite. But Mother slid the plate in front of him.

“Heinz is being generous. So don’t be wasteful,” Mother muttered.

The eggs didn’t taste that great after all.

As soon as he washed the dishes to Mother’s satisfaction (which took an hour), Roger knocked on Heinz’s bedroom door. Maybe his brother knew something he didn’t. Heinz tended to squirm if he felt guilty. He also rubbed his neck, avoided eye contact, and talked incoherently.

Heinz was a terrible liar. No wonder he got punished so much if he couldn’t even hide the things he did.

There was a muffled yelp from behind the door.

It was taking a while for Heinz to answer, but Roger waited patiently.

Then a harsh stomping of hunting boots against floorboards drew closer. Mother was probably too tired to protect him from Father. Roger was on his own.

Deciding that self-preservation overrode politeness, Roger wrenched open Heinz’s door, scrambled into the bedroom, and shut it behind him. He kept one hand on the doorknob, worried that Father had seen him and wanted to yell at him too.

The footsteps faded away, and Roger breathed a sigh of relief.

Heinz was frozen on his bed, his hands shoved underneath a thin blanket. The blanket couldn’t even hide a mouse, so it was unlikely the arrow-shaped lump would escape Mother and Father’s scrutiny.

After a long moment, Heinz fell back against his bed frame, his breath coming out in ragged gasps. “Don’t stomp around like Father for a joke!” he spat. “That’s not funny!”

“Sorry to startle you,” Roger said, deciding to ignore Heinz’s thought process. He’d never understand what went through Heinz’s head anyway. “But Father and I would’ve crossed paths if I hadn’t ducked into your bedroom, and you saw how tired Mother was at breakfast. She’s not in a state to help me with Father.”

“Ugh, can’t you talk normal?” Heinz groaned, pitching a pillow at Roger’s head. But since he didn’t have a good throwing arm, Roger didn’t even have to dodge.

Roger had no idea what Heinz was talking about, so he ignored that statement too. “Why’s Mother so tired? What did you do this time?” he asked.

Heinz clapped a hand to his mouth, but several giggles escaped him. “You think Mother’s tired? Seriously? That’s all you got from this?”

“If she isn’t tired, then why is she acting this way?” Roger asked. “Does she have pills?”

Pills had a tendency to make people act funny, Roger noticed. Frau Schulz once bought a bottle from a traveling peddler and hadn’t been the same since. Now everybody gave her house a wide berth because she tended to beat up passersby with a meterstick.

“Nope! She doesn’t have pills! I zapped her with this!” Heinz hopped off the bed, pulling back the blanket to reveal a strange white device. “And you know what? It worked! She actually loves me now! I haven’t tested the waters with Father yet, cause I’d really prefer Mother to be there in the off-chance Father wasn’t affected, cause you’re not totally immune to his wrath either and I don’t wanna risk getting saddled with lawn gnome duty since that could potentially cause Mother to not love me anymore.”

Heinz seriously thought that just because they needed to discipline him a lot meant that they didn’t love him?

“Mother does love you,” Roger said. “You just think she’s unfair.”

Heinz snorted. “Wow. You just don’t get it, do you?”

“What exactly am I supposed to understand here?” Roger asked, all civility vanishing. “Mother was cross with me because of you. You need to go apologize for zapping her with that thing and for cooking up this scheme just to avoid getting grounded.”

Heinz growled. An actual growl that belonged more to a wild animal than an eleven-year-old.

“I zapped them so they’d love me!” Heinz shouted, pushing his face into Roger’s to drive the point home. Roger wasn’t scared of him though. Father was a million times worse. “I don’t care about avoiding trouble! And they still love you too! The inator wasn’t designed so they’d hate you like they used to hate me!”

Heinz’s voice wavered as if he was trying to convince himself more than he was denying Roger’s accusation.

“They don’t hate you,” Roger said, though he was certain his words would fall on deaf ears. “They’re trying to straighten you out so you don’t screw up in the real world.”

Heinz shoved Roger towards the door, his face scrunched up in anger. “Get out!” he yelled. “You took everything! At least let me have a few square feet to myself!”

Roger allowed Heinz to forcefully push him out, though it would just take one well-aimed kick to dislodge Heinz. But he didn’t see the point in getting physical. Words were a much more effective tool.

“I’m letting Mother know you’re trying to avoid punishment,” Roger said calmly.

The color drained out of Heinz’s face. He bit his lip, wringing his hands in nervous anticipation. “You can’t tell! I can’t get in trouble!”

“It’s the right thing to do,” Roger declared as he marched down the stairs. He ignored Heinz’s cries of protest.

Mother and Father were in the living room. Mother hummed to herself as she knitted a frilly pink dress, while Father cleaned his prized hunting knife. Eyeing the sharp object warily, Roger stuck close to Mother’s side of the room as he approached.

“Mother, Heinz is lying again,” Roger said. Mother’s humming abruptly stopped, and she peered at him through half-lidded eyes. “He did something and now he’s scared that you’ll make him do more chores.”

“Heinz does not lie,” Mother said. “Don’t accuse your brother of such things.”

“He’s hiding something,” Roger added. He spoke slowly and enunciated each syllable, focusing on keeping his tone even and controlled. Adults only listened if a kid spoke like an adult.

Mother set the frilly dress aside. She beckoned Roger over with her finger. He glanced at Father, but the man was completely focused on his knife’s metallic surface. Roger felt sweat on his palms, though he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t hot enough to sweat.

His legs stiffened against his will as he stood in front of her.

She did not pick him up, ruffle his hair, or smile.

“I did not punish your ungratefulness at breakfast, nor your incompetence at washing dishes,” Mother said coldly. Her tone made Antarctica seem like a tropical paradise. “But if the next thing that comes out of your mouth is a lie about Heinz, I will tack on additional hours to your lawn gnome duty. Do I make myself clear?”

He had lawn gnome duty.

He never had to serve lawn gnome duty.

Father tried to make him do a shift with Heinz once, but Mother pitched a fit.

It’s too dangerous for Roger! she had cried. The witches are more interested in plump children! He won’t last out there! You’ll get more wear out of Heinz. The witches will find him repulsive.

Father’s ‘BEWEGEN DICH NICHT’ had never been directed towards Roger, but he always felt an inexplicable urge to not breathe, not move, and not speak whenever the phrase was bellowed at Heinz.

“Answer me when I ask you a question,” Mother snapped.

He could compliment Mother. But that had nothing to do with the topic at hand.

He could reason with her. But something told him logic was no match for Mother’s anger.

He could apologize, though he knew he did nothing wrong. Heinz was hiding things. Mother always said hiding things was the equivalent of lying. Heinz was trying to avoid punishment, though Roger didn’t know what he was trying to accomplish in the long run.

Don’t try to negotiate punishment, Roger had learned from observation. Adults didn’t like that.

Yes, apologizing seemed like the best option.

“I apologize,” Roger said quietly, his head bowed to make himself sound more sincere.

It was completely unfair, but Roger didn’t dare say it out loud.

“Mother!” a shrill voice yelled.

Roger looked up, startled as Heinz barged into the living room. Heinz flew straight into Mother’s lap, settling on her skirt with a contented grin. He could only stare in disbelief as Mother hugged Heinz back, her mood brightening considerably.

Father huffed at the affectionate display and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Upon hearing the loud bang, Heinz jumped, his knuckles turning white against Mother’s sleeve. But Mother continued to hold him, stroking his hair and whispering comforting words.

Heinz only relaxed when it became clear that Father wouldn’t be returning anytime soon, but he still looked rather pensive.

An unpleasant feeling settled in Roger’s stomach as he watched Mother and Heinz talk to each other, laughing at things only they could understand. Mother never hugged Heinz. Heinz frustrated her. Naughty children got scolded, not hugged.

Roger swallowed, daring to take one step closer. Mother and Heinz looked so comfortable...maybe there was room for one more.

It might be a tight fit for Heinz and him to be on Mother’s lap at the same time, but they’d manage.

Roger reached out, feeling the smooth fabric of Mother’s dress against his hand.

Then the dress was pulled out of his reach, and Mother drew herself to her full height, carrying Heinz in the crook of her arm.

“Heinz needs me now,” Mother said, inclining her head as if she was watching a particularly annoying insect.

Heinz’s mouth dropped open, and his gaze flickered between Mother and Roger, an odd expression on his face. “Mother...you can hug Roger too. Really, I don’t mind. Roger could use one too. I’m not really a baby anymore, and you always like hugging Roger, so...”

Mother shook her head, gently silencing Heinz with a finger on his lips. “Roger hasn’t earned one. First, he tells me that you’ve lied to me. Even though you’re the most trustworthy child in the village. Everyone knows it. Now he demands things he hasn’t earned.”

Heinz’s face turned red shamefully, and he refused to make eye contact with anyone.

Roger said nothing. Mother had called him the most trustworthy child in the village once. All the other kids would lie, cheat, and steal. Roger had been raised better than that.

“You will not be going to the award ceremony,” Mother continued. “I know you tricked the coach into giving you a trophy.”

The words tumbled out of Roger’s mouth before he could stop them. “But I’m the best player on the team! I earned that trophy, and everyone’s expecting me to be there! I can’t just-” his protests died away as Mother leveled a cold glare at him.

“Would you like to argue and make it worse, or would you like to accept and be done with it?” she asked.

She was right of course. Mother was always right.

Wordlessly, Roger shook his head.

Heinz had watched the entire exchange with an uncharacteristic silence, staring at Roger with pity written all over his face.

Roger stared back at his brother, silently daring him to make the situation worse.

Heinz was normally an open book. But now Roger couldn’t tell what his brother was thinking at all.

“Mother, can we go to the ceremony?” Heinz finally asked. “Our neighbor Kenny is on Roger’s team, remember? I wanna go support him.”

“What a sweet friend you are,” Mother told Heinz.

Heinz smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Mother sighed, finally putting Heinz down. Roger was glad. The sight of Mother holding Heinz was too weird for him. “Very well. I suppose Roger will have to receive his trophy somehow. Otherwise, they’ll give the trophy to Frederick-” she spat the name as though it left a sour taste in her mouth “-and I’ll be forced to listen to Helga’s nonstop bragging at bridge club.”

Every coach in Gimmelschtump and the surrounding villages knew of Mother and Helga’s rivalry when it came to cheering on their sons at kickball games, and no umpire dared challenge a call if Roger and Frederick were involved. The boys avoided each other out of embarrassment since they didn’t want to deal with their mothers’ antics.

Heinz’s eyes turned pleading. “Can I just meet you and Roger at the field? I want to go buy Kenny a present, and there’s still a little time, and Roger needs to put on his uniform anyway, so...”

He was fibbing again, though Mother didn’t seem to notice. Roger bit his tongue to prevent another slip of the tongue, wondering why he had to be saddled with a chronic liar for a brother.

Mother smiled. An actual, warm smile.

But it wasn’t for Roger.

“I’ll give you a few coins for your present,” Mother said, bending down and planting a kiss on Heinz’s forehead. “Wait here.”

Mother kept money in her dresser, and the boys knew better than to venture into the master bedroom without explicit permission. Even Heinz, who often demonstrated that rules were meant to be broken, never crossed this line.

Before Roger could stop him, Heinz used the opportunity to grab the device he claimed he used to make his parents love him.

“What are you doing?” Roger asked, in his best you-didn’t-listen voice. “She said to wait here!”

Heinz scowled as he grabbed a worn coat from the closet, buttoning it up to his chin to conceal the device. “I have to zap them again. While they’re not doting on me. It’s kinda gross. How do you put up with it? Well, Mother at least. Father still avoided me. The only thing he did was not force me to be a lawn gnome today.”

“You’re zapping them cause you can’t handle the responsibility?” Roger asked.

Heinz snorted. “You’re just a dumb kid. What do you know? I don’t wanna deal with you moping anymore, got it? Mother doesn’t like to wait. I’d hurry and put on my uniform if I were you. And I need to zap Father first, so don’t tell Mother where I’m actually going.”

Roger trudged to his room. The uniform and kickball were right where he left them, but he didn’t feel like going to the ceremony anymore.

Mother didn’t praise his kickball skills on the way to the field. She refused to hold his hand, making him walk several steps behind her.

Roger assumed Heinz had gone to Herr Freitag’s house, where Father played cards on Thursdays. He wasn’t exactly sure how Heinz planned on getting in, or how he would aim at Father. Heinz tended to botch the simplest tasks, so he didn’t have high hopes of Heinz succeeding.

Then again, Roger wasn’t sure what Heinz was hoping to accomplish by hitting their parents with a laser beam.

A wooden stage had been set up next to the pitcher’s mound, his teammates milling around their parents as Coach Weiss made the final preparations. Folding chairs were set up for the audience, and Mother took her seat in the back row.

Mother used to sit in the front.

Helga, a woman with a rather bulbous nose, scoffed at Mother as she passed. Frederick curtly nodded at Roger, refusing to look at Mother. Most kids were scared of her for some reason.

Roger didn’t speak to any of his teammates as they were seated in their designated area. He clutched the hem of his shorts as Coach Weiss greeted the audience.

There was a trophy for everyone on the team, with their position listed below the name. There were also trophies for Best Kicker, Most Team Spirit, and Future Hall of Famer, in addition to the large championship trophy that would go into the village’s archives for everyone to gawk at when they found the time.

“I’d like to call our star player up to the stage first!” Coach Weiss boomed. “In all my years of coaching, I have never met a child gifted with such skills! Come on up, Roger Doofenshmirtz!”

Roger loved attention. But there was no clapping or whistling from the person whose attention he wanted most of all. He could barely see Mother, even as he ascended the steps. But he knew her posture was stiff, her hands folded in her lap.

She was looking at the entrance of the field rather than the stage. She was probably more concerned at how Heinz hadn’t shown up yet.

Roger felt no joy as Coach Weiss passed the trophy to him.

“Your mother get cursed or something?” Coach Weiss asked. Unfortunately, he caught the audience’s attention too. People whispered as they brainstormed Mother’s strange behavior. She was usually the loudest one in the audience.

Even the outfielders normally heard everything she screamed.

Roger forced himself to smile and bow graciously, and the whispering died down. He just needed to get the audience to believe that nothing was wrong.

Today was just a weird day and everything would soon be normal and forgotten.

Eventually, all the general trophies were passed out. Roger gritted his teeth. It had ended too soon. Now they’d be handing out the truly special trophies.

“Frederick has earned the Most Team Spirit award!” Coach Weiss announced.

Helga screeched like a banshee as Frederick rushed up to the stage, his cheeks resembling a tomato. He quickly thanked Coach Weiss and hurried back to his seat. He kept his head down and refused to look at his mother, who bragged loudly to several nearby annoyed parents.

Mother didn’t take the opportunity to brag about him.

“One very bright little boy has surpassed expectations. Under normal circumstances, the Kickball Committee for Youths only allows one special trophy per player. However, I requested special permission to allow one of our gifted athletes to receive two special trophies. They sent a representative to sit in at one of our games, and he was blown away by the remarkable aptitude of this player!”

Special. Remarkable.

None of the other boys on the team received compliments like that. Kenny was average, and while Frederick was good, he wasn’t that good.

“I proudly present Roger with the Best Kicker and Future Hall of Famer trophies!”

Roger didn’t want to look at Mother, not wanting to see her disappointment stain his achievements. But he did anyway.

A movement behind her caught his eye, and Roger watched curiously as Coach Weiss boasted of Roger’s kickball prowess. The tip of a metallic device poked around a corner, and a red beam of light struck Mother.

Everyone was too busy clapping at Roger (or in Helga’s case, sulking) to notice the strange light.

Coach Weiss deposited the two trophies in Roger’s arms, but Roger barely noticed their combined weight.

Mother blinked, confused by the clapping audience in front of her. Then she stood up and looked at the stage.

Roger’s breath hitched as he and Mother stared at each other.

After a long moment, she shrieked in delight and dashed towards the stage.

“Roger! That’s my son!” she exclaimed. “I’m so proud!”

Roger laughed as she picked him up, setting him on her shoulders.

Mother was back. Mother was back and that was all he wanted. The trophies were nice additions, but they paled in comparison to a mother who would cheer for him in kickball.

While Mother and Coach Weiss whisked Roger away for pictures, he caught a glimpse of his brother. Heinz was partly hidden behind a bleacher, tears streaming down his face as he choked out something inaudible, but Roger recognized the lip movements, having seen the same motion uttered a million times before.

I love you, Mother.

Camera after camera took pictures of Roger, and he smiled for each one. But by the time he looked back, Heinz had run off.

The strange device had been broken beyond repair.

The remaining pieces were trampled into the mud.

Heinz was punished with five hours of lawn gnome duty and dusting the permanently filthy shed as a result of interrupting Father’s card game, stealing money from Mother’s dresser, and arguing about the unfairness of it all.

Mother was loving and kind and Father was Father.

Everything was normal again.

Epilogue

Roger remained close to Mother, taking the time to visit her though his schedule was packed with social engagements and mayoral duties.

Mother was loving and firm, a source of encouragement when he needed it most.

But there had been a day when her loving nature seemed to vanish, his security net swept away by a roaring tide of uncertainty.

No, the stress of campaigning was causing him to believe things that weren’t true.

That day had been nothing more than a fever dream.

AN: Heinz probably learned the hard way that science is no substitute for loving parents. That’s why he never targeted his parents with a scheme in the show. Sadly, there’s no way he’ll ever get their love and respect. Not the way he wants.

Roger can’t even consider the truth about his parents. Better for him to believe his mother is a loving mother than accept that his mother was a monster.

#fanfiction #oneshot #phineas and ferb #roger doofenshmirtz #heinz doofenshmirtz #emotional abuse tw #doof's bio parents are a walking trigger warning in general #implied physical abuse tw

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jishwatylrandtop · 6 years

Text

Open Late--Josh Dun Imagine

new josh dun x reader fic in which you are a vet who happens to find the dog of a famous drummer. Pairing: Josh Dun x Reader Words: 1,174 Pt. coming soon

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(Your POV)

It was an emergency that brought you in early to the clinic. Normal hours were 8 to 5 which left you plenty of time afterward to, you know, live your life, but your mom had woken you up at 6:00 saying her best friend’s cat was sick and asked if you could meet early cause “Y/n she’s really worried about her cat, and she’s a really good friend of mine. Please, I know it’s early, but I really need you to do this for me.” It’s not like you could say no to your mother, especially when she’s so upset, so that’s what brought you into the clinic at 6:30.

It was also an emergency that kept you there late. You were just about close the clinic, in fact, you were in the middle of locking the doors when a stranger ran up to you in a panic saying that his dog was just hit by a car, and he really needed your help. It wasn’t too serious, but a femur needed to be surgically fixed and placed in a cast. Despite the stranger’s thankfulness, you were just slightly resentful of the fact he kept you an extra five hours. You loved your job, really you did, but 16 hours on your feet was not something you want to do constantly.

You were only a block from the clinic when something got your attention. You could hear small whimpers coming from the alleyway on your left. You don’t normally walk into alleyways alone at night, but the whimpers sounded distinctly dog like, and as a vet, it was your duty to take care of animals. You couldn’t leave an animal alone on a night when it was supposed to drop below 0. You were cautious, it could’ve been a trap after all, there were plenty of guys skeezy enough in your town to pull something like that, but you walked into the alley.

Halfway down the alley, a small dog, a retriever puppy, was shivering against the wall. You attempted to pet it, but it shied away and whimpered, but being a vet can come in handy, and in this case, you always had a bag of treats in your purse. Holding out a treat to the dog, “c’mon little guy, I won’t hurt you. Just wanna make sure you don’t freeze.” A few minutes later, some coaxing, and half a bag of treats later, the dog was placed on the lead you keep in your bag, and you were on your way home.

It didn’t take as long as you thought to get home; the puppy was surprisingly well trained. You apartment was smaller than you would like, but owning your own business was already hard enough on your expenses, there’s no telling what a bigger apartment, let alone one you didn’t need-- you were single after all, would do to your finances. As you walked up the stairs, you worried just a little about the prospect of this puppy meeting your yellow lab and husky. Man you really hoped this dog was friendly. You unlocked the door, and led the dog inside. Immediately the sound of your dogs’ feet hit your ears, and you silently prayed to any god that this doesn’t end in a dog fight. To your enjoyment, the three dogs hit it off, and immediately chase each other around. This gives you a few minutes to shower, change, and start getting food. The dogs come running, sniffing around your feet for scraps, and it’s then that you realized they still needed to be fed, so before the water boiled for your mac and cheese, you give the dogs some kibble and water, and turn back to the stove.

After finishing your dinner, you grab the puppy you find and place him on the couch. “Alright little guy, I just wanna check you out, but first let me see what your tag says.” You grab his tag, hoping to see some contact information. ‘Jim Dun, E.S.A, contact (614) xxx-xxxx if found.’ “Your owner is definitely missing you. Let’s get you checked out, and then I’ll call them and let them know your safe.” You spend a couple of minutes checking the puppy out, and you grab your phone. Checking the clock as you press the phone to your ear, you realize its a really late. “I really hope they pick up,” you mutter to the sleeping puppy on your lap as the phone rings in your ear. “Hello?” “Hello, sir. Um.. my name’s Y/n. I found your dog this evening in an alley down the street from my veterinary clinic, and I just wanted to call and let you know that he’s currently at my apartment, safe and fed.” “Oh thank god! I’ve been looking for him for hours. I’m Josh, would it be possible for me to come pick him up. I know it’s late, so we can wait until tomorrow, but I kinda really want him back.” “Of course, sir. I’d like to bring him into my clinic tomorrow to make sure that everything is good. It was almost freezing when I found him, so I’d just want to make sure he’s alright. You could come pick him up tomorrow from the clinic.” “Oh thank you,” Josh replied, “what is the name of your clinic, so I can come pick him up?” “Oh right. It’s called Freedom Animal Clinic. On Main Street. I open at 8:00, so you could stop by at 8:30 to come by and take your dog back.” “Thanks again, Y/n. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh, by the way, Jim can’t sleep unless he’s in the same bed as you, in fact, he’s trained not to, so good luck.” “Thanks for the heads up, Josh. See you tomorrow, 8:30.” “Good night y/n” Night Josh.”

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The feeling of a warm tongue was what woke you at 6:00. The little retriever puppy was resting his head on your chest and occasionally licked your chin. It would have been adorable had he not woken you up earlier than normal, but since he was young and really cute you gave him a pat on the head and climbed out of bed. Jim followed you around the apartment all morning. Even laying on the bath mat as you showered. At 7:15, each dog was given their breakfast, and were allowed 15 minutes of playtime before you put the lead around Jim’s neck and walked him out the door.

By 8:00 you were at the clinic, greeting your receptionist with a smile and a wave as you headed to your office at the back of the clinic. You grabbed your coat, placed you stuff down, and lead the doc to one of the exam tables. A couple of your vet assistants moved in and out of the rooms with questions, paperwork, and samples from recent patients, and talked through your day. at 8:15 the clinic doors open, and since you were the only vet there currently (your friend and co-owner took a week vacation to cabo with her boyfriend) all the animals came to you. You tied Jim to the chair in the corner, and he was so well behaved that you were able to see two animals before 8:45 which was a record. You were almost done with a cat who needed a couple vaccines when your receptionist Kylie walked in to inform you that a man had come in saying that his lost dog was here. “He says you called him last night, but I don’t know if we should trust him.” It took a few seconds to process what she was telling you, but once you recalled your phone conversation and remembered the dog currently napping on the floor across the room, you told her that you’d be out in a few minutes, and that she should inform him that he needed to fill out some paperwork for Jim’s exam.

Ten minutes later, you came out of the room with the frazzled, and now grumpy cat, handed him to the owner with the instructions that the cone needs to be kept on for week, and placed the file in Kylie’s basket. “The one who came in for the dog, can I have that file?” Kylie handed you a file, and looking it over, you called “Josh Dun?” “That’s me” he called in reply. You look up, and spot the man with a baseball cap pulled pretty far down over his face. As you are ready to instruct him to follow you to the back, he takes off his cap, revealing bright yellow hair and a beautiful smile. Oh no you think. He’s really hot. “If you--” you cleared your throat “If you could follow me I’ll show you to the room where I’ll examine Jim.” He followed closely as you kept your head buried in the paperwork because holy crap he’s hot and I look like I just rolled out of bed, and he’s making me flustered. What do I do? You walked into the room, untied Jim from the chair, and placed him on the table. You stayed silent as you examined him, so that you didn’t miss anything, and ten minutes later you grabbed his chart from the end of the table, and marked that he had a clean bill of health. “Jim looks great, there’s nothing wrong with him that I could tell. No side effects from being outside or anything. Are there any existing conditions you would like me to check up on?” “You’ve done more than enough already” he said as you glanced up from Jim��s chart. “Thank you for everything, y/n, really. He’s very important to me, and I don’t want to imagine what would have happened had you not found him.” “Yes, I noticed he was an ESA.” You looked up and met his eyes “that could have ended quite poorly, but you don’t have to thank me, Josh, I was just doing my job.” He smiled at you as he placed Jim on the floor, and you blushed because wow what an adorable smile. “Y/n?” He put a hand on your arm to stop you from walking out of the room, but it was gentle, warm, and your face flushed again. “Would you let me show you just how thankful I am? I’d uh-- I’d like to take you out to lunch sometime or something.” He looked away and scratched the back of his neck--a sign of nervousness you immediately picked up on, and so did Jim as he nudged Josh’s other hand with his snout. “I mean you don’t have to, this is clearly an unusual circumstance, but I’d really love to take you on a date because you’re cute and smart and attractive, and.....I’m starting to ramble.” You shook your head, an amused smile on your face. “Josh, I’d love to go to lunch with you.” You blushed a little as he smiled that smile again, released the breath he was holding and spoke again. “Awesome! What time works best for you?” “I get off at about 1:00 for my lunch break. If that works for you?” “Yeah that works” he said following you out of the office. You lead him to the door, and as he was leaving, he turned around, smiled again, and said “thanks again! I’ll see you soon!” And just like that, he turned the corner, Jim in tow, and vanished from sight.

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

It was hard not to get distracted for the rest of the day, considering a really hot guy asked you out, but 12:30 came around, which was your last scheduled appointment before lunch, and the excitement seemed to triple. You did the workup, gave the necessary shots and medicines, checked the x-ray, and sent the owner and the dog out the door at 1:05. Just as you finished cleaning, Kylie poked her head into the room to tell you that she was taking her break and that “the cute yellowed haired guy came back for you he’s waiting in the sitting room. I’ll let him know you’re almost ready.” You thanked her as she threw you a wink and left to go on lunch. You ducked into the back room to gather your bag and to remove your coat. You checked your hair and makeup, and made your way to the front room.

You were met with a smile when you walked into the room. He was dog-less now, but he was still as handsome as this morning. “You’ll have to forgive me” you began “I wasn’t expecting a date today, so I kinda look like I just rolled out of bed.” It was true since you only had on a pair of leggings and a low cut sweater. “Cut yourself a break, y/n. You literally took my breath away this morning when I saw you.” You blush as his eyes widen in shock, and you hear him whisper “I was not supposed to say that out loud.” “It’s okay, Josh. I’m flattered, really. To be completely honest, you were not what I was expecting when I called you last night.” He just smiled as you closed the door, locked it, and began the walk to his car. “So...where are we going?” “There’s this really small cafe on the edge of town that I like. I’d thought I’d take you there” he replied as he opened the car door for you. “Sounds perfect.” You sat in silence for a few minutes as he made his way out of the town, and since the silence wasn’t uncomfortable, as you thought it would be, you did not expect it to be broken. Which is why you were so startled when he said “so what did you expect, you know, when you called?” “I expected some college douchebag or something. Someone bland. I don’t know it’s stupid.” “So I’m not bland or a douchebag? Well that’s good to know” he chuckled. It was at this moment he pulled up to a small cafe bistro about ten minutes outside of town. The cafe front was floor to ceiling with an awning above the door that read ‘LA LA Land Cafe and Bistro.’ The front had about five tables, each with a small floral centerpiece and beautiful place settings. As Josh talked to the hostess about seating, you got a look around the inside. It was quaint, but despite being small, it had a very homey feel. The interior was themed around light blue and white. The floors were marble with light blue walls. The counters and table were all red oak wood. Fairy lights were strung throughout the whole cafe. The whole things was quite beautiful, and just the place you imagined going on a first date.

The hostess led you and Josh to the table in the back corner, as per the request of Josh, and sat you down. “I get you both some waters, and I’ll come to take your orders shortly” the waitress said with a smile as she turned to leave. You and Josh read the menu in relative silence, and when the waitress returned, you both ordered your food. As she turned to leave, she winked at Josh which sent an unnecessary and shocking volt of jealousy through you. He didn’t seem to notice though, as he was focused on you. “So,” he began, “what led you to become a veterinarian?” That question started off all the conversation. You told him about how you had a pet die when you were young and that had started your career path. The two of you went back and forth about hobbies and interests. The conversation flowed relatively smoothly until the topic of his job came up. When you asked what he did for a living, he paused for about a minute before responding with “I mess around with music,” and he changed the topic as he asked you another question. You couldn’t help but wonder why he’d hesitated, and now that you were thinking about him, you couldn’t but to wonder why he’d had his hat pulled far over his head while he sat in your waiting room and why he’d taken you outside the main city to visit this restaurant when there were plenty of these small cafes in the city, in fact there were like four on the same street as your clinic. It seemed like he was hiding something. It was like he didn’t want to be seen, like he was hiding his face for some reason, and of course, being a single woman and all, warning bells went off as you came to that conclusion. People don’t usually try to hide in public without reason, and the only reason that came to your mind was serial killer or rapist, neither of which you wanted to be around. It was then that you noticed him staring at you, a look of concern on his face. “Y/n, what’s wrong?”

He must have seen your worry on your face because he just stared at you as he waited for your answer. You didn’t think it’d be a good idea to ask if he was a criminal, but you couldn’t help yourself when you asked “are you a serial killer or something? Because I noticed earlier you were trying to hide your face in my clinic, and then you take me out to the edges of town when there are tons of small cafes in the middle of Columbus, and when I asked what you do, you hesitated like you were coming up with a lie. I mean, what does ‘mess around with music even mean’? I’m sorry, this is so bad. I don’t even know you. I should be leaving.” You stood up as you swallowed down a breath because God knows that whole rant took one breath, but before you could turn he gently placed his hand on yours. “Y/n, I see where you’re coming from, but I promise I’m not a serial killer or anything. Please, sit down and let me explain.” He seemed extremely anxious, and despite your instincts telling you to flee before he poisoned you or something, you hesitantly sat back down. “I know it’s suspicious of me to do all of that stuff, and I can see how you could assume I’m some type of criminal, but I’ve been doing all this for a reason.” He released a huge breath, like he was trying to calm himself down, and before he continued, he rubbed the back of his neck in that endearing way again. “I’m sorry about all this, but I knew you didn’t know who I was, and it was naive of me to believe that I could be this selfish without consequences. It’s just that being a famous drummer doesn’t really make life, especially dating, easy for me, and you not knowing who I was really showed me that you were interested in plain, old Josh Dun, and not Josh Dun the Drummer of famous musical duo Twenty One Pilots.” His faced was downcast, and you could tell he was really upset. You felt horrible. He just wanted to go out on a nice date with someone, and you had to ruin it with your paranoia. God, were you an idiot. “Josh?” You hesitate as he looks up and meets your eyes. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize... I mean what kind of idiot asks someone if they’re a serial killer? I’m so sorry i accused you of that, I was just worried... and I know that’s no excuse. I understand if you want to leave. I won’t be offended. I know that was so bad, and I’m really sorry...” you trailed off into silence, afraid you’d embarrass yourself and him even further. An agonizing twenty seconds passed before he broke out into a huge smile. “It’s okay, y/n, I get it. I just hope you aren’t put off by the whole ‘famous’ thing. The paparazzi could be photographing us at this very moment. It can get kinda obnoxious.” “Oh, please. Having photos taken of me is no big deal as long as I’m with you.” You choose to ignore how totally creepy that sounded. “Besides, you’re a drummer? That’s totally hot.” He blushed, smiled, and replied with a small laugh as you blushed in horror at having said that at loud. It was then the waitress came to take your orders. She took yours first, barely hiding her disdain for you, but you thought it was simply because you two were currently the only ones in her section, and therefore, were the cause of her actually having to do her job, but you were quickly proven wrong as she turned to Josh with the brightest smile on her face. “What can I get for you, sir?” The way she said sir bothered you. She was blatantly flirting with him right in front of you, as if you weren’t currently on a date with him. She smiled the entire time Josh was ordering, and as she walked away she winked and said “I’ll have that right out to you, sir, as fast as possible.” She walked away, her hips swaying almost comically, and you glared with all your might as she walked away. How dare she do that? You were very clearly here on a date, and she just up and flirts without any hesitation what a bi- “What’s wrong?” Josh’s question interrupted your inner monologue, and you again turned to face him. “What do you mean?” “Your face right then was the embodiment of ‘if looks could kill.” He smiled reassuringly. “Do you know her? Why do you look so upset?” His questions confused you because he was clearly aware she had been flirting hadn’t he? No one is that oblivious. No way did he not know. “You’re aware that our waitress has been flirting with you this entire time right?” “No.” He deadpanned. “She was?” You responded with and almost hysterical laugh. “Of course she was. The smiles and the winks and the slightly sexual way she called you sir were all clues. You seriously couldn’t tell?” “No I couldn’t tell because I was only paying attention to you.” He smiled as you blushed. “I’m sorry that the waitress’ flirting made you jealous.” He smirked as you gaped. “Jealous? I was not jealous. I was just---uh---just upset that she would have the audacity---that she could so blatantly flirt with you while we were obviously on a date.” You weren’t exactly lying, but you could tell that Josh didn’t believe you. “Whatever you say.” He smirked again as your waitress, Brittany, as you actually looked, slammed your plate down in front of you. You then watched as she gently placed Josh’s food down in front of him, slowly leaned over to whisper something in his ear, and seductively, or as much as she could manage, walk away. You turned back to Josh to be greeted by downcast eyes and a frown.

You began to eat as you waited for him to tell you what that bitch said, but he only began to eat. After a couple minutes in silence, while you subtly glanced at him every few seconds, you decided to ask “Josh? What did she want?” He put his sandwich down, and wiped his hands clean before answering, almost like he was stalling for time. “Well...she said that if I wanted better company that I could call her.” He said it quietly, like he knew that it would set you off, and set you off it did. You blood boiled with anger. How dare she? The flirting, that could have been misread or misunderstood, but this? This was a new low. To directly tell Josh that she was a better option was rude and insulting. Who does she think she is? But as you thought about it, it began to make sense. She was 6x prettier than you. She had a better body, a less busy job. She seemed like the perfect type for a guy like him. Why shouldn’t he go for it. It wasn’t like this date was gonna turn into anything. He was just thanking you. How could someone like Josh ever date someone as plain and ugly as you? “I’m gonna go to the bathroom” you supplied as you realized you had been sitting quietly for a couple of minutes.

You found the restroom on the far side of the building, perfect. You called yourself an Uber, not wanting to inconvenience Josh anymore today, and washed your hands. As you moved toward the door, it swung open, almost hitting you in the process, and Brittany stepped inside. Of fucking course. “Oh it’s you?” she said. She eyed you up and down, sizing you up, scouting the competition. “I’m surprised to see you in here, while there’s a hot piece out there waiting for you. Or maybe not. Maybe he left because how could someone like that ever go out with someone like you. He’s an 11, and you’re a...” she paused, like she was contemplating, “a 4 on a good day. You shouldn’t even bother with him. It’ll never work.” She giggled and continued, “it’s your first date right?” She paused again waiting for an answer. After your refusal to respond she continued, “I thought so.” She smirked like an evil villain. This shit reminded you too much of high school. “You should just quit while you’re ahead.” With that, she went into a stall. Your phone buzzed in your hand, alerting you that your Uber had arrived, yet you stood there, tears threatening to spill, until you heard the flushing of a toilet. You stepped out of the bathroom before she came out, and headed back to the table. Josh looked up from his food as you approached, and was about to say something, but you cut him off. “Here’s twenty dollars for my meal” you said with pleasant detachment. “Thanks for taking me to lunch,” and with that you turned and left, getting straight into the Uber that was waiting for you.

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

It was only a ten minute drive until you arrived back at the clinic. You stepped out, thanked the Uber driver, and opened the door. Kylie had already returned, and was about to ask about the date when you interjected “cancel all appointments for the rest of the week. I won’t be at work until Lili returns from Cabo. You have the rest of the week off. Don’t worry, you’ll get paid. I’m going home,” and with that, you turned down the hallway to gather your stuff. You turned of lights and computers as you made your way back to the front, where Kylie was tidying her work station. “Is everything okay, Miss y/n?” Kylie asked as you headed toward the door. “Yes, Kylie, everything is okay. Please lock the door and turn off all the lights when you leave. Thank you.” She gave you a small nod, and you began your walk home. As you walked the tears finally began to fall. It was stupid letting that stupid waitress get into your head, but it was no question that she was right, and now you’ve lost all chances with Josh, which was probably for the best. The twenty minute walk to you apartment felt like three hours as you spent every second thinking about Josh and that stupid fucking waitress and how you were no good and stupid. It was exhausting, which is why you arrived home at 3:30, fed the dogs, and fell right into bed.

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

(Josh’s POV)

I watched her get into the car and leave. What was that all about? Her meal was half finished, and we were enjoying ourselves, at least I thought so. So why did she leave? The twenty she left for her food was sitting next to her plate, and I was so confused because she knew this was a date, and that I was paying. Why would she do that? What happened in the last ten minutes that made her want to leave as fast as she can? I turn my head to the left just in time to see our waitress exit the bathroom and smile at me. What was he deal anyway? She was headed in my direction when I realized that the waitress had just come out of the bathroom with y/n. She must have said something to y/n.

She stopped in front of the table with a smile and said “can I get you anything else? How about you...” she trailed off as she turned to y/n’s empty seat. She tried to conceal her smile as she turned back toward me and said, with so much innocence “Will she be coming back?” It was her tone, the way she obviously new the answer, that really infuriated me. “I don’t think she will...” I glanced at the Brittany written on her name tag for the first time, “Jessica.” She frowned at the obvious wrong name. “You wouldn’t happen to know everything about that would you?” “I don’t know what you mean?” It was sly--her usage of the phrase--it was meant as a challenge, and I was too upset to back down. “What did you say to her?” I demanded, my tone holding nothing but barely contained outrage. “Well...” she started as she took the seat across from me, where minutes ago y/n sat. It mad the anger even more prominent in my mind, “I ran into her in the bathroom, and we talked for a while.” She stopped there, still smiling. Another challenge. “And what did you talk about, Sarah?” She frowned again. “Well I just told her how she was wasting her time with you. She doesn’t deserve you. A hag like that shouldn’t have even gotten a date with someone as hot as you.” She squeezed my bicep, an obvious flirtation despite my recognizable anger. “I told her she should quit while she was ahead because a guy like you would never stay with someone as bland as her.” She gave a small smile, “why date that whore when you can have someone like me, someone who will give you everything you could ever want.” She giggled, then whispered “I’m surprisingly flexible, you know?” “You know what, Nancy?” I pried her fingers from my arm. “I wouldn’t touch someone like you with a thirty foot pole. Good luck busking tables, I have a hot veterinarian to find.” With that I stood, dropped money for the rest of the check, and made my way out of the cafe.

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

The ten minute drive back to the clinic seemed to take forever, and when I got there the receptionist, Kylie, was locking up. “Where’s y/n?” She jumped first, with shock, then turned. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” She glared at me, obviously she had heard that this date didn’t go well. “Look, this wasn’t my fault, okay. Our waitress kept telling y/n that she didn’t deserve me or something like that, and I think y/n believed her or something. I really need to see her. I need to tell her that the bitch was wrong.” Kylie hesitated, obviously thinking things over.”Okay, she isn’t planning on working for the rest of the week, but if your dog happens to have an emergency I’m sure she would take your call.” With that she left, turning the corner a few moments later. She was telling me I could call y/n, but she didn’t give me a number. I turned to leave, but a sign on the door caught my attention. ‘Clinic closed for the week. Appointments have been rescheduled. In case of emergency call doctor Y/L/N at (555)***-****.’ This was it. I entered the number into my phone and drove home.

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

PT. 2 coming soon

#josh dun imagine #josh dun x reader #twenty one pilots #21p #josh dun #tyler joseph

118 notes · View notes

thezeekrecord · 4 years

Text

Catch My Footing While I Follow Yours

fandom: hlvrai characters: tommy coolatta, darnold, dr. coomer, bubby, benry, gordon freeman, g-man coolatta ships: tommy/darnold, dr. coomer/bubby (background), gordon/benry (background) word count: 10708 chapters: 1 other notes: no resonance cascade AU, not a game AU

Earth has just recently made contact with alien life, and is slowly integrating into intergalactic society--and Black Mesa is eager for business deals. Darnold has to think smart to keep the mixology department alive, and has invented a new potion that may be of interest to Black Mesa's biggest sponsor, Mr. Coolatta; he takes an off-Earth business trip with Gordon Freeman to meet with him--and his mysterious son, Tommy--to pitch his potion concept. A business dinner becomes something much more, though, after Darnold and Tommy hit it off almost immediately.

“Hello? Am I, uhh—am I in the right place?” Darnold called, knocking on the doorframe a couple times for good measure. He gripped his luggage in his other hand, peering into the little office of the third hangar bay.

Three others looked up at him; Gordon Freeman, he recognized instantly from a couple meetings concerning this trip, and two older men he didn’t recognize. Gordon was dressed comfortably in casual clothes, as opposed to Darnold and the two old men wearing their science team uniforms.

“Hey, man!” Gordon greeted with a smile, standing to greet Darnold. “Yeah, this is the right place. Just set your luggage anywhere, it’s gonna be a little bit.”

Darnold did as Gordon said, leaning his suitcase against the wall beside the door and uncomfortably taking a seat.

“These are our crewmates, Dr. Coomer and Bubby.” Gordon introduced, indicating to the two old men.

“Hello, Dr. Pepper!” Dr. Coomer greeted, holding his hand out. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, likewise.” Darnold replied. He held his hand out to Bubby next. “Umm—hey.”

Bubby didn’t return the gesture, but he did nod amicably. “Nice to meet you.”

“We’ll be handling all ship-related matters during your trip, so you don’t need to worry.” Dr. Coomer said kindly.

“Oh, cool, so like, all that training was just in case, right?” Darnold asked nervously.

“Nothing’s going to go wrong, Harold and I have been doing this for longer than you’ve probably even been with Black Mesa.” Bubby replied, crossing his arms.

Darnold let out a relieved sigh. The training session he’d gone to had involved things like learning how to start the ship, plotting the course, what to do in case of certain emergencies—it had put him under the impression he and Gordon would be handling all of that.

“Yeah, we’ll have plenty of time to chill before the meeting.” Gordon said, brushing hair that had come loose from its ponytail out of his face. “I always travel with these guys on trips like this. I trust them 100%.”

Darnold nodded. Gordon Freeman was a man who didn’t quite strike Darnold as the business type—apparently he’d started out in anomalous materials, then did a pretty good job of helping get a new budget approved, and now was considered the go-to for deals with this very particular man he and Darnold were meeting with pretty soon. Darnold had tried to go over the pitch to expand his project with Gordon, though, and he hadn’t seemed too concerned with it—maybe Gordon intended for Darnold to just sit back while Gordon handled everything? That would be nice.

Darnold didn’t have much business experience himself; the extend of his experience was selling membership cards at the bookstore he worked at during college. He wasn’t even very good at that. Buy it or don’t buy it, whatever, Darnold always thought back then. This was different, though. Expanding this project was a matter of life or death for the mixology department. He needed this mysterious man’s interest in his potions if he didn’t want his department dissolved.

Gordon, Dr. Coomer, and Bubby all went over the travel aspect of the business trip; it was going to take until about 6 o’clock their time to get to the planet they were asked to meet at, so that was more time to prepare his proposal. Soon, they finally boarded the ship, and Gordon and Darnold strapped in for takeoff as Dr. Coomer and Bubby got right to work preparing the ship. Darnold gripped his seatbelt tightly as he sat beside Gordon, who was much more concerned with his Gameboy than the fact that they were about to exit the atmosphere. He glanced up at Darnold, though, smiling at him and putting a hand on his upper arm.

“It’s gonna be fine, man, we do this all the time.” Gordon reassured him.

“Yeah, you do this all the time.” Darnold pointed out with a shiver. “I think I have the right to be nervous for my first trip off the planet I’ve lived on my whole life.”

“Not to worry, Dr. Pepper, we have plenty of experience piloting this old cruiser!” Dr. Coomer chimed in from the navigator’s chair. “We’ll get us all there and back safe and sound.”

“Can you all shut up and let me work? I can’t hear my own thoughts with all this chatter.” Bubby complained as he worked at the console.

“There’s no reason to rush, dear, we’re well ahead schedule.” Dr. Coomer replied, turning back to his own work as well.

“Yeah, the sooner we get off this stupid rock, the better.”

Darnold closed his eyes and braced himself as the engines started up. They rolled the ship out of the hangar bay first, akin to the way planes move along to the runway first—adding so much more suspense to the whole situation than Darnold thought he could take. Then it stopped, and the engines began to roar, Dr. Coomer and Bubby’s pre-launch discussion mostly muffled.

“Are we all ready?” Dr. Coomer called over the engine.

“Yup!” Gordon called back.

“Oh, Christ, just do it.” Darnold said, every muscle in his body clenched.

Darnold’s stomach lurched as the ship began to move again. Darnold held his breath until he couldn’t any longer. As he struggled to catch his breath, the novelty of the roar of the engine and the whole ship shaking began to wear off a little bit; it sure was taking a while to exit the atmosphere, wasn’t it? He thought.

Darnold opened his eyes. Dr. Coomer and Bubby were focused on the console, while Gordon was turned back to his game. Darnold reached for his suitcase with his briefcase attached, opening up the briefcase to pull out his proposal documents. He didn’t feel like he was about to die, anymore, but he was still a little too frazzled to read his own scientific work, so he just rested his head against the back of the seat.

“Oh, shit.” Bubby said suddenly.

“Huh?” Darnold asked impulsively.

“Oh, dear! That’s not good.” Dr. Coomer added, looking at the screen Bubby was staring at. “Everyone had better brace for impact—”

The ship began to shake even more violently. Darnold yelped and closed his eyes, gripping the seatbelt in his hands tightly as he felt his proposal packet fly off his lap. Suddenly, the shaking stopped, and the engine’s roar died down. Darnold began to feel himself raise up a little; only his seatbelt kept him in his chair, now. Darnold opened his eyes as he finally began to process the others laughing.

“You guys are such dicks!” Gordon laughed. “Do you have to do that to everyone?”

“You should’ve seen your face!” Bubby said loudly through hysterics. “I’ll only stop doing it once it stops being funny.”

“Sorry, Dr. Pepper, but it is tradition.” Dr. Coomer chuckled.

“H-ha. Very funny.” Darnold wheezed, clutching his chest tightly.

“If you’d like to experience zero gravity, now’s your chance!” Dr. Coomer said, turning back to the console to work.

“Uhhh—n-no, I think I’m just gonna sit here.” Darnold muttered, trying to get his heart rate under control.

Gordon unbuckled himself, though, stuffing his Gameboy in his pocket. “You want me to get you anything? Some water, maybe?” He suggested as he floated in front of him.

“Uhhh...yeah. That sounds good. Thanks.” Darnold replied with a quick nod.

Gordon pushed himself off, using the handrails on the walls to guide himself towards the back of the ship. He returned shortly after with a bottle of water with one of those straws on the end you have to bite down on to get anything out—made sense with zero gravity, Darnold thought. He accepted it gratefully.

“Thank you, Dr. Freeman.” Darnold said as Gordon sat back down with his own drink, carefully pulling his seatbelt back on.

“You can call me Gordon, man, we’re not working right now or anything.” Gordon replied with a smile.

“Oh, okay. Yeah, you can call me Darnold, too, I don’t mind.”

A few moments later, Darnold began to hear a quiet droning noise, and gravity began to push him back down into his seat. Darnold finally felt comfortable enough to stand shakily and peer out one of the porthole windows. They were still hovering outside of Earth’s atmosphere as Dr. Coomer and Bubby got ready to start towards their destination; Darnold could see the whole planet right in front of him. It was so...blue, he thought as he stared at it with wide eyes. So tiny.

As they started on their way officially, Darnold followed Gordon through the other sections of the ship on their little mini-tour. It was all sort of cramped, but sleek and nicely decorated, giving it a private jet sort of vibe. As everyone settled in officially, Darnold sat down in front of Gordon at the dining table with his proposal packet.

“Umm...so Gordon, I was wondering if—if we could actually go over our pitch?” Darnold asked, sliding the packet towards him. “You looked this over, right?”

“Oh, yeah, I got my copy in my bag somewhere.” Gordon nodded, sliding it back. “I mean, everything looked solid to me while I was looking at it. Mr. Coolatta isn’t really a hard sell, he’s like—pretty much, if you have his interest and have all this stuff to back up your claims, he’s pretty much already sold. Easy peasy.”

“Are you sure?” Darnold worried, clutching his packet tightly in his hands. “I don’t wanna mess this up.”

“Don’t worry about it, man. You’ve already got a much more solid case than I’ve seen in the past like, 3 months.” Gordon replied casually, leaning back in his chair. “I mean, your potion is cool as hell! I’m sure Mr. Coolatta will wanna expand your project.”

Darnold nodded uncertainly. “...Okay. Thanks, Gordon.”

Eventually, after many hours of waiting around, Dr. Coomer and Bubby landed the ship—tricking Darnold one more time with a false emergency, as if he needed that kind of stress right now. Gordon and Darnold changed into their HEV suits after the ship was properly prepped; both their suits were the generic orange, though for reasons Darnold couldn’t even begin to fathom, they were also asked to wear bowties around them for the business meeting. It looked stupid, but hey, if this was what was considered normal space business attire, Darnold didn’t want to come off as too casual by not wearing one.

“Best of luck to you two!” Dr. Coomer said, giving them each a friendly squeeze on the shoulder that Darnold couldn’t feel through the suit. “I’m certain your proposal will go fantastic, Darnold.”

“Thanks, Dr. Coomer.” Darnold replied with a nervous smile.

Bubby let him and Gordon out into the airlock, where they saw through the little window a couple people already waiting for them. Darnold squeezed his briefcase tightly in his hands, trying to calm himself before they heard the chime, Bubby’s announcement they were free to go, and the door unlatching. Gordon pushed it open, revealing the ones they’d be joining for dinner tonight.

The man Darnold immediately assumed must have been the Mr. Coolatta was tall—probably about 6’5, as opposed to Darnold’s staggering 5’5. He wore a dark blue suit with a perfectly straightened deep red tie that he “fixed” uselessly. He had shiny black hair slicked back, proudly displaying a receding hairline. Darnold glanced at the other two people stood by his side, furrowing his brow when he saw a Black Mesa security guard—no suit, no nothing.

“Gonna need to see your passport.” The guard said, holding out his hand expectantly.

Darnold swallowed hard. “Uhh—I don’t...I didn’t bring it?”

“Benry, leave him alone, man.” Gordon said with a laugh, pressing his hand to the guard’s face to push him back a couple steps. “I didn’t expect to see you! We’re not gonna be here very long, dude.”

“I’m Tommy’s plus-one.” Benry replied, nodding to the final man stood by Mr. Coolatta’s side.

“Oh, Tommy, holy shit!” Gordon exclaimed, approaching Tommy and reaching up to put his hands on his shoulders. “Your new suit looks so good! I almost didn’t recognize you for a second.”

Tommy grinned. “Thank you, Mr. Freeman.”

Darnold locked eyes with Tommy. He looked so much like Mr. Coolatta—maybe they were related? But he looked so much...warmer. He smiled back at Darnold with bright golden eyes, brushing his fingers over his yellow suit as if to straighten it out after Gordon pulled away. Darnold couldn’t help but stare at him for a long few seconds. His hair was neat, but not slicked back like Mr. Coolatta’s; he looked so much more relaxed, more casual than Mr. Coolatta himself.

“Hello, Dr. Pepper, Dr. Freeman.” Mr. Coolatta greeted, stepping forward to shake Gordon’s hand first.

“Hi, Mr. Coolatta.” Gordon said.

Mr. Coolatta approached Darnold next, holding out his hand. Darnold shook it anxiously.

“H-hello, Mr. Coolatta. It’s nice to meet you in person.” Darnold said politely.

“Likewise.” Mr. Coolatta replied, turning back to Tommy. “I don’t believe, you’ve met...my son, Dr. Pepper. This is Tommy. He, and his friend...Benry, will be accompanying us tonight.”

Tommy stepped forward, and Darnold hoped the tint on his HEV suit visor would hide the heat flooding to his cheeks as Tommy took his hand in both of his own.

“Hi, Dr. Pepper.” Tommy greeted, shaking his hand. “I like your name. We both have drink names!”

“Oh! Yeah, huh, I guess we do.” Darnold replied with a nervous laugh. “Thanks, Tommy. Umm—nice to meet you.”

Benry approached before Tommy got the chance to pull away, putting his hand on top of Tommy’s still holding Darnold’s. Tommy didn’t look put off by this, but Darnold couldn’t parse what exactly was happening.

“Umm—Benry, right?” Darnold opted to ask. “Nice to meet you.”

“Where’s Dr. Coomer and Bubby?” Benry asked, looking at the ship.

“Oh, yes, they are—of course, invited to have...dinner with us.” Mr. Coolatta said with something that might become a smile, if someone happened to catch him off guard. “I find their, company, to be rather...endearing.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Gordon said, fiddling with the controls on his wrist. After he’d switched the frequency on his suit radio, his speech was no longer audible; he laughed suddenly, though, as he was talking to the two on the ship. After he switched frequencies again, he addressed the group. “They’ll be right out, they just gotta suit up.”

Benry and Tommy still had Darnold’s hand. Darnold wasn’t sure what he was meant to do, but he stood there patiently as Tommy turned his attention back to Darnold.

“You make potions? Like, all the time?” Tommy asked Darnold.

“Oh, yeah! I’m uhh, the head of the mixology department at Black Mesa.” Darnold replied, wishing his hands were free to fidget with. “Umm—what about you? What do you do?”

“I work for the same people my dad does.” Tommy answered vaguely. “I haven’t really, umm—I don’t usually do business deals, though, I normally specialize in, like...safety protocols. Like—umm—what’s it called on Earth? Ocean?”

“...OSHA?” Gordon filled in with an amused laugh.

Tommy finally moved one hand from Darnold’s to snap his fingers. “OSHA! Yeah! I’m like OSHA.”

Tommy looked down at his hand, snapping his fingers again, like he’d just remembered something very interesting. He kept snapping his fingers wordlessly with a smile as the door to the ship opened up again, revealing Dr. Coomer and Bubby in their custom green and blue HEV suits—a privilege given to all ship technicians, as Darnold understood.

“Ah, it’s very, good...to see you two again.” Mr. Coolatta greeted.

“Harold and I were going to have spaghetti.” Bubby complained as he moved along. “But I guess we can just drop everything and eat soup through a fucking straw.”

“I’m, so glad, to hear you feel that way.” Mr. Coolatta said. Darnold couldn’t tell if he was missing Bubby’s sarcasm, or if he was matching it with his own—his voice remained as flat as always.

“A pleasure to see you as always, Mr. Coolatta!” Dr. Coomer greeted warmly.

Darnold watched as everyone greeted each other, like they were greeting old friends. Judging by Black Mesa’s frequent dealings with Mr. Coolatta, and how Gordon, Dr. Coomer, and Bubby were almost always the ones to meet with him, they probably were getting to be pretty close. Darnold was starting to feel a little more relaxed, now, as the group started to walk towards some alien vehicle stopped nearby. It looked almost like the front of a sleek train, but it hovered over the ground—hover cars, of course, Darnold thought. He drummed his fingers on his briefcase nervously as the doors slid open for everyone to pile in. It was comfortable inside, like a limousine—the seats were conjoined, curved slightly like booths at a restaurant, and facing one another at the front and back, no driver to speak of, with a table in the center. Darnold tried stealthily to get in last, but he ended up sandwiched between Benry and Tommy, with Mr. Coolatta sat on Tommy’s other side. All Darnold’s coworkers were on the other side; his anxiety returned in a flood as he felt extremely out of place.

“So what’s this potion you’ve got do?” Benry asked, reaching out towards Darnold’s briefcase.

Tommy reached over Darnold, pushing Benry’s hand away gently. “No—no spoilers, Benry, I wanna hear the proposal first.”

“Bro, your fingers are so long.” Benry pointed out suddenly, grabbing Tommy’s hand and looking at them carefully. “Are they supposed to be that long?”

“Hm? Oh, I don’t know.” Tommy said, investigating his hand closely, as if it was unfamiliar to him. “Dr. Pepper, how—umm, how long are yours?”

Darnold’s face felt hot as Tommy took him gently by the wrist, pressing his palm against his own for comparison. Benry was right—he did have long fingers. His palm was a little slimmer than Darnold’s, and the tips of Darnold’s fingers, even in the HEV suit, only reached about halfway up towards the topmost knuckles on Tommy’s fingers.

“I think they fucked up your skin suit.” Benry said, reaching over Darnold to press his hand up to the back of Darnold’s to compare as well. His hand was a lot more comparable to Darnold’s, if he hadn’t been wearing such a bulky glove.

“Little mistakes, are to be...expected.” Mr. Coolatta chimed in.

Skin suit? Would it be rude to ask about that? Darnold wondered. He had just assumed they were shapeshifters or something like that. What did Tommy really look like? Tommy pulled his hand away, flexing his fingers experimentally. Then he snapped his fingers again, clearly getting a lot of enjoyment out of that. That made sense—if he was in an unfamiliar body, of course he’d get excited about little things like that. That on its own was pretty cute, actually, Darnold couldn’t help but think. He seemed so excited to be in this human form, getting caught up in little tactile sensations and the sounds he could make with his hands. Darnold smiled as the vehicle came to a stop, Tommy currently fiddling with the fabric on his tie.

They piled out into what seemed to be some sort of restaurant, bustling with so many types of aliens Darnold hadn’t seen before—Earth, as things went, was sort of out of the way from larger groups of inhabited planets; once first contact had been made and Earth began settling into the greater economy of nearby systems, not a lot of aliens tended to make the trip out to Earth. To Darnold’s surprise, there were even some humans, wearing other types of space suits clearly not designed by Black Mesa. Mr. Coolatta led them all off to a private section of the restaurant, clearly reserved just for them. It was spacious and comfortable, plush rolling chairs surrounding the large table in the center. In fact, Darnold wasn’t sure an overly comfortable, almost sofa-like chair would be great to eat in, but he eased himself down anyway, this time situated on the same side of the table as his coworkers.

Darnold cleared his throat. Was he supposed to go over his proposal now, or after dinner? He wondered. There were no menus to speak of. Darnold drummed his fingers anxiously on his briefcase. He was so out of his depth—what were the societal norms in an alien restaurant?

“Um—so—a-about my proposal?” Darnold tried nervously.

“Oh, no need to...worry, yourself with that before dinner.” Mr. Coolatta replied. “Just relax, Dr. Pepper—I have asked the, kitchen, to prepare...an Earth delicacy. It should, be out shortly.”

Darnold nodded, easing back into his seat.

“Oh, what, so we don’t even get to choose?” Bubby asked irritably.

“You remember what happened last time, dear.” Dr. Coomer said, placing a hand over Bubby’s.

“Yeah, man, I’d rather have anything we eat get approved first. I never wanna get my fucking stomach pumped again.” Gordon groaned.

“I can, assure you, Bubby...after extensive research, in preparation for this—dinner, I have selected...only the finest dish, prepared by...the finest of chefs.” Mr. Coolatta said proudly.

Darnold wondered what sort of dish he had in mind, as they all were given interesting looking beverages by a waiter—quickly followed by the main course. Darnold stared down at the bowl set out in front of him.

“This is...” Darnold started, then stopped.

“Is this chicken noodle soup?” Gordon asked.

“Why...yes, Dr. Freeman.” Mr. Coolatta replied.

Darnold tried to suppress a laugh, but ended up snorting, despite himself.

“Is there...something wrong, Dr. Pepper?” Mr. Coolatta asked.

Darnold tried to put a hand to his mouth, his glove colliding awkwardly with the visor of his helmet. “No! Sorry. I’m sorry. I’m just—so excited, uhh, you know—love me some chicken noodle soup.”

Gordon ended up laughing on his behalf as Bubby griped about the choice of food, Dr. Coomer already preparing himself to eat. Benry picked up his bowl to chug his soup as Darnold self-consciously began preparing his suit as well. The HEV suit designed for space travel was now sporting a special Black Mesa silly straw feature—he put the end of the straw that started at his glove, suctioned to be flat so as not to let in unwelcome air, into his bowl. Then he pressed a button, and the other part of the straw released in front of his face, and it immediately began sucking in soup. It was literally the dorkiest way he could possibly imagine eating at an important business meeting, particularly when the ones he was doing business with were eating properly with spoons. Points to Black Mesa for continuing to make his life an embarrassing nightmare.

The soup itself was interesting, to say the least. They were at least considerate enough to ensure it wasn’t too hot to drink through a fucking straw, but now, it was just cold. Plus the chunks of meat were clearly not chicken—he couldn’t be surprised by that, but it tasted more like tuna than chicken, and the too-hard noodles sort of clogged his straw. He felt like he was drinking the grossest bubble tea imaginable. He chugged it down, not wanting to appear rude by turning it down, but desperate to be finished with the hellish soup experience.

Darnold felt a little nauseous by the time he’d drank the most he could from it before he’d start getting air in his straw. He eagerly pushed the bowl aside, choosing to nurse down some of the weird beverage they’d been given. This was much more pleasant; it tasted sort of like grape juice, once he’d drunk enough to clear out the remainder of the soup in his straw—gross. 4/10 on the HEV suit silly straw design.

Darnold’s coworkers looked just as nauseated by the soup, but once dinner was squared away and their dishes were taken, Darnold took a deep breath and set out his briefcase, clearing his throat. “So—umm, Mr. Coolatta, I’ve brought you a—well, you know this, of course, but...for recap’s sake, I made a potion to allow humans to survive in most any atmosphere for about 16 and a half hours, no suit required.”

Darnold opened up the briefcase and pulled out a carefully packed away bottle with the potion inside. It was a bright, light blue, glowing slightly—honestly, that was just to make it flashier. He passed it carefully over to Mr. Coolatta for him to inspect as he pulled out his client version of the proposal packet for him to look at as well.

“Everything you’ll need to know, as far as umm—how the potion works, production cost, that sort of thing—is in here.” Darnold prattled on nervously. “Basically, like—this potion, if we can mass produce it, will help immensely with humanity’s travels to other planets. Imagine, if you didn’t have to give all your human clients soup all the time like this, because they’d have a potion that allowed them to survive comfortably in restaurants of your choosing without a suit!”

“That does sound...quite alluring.” Mr. Coolatta agreed.

Darnold’s anxiety eased up a little as he talked more in-depth on the potion, addressing typical concerns he’d run into while testing the potion and diving right into the next phase of his proposal. Hopefully, if things went well, he could expand research and start making potions like this for other aliens as well. Sure, maybe this was out of his comfort zone in terms of his typical research and all, but with Black Mesa threatening to cut “unnecessary departments”—aka, departments not involved with off-planet deals—this was going to be the mixology department’s lifeline.

“So—if you would...” Darnold cleared his throat. “If you would consider funding this project, this could be highly beneficial to not just human clients, but—well, to all sorts of clients. Thanks for your time, Mr. Coolatta.”

Mr. Coolatta hummed thoughtfully, lacing his fingers together. “An, interesting proposal...to say the least. There is, of course, a matter of...liability. If a consumer—isn’t careful, in terms of time management, they could hurt themselves quite gravely.”

Darnold nodded knowingly. “Oh, yeah, that’s—yeah, that’s definitely worth considering. My plans were to require, like—well, this potion isn’t designed to be just an over-the-counter type thing, you’d have to receive and acknowledge a crash course in potion management before you can have it. And also, tell them to head back into a suit or—like, back to somewhere safe after around 14 hours, rather than the full 16.”

Mr. Coolatta didn’t look fully convinced, to Darnold’s great concern. He bit his lip, hoping for him to bring up something else he was skeptical about so Darnold could talk him through it, but he looked to the packet instead, flipping through it curiously. Tommy hovered over his shoulder a little to look as well.

“I think it’s a good idea.” Tommy said thoughtfully. “If—if we can get, um, get this to full functionality and have all safety precautions laid out, it seems like it’s, uhh—less unpredictable than having a suit. You know? If they fall or get in an accident in a suit or something, then...you know, something could crack or break in the suit. If you had the potion, and umm—like, got in an accident or something, at least you wouldn’t have to worry about air supply or anything.”

Mr. Coolatta nodded. “That is...a fair point, Tommy.”

“Yeah, if like—if you wanna lay out a partial deal, just run some more trials on what we’ve already got so far before we do anything else, that’s cool too.” Gordon filled in.

“Hmmm...” Mr. Coolatta hummed, setting down the packet. “That...won’t be necessary. I would be—very interested to see, this project through, Dr. Pepper.”

“Oh! Cool!” Darnold replied impulsively with a massive grin. “Thank you so much, Mr. Coolatta. I won’t disappoint.”

At least, he hoped he wouldn’t.

After finishing up some paperwork to take back home, that was it—the deal was done. Darnold and his coworkers would return to their ship, sleep there for the night, then head on back to Earth to get started on the work approved by Mr. Coolatta. They climbed into the car, Darnold moving to sit down beside his coworkers this time. He climbed in beside Gordon, and immediately, he was joined by Tommy again, who sat down comfortably by Darnold’s side.

“I’m really—umm, I’m really excited about your potion, Dr. Pepper.” Tommy told him with a smile. “To be honest, it’s—it gets sort of annoying, having to consider atmosphere for clients all the time for work. It’ll be really nice to expand your potion for—to accommodate for lots of different people.”

Darnold nodded enthusiastically. “That’s great! I’m glad it’d be helpful for you.” After a pause, Darnold drumming his fingers again, he gave in to his burning curiosity about Tommy’s biology. “So—do you not have to worry about that sort of thing, Tommy?”

Tommy shook his head. “No, I umm—my dad and I don’t have to breathe or anything like that. We’re inter-dimensional beings. The physical world—uhh—we don’t...have to really worry about it. Which makes things sort of complicated, actually, we can’t always interact—ummm, interact with it on our own, so we wear these suits. See?”

Tommy picked at the heel of his hand for a second before he began to peel at the skin. Something strained at the base of his hand, trying to come out, but as the skin flopped down uselessly, Darnold couldn’t see any true hand to speak of. He impulsively reached out to Tommy’s shed skin, poking it with his glove uneasily.

“This is a new suit, too! It’s my first time wearing it.” Tommy continued, putting his hand back on casually.

“Well—it looks good.” Darnold replied, cracking a nervous smile. Tommy beamed at him proudly, and Darnold’s heart fluttered.

This guy had taken off part of a human skin suit right in front of him, demonstrating how deeply alien he was, and Darnold still was clearly feeling something about him. He got quick one-off crushes all the time, easy to ignore and move on as soon as he was done being in that person’s proximity forever. This was definitely one of those times. Whoever had designed this skin suit, whether it was Tommy or someone else who studied humans to tailor this suit for him, they’d certainly had good taste—not only that, but he was so...polite, but quietly goofy, and seemed genuinely interested in Darnold’s passion for potions.

But, of course, this was going to be that type of crush, where he knew they’d probably never see each other again, and he’d simply move on with his life. He couldn’t expect to spend more of his time with this eccentric, adorable man—he had an intergalactic job, and Darnold had just saved his department at Black Mesa. They’d probably never see each other again. Darnold felt a pang of loss as he climbed out of the car with his coworkers, Tommy and Mr. Coolatta walking them back to their ship politely. Bubby set to preparing the airlock through the panel on his wrist as Darnold turned back to Tommy and Mr. Coolatta.

“Thanks again, for approving my proposal. Really.” Darnold said with a smile he hoped didn’t look too mournful. “I’m really excited to get to work on this whole project.”

“Of course, Dr. Pepper.” Mr. Coolatta replied. “I have...high hopes, for your work.”

As the door to their ship opened and the ramp automatically extended, Darnold’s coworkers said their goodbyes to their alien friends. Again, Darnold sort of got a glimpse of what sort of relationships they had to one another. Gordon and Benry seemed...well...Darnold couldn’t really peg whatever was going on between them, but they seemed very comfortable with each other, at the very least. Long distance relationship, maybe? He wondered. It sure seemed like literally anything Benry did had the motivation of making Gordon laugh. Dr. Coomer and Bubby spent a lengthy moment saying goodbye to Tommy—how had they met? Darnold couldn’t help but wonder. Then, they said goodbye to Mr. Coolatta—they had an interesting dynamic, that was for sure, with so many concealed, seriously delivered jokes between them, Darnold could hardly keep up with whether they were offending each other or not. Gordon seemed pretty close with Tommy too, actually; he gave Tommy a long hug before he, Dr. Coomer, and Bubby all began boarding the ship. Darnold frowned, glancing back at Tommy as he started to move towards the ship as well.

Ask him for his e-mail address or something. Some part of Darnold said suddenly. No, no, it was way too late for that—and wouldn’t that seem unprofessional? He argued to himself. It wouldn’t work out, anyway, he thought as he waved goodbye and boarded the ship as well. Tommy frowned as he stood just past the doorway, watching him until the door closed.

Once they were safe to head back into the ship proper, Darnold sighed with relief as he removed his helmet.

“I need some real fucking food.” Bubby huffed as he headed towards the kitchen.

Gordon laughed as he fiddled with his hair, releasing it from its bun to wear it in his usual ponytail. “God, right? I’d chalk that down as...maybe the third worst food he’s given us.”

“Oh, he tries his best.” Dr. Coomer defended only half-heartedly.

As Darnold worked at unlatching his HEV suit in silence, there was a flash of green light in front of him. Darnold jumped back in surprise, watching as Benry just appeared inside their ship.

“Oh, hey, man.” Gordon greeted casually. “Dude, we said goodbye and everything, I thought you were too busy to hang out.”

“I didn’t wanna be left out.” Benry replied, flopping down in one of the seats closest to him. “So what’s up, what’re we doing tonight? Wanna play, uhh—wanna play some Halo or something?”

“I didn’t expect to see you! I didn’t bring my Playstation. You should’ve said something when I told you I’d be here tonight.” Gordon replied with a laugh, removing the last of his HEV suit. “I’m gonna go change really quick, I’ll be back.”

The others were much more acclimated to putting on and removing their suits than Darnold—he was still anxiously trying to get it all off as Dr. Coomer left to do the same, leaving Darnold alone with Benry for the time being. Benry lounged in his seat comfortably, fiddling with a part of the seatbelt in his hands.

“Sooo...” Benry said, looking up at Darnold. “You goin’ back home after this?”

Darnold nodded. “Yeah. I mean—we’re staying here tonight, but we take off in the morning.”

“You gonna, uhhh...you gonna go to sleep right now, or...?”

Darnold tilted his head. “Umm—no, it’s a little early. Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” Benry replied, pulling out a little communicator device and tapping at it. Darnold wasn’t trying to snoop, but with a holographic screen showing what he was up to from both sides, it was hard not to notice that he appeared to be messaging Tommy.

“Do you actually work at Black Mesa?” Darnold asked impulsively.

“Huh? No.” Benry scoffed.

“Then what’s with the...?”

“The wha...?”

Darnold indicated to his outfit. “The security uniform.”

Benry glanced down at himself. “Oh, yeah. Tried it once when I met Gordon. It’s comfy.”

“Oh. Huh.”

Darnold turned away as Benry began to snicker at something he was apparently getting ready to send to Tommy, which Darnold didn’t quite want to intrude himself on.

Gordon walked back into the room in a set of pajamas, sitting down next to Benry as Darnold finally finished removing his suit. “What’re you laughing at?” Gordon asked, nudging Benry playfully.

“None’ya.” Benry replied, putting away his communicator. “You wanna go out? I know this really cool place here on this planet...”

“Dude! Don’t ask me if I wanna go out after I’ve taken off my suit and changed.” Gordon groaned. “How cool is it? Scale of one to ten.”

“Ten outta ten, bro, trust me.”

Darnold couldn’t help but snicker a little himself as Gordon and Benry continued going back and forth, heading to the door further into the ship. Bubby was in the kitchen, still in his HEV suit, chewing silently on a loaf of bread. Darnold couldn’t blame him as he headed back to the bedroom he’d stowed his suitcase in so he could change out of the jumpsuit always worn underneath the HEV suit. After a quick shower, Darnold was ready to start making plans for when he got home when he heard the intercom crackle to life.

“Darnold! You’re wanted in the control room.” Bubby’s voice announced.

“Oh, okay.” Darnold replied, before remembering Bubby couldn’t hear his response.

He shook his head, walking out to the control room, as requested. His heart nearly stopped as he saw a face he hadn’t expected to see again smiling back at him.

“Oh! T-Tommy.” Darnold greeted, crossing his arms self-consciously over his dorky pajama shirt that read “UM / the element of confusion”. “Whoa. Hi, um—what can I do for you?”

Bubby was already leaving the room, and Gordon and Benry were nowhere to be seen, leaving Tommy and Darnold alone. Tommy had taken off his suit jacket; he’d even rolled his sleeves up, just about halfway up his forearms. He looked sort of bashful as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Umm—well, sorry to barge in on you like this.” Tommy started. “But—you’re here all night, right? You haven’t—uhh—I heard you hadn’t been off planet before, and...well, it’s at least—you know, gonna be a while before you can take a trip out like this again, right? I wanted...umm...if you wanted to, I thought I could show you around?”

Darnold was nodding before he could even process it. “Yeah! I mean—sure, yeah, that sounds great. I’d love to.”

Tommy smiled again. He didn’t say anything else, but he looked so excited, tapping his fingers together as he bounced on his heels. Darnold glanced at the HEV suit he’d left behind in its dock thoughtfully. The HEV suit would be safe. Tried and true, etc, etc—but he imagined that contact Tommy initiated so easily, how it might feel on his bare skin.

He shouldn’t be stupid just to show off to a cute guy he met on a business trip, he scolded himself. But, to be fair, he desperately wanted to show off to a cute guy he met on a business trip.

“Hey, you wanna see the potion in action?” Darnold asked impulsively. “I could chug that, then we could wait a little bit and then head out.”

Tommy nodded excitedly. “I mean—if that’s okay, is it safe for you to do that? Have you tested it enough?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine.” Darnold said, feigning more confidence than deserved—it worked theoretically, sure, but it hadn’t actually been practically tested on alien soil before. Well, first time for everything, right? Someone was gonna have to take that step. “Wait here for a sec, I’ll run and get ready.”

Darnold rushed off to his room and started pulling on some nice clothes first. He thanked his past self for being overly prepared, packing away a patterned button-up and some slacks just in case he’d be seen for the business deal outside his HEV suit. He carefully fixed his hair in the mirror, smoothed out his shirt and picked up the potion, steeling himself before heading back out to the control room. Tommy began bouncing on his heels again as Darnold returned. Darnold couldn’t help a smile that spread across his face. God, Tommy was cute—he was going to be really disappointed when he had to leave again, he thought.

Darnold opened the potion carefully. “Well, here we go.” He said before chugging it. He replaced the lid unceremoniously after he finished it, bouncing on his heels himself anxiously. “Well, ummm, it needs a little bit to kick in. Uhh...you wanna...have a drink? We have...juice. And soda.”

Tommy nodded enthusiastically. “Sure! I haven’t had a lot of Earth drinks before. My dad orders some stuff for us sometimes when—when I’m ummm, for when we’re working, but that’s pretty rare.”

“Oh, well, we can speedrun some taste testing, if you want.” Darnold replied with a smile, taking Tommy into the kitchen. He opened up the fridge, glancing over their options. “What drinks have you had before from Earth?”

“Ummm...let’s see...a raspberry coolatta—obviously—Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, orange juice—I like orange juice—aaaand...I always forget what the other one is called. Benry—umm, he likes it a lot. Like—...‘Creature’?”

Darnold looked back at him with an amused smile. “You mean Monster?”

Tommy snapped his fingers. “Yeah! That’s it.”

“Well, if you like orange juice, we’ve got some of that, and also some bastardized orange-flavored soda.” Darnold said, pulling out a can of Sunkist enticingly.

Tommy’s eyes lit up. “They make that? Orange juice flavored soda?”

“Yeah! Give it a try.” Darnold said, holding out the can to him.

Tommy cracked it open, sniffing it experimentally before taking a sip. His eyes widened before he began chugging the whole can. Darnold grinned, leaning back against the fridge door as he finished off the can with surprising ease.

“This is really good!” Tommy said, immediately crushing the can in his hands once he was done with it. “What’s it called again? Sunkist?”

Darnold snorted in surprise as he set aside the crushed can. “Yep, that’s it. I’m glad you like it!”

“Can I have another, please?” Tommy asked politely.

“Yeah, sure. They stocked our fridge up with all sorts of stuff, but there’s no way all of this is getting used.” Darnold replied, pulling out another one to hand over. Tommy was clearly trying to savor this one, drinking it much slower than the first, but he still ended up done with it within the minute. “So umm—you said you do, like, OSHA safety stuff?”

Tommy nodded, wiping his mouth off on the back of his hand and crushing his second can. “Yeah! I umm—my employers offer, like, lots of different...uhhh...services, let’s say. And—part of that is like, standardized safety books and stuff for—umm, for workplaces across different systems. We work to like, prevent exploiting lax workplace safety laws in other systems for monetary gain, like outsourcing labor to cheaper but less safe systems. You know? Standardizing it and making—uh, closing loopholes like that so everything stays safe.”

“Whoa, hey, we could use some of that on my planet.” Darnold said with a laugh. “That sounds like a really complicated job, though.”

Tommy shrugged. “It is. But—I mean, I like it. Is, umm—is Black Mesa treating you well?”

Darnold made a non-committal hand gesture. “It’s alright. Kinda boring, kinda stuffy, but I couldn’t ask for anything more comfortable. I work alone in my department, basically—at least, for now—so I can just sort of work at my own pace and everything. That’s nice. Plus, I get to make some really cool stuff.”

Tommy made an excited noise, flapping his hands in front of him. Darnold couldn’t help but smile wider.

“I’m really excited about your potion!” Tommy said. “Umm—how long does it need to work?”

Darnold glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Ummm...I’m kinda starting to feel the effects, but let’s give it about...15 more minutes, maybe? Just to be safe.”

Darnold gave Tommy some more drinks to try after that. He really liked soda, Darnold noted—he said something about the carbonation and the caffeine made him feel “buzzy”. After maybe too many cans, Darnold was starting to feel the potion in full force, so he shut the fridge, gathering up the crushed cans and tossing them in the recycling bin.

“I think I’m good to go, now.” Darnold announced.

Tommy grinned, taking Darnold by the wrist. Darnold’s face flushed. His hand was cold, probably just from holding all the soda cans; he was so gentle as he held onto his wrist to guide him back to the control room, and continued to hold onto him as Darnold used his other hand to start preparing the airlock. Tommy was so tall, standing right beside him; Darnold only reached up to his shoulder. As the door unlatched, allowing them into the airlock, Darnold cleared his throat.

“So—umm, where are we going?” Darnold asked.

“There’s this place Benry and I, umm—we go hang out there, whenever we’re on this planet.” Tommy replied, finally releasing Darnold’s hand to pull out his little communicator. Darnold couldn’t read what the text said, but there was a photo of the interior of one of those hovercars they’d been in earlier, smaller this time. “This planet is usually, like—y’know, a lot of business stuff is done here, so it has a pretty fun night life.”

“Cool.” Darnold replied, his heart rate skyrocketing as the airlock began doing its thing. The pressure started to change rapidly—it was uncomfortable, but not too bad, all things considered; soon, the other door unlocked, and Darnold was free to open it up and really put his potion to the test.

It felt...fine. The air smelled strange, sort of like how it smelled refilling his car at the gas station, but he clearly wasn’t dying. He smiled at Tommy, puffing out his chest proudly.

“See? Potion works great.” He said with a grin.

Tommy clapped excitedly. “That’s so cool!”

As if on cue, one of those hovercars pulled up nearby. Tommy took Darnold’s wrist again, leading him to it as if he’d get lost along the way—not that Darnold was complaining. As advertised in the picture Darnold had seen just moments before, this one was much smaller, only big enough to seat the two of them across from each other. Tommy pressed Darnold for more details about his job, what it was like living on Earth as the car took them to their destination; too nervous to really look at Tommy, Darnold stared out the window as he talked. This place looked a lot like a big city on Earth, actually, but the dark sky cast everything in a deep purple, and the architecture was really interesting. Sort of rounder, more sleek, and lots of skybridges and elevated walkways between tall buildings, so it was like every level of the city was just as bustling as the ground. Tommy didn’t discuss his work very much when Darnold tried to ask; probably confidentiality issues, Darnold guessed.

Suddenly, the car eased to a stop before launching up further into the sky. Darnold yelped in surprise, grabbing onto his seat to steady himself as Tommy giggled at him. The car stopped on one of the topmost floors of one of the buildings, door sliding open at a little dock and extending a ramp for good measure. Tommy climbed out, reaching out to Darnold to help him out as well. His hand was still so cold, this time their palms pressed together as Tommy looped his long fingers around his hand. Maybe he was just permanently cold, Darnold thought, trying to be sly about the fact that he was running his thumb over Tommy’s to feel the skin. It didn’t feel perfectly skin-like; almost the way some silicone feels, with a little bit of a grip. He looked up at Tommy’s face as they stepped off the ramp to stand on the walkway, their hovercar closing automatically and taking off without them. Now that it was darker, Darnold noticed his eyes glowing so much more prominently—not enough to be uncomfortable to look at, but just captivating enough to never want to tear his eyes away. Tommy grinned at him as he squeezed Darnold’s hand a little tighter, leading him inside their destination.

It was, as far as Darnold could tell, a club. Your average alien club. The lights were kept intentionally dark aside from strobing lights roaming over a dance floor, with a bar at the end of the room. Tommy paused right at the door, pulling out his communicator and a little cube. He began typing into his communicator, fit his cube into a slot on it, then put the communicator back into his pocket, still holding the little cube.

“Benry and I always—umm, we always come here.” Tommy said, leading Darnold to the counter. He took up a stray menu, scanning over it carefully as he traced his finger over the words, muttering to himself. “What...would be safe for...a huuuuman...” He hummed thoughtfully, making clicking noises with his tongue.

“Umm—is this gonna be like, alcoholic?” Darnold asked curiously.

“Hm? Oh, umm—most of the drinks here, like...while safe for a human, don’t necessarily—uhh—have the same effect for you as like...the people these drinks are made for.” Tommy explained, setting down the menu. “So you won’t really get fucked up. Unless...you wanna get fucked up.”

Darnold laughed in surprise. “Uhh, fucked up in what way, exactly?”

Tommy put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. “When we took Mr. Freeman here once, he tried the...” he made a strange chittering noise, something clearly in the native tongue of the planet, “and he said like—he felt like it made him high. Like...‘marijuana’ high.”

Darnold couldn’t help another surprised laugh, covering his mouth with his hand. “Wow, I didn’t take Gordon as the type for that. Ummm—nahh, I guess I’d rather not get fucked up. Maybe if I can ever come back, I’ll give it a go.”

“Okay! How about...this, then?” Tommy said, pointing at the menu as if he could read what he was pointing at. “This one tastes liiiike...like, umm—how do I describe this? It’s...sweet-ish, sour-ish? Like a—oh wait, you don’t have that on Earth. Umm...”

Darnold shrugged. “Well, if you say it’s good, I’ll trust your judgment.”

Tommy rested his forearms on the counter, leaning over it to talk to the bartender in a language Darnold didn’t understand. Darnold couldn’t help but watch him as he talked. Despite being in a new body, he seemed so comfortable with himself in a way that made heat flood to Darnold’s cheeks. God, he had it bad for a guy who was a relative stranger. Tommy finished talking to the bartender and turned back to Darnold, sitting down properly in one of the barstools and leaning his head into one of his palms as they waited for their drinks.

“So...I guess you—um, you probably won’t have much reason to travel after this.” Tommy said, a frown settling on his face again.

Darnold nodded with a disappointed sigh. “Yeah. I guess not.”

“Yeah. After this, I’m gonna be...uhh, gonna be busy working in systems pretty far from Earth for a while.” Tommy replied, fiddling with his tie again in his free hand. After a brief, disappointed silence, two drinks were set out in front of them. Tommy’s smile returned as he picked up his drink, pausing to watch Darnold.

Darnold picked up his own drink, holding the straw gently and taking a tentative sip. It tasted remarkably like Sprite, actually, but left a sort of warmth in his throat as if it had alcohol after all.

“This is pretty good.” Darnold said with a nod. “If you like this, there’s a soda back on Earth you might like, too.”

“Ooh! What’s it called?” Tommy asked, pulling out his communicator.

“Sprite.”

Tommy noted it down with a nod. “Sprite, okay. Umm—but to be honest, I don’t know if anything’s gonna top Sunkist.”

Darnold couldn’t help but chuckle. “Man, I’m really glad you liked it so much, but I can’t say I expected an alien’s favorite Earth drink to be Sunkist, of all things.”

“Oh, my favorite is still, uhh—my favorite is still coolattas, from Dunkin’ Donuts. That’s the first thing I had when I first went to Earth.”

Darnold leaned his head into his palm curiously. “So...is your name a coincidence? Or did you name yourself after coolattas?”

“I named myself! Twice, actually—umm, we don’t really have names that are pronounceable to anyone else.” Tommy explained, waving his hand dismissively. “My dad never chose any other name himself, but I wanted—umm, I wanted people to be able to call me something. So I chose one name at first that—uhh, that sorta fit the suit I was given at first. Still with the last name Coolatta, but you know. Then, like...well, I was given a suit that was more modeled after human women traditionally, actually, but I didn’t really...it didn’t feel right. So I asked for a different suit and chose a different name.”

“Oh, shit, me too! I mean—except for the whole skin suit thing, like...” Darnold floundered a little bit as he tried to find the appropriate words. “I guess it’s sorta different for you and all, but I mean, I’m trans. I chose my last name to be Pepper while I was pursuing my doctorate, actually. I was thinking ahead.”

Tommy snickered. “That’s cool! Yeah, it’s just like—I didn’t expect it to really matter? It usually doesn’t for me, how, umm—how gender and stuff is so different between the different clients I work with. But...I don’t know, I just really like being—like, being seen as a man. It’s nice.”

Darnold nodded whole-heartedly. “I agree completely.”

Tommy looked like he was getting ready to say something else, but the music in the club changed from something that could be approximated as pop-ish to some sort of electronic music. Tommy’s face split into a grin as he patted the counter with his open palms.

“It’s the song I requested!” Tommy announced, throwing back his drink and standing. “Do you wanna dance?”

“Oh!” Darnold picked up his cup as well, trying to chug as much as he could stand before setting at aside. “Okay, sure. Is this some kind of alien band?”

Tommy shook his head with an amused laugh. “No! It’s Clubland Xtreme! This is from Earth. It’s—it’s happy hardcore, like—I heard it when Benry took me to a rave on Earth.”

Darnold burst out laughing in surprise as they stopped in the middle of dance floor.

“What?” Tommy asked with a smile, taking Darnold’s hands.

“Sorry, I didn’t expect that. You go to raves?”

“Yeah! When I can. It’s—sort of rare, actually.” Tommy replied.

Darnold wasn’t really the rave—or club—type; he thought of himself as a guy who preferred quiet nights in with people he liked. The crowd and the noise as they started dancing was alright, though, Darnold couldn’t help but think as long as he was with Tommy. Tommy was really enjoying himself, too. He undid his tie and pushed up his sleeves a little more as he seemed to be getting sweaty, balling up the tie to stuff in his pocket instead. Jesus, Darnold thought to himself, he was sort of falling hard for him. It was getting more and more difficult to imagine parting ways as the night went on; he decided to push that thought aside, though, and just enjoy himself with Tommy while he could.

Once the shockingly long song ended, they sat back down, panting as Tommy ordered them new drinks. Darnold stayed up much later than he’d stayed up in a while, just to really get as much out of his only night with Tommy as he could; so what if he had to go straight to work the following morning? Eventually, though, Tommy ended up glancing at his watch and closing their tab, insisting on getting Darnold back to his ship safe and sound. Darnold’s ears rang a little bit as they stood just outside the club, waiting for the hovercar Tommy had called. After he’d stuffed his communicator away, Darnold looked down at Tommy’s unoccupied hands. They weren’t normally unoccupied. He usually found ways to keep them busy, whether that was through grabbing onto Darnold or fiddling with anything he could find; this time, though, Darnold made his own bold move and reached out for Tommy’s hand.

Tommy looked down at him in surprise before his face split into a smile. It was short lived; the hovercar arrived a few moments later, and they were forced to sit across from each other again. Tommy talked a little more about his work for once as they headed back, filling what would otherwise be silence with his nice voice. Darnold was too tired to process a lot of it, but just listening to him was bliss in the moment. The sun was already beginning to peek between buildings they drove past; at least Darnold could get in a little bit of sleep on the way back to Black Mesa. He yawned as the hovercar came to a stop, the doors automatically opening for them again to reveal the ship still parked firmly in its place.

Tommy helped Darnold out again, holding his hand gently in his own as he guided him back to the ship. Darnold sighed as he looked up at it. He was going to enjoy getting back to his dorm just for the comfort of familiarity, but...

“Um...listen.” Darnold said, squeezing Tommy’s hand a little. “I know we’re both...w-we both have jobs that’ll keep us far away from each other a lot. I don’t know if I’ll...ever be able to make a trip out like this again, and I don’t know your schedule, but...you know. Even if we might not see each other like this for at least a while, I still—I really wanna get to know you better.”

Tommy nodded. “I feel the same! Umm—here.” He pulled out his communicator, tapping at it for a few seconds and navigating through pages incomprehensible to Darnold before he suddenly began to see English; it just seemed to be a regular Gmail page. “What’s your email?”

Darnold relayed to him his personal email address, and Tommy spent a few seconds typing on his communicator; this time, he was able to see that he was listing out a couple social media accounts in the body of the email.

“I don’t know—um, what you use, and we can just email each other too, but here’s the—I have some human social media.” Tommy said as he typed, glancing at Darnold through the hologram of his screen and smiling before hitting send.

Darnold didn’t have a lot of social media accounts—he wasn’t very chatty—but he could make some new ones to keep up with Tommy’s posts, he thought. He smiled as he pulled out his phone, finding a new email from Tommy.

“Okay! Cool. I’ll, um—I’ll follow you when I can.” Darnold replied, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. “...It was really nice to meet you. Thanks for taking me out.”

“Of course! I hope—umm, sorry if this is a little...uhh, unprofessional, I know I was—I was involved with the business meeting earlier...” Tommy said, scratching the back of his neck. “But I hope we can see each other again soon. I’m gonna—uhh, I’ll have to see if I can schedule some time with my employers or something, and...maybe I could come visit you?”

Darnold grinned. “Yeah! That sounds great.”

Tommy squeezed Darnold’s hand in his own with a smile that quickly fell a little. “...Well, um...I-I guess...I’d better let you get some sleep.”

“...Okay.” Darnold murmured, slowly pulling his hand away so he could start operating the panel on the side of the ship. Once the airlock was ready for him, Darnold stepped up the ramp, now standing closer to Tommy’s height. He paused in the doorway as the ramp retracted back into the ship, holding his hand over the door to keep it from shutting. “Umm—b-before I go...can I kiss your cheek?”

Tommy grinned and stepped in closer for him. Darnold put a sweating hand on his shoulder, heart racing as he leaned in and gave him a quick peck. Before he could pull away fully, Tommy pulled him back in to do the same. Darnold’s chest fluttered as they both pulled away, smiling at each other as the door began beeping.

“Oh. I guess the ship says it’s time.” Darnold said with a small laugh. “Umm—I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Okay. Talk to you soon.” Tommy replied.

Darnold stepped back, allowing the door to close. As he waited in the airlock, he watched through the little porthole window as Tommy headed back to the hovercar, casting a glance over his shoulder before climbing in and being whisked away.

Darnold let out a deep sigh as he reentered the ship, jumping in surprise as he saw Gordon in the control room, clearly just getting done putting his HEV suit away for the second time. Gordon looked him over with wide eyes.

“Dude, what?” He asked. “Where were you? Without your HEV suit?”

Darnold’s face flushed a little. “Ummm—I was demonstrating the potion to Tommy.”

Gordon paused for a moment before a knowing smile spread across his face. “Oh, I see. Alright. How’d that go?”

Darnold’s face burned as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Uhh—good. The potion works just fine. A little discomfort with exercise, but I guess maybe I’m just a little out of shape? Otherwise, a very...successful demonstration.”

“He took you to that club, didn’t he?” Gordon asked, closing the dock for his HEV suit and leaning back against it.

“...Yeah.” Darnold admitted with a shy smile.

“Did you try that one drink?” Gordon questioned in amusement. “I don’t know how to say it—that one, though, I’m sure Tommy would’ve mentioned it to you.”

Darnold snorted. “No, Dr. Freeman, I didn’t try the alien drink that makes you high. I didn’t take you for a stoner, by the way.”

“Hey, only sometimes.” Gordon said in mock defense. “It made me pass the fuck out while I was there last time, though. Benry still doesn’t stop making fun of me for that. You should try it sometime, if you think that’s your thing.”

“Well, who knows if I’ll be coming back here any time soon?” Darnold pointed out with a shrug.

“Hey, you never know when Mr. Coolatta will want to meet for some kinda status report.” Gordon said, moving towards the door back to the other rooms. “Well, I’m gonna go to bed. I’ll see you in, like, a couple hours.”

“Night, Gordon.”

As Gordon headed back to his room, Darnold paused to sit down in one of the nearby chairs, pulling out his phone again. He clicked on the first link Tommy had sent him. Tommy didn’t tend to post much on his various accounts; he posted pictures, though. Pictures of Benry, some nice landscapes, and food he must’ve bought. Some pictures were on Earth, but most of them seemed to be alien. He struggled to log into an old account he’d made forever ago and forgotten the password to, taking a moment to spruce up his profile a little before following Tommy. As he was standing up to head to his room, he almost immediately heard a chime from his phone—a notification letting him know Tommy had just followed him back. Darnold smiled and continued to his room.

#zeeks hlvrai

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theinkquiry · 7 years

Text

Where’s Harry?

Pairing: Harry X Reader

Prompt: Ron is sent to get some notes for Hermione, but instead finds himself in a very awkward predicament.

Warnings: None

A/N: I tried to do what I could with this prompt. Feedback appreciated!

Ron was used to his schedule at Hogwarts. Wake up, breakfast, classes, Harry and Hermione, and all that usual stuff. It was the kind of normalcy he learned to appreciate since You-Know-Who could pop up and stir up trouble at the drop of a wand. Of course with the usual shenanigans came a lot of work. Lots and lots of homework.

"Ron, where is it?" Hermione snapped her fingers in front of him. "What?" Ron was rushed back to reality. The chatter of the Great Hall filtered back into his ears. Hermione was giving him an un-amused look. "What?" He asked again.

"My notes from Potions yesterday? You borrowed them and said that you'd have it returned by today," Hermione reminded him.

Ron thought for a moment and sighed. "I left them upstairs in the dorms. I could go get it now if you want." Ron stood up. He was slightly annoyed that he forgot. After all, climbing all those steps before dinner was such a tiresome activity.

"Thank you," Hermione seemed satisfied. "And while you're at it, can you find Harry please? He's usually here by now."

"He's probably off snogging somewhere with Y/N again." Ron snickered. Hermione narrowed her eyes, but didn't press any further. Ron secretly thought she knew, but no one likes to think about stuff like that even on their own time.

"Tell him he might miss dinner if he doesn't come down soon!" Hermione added.

"Got it!"

Ron thought back to where he left Hermione's notes. He remembered studying them in the Common Room, but Hermione would have found them if he just left them there. Or they somehow managed to get taken by someone else? Did they fall into the firepit? Ron shuddered at the lecture Hermione would give him if he lost them entirely. No, surely they'd be right where he saw them last. Ron nodded to himself as he finished climbing up the last steps.

It was a quiet walk leading up to the dorms. Ron felt a bit uneasy at how silent it all was. It seemed the paintings didn't seem that talkative today either. He got an uneasy feeling as he walked into the Common Room. The portrait swung open to reveal an empty room. The fire of Gryffindor's Common Room was still brightly lit. Ron gulped at the thought of Hermione's notes in the fire once more.

"Come on, Ron, focus!" He shook his head and began the search. He turned over every pillow and inspected all the nooks in the room, but it seemed like the notes simply weren't there.

"Where could they be?" He wondered. He started to get nervous the longer he searched. "I better ask Harry. Maybe they'll be up in the room. I should've thought of that sooner."

Ron climbed the steps and bolted to his room. Without warning, he unintentionally slammed the door open.

"HarryhaveyouseenHermione'snotes?"

One could describe Ron's following emotions in various ways, although it was best summarized as a questioning of every single thing he did in his entire life that could have possibly led to this very second. "What the bloody hell!" Was all he could muster up.

Y/N and Harry sprang apart from one another. "R-ron! What are you doing up? I thought it was dinner time," Harry stammered. His hair was even more unkempt than usual, and his shirt was ruffled. Y/N looked equally frazzled, trying to fix her hair and smile like nothing happened.

"Yeah..what Harry said. You never miss dinner." Y/N added on. She was mortified at being caught here. She knew being out of her element was already a bad idea by ditching dinner, but sneaking into the boys' dorms felt like a whole new level of rule-breaking. It was exhilarating and nerve-wracking.

"Forget dinner!" Ron exclaimed for the first time in his life. "What the bloody hell-"

"You said that part already," Harry commented.

"-are you two doing up here?" Ron asked. His hands were wildly waving about, trying to make sense of the situation. He gestured to Harry, then Y/N, then Harry again, before running his hand over his face in frustration.

"Well, I mean...you know...studying?" Y/N lied. What was she supposed to say? That they ditched dinner to 'study' but ended up snogging instead?

"What were you two thinking? Do you have any idea how I'm going to explain this to-"

"Oh no no no. Ron, you can't tell anybody I was here." Y/N leaped off the bed. "It would be reputation ruining. Status suicide. Absolute anarchy-"

"I think he gets it, Y/N," Harry chuckled. "Why do you even need to tell anyone?"

"Well, first off, I came up here to find Hermione's notes." Ron began. "Then I come in here and you two are just-just inhaling each other's faces or whatever."

"Snogging, Ron. I'm sure you've done it before." Y/N teased. "Like when you and Lavender were-"

"Can you help me find the notes or not? And you're explaining this to Hermione, not me!" Ron began to rummage around his bed and desk. It was embarrassing enough as is, walking in on your best friend and his girlfriend. Not to mention still having to find the stupid notes while traumatized. "Where the bloody hell are they?"

"You know, Ron, you're starting to use that phrase a bit too frequently. Did we really shock you that badly?" Y/N asked.

"Did you have to ask?" Ron gave her a pointed look. He continued to toss aside books, scraps of parchment, and quills. "Hermione's going to kill me twice for this."

A light bulb lit up in Harry's mind, and he reached in between his blanket for something. Out came a crumpled up and wrinkly sheet of parchment. "You mean this?" Harry held it up.

Ron peered at it carefully. Hermione's distinct handwriting filled the whole page. Ron sighed and quickly took the paper. "It looks like it's been fluttering outdoors for days, but at least it's here. Why did you have it in the first place?" "Well..." Y/N started. "We really did try to study. We just saw the notes and thought that you wouldn't mind."

"Emphasis on the try." Harry scratched the back of his head. His hand trailing lower to rest on his shoulder. "Sorry."

Ron folded up the paper and crossed his arms, glaring at the couple. "If Hermione asks, I'm not going to be the one to explain this."

"Okay, okay!" You throw your hands up. "It's my fault anyway. Sorry you got tangled up in this, Ron. No more snogging, won't happen again." "Wait you don't mean that-" Harry interrupted

"Enough! Enough! I'm leaving. Y/N, you better leave in time before everyone starts coming back. Harry, we are never going to speak of this again. Those notes better have been worth it, Hermione," Ron rambled on. He sped out as fast as he came in. Soon, it was just Y/N and Harry again.

The two stayed silent. Y/N glanced at the clock and frowned. "There's only a few minutes left. Gah, I'm sorry you had to miss dinner. We should've just studied downstairs."

"It's alright, Y/N. My fault we got carried away. I hope you can forgive me." Harry pressed a kiss to the edge of her lips.

"Well, if you want to apologize you have to do better than that," Y/N giggled. She grabbed Harry's collar and dragged him in for a better apology. Getting lost in the moment, again, neither noticed the sound of footsteps and clamor outside the door. It wasn't until they heard Ron speak loudly, although his words muffled, that they snapped apart.

"Oh Merlin. How am I going to get out?" Y/N panicked. The sounds were right outside the door at this point.

"No time for you to escape. Quick, Hide!" Harry threw the covers over his girlfriend and dimmed the lighting. The way his bed was made, it looked normal if one didn't look to closely. He adjusted his shirt and quickly sat down at his desk.

"Hey Harry! We didn't see you at dinner. Everything alright?" Dean Thomas entered through the door, followed by Ron and the rest of his roommates.

"Y-yeah. Just been doing some studying..." Harry waved away their concerns. He wasn't completely lying. He glanced once at his bed, hoping that Y/N could hide for just a bit longer.

"Well...I'm off to bed!" Ron announced. The boys fell into their usual routine of getting ready for bed. All the meanwhile, Harry took his time and made up excuses to stall. He tapped his foot impatiently. If only he could sneak his whole blanket outside. As the light started to go out, Harry finally got into bed.

He immediately felt Y/N's arm wrap around his torso. He tensed up, but eventually relaxed once he realized that everyone was asleep.

"Hey...wanna have a sleepover?" Y/N whispers into his ear.

Harry chuckles and nods. He wraps an arm around her and slowly dozes off to sleep. Whatever he had to deal with, that would be a morning problem.

#Harry Potter #Harry Potter Imagine #Harry Potter Imagines #Harry Potter Oneshot #Harry Potter Oneshots #harry potter x reader

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rainygalaxynerd · 7 years

Text

Brave New World - FINAL CHAPTER

Warnings: If you’re still with me, nothing new.

Summary: Set app. a year after the chapter “Days”

Word count: App. 2.200

A/N: I did it!!! I finished it! I can’t believe it. *Ugly crying* Now what am I gonna do??? (Finish the follower inserts from my 300 follower celebration before I hit 400, maybe? Finish recording Force of Habit, one of @littlegreenplasticsoldier ‘s many masterpieces? Do the recording of Mirror Mirror, I’ve been wanting to do since I wrote it? How to choose, how to choose...)

This is part of a chapter story (in case the caption didn’t clue you in). Link to mobile friendly master list here.

Tagging: @winchesterprincessbride @jencharlan @twenty-onepages @kbrand0 @fangirling-instead-of-working @mrsjohnsmith @deandoesthingstome @vibou25 @jotink78

“You’re not hunting alone. It’s too dangerous. Call someone else, got it?”

Sam grinned and slapped Dean’s shoulder. “Was planning to.”

Dean raised his eyebrows and put a hand to his chest in mock pain. “So that’s how it is, huh? Trying to give your poor, crippled big brother a freakin’ heart attack on top of everything else?”

Sam scrunched up his face, processing. “I didn’t catch that,” he finally lamented. “Unless you said something about a boar, nippled pig mother. And was there something about an art attic?”

Dean flipped him off, not quite managing to bend his index finger.

Sam grinned. “How very British.” He put an arm around Dean’s shoulders and steered him away from the wheelchair. “Come on, let’s get you home and put some real food in you. You can get back at me when you’ve had some of that pie Caitlin made for you before going to work.”

Moving On

“Dean!” Caitlin squeezed between two stacks of boxes, higher than herself.

She found him in the kitchen, staring at a metal circle between two handles.

“What the fuck is this?”

“It’s a corn cob scraper.” She sighed.

“Why do we have a corn cob scraper?”

“To scrape kernels off the cobs. Can’t you just put it in the box?”

“But I’m gonna hafta carry the box to the truck and from the truck to the house. I’m not gonna pack stuff we don’t need.”

Caitlin crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows. “I used it three days ago for that cream corn you gushed over so hard, I thought you’d sleep with it and banish me to the couch.”

Dean’s eyes widened. He pursed his lips and scrutinized the scraper for all of two seconds before tossing it into the open box next to him. With a shrug, he picked another item from the drawer. He stared at it. “What the fuck is-”

“Just throw it out. I only ever use it when I make pies and I don’t think I’m gonna do that anymore.”

Faster than lightning, Dean put the thing in the box.

Caitlin smiled, shaking her head. “Dean, I just wanted to know if you and Sam agreed on when to pick up the appliances this weekend?”

Dean buried his hands, elbows deep, in the kitchen drawer, feeling for more stuff. “Yeah, um, sure.”

“So when are you picking them up?”

He glanced up, eyes wide. “Saturday, I guess. Or Sunday, maybe.”

Caitlin glared at him until she burst out laughing. “Jeez, you’re tired. Why don’t you take a break? I’ll text Eileen and figure it out.”

“Yeah, okay.” Dean sighed and threw himself on the couch. He ran a shaking hand across his face and let his eyes drift shut.

He woke up to Caitlin gently massaging his neck and shoulders. “Mwhah?”

She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I talked to the company and the houses are so close and the total order for all of us is big enough to warrant free delivery, so that’s taken care of.”

“Mmh.” Dean pulled her closer, overbalancing her. He made an ‘oof’ sound when her weight hit him. Then he wrapped his arms and legs around her and kept her there.

“Are you secretly an octopus?” Caitlin relaxed against him.

“No, I’m a homeowner. But if you’d asked me ten years ago if I thought I’d end up as an octopus or as a homeowner, I’d have gone with octopus.” He lifted his head a bit to look her in the eyes. “It’s weird how bizarre it feels to be normal.”

“You’ll never be normal. Doing normal stuff won’t change who we are. You’ll never be a civilian, Dean.”

He squashed her tight against him, chuckling at the way her breath whooshed out of her lungs. “You’re right. I just… Fuck, I…”

“I know. I get it. But, Dean, you would have had to stop someday no matter what. You could have ended up dead or far worse off than this. Anyone who didn’t know you before will barely notice that you’re a bit more clumsy than most. There’s still so much you can do.”

“But I can’t hunt. I can’t save lives. If something ever happens to you, or to Sam, Cas, Eileen… I can’t protect you.”

“I know. That’s life for most people. You can still do a lot of good.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

Caitlin was silent for a while. “You could help Sam with research.”

“Or I could get a job at Biggerson’s, flipping burgers. No way, I’m gonna sit and read about monsters and lore and not get to kill ‘em myself.”

“I bet you’d be the employee of the month all through the year.” Caitlin’s grin broke free. “You’d look so dashing in their uniforms, with the cap and the stripes-”

She cut off, squealing, when Dean tickled her sides, showing no mercy.

Her phone buzzed and bought her a respite as she read the text, almost hiccuping from laughing too hard.

“Who’s writing? Did Charlie kill Garcia’s character off again? Has Cas been arrested again? Is it Eileen?”

“It’s from Brad.” Caitlin showed him the message, sad smile on her lips.

I JUST WANTED TO WISH YOU GOOD LUCK IN KANSAS CITY. YOU’LL BE A GREAT DOCTOR. I HOPE EVERYTHING IS GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN WITH THE BIG MOVE. ALL THE BEST, -BRAD

Dean read with a frown. “You gonna answer?”

Caitlin sighed. “I don’t know. I hate knowing his psychiatrist’s reading over his shoulder. My answer wouldn’t be just for him.”

“I know he hasn’t had it easy but I still don’t get how you can forgive him.”

“Well, you weren’t there for his trial. It’s his story to tell, but trust me; he already paid his dues and some.”

“You mean they… Nevermind. I don’t wanna know.” Dean shook his head, holding Caitlin tighter to him. “Will you have to go back here and testify every other week when Cody’s appeal starts?”

“I’m sure they’ll ask me to.” Caitlin shrugged. “I won’t.”

Dean opened his mouth.

She spoke first. “I know they might repeal his death penalty without my testimony but he’ll be behind bars for the rest of his life either way. Cody might deserve to die but I’m against capital punishment on principle.”

Dean raised his eyebrows, questioning.

“Sure, there are humans worse than any monster you and Sam ever hunted, but once they’ve been caught and locked up, they’re not doing any more harm. How do you distinguish between them and the people that might have been possessed or otherwise influenced by something that will never be acknowledged in a courtroom? How do you know the difference between a Brad and a Cody if you weren't smacked in the middle of it? I didn’t even know the difference when I was sixteen, would never have known if they hadn’t taken me last year.”

“But what if he ever gets out? Some bureaucratic mistake, a legal technicality, early parole due to good behavior. As long as he’s alive there’s always a risk.”

“He’s not the only threat out there. There are Djinns and Demons and Daevas and drunk drivers and diseases, just to mention a few beginning with the letter d. I spent ten years in hiding, playing it safe. I’m done living in fear.”

Dean let out a deep breath when she nuzzled close, her nose tickling his neck. For a while, they just lay there, enjoying the closeness. Then he spoke, his voice rougher than usual. “I’m surprised you don’t think Sam and I are killers, with that attitude.”

“Dean. You protected people. It’s not like there’s a court or a prison for human eating or killing, sentient creatures out there.”

“Always so rational.” Dean licked Caitlin’s cheek, laughing when she tried to get away, sputtering in mock outrage.

The licks turned to kisses and the kisses turned to nibbles. Caitlin gave in with a content little sigh, ending in a gasp when Dean used enough pressure to make her really feel his teeth around her earlobe.

Dean snuck a hand under her blouse and undid her bra.

The doorbell rang.

Dean huffed a half laugh, half sigh as Caitlin sat up and redid her bra clasp. He put his hands on her hips. “Can’t we just ignore it?”

Her eyes softened and her movements slowed. “What if it’s important?”

“They can leave a note.” Dean’s hand snaked up her back again, destination obvious.

The doorbell rang again, followed by a quick rapping rhythm, Dean knew all too well. He let his hand fall with a sigh of regret. “Or they might unlock the door since we were dumb enough to give ‘em a key.”

They scrambled to their feet and looked halfway respectable when their front door opened to reveal Sam and Eileen.

Looking at Dean and Caitlin’s still frazzled appearance, Sam grinned. “I’m sorry, are we interrupting something?”

Dean flipped him off. “I thought you guys were busy in Kansas, painting protective sigils in invisible ink?” He signed a few keywords out of habit, though Sam most likely understood just fine, interpreting the movements of Dean’s lips.

“Yeah, we just… something came up. I wanted to tell you in person.” Sam did that weird thing where it looked like he was looking up from under his lashes, all shy and uncertain.

Dean’s jaw clenched, wrinkles of worry creasing his forehead. “Sammy, what’s wrong?”

Sam sputtered. “No, no. It’s not like that, nothing bad. But… It’s just… I guess Eileen and I will have to stop hunting, too.”

Dean's eyes flitted between the two of them, mouth open and eyes wide.

Caitlin broke into a wide grin, something unspoken passing between her and Eileen. “Congratulations, you guys,” she exclaimed, hugging first Eileen and then Sam.

“Could someone tell me what’s going on?” Dean grumbled.

Caitlin bit her lip and watched Sam expectantly.

Sam smiled wide, dimples carved into his cheeks. “You’re going to be an uncle, Dee.”

Dean’s eyes went impossibly wider, his mouth agape. A blissful smile slowly spread before he froze, frowned, and narrowed his eyes. “If this is some stupid joke about that mutt you’re planning to adopt-”

“No joke. Though we do plan to get a dog, now that we won’t be traveling as much as expected.” Sam grinned. He sobered a little. “Dean, I know you don’t like talking about it but you practically raised me, man. You’ll be there, right? If I need help?”

Dean swallowed hard and engulfed Sam in a crushing hug. “Of course, little brother.”

They didn’t get any more stuff packed that day, leaving the chaos behind to eat out.

Over desert, Dean nudged Sam. “So what are you gonna do, college boy, if you’re not hunting?”

Sam chuckled. “Be a college boy, I guess. Charlie dug up my old scholarship and refurbished it. I guess I’m going back to law school. I won’t become a procedural lawyer as long as I’m deaf but I guess pushing pens isn’t so bad.”

Dean glowed with pride. “That’s… Holy fuck, Sam, that’s awesome.” He put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I’m really happy for you, man.”

“Thanks.” Sam took another bite of his salad and chewed slowly. “So, what about you, Dean? Any idea what you’ll do with your time while Caitlin’s busy at the hospital?”

Dean made an awkward shrug and lowered his gaze to his plate. A sly smile appeared on his lips. “Maybe I should take some child rearing classes. At least one of us should know what we’re doing, this time.”

Eileen almost choked on her water.

Sam kicked Dean under the table, his expression grateful. “You didn’t do too bad the first time around, you know.”

Dean grinned and Sam knew he walked right into what was coming.

“Imagine what you could’ve achieved if I had known more, college boy.”

“Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

It was late, and they were both a little buzzed from toasting so many times when Caitlin turned to trace the handprint on Dean’s shoulder with a finger. “Did you mean it?”

Dean, almost asleep, grunted, opening one eye halfway. “Meanwha?”

“You, working with kids?”

Dean shrugged. “Dunno. Those ankle biters can be vicious.”

“But not as scary as monsters, right?” Caitlin chuckled.

“Way scarier.” Dean smiled. “I guess they’d be easier to handle than engine parts, these days.”

“I never told you, but when the Djinn had me, I dreamed of you. Us. Together.” Caitlin blushed.

“You did?” Dean pulled her closer. “What was it like?”

“You…” She smiled, her cheeks heating further. “You were a nurse at the pediatrics ward. You were amazing with the kids.”

Dean gaped at her. “A nurse?”

She nodded, biting her lip.

Dean pursed his lips and tilted his head, considering. “Don’t nurses usually end up marrying handsome doctors?”

“Shut up, Winchester.”

“Why? You could be Doctor Winchester, parading you trophy spouse, nurse Winchester around at fundraisers. Doc Winchester’s got a nice ring to it, don’t it?”

“Dean, seriously, can it.” Caitlin rolled away and lay on her back. “You’re such an ass.”

Laughing, Dean poked her side. “You’re the one who dreamt me as a nurse, Doc.”

Caitlin glared at him with narrowed eyes. “I did. I saw you put a glove over your head and down over your nose, making it look like a pig’s snout and blow air into the glove until it came off your head, whizzing across the room.”

Dean laughed harder. “That’s… that’s priceless. Next time I get my hands on a glove, I’ll try it.”

“Screw you.”

“Really? I thought you were mad at me?”

“Dean!”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll stop. Sleep tight, Caitie.”

Caitlin turned to kiss him goodnight. “You too, nurse Dean.”

“Whatever.” Dean drifted off, his smile lingering.

#brave new world #spn fanfic #dean winchester #sam winchester #dean winchester / ofc #sam winchester / eileen #epilogue #final chapter #the end #season 7 au #happy ending #I think so #at least

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