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vintagedolan · 3 years

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mixtape | epilogue

authors note: I truly cannot thank you enough for your support, love, kind words and overall interest throughout this story. Writing this whole thing has really changed my life in a lot of ways, both through my characters and through proving to myself that I can actually bring something like Mixtape to fruition. I love you all, loud, from the bottom of my heart. I hope this epilogue is all you hoped it would be, and now we can finally start with post-fic concepts. Enjoy!!!

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“Four… Five… Seven!”

“Six babe. Five, six, seven.”

“Five seven.”

In Beks smile, all Grayson could see was Indiana. As far as the rest of his daughter, she looked just like him. Brown hair, brown eyes, even the same little dimple. But her smile, and the feeling it gave him in his gut? That was all Indiana. His wife, who was unfortunately still pacing a bit in the terminal, a coffee in her hands.

As soon as she realized that they were back from their walk, she perked up, putting on her brave face for Beks so she didn’t think anything was wrong.

“Mama! Hi mama!”

“Hi sweet girl.” She held her hands out for her daughter, smiling when she gleefully reached for her. Grayson passed her over without a hesitation. As little as their almost three year old was, she was her mom’s biggest anchor when things got hard.

“You okay?” He asked it quietly while Beks was distracted, twirling a piece of her mom’s hair around her little fingers.

Indy looked at the clock. 5 minutes till boarding.

Her face was enough of an answer for her husband, and he frowned.

“Nauseous?”

She nodded.

“We’ll be okay,” he offered, reaching out for her free hand to squeeze it and trace a heart. It relaxed her a tiny bit, but she still bit her lip.

“My whole world is about to be in a plane, out of my control.” She turned her head to kiss Bekah’s hair. “She’s so small. Nothing I could do if…”

“Hey, hey none of that. You know what Bethany says about the doomsday stuff.”

“Unhelpful, unlikely and unproductive.” Indy whispered her therapists words back to herself, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She’d gotten better about flying, accomplished things she never thought she would. Charlie and Devin’s wedding in Oregon, her own wedding in Maui, flying back and forth to see Lisa, trips to Australia even. But things changed when she got pregnant. Now, her heart lived outside of her body, in a tiny almost toddler who was as content as could be on her hip. The flight to Jersey had been decent, but the way home seemed like an impossible hurtle.

“It’ll all be over in a few hours. And then we’ll be home, back to our bed and our house.” Grayson wished he could fix it, wished he could take it on himself. But all he could really do was squeeze her hand and stay calm.

Indy nodded, but when the gate attendant came over the intercom she felt like she could vomit right there. She silently passed Beks over to Grayson and fumbled for their boarding passes with shaky hands.

“Plane daddy! There’s a plane!” Bekah smiled, pointing out the window as another aircraft taxied by.

“Yeah! It’s big, isn’t it,” Grayson tickled her belly and kissed her cheek as he readjusted the diaper bag over his shoulder and headed into the boarding lane behind Indy. They made their way down the jet bridge and into first class, Indy moving to the window seat and immediately holding out her hands for Bekah. They’d been blessed with a very happy baby who was content most of the time as long as she had a familiar face with her. She sat on Indy’s lap and played with the necklace she had on, rubbing at her eyes with the other hand.

“You tired bubba?” Grayson sat down and ran a hand over her back. Beks nodded slowly. “Here, c’mere, give momma a break.”

Indy passed her back over, melting like she always did when Bekah leaned forward onto Grayson’s chest, relaxing fully in the safety of his arms. She loved nothing more than seeing the father he was to their little girl. It was more than she could have ever asked for, and she watched as he moved her just enough to get his seatbelt on, knowing she would be asleep in a few minutes.

He hummed to her quietly, moving a hand over her ear to quiet the inevitable announcements from the flight attendants, and Indy watched as her eyes fluttered closed, long eyelashes resting on pink cheeks.

“Is she out?” Grayson dared to ask after a few minutes.

Indy nodded, her eyes burning a bit as she fought back tears. Bekah just looked so small, and fragile, and the plane was moving and she felt like she couldn’t control anything, not even her emotions.

“Do you want to hold her? Would that help?”

“No, she’s comfy it’s okay, I don’t want to wake her up,” Indy whispered, shaking her head. Even still, she stretched a hand over into Grayson’s seat, trying to catch her breath and focus on the feeling of his hand in hers, his wedding ring cold against her fingers. She looked at him, tried to lose herself in him the way she always had. He looked the same as that first day outside of Frazier, with a healthy amount of scruff. His hair was a bit shorter than it was then - Lisa always gave him a good haircut when he was in town. But his smile was still the same, and his eyes just as warm when he looked back into hers.

“Breathe baby. I’m right here, we’re gonna be there before you know it. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

She willed herself to believe him and put a headphone in her ear, started her playlist and closed her eyes as the plane moved towards the runway and her daughter slept.

Things were slightly better once they got into the air. It didn’t surprise her that Grayson fell asleep within the first hour. She could tell he was fighting his eyelids as he tried to stay awake in case she needed him, but the warmth and weight of Beks was enough to lull him off. The way she knew for sure was when his thumb stopped rubbing against the back of her hand. Indy didn’t mind - if he wasn’t awake he wasn’t worrying about her at least She took the time to look at them - really look at them for a while. Bekah was so active, always exploring and getting into things. It made moments like these rare, especially as she got older. She’d never understood what her mom had meant, when she said her heart had grown two sizes to accommodate her and Charlie.

In all those months after they got back together, she had thought it was impossible to love someone as much, or more, than she loved Grayson. She proved herself wrong after he became her husband, and again when they found out they were having a baby, a girl. Her love for him grew even more while she was pregnant. And then Bekah Nicole Dolan had entered the picture, and their lives had never been the same. It felt like just yesterday that she was watching Grayson cry in the hospital room, holding his baby girl for the first time. Since then there were two birthday parties, almost three years of watching her grow into herself, watching her learn, watching her develop her own little personality. She was Indy’s new favorite thing to study, and she kept herself busy for most of the flight looking through old pictures on her phone. It calmed her more than she thought it would, and kept her occupied until Beks woke up from her nap.

It was a nice distraction for her to focus on keeping her daughter entertained and happy once she maneuvered her out of Grayson’s lap. They colored after Indy fished the coloring book and crayons out from her bag, and they looked at pictures, and watched out the window, Bekah asking “what dat?” over and over again at all the things she could see on the ground.

The flight attendants message to prepare for landing was what finally woke Grayson up from his slumber, and his bleary eyes were immediately guilty.

“You should have woken me up,” he pouted, already looking her over for any sign of her anxious habits.

“We’re okay. I got a handle on it. Glad you’re awake for landing though,” she reassured him, reaching a hand out for his again. He happily took it, and smiled when Bekah leaned over to put her hand on top of theirs, always wanting to be involved. The landing was smooth, and Indy took her first truly relaxed breath in hours once the plane stopped moving at the gate. Bekah felt it, felt her chest rise and fall so dramatically that she turned and smiled up at her.

“Breathe mama,” she said, just like her dad always did. “Big breaf.” Her ‘th’ sounds were still f’s, and Indy selfishly hoped they stayed that way for a while longer. She over exaggerated her next breath so Beks could feel it. It satisfied her enough it seemed, and she held Grayson’s hand as they walked off the plane and into the airport. Grayson’s back hurt by the time they made it to baggage claim from the way he was crouched over to keep his hand in hers, but she was determined to do it herself and keep him close.

All that went out the window when she saw who was waiting for her by the baggage carousel.

“UNCLE ETEE!”

Ethan smiled his widest smile and crouched down with his arms open, ready to catch her as she ran as fast as her little legs would take her. He caught her and tossed her up in the air just to hear her giggle.

“Hi bug! How was Jersey?”

“Good! I saw Grandma Lisa and daddy showed me a waterfall and we stayed in the other house and momma made pancakes. Where’s Miles?” Her attention jumped around like a pinball in the machine, but she looked down to Ethan’s left side where there was usually a very cute five year old.

“He’s home taking care of Aunt Eden, making sure little Maisie isn’t giving her too much trouble.”

“Is she still in her belly?”

“Yeah bug, for a little while longer. But, she missed you so much that she wants everybody to come out to the beach for a little while before it gets dark. And if mommy and daddy are too tired, you can just come with us.”

Indiana wanted to cry. She knew what her brother was doing - giving her an out in case the flight had gone badly, a chance to recuperate if need be. Truth be told, she was still nauseous, but her nerves had settled and the thought of seeing Eden and her nephew were too good to pass up. She’d missed them despite only being gone for a few days.

“We’ll all go, just gotta get changed at the house first,” Indy said, and she felt Grayson perk up beside her, somewhat surprised by her answer.

“Alrighty then, let’s roll.” Ethan led the way with Beks on his hip, Grayson managing most of the bags on the way out to the car. Things had gotten better since they’d traveled with Beks as an infant - less equipment required for a toddler, especially one who was easily entertained by her parents.

Before they knew it Beks was in her car seat, thrilled that her dad climbed into the backseat to ‘hang out’ with her while he gave his wife shotgun. Ethan played Cudi, the clean versions, and everyone in the car sang along, even if Bekah was mostly just humming and kicking her feet.

It took about 30 minutes to get to the main gate of the houses. Indy could still remember the first time she’d been in a car pulling up to the same spot. Things were a bit different now - they’d bought out their neighbors house when it went up for sale, tore down the fences and made it all one big backyard with each of the couples in their own space. E squared kept the original house - it’s where they’d raised Miles after all. Indy had enjoyed getting to make the new house her own. It wasn’t lost on her that it was the bigger of the two, with Grayson’s dream of a big family always at the back of his mind.

It was on Indy’s too, especially when she saw Eden waiting on the porch of their house, her bump on full display, framed out by her bikini and cover up. Maisie Rae Dolan was due in two months, and the whole crew was counting down the days until her arrival, none more so than her mother.

Miles came around the corner at full speed once the car stopped, running around the car to find the only one he ever looked for. Grayson couldn’t get her out of her carseat fast enough, but as soon as Beks was on the ground Miles was hugging her.

“Hi best friend!” Bekah said as soon as her face wasn’t buried in his shirt.

“Hi! I missed you! Daddy helped me make a countdown and I counted all the days until you came back and now you’re here! Do you wanna see it?!”

“Yeah!”

Grayson had to catch the two of them before they went barrelling towards the house.

“Hold on guys, if we wanna make it to the beach early enough to get into the water we all need to get changed and packed up. We’ll see you there Mi, okay?”

Miles nodded once, then immediately turned to Ethan.

“Dad, can I ride with Uncle Grayson and Aunt Indy?”

“They just got back babe, gotta give them a minute to settle in. But, if mom’s up for it we can go early and look for some shells, okay?”

He threw a wink to Grayson as he unloaded the bags. Meanwhile, Indy was on the porch, catching up with Eden.

“Any changes? Contractions or anything?”

“Other than her kicking my spleen every five minutes and sitting on my bladder like a throne, we’re golden.”

She didn’t look golden. In fact, she looked exhausted.

“Miles wearing you out?”

All she had to do was look at her and Indy was laughing.

“Whenever you need us to take him, just send him over.”

“You act as if you too do not have a child that wears you out.”

The pair looked over at their husbands, and their kids. Miles was attempting to climb the tree in the front yard, which was his new found mission he’d been working on. Ethan stood guard below, shifting back and forth to catch his son in case he lost his balance trying to maneuver the first main branch.

Meanwhile, Beks was picking flowers one by one and holding them in her fist. Indy watched as she carried her mini bouquet over to Grayson and held it out proudly. They watched as she stuck her tongue out in concentration while she tucked one behind her dad’s ear.

“Yeah… so whenever you need us to take him, just send him over,” Indy repeated with a laugh that Eden quickly joined in on, holding her bump with her hands.

“Go get settled, if Beks gets ancy we can load her up with us.”

“She should be fine, we hate unpacking night of anyways. We’ll see you in a little while.”

She was halfway across the lawn before Eden called after her.

“Oh! Before I forget, I had some extra stuff lying around that definitely won’t fit for a while, or ever, after this one -” she pointed to her stomach. “I left them and some other stuff for you in your closet. Anything you don’t want just bring it back and I’ll throw it in the donation pile.”

Indy threw her a thumbs up and rounded up Beks, headed back to their house. She could breathe easier as soon as she was inside the familiar walls. Their house was modern, but every space was warmed by something personal, most of which was made by Grayson. With the transition away from social media and into behind the scenes production, he had more time to build and perfect his craft. Family touches were everywhere as well, from the picture frame on the coffee table from last christmas to the booster seat in the kitchen table chair where they all sat to eat dinner every night. Indy’s work badge was still on the counter, with the nemo sticker that covered her last name so no one could look her up and realize just who she was married to. But below it you could still read the name of the pediatric hospital she called home.

All those thoughts were fleeting though, considering Beks was on a mission to get to the beach.

“I’ll get her ready if you pack the beach bag?” Grayson offered. Indy smiled and nodded, heading back into the bedroom to get changed herself. When she got to her closet, she found the pile of things from Eden - some of her tighter dresses, jean shorts, bikinis, a few bottles of perfume with a note scribbled, smell makes me sick now. Fml. Beside that was a box with a note; pregnancy tests, won’t be needing these anytime soon… hopefully lmao.

Indy rolled her eyes and laughed to herself, putting everything away in its right spot and pulling out a nice bikini from the stack to throw on. She grabbed one of Grayson’s long sleeve shirts to put on over it before she headed back out. The bag was mostly prepped already with the essentials - the beach was a common Dolan outing after all. All she had to add was towels and a sandwich for Beks in case she got hungry.

Food was the last thing on Bekah’s mind it seemed when she came down the hall, already asking if it was time to go. Indy wasn’t one to brag, but her daughter had to be up there with the cutest babies of all time, especially in her custom 2T sized spread positivity hoodie over her bathing suit and tiny chaco sandals. Her hair was still in the tiny space buns that Indy had put them in earlier, only adding to the way she was making her melt.

Indy loaded up the car while Grayson threw on a speedo and regular shorts to cover up with, not bothering with a shirt. Indy preferred it that way - she enjoyed the view, which she had plenty of time to admire from the passenger seat once they were on the road. Grayson held her hand, looking like a Raybans model in his sunglasses, tattoos on full display as he drove. Her favorite was still the forever scribbled out across his ribs, especially with the script right below it. Bekah Nicole. His daughter's name.

It still amazed Indy how lucky she was, to have the life that she did, to have found the love that she had. It took her breath away at times, made her stomach feel like it was floating when she remembered that the man beside her was hers, forever. She turned around the check on Beks, who was telling a story that made no sense, although Grayson was acting like he understood every single word. Their perfect little girl. Even then, she would still tear up if she looked at her for too long.

The secret beach, somehow, still seemed to be their little secret. There were a few couples, but it was mostly empty apart from the other Dolan family that had beat them there. Grayson followed close behind Bekah as she ran through the sand towards Miles.

“Now remember, you have to flip them over and if you even think there might be a hermit grab in there, you put it back because that's his home,” Ethan was informing his son when they reached the group. Eden was already lounged out in a chair, feet buried in the sand and hand absentmindedly rubbing over her bump. She peeked an eye open when she heard Indy start setting up beside her, looking to check on her son before she relaxed back down.

“Momma? You take me in the waves? Pleaseeeee,” Bekah asked before Indy could sit.

“Sure babe,” she smiled, pulling her shirt off quickly before scooping up her daughter and heading towards the water. Grayson wasn’t far behind them, ever the protector, wanting to be close by in case they needed anything.

The water was chilly against Indy’s toes when she got into the break, and she bent down to let Beks stand in the frothy tide. As soon as the water got her feet she squealed, spinning around and reaching up.

“S’cold momma!”

Indy laughed and picked her back up, unsurprised to see Miles and Ethan headed down the beach towards them, undoubtedly with the same idea. She was glad Eden was getting some much needed rest time, so she grinned and bared the cold water on her stomach as she got deeper in, jumping dramatically as the waves came through just to get a giggle out of her daughter. Grayson joined in on the fun, taking his turn to toss Beks up into the air and catch her with a splash and kisses all over her cheeks. They kept playing until the dad’s arms were sore, seeing that Miles wanted in on the fun, and the sun was beginning to set. Beks was cold by the time they made it back to the chairs, and Grayson immediately wrapped her up in a towel and snuggled her up against him, resting his cheek on the top of her head as she curled into his chest.

Indy put her own towel over her shoulders, and the warmth of it was almost enough to have her lulling off to sleep. She fought it off, catching up with Ethan while Eden got Miles ready to go. The kids were wiped, and with a day of travel under her belt Beks was asleep on her dad’s shoulder before they even made it to the tesla.

“Watch this,” he whispered, showing off his skills of placing her in her seat without waking her up. It was impressive, truly, but even more so was the fact that he drove carefully enough through all the traffic on the way that she was still dreaming peacefully when they got home.

“We have to wake her up to get her changed,” he pouted, not wanting to disturb her after the day she’d had.

“I got it. You start on dinner, I’m fucking starving.”

“Deal,” he grinned, leaning across the console to kiss her quickly before getting out. Indy exited the passenger side, opening up Beks door and talking to her quietly until her eyes opened, blinking wide and confused.

“You’re okay babe, we’re home.”

Indy soaked up the cuddles from her groggy daughter on the way into the house. She didn’t bother with anything else - they’d do a bath first thing in the morning. Instead, she moved to the ocean nursery, changing Beks quickly into a fresh diaper and pj’s before laying her down in her bed underneath the jellyfish Eden had helped design for the wall. She kissed her forehead and rubbed her back until she lulled back down, exhausted from the excitement of the day.

Indy felt salty, her skin tight from the water, but she didn’t have the energy to shower. Instead, she headed into her room and grabbed another one of Grayson’s shirts along with some running shorts, taking them into the bathroom with her to get changed.

The cabinet was still slightly open, and she reached down to close it when she saw it. A box of tampons - unopened. It took a minute for her to do the math, and she wasn’t 100% on if she was late or not, but that familiar knot tied in her stomach when she was unsure. Quietly, she locked the door and rummaged around for the pregnancy tests she’d just hidden away.

In the kitchen, Grayson was humming to himself as he strained the noodles for the mac and cheese - two boxes in fact, considering how hungry Indy said she was. The fridge was low considering they’d just gotten back, but he managed to scrounge up some fresh-enough fruit to cut up and put on a plate on the counter.

Indy came back into the kitchen so quietly that he barely noticed as he was stirring in the vegan cheese.

“Jeez Dee, you scared me,” he teased, pulling her in for a hug. “How yah feeling?”

“Exhausted,” she mumbled, relaxing in his hold and melting into his chest. He loved when she did that, let him hold her after a long day. He didn’t pull away until she did, the smell of mac and cheese luring her away.

Grayson took her hips with his hands and helped boost her up onto the counter, passing her the bowl he’d made for her. They ate quickly and quietly, the idea of curling up in bed more and more appealing as the carbs started to settle into their systems. When they’d cleared their bowls Indy moved to the sink, only for Grayson to shake his head.

“I got it. Go get in bed, you had a hell of a day.”

She sighed, kissing his bare shoulder once before getting up on her tiptoes to ask for a real one. He obliged her, bending down to catch her lips with his. “Love you,” she murmured, running her fingers over his back as she walked towards their room. She peaked in on Beks to make sure she was still out before she headed back to the bedroom, pulling out the test that she’d tucked away in her waistband.

She blinked three times, hard.

Two lines. Two very dark lines.

“Holy shit.”

Emotions raced through her so fast she couldn’t catch a single one to give it a name. She barely had it together enough to hide it behind her back when Grayson walked in a few minutes later seemingly unfazed.

“I’m gonna shower real quick, you wanna join?” He offered, looking down into his dresser drawers for a pair of boxers.

“Uh, yeah, yeah I’ll join but can you do me a favor really quick?”

“Hmm,” he asked, turning towards her.

She held out the test in her shaky hand.

“Can you add this to the shelf?”

The shelf itself was on the wall beside him. All the old pictures had made their way over to the new house with some new additions, including the positive test that had told them they were having Beks, her ultrasound, her first birthday party.

It took Grayson a moment to process, and then his hands were shaking too as he took the small stick and looked at it through his blurry eyes.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“For real?”

“For real.”

“We’re having another baby.”

“Yep.”

“Another Beks.”

“Yep.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yep.”

“Holy fuck!” The excitement finally broke through the shock, and before she could move Grayson’s arms were around his wife, spinning her around as he buried his face in her neck.

“You’re pregnant. We’re having another baby.”

“It doesn’t feel real yet. I just took the test before dinner.” Indy’s eyes were watery, her hand automatically going over her stomach.

“It will. It’ll fly by, just like with Beks. Holy fuck, I’m so excited. I love you so much.”

“I love you more,” she whispered, pulling him to her again for another hug.

“Not possible,” he said, shaking his head and kissing her shoulder.

“Well, I love you forever then. I love our family, forever.”

Grayson couldn’t find the words. Instead, he just kissed her, forever grateful for every moment that had led him to right there, his whole world and future under one roof - everything he’d dreamed of within his hands.

#mixtape #im cryin

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writingsfromhome · 3 years

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Nuclear Family II

Part 2: Miscommunications

A/N: part 2!! I was so overwhelmed w how much you guys enjoyed the first part, kind of made my head go blank lol. But now I rewrote it and added more ~spice. Sorry it took so long but I so appreciate all of you engaging w it! 💖

Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV / Part V

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

Sleeping in was not something that existed when you had a child and Harry learns that the hard way. By half past 7, I’m already up because of the poking on my cheeks and when I come out from brushing my teeth, I hear shouts from upstairs.

“Charlotte!” I shout up but I'm ignored. I climb the stairs and locate the door to the small voice. “Charlotte let your dad sleep!” I open the door to Charlie jumping on Harry's bed and Harry rubbing his eyes. His eyes go to mine when the door opens and he lets out a chuckle.

“Parenthood,” I sigh and try to grab Charlie from the bed. She moans to come back and wiggles her way out to run back to the bed. Harry's sitting up at this point and I blush realising he didn’t have on a shirt. I had to stop acting 12.

“I want to play!” Charlie shouts, still jumping.

“Alright you crazy monkey!” Harry grabs our daughter and whispers something to her before attacking her in tickles. She shouts for me to help but when I try to help Harry pulls me into the covers and Charlie climbs atop me to tickle me instead.

“You two sneaks!” I shout between fits of laughter but Charlie soon tires and lays beside me, her head resting on my chest. Harry lies down on the other side of her, propped up on his elbow.

“I’m just going to…” Harry grabs his phone from his bedside table and holds it above us. Charlie already loved posing for cameras, so she grins but I cover my face. “Y/N come on! One photo!”

“Fine but I get to take it,” I bargain. Harry agrees and hands me the phone, shoving in closer so our heads almost touch. I ignore the closeness and stretch the phone above us, getting my good side, and just before I click it I shout “please!” a phrase Charlie used to say when she was younger instead of cheese. It gets a giggle out of her and in the photo her eyes are squinted and her grin is pure joy. Harry is glancing at me with a faint smile on his face while my expression is stretched out in 'please.’

Suddenly the cute family photo disappears as the phone vibrates and a picture of a woman smiling on a boat appears. Harry's girlfriend. My smile curdles as I awkwardly hand over the phone to Harry. It was an abrupt reminder of what Harry and I weren’t, despite the illusion of the photo.

"Let's give your dad some privacy," I pick up Charlotte despite her protests and bring her outside.

"Who's on the phone?" She asks as I seat her on the kitchen counter. I glance at her concerned face and remember that kids were a lot more intuitive than we gave them credit for.

"His friend," I answer as truthfully as I could without breaking her heart. The weeks following our trip Charlie talked so often about having both her mom and dad together-like we were getting together forever. Even though I broke it to her gently, she still carried that flame--I didn't want to extinguish those hopes so early on.

"Is she your friend too?" Charlie asks innocently.

"Just your dad's." I kiss her forehead and then get breakfast started, so by the time Harry comes down it's almost done.

"Shit," Harry says and then glances at our daughter who's too busy with Oreo to notice his language. "I was meant to make you two breakfast your first morning here!"

"It's alright," I shrug, unable to make eye contact. "Just grab a plate."

"I feel awful," Harry joins me in the kitchen. "Have you made coffee yet?"

"No," I glance at the machine.

"I'll do that then."

"Three sugars-"

"And a drop of milk," Harry finishes. "I remember."

"Right," I flush. How odd that we keep tiny details of one another, however useless, for years after we split.

"So I sort of forgot but-"

"Mom!" Charlie interrupts Harry and I tell her it would be a minute.

"Right, well when I was talking just now w-"

"Mom! I'm starving!"

"Charlotte! Give me a minute!" I say sternly before putting the last of her strawberries on the plate. I set Charlie's breakfast up and Harry joins with our coffees. Before we even sit, Charlie begins her monologue about coffee and how she was going to drink it when she's old enough.

"That won't be for a while," I comment, glancing up at Harry who was still standing by his chair.

"I'll drink it when I'm five," she holds up her fingers and counts them down. "Then I can drink it."

Harry and I share a brief glance, him opening his mouth to say something before the doorbell rings.

"Oh sh-uh-I'll get that," Harry rushes to get the door. Charlie spills her juice in the process so I pick up the sippy cup and grab paper towels to mop the spill.

"They're right through here," Harry's voice carries over and he enters again with his...friend.

"Hi," she has a pleasant smile and hips that had obviously never carried a child. My own had never quite recovered.

"Hi," I hold up the dirty towels and quickly lower them, painfully aware of how terrible I looked. I couldn't help but compare myself to Harry's girlfriend-especially when she looked like that.

"You're daddy's friend," Charlotte says matter-of-factly.

"I am!" Her voice raises an octave as she walks towards my daughter. "I'm Miranda it's nice to finally meet you!"

Charlie looks up at me and then back to her. "Why aren't you mommy's friend?"

An awkward silence follows and I can't help but glance at Harry. He rubs the back of his neck before stepping forward towards Charlie.

"I've only just met your mommy," Miranda glances up at me with another smile but this time it's stretched too tight. "But we can all be friends! It's nice to meet you."

Charlie looks at me and I smile at her in encouragement. "Okay," she concedes before going back to her piece of toast.

"Have you had breakfast?" Harry asks her quietly.

"I had a coffee," she answers. "But we'll be late if we don't leave now."

"Have you got somewhere to be?" I ask, unaware as Harry hadn't mentioned it yesterday.

"A friend of mine has a wedding thing," she keeps glancing at Harry even though she talks to me.

"I forgot about it," Harry says. "Miranda reminded me this morning I meant to tell you but the pancake monster kept shouting for her pancakes!"

Charlie giggles and tears into another one.

"We've got to be there half past ten," Miranda says quietly to Harry.

"I'm not even ready!" Harry looks down. "I need to shower too. Give me a half hour."

"This is why I had to come early," she shakes her head at me as if we shared an inside joke. I smile knowing how fake it felt. Harry gives me a pleading look as if to say he was sorry before heading upstairs but I shake my head and go to the kitchen to wash the sticky juice off my hands. I hear Miranda talking to Charlie and stay longer than I needed to in the kitchen before heading out again.

"It was really nice to finally meet you," Miranda tells me after Harry finishes up and they get going. She bends down to high-five Charlotte. "And you too!"

"I'll see you around 5," Harry tells me. "I've left keys so you can just come and go whenever."

"I thought we were going to have lunch together," Charlie pouts, suddenly realizing what this all meant.

"I know love," Harry picks her up. "I forgot about this party I had to go to."

"You never forgot at home," Charlie's bottom lip quivers.

"Dad will be home soon," I take Charlie from Harry before the waterworks could start. "And we're gonna have so much fun together right?"

"It's bullshit!" Charlie shouts. My cheeks colour and Harry's jaw drops before he bites back a laugh.

"Charlotte!" I scold but she runs away from my arms. I meet Miranda's eyes and they're wide as saucers.

"I don't know where she...picked up on that." I say lamely. I never swore in front of her-well rarely did. She must have been listening yesterday. Harry tries to say something about it but I cut him off. "Just go. I'll deal with her."

He hesitates but leaves with Miranda who looks relieved to go. I feel bad for Charlotte, knowing how excited she was to spending her whole first day with Harry and I find myself annoyed at him too for forgetting the event and ruining the plans.

I find our daughter curled up in bed and before I could give her a warning about swearing she's wrapped her arms around my neck and shoves her snotty face in my shoulder, apologizing for saying the bad word.

"As long as I don't hear it again," I say without much conviction. I was too upset with Harry to be upset with her too.

I put Charlotte in front of the TV as I clean up breakfast and try to work through my feelings. I couldn't tell if I was more upset about Harry bailing on us or seeing him with his girlfriend; anyone with eyesight could see they had good chemistry and it bothered me. But I came here knowing he was dating somebody else and knowing nothing would happen between us. But then last night, Harry was more affectionate than he needed to be. Maybe he was working through old emotions too, I figure. Maybe I didn't need to read into every single thing.

I decide that Charlie and I wouldn't feel sorry for ourselves and dress us up to step out. I pay a visit to an old friend and we all go out to lunch-Charlie being kept company by my friend's five year old. As we head out I check my phone to see nine missed calls from Harry and a few texts asking where I was-it was already 6 and I hadn't even noticed.

I text Harry simply saying we were on our way home and listen to Charlie talk about her new friend the whole tube ride home. But once we reach Harry's flat, my mood sours. For starters, his girlfriend is still over and Harry is really upset I hadn't picked up.

"Where've you been?" Harry asks calmly but his annoyance betrays his true feelings.

"Hey," I let Charlotte down. "We were just having a late lunch with y/f/n and time got away from us."

"I've been calling and texting-you didn't hear?" Harry, surprisingly, is still trying to remain calm.

"My phone was away," I laugh off the tension noting that Miranda sat awkwardly at the dining table. "We had the keys so-"

"I was worried," Harry glances at Charlie who was preoccupied.

"You told us we could spend the day out--that's why you gave the keys," I say a little aggressively.

"I wanted-I thought we could go out before dinner since I couldn't spend the morning with Charlotte." Charlie looks up at the sound of her full name.

"I had lots of fun with my new friend," Charlie states and I could tell she was still angry at Harry with the stubborn set of her chin. She'd gotten that from me.

"Just mixed signals," I interrupt. "It's not a big deal-we just need to communicate our plans better, okay?"

"I booked us tickets for a movie," Harry's continues, his voice is definitely bordering on aggressive and I wonder why he was so upset and making such a show while his girlfriend was still here. "And dinner reservations and now that's gone to waste! Keep your phone on you if-"

"No," I say assertively to stop Harry as his voice rises. "I understand I'm living at your place because I had no choice, but you don't get to speak to me like that. We're Charlotte's parents but we're nothing to each other. Next time, don't forget your own plans and communicate to me clearly if you want to go out with all three of us. Now excuse me."

I pick my bag up again and head to the room, my eyes burning and my heart racing. I hear Charlie's little footsteps behind me and I feel guilty that it hadn't even been a day and she had to witness us arguing. Why was parenting so hard?

I stay in the room and don't come out even as Charlie heads back out again when Harry calls us for dinner or when I hear Miranda leave or a movie being put on. I stay on my laptop, working, and ignoring the slight hunger at the back of my mind.

A sharp knock on the door catches my attention. The door opens slightly and Harry stands looking the complete opposite from the afternoon.

"Hi," he lets himself in and leans against the wall. "I wanted to say sorry. I didn't mean to get that upset with you I was more frustrated with myself for forgetting the party in the morning and ruining Charlie's first day here. And I was upset that she was upset with me so I planned something fun with her to make up for it and it fell through too."

I stay silent for a moment, after Harry finishes. I was still upset with him. And that wasn't a good excuse to chew me out in front of his girlfriend.

"I understand that," I shrug. "But I don't appreciate the way you just came at me with all those accusations. Especially in front of our daughter and while your girlfriend was there."

"Miranda's fine," Harry says. "She wouldn't have minded-"

"I minded!" I exclaim. "Oh my god Harry I've only just met her! This isn't my house or my city and to have a stranger sit through an argument with my baby daddy is not very fun."

"Right," Harry gets it. "Sorry. I just...keep feeling like I'm fucking up everything. I wanted Charlie here and to be with her as much as I could and now I have an angry three year old. She only just started talking to me because I gave her extra dessert."

I freeze, "Harry if you gave her extra dessert you're dealing with the consequences."

"What do you mean?" Harry perches on the bed.

"She's going to stay up and be super hyper and I'm not dealing with that."

"Ugh," Harry falls back onto the bed. "This is why I need you. You can't be angry at me, I'm such an amateur at this parenting thing and you're the wise one with all the knowledge like don't give your kid a second helping of dessert."

Harry rubs his eyes from where he lays, his shirt riding up to expose his stomach. I glance away, old feelings stirring up.

"Is there still dinner?" I change the subject.

"Of course," Harry shoots up. "I'll warm some up for you."

As I eat, I'm entertained first by the children's movie and then by Harry dealing with a hyperactive Charlie. She begins hopping around and jumping from couch to couch, tackling Harry and then coming my way. I pick her up and blow raspberries on her belly as she laughs.

"Tire her out quickly," I advise Harry as I go to clean up. "She'll fall asleep faster."

As I settle into bed, my heart twinges hearing the voices outside my room. It sounded like a family, like a family that could be mine. And the thought keeps me up even after the voices die down and Harry carries a sleeping Charlie into the room.

I keep my eyes closed and feel him tuck her in beside me. I sense him standing above the bed, the smell of him grows stronger as he leans over and kisses Charlie goodnight. I feel him hesitate before he presses his lips to my temple. I relive that single moment as he closes the door behind him and Charlie snuggles into me. And I start to realise that staying with Harry was one of my worst ideas yet.

#harry styles fic #harry styles x reader #harry styles fanfic #fic #harry styles imagine #dad!harry #I can't decide if I want more drama or fluff #if ur reading this pls help #lol #harry styles #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #writingsfromhome

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dnarez · 3 years

Text

Chapter 7 - Autumn Coat

It's been a few months since you started to work as a caretaker, nothing grand happened, but the times you left for your break once every 14 days, you always come back to a crying Keigo, and a missing mother.

The last time he wrecked the house, there was glass on the floor, footprints on the ceiling, walls painted with... wine? jelly? blood? You don't know, but it was hell to clean, which of course you made lil birb help too.

By questioning him after cleaning everything and then cleaning him, you discovered that his "mother" gave him coffee, and A LOT of it, and went her merry way to meet with someone.

---

To say that you were pissed was a mistake, you were furious, but the commission didn't let you reprehend her, so you had to teach him to not eat and drink something that his mother gave to him, without knowing what it was, and that if he drank coffee he would stop growing, which made him cry, but you promised a day outside with him, where they would eat out, maybe go to a mall, and he could have anything that he wanted.

It was his first time going out to have fun, instead of just going to the gym, or the doctor appointment, so with the 'okay card' from your boss you took him for a stroll, which is why there is a very excited Keigo jumping on your bed at 6am.

"COME. OOOOON!!! WE STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY AHEAD OF US!" he shouted while jumping up and down on your bed, his wings flapping behind him.

"Hun, what time it is?" you yawned and sat on the bed.

"It's 6AM! On a Monday!!!"

"I wish you would be this easy to wake up every day, it would make my mornings easier" you huff and got up. "Go wash your face, I will get changed and come to help you change yourself."

"I don't need help! I'm a big boy! I can change myself!" he pouted and crossed his arms.

You smiled at him, seeing how much he opened up to you in comparison to the first day, when he would tremble form how scared he was, and how he talked so little. "I know you can, but you need to put warmer clothes than normal, and it would be better if you didn't pick that awful t-shirt again"

"The one that his written 'Daddy's little boy' with the Endevour's face?" he tilted his head a little.

"Exactly, that one! Now go, we will eat breakfast outside today."

"Woo-hoo!" he raised both hands and was about to jump down to the floor when you held him back and fills his face with kisses "Let me go mommy!" he giggles a lot, and you keep doing it until you decide to release him.

"THE FLOOR IS LAVA!!" You shout and jumps up "If you aren't on your bedroom in 15 seconds the world is going to END!" You say dramatically and open's the door to the laundry room "1... 2... 3... aaaaaand... he's gone" as soon as you opened the door and started the countdown he flew off your small home to his room.

After fixing your bed and washing your face, you went to get changed and choose something comfy, some black jeans, a long sleeved red shirt, a black purse and your favorite beige coat that had white fur on it.

You went to his room to get him ready when you were surprised by the scene, him, Keigo, your baby birb, the cute little shit that was getting more confident with each training, that had the most beautiful smile you had ever seen.

On the floor, curled up in a ball, with a few drops of blood on the ground of the floor, and his mother with her hand in the air, like she was about to hit him...

The world was turning slowly, almost stopping, after three movements of your finger, the one that the nail was always painted black, the dame that had cut the wall.

As the world was moving slowly, you were moving like normal.

5... you calmly walked to Keigo

4... you took him on your arms

3... you put him on the bed

2... you took the pillow case from the pillow

1... you tied both of the hands of Keigo's mother.

The world was back to normal, and Keigo blinked looking at what was now his mother on the ground and you on top of her mobilizing her, while he was no longer on the floor, but on his new fluffy bed that you picked for him "so quick..." he mumbles and look at you with admiration.

You took your phone from your purse, and sat on top of her back "Hello? You saw from the cameras, didn't you? Yeah... I think she needs a few days of vacation... about a week? Okay I let her on the couch then? Thank you, good bye" you turn off the cellphone and look at Keigo who was mouth agape looking at you with shiny eyes. "Let's go?" You smile and pick him up.

"YOU WERE SO AWESOME!!! And didn't you told me to change my clothes?" He hugged your neck

"We can just buy it on the mall but... outside is really cold..." you put him back on the bed and took off your coat "here, I'll lend you my favorite coat, please take good care of it"

He sniffs the coat and is meet by the soft smell of lavender and sweetened coffee.

He looks at you with shiny eyes, "okay!"

You pick him up again and hold his mother's ankle while you drag her to the living room. "Tomorrow is your trainer's day off, so today you can sleep later"

"Woo-hoo!!"

You chuckle and let the woman on the couch, then you go out with him.

"Let's have breakfast and then go out and about"

You carried him to the car, and there you put him on the backseat and when you were going to buckle him up he stopped you.

"Let me do it! I'm a big boy" you nod and watch as he struggles, but after some time does it.

"Good job" you kiss his forehead and goes to the front seat.

As you drive around you put some kids pop, which he sang along to the Disney songs from the movies you showed him.

As you stop at a café that you liked, "Let's go?" He unbuckles himself, and you open the door to him, picking him up again

"I can walk!"

"Not with that bare feet of yours" you tickle his feet which makes him squirm and giggle.

Walking in you take a sit and sat Keigo beside you. "You can get anything, ask away" you took the menu and give it to him "since you learn how to read better I'm sure you can pick what you want"

"Okay!..." he spends 20 minutes choosing his food, which ended up being a chicken breast sandwich and a soda, you immediately told him no soda in the morning.

"How about some juice?" You offer

"What are you going to drink?" Keigo tilts his head to the side.

"I want to go out and by sweetened coffee from the vending machine, it's my favorite, and no you can't have some"

He giggles and nods "I want strawberry juice!"

"I'm gonna go order it to the cashier, two chicken sandwiches and a strawberry juice"

"Can I pick a dessert?"

"After you eat everything, sure, here play a game on my phone while you wait, I'll be right back" you give him your phone unlocked and go to the cashier.

Keigo is playing on your cellphone when someone approaches him, his little trained feathers don't recognize this person's vibrations, so he looks up and sees a dude with a scary look and long black hair.

They both just stare at each other "sup" Keigo say and discreetly send a feather to you and taps your feet.

You come back to the table and is surprised to see your oldest friend, you give him a big smile "Shouta-niisan!" You hug him, but he only pats your head.

Keigo looks surprised at the interaction, you don't talk about yourself, only the basic and vaguely gives information about what you did before him.

"Is this your kid?" The man looked at Keigo, the man looked like it was around 23 maybe 25.

"Yeah! I'm his-... mom, yeah! I'm his mother" you smile breaking the hug and sat down "too busy to stay?"

He nods and put a can of your favorite sweetened coffee in front of you "You're doing a good job, just be careful, you never know"

You nod back at him and give him a big smile "I will, at least I'm no longer doing patrols, don't forget to call me once a week"

"I never broke a promise, won't start now" he pets your hair and goes away.

Keigo watched the weird transactions extremely curious "Who was him? Is him your older brother? You don't look alike. Why didn't you say goodbye to him? Why does he look like a bun? Why-"

"Enough!" You put your hand on his mouth "He's an old friend, I call him nii-san because I always called him that, no we aren't blood related, he always looked like that, and... we promise to never say goodbye to each other"

"Why?"

"Because a goodbye can be forever, so we just don't say it" a waitress comes to you both and puts everything on the table.

You open the canned coffee and drink it, smiling at him as he eats, you both eat and then went shopping.

...

Keigo could fit in anything, and he would look cute you just loved the way he looked on yellow or beige, they fit well with his red wings.

"Hey mom... I wanted to know if-..." he was scared, uncomfortable maybe? About something.

"You can ask me anything Birb, there is no way that I will not answer" you kneeled on the floor besides him and looked at him through the mirror.

"What's your quirk?" He looked at you while fiddling with his hands.

You smiled at him "It's kinda hard to explain, It's better if I show it to you" you took his hand and paid for the clothing, now that he was with some clothes that were good for the Autumn cold weather.

After getting to the car you drove off to the training gym.

"Why are we here?" Keigo recognized the building quickly.

"My power can be a little destructive, its1better to do this in a place that no one can get hurt" going in you went to your private training room with the little boy following you like a baby duck.

"How destructive?" Keigo held your hand and you held his.

"Very, now stay back" you pressed a bottom on the wall "My quirk needs ink all the time to do anything, and I always have it around me, most likely on my point finger, here I can do almost anything" you made a straight line in the direction of the dummies and cut 3 at the same time, cutting through them.

"Woaaah! What else?" Keigo's wings fluffed up at your awesomeness.

You walk to the middle and make a dot next to him, a huge tree appears from nothing surprising him, he falls to the floor shocked.

"I can also make a path of flowers, and the tree will only stay there for a few seconds, but it can surprise the enemy enough to take them down" you move your finger around under Keigo's feet and there grows some flowers.

"My ability is called Celestial Brush"

"THIS IS SO COOL!" He runs to you, and you pick him up when he's close enough. "MOM YOU ARE AWESOME!"

You look at him surprised and hug him tightly "My son, you are awesome too"

You two stay like that for some time, until he bugs you to show more of your ability, which you do, you show him each trick and technique you learned until now.

https://youtu.be/BRcfqu3hQkY (your quirk)

(Yes this is your quirk, and everything you can do with it)

After showing him everything you picked him up and you both go back home to take a shower, eat and sleep.

Those moments in his life were the happiest that Keigo had ever been, always protected by you, he was given the love and affection that he always wanted, he didn't care for everything else, he just cared about you, because you were his true mother, the woman that he would run to when he got himself hurt, to ask about life, to ask about anything really, since you also were his teacher. When he had nightmares you would hold him until he calmed down, would kiss his head, would compliment the small things he had done, and would scout him when he did something wrong.

Keigo loved you more than anything in his life, and Hawks miss you dearly in his, because in the end, you still worked for the commission, and he too didn't have a choice when you went away for an important mission.

The day before your departure you both made a pillow nest in the living room, you induced him on his bird instincts, HD wouldn't have such luxury after you went away.

Neither of you talked about you leaving, instead you showed him your favorite movies, snacks and old latin folktales, the feeling of sadness was there the whole moment.

You tried to give as much advice you could, and only took him off your arms to use the bathroom.

Keigo also didn't wanted to let go of you, both sleep hugging each other, you promised that you would come back as soon as you could, that tou would ever forgive him if he died while being a hero, that you knew he was build for greatness.

Only when you had to leave that you allowed yourself to cry, at the door with only a backpack in hands, you put your coat on Keigo while he sleep, also letting your diary on his bed, to let him have you all the time.

After tucking him on his nest, you kissed his forehead and kisses his toy's head, going out of that house took a lot of strength, you didn't wanted to go, but duty called, you just hopped it would take less then a year.

. . . . .

But it didn't took a year, it took 18 years to take the ring leader down, and just now you were finally going back to Japan, and to the now number 2 pro hero Hawks.

.............. As you can see there is more to this book

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etherealcheol-mp3 · 3 years

Text

Gotcha || knj

pairing: kim namjoon x reader

genre: fluff, slight angst, coffee shop/ bakery!au, e2l, neighbors!au, non-idol!au

warnings: none really, slow burn, enemies to lovers, mentions of death/ fire, mentions of panic attacks, hints towards sexual themes, pranks played against one another constantly, b a n t e r

words: 20.3K (it’s a monster, i’m so sorry)

summary: rival shops aren’t the worst things in life, but maybe their owners are. after a less than ideal first meeting, y/n swears kim namjoon off as their mortal enemy. this is tolerable, bearable even. nobody said they had to step foot in each other's shops, but what happens when the vacant apartment in their building gets filled with a noisy neighbor with constant….guests. and what happens when said neighbor is revealed to be none other than kim namjoon? prank wars and lots of meddling from best friends.

A/N: this story was originally posted on my instagram @/constellationkookie and my wattpad @/hoodftarreaga. this was also originally written for Calum Hood but I’m bts trash now and have no regrets:) -toro

I’ve never had a constant variable in my life. Moving around as a kid and changing schools happens to have that effect on a person. You learn not to expect too much from a friendship that you try to make work over texts and slowly dwindling phone calls and you begin to search for things in life that can become constants in some way or another. My form of constant was as simple as flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. The basic, core ingredients to any baked good. No matter where I moved or who I did or didn’t talk to, I had baking. All I needed was flour, sugar, eggs, and butter and I was whisked away to the safety of my kitchen where I didn’t have to deal with the chaos surrounding me in the outside world.

I didn’t need a boyfriend, best friend, or school club like everyone else. I didn’t need anything that would ground me into my surroundings since it would only make leaving that much harder. However, sometimes certain people try their hardest to latch onto you and gain your trust. They make you feel comfortable and allow you to open up and be vulnerable around them. I was twenty years old and living in Seoul with this certain person who just so happened to be my first and only best friend, Mal. She stood by my side through thick and thin and supported me to follow my dreams and do what I never thought was possible: open up my own bakery. It was hard at first and very stressful, but the end result was well worth the sleepless nights and crying fits.

Sunrise Bakery was my pride and joy and very successful. The name was Mal’s idea as she saw ‘the sun was rising on the start of my new life’. Seven months in, everything was going great, but then slowly my regulars began to not be so regular. ‘Friends’ turned into strangers and it seemed like everyone in the city forgot. I tried just about everything in the books from sales to new recipes but nothing kept them back for long. It wasn’t until I heard about a new coffee shop in town that I started to get worried. The Hideout Cafe was new in town and conveniently just down the street from my bakery.

“Are you still plotting,'' Mal called from behind me. I turned my attention to her and furrowed my brow. “I’m not plotting anything,” I stated defensively and started rolling out the previously abandoned dough on the counter.

Mal snorts and rolls her eyes playfully before taking a sip out of her coffee cup, I hadn’t noticed it before. “Sure because staring out your window to try and see what's going on in there isn’t creepy at all.” I ignore her comment and look at the sleeve on her coffee cup before realizing which logo was on it.

“You went there? And actually ordered something?” I say incredulously. Her eyes widen slightly before sighing and slumping her shoulders.

“I’m sorry but their latte is amazing! I seriously don’t know how they do it like it’s insane. I know you have some personal vendetta against them but just check it out one time and you’ll see how stupid it is. Customers aren’t going to stop coming permanently to a bakery because of a coffee shop.” I tried to ignore her and go to the back of the shop but she gently grabbed my wrist and stopped me in my tracks.

“Come on, Y/N, you’ve been working since you opened and it’s time for a break. Please? For me?” I huffed before finally looking over at her and giving in. She silently cheered as I untied my apron and turned the open sign before locking up. We headed down the street and stopped in front of the shiny, new Hideout Cafe. Walking inside felt wrong but also relieving as the shop took over my senses. The warm air inside tickled my face, cold from the winter breeze outside. The clatter of cutlery accompanying the scent of coffee beans and light chatter of patrons soothed my senses in an instant.

I followed Mal to the register and looked up at the seemingly endless menu posted on the wall. It was written in varying colors of chalk along with the seamless flow of script font that spelled out “Today’s Specials”. Mal pushed me forward and my eyes met the face of a boy around my age. He looked slightly amused and had a brow ever so lightly quirked up as he looked at my most likely flustered state. I opened my mouth but no sounds came out.

“First time?” The barista let out in his low voice. I shakily nodded my head before averting my gaze elsewhere. “Can I have a name for the order?” The barista started tapping on the screen in front of him. “Uh, Y/N. Just checking out the competition” I suddenly spoke, effectively shocking myself and him. He furrowed his brow before smiling almost smugly. I thought I saw a hint of a dimple but my attention was drawn elsewhere as he spoke again.

“Oh, you must work at that dumb little bakery down the road. What is it? Moonlight or something?” I scoffed at his words and felt anger rush through my veins. “I happen to own that very successful bakery. And it’s Sunrise.” I spoke confidently.

“It’s irrelevant. It’ll probably be shut down in three months max at the rate of our shop. But hey it’s nice of you to add to the steady demise of your own bakery by buying something from us. What would you like? Pumpkin spice latte?” He spoke with such ease it infuriated me to no end.

I turned away from the register to find Mal and leave as soon as possible. I knew coming here was a horrible idea and the sooner I left the better. I found Mal standing by the area to pick up drinks ‘talking’ to another male barista. I walked up next to her and waited for her to look at me but it seemed the only things on her mind were the warm eyes and cocky smirk adorned by plush lips on the other side of the counter. I cleared my throat and stepped closer to her and gained her attention only to lose it two seconds later as she turned back to the boy and introduced me to him.

“This is Y/N, it’s her first time here.” She spoke sweetly and I tried not to gag but the instinct was harder to resist as the barista from before walked up with a drink in hand with a smirk on his face. “Pumpkin spice latte for Y/N. Don’t worry, it’s on the house.” He winked at me before walking away and I scowled at his retreating figure. The barista with warm eyes laughed lightly before speaking, “Well it seems you made friends with our owner, Namjoon.”

Namjoon. Namjoon...blank. I don’t know much about him but I know the important things. He’s the owner of the Hideout Cafe. The self-righteous asshole who took it upon himself to spite me by not only making a basic drink that I will never admit to drinking half of, but also by misspelling my name. As soon as I noticed the lazy scrawl on the side of the cup with a lopsided smiley face next to it, I texted the photographic evidence to Mal and promptly trashed the drink.

I felt a heavy weight on my chest for the rest of the day and couldn’t seem to keep the scowl off my face as I suspiciously looked down the street. I tried to ignore the cocky smirk and the harsh words from earlier by rolling out dough and frosting cupcakes but something about the situation just didn’t sit right with me. Before I could overanalyze or create more conspiracy theories to add to my growing list (42 currently reside on this list and they all seem somewhat plausible) closing time for the bakery came and I started to clean up before walking home.

My eyes felt droopy as I leaned against the elevator wall. The steady motion was quickly luring me to sleep but I forced my head to face forward as the doors opened and my bed became that much closer. I fumbled with my keys a bit before dropping them on the floor in front of my apartment. I grumbled out a curse before successfully entering and falling into bed after changing my flour ridden clothes. I fell asleep almost instantly and waited to be awoken by the sun through my blinds.

Except that’s not what happened. I awoke at 3:04 am to a loud blaring and lights flashing in my room. I groggily sat up before realizing what was happening. The fire alarm. My eyes widened and I jumped from my bed, grabbing my phone and the first pair of shoes I saw before bolting to my front door. I turned to my left to run to the stairway when I collided with a firm blur and stumbled backward. My vision was still slightly spinning before I heard the voice start to apologize.

“Ah, shit. Sorry I didn’t see where I was going. I just moved in here and don’t know where to go.” That voice. The voice I had on repeat all afternoon after I left his shop. The voice of Namjoon. Namjoon Last-name.

I opened my eyes and saw him sleepily staring back at me before his ever-present smirk took over his face again. I groaned and threw my head back, begging the universe to tell me this was a joke but the semi hoarse laughter in front of me proved otherwise.

“Nice slippers, Moonlight” I looked down and saw my fuzzy mermaid slippers on my feet. I let out a huff as I looked at him again before seeing it. His body was completely bare except for the black boxers and single sock on his right foot. My throat dried up and my eyes widened at the sight. I shook my head as the current situation sunk back in. Fire alarm, fire, danger, get to the stairs, get to safety. I ran past him to the stairway and didn’t look back. I couldn’t get stuck up there, I can’t. Visions of thick, black smoke and watery eyes flashed in my mind and my breathing picked up speed. Don’t think, just run.

I found my way to the ground floor and was greeted by a hoard of grumpy, tired people in pajamas crowding the entrance. I tried to squeeze my way through to the exit but as soon as I reached it a hand grabbed my wrist and I yelped before trying to pull my hand free. The hand let go almost instantly and I fearfully looked up only to see Namjoon again looking at me confused. I turned my head away from him and held my wrist close to my chest.

“Woah, no need to freak out. It was a false alarm but I saw you running for the exit and wanted to stop you.” I dropped my arms and looked at him before seeing the hint of concern lacing his features. I chose to ignore it and said what I had first thought when I saw him in my hallway.

“Why are you here and why are you naked?” The monotone delivery caught him off guard as his eyebrows raised and he chuckled at me. Those damn dimples proudly being displayed. “You must not have heard me earlier. I just moved in and it’s three in the morning so I was sleeping. This is how I sleep, well except for the boxers anyways.” He smirked again and I tried my hardest to not slap it off his face. I chose to roll my eyes instead and questioned him further.

“What apartment are you?” He had a devious glint in his eyes and I knew what he was thinking. “I’m not asking for that. You were in my hall so I want to know which door to avoid.” He squinted his eyes at me but the boyish grin on his face stayed. He looked me up and down and I crossed my arms over my chest, blushing at the intensity of his gaze. “5B.” He finally stated and I groaned in defeat at his answer. Of course, he lived there. 5B had been vacant for as long as I had lived in this building and I always hoped it would stay that way. “Well what about you,” he started,”which apartment is yours?” I brushed past him and walked to the elevator. The lobby had significantly cleared out since I got there and I decided I would rather sleep than talk to Namjoon Insert-Name-Here.

The doors opened and I pressed the button for the fifth floor as Namjoon walked on and stared at me. I ignored him and his piercing gaze the entire ride up but he seemed to think this through as he motioned for me to exit first when we reached our floor. “Ladies first,” he said smugly and I grumbled to myself as I walked to my apartment. The number and letter on my door seemed to be mocking me as I stopped in front of them. I heard Namjoon trying to hold back his laughter to my right as he spoke. “Oh, Moonlight, this is gonna be fun.” He opened his door and walked in, leaving me to sulk in the hallway by myself. I banged my head against the door of 5C and felt the urge to scream. Namjoon...whatever his last name was, is going to be the death of me.

I didn’t sleep much after the fire alarms blaring that night. My thoughts were racing much too fast to grant me any type of peace. In fact, I hardly slept at all the few days after that night due to Namjoon constantly having friends over and yelling or blaring music at alarming volumes all night long. I walked groggily down the street to my bakery and fumbled for the keys in my bag. I let out a stream of curses under my breath as they fell to the ground, a seemingly new trait I had developed due to no sleep, and sighed as I leaned to pick them up. I could already tell this day would not be fun.

Customers filed through the shop door and the smell of sugar filled my senses until Mal walked in for her shift clutching two coffee cups. I narrowed my eyes at her cheery smile and the two cups in her hands. “You seriously stopped by that shop again? And you bought me a drink?” I questioned incredulously. Mal playfully rolled her eyes as she walked behind the counter without a care in the world.

“I just so happened to walk in to talk to Jimin and get my regular when a certain someone handed me another on the house.” Mal wiggled her eyebrows as she slid one of the cups towards me. I furrowed my brow, “Jimin? I’ve never heard you talk about them before. And if you’re trying to be subtle and make me guess how you managed to flirt with one guy while charming another so much that he bought you a free drink, it’s not working.” Mal chuckled lightly before shaking her head and explaining.

“You do know Jimin, you two met that day we went to check out the Hideout. He asked me out when I stopped by today and after I agreed your neighbor stopped by to ask me to give you this. Have anything to share, Y/N?” She tapped the lid of the cup and based on the tone she used and the faux innocence in her wide eyes, I knew she was trying to not scream at me for not instantly telling her Namjoon was my neighbor. Or she was trying not to laugh. Laughing seemed to be all the universe was doing to me recently.

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply “Unfortunately yes. I found out last week that we live next door to each other.” I could only grumble the words that left a bitter taste in my mouth. Namjoon always seemed to have that effect on me. The fact that he even had an effect on me made it worse. I opened my eyes to see Mal smirking at me while she continuously shifted her gaze to the cup that seemingly shifted closer to my hand resting on the counter.

I picked up the cup slowly, scared it would explode or an animal would come out and attack me at any sudden movement. I saw the messy handwriting on the side that was slowly becoming familiar and felt my blood boil at what it read. My name wasn’t too complicated but once again he had seemed to misspell it so bad that it almost had to be done on purpose. Mal was struggling to hold back her giggles and I glared at her. “You can’t seriously be that mad at him, it’s funny!” She spoke defensively. I threw my head back in defeat and groaned before starting to walk towards the kitchen.

“But I can be because he’s a self righteous jerk who only cares about himself and doesn’t even try to be a decent human being and spell a name right. I swear, every single thing he does makes me want to scream.” I finally vented as Mal followed me. “I bet he wants to make you scream,” Mal states smugly, making me glare at her over my shoulder before she changed the subject, “So what are you gonna do about it?” She questioned me and I turned to face her with confusion etched across my face. “You keep complaining about the guy and you just let him keep getting to you. You need to annoy him back or at least let him know you’re not going down without a fight. And I’m only saying this since apparently hate sex is off the table.”

I thought for a minute and it didn’t seem like a bad idea. Better than the latter one at least. “I don’t even know what I would do. I can hardly face him without wanting to run away and yell into my pillow.” I was whining and I knew it but in my defense it was true. If I had to look at Namjoon whatever his last name was smirking at me with those dimples one more time I was going to lose it. Mal’s eyes slightly widened and her grin started to grow as I felt fear rise in me. She had an idea and it would most likely end up with injury or prison.

“You live next door to the guy. And his shop is down the road. There’s nothing wrong with a little prank to tell him to back off.” I crossed my arms and opened my mouth to protest only to close it as her words really hit me. It really wasn’t the worst idea ever. I would have to think everything through and leave no room for mistake but he had to know it was me. I had to give him the sign to back off but I couldn’t anger him too much. Luckily though Mal was already listing ideas before I could think of any on my own.

I cut her off after hearing the words ‘peanut butter’, ‘toilet paper’ and ‘hedge clipper’ by putting my hand out and laughing. “Let’s start off tame first. I can barely think straight after getting no slee-'' I suddenly stopped speaking and smiled largely. I knew what I wanted to do but I had to make sure it was perfect.

I checked the clock on the microwave one more time as I started to get nervous. It was 4:03AM and Namjoon’s front door had closed roughly thirty minutes ago. I hadn’t heard any noise from his apartment aside from the shower and shuffling around. Suddenly I had found benefits to paper thin walls. Everything was perfect and now it was time to set my plan into motion. I loudly swung open my cabinets and turned on my bluetooth speaker as music started to fill the spaces around me. I dropped some metal pans on the floor and slammed a cookie sheet onto my counter for good measure before grabbing my ingredients. I would’ve worried about other neighbors complaining but I thankfully had an apartment on the corner of the hall. Only Namjoon would be able to hear the noise I made.

I worked loudly and sang along to the music coming from my speakers. Soon enough the electric mixer was loudly whirring and the oven was beeping to alert me of the temperature being reached. I had just aggressively closed the oven door when I heard a harsh banging at my door. I smiled and ignored it. I had riskily left the front door unlocked and just as I had assumed, Namjoon Last Name raced into my apartment after knocking and being ignored once again.

He walked to my kitchen and found my speaker, quickly turning it off. I didn’t even glance up at him once as he breathed heavily through his nose and stared at me. “Do you have any idea what fucking time it is?” He spoke angrily and I tried not to laugh. “Yep” I replied coolly. “What are you do- are you baking a cake? It’s 4am. Why are you baking a cake? And what’s with the party decorations?” He spoke confusedly as he looked around at the streamers and balloons decorating my apartment. “I’m celebrating the death of my sleep schedule and sanity. Want a cookie?”

I finally looked at him and kept a straight face as his jaw hung open and his eyes narrowed. “A cookie? No I don’t want a fucking cookie. What the fuck is wrong with you?” He threw his hands up and looked at me like I was crazy. I think I probably was after almost a week of no sleep, but I kept up the act. “You sound tense. The cupcakes should be done soon, maybe they’ll help you loosen up.” Namjoon huffed and talked to me like I was a child. “I’m pissed. You can’t just fucking make all the noise in the world at 4AM and expect everyone to sleep through it and be okay with it-”

I pointed my rubber spatula at him and glared, effectively cutting him off. “Why not? It’s all you seem to do every night when you have friends over and scream at a television for four hours straight.” I stuck a finger into the frosting I was in the process of creating and put it in my mouth to suck the frosting off. “Needs more vanilla” I mumbled to myself. I still had some left on my finger and stuck out my tongue to effectively lick the rest of it off and went back to mixing. Namjoon was silent. After a minute of ignoring him I looked up, almost expecting him to be gone but there he was. His jaw was tense and his eyes slightly wide while his eyebrows almost raised to the top of his head.

He looked away as I met his eye and grunted out a “Just keep it down okay?” Before bolting out the door and leaving me confused in my kitchen. I put some plastic wrap over my frosting and put the cupcakes onto a cooling rack before retiring to my bed for a few hours of sleep. Namjoon was on my mind though. He seemed to leave pretty quickly and I wondered if I had gone too far. Did I get him too angry? Did I cross a line with what I said? I pushed away those thoughts since I was only doing and saying what he had to me. It couldn’t be that bad.

Could it?

I slept surprisingly well after Namjoon left. My alarm greeted me only a few, short hours later, however, I felt like I had slept for years. I took a quick shower and started to get ready for the day when I heard movement through the thin walls of my bedroom. Namjoon was awake. Namjoon. My eyes widened at the thought of him and his probable reaction to my little prank last night. My heart beat started to accelerate ever so slightly as I hurriedly finished getting ready.

I slowly opened my bedroom door and peeked my head out slowly. I turned to thoroughly inspect every hidden corner for anything Namjoon could have planted while I was sleeping but found nothing. Nevertheless I was still paranoid. I walked to my kitchen quickly and grabbed a granola bar before slipping on my shoes and heading to the door. I was ready to get to my shop and away from the close proximity of him.

I felt my phone vibrate rapidly in my pocket and groaned as I barely had enough energy and concentration to focus on getting my shoes on the right feet. I saw Mal’s name on the screen and answered quickly. I couldn’t even get a word in as she instantly greeted me with a warm “Where the hell are you?!” and I winced as I pulled the phone away from my poor ear.

“I’m leaving the apartment? Same time as usual.” I stated tiredly. Mal wasted no time as she once again responded too loudly for this hour. “You forgot what day it is, didn’t you?” I froze at her words and pulled my phone away to see the date on the screen. A bold ‘February 4th’ stared back at me and my eyes widened once again that morning. Shit.

Ever since we became friends, Mal and I had created a tradition. On the same day every year we would meet up and spend the day together doing whatever we needed at the time. Some years we went shopping for dates we had or prom dresses, others we stayed at home doing face masks and watching Queer Eye and some harder years we ate ice cream and vented about how much life sucked and how glad we were to have each other. The most important year though was when we moved out to Seoul together after graduating college and saving up money for plane tickets and moving expenses. This day was our day and it always had been, it was more important than some official holidays to us and it was today. February 4th.

“I love you?” I tried pathetically and Mal laughed at my response, already knowing I had forgotten. Thankfully she wasn’t angry with me as she playfully replied, “You move out of our place for three months and suddenly you forget the most important day of the year.” I laughed but couldn’t help the guilt I felt weighing me down. Mal was my best friend, my rock and I wouldn’t be doing half of the things I had accomplished without her by my side.

Seemingly reading my mind Mal spoke softly, “Don’t feel bad Y/N/N, I’ve easily forgotten at least four times in the past. I’m coming by yours in a bit and we can decide what the plan is from there.” I smiled even though she couldn’t see it and we said our goodbyes before hanging up. I walked to the front door to be ready to meet her in the lobby as she wasn’t too far from me. I went to lock my door but decided against it as we probably would just end up there for the day and walked to the elevator.

“Junk food and netflix?” Mal spoke as I opened her car door and got in. I eagerly agreed and we headed to our first stop: the closest convenience store. It easily was the most cost effective option and yet another monument of our friendship. Whenever we were bored or wanted to hang out we always ended up at the closest convenience store and always bought too many things (mainly snacks) we didn’t need. It was always worth it.

After spending too much time and money we headed back to Mal’s apartment and got ready to spend the day together. We pulled up ‘After’ on Netflix because we knew how bad it would be and wanted to laugh at ourselves and each other for reading the original Harry Styles fanfic the movie was based on. After pausing the movie a million times to laugh and talk about what chapter this would be, Mal turned to me and spoke genuinely, “How are you today?” I sighed and looked her in the eye. I smiled as big as I could and told her the truth. “Could be better. It’s always going to be hard though and my neighbor really isn’t helping things.”

February 4th wasn’t a randomly chosen date. It was a date chosen to help me be prepared for another significant date just around the corner. Mal smiled and nodded in understanding before speaking again, “What would be best for us to do the rest of today?” This is why I loved Mal. She knew the real reason why this day was created and she still never tried to do what she thought I needed to have fun or be okay with it or even ignore it. She always wanted to make sure I was doing what I needed for myself.

I smiled again, larger this time and told her gratefully, “Honestly watching ‘This Is Us’ and crying over One Direction sounds great right now.” We laughed before we pulled the movie and cuddled up together under the blankets. I was so lucky.

I got back to my apartment around 9pm that night with a smile on my face. Today was great and I knew it would help me be prepared for the next important day. I went to unlock my door but it was already unlocked. I froze as I remembered not locking it this morning in case we ended up here and felt my heart drop as I heard the TV on inside. I knew I didn’t leave it on this morning as I hardly used it in general and I braced myself as I slowly opened the door, ready to face whatever burglar or serial killer was inside. Only it was worse.

Namjoon was relaxed and sprawled out on my couch with his feet on the coffee table in front of him. He had a mug with tea in it next to his feet and I gaped at him. He turned to me as he heard the door open and smiled smugly at my expression. “Oh, hey you’re back.” He turned back to the TV and I was too shocked to move from my place in the doorway. He spoke casually like he had every right to be in there. “You know, you should probably stop leaving your door unlocked. You never know what creep or weirdo could walk in.” He took a sip of his tea and raised his brows at me.

I started to mutter out a response but he stood from the couch and cut me off from my stuttering. “I just want to apologize for keeping you up last week. It’s not cool and I learned my lesson completely. It won’t happen again.” He spoke sincerely and it was honestly scary to hear him talk without sounding sarcastic or cruel. I narrowed my eyes at him and spoke in disbelief, “Really? So...we’re cool?” Namjoon laughed genuinely with his award winning dimples in view as I arched my brow in confusion. He patted my shoulder as he replied. “Yeah, we’re cool.”

With that he walked past me and out the door, closing it behind him and calling for me to “Make sure you lock it”. I looked around my apartment for anything that seemed broken or tampered with to ignore the pounding of my heart and the heat that lingered where his hand was. After coming up empty handed I was confused. Surely he would’ve tried to get me back. Maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone so far like I did and just talked to him. I sighed and groaned as I felt guilt start to swallow me up again that day.

It wasn’t until I moved to get ready for bed that I saw I had no need to feel guilty at all. I was right about him. I should’ve gone further than what I did because he did get me back. He had replaced something of mine I hadn’t thought of before and it was way worse than I could’ve imagined. Sitting innocently on top of my dresser was a little note with his messy scrawl reading ‘Gotcha ;)’ and I panicked. I looked through all my shirts, pants, socks but found nothing until I looked in the last drawer. I gasped as I saw his handiwork and couldn’t believe it. He had replaced my entire underwear collection with brand new, lacy thongs.

To say I was fuming would be an understatement. Not only had he completely invaded my privacy but he had touched and stolen things that were for my eyes only. I had to use every ounce of strength in my body to not feel embarrassed that he had seen my lackluster collection since that was not the issue here. I couldn’t just ask him to give them back and at the moment putting on my dirty pair I discarded after the quick shower I had taken was also not an option. I swallowed my pride and slipped a lacy red thong with floral details up my legs and dove into bed hoping to forget my day and have sleep take over me.

Shockingly, I seemed to once again be the only one who found my situation infuriating. Mal was practically suffering the next morning as she tried to hold in her laughter at my explanation of the night before. My glare did nothing to ease her laughter that had finally bubbled out of her loudly and I brushed past her into the kitchen in my shop. I ignored her wheezing as I pulled out the bowls and ingredients for the day. Today called for a new creation and ultimate focus since all I could think of was the fact that I could feel the soft material of my sundress against just about every part of me.

Tying my apron around my waist, I got to work. I started with cupcakes as I was constantly out of stock of my new flavor “Maliblue”. It was a spring themed cupcake with lemon flavored cake and a blueberry frosting. The hoards of college students on spring break back at home posting pictures at beaches inspired the name and surprisingly it sold well for a small bakery in Korea. As I placed my first batch in the oven I got to thinking on what to do next. I wanted something new and good.

Before I could clearly think out any ideas I started grabbing ingredients and let my body work for me. Mal walked back, seemingly calmed down and ready to let me vent. “Alright I’m sorry but you can not tell me you don't see any humor in this!”

I rolled my eyes and pushed a stubborn strand of hair back behind my ear as I worked on the mystery item in front of me. “Honestly I don’t see any humor in him discovering my granny panty collection.” I murmured under my breath. My eyes widened as I spoke and I hoped she hadn’t heard me, but as her smile widened and she crossed her arms over her chest smugly I knew the damage was done. “So that’s why you’re upset. You’re embarrassed cause the guy you like saw your underwear and now he probably doesn't think you’re sexy. I mean it’s understandable.”

I fought the urge to wipe her smug grin off her face and instead spoke in a tone way too defensive “I do not like him and couldn’t give two shits if he thought I was sexy.” This only made her grin widen even further and my growing blush worsen. I groaned at the sight and went back to mixing the batter in front of me. I apparently was in a cupcake mood as that’s what I decided to make with it.

“What are you making?” Mal questioned as I moved to grab some cream cheese and raspberries from the fridge and I shrugged in response because I truly didn’t know. I had finished the chocolate cake batter and now started on a filling. I heard Mal’s phone buzz and she grabbed it at lightning speed while smiling at her screen. I raised my eyebrows in reaction to her sudden movement and she gave me an apologetic glance before hurriedly typing out a response. It was now my turn to question her and she seemed to realize this as she innocently looked at me before trying to dip her finger in the chocolate batter.

I swatted her hand away and put my hands on my hips while tilting my head at her accusingly. She sighed and started to blush before I even asked the question she knew was on my mind. “So who is he?” I suddenly spoke and Mal flushed even further before smiling and quietly muttering “Jimin” in response. I kind of expected his name even though I constantly teased her for ‘liking the enemy’. Before I could question her further though, the oven dinged and the front door swung open against the bells above it, signalling a new customer. “Literally saved by the bell.” I spoke as I went to the oven.

She darted to the front of the store leaving me confused as she never was excited to greet customers. I shook it off and pulled the cupcakes from the oven, continuing to mix the filling for my new batch as they cooled. After placing the chocolate batter in a greased tin and placing them in the oven, I walked out of the kitchen, wiping my hands on my apron, and froze. Of course it wasn’t just a customer that had come in. It was Jimin and behind him stood an amused looking Namjoon. I rolled my eyes at the sight and overheard Mal and Jimin talking about their plans for the evening. I smiled slightly hearing them so excited and watching them act like love sick puppies.

“Wow you sure know how to greet your customers huh?” Spoke a familiar voice and my smile vanished. I still hadn’t come up with my plan to get him back and I honestly didn’t have the patience to face him while wearing lace. That he had bought.

“I wouldn’t consider you a customer, more like a nuisance.” I spoke boldly and his signature wicked grin appeared. Before he could speak up again Mal put her hand on my shoulder. “I’ve just had a great idea.” She spoke loudly, gaining everyone's attention. “Oh no.” I mumbled at the glint in her eyes. “Why don’t you and Namjoon join me and Jimin tonight? I’m sure staying here all night can’t possibly be better than mini golf and ice cream.” She spoke sweetly but I knew better.

Jimin instantly agreed and I saw a similar look of dread on Namjoon’s face as I turned to face him. It quickly vanished though as he replaced it with a cocky smirk and made eye contact with me as she spoke “That is a great idea. It’s a date.” I almost choked on my spit at his words but before I could retort, he glanced at his watch and got Jimin’s attention as they had to head back to their shop. “See you at closing, Moonlight.” He winked after his words and was out the door. I saw Mal turn to me with eyebrows raised and knew she was going to question the nickname but the oven dinged once again and I sheepishly told her, “Saved by the bell?”

I had finished my new cupcakes and placed them out to be sold when shockingly they sold out. I had to remake them twice throughout the day but had yet to come up with a name for them. Before I could though, it was closing time and Jimin and Namjoon had come back to the shop, ready to go mini golfing. I cursed myself for wearing a short sundress and jean jacket as Seoul decided wind was a great idea tonight. I locked the door to the shop and we headed off. Before we got too far, however, Namjoon pulled me back to walk with him and leaned into my ear as he spoke “Hope you’re wearing one of my presents tonight under that dress, Moonlight.” I felt my jaw drop as he let go of my arm and innocently smiled before walking off to join Jimin and Mal.

This was going to be a long night.

Walking to mini golf felt like an eternity with Namjoon standing next to me, towering over my frame, and with Mal and Jimin giggling and holding hands in front of us. I didn’t realize I was staring at them until a chuckle sounded from next to me. “What?” I asked him questioningly. He smiled softly at me and I felt my heart clench at the sight. This was the first time he had looked at me with anything other than cockiness or venom in his eyes. I brushed off the feeling as shock and waited for him to reply.

“You just had a funny face is all. You looked bored, angry and like you were plotting some evil plan all at once.” He spoke jokingly and I sighed at his answer. “Why does everyone say that?” I groaned and Namjoon looked at me confused but intrigued. I answered the question I knew he was about to ask, “Everyone says I look like I’m plotting something and I never am. I don’t plot anything. Ever.” Namjoon just laughed lightly at that and looked up at the setting sun.

“If it means anything, you look cute when you plot how to escape third-wheeling. You furrow your eyebrows and squint your eyes and get all focused.” He looked sheepish as he finished his statement and scratched at his neck before he shoved his hands in his pockets. I felt heat rise to my cheeks and cleared my throat before retorting. “Don’t think you can just try to smooth talk me and make me forgive you for your little prank last night.” I sounded much more confident than I felt and I praised whatever higher power for giving me that strength.

Namjoon smirked but it wasn’t cocky like it usually was. He hung his head down and shook his head while smiling, dimples proudly on display. We were quiet for a while after that but soon we were at the mini golf place and practically pulled inside by Mal and Jimin. The interior was dark and covered in blacklights and neon paints lit up the otherwise hidden walls and courses. Jimin paid for Mal and I went to grab my wallet when Namjoon stopped me with his question of “What color ball do you want, Moonlight?”. I quirked a brow at him in slight protest before he tilted his head at me in response and sighed out a ‘green’ in indignation.

He grinned in triumph as he received our balls and the score card from the teenage cashier. He tossed me my green ball which I easily caught and rolled my eyes as he led me to the first hole. My worn, white shoes lit up under the lights as well as Namjoon’s shirt under his flannel and warm looking jacket. He boyishly smiled at the sight and his eyes widened as he did so. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him acting like a little kid and he looked like a deer in headlights as he realized he was caught.

I placed my ball down after Mal hugged a blushing Jimin for getting a hole in one and was ready to give a half assed attempt at hitting the ball before Namjoon asked in shock “What are you doing?” like I was committing a crime. I stood up straight in confusion and lazily gestured to my ball before responding plainly “Playing mini golf. It’s not like I’m trying to win or anything.” I leaned back over before he moved towards me. I stood up again and held out my hand for him to stop before speaking again.

“No. Absolutely not. You’re not about to pull some cheesy rom com bullshit on me where the guy goes behind the girl to ‘help with her technique’. Go stand by that neon pink dick on the wall and look pretty while I take five attempts at getting this ball in the hole.” I pointed my finger at the wall as I spoke and he laughed loudly at my speech before raising his hands in surrender and stepping close to the wall with said spray painted neon pink dick. He crossed his arms and challenged me with his eyes to do as I said I would.

“Thank you.” I curtsied in my sundress and he laughed in response. It took me four tries before I finished while Namjoon got it in two and we walked to the next hole before realizing Mal and Jimin were far ahead of us. I sighed at the sight of the next 17 holes and Namjoon nudged me with his elbow. “You know, the tickets for mini golf also came with unlimited arcade credits.” he pointed his head in the direction of the arcade on the other side of the courses. I smiled and started walking towards the bright lights and sounds of the games being played before speaking over my shoulder “I’ll kick your ass in skeeball.”

“You’re a cheater.” Namjoon spoke grumpily as I won another game and beat him. We played a few rounds of skeeball then moved on to air hockey where he destroyed me and I sulked until we played mario kart where I came in second to him again. I pouted until he led me to the basketball game where I beat his ass twice.

I laughed at his words as we walked to the counter for prizes. “I never cheat. You just chose to get your ass handed to you by a girl. It’s okay, Joon. Happens to the best of us.” He stopped moving and smiled and I grabbed his wrist to drag him to the counter before dropping all our tickets onto it. “Stop smiling like a doofus and get me that angry minion.” I put my hands on my hips as I spoke and he looked at the worker before saying “You heard the lady.” and pushing our tickets to them.

He kept smiling and looking at his shoes as if they were incredibly interesting before I flicked his shoulder and asked him “What are you smiling at?” He shook his head and grabbed the minion from the employee’s hand and mine in his other hand. I blushed lightly at the sudden contact and moved to keep up with him. “You called me Joon. It’s cute. I usually reserve that nickname for family and close friends so the fact I’m not throwing your ass outside and blocking off all contact with you is a shock to us all.”

I laughed at his statement and we soon ran into Mal and Jimin who looked equally smug and love sick as ever. Mal looked down to our still interlocked hands and I quickly withdrew mine from Namjoon’s grasp before speaking. “So. Ice cream anyone?”

The walk to the parlor was quiet and Namjoon looked deep in thought as his hands were shoved in his pockets and his brows were furrowed. The ice cream shop we were going to wasn’t even a real shop as it was a cart with outdoor seating under strung lights and wooden beams. The wind had only gotten worse as the night went on so the cold was brutal against my exposed skin. I pulled my surprisingly thin jean jacket tight around my frame and moved my hands quickly up and down my arms in an attempt to gain some warmth. Suddenly a hand stopped my quick movements and I was pulled into a firm body. I looked up in shock as Namjoon hugged me tightly against him and wrapped his arms around my waist.

I tried to push away from him but he was so warm I was finding it hard to resist. “Stop pushing, Moonlight. Put your arms inside my jacket, it’ll warm you up.” I eyed him suspiciously and he sighed before rolling his eyes and starting to pull away. I practically shouted in protest as I felt the sudden frigid wind hit me again. I hesitantly listened to him and leaned fully against him with my arms inside of his incredibly warm jacket.

“Who’s bullshit idea was it to get ice cream outside.” I grumbled against his chest. I felt the vibrations of him laughing at my words and felt soothed at the sensation. I closed my eyes and released a breath I hadn’t known I was holding in. His arms rubbed up and down my back and I felt tension leave my body as we started to sway side to side. “I’m still pissed at you.” I spoke again and I felt him look down at me. I met his amused eyes and put my chin on his chest as I looked up at him. “Damn, you mean my plan to woo you and make you fall for me so you’ll forget how mad you are hasn’t worked yet?”

I smiled at him and breathily laughed before speaking with new found confidence. “Barely. It might’ve worked if I wasn’t wearing red lace all day with no one to admire. It’s frustrating really. If only I were wooed.”

Nobody could have prepared me for the absolute chaos that came from joining Jimin and Mal on their date. It was only the next morning and my phone hadn’t stopped buzzing due to texts and calls from Mal. I only briefly glanced at them before I went to sleep the night before and knew she was begging for “details” of the night she imagined happened. Namjoon had walked me back to our building after we finished up our ice cream. We walked in silence with our hands brushing slightly with every sudden movement. After a few blocks I crossed my arms over my chest, too high off the feeling of his skin against mine, no matter how miniscule and told myself it was due to how cold I was.

I was utterly dumbfounded. Yes, Namjoon was undeniably attractive and we had gotten along well throughout our night together but he was still Namjoon. The guy stealing my business, my noisy neighbor who replaced all my underwear, the jerk who couldn’t even attempt to spell my name right, Namjoon. He made my blood boil and my heart race but it was beginning to get confusing as I couldn’t distinguish the anger for something else. We parted ways as he stopped in front of his door and I kept walking to mine. I thought he was about to speak but I had already opened my door and rushed in before he could utter a single syllable.

Sleep didn’t come easy, and before I knew it I had tossed and turned until 5am. I sighed and pushed myself up to get ready. I clearly wasn’t going to rest and the only form of relaxation I knew was a few blocks down the road. I shrugged on my clothes after a quick shower and grabbed my keys before heading out. I froze as I heard the door next to mine open as I was locking my own and willed myself to not look at him as I heard the footsteps suddenly stop just like mine had.

I finished locking my door and turned in the direction of the elevator without making any effort to actually walk towards it. Namjoon quickly closed and locked his door and suddenly we were in a silent battle of who would speak first. Shy glances and nervous movements could only do so much and he seemed to grow tired of it as he spoke up first. “Early morning?” He asked as he reached up to scratch at the back of his neck awkwardly. It seemed to be a nervous habit of his but before I could think about what that made me feel I responded. “Couldn’t sleep.” I spoke sheepishly and played with my hands in front of me.

I took in a breath and looked up with a smile as I walked to the elevator behind him. He joined me and soon the doors were closing behind us. “Was I too loud or anything? I was kinda up all night too. Just...thinking.” He grew quiet as he finished and I assured him it had nothing to do with him. At least I think so. We once again started walking down the road to our respective shops by each other's side. Our hands brushed again and I praised the yawn that left my body as it gave me an excuse to move my hand away from his. He looked over at me and once again looked like he wanted to say something. This time, however, I let him say what was on his mind.

“Do you maybe want a coffee? I mean that’s at least why I left my place.” I looked up at him and blinked away the tears that had formed due to my yawning and saw something flash in his eyes and a small smile grow on his face. I was hesitant to spend more time alone with him but before I could deny him another yawn left me and he chuckled. “Come on, Moonlight, I think I know a good place.”

We made our way to the Hideout Cafe and he grabbed the keys from his back pocket before holding the door open for me. I smiled at him in thanks and took in the coffee shop once again. It was different at this time of day. The chairs were stacked up and pushed against the walls along with the wooden tables, the dim lights were calming as the sun had yet to rise and fill up the shop with its bright rays. Namjoon moved easily behind the counter and turned on some machines I didn’t recognize. I stood next to the door taking in all the artwork and posters lining the walls before I noticed a section at the corner of the shop. There was a wooden ledge lining the corner covered in pillows and soft looking blankets. The lights hanging above it made it look inviting and I slowly walked towards the bookcases on the wall next to the makeshift reading nook.

I looked at the familiar and unknown titles until I heard Namjoon call for me. I turned to answer him only to see him walking towards me. “I didn’t see this here the first time I came.” I spoke softly and he smiled at me before pulling a book off the ledge and placing it on the shelf where it belonged. “When I bought this place the corner seat was already here so it just felt right to add everything else.” He shrugged as he spoke but the almost longing look he wore towards the books told me there was something more to his story.

He turned to me again as he spoke “What would you like?” and his right arm stretched out to the chalkboard menu above the counter. I walked with him to stand in front of it to get a better look but couldn’t decide. I bit down on my lip in concentration as I tried to figure out something right to order. I didn’t want to get something embarrassing and ‘basic’ but I wanted something that tasted good. Namjoon stood next to me and looked at the side of my face before I decided to say what I thought was a good answer. “Surprise me.”

And surprise me, he definitely did. I moved to lean against the counter as I watched him work. We talked about random facts and our favorite things and every few minutes I would ask what he was making before he would continue to avoid my question. After a seemingly never ending wait he handed me my to go cup with steam and an addicting aroma wafting up to my nose. He already looked smug before I even took a sip and I knew it was going to be good. I took the lid off to let it cool off and smell it clearly. Fed up with my stalling, Namjoon rolled his eyes and ordered me to drink it. I huffed out a sigh and did as he said. I was right. It was good. Before I could stroke his ego with my full review of the magical drink in my hands I had to open up my own shop.

That didn’t cause the image of him smirking and calling out to me “Bye, Moonlight.” to leave my mind for the rest of the day. If anything it only made me long to see him even sooner. Mal had burst into the shop on schedule and I prepared myself for her interrogation. “Well you two were certainly cozy last night. It’s truly amazing how well you can get along with others when you aren’t trying to rip their head off.” I rolled my eyes before changing the subject. “I was only trying to get close to him and make him think I don’t have my next prank planned and ready to go.”

Mal laughed at my words before looking me in the eye and speaking confidently, “If you wanted my help coming up with a prank you could’ve just asked instead of lying.” I laughed before looking at her with pleading eyes. “My God you’re hopeless.” She sighed and I silently cheered as I knew she was going to help.

A few google searches, texts to Jimin, and a visit to a public library copy machine later we were ready. It was still only noon and I sent Mal out to put up all the flyers we had made before taking a lunch break together. I was nervous to see how this went. I wouldn’t be around him all day and I was relying on updates from Jimin to see how everything was going. All I could gather from the last text Mal had received and read out to me was that Namjoon was pissed. Mission accomplished.

Walking to my building on my own felt lonely after having someone with me the night before and this morning. I brushed that thought aside as I knew Namjoon would be home soon as I saw Jimin turning the ‘Open’ sign on the door to the Hideout Cafe to ‘Closed’ before giving me a wink.

I had made it to the elevator in the lobby before the door to the building opened behind me. I felt a shiver go down my spine in anticipation and excitement. Sure enough a tired and annoyed looking Namjoon stood next to me while glaring down at his phone. I bit back my laugh and pressed the button for our floor in silence. He leaned his head back onto the elevator wall and let out a deep breath. I started to feel guilty but he didn’t know I was to blame for the likely endless calls he had received today so I swallowed my fear and walked to my door as the elevator came to a stop at our floor.

I was putting my key into the lock when I heard a deep groan and ringtone start to play loudly. I couldn’t help the smile on my face as I heard Namjoon angrily speak into the phone “No this is not the number for Chewbaca roaring contest, please don’t call again.” before hanging up. I laughed before clamping a hand over my mouth quickly, but it was too late. Namjoon looked over at me and realization flashed across his face followed my anger and...hurt? He opened his door before slamming it behind him and I continued to laugh until I made my way inside my own apartment. That’s when the confusion hit. Why did the hurt look on his face make me feel guilty all over again?

I woke up not being able to breathe. My eyes were open wide and I continued to cough and wheeze, trying to desperately fill my burning lungs with the air they craved. I threw my duvet off my body and fell to the floor of my bedroom coughing with tears streaming down my face.

“Y/N run!”

No. This isn’t real. It’s all a dream. My head was tormenting me with memories from that night. My chest started to rise and fall frantically due to the lack of oxygen and the flashing images behind my eyelids.

“Help! Please someone help me!” I was running around the hoards of people filling my street and in front of my house. There were red and blue lights flashing and blurring my vision until all I saw was a kaleidoscope of the two colors.

I clamped my hands over my ears and let out a violent sob. I couldn’t see clearly in front of me. There was a thin fog covering the room and burning my eyes.

I fell to my knees and sobbed until I was mobbed by a herd of paramedics and police officers. I was hysterical. “Please, just help me please! They're still inside please, they were on the second floor please!” I pushed away hands full of gauze and bandages, trying to get them to just understand. “My mom and sister are still inside please! Go get them” All of my senses were overpowered by fiery embers and heat, yet I could see more clearly than ever as a firefighter walked quickly to a police officer helping to try and calm me down. I was zeroed in on the interaction and would never forget the feeling of my heart dropping and shattering when they pulled away and looked back on me with that undeniable look of pity on their faces.

I screamed and felt all of the life leave my body as I fell to the asphalt below me. There was silence. I couldn’t hear my screams of agony, feel the hands pulling me up and into an ambulance, taste the smoke that I had been choking on earlier, smell the burnt remnants of my home that had gone up in flames, or see anything aside from the flashing images of my mother and sister in my mind.

I was rocking back and forth, mumbling incoherently, and sobbing as I curled into myself at the foot of my bed. I felt my body being shaken and shot my eyes open to see the concerned face of Mal above me. Her hands were on my shoulders and she was calling out my name. I launched into her arms and continued sobbing into her shoulder. She brushed her hands through my hair and held me until I was only hiccuping every few seconds.

“I came to check up on you because I know 5 years is a big anniversary. What happened? I could smell that air freshener from the elevator.” She spoke softly as she looked into my eyes with concern. I furrowed my brows in confusion before looking around the room. “What? It’s not the 14th yet, Mal. Right?” She pulled my phone off the nightstand and showed me the screen with the date I’ve despised for the past 5 years on the screen. I felt my heart drop and tears well up all over again. I blinked them back before continuing to answer her second question.

“I don’t know what happened. I woke up and I couldn’t breathe or see clearly. What do you mean you could smell the air freshener? I didn’t spray anything.” As I calmed down more I could smell the overpowering scent of fruit and hibiscus. I scrunched up my face and gagged at the suffocating aromas. Mal furrowed her brows and grabbed an almost empty aerosol can of air freshener from beside her. “I mean I assumed you didn’t do this since I had to cut a zip tie off of it. Babe, I think you were pranked.” It made sense. The surprise and shock of it, the zip tie, all of it.

I shook my head and moved to stand up. “What are you doing?” Mal questioned. I moved to my closet and grabbed some jeans and an old t-shirt. “Getting ready for work. I was pranked, it’s not the end of the world or a reason for me to stop living life as per usual.” I couldn’t meet her eyes as I spoke. I didn’t want to talk about what had happened. Especially today. Mal sighed before standing as well. “I know it still hurts. Anyone in your place would feel the exact same way. But it’s been 5 years since that fire and I know the anniversaries always hit you harder as the years go by. When you choose to talk to me, I’ll be here.”

I nodded my head as I held onto my clothes for the day. 5 years. 5 years. They died exactly 5 years ago today and I still missed them like it was day one. I let out a sigh before starting to get dressed.

I spent all day in the bakery trying to avoid all my emotions I had kept bottled up. It was getting harder to ignore everything but being in my safe place usually made it bearable. However, today I was confused. Customers kept asking for refunds repeatedly throughout the day and I didn’t understand why. I baked everything fresh this morning, the same as I always have. Even my regulars were complaining and throwing perfectly fine food into the trash. It seemed like the cherry on top of everything that had happened already. Mal and I struggled to find the answer for hours. We retraced and rebaked until our heads were spinning.

I was dealing with a new customer who was demanding a refund when the answer became clear. “It’s just pure salt! Honestly how can you run a bakery and mix up your salt and sugar!” I froze. The customer continued to rant but I felt like I was underwater. I know for a fact I had used the sugar. I hadn’t mixed up like that since I was a child experimenting at home. I quickly apologised and handed the customer their money before rushing back to the kitchen. Mal had watched the encounter and followed quickly behind me. I practically threw the sugar container onto my work table before ripping off the plastic lid. I put my finger inside and tasted the white contents. Salt. I was dumbfounded. How could this have happened.

The bell above the shop sounded and I walked out to greet the customer while trying to hide the confusion on my face. I walked in view of my “customer” and felt like a brick wall had collapsed onto me. I felt the pricking of tears behind my eyes and my mouth grew dry at the sight. Namjoon was standing in front of the register looking smug as ever and I felt utterly stupid.

“What’s wrong, Moonlight? Shop’s empty, looks like you’ve been having some trouble with customer satisfaction today. Wonder why.” I untied my apron and tossed it off quickly before going to the back to grab my things. Mal looked up at my sudden appearance and I spoke before she could. “You know what, you were right. Today is a big deal. I’m closing up for the rest of the day. It’s too much.” I was trembling as I grabbed my purse and walked out to avoid her concerned gaze. Namjoon was still standing at the register as I walked to the front door. He looked confused and worried but I bit my lip hard to avoid crying in front of him.

“Hey, what’s wrong. It was just a prank I didn’t think-” I turned around to face him and pointed my finger at him. “You’re a fucking asshole you know? This is my livelihood and my everything. I could’ve maybe handled you fucking with my business any other day of the year but today it’s way too much. Whatever prank war or competition we were doing to spite each other is done. Congrats! You won. Now never touch me or my things or come into my apartment or store ever again.” The tears were freely flowing down my face but I didn’t care.

“Wait, Moonli-” Namjoon reached out for me but I turned and opened the door before he could finish. “And don’t call me that. You don’t know me. I don’t know you. What’s the point of stupid nicknames for people you don’t really know or want to talk to ever again.” I walked out before he could stop me again, not halting until I was at my apartment. I locked the door behind me and fell onto the couch with sobs and memories of laughter and people I’ll never get back lulling me to sleep.

Coping has always been difficult for me. I never really understood that I could let out my emotions and talk about them with people without being judged or told it’s not important. It only got harder for me when my mom and sister died five years ago. I never talked about it. I avoided the emotions and my guilt and pain from that day for five years and I was only hurting more as a result. I was curled up on my couch under a fuzzy blanket with tears streaming down my face, but I didn’t feel anything besides numbness. I wasn’t struggling to catch my breath or having sobs shake my body, I was numb. I was on my couch for what felt like infinity but realistically was probably a few hours. It was dark outside and no matter how exhausted I was, I knew sleep would never come.

I heard a soft knock at my door and made no move to answer it. My phone was abandoned on the coffee table and hadn’t been touched since I first came home. I knew Mal had been trying to reach me as the vibrations hadn’t stopped all day. The knocking came again, louder this time. I took as deep of a breath that I could manage before moving to sit up. I pulled my blanket tight around my body as I walked to the door. I didn’t check the peep hole because nothing mattered to me anymore. I didn’t care.

I unlocked the door and opened it to see a worried Namjoon….I still didn't know his last name. Further proof of why he shouldn’t be here and why I shouldn’t feel warm inside that he is. He looked up to meet my eyes and his expression fell into a sorrowful one laced with confusion. I turned back around and walked towards my couch, not in the mood for formalities.

“I’m sorry.” He spoke softly yet confident as I sat down. I huffed out a laugh and shook my head. “Why are you here?” I croaked out. He took a step closer and I felt my body tense slightly. He stopped moving before answering, “Why would I be anywhere else? I hurt you and I need you to know it wasn’t my plan for that to happen.” He started to scratch the back of his neck and I sighed.

“It’s not your fault.” My voice was shaky and my eyes filled with tears. I cleared my throat and looked up at him. He looked sad and curious and I knew I couldn’t keep it all in anymore. I scooted over on my couch and motioned my hand for him to join me. He hesitantly obeyed but never took his gaze off of me. “I need to be honest.” I spoke softly. He moved his hand above my shoulder to comfort me, before moving it back to his lap. I took in a breath before speaking about something I thought would be internalized forever.

“Five years ago I lived in a small town in Colorado. I had lived there my whole life and was happy. It was just my mom, sister, and I in a small house with a gorgeous view of the mountains. Mal lived in the neighborhood with us and we’ve basically been joint at the hip since birth.” I stopped as the night came back to me. I closed my eyes tightly and Namjoon turned towards me. I don’t know why, but I reached out and grasped his hand. He squeezed my smaller one tightly before rubbing circles into the back of my palm with his thumb.

“One night, we were having a sleepover. We were 18 but acted like children so we made a blanket fort in the living room. We watched movies all night and eventually we decided to go to my room so we could sleep. We thought we unplugged everything but we were tired and there was a stupid fucking candle. My room was on the first floor but my mom and sister’s were on the second.” I felt Namjoon squeeze my hand tighter and I let out a choked sob. He pulled me into his arms and rocked me slowly.

I cried into his chest as his hands rubbed my back soothingly. After I started to calm down a bit, I pulled back a bit to look at him. “We made it out. The neighbors had already called but there was no way they could’ve made it down the stairs without being trapped by the fire. I did it. I killed them. It’s been five years today and I’ve never talked about it. So it’s not your fault, Joon. It’s all mine because I’m too much of a coward to accept what I did five years ago.”

Namjoon gently placed his hand on my face and turned it to look into his eyes. “It never has been, and never will be your fault. It was an accident. Don’t carry that guilt because it’s not true. Okay?” I felt more tears flow and he wiped them away. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you, it’s just that baking is how I try to cope. I mean I still bottled up everything so I guess it didn’t work too well but-” Namjoon cut me off with his next words. I was shocked after he did. He looked into my eyes with nothing but kindness and genuity.

“Teach me how to bake.”

“What?” I started to wonder if confiding in him was the right choice since it seemed that he didn’t even know how to listen to me.

“You said it helps you cope, and it clearly makes you happy. I want you to start learning that it's okay to not get over something as big as that in one conversation. And that it’s not your fault. It’ll take time. So we’re going to bake something and talk about whatever you want to until you accept that it’s not your fault. We may bake a lot of things since this is gonna take a while, but I’ll be here until that day comes. I also really want to see you be happy right now. So teach me how to bake and I’ll teach you whatever you want in return.”

I was in awe. I didn’t know why he cared so much but I knew he was right. It was going to take some time and he clearly wanted to start now. I stood up and started walking to my kitchen. He followed behind me and stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking around the array of ingredients I pulled out. It was only flour, sugar, eggs, and butter but he already looked stressed. He let out a breath and pulled off his jacket as I reached to grab some mixing bowls and measuring cups. “So what do you want to bake?” I asked him so I could narrow down the necessary tools and ingredients.

“A cake?” He shrugged his shoulders and I smiled at his seemingly nervous behavior. “Ask me. It makes it seem more official and I like hearing you ask to be taught something you don’t know.” He smiled before rolling his shoulders back and dramatically clearing his throat. And so he asked, “Y/N, will you please teach me how to bake a cake?” and I did.

The week following our first “lesson” was only filled with constant interaction and more lessons. At first we only baked random sweets while dancing around to whatever song came on shuffle through my bluetooth speaker. We talked about our loves and passions and sometimes we touched on my mom and sister but Namjoon would never push me too far. I knew the feelings I was starting to harbor for him were more than platonic. It wasn’t just his looks or stupid jokes or smile at my even worse jokes. I was the little things.

It was his caring heart. ‘Teach me to bake in a bakery.’ “So why do you add that if it’s not in the recipe?” he questioned me with a slight tilt of his head. “Because it’s the secret ingredient, Joon. And if I find out you tell anyone what it is I’ll burn down your coffee shop. Okay?” His eyebrows raised and his eyes widened before a boyish grin spread across his face. “Jeez, what’s with you and fire?” I tensed slightly but before I could feel any negative emotion, Namjoon lightly touched my arm and turned me to meet his pleading gaze. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it like-” I cut him off with a flurry of giggles and my hunched over frame. “Why are you apologizing? I am really shit when it comes to fire safety.” I winked at him and saw him relax. With him around, it was okay. He cared.

It was his patience. ‘Teach me to make a beat’ “Ughhhh. Joon, I’m never going to get this right.” The throbbing in my fingertips and crease in my brow due to my frustration were evident. “Moonlight, it takes practice. And a good teacher always helps, hence why I’m here. You’re gonna get it, just try again.” He was seated next to me at his impressive studio desk trying to correctly position my randomly placed snare drum and bass sounds on the program in front of us. If it wasn’t his equipment I would have thrown it all at the wall ages ago. I sighed and sat up straighter in his desk chair before moving around some of the beats and trying again to make something that didnt sound like a middle school band warming up, or just a total cluster fuck of noises. Namjoon hummed along to the beat of the song I was “creating” and while it was incredibly off beat and by no means perfect, it was an incredible improvement. “See! I knew you could do it.” I smiled widely, matching his own. “How are you so optimistic and patient? You literally just sat through an hour of me butchering your presets with a smile the whole time.” He laughed before grabbing the instrument from my arms. “Because it’s you.”

It was determination. ‘Teach me to appreciate Shakespeare’ “Wait so Juliet is actually dead now? How did Romeo not even check to see if she was breathing?” Namjoon spoke confused. “She was in a tomb and looked pretty dead. All he knew is that his true love was dead and they were supposed to run away together.” I closed my copy of Romeo and Juliet and continued playing with his hair in my lap. “Huh. But why kill himself? And why would she do the same? Why couldn’t she just tell him her plan so that this wouldn’t have happened?” His hand gestured wildly in front of him and I looked down at his head that he had moved to my lap during the final act of the play with a smile. “That’s the tragedy of it all. They were so close to being together and running off on their own with no judgement.” Namjoon sat up at my answer and looked me in the eye as he spoke once more, “I guess you taught me how to appreciate Romeo and Juliet so congrats. But you still didn’t answer my other questions. Why would they see that the only option was death?” I looked away before answering. “I guess we all just want somebody to die for.”

It was his knowledge. ‘Teach me the best movies’ “Well we obviously have to watch The Godfather if you want to review the best movies of all time.” Namjoon had just come back to his living room with a bowl of popcorn as I settled into his couch with a fluffy blanket. “Well I’ve never seen it so I guess it wouldn’t be a review for me.” I spoke casually as Namjoon sat next to me under the blanket. He turned to me so fast I thought he might snap his neck. “You’ve never seen my favorite movie of all time? Okay we definitely need to start there.” I laughed as he pressed play. “I never watch movies. I just feel like I have more important things in life to spend my time on.” He looks offended as he processes my words. “I’m just going to pretend I didn’t just hear that.”

It was all these things about him and more. I was falling for Kim Namjoon more than I thought possible. I also finally learned his surname during a slightly embarrassing lesson of ‘Teach me your last name’. Currently we were still in our lesson about movies. Namjoon was insistent I was “educated” and no matter how hard I tried to watch the movie, I couldn’t concentrate. When I looked around all I saw was Namjoon. Namjoon’s apartment,Namjoon’s couch, Namjoon’s arm around my shoulders, Namjoon’s favorite movie playing, Namjoon’s blanket covering my body, Namjoon’s incredibly soft and cozy hoodie he let me wear, Namjoon. Thankfully my lack of concentration and stream of thoughts were broken by the man himself.

About 10 minutes into the film, Namjoon asks a question I wasn’t expecting. “Wait so since you don’t watch movies, what did you have in the background during makeout sessions growing up?” He threw some popcorn in his mouth as I froze. He turned back to me at my lack of response. “Um, nothing?” I spoke timidly. “Wow, straight to the point, huh?” I shook my head and spoke the embarassing truth, “No I just, I’ve never been kissed. So there really wasn’t ever the chance to put something on.” I turned away from him, scared of him laughing in my face. Instead he just spoke “Bullshit. There’s no way nobody’s kissed you before.” I looked at his stupidly charming grin and said, “Well it’s not bullshit. And why are you so shocked?” He looked at me like I was stupid before stating “Because you’re beautiful.” He spoke the words like it was obvious.

After a moment of silence, I turned my attention back to the movie playing but I couldn’t focus. I played with my fingers until Namjoon spoke softly “I can teach you, if you want” and I stopped moving completely. “But only if you’re okay with that” he blushes and hurriedly adds. I stopped his rambling though as I nodded my head with a quiet “okay”. I watched as his eyes widened. He fumbled for words a little before he moved impossibly closer and leaned in. He hesitated though and pulled away to my confusion. “You have to ask me. It’s our rule.” He says it almost playfully but the look in his eyes contradicts his playful smirk. I knew he wanted my full consent before doing anything.

I let out a nervous laugh before uttering the words, “Teach me how to kiss.” And he does.

I dreamed of Namjoon and soft yet heated kisses that night. Waking up, I was confused to see the surroundings of his apartment lit by the soft glow of sunlight peeking through the curtains. I froze as I felt movement under my head. I was fully resting on top of Namjoon with my ear pressed to his chest and I smiled as I heard the beating of his heart. He suddenly took in a deep breath and moved around a bit and I quickly shut my eyes, hoping to stay in this moment for as long as possible. I didn’t know how he felt about last night. Was he only teaching me as a friend? Did he feel even half of what I felt for him?

His lips were soft as they pressed against mine and I hesitantly returned the kiss. His right hand came to cup my face softly as his head tilted slightly. I felt my heart pounding and the blood coursing through my body like electricity. I pulled away from him slowly, anxious for his next words. “Was that okay?” I spoke quietly and after a moment of silence I looked up to meet his eyes. He didn’t speak, instead he kissed me again with more emotions present than before. I placed my hands onto his chest before moving them to the nape of his neck. I played with the small curls there and felt him shiver in response. He was the one to pull away this time and he moved his hands to my hips before pulling me onto his lap. I was now straddling him and dazed at the sight of his flushed face and red lips. “You’re a natural, Y/N, and as much as I’m enjoying this I think I asked you what you played in the background when you made out with someone.”

My racing thoughts and fluttering heart came to an abrupt halt as I felt Namjoon lean down awkwardly to press his lips against the top of my head. I couldn’t help the wide grin that appeared as a result of his action. I opened one eye and turned to look up at him. He chuckled as he realized he had been caught. “Mornin’, Moonlight” He spoke in his gravely morning voice. I felt my cheeks start to ache slightly due to the size of my smile. “Good morning, Joon” I could only manage a whisper, too scared to shatter the blissful sight and moments of this morning.

We stared at each other for a bit until the buzzing of Namjoon’s phone caught our attention. Jimin was calling him, however, he made no move to answer it until I pinched his side gently with a glare. “Not answering your best friend’s call is rude you know.” He rolled his eyes playfully before declining the call completely. “Yeah, well calling your best friend while he’s cuddling with a gorgeous girl this early is even worse.” He smirked at me and I sat up slowly while he groaned at the loss of warmth. I moved to straddle his lap and played with his soft hair while he looked up at me with a soft smile on his face. “Hey, what are you staring at, loser?” He shook his head softly and leaned into my hands in his hair.

“You.” He spoke softly with his eyes closed in bliss and a smile on his face and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning down and pressing my lips against his even if I had tried to. He smiled into the kiss before placing his hands onto my thighs and kissing me back. We moved together like a perfect symphony. A rolling wave on the ocean. Ink flowing against the page of a classic novel. I pulled away for air but stayed close to him as he moved his lips to my cheek and slowly kissed down to my neck and the sweet spot he had found the night before.

“Namjoon” I sighed out as his lips worked against my neck sensually. I moved my hands to his hair and lightly tugged against the strands. He moaned against my neck and his teeth grazed a spot that had me shuddering and letting out a small whimper. He moved his head back up to face me. “Found it.” He stated cockily and I rolled my eyes before pressing my lips against his again, effectively wiping the smug smirk from his face. I felt his tongue brush against my lips and I decided to tease him before granting entrance. He grunted and bit my bottom lip lightly in frustration. I gasped at the sensation and he took the opportunity of my lips parting to explore the new territory.

“Joon, eventually we’re gonna have to go to work and open up for the day.” I spoke to rid my head of the memories of the night before. The groan he let out in response made the butterflies in my stomach appear. “Five more minutes” He muttered and I laughed before grabbing his phone on the coffee table to see how long we had before needing to leave before I gasped and my eyes widened. “Joon, get up. We’re so late, shit.” It was 10 AM and the shop should’ve been open two hours ago. He sat up slowly while squinting his eyes adorably. I shoved his phone into his hand and rushed off of him to head to my apartment for clean clothes. I heard a soft “Shit” as I closed the door behind me.

I bolted into my room and grabbed the first items I saw, which unknowingly included a baby pink, lace thong from Namjoon’s prank. I shoved my legs through my jean shorts and found some comfortable shoes before grabbing my keys and running out the door. Namjoon was already waiting by the elevator doors, tapping his foot impatiently. I let out a breathy laugh as I ran to meet him. He smiled at my presence before looking me up and down. He squinted slightly at the top of my head and laughed as the elevator doors opened. I patted my hair before feeling the slight knots left from not brushing it. As we moved down to the lobby I reached up to fix it as much as I could with my fingers before giving up and reaching for the hair tie around my wrist.

I lifted my arms up to gather all my hair into a messy ponytail and unbeknownst to me, my flowy top lifted up and revealed the baby pink lace above the hem of my shorts. I heard Namjoon cough and clear his throat suddenly as my hands fell to my sides and the doors opened. “You okay, Joon?” I looked up to him and noticed a slight blush and flustered expression. He tightly smiled and nodded his head before grabbing my hand in his and guiding us out of our building. It was now my turn to blush at his sudden action and the feel of his hand in mine.

We walked quickly so as to not be even more late to our own businesses. We approached the Hideout Cafe first and Namjoon reached into his back pocket for the keys to the shop. He kept his hand securely in mine as he tried to find the right key. He dropped the key ring onto the concrete before grumbling out some curses. I chuckled and leaned down in front of him to pick them up. I heard him choke out a gasp before I leaned back up to face him with a smile. He quickly took the keys from my hand and before I could think, he leaned down to kiss me before resting his forehead against mine and huskily whispering “I thought you threw out those fucking panties, babygirl.” He pulled back after kissing my cheek and he unlocked the shop before entering, leaving me hot and flustered on the sidewalk outside.

The walk to my bakery after that was a blur. All I could sense was Namjoon. His whispers in my ear. His hand in mine. His shy smile full of dimples and crinkled eyes. His cologne surrounding me as I was in his arms. The taste of his kiss. The sight of his wink and smile as he walked into his shop. I barely realized I was inside the bakery until Mal called out for me.

“You okay, babe? You look pale.” I took in a deep breath before pushing her hands away from my face. “We need to talk. In the back. Now.” Her eyes widened and turned serious at my words. As I moved to the kitchen and started pacing, Mal moved to turn the ‘Open’ sign to ‘Closed’ before bolting to the back. She stood with her hands on her hips and eyed me pacing frantically before stopping me with a gentle hand on my shoulder.

“Y/N, all you need to tell me is his first initial and I’ll find him within the week and beat his as-” I cut her off by blurting out “Namjoon and I kissed.” Her eyes widened once again and her jaw dropped before she started smugly smiling. She squealed and pulled me into a tight hug as she rambled about venues and summer versus spring weddings and I looked down at my shoes at her words. “So how did it happen? How long have you two been a thing and why didn’t I know sooner?” I sighed and looked at the excitement covering her face. “We’re not a ‘thing’ and we probably never will be. We’ve been hanging out a lot more recently and teaching each other our favorite things and last night we kissed a lot and I was on his lap and then I woke up with him on his couch and fuck, Mal I’m so scared.”

“Woah, hey what’s wrong? Did you not want him to kiss you?” I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. I really wanted him to kiss me. I really wanted to do it again. But I was really scared to admit it. I felt tears well up in my eyes and Mal pulled me into her arms and shushed my quiet sobs. “I really like him, Mal.” I whispered. She pulled back and brushed some hair out of my face before gently holding my face in her hands. “Then what’s so wrong about kissing the guy you like? He wouldn’t have done it if he wasn’t at least slightly interested in you too.”

I closed my eyes and saw his sleepy smile and bright eyes. I opened them again and voiced my fears, “Because I’m not good enough. He deserves so much more than some broken girl who’s too scared to kiss him in public or even admit to him how she feels. I’m fucked up, Mal. He doesn’t deserve someone like me.” Mal squinted her eyes as I finished.

“Are you done? Good. Number one, you might need to brush your teeth after spewing that much bullshit. Number two, you’re completely right. He doesn’t deserve someone like you. A beautiful, strong, kind, funny, talented, amazing woman who I’m lucky enough to call my best friend. So what if you’re scared about PDA, you said it yourself that you guys aren't anything official so that’s completely understandable. And number three, you never have been and never will be broken. You’ve gone through so much and no one expects you to be one hundred percent healed or back to normal after that. You are worth so much. Okay?” We were both crying as I nodded. I was lucky to have her.

“You’ve been so happy recently and I honestly feel dumb that I didn’t realize why sooner. If he makes you happy then talk to him about this. Let yourself have something good because you deserve it.” I thanked her and held her tightly. “Oh and don’t think you’re off the hook. We are definitely going to talk in full detail about last night and all those times you’ve ‘hung out’ alone together.” I laughed and rolled my eyes before wiping under my eyes.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

I was cleaning up the shop after closing for the day when the bell above the door sounded. I groaned as I realized I hadn’t locked it yet and now had to deal with late night customers. “We’re closed.” I called from the back, too tired to go up front. “Aw damn. Even for your favorite customer?” A familiar voice spoke in faux disappointment and I felt the butterflies burst to life in my stomach. I smiled and walked up to the register, suddenly full of energy.

“Bold of you to assume you’re my favorite.” I tilted my head and watched him smile as I appeared. “And to think, I was going to surprise you with a date and everything.” Namjoon shook his head and shrugged his shoulders before turning to leave. I laughed before running to grab his arm. “Well I guess I can make an exception for my favorite customer. But just for tonight.” He turned to me with a bright smile and leaned in to kiss me. I pulled away from him before he could though. He looked confused but brushed it off.

“I need an order of your best creation.” I bit my lip and thought about what I would make before remembering the cupcakes I had made a few weeks ago. I had thankfully scribbled down the recipe and knew they would be relatively easy. “Only if I have some company while I make it.” I turned to walk into the kitchen and felt his presence behind me. I grabbed all the ingredients listed in my binder of recipes and got to work. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Namjoon picking up the binder and inspecting the page with my messy scrawl.

“I asked for company so I had someone to talk to, not someone to snoop around and be nosy.” I smiled but never shifted my attention to him. He breathed out a laugh and moved to stand behind me. I felt his arms wrap loosely around my waist and his head rested on my shoulder. He sighed against my back and I leaned into him slightly. “Why doesn’t this one have a name? All the other pages have names at the top but this one just had question marks.”

“I just came up with this on a whim. Didn’t really have any names in mind. I guess I just forgot to come back to it.” I spoke truthfully as I stirred the ingredients together to form a smooth batter. Namjoon hummed in response and I continued working with his arms around me. When I had to place the cupcakes into the oven I nudged his arm with my elbow and he groaned. “‘M comfy.” He mumbled and I laughed as I struggled to unravel his frame from mine.

“Weren’t you the one who promised a surprise date?” I reminded him and saw his eyes instantly light back up as a blush slowly appeared on his cheeks. “Do you want that?” He questioned silently and scratched at the back of his neck. I closed the oven and turned to face him with furrowed brows. “Want what? A surprise? Cause that’s kinda why I’m baking these-” “I meant the date. Did you want it to be a date? Because if you don’t then that’s fine too.” He cut me off with nerves lacing his words.

“Yeah. I would love that. Why did you think I would say no?” I questioned with a matching blush on my face. “Well you just, you kinda rejected me up front when I tried to kiss you so.” I looked down in embarrassment before taking Mal’s advice from earlier. “I was just scared.” I paused and looked up to meet his eyes before continuing, “I really like you, Joon. I just didn’t want to get my hopes up by kissing you if you didn��t feel the same.” I played with my fingers anxiously as I waited for his response. He smiled largely before finally breaking the silence. “You don’t have to be scared, Moonlight. Cause I really like you too.”

When I finished up the cupcakes we packed them up and walked hand in hand to our date. I was giddy as we swung our hands between our bodies. When we stopped in front of the Hideout I was confused. “Is this your surprise? Making me another coffee at 10 PM?” I questioned him but he didn’t respond. He unlocked the door and held it open for me. I narrowed my eyes at his smug smile and walked into the dark shop. I stood awkwardly in the middle of the shop and looked around in confusion.

“Joon, I appreciate the effort but I-” I stopped speaking as the shop was suddenly lit up by the few strands of fairy lights in the corner by the reading area. I gasped at the sight. Instead of shelves of books and pillows, there were large, comfy blankets covering the entire section with Namjoon standing at the entrance holding a laptop. “I know it’s not much but I just thought it would be cute or that you would like it cause I remembered how much you liked it over here last time.” I walked up to meet him at the entrance with a large smile on my face. He looked nervous again and I couldn’t understand why.

“It’s perfect, Joon. Thank you.” I leaned in to punctuate my statement with a short kiss before pulling back the blanket behind him to crawl into the makeshift fort. He entered a few seconds after me and settled on my right side before opening his laptop. While the shelves of books were covered on the outside of the fort, the interior was filled with the sight of them. The soft glow of the string lights and comfort of the pillows and blankets set the perfect environment for reading and I darted my eyes across the different titles in awe.

“You there, Moonlight?” Namjoon called out and I shifted my gaze onto him easily. I raised my eyebrows and turned to face him, not realizing he had been calling for me. “I asked what movie you wanted to watch.” I felt my face flush for the millionth time that night and bit my lip as I debated on what I should answer. “Could we maybe read something instead?” I spoke hesitantly but the grin on his face as he shut his laptop eased my fears. “Whatever you want.” I smiled and grabbed the familiar title on my left.

“Have you read this before?” I asked softly. He shook his head but never lost the small grin on his lips or diverted his eyes from mine. “Well it’s a personal favorite of mine, so get ready to experience literary genius.” I moved to get more comfortable and ended up laying on Namjoon’s chest while his hands played with my hair.

“Chapter one.”

“Are you even listening to the story?” I questioned accusingly. Namjoon smiled innocently despite being caught staring at the side of my face for the third time in the past ten minutes. Meeting up after closing had become a routine for the two of us. He would meet me at the bakery and ‘help’ me bake something for the night ahead. Usually we get to the Hideout and read after eating a bit and get through at least a chapter or two before he distracts me with kisses or tickles. Tonight, however, Namjoon was dead set on staring into the side of my face laying on his chest. “Of course I’m listening, Moonlight. Why’d you stop?” He smirked and I rolled my eyes with a sigh before continuing.

“As he looked into her eyes he saw nothing but pain and sorrow. The guilt he felt consumed him but he had no choice. He turned away as he heard her choke out a heart wrenching sob-” I was cut off by Namjoon kissing me for the fifth time that night. I giggled lightly against his lips but made sure to keep my spot in our book. “Joon, it’s been four days and we’re still only on chapter 10 of 45. As much as I love your kisses, we need to actually read the book in order to finish it.” He moved his lips to my left cheek and down my jawline as I spoke.

I lightly pushed his head away and playfully glared at him while he pouted. “But it’s so sad. Honestly, I don’t know why she keeps going back to him and shit when he only hurts her. Guilty or not, he’s still fucked for cheating on her like that.” He reached for a leftover cupcake in the box next to him while I grinned. He let out a low moan as he took a bite and I felt my body ignite with heat. “Fuck, these are always so amazing. I can’t believe you don’t sell them anymore.” He spoke with his mouth partially full and I rolled my eyes at his boyish behavior.

“I’ve told you a million times, I can’t sell something without a name.” He threw his head back with a groan and I laughed at his frustration. “Well let’s come up with something then. It’s better than reading about heartbreak.” I sat up from my spot on his chest and faced him fully. “It needs a catchy name, that’s for sure. It also needs to hint at the surprise inside.” He licked the stray frosting around his mouth as he spoke animatedly. I took in the appearance of the man in front of me. He was in some basic sweatpants and a hoodie since after night two we had decided it was best to change into more comfortable clothes to read after closing.

“The surprise inside?” I laughed, “What, do you mean the filling?” He rolled his eyes and waved his hand in dismissal. “You know what I mean. You’re just not expecting it but it's a good surprise for sure.” His explanation brought a memory to mind.

Sitting innocently on top of my dresser was a little note with his messy scrawl reading ‘Gotcha ;)’

“Gotcha.” I spoke quietly with a smile, remembering the first prank he had pulled on me so long ago. “What?” He questioned innocently, taking another bite of the cupcake in his hand while his free one came to rest on my thigh. “Gotcha. That’s what I’m naming it.” He furrowed his brow in confusion and tilted his head slightly to the side. He was silent for a bit before looking at me with hope and excitement. “Why?” He asked with fake confusion, but the giddy smile forming on his face revealed his true intentions. I smiled and sighed loudly before looking away dramatically. “I guess because it reminds me of the time a loser stole all my underwear and left me a note saying that on top of my dresser.” He laughed loudly and I turned to look at the sight of his bright eyes crinkled at the sides and his prominent dimples.

“Fuck, you’re perfect.” He spoke softly with a look of fondness on his face. I flushed and looked down at the hand on my thigh that was rubbing soft circles. “Be my girlfriend.” I moved my head up so quickly I thought my neck would snap. “What?” I spoke in shock. “I don’t want someone else to be with you. And I really don’t want to be with anyone other than you. I know we’ve never really put an official label on anything but fuck it. So, will you?” He looked nervous but his eyes showed nothing but honesty.

“About damn time.” I spoke after releasing a breath I didn’t realize I was holding in. I grabbed his face and kissed him passionately. I was smiling widely but he didn’t mind as he moved his hand from my thigh to my waist. Our kisses turned heated as his tongue brushed across the seam of my lips urgently. I pulled back and leaned in to whisper in his ear, “I think you were right about movies. They make great background noise for making out.” His breath hitched and I watched as he fumbled for his laptop. I giggled and straddled his lap as he furiously typed in his password for Netflix.

I lightly feathered kisses onto his jaw and down his neck. I felt the vibrations as he groaned at my actions. “Fuck, how have you only been kissed for the first time last week?” I let out a breathy laugh as I sat up from my slightly hunched form. “I think I got the basics down pretty quickly thanks to my teacher. But I think I’m ready to learn something else from them.” His eyes darkened and before I knew it I was being rolled onto my back as the opening sounds from Avengers: Infinity War played in the background.

“Babygirl, I’ll teach you anything you want to know.” He smirked as he started moving down my body.

I was sure the smile on my face would become permanent after how long it had been painted on. We didn’t go all the way but we definitely made some progress on my lessons. I was laying on the blanketed floor with Namjoon resting on my chest. I was wearing his hoodie and my sleep shorts from earlier while he was left in his sweatpants and a bare chest. I was looking at the soft lights around me while my hand was playing with the messy curls tickling my chin. The sounds of the Avengers battling Thanos in Wakanda paired with Namjoon’s soft snores was lulling me to sleep slowly but surely.

I knew we would both regret sleeping on the hard floor of the Hideout in the morning, but

at the moment I couldn’t find it in myself to care. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath, ready to fall asleep when a notification sounded from the laptop. I turned slightly to see what it was but suddenly felt all possibility of sleep and tiredness drain from my body. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions but I had to try and make sense of what I saw.

GM<3: i miss you:(

I tried to calm myself before overreacting. It could be a relative or someone close to him. He just told me earlier how wrong cheating was. He wouldn’t do thi- Another notification sounded and effectively cut off my racing thoughts. I felt more confident in the situation as I looked at the incoming text but it’s contents only made me feel sick.

GM<3: when are you coming over again?

GM<3: please say soon:( you left pretty quick the other night

GM<3: i love you, talk soon <3

I felt tears threatening to spill and was confused. I thought of every possible explanation but none of them were innocent or made any sense. I was hurt. I was angry. But mostly, I was numb. The thought I was dreading the most kept circling my mind. I didn’t want to believe it but it made too much sense.

You fell for the greatest prank of all. You believed he actually felt anything for you.

I felt hot tears fall down my face while one word played on a loop in my head. A heartbreaking lullaby played like a broken record.

Gotcha.

I was frozen. I didn’t move or sleep at all that night. My body ached from the hard floor and lack of movement but all I focused on was the heartache and racing thoughts that hadn’t seized through the night. The sun started to rise and I took it as my cue to leave and head to my shop. I carefully moved and tried to remove myself from Namjoon’s tight grip on my hips. I freed myself eventually and felt hot tears welling up in my eyes. I grabbed my clothes from the day before along with my other belongings and headed to the front door.

I placed my hand on the door handle and hesitated. Talk to him. “Let yourself have something good”. I turned to look at his frame under the dim glow of the rising sun and felt the lump in my throat grow. I forced myself to look away and walk out the door before I could change my mind. I made it to the front door of my shop before breaking down and crying. I told you so.

I wiped my tears and stood up straight before unlocking the door and walking in, determined to bottle it up and not talk about it. The faster I avoided Kim Namjoon and everything involving him, the better. I silently worked throughout the day with a tight smile and locked my phone up in the storage area so I wouldn’t see any missed calls or texts. Mal could sense something was up but didn’t push me.

As the clock moved closer to closing time I panicked. He was surely going to come by to walk us back to his shop. “Hey, Mal? I just remembered I have to head back to my place early tonight. Do you mind closing up for me?” I spoke with a shaky voice and Mal’s questioning glance almost broke my act. “Of course. Just take care of yourself.” She spoke sincerely and I let out a breath of relief at her words. I threw off my apron and grabbed my belongings again before heading home. Namjoon would probably try to get me to read the book with him but I couldn’t face him. I walked quickly past the Hideout and his apartment before collapsing into my bed. I made sure to lock my front door and bedroom door for extra precaution.

I screamed into my pillow as I sobbed.

This routine went on for the next three days. I started leaving my phone at my apartment after it died. I didn’t have the energy to look at it or charge it to see the messages I had waiting for me. I opened my door at 5 AM to start my new routine of avoiding Namjoon. I was fearful that he might try to come into my shop during the day but so far he hadn’t. That fear came back like a crashing wave, however, as I heard a body fall onto the floor of my apartment when I opened the front door to leave.

A tired looking Namjoon stood quickly and sighed in relief as he saw me. He reached out to hold my face as he spoke, “Fuck, Moonlight, I’m so glad you’re okay. You haven’t responded to my texts or been at the shop when I stopped by and I was so fucking worried.” He leaned in to kiss me and I pushed his hands off me. He looked confused at my actions but I looked away as anger and hurt filled me.

“Maybe that was for a reason.” I mumbled out as I crossed my shaking hands around my frame. “What? Moon, what’s wrong?” He reached for my hand again and I turned around to walk into my apartment. I heard the door close softly and his quiet footsteps following me. “Baby, you need to let me know-” I spun around at the pet name and pointed shakily at him. “No. You don’t get to call me that. You don’t get to hear about my life or what’s bothering me because it’s you. You’re the problem for me. You need to just stop. Stop kissing me and holding my hand and looking at me like I’m the only girl in your eyes and just making me feel like I’m actually worth something to you. Stop.” I was angry. The tears flowed freely down my face and my hand fell to my side as I finished my words.

Namjoon looked down and shook his head before looking back at me. “Moon, I don’t know what I did but all of that is never going to stop. I never want to stop kissing you or holding your hand or showing you how I really feel about you. You are the only girl in my eyes-” I cut him off with a scoff “Bullshit! How can you just lie like that. I saw the texts that night Namjoon. You fell asleep and when you did you got some texts from another girl. Congratulations, you win. Once again you’ve utterly broken me.”

“What texts? There is no other girl, I promise you. Please, I never meant to hurt you, especially like this.” He was starting to tear up and his voice broke as he finished but I stood my ground. “And I would’ve believed you if I hadn’t seen the texts for myself. I hope you and ‘GM’ are happy together because it seems like you two made it longer than a few hours since you’re already in love.” He scrunched his face up at my words. “Wait. Hold on. GM?” He breathed out a laugh as he spoke. His words cut me like a knife.

“So you used me and cheated on me and can’t even try to act serious about it? Fuck you, Namjoon.” I moved to walk past him and into my bedroom but he grabbed my arm before I could. “Wait, Moon, no. My sister’s name is Geong Min. That’s who you saw text me that night. I’m telling you the truth, you’re the only girl for me.” He turned my body to face him as he spoke with a small smile.

I furrowed my eyebrows at his confession. “You have a sister? Wait, why did she ask you to come over and say that you left quick the last time?” He smiled largely as he spoke. “I went to her place the night I set up the Hideout for us because I had to borrow her blankets and lights. And I also needed her advice on if the date was even a good idea.” I sighed and hugged him close to me. “I’m a fucking idiot, I’m so sorry, Joon.”

He held me against him tightly and moved us side to side. “You’ve always been more than enough for me. You are worth so much to me and to everyone you come into contact with. I know it’s scary to have these feelings, because, Moon, I’m fucking terrified too. But I promise you that you’re all I want. I never want to hurt you and I never want to see us like that again. You’re more than worth it, Moon.” He pulled us slightly apart as he looked into my eyes for his final words and I felt tears welling up again as I smiled.

“You deserve better than someone who can’t love you back the way you need to be. I’ve never felt like this and I know it’s too soon to say I’m in love with you but I know for a fact that I’m falling.” I spoke softly. He smiled and leaned down to press his forehead against mine while I closed my eyes. “Ask me, Moonlight.” He whispered. “Ask me to teach you how to be loved.” He pressed his lips to my forehead then moved down to press a kiss to each cheek and the tip of my nose before pulling back to look in my eyes and wait for my answer.

He returned the smile that grew on my face and laughed as he leaned down to kiss me properly after I spoke softly,“Teach me how to be loved, Joon.”

And he did.

104 notes · View notes

gumnut-logic · 3 years

Photo

It started off as a mild annoyance.

Scott had fallen asleep at his father’s desk. Too much paperwork, most of which he was learning on the fly. Board members doubting his ability to take over from his father and juggle International Rescue. Virgil would kick his ass if he found out. John probably already knew.

Both elder brothers were doing their best to help. Virgil was taking on as much International Rescue as was humanly possible. John was juggling Tracy Industries almost as much as Scott while handling day-to-day IR.

His father’s shoes were massive to fill.

And he left a gaping hole in Scott’s heart.

Waking up with an imprint of his own knuckles on the side of his face and a massive crick in his neck wasn’t the best. Staring at the glow of the twelve reports still awaiting review did nothing to improve his mood.

Briefly wondering how he had managed to sleep what appeared to be at least an hour with no disturbance, he remembered that Virgil was still on the other side of the planet, John was likely busy with that same situation and the two youngest were in bed. Grandma had returned to Kansas to finalise some of Dad’s personal matters.

Scott groaned and let his head fall onto his arms again.

He was so tired.

Something tickled his neck.

Absently, he swiped at it and ended up hitting himself in the head.

A few things between his ears rattled loose.

The tickle climbed down his spine and found his ribcage.

Scott’s eyes widened and he jumped out of the chair, sending it spinning across the floor.

What the-?

It was under his shirt.

There followed a most undignified, full-bodied dance across the comms room as he attempted to get whatever it was out of his shirt.

It didn’t hurt, but it tickled like crazy. He was caught between screaming and uncontrolled giggling.

In the end, he resorted to ripping his shirt off and flinging it across the room.

The tickling stopped.

And was replaced with goose pimples as the pre-dawn breeze wafted across his skin. Scott found himself bare chested and breathing heavily.

He wasn’t afraid of bugs, but that was…strange. He eyed his shirt as if it was going to jump up and bite him.

Of course, that was the moment Gordon wandered through on his way to his morning training. The fish stood at the top of the stairs for a full ten seconds staring at his topless eldest brother standing in the middle of the room, lit only by the blue light of holo-projector on the desk.

“Interesting look there, Scott.”

Scott spared him a glare before grabbing the shirt off the floor. “Lights.”

The comms room lit up. Scott drew some satisfaction as Gordon cringed from the sudden brightness. Fortunately, the little fish scuttled off to his pool and left Scott alone without another annoying word.

There was no bug in or on his shirt. After examining it, he had no choice but to throw it back on, or continue to invite comments from the waking peanut gallery.

The sudden appearance of John on the central projector and the distant roar of the return of Thunderbird Two flicked all thoughts of bugs from his mind as the new day started even before the sun made an appearance.

-o-o-o-

Virgil was exhausted but he didn’t have time to sleep. He did give himself a few moments to sit in the kitchen, worship his bucket of coffee and stare out at Mateo as the sun rose over it. It was only blinding if he focussed on it and he didn’t have the energy to do that.

Two needed repair and she needed it now.

His last rescue had involved a volcano and she had far too many particulates in her filters. They would all need replacing before he felt comfortable taking her out again.

After that he needed to see to Alan and help him set up for the morning’s classes. He quite enjoyed helping his littlest brother, but he enjoyed it much more when he hadn’t been up all night.

But first coffee.

So warm. So inviting.

He closed his eyes as sipped the blessed liquid that was going to give him the energy to get through the rest of the day.

He nearly dropped the mug as something tickled him under his upraised arm.

He saved the mug, but didn’t manage to stifle the high-pitched squawk.

The coffee was deposited carefully, but Virgil was out of his seat and grabbing at his clothing in an energetic frenzy.

There may have been one or two more high pitched squeaks as red flannel was rubbed and scrubbed at frantically.

Out of desperation, Virgil tore off both his shirt and his grey undershirt and threw them on the floor. He resisted the urge to stamp on them.

It was his favourite shirt.

“Virg?”

He looked up to find Gordon, fresh from the pool, standing in the doorway staring at him.

“You okay?”

If Virgil flushed red, he wasn’t going to acknowledge it. “Bug in my shirt.”

“Really.”

“Really.” Frowning his grabbed his shirt from off the floor, eyeing it suspiciously. Screw it, he sat down shirtless in front of his coffee and resumed staring out the window.

Gordon walked past him to the stairs, frowning and shooting him the oddest looks.

Virgil ignored him.

-o-o-o-

Scott made it through to lunch and finally dug up the answers the factory manager in Oklahoma had been begging him for. He had also managed to answer the lawyers, read and sign a pile of holographic documents and have a long-delayed meeting with the Japanese CEO. At least John had been able to help with translation. To be honest, it had just been a relief to have a brother to talk to.

Surrounded by family.

Too damned busy.

The last task for the morning was a parent-teacher conversation with Gordon’s curriculum manager. Scott had suspicions that there was a little too much Olympic training happening versus school work. It was a fine balance that had to be maintained. Gordon was a good student, if a little out of the ordinary…but then what Tracy wasn’t? At least two were diagnosed geniuses, and the other three focussed on their goals to the point of blindness, himself included.

His short Air Force career flickered through his mind and he shunted it away.

He was where he needed to be. Fate saw to that.

Scott stepped into the sunken lounge and briefly wondered if he was going to be allowed to leave this room today at any point.

A resigned sigh and he his comms. “Gordon, time for the meeting.”

“FAB. Be there in two.”

Gordon was true to his word and appeared almost immediately, loud shirt and shorts as eye blasting as usual.

Scott reached out dropped a hand on his little brother’s shoulder. At sixteen, already Gordon’s accomplishments required a cabinet to hold all the trophies. With the loss of their father, Gordon had stumbled with the rest of them, but he was regaining his feet fast. He had to. This was his chance. The 2056 Olympics waited for no excuses.

This time it started on his wrist.

The faintest of tickles.

It was a tickle, not an itch. It played with nerve endings just like someone had their finger gently brushing across the surface of his skin.

It travelled up his arm as he snatched his hand away from his brother.

It was in his shirt again.

There were words as he once again found himself grabbing at his shirt.

“Scott, what?”

He was vaguely aware of the concerned expression on his brother’s face, but he was too busy trying not to giggle or scream.

His shirt ended up on the floor again.

Gordon stared at him a full five seconds, his face caught between incredulity, worry and hysterical laughter. Being Gordon, the laughter won out.

Scott ignored him and poked his shirt with his foot.

Of course, that was the moment John flickered in to advise that the curriculum manager was ready for the meeting. Scott had to admit that somewhere in the back of his wasted brain, there was something quite funny about the expression on the space monitor’s face.

Gordon, of course, had tears running down his face and was useless.

Scott had a lot of experience keeping his composure. He needed it all at the moment. “John, could you please ask Ms Smithson to hold for a moment, I need to grab a shirt.”

John bit his lip, obviously holding something back. But, ever the professional, he didn’t say anything but, “FAB,” before blinking out.

Scott picked up his shirt with two fingers and made a beeline for his bedroom.

At least he got a moment outside of the comms room.

-o-o-o-

A new shirt found, Scott made it through the interview. Turned out Gordon had been really working hard and with a small adjustment to his curriculum, he should be able to manage both his training and his graduation with only a small delay. Scott was satisfied that it would be the best for the athlete at this time.

The grin on Gordon’s face made it extra worthwhile.

Scott turned back to the desk after the meeting, but the list of messages awaiting his attention just hurt to look at.

Screw it. He deserved food, another room and maybe even some brotherly conversation. A quick check on Virgil’s location placed him, as expected, in the hangars. The engineer had not been happy that his ‘bird had suffered during last night’s rescue. Virgil was as bad as he was. His brother hadn’t slept, International Rescue his highest priority.

Scott sighed. How could they be expected to go ahead like this?

Lunch. Food. He struggled to focus his mind. Had he had breakfast? He couldn’t remember.

An elevator ride and he walked out into the cool underground caverns that housed the great green behemoth that was the love of his brother’s life.

It wasn’t hard to locate that brother. The profanity was extreme for Virgil and it had Scott quickening his step around the great plane. He found him harnessed and hanging in front of Two’s starboard intake. The swearing was moving into European languages, never a good sign.

Scott shouted up at the dangling engineer. “Virgil?!”

“What?!” A spanner fell and hit the concrete two metres in front of Scott. Despite himself, he jumped.

Virgil stared down at him owlishly for a whole handful of seconds. “Sorry.” It was muttered, honest, but grudging.

“Can you come down?”

“Why?”

“It’s lunch time.”

“I’m not hungry. I’ve got to get this done. I’ve got to replace part of the filter housing.”

“Well, I am hungry and you haven’t slept. Come down.”

“I’m fine! This can’t wait!”

“Damnit, Virgil, get down here now!”

The glare that hit him from above was dark and fuelled from the bottom of a desperate coffee pot. Scott had no doubt of that.

But one more muttered expletive and his brother rappelled down to the concrete floor. Dressed in flannel with his maintenance harness secured over ratty jeans, Virgil was covered in dust and grime.

Didn’t dull his fury though.

The fact he was so angry, so out of character for the generally calm and quiet engineer was more than enough proof that his brother needed rest.

“What do you want, Scott. I have to fix my ‘bird otherwise she can’t fly and we can’t answer the next call.”

“I’m having some serious doubts we can answer the next call anyway. Look at yourself, Virgil. You’re exhausted.”

“Kettle, pot, Scott.”

“Exactly! Eat lunch with me.”

Those dark brows wrinkled even further, brown eyes making that subtle switch between engineer and concerned brother.

Scott supposed he should have expected this. Maybe he was asking for it, hiding from a decision he knew he was going have to make.

Offering himself up as a sacrifice in order for Virgil to make the decision for him.

He was so goddamned tired.

This time the tickle started on his calf, just above his right sock.

He wriggled, frowning, shifting his feet.

It climbed up his leg and he let out a squawk somewhere between a giggle and a profane word that would have had Grandma washing his mouth out with soap.

“Scott?”

It was running around and around his thigh. Scott cracked and grabbed at his leg, spinning on the spot as Virgil reached for him.

Whatever it was, it was fast. Up and down his leg as if anticipated his attempts to grab it through his jeans.

“Scott, what is…oh, shit!”

The eldest Tracy spun to find Virgil hanging upside down in his harness grabbing at his shirt.

The tickle in Scott’s leg took the opportunity to breach his waist band and play with his navel.

Buttons flew across the hangar as Scott tore the shirt from his body.

There was nothing on his belly.

Virgil squawked and writhed, still upside down.

The tickle appeared back in Scott’s pants, this time behind his left knee. He didn’t hesitate, shedding his shoes, he shucked his pants and tossed them aside.

Finally, finally the ticklish feeling stopped. But Scott was left in his black short briefs and socks.

And damn it was cold in the hangars.

Virgil was still writhing upside down, unable to shed clothing due to his harness. “Goddamnit, Scott, help.” There was the sound of ripping flannel as heavy lifting muscles resorted to force.

Scott grabbed at his brother’s harness and wrapping an arm around those broad shoulders, released the safety line. Virgil weight was considerable, but Scott stabilised him enough for the engineer to get his feet beneath him. A fumble with the harness buckles and the support fell to the concrete with a clink of its metal links.

Torn flannel followed.

Two layers of shirt stripped, Virgil suddenly took a deep breath and dropped his hands to his knees, letting his head drop. “It’s stopped.”

Both brothers heaved in air for a moment.

“What the hell was that?” Virgil looked up at Scott.

“I have no idea. Third time this morning.”

“Second.” Virgil’s voice was all breath.

“Happened before?”

Virgil nodded. “Over coffee.” A frown. “Gordon came in afterwards. This isn’t a new prank is it?”

Scott stared at his brother for a moment. “Gordon was there both times this morning.”

Virgil’s shoulders dropped. “I’m going to kill him.”

“He’s not here now.” Scott looked around before hesitantly poking his shirt enough to activate his comms. “Thunderbird Five, could you give me a location on Gordon?”

“Scott? You okay?”

“I will be once I find Gordon.”

“He’s on the pool deck, apparently studying. The meeting went well?”

Scott frowned. “Yes, a few small changes will make room for his training. Gordon was very happy with the plan.” Could explain the studying.

“That’s great news.”

“Yes, it is.” He wondered how happy John would be if he could see him standing in his underwear next to a shirtless Virgil.

“Are you sure you are okay?”

Perhaps his brother didn’t need to see. “I’ll let you know after I’ve spoken to Gordon.”

“Okay. Remember fratricide is not an option.”

“Don’t spoil it for me.”

-o-o-o-

A clean pair of pants and two shirts later they found Gordon exactly where John said he would be. The sixteen-year-old was camped out on a pool lounger with a portable holoprojector, his tablet and even a print book open beside him.

“Gordon?” The strawberry blond head remained focussed on the tablet.

“Gordon!”

Scott jumped. Hell, Virgil could yell when he needed to.

Gordon looked up calmly. “Virg? Something wrong?” Scott watched his little brother take in their state of undress. Neither of them had shoes on or had done up their shirts, just in case. “What are you guys doing?”

“What do you think?” He stepped down onto the pool deck, gesturing to his open shirt. “This is on you, and you know it.”

A blink. “Know what?”

Beside Scott, Virgil lost it. God, a tired Virgil was a cranky Virgil. “What did you put in our clothes?”

“Er, nothing?” Gordon appeared to realise he was tackling the family bear in a fury, a rare, but never good thing. He put down his tablet and stood up, backing away a little. “Now, Virg, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“You’re kidding me.”

Another step back. “Uh, no. I really have no idea what you are talking about.” Pleading eyes darted to Scott.

If Scott wasn’t so tired, he might have found the whole reversal of roles between himself and Virgil somewhat ironic. As things were, he reached out and gently wrapped his hand around Virgil’s arm.

His hand only made it part way around one bulging bicep. When the hell had that happened? He tugged gently. “Virg…”

That resulted in a pair of furious brown targeting him. “What?! He could have caused a serious accident. What if it happened while I was up in the intakes? Whatever the hell he did, it was dangerous.”

Okay, so Virgil had a point.

Gordon held up his hands. “Honest, guys, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“So, you know nothing about an…irritant in our clothing?” Scott stared him down.

“Uh, no?”

He held his little brother’s expression a moment longer. It would likely have been even longer, but Gordon suddenly frowned.

And grabbed at his pants. “What the hell?”

Both Scott and Virgil stared as Gordon started dancing around the pool deck tearing at his clothes. His squawk turned into a giggle as he squirmed. “Omigod, stop!” The giggle became a laugh and Scott found himself holding back from joining in. Beside him Virgil snorted before running in to help their struggling little brother.

He needn’t have bothered. Gordon gave out an exaggerated laugh before throwing himself in the pool.

The sudden silence was almost shocking.

“Gordon!” Virgil stood on the side of the pool staring down at his brother under the water. Two strides and Scott was beside him as Gordon resurfaced, hair in his face, gasping and shirtless.

“Oh my god, that was hilarious!” He coughed out another laugh and threw his shirt onto the deck. “I want to know how you did that.” Gordon grinned up at them.

“We didn’t do it.” Virgil’s voice was sharp.

“Wha-? You’re kidding?”

Scott shook his head as Gordon levered himself out of the pool.

“Then who? And how?” The swimmer shook the water out of his hair and coated his brothers in the process. At Virgil’s snarl, Gordon’s grin was unrepentant.

Well, when he looked at it that way, there were only two possible choices and this was not a Brains concept in the slightest.

It was Gordon who said it first. “Alan? Where are you? That was so cool! You gotta show me how you did it!”

Scott didn’t expect an answer. He expected to have to hunt his little brother down like he had Gordon, oh, so many times. So, he was surprised when Alan slunk out of the kitchen with some kind of remote in his hands.

“Alan?” Virgil’s voice spoke of the shock Scott was attempting to process in his head. Alan was a good student. Precocious and bright, but far from the prankster his brother was.

Gordon bounced over to his little brother. “That was so cool! How did you do it?”

“Nanobots.”

“Nanobots.” The word fell from Virgil’s mouth. “You used medical technology for a prank?”

Scott reached out and grabbed Virgil’s arm again. “Alan, explain yourself.”

The boy’s shoulders dropped. “Failed experiment for school.”

Scott blinked. “What?” None of this was making sense.

And suddenly he was shot with a pair of anguished eyes. “I only wanted to make you laugh!”

Scott stared.

The bicep under his hand wilted.

“Allie?” Gordon’s voice was curious, but soft.

Those blue eyes shifted to the fish. “They don’t smile anymore, much less laugh. So, I thought a little medical intervention might help.” And those hurting eyes flickered to Virgil.

The sound that issued from the engineer was heartbreaking.

While Scott’s brain was uncharacteristically caught in freefall, Gordon presented a parachute. “You made ticklebots?!” His amber eyes were wide with amazement.

As always, Gordon’s joy was infectious and Alan relaxed just a little, a small smile curving his lips. “Yeah, kinda.”

Gordon bounded over and grabbed his brother in a massive hug. “I am so proud!”

Scott let go of Virgil and took several of the steps between himself and his little eleven-year-old brother.

Gordon continued to gush, asking a range of technical questions with such enthusiasm that the small corner of Scott’s mind that was still functioning alerted him that this could be a bad thing for his future sanity.

But right now, he was fixated by those blue eyes, so reflective of his own that were staring up at him.

“Alan?”

Gordon stopped his babbling, but took up a defensive position beside his little brother. Something inside Scott bent and broke just a little.

But his focus was on Alan.

Those blue eyes looked down, breaking contact. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to see you laugh.”

“So, you tried to tickle us?”

Defiance shot those eyes back up. “Well, I wasn’t going to drug you, was I? Nothing else was working! You and Virgil are just so sad and busy and John is never here anymore and…and…no one laughs anymore!” A frown. Those eyes flickered past Scott and crumpled. “And you’re crying again.”

Scott turned and found Virgil struggling with his emotions, a tear running down his face. Aw, shit.

Alan turned away and took a retreating step, but a blur of red flannel and the youngest was swept up in desperate hug. “I’m sorry, Allie.”

A muffled “’s’not your fault.” But Alan was clinging to his brother like a life raft.

Scott blinked several times. The thought that his genius little brother had to resort to technology out of desperation to see a smile hurt somewhere deep down where he had buried his own tears.

An amber gaze saved him from drowning. Gordon stood on the other side of Virgil and Alan, his shoulders straightening. “So, Allie, can I borrow your bots?”

With that single sentence, the moment snapped with a chorused “No!” from the both eldest. Virgil tumbled backwards in his haste to stand up.

Gordon feigned innocence. “Why not? I have my own experiment to perform. You know, for mental health reasons.”

“No, Gordon.” Scott’s tone was full commander, but the fish just grinned up at him. Hell, he was caught wondering if Gordon would ever obey him.

“Gordon.” Virgil’s voice had that deep grumble of warning.

The fish shrugged and relented. “Eh, your loss. It was going to be brilliant.”

“Sure.” Scott’s tone dripped sarcasm.

“But!” Gordon grinned. “Allie wins the trophy for the concept and invention!” He wrapped an arm around his little brother’s shoulders. “I am so proud.”

Alan smiled up at the fish with appreciation.

Scott held out his hand and those shoulders dropped, the smile disappearing.

“Alan.”

More the reluctant and pouting tween he was, his little brother handed over the remote. Scott glanced at it before handing it off immediately to Virgil. The engineer would be able to make more sense of it than he ever would.

Scott held out an arm and blue eyes stared up at him for just a split second before dashing into the hug the eldest was desperate to give him. Both arms wrapped around Alan and he buried his face in blond hair. “I’m sorry, Allie.”

“’S not your fault.”

“Doesn’t matter. I will try to do better.”

“’S not your fault.”

A glance in Virgil’s direction only to find the big man fighting back tears again. Even Gordon’s expression was a little broken…until he realised Scott was looking at him, then the goofiest of grins split his face and he crossed his eyes.

The laugh that fell from Scott’s lips was almost strangled by a sob.

The devilry that suddenly appeared on that face overrode every other thought with mild fear.

Gordon didn’t disappoint. Sliding up behind a teary Virgil, he darted in and tickled their bear of a brother.

Virgil squawked and wriggle danced out of reach.

Scott couldn’t help it.

He laughed again.

“C’mere, Virgie, I wanna ticklebot you!” Gordon exaggerated tickling fingers at his brother before jumping into what became a hilarious chase around the pool.

Scott couldn’t help but grin even more.

Alan outright laughed.

And something lifted just a little from Scott’s chest.

“Thank you, Allie.”

Surprised blue shot up at him.

“You’re right. We need to laugh more.”

Virgil ended up in the pool.

Gordon jumped in after him.

And Scott hugged his littlest brother so much closer.

-o-o-o-

The afternoon relaxed into together time. Phones rang but were ignored. John was dragged down from orbit. The barbecue was lugged out, food found and cooked for dinner and a comfortable feeling that had been absent since their father had been lost, found its way onto the Island.

Gordon cherished it.

Virgil continued to be a touch emotional during the entire time, grabbing random brothers and attempting to smother them with his arms. Scott was quieter, but even Gordon noticed he was far from Alan at any point that entire afternoon and evening. John was quietly puzzled about the whole thing until he suddenly grabbed at his shirt and jumped and jiggled about.

“Oh, so that’s how it works.” Virgil was staring down at the remote control in his hand, poking at it.

John let out a squawk and fell onto the couch writhing.

His shirt was thrown off moments later.

“Hey, Alan, how do you turn them off?”

Therein followed some discussion on Alan and Virgil’s part, followed by Scott and his two cents when he felt it appropriate.

John started yelling at them after a very short period of time, still writhing on the sofa.

Gordon thought it was absolutely hilarious and had trouble keeping his feet while laughing.

All in all, it was a fantastic afternoon and evening.

Scott fell asleep on the couch with his arm wrapped around a snoozing Alan five minutes into the movie Gordon had chosen. Virgil lasted another five minutes before caving into a faceplant on one of the cushions. His snores made it difficult to hear the movie, but the remaining three brothers cared not a whit. By the time John joined them in the land of the exhausted, the movie was little more than soundscape.

But Gordon wouldn’t have it any other way.

This was something that they had been missing for so long. Gordon sat there fake watching the movie and honestly holding back a few tears at the thought. Alan was right. They needed more laughter. His big brothers, John included, were shouldering so much now their father was no longer with them, and yes, his thoughts stumbled on that acknowledgement. God, he missed his dad. But they all had to do their part.

If there was something Gordon wanted to do, it was bring back the laughter. If it took itching powder and dye, if it took silly hats and fake tattoos, if it took everything he had, he would see his brothers happy.

They all had to do their part.

And he would make this his.

-o-o-o-

FIN.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Scott Tracy #Virgil Tracy #Gordon Tracy #Alan Tracy #John Tracy #nuttyfic reblog

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writemywaytoyourheart · 4 years

Text

BTS Reaction: When He's Sick | Maknae Line

Requested: a long a$$ time ago, someone requested BTS taking care of you and you them. So here's the second part 😌

Genre: fluff

Warnings: nooone

BTS When You're Sick here

Enjoy my lovelies^^

================

PARK JIMIN:

aNgEl BoI 😥

Jiminie💞: Hey, baby. You still up for that date today?

You smile down at the text your boyfriend sent you a moment ago. After texting him back a quick reply, confirming the date, you finish up your make-up and run to get dressed. Hurrying over to the door when the bell rings, already knowing who it is, you open the door and a bright smile forms on your face at the sight of Jimin in a white button down and black jeans. Jimin holds his arms out, "Baby!! I've missed you." You walk into his hold, "I missed you, too."

Jimin takes you to a restaurant first, telling you to order whatever you'd like. You thank him and scan over the menu, thinking about what to get. That's when you hear a little cough and sniffle. You look up at Jimin, a question in your eyes. He's looking down at his menu, but he keeps coughing a little, like he's trying to clear his throat. You reach across the table to touch his arm, getting his attention.

"You okay, love?" You ask when he looks up at you. Jimin just nods frantically, "Yes! I'm all right, just a little tickle in my throat." He grabs his water and sips on it to prove his point. You let it go, not wanting to push him.

After the meal, Jimin takes you to the arcade to hang out before your movie starts. You're having a blast, running around and trying all the different games, and Jimin watches you happily. After a while, you notice Jimin looks really tired and he keeps going to the restroom. So the next time he comes out, you ask him what's going on.

"If you don't feel well, we can go home." You assure him kindly. Jimin just looks torn and shakes his head, "No, I want to finish this date with you. I just needed a tissue, I think I'm just having a little bit of allergies."

"Jimin." He looks at you sadly, knowing the tone of your voice. You're not taking any nonsense. "I have an idea," you say, all smiles. Jimin quirks a brow, letting you grab his arm and drag him out of the arcade. After stopping by the store to grab some things, you are unlocking the door to your apartment and ushering Jimin in. He pouts as he goes to sit on the couch.

"Jagiya, I wanted today to be special."

You join him on the couch and give him a hug, "We have all the time in the world to have dates, Jiminie. Today, I'm going to take care of you." He tries to protest, but then he sneezes and you force him to get comfy on the couch, then you run to grab a blanket. You join him on the couch after setting the coffee table with tissues and snacks.

Jimin finally lets a tiny smile break out on his face, "You're so cute, jagiya." He says when you hand him some cold medicine.

"Anything for my baby. Now, what movie do you want to watch?" After a few minutes, you convince him to stay (he doesn't want you to get sick) and you two settle on a movie. Then, you spend the night watching movies and babying him.

KIM TAEHYUNG:

I know this is old, but lOOk at him. just LoOk.

You're just finishing up dinner, giving the food one last stir, when your husband walks in the front door. You turn and see him shutting the door and dropping his bag on the floor by the entryway.

That brings a frown to your face, knowing Tae always brings his bag to the bedroom closet the second he gets home. Him just dropping it here means there's something wrong. You lower the heat on the stove and set the spoon you were stirring it with down. Then you rinse your hands off and walk over to him. He's slowly taking his shoes off and replacing them with his slippers. You're about to ask him if he's alright when your three year old daughter comes barreling through the house, screeching with excitement.

"Daaadddyyy!!!!"

She runs full speed towards Taehyung, wrapping her arms around his leg and holding tight. You giggle at her cute actions, then you see Tae wince, reaching down to pet her little head, "Hello, my sweet baby. How was your day?" You can tell he's trying to brighten his voice, but there's definitely something wrong.

Inyoung starts rambling away about all the games she played with mommy and how she is learning the ABC song, and all the snacks she ate. Tae picks her up and carries her to the couch, setting her on his lap and listening intently to her stories. You follow behind, leaning your hip against the couch and watching your husband worriedly. When Inyoung finishes, she jumps off his lap and runs to her room to find some toys to play with daddy. That's when you take your chance to speak up, "Are you all right, honey?"

Taehyung looks up at you like he's just come out of a trance. He smiles weakly and stands up, coming over to wrap his arms around you, "Hey, baby. I missed you." He mutters into your hair.

"I missed you too, honey. Don't avoid my question."

He giggles at you, then he leans back to look at you. He brushes your hair out of your eyes and his turn anxious, "I just don't feel my best."

You put your hand to his forehead, feeling how hot he is, you frown. "Go and get into something comfortable, love. Then come have some dinner." He nods and goes to change.

When he comes out, he looks worse than before, his forehead is all sweaty and he winces when he sits at the table. He doesn't eat much at dinner, causing you to worry even more.

You have him go to the room, then you grab a thermometer and some medicine. He's lying on his side, face scrunched up in pain. You hurry over and take his temperature.

102°f/ 38.8°c

"Tae baby, what's hurting?" You ask softly. He just groans and puts a hand over his eyes, "Everything. My whole body aches and I keep feeling hot and cold and hot and cold." You notice he's covering his eyes, so you go and turn the light out. He uncovers them, then takes the medicine for his fever that you give him.

It seems like he has the flu, so you go out to tell Inyoung that daddy can't play. The little girl comes to stand by the edge of the bed, reaching out to take Tae's hand. He's falling asleep, due to the medicine, but he manages a weak smile and squeezes her hand gently.

"Are you okay, daddy?" She whispers uncertainly. Tae gives her a small nod, "Daddy's okay, love. Just a bit sicky. Don't get too close, I don't want my precious baby getting sick." Inyoung nods and steps back to hug your leg.

You put a wet rag on his head, then brush his hair back, "Get some sleep, baby." He nods, then he's out like a light.

When he wakes up a little later after Inyoung is in bed, you feed him some broth and crackers, replacing the now warm rag with a colder one. He mumbles a quiet 'thank you' before passing out again. You just smile sadly and pet his hair, quietly assuring him you'll be right here.

JEON JUNGKOOK:

he an baby ;-;

"Y/n? Baby?" Jungkook mumbles sleepily, tapping you on the shoulder while you sleep peacefully.

You're dead asleep, but after a few tries, Jungkook can see you stirring. You twitch when you feel a hot hand rubbing up and down on your arm. When you start coming to, you hear your husband's voice.

"Y/n? Baby, please wake up."

The second you comprehend what's going on, your eyes peel open and you look over to your right to see Jungkook curled up on his tummy, his knees tucked underneath him. His hair is sweaty and sticking to his forehead.

"Kook? Love, are you okay?" You sit up immediately, worry consuming your mind. He shakes his head a tiny bit, then he lets out a soft groan.

"I feel...s-sick."

You scoot over and brush his damp hair back to feel his forehead. He's burning up. "Sick how, love? What's hurting?" You ask gently, moving your hand down to rub his back softly.

"My s-stomach..." He whines and stuffs his face into his pillow. You turn to your other side and grab your phone to check the time.

5:47am

"Ok, I'm going to get you some medicine and then I'm going to call the boys and let them know you're staying home today." You set your phone down and stand up to get something to make him feel better. But another whine from Jungkook makes you stop.

"No, no baby don't do that. I have to go to practice."

"Jeon Jungkook, don't start this with me right now." You say gently but sternly. He just moves to his side, trying to find a good position.

"It hurts. I'm gonna be sick." Jungkook moans, holding his tummy and clenching his eyes shut. At his words, you run to the kitchen and grab your designated sick-bucket, then you run back and sit next to him on the bed.

"Here, baby." You brush his hair back again, Jungkook shifting and trying to sit up. He manages to get up enough to take the bowl with shaking hands.

"I don't wanna p-puke."

"I know, but you'll feel better."

Jungkook's whole body is shaking, his eyes watering as he stares into the empty bowl, willing himself not to be sick.

You want to get him some medicine, but you know he doesn't want to be alone. "Kook? I'm going to get you some medicine, alright?" He shakes his head, reaching out a hand to wrap around your wrist.

"P-please don't leave me."

"Baby, I will be so quick. Just take some breaths and stay calm. I'll be right back." He lets go of your wrist and nods weakly. The second you're free, you hurry to the bathroom to get him something for the pain. While you're there, you grab a thermometer too.

When you come back, Jungkook is leaning over the bowl, breathing short and quick. You sit down and pat his back, "Kook, take deep breaths." He shakes his head, the panic setting in.

"Hey, listen to me baby. Breathing quick will make it wors-"

Before you can even finish, he's throwing up. You keep rubbing his back, letting him know you're there.

After a minute, he stops. He's still shaking and a quiet sob leaves his lips.

"Oh sweetie, it's okay. Do you feel better?" You ask softly. He shrugs, willingly handing over the now dirty bucket when you take it from him. You set it on the floor and help him lie down again. After a quick temperature check, it's confirmed that he's running a fever. You give him the medicine and call the members, explaining the situation.

"Kook, the boys said to get better, and they don't want to see you again until you're feeling great." You tell him, walking over to stroke his hair. He whimpers and you lean down to kiss him on the head.

"Don't. You'll get sick." He mutters weakly.

"Oh I don't care. You'll just have to take care of me, then." You see a tiny smile on his face and your heart lifts.

"Thank you, Y/n. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Feel better baby, I'll be right here."

Jungkook falls asleep with those words in his mind, his sweaty hand gripping yours loosely.

===========================

a/n: Hope you guys liked it ;-;

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pixie88 · 3 years

Text

The Bribe

Chapter 10 - Together - Adam & Ellie.

A/N: Once again thanks for brainstorming ideas lovely @aussieez you are a star! I’m thinking of finishing this series soon, when I finally published it a few months ago after it being sat on my laptop for almost 10 months I didn’t think anyone would read it let alone actually enjoy it! So thank you for sticking with this A&E series I always love your lovely comments they make my day! This chapter is from both F!MC & M!MC POV. I’m so nervous about this chapter you’ll ever love it or hate it! ATM I am typing with only 8 fingers so I’m hoping I removed the mistakes!🤦‍♀️ I hope you like it! 😘

If you like it let me know or if you don’t still tell me why I won’t be offended!

I am only tagging those who have asked to be tagged in this series from now on as I don’t want to annoying people with tags. So Let me know if you would like to be tagged and if I missed anyone sorry just let me know!

Find previous chapters HERE under Together - Adam & Ellie.

Song: Alicia Keys - In Common The chorus in this reminds me of A&E’s blackmailing ways.

Word count: 2234

WARNINGS: ⚠️ Fluffy fluff, Angst & adult language.

Pairings: Adam x Ellie.

Enjoy!

F!MC POV

He hangs up the phone before putting the phone to his ear again, I jump down off the counter "Adam, what is it?"

He turns away from me "Nan, I just got your message"

"Adam?"

"One minute beautiful" he mouths to me.

"WHAT! You have got to be joking! I don't think so. I'll ask her hang on, Ellie have the police called you?"

I pull out my phone "I forgot to take it off silent, I have a missed call"

"Call them back and ask for an update on your case. Nan I've got to go. Will do bye"

I redial the number that called me "Hi, It's Ellie Barlow. I had a missed call from you. OK, thank you....Oh, so you've dropped the charges against her altogether?" Adam's face turns to stormy, I feel like my legs turn to jelly"Right, OK, well, thanks for letting me know" I hang up, my mind is trying to process what just happened, I don't hear Adam until he grasps my shoulders.

"Ellie? What do you mean dropped the charges?"

"Adam, they dropped the charges against her due to not enough evidence, some story she's given them about me being jealous because she's your ex, she....she even has an alibi saying she was nowhere near your office" my chest becomes tight "Adam, I can't breathe!"

"Hey Ellie let's sit down and take some deep breaths OK. Come on," He walks me over to the kitchen table "Now deep breaths in 1...2...3...4 and out 1...2...3...4" we repeat this until I've calmed down.

"What do I do now? They made me feel like I was lying!"

He lifts my chin to look up at him "Hey, we will sort this when we get home, I promise you. For now there isn't anything we can do so let's just enjoy our time away forget about it"

I smile softly "You're right, Do you think your parents will mind if we stay one more day I don't want to go back yet. I know you have work..."

He pulls me towards his chest "Hey! I'm call Rob explain he won't mind. If you need another day then that's what you will get. Plus I think mum will be over the moon we're staying an extra day" I hear him chuckle.

~*~*~*~

"Ellie, Wakey-wakey!"

I stir "Hmm?"

"There's my beautiful wife, come on we're going to bed late," I look at him confused "While you've been snoring me, Mum and Dad came up with something to do today. Something you said you've wanted to do in the past"

"What? Go back to sleep a little while longer?!" I put the duvet over my head blocking out the light.

I feel his knees sink into the mattress either side of me "Hey Come on, get up" he pulls the duvet away.

I look up at him hovering over me "Can't we just spend the day in bed?"

He leans in to kiss my cheek "As much as I would love that, no, not today. Now get up lazy bones before I make you?"

Before I can ask what he means he starts tickling me, "Ahhh!" I shriek "OK, OK I'll get up"

"Thought you might" he smirks.

~*~*~*~

"ARCHERY? We are doing archery? Is it safe to do?"

"Hey, do you really think I would let my pregnant wife do something that wasn't safe?"

"I suppose not" I roll my eyes.

"Its safe as long as you don't step in front the fired arrows"

I snort "Well, duh. But I say let's make this interesting"

He raises his brows "How?"

"The loser is at mercy to the winner?"

"OK, if I win I want you to wear nothing to bed tonight"

I chuckle "Shh! Your patents will hear!"

He looks over at them "Their busy talking to the instructor. Chosen your prize?"

I pretend to think for a minute "Yours is just obvious, but mine will be you have to say yes to anything I ask you to do today!"

His smile drops "What?!"

I wink "What? You wish you had thought of that? Or are you scared"

"Nope! Bring it on beautiful!"

We are on our second rounds Adam has 7 points I got 9 and just scored another 10 "I thought you said you haven't done this before Ellie?"

He takes his second go and scores an 8 "I haven't! I've only done it on the Wii sports!"

He laughs, "You're telling me that I am losing to someone who learned to play on a computer game?!"

"Well you can give up now"

"Not over until it's over baby"

I take my turn and score a 10 "There isn't any point of taking my last go. I've lost!"

"Aww, come on Adam you might win" I laugh. He takes his go and hits a 10 "Well done! Mister"

His arms wrap around me "Looks like I'm your Yes man for the day. What's your first request?"

"Hmm, let me think....kiss me?"

He doesn't answer instead his lips crash to mine "If your request are like this I'm going to have as much fun as you"

"Hey you two have you finished?" Al calls over.

Adam pulls his lips away from mine, his gaze still on mine giving me butterflies "Yes, Dad, we are done"

"Who won?" Nina calls over as they make their way over to us.

I turn in their direction "I did!"

"Yes, well done Ellie! I won too!" Nina hand slaps against mine as we high five.

"We have a cocktail making at home Ellie I found some alcohol free cocktail recipes for you," she pulls me along with her towards the car.

~*~*~*~

"Ellie, I am not drinking that!" he pushes the glass back towards me.

"Oh, come on I made it especially for you. and I'm asking you to. You have to say yes"

"But it looks like vomit! What is it?"

I push it back towards him "It raspberry mojito. The floaty bits in there are raspberries I crushed as we didn't have raspberry puree. Now drink"

He rolls his eyes "Fine" he takes a sip "It's not to bad actually"

"Told you! Now let me make you a blue lagoon!"

"Be careful Adam it looks like she's trying to get you drunk to have her wicked way with you" Nina is very tipsy.

"Nina!!" Al laughs.

"Hate to tell you but she doesn't need to get me drunk for that!" he winks at me.

"Adam!!" I blush, I end up making a jug for the 3 of them then another.

Nina is giggling to herself "What's so funny mum?"

"In the toilet I noticed something stick your tongue out" Al and Adam pokes their tongues out she laughs harder.

I'm so confused "What's so funny Nina?"

"Our tongues are blue. We look like we've given a Smurf a blowjob!" She howls, I snort with laughter.

"OK Nina, I think it's time we got you to bed!" Al starts lifting her up from her seat.

"Ooo Al are you taking me to bed?" she says with a flirty tone.

"Mum!"

"Oh come on Adam like you two haven't been at it like rabbits since you got here" Nina giggles.

"Nina, lets get you to bed" Al leads her towards the stairs. "Night guys" Al calls over his shoulders as he's ushering Nina up the stairs.

"Your mum is hilarious when she's drunk" I wrap my arms around his neck as he's sat on the bar stool.

"It's funny when it isn't your parents! But she is right about being at it like rabbits" he picks me up and pulls me onto his lap wrapping my legs around him.

I feel his beard tickles my neck followed by his lip "Not here Adam"

"They won't be back down"

"Take me to bed"

He sighs pulling away to look at me "Yes beautiful"

~*~*~*~

M!MC POV

"Rob I'm just going to grab some lunch I'll see you in an hour"

"OK, mate" He calls back from the office. As I walk pass Bridezillas I spot it (I wonder if you can see it from the office?) I walk back to the office and you can still see it but just about!

I make my way back over to Bridezillas "Adam, Ellie isn't here today she's meeting with a supplier"

"Yeah, I know. Jess that CCTV on the corner is that Bridezillas?"

"Oh, what the one at the front of the alley? Yeah Ellie had them putting a few weeks after she moved in there one covering the entrance and there is another down the alley"

"Can I take a look at the footage?"

"Yeah of course" she does something on the laptop then hands it to me.

I take it to Ellie's office, I look through the video clips until I find the day it happened.

12.50 PM

I watch Laura walk through the door of the office in the top left corner.

1.03 PM

I see Ellie do the same.

1.08 PM

Laura leaves in a rush.

1.10 PM

Rob walks into the office.

1.19 PM

I watch myself arrive.

1.22 PM

The ambulance arrive.

"GOTCHA!" I send the clip to my email and save a copy onto the USB I have on my keys before closing down the program and handling the laptop back to Jess. "Quick question, have the police been in touch to look at the CCTV?"

"Erm..no they haven't, but to be honest its for the flat entrance not the shop so we kinda forget it's there"

"OK, thanks" I leave the shop and send a text.

[Meet me at the cafe in 10 minutes!]

I sit out the front of the cafe waiting with a coffee, I don't know what I spot first her pixie cut or the smell of her cheap perfume. "Adam, I was surprised to hear from you, have you've realized what a liar your wife is!" My blood boils (Keep calm) "You didn't get me a coffee?"

"I'll warn you once do not talk about my wife like that! Why would I get you a coffee?"

"OK, I see she still has her crawls firmly in you. What is it you want?" she hiss hurt.

"You to leave Manchester for good"

She cackles "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because if you don't, not only will you go down and you'll drag your mum with you. How do you think a 65 year old woman will survive in prison?" she looks at me confused "Giving a false alibi is a criminal offence"

"Still trying to pin Ellie's fall on me? Guess what! I wasn't there when it happened"

"But you had an appointment at five to one?"

"I did, but I was late by the time I got there, there was an ambulance there"

"I have proof to prove otherwise" I load up the CCTV footage as it's playing her face goes pale.

"Where did you get that?"

"My pregnant wife forgot about the CCTV she had installed. I guess she didn't realize it covers my office door"

Her face turns to fury "Why haven't you taken it to the police?"

"Well, we tried to do it the right way, and they let you go. Plus, if I take it to the police you'll get anything from 3 to 7 years but I want you out of our lives for good"

"So I'm suppose to up and leave because you say so?"

"No, but if you don't this goes to the police. Both you and your mum will go down"

"Then I'll tell them about this conversation and how you tried to blackmail me to leave"

I laugh, "I have no idea what she's talking about officer, I simply brought her to the cafe to ask her to say away from me and my wife, I knew nothing about the CCTV footage until my wife sent it me via email asking if it were enough evidence to prove she had attacked her. You see the thing about the police once you lie they don't trust a word you say after that"

"How can I trust you won't go to the police even if I do leave?"

"You don't! You just have to believe the fact I want you out of our lives forever is motive enough not to"

"But what if I need to come back for a family emergency?"

"Not my problem, but if you do step foot back here for any reason this goes straight to the police"

"Fine, I'll be gone by the end of the week" she hisses.

"No! Tonight!"

"But I can't just up and leave. Not with just a few hours notice"

"I couldn't care less. Tonight or tomorrow you'll get taken away in cuffs" I stand to leave, I bend down and lean in close enough so only she can hear "Your choice!" I hear my phone as I leave.

*1 New Message from Beautiful*

[Hey can you meet me at the house? x]

[Hi, yep see you in a few. Hope everything is ok? xx]

I head home once inside I see Ellie on the sofa "Hey beautiful, What's up?"

She looks up at me with a blank stare "I saw you," she doesn't look at me, her words are almost a whisper.

"Saw me?"

She huffs "I saw you with her outside the cafe. Why were you with her?"

"It's not what it looks like I promise. I wanted to keep you out of this, but we promised no secrets. Ellie I've sorted it she won't be bothering us anymore"

"What? How?"

Continue reading this story here - Chapter 11

@lem-20 @khoicesbyk @aussieez @txemrn @irisofpurple @shewillreadyou

#adam x ellie #adam x mc #manchester

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imyoursandthatsitwhatever · 4 years

Text

only wanna dance with you

It all started with Patrick Swayze.

Steve, Robin, and Billy navigate the summer together: A story in three parts.

for @awickedplacethisis, who inspires me

part i

love isn’t always magic sometimes it’s just melting where it’s black and blue where it hurts the most -andrea gibson

The thing is, the first time Robin comes over that first summer, Steve doesn’t really know how to act. Like, he knows they almost died together, and he knows she genuinely gives a shit about him, but they don’t actually know each other that well yet. Somehow, learning Robin’s deepest, darkest secret feels like he’s barely even scratched the surface.

So, as usual, he tones it down. When he wants to reach out, get close, he stays a respectful distance. He isn’t clingy, okay. Not anymore. He’s trying to be better. Normal. Robin’s the first friend he’s had over to his house who’s older than fourteen and he doesn’t want to fuck this up by being weird.

He sits a respectful distance away from her on the couch. He puts a pillow between them when they lie on his bed getting high. He doesn’t even hug her goodbye when she leaves. He doesn’t do any of those things because he doesn’t even know if Robin likes being touched. And he’s trying to be better. More considerate. It’s a little harder than he thought it’d be, ‘cause he’s an affectionate person, but he thinks it’s for a good cause.

It’s just started to rain when he hears the knock on the door. He stumbles out of bed, glancing at the red letters blinking on the clock. 12:53. Oh Jesus, something’s wrong.

Robin’s on the other side of the door. Her eyes are wet and red-rimmed and she’s hugging herself around the middle, hunched over like she has a really bad stomach ache. She’s reaching for him before he even knows what’s happening, arms wrapping around his neck, body sagging, and she’s holding him like he’s the answer to every problem she’s ever had.

“Hey,” he whispers, gently weaving his fingers through her hair. It’s soft and smells like strawberries. “I’ve got you.”

And God, he’s wanted this for so long. Not only to be touched, but to be needed. And yeah, he and Robin are just friends, and he’s glad they stayed that way. Because it means things are never going to get complicated. He needs that in his life—Something easy. Something that makes sense without having to stare at it for two hours like a math problem. Robin makes sense to him. He trusts her. And maybe, since she’s here, that means she trusts him too.

He tucks his hands under Robin’s thighs and lifts her up, her legs wrapping around him immediately as he walks her over to the couch. Carrying her is easy, and suddenly he remembers when he used to do this with girls at parties to try to make himself look cool, and laughs at himself. He used to care so fucking much about what everyone thought. Now, he only cares about who the hell made the coolest girl he knows so fucking sad.

When he sits on the couch, she curls up into his lap, her head tucked right under his chin. He can feel her breath tickling his collarbone as he pulls his arms tighter around her.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asks, his words muffled by her ponytail.

“Fuck no,” she murmurs, her voice trembling. He feels something wet hit his chest and he realizes this is the first time he’s ever seen Robin really cry. It’s unsettling and horrible and he just wants to make it better.

“Okay,” he answers simply, reaching for the TV remote. He finds The Golden Girls and leaves it on, because he remembers that Robin hasn’t stopped talking about this show since it premiered. Betty White is a fucking icon, dingus. You’ll get it when you watch it.

He feels a small laugh vibrate against his chest and he smiles. Maybe he’s doing something right. He takes a chance and starts rubbing little circles into the back of her neck—she sighs contentedly, nuzzling up against him like a cat.

It’s then that Steve realizes that maybe Robin was waiting on him, too. Maybe she was trying to feel him out, see what his boundaries were. And then got to a point where she didn’t care enough to pretend anymore.

She’s always been braver than he ever was, anyway. And that might be why this means so much now—That when she couldn’t be brave anymore, when she had to break down, she came to him. She came to Steve.

He hears a soft intake of breath followed by a quiet snore and laughs a little. After he mutes the TV he carefully undoes her shoe laces, slipping her Converse off and setting them down on the coffee table. His mom would kill him if she knew but as usual, she isn’t around to make a fuss. He reaches behind him for the down blanket resting on the back of the couch and covers them both, shifting backwards a little so he can lie down properly.

Robin is warm against him as Steve closes his eyes to sleep, and it isn’t weird, it just feels nice. It feels nice to hold someone. Even if that someone is currently drooling on his shirt a little bit.

He’ll give her shit about it tomorrow.

Maybe.

>>Read the rest on AO3<<

part ii

every time you smoke a cigarette i want to rip it from your mouth i don’t know how to say this except that it breaks my heart to think that anything could take you from me even a moment before it has to

-fortesa latifi

After that night, things are easy between them—effortless, really. Steve could lay his head down in Robin’s lap and she would know that he wants her to play with his hair. She tugs at it, scratches her fingernails against his scalp, even braids it sometimes, and he’s never felt more at home in his own body. It’s his favorite summer to date.

Robin graduates top of her class the next year. Steve sits in the audience and might have cried a little bit when he heard her speech, but no one can prove that. Billy wasn’t there. Steve had heard from Max that he’d started a job at a local mechanic, after getting his diploma by taking the few classes he’d needed from the school in the next town over. Billy stops by Family Video every once in a while to rent a movie, and they’d gone out to the quarry to smoke together one night, but other than that, Steve doesn’t see much of him.

August comes too fucking fast and Robin heads off to Indiana State on a full ride. Steve helps her pack her shit up, even drives with her down there to help her move in. When he drives away, leaving her waving at him on the sidewalk, his heart crawls up to his throat and stays there the whole drive home.

A year passes before it feels like he can even blink. The kids are halfway through high school and they’re busy with projects and girlfriends and other teenage bullshit, so he sees a lot less of them. Dustin and Suzie break up in April, so for a while, Steve keeps himself busy helping Dustin nurse his broken heart, mostly with the help of gummy worms and lots of pudding. Then Dustin meets a cute girl in Chemistry class, of all places, and Steve is left alone again.

When Robin comes back for summer vacation, she drags Steve to the premiere of Dirty Dancing, and when they get home, Robin demands that he lift her up like Swayze. He tries, he really does, but he’s not exactly ready when she jumps and they both end up a mess of limbs on the floor, carrying a couple bruises into the next week as battle scars. She laughs and swats at him, and he thinks he might be bleeding somewhere, but it’s okay. It’s fun. It’s easy, with Robin.

He slips up later that night, when they’re getting high out by the pool. They’ve got two chairs pulled together, their legs tangled together, when he breathes the tangy smoke into the air and whispers, “I think… I have a thing for Billy.”

Billy could lift Robin like Swayze. Hell, Billy could lift Steve like that. Could lower him down, real slow, faces close enough to touch—Jesus. His mouth is watering and his dick is kicking in his jeans just from the thought.

“I think you do, too,” Robin replies, giggling, as she takes the blunt from between Steve’s fingertips and sucks on it.

He sits up in surprise, nearly knocking them both over. “Were you ever going to tell me?” Steve asks incredulously. He’s a little high, so he’s seeing two Robins right now, and he doesn’t know which one to glare at.

“Oh my God, Steve. I didn’t know I had to inform you who you have a crush on.” Robin sighs dramatically and passes the blunt back to him. “You’re like a little baby deer. So helpless.”

Steve groans and collapses back against the pool chair.

“How did you know I like him?” Steve asks, finishing off the blunt and flicking the roach somewhere near the pool’s edge.

“Well, first of all, you visited him in the hospital, like, every day,” she begins matter-of-factly.

Steve’s mouth tastes like cotton when he answers, “I was driving Max there, Robin. I was being a good Samaritan.”

“Oh, and were you being a good Samaritan when you spent nights there? Nights, as in plural, as in more than once?”

She has a point. Who is he kidding? Robin always has a point.

“He was alone, you know? And he saved us. And I wanted…” I wanted him to know I was there for him. That I could keep being there. If he wanted.

“Steve.” Her voice is gentle, soft in that way that wraps around him and makes him feel like nothing could ever hurt him again. She’s holding his hand. Her black nail polish is chipped, it’s always fucking chipping, he wonders why she even bothers with it. But then he remembers that Robin doesn’t expect things to be perfect, or even want them to be. She likes things just how they are. She likes Steve just how he is.

He finally looks up at her, and she’s grinning at him. “Steve, I’m going to tell you a story, okay? All you have to do is listen.” Her voice is a little wobbly from the weed, but even while high, Robin’s a good storyteller. He lies back against the chair and folds his arms over his chest, waiting patiently.

“Do you remember that day last summer, when you had that really bad cold and you couldn’t make it into work?” Robin asks. Steve looks up at the stars, trying to map out some of the constellations Dustin had showed him, as he nods.

“Well, Billy stopped in that day. Thursday afternoon. Like he always does.” Steve wonders why she’s putting such heavy emphasis on the word. He knows Billy always stops by Thursday afternoons. It’s why Thursdays are his favorite day to work. Billy gets off work early from the garage on Thursdays, Steve doesn’t really know why, but he comes in with his coveralls tied around his waist and smelling like grease and it’s always the best part of Steve’s day, by a long shot.

“He came up to the counter, glanced around, and asked if I was working alone today. I said you had abandoned me in favor of being ill. And do you know what he did?”

“No. What?” Steve asks breathlessly. What could Billy have done that day in Family Video that warranted an entire fucking story about it?

“He walked out of the store, Steve. He didn’t even rent a movie. Just walked out. Do you know what that tells me, dingus?”

God, he’s so high right now. Her voice sounds far away and his heart is beating like a fucking drum in his ears. “No, I don’t,” he answers honestly, ‘cause he just really needs her to give him the answer. He can’t guess when it comes to Billy. With Billy, it has to be a sure bet.

“Billy doesn’t come to Family Video every Thursday to rent movies, Steve,” Robin says softly, tapping her thumb against his hand, “He comes to see you.”

Steve lets her words hang in the air for a second, imagines them attaching themselves to the stars up above and spelling it out for him.

He comes to see you.

He’s out of his chair before he even knows what he’s doing, swaying a little. Robin scrambles up to tug him back down before he falls face-first into the pool.

“Oh my God,” Steve says as he collapses back onto the chair, putting his face in his hands, “How could you let me be such a goddamn idiot? Is it fun, watching me being oblivious?”

“I mean, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little fun,” Robin jokes, nudging her shoulder against his. “I knew you needed time to figure it out. You can’t rush these things.”

“Yeah, but Billy probably feels like shit because he’s been dropping hints since like, day fucking one and I didn’t notice, Robin.”

It’s like sand has been scrubbed from his eyes and he can finally see. He’d stayed in the hospital that first night because Billy had asked him to. Billy had grabbed his hand as he stood up, looking at him frantically, still hooked up to that goddamn breathing machine because his lungs were too fucking weak. Steve had just thought he’d wanted someone to keep him company. His big, dumb, ugly brain hadn’t thought for even a second Billy wanted him, specifically.

And then, the way Billy had looked at him when he finally got that awful tube out of his throat. How he’d smiled and asked hoarsely, “Am I dreamin’, or is that you, Harrington?” Like he’d been waiting to say it. Like he’d spent weeks picking out the perfect fucking line.

It all comes back to him in startling clarity, now. How he’d wake up in the morning, in that really terrible plastic chair, to Billy staring at him. How Billy would suddenly turn his head and pretend to look out the window. How the nurse greeted Steve that morning he brought bagels—“Oh, you must be Steve,”—like Billy had been talking about him. How Billy had asked Steve, not Max, to check his chest when he thought he’d ripped open a stitch.

And the Thursday afternoons. Steve was so dense he didn’t even realize Billy was coming to rent a video every Thursday afternoon because he wanted to see him. And, now that he’s thinking about it, Billy probably gets off at 2:00 every Thursday at the garage because Steve gets off at 3:00 on Thursdays. And that’s probably something that Billy fucking knows, ‘cause Steve is pretty sure that he works later nights at the garage the rest of the week. Thursday’s probably the only day he can free up to swing by.

“Robin, I have to go see Billy. Like, now,” Steve says, getting to his feet, “But first, I have to get… uh, un-high. How do I get un-high?”

He feels a warm hand on his back, leading him towards the house. “You need water, snacks, and a cold shower,” Robin replies confidently, “Let’s go, dingus.”

The shower is a brilliant idea, really, because Robin turns the dial just cold enough to shock him back into reality, but not enough to make him hypothermic. (However, it’s a close thing.)

He eats the haphazard sandwich she shoves in his face and chugs a glass of water while she towel dries his hair for him.

“How long have we been married?” Steve asks in amusement as she grabs the blow dryer.

“17 years. And you forgot our last anniversary. Dick.” She shoves his head down and starts violently blow-drying, ignoring his protests as he tries to choke down the last piece of sandwich in his mouth.

She leaves him to style his hair and skips off to his bedroom, muttering something about picking out an outfit for him. She returns with a pair of dark wash jeans and an emerald green sweater.

“I haven’t worn those jeans in years, I don’t even know if they still fit—”

“Okay, Steve, newsflash: Billy is very into your ass. I’ve seen him look at it. He is not a shy guy. These jeans are going to be tight on your ass and Billy’s mind will be properly blown. And before you ask about the sweater, the color green just so happens to go very well with the color brown, and from the many times I’ve watched Billy gaze longingly into them, I can safely assume he is also a fan of your big, dumb, Bambi eyes. Any further questions?”

Steve shakes his head, eyes wide, and slips the jeans over his boxers. They fit like a glove. Especially over his ass.

“Are you a genie?” he asks, staring at Robin suspiciously as he tugs the sweater over his head. It’s really fucking soft. He hopes Billy will want to put his hands on him when he sees it.

“Not a genie. Just call me your fairy godmother,” Robin sing-songs as she throws his car keys at him, watching him almost spectacularly fail to catch them, “I have a feeling you’re not gonna be back, so you can drop me off at my place on the way there.”

“What do you mean I’m not gonna be back?” Steve asks, horrified, before the joke clicks. “Oh,” he says softly as she digs through the bathroom cabinets, finding a bottle of cologne and spritzing him a couple times.

“You have his new address, right?” Robin asks as they head outside towards his car.

“Yeah, I remember where it is. I dropped him off there once.” After we smoked together out at the quarry all night. I thought about kissing him before he climbed out of the car, but I didn’t because he was too fucking beautiful and I was too fucking scared.

Robin gives him a thumbs up from her living room window after he makes sure she gets inside, and then the lights are switched off in the house and he’s alone again, pulling away from the curb and racing down the street towards Billy’s apartment.

He feels an eerie sense of calm as the turn draws closer, even though he knows he should be shaking out of his skin right about now. Somewhere between nights at the hospital and Thursday afternoons, Billy had become important. And when someone’s important to you, you’re supposed to tell them. Friends don’t lie.

The street sign comes into view and he turns the wheel easily. His hands aren’t shaking. He isn’t nervous. He actually feels better than he has in a long time, because he’s pretty sure Billy has been waiting for Steve to show up at his door.

The night is quiet save for the occasional chirp of a cricket as he climbs out of the car, looking up at the apartment complex. Billy’s on the ground floor, in the back of the building, and his feet are taking him there and before he really even registers what he’s doing, he’s knocking on the door.

There’s a muffled curse inside as something falls to the ground, and then the door is being wrenched open and Billy is standing there, eyes wild and body coiled up tight. His expression immediately softens when he sees Steve, and the frying pan that was clenched in his hand falls to the floor for what appears to be the second time, judging from the sound. Steve stares at it for a second before clearing his throat.

“Hey,” he says, mustering up a smile because Billy is still kind of staring at him like he’s trying to figure out if Steve is real. He’s got a dish towel thrown over his shoulder, his white tank top stained with some sort of orange sauce, and Steve belatedly realizes he’s interrupted Billy making dinner.

“Hey,” Billy answers back, looking at Steve warily. His hand is still outstretched where it had been holding the pan, and he clenches it back into a fist. “What are you—”

“I’ve recently been informed that I’m an idiot. I mean, I knew that before, but I’ve reached like, a pretty incredible level of stupid at this point,” Steve starts, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.

Billy’s eyebrows fly up in surprise. “You’re not—”

“No, I really am. I’m really stupid, Billy. It took me getting high tonight to figure it out, because I was too scared to admit it before. And I’m sorry for all the time I’ve wasted.”

Steve lets out a shuddering breath; he watches Billy’s brow furrowing in confusion and he imagines reaching out to smooth it with his thumb.

“I think you’ve been trying to tell me something, and I wasn’t getting it,” Steve starts softly, stepping closer to the doorway. Billy looks a little taken aback, but he doesn’t move. “See, I always looked forward to my Thursday afternoon shifts ‘cause I knew you’d be stopping by. It never occurred to me that you might have a different reason for coming to the store other than, you know, renting movies. I thought you just really liked Rocky, I guess?” Steve laughs quietly, glancing down at the ground. He and Billy are inches apart and he swears he can hear Billy’s heartbeat.

“I was thinking tonight, after I dropped Robin on the floor, that you could totally lift me up like Patrick Swayze does and I just, really like that about you.” Steve sighs, tearing his gaze from the floor to glance at Billy, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement as he nods for Steve to go on, “I really like a lot of things about you. And I need you to know that I thought about kissing you that night after the quarry, and I thought about kissing you before that too, and you’re honestly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever fucking seen and I didn’t know how someone like you would ever want to be with me, and I know I’ve been stupid, but I—”

He feels his sweater being tugged forward, and then Billy’s lips are moving softly against his, and Steve breathes a sigh of relief into Billy’s mouth as he winds his arms around Billy’s neck.

Billy feels so fucking good, from the hard planes of his abs pressing against Steve’s torso to the needy way he licks into Steve’s mouth as he walks them backwards. Steve feels his back hit soft cushions and Billy lifts his arms above his head, holding him by the wrists, as he sucks on Steve’s bottom lip. He feels Billy move against him, the fabric of his sweatpants doing nothing to hide how hard he is, his cock brushing against Steve’s thigh and sending a burst of heat straight down to his groin. Billy slots his knee between Steve’s legs, pushing up against him, and Steve groans into his mouth and frees his hands from Billy’s grip, tugging at Billy’s curls to pull him closer.

“You’re not,” Billy breathes between kisses, “Stupid,” his tongue licking sweetly across Steve’s cupid’s bow, “You just can’t take a hint.”

Steve laughs and Billy swallows it down, smiling against Steve’s lips as he slips his hand under the sweater to run his fingers over Steve’s chest.

“This sweater is real fuckin’ nice, pretty boy,” he murmurs, running his free hand down the soft fabric, “But I have to say, your jeans are really doing it for me.” His hand dips lower to palm at Steve’s ass through the denim and Steve keens, ‘cause Billy’s built like a brick shithouse and has the fucking hands to match.

He swears he can hear Robin laughing all the way across town.

“Fuck, Billy,” Steve groans as Billy scrapes his teeth along the side of his neck, wriggling underneath him as Billy sucks a mark into the sensitive skin there.

“What’d you say before, about me bein’ like Swayze?” Billy murmurs, nuzzling his way up Steve’s neck and placing a chaste kiss against the shell of his ear.

“We watched Dirty Dancing, and Robin wanted to do the move, you know, where he lifts her up? And I couldn’t catch her when she jumped, I fuckin’ dropped her on the floor and went right down with her,” Steve giggles, fisting his hands into the worn fabric of Billy’s tank top, “But I was thinking that you could lift me up like that, no problem.”

Billy stares at him for a second, a mischievous smile playing on his lips before he’s suddenly hopping off of the couch.

“All right, pretty boy, let’s do it.” Steve takes a moment to admire the rippling muscle of Billy’s arms as he pulls him up from the sofa, all the work Billy’s put in since he’d almost fucking died right in front of Steve’s eyes two years ago, before Billy’s pushing him to the other side of the living room. Steve watches in amusement as Billy stretches and cracks his neck back and forth, before crouching down and holding his arms out.

Steve takes a moment to carefully push the furniture back towards the wall, and hesitantly slips off his shoes.

“I can lift you, no problem, but you’re gonna need to use your core to actually hold yourself up like she does,” Billy instructs, as if he’s teaching a fucking yoga class. Steve laughs and rolls up the sleeves of his sweater, bouncing lightly on his feet.

“Yeah, yeah. Make sure you plant your fucking feet,” Steve replies haughtily before he takes off running, leaping into the air and—

And Billy catches him, like it’s nothing. His legs are kicked out behind him, his back curved up towards the ceiling, and his arms are out like he’s fucking flying. Billy gives him a twirl for good measure, before gently lowering Steve down, achingly slow, their bodies sliding together deliciously until they’re face to face. Steve wraps his arms around Billy’s neck and they spend the next few minutes kissing soft and slow, Billy still holding him up off the ground like he’s weightless.

Steve giggles as Billy starts walking him backwards towards what he assumes is Billy’s bedroom door, scooting up to wrap his legs snugly around Billy’s waist as he carries him across the kitchen.

“You takin’ me to your bedroom, Johnny?” Steve asks on a breathy sigh as Billy forcefully kicks the door open.

“Would you rather me fuck you in the corner, Baby? Cause you know, nobody—”

“Oh my God, just shut up and kiss me.”

part iii

you do not have to be good. you do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

-mary oliver

Steve insists Billy meet Robin the next week, because she has to go back to school soon, and he has to politely remind Steve that he has already met Buckley, many times, at your dumb fucking video store, Steve.

It’s not the same, Billy, we weren’t dating then, Steve argues, so Billy rolls his eyes fondly, kisses Steve and whispers, You know I’ll do whatever you want, baby.

So that’s how they end up at Steve’s place, sprawled out on the couch watching The Breakfast Club, because it’s the only movie they all seem to agree on.

Billy had been given a previous heads-up that Robin and Steve were usually kinda touchy with each other, and Steve had told him like he’d be threatened somehow. It was real fuckin’ cute, is what it was.

He likes Buckley, probably more than he’s ever liked a girl in his damn life. She’s smart as a whip and she’s got a hell of a lot of fire in her, which Billy can appreciate. But most of all, he knows she played a part in getting Steve to his front door that night. And that she picked out those jeans. God, those fucking jeans. So, she’s more than okay in his book. If she wants to cuddle up to Steve a little bit, she’s earned it as far as he’s concerned.

Plus, he clocked it a long time ago that she likes girls. That helps, too.

Robin and Steve are so damn natural with each other, the way they sprawl out on the couch together, legs all tangled up. Billy tries to think of a friend who he felt that comfortable with, and comes up empty. Heather, maybe. It was always real easy to work with her at the pool—when no one was looking, she’d make crazy faces at him up on the lifeguard stand to try to make him laugh. His heart starts to ache a little bit, wondering if he could have had a real friend in her. Wondering what her life would have been if it hadn’t been cut short.

Steve seems to notice his stormy expression and leans over to brush a kiss against his ear. “You okay?” he asks, his arm tightening around Billy’s waist. Billy smiles back at him and leans in to kiss him real soft and slow. Robin makes a gagging sound from nearby.

“I’m all right. Just got a little in my mind is all,” Billy murmurs, resting his forehead gently against Steve’s. Steve nods like he understands, a fond smile tugging at his lips.

“So, Hargrove,” Robin begins, reaching over to poke at Billy’s leg with a socked foot. “I hear you can give Swayze a run for his money.”

Billy throws his head back and laughs, grabbing her foot and giving it a vicious tickle before she manages to pull it away, screeching.

“You bet your ass, Buckley. You want me to prove it? Heard good ol’ Stevie dropped you on your ass when he tried.”

“That he did,” agrees Robin sagely, Steve sputtering in indignation as she hops from the couch. “Let’s get to it, then.”

“All right, girlie, let’s see what you got,” Billy replies smoothly, getting up to push the coffee table towards the fireplace. He watches Steve settle in comfortably against the couch cushions, ready for the show to begin. Billy rolls his sleeves up and stretches his neck and arms out real quick, while Robin takes some practice jumps across the room.

He looks over at her, her eyes sparkling with mischief, and sees this for what it is: An offering. We can be friends, Hargrove. Just don’t drop me on my ass.

Billy gestures at Robin with his hand, his body poised and ready—and without hesitation, she takes off towards him from the other end of the living room. He has only seconds to marvel at her confidence in him before she’s flying through the fucking air, soaring right above his head, and he has to step back a few paces because she’s gone too fucking far, but by some God-given miracle he still catches her, hoisting her up above his head and whooping in relief.

She’s laughing as he twirls her around, which quickly devolves into screeching when he drops her and swiftly catches her in his arms.

“Oh my God,” she exclaims, draping a hand over her eyes dramatically as she hangs loosely in his hold, “I’m swooning, Hargrove. Now put me down.”

Billy does as he’s told, depositing her carefully onto the ground, before she’s running full tilt past Steve and up the stairs.

“Steve, I’m borrowing your mom’s video camera. Hargrove, you better get ready to do that again!” she screams from the top of the stairs before she disappears down the hall.

Steve laughs and pulls Billy down onto the couch with him, pressing him gently into the cushions. “That was pretty sexy,” Steve breathes, nuzzling against Billy’s cheek.

“Only wanna dance with you, baby,” Billy replies, feeling like his heart’s about to burst through his ribcage as Steve’s brown eyes go all soft.

“Jesus Christ, I leave you two for ten seconds and you’re already horizontal,” comes Robin’s voice from behind the couch. Steve clambers off of Billy, and Billy wants to kiss every inch of the blush spreading across his face and down to his chest.

“You’re on film duty,” Robin announces, handing Steve the video camera once she gets it all queued up. He starts rolling and Billy shoots some finger guns his way while Robin makes a big show of stretching.

Steve shoots him a tender smile from behind the camera, and Billy feels a light blush burning its way across his cheeks—and worst of all, it’s been caught on film.

But as he glances over at Robin, who’s grinning at him widely as she rocks back and forth on her feet, ready to run at him again, he thinks he might want to watch this back again someday.

Because somehow, without even asking for it, without even daring to hope, he finally has everything he’s ever wanted. Steve Harrington, looking at him like he’s something worth having, worth keeping. And Robin Buckley, the first real friend he’s ever had.

And if it took Patrick Swayze to get him here, well—he might just owe the guy a big fucking thank you.

#harringrove #my fics #harringrove fanfiction #Harringrove fics #steve x billy fics

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revisionaryhistory · 3 years

Text

Three Days ~ 77

~*~Emma~*~

I woke in the morning feeling more relaxed and rested than I had since the last week I'd been in Hawaii. Music, friends, sex, and cuddling with my boyfriend were a good recipe for contentment. I felt light as air. Part of that was knowing today was going to be a fun day. We'd been dating for a month. I'm not big on celebrating every anniversary, but I am generally aware of them. A month isn’t anything. I've had many month long relationships. As I've said before, a month is usually when I decide if it’s worth continuing. Sometimes it takes a little longer. Depends on how much we've seen each other. If it's a weekend only thing, four dates might not be enough. If it's been more frequent it might be too long. Sebastian has been in the middle. We've spent a lot of time together and some stretches away. I like the combination. If you see each other a lot it's easy to lose yourself in something new. Friends and your normal routines get pushed away in favor of the new relationship, but if you don't see each other often there's a tendency to not want to let go of your normal for the relationship. I don't know which is better. For me, if I'm more interested in doing what I normally do I'm not very interested. On the other hand, too much together at the expense of other things can cause a problem when one of you wants some normalcy back. Finding that balance can be hard. That we've both had prior obligations has made the balance easier. I like how our self-care time has worked its way into our relationship. Exercise, meditation, guitar practice have started to be us time too.

I lifted my head and saw Sebastian was still sound asleep. He was on his back, one arm over his head and one thrown out to the side. His legs were similar. The one closer to me was stretched out and nearly touching me. The other was mostly out from under the covers with a bent knee. His face was relaxed with a slight smile on his lips. One part of him was not relaxed. Nothing unusual about that.

I should help him out. He had said waking up to find me sucking his cock would be a good thing. He was positioned perfectly with space between his legs and the sheet close. I wonder how long it will take for him to wake up?

Very slowly, so as not to move the mattress, I moved between his legs. Once there, I carefully lifted the covers over his erection. I paused a moment to let any movement settle and to look. As far as penises go, he's got a nice one. Somewhere between six and seven inches, just right girth (for me anyway), with a slight up and to the right bend. He's uncut, which is actually my preference. Foreskin is fun to play with and with the under bits being protected from rubbing against pants all day, they're more sensitive. I know a man who as an adult got circumcised at his girlfriend's request. Even years later he regretted it. Sex wasn't the same. He was less sensitive and needed much more stimulation to get off be it masturbation, oral, or intercourse. He developed a preference for anal because the increased tightness made up for the loss of sensitivity. I can feel the difference inside me too. That bit of extra skin moves in an unpredictable way. I'm in the lucky minority that can often come from vaginal intercourse, but it’s easier with uncut. I like Sebastian's cock. We're good friends.

I wrapped my hand around him at the same time I took him in my mouth. No teasing. I wanted him to wake up to full on suction. My hand pulled his foreskin down where my tongue could work his most sensitive places. That's when he moved. I kept my eyes up to watch him. He stirred a little, rolling his shoulders, and slowly licked his lips before biting the lower one. Sexy as fuck. I kept a slow and steady pace. Every few strokes he became more alert. A quiet moan, shifting his hips, a hand in my hair, and finally, a "Feels good, Emma." A few seconds after speaking his eyes opened and met mine. He looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Since he was awake, I backed off and used my tongue to tease him. He hissed in a breath, "Fuck." When I returned to sucking him properly, he mumbled, "I love you." before arching into the bed. From there it wasn't long before his orgasm hit. I can't decide which I like better: the feel of him coming in my mouth; the way he pulled my hair; or the sounds he made better. All were good.

I kissed my way up his body, giving him time to regain his senses. I loved the way his stomach jumped with my wet kisses. I could spend all day doing nothing but covering him in kisses. I don't think he'd make it through. I estimate an hour before he'd be buried inside me. I made it to his neck before laying down on top of him. His body against mine made me smile, "Buna dimineata, Sebastian." <Good morning>

"Foarte bună dimineața, dragostea mea." <Very good morning, my love.> Sebastian laid his hand on my face, turning it to him and kissed me softly, but thoroughly. "That's a kick ass way to wake up."

"You were positioned perfectly." I smiled and pressed my lips to his.

He kissed me again and I sank against him. The way his hand stroked my lower back felt great. The slightest bit firmer than a tickle. I shifted my hips a little, craving the contact. I needed attention, his attention. Sucking his cock may not bring me physical pleasure, but the feeling of power, his reaction, and the sounds he makes definitely have me feeling some sort of way. The sort of way that only Sebastian can fix.

Sebastian rolled us over and laid kisses on my neck. His hand moved to my breast and I hummed happily as his fingers kneaded me. When his mouth took over, I purred, hooked my leg around his, and rubbed against him. "Ah, I want you."

"Good."

It was very good from the first lick of his tongue to the final stroke of his cock. The way we kissed, touched, and held onto each other was a wonderful way to wake up.

We laid in bed holding hands while we caught our breath. I rolled over to lay my head on his shoulder and feel him. I like the stretch of skin between his armpit and pecs. I kissed him there before taking in his face, his blue eyes looking over to meet mine. "Tu iubusc, Sebasti-an."

He smiled, "Tu iubusc." We kissed softly. His fingers brushed through my hair and down to draw nonsense patterns on my forearm as it lay across his stomach.

"Want to hear my tentative plan for the day?"

"Very much."

"Go for a run, hit the gym, then back here for a shower. Relax, meditate, practice guitar, have sex. Shower. Pizza, park, movie, ice cream. Back here for slow dancing and more sex." He waved his hand around. "Eventually sleep."

"Can we add in finding where your parking space is? I'd rather drive down than deal with luggage on the train."

"Sure." He smiled. "When you fly back from Paris you should stay here. I don't want you driving tired."

"You sure?" I liked his plan.

"Wouldn't have given you a key if I wasn't." Before I could say anything, he went on. "I don't give out keys. I trust you and the thought of you asleep in my bed with me not here makes me happy."

I just looked at him.

"Why are looking at me like that?"

I don't know how I was looking at him, but with any luck, it was close to how I was feeling. "I think that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

He started to roll his eyes and make a joke but stopped himself. "You're serious."

I raised my eyebrows and nodded.

Sebastian slowly gathered me in his arms and kissed me. "I'm glad it's me."

"I am too." I put my hand on his chest. "You don't have to..." his kiss stopped me from finishing the thought, "make a big deal out a month."

"I want to."

"Second sweetest thing anyone's said to me."

"I'm on a roll."

A few kisses later we got dressed and had a cup of coffee before heading out. We ran along the less busy streets, winding in and out, and ended up at the gym. This was a heavy day for him and I opted for a yoga class. I lifted some before the class and kept an eye on my lover. They laughed as much as they lifted. A couple of times I caught him watching me, his friends did too and would wave at me and shove him. I blew Jackson a kiss before heading to class.

I found Sebastian later sitting with the others and drinking a smoothie.

Len hugged me, "Good to see you've hung around. My boy must be doing ok."

Sebastian put his arm around my waist, "She's forgiving."

"I have no complaints." I poked him in the side, "Except he's letting me starve." I ordered a chocolate cinnamon protein smoothie. "Good work out?"

"Yes. Feeling flexible?"

That was a loaded question. I patted his face, "We'll see."

I got to hear stories while we drank our smoothies. Funny stories. Embarrassing stories. Stories that made Sebastian cover his face. I thought about diverting, but honestly, it was too funny and his reaction was too cute. I could tell he was having fun too. He filled in details on the walk home. Including several parts that would have been more embarrassing to them.

I was still laughing, "Why didn't you out them back there?"

"They would have made up more shit to embarrass me."

"Friends are awesome!"

Our afternoon was lovely. I settled next to Sebastian on the couch for meditation "Should I be doing this on my own? Not using the guides. And I missing some benefits?" I've wanted a regular practice because I know the benefits, but my stress to do it right held me back. I needed a guide. Sebastian can be my guide. Now, our second joint meditation session seemed like the time to ask.

Sebastian was holding my hand and pulled it up to his lips. He was smiling at me in a way where he thought I was cute and I was the one overthinking. "The object is to change your brain waves by relaxation and not focusing on thoughts that drifty by. It’s training to focus and what to do with interruption. It's whichever works for you."

"Will you do mine with me and give me feedback. I'm not sure what I’m supposed to feel or be doing."

"Sure."

"It won't ruin your practice?"

He frowned and shook his head, "Might learn something new."

I picked one of my favorites that I thought would resonate for him. There's a short story about finding peace and when you take it in it's part of you and can return there. You imagine yourself suspended in a globe of light supported in a bubble or being surrounded by loving hands. You breathe in peace as yellow sparkling light and breath out your worries. Then you’re walked through letting go and releasing tension and back to the bubble breathing in joy. By the end of the meditation, you’re breathing in the yellow light and breathing it back out. The dark has been released. There's several minutes of quiet before your brought back to full awareness.

When it was over, I opened my eyes and let out a sigh. Sebastian took my hand, "Tell me what you felt. What you did?"

"I see myself in a transparent balloon surrounded by golden light. In the bubble I bounce slowly, never touching down, arms out, kinda dancing to the music. I see me breathing in the yellow and breathing out the black. I'm listening to the affirmations as I bounce in the ball, I'm always smiling and bouncing, and by the and the air I’m breathing out is the same sparking gold I breathed in."

He smiled, "How do you feel?"

"Happy relaxed. Arms and limp heavy. I don’t want to move."

"Did you get pulled into thoughts?”

"Some, but it's pretty easy to get back into my bouncing and twirling.”

Sebastian leaned over and kissed me, "You're getting the benefits of mediation. If you a more comfortable with words and music stay with it."

I cocked my head, "What did you think?"

The way he took a minute to think told me it wasn't his favorite. "You get caught up in counting breaths if it's silent. I had trouble not critiquing my floating and my breathing never went to yellow. Frustrating."

We laughed. "You need unstructured and I need more structure. The opposite doesn’t work."

"Yes, but both do the job."

"Cool." I kissed him as I stood up. "Gonna get my guitar."

Sebastian kicked back on the couch with his fingers laced on his stomach and his eyes closed while I practiced. Maybe he was meditating again since my version didn’t work for him. He just sat there with a smile on his face. I ran through favorites and familiar things. Sebastian never moved. When I finished I walked over, putting a knee beside him and pressing my lips to his. “You asleep?”

He smiled wider, but didn’t open his eyes, “Nope, listening and enjoying my life.”

“Good.” I kissed him again, “I’m going to get ready. Big date tonight.”

~*~*~

I walked into the family room in the bright pink swing dress with embroidered accents. It was a fun first date outfit that would look good with the necklace my boyfriend had bought me. We'd be walking a lot, so I wore flat strappy sandals. Sebastian was in jeans, a white t-shirt with an abstract blue geometric print, and white trainers. We make a cute couple.

He sat up on the couch, "Can I take a picture of you?"

"Sure."

This was a little more complicated than him hitting a button on his phone. I didn't mind. His wanting me a certain way, to capture how he sees me, made me feel beautiful.

He got what he wanted he came over and kissed me, "You look pretty."

My face dropped, "Pretty?"

"First date. I don't want to overdo it."

I smiled, "You didn't get laid on our first date, how far do you want to take this?"

There was an immediate change in his attitude. He cupped the back of my neck, bringing me in for a deeply passionate kiss. "You're so beautiful. I can’t help myself. I don't know how I got so lucky."

I patted his chest, "Don't oversell."

He kissed me again, his hand leaving my neck to settle on my ass "Too much for a first date. Perfect for now."

My heart rate quickened. He does such things to me. I folded my arms around his neck and took over the kiss, pulling at his bottom lip before fully engaging. His grip on my butt tightened and he pulled me up and against him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He took my hand and headed toward the door. A few steps in he leaned closer. "Back on track for getting laid later?"

I scoffed, "Absolutely."

Turning the other way he pumped his fist, "Yes."

We took a cab to a by-the-slice pizza place before heading into Washington Park. We found a bench and unpacked our dinner. Sebastian always takes up a lot of space. He sprawls. Sitting on the bench his thighs were wide, well into my space. My response was to drape my legs over the invading one. When food was gone, he laid his arm on my leg, his fingers playing on the skin behind my kneel. We watched people, talked, and enjoyed the sunshine.

There was time before the movie and we took off walking. On the edge of the park, he pointed our joint hands at the buildings on the NYU campus. "You went to NYU."

"Grad school. I used to walk this park a lot. Lunch. Study."

He squeezed my hand, "We could have walked by each other or sat on the lawn feet from each other."

"Maybe." I saw a familiar face crossing the street toward us and pulled him in that direction. "One of my professors." We drew closer and I stepped into his path, "Dr. Simon."

"Emiliana, what a surprise. Are you here buying books for next semester?" He shook my hand with a smile.

This is embarrassing. "No, unfortunately, I wasn't accepted. Thank you for your wonderful recommendation." I glanced beside me, "I'm here visiting my boyfriend. Sebastian, this is Dr. Simon. He taught my favorite reading class and was my student teaching supervisor. Dr. Simon, Sebastian Stan."

They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. "If you need to learn to read, you're in luck."

Sebastian laughed, "I could have used her help about twenty-five years ago."

Dr. Simon returned to me, "What do you mean you weren't accepted?"

Sebastian was lost. I explained quickly, "I applied for a new doctoral program in digital media and learning. Dr. Simon was nice enough to write me a recommendation." I looked to Dr. Simon. "I received confirmation of my application and that emails would go out in May. I never received anything."

"It’s a new program, nothing is on time. I assumed since you were on campus they'd gone out. Between your master's work, your post-grad continuing education, your online classroom, and marvelous letters of recommendation it wasn't a difficult decision. Congratulations, Emiliana."

"Really?" I'd been disappointed, but had been distracted since late May.

Dr. Simon leaned in, showing me his phone, "I'm on the admissions committee." The top of a document read “Acceptance Fall 2019” and there was my name on a list of ten.

I dropped Sebastian's hand and hugged my former, and apparently future, mentor. "Thank you so much."

He laughed, "Don't thank me, you did the work. I'll check on the emails tomorrow. You two have a good night. Nice to meet you, Sebastian."

"You too, Dr. Simon."

I stared after Dr. Simon for a few seconds before facing Sebastian. I was excited and in shock. "Oh my god."

Sebastian's smile matched how I felt. He took both of my hands, "Congratulations, baby."

I threw myself into his arms, feeling my feet leave the ground, "Thank you."

He was still smiling widely when we parted. I got a sweet kiss before he took my hand and started in the direction from which we'd come. "Do you want to skip the movie?"

"No, no." I shook my head. “More to celebrate.”

"You need to tell me everything."

I took a deep breath, letting it sink in a little more. "After I moved to Beacon, I started taking classes every winter. Too cold to do much else. Continuing ed, coding, and digital media. That's when I started building my online class. Last summer NYU announced a new doctoral program. Several of the classes I’d taken fell under the listed courses. I figured I might as well apply the classes to a degree. Since I hadn't heard from them I’d started researching other programs, but got distracted and hadn't applied."

"Umm, distracted.”

"Much more fun than classes.”

"Good to know." He bumped my hip with his "Does this mean you're moving back to the city?"

I thought I noticed a lilt to his voice and felt bad squashing it. "No, it's an online program. Predominately. I think there's a couple of in-person seminars each term, but even those can be arranged distance learning."

"I can't say I'm not a little disappointed." He let go of my hand to put his arm around me. "At least you'll have a place to stay for seminars."

"At least." I squeezed his waist and held onto the hand on my shoulder. “The way it was on the website there's a lot of room for designing my own degree. There are parameters and foundation courses, but it's up to me and my advisor to make it work for me."

"That's exciting, a do-it-yourself doctorate."

I laughed, "Yeah, I liked that idea. Take what’s important to me, what I want to do."

"What do you want to do?"

"Not sure. Maybe nothing. Just something to further my teaching. I like learning and taking classes." I took a step away where his hand fell off my shoulder and I could turn to him. "I do know what I want to do right now. See a first date movie with my handsome older lover." I didn’t want to derail our date too much.

Sebastian gasped, "Scandalous. Cradle robber.” We had a good laugh with that one. "How do you feel about a subtitled horror movie."

"You'll have to read it to me when I cover my eyes."

"The Orphanage" turned out to be both an effective scary movie and a touching drama. We jumped and cringed. I buried my face against Sebastian's shoulder. And by the and we both had cried.

The sky was dark when we exited the theatre. I tucked my arm through his while we walked. Sebastian stuck his hand in his pocket, squeezing my arm close. We talked on the way to our next stop. I enjoyed hearing Sebastian's opinion on the filmmaking.

Admittedly, I didn't pay attention to the same details he did. "Now, I want to see it again and see what you do."

"You don't want to get me started. I can talk for hours. Friends make me shut up."

I rubbed his bicep, "If I want you to stop talking, I'm sure I can find a way to distract you."

"I'm sure you can."

I smiled slyly, "I'm excited to see you in something and hear how it came together. Or see several takes and then see the final product. How often is the movie not what you expect from what you shot?"

"Usually. It’s more of nuances than anything major. Sometimes what I thought was the best isn't used. You have to trust the director. It's their vision. Marvel movies are different because sometimes you have no idea how anything connects. You may know someone is in the movie, but if you don't have a scene with them, you'd never know. Seeing those the first time was fun. Any project is if I can get out of my head" He put his hand over mine, "You'll get to see and if you ask me questions while we're watching something at home you'll hear more than you want."

I sang, "I know how to distract you."

Sebastian went for a mango gelato and I had milk chocolate. It didn't matter since we wound up sharing. I staked out a table while he bought it. For once I preferred what I ordered. From there it was a short walk back to his place. Inside, I handed him my phone, "My playlist tonight?"

He quickly unlocked and found the app, "What's it called?"

I quirked an eyebrow, "Bastian slow dance."

Sebastian rolled his eyes, "Naturally. How silly of me?" He started scrolling. “Thanks for going with Bastian."

"Alphabetical order is our friend."

After hooking my phone into the speaker system and hitting play he came back to me, holding out his hand. "May I have this dance?"

I put my hand in his and curtsied, "I'd be delighted."

"First time you curtsied we were heading into the pool house."

"Not for dancing."

He hummed with a grin, "Still rhythmic movement."

"It was a good night, but so were the two before."

We reminisced and laughed. Sharing memories of things we knew and a few we didn’t. "Here we are, a month after the world’s longest and most innocent first date." He pressed his lips to mine in a chaste kiss. "I'm a better man and in love in a way that I didn’t know was possible. I’m happy it's you."

The sincerity in his tone and the love emanating from his eyes burned. I slid my fingers through his hair, leaving them on the nape of his neck. "You're a good man, Bastian. I don't believe you've ever been less than a good man, you just lost your way. I'm glad I was there when you got back on track."

His lips tightened and he shook his head, "I was back on track, but I didn't know where to go or how to get there. Once I had your attention how could I not crave it." He kissed me longer this time. "Nothing is chance. A bag of chocolate chips started a neurochemical reaction. Ghirardelli knew we were a good match.”

“And we were smart enough to not mess it up."

We danced in silence. My head on his shoulder. His hand warming my lower back. His lips brushed my temple as the second song ended. I felt my pulse pick up. I looked up, meeting the soft touch of his lips, the slightest taste of his tongue. He held my body tighter against his. "I love you."

I smoothed my hand over his shoulder, "I love you."

His eyes squinted as he looked at me, "You rarely say too. I love you too."

I smiled slowly, "Too makes it sound like an afterthought, a response, instead of a fact."

"Hmm." The corner of his mouth turned up and he glanced toward the hall then back to me. "I'm going to carry you off to my bed and make love to you now."

Perfect Peace Guided Meditation

#sebastian stan #sebastian stan fanfiction #fanfiction #sebastian stan X ofc #marvel actor fanfiction

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miss-tc-nova · 3 years

Text

Guide - Eraqus & Brain

Yes, I am currently subscribed to the “Brain is Eraqus’s grandpa theory.” When that bit came up, I knew I had to write this. AND, it was originally going to be a lot darker, but I spruced it up a bit and like this version better.

~~~~~

“The darkness will not win!” Wooden weapons clash.

The boy with slate colored hair hits back. “Hiya!”

While the defender stumbles back, he recovers quickly. He prepares to rejoin the fight but movement in the window catches his eye. There’s someone in his house—someone he recognizes.

An enormous gasp leaves his mouth, startling his opponent. His weapon falls into the grass as the boy races for the backdoor. Little feet patter across the floor, rushing for the visitor.

“Grandpa!”

Granite eyes light up. “There’s my little sunshine!” Reaching down, he scoops up the giggling child who immediately reaches for that worn hat. “What have you been up to today?” he asks, straightening the headwear on the little boy’s head.

“Me and my friends were playing Keyblade War but I saw you in the window!” he happily states, pointing out the open backdoor.

“Friends, huh?”

“Yeah! And—”

“Eraqus!” A tiny, little blonde pokes her head inside.

“Come back! We need you to make the teams even!” A white-haired boy runs in, skidding to a halt when he sees the stranger.

Another girl, this one with silver hair and golden eyes, jumps in. “Are you comin’ or not?!”

The enemy from earlier spots Eraqus in his grandfather’s arms and gapes. “M-M-Master Brain!”

A third boy tilts his head of red hair, not very impressed at all. “Hermod, are you sure? He doesn’t look like a master to me.”

Grandpa simply chuckles but Eraqus is not having his friend’s disrespect. “Yes he does, Bragi! This is my grandpa!”

“Just because he’s your grandpa doesn’t mean he’s Master Brain,” Bragi huffs, still eyeing the man suspiciously.

“You pea-brain,” the silver-haired girl snaps. “Teacher told us Eraqus is the grandson of Master Brain. So if that’s Eraqus’s grandpa, then that’s Master Brain.”

His amber eyes widen. “Oh…”

Hermod pushes a sheepish Bragi closer. “Say you’re sorry,” he whispers not so subtly.

Now before a legendary master, the kid doesn’t seem so confident. “S-Sorry, sir.”

Grandpa laughs, letting his grandson slip to the floor. “Don’t worry about it, kid; I’m not working right now. I just came to visit Eraqus, but I guess he’s already got visitors today.”

If Eraqus had to pick his favorite person in the whole world, it would be his grandfather. He loves his mother and father but not the same way he loves this man. “But you can stay, right?” he begs, tugging on the jacket. “I want you to meet my friends!”

“You do, huh?”

Frantic nodding messes the wavy hair. He’d do anything to spend time with Grandpa and will take every chance given to show him off—not because he’s Master Brain, but because Grandpa is the best.

“Alright. Do you want to introduce me then?” Grandpa says with a smile.

His excitement is so great, his words run together in his already small mouth. “This is Bragi and Hermod and Urd and Baldr and Vor and they’re all in my class!”

Children wave or comment at the mention of their names and then it’s Grandpa’s turn. “It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Brain. So you all want to be keyblade warriors, huh?”

Baldr is the first to voice their dreams. “Yeah!”

“We’re gonna be the best!” Urd agrees.

“Oh ho? Even better than me?”

Immediately, the little girl’s confidence falters into fear. “N-No sir! Never better than you!”

A grunt escapes the man as he sits himself on the floor among the kids. “Now that’s not the right answer.” She appears even more distraught. “You should always aspire to be better than the generations that came before. If each and every one of you becomes better warriors than I ever was, then I know the future will be in good hands. So go ahead, be the best, and don’t stop until you are.”

Urd’s frown turns into a beaming smile and the others start to catch her elation too.

“Hey, do you have any cool stories about the Keyblade War?” Bragi asks, having recovered from his blunder as if it never happened.

“Mmm, no, but I do have a great story about this giant Heartless that tried to destroy my favorite bakery.”

Eraqus exclaims, “The one you beat while eating a tart?!”

“Yes, that one.”

“That one’s my favorite!” The kid excitedly sits down, staring up at his grandfather, one hundred percent ready to listen to another telling of his favorite story. Eraqus is an excitable, impatient child but when it comes to his grandfather, he would happily listen to the same story over and over again. Not only is Grandpa his biggest hero, but the relationship he has with his grandfather is the relationship he wishes he shared with his parents.

The gaggle of children plop on the ground while Grandpa tells his silly tale of fending off a ferocious monster. Before long, the storyteller’s got every one of the rambunctious toddlers hanging on his every word, sparing time to answer excellent questions the curious come up with. Their little expressive faces show every bit of awe and delight as they listen, all the while Eraqus radiates pride.

“Wait, how did you pay for the tarts if Master Lauriam took your wallet?” Urd asks, ever the perceptive one.

Hesitation. “Uh…Well…”

Vor gasps, “Master Brain! Did you steal them?!”

“No! Nooooo!” Grandpa replies hastily. A warning finger points at them. “Stealing is bad and you should not steal from other people.”

Eraqus tilts his head. “But didn’t you steal Master Ephemer’s coffee?”

“No! I did not steal the coffee and when the fight was over, I made Lauriam pay for the tarts since he took my wallet!”

“Did he steal it?” Baldr asks.

The master seems to contemplate this new question. “…Yes. And stealing is bad.”

His grandson decides it’s time for a different topic. “Will you tell us the story about you and Master Skuld and the giant trickster?”

“You mean the Trickmaster.”

“Yeah!”

A hand raises. “What’s a Trickmaster?” questions Hermod.

“Well it’s this really tall—”

“Kids.” The interruption comes from the hall where Eraqus’s mother and two more women stand. “Vor, Baldr, your moms are here to pick you up.”

“Aww!” the pair complain.

Baldr protests, “But Master Brain was about to tell us about the Trickmaster!”

“Yeah!” agrees Vor.

“All you munchkins better listen to your mothers,” Grandpa warns them. “They’re doing their best to make sure you grow big and strong.”

“Yes Master Brain,” they all drone, each of them having been taught to respect their elders. The unfortunate two scurry off to their mothers who say something before they come running back.

“Thank you for talking to us.” Vor gives him a bow.

Baldr follows her example. “Thank you, Master Brain.”

“No problem.”

As fantastic fables entertain those remaining, the toddlers are taken away, one by one, by parents until it’s just grandfather and grandson.

“You got some exciting friends, kid,” Grandpa says, watching Eraqus return from bidding Urd goodbye.

“Yeah. They’re all really cool and they don’t treat me funny.”

Grandpa nods, pushing himself off the floor. Eraqus can see something thrilling in those eyes. “That’s good. Now, you’ve got three seconds to run before I TICKLE YOU!”

The boy takes off yelling with the man close behind. Shouting, a foreign phenomenon to the home, fills the silence while the pair rushes around in their game. Their antics lead them to Eraqus’s room where there’s running, roughhousing, mock sword fighting, and more fun than the kid has had since Grandpa’s last visit. This is his best friend who knows all his secrets because Eraqus isn’t afraid to tell him everything; even when he knows he’s done something wrong, he knows that Grandpa may scold him but will still be there to help him learn from his mistake. This is what every kid needs and this is the relationship he gets jealous of when he sees his friends with their parents: one full of respect, freedom, and love.

“Dad.” Grandpa freezes, child above his head, looking to the doorway where his daughter looks on. “Don’t you have a meeting with the council?”

Arms lower to drop the boy onto his bed. “Oh, right. Man, I forgot about that.”

“I noticed,” she replies bluntly. “And Eraqus needs to work on his studies before he goes to bed.”

Said child groans, tugging at Grandpa’s jacket, “Aww, do you have to go?”

The woman opens her mouth to retort, but the man waves her off and she leaves them be. “Sorry kiddo. People are counting on me to make choices to take care of them. Plus, you heard your mom, you got studies to do.” Era gives a little pout and the man ruffles his grandson’s black hair. “Look, the next time I come visit, if your mom tells me you’ve been good, I’ll take you to see the citadel.”

Oh he’s been dying to see that. “Where the keyblade warriors train?!”

Grandpa grins. “That’s the one. But like I said, you gotta behave and do your studies like your mom asks.” A hand extends to the boy. “Deal?”

The kid puts on a show of considering the offer but slaps his little hand into his elder’s. “Deal!”

The stolen hat is taken, plopped back onto the owner’s head while they shake hands. “Alrighty then.” A warm, loving expression softens Brain’s smile. “You’re gonna be a great warrior someday, kid, better than me.”

“You think so?”

“‘Course I do. Always remember, may your heart be your guiding key.”

~~~~~

Warm sunlight beats down on the bright world. Despite its dreary nature, the cemetery, too, is actually quite bright. The youth in white strides along the stone pathway, flowers in hand.

Months ago, he stood in this very vicinity, in the deafening rain, trapped in a bubble of mourning. He cried and screamed and even blew up at the parents he’d never before disrespected. They didn’t understand; they still don’t but the whole thing has managed to blow over. Friends, acquaintances, and even his Master came with condolences, receiving a meager ‘thank you’ in return. Nothing made him feel better and he just couldn’t come to terms with the fact that such a powerful, legendary master—that his grandfather—was dead.

And then he found the words carved into the headstone: “May your heart be your guiding key.”

Even now, those words echo in Grandpa’s voice—the mantra he told the boy at least every time they parted ways. Those were his last words to Eraqus.

Grandpa was the only person who seemed to understand and acknowledge his struggles. The pressure of nobility and responsibility often pressed down on Eraqus but somehow, his grandfather always gave him the support and courage he needed to endure those things. In the face of all his anxieties, it was always his grandfather reaching back to lead him through. Brain was everything Eraqus needed in his life. Even now, in death, he’s still managed to leave his grandson with the strength he needs to move forward.

It’s because of these words that Eraqus became something his parents aren’t exactly proud of. He began shirking his studies and speaking his mind no matter the company—really the only thing that keeps them off his back is the fact that he’s still a pretty damn good student. Just because he’s happy doesn’t mean he can let his grandpa’s faith go to waste; he’s supposed to become a great warrior after all. But, following his grandfather’s words, Eraqus started becoming the person he wanted to be instead of the person he was expected to be.

The boy sits down, resting the bouquet before the stone. From his pocket, he also presents a talisman—the mark of keyblade wielders, even those in training—which he finally earned today.

“There’s so many things I want to tell you.” He expected the tears, but even so, he smiles. “But before I get to all that, I have to say thank you.” The sleeve of his haori drags across his face. “Thanks for guiding me, Grandpa.”

#eraqus #brain #kh brain #kh eraqus #grandpa brain

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all-things-skam · 4 years

Text

Title: Sander’s mom

Ship: Wtfock | Robbe Ijzermans + Sander Driesen (Sobbe)

_______________

Saturday arrived faster than Robbe would've liked.

He woke up in Sander's arms, his lover's soft breath tickling his neck, still sound asleep. Robbe smiled.

Last night had been a crazy one. Everyone came and it made Robbe's heart warm. Christmases at the IJzermans hadn't been too jolly the past years, it was nice to celebrate with all of his friends - and boyfriend.

Even Noor came. When Robbe invited her, he honestly didn't think she would show up. Things were chill between them now - and Sander too. Robbe still couldn't believe she got Sander for the secret Santa. What were the odds?

Aaron even kissed Amber. What? Robbe wished he had seen this one happen. Aaron was so clumsy with his words - especially around Amber -, how did he find the balls to go up to her, charm her and kiss her? Thanks to Moyo, the moment was captured in their vlog.

The festivities didn't end until 3am. Aaron and Amber were making out in a corner, competing with Robbe and Sander while Yasmina and Zoe were on the verge of falling asleep on the couch, tired from all the exams and studying. Unlike her two girl friends, Jana was completely wasted, her Christmas present having been consumed to the last drop. Luca and Milan watched as she hung off Jens's neck, trying to get a hold of his beer but the latter shook his head, not wanting her to pass out or get alcohol poisoning. Since Aaron got lucky tonight, Moyo tried to charm Noor, but his attempts weren't working - too bad for him.

Sander had stayed over, incapable of sleeping without the other now that they were back together. Lucky for them, it was winter break and they'll have two weeks to do so until school starts again and Sander has to sleep at home...without Robbe.

A vibrating noise echoed in the room, Robbe's phone's screen coming to life on the nightstand. He knitted his eyebrows and grabbed his phone, squinting from the bright light. New message from Mom. Robbe tensed. Although he was confident when he sent it last night, anxiety had crept under his skin, nervous to open the text and read his mother's reaction to his coming out and boyfriend announcement. What if she hated him?

From: Mams Robbe, my son. I'm happy you found love. I'm impatient to meet this boy who captured your heart, xx

Happy tears rolled down Robbe's face as he read his mother's acceptance, phone slipping from his hands and falling on the sheets. This was a huge relief.

There was movement from behind and a pair of lips pressed on Robbe's shoulder blade. ''Morning,'' Sander's hoarse and sleepy voice mumbled. He nuzzled into his boyfriend's warm skin, glad that school was over and they could sleep in and cuddle.

Robbe wiped his tears before rolling over, but there was still some left.

Sander frowned. ''Were you crying?'' he asked with care and worry.

The brunet sniffled, smiling. ''It's nothing. It's happy tears,'' he promised his lover.

Uncertain, Sander gave him the benefit of the doubt and pulled Robbe to his chest, holding him tightly - in case he needed comfort.

A part of Sander wished they could stay in bed all day, feeling so warm and cosy under the sheets, but they had somewhere to be.

''Ready for tonight?''

There was a short silence before Robbe responded. ''Y-yeah...''

''You don't sound sure. It's okay if you changed you mind, my mom will understand-''

''No. I want to meet her,'' Robbe cut. He bit his lip, exhaling a breath. ''I'm just...nervous.''

Their first time seeing each other hadn't been under the greatest circumstance. Sander was wrapped in an aluminum blanket, about to be rolled inside an ambulance, and Robbe was yelling Sander's name over Britt's shoulder.

She seemed to love Britt, too. What if she didn't like him?

Sensing that Robbe's mind was drifting and causing him anxiety, Sander kissed his forehead, pulling Robbe from his thoughts. ''Stop it. Whatever you're thinking about, stop it. I don't want this dinner to cause you stress and anxiety.'' Sander paused, gently rubbing his boyfriend's back. ''I can't speak on my mom's behalf, but she seemed excited to meet you. Like I said, you're the first guy I bring home.''

''What if she doesn't like me?''

''It's impossible to not like you,'' Sander retorted and Robbe swatted him.

‘’I’m serious, Sander.’’

The blond sighed, tucking away rebel curl from Robbe’s forehead. ‘’She’ll love you, okay? And, in case she doesn’t - which is very unlikely to happen -, it won't change anything between us. Okay?’’

Standing in front of the tall two story house, Robbe checked the address three times to make sure it was the right place. Its outside was sunshine yellow and the door a bit rusted. Sander had gone home late morning, needing to go to Britt's to grab the last of his stuff and clean a bit - at his mom's request. He didn't want to see Britt by himself, but felt wrong to ask Robbe to come along.

Robbe pressed the doorbell and, less than fifteen seconds later, Sander opened the door and pulled him in, a grin on his lips. It felt good to see Sander smile again, Robbe has missed his bright smile.

Beanie and jacket still on, Sander cupped Robbe's face and kissed him. ''I missed you so much,'' he said between them, making Robbe roll his eyes fondly.

''We've been apart for less than six hours...''

Sander shrugged. ''So? I still missed you. You know I always do.''

Her name was Ines, Robbe learned as they entered the kitchen, holding hands. The younger one's palm was a bit sweaty from nervousness, but Sander didn't point it out. He gave it a little squeeze and introduced Robbe to his mom.

Ines was was the polar opposite of Sander - dark hair and eyes -, but they had the same smile. Dinner almost done, she pulled out a bottle of wine and led the couple to the living for an appetizer. She pulled the cork and remembered that Robbe was underage. Shaking his head, Robbe assured her that it was fine. He had drank wine before - stronger alcohol than wine too.

''Sander, darling, why don't you go fetch the wine glasses from the crockery?''

''Be right back.'' He kissed Robbe's cheek and left.

This was the moment Robbe dreaded would happen tonight: being alone with Sander's mom. He wasn't scared of her, she seemed to be nice, but Robbe was anxious about what she might say to him, what opinion she might already have of him. His entrance in Sander's life had caused a lot of chaos - and he was aware. She must’ve heard of him, whether in good or bad, depending on who it came from.

Although your significant other's parents' opinion of you shouldn't matter, Robbe wanted] to be liked by Sander's mom. He didn't want to put a strain between their mother-son relationship.

Robbe chewed on his bottom lip, playing with a thread on the hem of his hoodie, praying Sander would get back fast.

Alas, Sander seemed to be taking his sweet time, giving enough time for his mom to talk to his boyfriend.

Ines looked at Robbe, a nervous yet apologetic smile on her lips. ''Robbe. That's Robbe, right?''

''Yes.’’ His stomach tightened and his palms were sweaty - again.

''I want to apologize for the other night. You and I didn't start on good terms and I don't want you to think that I hate you or ever held you responsible for my son's manic episode - regardless of what Britt must've told you. I didn't mean to give you a wrong look across the street; I was worried for Sander and confused about who you were and why you were yelling my son's name.

‘’When I asked Britt who you were, she told me you were no one. Then, I recognized your face: you were the boy on my son’s drawings.’’ Ines paused, gathering her next words. ''I thought Britt was the one that made my boy happy, but I was wrong. I've never seen Sander this happy before and I think you're responsible for his happiness. The way he talks about you- He's in love. Deep in love.''

A clatter came from the kitchen, interrupting Ines's speech and making Robbe jump. She glanced back, trying to see what happened, but her vision was blocked by the pillar. Hopefully, nothing was broken.

‘’Everything okay, Honey?’’

‘’Yeah. I stubbed my toe on the coffee table and grandma’s candle holder fell over,’’ Sander explained, returning with three fancy looking wine glasses. ‘’Nothing’s broken. Don’t worry.’’

#wtfock #robbe ijzermans #sander driesen #sobbe #rosander #wtfock fic #sobbe fic #robbe x sander #sander x robbe #rosander fic

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atths--twice · 4 years

Link

Birthday Month in the Unremarkable House

Chapter Five

First Birthday Celebration

It is time to celebrate Faith's first birthday and more importantly, to celebrate Mulder and Scully making it through the first year with their little girl.

14e/15

So, here we are at the end of the birthday month. I had set out to write just a birthday story, but of course I couldn't do just ONE story. No... not me. : )

In this series, I have created characters within my stories who have become like family to me and to them as well. I adore the people they have become in the past year, the ones I have tweaked them to become anyway. They are no longer such hermits living alone in that little Unremarkable House. They have people who are important to them and I love it. It is not a crazy amount, but just enough. People who they laugh and learn with and goddamn if that doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy. They deserve all the happiness and I am more than ready to give them even more.

That being said, I hope you enjoy this story, this final chapter of a month full of love, happiness, and even a new relationship blossoming as a result of it. It has been a lot of mad fast writing, but when I am left smiling like a goof, and I see others are as well, I gets me right in the heart.

Enjoy!

Mulder lay in bed, midnight fast approaching as he looked up at the ceiling, memories of last year playing in his head like a movie; his worry and fear for both Scully and the baby weighing heavy on him with each contraction. He had tried not to show it, but he knew she had seen his panic face many times that night.

The room filling with nurses, Elise, and equipment had been overwhelming, but he had kept his focus on Scully, her welfare his only concern. Watching her working so hard to bring their baby into this world had made him love her more than ever. She was amazing and he would never be able to properly express it to her.

Elise had lain their baby on her chest, and the second miracle person they had created came into this world. The thought of the last time, when he had not been there for that moment, had nearly dropped him to his knees. She was so small. So perfect. He sighed as Scully shifted in the bed beside him.

“Are you thinking of it, too?” she asked quietly and he chuckled softly. She turned over and wrapped her arm around his waist with a sigh. They were quiet, each with their own thoughts when she shook her head against his shoulder.

“It’s been a year, Mulder. How is that possible?” He pulled her close and hummed. “Last year I was pushing her out of my body. Goddamn, that hurt like hell. I will never be able to adequately describe to you just how much.”

“Would the epidural-”

“No,” she said firmly. He knew it was still a touchy subject, even though they had not really discussed it. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to snap, especially tonight, I just… I had my reasons and…”

“Scully, I understand, as I did then, I just didn’t want you to be hurting…” She laughed and shook her head again.

“I would have had pain regardless, Mulder. The epidural helps, yes, but it doesn’t take it away completely,” she said, moving her hand on his chest and putting her chin on top of it. “I pushed a human out of my vagina, Mulder, it was going to hurt like hell no matter what.”

“Scully…” he warned, knowing she knew how he felt about the word vagina. She giggled and he tickled her side, making her squirm before she settled once more, and they were quiet for a bit.

“She was so small,” she whispered and he hummed.

“She was perfect,” he agreed and she sighed in agreement. “You know, for days after, I could smell the scent of the room on me. My hands, my clothes, even though we were here and I had showered multiple times, I could still smell it. It was very strange.”

She nodded against his chest and sighed again. “I was so tired, and, God, so emotional. Do you remember that?” He stayed quiet, not sure how to answer that question. She moved her arm and then pinched his side causing him to jump.

“I do remember, Scully, yes. But, you said it yourself, you’d been through a lot; it was to be expected.” He rubbed her arm as she held him tighter.

“Those days seem so long ago, and yet like yesterday,” she said quietly and he nodded. “She was like a lump, an adorable lump, but still… She’s so beautiful, smart, and amazing, Mulder. So amazing.”

“She is,” he agreed, and they both fell silent again. He shook his head and laughed softly, his fingers running across her arm.

“What?”

“I was thinking about how this house used to be, even when it was the two of us here; it was too quiet, Scully. Far too quiet. Then it was just me and…” He paused and took a deep breath, her arm tightening around him. “It was even quieter… and empty. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so lonely. But now… there is a soft yellow towel with ducks on it hanging in our bathroom. There’s a container of toys in the corner of the tub, toys and puzzles downstairs, and little clothes mixed in with our laundry. It’s not quiet here anymore, Scully, it’s alive and happy.” She nodded against his chest and he heard her breath catch and knew she was crying. “I was so worried last year. For you and the baby. So many things could have gone wrong, and even with all the positive checkups, I was still worried. But, we have been given such a gift in that little girl. She is everything we should have had and everything we deserve. Especially you, Scully.”

Turning her face into his chest, he held her close as she cried into his chest. He stroked her hair, remembering the worry he had felt until the moment Faith was placed upon Scully’s chest. As soon as he saw her, the child they had created against all odds, he knew they would be okay.

His phone beeped with the quiet alarm he had set earlier that evening and he smiled. Letting go of her, he reached for it and silenced the trilling sound, seeing the time: 12:13. Holding her tightly, he closed his eyes and kissed her head.

“Happy second Mother's Day,” he whispered, and she cried harder, whispering Happy Father’s Day to him as they held one another close, sharing the pain of the past and hope for the future.

He woke up to hair in his face, tickling his nose. Pulling back, he sniffed and wiped at his face, hearing Scully groan as he did. She moved and he wiped at his nose again. He opened his eyes and saw very early morning sunlight streaming through the windows.

“Hmm, Mulder,” Scully murmured and he smiled. As he was turning toward her, hoping to sleep a little longer, he heard Faith and he grinned, his plans changing.

Kissing Scully on the head, he threw the blankets back and got out of bed. He could hear her laughing as he got to the door and he turned around.

“Bit excited are we?” she asked, as she sat up and smiled at him.

“It’s her birthday, Scully. It’s Halloween, Scully,” he said and opened the door, her laughter following behind.

Opening Faith’s door, he stepped inside and saw she was sitting in her crib, holding her pumpkin in her lap. Hearing him, she turned her head and grinned, standing to her feet and reaching for him, her pumpkin forgotten.

“My girl,” he said happily, and picked her up into his arms. “I know you don’t understand this, but it’s your birthday and it is going to be a fantastic day.” He twirled her around and she laughed.

“Mama!” she yelled, and he turned to see Scully standing in the doorway, smiling at them. She walked over and took Faith from him, holding her close and telling her happy birthday, kissing her cheeks and sighing as she looked at her.

“I love you, my sweet girl. Happy birthday. You are everything I could have ever wanted.” She kissed her all over her face, making her giggle, before she handed her back to Mulder. “I’m going to get breakfast ready, you change her and come down.” He nodded and she kissed Faith once more before walking down the stairs.

He changed her, telling her about what they were going to do that day, and the people who would be over later. “Faith Mulder, you’re in for a fun day.”

“Pah.” She pointed at the crib and he nodded, grabbing her pumpkin. He hoped Scully’s plan to exchange the real one for the stuffed one they bought would be successful, as hers was beginning to show signs of degrading.

“I think we may have some tears tonight, but fingers crossed,” he said to himself, carrying them both downstairs, ready to celebrate the day.

He walked through the living room and stopped in the kitchen, surprised at what Scully had done in the past few minutes. A plastic tablecloth with balloons covering it was on the table. A lone mylar balloon, a golden star, sat in the middle of the table. At Faith’s place sat a white happy birthday plate with confetti and balloons on it. There were cut strawberries waiting to be eaten and he could smell pancakes cooking. Looking at all of it, he grinned as he met her eyes.

She shrugged and smiled. “I feel as though until she has a say, we don’t need Halloween decorations for everything. It’s her birthday and, yes, Halloween, but…” She shrugged again and he nodded, stepping closer to her.

“That’s why you’re the smart one, and I’m just the eye candy,” he said, setting the pumpkin down and leaning in for a kiss.

“Shut up and flip the pancakes,” she said with a smile, kissing him again, then taking Faith and putting her in her chair and pushing the new plate close to her.

Together they got breakfast on the table: pancakes, strawberries, and applesauce made from apples they picked at the orchard, along with coffee and a combination of milk and breast milk for Faith. She looked at it strangely, but then continued drinking it.

After they ate, Faith was given her birthday gifts: a couple of new books, puzzles, a stuffed horse and the pumpkin, her other secretly taken from her, hoping to avoid any confusion.

“Ha,” she said, holding the horse, then setting it down and crawling over to pick up the pumpkin. “Pah.” She held the pumpkin, looking at it confusedly, and then around the room.

Mulder looked at Scully and they waited, hoping she would be fooled by the impostor pumpkin. Setting it down, she moved to the new puzzles and books, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

“She’s fine for now, but come nap time,” Scully warned and he nodded, thinking the same thing.

They played and cleaned up until said nap time and surprisingly, she went down without a problem, taking both the horse and the stuffed pumpkin with her. Mulder smiled and closed her door, stepping into their bedroom. He changed his clothes and walked down the stairs, planning to shower later.

“Okay, I’m going to go get the stuff for the party. If you think of anything else we need, call me,” he said, kissing her and grabbing his car keys. She nodded as she took out the vacuum.

Closing the front door, he smiled at the pumpkin on the porch, thinking of last night when they had cut them open and scooped out the insides. Faith had been inquisitive about the seeds and the guts of the pumpkin, but once she had touched them, she had pulled her hands away, not wanting to do it again.

She had liked all the different faces that were created by the carvings and had stared at them for a long time, touching and marveling at their mouths, eyes, and noses. They had let her explore as long as she wanted and then added candles to them and put them on the porch. Lighting them, they had turned off the porch lights and looked at them from the lawn. Faith had stared and then clapped her hands, excited by them even more when they were lit up from the inside.

He smiled as he got in the car and looked back at the porch, happy with the decorations and looking forward to the day. Then he drove away, heading out to pick up the food and party items they had ordered. He and Scully were not the type who had a lot of friends, but there would be a small group coming over to celebrate later this afternoon, and he knew they would all enjoy it.

The car was nearly full when he pulled up to the house almost two hours later. Food, drinks, a cake, table coverings, a couple of plastic buckets, bags of ice, and a present he had ordered as a surprise for Scully.

Walking into the house, his arms full of party trays, he saw Faith in her chair, eating her lunch, the horse and pumpkin on the table in front of her.

“My love,” he said, setting the food down and kissing Faith’s head. Turning to Scully, he kissed her cheek and smacked her ass, sidestepping her retaliatory smack, and went to get the other items from the car.

Once everything was inside, put away, and Faith was occupied, he tugged on Scully’s hand, getting her attention. “I have something for you.”

“For me?”

“Mmm-hmm. But you have to find it. It’s somewhere on my body,” he said, with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Mulder…”

“Come on, you can find it.” He put her hand on his chest. “Just pat me down, Agent Scully.” She smiled and did as he asked, although it was far more intimate than he had ever seen her do it before.

She ran her hands slowly down his chest and back simultaneously, then down his legs, groped his ass and then knelt in front of him, keeping her eyes on his as she did.

“Okay, this was a mistake,” he said, pulling her to her feet with a growl, arousal coursing through his veins. She laughed and raised her hands in celebration. “God, seriously woman.” He reached into his jeans pocket, shaking his head and taking out the small box inside. He handed it to her with a look. “You had to have felt that it was there.”

“Oh I did,” she said, smiling and raising her eyebrows. “But, it’s always good to be thorough.” She held the box in her hands and waited, knowing that his gifts always held a story.

He glanced at Faith and saw her playing with her blocks and her books. He smiled and looked back at Scully, her eyes shining, head tilted.

“I wanted to do something for you, for her birthday. Well, for all of us really,” he said and she nodded, a smile on her lips. “You might think it’s goofy, but…” He shrugged and she laughed.

“Last year we walked around the yard, timing your contractions. We walked a lot, Scully. A lot a lot,” he smiled, and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “I was so worried, and as I’m not one for prayer, I did what I’ve done many times in the past. As the sun went down and the stars come out, I made a wish.” He stared at her and she smiled, glancing over at Faith before looking back at him. “I made a wish and since then, I’ve thought of that as her star. Our star.” He looked at Faith and then pointed to the lone balloon on the table. “I didn’t know you’d gotten that, but it seems fitting as I got you that.” He pointed to the box in her hands and she looked down, then up at him again.

“Can I open it now?”

“Yes.” She smiled and opened the box as he glanced quickly at Faith once more.

“Oh, Mulder, it’s beautiful.” She sighed and took the thin gold bracelet from the box and held it, staring at the small star set within. He helped her put it on and she looked at it again, then up at him. She pulled him close, kissing him as she stepped back. Holding his face in her hands, she smiled and shook her head. “It’s not silly or goofy, Mulder. I love it, thank you.” He nodded, happy she liked it.

“Dada.” He heard, as he felt a tug on his pants. Looking down, he saw Faith pulling herself up, and raising her arms. He lifted her up, smiling and kissing her cheeks. “Mama.” Scully smiled as she put her arms around Mulder, the three of them standing in an embrace. Faith yawned and rubbed her eyes, a sure sign another nap was needed.

“Good, she can go down a bit early and we can finish up with the preparations,” Scully said, taking her and kissing her, then walking over to grab the horse and the pumpkin. “What time did Skinner say he would be here?”

“1:30. Which it is right now,” he said, looking at his watch, and hearing a car pull up. “And oh, would you listen to that? It sounds like he’s here. God, he is so punctual it borders on disgusting.”

“Yes, how awful for someone to arrive at the agreed upon time,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Right? You get it.” She shook her head as she walked past him, chuckling as she did.

“Go help him, I’ll be down in a few minutes.” He nodded and stepped outside, finding Skinner and Rachel standing by the back of the car. Mulder grinned as he walked down the stairs, happy to see them together.

“Hey,” he said, as he got closer and Skinner turned to him, reaching out to shake his hand. “Rachel, it’s great to see you.” He stepped closer and grasped her hand, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

“Thank you,” she said with a grin. “I brought some homemade salsa; should I put it inside?”

“Yeah go ahead. Scully should be down soon; she’s putting Faith down for a nap.”

“A nap? Now? What the hell? Every time I come over she’s sleeping,” Skinner grumbled and shook his head.

“She won’t sleep long and the party doesn’t start until 3-3:30 anyway. Kinda have to work around a baby’s schedule. Trust me, she’s very cute, but not without a nap.” They all laughed and Rachel went inside as they unloaded the long folding tables and chairs Skinner had brought over.

Mulder watched him as they moved the spooky flamingos and set up the tables and chairs in the grass. Clearing his throat, he raised his eyebrows at Skinner who smiled and nodded. Mulder nodded back and they silently continued their work, Mulder clapping him on the back when he stood closer.

One table was set up on the porch to hold the food. Mulder also set out a little table and a chair by the porch swing. He had purchased it online for Faith to use eventually, but today it would be used by Raina. Figuring she might be bored at a party with adults and babies, he set out a box of arts and crafts supplies: markers, crayons, paper, coloring books, kid scissors, and glue sticks. He added a clipboard as well to secure her paper and keep it from blowing across the lawn.

Skinner set out the large plastic buckets and then went inside to get the drinks: beer, water, and soda. Mulder went in to grab the ice and saw Scully and Rachel sitting at the dining room table, chatting and having a cup of tea.

“Oh, so this is what’s going on in here while we are busy working outside?” he teased, winking at them, and then opening the freezer to grab the ice.

“Yes, it’s what’s happening,” Scully grinned and he nodded, walking out the door and dumping the ice in the buckets.

Coming back inside to throw out the empty bags, he found Rachel alone, walking around the living room, her cup of tea in her hand. Throwing out the bags, he came up beside her and smiled as she stared at his I Want To Believe poster.

“So, do you want to believe?” she asked, gesturing to the poster with a smile. He grinned and nodded. Staring at her, he shook his head.

“I can’t think of anyone better for him than you,” he said quietly, and she smiled, looking down.

“Thank you,” she said, looking up at him again. “Whatever you said to him, it helped.”

“Well, you know I do like to talk,” he shrugged with a grin, and she laughed. He put out his hand and she took it, squeezing it before letting go and sighing. He nodded and turned around, grabbed the large wicker laundry basket by the door, and walked outside.

He took the quilts out of the basket and spread them in the grass. He placed the toys inside the basket, leaving the basket in the middle to weigh down the blankets. Thinking it might not be heavy enough, he turned to find something else and saw Skinner already bringing over two pumpkins. He laid them on opposite corners of the blankets and then brought over two more, doing the same to the other corners.

“Good thinking,” Mulder said, and Skinner nodded. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was almost 2:15. Looking up, he saw a car pulling up and then Louise stepping out.

She smiled as he walked over and kissed her cheek in greeting. “Hello, Fox, it’s nice to see you again. I have some things to take inside; could you help me?” He nodded and stepped to the passenger side of the car. Two gift bags were in the back and a collapsible tote holding a wonderful smelling dish and what looked like a lemon pie.

Pausing before he picked them up, he was hit with the memory of the many times he had done the same when Mrs. Scully had come to visit, checking on him and making sure he was okay. Opening the door of her car, he knew he would always find a delicious meal or a favorite dessert.

“Are you all right, Fox?” He closed his eyes, hearing her voice, even though he knew it was Louise.

“Yeah,” he said, a catch in his voice. “Yes, I’m okay.” He blinked back the sudden tears in his eyes, wiping at them quickly, then he leaned in to pick up the gift bags. The food was next and he smiled, the memories washing over him, as he turned around and smiled at her.

“That’s for later tonight. The pie is one of Maggie’s recipes. She mentioned that you liked her lemon pie and I thought it would be a nice gesture for today. Did I overstep?” She looked concerned and he smiled, kissing her cheek again.

“Not at all. Thank you, Louise,” he said and she squeezed his forearm. They walked inside and he dropped off the food. He smiled as he watched Scully laughing as she spoke to Rachel.

He pointed upward, and she nodded and smiled, embracing Louise as she did. Running upstairs, he went into the bathroom and took a quick shower, changing into a fresh pair of jeans and a white t-shirt under a black long sleeved shirt. He fixed his hair, put on socks and shoes, and went downstairs.

Scully, Louise, and Rachel were laughing and getting the food ready, so he continued outside, not wanting to interrupt. Skinner was sitting on the porch, drinking a beer. Mulder grabbed one from the bucket and opened it as he sat down. Clinking their bottles together, they sat together quietly.

A car pulled up and they both turned at the sound. Mulder stood, handing his bottle to Skinner and went to greet Elise, Tyler, and Raina. As usual, Raina was a bit shy when she first saw him, sticking to her parents, but keeping her eyes on him.

“So happy you all could make it. Would you like a drink? There’s beer, soda, water. Scully… Dana is inside getting the food ready,” he said and Elise nodded.

“Perfect, I have something to make and I’m going to need some people to taste it,” Elise said with a grin, taking a bag out of the car that looked to be full of bottles. He raised his eyebrows at her and she laughed. “This is your first birthday party. This party is specifically for the adults. You made it through the first year: the sleepless nights, the crying, dirty diapers, arguments, and everything in between. You survived. That calls for a drink and I don’t mean water.” He laughed as she walked past him, the bottles clinking as she did.

Tyler gave Mulder a look and they both laughed. He led him and Raina to the porch, and he accepted the offered beer while Raina looked at all the decorations, and then looked at the little table set up for her and then at Mulder.

“Could you draw me a Halloween picture?” he asked her, and she nodded happily as she sat down to do it. He smiled at her and then joined Skinner and Tyler on the steps.

Another car pulled up and Alan and Ryan came up, carrying a small black rocking horse with a pink bow around its neck. Saying hello, they took the horse inside and came out a few minutes later with cups full of a purple drink, no doubt what Elise had needed to make.

Louise came out with a tray of food and put it on the table. “Fox, Dana was asking for you,” she said with a smile. “She’s upstairs.” He nodded and followed her inside and then headed up the stairs. Outside of Faith’s room, he heard Scully speaking to her and he stood and listened.

“A year ago, my love. A year ago you came into this world and made your daddy and me so happy. You were born on Halloween, which right now means nothing to you, but your daddy could not be more pleased with that fact. His little spooky girl.” He smiled as she grew quiet. He waited, not wanting to interrupt if she had more to say. “Faith… I prayed for you for years. Prayed and nothing happened for so long. My own faith was tested… so many times, but I always had hope. You were not planned, not even thought of as a possibility, but you are exactly who I waited and prayed for, my sweet girl. I love you so much, Faith Mulder.”

He closed his eyes and heard the creak of the rocking chair as he swallowed down the sudden lump in his throat. Hearing Scully humming, he knew they were no doubt having some extra cuddle time. He quietly pushed the door open and stepped inside, not wanting to disturb them too much.

Scully looked at him, Faith laying on her shoulder, and she smiled, tears in her eyes. He stared at her, silently asking if she was okay. She nodded and he smiled, bending to kiss her forehead, and rubbed Faith’s back.

“Nearly everyone is here,” he said quietly and Faith lifted her head at the sound of his voice. She smiled and he took in her sleepy pink cheeks and smiled back. “Do you need to shower? I can get her ready.”

“Okay. I would like a quick shower.” She handed Faith over and he stood up, holding her close and kissing her head. “Her clothes are on the changing table.” She stood up and he stopped her from leaving with a hand on her shoulder. She nodded with a smile as she looked at him and he knew she was okay.

“All right, I’ll get her ready and you go shower and change. This party is about to begin.” Scully laughed and walked out of the room, leaving them alone, and staring at one another.“Your mama is amazing, you know that. And she’s absolutely right; you are exactly who we’ve been waiting for, my Squatchy.” She smiled and he kissed her warm cheeks.

Taking her to the changing table, he undressed her and changed her diaper. He smiled as he looked at the outfit Scully had chosen for her. Like the birthday decorations this morning, it was a compromise type outfit; birthday and Halloween blended together. A black long sleeved onesie with a golden pumpkin, the word one written within it, in black fancy lettering. Black leggings and a little golden skirt of tulle. It was simple, but very cute.

Smiling at her when she was dressed, he kissed her again, adding a simple golden headband, sure it would not last too long, but taking a chance it might.

“Now, let’s go show mama how damn cute you are and then we’ll go downstairs,” he said, picking her up and walking into the bedroom. Scully exclaimed over her as she toddled into the bathroom.

“My little Halloween baby, you are too cute,” she said, squatting down in her towel to look at her closer. “There are little shoes by the door she can wear. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“Okay, we’ll see you down there. Come on, Faithy, let’s go greet your guests.” He picked her up and they went downstairs.

All the women exclaimed over her and Louise was the first to reach him, taking her from him. The decibel level of their adulation caused his eyes to widen and feel the need to flee instantly. They crowded around her and his eyes found Faith’s, as wide as his own and staring straight at him. In that second, he felt a connection to her he had never felt before, and he was determined to stay no matter how loudly they gushed over her.

“Oh, look at your shirt! A little golden pumpkin!” Louise said, touching Faith’s chest. She looked at Louise and then down to the hand touching her.

“Pah!” Faith said and they all fairly squealed. She smiled at them and looked down. “Pah!” He smiled and knew it would be okay to leave, she had blown past her worry, and besides, Scully would be down soon.

Stepping back outside, he saw Raina drawing at the table, and Skinner, Tyler, Alan, and Ryan talking and laughing about something, and he smiled. Stopping by Raina, he knelt down and admired her drawings, causing her to smile shyly.

Walking down the stairs, he saw the last car pull up and smiled as he passed by the group of men and went to help unload the car and its passengers.

As he walked up, Cassidy got out and smiled at him. She had been in the baby yoga class with Scully, and had come out to the house a few times for dinner. She was young and alone, her husband currently deployed overseas, and they had both taken an instant liking to her.

The first time she was over she had cried through most of her visit. Scully had told him the baby yoga class was emotional, but seeing her crying in their living room, and Scully teary eyed beside her, he had felt very unsure of what to do or how to help.

Deciding it would be best to give them space, he had taken both babies outside and sat with them on the porch swing, telling them about the stars, constellations, and comets. Both of them had seemed to listen intently, sitting quiet until Scully and Cassidy came to find them.

After that first visit, no more tears had been shed, and their dinners were much happier. Mulder had enjoyed the company and her little boy was very cute. He was glad they were able to make it to the party today.

“Sorry I’m a bit late,” Cassidy said with a smile, as he greeted her with an embrace. “Jacob took a longer nap than I anticipated and I didn’t want to wake him.”

“Of course not, and you’re not late,” he assured her. “I’ll get Jacob and the bags, you head on in, Dana is inside with Faith, or she should be.”

“Thank you, but I can help. At least let me grab the diaper bag. It always feels heavier than he does,” Cassidy laughed.

“Okay,” he said, opening up the back door and smiling at Jacob as he took him from his car seat. “Hey, big guy, look at you, you’re growing so fast. Your daddy will be so happy when he sees you.” Turning around, he smiled at Cassidy. “When is Sean coming home?”

“Two weeks,” she beamed. “I can’t wait to see him. I’ve missed him so much.”

“I know the feeling,” he said, glancing up and seeing Scully walking outside with Faith and Rachel. He smiled as she looked over and waved at them. Shifting Jacob, he grabbed the gift bags, while Cassidy picked up the diaper bag and closed the door. “We’ll have to figure out an evening to have you both over. I’d like to meet Sean.” She smiled and nodded as they walked across the grass.

Introductions were made and drinks replenished. The babies were fussed over and played with as they sat and played on the large quilts. The food was brought out and plates were filled, everyone sitting down to eat, laughing as they watched the children play and stories that were shared.

Raina drifted back and forth between coloring at the porch table and playing with the babies, smiling and touching their faces. She was very gentle and watching her made him smile. He looked at Elise and saw her watching Raina as well, a small smile on her face, her hand subconsciously falling to her stomach. He raised his eyebrows and then felt Scully’s hand on his knee.

“Stop staring, you’re going to make her uncomfortable,” she whispered, leaning close to him. He looked at her and she nodded slightly, the same secret smile on her face. He grinned and nodded, happy to know Raina would soon be have a sibling to mother; she was a natural.

Talk soon turned to labor and delivery, and Skinner shook his head, but seeing Rachel’s smile, he crossed his arms and listened. Alan and Ryan told a story of a pregnant woman when they were with Doctors Without Borders.

“We were out making rounds to check on people, when this kid comes running to us all out of breath,” Alan said, taking a drink of the one Elise had made. “He said his mom was hurt and she was crying a lot. We rushed over and, sweet Jesus, this woman was on a dirt floor, blood everywhere. We almost lost her as she pushed the baby out, and I have never been more scared in my life. Her son was right beside her and the thought that he and the baby would be motherless was like a weight in my chest.” He paused for another drink and no one spoke. “She made it, the baby, too, but it was quite possibly the most traumatic situation I have ever been in.” It was silent, when he stopped and then Skinner shook his head.

“Jesus Christ, can we vote for not telling that kind of story? I mean it was a good outcome, but goddamn, man.” He scoffed and Alan laughed, shaking his head.

“Okay, no more endorsements for vasectomies, I promise,” Alan said and they all laughed.

Safer topics were discussed: feedings, sleep schedules, getting through the first year, and then much to Skinner’s horror; a lively discussion about pooping horror stories. He made to get up and leave, Rachel pulling him back with wide eyes, and they all promised to stop, laughing as they did.

A toast was made to Mulder and Scully and they all clinked their glasses together. Mulder glanced over at Cassidy and Ryan on the blanket with Jacob and Faith, and he smiled. Scully leaned her head back onto his shoulder, her hand again squeezing his knee, and they both sighed.

“Since we’re discussing first years and raising our glasses,” Alan said, rising from his chair. Ryan left the blanket to stand beside him, reaching for his hand. “We are in the process of adopting a child.”

Scully gasped and sat up, clapping her hands. “Oh Alan, Ryan! That’s wonderful!” She stood up and went around the table to hug them both, laughing as she did. “You two will be amazing parents.”

“Amazing? I don’t know, but we’ll try,” he said, shaking his head with a smile.

“No, you will both be amazing, and I know it,” she said firmly and he nodded with a laugh, accepting another hug.

Mulder looked over at Faith with a smile and saw Rachel sitting with her and Cassidy, who was smiling as she looked at Alan. Rachel however, had the same expression on her face as he had seen at the wedding last month. He could not put his finger on it, but then Faith walked close and looked at her, causing Rachel to smile and reach out for her. He watched, but seeing no further expression, he tried to shake off the feeling.

The food was cleared away and the cake brought out: a vanilla quarter sheet cake with strawberry cream cheese filling and vanilla cream frosting. A happy pumpkin with balloons around it was on the top of the cake.

Taking Faith from Rachel as she walked over, he laughed at the picture Scully had chosen, putting his arm around her and shaking his head.

“A compromise cake?” he asked and she nodded with a smile.

“Pah!” Faith said, pointing at the cake and smiling. “Pah!”

“A genius. She’s an absolute genius,” Mulder said quietly, as Louise put a black polka dot, number one candle in the cake. Everyone sang as Mulder and Scully held her between them and then blew out the candle, watching her face as they did. She looked between them and then smiled.

Louise cut the cake and gave the first piece, a very small one, to Faith. Scully pushed her sleeves up, attempting to keep her somewhat clean, as Faith reached to grab at the cake. It was in vain, as she was a mess and so was Mulder, by the time she was finished. Pictures were taken as she reached for Scully with frosting covered hands. Laughing, she took her onto her lap, messy hands and all. They posed for a few pictures, all of them a sticky mess. Wipes appeared from Cassidy and they laughingly cleaned her up, knowing a bath would be needed tonight.

Clean enough, they helped her open her gifts, laughing and exclaiming over each one. Books, clothes, and stuffed toys- a ghost and a witch. They thanked everyone, Faith chewing on the witch’s hat as they did.

Soon, the sun began to go down. Mulder sat with Scully on the blankets, Faith and Jacob playing with the toys, as the others cleaned up, no matter the protests that it could wait until later. Watching Faith, he smiled at her cake smeared shirt, knowing it was the sign of a good day. Looking at Scully, she met his eyes and smiled.

“It’s been a really good day,” she said, and he nodded, catching Jacob as he tried to crawl off the blanket. He brought him to his lap and grabbed a block to distract him.

Cassidy came out and smiled at them as she knelt down. “Thank you for inviting us, today and all the other times as well, you don’t know how much it’s helped me.” She bit her lip, tears in her eyes. “I’m not going to cry tonight, but I just wanted to thank you.” Scully stood up and embraced her when Cassidy did the same. Mulder stood, offering to take Jacob to the car and she nodded, wiping at her eyes.

He joined Scully after Cassidy drove away, the promise of a dinner with Sean to happen soon. Alan and Ryan were next, telling them they were on the way to a Halloween rave, and needed to change into their costumes. Laughing as they danced away, Scully shook her head, smiling at them as she picked up Faith and Mulder folded the blankets, setting them on the table.

Elise, Tyler, and Raina came out, and Mulder told them to hold on; he had something for Raina. Grabbing it from inside the house, he brought the pumpkin bucket to her. Inside there were stamps and ink pads, a couple small pads of paper, crayons, stickers, and some candy. She smiled as she looked inside and then hugged him, saying goodbye to change and go trick-or-treating.

Skinner walked out as Scully went inside, and they loaded the tables and chairs back into his car. “Thank you again for bringing these. You want to join us for dinner? Louise brought some food for us and it’s quite a lot.”

“Kind of you to ask, but we have dinner plans. Soon though.” Mulder nodded and they finished up, closing the doors. Skinner shook his hand and looked at him. “Thank you.” Knowing he meant more than just for the day, Mulder smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.

The door opened and everyone came out, Rachel holding Faith as they walked down the stairs. She brought her to Skinner and he lifted her up high, making her scream in delight. Mulder smiled and left her with him as he and Scully walked Louise to her car.

“Thank you for coming, Louise,” Scully said, hugging her tightly. Mulder could see her face as she did, see the way she closed her eyes, no doubt thinking of her mother the way he had earlier. Pulling back, she smiled, her eyes wet. “Thank you for the dinner as well. It smells delicious and… the pie. I… I thank you.” Louise smiled and patted her cheek, her own eyes wet.

“Thank you for inviting me. Maggie would be so proud of you two, and my God, would she spoil that little girl.” Louise smiled and they laughed, Scully wiping at her eyes with a nod.

“She would,” she whispered and Louise embraced her again. She hugged Mulder and then got in the car, waving at them as she drove away. Mulder reached for Scully’s hand as they walked back to Skinner and Rachel.

Faith was laughing as Skinner made silly faces, her little hands holding his cheeks. Rachel smiled at them and then looked at Scully. She walked over and stood in front of them.

“Thank you for having me… us… over,” she said with a smile and Scully nodded. “I had a fun time and… Walter told me about speaking to you both, you most of all, Fox, and I… I thank you.” She stared at him and he let go of Scully’s hand to embrace her.

“You helped me, Rachel. It was the least I could do in return,” he whispered and she hugged him tighter, nodding against his shoulder. Stepping back, she wiped at her eyes and smiled.

“Okay, we need to get going, we’ve got that reservation,” Skinner said, walking over and handing Faith to Scully with a smile. “Kid’s too cute. It’s really annoying.” He shook his head and they all laughed. They got in the car and Mulder and Scully moved out of the way, letting them drive away, waving as they did.

“Well, we did it. We made it through the day. Again,” he said and she chuckled softly, nodding her head. They went back inside, the mouth watering aroma of Louise’s meal reheating greeting them as they did. Despite the food and cake he had eaten, his stomach growled loudly and they laughed.

As the food needed a bit more time to warm, he took Faith upstairs, bathed and changed her, bringing her back down in her pajamas. He set her down on the living room floor and brought her rocking horse over, letting her see it before putting her on it and rocking it slowly.

She held onto its ears and suddenly it started to sing, its mouth moving as it did. He stared at it as did Faith, and as Scully walked into the room, she paused, listening to the song.

“Jesus Christ… it sings? Thank you so much, Alan,” she said, rolling her eyes. He laughed and pressed the ear again, watching Faith as she stared at its mouth, touching it as it sang. He laughed again as Scully sighed and went to check on dinner.

They sat down to eat a few minutes later, talking about the day and how much it meant to have everyone over to celebrate. Faith started to rub her eyes as she was finishing her food, yawning as she did. They smiled and, leaving the dishes on the table, they all went upstairs to put her down for the night.

Standing close, they swayed together, Faith on his chest, her horse clutched tightly in her hand, the pumpkin in Scully’s. They quietly told her how much they loved her, and in hardly any time, she was asleep, breathing deeply.

Mulder laid her down and they stared at her as she rolled over onto her stomach and tucked her knees in, her butt sticking up. Laughing softly, Scully covered her and set the pumpkin in her crib, stroking her hair and rubbing her back as she stepped back with a smile.

Turning out the light, they left the room and closed the door. He pulled Scully to him and held her, letting his silence speak loudly, his happiness and love expressed in his touch. She lifted her head from his chest and looked at him, smiling as she stepped back.

“I’m aching for a piece of that pie,” she said and he laughed softly with a nod. Walking downstairs, they cleaned up, put away the food, and then she cut a piece of pie for each of them. A cup of tea beside their plates, they sat down to eat it.

Tears filled her eyes as she took the first bite and he reached for her hand, feeling the lump in his throat again. Taking a bite, he smiled, the lemon pie tasting exactly as Mrs. Scully’s had. Closing his eyes, he imagined her sitting with them, laughing as she was admonished for the amount of gifts she would have brought for Faith. He could picture her smile, the twinkle in her eye, and he took a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he looked at Scully and she gave him a sad smile.

A knock at the door startled him and he frowned as he turned his head. Looking back at her, he saw a perplexed expression on her face. Rising from the table and walking toward the door, he looked back at her and saw her standing up with a nod, old paranoid habits dying hard.

Another knock and then a muffled voice called out.

“It’s Skinner.”

Exhaling loudly, Mulder continued to the door and opened it. Skinner stood holding a cardboard box in his hands, an odd grin on his face. Mulder looked at him questioningly and then past him, not finding Rachel with him. Not understanding why he was back, nonetheless, he waved him inside.

“Come in,” he said, and then heard a whine and a bark coming from the box. His eyes widening, he looked down at the closed box and then back up. “Oh, Skinner. What have you done?” he whispered, knowing Scully would no doubt have some words for him.

“I did what your wife asked me to do,” he said with a laugh, stepping past him into the house, the box in his hands. Mulder turned around and looked at Scully, finding a huge smile on her face, her eyebrows raised.

“What?” he asked, closing the door and walking over to them. “Scully… what?”

Skinner set the box on the table and opened the flaps. Looking inside, Mulder saw a black Labrador puppy with big dark eyes staring at him. It stood up on its back legs, its paws on the side of the box, wagging its tail and whining.

Reaching in, he picked it up and saw it was wearing an alien bow tie around its neck. He laughed, pulling it close as it wiggled so much, he feared he might drop it.

“Hey now,” he said, scrunching his face and laughing harder as the puppy licked his chin. “Someone needs to explain what’s going on.” He looked at Scully and she grinned, reaching out to pet the puppy.

“I’ll be back,” Skinner said with a grin and he walked out the door.

“Scully…”

“One of Skinner’s colleagues, Cara, took in her friend’s dog and her puppies. Her friend was ill and unable to take care of the dog anymore, and certainly not puppies,” she explained. “Skinner mentioned it in passing to me and I thought a dog would be a good birthday gift, for you and Faith.”

“A toddler and a puppy? Are you mad, woman?”

“I fear I may be, but Mulder." She took the puppy and turned it around. “But, look at this face. How could I resist?” He laughed and then looked over her shoulder as Skinner came through the door, his arms full of items.

A puppy crate was set down, a small bed inside. Two large bags were placed beside it and he stood up, grinning and shaking his head. “That’s all of it, everything should be there. Cara said to thank you once again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a beautiful woman waiting for me at the restaurant and I don’t want to be gone too long.” Scully laughed and stepped close to him, kissing his cheek, and thanking him for picking up the puppy. He smiled and nodded, patted the puppy, and stepped back. “Good luck, man.” He pointed at Mulder and they all laughed, saying goodbye as he walked out the door, closing it behind him.

“A puppy, Scully,” he said again, shaking his head.

“The face, Mulder, look at it,” she said through clenched teeth, squishing it close to her own. “How could I say no?” He laughed and rubbed its head, caressing the silky ears.

“You don’t have to convince me, Scully. I’ll love having a dog. I tried to get that one years ago and you said it wasn’t a good idea.”

“Mulder, that was not a dog. I honestly don’t know what that was, but it was not coming into this house,” she said with a shudder and he laughed, taking the puppy back from her.

"This bow tie is a nice touch,” he said, grinning at her and she winked. “So, what’s this guy’s name? Guy? Girl?” He lifted the puppy and nodded with an eye roll. “Girl, of course she is. I’m surrounded by women. I’m sure the fish upstairs are also female.” She laughed and he smiled again. “So, does she have a name?”

“No, I thought you would like to bestow that honor upon her.”

“Hmm, well let’s see.” He held her up and looked into her dark eyes, her ears going back and her body wiggling with excitement as she tried to lick him. “A Halloween puppy, a black Lab… Spooky seems far too cliché, and I just can’t do it.” Scully laughed and he smiled with a wink. Looking at the puppy, he nodded. “I’ve got it; the perfect name. Belladonna and we call her Bella for short. Huh?” He grinned and she cleared her throat. Without answering, she stepped back and walked to the bags Skinner had brought inside.

Searching through them, she found what she was looking for and walked back to him with a green collar in her hand. Putting it around the puppy’s neck, she clipped it closed and turned it so he could see the silver name tag. Written on it was their address, her phone number, and the puppy’s name.

Belladonna.

“Oh, now that’s spooky,” he whispered, raising wide eyes to hers.

“Not so much,” she said with a grin. “Belladonna is used in spells, possibly in dark magic. It’s Halloween, she’s a black female puppy. Knowing you the way I do and how your mind works, it was pretty easy to figure out.” She shrugged and smiled, while he grinned and slowly shook his head.

“God… is it wrong that that turns me on?” She laughed and pet the puppy’s head. “What would you have done if you were wrong and I chose another name? Did you have a few tags made?” he asked teasingly, setting the puppy down and letting her explore her new home.

“Wrong? I don’t understand that word.” She smiled and he laughed, kissing her quickly and then walking over to the bags to find a ball or toy to throw around.

“Come here, Bella,” he called and whistled, sitting on the floor, a bone shaped toy in his hand as Scully sat beside him. Bella looked at them sitting down lower and slipped and slid on the hardwood floor, trying to get to them. She yipped and wiggled, her whole body shaking as she ran over and they laughed at her antics.

He threw the toy and she ran after it, barking as she did. Scully put her head on his shoulder and sighed. He kissed her head, smiling as Bella brought the toy back, her body wiggling with excitement once again.

“Is Faith going to love her or what?” he whispered and Scully nodded with a chuckle. “Should I go get her?”

“Mulder! Absolutely not!” she exclaimed as they laughed and he put his arm around her.

“Fine. I guess I can wait,” he sighed and she shook her head. “Thank you for this, Scully. She was the perfect choice.”

“I’m glad you approve, Mulder,” she smirked and he laughed.

Throwing the toy once more, he felt happier than he ever imagined could be possible. The once quiet and lonely house would now ring with laughter from a sweet Halloween girl, and the barking of her Halloween puppy.

_____________________________________________

So here we are at the end of the first year... date wise at least. Faith is now one year old and they all made it through safely and soundly. They have grown in their relationship, become and bloomed as the parents they were always meant to be, and made friends- actual friends.to be there to help them and lift them up. I love them as parents and back together where they should be. The next part of the story will be up tomorrow, so you know life will continue on. I hope you have enjoyed this past “year” that seemed to fly by.

Thank you all for reading, it means so much to me. : )

#The X Files #XF Fanfic #Post MSIV #Family Life: The Story Beyond the Series #First Birthday #Family and Friends #Halloween #Celebration #Happiness #Love #New Beginnings #Time for the second year

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