#NOT too excited to figure out weekend shifts for after this summer season... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

atlafan · 4 years

Text

Office Neighbors - Part Five

a/n: another long one! this won’t be the last part, there will definitely be a part six. There’s some puberty talk towards the end with Andy...

warnings: slight angst, fluff, smut (use of toys)

words: 20K

masterpost

The first faculty meeting of the semester. You officially had been at the university for a year, and it felt incredible. You think back to the morning you got ready last year, waking up in your cozy blanket burrito. This time around you woke up with your new favorite kind of burrito: Harry. You didn’t think you’d like having one of his arms under your neck with the other one wrapped around you, or having his heavy leg over your hip, but it was wonderful. Harry had sent Andy over to Paige’s for his Wednesday with her so Harry spent the night at your place.

Andy had apologized to his mother, who was more than forgiving. He didn’t fully explain himself, but Harry told her just to go with it, and she listened. Andy made her a congratulations card, and it’s been up on the fridge ever since.

You had dinner with them a couple of times, and you were amazed at how talkative Andy was with you. He asked you a ton of questions about anything and everything, and you answered things to the best of your ability. You hadn’t spent the night at Harry’s though. You had never spent the night there. You might have, but since Andy came back early both you and Harry agreed sleepovers would be better at your place for now. Once Andy gets back into the regular rhythm of going to Paige’s every other weekend, then you said you’d consider spending the night at Harry’s.

Your alarm goes off, and you turn it off. Harry peppers kisses to the back of your neck and it makes you giggle.

“Why are we getting up so early? Meeting’s not until two.” He yawns and then kisses your cheek, pulling you closer.

“Shower, breakfast, then office decorating.”

“What’s for breakfast?”

“Pesto toast and fried eggs.” Harry groans happily into you and you giggle.

“That sounds so fucking good.”

“And I bought the bread you really like to make it with too.”

He shifts, and forces you onto your back. He kisses on your neck, down your chest, your stomach, and then dangerously lower.

“Harry, wait!” You yank his head up by his hair and he pouts at you. “Can we shower first? That’s a little…gross first thing in the morning, isn’t it?”

“I don’t particularly think so, but we can shower first if you’re more comfortable with that.”

“I would.” You blush slightly.

“Okay.” He kisses your cheek and gets off of you.

If there was one thing you could look at forever, it would be Harry’s bare ass. It was just so…plump! Who knew doing yoga could help with the booty?

“Are you coming, or are you gonna keep staring?” He smirks.

“Oh, shut up.” You say, frazzled, and get out of bed to join him in your bathroom.

You turn the water on and you both brush your teeth before you get in. You sigh as the warm water hits your skin. You and Harry still fumbled around while taking showers together, not really having learned the full morning routine of one another yet, but it was okay. It caused for some laughs.

“Har?” You say as you lather up your body.

“Yeah?”

“What, um, what are we telling people at work?”

“About what?” He says as he steps aside to let you stand in the water.

“About us.”

“Oh! Well…what do you wanna tell people? We should probably let Lisa know…I’m sure everyone will figure it out the second we walk in together.” He watches as the soap falls down your body.

“So, like, are we just saying we’re together, we’re seeing each other?”

“That’s what we’re doing, so yeah, makes sense to say that.” He shrugs and wraps his arms around your waist. “Can I have now?” He pouts.

You giggle at him and nod. His lips press to yours as your arms wrap around his neck. You don’t stay like that for long though because Harry is kissing down your body until he reaches his knees. He gets one of your legs over his shoulder and you nearly lose your balance.

“Couldn’t we do this on dry land?!” You squeal as you clutch at the walls.

“You’re making things very difficult for me this morning.” He says as he looks up at you. “Would you relax?”

You couldn’t relax. Your period was just around the corner and you were worried about it springing up on you while he was down there.

“Sorry.” You mutter and take a deep breath. “Go ahead.”

Your back arches when you feel his tongue on you. you bite your bottom lip as you feel him lap away at you, and suck on your clit. He sucks harshly, and it has you tugging hard at his hair. He stands up and your mouth falls open to protest, but you’re shut up when you feel two fingers slip inside you.

“Sorry, my knees were starting to hurt.” He grunts as he kisses on your neck.

“S’okay.” You gasp when he curls his fingers up. You reach between the two of you to rub and tug at his hard dick.

His lips find your again, and he sucks your bottom between his teeth. You moan out for him and squeeze around his fingers. His thumb rubs at your puffy clit and you pump him faster.

“Fuck.” He groans. “M’not gonna last much longer.” His other hand come up to knead one of your breasts, and he pumps his fingers in and out of you faster.

“H-Harry!” You cry out as you release around him. You’re in such a daze you barely register his come splashing on your stomach and hand. He kisses your temple and grabs the shower head to clean you off. “Thanks.” You breathe.

He smiles at you as he wipes his mess away and puts the shower head back. You turn the water off, and get a towel wrapped around yourself. Harry follows you out to the bedroom, and goes through his overnight bag to find his boxers. He slips them on as you look through your own dresser.

“Do you know how hot it’s going to be today?” You ask him.

“Let me check my phone.” He says and looks through his weather app. “Um, mid-eighties, babe.”

“Humid?”

“A wee bit.”

“Alright.” You sigh.

You brush out your hair and run your blow dryer through it before putting it up in a messy bun. Harry was just getting his jeans and t-shirt on when you come out. It was a loose pair of jeans with rips at the knees.

“I think you wore those when we first met.” You chuckle.

“I wear them every year, sort of like a good luck for the semester. It’s weird, but it helps me.”

“Not weird at all, we all have our own traditions.” You shrug. “God, I have no idea what I wanna wear.” You groan. “I hate being all sweaty, you know?”

“Why not one of your pretty sundresses?”

“No, I’ll just be uncomfortable in a dress. I wish I could just wear workout clothes, but I think that would be a bit too dressed down.”

You settle on a pair of shorts and a top to tuck into them. You both go into the kitchen, and Harry sits down at your island while you start getting breakfast ready. He was better at cooking dinner, and you were better at breakfast, so you both just took turns making meals for the other. Once it’s all done, his mouth is watering. He takes a big bite and moans.

“Mm, best pesto toast I’ve ever had.”

“Thanks.” You reach forward to snag the bit of yolk that that’s dribbling down his chin. “It’s a bit messy, sorry.” He grabs your thumb before you can wipe it on your napkin, and sucks it into his mouth, letting it go with a pop.

“No worries, I’ve told you, I like it messy.” He winks at you.

“You’re too much.” Your face had to be red. A guy had never made you feel so flustered before.

“So, what exactly does office decorating entail? Aren’t you keeping the same furniture?”

“Oh, sure, but I wanna dust and wipe things down. I have some new things I wanna hang up. Might be night to air it out too. Don’t you wanna get your office in order?”

“I guess that would be the smart thing to do. I’m just feeling lazy today.”

“It’ll be the perfect thing to perk you up before our meeting. Are we getting new faculty?”

“Not this year, just the usual random TL’s that teach the online classes. Why? Hoping to meet someone new?”

“Stop.” You nudge him. “Couldn’t replace you even if I wanted to. I’m really excited to see everyone. I’ve missed Janette.”

“That’s why I’m glad we all usually go to the pub after the meeting so we can all really catch up.”

“And the game nights will start back up.”

“They’ll probably separate us now that we’re together. Not fair to have a couple who wins all the time on the same team.”

“Please, they should keep us together, I’d hate to see what you look like when you lose.”

“Aw.” He says as he gets up to clean the plates. “That’s so cute you think I’d lose a game to you.” He turns to you. “Lose to anyone, really.”

“I can’t wait to see how you are at Andy’s basketball games this season, you must be a backseat coach.”

“I’m actually not too bad, thank you very much. I would never try to embarrass my kid.” He puts his hands on your hips as you stand up. “Are you saying you wanna come to a few games this winter?”

“That’s what I’m saying.” You smile. “I think it would be good for him to know I’m there supporting him, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” He kisses you. “That means a lot to me that you care.”

“Of course I care.” You kiss again before he lets you go. “Come on, let’s go.”

Harry doesn’t do as deep of a clean to his office as you do to yours. You had barely been there this summer, opting to go to the library like he had suggested because of the A/C. You open up your window and you hear him curse from his office.

“What is it?”

“My cactus died…” He sighs and shows you the pot. “I don’t know how, I came in to water all of these. Fuck, now I’m gonna have to go get a new one.”

“So…you love plants, but you hate shopping for them?”

“No, I just prefer to go to Lowe’s and the drive is annoying.”

“It’s…twenty minutes south on the highway.”

“Yeah, twenty fucking minutes to get some decent plants, and then it’ll take me god knows how long to find ones I like, then I need to find pots for Andy to paint. He likes painting for me so it adds more decoration.”

“Just when I thought he couldn’t get cuter.” You pout. “Maybe we could have a painting party. We could all decorate some pots, I could do some for my own office.”

“You’d be into something like that?”

“Yeah! I like getting crafty, obviously.”

“I bet he’d paint you something nice for your office. He’ll love it. I have to take him back to school shopping this weekend anyways, so I can go to Lowe’s then.”

“Sounds good to me.” You smile, and just as you lean in to kiss him…

“Oh my god!” Janette squeals, and you both turn towards her. “Look at this! You’re a full on couple, how cute.” She pouts and pinches Harry’s cheek before giving him and you a hug. “I’ve missed you both so much.”

“Same here.” You say. “How were your travels with Sadie?”

‘Incredible! She gets to go to the coolest places. I always feel well rounded after traveling with her. H, I watched you lecture too since it was recorded, amazing job.”

“Oh, thanks.” He blushes.

“So, this is a thing now?” She grins. “Should have placed bets within the department. I saw this from a mile away, although, I thought it would have happened sooner.” She shrugs. “Oh well.”

“Do we have to make some type of formal announcement?” You ask.

“Please.” She scoffs. “The second you two walk into that meeting everyone will know. It’s written all of your faces.”

“Okay, okay.” Harry says. “Shall we head up then?” He shuffles the both of them out of his office.

You and Janette walk ahead of him, giggling about something. Harry was happy you made such good friends with her, he knew you were lonely when you first moved here. Janette was also someone you could hang out with while he was with Andy.

Lisa was already in the conference room with Mateo when you three walk in. Andre and Sandra come in next. You all find seats and wait for Lisa to get started. She smiles at everyone and squints at you and Harry.

“Well, well, well, how long has this been going on for?”

“Ha! I told you!” Janette laughs, and so does everyone else.

“Did everyone know we liked each other before we did? Is that it?” You also laugh.

“Are you kidding?!” Andre says. “Harry is the least subtle person when he has a crush! I swear I started keeping a tally of every time he popped into your office while I was in mine. Was pretty cute actually.”

“Alright, thank you everyone.” Harry says, chuckling. “It’s still new, it’s only been a month and a half or so.”

“Well, congrats to you both.” Lisa says warmly. “What a great way to start our meeting off. Now, let’s get to the fun stuff like budgets and course design.” She jokes.

After the meeting, just like last year, everyone walks down to the pub for dinner and drinks. Harry sits next to you, and even puts his arm around your shoulders, it’s loose, but it’s there. You get your chicken-less nachos, and a couple of drinks. It’s a lot of fun to reconnect with your colleagues. It’s also a reminder that you really need to get some work done on your doctoral thesis this semester. You had been doing so much research and reading that you felt like you could start writing your actual paper. Well, you felt like you could really start putting a solid outline together.

You and Harry walk back to your car, since you drove together in it this morning.

“That was fun, it was so good to see everyone. School really starts next week, I can’t believe it!” You say.

“I know, it’s wild.”

“I volunteered to help out with the movie on the green during welcome week. Seemed like the easiest thing to get involved in.”

“I signed up for that too. They’re showing Wonder Woman and I wanted to bring Andy since we didn’t get a chance to see it in theaters when it came out. Maybe we could all go together…”

“I’d like that.” You smile. “Am I just dropping you off at yours?”

“Yeah, Paige’ll be bringing him home in an hour or so.”

“Alrighty.” You turn left so you can get on the route to Harry’s house. You pull into his driveway. “So, painting this weekend?”

“Most likely, yeah. I’ll text you.”

“Sounds good.” You both lean over the console to kiss goodbye. You smile into it, just loving his lips on yours.

“What are you so happy about, hm?” He says, also with a big smile on his face.

“Just like you a lot.”

“Like you a lot too.” He gives you one more peck on the lips before getting out and waving goodbye.

That was something the two of had gotten into the habit of saying: I like you a lot. It was less serious than saying I love you, but it also gave that reassurance that the both of you were still happy in the budding relationship.

“Dad! I’m home!” Andy says as he comes into the house, bringing his things to his room. Harry was just getting some comfy clothes on.

“Hey, how was Mum’s?” He asks as he leans against the door frame.

“Good.” He shrugs. “She said I was too old to be the ring bearer.” He scoffs.

“You are.” Harry chuckles. “Did she say you could do something else?”

“Well, Noah said I could be in his wedding party, but I told Mum I’d rather be in hers, and they said that was fine. Rachel got all excited because she’s going to walk Noah up to the alter. I don’t really know why this being talked about now. They’re not getting married for another year.”

“Weddings take a lot of planning.”

“But why? It’s all a big hullaballoo for no reason.”

“Hullaballoo?” Harry laughs.

“Yeah! Like, they’re just having a small thing in the backyard, what’s the big deal?”

“You know how Mum’s family is, they like things a certain way. I think it’ll be nice, and you’ll look great in her wedding party, get you fitted for a nice suit.”

“Are you gonna be there.” He says, sitting on his bed.

“I don’t know if I’m in invited yet.”

“Why wouldn’t you be?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “Kind of weird to invite your ex to your wedding, but if Mum wants me there I’ll go.”

“You could bring Y/N.” Andy grins.

“Speaking of her, you and I are gonna go back to school shopping this weekend, and while we’re out we’re gonna pick up some paint and pots, thought she could join us for that.”

“Yeah! That sounds like fun, Dad.”

“Good.” Harry smiles. “Did you want to invite Brandon over too? He had fun with us last year.”

“Sure, I can text him…on my dinosaur phone.” He mumbles.

“Andy.” Harry sighs. “Two more years, I just need you to wait two more years, and then you can have a smart phone, okay? You’re lucky you have a phone at all.”

“Fine.” He rolls his eyes. “Does everyone at school know you’re dating now?”

“Pretty much.”

“When are you going to ask her to be your girlfriend?”

“I don’t know.” He runs a hand through his hair.

“Why not?”

“I just don’t, it’s complicated. Things are good right now, I don’t wanna rock the boat.”

“But…in like every movie we watch it’s always so clear that the girl just wants things to be official, so why not just do that? I bet it would make her happy.”

“This isn’t a movie. Dating someone for a month and a half, I feel, is too soon to really put a label on. It’s a very serious thing to call someone your girlfriend or boyfriend.”

“Ugh.” Andy flops back onto his bed.

“What?” Harry steps into his room more.

“Molly is Brandon’s girlfriend, does that mean things are super serious?”

“Andy…at your age…it really doesn’t mean much, I promise. I thought they just kissed, now they’re boyfriend and girlfriend?” He sits down on his desk chair and Andy rolls onto his side to look at Harry.

“Yeah, he told me the other day.” He sighs. “I don’t really get the appeal, Molly’s nice and pretty, but…” He chews his inner cheek. “I…I think I still think kissing is gross, is that weird?”

“It’s not weird at all. You all are going through different phases right now. You might think kissing isn’t weird this time next year, or even a couple of months from now. You’re only going into sixth grade, it’s okay to not be into girls or…whatever yet.”

“What’s so great about kissing, anyways?”

“Do you want the super high level answer?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, scientifically speaking, when you kiss someone on the lips, especially someone you really like, there’s a chemical reaction in your brain that releases the hormone oxytocin. Sometimes it’s called the love hormone.” Andy blinks at him. “Basically, it just makes you feel really good, and it makes you feel all lovey and attached to the person that makes you feel that way.”

“Do you feel that way with Y/N?”

“Um…well…yeah, I like kissing her.”

“I guess I just won’t understand until it happens to me.”

“Promise me something?” Andy nods at him. “Don’t just kiss someone to get it over with to see what it feels like because then it won’t mean anything. Your first kiss is something you’ll never get back, you know? So…don’t give it away to just anyone, alright?”

“Alright.”

Harry smiles and comes over to give Andy a kiss on the forehead.

“Go wash up and get into bed, it’s getting late.”

Harry absolutely detested back to school shopping. Every year he and Paige would take Andy to Staples and let him run wild. Buying new binders and notebooks really got him excited. The thing Harry couldn’t stand was the inevitable argument that Andy would have with Paige, and it was happening now.

“Mum, I’ll look like an idiot! I need a separate notebook for each class.”

“But this is like five notebooks in one! What’s the big deal?!”

“We all decorate each cover differently! No one gets these anymore, ugh, you just don’t get it!” Andy huffs.

“Just let him get the notebooks, Paige, it’s not worth it.”

“I guess I really don’t get it.” She sighs. “Go on, pick out what you want. We’re looking at planners next.”

Andy nods and goes down the aisle with the planners. He furrows his brows as he looks over his options.

“Jesus, these are so expensive.” Paige says.

“I know, it’s a rip-off.” Harry agrees. “You’re just writing your assignments down, it doesn’t need to be fancy, Andy.”

“I can’t decide.” His eyes widen when he sees a planner with blue flowers on it, and he reaches to grab it, but he stops himself and sighs.

“What’s wrong?” Paige asks.

“I’ll get made fun of I pick that one.”

“What? Why?” Harry asks.

“Because…flowers are girly.” Andy says quietly.

“No they’re not, I love flowers! We have like three different gardens in the back. You should get the one you want.” Harry says.

“And if anyone makes fun of you, just…well…fuck ‘em.” Paige whispers and it makes harry and Andy laugh.

Paige and Harry get Andy settled, and she leaves them so they can head to Lowe’s to pick everything out for the plants. Once they’re home, Harry gets everything set up in the garage. He lays some newspapers down so the paint won’t make a mess. Brandon’s mom drops him off, and he runs up the driveway, giving Andy a hug when he gets there.

“Thanks for the invite, my mom loved what I made her last year.”

“Yeah…of course.” Andy says, blushing slightly.

“Right, so, everything’s here that you need. Y/N should be here…oh! There’s her car now.” Harry smiles.

You get out of your car in a cute pair of overall shorts and a t-shirt. You grab some of your own pots out of your back seat and walk up.

“Hi boys.” You smile and kiss Harry’s cheek. “I had some extra potters, so I brought some of my own to decorate.”

“Sounds good, got all the paint we could need here.” Harry says, sitting down and gesturing for you to do the same.

“How was back to school shopping, Andy?”

“Good.” He shrugs.

“What kind of planner did you get?” Brandon asks. “Mine’s got these, like, cars on them, it looks so cool.”

“Oh…it’s got this…um…garden or whatever on it. I just grabbed a random one.” He mutters.

“I used to love getting all of that stuff, I still do.” You say. “Nothing like some new notebooks to get you excited for school.”

“I like the pens, my mom let pick out this pack that had all these different colors, highlighters too.” Brandon says.

It was fun painting the pots with everyone, seeing the different designs. Andy was really talented, you were surprised since he was so young. The detail he was able to get on such a small space was incredible. It was starting to get around dinner time.

“Dad, can Brandon stay for dinner?”

“Sure, but he has to call his parents first to ask.”

“Okay!” Brandon says, taking out his smart phone. He gets up to call his parents.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Harry asks you.

“I’d love to.” You smile.

“They said it’s okay, I just have to be home by eight.” Brandon smiles. “My said he’d come get me so you don’t have to drive Mr. Styles.”

“Alright, that sounds good. You boys work on cleaning this up, and I’ll get the grill started. Make sure you wash your hands before coming out to the deck.”

You help the boys make sure their paint doesn’t get smudged as they put the pots up on the shelves to dry. You wash your hands as well before going out to the deck.

“Where are they?”

“Oh, um, Andy asked if they could play video games until dinner…and I said it was okay…”

“Oh, alright.” He says with a shrug.

“Is that okay? I should have asked you first.”

“He’s been out all day, I say he’s earned some screen time. It’s perfectly fine.” Harry smiles. “I’m making those impossible burgers, they both really like them. Want cheese on yours?”

“Yes, please. Do need help with anything?”

“Nope.” He kisses your cheek. “Just sit, babe.”

Once the food is done, and on the table outside, Harry calls for the boys, and the come right out. The burger tastes amazing, not that you’re surprised. You started to really enjoy watching Harry interact with the boys. He could really carry on a conversation with them, and relate to them. The boys themselves were really interesting. Brandon was animated as he spoke, and Andy was a bit more reserved but he was hilarious. Andy loved having you over for dinner too. You came once in a while, and he liked seeing you interact with his dad. You made Harry happy in a way that he didn’t, and he sort of understood it.

“Can we play more video games until Brandon’s dad comes, please?”

“Sure, we’re gonna stay out here for a bit I think.”

“Thanks, Mr. Styles!” The boys both race inside to go back to their game.

“At least they ask first, right?” Harry chuckles.

“Exactly.” You smile and rub your arms.

“Are you getting cold? I can get you a sweatshirt.”

“That’d be great, thank you.”

Harry brings the plates inside and grabs you a sweatshirt of his to put on. This was the first time you’d be wearing something of his. It was a university pullover and it was huge on you, but it smelled like him so you didn’t care. It made you feel cozy.

“I hope you weren’t too attached this, it’s mine now.”

“That so?”

“Mhm.” You smile.

Harry lights the citronella candle and you both sit in the other chairs on the deck. You both hold hands and sit in a comfortable silence until Brandon’s dad comes to pick him up.

“Well, I guess I should get going.” You say.

“Yeah.” Harry’s hands were in his pockets. He looks back at Andy who was now watching TV. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Thanks.”

Harry keeps his hand on the small of your back as you both walk outside. Before you can open up your car door he presses you against it, crashing his mouth to yours. You tug at the collar of his shirt as his tongue enters your mouth. He bites your bottom lip before pressing his forehead to yours.

“It was such a nice day.” You breathe.

“I’m really glad you came over.”

“Me too.”

“See you Monday?”

“Mhm.” He swallows and steps back. “Andy will be with me…school doesn’t start until Wednesday.”

“Maybe we can all have lunch together or something.”

He kisses you again, not really wanting you to leave, but he knows you have to. Even if Andy wasn’t there you probably wouldn’t stay over since you had your period.

“I have to go.” You whisper.

“I know.” One last, good kiss and he lets go of you. “Have a good night.”

“You too.” You stroke his cheek, and then get into your car.

Harry sighs when he gets inside and flops onto the couch.

“What?” Andy giggles.

“Ugh, I just really like her.” He groans into the couch which makes Andy laugh harder.

The first few days of classes were going well. Your period ended which was helpful so you weren’t too snippy while meeting with some of your new advisees who needed help switching classes.

“I’d like something Tuesdays and Thursdays, preferably after one.”

“Yeah…I was sort of hoping to not have Friday classes…”

“That doesn’t sound interesting, isn’t there anything else to take?”

“I’d rather just keep pushing off my math class.”

It went on like that and you wanted to scream, but you couldn’t. You couldn’t wait for the add/drop period to be over.

“Y/N?” You look up and see a shy Andy in your doorway. “I know you’re busy, but…can I hang out in here? Dad’s teaching and I’m bored.��

“Sure! Hi, yeah, come on in. I don’t have any more appointments today, and my next class won’t start for another hour.” You smile and he comes in to sit on your couch. “School starts tomorrow, huh?”

“Yup, we have two half days and a full day Friday.”

“That’s good, gets you back into a routine.”

“Mhm.”

“Are you and Brandon in the same class, did you end up on the four teacher team?”

“Yeah!” He beams. “And his girlfriend Molly is on the two teacher team, which he was sad about, but I’m happy about it. Now I don’t have to watch them flirt.” He rolls his eyes.

“You don’t like Molly much, do you?”

“It’s not that I don’t…he just…ugh, we were on the phone last night and you know what he said?”

“What did he say?” Your full attention was on him now.

“He asked if I wanted to go on a double date with him, Molly, and her best friend Alexis at the playground after school Friday.”

“Oh! What did you tell him?”

“I said I couldn’t because I have to go to my mum’s, which isn’t a lie…”

“But if you didn’t need to go to your mum’s…”

“Still wouldn’t have wanted to. Alexis is nice, but I don’t wanna go on a date with her. I don’t wanna date anyone.” He looks away from you for a moment and then back. “How…how did you know you liked my dad?”

“Oh gosh…um…well…I always liked him, we were friends for a while.”

“Yeah, but when did like turn into like like?”

“Gotcha, well, it was a couple of things. I just starting noticing different things about him that I liked more than usual, and then on the camping trip…well…he just made me feel really safe, you know? He helped me sleep better, and I hadn’t even realized it. I started feeling butterflies around him, and…when we first kissed I just sort knew it was supposed to happen.”

“I can’t believe kissing has so much power. He said he likes kissing you. He told me kissing makes your brain explode with this stuff that makes you feel good.”

“Andy?” Harry asks. “What the hell are you talking about in here?”

“Dad, get out! We’re talking!” Andy gets up and slams the door in Harry’s face. You suck your lips into your mouth to keep from laughing. “He’s so nosey.” Andy huffs as he looks at you.

“Perhaps he has a right to be.” You get up. “Would you open the door please?”

Andy sighs and opens the door. Harry was glaring at him.

“Go to my office, now.” Andy does as he says, and Harry looks at you. “I’m so sorry, I know you’re busy, and-“

“It was no problem, we were having a really nice chat until you barged in. You should really learn to knock first, Dad.” You cross your arms and smirk.

“Very funny.”

“Hey, come here.” You whisper and Harry comes closer. “I think he’s really confused about things. He was telling me how Brandon wanted to go on a double date, which, like, wow, kids are growing up way too fast these days, but, anyways, he said he didn’t wanna date anyone. Then he asked me how I knew I liked you as more than a friend.”

“I think he may have a thing for Brandon.” Harry whispers very quietly. “But I don’t he really knows that, or understands what he’s feeling right now, so I’m trying not to push it on him.” You nod your head. “Thank you for telling me what he said, though, definitely helps piece things together.”

“Dad, Brandon just texted asking if I wanna play basketball at the park, can I go?”

“Sure! I just finished my last class, so let me get my things together and we can go.”

“Awesome! Thanks.” He smiles. “Bye, Y/N.”

“Bye, have a nice afternoon.”

“Will you come over for dinner tonight?”

“Andy.” Harry sighs.

“I’d love to, but only if Dad says it’s okay.”

“You…really wanna come over tonight? You won’t be too tired?”

“It’ll help me get out of here at a reasonable hour. As long as I’m not imposing…”

“You wouldn’t be. Come by around six, yeah?”

“Works for me.” You smile.

Harry grabs Andy by the back of his shirt to push him back to his office and it makes you giggle.

“I’m so glad they’re in the same class again, Brandon was freaking out about it.” Brandon’s dad says to Harry at the park.

“Glad to know the feeling is mutual.”

“I’ve never seen Brandon with such a good friend before, it’s great. My wife and I adore Andy.”

“That means a lot, thank you. I love having Brandon over, they play really nicely together, and he’s so polite.” He watches as the two of them have fun playing basketball. “So…Brandon has a girlfriend now, huh?”

“Girlfriend.” Ed scoffs. “We’ll see how long that lasts, she’s already getting on his nerves.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, I guess she’s mad because she wanted Andy and Brandon to hang out with her and her friend Alexis Friday, but Brandon said they couldn’t because Andy has to go to his mom’s, and it turned into this whole thing. He’s not talking to her at the moment.”

“Wow, does Andy know that?”

“No, I think B wanted to keep it to himself so Andy wouldn’t feel bad about them fighting.” He rolls his eyes. “I knew he’d start dating at some point, but I didn’t think it would be this early. I should have told him no dating until high school or something.” Ed steps closer to Harry. “You don’t think…I mean…if they did I wouldn’t care, but you don’t think….” He nods towards the two of them.

“I don’t know.” Harry sighs. “I wouldn’t care either. I think Andy’s confused if anything. He’s not quite ready to date or anything, it still grosses him out.”

“See, that seems normal for their age to me.”

“They’re all going through things at different speeds, think we just need to give it time.”

You show up to Harry’s around 6:15, you were in the middle of some good work and you just wanted to finish it up. You ring the bell and Andy answers.

“Hi, Y/N.” He beams.

“Hi, Andy, did you have fun playing basketball?”

“Yeah!” He tugs you inside. “We’re having taco salad tonight.”

“Sounds yummy.” You smile and walk into the kitchen with him.

“Hey.” Harry smiles and kisses you on the cheek. “Just getting everything onto the table, have a seat.”

“Thank you, sorry I’m late.”

“You barely are, it’s fine.” Harry and Andy sit down. “Andy, here’s your taco meat.” He passes him the small bowl. “I just made black beans for us, Y/N.”

You nod as Harry uses the salad tongs to put some on your plate. You all add your different fixings and dig in.

“So, how do the half days work? Will you have really short classes and go to all of them, or will you have your first few classes one day and the rest the next?” You ask Andy.

“We have homeroom, and then some big assembly, and then we have our first three classes. Thursday we have our last four classes, and then Friday is normal.”

“What’s your favorite subject?”

“Art.” He says, mouth full. “But I won’t have it until the second half of the school year, I have gym the first half.”

“All kids with last names A through M get art the first half, and then they switch. It helps mix up everyone on the different teacher teams.” Harry explains. “You and Brandon should still be together since his last name is Stewart.”

“Thank god, he and I are the only ones that actually know how to play volleyball.”

“What would that matter?” You ask.

“Every fall the gym classes have a volleyball tournament and the winning teams get to have this big event and the entire class comes, it’s so cool.”

“Oh! We did something similar to that at my middle school when I was kid.” You say.

“I like having gym in the fall, it gets me ready for the winter program.”

“What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s so cool, Y/N.” Harry says. “It’s completely funded by the school, every Friday pretty much once the mountains open up for skiing, they take the kids up for a day of skiing and snowboarding. All the parents have to do is provide snow pants and jackets, we don’t even have to worry about the other gear. Although, if you have your own you can bring it. Sometimes I volunteer to chaperone, it’s a hoot.”

“That is really cool, wow.”

“I had so much fun last year, I was way better on the slopes for our trip last February, right, Dad?”

“You definitely could see the improvement.” Harry smiles and takes a sip of his water.

“So, you ski, you like volleyball, and you play basketball. You’re a pretty active kid, Andy.”

“I love basketball, I don’t know what it is.”

“You sort of had to love it, it’s the only sport Mum and I felt comfortable with you playing.” Harry shakes his head. “He wanted play hockey and football, but we said no.”

“Why?” You ask.

“We were afraid of concussions. I know they can happen with basketball, but they’re less common.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t have him out there playing soccer.”

“I used to play when I was in elementary school, but I didn’t like it as much as basketball.” Andy shrugs.

“So, what makes art your favorite subject?”

“It’s the only time of day you can just do whatever you want. The teacher tells you about what it is they wanna see you make, and whatever tech, um….” He looks at Harry.

“Techniques.” Harry smiles.

“Yeah! Techniques, they show you those, and then they just let you do your thing. And whatever you make is right no matter what. I like painting the best, I think, but I also really liked when we did stuff with clay last year, I hope we do it again.”

“What’s your least favorite subject?” You ask.

“IMEC.” He groans.

“What the heck is that?”

“The Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre funds it.” Harry says. “It’s just for fifth and sixth graders. Andy had to make a birdhouse last year, they learn how architecture works, they learn about robotics.”

“I hated it, it was so boring until they let us build stuff. I also have a typing class this term which is gonna be boring. I already know how to type.” He rolls his eyes.

“Yes, but you still look down at the keyboard.” Harry says. “Gotta learn to not do that so you can type faster.”

“Right, because whatever job I end up applying for someday isn’t going to hire me because of how I type.” He scoffs. “I’m pretty good at math, although I don’t really like it, same for science, but this year we get to dissect squids!”

“Oh, that’s very exciting! I did the same thing in sixth grade, and our school at this science center that was run by this other teacher, and he had all these reptiles and chickens and other animals like that in there, so he came to the class and helped our science teacher with us, and then he made us fresh calamari. And I already liked calamari so I was one of the few kids that actually tried it.”

“That’s so cool!”

“Yeah, I wish the school here had a science center.” Harry says.

“The guy was so nice, and he used to go to all of the elementary schools in the area to bring frogs and snakes, so he knew us well by the time we were in middle school, and we all knew his pets well by then so there was nothing to be scared of. One day, this was also in six grade, we had class in the science center, and we were passing the different pets around, like the frogs and stuff, and I wasn’t afraid of the little garden snake or anything, but it wasn’t the snake we were used to, and the girls next to me got scared, so I was asked to bring the snake back up to the teacher, and the girl next to me accidentally thwacked the snake’s head, and the snake bit me! Right here.” You hold your forearm out and show the spot, not that there was a scar. The boys both gasp. “So, I went up, still holding the snake, and I was like it bit me. And the teacher said no it didn’t, but my arm started spurting out blood so I was like no it did, so it was this whole thing, right? He took the snake and put it away, and he got me something for my arm, and my actual science teacher had to walk me down to the nurse, but before I left he gave me a fresh snake skin to take home with me as a consolation or something.” You take a sip of your water. “It was really funny when I was down at the nurse because while one was wrapping my arm up, the other had to call home, and my mom was in Florida with my grandparents, so my dad answered and I remember the nurse says, ‘I want to preface that Y/N is fine, but she was bit by a snake in the science center’, and I heard my dad yell, so they gave the phone to me and I told him I really was fine and I didn’t need to come home.”

“That’s so wild, are you afraid of snakes now?” Harry asks.

“Not at all, actually. The bite didn’t really hurt, if anything I respect them.”

“Did your mom ever find out?” Andy was fully invested in this story.

“Yes.” You giggle. “I went with my dad to pick her up from the airport, Phil, my brother, was there too. My dad claims he asked me not to tell my mom just because it would add to her nerves, but the second she got in the car I guess I told her all about it, and my dad was not happy.” You laugh. “I’ll never forget that.”

“You always tell the best stories, Y/N.” Andy chuckles and finishes up his dinner.

You help clean up, even though Harry told you that you were a guest and didn’t need to. You fix Andy up with a bowl of ice cream before he plops down in front of the TV.

“Hey, bud, you still need to shower…” Harry says.

“Ugh, fine.” He shovels the rest of his ice cream in his mouth and puts the bowl in the sink.

You and Harry sit down on the couch together.

“Smooth.” You say.

“What?”

“Got me all alone now.”

“He genuinely needed to shower! Played basketball all afternoon, after all.” He puts his arm around you. “But I definitely mind being alone with you right now, even if it’s just a few minutes. We have a fifteen minute shower rule.”

“Smart.” You look up at him and smile.

“He’ll be at his mum’s this weekend.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Would you like to go out Friday night?”

“Um, well, Jan and I were hoping to go out for drinks, but you could come! Or I could come over after.”

“No, I don’t wanna ruin your girl’s night.”

“You wouldn’t! You’ve come so many times before, I’m sure she won’t mind. I can ask her tomorrow if she’s okay with it.”

“Alright, but only if she doesn’t mind.” He kisses your temple.

“I should get going before things get a little too kissy between us.” You sigh. “Might not be able to peel myself away.” You say, ghosting your lips over his and pulling away with a smirk.

“Tease.”

“Sorry, babe.” You pout at him and stand up. “Tell Andy I say goodnight.”

“I will.” He stands up and walks you to the door.

“Thanks for dinner, I had fun as usual.”

“Anytime.” He pecks your lips before you head out and he sighs.

“How come she always leaves?” Andy asks coming out with his hair brush and mouse, sitting on the floor so Harry can sit in the chair behind him to do his hair.

“What do you mean?” Harry asks, taking the brush and mouse from him, sitting down.

“How come she doesn’t just stay over?”

“Um…it’s a little complicated.” He says as he runs the mouse through Andy’s curls.

“Because of me?”

“Not necessarily…it’s a little soon for her to be staying here while you’re here, though. I’m sure she will eventually. Alright, all set.” Andy stands up and plops down on the couch.

“A little TV before bed?”

“I’d rather you go read, you know that. I want you to sleep well before your first day of school.”

“Fine…can we pick out an outfit then?”

“Yeah, let’s go raid your closet.”

The next couple of days goes by with you barely seeing Harry. He was in and out because Andy had half days and he needed to pick him up. It gave you a chance to go up to Janette’s office to see if she minded him joining on Friday night.

“Of course I don’t mind! I mean, I was hoping for you to spill some of the juicy details, but that can wait.” She shrugs.

“Jan, there’s nothing juicy to spill.” You chuckle.

“Have you boned?”

“Well…yeah…”

“So there’s plenty to spill.”

“It doesn’t happen that often. It’s been over a week, actually. He’s been busy with Andy.”

“Single dads, they’re hot until the kid gets in the way.”

“It’s alright, we have all weekend to hang out.”

“So why even bother having drinks with me? Just go to his place and get it on.”

“No! I wanna hang out with you, get back into our routine. I just didn’t wanna leave him out.”

“I like hanging out with the both of you, it was a lot of fun last year the few times he joined us. It’s really no problem.”

“Great, thanks for being so cool about it.”

“Oh, please.” She scoffs. “We’re not in high school, I don’t care if you bring your boyfriend with you.”

“He’s…I don’t think he’s my boyfriend yet.” You sit down in one of her chairs and she quickly closes her door.

“What do you mean?”

“We haven’t had a chat about it. We know we’re together, but we haven’t had a talk about what it all means. It’s only been a couple of months.”

“Just like a man, he wants you, but won’t fully commit.”

“To be fair…I’d probably take it slow too if I had a kid.”

“Don’t make excuses Y/N, you two do so many things together, Andy adores you, Harry needs to just tell you he wants you to be his girlfriend.”

“It doesn’t exactly bother me, like, I’m not itching for the label. I’ve liked just going with the flow. It’s not like we’re seeing other people.”

“But you could if you wanted to, and he should know that. He can’t just string you along, Y/N.”

“He’s not…he wants to be with me.”

“Then he should really want to be with you.”

Janette made some good points, that had you wracking your brain around things. It was pretty clear that neither of you were seeing anyone else, but you easily could if you really want to. You would never do that, of course. You never really liked the idea of juggling multiple people at the same time. It was easier to focus your attention on one person.

“Hey!” Harry smiles. “Feel like I haven’t seen you all day. I dropped Andy off at Brandon’s, so he’ll be there until I’m done for the day here.”

“Alright.” You give him a small smile.

“How’s syllabus week been treating you so far?”

“It’s been alright, I’ve been busy with my advisees getting them the correct classes.”

“Oh, right, you got a few of the sophomores this year. Still can’t quite get it together I’m afraid.” You hum your response and nod. “Well, I’m free for a bit if you-“

“Har, I’m kind of busy. I need to prep for my next class and then I need to hunker down on my thesis. I’ll just text you later or something.”

“Oh…um, alright.”

“Jan said you’re more than welcome to join on Friday night, by the way.”

“Okay, I’ll plan for that then.”

“Could you close my door on your way out?”

“Sure.” He does so and you sigh as he leaves.

You didn’t mean to be so cold, but now you were feeling sort of pissed. If he liked you as much as he said, what was the big deal about him calling you his girlfriend? You wanted to be able to refer to him as your boyfriend. He was more than a friend, you were dating, hell, everyone knows you’re dating, so what the fuck was the hold up?

Friday after work you go home to change. You had barely spoken to Harry, but to be fair, you were really busy. You had a check in with Lisa that put a lot of your work into perspective. She was such a huge help, and now you two have bi-weekly meetings set up to keep you on track, which you greatly appreciated.

You wanted to look so strikingly good that Harry would get whiplash when he saw you. So, you rummage through your closet and dresser to find something, anything! You end up going with a tight pair of dark blue skinny jeans. You pair it with a black, lace bodysuit and black booties. You certainly weren’t fucking around. After fluffing up your hair, and redoing your makeup, you grab your leather jacket, and head down to your uber.

“Damn, chica, you look good.” Janette says, giving you a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks, I feel good.” You smile and sit. “I’m exhausted, it was a long week.”

“I know, everyone thinks syllabus week is easy, but it’s not. Sometimes I’ve had to redo my entire class structure depending on the caliber in class.”

“It was the advisees for me. I could never not have my schedule together like some of these kids. I’d have too much anxiety.”

“Many of them just haven’t had the lightbulb go off yet, unfortunately, but they well. You could always ask Harry for some pointers, he’s exceptional with his advisees.”

“Of course he is.” You scoff. “He’s exceptional at everything.”

You both get through one drink before Harry shows up. He kisses your cheek and Janette’s, and then sits down next to you.

“Sorry, Andy really wanted Paige to stay for dinner because he didn’t want to have to go through how his first few days of school were twice.”

“No worries, H, glad you’re here now.” Janette says. The waiter comes over to take Harry’s drink order, and then he puts his arm around you.

“You look nice.” He smiles.

“Thanks.” You smile back.

“Feel like I haven’t seen anyone all week, it’s been madness.” Harry says just as his drink comes to the table, and he thanks the waiter. “At least our hiking retreat is coming up soon.”

“I can’t wait! Broke in a new pair of boots over the summer.” Janette says. “And you’re a pro now, right, Y/N?”

“You bet.” You sip your drink, and Harry notices the red lipstick mark left behind. You rarely wore lipstick, and if you did it was more of a nude color. Harry had a weakness for red lipstick, for whatever reason, and with you wearing it, well, he felt especially weak. You look up at him innocently. “What?”

“Nothing.” He swallows and takes a sip of his own drink.

“So, how was Andy’s first couple of days of school?” Janette asks.

“They were good.” Harry shrugs. “Normal first week stuff, learning everyone’s names, getting the schedules together, overview of what they’ll be learning, and I got the usual pink and yellow cards for emergency contact info. Guess it was good Paige was over so we could just fill them out in one sitting.”

During the night, Harry’s hand drifts down to your thigh, and it stays there, squeezing it once in a while. You knew he probably just wanted to take you home, but you were enjoying Janette’s company too much to wanna leave yet. You all were laughing and having a great time, that was until the waiter had slipped you his number under the napkin of your last drink order and winked at you.

“Wow, he’s got some balls on him.” You say as you look at the number.

“I’ll say, I’m sitting right here.” Harry says.

“Well…the three of us have come here plenty of times, he obviously didn’t think anything of you sitting together.” Janette points out.

“I should go set him straight, I’d feel terrible if he was expecting me to call.” You say and look over at him, he was standing behind the bar now. You start to get up, but Harry squeezes your thigh especially hard.

“You can’t be serious, just let it go.” He says.

“Harry, relax.” You slide out of the booth and go up to the bar.

“You don’t own her, you know?” Janette says, sipping her drink.

“I’m well aware, thanks.” He rolls his eyes.

“Perhaps if you were her boyfriend she’d feel less inclined to go let that boy down.”

“We haven’t been dating that long, Jan.”

“So? When you know you know, and I think you know you wanna be serious with her. Don’t let her slip away because you’re scared. I’ve seen it happen one too many times. Usually whatever woman you’re seeing gets fed up with being put second to Andy, but she hasn’t. She completely gets it, so stop being such a baby, and just…define the relationship.”

He huffs at that and they both look over at you and the waiter.

“Hi.” You say shyly. “Did you mean to slip me this?” You show him the napkin with his number on it.

“I did.” He smirks. “You come here a lot, you’re cute, figured I’d shoot my shot.”

“That’s very nice of you, but...” You slide the napkin back to him. “See that guy I’m sitting next to you?” You use your thumb to point behind you. “I’m dating him, and I really like him, so…I’m sorry. I just wanted you to know why I wouldn’t be calling.”

“Oh…well…alright then. Thought you two were just friends, my bad.”

“We were friends, but now we’re more.” You smile. “Hope you have a good night.”

“You too.” He smiles back and you turn around to come back to your booth.

“What?” You ask as they both look at you.

“What did you say to him?” Harry asks.

“Nothing, just…that basically I’m not single, so, no big deal.” You sip your drink and look at him. “That’s the truth isn’t it? I’m not single?”

“Definitely not.” He puts his arm around your shoulders and kisses your temple.

Once you’re all done with your drinks, you each say goodnight, and head to your ubers.

“Did you want to come back to mine?” He asks.

“I don’t have my stuff, come to mine?”

“You know, I have makeup remover wipes and face wash you can use.”

“Harry, I don’t really wanna have to put all of this back on in the morning when I go home.”

“I could give you something to wear, please? You’ve never slept at my place, I really want you to.”

“Spare toothbrush?”

“Yup.”

“Alright.” You sigh. “We can go to yours.”

He perks up, and orders the car to go to his place. You both sit in the back and he holds you close. When you get inside his house he gets you a glass of water. You felt like you were going to boil over, and the alcohol in your system makes you blurt your thoughts out.

“Harry, I know it seems childish, but are you my boyfriend, or what?” You say in one breath and he nearly chokes on his water. “We both really like each other and we’re having fun, and I’d…I’d like to be able to refer to you as such and not just the person I’m seeing.”

“Oh, babe, it’s not childish.” He cups one of your cheeks and rubs his thumb over your cheekbone. You lean into his touch.

“I just wanna know you’re all mine, Harry.”

“I am, I so am.” He wraps his arms around you and pulls you to his chest. “And you’re all mine?”

“Yes.” You say, muffled by his chest. “All yours.” You look up at him and he looks down at you. “Just say it, please?”

“I’m your boyfriend, Y/N.”

You smile at him and pucker your lips so he’ll kiss you. His hands move to cup your jaw, and he sucks on your bottom lip, causing your eyes to flutter closed. He backs you up to one of the kitchen counters, and hoists you up for you to sit on it. Your fingers tug at his hair, but he pulls them away to get your jacket off.

“Look at this.” He says, playing with one of the straps on the bodysuit. “You wore this sexy thing, and you put on such a nice lipstick.”

“Probably all messed up now.” You say giggling at his now red lips.

“Don’t care.” He kisses you again as his hands travel to your breasts. He kisses down your chest, and swirls his tongue around the lace material covering your nipple.

“You tease too much.”

“It’s what you get being such a tease all night to me, making me wait. Wanted to kill you when you got another drink.”

“Aw, I made you wait? That must really suck.” You say sarcastically.

“I didn’t make you wait that long.” You roll your eyes at that. “Are you telling me you would have fucked me on our first date?”

“Maybe not the first, but the night you came to my place to watch that movie I certainly would have been up for it.” You bite your bottom lip. “Sort of missed you since we last got frisky in my shower.”

“I know.” He sighs and presses his forehead to yours. “I’m sorry we can’t just run off whenever.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” You peck at his lips. “But…we’re alone now, so…”

“Right.” He gets his hands under your ass and you wrap your legs around his waist and kiss on his neck as he brings you to his room.

You pull him down with you, but he stops.

“Shoes, babe.” He chuckles, kicking his boots and socks off.

“Oh, right.” You laugh and do the same, then he comes back to hover over you.

“I like how eager you get, makes me feel good.” He mumbles as he undoes your jeans. You lifts your hips to help him tug them down yours legs. “This is really all you were wearing tonight?”

“Not much I can wear under a bodysuit.” You smirk.

“It’s so sexy.” He runs his hand down your body and your covered center. “What are these, snaps?”

“Yeah, it’s so I don’t have to take the whole thing off to go to the bathroom.” You blush.

“How functional.” He smirks and works to take his own shirt and pants off, leaving him in his boxers.

“There’s also a zipper on the back, see.” You roll over and arch your back to give him the perfect view of your ass, and give him a playful smile.

“I literally can’t decide if I want it to stay on or off.” His hands rub over your ass and squeeze. “Off, definitely off.” He reaches for the zipper and drags it down. “Need to see all of you.”

You roll back over and get it the rest of the way off. You cup his cheeks and pull him down on top of you to kiss. He grinds his hard dick against your center and you groan.

“Get these stupid things off.” You grunt and toe at his boxers. They come off and his cock slides between your wet folds. “Fuck, that feels good.”

He kisses down your body and you smile as he works his way to get his head between your legs. His fingers dig into your thighs and he has you put them over his shoulders. He licks a flat stripe up your center before lapping around your folds. Then he swirls his tongue around your clit as his middle finger enters you.

“Fuck, Harry.” You breathe.

He moans against you as he sucks on your clit, and gets a second finger inside you. He pumps them in and out slowly, another way of teasing. Each time he pulls them out you squeeze around him. The tip of his tongue flicks against your clit and you start panting. You clutch at the blankets around you and grit your teeth. He goes back to sucking on your clit, and that’s when you lose it. Your back arches off the bed, and your vision goes hazy.

“Oh my god.” You moan. You watch as he sucks his fingers into his mouth. “Please tell me you have condoms.”

“Course I do.” He smirks and reaches into his side table for them. “And I keep them in a nice, convenient place, unlike you.”

“I told you, I keep other things in my side tables.”

“Yeah?” He says as he gets the foil packet open. “Like what?”

“You’ll find out at some point.” You wink, and pull him down so he’s on his back.

“Got some toys or something?” He grunts as you sink down on him.

“Maybe.” You grin and move your hips in a circle on him. His hands move your ass to hold onto.

“Like what?” He groans when you start to raise and lower yourself on him.

“Maybe I would have shown you tonight if you weren’t so insistent on coming here.”

“Oh, so it’s like that, huh?”

“Yup.”

He grips your hips and thrusts up into you, causing you to make a surprised noise. You let him continue and you scratch down his chest as you bounce up and down on him. He pulls you down to him so he can keep one arm wrapped around you, and the other is snaked between the two of you so he can rub your clit. You bite down on his collar bone.

“Harry.” You whine.

“Gonna come?”

“Y-yeah.” You squeeze at one of his biceps as you gasp from the pleasure. “Christ.” You breathe.

He rolls you both over so he’s on top, and puts both of your legs over his shoulders, going in hard and fast. Your head rolls back into the pillows. He didn’t care that you were sensitive, and neither did you because his tip was hitting your g-spot perfectly from this angle.

“I’ve-I’ve never had sex like this before.” You blurt out.

“Like what?” He grunts as he continues to slam into you.

“Where it just always feel good. I feel…shit, I feel so taken care of.”

His eyes widen as he looks down at you.

“Oh, Y/N.”

He drops your legs and comes down to you, crashing his mouth to yours. He rocks in and out of you as you wrap your legs around his waist. You tug at his hair and mold your tongue to his. You were tightening around him. He knew you were close. He moves to kiss on your neck and nibble son your earlobe.

“Give me another one, babe, know you can do it.”

“H-Harry!” His voice in your ear was just too powerful. Your nails scratch down his back as you come to another release.

He gives you another few hard thrusts before he spills into the condom. He rests his head on your chest for a few moments before pulling out of you and discarding the condom. He pecks at your lips and helps you up, guiding you to his bathroom.

“Let’s see….” He rummages through the cabinets. He grabs a spare toothbrush, the makeup remover wipes, a wash cloth, and his facewash. “Here you go, take your time.” He kisses your cheek and leaves you to do your thing.

You use the toilet first, and then furrow your brows looking for something to tie your hair back. You find one of his scrunchies and use that. You wonder for a moment why he might have makeup remover wipes, but you don’t worry about it for the moment. You wash your face and brush your teeth, and put everything back. You shake your hair out, and come back to the bed.

“All set?” He asks. He had put on a new pair of boxers.

“Mhm.” You slide into the bed as he goes to use the bathroom next. When he’s done he comes right in to spoon you. “Why do you have makeup wipes?”

“Because I wear makeup sometimes if I have a nasty zit or something.” He says honestly.

“Oh.”

“Is that weird?”

“Not at all.” You turn slightly look up at him and smile. “I was just curious if they were…leftover from someone else, but that’s probably a silly thing to think.”

“Would be sort of scummy of me to leave something like that lying around for someone else to use.” He kisses your nose and you settle back down. “I’m really glad you’re spending the night here.”

“Me too, your bed is really comfy.” You sigh.

“Mm.” He hums as he nestles into you.

This was the first time in a long time you actually felt comfortable sleeping over at a guy’s place, and it felt really good.

Harry wakes up incredibly hard against you. He couldn’t help it. You slept naked, quite a bit, and he was pressed against you all night. You were still sound asleep, and he didn’t want to wake you, but he just couldn’t settle himself. He slowly detaches from you to lay on his back. You feel a shiver go through you from a lack of warmth. You reach behind you.

“Mm, Harry?” You mumble.

“M’right here.” He chuckles and reaches to squeeze your hip.

You roll onto your other side to rest your head on his chest. Your leg goes over his and your eyes snap open.

“Um, good morning.” You giggle.

“Don’t laugh, it hurts.” He groans, putting his forearm over his eyes.

“I didn’t think morning wood still happened like this the only you got.”

“Nope it does, and it’s just as annoying as when you’re a teenager.”

“Well…” You yawn. “Maybe I can help you out.”

“You’re still tired, it’s fine.”

“No, I wanna take care of you, let’s have sex.”

“I didn’t think you liked it in the morning.”

“Just because I don’t want you tonguing my puss first thing in the morning doesn’t I don’t like morning sex. I love morning sex, actually.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.” You start kissing on his chest.

“Get on your stomach.”

You grin up at him and does as he says. He gets a condom situated on him, and gets behind you. He slides in slowly, gripping onto your hips.

“God, you feel so fucking good.” He says once he’s all the way in. “Is it okay I didn’t finger you first, it doesn’t hurt?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, go ahead and move, Harry.”

He was so considerate, and you appreciated it so much. You were on all fours in front of him while he made slow, deep thrusts into you. He’d pull almost all the way out and then slam back in. Harry hadn’t realized just how much he missed being in a relationship. Being able to wake up and fuck the person you cared a lot about was so utterly convenient, and yet so incredibly hard to find. He wasn’t sure who to thank for brining you to the White Mountains, but he felt like someone deserved a fruit basket.

With Harry, you felt just as grateful. A year ago, you were thankful for a blossoming friendship, now you were thankful that he was your boyfriend. The guy really knew how to make run down, no other guy had ever made you so wet before, you were almost embarrassed, but he didn’t seem to care. He was probably flattered, if anything.

You feel his hand slide up your back and grip the back of your neck. His other hand slides from your hip to your clit. God, he’s so attentive. He really cares about how good you feel and isn’t concerned with getting his.

“Harry.” You moan as your head falls to your chest.

“S-say it again.” He groans.

“Harry.” You moan louder. He was hitting so deep inside you, and rubbing your clit perfectly. “Harry!” You cry out when you feel your orgasm consume you. You squeeze impossibly tight around him and he moans out your name and spills into the condom.

He pulls out slowly to not hurt you, and then throws the condom into the trash. He comes back over to your quickly and smooches your cheeks rapidly, causing you to giggle. You pull him close to you and he giggles too.

“I could really get used to this.” He says.

“Me too.”

You spent most of that day in and out of Harry’s bed. You had sex again in the shower, or, well, he fingered you in the shower, and then he made you breakfast, an egg frittata, and while it was baking he bent you over the kitchen table. You made some joke about it being a family space, so he just smacked your ass and told you to be quiet, and that was that on that. You were going to take a break and watch a movie, but things escalated, and he just brought you back to his bedroom. After scarfing down a pizza for dinner, you thought it might be time to go home.

“I’ve been here all day.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing, you can stay another night if you want.”

“That’s sweet of you, but…”

“And you look so cute in my clothes.” He pouts at you. It was true, you looked very cute in his joggers and long-sleeve shirt. “You really wanna go?”

“I just…I mean, what time is Andy coming back?”

“I pick him up on Sundays, so it’s not like they’d just walk in on us. I usually get him around six.”

“Oh…you….you really want me to stick around another night? You’re not sick of me yet?”

“Sick of you?” He chuckles. “Haven’t had enough of you.”

“Okay.” You smile. “I’m too tired to drive anyways.” You press your forehead to his chest.

“Aw, did I wear my baby out?” He asks as he wraps his arms around you.

“Mhm.” You nod and smile bigger. You were his baby.

“What do you say we go get cozy in bed, I’ll turn the TV on, and you can sit in front of me, and I’ll rub your shoulders?”

“You have a TV in there?”

“Yeah, I keep it in the armoire.”

“Oh! That sounds perfect then.”

Harry puts on The Office, and you both get under the blankets, and you sit in front of him between his legs and he massages your neck and shoulders. About ten minutes in, your eyelids starts to droop, and your body fully relaxes into Harry’s. He kisses your temple and holds you tight.

“It’s okay if you fall asleep.”

“No, I feel bad.” You mumble.

“Shh, babe, it’s alright.” He coos.

“Mm’okay.” You could feel yourself really slipping into sleep. “Love you, g’night.” You mumble, and fully pass out in his arms.

His entire body stiffens and he looks down at you. His heart starts beating rapidly. Did you just say you loved him?! He just agreed to be your boyfriend, and now you’re in love with him?! TOO MUCH TOO SOON! He almost wants to wake you to ask, but clearly you said it by accident, in a haze. Would you even remember saying it? He sinks down in the bed, careful to not move you too much. He wasn’t sure how he felt about all this. How could you already love him? You still barely knew him. What was there to love?

Harry wakes up with bloodshot eyes on Sunday morning as he’s wrapped around you, his dick much less hard than it was the morning before. You slept peacefully all night, blissfully unaware of what you said, and his inner turmoil. You adjust into him and he holds you tighter, almost out of fear. You roll over to face him and you peck at his lips.

“Morning.” You say, nuzzling into his chest.

“Morning.” He rubs your back.

“I slept so good, I’m glad I stayed again.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I don’t even remember falling asleep. Your hands in every way are magic.” You chuckle into him.

“Yeah? You liked the little massage?”

“Mhm, loved it.” You smile up at him and give him a squeeze before getting out of bed.

You definitely forgot saying what you said. There wasn’t even any recollection on your face. You said it yourself, you didn’t remember falling asleep.

“Hey, do you mind if I wear this home?” You say, coming out of the bathroom, putting the clothes back on that he loaned you yesterday. “Jeans and a bodysuit don’t sound like fun.”

“No, yeah, that’s fine.”

“Thanks.” You smile and crawl back on the bed, straddling him. “You’re too good to me.” You sigh, moving to lay your chest on his, hugging him.

“What can I say…I just…like you a lot.”

“I like you a lot too.” You kiss his cheek. “I’m gonna go home now. I have to go grocery shopping and get ready for the week.”

“Alright.” He puckers his lips and you kiss him again before getting off him.

“Andy won’t have any half days this week?”

“Nope, those are all done.” He says, getting out of bed to walk you to the door.

“Okay.”

“Why?”

“No reason.” You say coyly. “Just…if both are free at the same time, we could…sneak away for a bit.” You bite your bottom lip and look up at him. “Just a thought.”

“I like the way you think.” He kisses you again, and lets you leave. “God, I’m so fucked.” He says to himself and flops onto the couch, grabbing one of the pillows to clutch to his chest. He felt like he was going to collapse in on himself.

“You had a dream you said what to him?!” Janette screamed through your phone on Sunday night.

At some point during the day between doing the laundry and doing some meal prep, you had this weird feeling come over you, and you needed to talk about it with someone.

“It felt so real, I can’t exactly remember what was going on in the dream, but I told him I loved him…”

“Do you?!”

“I don’t know! We just really made things official! God, we did have a really nice weekend together too. No work, just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. It’s so weird, I don’t even remember falling asleep. We were cuddling while watching TV, and then I think I just passed out.”

“Why?”

“I was exhausted…we…really enjoyed each other’s company on Saturday.”

“Damn.”

“At least it was just a dream. I’d be mortified if I had said it out loud. I wouldn’t want to scare him off.”

“So, you’re not in love with him?”

“I really don’t know, Jan. I’m falling really hard for him, I feel like I could be in love, but I really don’t know. I think it’s too soon to tell.”

Harry thought about you all day. While doing his own laundry, doing his own grocery shopping, and other chores. Andy could tell right away that something was off.

“Are you alright? You were quiet when you got to the house.” Andy asks from the backseat.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just a little distracted is all, sorry.”

“Did you get to hang out with Y/N this weekend?”

“Yeah, for most of the weekend, actually. It was nice. She’s, um, officially my girlfriend.”

“Took you long enough! That’s great, Dad.” Andy smiles and leans forward to nudge Harry’s shoulder.

“I’m glad you like her so much.”

“She’s been nice to me since day one, she’s cool. She’s easy to talk to, too.”

“Yeah, she is. Feel like I could chat with her for hours and never get bored.”

“I like when she comes over for dinner, she always tells a funny story. I told Mum and Noah about her snake bite story.”

“What a roller coaster that was, huh?”

“Yeah! Can we go hiking this weekend? Brandon was wondering if we could go again soon, and maybe Y/N could come too…”

“Sure, um, I’ll see how the weather’s looking next Sunday.”

“Awesome! So, guess what?”

“What?”

“Brandon and Molly broke up!”

“You’re kidding?! When did that happen?” Harry wasn’t all that shocked. Middle school relationships never lasted, but he was playing it up for Andy’s sake.

“Over the weekend. He said she was getting too clingy or whatever. He called to tell me right away. I made sure to ask if he was okay, and he said he was fine. He said he didn’t feel sad about it, is that weird?”

“Not really…maybe he didn’t like her as much as he thought, you know? It might have been exciting at camp because it feels good when someone tells you they like you, but maybe he realized he wasn’t that into her.”

“That’s basically what he said, that he just wasn’t that into her. He said even kissing wasn’t that exciting anymore.”

“There you go then.”

“Does it make me a bad person that I’m happy he’s not seeing her anymore?”

“No…but just keep in mind, if you two stay good friends for a long time, you’ll have to get used to you each dating people.”

“I guess.” Andy shrugs. “It feels like I’ll never like a girl enough to wanna date one.”

“You’ve got time to figure all that out…you…may not want to date girls in general, and that’s fine too.”

“I’m not gay, Dad.” Andy scoffs.

“I’m not saying you are, not that it would be a bad thing, I’m just saying you may find as you get older that…ugh…how do I explain this…like, for me? I just like people. I’m attracted to who I’m attracted to, and I don’t read into it more than that.”

“Ew, are you going to tell me that you’ve been with guys?”

“Well…I never have been, but I don’t think it would be gross if I did. I’m attracted to women, but I wouldn’t say I have a type. Y/N looks a lot different than Mum does, you know?”

“Yeah.” Andy ponders for a moment. “How…ow do you know you’re attracted to women?”

“Just do.” Harry shrugs. “I’m sure they’ll start talking to you about all this in health class this year, but when you really start to go through puberty, and your voice starts to crack, and stuff like that, you just sort of start figuring out what you like and don’t like. I’m not sure how else to explain it, but just know you’ve got a ton of time to figure it all out. There are people my age still figuring it out, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself, and no matter what, know that Mum and I love you.”

“You’re so cheesy.” Andy rolls his eyes. “But…thanks.”

The second week of classes was less stressful than the first, as far as classes went. You were stressed about your doctoral work. You wished you had done more over the summer, but you had a certain distraction to thank for not doing as much as you should have. This weekend you needed to stay in and hunker down. And you didn’t even need to feel bad about it because you knew Harry would be busy with Andy.

“Hey.” Harry taps on your door Wednesday afternoon before he heads out. He had been sort of distant this week, but you weren’t reading into it. You knew he was still working on a manuscript.

“What’s up?” You say without looking up from your computer.

“Going for a hike Sunday with the boys…would you like to join?”

“Um….” You stop typing and look at him. “I know I should say yes to get outside while it’s still nice out, but I was hoping to get some work done this weekend, so I think I’ll pass, sorry.”

“That’s fine, I get.” He clears his throat. “So…I won’t see you at all this weekend, is that what you’re saying?”

“I’m afraid so, I’m sorry.”

This whole ‘love you’ thing kept ringing in Harry’s ears. He was trying so hard to read you, but you weren’t letting on about any hidden feelings, and it wasn’t like you had said it again. Maybe you had just been so utterly exhausted that you saying ‘love you, g’night’ just felt natural, like you would have said it to anyone. That thought didn’t make him feel better either.

“Um…it’s Wednesday.” He says.

“Yes.” You chuckle.

“Sorry, I just meant, on Wednesdays I pick Andy up from school and shoot him over to his Mum’s for dinner, and then she brings him back around eight, right before bed.”

“Okay…”

“Would you like to have dinner tonight? I could come to your place if that’s more convenient, I could pick up take out.”

“I’ll take you up on the take out, but I’ll come to your place, that way you’ll be home in case he’s back early.”

“Alright.” He perks up. “Anything in particular you’d like?”

“Thai?”

“I’m on it, I’ll see you later.”

You giggle to yourself as he leaves. He was so sweet. You need to make sure you go out of your office at a reasonable time so you’d have a good chunk of time with him.

You did well, you got to Harry’s around six, and he had a sushi platter waiting for the two of you on his kitchen table.

“How much do I owe you?” You ask, sitting down.

“Don’t be silly.” He scoffs.

“Come on, let me give you some money for this.”

“It was pocket change, relax.”

You smile at him and pop a piece of sushi into your mouth.

“Mm, this is so good.”

“I’ve literally never had a bad meal at that Thai place, I feel lucky to have it here.”

“Same here, it’s a hidden treasure.” You take a sip of water and put your hand over his. “Sorry again that I can’t be there for the hike Sunday.”

“I completely understand, really, don’t worry about it.”

He wanted to just bring it up, he wanted to tell you what you said, but he knew bringing it up would open up an entire can of worms. He felt strongly about you, he cared about you, and was definitely falling for you, but he wasn’t entirely sure if he was in love with you yet.

“I love the pots that Andy painted for me, he’s really got a gift.”

“Yeah, he’s really talented.” Harry smiles.

“I…I know you haven’t let a ton of people into this little world of yours, but I’m…happy I’m becoming a part of it. We didn’t have a lot family dinners growing up, so I love how much you’ve been including me in yours.”

Alright, so not only did you adore his son as much as his son adored you, but you were expressing your feelings about becoming part of his world. Fuck, maybe he was in love you.

“You…you make me feel really special, Harry. I’ve never…really felt like this in a relationship before.” You were blushing. You weren’t sure why, over sushi, you felt like telling him all of this, but reassuring someone in a relationship was important.

“You’re so special to me, Y/N, you have no idea. I…I haven’t been this happy in a long time.” He chews his inner cheek and then takes a deep breath. “You…you said something right before you fell asleep the other night.”

“I did? What did I say?”

“You…said something sort of serious to me, and it doesn’t seem like you remember, so I haven’t wanted to bring it up, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”

You try to think of what you might have said, and then it hits you and your eyes widen. What you said wasn’t just a dream, you had really told Harry you loved him. It was in a daze, but maybe you actually meant it.

“I think I remember now…I…shit, I thought I just dreamt that because I’ve had other dreams about you, you know?”

“So…it was an accident?”

“I don’t know.” You groan. “I was so sleepy, and you were making me feel so cozy and cared for, and…I guess it just slipped out.” You look away from him for a moment, and then back to meet his gaze. “Did it freak you out?”

“Um…a little at first, but that’s only because-“

“it’s too soon, right? It’s only been a couple of months.”

“That doesn’t matter to me. Sometimes you just know, it’s more…of an internal thing. I…to me, like, I don’t know, what’s there to love about me?”

“Harry…” You get up from your seat and have him skootch out so you can sit in his lap. You take him in for a hug, and press your head into the crook of your neck. He holds you just as close and then you lift your head to look at him. “Baby, it would take me forever to go through a list of things to love about you.” His eyes were intense as they looked into yours. It’s as if he thought you were lying.

“What are you saying, you…”

“I do.” You nod. “I…I’ve fallen in love with you.”

You had only been in love once before, and that love wasn’t even real, it was with your high school sweetheart. You had never been with someone you liked as much as you liked Harry, and it felt scary to feel so strongly about someone, but you felt it.

“Y/N.” He tucks some hair behind your ear, and that’s how you know it’s all okay. His fingers slide to the back of your neck so he can kiss you. It’s tender, and you feel a wetness on your cheeks. When you pull away you see a few tears sliding down his cheeks.

“Don’t cry, Harry.” You say just above a whisper, wiping the tears away with your thumbs.

“I can’ help it, I’m…scared.”

“About what?” You feel his hands grip at your back harder, like he was holding onto you for dear life.

“That…you’ll leave me.”

Your eyebrows raise. Paige had walked out on him, that much you were able to piece together from everything he’s told you. That mixed with the fact he hasn’t really gotten serious with anyone in a while. He clearly trusted you more than others, but you understood his fear.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m not…I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

“Maybe not, but I’m not the type to just quit on something. I know I walked away when we had that argument last month, but I feel like we’ve been doing well with checking in about our feelings since then. Don’t you agree?” He nods yes. “I want this with you, and everything that comes with it. If I didn’t then I would have never kissed you that night.”

“Well, technically I kissed you.” He jokes through his few tears, and it makes you laugh. “I want this with you too…I…”

“I only want you to say it back if you really mean it. It’s okay if you’re not there with me yet.” You run a hand through his hair to soothe him.

“I’ve fallen in love with you too.”

You smile at him and lean back in to kiss him. It’s soft at first, but he pulls you as close as possible, making it become needy. You both still tasted like dinner, but neither of you cared. He bites harshly on your bottom lip and you moan into him, tugging at his hair. He reaches around you to move the plates to the other side of the table and then lifts you on top of it, pressing your back flat to it, and keep your legs around his waist. He bites down on your neck while his fingers work to undo your pants.

“Is this okay?” he breathes against your neck.

“Yes, fuck, please, Harry.” You were panting with anticipation.

“Dad, I’m home!”

“Jesus!” Harry yelps and jumps back from you, rushing over to the door, checking himself first to make sure the strain in his pants wasn’t too noticeable. You quickly work to get off the table and button your pants back up. “What, uh, what, oh, hi, Paige.” He rambles as Paige comes into the house with Andy.

“Sorry we’re early, Harry, smart guy here left all of his homework here, so…” She blushes when she sees you, frazzled and flushed. “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi, Paige, Andy.” You clear your throat. “We were just finishing dinner, um, I can get going.” You snatch your bag, and walk towards the door.

“You don’t have to go, Y/N.” Andy says.

“Um.” You heart was racing. You look at Harry.

“I’ll walk you to your car.” He says and puts a hand on your back to lead you out, leaving Andy and Paige confused. “I’m so sorry.” He scream-whispers.

“It’s okay.” You say, and clear your throat. “Um…maybe call me later when he goes to bed?”

“Yeah, definitely.” He kisses you quickly and then goes back into the house. “Where’s Andy?” Harry asks Paige.

“He went to his room to get started on his homework. I hope she didn’t leave because of me…”

“No! It wasn’t that…you both just sort of walked in on us.” Harry blushes and rubs the back of his neck.

“Oh!” She looks over the kitchen table. “In such a public spot?” She laughs. “How old are you?”

“It just sort of…escalated. We had a rather serious talk about our feelings, and…I got excited.”

“I know how that goes.” She chuckles and shakes her head. “So, what are these feelings?”

“We’re…in love.” He mumbles.

“Oh, Harry.” Paige nearly squeals. “That’s so exciting!”

“Shh!” He swats his hands at her. “Do you want nose-bag in there to hear?” He whispers.

“Right, sorry.” She giggles. “Maybe she and I should get lunch sometime since things are getting so serious between the two of you.”

“Paige.” Harry groans.

“Come on, you did the same with Noah. I like her, but I don’t really know her. Just run it by her.”

“Alright.”

She looks him up and down.

“You were really going to fuck her on your kitchen table?”

“None of your business, now is it?” He smirks and she rolls her eyes.

“Have a good night.” She says before leaving and he wishes her the same.

Harry cleans up the kitchen and then goes down to Andy’s room, clearing his throat.

“I swear if you had told me she’d be here, I-“

“Wouldn’t have purposefully left your homework here so Mum would have to bring you back early?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Little bit. I thought you were feeling a little better about being over there, why would you do that?”

“Because after dinner it’s always wedding talk and I could honestly care less. I just want her to tell me what I’m wearing, and what I need to do, and that’s it. It’s so boring to talk about.”

“That’s fair.” Harry chuckles. “Do you need help with anything?”

“Yeah, actually, this geometry is already tripping me up…”

“Alright.” He cracks his knuckles. “Let’s take a crack at it together.”

Around 9PM, after Harry makes sure Andy’s in bed, and mostly asleep, he tip toes to his own room, and gets ready for bed. Once he’s comfortable, he sits up a bit and calls you. You answer on the second ring.

“Hey.” You say chuckling.

“A bit awkward earlier, yeah? Sure you still want all this?” He chuckles himself.

“Oh stop, that was a complete accident. Course I still want all of it.”

“Good.”

“I feel bad we didn’t get to finish…”

“I’d zip over there in a heartbeat if I could.”

“I know.” You sigh.

“Are you still…riled up?”

“No, I took care of it in the shower.” You say bluntly. “Why, are you?”

“Well, excuse me.” He scoffs. “Not all of us have the luxury of living alone, so no, I was helping a certain sixth grader with his geometry homework.”

“You can still do geometry?”

“I can.”

“Hot.”

“How is that hot?”

“I don’t know, I just find it sexy I guess.”

“Yeah? Using a protractor is sexy to you?”

“God yeah, did you find an irregular angle?” You were giggling now and so was he.

“Mhm, it was obtuse.”

“Fuck.” You moan, over doing it to be playful, and it makes him burst out laughing, clapping a hand over his mouth to wake Andy.

“You’re so fucking funny.”

“Think you bring it out in me, I’m usually not so hilarious.”

“I really can’t see you this weekend?” he nearly whines.

“Please don’t make me feel bad for needing to work. If you promise not to interrupt me all day Saturday, I could potentially take a break for you.”

“Deal.”

The weather ended up not being so great by the time the weekend came around. It was supposed to rain all day Saturday, which would make for muddy trails Sunday, and Harry wasn’t going to deal with that, so he tells Andy he’ll take him and Brandon another time. Instead, Saturday turned into a day for Harry to work on his manuscript, only, he had writer’s block. Not to mention Andy’s video games were distracting.

“Andy, can you turn that down, please!” He yells from up in the loft. A moment passes, and he can barely hear it. He wasn’t sure why he couldn’t think of much. It was perfect writing conditions.

“Hey, Dad?” Andy says as he creeps up the stairs.

“What’s up?”

“Brandon just texted, he wanted to know if I could sleepover tonight since we’re not hiking tomorrow…”

Harry’s eyes light up. Not that he didn’t want Andy around, but now he could go over to your place without feeling guilty.

“Of course! Yeah, what time does he want you over?”

“He said around 3:30…his mum said she could take us to a movie and stuff for dinner.”

“What a nice way to spend a rainy evening. Here, let me give you some money for the theater.” He takes his wallet out of his pocket and gives Andy thirty dollars.

“Thanks! I’m gonna go get my things together. Will you be able to drop me off there in a bit?”

“You bet.” Harry smiles as Andy races back down the stairs. He knew you didn’t want to be bothered, but he couldn’t help but share the news with you.

Harry: Andy’s been invited to sleep over at Brandon’s tonight

Harry: 😈

At 3:15, Harry zips Andy over to Brandon’s. He still hadn’t heard from you, but he knew you probably put your phone on do not disturb. He gives Andy a hug goodbye, and tells him to call if he needs anything, and off he goes back home. He’s able to get some work done to his manuscript, but not much, he was still too distracted from the prospect of seeing you, and getting his head between your-

You: that’s awfully convenient, sure you didn’t ask B’s parents to take Andy?

It was 6:45, and you finally texted him back.

Harry: I swear, it’s all just a coincidence. Maybe I was manifesting lol

You: come by around 8? I’m almost done with this amazing article I’ve found and I’m just taking notes from what I’ve highlighted

Harry: sounds good, babe. Can I bring anything? Have you eaten today?

You: I’ve eaten plenty, Daddy, thank you

He smirks at the thought of you most likely rolling your eyes at his caring nature.

You: if you happen to have any chocolate though…

Harry: think I can make that happen

You: amazing, see you soon!

Harry felt…giddy! He was so excited to see you, even though he had lunch with you yesterday at school. But this was different. He knew he was most likely going to get laid tonight, and he needed it terribly. He had some pent up energy from Wednesday night, and it was killing him. His own hand just didn’t do you justice. So, he saves what he was working on, and goes downstairs to go take a shower. Once he’s all clean and dried off, he puts on the cologne he knows you really like, and puts on a pair of jeans and a polo. He grabs his keys, and out he goes to the nearest bakery to grab something chocolatey.

“Two whoopee pies please.” Harry says brightly to the woman behind the counter, and she boxes them up for him. Then he’s off to your place.

You unlock your door when you hear the buzzer. You…did not look cute. Well, he probably thought you would look cute, but you didn’t feel cute. Your hair was up in a messy bun, and you were in an oversized t-shirt that had stains on it and a pair of panties and socks. You had wanted to get yourself together, but you lost track of time.

“Babe?” Harry says as he comes in to your place.

“I’m just cleaning my things up, meet you on the couch!” You yell from your office.

He sits down with the box of whoopee pies and waits patiently for you. You run walk quickly down the hall and nearly slide into the couch.

“Hi, sorry, I’m gross, and…oh my god what did you bring?!” You nearly lunge for the box on the coffee table, but he snatches it.

“Now, you told me you ate, which is why you’re getting dessert. Did you lie?” He raises an eyebrow at you.

“It wasn’t a lie! I had some French toast sticks for breakfast, and then I had a smoothie for lunch, one of those green ones that you showed me how to make.” You pout and sit down next to him. “Please, what did you bring?”

“Whoopee pies.” He grins and opens the box.

Your eyes grow wide and you grab one of them stuffing your face and moaning. He eats his a little less aggressively, but he can’t deny that it does taste really good.

“Mm, this is so good, thank you.” You say with a full mouth.

“You’re welcome.” He says, mouth equally as full, and you both laugh. “Come here.” He says after swallowing.”

“Let me go shower really quick, I wanna be fresh for you.”

“You’re killing me, Y/N.” He groans.

“Five minutes, then I’m all yours.” You stand up. “We have all night, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay then.” You wink and go into your room to shower. “Come into the bedroom and wait for me!” You yell before going into the bathroom.

He kicks his shoes off and gets comfortable on your bed. Your things were sort of all over the place, but he didn’t mind.

“Okay!” You say, coming in wrapped in a towel. “So much better. I literally was wearing the same shit all day, it wouldn’t have been fun, Har.”

“I’ll take your word for it, can I have you now?”

You nod and drop your towel. He reaches his arms out and makes grabby motions with his hand. You come over to him, and he lays you on your back, getting on top of you. His lips are on yours and his hand is trailing down your body.

“Needed this, needed you.” He says into your ear as he plants kisses on your neck, his fingers running up and down your slit.

Two of his fingers dip inside you, and at first he pumps in and out slowly. You look up at him as he looks down at you. Your mouth falling open, and moans escaping you every time something feels really good. You reach for his glasses and toss them to the other side of the bed, and run a hand through his hair. He pumps in and out of you faster, and has you panting, and then he slows it down again. You rock your hips with the motion of his fingers.

“H-Harry.” You moan as you look at him. “Take your clothes off.”

“I will, baby, I will.” He could feel you getting closer. “It’s like you said, we have all night.” He grins.

You gasp when you come to your release. His fingers rubbing against your g-spot slowly help you ride it out longer than usual. He pulls his fingers from you and gets further down the bed, opening your legs for him. He licks a few stripes up your center before diving in. Your fingers tangle in his hair as he fucks you with his tongue. His hands grip the backs of your thighs as he groans into you. This is what he wanted all day long, to just get lost between your legs.

“Taste so fucking good.” He mumbles against you and the vibrations rip right through you.

“Feels so good, don’t stop.” You bite your bottom lip as you look down at him. He looks up at you at the same moment and it all becomes too much. “I’m, oh god!” You throw your head back into the pillows as you feel him lap up your second release. “Please, fuck me now.”

“But I wanna keep doing this.” He nips at your inner thigh. “Just a little longer.”

“If I say yes, can we try something afterwards?”

“Like what?”

“Wanna show you what I have in my side table.”

“Let’s just do that now.”

“Nope.” You shake your head and smirk. “You wanna stay there, you go right ahead.”

He bites a little harder on you, but goes along with it. After making you come for two more times, he comes up for air and licks his lips. He looked like a happy puppy or something, it was sweet.

“Okay.” You breathe. “Get naked.” You place his glasses on the night table so they don’t get broken. “Get in the middle of the bed.”

“Why?”

“Because it’ll make it easier.”

“Make what easier.”

“You sure are asking a lot of questions.” You say as you rummage through your night table. “Ah-ha!” You toss a pair of handcuffs on the bed. “See, they’re plush so they won’t hurt your wrists.”

“You…you want to use these on me?”

“I certainly don’t like being restrained.” You scoff. “I have some scarves for your ankles too, but if we can just do your wrists if you feel comfortable with that.”

“I didn’t think you were into this sort of thing.”

“I mean…I don’t wanna whip you or anything like that…I just thought this could be fun, but if you’re not into it we don’t have to.”

“No! I’ll, uh, give it a try. Just the wrists though…”

You smile and grab the handcuffs as you knee onto the bed, inching closer to him. You put them on his wrists and lock them up.

“I thought you’d clip me to the headboard?”

“No, I feel like we should just try it like this first. I think you’d break my bed, you’re so strong.” You grab a condom and rip it open, and slide it onto his hard dick.

“So, is this like a I can’t touch you kind of thing, or…what are the rules?”

“You can touch me all you want, you’re just going to have a little trouble since your wrists are together. You won’t be able to reach around and grab me like you do.”

“So I can’t move you then?”

“Nope, gotta let me do it.” You grin. “Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah.” He nods, and lays on his back.

“Great.” You lean down to kiss him, and then swing a leg over him, but you’re reverse.

“You’re gonna do this like this and not let me touch you?”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t touch me.” You line him up with your center and look over your shoulder at him.

“But I won’t be able to rub your clit or-“

“No, I guess I’ll have to do it. It’s called giving up a little control, Har.”

“Alright, I can do that.”

“Okay.”

You face forward and sink all the way down on him. You both moan out. He wasn’t sure what to do with his hands. He could still reach forward to grab at your ass and hips if he really wanted to, but he knew with the cuffs on he wouldn’t be able to grab at you the way he really wanted, so he just decides to let them rest above his head on the pillows.

You switch from making circles with your hips to raising and lowering on him. His dick felt so good in you like this, and it thrilled you knowing he had just had to let you be in charge. You had a long day focusing your energy on your work, and now you got to focus your energy on him. You had very little control over the requirements for your dissertation. It had to be a certain amount of pages, you had to have a certain amount of resources, and you had little control over who would be on your committee. But this, this you had control over. You could make your boyfriend, who you loved very much, feel amazing. And Harry, poor Harry had to make big decisions all day every day to basically keep his kid alive, like all parents do. You thought maybe breaking out the handcuffs could be a nice way for him to not have to make any decisions.

“Doing okay?” You ask, looking over your shoulder at him.

“Y-yeah.” He looks up at you. “Feels good.”

You smile and bounce up and down on him faster. You had him moaning and groaning every time you’d purposefully tighten around him. You rub your clit as you grind on him.

“Miss your face.” You hear him say. You pout from how cute he is and decide to throw him a bone.

You get off to turn around, and then you sink back down on him.

“Better?”

“Much.” He grins.

In a swift motion, he lifts his arms and gets them around your back, yanking you to his chest. You let out a surprised squeal. His hands cups your ass and he moves you on him.

“Sorry, that just wasn’t working for me.” He grunts. You bury your face in the crook of his neck. “You good?”

“Mhm.” He was able to thrust into you this way anyways, so it did feel better feeling him deeper. “Do you want me to take them off?”

“No, this is actually kinda hot. Sort of a happy medium, yeah?”

“Yeah.” You kiss him as he continues to move you faster on him. “Fuck.”

“Getting close?”

“Shit, yeah.” You were starting to breathe faster. “Harry.” You moan. “Oh my god.”

He feels you pulse and vibrate around him as you release around him, and he slows himself down, giving you deep thrusts.

“Okay, now I want them off.”

You nod and get rid of the handcuffs. He pins you down on your back and smirks at you.

“What else do you have in those drawers, hm?”

“Nothing special.” You blush. “Lube, a couple of vibrators, normal things women would keep in their bedside tables.”

“Can I use one on you?”

“A vibrator?”

“Yeah.”

“But…I already have you inside me, so…don’t really need it.”

“Alright.” He pulls out. “Now you don’t. Let me use one on you for a bit, and then I’ll really give it to you.”

Your face lights up and you nod. He opens the top drawer and his eyes widen.

“Which one do you like best, baby?”

“The purple one.”

He grabs the purple, silicone dildo out of your drawer and closes it. He looks it over, almost confused of how it works.

“You put it in, and then turn it on.”

“Yeah, I get that, but what does this thing do?”

“That’s for my clit, it does everything at once.”

“Oh!” He laughs. “Duh.” He shakes his head. “Should I put some lube on it, or do you wanna-“

“Lube, I’m not deep throating my dildo.” You laugh.

He laughs too and grabs the lube out of the drawer. This was nice, just exploring, taking your time. He gets the lube on the dildo, and slowly inserts it into you. It wasn’t as big as Harry, so you were annoyed that he wanted to tease you like this.

“How often do you use this?”

“Not often, only when I’m really going through a dry spell. It gets the-oh!” He had turned it on its first level.

“How high do you usually turn it up?”

“Five.”

“But it goes up to ten.”

“I know, that’s too much.”

“Can I move it while it’s inside you?”

“Yes.” You grunt as he turns it up higher. “Would rather just feel you again, though.”

“You got to play with me, now I’m playing with you.”

“But you barely even let me do what I really wanted.”

“I know, it’ll take me some time to get used to all that.”

“Next time I’m just gonna tie you to each bed post.” He squints at you and just turns the vibrator up to seven as he moves it in and out of you. “Harry.” You grit your teeth.

“I want to make it so you think about me when you use these things alone.”

The attachment on your clit was going extremely fast, and you knew you had to be soaked from the way he was moving it around inside you.

“I would anyways, you don’t have to worry about that.” Your breath hitches when he turns it all the way up to ten.

“It’s for my own peace of mind, really. Remember, I get jealous easily.”

“Over an obje-oh my god!” Your head thrashes back against your pillows.

“An object that makes you feel like this? Yeah.”

“H-Harry, I can’t-“

“How come you never turn it up this high, doesn’t it feel good?”

“It-it does, but…” You have to swallow to keep yourself from drooling. You can’t even finish your sentence. It’s all too much. You scream as you come around the object.

Harry turns it off and slowly takes it out of you, and places it on top of the side table so could clean it later.

“Now then-“ He was cut off by your hand on his throat. He looks down at you, surprised.

“Not nice.” You breathe.

“You came didn’t you?” He smirks.

“Wanted you.” You furrow your brows at him.

“Can have me now.” He reaches forward to smooth some of your hair away from your face and you release your grip on his neck. “How do you want it?”

“Slow.”

“Alright, baby.”

He slides back inside you, finally, and he gives it to you just the way you want it. Nice and slow. You were too sensitive for him to ram in and out of you, and he knew it. It wasn’t a problem though because it was like…oh…now it was like you were making love. You wrap your legs around his waist, and his arms around his back. He places gentle kisses on your neck.

“I love you.” You whisper.

“I love you too.” He moves to look at you and then he kisses you. His tongue licks into your mouth, and you meet it with yours.

“Come for me, Harry.” You whimper, and you swear you see his eyes darken.

“Fuck, oh my god.” His motions become sloppy and then he’s coming into the condom. You weren’t expecting him to lose it so easily, but all in all you were happy. “Jesus, that was sexy.” He chuckles and pecks your lips before pulling out.

Once you both get cleaned up, you get cozy in your bed together. You both lay facing each other, legs tangled up, soft giggles between the two of you.

“I’m really surprised by you.” He says.

“I told you when we first did it. I’m open to most things. And handcuffs aren’t the weirdest things to keep around.”

“Not at all, and for the record, I didn’t think any of it was weird. I’ve used handcuffs before…just on someone else.”

“Yeah, I don’t like being restrained, like, I’ll never put those on.”

“But you like when other people are?”

“I…I don’t know, I just thought it would be nice for you to not have to make any decision for a little bit. I see you, Harry. You’re a mellow guy, but I see the little crinkles of worry on your face. Sometimes it’s nice to let someone else take over.” You cup his cheek and rub your thumb back and forth. “But if you weren’t into it, that’s totally fine.”

“So…in a way you were trying to take care of me?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s kinda…sweet.” He smiles and squishes his nose to yours. He hooks his arm around your waist and pulls you into his chest.

“I don’t like doing it like that all the time, either, I just thought it might be fun since we had a little more time.”

“I definitely had a good time, no worries about that.” He kisses your forehead. “I really like having sex with you.”

“Gee, thanks.” You chuckle.

“I just mean…I feel like we…fit well together.”

“I agree.” You nuzzle into his chest.

“I like what we have.”

“Me too.” You kiss on his chest. “I’m really happy. I know it must be annoying when I have to work all day, and I appreciate you giving me the space to do so.”

“I remember how it was for me. It’s not easy what you’re doing. I wouldn’t try to do something that would make it more difficult.”

“The whoopee pies you brought earlier were so good too, and it was exactly what I want. It was like you read my mind.” You look up at him. “Always giving me exactly what I need.”

“I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you too.” You kiss him and turn over so her can really wrap himself around you.

Most people may not be able to sleep comfortably with a guy’s heavy leg over their hip, and an arm wrapped over their chest, but you sleep so much better when Harry’s there to be your burrito.

The next morning you wake up and decide to make breakfast in bed for Harry. You slide away from him carefully, and put the shirt he was wearing last night on, and do your thing in the bathroom. You crack some eggs into a pan, and whip up some hash browns. You get your coffee pot going as well, and get everything on a tray. You come back into your room and smile at him.

“There you are.” He yawns and sits up. “What’s all this?”

“Made us brekkie.” You get back into bed and balance the tray over his lap.

“Thank you, babe.” He kisses your cheek and takes a sip of the coffee.

“What time do you need to pick up Andy?”

“Like eleven.” He shrugs. “So I’ve got some time.”

“Good.” You take a bite of the hash browns and he digs into one of the eggs.

Harry takes a shower with you after breakfast, and lounges with you for a bit on the couch. You show him part of your outline for your thesis, and he gives you some pretty helpful tips.

“I better get going, I’ll text you later.”

“Alright, I’m really glad you came over last night.”

“Me too, love you.” He pecks your lips.

“Love you too.”

Harry was on cloud nine. It had been so long since he felt like this with someone, and he felt so lucky to be with you. He pulls up to Brandon’s house, and Andy comes out right away. He gets into the back with his things, and doesn’t say a word.

“Hey, buddy, did you have a good time?” Harry asks as he pulls onto the street.

“Yeah.” He mutters.

“What did you guys do, did you enjoy your movie?”

“Yup, movie was good, we played video games, stayed up late, you know how it goes.”

Harry helps Andy bring his things into the house when they get home, and he goes right to his room.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just tired.”

“Okay, take a nap if you want. I’m gonna prep some of your lunches for the week. Turkey and cheese rollups sound good?”

“Yeah, Dad, thanks.”

Andy closes his door and leaves Harry in the hallway. He was a little worries, but he decides to give Andy his space. He makes Andy’s lunches, and some things for himself for the week, and goes up to his office to get some work done. His writers block was definitely gone now.

“Dad?” Andy says, coming up the stairs.

“Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you about something?”

“Of course!” He turns around and gestures to have Andy sit down on the loveseat he keeps up in the loft. “What’s up?”

“I think I sleep like you do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like…you know how you have that body pillow to hold onto?”

“Yeah.”

“I think I need one for myself.”

“Okay, we can go to WalMart to get you one, that’s no problem.” He studies Andy for a moment. “How did you realize you sleep like me?”

“Well…whenever Brandon and I have sleepovers at his house we just share his bed because his is full sized and not a twin like mine…and…god, it was so embarrassing, I woke up holding onto him…and I moved away before he noticed, but he didn’t seem bothered either, like, wouldn’t he have woken up when I grabbed onto him? It’s really confusing, and then…my…” He hides his face in his hands. “I got up and went to the bathroom right away, let’s just say that.”

“Oh…oh!” Harry was trying to think back to when he was Andy’s age. Was eleven when these things started happening to him. “Did you have to, um…”

“No, it went away, but it was really embarrassing! Why does that happen?”

“Um…well…scientific answer?” Andy nods. “Your bladder fills up at night, right? And it ends up…well, it pushes against this thing you have called a prostate, and, uh…your prostate likes it when things push against it, so…it makes other parts of you…happy while you’re sleeping.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Plus, if you were pressed up against Brandon, you may have been-“

“And there’s no way to control it?”

“Not really…”

“I’ll just bring my sleeping bag next time. I was so embarrassed! I’m lucky he didn’t notice, or maybe he did and didn’t say anything?”

“You know, it’s not just happening to you. It happens to all boys around your age. You start going through a lot of changes in middle school. Seems like you’re just starting to…”

“But I don’t wanna go through changes! It’s awkward.” He whines. “What if it happens during class?!”

“Then you put a book or a binder over your lap, and you think about something really gross.”

“What?”

“Yeah, just think of, like, moldy food, or something sad like a dog dying.”

“Dad!” Andy groans. “That doesn’t help while I’m sleeping.”

“Like you said, maybe just start bringing your sleeping bag.”

“He acted completely normal this morning, so maybe he didn’t notice. Like, he was joking around and we played basketball before you came to get me.”

“Should be fine then.”

“And this happens to all guys?”

“Yes.”

“Even you?”

“Even me.” He can tell Andy’s trying to wrap his head around everything. “When does health start up for you?”

“Not until second term, why?”

“I’m gonna get you a book…that has all the information you could need on this…subject, and then if you have questions you can ask me, but if it’s too embarrassing you can consult the book. Just promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“Don’t Google anything. There’s…a lot of weird and wrong information out there.”

“Okay.” He stands up. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He watches as Andy goes down the stairs and sighs to himself.

This was the part of Andy’s life that Harry was dreading, this awkward pre-teen phase. Soon his hormones are gonna start to go crazy, and they may not be pals like they are now. They’ll get into arguments that won’t end in hugs and apologies. At least Andy was still willing to talk to Harry about these things. Harry immediately goes to Amazon, and orders a few books on puberty for Andy. This was going to be a rough ride.

#office neighbors #harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fic #harry styles series #harry styles fanfic #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles y/n #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles angst #singledad!harry #professor!harry

746 notes · View notes

alt-rose · 3 years

Text

a trip to syracuse - colson baker

colson baker imagine

a trip to syracuse - a trip to syracuse leads to a cameo and a heart to heart.

word count: 4.9K (someone stop me)

the scene is in big time adolescence. if you haven’t seen it, i highly recommend. it’s on hulu.

(this could be considered a part 2 to 21, but it could be read alone)

(GIF from tenor)

it was July. you had spent your last few months working your ass off at SNL before staring as a lead in your first comedy film after your second season of SNL had ended. you had been all over the country in the last few months. you were in New York for work. then, you traveled home to your hometown to visit your family during your first week of the summer hiatus. then, you had to ship out to LA to work on your movie. then, you somehow ended back in your hometown.

you were everywhere. busy. never had time for yourself, or the time to do what you really wanted.

you hadn’t seen Colson since a few weeks after your birthday weekend. you texted back and forth. you called occasionally when you both had time. he made you laugh, and you, of course, enjoyed hearing about all his crazy stories. you looked forward to the random pictures he sent you from the studio or from set. he liked having something to share with someone, or rather, someone to share things with.

the two of you were like two best friends that could share everything with each other without needing to be physically there for each other. you could go days without talking because of your busy schedules, yet whenever you caught up with each other, it felt so natural. your relationship felt impossible to explain to anyone that asked. you felt connected to him somehow, but you couldn’t place the feeling.

colson baker: you should come visit me

that was the text you got at 3 am on a Wednesday, well technically Thursday.

you smiled at your phone as you stared at it. the light blinded you as you laid in bed in your dark bedroom at your parent’s house. it was 4 am in New York. what could he have possibly been doing? you learned not to ask that question often when it came to Colson and Pete. they were night owls and tended to drink or smoke anything they could get their hands on. for your sake, you’d rather not know what they were doing. it helped keep your nerves at bay.

however, 4 am in New York tended to worry you a bit. you opened your phone, squinting as the light grew brighter. you began to type back.

you: I should?

you: please tell me you are being safe

you scrolled through your phone as you waited for a response. your phone buzzed with a notification. you opened the message.

colson baker: safe at pete’s place

ah. Pete’s place was their new hangout. Pete was staying with his girlfriend, AG, as you called her, and it was technically her place. they were getting ready to head to Syracuse in a week or so for Pete’s new movie that Colson was making a cameo in.

colson baker: you should visit

colson baker: call me a pussy but I miss you

you smiled at that text. he missed you. your heart thumped in your chest.

you: I miss you too

you: text me tomorrow when you are sober and it’s not the middle of the night.

you: let’s see if sober colson wants me to visit

you watched as the typing bubbles appeared before the message appeared.

colson baker: sober colson said yes

colson baker: but, I’ll text you tomorrow about it

you laugh at his message before typing back.

you: goodnight cols

you: get some rest

your eyes began to lull shut, but you were determined to stay up for the next ten minutes in case he wanted to text you.

you fell asleep to one finally message from him.

colson baker: goodnight velcro monkey

somehow the velcro monkey joke always made an appearance when someone was drunk or high. it made them laugh at how the reserved, independent person you were could turn into the clingiest drunk on the planet.

you smiled one last time before shutting off your phone and going back to sleep.

the next morning, you sat in your parents’ kitchen answering emails on your laptop. your attention was occasionally pulled away from work as you watched your dogs play in the family room. it was good to be home for a bit, but your parents and dogs were a bit distracting when it came time to work.

“your phone has been buzzing for the last 20 minutes,” you mom said setting your phone down at the kitchen table. “you left this upstairs.”

“god, thank you,” you tell her not looking up from your computer.

“a lot of messages from a Colson Baker,” she gives you a look, raising her eyebrow.

“who’s Colson Baker?” your dad asked butting into the conversation as he made his way into the kitchen.

you moved to quickly snatch you phone from them. you were an adult now with an adult job, yet they still treated you like a teenager.

“a friend,” you reply as you opened your phone.

you had four messages and a missed call from Colson.

“seemed like they really wanted to get a hold of you,” you mom hummed as she moved to make her third cup of coffee that day.

“why do they want to get a hold of you so badly? seems important,” your dad chimed in.

“guys, it’s fine. please chill,” you reply. “just a friend. anyway, I have to take this call.”

you got up from the table before taking your dogs out to your back patio. you took a seat on one of the outdoor lounges as you called Colson.

“hey,” his raspy voice rang through the phone.

“hey,” you sigh. “what’s up with Syracuse?”

“you should come visit me in Syracuse.”

“I know, but why Syracuse?” you laugh.

“Pete’s doing his movie, and we’re both making a cameo.”

you went silent for a bit.

“we talked to the director this morning. they need background for my cameo scene, so I suggested you to Pete, and he was cool with it. the director said it was cool if you wanted to join the project for a cameo.”

“are you serious?”

“deadly. come spend the rest of the summer in Syracuse with me.”

“I’ll have to check my schedule-”

“shut up,” he laughed. “I know you’re free.”

“you’re right,” you sighed. “my family isn’t going to be happy with me leaving again, but they can just visit when SNL starts back up.”

“so you’ll do it?”

“sure, what else do I have to do?” you asked adjusting the phone to your ear. “plus, a week or two in Syracuse with you and Pete would be fun.”

“YES,” you heard him shout over the phone. “aight, cool,” he finally calms down. “I’ll let Pete know.”

“alright, Cols. sounds good,” you sigh into the phone.

“what’s wrong?” he asked after a beat.

“nothing. I’m just trying to figure out how to explain why a Colson Baker was blowing up my phone earlier to my parents.”

you heard him let out a laugh from his end. you heard him murmur something to someone. you heard him laugh once more before he addressed you.

“Pete said to tell your parents that I’m your dealer.”

“tell Pete that my parents might have a heart attack.”

you heard him mumble something before you heard a roar of voices.

“tell your parents that Colson works as a janitor for NBC,” you heard Pete yell into the phone.

“you guys are ridiculous,” you sigh into the phone as you pinch the bridge of your nose.

“but you love us,” Pete sang into the phone.

“yeah, I do.”

you heard them laugh.

“you could just tell you parents the truth,” Colson suggested. “I don’t mind your family knowing. the whole reason we were keeping it quiet was to keep you out of the spotlight.”

you thought about it for a minute.

“and what exactly are we keeping from her family?” you heard Pete in the background.

“that I’m her best friend now. I replaced you,” Colson quickly replied.

“HEY,” you yelled sitting up in your seat. “I never said that.”

“it’s okay,” Pete said louder into the phone. you can only assume he was closer to the phone. “I know you love him more than me.”

“that’s not true,” you said in a defensive tone. “I love you both equally.”

“RIIIIIGHT,” Pete drew through the phone.

“right,” Colson agreed.

“it’s okay. I know who you text when you’re supposed to be working, (y/n),” Pete slyly said in the phone.

“knock it off, Pete,” you growl into the phone, causing the guys to laugh. “where’s your girlfriend? can’t you go bother her?”

“oh shit,” you heard Pete say. “I forgot to bring her the food we made. bye (y/n).”

you laughed at him before you heard Colson.

“I took you off speaker. he went back into his room with the food.”

“you guys made breakfast?”

“yeah, our post-mushroom pancakes,” he said. “totally came down from them a half hour ago. the food’s probably cold as shit now.”

“RIP to AG’s kitchen.”

“RIP, indeed.”

you laughed.

“I can’t wait to see you, Cols,” you smile into the phone.

“I’m excited to see you, too. I’ll send you a plane ticket.”

“I can pay for my own plane ticket. it’s okay,” you reply. “you can save that up to buy me dinner when I get to Syracuse.”

“(y/n) (y/l/n), are you asking me on a date?”

“too forward?” you laugh.

“not forward enough. maybe, I could buy you breakfast too?”

you laugh and cover your mouth with his suggestion before you finally calm yourself down.

“maybe you could,” you reply coolly.

“NOOOO,” he whined into the phone. “can you come to New York now?”

you laughed together before the conversation lulled into a gentle silence.

“can I tell you a secret?” you whisper into the phone.

“shoot.”

“I’ve been listening to your music.”

you paused waiting for his reaction.

“oh boy, have I converted you to hip hop and rap?”

“no, I made an exception for Machine Gun Kelly,” you smile.

“really?” you could hear him shift around. “got a favorite?”

“27,” you reply too quickly. “I’m a sucker for the piano. Kiss the Sky and Habit are pretty good too.”

“next show I have, you’re gonna be in the crowd. I want to perform for you.”

“for me?” you ask in a posh voice. “you could always give me a private show.”

“I just might.”

suddenly, your attention was pulled to your mom who was standing at the back door. you raise an eyebrow at her as you listened to Colson mumble through the phone.

“hold on, Cols,” you tell him. “what’s up?” you ask her.

“we’re leaving in a half an hour to go to dinner at your grandparents. you need to get ready,” she replied.

you nod to her. she stood in the doorway waiting for you to get off the phone. you raised another eyebrow at her. she wanted to eavesdrop on your conversation.

“alright,” you sigh. “Cols, I have to go. I have dinner with my grandparents.”

“fine. fine. call me later?”

“yeah, I’ll call you later.”

“bye (y/n), love you.”

you smiled at that. even though the love was platonic, it felt good to hear it from him.

“bye Cols, love you too.”

once you hung up, you gave your mom a pointed look.

“love, huh?” she smiled.

“just a friend,” you mutter before calling the dogs in.

“just a friend that you love,” she teased.

“so who is Colson Baker?” your dad chimed in once the two of you made it inside.

“he’s a friend of Pete and I,” you reply heading to the stairs.

“what does he do?” your dad asked looking up from his phone.

“just look him up. I have to get ready.”

once you safely made it up the stairs and away from their questions, you began to rummage through your closet for clothes. you were pulled out of your search by your dad yelling up the stairs.

“MACHINE GUN KELLY. YOU’RE FRIENDS WITH MACHINE GUN KELLY?”

a week and a half later, you were on a plane to Syracuse. your parents weren’t super hip about you leaving so soon, but you argued that it was for work. and, it was. you weren’t lying.

they also were not so happy about your friendship with Colson, or Machine Gun Kelly as they knew him. your mom argued for the tattoos, which made no sense, since they liked Pete, and he had tattoos. they were also not so impressed that he was a rapper.

maybe, you shouldn’t have let them read all the articles about him.

he was heavily misunderstood by the media, and Colson was not ‘Machine Gun Kelly’. he was Colson Baker. you tried to explain that he was so much more than what the media portrayed, but your parents were more of the seeing rather than believing type.

with that all said, you were happy to be out of the house. you were tired of constantly arguing for and defending your friendship. anytime you got super defensive of Colson, your family accused you of being in love with him. were you? hell yeah. but, you weren’t going to admit that to anyone. you ran from your feelings, remember?

once you finally landed at the airport in Syracuse, you texted the guys.

colson baker: in line waiting for you

colson baker: north pick up line

colson baker: black escalade

when you finally made it out the doors with your baggage, you searched for the black escalade. you attention was pulled to the sound of doors opening, and you found Colson on the passenger side of the car as Pete climbed into the backseat. you smiled as you watched the guys. you made your way to them.

“hi,” you smile.

“hi,” Colson replied looking down at you.

you kinda forgot what it was like to be around six-foot giants. Colson moved to take your bag from you before putting it in the trunk. after you helped him load up your bag, he took your hand and led you to the passenger seat.

before you could hop in, he grabbed you and kissed you. you moved to grip the fabric of his jacket as you kissed him back.

“did you just kiss her? what? did he just kiss you?” Pete asked dumbfounded from the backseat as he looked back and forth from you and Colson.

you laughed to yourself as you buckled your seat belt while Colson made his way to the driver’s seat. as he hopped in and buckled up, he turned to you. you laughed before turning to Pete.

“anyone want to answer me? did you kiss her?” Pete said slapping Colson’s shoulder with the back of his hand.

“yeah, I did. what are you going to do about it?” Colson raised an eyebrow at him.

you laughed picking at the skin of your lip.

“what the hell? am I third wheeling this whole trip?”

“dude, you would have had me third wheeling this whole trip if we didn’t invite her.”

“how long?” Pete whined. “how long has this been a thing?”

“since my birthday,” you reply quietly.

“since your birthday,” he said dropping his jaw. “that was months ago.”

“I know,” you laugh. “to be fair, we haven’t seen each other much since. we’ve been talking and stuff, though.”

“what the hell, guys.”

you and Colson both laughed as he pulled out of his spot in line and drove toward your hotel.

“oh, I told my parents about you, and they googled you. they aren’t very happy.”

“fantastic.”

you spent your first day on set waiting around for the guys in Pete’s trailer before your call time. you and Colson sat and talked, just being close to each other after months apart. once it was finally your call time, you got your makeup and hair done, which wasn’t much considering you were just an extra in a scene.

the director had you placed at a bar table with two other girls. drinks were all placed in front of you. you fixed your hair a bit before the director called action. the scene began and you just kept your head down, while you waited for your cue. one of the guys walked up to your table and began talking to the three of you. the camera panned over to your table, and the guy began his lines. you smiled and laughed at him.

“I already have a tab open so if you want another-”

“hey,” Pete yelled catching your attention. “I’m sorry about our friend. we found him in a dumpster. he’s a rescue. sorry”

“it’s okay,” the girl next to you yelled.

“aw don’t worry. he’s got all of his shots though, so he won’t bite,” Pete called back.

“oh,” the girl laughed. “what about your puppy?”

“who? Mo?”

“yeah, he looks a little young to be in here.”

“you look a little old to be in here,” Pete shot back. you had to hold in your laugh.

“CUT,” the director yelled. “let’s do it one more time, just in case, and then move on.”

you repeated the scene once more before everyone moved on to the next part of your scene. the guys all crowded around your small table. Colson stood behind Pete, who was sitting on one of the barstools.

“you guys look great. can we get another girl on the other side of Griffin please?” the director asked, gesturing to the second lead in the film. “(y/n), can you move?”

“yeah,” you reply before hopping out of your seat to sit on the other side of Griffin. you then realized that you were directly in the camera’s line of vision.

you looked up at Colson who was across the table from you. he sent you a wink before taking a drink of whatever liquid was in his glass. you smiled back at him before Pete reached across the table to fist bump you. you laughed at him before getting ready for the scene.

the director moved back and called “Action.”

“Mo actually got back from the army,” Pete started his lines.

“yeah?” you respond.

“yeah, he was there for 16 years,” Pete replied to you.

“let’s not talk about, yeah,” Griffin responded giving Pete and Colson a look.

“anyway, yeah, he hasn’t been laid in 16 years. how crazy is that?” Pete said before Colson could interrupt him.

“aye, to Mo,” Colson said bring his glass in.

“to Mo,” the table responded crashing the glasses together.

“welcome back brother,” Colson said.

“yeah, man.”

“hoo-rah, right?” Colson said clinking his glass to yours.

“hoo-rah,” Griffin cheered back.

“hey, may we all make it to heaven before the devil knows we’re dead, baby,” Colson yelled.

“YEAH,” Pete cheered back beating his chest like a frat boy.

“cheers,” Griffin called before clinking his glass to yours.

“wait. what does that mean?” Pete asked.

“like, we’re sinners and-and-” Colson nodded his head. “and, bad motherfuckers, and he’s coming to suck us back…” Colson paused to do a little motion before continuing. “he wants us.”

“isn’t that, like a Buzz Frontier song?” the other guy asked, and Colson looked up at him.

“who wants us?” Pete interrupts looking at Colson. “what did he do? what did we do?”

“Satan, motherfucker, wants us,” Colson said moving his head to emphasize each word.

he then bent his head back up before making eye contact with you. one of the other girls began to laugh, which caused the table to laugh with her. Colson sent you another wink, and you smiled back at him.

“Cut,” the director called. “that was good. let’s do it one more time.”

you were sad that your scene was over. you liked working with Pete and Colson. after you finished getting out of your costume, you put your clothes back on before heading to Pete’s trailer. in there, Pete and Colson were lounging on the furniture.

“what are you two doing?” you laugh as you close the trailer door behind you.

“waiting for you,” Pete shot back.

“what’s the plan?” you asked taking a seat on the couch next to Colson.

he wrapped an arm around you.

“I have to shoot for a few more hours, but we can meet up later,” Pete suggested.

“do you want to go out?” Colson asked you. “while we wait.”

“sure,” you nodded. “what time do you think you’ll be done?” you asked Pete.

“not sure, but I’ll text you.” Pete stood up from his seat. “I have to get back, but I’ll see you later.”

“aight,” Colson replied reaching to dab up Pete.

Pete took his hand before patting you on the head.

“bye Pete,” you call to him as he leaves.

“bye, be safe,” he laughs back at the two of you.

as you watched the door of the trailer shut, you felt a pair of eyes on you. you turned to find Colson staring down at you.

“what?” you laugh at him. “do I have something on my face?”

“no.” he gave you a small smile.

“then, stop staring at me like that.”

“staring at you like what?”

“like that,” you said pointing at his face. “making me feel self-conscious.”

“can’t help that you’re really pretty.”

“and that’s my cue to go,” you say starting to get up from the couch.

Colson laughed behind you before pulling you back onto the couch.

“do you want to go to the mall?” he asked smiling at you. “then I can take you out for that dinner you promised me.”

“ohhhh, I guess I did promise you a dinner,” you hum. “let’s go then.”

“try it on.”

“no. did you see how many zeros were on that tag?”

“jesus, just try it on.”

“no.”

“get in that goddamn dressing room and try on the goddamn dress,” Colson mutter quietly to you.

Colson had dragged you into some fancy boutique to “buy you a dress.” you resisted, of course, and the fact that he was so willing to buy you an expensive dress scared you. you were very responsible with your money, and you never splurged on yourself. this, of course, was not going over well with Colson now that you were refusing to even try on a dress that was more than a hundred dollars.

“Colson, it’s really expensive,” you softly say looking up at him.

“so?” he shrugged. “please let me buy you something nice.” he gave you the closest thing he could to ‘puppy dog eyes.’

“jesus, fine,” you breathe pulling yourself from his eyes. “I’m trying it on, but if I don’t like it, you’re not buying it.”

“scouts honor,” he said holding up his hand.

with that, you snatched the hot pink mini dress from his hands and marched toward the dressing room. you could hear Colson lightly laughing at you as he watched you.

once you made it into the dressing room, you took a seat on the bench. you put your head in your hands before taking a breath. were you doing this? yes, and it went against every bone in your body. after you settled yourself down, you began to take off your clothes before trying on the dress.

once you began to slip on the dress, you couldn’t get it to zip up. you tried every angle possible, but the zipper wouldn’t budge. you let out a heavy sigh before collecting yourself. you peeked through the sliver of the door to see if Colson was outside the dressing room. you found him browsing at a rack of clothes a few feet from your dressing room.

you opened the door by a crack before poking your head out.

“Colson,” you whisper-yelled to him.

his head perked up before finding you. he began to stalk closer to you.

“how does it look?” he asked when he got to you.

“I think I need a bigger size,” you admitted to him.

“I’ll go grab the next size up, but can I at least see it?”

“no, it won’t zip up,” you shot back.

“can I try?”

“can you try?”

“jesus christ,” he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. “just turn around.”

you opened the door a bit more before turning around. you felt him place his hands on your hips before finding the zipper.

“this should totally zip,” he whispered in your ear. “the zipper’s just stuck.”

you felt him move the zipper down before pulling it back up. the dress finally zipped.

you sighed once the dress finally fit properly. as you glanced in the mirror, you fell in love with the dress. you looked good. it was almost as if the dress was made for your body. it didn’t gap in weird places, and it wasn’t too snug. it felt perfect, and for its price, you were glad it was perfect. it would be a rip-off if it wasn’t.

“damn,” Colson whispered.

“damn,” you nodded.

“you’re getting it.”

“I’m not going to fight you on it,” you reply turning around to face him. “now, get out so I can get dressed.”

“at least, let me unzip you first,” he laughed.

four hours and a shopping trip later, you and Colson were sitting in some fancy restaurant together. he was in a fashionable shirt and jacket while you sat in your hot pink mini dress.

“thank you for dinner,” you say reaching across the table to take his hand.

“you’re welcome,” he smiled at you after he handed the paid check back to the waitress. “I promised you a dinner, didn’t i?”

“you did,” you laugh.

“you wanna get out of here?” he suggests nodding toward the door.

“sure,” you nod back.

with that, he moved to help you out of your chair. with his hand in yours, the two of you headed to his rental car. he opened the passenger door for you. before you could get in the car, you turned and placed a hand on his cheek.

his eyes met yours, and your heart melted. his hands landed on your waist, and he pulled you close before planting his lips on yours. you leaned up to kiss him back. and there you were, standing in the parking lot of a fancy restaurant making out like a bunch of teenagers.

at sunset, the two of you were sitting at the private rooftop patio of your hotel. you were both laying on one of the daybeds watching the sky change colors. you were deep in thought.

“I’m scared,” you admit staring up at the sky.

“scared?” Colson quietly asked you from where he was laying next to you.

“yeah,” you breathe. “I don’t do relationships. I run from them. maybe it’s my fear of rejection or my fear of getting hurt.” you pause for a moment. “I really like you. like really, really like you. and part of me is scared because I don’t want to get hurt, but I want a relationship. I want love, you know?”

“I get it,” he murmured next to you.

you were both at the point of the night where deep conversations were rolling. should you have been so honest with him? who knows. would you regret it tomorrow? maybe. but, right now, it had been said.

“and, I want a relationship with you.” he rolled over on his side to face you. “I’m just scared because I don’t want to be just another girl for you. you buy me a pretty dress and take me to dinner with the hopes that I land in your bed tonight, and it makes me wonder,” you whisper.

you could feel his gaze. he took one of your hands and placed a kiss on the backside of it.

“you and I both know my track record with relationships kinda suck,” he starts. “but, I want this to work.” he brushed a peace of hair from your face. “I’ve never felt this way with anyone, and I’m going to be completely honest when I say it scares the shit out of me. and, if it makes you more comfortable, we can take this relationship at whatever speed you want it to go. I just want to be with you. I want to make this work, and I want to be a part of your life. I want this relationship to be more than just texts at 4 am and kissing you once every three months.”

you were both quiet for a bit. you were processing what he had said. he wants this to work. he wants to be with you. he wants this relationship, and he wants it to be more.

“I’m gonna fall in love with you if you keep saying shit like that,” you whisper after your moment of silence.

“good,” he smiled placing a hand on your cheek. “because, I’m falling in love with you.”

your breath caught in your throat. you wrapped your arms around his neck before pulling him down to you. he placed his lips on yours and kissed you. laying there in the daybed, you kissed him back.

“be my whatever,” he whispered.

“be your whatever?” you ask raising an eyebrow.

“yeah, whatever you want to call yourself. just be mine. be mine, baby.”

“okay.”

and you kissed him once more.

not sure how i feel about this. hopefully, this does justice for a part two, anon. i hope you enjoyed. feel free to send requests. - rose xx

#colson baker #colson baker imagines #colson baker x reader #machine gun kelly imagines #machine gun kelly x reader

110 notes · View notes

let-it-raines · 4 years

Text

your wonder under summer skies (17/18)

Summer in Storybrooke, Maine means one thing for its residents: tourist season. This year, for Emma Swan and Killian Jones, it means relationships ending and friendships changing all the while they attempt to figure out just what their relationship is. It’s somewhere straddling the line between friends and lovers, and there’s no guarantee of a soft landing if they fall into new territory.

Rating: Mature

a/n: I told you it wouldn’t take as long to get this one up! And to everyone messaging about Walking the Baseline, I have started writing the next part! ❤️

ao3: beginning | current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |

-/-

The swan is staring at her.

It is legitimately staring at her from its spot on her dresser with its beady little black marble eyes. For weeks, Emma has thought it was cute, has treasured its presence in her room. It’s the only thing anyone has ever won for her, which seems miniscule, but when you don’t have a lot, it’s a big freaking deal. That night had been awful, her heart warring with her over Neal and his presence at the fair, but then she had this dumb stuffed animal to hold onto – and squeeze onto instead of slapping Neal, if she’s honest. Killian had won it for her to make her happy, even if just for a little while, and while she hadn’t realized her feelings for him in that moment, she should have.

Anyone who plays rigged carnival games to make someone happy is probably a good person, and Killian Jones is definitely a good person.

A good person who was (is, hopefully) her friend who she then started fucking who then ended that, and now she sits in her room in the dark at seven in the morning staring at a stuffed swan.

What a weird thought process.

What a weird relationship.

What a weird couple months.

When Emma looks back on it, she can’t believe this is how her life has been lately. She ended a half-decade long relationship, had her heart shattered into pieces, and then she made the stupid decision to be friends with benefits with the last person she should have done that with. Who even does shit like that?

She does, apparently.

But the night of Liam and Elsa’s engagement party, she was tipsy and upset and needed to forget the pain. Killian seemed like the perfect person to do that with, especially knowing how easily he does casual relationships. As she now knows, having a casual relationship and having a casual relationship with Killian Jones are two different things.

At least when you’re her.

Now, though, she doesn’t know what relationship she has with Killian. They’re friends, always have been, but things have been…different since they stopped sleeping together. They don’t text as much, they certainly don’t hang out like they used to, and when they do, things are stiff. The conversations don’t flow, arguments fly more freely, and Emma has no idea what to do about any of it. She’s tried not to think about any of it and pretend that everything is fine, but then moments like this hit and it’s impossible. Liam and Elsa are getting married tomorrow, have their rehearsal dinner tonight, and Emma and Killian have to spend time together.

They’re going as each other’s dates.

And she feels like such a cliché at the end of a romantic comedy where people are being forced to gather at a wedding with romance everywhere, where she mopes around waiting for things to get better. That’s not real life, though. Some floral arrangements and twinkly lights do not solve relationship problems, especially when you’re not in a relationship to begin with.

Especially when the other person wants nothing to do with you.

Emma sighs and flops onto her mattress, pulling a pillow over her mouth and loudly groaning into it. She’s pathetic. This is why she hasn’t allowed herself to have any free time since the weekend in the mountains. She’s stayed busy, throwing herself into work and her runs. She’s even read the stack of books that’s been on her nightstand for months, but mostly she’s made sure to be surrounded by friends, even if that does include Killian. David and Mary Margaret, bless them and their inability to read the room, have continuously brought Graham around thinking Emma is open to dating him. She’s not. He’s a sweet man she gets along with and in another world, she might consider dating him. It’s not another world, however, and she doesn’t want to date Graham Humbert.

All she wants is Killian like the pathetic woman she is.

And for the freaking stuffed swan to stop staring at her.

After screaming into her pillow once more and kicking her legs up and down like a petulant child, Emma throws the pillows off of her and shifts from underneath her comforter. Begrudgingly, she stretches her arms above her head, her muscles aching from overuse, and she walks to her bathroom. Slowly but surely, she gets ready, spending extra time washing her hair and shaving while her phone plays music loud enough for her to sing along to. Once she feels alive again, she steps out of the shower, pulling her hair into a towel and walking to her vanity. She brushes her teeth and does her makeup, going ahead and applying the smoky eye she wants to wear tonight. She’ll look ridiculous until the sun sets, but she’s not coming home in between work and the rehearsal and doesn’t want to pack her full makeup kit. It’s the same reason she blows her hair out and curls it before pulling on a black jumpsuit. She’s had it for years, but never had a chance to wear it. It hugs her curves and flares out at the legs. There’s a cutout on her stomach and the cleavage dips, and to cover that up so she doesn’t get fired, she pulls a cropped sweater on top. An hour later, she leaves her apartment and drives through Storybrooke to get to the club.

This is just another day. Emma can make it through.

She’s made it through every bad day so far, most of them a hell of a lot worse than having to eat dinner with Killian Jones by her side.

With Labor Day over and summer beginning to fade away, tourists have fled from Storybrooke and returned to their normal lives. The beaches are empty, the restaurants barely occupied, and Storybrooke Country Club is only frequented by members who either live in the area or who avoid the main summer rush. Walking the hallways alone is odd after spending months not having a moment to herself, and since there’s no one around, Emma takes off her heels and walks down the hallway barefoot. There’s a luncheon in one of their smaller dining rooms, so Emma checks to make sure the linens and the menu are still correct from when she checked last night, and once she’s sure they are, she moves to their nicest ballroom where Liam and Elsa are having their reception tomorrow. They were going to have the ceremony inside as well, but since the weather looks like it’s going to be nice, they’re having it on the deck with the ocean in the background.

She thinks most of this place is stuffy and stuck-up, but she does love this ballroom. The windows are large and look out to the ocean, and if they open the doors, it connects to the expansive deck with string lights hanging over the ceiling. Tomorrow, when the sun sets and those lights are turned on along with the lights inside, everything will be cast in a magic glow. Emma looks around at the chairs lining the sides of the walls and the tables out, and she sighs. Someone was supposed to put everything out, and after calling around and finding no one, Emma starts arranging the tables and chairs herself. It takes her hours, especially when she starts putting out linens and setting the tables, and while florists won’t come in until tomorrow, she marks the places for the arrangements to be set. She nearly calls Mary Margaret and asks her to come in on her day off, but she likes being busy. It keeps her mind off things.

Too soon, though, she’s set up everything she can, and the cooks have started prep work for tonight’s dinner. Emma catches a look at herself in the mirror, sees where some of her makeup has run and her curls have fallen, and she grabs her work makeup bag out of her office and moves to the bathroom where she reapplies her powder and lipstick and brushes through her hair before pulling it into a high ponytail.

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

“Tonight is going to be fine,” Emma tells herself, rolling her arms to relax her sore muscles and calm herself down. “It’s just like it always is. It’s spending time with your friends but in nice clothes, and you just have to get through a weekend without fighting.”

Emma stops rolling her shoulders and leans forward, fingers curling around the sink top. “Great, Emma. Now you’re having full on conversations with yourself in the mirror.”

Inhale, exhale.

She’s got this. She has to.

Emma looks at herself one more time, does a final adjustment on her ponytail, grabs her bag and walks out of the bathroom with her shoulders back. She sits through more weddings than any normal person should, and this is a weekend to celebrate someone she loves. It’s a happy moment.

Until she walks out of the bathroom, her limbs still shaky, and nearly plows down the bride and groom.

That would definitely get her fired, and she doesn’t think her year could take losing her job too.

“Hi,” she squeaks out, stumbling over her heels before correcting herself. “How are you two? Elsa, you look beautiful.”

“Oi, what about me?” Liam jokes, and Emma awkwardly giggles, still trying to catch up. She needs a reset of today.

“You look stunning,” Emma laughs, quickly hugging Elsa before doing the same to Liam. “Are you guys excited for tomorrow?”

“You have no idea,” Elsa sighs, happy, content, so many things that brides should be but rarely are. “Thank you so much for setting everything up. I know you’ve been by yourself with Mary Margaret taking the day off to do things with us, so I really, really appreciate you.”

“I’m happy to do it for you guys. Promise.” Emma squeezes Elsa’s forearm. “If you were anyone else, I would complain.”

“Well, you know how to make a girl feel special, but I have a feeling you won’t say the same thing when Anna shows up in a few minutes.”

“I have already mentally prepared myself for it.”

Elsa looks down at her phone. “Speak of the devil,” she laughs, holding up her phone. “I’m gonna step away and take this.”

Elsa moves down the hallway, heels clicking against the tile, and Emma is left alone with Liam, the two of them swaying back and forth, eyes never making direct eye connect. She doesn’t know the last time she spent time alone with this man, and at the moment, she can’t think of them ever spending time alone together. They’re not friends, have only started getting along recently weirdly enough, but they always have Elsa or Killian to be the buffer.

There’s no buffer now.

Emma tries to think of something to say, works through a conversation about the weather and the wedding and tonight’s menu in her head, but she never says any of it out loud. Instead, she laughs awkwardly and smiles, wondering how shitty it would be to excuse herself from the room when she doesn’t have an actual excuse.

“You should talk to Killian,” Liam says. Emma’s eyes widen, and she looks at Liam. He doesn’t shift away from her gaze like she was expecting. “I’m not sure what’s been going on between the two of you, but I know that there’s something. I know I’ve never been the kindest to you, but I know that you are good for Killian as long as you don’t decide to break his heart.”

Emma crosses her arms, her heart thumping under her fingertips. She wonders if Liam can hear it or see it the way she can, like it’s the third person in the conversation. “I don’t think you get a say on what I decide to do. Killian’s a grown man. He can make his own decisions. He doesn’t need you putting up some ‘holier than thou’ front to tell his friend not to get into a fight with him.”

Liam steps closer, and with her heels, she’s able to keep her gaze directly on his. “I may not know exactly why the two of you are fighting, but I do know you’re the woman he’s been sleeping with all summer.” Emma’s jaw drops, and she’s not exaggerating when she thinks it may be broken. How? How does he know? “You two should really learn to lower your voices when you’re talking in the morning. I didn’t realize until last month right before our trip, but there was one morning where I recognized your laugh and then your voice was so clear afterward.”

“I’m not – we’re not – he isn’t…”

“Emma,” Liam sighs, pressing his hand to her shoulder, “it’s okay. I’m not trying to be an ass. I know that I am one, but all I want is for Killian to be happy. And believe it or not, I want you to be happy, too. Talk to him.”

Her mind is running at one hundred miles an hour, her heart beating even faster, and her cheeks are so warm they must be as red as tomatoes. She doesn’t know what to do, what to say, how the hell she’s supposed to react to any of that, so she doesn’t. Instead, she makes an excuse, something along the lines of checking on the food for dinner, and then she’s gone, disappearing down the hallway and into a linen closet.

Liam knows.

Liam knows, and he didn’t even blow a gasket. What kind of crazy alternate universe is this? Emma doesn’t know. She doesn’t know anything.

(But Liam apparently knows a lot.)

She doesn’t know what to think or say or how she even feels about anything. All she knows is that she still has to make it through this weekend. She can’t spend all of it hiding away in bathrooms and linen closets no matter how much she wants to.

Rolling her shoulders back, Emma takes her seventeenth deep breath of the night, twists the door knob, and manages to slip out of the closet without anyone seeing her. By the time the rehearsal has finished – they did two-run throughs – Emma’s heart has managed to calm down. It wasn’t easy, especially when she saw Killian walking down the aisle, one of Elsa’s cousins on his arm who couldn’t stop laughing at whatever joke he was telling, but she was able to push back the attraction and jealousy and everything else that comes with looking at Killian Jones.

She’s always known he was handsome. It’d be impossible to miss, but tonight as he wears a baby blue shirt, halfway unbuttoned of course, and some fitted Navy slacks, his hair coiffed and beard trimmed, she’s taken aback by him once more. Mostly, though, she’s taken aback by his smile, bright and beaming, and her heart aches missing it.

Missing him.

She stands at the edge of the ballroom as people begin to take their seats, finding the names on cards on the table, and Emma knows where hers is. It’s at the head table, rather undeservedly so, but she’s the best man’s date. She gets to stick by his side.

Right now, she doesn’t know how.

Maybe she hasn’t managed to calm down as much as she thought she had.

Emma catches Killian out of the corner of her eye, still talking to that same bridesmaid, but then he’s walking away and walking right toward her. He flashes a smile, as bright and confident as ever, but there’s something off about it. She can’t pinpoint what, especially when his smile fades as he looks from side to side, almost as if he was searching for someone.

“Hello, love,” he greets before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “You look stunning.”

“Thank you. You look nice.”

“Don’t I know it?” he teases, cheeky, before offering her his elbow. She takes it, looping her arm through his, and as her skin presses against his dress shirt, she can feel his warmth. It feels normal, like it has for so long, and while she didn’t forget how much she loves his touch, she didn’t realize how much she’s craved it, craved the new normalcy they’d found themselves in this summer. “Shall we go to dinner and get drunk off our asses as we listen to people give awful speeches?”

“I’d love nothing more. Don’t you have to give an awful speech?”

Killian leans in and winks. “Mine won’t be awful.”

And for a little while, things are normal. She’s sitting next to Killian, and she doesn’t have to think too hard about what to say or do. It’s just the two of them, like it always has been, and the glass of wine she’s had isn’t hurting how calm she feels. They don’t talk much, too much food on their plates and then too many people talking, but just as Emma is telling Killian about how she nearly broke her neck on a ladder today, that same bridesmaid as before interrupts her to start talking to Killian. Emma knows her name is Nora, that she lives in Portland, and that she has no problem flirting with Killian despite the fact that Emma is obviously his date.

But who is she to say anything? They’re here as friends.

They always have been.

Friends, friends, friends.

And the flirting doesn’t irritate her, not really, but the fact that Nora interrupted Emma in the middle of a story does. That’s rude, and while Emma doesn’t have the best social graces, she knows not to interrupt people. Emma ignores the two of them and looks out across the room. She wishes she were at the table with Mary Margaret, David, Ariel, Eric, Ruby, and all of the rest of her friends. Anna and Elsa’s parents have taken up most of the conversation with Elsa and Liam, so she doesn’t even have Elsa to talk to.

She’s miserable.

There’s no point in dancing around it anymore. She’s miserable, her feet are killing her, and she’s ready to go home and sleep until she has to get up. She’s never craved a Monday so badly.

Emma excuses herself from the table, not that anyone really listens, and she hurries out of the room with a pounding heart. She thought it had gone away, but it’s back with a vengeance, making her cheeks heat and her stomach fill with bile. This is the worst. Just, the fucking worst.

She’s in love with her best friend who isn’t even her best friend anymore, and she doesn’t know how to deal with any of it. This summer has been like a rollercoaster, except she hasn’t been buckled in. She’s been holding on with fear and exhilaration, and now, she’d like to get off the ride.

When she hears footsteps down the hall, she knows the end of the ride isn’t here yet.

What the hell is he doing here?

“Did you follow me?” Emma asks, not bothering to turn around.

“Well, when a woman runs off and seems upset, some might say following her is a good idea.”

“I wouldn’t.” “Swan.”

Emma turns, her heels clicking against the tile, and crosses her arms over her chest. Killian glances down, and she realizes his eyes are drawn to her boobs. Typical.

“Go back to Nora, Killian. I’m fine.”

“Nora?”

“Elsa’s cousin. The woman you’ve been oh so fascinated with all night. I don’t need a babysitter when you obviously have other interests.”

Killian huffs and steps closer. “You’re my friend and when a friend leaves a room, obviously upset, I follow.” “Well, if you’d said that a month ago, I might believe you. now, though, I don’t.”

She’s angry, she realizes. Pissed off, actually, and Killian might be here to be kind, but she’s not.

His brow arches, one followed by the other until his forehead is wrinkled, and he steps closer. “What are you talking about?”

“Really? You’re going to play that card?”

“What card?”

“The one where you pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Like, you don’t know things have been different between us since you ended things for no damn reason.”

“Why aren’t you here with Graham?” Killian asks suddenly, and she feels like she’s been slapped with whiplash. Emma isn’t sure that’s possible, but what the hell does she know anymore? “Why the hell would I be here with Graham? You and I agreed that we would do all of the wedding stuff together, didn’t we?”

“Well, you’re dating him, aren’t you?”

“Oh my God,” Emma sighs, turning on her heels and walking down the hallway before walking back toward Killian who has got to be grinding his teeth far too much than any dentist would ever recommend.

Why is that even where her brain is going right now?

Probably because she can’t stop staring at the way his jaw clenches.

“What”? he murmurs, crossing his arms over his chest, fingers digging into biceps.

Emma stops pacing, the clicking of her heels against the tile stopping, and she places her hands on her hips as she takes a deep breath.

She’s about to fuck everything in her life up, but really, how much worse can any of it get? She can’t keep living like a madwoman, her mind contradicting everything her heart says, and for once in her life, she wants everything out in the open. She wasted too much time in an unhappy relationship because she didn’t want to speak up for herself for fear of someone else leaving her. She’s not doing that again. Damn the consequences.

It is not going to kill her to put her heat in Killian’s hands even if it means he has the ability to crush it.

“I am not dating Graham Humbert,” Emma says on an exhale. She doesn’t even know where Killian is coming from thinking that, but it doesn’t matter. “He is a new friend who I have repeatedly said I had no interest in dating, and if you could get your head out of your ass for one second, you would know that the only person I have any interest in dating is you, you absolute fucking idiot.”

-/-

tag list: @capthamm @qualitycoffeethings @mrtinski @klynn-stormz @scarletslippers @jrob64 @snowbellewells @therealstartraveller776 @thejollyroger-writer @sherifemma @galadriel26 @galaxyzxstark @idristardis @karenfrommisthaven @teamhook @spartanguard @searchingwardrobes @jamif @shireness-says @ultimiflos @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @onepunintendid @bluewildcatfanatic @superchocovian @killianswannn @carpedzem @captainkillianswanjones @mayquita @mariakov81 @jennjenn615 @onceuponaprincessworld @a-faekindagirl @scientificapricot @xellewoods @ultraluckycatnd @stahlop @kmomof4 @tiganasummertree @singersdd @tornadoamy @cluttermind @lfh1226-linda @andiirivera @elizabeethan @captain-emmajones @csalltheway @itsfabianadocarmo

#your wonder under summer skies #cs fic #cs ff #cs fanfic #cs fanfiction #captain swan fic #captain swan ff #captain swan fanfic #captain swan fanfiction #captain swan

119 notes · View notes

trueromantic1 · 3 years

Text

The Myth of Me and You Is Fiction Turned To Truth

Summary: After the events of both seasons (SVU 22x16 and OC 1x08), Olivia and Elliot find themselves in the unique position of knowing where there love story will end up, but having no idea what exactly will transpire to get them there. One thing they do know? Their love can only grow deeper, and that they’re bound to enjoy the journey.

Author’s Note: For the purposes of this story, SVU 22x16 ended on May 28 (canon) and OC 1x08 ended on June 4 (not canon). This picks up on June 7.

Title comes from Great Ones by Maren Morris. It’s definitely an EO song.

Rating: M, possibly Explicit eventually

ff.net: here

AO3: here

Her phone beeped, drawing her distracted gaze away from the paperwork in front of her. Seeing the text message notification lighting up the screen, Olivia took off her glasses and put her pen down, picked up the phone, and leaned back in her chair with a sigh as she unlocked it.

Can I buy you dinner? There’s news.

She frowned, trying to tell his mood from those few words. Realizing it would be impossible, she glanced out at the nearly empty squad room before hitting the call button instead.

“You didn’t have to call. I know you’re at work still Liv.” Judging by the voices she could hear in the background, he was still at work as well. She knew they’d been dealing with the lawyers and IAB ever since Morales turned out to be a mole and decided suicide by cop was the best way out.

“It’s fine El. I needed a break from the paperwork for a minute anyway. The one thing they never prepare you for is just how much paperwork you do when you’re in charge of a squad. So, what’s going on?”

He chuckled, and she could hear the creak as he leaned back in his own chair. “That’s what dinner is supposed to be for Liv. If I tell you now, what would be the point of dinner?”

She smiled, recognizing his tone as the slightly flirty one she’d been hearing more of ever since what was supposed to be Fin’s wedding. Neither one of them was ready to jump into a relationship, but they’d come to a silent understanding that night by the water. “I don’t know Elliot. We’ve never needed a reason for dinner before. Why don’t you just tell me the news now, and then you can come over to my place later and we’ll get Chinese. Noah’s taking advantage of it being summer vacation and is at a sleepover so his friend’s mom can take them to an early show of a ballet she worked on costumes for. Apparently, they allow friends and family to come for free on Tuesdays, but it’s normally during the school day.”

“Oh, I bet he’s excited. Sleepover during the week and going to a professional ballet performance?”

“Yes, he’s thrilled. It’s all he talked about all weekend. Now quit stalling Elliot. What’s going on?”

“I never could get one by you, could I? Okay. Well, Angela Wheatley woke up earlier today, and is expected to make a full recovery. Bell and Washburn went over to the hospital once they cleared her for visitors. And we’re finally supposed to be done dealing with IAB and the lawyers over this. We still have to wait for IAB’s official report, but I got the feeling none of us were going to get in trouble for what happened. They told Bell they’d already spoken to you as well, so you should be done with them for now too. And then on a more personal note, you remember I told you I was looking at apartments in the city? At Fin’s not-wedding and then that I had some more appointments the rest of that weekend? Well, I found one, and I went down and signed the lease today during lunch.”

“El, I’m glad things are working out with the case, and that IAB will be out of all of our hair. It’s still bothering me what exactly Richard Wheatley was planning with that fake text sending me to the hospital. But I guess we won’t know unless he decided to tell us. But way to bury the lead! El, that’s great! I can’t believe you found a place in just a week. You didn’t just settle for something did you? You need a good place for you and Eli to make a home.” She knew he’d been anxious about getting out of the one bedroom short-term he’d rented after Kathy’s death, so she hoped he’d taken his time to find something he really liked.

“It’s nice, knowing you worry about us. And thanks. Don’t worry, it’s actually a great place. Rent’s a little higher than I’d planned, but I can make it work. It’s about halfway between here and the one six actually. About two blocks from the school Eli will be going to, assuming they’re back to in person by then. And it’s a three bedroom two and a half bath, which I figure will come in handy if any of the kids decide to visit and don’t want to drive home ever. And it’s near a park, in case anyone else wanted to visit. I take possession this Sunday, and Bell gave me Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off so I can get some stuff moved in. I’ve got some furniture scheduled for delivery on Monday.” The calm she’d been hearing more and more in the last few weeks shone through, which she knew was at least in part because he’d finally started talking to someone. But she thought a lot of it had to do with settling back into the city, since he’d confided that as much as they’d been happy in Italy, the energy had just never been exactly right to him.

“I’ll always worry El, you know that. I’m glad though. Now you and Eli have all summer to get settled in. Hopefully he’ll meet some of his future classmates, so he won’t fell so new when school starts back up. And you know, it just so happens, I might know someone who could come help you get things set up. You know, if you were interested.” She made sure to infuse her voice with a hint of suggestion, upping the playful flirting they’d been indulging in just a bit. She mentally patted herself on the back when she heard the hitch in his breath followed him clearing his throat. His next words, voice lowered and with a hint of a growl, proved he hadn’t lost a step either, as she felt herself flush with arousal and a corresponding dampness between her thighs that she was fast becoming reacquainted with that caused her to cross her legs and shift in her seat to try to alleviate the pressure.

“Is that so? Well, far be it from me to turn down someone willing to work up a sweat with me. Why don’t we discuss it more over dinner? I should be able to be to your place by 7, if that works for you.”

She checked the time, then the stack of papers she needed to finish, then glanced into the squad room. Seeing her people were now at their desks, folders open in front of them, she quickly calculated it’d be at least another hour before she could even think of leaving, especially if she planned to take three days off next week. “Make it 8?”

“8 it is. Want me to pick up our usual on my way over, or are we having it delivered?”

“Hmm, better pick it up. You know how busy they get. If you call it in when you leave, it’ll probably be just about ready by the time you get there.”

“Sound good. I’ll let you go so you can finish up all that paperwork. See you in a few hours Liv.”

“Alright. Bye El.” Hanging up, she pressed the phone against her chest a moment, savoring the warm feeling she always seemed to get when she talked to Elliot these days, before standing up and walking out into the squad room.

“Anything you guys haven’t finished by 7, you can leave until tomorrow. Short of a new case, you can all clock out then, since we’re currently between cases.” She turned to head back to her office and the stack of paperwork, but turned back around when Amanda spoke.

“Are you clocking out then too Cap? I know Noah’s at that sleepover. You shouldn’t stay late finishing paperwork anymore if we aren’t.” Her detective’s voice was concerned, and she realized just how much her stress and worry over the last three months must have shown, despite how hard she tried to hide it.

“Yes, he’s already called me to say goodnight, because apparently they will be too busy the rest of the night with sleepover stuff to worry about me. But don’t worry, I’m clocking out then too. Even if that pile of paperwork is only going to grow when you all turn in your paperwork.” She turned again, hoping to make it into her office before anyone thought too hard about her clocking out when she didn’t have to, but Fin’s teasing voice told her she was too late.

“You? Clock out early when you don’t have Noah waiting at home? What’s up? You got yourself a hot date or something?”

She was a Captain. Had been a police officer for over twenty years. She’d had to keep her cool when being questioned on the stand by lawyers all the time. But she knew, she knew, that she couldn’t hide the hitch in her step or the slight wince as he asked his question. Even as she turned back around, her face carefully blank, she knew he’d caught her. “Date? No, I don’t have a date. Who would I even have a date with?” Internally, she winced again as she heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like Elliot Stabler tell her that asking that many questions just made her sound defensive, and therefore all the more suspicious. Registering the varying degrees of shock on the three’s faces, she smirked to herself for surprising them at least.

“Oh, I don’t know. A certain Detective, maybe? I saw you two together at the ceremony, off in your own little world by the water. Almost like old times, ‘cept the flirting was a little too obvious.”

Trying to control the embarrassed flush she could feel, she internally cursed. She’d hoped everyone had been too preoccupied to pay attention to her and Elliot, but knew that had probably been too much to hope for. She knew the rumor mill had picked right back up when he’d returned, and people realized they were talking again. “Alright, yes, I’m meeting Elliot for dinner. But it’s not a date. We’re just going to do some catching up over Chinese. We haven’t really had much time to just talk since he came back.” She ignored the pointed look he shot her, and appreciated that Amanda and Kat at least pretended not to be interested, as she finally made it back into her office. She heard his footsteps though, saw him shut the door behind him as she sat down behind her desk.

“You sure about this? I just don’t want you getting hurt. Don’t forget, I was here when he left.” She could see the worry clouding his face, and resigned to give him the truth. After all, he’d been there for it all.

“I’m sure. We’re…Taking things slow. We’ve talked, and while neither one of us is ready to just jump straight into a relationship, we’ve discussed it, and have agreed that’s where we’re heading. So we flirt some, and we spend time together, and we talk. We’re not defining it yet. I know it sounds like dating, and maybe in a way it is. But what’s important to us is rekindling our friendship, first and foremost. We’ve already talked about why he left, how he left. And I’ve told him not only what it did to me, but I’ve told him what he missed. He was…Devastated. It turns out the whole family was in France at the time, and by the time the kids came back, it had already become old news. He swore he would have come back had he known, and I believe him. I’d always wondered if he’d just stopped caring, but if you’d seen how he looked, you’d have had to believe him too. So yes, I’m sure about this. We’re going to take things slow for now, but we know where we’re going to end up, even if we aren’t sure when that will happen. Speaking of Elliot though, I’m going to take a few personal days next week to help him get moved into his new place. He gets the keys on Sunday, and his furniture comes Monday.”

He still looked a little worried, but she could tell he would take her at her word. “If you say so. I have to say, I’m surprised you guys already talked about that. But I’m glad. You deserve to be happy Liv, and I think he’ll make you happy. And don’t worry, I’ll cover next week for you. And I’ll let the others know you’ll be taking some time, and make sure they don’t ask you any questions.” He turned and left the office, leaving the door open behind him as he went back to his desk, stopping to talk to Amanda and Kat on his way.

Putting her glasses on and picking up her pen, she smiled to herself as she went back to her paperwork. She still had a lot to work through before it was time to head out, though she was hoping the anticipation would make the time pass faster. Afterall, it wasn’t every day she got to head home to a hot meal and an even hotter man, not that she’d tell him that. His ego was already inflated enough.

#olivia x elliot #law and order fanfiction #olivia x elliot fanfiction #law and order: svu #law and order: oc #fanfiction

10 notes · View notes

hold-my-hand-kuroo · 4 years

Text

four seasons with akaashi

wow i think i’m starting to see a pattern of not knowing what i’m writing???

pairing: akaashi x reader

genre: fluff

Spring comes with many firsts: the first year of high school, first cherry blossoms, and first love.

Akaashi is quiet, but not opposed to interaction. You realize this when you join Fukurodani’s volleyball club as the manager and watch in awe as the silent setter dealt with Boktuo in such a calm manner. You momentarily forget that the two of you are the same age. He’s calm, composed, and quick to put a stop to Bokuto’s antics; you’ve even heard him go through the wing spiker’s long list of weaknesses in passing. In short, you think Akaashi is amazing.

In fact, he’s so amazing that you find it hard to get closer to him although the two of you were in the same class. It’s not that you feel that he’s cold toward you, but it’s difficult to strike a conversation up with someone who seemed to dislike the loudness of Bokuto so much. You’d hate to disturb him, especially since he already has his hands full, but you can’t help catching your eyes landing on his figure from time to time.

Sometimes during classes, your eyes wander toward your right where Akaashi sits studiously, writing down careful notes from each and every lecture. You notice the light pen callus on the side of his ring finger and how he miraculously keeps his paper straight on his desk when he’s writing. He’ll never openly volunteer to answer or read, but whenever the teacher calls on him, his answers are correct, and you can’t help but feel soothed by his voice.

When you’re not looking at him, you don’t catch the stray glances that Akaashi also sends toward your way. He doesn’t understand why but opts to justify it with the fact that the two of you had volleyball in common, and that the volleyball jacket you wore frequently stood out specifically from the rest of the uniforms. Sometimes he’ll break into a smile when he sees that your papers end up shifting, tilted at a ridiculous angle when you’re concentrated on writing or when your brows furrow at a particularly tricky problem. He thinks it’s secretly amusing, endearing almost.

“I’ll help,” Akaashi offers quietly one day, reaching toward the basket carrying the bottles that you had just filled. It’s the first thing he has said to you ever, aside from the casual ‘hellos’ and ‘thanks’ he spared whenever you managed to make eye contact with him. It’s so foreign that you think you’ve done something wrong, but the fact that he’s merely a few inches apart from you makes your thoughts stop.

“Sorry if I was being slow,” you murmur finally, a little embarrassed, and hang your head low. Akaashi lets out a rather affronted noise that startles the both of you, and you turn to look at him, confused.

“No, I just thought it looked heavy,” he tries again, seeming to struggle with his words. Rather than following up, he lets the topic drop and takes a water bottle, not noticing Bokuto smiling rather smugly behind him.

“Don’t mind him, Y/N!” the owl-like boy laughs. “That’s just ‘Kaashi trying to be friends with you! He’s been mulling over it for days now! Whenever we’re in the changing rooms, he’s always like, ‘I wonder if Y/N dislikes me. We’re in the same class and club, but we don’t talk often’—“

“Bokuto, please shut up,” Akaashi says pointedly, trying to cover the taller boy’s mouth. He’s uncharacteristically flustered, and if you squinted, you could see the pink rising on his cheeks along with his frustrated furrowed brows. You almost laugh too; even the stoic setter could have his feathers ruffled sometimes, and in full honesty, it was such a refreshing sight to see.

“Actually,” you start shyly, chuckling slightly, “I was under the impression that I was disliked by you. I guess we both misunderstood.”

Akaashi shifts his attention from Bokuto to you, looking rather surprised. He’s sure that greeting you frequently would do well to break the ice, but he can’t believe that he gave you such a cold impression. It wasn’t lost on him that his silence usually came off unwelcoming, but he decides then and there that he should try harder. For what, he doesn’t really know.

“Isn’t that nice, ‘Kaashi? You made a friend!”

And so, Akaashi returns to scolding Bokuto about interrupting conversations and saying too much while, as promised, helping you hand out the bottles. The banter is lively and nice, the most emotion you’ve seen the setter express, and you think that you could get used to the chaos that is the volleyball club.

Spring is when the first seeds of love are planted, waiting to bloom.

ii.

Summer is hot with the buzzing of cicadas and the smell of sweat mixed with freshly-cut grass. It’s a little nauseating.

Hosting training camps were literal hell; in between making sure that there are enough clean towels, extra bottles, and an abundance of food, you find most of your summer dedicated to manager work. It’s torturous under the beating heat of the sun, and it makes you think about leaving the club forever. Of course, you don’t and never would, but the thought’s there.

Bokuto’s practically bouncing off the gym walls during the days leading up to the big event. For days on end, he’s talking about Nekoma-this or Nekoma-that, and by the time the team of stray cats actually arrives, you’re sure that you already know their names. You note that he’s the closest to the one with messy hair and a cackle louder than Bokuto’s yells. It’s overwhelming, especially for Akaashi who has to be there to calm Bokuto down, but also keep his spirits up for three days straight.

“Tired?” you ask during one of the breaks, handing him a bottle filled with chilled water and a plate of sliced watermelon. He accepts it graciously with a simple nod.

“With the way Bokuto keeps playing, we’re bound to be doing more diving drills,” he sighs. You giggle a little at the exasperation in his voice, but you still feel a little bad. Running around with towels was already tiring enough, so you can’t imagine working up a harder sweat under this relentless heat. “Are you busy?”

“Yeah,” you respond, stretching out your arms. “I thought setting up the sleeping area was bad, but cooking for a thousand volleyball players is absolutely the worst.”

He nods sympathetically and slides over on the stair step that he’s been sitting on, a silent invitation for you to take the spot next to him. You’re touched at his kindness and want nothing more than to accept the offer and just talk for hours on end to Akaashi, but you shake your head. There were things that needed to be done, and you’d hate for Yukie and Kaori to be the ones doing your share of the work. Akaashi seems to understand.

It’s a little disappointing to see so little of each other during the day even though the two of you were at the same location for the same reasons. To Akaashi, you’re a nice and fresh breeze that counters the loud arguments between Bokuto, Kuroo, and the delinquent-looking guy from Nekoma; you’re calm and can read him like an open book. With you around, he doesn’t feel the need to struggle over finding the proper words, and even when he does speak, it’s not a scolding. He’s at ease when you’re there with him.

Much to Akaashi’s luck and yours too, nighttime is when things calm down. You find him sitting quietly at the sidelines of the gym, making sure that Bokuto doesn’t break anything out of sheer excitement as he works on blocking with Kuroo. He’s working on his summer assignments, and it’s expected from him, but you’re quite amused at how even after a grueling day’s practice, he still finds it in himself to study. This time, you’re free and take the spot on the floor next to him.

“Mind if I join?” you ask, waving your math assignments around. He’s more than happy to have you there and nods not once, but twice. “Aren’t you tired?”

“If I don’t do a little bit every night, it piles up,” he mumbles, writing numbers neatly into his notebook. “It helps me go to sleep better, too.”

“I’m usually the night-before kind of person,” you laugh, opening up your booklet as well. “This is the first time in my life that I’ve done my summer work early.”

He hums, which is how he reacts when he’s surprised, you’ve learned. The two of you sit in silence, exchanging words once in a while for help. Akaashi’s way ahead of you, but you’re glad that he doesn’t find you too annoying when you ask to compare answers for the first few exercises that you’ve done. The yelling and crooning of Bokuto and Kuroo become white noise; you’re only fully aware of Akaashi right now and the fact that your shoulders are so close to touching. Five centimeters. Maybe six, but nothing more than that.

Even now, after months of getting to know him, you find your eyes glancing at him from time to time. You’re distracted, and you want to beat yourself up for it, but it’s almost instinctive. His side profile and his concentration are mesmerizing, his silence giving him an air of elegance. You’re so tempted to move closer, to fill those few centimeters and come into physical contact with the boy next to you, but you get flustered at the exact thought. The two of you were friends. Setter and manager. Classmates. Nothing more.

Unsurprisingly, your progress is poor, and you’re a little ashamed to say it’s because you were distracted by Akaashi. Even when the training camp is over, you still haven’t managed to make a large dent into your math work, and you’re ten times less motivated to continue it once you’re home and without Akaashi. It’s a blessing that the boy is an angel and is at your door during the last weekend of your well-deserved summer break.

“I was wondering if you needed help,” he says simply with a bag filled with cold drinks and ice cream in hand. He’s an angel. “I mean, it’s fine if you don’t-“

“No I do!” you answer quickly, heart beating fast. “I still have three more subjects to do, so I’m in a little trouble.”

Akaashi blinks at your outburst, and then breaks into one of his rare smiles. He lets out a laugh, a genuine, hearty laugh that you’ve never heard before, and you think you’ve finally discovered what angels singing sound like. You’re so mesmerized by Akaashi himself that it doesn’t exactly hit you that you’ve invited him into your room until much, much later, when he’s again, five or six centimeters away from you. Leaning on his elbow, he reaches over to your paper to point out errors or little tips, but they’re just noises to you. Lovely noises, but you don’t register a thing he’s saying. His mouth is moving, and you’re aware that you should be paying attention, but whether it’s this cursed heat or own nervousness that’s making you heat up and your heart throb like crazy, you’re mind is anywhere but on your work.

“Is something wrong, Y/N?” Akaashi asks, looking toward you.

“No,” you play off cooly, or as cooly as you could. “It’s just a little hot, don’t you think?”

“I have ice cream if you want,” he offers kindly, moving away from you and rustling through his bag. You let out a breath.

Summer is hot, and it’s when you realize that your little interest with the team’s setter is something a lot more than a small crush. It terrifies you.

iii.

Autumn brings in a refreshing chill that replaces summer, and before you know it, the leaves have turned into beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows.

Days have grown shorter, and by the time you leave the school, juggling between manager duties and the cultural festival, the sky outside is practically pitch-black. Walking home alone is a problem, which is why Akaashi takes it upon himself to walk you back home. Him and Bokuto, that is. Akaashi’s aware that he isn’t the scariest or strongest guy around, so he figures that with Bokuto’s large build and even larger voice would provide extra security.

The first time the two walk you home, Bokuto’s talking a mile a minute about how cool his class’s haunted house is coming out and making every effort to invite both you and Akaashi to check it out. Akaashi only comments about how he’ll be busy with his own class, even though you know well that he has free time in the afternoon. You stifle a giggle and nod, encouraging Bokuto to continue and hyping him up out of kindness.

It bothers Akaashi more than he thinks it would, and he almost feels silly for feeling so sour whenever Bokuto had your attention. It’s becoming a more and more frequent thing, he realizes that night. Even during practices, he preferred it when you were talking to just him rather than the other players, and it makes him disgusted with himself for being so selfish. He’s typically not the type of person to tape his fingers, but whenever you walk toward him and offer to help with tape in hand, he never turns you down.

There’s just something about the way your hand radiates a comforting warmth. When your fingers brush against his digits, carefully wrapping the white material around his damaged fingers, he finds it too quick, almost to the point of teasing. There are days where you’ll be so focused on the bandaging that you don’t notice the fondness in his eyes, scanning over your figure and wishing that your fingers would just intertwine with his. Akaashi wants something permanent, something longer than just brief encounters, and he secretly wishes that you’d give him all your attention.

But of course, he can’t say that to you. He find his wishes ugly. You’re Fukorodani’s manager, not his, and it was wrong of him to think otherwise. Still, he can’t help but feel a little bit bothered whenever Bokuto leaned a little too close to you whenever he spoke, shaking your shoulders or patting you on the back out of enthusiasm. Akaashi figures that he wouldn’t be bothered if you weren’t bothered, but it eats away at him when he doesn’t see you rejecting any of Bokuto’s energy.

“Let’s go,” Akaashi says to you one night. You look at him, tilting your head.

“But what about Bokuto?”

“Coach wanted to talk to him,” Akaashi informs before turning toward the door. He makes a motion, so you shrug and follow. The coach part isn’t a lie, but Akaashi leaves out the part about Bokuto nudging him in the ribs and telling him to spend some “quality alone-time” with you, since it’s too embarrassing.

The two of you walk home with you chatting about the day and how busy it is. Akaashi listens to your lovely voice, and he thinks it’s the most beautiful thing sound there is; it’s a stark contrast to Bokuto’s yelling, and he swears that he could listen to you talk about anything and still be emotionally invested. That being said, he’s not exactly paying that much attention, because as you continue rambling about how making the costumes for your class play is just too difficult, Akaashi becomes increasingly aware of the space between the two of you. Or rather, the lack thereof.

He estimates a few centimeters. Maybe three or four. He’s not sure, but he’s so tempted to reach for the same fingers that had danced around his countless of times during practice. He wants to feel your hand in his, and instinctively, he moves his hand closer to yours. He wonders if you’ve noticed too, if you’re just as aware of him, as he was of you. Maybe then, he’d feel more confident about his feelings.

Akaashi’s no fool. He knows that he’s in too deep when it came to you, but he also knows that those feelings were already there long before autumn started. Even during the summer, he’s curious to know if you noticed how he was sweating bullets when he entered your well-cooled room, or if you saw how often he found himself looking for you during the training camp. He wants to know if he catches your eye in any sort of way, and he needs the reassurance that in some sort of miraculous way, he makes a stronger impression on you than Bokuto does.

Autumn is when the leaves begin to wither and die, much like Akaashi’s self-confidence. He retracts his hand.

iv.

Winter is when the first snow falls.

Akaashi’s still walking you home, much to your pleasure, and although you’re not entirely sure why Bokuto has to stay after to see the coach so often now, you can’t really complain. It’s a little mean, and you do like Bokuto platonically, but you’re grateful for every second alone that you spend with Akaashi. You’re even more delighted when he becomes more involved with your conversations, speaking more and more. It’s like he finally opened up to you, and you’re ecstatic that you’ve become his confidant.

“It’s getting colder and colder, huh?” you say, bracing yourself as a particularly strong gust of wind blows. You grasp at the hood of your jacket to keep it from blowing off, but you’re still freezing nonetheless.

“Should we stop for hot tea?” Akaashi asks, frowning. “The convenience store is just around the corner.”

“Last one there has to treat!” you declare and break into a dash for the store. He follows behind, jogging rather slowly. You knew that in any circumstance, even if given a thirty minute handicap, Akaashi would probably be able to outrun you, so you know that he’s letting you win when he isn’t instantly right past you.

“I guess I’m treating,” he says, walking toward you when you reach the destination, and you roll your eyes. “Not happy?”

“You didn’t have to let me win, you know?” you chuckle as he opens the door for you. “I can well afford two teas instead of one.”

“But I wanted to treat you,” he answers simply. He grabs two bottles of lukewarm tea, his preferred brand and your favorite brand that he has committed to memory.

Even with the tea in your hand, you still find yourself freezing again the moment you step outside the shop. You try to hide it, but your shiver gives you away, and Akaashi is immediately back to frowning.

“We should get you home quickly,” he decides, picking up his pace. Now it’s your turn to frown; it’d only get colder from here, and if that meant rushed walks every night, you’re devastated that your time with Akaashi would be shortened. It’s silly, and you know that you should put your health first, but you wish that there could be another way. You lag a few steps behind him, hoping that he’d notice, and of course, he does.

He takes a peek behind his shoulder, and while still frowning, matches your pace. The two of you walk in the same comfortable silence that you’ve enjoyed for the past months, and you aren’t thinking about anything particular until you feel something warm against your hand that isn’t the tea. You almost stop breathing but choose to keep quiet as Akaashi’s hand maneuvers itself slowly around yours. He’s painfully deliberate about the entire thing, hesitating at each action and stopping every so often as if fighting with himself. Gently, he rests his finger in between yours, and the grip is so loose that you think your hand might slip out. He braces himself for you to fling your hand away, but when you don’t and instead look at him in shock and confusion, he’s out of words for a proper explanation.

“I thought your hands looked cold,” is the best he can manage, because even if you asked him what he thought he was doing, he doesn’t have a good answer. He’s not thinking straight; if he was, he would’ve asked for permission. “Sorry-“

“Yeah, they are,” you answer quietly, looking at the pavement and coming to a full stop. “Thanks.”

When Akaashi feels your fingers wrap around his hand, he almost thanks the weather for being the way it is, so that he can blame his reddening face on the cold. He gives you a light squeeze, which you return along with a smile from ear to ear and a flush just as severe as his. He feels a little dumb now for being jealous over Boktuo.

“Now we can walk slower, right?” you ask, looking shyly toward him, but are dismayed when he shakes his head.

“We still have to get you home, so you won’t catch a cold.” Always ever so responsible. “But I wouldn’t mind giving you a call after.”

“A really long call?”

“Yeah,” is all he says, smiling too. He’s not sure if he can put what love feels like into proper words, but he supposes that it’d be similar to the feeling of your hand wrapped around his, swinging happily as the two of you walk under the light snowfall.

Winter is cold, really cold, but you’ve found the perfect person to keep you warm.

#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!!#akaashi #akaashi keiji #keiji akaashi #akaashi x reader #akaashi keiji x reader #keiji akaashi x reader #akaashi suffering #reader insert

266 notes · View notes

deja-you · 3 years

Note

Girl can you please write either a Laf or Jefferson fix based off of Tis the Damn season?!?! Miss Swift has me all in my feelings 🥰😭

drabble masterlist

this took me a while to get around to, but this is definitely one of my favorite drabbles :)

You distinctly remember Thomas saying it’s never too late, but you can’t imagine he still means it.

The last time you saw him – it hurts to think about the last time – was years ago. It was only a few days after his graduation party, you remembered this because there were still photos of Thomas covering the walls in his family’s home and confetti was still tucked into the corners. You kept a small piece of green and gold confetti tucked away in your heart.

His room was a safe haven from the hurricane that was graduation, moving trucks, and you. For a minute, it was your safe haven. You felt out of place in his bedroom, where, when the shelves were filled, books spilled out onto the hardwood floors. Where signed baseballs sat like trophies on the desk. Where a radio always played upbeat songs.

Everything was so damn americana.

You realize that the fact that you felt out of place was part of the appeal. There was a part of you that was ignited when he moved around the furniture so the two of you could dance. An addictive part of your personality that adored the fact that he would rearrange his nostalgic world for you (the knowledge that he would do anything for you made you glow a little brighter, and he liked seeing you glow).

You’re older now, but you don’t think you were any smarter than you were at eighteen. While you’re aware that everything has changed, it’s becoming increasingly more apparent that nothing has changed. Your childhood home hasn’t changed much (although your mom is excited to show you her new dishwasher). Even though you’ve flown across the country to be where you are now – you can’t really call it home anymore – it hardly takes you any time to adjust back to your old habits.

Grocery shopping. You can’t remember the last time you bought your own groceries, but you figure it’s a small enough town that you won’t be swarmed by adoring fans. Maybe just classmates who never spoke to you in high school pretending to be your best friend, but you could live with that.

It’s an in-and-out trip. You’ve been given a short list, and unsalted butter and whole milk aren’t exactly difficult groceries to find. You keep your hood on and go through self-checkout. You can’t tell if you hate or love just how mundane this activity is for you, but you’re at least aware it’s a change of pace. You have a plastic bag of groceries in hand and are nearly back to your car when you spot it.

The very same car that drove you home from Friday night football games parked in the lot, mud staining the tires. You’re reminded again that nothing has changed when your pulse quickens by just a few beats (but it’s enough for you to know that you’re not over it, never will be, really). You can’t hear the engine running and there’s no one in the front seat, so you breathe a sigh of relief that you didn’t run into him today.

“Hey, I like your flannel.”

Of course fate (if that’s what you’re going to call it) won’t let you off that easy. You could pretend you hadn’t heard him and sprint to your car, that was always an option. But it wouldn’t be a good look, and your heart desperately wanted to see him again.

“I’m sure you would,” you turn to face him, grocery bag swinging violently in your hand, “you picked it out for me.”

He looks absolutely brilliant. Your closet is exclusively an eternal summer collection due to the unrelenting L.A. sun; you don’t even know how to wear winter. Your best attempt was a flannel from high school. But Thomas. He may very well be the definition of December, because you are convinced the midnight thread of his sweater was invented with his very being in mind. Somehow his smile is fresh like April and his eyes are warm like July, and – damn, he’s all twelve months, isn’t he?

Thomas is much more beautiful than you could have remembered, and you’re drowning in the familiarity of it all. You feel like less of yourself, like you could be absorbed by his presence just by being near him. You’re reminded why you left and you’re reminded why it was so hard to leave. You still haven’t decided if you had made the right choice.

“I nearly forgot you were back in town,” he says, and you don’t believe him. You’ve thought about him every time you thought about coming home. It would be rude of him not to return the same courtesy to you.

“Your mom told me you were coming back for the holidays,” Thomas adds on, feeling the need for an explanation.

You cock your head to the side slightly. There are dozens of questions that you want to ask him, but you don’t. “You talked to my mom?”

It’s a small town. Everyone knows everyone. It’s a stupid question, but you can’t help but wonder how often they talk about you.

“Last week at church,” he replies.

You nod once finding the answer less than satisfactory. He’s really made this town his home, and you don’t know if you’re relieved or feeling remorseful at the thought that that could have been you.

“I’m not really here for the holidays,” you say. It’s not an important fact, but maybe he cares. You hope he cares. “Just for the weekend. I’m headed back to L.A. on Monday.”

You wait for emotions to flash over his face, but he just gives you a friendly smile. It hurts worse than a fucking knife.

“Too bad. I’m sure the town wishes you’d stay longer,” he says.

You’re not sure if he means it. You’re not sure what he means by it. Does he wish you’d stay longer? Or was it his passive aggressive way of wishing you had never come back by hiding bitter resentment behind kind words? You decide against the last part. You wouldn’t put it past Thomas to wield his words like weapons, but he would never do that with you.

“Maybe I’ll stay longer when I’m not so busy.” You shrug and shift the bag of groceries from one hand to the other.

He laughs, not in a scornful way, mostly it’s disbelief. “I highly doubt that.”

You don’t even have to ask him what he means by that; the both of you are well-versed in your habits of leaving. The two of you exchange a few more pleasantries before saying goodbye. Thomas says something along the lines of I hope to see you around, and you’re left wondering once again if he means any of it.

Thomas has the same phone number from high school. You’re not surprised, he’s always been a traditionalist, and from your experience, you know he’s never taken well to change.

You’re only home for the weekend, so you don’t have time to play the who’s-going-to-contact-who-first game. You call him, and an hour later you’re meeting him in the parking lot in front of your old school. You’ve told your mom you’re meeting up with an old friend (it’s not exactly a lie) and she’s glad that you’re reconnecting with your high school friends. You don’t care to elaborate any more on the subject.

Thomas holds the passenger-side door open for you, and you climb into his car just like you’ve done hundreds of times before. You’ve probably spent hours and hours wasting your time just thinking about him, so now that he’s right in front of you, neither of you want to waste any more time. You fall into easy conversation as if nothing has changed (nothing is the same anymore, both of you know this), careful not to address the elephant in the small town.

The two of you spend hours talking, and it easily turns into an entire day. You talk about everything until there’s nothing left to talk about, and then both of you are content to use your mouths for the things between you that can’t be said.

He has a house now that’s very much him. Thomas’s bedroom in his new house has furniture you’re unaccustomed to, but the space itself is a memory. They may be new titles, but there are still books overflowing onto the floor. You’re not even surprised. In fact, you find it all very comforting.

His touch on your skin is familiar, and you relive every moment with him from the first to the last (even though that part still stings). Thomas is your past and your present, and you don’t even dare to think about your future when he’s got his arms wrapped around your torso. Nothing feels like home the way he does.

You’ve nearly spent half the day in his touch, something you must’ve done plenty of times before. You want him to ask you to stay, and not just for another hour and not just for another day and not just for another month and not just for another year. But you know he won’t, because he doesn’t think you want him to (you want him to). Thomas doesn’t ask you to stay because he doesn’t think you’ll forgive him if he asks this of you.

As if forgiveness is something we choose to do.

When you finally detangle your limbs from his, you find your discarded sweatshirt quickly in an attempt to replace his warmth with something artificial. It doesn’t work. It’s not really fair that you get to be the one who leaves him twice, but you don’t exactly feel like you’ve won anything.

It should be better than this, you think to yourself. But you know the heart that’s really breaking is your own.

#Kitty's drabbles #i could write thom angst all day #happy late christmas lol #thomas jefferson #thomas jefferson x reader

35 notes · View notes

kevindayprotectionsquad · 4 years

Text

I WAS trying to go to sleep, but I forgot my sleeping pills at home, and my brain won’t shut up about high school teacher/coach Kevin. So I’m finally getting this post done. I said I would, and now I’m doing it. Please enjoy my feral midnight ramblings.

I’m not saying Kevin doesn’t go pro and be the number one player in all of exy history, because he does. He’s dedicated so much of his life to not play exy for as long as he can. But the career times for pro athletes isn’t very long, and Kevin is no exception. He starts feeling the lingering pains of over use in his injured hand, and younger plays are starting to out run him, and he knows its time.

So here he is, a recently retired pro athlete, all the money and support he could ever want, and no idea what to do with himself. He’s got his hobbies, but photography, cooking, and reading can only fulfill so much. If he’s honest with himself, he misses exy. It was his entire life for so long, how could he just drop it one day and move on?

He thinks about coaching. The pro league loves that idea. It would make which ever team he signs with unstoppable, being coached by the son of exy himself. Kevin knows that’s what he should do. That’s what everyone thinks he should do, but he just can’t. It takes him a while to figure out why he can’t commit to just signing to a team.

Then it hits him: he doesn’t like pro athletes. They all think they know everything there is to know. They’re in it for the glory and not the game. (Not to mention most are former Ravens, and it’s always been hard for Kevin to side with them after everything.) That’s not why he plays, and it’s not something he can get behind.

So he starts to reevaluate everything he knows about himself, and what he wants. He knows he doesn’t want to be retired, and that he needs something he can really throw himself into.

It take him a little too long to remember he’s got an entire history degree, just sitting around not being used. That was five years of his life staying up late to do research and writing endless papers, just gone to waste so he could go pro.

If he didn’t work so hard on those papers, he wouldn’t be so upset it was a waste.

Kevin mopes around, reminiscing about his glory days, when it hits him. He could utilize both his passions. He worked his ass off to get his degree, and he worked even harder to go pro. Why not help kids realize their passions and teach them work ethic, at the same time teaching them both history and exy?

Kevin’s suprized it took him that long to come up with that. He just never realized his two favorite things, that seemed to have no correlation, could be combined.

He settles on the idea of teaching high school. High school kids are jerks, yes, but they’re minds are easier shaped than college or pro athletes.

He zooms through getting both his teaching and coaching certifications. The state doesn’t care if you’re Kevin Day, exy legend, you still have to be certified to teach/coach high school kids. It takes some time, but Kevin is happy to have something interesting to do.

Even though the state doesn’t care about his name, the schools sure do. He doesn’t go too crazy with applications, he wants to wait and see if he gets a good response before putting himself out there more.

He gets a reply back from every school he applied to, and being Kevin Day, he interviewed at all of them. And despite the face tattoo, he gets job offers from all. Being the son of exy, and having a high gpa on his transcript had its perks.

Kevin didn’t realize how hard it would be to pick schools. They offered him all kinds of benefits and salaries, but he didn’t care about all that. It was the kids that mattered, and which school needed him most. Perhaps he was getting to be too much like his father.

He finally decides on a school. It wasn’t the fanciest by any means, but it had the most diverse student body, and prided itself on providing equal opportunities for all students. That was something Kevin could get behind.

His first day finally roles around, and Kevin is NERVOUS. He can’t remember ever being so nervous in his life. So nervous to do well and make an impact on his students lives. He definitely calls Wymack on his way over, just freaking out and needing sound advice.

The coaching part didn’t scare him. He could handle that, he had a good influence. It was the class room part. He had no idea what to expect. It wasn’t like he went to a public high school and had at least seen it from the other side. This was his first time ever being in a classroom setting like that.

He gets to school early, like all teachers do. He’s still new and exciting to the staff, so as soon as kids start arriving, he books it to his classroom. He can only put up with so much small talk nowadays. He can hear kids talking excitedly to each other in the halls trying to find their first period classrooms, or talking about they did over summer break. He busies himself straightening up his desk and world history posters he hung around the room over the weekend.

The first bell rings to tell the kids to get to class, and they start coming into the classroom in little groups. Kevin has been around enough people to know which groups are the popular girls, which ones are the football jocks, which are the exy kids, and which ones would rather be alone but some how alway end up in a group together when the others take the desks to sit with each other.

There’s whispers among groups, and quick looks at Kevin. He lets them talk up until the late bell. It’s time for business.

He introduces himself as Mr. Day. He likes the sound of it. Sounds teachery and official. He thought about coach Day, but thought otherwise since he would be coaching all the students. Hands immediately shoot up, but others are less subtle.

“Are you really Kevin Day the exy player? My dad said there’s no way.” “Yes, I am, but now I’m Mr. Day, your teacher.”

“Why’d you quit playing? Jason said it’s because you broke your hand again.” “No, my hand is fine, I just thought it was time to retire.”

“Are you coaching the exy team?” “Yes.” “Good. We suck.”

Kevin lets them get their questions and comments out, he knows it’s exciting. When they’ve finally settled down, he asks them to introduce themselves and give him a fun fact about themselves. When they complain (because all students hate ice breakers), he tells them its only fair since they got to ask him questions.

There’s obviously some kids that want to try and be class clowns, and see how much they can get away with being heathens in class, but Kevin is well seasoned at the “cut it out” look thanks to being friends with Neil for so long. It doesn’t keep Neil in check, but it works wonderfully on the class clowns.

The rest of the school day flies by, going pretty much the same as that first period. Seasoned teachers come to check on him, though he thinks it’s an excuse to come chat with him.

After school means exy practice. Kevin hated that he missed the beginning of summer practice, but it didn’t take long for him to figure out the team definitely needed work, and it was going to be a challenge to get where he wanted them to be. The team had split into their own social groups, and severely lacked communication both on the court and off. There were arguments and unfair checks within the first few minutes of practice. Kevin couldn’t help but reminded of another team, and remained hopeful. The other coaches let him take the lead, and he could already see shifts happening in the team by the end of practice.

As the school year goes on, Kevin gets more confident in his teaching and coaching style, and becomes a quick favorite for students in the classroom and on the court. He has an open door policy and lets students stay in the classroom to study or vent or just hangout when they need to. He gives them advice and validation where they need it.

The students catch on pretty quick that if they bring up exy they can distract Kevin for the rest of the class period. He knows they’re doing it on purpose, but sometimes can’t stop himself. He’s working on it.

His favorite thing to do in the classroom is hands on learning. They’re constantly doing projects of some kind. He enjoys seeing what the kids come up with for projects, and is always impressed with their creativity. He’s glad they’re having fun learning.

But what’s most rewarding of all is seeing his kids come together and grow as young people. In the classroom, there’s no more specific social groups, all the kids talk and work together. He’s most proud of his introverted groups. On the court, his team is working together and winning games. They’re not perfect yet, and don’t get far into playoffs their fist season with him, but Kevin can see the improvement and is so proud.

(Sometimes Neil shows up to practices to get the kids excited about playing again. Kevin loses his flare with them over time. He’s no longer “Kevin Day Pro Exy Star”, he’s “Coach Day who makes us run laps when we’re bad but brings us snacks and tells us he’s proud after every game”)

Kevin doesn’t care what the press has to say about his team or his crazy new career choice, because he finally found something he truly enjoys doing. Making an impact and changing kid’s lives through exy as well as teaching, is way more rewarding than scoring the most goals in pro exy.

#yo i went feral #i just LOVE teacher kevin yall #like god he would enjoy it so much #hes the type of teacher that truly cares about his kids #like pay for a kids new gear or school supplies #hed give them such good life lessons too #kevin would die for his kids #someone PLS go feral with me #PLS #🥺🥺🥺🥺#made by me :)#my headcanons #kevin day #neil josten #aftg #tfc #all for the game #the foxhole court

386 notes · View notes

striving-artist · 3 years

Text

I slipped and wrote a very sweet, sad non-powered Avengers Polycule thing that I wasn’t planning to write, and also its a strangely stylized form of prose, so who knows if I’ll ever return to it.

Everyone is Poly because Avengers, but slightly extra Bucky/Toni.

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

The four of them didn’t make sense to anyone watching from the outside. They could pretend they were all just roommates if they had to, but it was a strange snarl of people and affection and friendship, and it was easier to think of them all as a single unit and go about their day.

Steve and Bucky had been best friends since diapers, had been each other’s firsts and were mad in love to the point they weren’t bothered by it being open. Natasha seduced the pair of them on a bet in college, and never really left. Then Steve met Sam at a bar and backtalked until they ended up defiling the back of an uber, and somehow, miracle of miracles, Sam’s eyes had lit up when Steve haltingly explained the situation with the others.

After that, they just… were.

When Clint was in town, an old friend of Nat’s, he usually took her on a date, but he was a strange type of intermittently ace. It didn’t bother any of them, just like it didn't bother Clint that Natasha had needs to be met, and loved the other three.

One really excellent weekend, Nat, Steve and Clint got a hotel room and burned through four months of Clint’s sexual needs in the space of two days.

Thor, when he was in the country, was a welcome addition. Carol and Maria were too possessive to share, but they came over for movie marathons and game nights.

It was messy, and every one of them had, at one point or another, been absolutely furious at someone else, but it always simmered back down, always came back to the four of them, in a tangle on the ultra-deep couch, fitting together in a way that they loved too much to throw away.

Then they met Toni.

Bucky met Toni.

She was drunk and dancing at a club that the others had dragged him to, and Bucky knocked a guy back who didn’t understand the word no. He woke up with her face tucked into his neck, snoring a bit, one hand gripping at his shirt.

She didn't leave after that.

She kept a lot of herself hidden away, kept secrets hidden behind the sorrow she couldn’t quite mask in her eyes. None of them pushed her about it. Toni Carbonell was carrying plenty, and she didn’t like to ask for help.

But it didn’t matter.

She snapped into place with them as easily as Sam had.

She and Sam in fact, were troublemakers, even more than when Nat and Toni would get up to something. Of course, when those two got up to trouble, it usually involved lacey things, and the boys knew better than to complain about that.

All summer, all through the scorching, humid days of a New York summer in their overpriced apartment, sweltering, even after Toni did her magic and got the AC working better, they were happy.

Bucky admitted it to Nat one night, as they were languid and sticky, waiting for the others to get back from a movie. He stumbled, trying to explain that it wasn’t like he was unhappy before, but that Toni filled a gap he didn't know was empty. Nat gave him one of her best enigmatic looks, and informed him that Sam had already told her the same thing. Steve told Bucky similar a few days later.

It was good.

It was right.

They balanced each other’s scale, picked up each other’s slack, got on each others nerve in the best possible way.

It wasn’t like they were trying to build themselves an idyllic hippie commune, or a pitch perfect polycule, but they’d done it all the same.

The lease on the apartment was up that autumn and Steve and Bucky spent a few long nights whispering about how to bring it up, searching for bigger apartments they could afford, wondering how to ask Toni to stay, to really stay. Sam crawled in between them and informed them that they needed to talk to Toni, cause he wasn’t planning on letting her go.

It was a big deal though.

Bucky knew that. Nat moved in on accident, and informed Steve and Bucky she was staying, but Sam was a negotiation. Toni would be the same way. The group was too complex to think she could slot into place without a real, formal conversation about it. That was fine. It would be worth it. Once they talked to her, explained that this wasn’t just some fun for them, that they wanted her to move in, not just stick around, once they explained all that - the little whisper of concern would fade. Maybe she’d let down some of her walls. Maybe she’d let them - maybe she’d let Bucky carry some of that weight for her.

Maybe she’d let them help her, the way she helped them with anything they mentioned.

Things didn’t always work out though.

They knew that. All of them knew that.

Didn’t make it hurt less when she vanished.

After one of the rare nights when all five of them were tangled together - not that they didn’t all want each other, but the logistics of that many limbs required planning - Bucky rolled over to pull her closer, and found the space empty.

It wasn’t uncommon.

She got an idea in her head, and had to do it immediately. She could have gone for post-orgy donuts, or to buy a new type of transistor for a project. It was Toni, five am departures weren’t all that weird.

When she didn’t come back that night, though.

When Nat found Toni’s phone in the basket by the door.

When Sam realized all her accounts online were deleted.

When Steve saw the half finished robot was missing.

When Bucky reached for an empty space for the fourth night in a row.

Just gone.

Whatever she’d been running from, or hiding from, maybe it had come around again. They knew she had secrets. They’d hoped she would share them one day. It didn’t work out. None of them blamed any of the others. They held tighter, held longer. Sam kept a closer eye on Bucky for a few weeks, aware that Toni had been his the way he and Steve were with each other. Bucky let them hold him, grateful none of them pushed to pretend there wasn’t a hole punched in their hearts.

It got better. Slowly.

It didn’t hurt less, but it hurt less often.

They stopped ordering from the dim sum place she’d loved. They didn’t watch the new season of project runway. Little changes. Little adjustments. Life went on. They all saw echoes of her in strangers on the street. All four had laughed a bit when the tabloids and the entertainment channels blew up about a high profile wedding. The new Mrs Tiberius Stone did look a lot like Toni.

Except Toni never looked so hollow, or so cold. She was never so sharp and crisp, with flawless hair and makeup. She always was in motion, bubbling over with excitement, stripping the wiring from the toaster oven because she had an idea at three am, with a smear of dirt and wild frizzy hair. She was bright and brilliant and beautiful, and the woman in the tabloids looked as dull and plasticine as every other rich heiress.

Thor came to visit that winter, brought a woman named Valkyrie with him, and for a week or two, the hole in their group was easy to forget.

They were better. They were healed. They were good again, laughing and joking, tangled with each other. They rebuilt their equilibrium. They kept their apartment, considering getting a cat.

Winter melted away, flowers bloomed, the air turned hot and stagnant, and the others nominated Bucky to go to the door when someone knocked at half past two in the morning. He was closest after all. Grumbling that they didn’t pause the movie, he went, not bothering with the peephole. It was probably Mr Phillips from down the hall, annoyed that they were laughing too loud.

Bucky opened the door, expecting nothing, and found Toni.

She seemed smaller, hunched, flinching from an invisible blow. She seemed thinner, no, gaunt, like she’d not seen a real meal in a year.

She seemed lost.

Bucky didn’t do a thing. He held open the door, and the others turned, and they saw, and they had Toni inside a moment later. Nightmares whipped through his head, and he knew they were hitting the others as well. They’d talked about it. All of them. In pairs and threes and all at once, they’d talked about where she might have gone, and the fears that chased them over it. They worried about drugs and kidnappers and murderers and cruel families. They worried about everything, because she was theirs, and she was gone.

It was hot and muggy, even late at night in the city, but Toni had arrived in jeans and an oversized, ratty sweatshirt with MIT across the chest.

Nat figured it out. Nat always figured things out first.

Bucky watched while Nat pushed up the sleeves to show the bruises on Toni’s wrists. Watched, and let Sam and Steve bracket him when Natasha finally convinced Toni to lift her chin and let them see the swelling and purple mess around her eye. See how her lip quivered and she refused to speak.

She was theirs, and she was hurting, so all of them moved at once.

They brought her a bag of frozen peas, and they grabbed water and a bottle of pain relievers. Steve went to pick her up, planning to take her to the couch where they could surround her with kindness and soft touches until she was ready to talk.

Toni flinched.

Toni stepped backwards. Lifted her chin like she was going to war. Like she was afraid of them.

Toni shifted her arms in a deliberate way, effective and brilliant and painful, and let the fabric of the sweatshirt pull tighter, making the bump obvious to them. Her eyes jumped to each of them, unable to make eye contact, searching for something. Waiting for them to recoil. To yell. To push. To hate her.

She’d been gone for nearly a year.

They only had her for a few months.

She came back fractured and wounded and looked at them like she expected to be thrown aside for this.

Gently, slowly, with a long caress along her jaw and neck to ask permission, Bucky carried her to the couch. The others followed. Flowed. Sat around her, sent discreet texts calling out of work the next day, and let her cry, willing to wait to hear what she needed.

After all, she was a part of them. Things were right when she was there.

She was hurting. She was hurt.

None of them were going to let her vanish again.

#my writing #abuse tw #I thrive on the excitement of others #so if you have thoughts #share them

13 notes · View notes

emotionally-imbruised · 5 years

Text

Sink or Swim

In which Harry and Y/N work together as lifeguards.

A/N: here’s (a little late but) day 17 for my bby @always-jackedup’s 25 days of summer. Make sure to go check out the pieces by all the other authors if you want some fun summer things to read. Also wow, this turned out longer than I was expecting; you all can blame Sarah.

Word Count: 15.8k

As much as she wanted this summer to be one for the record books, just like it had been in recent years, Y/N didn’t have too high of expectations. It sucked a lot, but finally after three years of being away, she was spending her first summer back home in California and to say she wasn’t all that excited about it at all, would have been an understatement.

Once she graduated high school, Y/N stayed in San Jose with her family for a year and a half. She didn’t go to university because frankly, she didn’t know what she wanted to do in life so instead, she worked her ass off while taking a few online classes to save up some money and go see the world. Which is precisely what she did.

She spent the last three years traveling through different countries, gaining new experiences, meeting the greatest people, eating the best food, and working wherever she could to keep doing so. It was an incredible experience, and she’d do it all again if she could, but it did make her feel very alone times, so at the beginning of the year, Y/N started longing for something more permanent. Somewhere she could stay that would allow her to decide what it was she wanted to do, whether that included school or not. After considering all of her options, she decided on heading back to California with plans of moving to LA at the beginning of September and embark on some new journeys in the land of opportunity... Even though the thought of doing that terrified her.

In preparation for her move, Y/N applied to various summer jobs as a way to save up more money until she was able to find a stable job in Los Angeles; and much to her surprise, a lot of those places were very interested in hiring her as a seasonal employee. Amongst those places expressing interest in her was Oceanside Resort and Spa on the outskirts of Bodega Bay. This fancy, membership-only resort that had been in the middle of hiring their summer staff, needed someone to fill one of the open lifeguard positions. The resort provided all training that was required, as well as staff accommodations for the entire summer (which was needed, seeing how far it was from home) and after considering all of her other options, was the one Y/N ultimately decided on. She did all her preliminary training in the weeks leading up to the beginning weeks of summer, and before she knew it, her family was dropping her off at the shuttle bus station in San Francisco to start her new adventure.

Despite its name, Oceanside was not actually located beside the ocean. Yes it was close, and the coast was only a few short minutes away, but Y/N found it somewhat ironic and couldn’t help but chuckle at the pictures of the resort printed in her welcome pamphlet; none of which included snaps of the Pacific. She knew it was stupid to be amused by such a little thing, but as she read the overly extra and dramatic explanation of how great this place was, her laughing increased and wouldn’t stop as she continued reading it over.

Maybe it was because of how she thought whoever decided to make Oceanside’s slogan “A Shell Of A Good Time” should never be allowed to make a slogan ever again, or maybe it was due to the lack of sleep she had the night before. But regardless, Y/N’s laughing didn’t subside and started gaining attention from others on the bus with her.

“Are you done?” A voice hissed from the seat in front of her, causing Y/N to snap her gaze up to be met with Aimee, her best friend from high school, staring back at her. The two of them had kept in touch for the years Y/N was away and decided to apply for jobs together. Lucky for them, Aimee was hired at Oceanside too but as a bartender at the poolside cabana rather than being a lifeguard like Y/N. The two of them applied to be roommates in the cabin that would act as their home for the summer, and as if their luck couldn’t have gotten any better already, they were approved for that too. “We’re not even there yet, and you’re already going to start annoying the shit out of our coworkers.”

“Sorry,” Y/N replied sheepishly, lowering herself into her seat more as her chuckles reduced to snickering. “Ok, but for real... have you read this thing?”

“Yes, I have,” Aimee stated as she reached over to snatch the pamphlet from her best friends grasp, turning back around so Y/N wouldn’t see the broad grin plastered on her face as well. “And yes I know it all sounds ridiculous but, a job is a job.”

“Got that right. And this place seems to have its perks, won’t be the worst job ever.”

Aimee just nodded before turning around to face Y/N again and tossing the now crumpled up pamphlet between the ugly blue patterned seats at her head. “Exactly, and we’ll be together. It’ll be a summer to remember.”

“I don’t know about that,” Y/N grumbled with a shrug, not paying any attention to the skeptical look Aimee was giving her as she tried to uncrumple the piece of paper on her lap. “I’m not here to have fun, you know? Sure if it happens, great, but I really need this job Aims… or LA just won’t be happening. I need to do good here and not mess it up.”

“I know,” Aimee responded and waited for her friend to make eye contact again. “But you can’t be having that mindset, ok? Obviously, work hard and everything, but also let yourself have fun, Y/N. We’re adults now and won’t have many more chances to do things like this. May as well make it count.”

There was no point in arguing against Aimee’s statement because Y/N knew she was right. Although her main focus of the summer was to make as much money as she could and save it, that thought alone made her fear about wasting away one of her favorite times of the year; which was the last thing she wanted to do. She thought about how maybe she could put herself out there a little bit and see what would happen, but for the time being, she decided on just biting down on her lip and nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right, you don’t gotta tell me.”

“Oh, whatever,” Y/N scoffed as Aimee laughed and faced forward again, preparing to put her headphones on and just zone out for the remainder of the drive. However, before she had the chance to do that in peace, Y/N leaned forward and lowered her voice just so that only Aimee could hear. “Hey Aims, do you know what we’re going to have?”

“Don’t say it.”

“A shell of a good time,” Y/N blurted out, trying so hard to keep a straight face. The audible groan that left Aimee’s mouth was enough to feed on Y/N’s ego and caused her to fall into another laughing fit. This went on for a few minutes, and as she was starting to recollect herself, Y/N noticed how Aimee was now slinging her duffle bag over her shoulder and standing up, all while giving her a pointed glare. “Come on, it was funny.”

“Sick of you already,” she mumbled in response before moving to sit in the seats a few rows behind Y/N in silence and remaining there for the rest of the trip.

Once they arrived at Oceanside, Y/N and Aimee were given a quick, half-assed tour of the resort before being shown where they’d be living for the summer. There was no need for them to get an entire lay of the land just yet seeing as their first day of work was still a few days away, and both girls were rather thankful they’d have the weekend off before diving right in.

Y/N took this time to really let it all sink in and appreciate how she actually got to call this place home for the next two and a half months. There was no doubting that Oceanside was absolutely stunning and genuinely seemed liked its own little private oasis. It had a very serene atmosphere and didn’t seem to be lacking in anything whatsoever. However, Y/N knew it may take her a little while to get used to everything.

The resort was huge. When the bus made way up the long winding driveway that starts at Oceanside’s gated entrance, the first thing that could be seen was the clubhouse; the place Y/N figured she’d probably be spending most of her time while clocked in for work when she wasn’t at the pool. The large cream-colored building was sat on top of a hill and stood out amongst the greenery surrounding it. Y/N was told this place was what made every other part of the resort accessible, and was the first stop on hers and Aimee’s little tour.

Once inside the sliding doors of the clubhouse, they found themselves standing in the middle of the lobby; the area that acted as the place everyone needed to go to first regardless of who they were. It was where the resort guests would check-in for their stay as well as to book any extra classes/activities they wanted to do, spa services, tee time on the golf course, or to simply get any information they needed. It was also where all the staff would have any meetings after hours and go to punch in and out for each of their shifts, seeing as it was connected to basically everything. The spa and gym were to the left of the front desk, the dining room where all the guests would eat their meals was to the right and had the kitchen attached to it at the back. The kitchen itself was unnecessarily large and staffed many people, but its size made sense seeing as there were apparently a lot of guests that came here throughout the summer.

To the back of the kitchen was a door that led to another large room, one that none of the guests had access to. It was not as fancy as the rest of the clubhouse by any means and was actually kind of run down, but to Y/N, it had the most character. To put it simply, it was a mess hall for all of the staff working at the resort. There were two long wooden tables with benches that took up most of the space in the room, matching very well with the old, cracked wooden flooring and beams that crossed above on the high ceiling. Sat at the tables were her new co-workers talking, laughing, gossiping, and eating with one another. Many of them sent friendly smiles Y/N’s way, but the odd person eyed her and Aimee up a little bit -- clearly aware of how the newbies have arrived.

Once Y/N and Aimee made it through the mess hall, they exited through a side door that entered out onto a beautiful stone and marble courtyard. There was a large fountain in the middle of it with four flower gardens that take up each corner of the space. Nothing covered it from above which left it to be filled entirely with natural light and just gave Y/N the best feeling. It was her favorite spot by far.

Just past the courtyard was the pool, and it exceeded all expectations as well. It too was quite large, having a shallow section for kids and a deeper end for adults only. There was little potted plants and succulents around the entire area and no shortage of lounge chairs whatsoever. One of the first things Y/N noticed was how two lifeguards were monitoring the pool as opposed to only one. There was one sitting on the lifeguard stand that was positioned on top of the natural-looking stone waterfall on the other side of the pool, while the additional lifeguard patrolled on the same side she was standing; watching for any out of the ordinary behavior with a rescue buoy in hand. She was quick in noting how her shifts would more than likely be with someone else and that alone gave her some peace of mind. After scoping out the rest of the pool area, the two girls made way to the poolside bar where Aimee would be working and alas, their tour ended.

Upon arrival to Oceanside, the first person, Y/N and Aimee, met was Mr. Andrew Slack, the manager of the resort and well, their boss. He was kind enough and was the one to give them the tour, however, he came across as a very busy man, and just as he was finishing showing them around, he got a phone call and had to leave the girls to fend for themselves. Andrew briefly explained where they had to go to get to where the staff housing was located, before muttering a quick goodbye and heading back towards the clubhouse and answered the phone. After a moment of silently watching him go, Y/N and Aimee glanced at each other and shrugged before heading down the path he pointed out to them so they could finally put their bags down and get settled in.

“Are you sure we’re even going the right way?” Aimee groaned from a few feet behind Y/N as they came to a fork in the road, looking at the various paths they could venture down. They were maybe two minutes from the clubhouse, the sounds of people chatting and splashing around in the pool could still be heard, but she was exhausted.

“Not particularly,” Y/N responded, letting one of her duffle bags fall to the ground as she approached a tall wooden sign that listed various places they could get to and which path they’d need to take, one of them labeled staff cabins. She looked down the trail to her left, and sure enough, more laughter and chatter could be heard from what she assumed was others moving in as well. “This way, I think.“

The two girls walked down the path Y/N suggested, and soon enough, they came into a large clearing where fifteen different cabins resided. Five of the cottages were a bit smaller than the others, which only allowed two people to stay in them rather than the four that would remain in any of the others. According to one of the people on the bus there, only returning staff were able to apply for the two-person cabins, but both Y/N and Aimee were already aware that they’d be sharing a living space with two other girls, so that fact didn’t really phase them. Not every staff member needed accommodations because many were locals to the area, but nonetheless, Y/N was thankful that she did indeed have a place to stay.

Aimee inched ahead in search of their cabin and didn’t realize Y/N had fallen back a bit while she was taking in their surroundings. With a small smirk forming on her lips, Aimee decided to snap her best friend out of the little daze she was in. “Watch out for that root.”

“What root-,” Y/N started and snapped her gaze to Aimee, before staggering a bit as she took a step forward and tripped over a thick tree root that was sticking up from the ground. She quickly regained her balance and played it off as if nothing had happened, earning a loud chuckle from Aimee. “Ah, that root.”

“And they want you to be a lifeguard? Those poor people.”

Y/N just glared at her friend instead of responding as they continued forward in search of cabin 4.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their new summer home and just upon the sight of the slightly rundown looking cabin, Aimee was full-on sprinting up the steps in hopes she could claim the first bed. Y/N trudged after her, slowly making her way up the rickety wooden steps, but halting when a loud crack and some shouting sounded from behind her.

“Oi! Now, look what you’ve done.”

She raised her eyebrow skeptically at the sudden commotion before gradually spinning around on her heel to see what the hell was going on. On the other side of the trail, at the cabin directly across from hers, Y/N observed as two boys stood outside of their tiny lodge that was almost identical to her own. One of them had his back to her, and she couldn’t help but stare as his body rippled with laughter, letting her eyes roam more than she intended. He wore a pair of dark pants and a simple white t-shirt. Multiple tattoos littered his left arm, while his right arm almost seemed bare. She couldn’t see much else but noticed how he had a pair of black sunglasses on is head as a way to keep his mob of brown, shaggy, curls away from his face. There was no way of knowing how long she stood there gawking at the man, but as soon as the guy he was with spoke up, she was brought back to reality.

“You know, the least you could do is help me.”

It was then Y/N noticed that the other boy was standing with one foot stuck in the staircase. Somehow one of the wooden planks snapped and resulted in him falling through the step. Y/N immediately thought about all the first aid training she’d endured just to be ready for this job and found herself dropping all of her things on the porch before rushing down the stairs and over to the two men.

She didn’t waste any time in brushing past the guy in the white shirt to get to his friend, because truthfully, he could have gotten really hurt and the other guy was not being any help. “Hey, are you alright?”

“Oh, just dandy,” the guy stuck in the stairs muttered before placing a hand on the railing and using it to keep himself balanced as he stepped out from the broken wood and up onto the deck. “Thanks for your concern, though. Nice to know someone’s watching out for me when my so-called friend isn’t.”

“Oh, get off it,” the other man spoke up from behind Y/N again, sparking her interest with how the words came from his mouth in with a distinctly British accent. Slowly, she turned around to actually get a look at them, and when she did, she felt as if the air had been knocked right out of her chest.

As soon as she locked eye contact with the man, his familiar green eyes widened in surprise as they both gawked at each other in complete and utter shock. He recognized her too.

“You-.”

“I know you!” His voice boomed and caused a blush to immediately burn across her cheeks. “We went to high school together, yeah?”

The man in front of her was none other than Harry Styles. A kind British lad who was two grades ahead of Y/N, all through high school. They had some mutual friends, and Y/N was aware of how Harry had moved from a small town in Cheshire to San Jose during her freshman year. The two were never really that close, but they knew of each other and had met a few times in passing, which left Y/N to be more than surprised at the fact that he’d even recognize her.

“It’s Y/N, innit?”

“Uh yeah,” she replied and shook her head free of any lurking thoughts, fully aware of how he’s aged very nicely over the years. “It is. And you’re Harry, right?”

“The one and only.”

“Pretty sure there’s other Harry’s in the world, dumbass,” the other guy spoke up from behind her again, causing Y/N to chuckle.

“You’re not funny, mate,” Harry snapped before making eye contact with Y/N and letting out a huff. “That there is my irrelevant and incompetent roommate, Nick. Guess he’s m’friend and all too, but that’s just a minor detail.”

“The greatest detail actually, seeing as I’m the only one that’ll put up with you.”

“Ok, anyway,” Harry cut his friend off with a glare, a small smile forming on his lips as he watched Y/N giggling at their antics. “What brings you to Oceanside?”

“I needed a summer job,” Y/N explained with a shrug, looking between the two boys as they nodded in understanding. “I went away for a while and am now trying to make ends meet. What better way to do that than being a lifeguard at some fancy resort? Man, I feel like I’m in High School Musical 2 just being here.”

“It gives me more Dirty Dancing vibes, but I can see why’d you think that,” Harry responded with a warm smile, causing a swarm of butterflies to form in the pit of Y/N’s stomach.

“Yeah we’re basically living in a cliche summer romance movie, aren’t we?” Nick piped up before nodding towards Harry. “But hey, at least now you know who the new lifeguard is.”

“You’re a lifeguard too?” Y/N asked surprised, feeling caught off guard by just how small the world was seeming to be.

“Yeah, s’my what, third summer working here now? That sounds about right.”

“Oh, wow,” Y/N replied, making no attempt in masking her shock. “Must be an alright job.”

“Pays the bills at least,” he told her with a shrug. “It’s a good way to make money when you’re not in school for the summer, m’assuming that’s what you’re doing .”

“Kind of. I uh, I didn’t go to university once I graduated high school and traveled instead. Reality caught up with me eventually, and now I need to work so I can start figuring what I’m going to do with my life. I’m moving to LA in September, so hopefully, I’ll figure something out there.”

“Weird, so is Harry,” Nick added.

“Really?”

“I am,” Harry answered. “Got an internship with a record label there, gonna try to amount to something I guess.”

Y/N watched as his gaze fell from hers to the ground, where he awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to another. He didn’t seem too confident talking about this specific subject, so Y/N took it as a hint to move on from it. “Well, I’m sure you’ll do great. Anyways, my roommate is probably wondering where I went, I uh, I’ll see you guys around. And maybe you should get someone to fix that step before someone actually does get hurt.”

The three of them laughed before Y/N slowly started backing away and headed towards her cabin. Nick waved her goodbye, but Harry didn’t say anything. It made her wonder if she had said something wrong, but regardless, she shook her head and made her way up the steps to gather her bags again and head inside; utterly oblivious to how Harry’s eyes didn’t leave her once as he watched her walk away.

The next four weeks went by rather quickly, and Y/N was already having much more fun than she had anticipated. In her short time working at Oceanside, she had already managed to develop quite a few friends from the people she’d met, and it made the whole experience better, just like Aimee had said. Her and Aimee both made fast friends with their two other roommates Dana and Maya, who were twin sisters but couldn’t be more different from one another. Dana worked as a waitress in the dining hall for the guests, while Maya worked out on the golf course providing beginner lessons to those who signed up for them. The two sisters butt heads a lot, so it was smart to not have them working together in Y/N’s opinion, but she really did enjoy spending time with both of them nonetheless.

Another person she clicked with really well, was Nick. When he wasn’t busy sassing Harry or organizing activities and events for the guests to do during their stay, Nick was Y/N’s go-to person (other than Aimee) for anything really. He was her helping hand when she needed it, and the best person to rant or gossip to when something had irked her. She was the same type of friend to him, and it didn’t take her long to realize he’d be one of the people she knew she’d miss the most come to the end of summer.

Every guest Y/N had encountered who stayed at the resort, was very kind, and treated her with respect. She was quick in figuring out who the regular families were, the ones that came to Oceanside every summer as their vacation and got the lowdown on how long each of them had been doing so from Mr. Slack (or Mr. Whack as Harry and Nick would call him behind his back.) Amongst those families was the Huntington family. Mr. Huntington, a successful business mogul, had brought his family to and donated a lot of money to this specific resort for about eight years now, or at least that was what Mrs. Huntington had told Y/N. They were a very reserved family, but actually very friendly. Mrs. Huntington was a regular to the Tuesday morning water workout classes Y/N would teach and was a joy to be around while her husband would poke fun of her from where he lounged on a chair nearby. They had a son, Tyler, who was assumedly Y/N’s age and had many friends from other families that stayed there as well. When he wasn’t with those friends, he was spending time with his family or striking up a conversation with Y/N when she had some downtime during her shifts.

Last, and certainly not least, the final and the arguably most significant relationship she had developed so far, was with Harry. The two of them had almost exact work schedules, which naturally led to them spending a lot of time together. He was the one to show her the ropes of lifeguarding in general, as well as what to do in certain situations and was always there to have her back if needed. When both working, Y/N usually sat on the lifeguard stand while Harry patrolled the edge of the pool. They’d tease each other from a distance, sticking their tongues out at each other when no one was looking, or mouthing the words “don’t slip” when they switched their spots so Y/N could teach some of her workout classes.

The first thing that really warmed them up to one another was actually on Y/N’s first day. She had cut through the kitchen to get to the lobby to punch in on time and almost ran directly into Harry. She hadn’t seen him since she moved in those few short days before, but the way he just stared at her and started chuckling struck something within her.

“Do you have a problem?” She asked and grew slightly aggravated when his laughing increased. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” he said firmly and tried to regain his composure, but failed miserably. “It’s just that I didn’t know management was going for matching uniforms this year.”

Y/N scowled at him before slowly glancing down at her outfit to see what he was talking about, only to become even more confused. Her uniform was simple enough, just a red full-piece bathing suit that had to be paired with white shorts and if she so decided, the white terry cloth sweater she was given with Oceanside’s emblem on it. She paired the outfit with the metal whistle she had to wear, some sunglasses to keep her hair out of her face, and a pair of black Adidas slides because there was no way she was walking around the pool without proper footwear.

To her, there was nothing wrong with the outfit, but once she was finished taking in her own appearance, Y/N moved her gaze to Harry and finally realized what he was going on about. He too was wearing a pair of red swim trunks, with a kind of tight looking white tank top that also had the emblem stitched into it as well. His outfit was almost identical to her own, but what got her the most was how he too had a pair of sunglasses pushing his mob of curls back and a matching pair of Adidas sandals. The two of them looked ridiculous standing side by side.

“Oh god,” Y/N groaned, which only caused Harry to burst out into laughter again. She was about to make another comment, but before she could, her phone started buzzing with the reminder that her shift started in five minutes. “Crap, we should go.”

“Lead the way,” Harry responded and dramatically bowed as a way to tell her to go first. She shook her head and proceeded, only making it a few steps before he spoke up again. “Hey Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Hate to break it to you, love, but I wear it better.”

Y/N scoffed and froze, turning to send him a glare but couldn’t help but laugh too as he just chuckled again and rushed forward to avoid her wrath. Their shifts together after that were just the same harmless and fun routine, and it really didn’t take Y/N long to realize just how much she enjoyed being around Harry, and that feeling only grew as the weeks went on.

One Friday afternoon, when Y/N and Harry were both finishing up their shift together by folding towels in the clubhouse laundry room so the lifeguards on the evening shift would have less to do, Harry decided to throw Y/N off guard with a question.

It was one he’d meant to ask her all week but couldn’t figure out how to bring it up in conversation. As he stood there watching her fold each towel with as much focus and precision as the last, he knew their shift was coming to an end soon and how he may not get to ask her if he didn’t do it right then. So, with a deep breath and a subtle clearing of his throat, he asked her.

“Are you going to the staff party tonight?”

“Hmm?” She replied, surprised, having to take a second to process the unexpected question. “Like the one that is thrown in the mess hall every weekend?”

“That’d be the one.”

“I uh, I don’t know,” she murmured and set down the last towel she had just finished folding. “Aimee, Dana, and Maya have been telling me I need to go to at least one. Apparently, they’re fun.”

“They are. S’nice hanging out with everyone in a non-work setting,” he explained, but avoided eye contact; suddenly feeling as if he might get turned down even though he has not built up enough courage to actually ask her out just yet. They’d become rather close, and there was this certain spark he felt whenever she was around, but again, was too chicken to actually do anything about.

“Are you going’?”

This time it was her question that caught him off guard because realistically he was expecting her to simply just say no. “Yeah I am, promised Nick I’d go with him.”

“Oh well if Nick is going then maybe I’ll consider it,” Y/N teased, unsure if this was his attempted way in saying he’d like her to go or not -- completely oblivious to just how bad he wanted her to be there with how well he masked it. He just chuckled in response as Y/N felt a sudden wave awkwardness consume the comfortable feeling she usually had whenever he was around. She glanced at the clock to see their shift had ended and decided to use that as an excuse to remove herself from the situation. “Looks like we’re done for the day. Maybe I’ll see you around this weekend?”

“Oh, yeah, see yeh Y/N.”

And with that, he watched her leave yet again.

After her conversation with Harry, it didn’t take much for Y/N’s roommates to convince her into going to the part, even going to the extent of her letting them pick out her outfit for the night. They decided on a simple black dress that Dana owned, one that just so happened to hug Y/N’s body in all the right places. The outfit was paired with a few of Aimee’s accessories while Maya styled her hair and if Y/N didn’t know any better, she’d assume those three were plotting something with how much effort they put into her appearance that night.

Once they were all dressed up, the four girls left the cabin and made way to the mess hall.

Y/N didn’t really know what to expect from this party, but upon stepping foot into the hall, she couldn’t help but let her eyes widen in surprise as she took in the scene around her. The two long wooden tables that regularly took up most of the space in the room were pushed against the walls and made a makeshift space that acted like a dancefloor. Couples danced together to the music playing, grinding and holding onto each other like a bunch of horny teenagers, while others exited from the kitchen with drinks in hand. It all looked like a scene from a movie, and Y/N had to shake her head at it all. Harry was right, this place really was much more like Dirty Dancing than High School Musical.

As if on cue, a familiar voice sounded from her right, and Y/N was soon faced to face with Nick. He wasted no time engulfing her in a tight hug before he moved on to greet the other girls. Y/N said hi to the people that had come over with Nick before moving her gaze to meet with an oh so familiar pair of stunning green eyes and smiling.

Harry had a wide grin on his face as he stepped towards her and pulled her into his chest for a quick hug as well. The gesture surprised Y/N, but she also found a sense of genuine warmth in his embrace before slowly moving away to look up at him again.

“You made it!” He exclaimed and just couldn’t stop smiling at the fact of her being there.

The way he grinned at Y/N made the butterflies in her stomach swarm, and she found herself having to break eye contact with him before her blush got too noticeable. She took that time to give him a once over and couldn’t keep herself from feeling some type of way. He was wearing a simple grey buttoned-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, shamelessly displaying his arm tattoos that just so happened to capture Y/N’s attention more than usual as the strobe lights danced across them. His hair was messy, but a good kind of messy Y/N decided; the entire look was just very, Harry and that thought alone made her smile.

“You look great by the way,” his voice snapped Y/N from her trance as looked around to see all of her friends have scattered and it was just her and Harry now.

“Thanks,” she continued to blush. “You look good too.”

A moment of awkward silence washed over them as neither really knew what else to say. Harry knew he could just end the conversation right there, but that wasn’t really something he wanted to do, so he began racking his brain for ideas on how to keep the conversation going. As if someone had heard him trying to think up something, the song that was playing changed and the upbeat intro of Right Back by Khalid started booming from the nearby speakers; causing him to grin all over again.

“Would you like to dance?”

“Me?” Y/N squeaked and glanced around because surely he wasn’t talking to her.

“Yes, you,” he chuckled. “I mean, I could ask Nick but who knows where he went off to.”

Y/N bit down on her bottom lip nervously, her heart fluttering at what felt like a million miles a second as she slowly nodded her head. “I’d like that.”

If it wasn’t for the few drinks she downed with her friends while getting ready for this thing, Y/N was sure she would not have been in this situation whatsoever. But alas, the alcohol gave her the liquid courage she needed to let Harry grab her hand and lead her out to the middle of the dancefloor. When they came to a small clearing, Harry dramatically spun around to face her again, causing her to laugh out loud as he dorkily pointed at her with finger guns. He had a goofy smirk plastered on his mouth as he started moving to the music and Y/N soon found herself swaying her hips to the beat too. She glanced at the people around her dancing very close to one another for this particular song and suddenly felt very out of place. They were entirely surrounded by couples.

As if sensing Y/N’s sudden discomfort at their setting, Harry mindlessly moved towards her until there were only a few inches between them. She looked up at him with wide eyes, but with him merely just being there, she didn’t feel as anxious. The two of them remained like that for a moment, lost in each other before Harry went to wrap his right arm around her waist; but stopped himself before he could.

“Uh, would you mind if I-?”

Y/N smiled at how he became so flustered, and simply could not find it in her to deny him. “You don’t have to ask.”

Harry didn’t know what to expect Y/N’s answer to be, but a massive wave of relief washed over him as he returned her smile and continued his movements. He snaked his arms around her waist just as the chorus started playing again and pulled her close, before shifting to rest his hands on her waist as they started moving to the music together.

Hesitantly, Y/N placed her hands on his chest before slowly moving them up to wrap around the back of his neck. Harry loved witnessing her gradually become more comfortable with what they were doing because with how much time he’d spent with her so far this summer, he knew this whole thing wasn’t exactly her scene. She seemed to actually be having fun, though. Throughout the song, she had already let him in more than she had over the last month, looking so content and at peace. It was at that moment Harry realized how he was going to do whatever he could in his power to make her feel that way as often as possible.

Y/N liked being this close to Harry more than she wanted to admit. There was something about him that drew her in and made her want to stay. Sure she considered him to be a friend and all already, but tonight felt different, a good different. She would never dance or act like this with just anybody, but with Harry, it felt natural.

Harry slowly leaned his forehead against Y/N’s as she started twisting the smalls curls at the nape of his neck and felt himself fall into a state of contentment as well. They danced with each other for the remainder of the song, along with the next two before Harry slowly started moving away.

A look of confusion washed over Y/N’s features, but it soon faded as Harry linked his hand with hers and started leading them away from the dancefloor. “Follow me.”

Y/N had no idea where he was taking her, but she didn’t question it either as she let him guide them towards the side door that led them out into the courtyard. There was no one else out there, which was a pleasant change from the crowded area they were just in.

As they walked hand in hand together, the two remained silent, and Y/N tried to keep her breathing steady as Harry gently rubbed his thumb over her knuckles and lead them towards the fountain. They started off talking about the night’s festivities along with not really knowing where all of their friends had gone off to, however, that casual conversation quickly turned deep when they started asking questions about each other, but in a very gradual, comfortable way that surprised both of them.

Y/N was the first to open up. She wasn’t really one to layout her entire life story just for someone to judge it and point out where things could have been changed, but with Harry, she didn’t feel that way once. He expressed genuine interest in what she was saying and soon enough, she was telling him everything. She explained why she thought she needed to leave California for a while after high school and her experiences abroad. With that, she talked about how she felt that time could significantly change people and as much as it sucks to admit, there’s nothing anyone can really do about it either. Her primary example being how Aimee is the only person she kept in contact with from high school because she had grown apart from everyone else. Y/N even went on to explain how she wasn’t able to form very close bonds with people she met during her travels, due to her fear of letting people in just enough so that she’s comfortable before leaving her high and dry.

Harry hung on to her every word, providing a comforting squeeze to her hand when she’d bring up things that were a bit tougher to talk about, and just nodding as she went on to let her know that he really did want to be there, listening to what she had to say. Once she was done, he could tell how relieved she was by simply being able to share all of that with someone she trusted enough to know the things that made her, her. Harry knew how much Y/N appreciated him for letting her vent, and in return, let him know that she would do the same for him if he ever wanted to, and so he did.

The two talked for hours, although it only seemed like mere minutes to them. Once Harry finished his back story of everything that had happened since he graduated high school, he expressed his want to return to England soon and that his money from this job was going to allow him to do so. He went off about how excited he was for his move to LA and his dreams of making it big in the music industry one day, but for now, Harry was rather content with where he was (specifically in that moment with Y/N).

As the night went on, it was Y/N that noticed the party had died down, seeing as no music could be heard anymore and that it was getting rather late.

Y/N was fully aware of how neither she or Harry worked the next day but still felt a little anxious at the thought of her friends giving her an earful for not having a clue as to where she had gone or who she was with. Luckily for her, the conversation she was having with Harry was much more lighthearted than it was before and she didn’t feel as bad for interrupting it.

“Hey, H?” She spoke up, smiling inwardly to herself at the little nickname she’d mindlessly decided to call him. “I think everyone’s gone back to the cabins, think we should go too?”

There was no doubting that Harry didn’t want the night to end just yet and couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at the thought itself. So, being the quick thinker he was, he glanced around at their surroundings and tried to think of a way to keep her around; a mischievous grin dancing on his lips when his gaze falls on the pool and an idea sprang to his mind. “We could do that, or we could do something completely different. Something fun.”

“Oh, well, what did you have in mind?”

“Something that I’m going to do regardless of if you join or not, even though I’d much prefer if you did,” he smirked and observed as her eyebrows started to furrow.

“Harry…”

A tiny, heartfelt laugh left Harry’s mouth at the small pout that was forming on her lips as she spoke. She had no idea what he was planning, and it made him that much more excited to mess with her a little bit. He watched as she bit down on her lip in anticipation, and waited for him to say something and after a moment of keeping her on her toes, he leaned forward to whisper lowly in her ear.

“I’m going to go swimming.”

With that, Harry stood up from his spot on the edge of the fountain and jogged his way over to the pool. As much as Harry wished he could see the look of disapproval, he knew Y/N would be looking at him with, he didn’t stop to glance back at her. Instead, he approached the pool gate and glanced around to make sure no security guards were out on patrol, before quietly lifting the latch to unlock it and slowly pushing it open.

Once inside the gate, he walked over to one of the poolside lounge chairs and set his phone and wallet on it before unashamedly starting to strip down to his boxers. Just as he tossed his shirt on the chair and moved to begin unbuttoning his pants, he heard the pool gate creak open again and was already smiling at what was about to come.

“Are you insane?” Y/N’s voice hissed as she followed after him scowling. “Harry, you’re going to get us in so much trouble.”

“Can’t get in trouble if we don’t get caught,” he shrugged as he stepped out of his pants and set them on the chair too. Goosebumps raised on his torso as the cold night air came in contact with his newly exposed skin, but he ignored it as he turned around to face Y/N again. He could tell she was cold by the way she had her arms tightly wrapped her body as a breeze wisped her hair around, and decided to use that factor to his advantage. “The pool is heated.”

“I know it’s heated, I work here too, you know.”

“I do,” he responded smugly and tilted his head to the side. “Well, are you coming in or are you too chicken?”

There was a glint in her eyes that he recognized to be the competitive streak in her coming out. He’s managed to see this side of her a handful of times while he was pressing her buttons at work and seeing her look back at him that way made him think that he may have her convinced, however, the glint faltered as she nervously looked around to see if anyone was nearby. “I don’t know H-.”

Harry could tell that deep down she wanted to join him, she really did. However, he also knew damn well that doing anything that could possibly jeopardize her job here cause Y/N a lot of anxiety. But maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to crack through that wall she keeps putting up that prevents her from doing something fun and reckless for once.

Slowly, Harry walked towards her with a mission. As soon as he was close enough to do so, he reached out and linked their hands together; giving that little bit of reassurance she wanted so badly.

“I’m not going to make you do it if you don’t want to love, but if for whatever reason something did happen, I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.” He paused and watched as her features slowly softened, her hand squeezing his a little tighter all at the same time. “Do you trust me?”

“You already know I do,” she whispered and earned herself a small smile from Harry as she let go of his hand and stepped towards the pool. This time it was Y/N’s turn to shamelessly strip down to her underwear with her back turned to Harry.

Harry was surprised by her sudden burst of confidence as she casually kicked her shoes off and pulled the dress she was wearing up over her head -- letting it fall to the ground in such a simple, yet unknowingly sexy way that had Harry growing more frustrated with each passing second.

Y/N kept her back to him, not wanting him to see just how badly she was blushing. Once she was left in only her mismatched grey/black cotton bra and undies, she stepped towards the edge of the pool and waited for Harry. She smiled to herself as soon as he was standing beside her again and pondered her movements for a minute before making the executive decision to try and push Harry into the pool.

However, her plan backfired, seeing as she did not account for just how buff Harry was and that the likelihood of him actually falling in was slim to none. To make matters worse, Y/N stumbled slightly when she tried pushing him to which Harry instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist so that she wouldn’t fall in instead. Once she was steady, Y/N finally looked up to Harry and internally groaned.

“You just tried to push me in!” He exclaimed dramatically.

“And stupid me thought it’d actually work,” Y/N grumbled as she tried to squirm out of Harry’s grasp. She almost broke free, but before she knew it, Harry was pulling her back against his chest and began tickling her at her sides. She burst into laughter as she began squirming even more and tried to push him away. “H-Harry, stop!”

“You’re wrong if you thought I was letting you get away with that. I’m hurt, Y/N.”

“You’ll get over it,” she replied in a huff as she continued trying to escape Harry’s hold. This continued for another minute as Harry slowly but surely moved them back towards the pool’s edge, and Y/N’s wriggling intensified. She knew what he was about to do and without thinking, blurted out the first thing that came to mind to prevent him from doing so. “No, don’t! I can’t swim!”

Harry’s movements halted as soon as those words left her mouth, leaving Y/N to cover her mouth to stifle another laugh. She hadn’t considered how ridiculous her statement was until after she said it, and couldn’t help but laugh at how far from the truth it actually was. Harry didn’t move his hands from her waist, and although she really didn’t want to turn to face him, she eventually did and prepared for his reaction.

He stayed silent for a split second before narrowing her eyes and tightening his grip on her waist. “You’re so full of shit.”

Before she could respond again, Harry was lifting her up and jumping into the pool with her in his hold; finally putting the entire argument to rest. As soon as she was surrounded by water, Y/N swam away from Harry and used her feet to push off the bottom of the pool so that she could get back up to the surface and catch her breath.

Harry resurfaced shortly after and they both broke into another laughing fit. The two of them stayed there, treading water for a few minutes before Harry decided to splash Y/N out of nowhere, causing her to gasp dramatically.

She splashed him back but gave up the fight when he returned the gesture with a much larger wave that crashed right into her face. “Ok, I guess I deserved that.”

“Damn right you did,” he replied sassily and treaded and little closer to her. They watched each other for a minute before Harry started lowering the bottom half of his head into the water, just enough that only his eyes were still above the water. Y/N watched him curiously and couldn't help but roll her eyes when he exhaled deeply out of his mouth so that a series of bubbles would rise to the surface and pop around him as he kept eye contact with Y/N.

“God, you are such a child!” She squealed and started swimming away from the shallow end of the pool.

“You love it,” he before shaking his wet, matted curls and swimming after her.

The next half an hour or so is spent with Y/N and Harry goofing off together, and really just having the time of their lives. They had a race to see who could swim from one end of the pool to the other and back the fastest, to which Harry won only by a little bit. However, he soon lost his title when Y/N challenged him to see who could remain in and underwater handstand the longest without falling over or having to swim up for air.

Neither of them had a care in the world, but that quickly changed when the sound of jingling keys and heavy footsteps could be heard in the distance but were undoubtedly getting closer to the pool area. Y/N froze in place, and her face went white, the previous panic she had before of getting caught returning and causing her to be on the verge of hyperventilation.

“Harry, what do we do?!” She asked in a hushed tone, knowing that if they were to just jump out of the pool and make a run for it, they would most definitely get caught. “Y-y-you said-.”

“I know Y/N,” Harry hissed as he stood up and looked towards the courtyard, only to see the beam of a flashlight coming their way. “Ok, ok, I need you to do as I say and not argue with me, alright?”

Y/N nodded frantically but kept her mouth shut as she let Harry gently push her against the side of the pool. His hands never left her body, and to be honest, it’d stress her out even more if he weren’t there. Harry was keeping her calm. She observed as he intently watched the direction the noises of the person approaching came from, not being able to keep her eyes from the way the elegant butterfly and sparrows tattooed on his stomach and chest moved with each breath. Part of her wanted to reach out and trach along with the ink, but she knew now wasn’t the time and kept her hands to herself while she waited for Harry to tell her what to do next.

“Ok, when I say, I want you to go under the water as quietly as you can and swim behind the waterfall. Stay low when you come back up, I don’t think security will see you that way.” His plan was simple enough and actually seemed as though it could work, so with a silent nod, Y/N got in position and waited for him to give her the ok to go. “Alright…. Now.”

Y/N did as Harry said and quietly went back under the water. She kicked off the wall and smoothly glided under the water and didn’t come back up until she reached the wall she knew was behind the waterfall and beneath where her lifeguard chair was resting up top. Once she came up for air, she pressed her back against the wall to remain unseen and waited patiently for Harry.

Before Y/N could really start getting worried, she was able to make out Harry’s figure swimming beneath the waterfall just as she watched a flashlight beam over the part of the pool that she and Harry had only been. She unknowingly pressed her back harder to the wall and held her breath, keeping her eyes closed as she waited for someone to demand that they come out from the waterfall.

A few agonizing moments go by as Y/N prepared for the worst, but the worst never happens. She peeked one eye open just as Harry disappeared under the water again and swam back out into the regular part of the pool. A portion of her wanted to wait for his confirmation, but when it took him a bit longer than she was expecting for him to come back, she knew the coast must’ve been clear; so she followed after him.

Sure enough, when she resurfaced again, there was no security standing at the edge of the pool, waiting to give them shit; but instead, it was just Harry standing with his back to her, with his muscles tense. Cautiously, she approached him.

“We should get going,” he finally spoke up when there was no longer too much of a space between them. He turned around to face Y/N, but couldn’t seem to actually look at her. “Tha’ was closer than I’d like it to be, and we may not have time before he’s back.”

“H-.”

“And you probably don’t want anything to do with me after putting you in a stressful situation like that, this is all my fault,” he continued to ramble as she kept approaching him.

“Harry…”

“God, I swear I didn’t think anyone would actually come by but-.” This time it was Y/N who cut Harry off as she made one final step towards him and placed a hand behind his neck. She pulled him towards her at the same time she stood up onto her tippy toes and waited for the sparks she knew would go off once their lips came in contact with one another.

To say it felt like magic would have been an understatement because how it felt for Y/N and Harry to be at that moment, after spending such a great night together was simply indescribable. They both really liked the feeling of being there, together, making out, even though it was in the pool they both were lifeguards for, and soon found themselves getting lost in the kiss.

Harry quickly pulled her closer to him, wanting to have as little space between them as possible as his hands tangled into her hair so that the kiss could deepen. Y/N reacted by moaning slightly into his mouth and parting her lips more so that she could allow him more access.

They continued making out as Harry placed his hands under Y/N’s thighs so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. They kept going at it when Y/N’s back gently collided with the pool wall again, and she placed her hands on either side of his face just so that she could keep him near. The only thing that was going to make them break away from one another was going to be the need for air, and even that took a few minutes to happen, but eventually, it did.

The two of them slowly pulled away from each other, lips swollen, and panting for air as Y/N glanced up at Harry and smiled lightly. “You were putting words into my mouth.”

“Clearly I need to do that more often,” he chuckled before leaning down and catching her lips in another quick, yet sweet, kiss. Once he was done, he leaned back away from her again, his thumbs twiddling with the material of her underwear as they made no indication of wanting to move from one another. Eventually, it was Harry that broke the silence again. “Think we should get out here?”

“Not the worst idea I don't think,” Y/N responded with a nod.

The two of them untangled themselves from one another and climbed out of the pool before gathering their things and heading back to the cabins.

Y/N stayed with Harry that night and into the early morning of the next day. She woke up tangled in his bedsheets alone but had no need to worry seeing as she could hear him humming along to a tune from the shower in the washroom nearby. A loud yawn left her mouth as she stretched and squinted at the bright sunlight streaming in through the windows and finally took in her surroundings.

Harry’s cabin was smaller than Y/N’s but was much more spacious because it was only him and Nick that stayed there. And luckily for Y/N, Nick was nowhere to be found. She did, however, have this nagging thought of how he could literally burst through the door and see her so obviously trying to keep her naked body covered beneath the sheets at any given moment. There was not a single part of her that wanted to deal with that, so she sat up in the bed and looked out the window for any sign of him coming before booking it into the washroom so that she could join Harry in the shower.

The two of them spent the entire day together. It was ridiculously convenient that Nick, Aimee, Dana, and Maya all had work today because they were able to postpone any of their friends bugging them. Seeing as Y/N only had the outfit she wore last night, she gave Harry her key so that he could run over to her empty cabin and grab some fresh clothes. Much to her dismay, he came back with only a pair of terrycloth shorts that belonged to Maya and some clean underwear (but no bra).

“Harry, do you expect me to walk around topless all day?” Y/N asked and quirked an eyebrow at him. It was evident that he didn’t intentionally forget to grab her a top by the way his eyes widened slightly at her question, but with Harry being Harry, he played it off with ease.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly be opposed to the idea…”

“Harry.”

“Kidding,” he groaned as he rolled off the bed again and made way to his dresser so that he could give her a shirt to wear. “But not really. Here.”

Y/N caught the shirt Harry tossed towards her with ease and quickly threw it on, knowing she’d gone without a top for long enough. After that, Harry climbed onto the bed again and stretched himself across the bed next to her. He was hesitant in doing so, but after getting stiff from leaning on his elbow for a few minutes, he laid down flat with his head resting softly on Y/N’s lap as she stayed sat up and leaned against the wall.

The two of them talked for hours on end, again. Not once getting bored of each other's company and loving hearing what they each had to say, Y/N started to think about how long it had been since she was this comfortable with someone. They talked about everything from their favorite foods, to their what genre of a story they liked best after Y/N had eyed up the stack of books that were on Harry’s bedside table. Harry started going off, and Y/N mindlessly pushed her hand through his curls as he reached over to grab one of them so that he could tell her some of his favorite lines in it.

As the late afternoon crept around, Harry proposed that they actually leave the cabin and go out to do something, to which Y/N agreed. So, they gathered up the laundry hamper they had tossed Harry’s dirty bedding into that morning and made way to the clubhouse to start washing them while they went off and did something else. As they made way to the laundry room, they had to come to a stop when someone started calling out after them. Sure enough, it was Aimee standing behind them with a bemused and knowing look. She didn’t give them a hard time though seeing as she was just finishing her break and needed to get back to work, but Y/N knew she would get an earful when she got home that night.

Once they loaded up one of the washing machines and convinced one of the older ladies working in the laundry room, folding up clean bedsheets for the guests, to put move their wash over to a dryer so that they wouldn’t have to come back as soon; they embarked on a little journey. After sending a quick text to Maya a quick text to make sure it was alright, Y/N led Harry to one of the many golf carts that weren’t being used to take on their own little excursion.

They drove around the resort’s perimeter, taking the whole place in as if they were the ones staying there rather than being employees. After they finished doing that, Y/N drove them back to the clubhouse and tried thinking of something else to do before Harry suggested they go on the hiking trails the resort had.

The two of them walked back down the path that led towards the cabins and took a different turn that led them down a winding trail and eventually to the base of a large hill. Other people were nearby putting the multiple trail options to good use, but Harry and Y/N couldn’t decide which one they wanted to go on. They settled on the longest trail, the one that took them up the hill to a supposed lookout spot that was there.

It took them roughly forty-five minutes to reach the top, mainly because Harry kept dramatically pausing, saying he needed a break although Y/N was totally aware of it being a facade so that she’d stay near him and not keep going too far ahead... but she didn’t mind as they continued going.

Once they reached the end of the path, Y/N didn’t know what she was expecting to see, but she definitely wasn’t prepared to have her breath taken away

The top of the hill was a large clearing with the most incredible view. There was no one else up there so she didn’t waste any time walking around the entire area so she could take it all in. When she looked down the hill to the east, she had an incredible aerial view of the whole resort. The massive golf course seemed to go on forever, disappearing in the distance behind some trees and smaller hills, and everything else seemed so much smaller. She could see the entirety of the clubhouse letting her eyes move to the pool and then over to the trails behind it as well as all the big fancy lodges the resort guests rented out during their stay. Her gaze fell on the row of cabins, watching as her co-workers walked home after their shifts had come to an end; even seeing who she thought was Dana trudging her way up the steps of their shared cabin, and Nick making his way towards his and Harry’s.

Y/N then moved to look to the west, and that was when her jaw dropped open in awe. In the distance, she could see the coastline. Where the greenery from the trees ended, the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean started and seemed to go on forever; causing her to become quickly enraptured by its beauty. So this was why Oceanside was a fitting name.

“S’pretty, innit?” Harry’s voice asked from behind her. When she didn’t respond, he moved towards her so that they were standing side by side. It wasn’t his first time seeing the view, which Y/N knew, but what she didn’t realize was how with the way the sun was just beginning to set, everything stood out. The pink and purple sky surrounding them and the way the breeze wisped her hair around made it seem as though she was the center of the most beautiful painting. Harry couldn’t take his eyes off of her, not that he’d want to anyway, and wanted to this exact image engraved into his memory forever. “Y/N?”

“Hmm?” She asked and glanced over at him briefly before looking back to the ocean. “The view? Yes, it’s incredible.”

“Not just the view,” Harry whispered to himself as he watched her. Silence fell over them for a few minutes after that, and neither made a move to change that. However, as the sun kept getting lower in the sky, Harry knew that this moment couldn’t last forever. “Think we should head back down there, it’s going to be dark soon.”

“Oh, yeah, not a bad idea. The laundry is probably done by now too.”

It didn’t take them as long to get down the hill as it was going up, so soon enough they were back at the clubhouse gathering Harry’s bedding and heading back to the cabins to call it a night.

On their way there, they heard laughter and chatter coming from people walking down a different path. Neither Harry or Y/N thought anything of it as they started down the trail towards the cabins until someone was calling after Y/N.

“Hey Y/N, wait up!”

Slowly, both Y/N and Harry turned around to see Tyler Huntington approaching them with one of his friends.

“Hi Tyler, how’s it going?” Y/N greeted as Harry remained silent; not noticing the way he glared at the other boy.

“Good,” Tyler responded. “Just finished up a round of golf. Didn’t see you at the pool today.”

“Yeah, Harry and I have this weekend off so you won’t see me around there tomorrow either.”

“I see,” he replied and moved his gaze to Harry, sending him somewhat of a dirty look. “Styles. Well anyways Y/N, seeing as you have the day off tomorrow, Chris here’s parents went to San Francisco for the weekend, so a bunch of us are going to party in his family’s lodge. You should come.”

His invitation surprised her a little bit because frankly not once had she given the impression that she wanted to hang out with Tyler or his obnoxious friends apart from being around them during her shift. There was a fine line between employee and guest’s relationships being professional, and she did not want to cross it, so she politely turned him down.

“Thank you for the offer, but no thanks. I’m actually so exhausted and am ready to call it a night.”

“I see,” Tyler responded disappointedly. “Maybe another time then?”

“Maybe,” Y/N responded with a small nod and looked up to Harry. “Well, I guess we’ll be going then, have a good night guys.”

“Night,” Tyler and Chris responded in unison.

Y/N and Harry turned and started walking towards the cabin’s again, and Tyler watched with gritted teeth as Harry wrapped an arm around Y/N’s waist and pulled her close. Feeling the jealousy within him reach an all-time high as she leaned into Harry’s touch as they continued walking and eventually disappeared out of sight.

The next couple of weeks or so went on like usual. Y/N and Harry spent most of it together at work as usual but also spent a lot of evenings together as well. While at work together, the two of them would go on as they usually would -- teasing each other and making snarky comments, but this time around, there was a lot more subtle flirting. They always kept it professional around guests, but when they had any time that was just the two of them, they were all over each other.

One evening, after Y/N and Harry finished their shift together, they helped the kitchen staff set up tables in the dining room for a fancy gala dinner that was being put on for the resort guests. They stuck out like sore thumbs working alongside the servers who were dressed in their fancy uniforms in preparation for the dinner, to which their co-workers teased them about, but expressed appreciation for the help nonetheless.

Once they were done helping wherever they could, Dana told them her, and the rest of the team should be alright and that Y/N and Harry should get out of there before the guests started showing up. As they were headed towards the lobby, Harry snuck up behind Y/N and covered his hand over her mouth so that no one would hear her. A muffled yelp left her mouth as Harry pulled her behind one of the large planters and pillar so that he could gently push her up against the wall; a seductive grin tugging at his lips as he did so.

“Been waiting to have you to myself all day,” Harry said as he moved his hand from her mouth and replaced it with his lips. Y/N moaned against his mouth and responded by pulling him even closer than he already was so that the kiss would deepen. They stood there making out for at least a solid two minutes before footsteps and voices could be heard coming towards them.

Y/N and Harry quickly broke away from each other and tried to straighten out their appearances before stepping out from behind the pillar, coming face to face with the Huntington family. Both Mr. and Mrs. Huntington greeted the pair happily while Tyler stayed quiet; silently fuming as he took in Y/N’s swollen lips and Harry’s disheveled curls.

“Aren’t you kids done for the day? Get out of here already,” Mr. Huntington teased as he patted Harry on the back.

“We are,” Harry told him. “Just thought we’d help with setting everything up for you guys. It looks great in there, I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun.”

“Anyways we should get going,” Y/N spoke up with a smile and looked to each member of the family, pausing when she locked eye contact with Mrs. Huntington. “They’ve got your favorite wine in there Carol, it should be a good night.”

“Oh, wonderful!” The older woman exclaimed and clapped her hands together, earning a groan from her husband. “You two have a good night as well, don’t get into too much trouble.”

“We won’t,” Y/N and Harry answered together before nodding goodbye and walking away from them. Both Mr. and Mrs. Huntington smiled and watched them go for a second before continuing on down the hallway, but Tyler stood there watching, no glaring at the two of them until they disappeared around the corner.

A few days later, when Y/N was in Harry’s cabin watching a movie with him and Nick, her phone buzzed with a new notification. She reached over to grab her phone, Harry shifting so that she’d have easier access to his bedside table, but not moving his arm from where it was wrapped lazily around her waist. As soon as she had the device, Y/N returned to her spot, nestled up against Harry and turned the screen on only to see she had an email from Mr. Slack. Assuming it was necessary, she unlocked her phone and opened the email; her eyebrows furrowing as she read through it.

“Everything alright?” Harry asked after a moment of seeing her just stare at the phone screen.

“Yeah, I guess,” she started. “It’s just that Mr. Slack changed my work schedule completely.”

“For next week?” Nick questioned and sat up, curiously from his bed across the room.

“No… for the rest of the summer.”

This caught Harry’s attention as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as well. “Mind if I see?”

“Not at all,” Y/N responded and handed him the phone.

Harry took the device and scrolled through the entire email, noting the changes in her schedule. “Our shifts are completely opposite now.”

“Really? All of them?”

“Yeah, all of them,” he replied and handed the phone back. “We don’t have any more days off together.”

“So they’re splitting us up and pairing us with different lifeguards for the next three weeks?” Y/N questioned, and Harry nodded. “Why now all of a sudden?”

“Whack caught on to you two messing around with each other, huh?” Nick asked and wriggled his eyebrows.

“I don’t think it was him actually,” Harry shrugged in response. “Think it was the Huntington kid.”

“Tyler?” Y/N asked and leaned onto her elbow so she could get a better look at Harry as he nodded. “What makes you think that?”

“Oh come on, you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how pissed he gets whenever he sees us together. He’s jealous Y/N. Probably pulled some strings with management so that he could attempt to move in on you before the end of summer.”

His tone became rather hostile, and Y/N quickly decided that she did not like it one bit and started moving away from him. “I have noticed actually, but it’s wrong to assume someone could be so malicious. We can’t prove that he actually did do that, maybe Slack just wanted to switch up the lifeguard rotation.”

“Three weeks before the summer ends? Y/N, do you hear yourself right now? All the hints and clues of Tyler wanting to mess with us are right in front of you, but you’re too damn gullible and naive to open your eyes and see!”

Harry’s outburst surprised Y/N, and she made no effort to hide it. “That was uncalled for, Harry.”

“But true,” he finished and looked away, not noticing the hurt that flashed through her eyes.

The next thing Y/N knew, she was scrambling to get out of Harry’s grasp to get as far away from him as she possibly could. “You know what? I’m just gonna go.”

“What, no, Y/N, I didn’t mean that rudely,” Harry pleaded as he stood up too, realizing that he’d really upset her.

“How did you mean to say that I’m too gullible and naive for my own good in a nice way, Harry?” She snapped and brought her hand up to her chest when she saw him reaching out for it. “I’m sorry that I tend to see the good in people and not make rash assumptions about them just because I feel like it! You know, I thought you weren’t one to do that too actually, but I guess I was wrong.”

Harry couldn’t find it in himself to say anything else because just seeing how much his words had hurt her, crippled him. During one of their many talks, she told him how growing up she was told that her niceness would get her in trouble one day, that she was too accepting of everyone and it really rubbed her the wrong way. Y/N viewed her kindness towards others as a weakness because of that, and although it was one of her traits that Harry admired most, he still managed to make her feel bad about it. To make her feel weak.

Y/N gave him a second to respond, and although she was greatly disappointed when he didn’t, she just swallowed her pride and walked towards the door. Muttering a quick goodbye to Nick, she swung the screen door open and walked out, letting it slam shut as she rushed down the stairs and over to her cabin before the tears started streaming down her face.

There was an invisible weight resting on Harry’s chest as he watched her go, feeling absolutely terrible as Nick walked up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You just royally fucked up my friend.”

A week went by, but Y/N and Harry had yet to speak to one another. She was upset, which he knew, but fucked, he missed her. He just wanted the chance to apologize, but even then, that opportunity never came because they never actually saw each other. The only time he’d get to see her was in passing when one of their shifts came to an end, and the other was there to take over.

On the nights he knew he didn’t work the next day, Harry would stay up late reading on his front porch, coming to a stop only when he’d hear someone dragging their feet on the gravel and watched as they trudged their way past his cabin on route to their own. One of those nights, over a week since he and Y/N, had last spoken outside of work, he heard two sets of footsteps walking down the path, so he set the book down to see if it was anyone he knew. As soon as he looked up, her gaze fell onto Y/N, but she wasn’t alone.

She had just finished the night shift at the pool and was yawning and rubbing at her eyes as she nodded to what Tyler was going on about besides her, clearly uninterested. When Y/N and Tyler reached the space between her and Harry’s cabins, she looked at Harry tiredly and sent him the smallest smile. Y/N then turned to Tyler and thanked him for walking her home and turned him down again for hanging out before saying goodbye and going up to her cabin stairs. Just as she reached the door, she paused and looked over to Harry, nodding towards him. “Night, Harry.”

And with that, she was gone.

The days after that, Harry observed how Tyler followed Y/N around like a lost puppy and started to become annoyed because he’d still not gotten the chance to apologize. One night, as they were going into the last week and a half of summer, Harry decided he was done sulking and knew that he needed to talk to Y/N because he’d gotten to the point where he just felt empty without her.

He first went over to her cabin to see if she was there. Knocking on the door, he felt his heart rate increase with each passing second until the door swung open to reveal Aimee.

“Get off my porch,” she spat. Harry took a deep breath, feeling even more nervous than before because if looks could kill, he’d be dead by now.

“I-is Y/N home?” He stammered and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

She continued glaring at him, exhaling deeply through her nose to express just how much him being there made her fume. “You’re right fucked if you think I’m letting you talk to her after what you did.”

“Aimee I-.”

“You messed up Harry, massively.” Aimee finished for him. “Do you know how hard it is for that girl to open up? To feel such a significant bond with someone that she can genuinely be herself without fear of being judged for it. You somehow managed to crack through that wall. She let you in, and you threw it in her face. So, like I said before, get the fuck off my porch.”

“I know I messed up ok?” Harry argued before she could slam the door shut, his voice cracking slightly. “I know that I gained her trust, became someone she was comfortable with, and then fucked everything up. I know you think I’m a terrible human being because of what I said, and honestly, I can agree with you. What I said was uncalled for and completely unnecessary, and I know that I’d take it all back if I could. I was jealous, fuck, I was jealous of Tyler Huntington because he kept moving in on her and to be honest, I was afraid. Not because she ever seemed interested, but because I knew that he could give her the world if she let him and that I can’t. I’m a lifeguard for fuck's sake, not the son of some rich businessman. I don’t know where I’m going from here, or what LA will hold, but I’d really like for her to be there for it, and I hate myself for possibly messing that up.”

Once his rant came to an end, and he finally decided to look up again, he half expected for Aimee to just proceed with slamming the door in his face but was actually surprised to see that he’d gained an audience. Both Dana and Maya were now standing behind Aimee shaking their heads.

“God, boys, they really are stupid,” Maya groaned.

“Y/N doesn’t care about any of that you dingus,” Dana stated.

“Honestly though,” Aimee agreed, her features softening. “Glad you can see how good of thing you almost lost there, Harry, because as much as I want to say you don’t deserve to even associate with my best friend… You’re an alright dude. She’s on the night shift at the pool, you may be able to catch her before she finishes up and comes home for the night. Just don’t mess it up again.”

“I won’t, thank you,” Harry replied as he turned around and bolted down the stairs and started off in the direction of the pool. He checked the time on his phone and sped up a little more as he knew Y/N would be getting ready to leave soon.

Y/N finished gathering the last of the pool towels left by guests and put them in the hamper for housekeeping to deal with tomorrow. She hated the night shift. Although the pool closed at 10pm, she was alone from 8pm on, but the pool was always dead by then and the time would just drag. She knew her shift was almost over, so she wandered back to the lifeguard stand and grabbed her belongings so she could go punch out.

Before she could get too far though, the pool gate creaked open, and someone walked in. She turned around to tell the person that the pool had closed, but stopped herself when she saw Tyler standing there. “Oh, hey.”

“Hey,” he responded and walked towards her. “Was wondering if you wanted some company for the walk home again.”

“Thanks, that’s really sweet of you, but I’m meeting up with Nick so I’ll be fine,” she told him honestly.

“I see,” he replied and looked down to his feet. “Well, I know that you have the day off tomorrow. Maybe I want to do something… with me?”

Y/N could tell he was a little nervous asking her this, but there was something he said that she was not expecting to hear. “How did you know I had tomorrow off?”

“I uh, you told me, remember?” Tyler stammered, internally cursing himself.

“No, I didn’t,” Y/N trailed off. “So how did you actually know?”

“Ok, you caught me,” he tried to play it off. “I asked Mr. Slack to tell me because I really wanted to ask you out, seeing as you turned me down all summer.”

“I turned you down because I’m not interested, Tyler.”

As the conversation started going down, Harry was nearing the pool gate. He heard what Y/N had just said, but stopped so that he wouldn’t interfere.

Y/N watched Tyler, watched as his eyes snapped to hers once the words left her mouth, and saw them darken. Y/N held her ground, though. She didn’t falter or let him intimidate her regardless of how part of her wanted too because deep down, she already knew this was going to tie into what she and Harry had fought about.

“See that’s the thing I don’t get,” Tyler started, chuckling slightly. “Why wouldn’t you be interested? I’ve got money, looks, charm-.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” she cut him off, and Harry had to cover his mouth so that he didn’t laugh out loud.

“Right. Not like you’d notice it anyways with how busy you’ve been off fucking Styles every chance you got. Quite the slut move, Y/N.”

Harry was ready to throw hands at that point and was about to start going off, but Y/N beat him to it.

“You do not get to say that about me, or anyone for that matter,” she fumed. “And frankly, it is not your concern, or anyone else’s who I sleep with, so I’ll sum this up real quick. I like Harry, he is a kind and decent being, something you wouldn’t know, and is someone I will gladly admit to falling for and will continue falling for because he is actually worth my time.”

“Whatever-.”

“Oh, I’m not done yet. Harry is someone who holds more character in his pinky finger than you do in your entire body, and is also someone who would never, in a million years, pay money to try and interfere with someone’s life.” Tyler fell silent at that. “I know you paid Slack to change my work schedule around.”

“I, well, I-.”

“You aren’t worth it,” she finished and had no intention of speaking another word to him. Tyler stood there shocked as she brushed past him and started walking towards the gate.

“I can have you fired, you know?” He finally spoke up, noticing that Harry was standing nearby. “Both of you.”

“No, you can’t,” Y/N laughed, sending a quick glance to Harry before turning back around. “Slack already told me he wants both me and Harry to come back next summer with a pay raise. I think he was saying something about how he didn’t want to get rid of the guest's two favorite lifeguards, including your parents. So maybe I’ll see you next summer, Tyler, but for now, fuck you.”

The man was left speechless and couldn’t find any other words to say as he watched her walk out the gate and towards Harry.

Once the gate shut behind her, Y/N turned to face Harry and tried so hard to not just lunge herself towards him. “Did you hear that?”

“I did,” Harry said, and Y/N started stepping towards him.

“All of it?”

“Yes, all of it.”

“Ok, good,” she answered just as she reached him and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in so she could crush her lips against his. The kiss was sweet but turned hungry as each of them realized how much they’d been craving to be near one another again. However, it didn’t last long until Y/N was pulling away to look back up at Harry. “I missed you, H.”

“God, and I missed you,” he replied, softly pecking her lips once again. “And I am so so sorry, Y/N. I’m sorry for being such a prick, and I don’t expect you to forgive me any time soon, but-.”

“I already have,” Y/N told him and moved to wrap her arms around his waist in a hug. “Besides, Nick told me how sulky you were because I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Of course he did,” Harry groaned and pulled away from the hug. He leaned down to kiss her once again before leaning his forehead against hers. “Let’s go home.”

Y/N’s last week at Oceanside was spent packing, working her final shifts, and saying goodbye to all the friends she had made throughout the summer. On her last day there, she gave her cabin one final look over to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything and let out a sad sigh. Dana and Maya had left the day before, so it was just her in Aimee left. Once she was sure she had everything, she went outside to where Aimee and Nick were waiting, and the three of them started walking towards the clubhouse.

“You know you’re both going to have to Facetime me at least once a week, right?” Nick asked as they walked around to where the different buses were waiting to drive them home.

“I’d expect nothing less,” Y/N answered and let out a heavy breath once they reached their destination.

The three of them pulled each other into a group hug and muttered their teary goodbye’s. Eventually, Nick had to pull away so that he could board his bus and made sure to wave like crazy as it began pulling away.

“I can’t believe you’re going to LA already, I feel like I just got you back,” Aimee started as she loaded her luggage onto the bottom of the bus.

“I know,” Y/N told her as she helped with the large suitcase. “The summer flew by. Sorry that I'm sending you on the bus back to San Jose alone.”

“I’ll be fine, you’ll just have to make it up to me with drinks when I come to visit. Which will be very soon might I add.”

They both chuckled before slowly frowning, tears stinging at their eyes. In a split second, they were engulfing each other into a tight hug and trying not to cry.

“I’m going to miss you so much, Aims.”

“I’m going to miss you more,” Aimee replied and pulled away to wipe at the tears streaming down her face. “I’m so proud of you Y/N. You’re going out there and doing whatever it is you want to do, and I got to see you grow as a person so much this summer. God, I feel like a proud mom.”

“It’s because of you, you know,” Y/N responded as she reached up to wipe away some of her friend's tears. “If it weren’t for you sassing me, I would have been a hermit all summer. You gave me that extra push I didn’t know I needed.”

“Well, in that case, then I’m happy that I did.”

Y/N pulled her best friend in for another hug, staying like that until the bus driver called out for final boarding. “I guess that’s your cue to leave.”

“I guess it is,” Aimee sniffled as she moved from Y/N’s embrace and started walking to the bus. “You better call me the minute you get to LA.”

“You know I will,” Y/N answered with a smile.

Once Aimee was sat on the bus, the doors closed and she waved at Y/N as it drove away. Y/N didn’t leave her spot nor stop waving until the bus disappeared over the hill, and she let out another sigh. She then turned around and was met by her special someone standing there looking back at her with his goofy grin.

“Ready?” Harry asked as he lifted his right arm so that he could rest it on Y/N’s shoulders as they walked towards his car, waiting in the parking lot.

“More than ready,” Y/N answered before moving away from him so that she could climb into the passenger side; her luggage already packed in the trunk thanks to Harry going out of his way to put it there as she said goodbye to Aimee.

“Perfect.”

With one final glance around at the resort that had been their home for the last two and a half months, Y/N and Harry began their long drive to Los Angeles and their future, together.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles one shot #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfic #harry styles writing #harry styles preferences #1dff #harry styles x reader

1K notes · View notes

oh-obrien · 4 years

Text

Paper Houses {1.0}

Pairings: Bellamy Blake (AU) X Original Female Character

Warnings: Mentions of Underage Drinking and Recreational Drug Use

Word Count: 5,502 (a little shorter to kick off here).

Author’s Note: This one is going to be a fun ride, and I’m really excited for the story I have planned. Each section will be a mix between the present and either the past or the future, time changes will usually be pretty clear and they try to help support the plot throughout the entire story. It’s more of a college-esqu AU but you’ll see what happens. Also the title is inspired by Niall Horan’s song Paper Houses which is one of my all time favorites of his and that should be a little hint for some of the plot.

“Some guy on tinder last night slid into my DM’s!” Aisling yelled over the music that had been turned up so loud it felt like the bass had begun to make her teeth vibrate. The playlist that had been on most of the night had a mix of the friend’s favorite songs on it, everyone contributing their top ten favorite songs to be added. Aisling would have turned the music down if her dad's property didn’t have ten acres, she felt more than comfortable with the fact that none of their ‘neighbors’ would be disturbed by her friends. “Yeah! And he goes, ‘oh you’re that bitchy girl on the Arkadia lacrosse team all the boys talk about,’ I was absolutely dying!”

Harper laughed before giving Aisling a questioning look. “Isn’t that what Tinder is for?” She asked with a confused tilt to her voice, “sliding into people’s DM’s?” Aisling found it amusing sometimes how easy it had been for Harper and Monty to find each other; they were each other's first loves, and everyone believed they’d be in it for the long run. Their two-year anniversary had just passed, and the couple seemed happier than ever.

“Aisling is too busy pining after Bellamy to actually use dating apps the right way,” Clarke waved off Aisling’s warning glare as she finished taking a drink out of the bottle in her hand. “Everyone here knows you’re in love with Bellamy, don’t act so surprised.” Clarke hiccupped and laughed before continuing, “and you say that like this entire island doesn’t revolve around lacrosse and everyone doesn’t know you as ‘that bitchy girl on Arkadia’s lacrosse team’, who even was it?”

“Probably Finn!” Raven announced loudly before she and Clarke both started laughing again, both clearly well past tipsy and on their way to drunk. “Why doesn’t your dad go out of town every weekend? This is awesome!” Having the two girls hungover at playoffs tomorrow would be an absolute treat for the rest of the friend group, that is if they weren’t all hungover the next morning.

Aisling just shook her head while she stood up, stretching afterwards, her spine cracking in that sickly satisfying way when she turned to the left. “My dad doesn’t have an away game every weekend, ask the AEC if they can switch his schedule to no home games.” She set her water down on the table before turning around. “Actually don’t,” she corrected herself after realizing she wouldn’t put it past Raven and Clarke to actually email God knows who at the America East Conference and ask to have Stony Brook’s football season shifted to all away games while they were drunk.

Aisling took Raven and Clarke falling into a very animated conversation about how much they dislike their shared ex as her cue to leave. Slipping her feet back into her flip flops, she made her way up the stairs of her home’s large patio and grabbed her half-drunk bottle of Gatorade off the wooden railing after she reached the top. “How’s not drinking going?” Octavia asked while they both looked out into Aisling’s backyard, filled with their friends who were all probably at least tipsy.

The lights her father had installed into the yard when she had been younger lit up the area and the pool sat illuminated in the background. The early Long Island summer air still had a chill to it, enough of one that Aisling slipped on a hoodie when she had gone inside to order dinner earlier. They were waiting for Octavia’s older brother, Bellamy, and their friend, John Murphy, to get back from picking up the group’s excessively large order from The Dead Zone.

Leaning over the wooden railing of her deck, a bottle of red Gatorade in her hand, Aisling just laughed, her shoulders shaking slightly. “I can’t believe we’re the ones who have playoffs tomorrow and we’re babysitting our drunk friends. Like I at least wanted to take a couple shots of something,” she scrunched her nose up when the strong smell of marijuana washed over her. “I said no weed Jasper! Monty too! It does not need to get out that my dad lets his daughter’s friends come over while he’s at a game to drink underage and smoke pot!”

Aisling rolled her eyes when she heard the boys in question yell “Sorry!”. Where they even were in her large yard wasn’t a question she asked anymore, she just needed to make sure they stayed out of trouble.

“Effective,” Octavia laughed. “So,” She trailed off while she dangled her water bottle over the edge of the deck, swinging it back and forth slowly. “Is your dad still recruiting that boy from-” Octavia got cut off when the two girls heard the back door slide open. Bellamy and John each carried two large boxes that were filled with food. At least she knew that their weekly orders were probably paying some of the bills at the Dead Zone.

“They have your dad’s card on file?” Murphy said as he set his boxes down on the outside kitchen’s countertop. “Because we said we were picking up under Bryne and the guy was like ‘oh yeah Aisling called we put it on the card already’, that was at least three hundred easy.” Aisling grabbed her order of mozzarella sticks and crunchy chicken wrap before shrugging.

She bit into one of the sticks before speaking. “When my dad says to buy whatever we want and he has the salary he does, I think it’s fine.” She set her things down on the outdoor bar. “Tell the drunken delinquents that their food is here, but I suggest grabbing yours first.” She walked over to the fridge and sifted past the countless types of alcohol that had been placed inside it earlier to grab a bottle of raspberry tea, cracking the top before grabbing her food and walking out to the pool.

Walking past her friends who were going to retrieve whatever they had ordered, Aisling pushed the gate to her family’s large inground pool open, walking around the brick deck area before carefully setting her things down next to the edge of the deep end. She balanced on one arm while she slid her feet into the water, the LED lights in the pool illuminating the water in different colors. She slowly kicked her feet back and forth, watching the water ripple as she did.

“Food for thought?” She gasped and nearly fell into the pool when she heard Bellamy’s voice. She hadn’t heard him enter the pool area and wasn’t really paying enough attention to have heard him anyway. “Sorry if I scared you,” he set three containers down along with a bottle of Cherry Coke.

Aisling just shook her head, “you’re okay, I wasn’t paying attention so part of that is on me. You can drink, you know?” She nodded towards the bottle of Coke, “you’re like the only one of us who’s actually twenty-one.” She kept kicking her feet in the water, watching as it rippled out with each movement she made. She hoped that it would distract her from the fact that Bellamy Blake actually sat down right next to her. Well, it’s not like they’re not in close proximity all the time, because they are, but this just feels different.

“I’d rather not leave the babysitting up to just you and O,” Bellamy picked up one of his wings and bit into it, licking the extra sauce off his lips before continuing. Aisling tried not to watch as his tongue swept across his lips, that would definitely be awkward if he caught her. “You two are stressed enough as is, you more-so probably,” he continued to devour his food.

“I’m not like, stressed,” Ash mumbled around the bite of chicken wrap she had in her mouth, “I know I’m playing at Penn State next year, my commitment is locked in if we win tomorrow and move on to states or not.” She wiped her hands off on a napkin, “it’s not like a problem for seniors y’know?”

Bellamy dropped the bone that had been left from his first wing back into the container before grabbing a few french fries out of another container and shoving them into his mouth.

“It’s still probably weird for you,” Bellamy spoke after a few moments of silence between the pair, “I mean sure you’re graduating a year early and with almost all of your friends now,” Bellamy took a long sip of his Coke. “And I know that almost all of you are going away to school, but Clarke is going with Raven and they’ll be able to room together. Jasper and Monty are doing the same thing, Miller’s staying here and I think Murphy is taking it day by day,” Aisling laughed at that, “but you’re going up to Pennsylvania by yourself, a month earlier than everyone else is leaving, it’s just weird is all.”

Aisling wasn’t quite sure how to respond, sure she’d had a weird sense of guilt about being the first of their friend group to leave home nagging her for months, but she hadn’t had someone else bring it up to her yet. Bellamy had seemed to be one of the few constant figures in her life since she had met Octavia at her very first lacrosse practice in second grade. The now twenty-three-year-old, had spent more than his fair share of time babysitting Octavia and Aisling when they were younger. He had played too many board games, fallen victim to makeovers and watched more Disney movies than any teenage boy would have wanted to admit at the time. However, he always did it with a smile and never seemed anything less than happy to be with the girls. That had never been something Aisling experienced with her own brother’s.

Patrick, Aisling’s oldest brother, had been in the tenth grade when she had been born. He had been in the middle of the college recruiting process for football and sat at the number five spot for recruits nationwide. He didn’t have time to deal with a baby sister, especially after he went off to Louisiana State University right before Aisling had turned two. Tanner, who had been in kindergarten at the time, also didn’t want much to do with Aisling. He had been much more engrossed in learning how to play football with his dad and older brother, something she didn’t blame him at all for. Football had been their family’s culture for decades. Around the time Aisling had been born her dad had just started coaching college football at Baylor after his pro career with the Cowboys had ended due to injury, football was in the Bryne blood.

Two weeks before Aisling had started second grade the Bryne family had relocated to Arkadia, New York. A small beach town about ten minutes from Stony Brook University, home of the Stony Brook Seawolves football team and her father’s new head coaching job. She met Octavia Blake at the very first lacrosse practice she attended after moving. Aisling hadn’t wanted to play lacrosse at first, but her father insisted his daughter at least learn to play lacrosse if she would never have the chance to carry on the family name playing football.

“I-” Aisling started but couldn’t figure out how she should respond. “It’s not that I’m not upset, because I am, trust me,” she went to take another bite of her wrap, but her appetite had seemed to disappear. “It’s just an opportunity that’s kind of hard to turn down, and Penn State is one of the top teams in the country Bellamy, they’re looking like they’re going to make it to at least play-off, if not to a national title game next year.”

Silence came over the two and Aisling wasn’t quite sure how to continue. ‘Yeah I love you and it sucks I have to leave?’ definitely not smart. “I guess all I’m saying is that,” Bellamy sighed, “as weird as it is for you, it’s just as weird for everyone else and some of us feel like you’re putting what your family wants before what you want.”

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Aisling Bryne had always been raised to be an athlete, to be competitive, not to be nice. With a former NFL player and current Division 1 College Football Coach for a father, one brother in the NFL with a Super Bowl ring on his finger and another brother attending the University of Texas as the number one ranked college quarterback in the country, she knew no different. She grew up living and breathing football, which meant she also grew up around her dad’s players and her brother’s teammates.

Safe to say unrealistic relationship standards had been set for her very early on in her life.

At the age of ten Aisling’s competitive nature had earned her the very first broken bone. A Saturday morning lacrosse tournament during college football season meant that Aisling’s father, Sean, wouldn’t be able to attend. Instead, she had stayed with her best friend and teammate Octavia Blake the night before. Aurora Blake had ordered two pizzas before she had to go to work and left her son, Bellamy, with strict instructions to make sure the girls didn’t inhale all the sugar in the house and that they got to bed early. Luckily, Bellamy had let the pair stay up for one extra movie and even made them hot chocolate!

Octavia and Aisling were both in fifth grade while all their other teammates were in sixth or seventh grade! The two girls had proved their athletic abilities very early on in their lacrosse careers and instead of being put into the 10U division when they were eight, they had been bumped up to 12U early. They had formed a tight knit friendship rather quickly and both girls intended to stay playing on the same team until they were forced to part ways in college, if they didn’t commit to the same team, of course. Now they played on a 14U team and it was hard to form bonds with the girls in middle school while they were still in elementary school.

The two girls sat on the sidelines of the turf field, lacing their cleats up along with the rest of their teammates, getting ready for the final game of the day. The Arkadia Knights 14U team had made it all the way to the tournament’s championship game and all the girls wanted to win another trophy. “I’m still not great at tying these by myself,” Aisling held the two laces in her hands while she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Oh,” Octavia looked over to her best friend with a crooked smile, some of her visible teeth still missing, “I’m not good at doing other people’s yet.” She huffed while looking around them.

“I don’t want to ask one of the other girls,” Aisling whispered so only Octavia could hear. “They’ll think I’m a baby!” She had spent long enough trying to prove she could play just as well as the older girls on the team. After she had taken one of the starting defensive spots from a sixth grader, Aisling wasn't sure if they liked her very much anymore. She did not want to have to ask for help tying her cleats, what if it got back to their coach that she couldn’t do it by herself and he took her spot away?

Octavia spent a little longer looking around before turning to aisling with a smile. “You could ask Bellamy!” She pointed to her older brother who sat next to her mom in the stands, clearly engrossed in his phone. Bellamy would also probably think Aisling was a baby for not being able to tie her own cleats, he had been the starting quarterback for their highschool football team as a sophomore! Definitely too cool for little kids.

However, asking Bellamy seemed like a better option than asking one of her other teammates so Aisling sighed and pushed herself off the ground, carefully walking towards the stands. She made her way up the metal stands and over to where Bellamy and Aurora Blake sat. “Hey Ash,” Aurora looked at the younger girl, “what’s wrong?”

“I can't tie my cleats and make them stay by myself,” she looked down at her untied laces. “And I didn’t want to ask one of the other girls because they’ll think I’m a little kid and make fun of me and O said to ask Bellamy.”

At the mention of his name the teenager in question looked up and set his phone down next to him. “No one should be making fun of you for that, Ash,” Bellamy patted his knee and Aisling put her right foot up on it. She watched as Bellamy quickly double knotted her first cleat before telling her to switch. “Don’t let anyone be mean to you or O because you’re younger, okay?” Bellamy asked after he finished tying her second cleat.

“Okay,” she nodded, “thanks Bell!” She waved before running back down to join her team.

About halfway into the third quarter while playing defense Aisling had managed to check the ball out of an opposing player’s stick and scooped it up before she started running up the field to find an open teammate. Just as she had been about to cross midfield, she noticed a player from the other team running up to try and block her.

However, the other player clearly had another idea and Aisling didn’t have time to move before the head of the other girl’s stick came down hard on her wrist. A crack could be heard upon impact and Aisling’s stick fell out of her hand before she fell on the ground, holding her right arms close to herself. The penalty whistle on the other player didn’t register in her mind as her coach came running out to make sure she was okay.

When she pulled her arm far enough away from herself to look at it, she noticed her wrist had been bent at an odd angle and she couldn’t really feel her fingers. Octavia sat down on the turf next to her while her coach went to go get Aisling’s cell phone so she could call her dad. “He has a game today!” Aisling winced when her assistant coach wrapped an ice pack around her wrist.

“Well it looked broken, I’m sure he could miss his game because you got hurt,” Octavia helped aisling up and they walked off the field to where Aurora and Bellamy were waiting. Aurora had her phone held to her ear but stopped talking to tell Octavia to gather up her and Aisling’s things.

“Let’s see what this looks like,” Bellamy carefully pulled the ice pack away from Aisling’s wrist and pulled his bottom lip between his teeth when he too noticed the odd angle it had been bent at. “Mom called your dad,” Bellamy spoke softly while he wrapped her arm back up in the ice pack, “he said we could take you straight to the college if you’re the most comfortable with that,” Aisling just shrugged and held her arm close to herself again.

She knew that there would be actual doctors, definitely an orthopedist, at Stony Brook that day with there being a home game. The tournament had put them about half an hour away from the university and the Blakes knew that she didn’t like hospitals, especially after her mom had passed, so it seemed like the most obvious solution. “I mean, I don’t want to bother anyone with you guys having to go there. You could just bring me home once the game is over and I’m sure my brothers will know what to do.”

“There’s a football game!” Octavia dropped her and Aisling’s things on the ground before she started to pack them up, “I’m sure Bell won’t be bothered going to Stony Brook the same day there happens to be a football game going on.”

Bellamy shrugged, his hair falling into his eyes a little bit while he picked up Aisling’s packed lacrosse bag. “Let’s go Ash, I’ll sit in the back with you to make sure you’re okay and O will be more than happy to ride shotgun, I’m sure,” he smiled at his younger sister. Octavia just answered her brother with a wide smile and ran off in the direction of her mom’s car while Aisling got sent off with well wishes from her teammates and coaches.

After driving the half an hour to Stony Brook Aisling pulled out the SBU ID card her dad had gotten her for when she had to spend days at the stadium or training fields. She handed Aurora her card when they pulled up to the security booth and rolled down the passenger side windows while they waited for one of the security guards to approach them. “Hey Ted!” Aisling waved with her good hand while the older man walked up to the car. “Ms. Blake has my ID card! Dad’s expecting us,” she pointed to her arm that Bellamy still held tightly wrapped up in the ice pack.

“He did call and tell me you’d be coming,” Ted laughed lightly before waving off Aisling’s ID card. “I’m sure Ash could direct you to the medical center, Sean called the orthopedist and he’s waiting for her.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of sideline tickets for the game. “He also left these, told me that someone would be very interested in watching the game.”

Aisling reached out and grabbed the game tickets with her good arm, “see,” she waved them in Bellamy’s face. “I told you dad would let you watch the game!” She handed him the three tickets. “Now let’s go get this fixed because I also want to see the game!” She waved goodbye to Ted and started to direct Aurora to the medical center.

Bellamy watched with fascination as they drove around the football complex, his eyes clearly trying to take in everything they could. Being a sophomore in high school and a starting quarterback currently ranked twelfth for the position nationally, Bellamy already had coaches looking to begin the recruiting process. Those coaches included Sean Bryne. “I think it’s a bit much,” Aisling speaking snapped Bellamy out of his trance, “but that’s what Division 1 football looks like apparently,” she winced as they went over a speed bump.

Aurora pulled up outside the medical center and Bellamy got out first before rounding the front of the car to help Aisling out, holding her arm steady while she did. She felt the bones inside shifting and it hurt, really bad, but she couldn’t cry in front of Bellamy of all people. Instead she bit down on her tongue while the pair made their way inside the building. “Mark!” Aisling smiled when she saw the team orthopedist, he wasn’t at the university every day, but when he was, he usually showed Aisling pictures of his dogs.

“What happened to you!” Mark gave Bellamy a thankful smile while he took Aisling’s arm out of the teen’s careful hold. “Your dad told me you’d be coming!” He led Aisling over to one of the many medical style tables in the large room, picking her up by her waist and setting her down.

Bellamy followed behind the pair, unsure what he should do now that he didn’t have Aisling to actively take care of. “Is he here?” He heard Aisling ask while the man, Mark, unwrapped the ice pack and small towel from around her arm.

“No,” Bellamy winced when he heard Mark mumble the word. “His game is starting soon, but I promised I’d take care of you!” A younger woman walked out from a different room and Mark lifted Aisling up again and set her on the ground. “How about you go with Heidi and get an x-ray then we’ll fix you up!” He ushered Aisling toward the blonde woman.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

“I cannot believe you still have that,” Bellamy really needed to stop sneaking up on her. Aisling didn’t even flinch this time while she continued peeling her rings off her fingers, tucking each one back into the box it belonged in. The party had begun to die down and with assurance that Murphy had actually stayed sober, Aisling and Octavia didn’t feel too bad going to bed early so that they could be well rested for playoffs the next morning.

She felt Bellamy’s presence at her side and watched as he reached up on the top shelf of her dresser to pick up the smallest cast there. The purple plaster appeared to be old and dusty from all the time it had sat on display. She also felt oddly at ease with how comfortable he felt being in her space. There had never been an awkwardness in the air with the two while they moved about each other’s spaces. They were just able to easily exist together and function like a well-oiled machine. It was comforting.

“I kept all of them,” Aisling watched as Bellamy turned the small cast over in his hand, being careful not to pull apart the plaster that had been glued back together once Aisling had it taken off. She grabbed her second cast off the shelf, the one from a wrestling match with her older brothers that had gotten slightly out of hand. “Here,” she grabbed the purple one out of Bellamy’s hand.

She turned it over and pointed to a signature that had been signed in silver, right above where her thumb would have been when she had the cast on. “Oh my god, my handwriting was absolutely terrible, how did I actually do well in school,” he laughed lightly.

“This one got a little better,” Aisling turned the second cast over in her hand, this one orange instead of purple, and pointed to Bellamy’s signature that had been placed in the same spot and written in the same color.

Aisling braced herself on her dresser with her right hand while she placed both casts back into their places with her left. Her left forearm still had the scar that stretched from about three inches below her elbow to her wrist. After her oldest brother had practically snapped her arm in half, by accident of course, she needed to have screws put in to hold it together. “Won’t you miss things like this too?” Bellamy sat down on Aisling’s bed.

The girl in question didn’t answer immediately as she continued to peel off the jewelry that she had put on earlier that morning. She had never been one to dress fancy, usually being most comfortable in a pair of shorts or jeans and a tee or hoodie. However, Aisling did love to pair every outfit she wore with an abundance of jewelry. In her sophomore year her friends had started joking that she looked naked without any jewelry on. She always had the same earrings in, two diamond studs, her birthstone, in both earlobes and a helix piercing in her left ear. She also tended to wear the same necklace every day, but it could almost be guaranteed that she would never wear the same combination of rings or bracelets.

“Of course, I’ll miss all the memories I have here, Bellamy.” Aisling rolled her eyes while she continued placing her jewelry into the appropriate bags and boxes. She wouldn’t be able to wear them for playoffs the next morning and opted to put everything back into her jewelry box. “You’re really starting to sound dumb now,” she finally turned around, her arms crossed over her chest.

Bellamy leaned back on to Aisling’s bed, bracing himself on his forearms while his eyes raked over Aisling’s figure. She didn’t shrink under his gaze and instead opted to lean back against her dresser, her arm still crossed over her chest. She’d grown up with Bellamy, she knew too much about him to ever see him as intimidating. Sure, when she had been younger she never would have wanted to overstep any boundaries with him and his authority, but now, now they were on a level playing field. Aisling had recently turned seventeen, she didn’t have to listen to Bellamy anymore.

“Oh,” he tilted his head back to laugh. Aisling tried to avert her eyes from his neck, the tan and freckled skin stretching in the most inviting way. “I’m the one who sounds dumb?” He pushed himself upright, his feet planting themselves on the plush cream carpet that covered Aisling’s floor. His elbows came to rest on his knees, and he rested his chin on his folded hands. “Enlighten me then!”

Taking a moment to collect her thoughts Aisling closed her eyes and breathed in deeply through her nose. She didn't understand why Bellamy would pick the night before playoffs to start asking her the ‘deep’ questions. She really wasn't all that stressed about winning because she had a four-year scholarship secured, but she had a whole team behind her she couldn’t let down. She couldn’t let Octavia down. Octavia planned to commit to playing at Notre Dame for college, her commitment more or less depended on Arkadia’s performance in playoffs this season.

“Not everyone wants to stay home forever Bellamy!” Aisling hadn’t meant to raise her voice at the older boy, but she did. “I love Arkadia, I love all the friends I made here,” she sank down into the chair next to her dresser, “but sometimes you have to let yourself explore the world a little bit.” She felt her muscles start to tense up and tried to force herself to relax, she couldn’t be tight for the game tomorrow. “Not all of us turn down a D-One scholarship to stay home!”

“And not all of us have a rich dad or brothers who try to buy their kid’s happiness or sibling time because they’re never home to see her!” As soon as Bellamy finished speaking Aisling watched his eyes widen, his adam's apple bobbing when he swallowed. “Aisling I-”

“Save it, Bell,” Aisling stood up and grabbed a hoodie, pulling it over the tank top she had on before she also picked up her wallet and keys. She pressed the automatic start button and watched as the headlights on her ocean blue, Jeep Wrangler Sport lit up the driveway. “I’ll see you tomorrow okay?” She made sure to tuck her charger and phone into her lacrosse bag before slinging it over her shoulder.

Bellamy stood up, his mouth opening but no words coming out, “seriously,” Aisling mumbled. “Save it for another day, Bellamy,” the door to Aisling’s bedroom closed behind her. “C’mon Moose!” He heard her call her family’s German Shepard along to follow her. Bellamy stood in the middle of Aisling’s room, alone; the carpet she had put down to cover the hardwood floors soft under his sock covered feet. He felt the guilt starting to crawl up the back of his throat, or maybe that was just the wave of nausea that had hit him already. Bellamy felt a stronger wave of nausea hit him and he quickly pushed into Aisling’s bathroom and found himself hovering over the toilet, waiting for the feeling to pass.

“Bell?” He heard his sister’s voice in the hallway and quickly pushed himself up off the floor, forcing himself to fight through the feeling that he would be sick any second. “Bellamy?” He heard Octavia call again, louder this time. He took a deep breath before stepping out into Aisling’s room again, Octavia hovering in the doorway. “What happened?”

Octavia’s question hadn’t even registered in Bellamy’s mind before he brushed past her to get into the hallway. Aisling’s room felt suffocating all of a sudden, the scent of her perfume lingered in the air.

He could smell the coconut shampoo and conditioner she always used.

The pink sugar lotion she loved.

Icy Hot.

It was too much her, for him to handle. “Bellamy!” Octavia yelled this time.

Like a bucket of ice-cold water had just been poured over his head; Bellamy took in a sharp breath before he turned to face his sister. “We need to find where she went!” He tried to push past Octavia who now stood in front of the staircase of the Bryne home, stopping her older brother from going anywhere in his panicked state.

“Aisling said she’d be back later,” Octavia spoke softly, like she would scare Bellamy away if she said the words any louder, “she told me to make sure we lock up the house before everyone goes to bed.”

Octavia’s words, however, didn’t register in Bellamy’s mind. All he could hear was the erratic rhythm of his heartbeat pounding in his ears and Aisling’s voice echoing in his mind.

#bellamy blake #bellamy blake fanfiction #bellamy blake imagine #the 100 fanfiction #bellamy blake x oc #anna writes

10 notes · View notes

julienschuester · 4 years

Text

KISSING IN YOUR CAR AGAIN (FT. JULIEN & IVY)

WHO: @ivystjamess & @julienschuester WHERE: ivy’s car / mckinley student lot WHEN: tuesday, post-football game WHAT: ivy and julien meet up after the game for their regularly scheduled ‘secret’ make-out session and things end up going a little too far.

IVY: IT HAD BECOME MORE OR LESS OF A HABIT FOR IVY AND JULIEN TO MEET AT HER CAR AFTER EACH FOOTBALL GAME. of course, they had a hand full of other 'meetings'. like the ones in her basement, in mr.banks' astronomy classroom briefly, and even in her own bedroom once or twice. but ever since jesse st.james gifted his youngest daughter the freedom that came with a borderline luxury car, well, ivy had been making quite the effort to christen it by making out with julien schuester in the passenger seat every tuesday night. this tuesday was no different than the others. it started with the game ending, but truly began with ivy straddling julien, pleated skirt fanned out around them as her arms rested on his shoulders and both her lips and body moved against his with a certain urgency that hadn't surfaced until their little chat about sadie's in mr.banks' classroom. it was business as usual until ivy breathlessly pulled away. for a moment, her mind went blank as to just why she'd parted her lips from his own in the first place. instead, she jumped directly to admiring the slight furrow in his brow that accompanied the post make out haze and the constant twinkle of kindness that danced across his warm eyes no matter the setting. an undeniable grin crept it's way across ivy's face as she whispered, "cmon." before expertly removing herself from julien's lap and maneuvering her way into the backseat. despite this being the first time crossing that figurative boundary with julien and the literal one of climbing into the backseat, it most certainly wasn't ivy's first time in this position. sure, she'd only slept with three guys, which by her count, wasn't really all that many. but more often than not she'd find herself in backseats or bedrooms making out with boys who she'd inevitably thrust off her and call it a night. it was different with julien though. she liked him. a lot. she liked being with him, she liked talking with him, she liked singing with him, and more relevantly, she liked making out with him. so as ivy waited in the backseat, slightly propped up against to door and ready for her lips to meet julien's once again, she smiled softly. eventually, he got out of the car, and came through the door. near instantly, ivy propped herself up just a little more, to press a brief and tender kiss to his lips only for moments later to tease, "took you like. . . long enough."

JULIEN: Julien now measured his weeks by his Tuesday night ‘hangouts’ with Ivy in her car. He hadn’t expected their little meetings to become routine after the first football game of the season, but he definitely wasn’t mad about it. After every home game, like clockwork, Julien would wait around in the stands for fifteen minutes before he booked it to the parking lot and found himself planted in the passenger’s seat of Ivy’s car with her in his lap, arms wrapped around his neck, kissing until their lips got swollen or one of them got an angry text from their parents. This Tuesday was no different than the others. Every interaction he had with her always felt charged, but on this particular evening, that feeling was dialed up to a ten. They hadn’t seen each other all weekend and on Monday, Julien had gotten his schedule mixed up so he’d missed his window of opportunity to drag Ivy into an empty classroom. This meant that while they made out to the sound of ‘can’t believe the way we flow’ by James Blake, they were making up for lost time. Julien’s hat was surely askew and his cheeks flushed when Ivy abruptly broke their kiss. “What?” he asked breathlessly, his eyes fluttering open in time to catch her staring at him with an open smile and seemingly no guard up. It sent a warmth through his chest as he tightened his arms around her and mirrored her adoring grin with one of his own. Before he could process what was happening, she was masterfully climbing over the center console and into the backseat, urging him to join her. “Uh…” Julien started, furrowing his brows as he glanced at the narrow space between the seats that she expected him to pull himself through, “one second.” There was no way he was going to gracefully get himself to her, so he quickly got out of the car and then immediately let himself in to the backseat. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was kind of nervous. If their meeting in Mr. Banks’ classroom was any indication of where this night was going, then they were about to go further than they ever had before. “Hi,” Julien said quietly once he scooted down the seat until one of her legs was behind him and the other was stretched across his lap. He angled his body towards her and met her lips gently, kissing her back until she pulled away only to tease him. “Yeah well,” he started with a chuckle, one arm snaking its way around her back while the other settled on her thigh, “we can’t all be flexible cheerios and stuff.” Julien then brought his lips to hers again and kissed her with the same urgency from when they were in the front seat. It didn’t take long for them to find their rhythm and soon enough, his instinct took over. He moved his lips against hers and when he inevitably pulled away to catch a breath, instead of pulling away completely, he started peppering kisses along her jaw and neck as his hand slowly trailed up her leg and past the pleats of her skirt. When Julien’s fingers touched the edge of her bloomers, he was jolted out of the moment by her hands pushing against his shoulders until he was completely off of her. “Wha—“ he started, very obviously taken aback by the sudden movement. An awkward silence filled the car as an unsavory feeling settled over them. Crap. Had he completely misread that situation? “Ivy,” he started, licking his lips as he felt his face get hot with embarrassment, “did…” did I do something? “are you okay?” A beat. “I’m sorry.” he said anxiously, heart rattling in his chest as he waited for her to say anything.

IVY: THE MOMENT IVY RELENTED WITH HER TEASING, she was happy to find julien's lips planted back on her own. it was like they hadn't spent that minute or two readjusting and they were right back where they started in the front seat. desperate kissing and motions paired with wandering hands, flushed cheeks, racing heartbeats, and all. ivy initially paid no mind to julien's hand slowly creeping up her leg and focused on the invisible trail his lips were leaving across both her neck and jaw. though as his hand travelled further and further along her skin, the delight in her breathlessness quickly shifted into a more panicked one. still, ivy tried to hold out. she liked julien, she liked making out with him, she'd been felt up before, she was probably just being dramatic. it wasn't until his fingertips reached the cloth that sat beneath her pleated skirt that her mind gave way to her hands and she shoved him off of her, frantically sitting up, and breathing heavily. it was like everything from the summer came flooding back with a single touch. being in the backseat of leo's car in the shawnee country club parking lot, driving to dayton with lemon, laying in bed despondent for days. she was panicking. both her thoughts and the world were blurry as she sat up and pressed her forehead into the head rest driver's seat. there she sat frozen, julien's words a mere echo as her pounding heart and ragged breaths flooded her ears. ivy wasn't sure how long she sat there motionless, both julien and james blake fading away while she waited for this shock to go with them. that same, nauseating, out of body feeling from the summer was haunting her as she closed her eyes and tried to get ahold of herself. there had to be something she could muster up and tell julien. god, he was probably so mad at her. guys always got mad when she backed out at the last minute. her and julien had yet to reach this point, so how could she know how he was going to react? from what ivy could figure, no discernable reaction was better than a blatantly angry one. letting oxygen into her lungs left her heart feeling crushed and crumpled like a discarded soda can, but she pulled it enough together to look over at julien with an apologetic gaze and oddly glassy eyes. "i'm. . ." sorry. the metaphorical cat had caught ivy's tongue, but one look at the other assured her that there was nothing to apologize for when it came to what had transpired. somehow, some way, the universe liked to play a funny trick where it brought julien to her side at her most vulnerable moments. this was okay. everything was okay. it was julien. still rattled, ivy sniffled a little and looked up at the ceiling of her car to combat potentially falling tears, "can you just like. . .i'm sorry, um," her voice crackled, sounding foreign in her own body. "can you just like. . . maybe hold me?" September 22, 2020

JULIEN: Ivy untangled herself from Julien with such a quickness that at first he wasn’t even sure what was happening. He tried his best not to make any sudden movements and watched closely as she pulled her legs away from him and sat with her forehead pressed against the head rest of the driver’s seat. There were a million thoughts swirling around his brain and almost all of them asked the same question: was Ivy okay? Despite this being his resounding thought, any and all comforting words melted on his tongue before he mustered up the courage to say them out loud. The playlist he’d put on earlier came to an end and a heavy silence filled the car. Julien had seen Ivy like this before. A few times. His eyes filled with concern and his heart broke at the sight of her. How could he have been so careless? So stupid? He was a teenage boy so of course he’d gotten excited at the possibility of taking their ‘thing’ to the next level, but this wasn’t right. If he was going to be with Ivy, he didn’t want the first time to be in the back of her car after a football game in a vacant parking lot. Before he could kick himself some more for this massive misstep, Ivy turned to look at him and almost instantly, his mind went quiet. He stared back at her with a soft expression and nodded slowly when she started to talk, wordlessly letting her know what whatever she was feeling was okay. “Can I what?” he asked gently, shaking his head once she apologized and opening his arms up for her the way he had so many times before. “You don’t have to apologize.” He scooted towards her until he was close enough to scoop her up the way a shovel does falling snow and whispered, “come here.” There was no urgency in his movement as he settled around her like a safety net and her head found a place to rest between his shoulder and chest. He wasn’t sure how long they sat there for—him hugging her tightly and occasionally pressing his lips to the top of her head while she slowly regulated her rugged breathing. But somewhere in the their silence, Julien discovered a simple truth about himself that he’d been contemplating for months. He was hopelessly and devotedly in love with Ivy St. James. He just was. There was no denying it. Once he felt her shoulders relax, he pulled away from her slightly until their eyes met. “Can I tell you something?” he asked, his voice cracking slightly as a nervous chuckle escaped him due to his newfound realization. “We could just do this,” he briefly gestured around her car with a shrug, “and I’d still feel like the luckiest guy at McKinley…or in Lima…honestly in all of Ohio probably.” That warm feeling he felt whenever they were together spread from his chest through the rest of his body as they gazed each other. “And I know…” he cleared his throat and gulped slightly, feeling his heart rate quicken as he carefully selected his next words, “we don’t ever really talk about all that stuff that happened over the summer…but we can. Or…you can. I’ll listen. If you want.” Julien caught himself rambling and squeezed his eyes shut, an embarrassed but bashful grin finding its way on to his face. “Sorry,” he said, cracking one eye open to look at her, “I’m talking too much.” With both of his eyes open now, he kept one arm around her and brought the other up to her cheek, strumming his thumb along her skin tenderly before he said, “I’m just happy to be here. Y’know…with you. That’s all I care about.”

IVY: IVY LIKED TO THINK SHE KNEW LOTS. she knew what colors best complimented her complexion and that flavored lip glosses were worth paying a little extra for. she knew she was talented and she knew she was popular. but more than all that, ivy knew without fail that julien's warm embrace was a near instant remedy to whatever might be troubling her on any given day. there was typically a residual feeling of stupidity that followed these kind of miniature breakdowns that ivy got from time to time. but laying in julien's arms, her head to his chest, and his heart pounding in her ear, that feeling never came. more than anything she felt safe. relieved, even, that julien hadn't freaked out at her for freaking out. he was so good like that. as she laid there comfortably against him, her breathing finally steadying, she couldn't help but think how good julien was. beyond being good to her, he always lead with kindness and his best foot forward and all these other qualities ivy admired so deeply, but never quite verbally expressed. making a silent promise to herself that some day she'd find the right words to say, ivy sniffled and readjusted so she could look up at julien. usually when his brown met her blue, a smile would tug up on those perpetually pouty lips of hers and all would feel right in the world. this go around, that wasn't the case, but it seemed her timing had been immaculate seeing as moments after their gazes locked, julien posed a *'can i say something?' to which ivy silently nodded. at first, she didn't exactly see where he was going, but once she did it at the very least broke up that frightened look in her eyes. there were lots of things that made ivy feel good. praise, her cheerios uniform, applause, the warmth of stage lights, and summer time, but none left her feeling both the secure and dizzy kind of good that julien schuester did. though she was still rattled, that distant feeling was being snuffed out by julien's beams of sun reflecting off the moon face of her heart. "don't apologize." she said softly, leaning into the tender touch. she still didn't sound quite herself, but it was better than the despondent shell that julien had been subjected to over the summer. if this wasn't progress what was? "i like when you like. . . talk a lot." ivy admitted, still uncharacteristically meek. "you're like. . . the only person who can keep up with me." she murmured, turning her head slightly to press a kiss to julien's palm. she couldn't quite find it in her to say thanks in the moment, so she figured for now a quick kiss would suffice. despite knowing the night would eventually come to an end, ivy wanted to remain in the backseat of her car with julien as long as she could. after another long period of staring ivy settled back into his arms and rested on his chest before whispering an affirming, "i'm like happy you're here too."

AND SCENE.

#para #discord para #ivy #p: ivy #kissing in your car again

5 notes · View notes

robinskey · 5 years

Text

Lover (Steve Harrington x Reader)

A/N: GUYS as you’ve probably noticed, I’m incredibly excited about the release of @taylorswift‘s new album. IMO, Lover is one of Taylor’s best songs to-date, and I thought it would fit perfectly with a fluffy, domestic Steve one-shot.

Warnings: Mild language, heavy fluff. Story under the cut.

We could leave the Christmas lights up 'til January

This is our place, we make the rules

And there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear

Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?

It wasn’t until you and Steve moved into your first home together that you realized how deeply in love he was with holiday decorations.

You had started the process of moving your belongings into the new place at the end of September. By mid-October, Steve had begun pestering you about shopping for Christmas decorations. You reminded him that you hadn’t even unpacked the last box yet, and Halloween hadn’t even occurred yet. Steve was persistent that you needed to get the lights up as soon as possible to “maximize the Christmas spirit.”

After a lot of convincing, Steve had finally agreed to wait until November. By then, you figured, he’d forget about it. I mean, this was the guy who couldn’t remember his social security number and occasionally wrote it on his stomach (“because I’m not dumb enough to keep it on, like, my hand, Y/N, where everyone can see it.” When when you suggested he just carry his social security card with him, he told you he didn’t trust himself not to lose it.) Surely, that guy would forget all about it, right?

Wrong. On November 1st, you were nursing a Halloween-candy hangover when Steve dragged you to Goodwill. You returned home with enough decorations to light up a mansion and spent the rest of the afternoon stringing them all around your tiny one-bedroom house. After dinner, you and Steve headed outside. As the sky faded to black, Steve wrapped an arm around your shoulders, and he watched in wonder as your small townhouse transformed into a winter wonderland.

“Look at that, Y/N! We did that,” he said. The various colors of the lights reflected in his eyes as he gazed down at you.

“I didn’t know King Steve Harrington could get so excited over Christmas lights.” Your smooth teasing was foiled by a strong gust of wind that left goosebumps on your arms and caused you to shudder.

“I’m full of surprises,” Steve said as the two of you started back towards the front door. “For example, you probably didn’t know, but I can make the best cup of hot chocolate in the state of Indiana.”

“Oh, really?”

“Oh, yeah. Grandma Harrington taught me her secret recipe.”

Even though you’d known Steve for years, you learned new things about him every day. You wondered if you’d ever run out of things to learn about the boy you’d known all your life.

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close forever and ever?

And ah, take me out, and take me home

You're my, my, my, my lover

We could let our friends crash in the living room

This is our place, we make the call

And I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you

I've loved you three summers now, honey, but I want 'em all

Dustin Henderson started referring to your place as “our house” before you guys even moved in. He dropped by several times a week with updates on the newest happenings at Hawkins Middle or questions about how to handle a Suzie situation. At least once a month, Dustin crashed on your couch after a weekend movie night.

On one occasion, you and Steve returned home from a date night to discover half a dozen adolescents gathered around the television in your living room. A curly-haired kid carried around a bag of chips in one hand and waved cheerfully with the other. He flashed his infamous toothy grin, which you met with a half-scowl, half-squint of confusion.

“Dustin? How did you get in here?”

Dustin spoke through a mouthful of Doritos. “My mom dropped us off. And then I used my key.”

Your glare switched targets. This time, you directed it at Steve. He clamped his hand down on his face; you weren’t sure if it was to avoid your gaze or express his frustration.

“Dude, I gave you that key for emergencies only.”

“This was an emergency!” Dustin threw up his hands, sending an army of cheesy corn chips into the atmosphere. After falling back to earth, bright orange triangles wedged themselves into your new white rug. “The season premiere of our favorite show is tonight, and we didn’t have anywhere to watch it.”

You crossed your arms over your chest. Your eyes scanned over the gang sprawled across your couch, armchairs, and carpet. Judging by the boxes of candy and cans of soda littered across the floor, Dustin must have raided your pantry. Apparently, the kitchen wasn’t the only place he infiltrated, since almost your entire linen closet was spread out over the living room. Lucas and Max shared the recliner beside which Dustin was currently standing. Will sat on a pillow with his back against the coffee table, his attention still focused on the television screen. You turned your attention to Mike, who was curled up next to El under a crocheted blanket you’d received from your grandmother.

“Doesn’t your family have a TV, Mike?”

"Yeah, we do, but my mom kicked us out so she could watch a soap opera or some shit. She and Nancy love that crap.”

Nancy.

That name ignited the flame of jealousy in your chest. You knew it was totally irrational; she and Steve hadn’t dated since high school. They’d both moved on-something Nancy did almost instantaneously. Steve had told you the whole saga of their mostly-one-sided relationship, and you were fairly certain Nancy never really loved him.

Still, Nancy was Steve’s first serious girlfriend. She was the first girl-the only girl, other than you-to whom he’d said “I love you” and meant it. Nancy was, and would always be, Steve’s first love. There wasn’t anything you could do to change that.

“Y/N? Hey, babe, you good?”

Steve’s voice jolted you back to reality. You shook your head slightly to clear it, then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

You pretended not to notice the way his mouth twitched downward slightly in concern.

“Great. So we can stay?” Dustin interrupted. The hopeful gleam in his eyes was too much to resist.

“I guess,” you sighed, earning a chorus of triumphant “yeah!”s from the kids. “Your show’s probably about over by now, anyway, isn’t it?”

Dustin furrowed his thick brows, as though that was the most blatantly incorrect assumption you could have made. Lucas let you know that “it doesn’t even start for three more hours.”

“Won’t that be, like, midnight? Your parents aren’t going to freak out if you come home at two in the morning?” Steve asked.

“Actually...” Dustin drew out the word until he finally ran out of air. Then, he spoke the next few words in one breath. “We were hoping you’d let us spend the night here?”

You and Steve exchanged glances. Between your schoolwork and Steve’s work schedule, the two of you hadn’t been able to spend as much quality time together. You’d finally both managed to secure a responsibility-free night and a cheesy rom-com to watch while cuddling on the couch. (Steve pretended to hate those movies, but he almost always teared up at least once during the show.)

None of that mattered now, though, because your boyfriend could never say no to his favorite child-or so you thought.

Steve scratched the back of his neck. He glanced at you out of the corner of his eye before saying, “Actually, Dustin, tonight’s not the best night for a sleepover. Y/N and I kind of had plans.”

Lucas raised his eyebrows suggestively. “Plans, huh? What kind of plans?” he said, earning a smack on the arm from his girlfriend.

Color rose to your cheeks; Steve picked up a pillow someone had haphazardly tossed on the floor and launched it at Lucas’s head. Instead of hitting its intended target, though, the cushion collided with Max’s face. Ever the hothead, the ginger quickly contorted her neutral expression into a deep frown. She chucked the pillow back toward Steve with tremendous force, along with a few other throw pillows. Only one actually hit Steve. The rest rained down on you.

And, as a mature, homeowning adult battling literal children, you knew there was only one correct response: to hurl each and every one of those pillows right back.

It didn’t take long before the scene devolved into utter chaos. Fluffy rectangles flew across the living room, smacking into bodies or simply into walls. The kids outnumbered you and Steve three-to-one, so you were doomed from the start. However valiant of an effort you two gave, the party still overcame you, burying you and Steve under an avalanche of pillows.

“Clearly, we won this fight,” Dustin said as he loomed over you. Steve had tried to act as your human shield, so he laid beside you on the floor. “I think that means we earned the right to stay.”

“Dustin-“

“No, Steve, it’s okay,” you said, turning towards him. “I know it’s not what we originally planned, but maybe a sleepover with the kids would be fun.”

Steve looked at you with admiration glittering in his chocolate eyes. “Yeah?” he asked softly.

“Yeah.” You shifted a few pillows to get closer to Steve and plant a gentle kiss on his mouth. He smiled as your lips brushed his, and for a moment, you forgot about the gang of gangly tweens in your living room.

Then, a symphony of “ew”s and “aw”s and “can you not”s and “I think it’s sweet”s erupted throughout the room.

Steve shot into an upright position, pointing his finger in the general direction of the sitting area. “Hey, this is my house, and my girlfriend, and if I want to kiss her, I will. And if you dweebs want to stay here to watch your stupid show, you’ll keep your mouths shut.”

“As long as you keep yours shut,” Dustin quipped. “I think I can speak for everyone when I say we’d rather not see you and Y/N sticking your tongues down each other’s throats.”

You tossed the last pillow throw of the night at Dustin but agreed. You and Steve kept the PDA to a minimum that night. They were just kids, after all, and you didn’t want to corrupt them. However, when Nancy came to pick up Mike the next morning and Steve waved to her from the porch, you didn’t hesitate to flounce out the front door in your robe and draw Steve into a passionate kiss.

You just had to make sure Nancy knew what was yours.

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close forever and ever?

And ah, take me out, and take me home

You're my, my, my, my lover

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?

With every guitar string scar on my hand

I take this magnetic force-of-a-man to be my lover

My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue

All's well that ends well to end up with you

Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me

And at every table, I'll save you a seat, lover

Your favorite part of the day was coming home to your best friend.

Steve more or less memorized your schedule. You arrived home around the same time every evening, so Steve knew when to start listening for the sound of gravel crunching under the wheels of your car. He would then meet you on the porch with a “hello” kiss and a “how was your day, honey?” You always feigned indignance as he took your bags, murmuring something about how weak he must think you are to not be able to carry them two more steps. But, secretly, you spent your entire commute home anticipating the interaction.

This was especially true on the stressful days, the ones you felt would never end. Even though Steve was completely clueless in most situations, he could typically tell when you were in a foul mood. Those were the times he pulled you a little closer to his heart, hugged you a little tighter, loved you a little extra-just in case you needed it.

Today, you really, really did. It had been one of those days where everything seems to go wrong. You couldn’t wait to crawl into bed with Steve and snuggle all your sorrows away.

As you pulled into the driveway, your heart beat faster in anticipation. You watched the front door swing open. It took you a second to realize that the figure standing on the porch wasn’t your boyfriend. Rather, it was a short, stocky kid with a halo of golden curls. If it hadn’t been for the unmistakable hair, you might not have recognized him; you’d never seen him sans ballcap but plus a paisley-print bowtie around his neck and certainly never with dish rag was draped over his arm.

“Hey, Dustin,” you said. When he responded by simply smiling back at you, you asked, “What...what’cha doing here, kid?”

“Hello, Ms. Y/L/N. I’ll be your server for the evening,” he responded without missing a beat.

“My server?”

Dustin bent his head slightly in what he must have considered a sophisticated spin on a nod. “Indeed. Now, if you’ll follow me, ma’am...”

You kicked off your shoes and set down your purse before wandering after your guide down the dimly-lit hall. Something crinkled under your footsteps. You quickly noticed small ovals scattered across the wood floor. As you stepped on one, it felt like silk against your bare feet.

Petals?

You were too busy staring at the flowers scattered across the hall to realize you’d reached your destination. Dustin stopped, and you ran right into his back. You stumbled before regaining your balance and taking a look around the room.

The “server” had escorted you to your own kitchen-a place you were quite familiar with, since Steve couldn’t cook a decent meal to save his life. (To be fair, though, you weren’t much more skilled with the stove, so approximately 90% of your diet was comprised of takeout and peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.) However, you’d never seen the kitchen quite like this.

It was the cleanest it had been since move-in day. Not a dish sat on the counter or even in the sink. The crumbs typically scattered across the floor had been replaced by rose petals. Sparkling white Christmas lights stretched across the room, and Elvis Presley crooned over the record player in the corner of the room. You didn’t even know Steve owned a record player. (As you later discovered, he didn’t. He’d borrowed it from Jonathan Byers.)

In the center of the room, your cheap card table was draped with a lace tablecloth. Wedged between two covered silver platters that looked like they belonged in a castle, a flickering candle cast shadows on the face of the boy sitting beside it. As soon as his eyes fell on you, he scrambled to his feet and over to you.

“Hi,” Steve said, winding his arms around your waist. He sounded breathless, even though he’d literally just walked a few feet.

“Hey.” Your eyes flicked from his slicked-back hair and freshly-shaven face to his crisp button-up and newly-polished shoes. “What’s-um-what’s all this?” you asked, vaguely gesturing around the room.

“Oh, you know.” Steve pressed a quick kiss to your lips before taking your hand and leading you to the table. “I just thought I’d do something special for you tonight.”

"That’s...really sweet.”

Steve scooted your chair in before placing himself back into the seat across from you. Dustin disappeared into your pantry, then returned with a bottle of sparkling grape juice. As you watched the teenager carefully pour a splash into each of your glasses, you asked whether Steve had bribed or tricked him into spending his Friday night playing restaurant.

“This is my full-time job, ma’am. This is how I earn my living,” Dustin answered dutifully before breaking character. “Besides, four of my stupid friends are on a double-date, and Will’s sick, so I had nothing better to do.”

“Way to sell us on the idea that you want to be here, dipshit,” Steve remarked.

“Hey, show our waiter a little respect!” you teased, gently kicking Steve under the table.

“Thank you, Y/N. But, actually, I prefer the term server,” Dustin corrected. He proceeded to produce a notepad from his pocket and read you the specials-or, rather, special, considering there was only one: spaghetti with meatballs. “On our regular menu, we also offer a wonderful noodle dish with a marinara sauce for the same low price as the special-zero dollars.”

You quirked an eyebrow. “So...just spaghetti again?”

Dustin clapped a hand over his heart in mock offense. “Excuse you, madam. It’s spaghetti without meatballs, which is a completely different experience.” Dustin glanced around as though someone might overhear before quietly adding, “Personally, I would recommend the spaghetti with meatballs, unless you want grubby hands digging around in your dish to pull out the meatballs, which may or may not already be incorporated into the pasta.”

You rolled your eyes but laughed nonetheless. “I guess I’ll have the spaghetti with meatballs, then.”

“Excellent choice. And for you, sir?”

“I’ll have the same,” said Steve.

“Well, you’ve both made this very easy for me. Pardon my reach,” Dustin said, leaning over to pluck the covers off the platters. A heaping hill of noodles, red sauce, and meatballs lay underneath.

Dustin took the lids and disappeared into the living room. You weren’t sure if Dustin was just trying to stay out of the way or if he was going to attempt to wash them in the bathroom sink. It definitely wouldn’t have been the weirdest thing he’d done in your house; once, you and Steve caught him trying to explain morse code to a squirrel in your backyard. That kid was truly an odd duck.

And speaking of weird behavior, you were still seriously questioning what was happening. Steve was a sweetheart, and he did everything in his power to make you happy. This definitely wasn’t the first time he’d surprised you with a thoughtful gesture, but it was probably the most all-out he’d ever gone. The last time he even attempted to cook for you was during senior year of high school, when you first started dating. As an after-school snack, Steve had popped some pizza rolls in the microwave and promptly forgotten about them...until, of course, the kitchen appliance burst into flames.

As strange as it was, you didn’t want to ruin the moment by verbally expressing your curiosities. You simply swirled slightly-soggy spaghetti around your spoon and savored the small talk. Eventually, Dustin reappeared to clear your plates and ask if you wanted dessert.

“What are my options?”

Dustin’s excellent waiter facade faded for a second. He glanced at Steve with wide eyes. His gaze begged for guidance-which Steve failed to provide. He simply squinted at Dustin as if to say, Figure it out for yourself.

The entire ordeal lasted about fifteen seconds. It was too long for Dustin to turn back to you with a tight-lipped smile plastered on his face as though nothing had just happened between them.

“The final course is-the dessert, uh-it’s a surprise.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you could have sworn you saw Steve offer a nod of approval.

“Okay...” You drew out the word as your mind jumped to every conclusion possible. “Is it a good surprise? Or is it, like, a somewhat-edible science experiment that might actually poison me?”

“Oh, no, no. It’s a good surprise. You’ll like it. I promise,” Dustin said. “I-uh-I’ll go get it,” he said, then disappeared once more.

“Steve, why did Dustin just head toward the bathroom? I swear, if he made Jell-O in the toilet or something, I’m going to lose it.”

Steve just shrugged. He avoided your gaze, and a few beads of sweat had broken out across his forehead. That pretty much solidified your suspicions that Steve and Dustin were pulling some weird sort of prank on you.

Dustin returned a few minutes later with yet another silver platter. (Seriously, where was he getting these things?) This time, though, there weren’t any noodles on the plate he unveiled. Instead, a small velvet box sat on the metal.

The next few seconds happened in a blur. You recalled Steve rising from his chair and reaching for the box. Then, suddenly, he was on one knee in front of you. The box opened like an oyster. Instead of a pearl, though, its treasure was a glimmering diamond ring.

Tears began clouding your vision before Steve’s lips even parted. As soon as he spotted the water in your eyes, Steve started to get choked up, too. He tried to power through, but his voice became more strained with each syllable.

“Y/N. These past few years with you have been the best of my life, and I never thought...shit." Steve blinked rapidly, attempting to clear away the tears. “I never want to spend my time with-with anyone else-damn it,” he murmured as a drop of water finally escaped his tear duct and rolled down his face. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I had this whole speech prepared, but now I’m a mess-”

You stopped his ranting by placing a gentle palm on his cheek and a kiss on his forehead. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I love you for the whole-ass mess you are.”

Steve leaned into your touch for a moment and whispered, “I love you, too, Y/N.” Then, he straightened up, cleared his throat, and softly asked, “Will you marry me?”

“Of course.”

Steve barely had the patience to slide the ring on your finger with his shaking hands before he picking you up and swinging you around. He kissed all over your face, and your happy tears mixed with his in a joyous saltwater solution.

The kiss fest didn’t end until Steve, caught up in all the excitement, accidentally pressed his lips to your nostrils. The two of you burst into a fit of giggles amplified by the ecstasy of the emotions you were feeling. Your hysteria lasted for several minutes and ended with you and Steve laying on the floor, lungs devoid of oxygen and limbs tangled together.

“Are you guys really that happy, or are you, like, on something?”

You both glanced toward Dustin, whose presence had completely slipped your mind. Luckily, Steve had a response ready. It was cheesy and cliche, but nothing could have fit the situation more perfectly:

“No, dude. We’re just high on life.”

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close forever and ever?

And ah, take me out, and take me home (Forever and ever)

You're my, my, my, my

Oh, you're my, my, my, my

Darling, you're my, my, my, my lover

***

Taglist: @novaddictx @anabundance0ffand0ms @rexorangecouny @broadwayandnetflix @explode-a-pult @whormotional @loulouloueh @readinthegarden12 @lacunaclouds

If you want to be added to the tag list for a specific character/my writing in general, leave a reply or send me a message! Thanks again for reading. <3

If you want to check out more of my writing, here’s my masterlist. :)

199 notes · View notes