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annabethy · 3 years

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under the mistletoe, watching the fire glow day 13: princess

Character A’s little sibling/child wants to meet their favorite celebrity/writer/person for Christmas. Character B is said “Christmas Present” ,, percabeth. for that one anon

Percy can honestly say that he didn’t think this would end up happening.

When he had sent her a message, it had been done absentmindedly, fully expecting it to be ignored. He’s well aware that celebrities don’t respond to people like him, but it was Christmas, Estelle was on his last nerve, and he figured that he could at least try.

Somehow, all of that ends with him meeting up with a super hot Hollywood actress.

As Percy holds Estelle’s hand, who can’t stop bouncing excitedly, he thinks back to that moment. Estelle’s dramatic cry of meeting the princess in the live action remake of Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses had gotten to the point that he decided he was done and took things into his own hands.

It went something like him sending her, hey so my little sister is being annoying about the barbie movie and won’t shut up so can you come meet her so I can get a moment of peace?

When she responded, yeah sure when and where, he thinks he may have had a heart attack. It was surreal, setting up a mini meet and greet through instagram dms of all things, but it worked well enough because here he was, looking out for Annabeth.

“Where’s the princess!” Estelle demands, and Percy wants to bang his head into a wall. She’s practically screaming, and she’s pulling on his arm so arm that it may fall off.

“I don’t know,” he tells her.

“Find her.”

“Estelle. I don’t know where she is. Relax.”

“I want to see her now!” Estelle is only five years old so it’s understandable that she’s so annoying. Percy loves his baby sister dearly, but sometimes he questions why is mother had a baby so many years after him.

“The movie isn’t even that good. She wasn’t even a convincing princess.”

Estelle stomps. “Yes she is!”

Percy snorts. “Yeah, okay.”

It’s then that he feels hot breath on his ear, and he freezes, well aware that he’s just made a very dire mistake.

“Not a convincing princess?” someone whispers into his ear, a hint of humor in their voice. “You offend me.”

Percy whips around, and of course, there she is in all her glory.

He finds Annabeth Chase staring at him with eyes that look much more vibrant in person. She looks small and shy, and Percy thinks she would be the perfect person to hug in the cold.

He thinks she sure looks like a princess with the way her hair falls in old ringlets down her back, and her eyes shimmer in the sunlight. She’s not even dressed as a princess right now, but he could have been fooled.

“I didn’t mean—”

“Sure you didn’t.” Annabeth tightens her coat around herself, clearly cold, and she leans down to say hello to his sister. “You must be Estelle!”

Estelle gives her a wide grin, and Percy doesn’t think he’s ever seen her so happy before. “I am!”

“You look like a princess,” Annabeth tells her, bopping her on the nose gently. “You could be one of my sisters!”

Estelle’s eyes go wide. “You think so?”

“Of course I do, silly,” and wow, even her voice is elegant. Percy’s starting to think that maybe she really is a princess. He considers bowing to her.

“My brother says he’s your friend and that’s how he got you here,” she says, crossing her arms. Percy shoots his sister a look as she continues saying, “Is that true? My brother is a loser so I think he’s lying.”

“You don’t think your brother is cool?”

“Not to be friends with you,” Estelle says proudly.

“But I think he’s super cool! You’re super lucky to have him as a brother.”

Percy can see the change in Estelle’s demeanor having just got told that her brother is cool. Percy knows full and well that she’s about to suck up to him because her idol told her to, and that’s what children do. It makes him want to stick his tongue out at her as though saying told you so, and he would have if Annabeth wasn’t standing right there to see it.

“I’m kidding,” Estelle swears. “I play with him all the time,” which is a blatant lie.

When Estelle is no longer looking, Annabeth gives him a wink and mouths you’re welcome. Percy feels his face turn red because despite not loving the Barbie movie, he’s still all over everything else she’s been in, which is a lot. She’s practically royalty, and she’s talking to him. He’s breathing the same air as her.

At some point, they migrate over to a set of chairs outside the park they’re in. It’s pretty cold with the snow falling around them, but Estelle is vibrating with excitement to the point that he wouldn’t be surprised if she generated her own heat. Percy sits to the side, letting his sister have her moment. As entranced as he feels by the celebrity sitting in front of him, he knows that he probably shouldn’t show it, risking further teasing from both parties.

Annabeth’s super kind, he learns quickly. She laughs with her whole being and brightens up the room with her smile. She tells amazing stories about the fantasy, and Estelle listens intently. She’s so young that she doesn’t entirely realize that she’s not a real princess, and it warms Percy’s heart.

(And from the look Annabeth gives him, it warms hers too.)

It feels like hours that they’re sitting there before Percy decides they’ve had enough. As pleasant as Annabeth’s been for his sanity, he knows she’s probably getting tired herself.

“I think it’s time to say goodbye, Stella.”

And, of course, this cues the meltdown.

“No.”

Percy sighs. “We need to go home soon.”

“I don’t want to.”

Percy’s temper is beginning to shorten again, and he can tense the temper tantrum that’s about to occur. It’s just a question of which sibling is going to start it at this point.

“We can’t leave Princess Genevieve here without a way to get home!”

Percy almost laughs in his little sister’s face because Annabeth is not a Genevieve by any means. Genevieve is a ridiculous name for a princess anyways. Annabeth is much nicer for a princess. “I’m sure Princess Genevieve has her own ride home.”

“This is why you don’t have a girlfriend!” Estelle loudly blurts. “You never offer girls rides home!”

Annabeth chokes on air, and Percy considers jumping into the Hudson river and swimming away.

“I don’t want a girlfriend anyways, so good,” he says, tugging her hand into his.

“If you were a nice person, then maybe Princess Genevieve would’ve been your girlfriend.”

“They don’t date peasants like us. Come on.”

“Can we please take her home?” Estelle asks.

Percy sighs, dropping her hand. “Ask her yourself.”

He genuinely expects Annabeth to say no, so when his sister walks right on up to Annabeth and stares up at her, he is blatantly shocked as she says, “I would love to.”

It becomes very obvious that Percy ends up losing the fight against a five-year-old as he’s driving the car with Annabeth in the passenger seat and Estelle in her car seat in the back. Estelle’s continuously asking questions, and Percy is somewhat mortified because as time went on, Estelle gets more and more daring with what she asks.

Everything is mainly along the lines of having a boyfriend and pointed coughs in Percy’s direction. Each time, Annabeth would give him a knowing smile and he’d do everything to look anywhere but at her.

Percy can’t be thankful enough when they make it to his mom’s apartment, and he gets to kick Estelle out of the car. She gives a heartfelt goodbye to Annabeth and a glare at Percy before she’s out the door. It leaves him and Annabeth alone in the car, a silence settling between them.

They’ve been together for at least a couple of hours, but they haven’t truly interacted until now, so he’s at a loss as to what to do. It’s as though he’s blacked out during the last few hours, and maybe even the last few weeks, because last he remembers, he was just sitting on the couch doing nothing, and now Annabeth Chase is sitting in his car, looking at him expectantly.

Finally, she says, “Are you going to look at me, or…”

Percy turns his head like a deer in headlights. “I’m sorry.”

“You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I might. This is kind of weird.”

“What is?”

“Having you in my car.”

“Why?”

“You’re a celebrity.”

She smirks at him. “Do I intimidate you?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Well, don’t be intimidated.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re very famous. I will be intimidated, and you will let me be.”

“I mean, I get that, but there’s really no reason to be intimidated. The other day, I walked past a mirror and actually got excited to meet a celebrity.”

“What? You just forgot your own identity?”

She smiles. “Something like that.”

Percy laughs, slightly more at ease. He’s at least able to look her in the eyes now. She looks back at him and leans against the seat with her shoulder.

“Percy,” she teases. “You can talk to me.”

“Believe me, I’m trying.”

Annabeth rolls her eyes fondly. “Do you know why I’m here?”

“For my sister.”

“It wasn’t really for her.”

Percy frowns, confused. “But you said…”

“I know what I said. The reason I even opened the message wasn’t because of her, though.”

Percy bites his lower lip nervously because the mood in the car has suddenly changed, and he’s certain he doesn’t have tinted windows.

“I opened it because I thought you were hot.”

Percy blinks, a beat passes, and then he bursts out laughing. “You thought I was hot!?”

“You are! I thought maybe it would be fun!”

“You live in LA with a ton of super rich and famous people, and you come after me? The guy that can barely afford his own apartment?” “I mean… it doesn’t really matter if you can’t afford it because I can. But that’s only if, like, this actually goes anywhere.”

“Are you always this forward?”

“Absolutely not, but you couldn’t even look me in the eyes, and I have to leave soon.”

“So you’re saying you want to, what? Marry me?”

“Exactly,” she deadpans.

“Woah, baby, I hardly know you! How could I marry you!”

“Hilarious.”

“It was, wasn’t it?”

“My point is,” she says pointedly, “I like you and would want to see you again. Without a child there.”

Percy’s brain is going bonkers right now because Annabeth Chase just asked him out. It’s even crazier because he’s thinking of saying yes. He tries to withstand, because he knows that he’ll never fit in with everything she’s surrounded by, but something tells him that she won’t mind, so he gives in.

“Fine,” he says playfully. “I guess I’ll take you on a date.”

“Oh shut up. I’ve been around Estelle all day telling me about how much her brother wants me to date him.”

“I didn’t say that, but to be fair, she’s not wrong.”

Annabeth shoots him a surprised look. “You’re not as shy as I thought.”

“Neither are you,” he counters, and it’s true. Annabeth has been making the first moves, and it’s different than what he usually sees. The thing is, he can tell this is exactly the way Annabeth is, and he’s determined to switch things up for her.

“Hey princess,” he says. “I feel like there should be a true love’s kiss before people go on a date, don’t you think?”

“Is that what this is? True love?”

“Isn’t it? You live in a fairytale.”

“I guess we’ll just have to find out, then.”

Percy pouts and whispers, “Bummer,” and then he’s pulling her in for a sweet kiss. It’s not at all him, and he’s sure this is no longer at all her either, but it feels right to both of them. Then, Annabeth bites his bottom lip, lets out a breathtaking whimper, and Percy deepens the kiss.

“These windows aren’t tinted,” Percy jokingly breathes out against her when she unbuckles her seatbelt.

“That’s okay,” she replies, smiling into the kiss. “I’m not one to be shy.”

#percabeth #percy jackson #pjo #annabeth chase #percy jackson and the olympians #my writing

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neptunetheplanet7 · 3 years

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𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐡

DM ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE PUT ON THE TAGLIST!!

;mikasa ackerman x fem!lesbian!reader

;modern au, band au

word count: 2.0k

warnings: swearing, eren is a wee bit dramatic, a singular pervert

listen to the music masterlist

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"Shit!" Eren yelled, starting to chase after the police car Zeke was now in the back of. "That's my brother! Let him go!"

He shouted multiple profanities as he ran. He almost hoped they'd reach the ears of the cops.

"Eren, wait!" Armin ran forward after him. His hands latched onto Eren's shirt to stop him from running any further.

He was pulled back by Armin and he collapsed on the concrete. The yells he emitted made his voice scratchy and hoarse. He sat on his knees, breathing hard. The cars disappeared from your line of sight as Armin helped guide Eren to the group.

A deep voice made you tear your gaze away from them. "I apologize on behalf of Levi. He usually keeps a cool head." Looking up, you saw the blond man from before looking at your stumbling friends worriedly.

"Oh, yeah. I apologize on behalf of Zeke. He's always in some sort of trouble. Was that your wedding ring he pawned?" you asked.

He sighed. "Yes, it was." He paused and pressed his lips into a thin line. "Levi was really upset when he came home without it. But you don't have to apologize for what Zeke did. It's in the past and we can always just get more rings. I'm Erwin, by the way." He moved his hand forward to grasp yours.

You returned his kind smile. "I'm Y/n, nice to meet you. You should probably go before my friend gets back over here." You gestured to Eren, who was slumped against the blond beside him. "He can get pretty temperamental too."

Erwin smiled again. "I'll take your advice on that one. Take care, Y/n."

"You too."

After a few minutes, he reached his car and drove away. You couldn't help but wonder if Erwin's husband had anything to do with Zeke and Nebraska. However, you figured pawning something wouldn't get you banned from a state.

You decided not to dwell on it at that moment. So many things happened throughout the night and you didn't need another add-on.

Eren sat against the bench, sliding down the back. Armin was still by his side.

Annie and Bertholdt exited the restaurant, Bertholdt holding the door for her. Reiner trailed behind them.

They made their way over and stood by the bench. Reiner spoke up, "Everything's on the house, according to Marcel. Porco said we should probably get out of here, though."

"We didn't even get to eat!" Sasha whined. Her dress creased against the pavement as she kicked her legs.

Connie nodded and frantically looked around as if some food would magically appear from the ground. He wasn't far off.

"Holy shit is that a food truck?" He pointed across the road, and sure enough, there was one running in the parking lot of a plaza.

"I didn't even know food trucks were out this late. I'm thanking my lucky stars they are, though," Marco grinned.

Sasha's eyes lit up at the sight and she bolted across the parking lot. You were sure you had never seen anyone run that fast in your life.

"Christ, Sasha. Wait for me at least." Connie jumped off the sidewalk and charged after her.

The rest of you followed the two at a slower, more reasonable, pace. Careful to watch for cars instead of just running into traffic like your idiot friends.

The employees of the truck were pleasantly surprised when they saw the sudden line of people gathering at their window.

Eager chatter about the food you all would order quickly arose. All your stress from earlier events seemed to dissipate when Mikasa urged you into a conversation.

When the two of you reached the front of the line, the guy running the truck recognized you. He referred to you as 'the hot guitarist from that one band.'

Mikasa was visibly disgusted when she trained her cold eyes on the man. Grabbing the food, she ushered you away and glared over her shoulder as you sat on the ground in front of her.

The whole group was sitting on the pavement since there were no benches nearby in the empty parking lot.

Stores lined the end of the lot that faced your back. Dim lights emitted from inside a few of them. Other than that, there was only light coming from the food truck plus some street lamps.

The air was light and the sky was dark. Stars shone amongst the barely visible clouds. Your gaze shifted up at them just as you finished eating. They stared back down on you and a closed-eyed smile broke out on your face.

Mikasa stopped laughing with Sasha when you caught her attention. You looked so contempt and peaceful, especially after the night you had. Your foot tapped lightly against the concrete. Your face was illuminated by the moonlight.

She was entranced by you and couldn't avert her eyes. Coming back home made her fall into habits from a long time ago. Habits she used to be ashamed of.

The sound of Armin dropping their paper plate as he stood made Mikasa finally snap her eyes away from you. She blushed and Sasha side-eyed her with a teasing smile.

Eren dropped his plate next to Armin's and pushed himself up. He gestured excitedly to a liquor store behind you and proudly declared that all drinks were on him.

Ymir cheered loudly at this. She stood as well and tried to get others to join in. Historia chipped in a small yell of triumph as Eren dragged Jean into the shop to stock up.

Armin reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. A wide smile stretched his face. "Do you guys like the idea of music right now?"

Reiner nodded enthusiastically and looked over the blond's shoulder at their playlist. He grinned and leaned over to hit shuffle.

Armin turned up the volume and set his phone down. An old song filled the atmosphere and he began to dance along.

Reiner joined in alongside Marco, Ymir, and Historia likewise. Sasha and Connie's dance moves were very uncoordinated compared to the others. Their limbs flailed in the air but at least they had the spirit.

Bertholdt was awkwardly overlooking the scene until Annie grabbed his arm and led him into the dancing circle. It was nice to see her letting loose, even if she was only making Bertholdt's obvious crush worse in the process.

Laughing to yourself, you got up to dance with your friends. You beckoned for Mikasa to come along and she didn't hesitate to follow.

After a few songs, Eren and Jean emerged from the liquor store with cases of beer. Ymir emitted another cheer and helped them unbox some of it, taking a bottle for herself and her girlfriend.

Mikasa stopped dancing to grab bottles for the both of you. After multiple attempts, you claimed to be too weak to open yours so she gladly took up the responsibility. You thanked her and drank it happily.

Eren stepped in to dance and stole Armin's attention from Reiner. A hurt look graced his features for a moment before shaking it off as quickly as it came. He opted for intruding on Bertholdt and Annie.

Jean took hold of Marco's arm and spun him around over and over while they laughed like idiots.

Ymir was loudly singing along while twirling around in various parking spots with Historia.

A few yards away from the others, you kept swaying to the music with Mikasa. Sasha and Connie were snickering to themselves and pointing but you pretended to not see them.

Mikasa snorted when she looked at your clumsy form. "You're not a very good dancer. I guess that's one thing that'll never change."

Your jaw dropped as you feigned offense. "That's rude. I happen to be a great dancer. Remember homecoming?"

She smiled and laughed. "Do I? You must've stepped on my feet at least fifty times."

"Damn, sorry about that. But if I'm so bad then you must be great. Teach me your ways, Mikasa," you jested. Even though you were joking, you still felt your face heat up at the idea of her showing you how she danced so well.

Her smile was still evident when she took hold of your hands and moved you along to the beat. "I'll take you up on that offer."

She never took her eyes off of you as her hands guided your body to move with the music. You flushed under her stare and prayed it didn't show in the moonlight.

Each time she sent you a reassuring smile you wondered if she was thinking like you. Not that it mattered much. All you knew was that when you met her eyes, there ceased to be any problems nagging your mind.

By the time Armin's songs replayed for the third time, you had your fair share of drinks. A lot of your friends had drunk a little heavier, though. The only ones who weren't extremely drunk or passed out were the designated drivers and, coincidentally, you and Mikasa.

At this point in the night, the food truck was long gone. Eren and Armin were making fools of themselves trying to dance together. Marco was doing his best dealing with Jean's clinginess but he was barely holding on by a thread. Ymir and Reiner were fast asleep on the ground on either side of Historia. Sasha was surprisingly sober, you guessed she had to drive a drunk Connie home.

A slower song started to play and Mikasa made the bold move to pull your arms around her shoulders and put her hands on your waist.

"Like them," she whispered and nodded to Bertholdt and Annie. You would've shrieked at the sight of them dancing so closely together if you weren't already so surprised by Mikasa's suddenness.

You swayed with her to the rhythm of the song as she led the dance. You hoped the clicking sound you heard behind you wasn't Sasha's camera.

Continuing the quiet dance, you knew the familiar song was coming to an end. Call it the alcohol talking, but you felt a sudden burst of confidence run through your veins.

You adjusted your arms around her neck to pull her closer and she did the same at your waist. Butterflies swarmed in your stomach as you eased into her embrace.

When you looked into her eyes you realized she was leaning closer to your face. She stopped to ask, "Is this okay?" Her voice was shaky as she whispered. Her warm breath tickled your nose from the proximity.

You nodded. Your hushed words came out even shakier than hers, "Just listen to the music."

You didn't fight the feeling when your lips collided with hers. A warmth spread throughout your chest and you felt like fireworks were exploding inside of you. Her kiss was soft and her scent was intoxicating. This is really happening.

When you finally parted to look up at her, you felt everything and then nothing at all. The world faded from your view and you were no longer staring into her eyes when it went dark.

posted: 9/9/21

no reposts, edits, or modification to my work by anyone other than me.

#aot fanfiction #band au #mikasa ackerman #mikasa x reader #mikasa x you #modern au #snk fanfiction #attack on titan #levi ackerman

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marjorie189 · 3 years

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Australia

Hey ya’ll so this Ryland Storms Imagine was written less than a year ago with @alltimecalvinhood. We had planned to create an imagines book for Ryland on Wattpad but she unfortunately went MIA. I decided to post this imagine because it’s way too good to just have it saved away on a doc without being read, but full credits also go to @alltimecalvinhood alongside myself!

This was going to have a part 2 but I wouldn’t want to continue this without @alltimecalvinhood since it was our planned imagine, so I wouldn't want to take credit for something we both worked on!

Enjoy you guys❤️

You were sleeping when you felt your phone vibrate a couple times under your pillow. You smiled in your sleep knowing it was Ryland‘s good morning texts.

You slid your hand under your pillow trying to get your phone, your eyes still shut wishing you could be sleeping. Once your phone was disconnected you slowly opened your eyes, catching a glimpse of his messages.

Your heart fluttered as you saw his contact:

Ryland🥵🤩💦❤️❤️

You grinned knowing he missed you.

You opened them up.

Messages:

You smiled at how adorable he was. His whole “bad boy/player” image on tiktok and on the vlogs wasn’t accurate when it comes to you.

His whole act changes when he’s with you. You always tease him and call him a simp.

Like The Ryland Storms acting all soft, sending good morning texts, acting all desperate for attention. Who?

You and Ryland were exclusive but not official. At least not yet.

You both acted all lovey dovey with each other and weren’t afraid to show it. The fans loved it. You just never put a label on it.

Not that you guys didn’t want to have the “boyfriend & girlfriend” title, it’s just that you both are getting to flirtatiously know each other. You both were going with the flow, and it has been going great.

You chuckled at him calling you Shawty. Him trying to act all bad boy like, to impress you. You decided to play along with his name calling. You jokingly called him daddy.

You laughed and quickly got up. You headed to the restroom to brush your teeth and face.

You then walk to your closet and choose a simple outfit to go to the Hype House in.

Outfit:

Hair:

Makeup:

Once you were done you checked your phone and decided to look at twitter before you left to meet Ryland.

You were looking at tweets when you came across a fan edit of you and Ryland.

Click to see edit!

You smiled as you watched and retweeted it.

You then clicked on Ryland’s twitter and saw his most recent tweet.

You smiled at the thought of going to Australia with him. You checked the comments and what you saw made you feel some type of way.

It was a comment from Indiana Massara.

“What the fuck?” You whispered to yourself.

You didn’t want to overreact just yet but it seemed like she was trying to get at Ryland.

You checked her account and her latest tweet made you gasp angrily and laugh dryly.

How could she have the audacity to tweet that she wanted to travel to Australia with someone “special” right after Ryland tweets that he wants to go to Australia. It’s not a coincidence, especially since she commented on his tweet.

This got you pretty heated. You got your car keys and headed to the Hype House.

Car:

The whole car ride you were heated by the thought of Indiana making moves on Ryland. Everyone knows that you and him are exclusive, so why would she even cross those boundaries. You rolled your eyes and gripped on the steering wheel tightly.

After about a few minutes you pulled up to the Hype House. You pulled up to the driveway and parked next to Thomas’s new Tesla.

You walked in and saw Avani, Tony, and Ondreaz sitting in the living room.

They all turned when they heard the door open.

“Y/N!” They all said in unison with wide smiles, when they saw you.

“Hiii!” You say happily smiling at them but then it vanished.

“Why aren’t you running up to see your lover boy? I’m sure he’s waiting for you in his room.” Tony smiled at you from the couches.

You walked up to them and sat next to Tony. Avani and Ondre being on the other couch.

“Yeah for reals!” Avani laughed. “The first thing you do is go upstairs to see him. Why are you here?” She joked.

Ondreaz laughed causing them all to laugh.

“Woww. Thanks. I feel so welcomed.” You laughed. “It’s just that I saw some tweets and it just got me mad” You say.

Ondreaz furrowed his eyebrow. “What do you mean? You okay?” He says.

“Yeah I’m fine. It’s just annoying.” You huffed rolling your eyes.

“Well come on show us.” Tony nudged you.

You sighed and pulled up the tweets.

Avani and Ondre sat on the same couch as you and Tony to see them.

You showed them Ryland’s tweet about Australia.

“Okay and do you not want him going to Australia?” Ondreaz laughed.

“You’re dumb. Noo!” You laughed rolling your eyes.

“Ohhh. I see.” Avani says, noticing Indiana’s comment.

“What?” Tony and Ondreaz say immediately looking over at Avani. They both looked confused as can be.

You laughed at their faces.

“Look at the comments.” She sassily says rolling her eyes at them. “I swear boys are so dumb!” She says annoyed.

You laugh agreeing.

They both looked at her comment.

“Okay what if she’s just being friendly?” Tony asked looking at you.

You and Avani faced each other and gave each other a what the fuck face.

“Okay clearly you know nothing about how girls act.” Avani says sarcastically.

“Okay okay what he means is what if she was just commenting on a friend's tweet? Like it’s a possibility. But I get how you see it. You can also see her as trying to flirt with Ryland.” Ondreaz added.

“Yeah thank you! No need to be mean!” Tony said, feeling offended.

You smiled at him and gave him a hug.

You both laughed.

“I totally agree with you Ondre. At first I was like what the fuck, but I didn’t want to overreact. Yet. So I looked further into it.” You say.

“Notice how she says yet.” Tony laughed.

“Hahaha so funny!” You said sarcastically at him. “But look, there's more.” You say going into her account.

You showed them her tweet.

“It can’t just be a coincidence. Like it just can’t.” You say sighing.

“Yeahh that whole traveling to Australia with someone special kinda seems suspicious since it’s right after Ryland’s tweet.” Ondreaz realized.

“Yeah what the fuck. Like she comments on his tweet saying how she “coincidently” knows people there and then makes a tweet on her own claiming how she wants to go with someone special. That’s just a big no!” Avani said.

“Exactly! So I’m kind of just trippin about it. Like I know Ryland and I aren’t “boyfriend and girlfriend” but it’s still like what the fuck you know.” I sighed leaning into the couch, sadly.

“Aww come over here!” Tony said embracing you into his arms. He placed you on his chest.

“Yeah you guys aren’t ‘girlfriend and boyfriend’ but you guys are clearly a thing and clearly talking. Literally everyone fucking knows that. So she’s literally just chasing clout, and hoping to get some spotlight.” Avani spoke.

“Yeah honestly I lost my respect for her. She seemed cool like she��s come by the house a few times. But you’re our girl and it ain’t cool what she’s doing.” Ondre said.

Tony nodded.

“Have you talked to him?” Tony said, looking down at you laying your head on his chest.

“Noooo. Definitely not stalling here, talking to you guys.” You say looking down.

“Okay you gotta go. Just talk to him.” Ondreaz said.

“Ughhhh fine.” You say standing up from Tony’s embrace. Tony frowned looking at you.

You laughed. “We can cuddle later.” You giggle.

“That's if you’re not cuddling with Ryland.” He said crossing his arms.

“You’re dumb. He’s gonna beat you up if you take me away from him especially if we’re cuddling.” You say walking towards the stairs.

“You know what I’m gonna dm this girl and tell her to keep commenting and flirting with Ryland so you can be sad and talk to us more and so we can cuddle. I miss my best friend!” He obnoxiously said.

“Oh my god possessive much!” Avani laughed.

You laughed at them and reached the top of the stairs. You went towards the direction of Ryland’s room.

Upon reaching the door to his room, you take a deep breath composing yourself. You then knock on the door sternly, ready to get this over with.

The door opened immediately, revealing Ryland’s smiling face. He looked like a little kid in a candy shop, what a simp.

“Sup Shawtyyy” He says trying to play it cool, but you could see right through him. You couldn’t help but smirk at the name but you then gave him a small glare, knowing you had business to handle. So you walked past him into the room. “Baby, what is it?” He says, sounding concerned.

“I’m mad!” You say in a baby tone, crossing your arms looking down at the ground.

“What why? But first tell me why you took soooo long. I was gonna die of getting so anxious to see your pretty face!” He exaggeratedly says.

You chuckle. “Well I’ve been here for the past 30 minutes just talking to Avani, Tony, and Ondre.”

He gasps loudly. “So you’re telling me that for the past hour and a half you’ve been with clown girl, helicopter, and Tony Lopez’s brother??” He loudly says, pretending to be offended.

“You’re so meann.” You say slightly shoving him as you giggle.

“We could have already eaten breakfast together and cuddled as we watched Outer Banks or gone out for a swim.” He says shaking his head pretending to be mad.

“I’m sorry Ry but Indiana was flirting with you!” You blurt out out exasperated, whipping out the tweets on your phone. Ryland looks down at the phone in your hand and suddenly bursts out into laughter.

You pout at him and cross your arms, acting like a child,

“Babeeee, it’s not funnyyyyy.” You say looking up at him with puppy dog eyes and a frown. He stops laughing and looks at you with a look of fondness across his face. He places a hand on your shoulder in a reassuring way and comes closer.

“Shawty, you’re adorable when you act all jealous.” He says and places a finger under your chin, tilting your head up to look into his eyes. You feel butterflies filling your stomach at the words, but stand your ground.

“Are you going to go to Australia with her? Huh?” You say grumpily with a raised eyebrow, wanting to know what his answer would be. And he laughs once again.

“Y/N I wouldn’t go to Australia with anyone else in the world but you.” Your heart melts and you look at him waiting for him to say more. “I didn’t even respond to her tweet because you’re the only girl I want.” You smile widely at him and jump into his arms.

“Aww baby!” You say giving him a soft look. “That’s so sweet!” You say and give him a kiss on the cheek. He gives you a devilish grin and throws you on the bed. He stands towering above you.

“Now will the only girl in the world do me the honor of being my official, one and only...shawty.” He begins the sentence off serious, but he cracks a grin at the end. You can’t help but roll your eyes at his goofiness. You get on your knees on the bed so that you’re the same height as Ryland’s chest.

“Hmm...I don’t know.” You pause acting like you’re thinking. “Will you take me to Australia?” You joke with him.

He scoffs, “Already got the plane tickets booked.” He says back, jokingly. You throw your arms around his waist. In a swift movement you were on top of him as he was beneath you on the bed.

“Then yes. I will do you the honor of being your one and only shawty.” You smile warmly as you hang on tightly to him. Your hands wrapped around his neck and your face inches away from his. His hands placed on your hips.

“Perfect.” He whispers as he warmly looks into your eyes. He then trails them down to your lips. He smiles up at you and slowly places his lips on yours.

You closed your eyes, savoring the moment. Both lips were in sync. Both lips fit perfectly as if they were meant for one another. You both slowly pulled away from the kiss and intimately looked into each others eyes, like there was no other,

Ryland slowly sat up on the bed causing you to be on top of his lap. He took your legs and wrapped them around him. He put his arms around your lower back and pushed you closer to him, causing your inner thighs to be as close as possible to his body.

You smirked at his dirty actions and laughed, shaking your head.

He smirked back at you and smashed his lips onto yours. Before the kiss can turn into a makeout session you laugh into the kiss and he starts tickling you making you squirm out of his lap and onto the bed. He takes advantage of that and quickly hops on top of you, keeping you captured underneath him.

“Now let’s talk about those kisses.” He said referring to your texts from earlier.

“NOOO!” You giggle trying to get out from under him.

“You can’t escape me and my kisses.” He says pucking out his lips.

“HELPPP!” You yell out laughing.

“No ones gonna help you. The doors locked!” He devilshy said looking down at you.

“Nooo.” You yell loudly closing your eyes. You then hit his arms trying to get out from under him.

He then smirked, getting an idea in his head.

“I know how to fix this behavior!” He says seductively. He lifted one of his arms from towering over you and slowly pulled down the zipper from your Zappa jacket. Exposing your small shirt that tightly held your breasts together.

He threw the jacket at the door and his eyes lit up, looking at your boobs. He licked his lips at the sight of them from under the tight small shirt. He soon came out of his trance and went back to his plan.

He dove his head into the side of your neck and you gasped at the exhilarating feeling of his lips sucking on your neck.

“Fuckkk Ryland.” You moaned quietly. Your hips moving up to his body, wrapping your legs around his waist coming into contact with his hard bulge.

You decided to cause some friction with the two of you. You rubbed on his hard member with your wet one.

You felt Ryland stiffen up and hold in his breath. You continuously swifted your hips to his member wanting him to show the pleasure you’ve caused him. Two can play at that game.

He gave up and let out a loud moan and immediately put his hands to your hips directing the pace of your actions.

You both moaned out as the pleasure immensed with Ryland taking control and fastening your hip movements. He added onto the pleasure as he rode through the fabric. You closed your eyes and let your head fall to the bed. You pulled his curly hair not wanting to let out any more moans. You didn’t want anyone hearing you two.

“Okay okay.” You whispered, putting your hand on his chest, insinuating for him to stop. He slowly stopped and you both caught your breath.

“Fuck that was amazing!” You say pecking his lips.

“Damn this was only dry humping. And yet it was so great. I can’t imagine what it’s like to actually have sex with you.” He says looking down into your eyes.

You smiled blushing at him.

“I didn’t wanna stop but I don’t wanna rush things.” You say.

“No I totally get it. Officially getting together and having sex within the same time is a little crazy.” He laughs.

You giggle and nod.

“It’ll be so worth it. But breakfast?” You ask him as your eyes lit up with the thought of food.

“It will be as long as you don't make me wait till marriage.” He says curiosity roaming in his head.

You laugh. “I wouldn’t be able to stand that long of a wait. And plus you’re horny alllll the time.” You say laughing.

“You wanted breakfast right?” He says trying to change the subject and trying not to laugh at his hornyness.

“No no. We’re not changing the subject.” You laugh hitting him. “You literally posted a tiktok saying you were horny.”

“Okayy Okayy! Maybe sometimes.” He says not making eye contact.

“Literally all the time!” You say pushing him.

He laughs knowing you were right, showing his perfect top row of white teeth.

“Whatever. But now I get to satisfy my hornyness with you.” He says placing a kiss on your lips.

“Oh does that mean imma be booty called everyday?” You say with a stern look on your face.

“Oh don’t even act like you don’t feel the same way. I know you want me.” He says confidently as he looks you up and down.

“Crepes?” You say smiling.

“Oh look who’s changing the subject now with breakfast!” He says with an eyebrow raised.

Authors Note: Since this imagine was written less than a year ago, Tony and Ondreaz Lopez were written on this imagine before they got cancelled. So if you don’t support them then imagine somebody else :) thank you all for understanding💜

#tiktok imagine #ryland storms #ryland storms imagine #tiktok #tiktok boy #hype house #ryland storms fanfic #Ryland storms fanfiction #ryland storms story

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oppsie--channie · 4 years

Text

Late night drive | Han Jisung

Summary: When Jisung takes Y/n for a late night drive, things end up on a way neither of them was expecting. But they don’t complain about it..

Warning: SMUT, orgasm denial (I guess), also A LOT of fluff

A/n: Heyoo, long time no see :’) This is my first time doing a real smut, and since I’m not experienced I don’t really know how I did, so please if you have anything to say about it, good or back, you can say it. Please help me improve my writing.

This was requested by @hannie-squirrel00 , I really hope you like it, my love. And I’m sorry I took so long ://

A/n.2: Also be safe because of this virus! You can dm me, if you need any advice or you just want a friend. I’m available to help you :)

Sitting, legs crossed, on your bed while reading a book and listening to some songs, you start getting sleepy. The sound of something hitting your bedroom window awakens you. Taking slow and small steps towards the sound, you jump lightly when a tiny little rock hits the glass as soon as you open your curtains.

Peeking outside, you see Jisung standing there with his left fist closed and his right hand preparing to throw another small rock. As soon as he notices you, he lets go of whatever was on his both hands and waves his arms up in the air.

"Let me in." He says as soon as you open your window, you don't say anything. Instead, you take a few steps backwards, giving him space, and wait for him to enter your room. "Finally!" He cleans his hands and pulls his messy hair backwards after.

"What are you doing here so late?" You slide your hands on the pocket of the hoodie you were wearing, which is Jisung's by the way. And he notices it, showing you a smirk after.

"I just wanted to check up on you since I was bored." He lays down on your bed and you follow him, laying down next to him and snuggling to his side. "Do you wanna go for a ride?" His head lifts up to look you directly in the eyes.

"Sure. Let me just put on some shoes." You agree almost immediately. It wasn't the first time you would sneak out in the middle of the night with Jisung.

That sounds like Jisung is the bad boy type but in the contrary, he is the sweetest person you know and you know that if someday you want to go rogue, he would be there to throw you back on the right path.

You let Jisung get down first, so you can leave a scarf on the crack of your window. Getting to the ground and getting inside the car, Jisung starts the engine and puts some music while you put your seat belt on.

"Where are we going?" You ask curiously.

"I don't know. Somewhere!" Jisung gives you a thrilled look and bounces his shoulders, which makes you smile.

Jisung starts driving. The city lights pass you by at a moderate speed. Looking through the car window, at empty streets and colorful buildings. Everything seemed perfect. It seemed like the world was yours and Jisung's. His hand on your thigh and yours above his. As if you both were a couple, which you aren't but you act like one. Both liking each other but none of you admits it and then you go around acting like a real couple, except the kissing, and confuse everyone around you.

After driving for about an hour while listening to some chill songs Jisung put on his car radio, you make a stop at a 24 hour diner.

"What do you want?" Jisung ask while picking up his wallet from the glove compartment.

"Just a hot chocolate, I'm not hungry." Jisung acknowledges your choice with a nod and walks inside the diner.

You wait for about 5 minutes, since there wasn't anyone around at that hour, until Jisung returns with food.

"I bought a chocolate croissant, in case you feel hungry." Jisung smiles and hands you the paper bags with your things. You both sit in a comfortable silence while eating and when you both finish, you get out of the car to put that trash in the bin.

"Let's go!" You say after getting inside the car and putting your seat belt on. Jisung starts the engine and the music comes on at the same time.

Some minutes pass by and it's the same: Jisung's hand on your thigh, chill songs playing on the speakers and your smile plastered on your face. All that until The Weeknd starts playing. You widen your eyes suddenly and look at Jisung, trying to seem calm. Jisung doesn't even seem to bother, so you shake your head lightly and continue to look through the window.

The Weeknd, Chase Atlantic, Chris Brown, Bryson Tyler, SoMo. You're tired of ignoring the fact that those songs are playing and Jisung's hand on your thigh squeezes it sometimes, so you decide to do something about it.

"Jisung?" you acquire his attention immediately, so you continue talking. "Can we change the mood of the music? If you know what I mean..." You clasp your hands together, trying to push the embarrassment out of you.

"Why? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" Jisung's voice is husky and his hand travels a little upwards on your tight. You freak out and close your tights with a quick movement and grab his hand, stopping it in its tracks.

"No, I'm completely comfortable. But these type of songs..." You hesitate to speak, affraid that the effect the situation is having on you would show through. "Yes?" He tries to make you speak further and when you open your mouth to say something, he squeezes your thigh suddenly, erupting a moan from you. That makes something inside Jisung turn on, before he shows his smirk, while eyeing you sideways. "Come on, y/n. I know you can say something!"

Jisung removes his hand from your thigh and grips your chin tightly, making you look in his eyes when he stops at a red light.

"Talk to me, angel." You close your eyes firmly at the petname. Jisung notices and smirks one more time. "You like that, huh?" You slowly nod your head affirmatively. Jisung laughs. "Oh, this is so fun!" He removes his hand from your face and grabs the wheel with both hands.

Your thighs squeeze into one another and you don't know what to do with your hands. You look at Jisung, watching attentively his hands and arms, the way his face looks when he is concentrated on something. Your thoughts slip to what he could do with those hands and lips, how would it feel and all the fun you would have.

But then you remember that you're a virgin, so you frown. Well, you think you're ready but you can't expect Jisung to take your virginity when you both are basically just friends.

You're so immersed in your thoughts that you don't notice when Jisung parks his car at an almost hidden spot on an empty parking lot.

"What are we doing here?" You ask shyly. Jisung smirks and opens his window a little bit, right after turning the volume up. "Jisung?" You whisper, once when Jisung gets close to you, while looking at his lips. Jisung just shushes you and kisses you abruptly.

You don't know what to do for a second, but after processing everything you reciprocate the kiss immediately, holding his face with both of your hands. Some seconds pass, you feel his hands on your hips, pulling you towards him, so you separate from him to assimilate what was happening.

"Jisung, what just happened?" Your expression mimics confusion, because of what happened and because you notice that his seat is all the way to the back, and Jisung's eyes turn worried, searching all over your face for a sign of discomfort.

" Did you not like it?" He asks rapidly, brushing your hair. "We can stop, if you're uncomf-" You kiss your company, to shut him up.

"I loved it. But I'm just trying to assimilate what is happening. It's all so sudden!" You laugh a little, lighting up the atmosphere inside the car. You hear a "shhh" from Jisung and the next thing you know, he's kissing you again and pulling you to his lap. Actions that you comply to, so in the next few seconds your on the lap of the love of you life while kissing him.

Jisung's hands travel up and down your whole behind, counting your back, your ass and even your legs, while your hands stay on his blonde hair, pulling it and scratching his scalp lightly with your long nails. You're both a moaning mess, even before you start grinding your hips down on his. A gesture that makes him stop you in your tracks with his hands on your hips, so you part your lips from his.

"What is it?" You ask, confusion written on your face. Jisung smiles softly, looking you in the eyes and nods his hand negatively. "Then why did you stop?" Your eyebrows frown and Jisung thinks you're adorable, so his kisses the tip of your nose rapidly.

"I stopped because are you seeing what you do to me?" He looks down at his hips. You mimic his action. "You drive me crazy!" You notice his bulge inside his sweatpants and smirk to your self. You start getting off his lap and he eyes you confused.

"Get on the backseats." You demand, to which he widens his eyes, but complies to it, without complaining.

You watch as he pulls his seat to the front again and then jumping slightly to the back of the car. You follow him and, when you get comfortable, you push him to one of the edges of the backseat. He doesn't say anything, doesn't even try to stop you. Too immersed in your absolutely stunning figure.

Your hands find their way to the band of Jisung's sweatpants, so you look him in the eyes, searching for permission. Therefore when he pushes his hips up, you push down both his sweatpants and his shaft, freeing it from its confines. You almost drool at the sight. Of course you've seen a penis before but not one you actually craved for in real life. You look into Jisung's eyes again and you sense shivers go down your spine as soon as you notice the lust Jisung's eyes are displaying. He nods his head lightly as a permission, so you wrap your right hand on his dick, pumping him and giving him some pleasure that he was desiring.

"Tell me if this is alright." You whisper through gritted teeth and he nods again. You lower your head, wrapping your lips on the tip of his cock sucking lightly, extracting a choked moan from the boy below you.

You engulf his shaft even more, pumping with your hand the rest that you can't fit inside your mouth. Even tho this is your first time doing something like this, you can tell that Jisung is enjoying due to his strangled moans and his hands that hold and pull your hair lightly. You lick his sides and when you return to his tip, you roll your tongue over it, slurping in the process. Jisung moans loudly this time and you feel so proud of the effect you are having over him.

"Y/n, I'm almost cumming." He says through gasps. You suck him with more vigor, bringing him closer to his release. You feel his member twitch and your hear him moan loudly again, signaling that he is extremely close. He tries to get your mouth out of his penis but you stay put and continue sucking him, so when he releases with a grunt, you swallow all of his seed. Jisung's eyes widen in preoccupation. "Why did you that?!"

"I wanted to." You shake your shoulders and get closer to kiss him, which he complies immediately, ignoring his own taste on your lips. "And I wanna do it." You suggest, as soon as you both separate.

"Are you sure?" He brushes your hair from your face and you try to hide your blushing face. "I shall attend all of my princess's wishes." Jisung kisses you again, passionately this time. The kiss makes you feel loved, and makes you love Jisung even more. "There's only one problem..." The boy hesitates to continue, so you nod your head repeatedly. "I wanted this to happen on a bed, to make you more comfortable since I know this is your first time. I wanted it to be special." You smile at his concern and kiss him rapidly.

"It's perfect because it's with you." He smiles, you can see the happiness plastered on his face. "Do you have a condom?" He points to the compartment in the middle of the front seats, so you open it and reach for the only condom there, closing the compartment right after. You hand him to little thin package and start to remove your (his) hoodie. Jisung's eyes focus on your figure and when he notices that you weren't wearing a bra, his smirk appears immediately.

"You were so ready for this." Jisung reaches for your hips, pulling you to straddle his lap, hissing when the fabric of your yoga pants come in contact with his shaft. He kisses you aggressively this time and you pull his hair slightly because of the feeling of his hands on your ass and the feeling of his member against your clothed core.

"Jisung, just do something with me..." you whisper through your teeth while grinding your hips on his. He smirks right before kissing you again and pushing you slightly off his lap. His hands find their way to your waist band and when you lift up your hips, he takes off your bottom clothes. When that action is completed, you get on his lap again. Getting as close as possible to him, and you're so aroused that you start dripping all over his lap, but you couldn't care less because you're both getting what you want.

In the middle of a kiss, you feel Jisung's fingers on your slit. You moan at the contact and clench around nothing when you feel his fingertips moving back and forth. He tries to penetrate you but you push his wrist away suddenly and it scares him.

"What is it?" He asks worried and you smile at his concern. But you cup his face and give him a peck.

"It's not it. I wasn't exactly ready." You tell him. "You can continue." You whisper just before you kiss him again. You feel his fingers in your heat again and this time you don't jerk away. His fingertips apply a little strength at your entrance and when he finally pushes them all the way inside, you cry out in pain.

"I know it hurts, baby. But I need to prepare you before." You nod agreeing with him, before giving him the order to move his fingers inside you. With slow little movements, the pain starts turning into pleasure and soon you're a moaning mess. "You're doing so great, angel!"

"Jisung, I'm..."

"I know. But as much as I want you to cum, I want you to do it while I'm inside you." With that said, Jisung removes his fingers from inside you and you groan in annoyance. "You have to be patient, babygirl." He smirks.

Jisung grabs your hips and holds them right above his dick. You grab it and he, slowly, lowers you. You cry out at the stretch and Jisung peppers you with kisses all over your face and neck, to make you forget about the pain. When you're finally ready for him to move inside you, you nod your head affirmatively. He then proceeds to lay you down on the extent of the backseats, trying to make as comfortable as he can. After, he starts to move, slowly and without many strength, afraid that he might hurt you. A single tear escapes your eye and Jisung is quick to kiss it clean.

"You're doing so good, angel!" Jisung smiles and kisses you passionately on the lips.

"You can go faster, Jisung!" You pant unexpectedly. The boy looks you in the eyes and when you nod, giving him enough permission, he starts pounding into you faster and stronger. You moan loudly and Jisung smirks, noticing how the whole pain turned into pleasure already.

The whole car is shaking but you couldn't care less, you're having the best night of your life. And Jisung doesn't seem to care about it either, he is pounding into you like his life depends on it. Now you realize, why on Earth, Jisung opened his window, he was expecting this to happen, because you're sure that if it wasn't for the small breach that the car windows would be all foggy.

A particular thrust makes you arch all your back and scratch Jisung's back harder, making him groan. Seeing the effect that had on you, Jisung starts only thrusting on that spot, that he soon learned it was your sweet spot, because every time he would hit it, you would moan with all your vocal chords.

Jisung's hand comes down to where your bodies are connected, to rub you clit, as soon as he feels you clenching around him, Jisung himself feeling that he could cum at any minute. With Jisung rubbing eight figures on your sensitive bud, you cum around his cock, unable to say anything other than a strangled moan. Soon after, you feel Jisung's member twitch one last time as he was still inside you, signaling that he also came.

"You did so well." the boy kisses you one last time before removing himself from inside of you and removing the condom, tying it and putting it on a paper tissue. He grabs an extra tissue and starts whipping you, with so much care that you almost don't feel anything, due to being tired. "I like you so much!" he whispers more to himself, but you still hear it despite being extremely tired.

"I like you too, silly!" you say, as soon as he stops cleaning you. You both start getting dressed and get in the front seats, without saying a single words. You're too afraid to talk, your thoughts are racing inside your head.

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend?" Jisung turns to face you suddenly and you don't know what to do or what to say, it was so sudden. "Forget it!" he stares back at the wheels as soon as he realizes that you don't know how to react, but you softly smile and grabs his chin, making him look you in the face.

"I would love to be your girlfriend!" you smile genuinely and kiss him again that night. Jisung hold your face with both of his hands and once again you feel so loved, like you're his whole world.

"Let's get you home." he finishes the kiss with a last peck and starts the engine of the car, hitting the road to get you home safe and sound. Who would've known that a simple night escape, would turn out to be one of the most memorable nights of your life. You didn't, but you're glad you accepted Jisung's proposal for a late night drive.

#skz #skz scenarios #skz smut #skz han #skz han jisung #stray kids scenarios #stray kids han jisung #stray kids smut #han jisung smut #han smut #skz han smut #stray kids han smut

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prompt-wars-in-the-stars · 4 years

Text

Sorry it took an age! Here's the D&D Modern Star Wars AU with bonus Jango x Obi since you gave free reign with parings.

Obi-Wan was not quite sure what to expect when he had been invited to Anakin's 'campaign'. He'd understood his little brother had began playing a role-playing game once he started college and had been happy to see how it helped Anakin bloom in confidence and his moods mellowed out as he befriended his 'party members'. Obi-Wan had gone to a game shop and the young woman working there had happily helped him purchase some dice and books for Anakin when he'd realized his brother was not going to let this hobby go anytime soon. Seeing Anakin beaming when he opened the presents had made the disbelief and judgement of the worker's worth it. Apparently Obi-Wan did not look sufficiently 'nerdy' as the teenage worker, A. Tano had explained.

Obi-Wan was fairly certain nerd was supposed to be an insult. It certainly had when he was younger, but the girl had said it with pride and he'd seen the merchandise bearing the word. So perhaps he was just out of touch.

When he'd received Anakin's invitation, it had been a text that had been followed by 'only if you wanna', 'our DM really wants some new blood', 'we don't see each other much any', and 'IGNORE THAT IT WASN'T FOR YOU'. Obi-Wan had spotted the obvious lie and felt instantly guilty. They had been spending less time together with Obi-Wan's new book and promotions for the movie and Anakin being at college and with his friends so often. It would be a good structured way to see each other each week. Anakin had tried to be nonchalant when he'd said yes, but Obi-Wan knew he'd been grinning and vowed to make sure it was a good game and threw himself into research.

A. Tano, who finally introduced herself as Ahsoka, had been happy to help and had turned out to be a player herself, explaining classes and races and lore to him as they looked through dice and The Player's Handbook. She'd offered to just send him her PDF's of the book, but he'd declined though it was sweet. He preferred physical books and enjoyed being able to tab and write in them. Although he did accept the many websites she directed him to that were quite helpful.

All in all with a few texts to Anakin, who sounded more and more wary of his specific game related questions, he felt quite confident in his character and emailed the DM, whose name Anakin had failed to supply, his typed up storyline and sheet for approval.

The man, presumably one of Anakin's classmates, and it was an odd thought to have a 20 something with some authority over him, had approved it and complimented his storyline with something along the lines of, 'It's always nice to have another story and roleplay player in the group. I was concerned Anakin had invited another Murder Hobo, but you will do nicely Kenobi.' Anakin had sent him a long line of 'lols' when he'd asked what a 'Murder Hobo' was and promptly forgot to explain it as he instead asked for romantic advice. 'For a friend.' After she'd finished laughing, Ahsoka had, yet again, proved much more helpful in explaining and managed to get Obi-Wan to buy another set of dice, a lovely blue shade that glimmered and had gold numbers. He had yet to play and he was becoming quite fond of collecting the different colored sets. His first one had been 'Lawful Good' at Ahsoka's insistence.

All in all he felt confident as he drove to the address Anakin had texted him and the DM, who never signed his emails, had confirmed. He'd been expecting some first time apartment or perhaps, at worst, a dorm. Instead his GPS led him further and further into the countryside outside the city Anakin went to school, until he was turning down a gravel driveway. The road was covered in trees on both sides that bent over it, cutting off the sky as the outstretched branches blended together and pretty soon he was going up a small hill, into the large forest he had spotted from the freeway. Obi-Wan was somewhat nervous, but his GPS assured him this was correct and then he was pulling into a large lawn spotted with cars and staring at a beautiful sprawling cabin style home with a full wrap around porch, garden out of a fairytale and picturesque pond with a small pier.

That was not a college student's home, but he could clearly see Anakin on the porch talking enthusiastically to an older looking young woman with a besotted look Obi-Wan recognized. Perhaps it was one of Anakin's friends' parent's home? Obi-Wan realized he was suddenly nervous at the realization that besides Anakin, his neighbor, and his agent he hadn't really socialized with anyone since they'd moved here two years ago. That was a bit embarrassing.

Before he could consider it too long he parked beside one of the other vehicles and saw Anakin look up and grin like the sun at the sight of him. It made Obi-Wan relax. He would be fine. For goodness sakes he was a friendly grown man he could socialize fine. He'd even been called charming on more than one occasion.

It would be fine.

Obi-Wan hurriedly collected his binder and then grabbed the cloth bag containing the snacks. Ahsoka had insisted that snacks were a must for any game and helped him select a collection beyond Anakin's favourites. Obi-Wan got out and just managed to brace himself in time for Anakin to launch himself at Obi-Wan and wrap him in a tight hug. Obi-Wan stifled a laugh into his brother's shoulder and returned it one armed only protesting when Anakin tried to pick him up. The boy, young man now, laughed at his protest but dropped him. He looked up into familiar blue eyes on a tanned face framed by a mess of long curls and felt something inside him soften.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, full of affection and then to distract from it reached out to gently tug the curls. "It's gotten even longer."

Anakin rolled his eyes pulling away, grumbling but still grinning.

"Qui-Gon's was longer," Anakin pointed out, the same argument he'd used when he said he wanted to start growing it out. "And it's nothing compared to your mullet."

"It was not a mullet," Obi-Wan protested by rote and was surprised when there was a soft feminine laugh from behind Anakin.

Obi-Wan looked over Anakin's shoulder to find a lovely young woman a few years older than his brother. Her brown hair was done up in a lovely curling style and she smiled brightly. She wore an odd dress that was deep blue dress frames with black lace with odd white square patterned corset that resembled windows on the waist. There were swirling shapes in the blue and he could see up close that the top of black bodice said "Police Box" in white lettering.

"Oh, hello there," Obi-Wan said, slightly surprised. Anakin looked askance at the greeting which made Obi-Wan want to roll his eyes. Instead though he smiled and side stepped his brother to offer the woman his hand, shifting the handle of the snack bag to his wrist. Anakin had the absurd idea that Obi-Wan was an unconscious flirt, which was ridiculous. He may have bantered with others on occasion, but it was all very lighthearted and he hadn't pursued a flirtation in years. As it was he was suspecting he had become too much of an odd hermit to be all that appealing despite Anakin's insistence of 'seductions'.

He was even convinced that Obi-Wan's neighbor had some kind of crush on him rather than a strangely intense hatred and disapproval.

'Hello there' was not his 'signature move' despite what Anakin liked to claim.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said, ignoring Anakin's betrayed look as the woman shook his. Her hands were small but strong.

"Padmé Naberrie," the woman returned with a dimpled smile of her own.

"Queen Amidala?" Obi-Wan asked, startled and Padmé looked just as surprised but then beamed laughing.

"You follow my blog?" She sounded torn between flattered and embarrassed.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Your analysis is very thoughtful and it's been helpful for developing my more political character's thought processes as well as provoking me to consider my own--How did you put it, 'civic duty and impact on my government and holding them accountable'?"

"Oh," Padmé said with a smile and her face sharpened with interest. "Anakin mentioned you were a writer. You're focusing on something political?"

"A bit of alternate history fun," Obi-Wan admitted lightly. He was very much not thinking on the stacks and stacks of posted notes covering his desks, hours of recorded footage from documentaries, and books that were more sticky notes and highlighting than text. He was ignoring the hours and hours of time thrown into research spirals.

"What are you changing?" Padmé asked, eyes bright and interested.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by a loud clap beside them. They both turned to find Anakin standing there hands together looking embarrassed and vaguely panicked. Obi-Wan stared, confused as his brother went pink and started speaking, rushed and stumbling.

"Alright. Don't wanna be late for game!" Anakin choked up and ducked between them grabbing Obi-Wan's arm. "COME ON OBI-WAN YOU CAN SIT BESIDE ME."

Obi-Wan allowed himself to be dragged, stunned by this but Padmé laughed lightly behind them. He noted the color on Anakin's face deepened at the sound and he felt something inside him soften. He had not imagined the besotted look then and he had most likely found the one behind the advice for Anakin's 'friend'.

Obi-Wan hid a small smile as he followed Anakin inside. It was loud, though the noise seemed to be coming from down the stairs to the immediate right. The first thing Obi-Wan saw was a very comfortable living room with some weapons hung on the wall, one wall reserved for what appeared to be an album's worth of family photos, a large TV, and several glass cases that seemed to contain figurines and models. Children's toys were scattered haphazardly throughout and this along with the colorful quilts, the homework and crayons spread out on the coffee table, and baby pen folded in the corner seemed to soften the room.

Obi-Wan's smile stayed firm until he looked at the man in the middle of the room who was collecting the scattered toys to place in a box. Clearly older, closer to Obi-Wan's age and likely the parent of Anakin's friend. Obi-Wan opened his mouth to greet him only for the man to look up and for Obi-Wan to come face to face with familiar brown eyes.

His words died.

The man looked just as stunned--even more handsome than when Obi-Wan had last seen him, part of him pointed out--half bent over, one hand wrapped around a stuffed dragon and the other stabilizing the toy box he was carrying. He was slightly rumbled in soft worn-in sweatpants that clung to his thighs and a white tank top that fully displayed his arms. The outfit was finished by a lopsided crown of dandelions and wildflowers, resting on his head. He looked so much softer, older of course with wrinkles around his eyes and a few small scars, but there were smile lines and he looked so much more in his element in a way that made Obi-Wan's heart squeeze and a worry he'd carried for two decades unfurled.

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin's voice knocked them both out of the staring. Obi-Wan jumped and turned to Anakin to find him frowning and then flickering a quick look to the man. "Do-do you know Jango?"

He sounded so baffled by the concept.

Obi-Wan honestly wasn't sure how to answer or how much was his to share.

"We're old friends," Jango said smoothly stepping forward to offer his hand and a smile as he met Obi-Wan's gaze.

Obi-Wan took it, feeling the warmth and calluses of his palms without quite believing this surreal moment was happening.

"Yes," Obi-Wan confirmed, voice thankfully not showing the strange mess of his thoughts. His eyes were focused on Jango's taking in the color he'd used to know so well. "Very old ones."

The warmth lingered as the broke apart and Obi-Wan felt strangely bereft at that and curled his palm closed as if to keep the memory of the sensation from fading.

"Time for game," Jango said, firmly and Anakin looked ready to protest, but a soft touch on his shoulder had him following Padmé down the stairs leaving Obi-Wan alone with one last suspicious glance.

Alone with Jango. Who he hadn't seen since he was sixteen and completely besotted.

#d&d au #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #padmé naberrie #padmé amidala #jango fett #jango x obi wan #my writing #prompt fill #star wars prompt #star wars #fanfic #ahsoka tano #long post

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chocochar · 4 years

Text

ᴍʏ ɪᴅᴏʟ ʙᴏʏꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ | ɪᴅᴏʟ!ꜱʜᴏᴜᴛᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ | Part 1

Part 2: TBA

(AN: I'm excited af to do this, and yet I've never written for Shouto before and I don't know how well this will do. XD But here we are!

Quick Notes:

Everyone is 3 years older than canon, so like Shouto, Izuku, etc are all 18, Natsuo is 22, Fuyumi is 26-27, etc.

This is a no quirks AU.

(F/n) = First name

(L/n) = Last name

(C/n) = Cousin's name

With almost every chapter I'm going to include fake tweets or texts/DMs that the characters make during the chapters. Just mentioning this so they don't seem out of place, I thought it'd be an interesting idea... (＃⌒∇⌒＃)ゞ

I think that's it, so let's jump in, yeah? (๑´ω`๑) )

[(F/n)'s POV]

It's a day that, for the most part, is like any other. I wake up at around 10 AM, shower, and get dressed before having something for breakfast and sitting on my couch. Living in a small apartment not too far from my college my walls hold pictures of me and my friends and family, some shelves with things I like to decorate my little home with, and posters of my favorite shows as well as my favorite idol group: DYNAMITE.

In this day and age Japanese and Korean idol groups are the big things people talk about; social media is flooded with posts and profiles dedicated to these celebrities, from the girl groups to the boys. The top two, though, are undeniably H3R0 and DYNAMITE. While I'm a huge fan of the latter most of my friends and my cousin are big into H3R0. Given the groups rivalry we've discussed which is better and who would win in a 'singing and dance battle' between the two, that's supposedly been rumored about, but I've always tried to stay out of arguments involving which is better. Sometimes it's unavoidable, but most of the time I escape the situation.

Not saying I don't like H3R0, they've got great music and the members are all gorgeous, I mean I follow them all on Twitter, I just prefer DYNAMITE. Checking my phone and Twitter I see the three boys of H3R0 all posted within the last hour, talking about their concert tonight...

...Which I'm being dragged to. By (C/n). Having today and tomorrow off of work at my family's restaurant and currently on a break from school I was going to relax the days away, probably be glued to my laptop or TV, but last night she decided to call me begging I go with her tonight.

"(F/n), pleeeeeeaaaasssse!! Suki fell through and Erika has work, please come with me!!"

"Why me? You know I'm more of a DYNAMITE fan, plus I don't know how I feel being your last resort," I replied, in the middle of making dinner.

"I'll give you all my DYNAMITE stuff if you do! And you were my first thought but obviously I didn't ask you right away since, y'know, you being a fan of their enemies and all," she said, and I nearly told her no, but then again staying home for 2 straight days might get a little lonely... And I wanted that merch.

Checking the time after a couple of hours watching TV and playing around on my phone I see it's after 1 and knowing she'll be here around 4 to get me so we can get there early I stand with a groan and go to do any makeup I feel like doing as well as brushing my hair.

By the time (C/n) shows up I'm all ready and I comment,"I thought you said 4, it's only 3:15."

"Well it doesn't hurt to get there as early as possible! I want as much merch as I can get," she replies, crossing her arms. I grab my jacket and follow her out, replying,"They're not going to run out of merch just because we're behind a few dozen people."

The drive there is as expected, busy and we get in nearly two accidents because she's driving like a crazy person. Parking she almost doesn't wait for me as she runs to get in line, the two of us getting a decent spot at least right before the mobs show up. Looking around I feel awkward; so many excited and screaming people, I feel sort of out of place knowing I'm like an enemy invading their territory. I scratch the back of my head looking up at the large screens on the outside of the venue, the trio all displayed with their names and their group's title in front of them. The place is huge, and even as they start filing us in after an hour and a half of waiting it still feels crowded; I get my foot stepped on her bumped into more than once, and I hold my phone and wallet tightly in my jacket pockets not knowing who might try to take them.

"Okay, (F/n), what do you want?" (C/n) asks me once we reach the stands to buy merch and I look at everything provided. All in all, I really don't know what to get, but shrugging I figure a t-shirt won't hurt. Telling the woman behind the table she nods, takes my money, then grabs the one I want and hands it to me. "That's all you want?" my cousin asks, to which I nod.

"Well I gotta save room for the DYNAMITE stuff you promised me," I remind her with a 'sweet' smile, and she averts her eyes, mumbling while pouting her lips something like,"Psh, lame..." before getting everything she wants (which I get stuck helping her hold, how does she have this much money?!) then we leave to go find our seats.

The place is packed, again I feel way out of place here, and even as they start doing a countdown the boys coming out I stay quiet while the stadium fills with thousands of voices counting down. (C/n) and I aren't too far from the stage, hell we're in the third row in the front of it! I wonder how much she paid for these... Suddenly everyone stands and starts screaming so I jump to my feet and look up to watch as one by one the boys come running out. First is Izuku, waving his hands and holding the big, sweet grin everyone adores; next to come out is Iida, also waving his hand, who comes across as the middle man of the group, a bright personality but still fairly level headed and bookish; last is Shouto walking out smiling, who I've always thought was the best looking of the trio. He's won a lot of fans over with his more reserved, blunt attitude, a lot considering him so mature for his age. They're all dressed in outfits that, while different, still go together with Izuku in a green shirt with no sleeves, Iida in a long sleeved white shirt, and Shouto in a black hoodie over a blue shirt, all wearing black jeans and different types of sneakers.

"Hey everybody, how're you all doing tonight?!" Izuku exclaims, the fans cheering in excitement.

"Are you all ready?" Iida follows, the crowd somehow getting even louder and I cover my ears as Shouto adds,"I can't hear you, are you guys ready?" while pointing out to the crowd. I keep my ears covered over the piercing cries and I watch as the boys all shout,"Let's go!!"

The concert starts, and while it's not the one I would normally want to go to the boys are pretty good! Their moves and voices in sync, I clap after every song and even sing along a bit when they do one I like or have heard over a dozen times thanks to (C/n) or my friends. The one I'm most mesmerized by is Shouto, his melodic voice enrapturing me as well as the smoothness of his dance moves, my eyes hardly leave him for more than a few moments when one of the other two is singing or taking center stage. If I was as big into this group as everyone else here I'm sure I'd be one of his thousands of fan-girls.

As it seems to get closer to the end I say to (C/n),"Hey I'll be back, I'm going to go look for a bathroom!"

Managing to squirm my way out of the masses of people I'm almost to the exit when suddenly people start rushing down the aisles as the boy's come down to the front rows to give hugs and high five or touch the hands of the fans, a barrier and the 'guards' being set up around the ground floor rows so the people in seats higher up can't come pouring down to crowd the trio more than they already are. I start getting pushed around, squished, but I push on until I find an exit and I rush out of it. It's not like the other exit doors, and I see a few doors lining the wall. When I walk further down I start to get confused, mumbling,"Uh... Where did I..." I don't see anyone, the stage crews and security all out making sure the boys aren't getting mobbed, and I freeze when I reach stairs to my right... leading up to the stage. My eyes widen, and I'm about to turn around and run out when the music ends and the boys are back on saying their thank yous.

"We're so lucky to have fans like you! Seeing all your faces here tonight..."

"... it makes us feel fantastic! If it weren't for all of you..."

".... We wouldn't be here, so..."

"Thank you everyone!" They call out in unison, waving as screams erupt in the large room. I jolt when hearing someone coming and looking around I quickly duck into the nearest room. It looks like a dressing room... "Oh no..." I don't have time to dwell on that as I shut the door just as I hear the boys exiting the stage and I run to the couch against the opposite wall. Hopping behind it I hide and cover my mouth, waiting. I can hear my heart beating in my ears so loudly, which makes it difficult to hear if anyone is coming. When the door opens the noisy organ jumps into my throat and I hope I wasn't noticed slipping in. If I'm caught I have no idea what they'll do, and I also have no idea how to get out of here!! The person steps in and shuts the door; it's silent for a moment, and I almost wonder what he's doing.

"I know someone else is in here, come out before I get security."

'Oh hell no, is that...?!' I think immediately, gulping. Do I get out or risk him going to get security?? Is that really Shouto?! Did he see me??! When I don't come out, being too lost in my panic to think straight, he sighs and I hear his feet shift as he adds,"Fine, have it your way."

"W-Wait!" I exclaim, popping up from my hiding spot holding out my hand with a frantic expression. "Please, I swear I wasn't trying to sneak into any of your rooms!!"

He looks surprised at first, like he wasn't expecting me to just show myself, before he grows immediately suspicious while looking ready to run out the moment I even move. "Then what were you doing here? How did you even get past security?"

I scratch the back of my head and can't seem to find the words. Being in the presence of one of the biggest idol stars in Japan right now, it's a weird feeling, like I feel smaller than normal while also a bit anxious. Although that's mostly from being caught unintentionally sneaking into his dressing room. But I can see now is not the time to hesitate so holding up my hands to show I'm not holding a weapon or anything I reply,"Uh, well, you see, there wasn't anyone in the hall, I think they all either went elsewhere or were keeping you guys safe when you left the stage. B-But again, it wasn't my intention at all to sneak in here, I was only looking for a bathroom but the crowds basically forced me through the door leading here! I mean you can frisk me right now, I don't even have my phone on me!!"

His eyes narrow as he watches me, probably looking for any sign I'm lying, but fortunately he seems to loosen the stiffness of his body a bit as he says,"... Alright, I'll believe you." Letting out a sigh of relief I didn't realize I was holding I climb over the couch and I get a better look at him; He looks pretty exhausted, which I'm not surprised by, but his eyes don't look at bright like they normally do in pictures and interviews. I don't think much of it, maybe he's just really tired from the concert, but I do still feel bad for him. He's still watching me, and smiling at him I try to be as friendly as I can.

"Sorry again about this, I'm sure you were pretty startled! Ummm... Oh, here, do you have a pen?" When he provides me with one I ask for his hand and I write down an address on the back of it, Shouto looking puzzled. "As repayment for giving you a scare that's the address of my family's restaurant. The place isn't very well known and small, but the food is 5 stars! If you and your group ever want a good meal come over and I'll treat you guys!... Even though I'm sure this is nothing for you guys, huh?" I nearly forget I'm still holding his hand and letting go my face heats up with embarrassment and I take a step back, scratching my cheek. "A-Anyways, uh... Can you help me sneak outta here? I don't really want to get busted and arrested..."

He's quiet for a minute staring at his hand before he meets my eyes with his own heterochromia and nods. "Sure, let me look before we go out," he tells me, stepping past me and opening the door to see if anyone is outside. I sneak up behind him and peek out too, able to see a few people out there talking; one or two look like stage hands and security, while the other 3 are a chubby, sweet looking woman who looks quite a bit like Izuku, a rather muscled blonde man whose hair is slicked back, a man with black hair who looks a bit like Iida, and another muscled man with short, messy red hair and a beard and mustache. Shutting it he runs his hand through his red and white locks and faces me, saying,"Unfortunately, I think they're discussing some things with our managers so we'll have to wait until they leave."

"Well... what about you go and distract them while I sneak out like a ninja?" I ask, somewhat joking although he cocks a brow. "Sorry, um, so what about that?"

"I could try but they'll most likely only tell me to get some rest and brush me off," he admits, turning and walking over to his couch while slipping his jacket off. I rub my neck trying to think of something else but nothing comes to mind and I follow him, plopping down next to him. "They should only be there a few minutes."

"Well then I hope you don't mind me sticking around until they leave," I say, smiling at him although awkwardness immediately settles around us. For a few moments I chew my lip trying to come up with some way to break the ice, and turning to face him I see he's on his phone. He doesn't seem too stiff like me, I'm sure he's realized by now I'm not a threat although I'm pretty sure he's not thrilled having a stranger in his room when he's supposed to be changing and relaxing, I'm guessing. So to make it at least a smidge less awkward I say,"So, uh, my name is (F/n) (L/n), although it's a really weird situation it's nice to meet you."

He looks at me before nodding, locking his phone and replying,"You too, I'm actually pretty glad it wasn't someone trying to steal my things or take my picture again. That's happened way too many times to count." He shakes his head, before asking,"You seem pretty calm, though. Have you done this before?"

"Me? No, no this is my first time even being in the same room as someone famous. I guess..." I hum, trying to think about why I'm not freaking out over sitting next to a celebrity. Even though inwardly I'm still a little shocked by all of this. "I guess it's cause you seem pretty normal to me? Like you're a big idol, you've got millions of fans worldwide, I won't lie I am kinda starstruck, but I can tell you're a regular guy under all that spotlight." I go pink after saying this and I laugh, adding,"That was cheesy, huh?"

He stares at me before turning his head away and giving a soft, tired looking smile as he says,"No, it's the first time I've heard something like that, thank you." He turns his head to look at me again, the smile gone but he adds,"You seem pretty nice, (L/n)-san."

"Really? Thanks, I'm glad you think so," I grin, resting my chin on my palms and deciding to continue the conversation we start chatting, asking each other different questions like our hobbies or silly stuff like that. I decide to ask,"So, how is showbiz like?" and I catch the way his face falls and he looks away, me now regretting asking since it seems personal.

While he doesn't outright say it, I can tell he's not keen on talking about it, his words sounding like they hide bitterness underneath as he explains,"It's... Fine. It seems glamorous on the outside, but it isn't all like that. While having so many fans and making so many friends of big names is nice sometimes it feels a little lonely, that and all the lessons and the little rest some of us get wears us out when we have big shows like this." I feel sympathy for him hearing this; it sounds like he's been through or seen the darker side of the red carpet life, and now I wonder if that's why his eyes look a little lifeless. "Sometimes some of us just want to run away from it..."

I watch him stare at the floor after mumbling this, sounding like he was talking to himself there.

"So, why don't you?" I ask. It seems to catch him off guard and he looks back up at me surprised.

"What...?"

I shrug and cross one of my leg over the other as I sit back, continuing,"Why don't you try to leave, or at least go on a break for a bit to get yourself in order? If you're an adult, even if you're on a contract, if you're wiped out you need to take some time for yourself. Granted I don't live in your world so I'm pretty sure it's not that easy, but maybe you or whoever is to that point, you just need to think of your own needs for a change."

He stares at me speechless, eyes wide and his lips slightly parted. I'm guessing he's never been told that before. Noticing it's been at least 10 minutes it feels like, I stand and walk over to the door, peeking out and telling him in a whisper,"Oh, they're gone! C'mon, my cousin is probably waiting." He seems lost in thought so I walk over and poke his forehead, his heterochromia orbs blinking as he focuses on me. "You said you'd help me out, remember?"

"Oh, right," he says, standing and following me to the door. He steps out, nobody luckily nearby or looking as he hurries me out. We take another way out where no one can see us, and it leads outside. Taking in the fresh air once out the door I face him, the night air causing a chill throughout my body as I hope my cousin didn't forget my jacket, phone, and t-shirt.

"Thanks Shouto, and again, sorry for all that but it was nice meeting you," I say, getting ready to leave but I freeze when he grabs my hand. Looking at him I'm confused, seeing he has something on his mind.

"Did you really mean what you said earlier, about doing what's better for yourself? Even if it means leaving?" He asks, leaving me more puzzled since he still seems stuck on this. He can't really be thinking about running away right?

"Y-Yeah, I meant it all," I reply, tilting my head. I slip my hand out of his grip and start to walk away, calling back,"You should probably get inside before someone sees you, and remember to come visit the restaurant sometime!" With that I hurry and run off to find (C/n), glancing back to find he's gone back inside.

[X][X][X]

I thought that was going to be the only encounter with the idol, so if you told me I'd run into him again a few hours later when he shows up at my family's restaurant as they're closing up looking for me I wouldn't believe you. Getting a call as I'm laying on my couch watching TV I'm confused about why my mom is calling me this late and answering I ask,"Hello? What is it mom?"

"(F/n), sorry if I woke you up, but there's a young man here looking for you. He said he's your friend, I think his name was Shou... Shouta... Something like that," she tells me. I sit up right away, wide eyed and my phone nearly falling out of my hand. What the hell- I meant to visit when it's in the day time, when I'm actually there! But it sounds like it's just him...?

"Mom, I'll be there soon," I say as I quickly get my shoes and jacket on and grab my keys as well as my wallet. Hanging up and essential items in my pockets I hurry out of my apartment.

Getting there by taxi I rush in and look to find my mom talking to someone, who I can only guess is Shouto. He's wearing the hood of his jacket up, a beanie to hide his hair, and sunglasses. A bag rests on the floor beside him and when my mom looks at me he does too, my expression one of confusion and shock as he stands and takes off his sunglasses; he meets my eyes and lifting his bag onto his shoulder he walks up to me and says,"I know this is strange, but... I felt like you could help me."

"... Huh?"

"I took your advice, and I ran away."

".... Huh?!"

(AN: THAT WAS SO MUCH TO WRITE. And it wasn't even supposed to be this long, I just couldn't stop writing... (〃￣ω￣〃)ゞ

Sorry about how long it is, later chapters won't be over 10 pages... Unless you guys prefer that?? But I hope you guys enjoy it, I'm going to try to regularly update it every few days or once a week, I guess the more response it gets the sooner the updates?

Also I am looking for ideas for future chapters, since I'm planning some chapters dedicated to cute moments between (F/n) and Shouto along with the main story so if you have any ideas feel free to leave them in the comments! Hope you like it, let me know if you did?)

#bnha x reader #bnha fanfiction #bnha shouto #shouto x reader #todoroki x reader #shouto x y/n #mha x reader #mha fanfiction #idol au #no quirks au #idol shouto #idol midoriya #idol iida

53 notes · View notes

shelbyfm · 4 years

Text

sorry this is late babes ! i got busier than i thought i was going to so without further ado i’ll put the cliff notes version of sy shelby’s starling existence under the cut and you know what to do from there ! 🖤 but if you’re gonna slide into my dms do it on scarlet bc that’s where i am on mobile !

jack gilinsky. cismale. he/his. ／ josiah shelby just pulled up blasting st tropez by post malone — that song is so them ! you know, for a twenty - four year old center fielder for the los angeles dodgers, i’ve heard they’re really -abrasive, but that they make up for it by being so +audacious. if i had to choose three things to describe them, i’d probably say the creak of a well - worn leather glove, shotgunning another cheap beer just to feel alive, and the taste of copper on your tongue. here’s to hoping they don’t cause too much trouble !

. ⊹ ┈ › 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒 .

NAME : josiah david shelby .

BREAKDOWN : josiah ( god supports , heals ) david ( beloved )

NICKNAMES : sy , jd , josie ( finn only tbh ) , shelbz , shel-bay , bay .

AGE : twenty - four .

BIRTHDAY : november twenty - third .

ZODIAC : scorpio & sagittarius cusp .

GENDER : male .

PRONOUNS : he / him .

NATIONALITY : american .

ETHNICITY : english , french , italian .

HOGWARTS HOUSE : hufflepuff .

MBTI : estp ( the persuader )

INSPIRATIONS : lucas scott ( one tree hill ) , adam parrish ( the raven cycle ) , nick miller ( new girl ) , ron swanson and andy dwyer ( parks & rec ) , adam groff ( sex education ) .

HOBBIES / SPECIAL SKILLS : baseball , procrastination , midnight snacks , getting the last word , saucy brow lifts , sleeping in , running away from his problems , hitting first and asking questions later , developing newer and more creative defense mechanisms .

VICES ; acerbic , brash , careless , cataclysmic , defiant , duplicitous , destructive , greedy , ignorant , meddlesome , narcissistic , obnoxious , provocative , reckless , selfish , troublesome , vain , volatile , wanton .

VIRTUES : athletic , challenging , charismatic , curious , debonair , forthright , fun - loving , intrepid , invulnerable , jocular , loves his sister so much he could die , loyal , passionate , playful , protective , witty .

PINTEREST : xx

˚ . ⊹ ┈ › 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 .

sy was born poorer than poor and spent his formative years watching his grandmother do her very best to keep the dust from coating everything in their ramshackle little trailer in oklahoma .

his mother wasn’t around much . after running away to chase after one band or another and coming home with her waistline significantly thickened , she didn’t much take to motherhood , not when running off to the nearest dive bar or casino to spend whatever meager paycheck she could scrounge up was just so tempting .

in fact , sy’s memories of her are often fleeting . she was a whirlwind of a woman , beautiful despite the hard life she led , but in and out the door too fast for him to ever really get to know her . and after some of his grandmother’s jewelry ended up in the pawn shop twenty miles up the road she didn’t come around the house anymore when she found the locks changed .

sy’s grandmother , affectionately known as nan , did her best to raise her grandson better than she had raised her daughter . though truth be told , the practice wasn’t much different , his mother had just been a bit of a bad seed .

religion and discipline were a staple and so every sunday found the pair walking to the church in their parish to give thanks and receive the blessing , a tradition that sy hasn’t kept up with since her death but i’m getting ahead of myself .

his nan made a modest living for where they lived , she wasn’t spoiling the boy but it was enough to put food on the table and get them to and from where they needed to go .

he had a few close friends in the neighborhood and they usually got together in the evenings to play whatever games they could , sometimes soccer with a ball that looked like you could put your foot through it , or basketball on the single hoop with no net that was somehow still standing in the local “ park ” . summers were spent walking down to the pond that passed for a swimming hole to get some sort of relief from the heat .

he picked up a job at one of the local motor shops to help with the bills , though his nan insisted he spend his time working on his schoolwork first . he’d still slip a portion of what he came home with into her purse when she wasn’t looking .

he played sports in school , their community doing what they could to scrounge up funds for a ramshackle team for each sport . he primarily ran track and cross country ( in a uniform that looked like it was straight out of an 80′s movie and felt like it too ) . he was a decent hurdler and the fact that he usually walked everywhere he needed to get gave his stamina a certain edge on the kids who were better off . but his true passion was baseball . sy could write poetry about the diamond , and most of the assignments he managed to turn in involved the sport somehow . ( he almost got caught cheating once when he turned in a paper that wasn’t about it but he’s always been lucky af )

their school team wasn’t anything special . they played with heart and had fun doing it but they were never going to make it to state with nothing short of a miracle even though it was clear sy ( and a couple of his buddies ) had the potential to be more than just has - beens who got stuck living in their hometown for the rest of their lives . during sy’s eighth grade year , his junior high team made a pretty valiant push and made it to the regional championship but they were simply out - spent by some of the other teams and came home disappointed .

someone must have recognized sy though , because a few weeks later a letter arrived from one of the elite baseball camps in the country stating that he had been sponsored to attend for the summer . his friends were excited for him and it was probably the best summer of his life , but tensions rapidly grew sour when he returned home , after all , none of them had been granted such an opportunity and they wondered what made him so special where they weren’t .

it certainly didn’t help that he got home and noticed their trailer was a little refurbished , they had a new ( ish ) television and a cable antenna on the roof without the pieces of foil sy had stuck to it at an attempt for better service . and then little gifts started to arrive here and there , new cleats , a better glove , all things with the sheen of wealth attached to them and all in the name of this new sponsor he seemed to have attracted . it didn’t go over well with his friends and he could see the jealous glint in their eyes which led sy to hide away the new treasures , or take them out back and absolutely destroy that gleam that came with new gear .

high school was not a time he wanted to spend ostracized , especially when everyone in town always looked back on it like it was the golden time of their youth before they settled down into the daily grind of adulthood . he was nothing short of angry and miserable , his loneliness that festered into rage finding a nice outlet in smashing his fists into the noses of whoever crossed his path or looked at him wrong .

it was around that time that a girl showed up on his doorstep , all knees and elbows and with a big smile insisting she was his sister . judging from the own sparkly state of her attire , sy managed to put two and two together as to just who his new sponsor was and promptly shut the door in her face . ( the fact that his mother had suddenly come out of the woodwork and ran into him around town on occasion to ask for money was another clue . she could sniff out money anywhere )

finnley buchanan was a revelation to him . persistent to the extent of climbing in through his window to press her point home until sy was forced to accept that this nonsense story she was spinning about his father and her mother had a certain ring of truth to it . he didn’t want a new family , he was content in his small town with his nan and his friends and everything would go back to normal just as soon as he tossed all his shiny new stuff in the trash .

his nan wasn’t having it , plain and simple . she wasn’t going to force him to reconcile with a father he had never known , but she certainly wasn’t going to allow him to pass up an opportunity to get out of their tiny little town . and so sy kept going to those baseball camps every year , and after keeping in touch with his new sister to a point where he was forced to accept the unlimited texting plan she forced upon him just so his nan would stop good naturedly grumbling about the amount of time he spent tying up their landline .

he’d spend a few weeks a year with her family , a holiday here and there , his eyes almost falling out of his eyes the first time he walked into a house with an honest to god foyer . he didn’t exactly see eye to eye with his new - found father and step mother and they didn’t seem to want to get to know him much beyond tossing money at a problem to solve it ( not that he allowed them to really know him )

he didn’t even accept their money for college , stubbornly insisting on getting in on his own merit . and thus shipped himself of to north carolina upon accepting a scholarship . the guitar skills he’d picked up in his lazy weeks spent with the buchanans and his classic good looks made him immensely popular which didn’t bode well for the state of his ego as we know it . between classes he managed to further perfect the art of binge drinking and beer pong and with his scholarship only covering tuition and board , he found himself employing his fists at night to earn some cash for incidentals . something that very nearly got him kicked out of school when he showed up to practice with a split lip and bruised knuckles a few times too many .

but luck was on his side and he was drafted after his sophomore year before they could start a more thorough investigation into his extra - extra - curriculars .

sy spent about a year working his way around the farm system of the minors while they tried to refine his issues before getting called up to play for the baltimore orioles . he played for them for about a year but after a run - in with one of the batting coaches that was rather hush hush he was unceremoniously traded to the los angeles dodgers .

˚ . ⊹ ┈ › 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 .

being a cusp baby, he kind of bounces back and forth between his moods . most of the time he’s all jokes and sarcasm . but catch him at the right time and he can be broody AF .

he is a lot smarter than he looks , but that’s an incredibly well kept secret because on the outside he is a Professional Idiot.

makes the worst decisions i have ever seen anyone make ever . highly impulsive and should never be allowed to give someone any sort of advice .

unless you’re asking what to put in your solo cup or if you’re craving a midnight snack . then he is 10 / 10 your guy .

he is incredibly loyal , so long as it serves his purpose . because at the end of the day he’s still an impulsive idiot and that devil on his shoulder made the angel tap out years ago .

bought his nan a new house with his signing bonus and sent her money to take care of her with what he had but since her death he’s doing his best to spend it on the dumbest shit possible and acting out in one way or another because he’s still a child .

tldr : he’s a piece of shit

˚ . ⊹ ┈ › 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 .

just going to add a little disclaimer that i am the biggest hoe for anything angsty and painful . i also love love love when people slide into my dms with a hc or two .

𝐞𝐱 - 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 ; for whatever reason there was a huge falling out and now things are just super awkward . half the time at parties they’re just on opposite sides of the room mean mugging each other until booze and tempers flare .

𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 ; these two were never supposed to be a thing . in fact , before this past summer they hardly ever spoke and when they did the discourse wasn’t exactly pleasant . but there’s a fine line between love and hate and all it took was a couple of drinks before the dynamic took a turn .

𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐬 ; i’d sell my soul for something that’s just angsty and messy . maybe they were at the point of saying the l word .

𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 ; all that sneaking around , taking the back doors in and out of places . meeting up in darkened corners 👌 👌 👌 that’s that shit i do like

𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 ; i’m such a sucker for a good bromance or two where the gc is just filled with memes and dragging each other up and down the wall . but at the end of the day they’re you’re boys and no one else can talk shit about them but you

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 ; a fwb here and there , the odd one night stand , someone who you just look at and want to punch them in the face for some inexplicable reason , an unrequited crush ( on either side )

#i think i just wrote the longest cliffs notes edition known to mankind #excess:intro

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dreams-madeof-strawberrylemonade · 5 years

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Guitar Strap

Request: Could you write a fic about a girl whose in a band and her band is touring with Greta. Maybe have Jake as the love interest? Warnings: none Word count: 2K A/N: Uploading it again since I love it and last time it got flagged. Hope this time it won’t, or I will be devastated. While writing this, I watched a lot of Jake interviews and compilations and let me tell you, I changed lanes haha. Hope you enjoy. Sorry for any possible typos. Feedback is welcomed!! For being added to the taglist, DM me or send in an ask. Jake Kiszka x Reader

You and your best friends, Tina, Lucy and Cathy were sat in the band practice room, still in shock from the call you got earlier that day. The four of you just graduated from high school two months ago, at the end of May. You had a rock band together, you called yourselves Red Velvet and across the past two years you’ve been playing, you got to play locals in your region and only recently you had festival sets.

The whole conversation you had earlier with your manager still echoed through your mind.

“So, girls, I have good news for you,” Manuela, your manager stated. Even if she was on the phone, put through the speaker and not in the room with you, you could see her smiling proudly as she did every time you managed to move your career upwards.

The tension in the room began to thicken, all of you waiting for the news.

“I just got a call from Greta Van Fleet’s manager,” only these words made you suck in a sharp breath. “As you know, they will be touring the States for the next two months. Long story short, they boys heard your new single and they want YOU and only you to go on this tour with them. To quote his quote straight from the boys <<These girls are so badass and we need to tour with them. They need to be heard by everybody.>>”

You and your friends looked at each other processing the information and once you realized that you were going on tour with Greta Van Fleet, the band you have been looking up to, you all squealed.

“Now, calm down girls. The downside is that tour starts in just two weeks, so sorry for the short notice, I just got off the phone with their manager.”

None of you complained, actually you were all so damn happy, you couldn’t care less about the short notice.

Fast forwarding, two weeks later you were waiting in the bus parking lot. These guys had a tour bus and they insisted you go with them. So there you were, stood outside in the chilly wind, with bags around you- filled either with clothes and shoes, either with instruments. You were the band’s drummer, so the biggest part of the instruments’ bags belonged to you.

Finally, a big bus pulled into the empty parking lot. Your heart drummed against your chest as if trying to escape the ribcage that restrained it there. The bus pulled to a stop and shortly, a man helped you get all your bags, one by one into the designated compartment.

You then stepped up the stairs as tension started to settle in your heart. The inside of the bus was even better than you imagined it. There was so much space, so much place to walk, comfy couches by the window and somewhere in the back of the bus you could see a room in the darkness which had to be the one with the sleeping bunks.

From the black couches sat up the four boys, all smiles. Once you introduced yourselves, the boys took you on a short tour of the bus. Not long after that, the bus left, leaving you to get to know each other.

This was the beginning of something marvelous.

It was already halfway through the North American tour. You couldn’t believe all the love you got from all the fans that came to the shows, and you couldn’t believe how down to Earth were those boys. From day one, you all clicked. They shared with you and your bandmates tips for playing to bigger audiences, and shared your opinions on different brands and models of speakers, guitars, drums and keyboards.

Slowly, your conversations went from only music-related to literally anything. You got closest to Jake, the younger of the twins, the middle child as Joshua called him. It made you laugh every time he called Jake like that.

The atmosphere on the road was so great. It was fun all day long, except for the parts when any of you was hungover from the night before. Sometimes you would watch movies until you got from a city to another, other times you would just jam with the boys. Josh seemed to like to be really extra when it came to his singing- he would just stand up on the couch and sing to literally any music, or no music at all sometimes.

To kill time on the bus that you didn’t spend sleeping, you decided to start practicing guitar, since Jake always had a spare acoustic on the bus. Even though you played drums in your band, when you were younger you learned how to play the guitar. You never got further than the acoustic, and after so many years of not practicing, your skills were rusty, to say the least.

That particular morning, you woke up really early. You were so excited about the show that night, in Los Angeles and you were grateful for this opportunity. You picked up Jake’s guitar, knowing that he wouldn’t mind that. You looked up online the chords to Flower Power and tried to play it.

Even though you were certain you played the right chords, you couldn’t get the sound you wanted.

“The intro, it’s a D chord, not G,” you heard a voice next to you. You snapped out of your concentration trance and saw Jake leaning against the door leading to the sleeping room. He just woke up, deducing from his raspy morning voice and his messy bun from which numerous strands of hair fell out of.

“Here, let me show you how it goes,” he continued after a couple of seconds and sat next to you on the black leather couch. His left arm went across your body and laid his fingers on top of yours, on the guitar’s neck, while the fingers of his right hand were close to the bridge.

You could feel his rough fingertips against your skin, obviously the fingers of a guitarist.

“Here, you start off with the A,” he began instructing, softly moving your fingers in the right place, while he strummed slowly for you. “Then you move to the D,” he continued, getting closer to you, placing his head on your shoulder, once he explained the whole lifting-finger thing for the A chord.

Your fingers formed the D Major chord, or at least you what thought you thought that was a D Major. Jake softly chuckled and moved your fingers in the correct position once again.

The whole process continued for at one more hour, but you soon got the idea of it and managed to get the song to sound right.

“Now, play it for me,” Jake spoke and stood up, in front of you. You started to softly strum to the rhythm in your mind and Jake joined with the vocals starting from the chorus. You never heard him sing vocally beside the occasional backing vocals in concert.

As the days pass by my mind Are the wrong, the right, you are my sunshine And as the night begins to die We are the morning birds that sing against the sky.

His voice sounded so good singing these lyrics. You stopped your strumming just to look at him and the way a smile creeped on his lips.

“Morning, lovebirds,” Josh said as he stepped into the room. We turned our heads to see him standing in the door frame, his eyes fixing his twin brother and shooting him looks.

You chuckled at their exchange of looks and went ahead to wake up your friends, but your mind was still thinking about Jake. You were kind of sure you started liking him over the past month, but you didn’t want to try any move on him, too afraid of messing things up.

After playing your set that evening in LA, which was a complete success, backstage was waiting for you a man. Cathy, your band’s lead singer, took the initiative and started talking to him. He was offering you a record deal. Of course you all accepted it, the only thing left was for the man to talk to your manager once the tour was over and just sign the contract.

You didn’t get the time to tell the boys the good news, because they already went up on stage. You could feel butterflies in your stomach from the excitement. While your friends have already started the celebrations, you went to the side of the stage to observe the concert.

The twins were wearing matching blue outfits. Jake looks great in that blue jacket you thought as he stepped forward for the mid-show solo during Brave New World. You were more than thankful for the boys taking you on this tour. If it wasn’t for them, God only knows when or if you would’ve experienced such amazing things as you had on this tour.

Jake put the guitar over his head and continued. As you watched him progress through the solo, you noticed that the guitar strap got stuck in his hair and he couldn’t put the guitar back down.

Josh and Sam exchanged a set of worried looks and looked around for any of the boys that helped them set up their instruments, but none of them were nearby. It was only you.

You made your way on the stage, trying to remain as unseen as possible, but people noticed you. It didn’t matter now.

“Get it out,” Jake growled as he looked at you desperately. He continued his solo, while your fingers tried to unknot as quickly as possible his hair from the strap. Eventually, you succeeded and stepped back. Jake thanked you with just one look and you ran on the side of the stage again.

Once the concert was over, the first person to talk to you was Jake. “Hey, thanks for the help back there. And I want to tell you something…”

You just made a gesture, as if to say that it wasn’t a big deal. “I also want to tell you something, but you go first!” you said excited, as you remembered about the record deal you just got.

“No, ladies first,” he smiled as pushed a couple of rebel strands of hair that were on his face.

“Okay. So, we got a record deal!” you announced.

A smile spread across Jake’s face and hugged you tightly. “Congratulations, Y/N! I am so happy for you, you deserve this!”

Jake pulled away from the hug and in an instant pressed his lips against yours. You did not expect this at all. Your eyes fluttered open once he pulled away.

“And this is what I wanted to tell you,” he let out a strained chuckle, as his cheeks got a pink-ish color. You never would’ve imagined that Jake Kiszka could get flustered, especially from something like this.

You looked downwards and softly took his hand in yours as you looked up at him again and smiled. He understood your message and the pink tint of his cheeks went all away as he put his arm around your waist and pulled you close for another kiss.

You were both barely breathing from the happiness that this unexpected turn of events got you. But your smiled faded at the thought that there was only one more month of touring, and then all of you would go back to your homes, states away from each other.

“Hey, what’s up Y/N, darling?” he asked as his forehead touched yours and cupped your cheek with his right hand.

“Jake, will this be only for the remaining touring time?” you asked.

“No way!” he protested. “You are a one of a kind girl, so sweet, so talented and so beautiful. I don’t want to ever let you go,” he continued.

You looked up at him and pressed your lips together once again, softly, way too soft.

“I promise you, we will find a way to make it work after the tour is over. I can visit you, I will visit you!” he smiled and kissed you again. Between kisses that went progressively from soft to slightly rough, Jake whispered to you “But how about we enjoy the moment now and leave the problems for later, what do you say?”

Tags: @myownparadise96, @jeordinevankiszka, @littlegeekwonder, @songbirdkisses, @freeeshavacadoo, @gretavanyeeeeet, @umbriellethenightfall

#greta van fleet #gvf #greta van fleet fanfiction #gvf fic #gvf fanfic #jake kiszka #josh kiszka #sam kiszka #danny wagner #jake kiszka x reader #writing #fanfiction #music #concert #guitar strap #oneshot

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dvp95 · 5 years

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can’t breathe when you touch my sleeve - chapter 8

pairing: dan howell/phil lester

rating: e (eventually)

warnings: none

tags: alternate universe, slow burn, fluff & humour, tiny bit of inner turmoil wrt sexuality but trust me it’s not that deep, eventual smut, idiots in love

word count: 4,906 for this chapter (35,025 total)

summary: Dan keeps making a fool of himself in interviews, to the point where it’s basically a meme. Now he’s got to sit down for the better part of an hour and sell his show to the YouTuber he’d had a massive crush on when he was a teenager.

read from the beginning on ao3 or on tumblr!

read this chapter on ao3 or here!

Coming back to Phil's apartment is something Dan could really get used to. It's still dimly lit when they get in, but Phil goes around turning on a couple of lamps and lighting some candles while Dan tries not to let Thor pull him to the floor once again.

"D'you want tea or anything?" Phil asks, rocking back and forth on his slippered feet like he's nervous.

That's not fair. Dan should be the nervous one here. He shrugs off the borrowed jacket and hangs it up beside his hoodie. "Nah, I'm alright. I just need to talk to you."

Phil's face falls a bit further into anxiety, and Dan wonders what the hell is so scary about having a conversation. It's not like Phil knows that Dan has been a fucking idiot, after all, he's got nothing to worry about.

"Sure, yeah," says Phil. He gestures awkwardly at his sofa. "Wanna... sit?"

"Sure," Dan echoes. He and Phil sit on opposite ends of the sofa, Dan's legs tucked up underneath him and Phil's crossed over each other. The space between them feels ridiculously large after spending all evening pressed thigh to thigh, but Dan isn't going to dwell on that.

After a moment, where Dan unsuccessfully attempts to gather his thoughts, Phil clears his throat. "So, um. Is this a bad talk?"

His deep voice wobbles a bit, uncertain, and it clicks for Dan.

"Oh, no," he says quickly, reaching out to press his fingers to the denim covering Phil's arm. "No, sorry, I wasn't trying to be ominous or whatever. I'm not breaking up with you."

Phil's shoulders visibly relax. Now he just looks bemused. "Okay," he says, "so what's all this about?"

"I'm just," Dan says, then stops. He has no idea how to phrase this without sounding like he's an oblivious idiot, but, hey. If the shoe fits. He gives Phil a sheepish grin and takes his hand back to fiddle with a loose string on the sofa cushion. "Er, okay. So here's the thing. I didn't know that we were going on dates, I thought we were just... hanging out. And I was coming back early to tell you that I want to be more than friends, but you... already thought we were. And that's embarrassing. Because I definitely would have kissed you by now if we'd been on the same page."

The expression on Phil's face is impossible to read when Dan starts talking, but by the end of it, his jaw is slack with dumbfounded disbelief.

"You," Phil says, slow, "thought I asked you to get coffee as a friend?"

Dan shrugs. "Yeah."

"I literally slid into your DMs," Phil points out.

"Yeah," Dan says again, because he's well aware that he hasn't been the most attuned to the situation. "I could tell that you were, like, maybe into me? But I wasn't really sure?"

"Oh my god."

"Hey," says Dan. He's fighting a laugh, and he can see Phil's lips twitching, too. "You could have made a move, y'know."

Phil breaks first, running a palm over his face as he laughs. "I thought you wanted to take things slow, Dan! I knew you were in the closet, yeah, it's not like I expected us to hold hands at the dog park."

"I was in the closet," Dan says. "To myself, as well. But I figured my shit out, kind of, and that's why I wanted to see you, I didn't expect -"

"What do you mean you were in the closet to yourself? Dan, you couldn't seriously have been unaware that you're into me. I'm aware that you're into me. And I'm not very good at this, usually."

"Yeah, okay, but I was repressed!"

It looks like Phil can't decide if he wants to bury his face in his palms or laugh. "Dan," he says, "you didn't think to tell me any of this?"

"Well," says Dan. "I blame the repression. Besides, you have a functioning vocal box, and I didn't hear you say the word date at all until tonight."

"I thought I was being so obvious about what I wanted." Phil shakes his head and looks up at the ceiling for a brief second, as though praying for patience. "I was flirting with you from the get go, you spoon."

"I know," Dan admits. "I just wasn't sure, okay, and then I was sure that you were flirting but I wasn't sure about me and, like, I wanted to be fair to you?"

"You wanted to be fair to me," Phil repeats.

With a little poke to Phil's shoulder to get him looking over again, Dan nods. "Yeah. But I know that I'm gay now."

"I don't know how to be more clear about this," says Phil, "but I wouldn't have cared if you were going through a fucking sexuality crisis, Dan, I would have helped you. We could have talked about all this."

There's a beat of silence, where it becomes abundantly obvious to everyone present that Dan did not consider that. "Oh."

"You're so stupid," Phil says, sounding almost awed. "Like. Mind-meltingly stupid."

Dan swats at Phil's arm and pouts. "You didn't even try to kiss me when I was drunk and shirtless in bed with you, Phil! I think everybody in this room is pretty stupid." He pauses, then shakes his head. "Except Thor. He's perfect, and has never done anything wrong in his life."

"That's true," Phil agrees, flapping his hand right back at Dan but not actually connecting the slap. "And shut up, I didn't want you to regret something you did drunk, I like you!"

"I like you, too!" Dan exclaims, matching Phil's volume and grinning wide.

The laugh that's startled out of Phil is enough to make Dan laugh, too. They're both just giggling hopelessly at each other and at themselves for a little while, Thor looking at them from his bed with a curious head tilt. The laughter peters off naturally, and Phil is just smiling over at Dan with half-lidded eyes that sparkle in the fairy lights.

It's quiet for a moment while Dan just looks at Phil in a way he didn't know he's been allowed to do. Phil allows it, but not for very long.

"Hey," Phil says, voice quiet and deep and inviting.

Dan waits to see if he's going to say anything else, if he's going to voice what he's thinking rather than walking that line of letting Dan decide. He doesn't, but that's okay. Dan is all too happy to make the move, now that he trusts himself to.

"Hey yourself," Dan murmurs back, smiling. He shuffles over on the sofa until he's pressed against Phil's side once again, except this time with both legs thrown carelessly over Phil's lap.

It doesn't take any effort at all, from there. Dan curls a hand into the lapel of Phil's denim jacket and leans in close, his heart beating loud enough that he's sure Phil can hear it.

Phil's hands hover for a moment before they land on Dan's thigh and the side of his neck. His thumb brushes over Dan's pulse point, and now he can definitely tell that Dan's heart is going wild. Still, he just waits, his big eyes flickering down to Dan's mouth.

Dan could probably wait it out, any other time, tease Phil until he caves and closes the gap between them, but he wants this too much to be a dick about it. He smiles, instinctive, and pulls at Phil's jacket to bring him even closer. It's so easy to press their lips together, exhaling shakily through his nose as he does.

The last time Dan kissed a guy was a few years ago now, at a cast party for a shitty play he did in downtown Los Angeles. He's kissed girls since then, sure, and they're always nice enough to kiss, but.

Maybe it's how long it's been, or something, but Dan could swear that it's never felt like this before.

Sparks run up his spine and his eyes fall closed as Phil hums contentedly against his lips. Phil's hand is rubbing slow, deliberate circles over Dan's outer thigh, and it's so relaxing that Dan almost startles when Phil pulls away for a half second, comes back for a deeper kiss. He's tilting Dan's jaw with his thumb and his fingers are splayed over the side of Dan's throat and, god, another person's tongue in his mouth has literally never felt so good in his life.

Dan can't believe there's a version of him that lived his entire life without kissing Phil Lester, that shied away from this in order to feel normal. This is normal, and it's all he ever wants to do again.

It would be ridiculously simple to clamber into Phil's lap, or onto the floor in front of him, but Dan is actually content where he is right now.

He pulls back from the kiss with a soft noise, grinning when Phil tries to follow him.

"Y'know what, I'm glad I had my gay panic in peace," he informs Phil, who just seems confused about why they're not kissing anymore.

"Mm?" Phil hums, clearly distracted. "Why's that?"

His thumb brushes against Dan's Adam's apple, and Dan feels a full-body shiver run through him at the light touch. A blush creeping up his face, Dan smacks Phil's hand away.

"Stop that," Dan whines. "That's more than enough neck touching for one night, mate, keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times."

"You don't like me touching your neck?" Phil asks, his blue-green-yellow eyes looking dark in the dim lighting. "Or it's too much?"

"It's just sensitive," says Dan. Which doesn't answer Phil's question, except for how it definitely does. Phil's little smirk tells Dan all he needs to know about how that information has been received. "And I'll kick you in the balls if you touch it again tonight."

"Kinky," Phil deadpans before he makes a big show of wrapping his arm around Dan's waist. The movement pulls them even closer together - Dan might as well be in Phil's lap at this point. "Better?"

"For now, yeah," says Dan. "And I'm glad I had my gay panic alone because it means I'm not just going to fuck you and run like I usually do. I wanna stick around, if you'll have me."

"I introduced you to my family," says Phil. "I think I've made it pretty clear where I stand."

"Maybe," says Dan, sliding his hand under Phil's jacket to toy with the collar of his shirt, "but after this mess, I wanna hear you say it."

Phil gives him an exasperated sort of smile and rolls his eyes, but his fingers are tapping against Dan's knee in an erratic, nervous sort of pattern. Dan wonders why Phil is always so hesitant about saying what he wants, but now isn't the time to delve into that.

"Dan," says Phil. "I want you to stick around."

"Good luck getting rid of me now, bitch," Dan crows, muffling Phil's surprised laugh with his own mouth.

If it's been years since Dan kissed another man, it's been nigh on a fucking decade since he kissed one without intending on getting his hands in their pants immediately. It's nice, making out on Phil's sofa with no place to be and no rush to a finish line. Dan moves his hands over Phil's chest, up his neck, into his hair, all while figuring out exactly how Phil likes to be kissed.

Phil is confident here, like in most things Dan has seen him do. His cool palm has long since slipped under Dan's shirt, pressing to the small of his back and soothing some of the overwhelming heat flaring just under his skin. He runs his tongue along Dan's like he already knows how to weaken him at the knees.

Eventually, though, they're reminded that an outside world exists. Dan has decided to sink his teeth just that little bit into Phil's lower lip and it gets a low noise out of Phil, which is enough to get their kiss broken by a sudden lapful of dog.

Thor barks at them, clearly unimpressed with being ignored, and Dan has to laugh.

"Hey, you," he giggles, scratching behind Thor's ears and helping him settle so he isn't in danger of falling off Dan's knees. "Look at you, cutie patootie, just wanna join the cuddle, huh?"

Phil exhales a laugh of his own, a little too close to Dan's ear. "Jesus. Sorry, he's a bit needy."

"Same," says Dan. "I don't mind."

The loss of Phil's hand on the small of his back is something Dan minds, at least until Phil cards his fingers through Dan's hair instead.

"I should take him outside," says Phil, a little apologetic.

"I'll pick a movie," Dan offers.

Phil smiles at him, eyes crinkling with it. Dan wants to kiss those thin lines at Phil's temple, so he does. "Sounds like a plan."

It takes a bit of effort to wiggle out from between Thor and Phil when neither of them seem inclined to help, but Dan flops on his back on the sofa once he does and laughs, feeling giddy with it. Phil leans over him to steal another lingering kiss.

"Mm, have a good walk," Dan mumbles against Phil's lips, resisting the urge to reach for him and keep him there.

Phil pulls back, still smiling at Dan. "We will. Don't pick a rom-com, alright?"

Honestly, Dan wasn't going to. He's a little surprised that Phil is offering an opinion without any prompting, though, so he raises his eyebrows.

"Why not?"

"Because I feel like I'm living one," Phil says dryly. "I'll be back in a bit, gotta get some of his energy out so he isn't doing the zoomies at three in the morning. You can take a shower if you want to, steal some pjs, whatever."

"Thanks, I'll gladly add more of your wardrobe to mine," says Dan. He smirks. "You want me to grab my jammies for you to steal?"

"Yeah," says Phil, easy.

Dan's heart does a little flip. "Okay, I will. Hurry back."

"I'll do what I can," says Phil. He grabs Thor's lead and then just looks at Dan for a moment, like he's memorizing the picture Dan makes, sprawled out on the sofa like he owns it. Only Thor whining at his feet shakes him out of it. "Right. Leaving. Be back soon."

Dan stretches out, feeling warmth curl his toes, and grins like an idiot at the ceiling. After he's done quite enough of that, he decides to get up and find pyjamas for both of them.

It's annoying to dig through his suitcase, because he doesn't exactly fold things when he's living out of it, but at least Phil isn't here to see the mess before it's packed away again. He grabs his well-worn Game of Thrones pyjama pants and doesn't bother with a shirt. All the ones in his bags are over Phil's fifteen quid preference, and Dan has absolutely no ulterior motives in hoping Phil doesn't grab one of his own shirts.

There's a dresser and a wardrobe in the small space of Phil's bedroom area, along with a big trunk at the foot of his bed. Dan isn't sure where to look, doesn't want to snoop. Well, okay, he does want to snoop, but only if Phil is in the room when he does so he can tease him in real time.

He's saved the trouble of looking through drawers by noticing some clothes kicked half under Phil's bed on the side by the window. Dan picks them up and sniffs them. He deems the clothes an acceptable level of clean before he starts to get changed. The cotton shorts are comfortable and the Friends t-shirt is so big that it surely hangs off Phil, even with his broader shoulders.

If Dan spends more time than usual fixing his hair and checking his teeth in the mirror, the houseplants are his only witnesses.

He fucks around on Phil's smart TV to find something to watch that isn't so interesting that they can't make out during it if they decide to. He gets up again and makes tea. While the kettle boils, he gives a droopy succulent some water from the tap. It just makes sense to do the same for every plant, after that.

What Dan doesn't do is turn on his phone.

He'll have to face it eventually, he knows that. He can't exist in a limbo where he hasn't come out to his mother so long as he doesn't check if she's responded. But right now he feels so safe and comfortable in Phil's home that he can't bring himself to have a panic attack just yet. So he keeps watering the plants, changes his mind twice on the film choice, and leaves his phone in the pocket of Phil's denim jacket, which is still hung up by the door.

By the time Phil gets back from his long walk with Thor, Dan has got mugs of tea steaming on the coffee table and has stolen Phil's duvet from the bed to wrap himself up in. He grins up at Phil from where he's curled on the couch.

"Good walk?" he asks, lips twitching when Phil outright laughs at him.

"Thor sure thought it was," Phil says, grinning wide as he shrugs his own jacket off. "Made yourself at home, have you?"

"Yeah," says Dan, unabashed.

Phil's grin softens into something that makes Dan want to blush. He leans over the back of the sofa to kiss Dan's forehead. "Good. Gonna get Thor a treat, hang on."

It's a quiet, comfortable sort of night. Dan doesn't think he's ever done this before, just cuddled up with someone and watched a badly-rated thriller that has both of them snickering into their mugs. Phil, rather unfortunately, does put on a shirt when he gets changed into Dan's pyjamas, but that might actually be a good thing. Dan is barely keeping his hands from wandering as it is.

Phil starts yawning before the movie is even over, folding himself closer and resting his head on Dan's chest. He seems like he's in very real danger of conking out by the time the credits are finished rolling, so Dan shakes him gently back to awareness.

"Hey," he murmurs, his voice sounding strange in the sudden quiet of the flat. "Let's go to bed."

"Okay," Phil agrees sleepily.

Despite the agreement, Dan has to physically guide Phil into a standing position. He squints at Dan and then sighs, rubbing at one of his eyes.

"You okay?"

"Gotta take out my contacts," Phil says. He pulls the duvet around Dan's shoulders and leans up to give him a slow, sweet kiss. "I'll be back, okay? Don't go anywhere."

Dan has to laugh. He never wants to be anywhere else again. "Where would I go?"

"I dunno," Phil says with a sleepy, beautiful grin. "Maybe aliens will kidnap you while I'm busy fingering my eyeballs."

"Hm, truly hate the way you said that," says Dan.

"I'll say what I please in my own home."

With another grin, Phil disappears into the bathroom. Dan waddles with the duvet until he can collapse in Phil's bed, breathing in the concentrated smell of cologne and shampoo and sweat and detergent. It surrounds him here, more than it does anywhere else in the flat, and Dan already knows it's going to be a struggle to leave this bed in the morning.

Phil is humming to himself when he comes back, a soft little tune that Dan doesn't recognise. The lamps get flicked off one by one, the candles blown out, until the whole flat is dark and a body is curling around Dan's under the covers.

"You're so warm," Phil says, sounding genuinely thrilled about it. He rubs his nose into Dan's collarbone and presses a kiss there, just above the scoop neck of his borrowed shirt. "I love that."

"Good," Dan yawns. He kisses Phil's forehead and wraps an arm around his waist to keep him close. "Now, shhh. It's bedtime."

Dan can't sleep.

It doesn't seem to matter that he's got a lightly-snoring man wrapped around him or that he's barely slept in days, his brain absolutely refuses to shut off.

He untangles himself from Phil, slow enough that he doesn't stir at all, and tries to feel his way through the flat without the use of light. His eyes have adjusted enough to the darkness that he doesn't injure himself, but he does trip a couple of times. That's probably inevitable, with the combination of his clown feet and Phil's things strewn everywhere.

There are a couple of jackets on the wall hooks, so Dan feels in the pockets and grabs the keys from one before donning the other. He spots a pair of eyes watching him from the floor, and he presses his finger to his lips like Thor could possibly understand.

Dan shoves his shoes on and takes the keys with him. The last thing he wants to do is get locked out on the London pavement in the middle of the night.

It isn't too cold out, but Dan is glad for the jacket. His borrowed shorts are letting far too much of a breeze in. He just sits on Phil's stoop for a long moment, breathing in the pollution of the city, before he finally acknowledges the weight in his jacket pocket that had him staring at the ceiling while Phil slept soundly.

His hands are shaking, but not from the chill of the night air, as he reaches into his pocket and turns on his phone.

The time it takes for Dan's phone to turn on and new texts to come in is only half a minute at most, but Dan can feel nervous sweat gathering at his temples. He waits until the vibrations of delayed texts have stopped before he takes the phone out of his pocket.

He's got a couple of messages from Jaime and Patrick and Amy, and surely his costars and agent are telling him important things he should care about, but he's only really looking for one thing. He taps once, twice.

Nothing. Nothing from his mum.

Dan feels a lump in his throat, staring at the bolded read receipt under his last text.

Basically I'm gay.

He's not sure what possesses him to do it. The fact is, though, that there's only one person on the planet who could have an accurate guess about what his parents are thinking right now. Without even thinking about the time of night, Dan hits call on the first name on his alphabetical contact list.

The line rings three, four, five times, and Dan has resigned himself to leaving an awkward voicemail when the sixth ring is cut off with a loud yawn into the receiver.

"Daniel?" his brother asks, tired and bewildered and, fuck, this was a bad idea.

Dan can hardly hang up on him now, though. He laughs, a little watery, and looks up at the dark sky. "Hi, kid."

"Do you know what time it is in Switzerland?" asks Adrian. "I know you're in a different time zone, but you could look a bloody clock before you call."

"You're in Switzerland?" God, Dan truly doesn't know anything about his brother.

"Can I help you?" Adrian asks pointedly instead of answering the rather obvious question.

They're not close, but. Adrian grew up under the same roof that Dan did. He'll understand why Dan called him, if Dan can only manage to get the word past his lips again. At least if Adrian reacts badly, Dan won't have to work very hard to cut him out of his life. He chokes on a laugh that comes out more like a sob and pulls his cold knees to his chest.

"Daniel?" Adrian asks again, sounding more awake now. "Hey, did something happen?"

"I just," Dan gets out, almost gasping with the force of it. He's not even tearing up, but it wouldn't take much to push him over that edge. "I. Adrian, I'm gay."

There's a beat of silence. Then, Adrian says, "Okay. Thanks for telling me. Are you on a ledge or something, mate?"

Dan laughs despite himself at the morbid joke. He didn't expect that from his little brother, who's still more or less thirteen forever in Dan's mind even though they see each other every Christmas. "Fuck. No, I just, I told mum earlier. Well, okay, I texted mum earlier, and she left me on read."

"That's shit," says Adrian. "You alright?"

"I'll be better when she fucking says something," Dan says, staring at one of the streetlights across the road until the glare is imprinted on his vision. "Do you think..."

It's not a question. Dan doesn't even bother finishing it, but he doesn't have to. Adrian grew up there, too.

"I don't know," Adrian says bluntly. "I'm pretty sure mum will be cool."

Yeah. So is Dan.

"Hope so," Dan says instead of the terrifying truth hanging over the connection between them. He clears his throat, trying to get the lump out of it. "So, like, come hang out in Georgia sometime if I'm not allowed to come to Christmas. I can't mail vegan cookies."

"Don't be a twat," says Adrian. "You can mail them just fine."

Dan laughs. "Fuck off."

"You fuck off, it's four in the goddamn morning." Adrian laughs, too, and this whole call feels ridiculous.

"Sorry for waking you," Dan says, scuffing his toe against the step below him.

"Sorry our parents are shit sometimes," says Adrian, dry. Dan had no idea his brother was this funny. Maybe he should call more. There's another long moment of quiet. It should be awkward, maybe, but something about the surreal quality of Dan's whole day and the insomnia leading up to it just makes everything a little hazy. Eventually, Adrian speaks. "You know, I think we should really aim to refuse to inherit dysfunction. We need to learn new ways of living instead of just repeating what we've been through, you know?"

Dan blinks. Another laugh is bubbling up in his chest, but he doesn't let it escape. "Er, what?"

"Something I read," Adrian says. "Can't remember who said it, since it's four in the fucking morning, did I mention?"

They're not close. They didn't grow up together as much as they grew up near each other in the same home, the same mess. But Adrian's faux-deep pontificating makes Dan realise that they might have grown into adults with similar interests and habits. He doesn't know what to do with that information, but it makes him feel the weirdest sense of pride.

"You mentioned," says Dan. He has no idea how he'd ever try to explain this dynamic to Phil. Maybe Christmas with the Lesters is the best option. "I get the message, I'll fuck off. And I'll try not to, uh, inherit dysfunction or whatever."

"Yeah, alright," Adrian says, then pauses. "If... if it is, like, bad. I'll come to Georgia for Christmas instead."

Fuck. Now Dan can absolutely feel tears welling up. "You don't have to do that. Imagine how grandma would feel if neither of us came home."

"She can come, too, after she's done whooping dad's arse." Adrian cackles at his own joke. It's a familiar enough sound, one Dan hears himself make all the time, and in this sleep-deprived state, Dan thinks it might be the only thing of worth they got from their father.

"Thanks, kid," Dan says, wiping at his eyes.

"Yeah," Adrian says on a loud yawn. "You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah," Dan echoes. He swallows hard. "I'm in London, actually. At - at my boyfriend's. So I'm not, like, alone in crisis or anything."

"Well, fuck, go wake him up and stop bothering me, then."

Dan chuckles and takes another deep breath. It's easier, now, some of the weight lifted off his chest. They aren't really the type to say it as a sign off, but Dan is full to the brim with affection and guilt right now, so. "Love you."

"You, too," says Adrian, audibly taken aback. After a moment, the line goes dead without any further niceties between them. Dan isn't offended.

He sits outside for a few more minutes before he feels okay enough to go back inside. He takes the stairs carefully and lets himself into Phil's flat. Thor makes a little rumble of a noise but doesn't bark, thankfully.

"Shhh, it's just me," Dan whispers. He hangs the jacket up and kicks his shoes off, patting Thor's soft head on his way back to bed.

It's safe and warm under the blankets. Dan wraps his arms around Phil's pliant body and pulls him closer, needing human contact in a way he can't explain. He doesn't think Phil minds too much, if the way he unconsciously grabs at Dan in an octopus hold is any indication.

Dan closes his eyes, buries his nose in Phil's hair, and lets himself sleep.

#phanfic #phanfiction #phan #dnp fic #can't breathe when you touch my sleeve #words words words

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commander-rahrah · 5 years

Text

RESIDENCY (AN OPEN HEART FIC): PART FIVE

Pairing: MC (Jordynne Holland) X Ethan Ramsey X Bryce Lahela; MC X Bryce; MC X Ethan

Masterlist: Click Here

Chapter Rating: T (Swearing)

Word Count: 5600+

Description: Dr. Holland loses her first patient, and Ethan loses a friend. Dolores’ Chapter in mostly Ethan’s point of view.

Disclaimer: Characters, storyline, and parts of the dialogue are taken from Pixelberry’s Choices. They fully own the characters, dialogue, backgrounds, etc. MC Jordynne’s background is my own creation, based loosely off of MC in-game’s personality and provided with more details.

Author’s Note: This part is about the devastating chapter on Dolores. I actually cried when first reading it, but I wanted to think about it in Ethan’s point of view. It is a long one, but I didn’t really want to break it up. As always, if you wish to be tagged in future updates you can reply or DM me! Thank you so much to everyone for the likes, reblogs and replies <3

Taglist: @drakewalkerfantasy @owleyes374 @professorortegasstudent@mindlessdreaminxo @mayar-mahdy @paisleylovergirl @nicquix

Previous Updates: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

PART FIVE

“So, what’s up with you and Dr. Emery?”

Ethan’s blue eyes darted to hers — a sharp look on his face. He didn’t answer her, looking back to the road in front of him.

Jordynne chewed her lip, “I saw you together earlier. It looked… intimate.”

Ethan let out a loud sigh. Of course, someone saw him and Harper when she had pulled him into room 515. He cut off his thought process, realizing he still hadn’t spoken. “I don’t like advertising my private life at work.”

She shrugged, glancing over at him, “I’m just trying to figure out the politics of this place if I’m gonna survive here.”

He stared at her out of the corner of his eye -- he believed her. “In that case… we were an item. And then only on again, off again.”

“Oh,” Jordynne said, tugging her cardigan sleeves over her wrists. “And now?”

“Off.” He blurted out, a bit more aggressively than he wanted. Her eyes widened at his tone. He spoke more gently this time, “As of last year, she’s my boss. Not that my personal life is any of your business.”

She gave him a sheepish smile. “My lips are sealed.”

He looked at her, their eyes meeting. He really believed her — Why? He had no idea. “Good.”

“ So you broke up because she became your boss? That’s it?”

Ethan licked his lips, thinking. “Yes. And no. It was complicated.”

A laugh escaped her lips, “I think most break-ups are complicated. At least mine was.” She knitted her fingers together. She seemed a little nervous all the sudden.

Curiosity took Ramsey over, “Recent?”

“Yeah,” She nodded, “Right before a moved here.” Her eyebrows furrowed.

He jumped to the conclusion, “Didn’t want to do the distance?”

She bit her lip, “More like didn’t want to be the boyfriend of the busy, ambitious doctor.”

Know you’re better than that idiot, Jordynne. He thought.

She readjusted in her seat, “Not that my personal life is any of your business.” She repeated him from earlier, causing Ramsey to flash a smile.

“My lips are sealed.” He winked, before looking back to the road.

She started playing with her fingers again, “So, did Dr. Banerji really quit?”

Ethan’s lids lowered a bit, his heart sinking. This is what he hadn’t wanted to talk about. “I was wondering when you’d get around to asking that.”

Her green eyes were big as she stared at him, “And? Did he?”

Ethan felt his heart go up into his throat about, as he thought about Naveen. “Yes,” was all he could muster.

Jordynne twisted in her seat, holding onto her seat belt so she could look at him better, “But that’s huge! Did he say why he was leaving?”

To go die on some damn island. He thought. But he swallowed, “That’s between him and the chief.”

“So you’re in charge of the diagnostics team now. That’s gotta be a lot of pressure.”

Could she read his mind? Did she know every single topic that would cause his mind to go berserk?

Licking his lips, he decided to be honest with her. “More than you can imagine. Naveen built that team from his own blood, sweat, and tears. I can’t let him down now that he’s moved on.”

“Is that what you want?”

It was such a simple question — but it wasn’t one he had been asked in years. Nothing that was happening was what he wanted. Just what he had to do.

He licked his lips again, “What I want is to confront the impossible mysteries of the human body and understand them.”

She stared at him with bewildered eyes, “Okay, but back here on Earth… Did you always want to lead a diagnostician team?”

He let out a breath, “The team gives me the opportunity to face the questions no one has answered, so in that respect, I suppose the answer is yes.”

Her green eyes studied him, analyzing him like one of her patients. “You know I’m actually surprised you were up for this rescue mission.”

A smile spread across his face, relieved at the change of topic away from Naveen. “You don’t think I want to spend my time searching for stuffed animals?”

She twisted her mouth, looking guilty, “I thought you’d think it was pointless. I mean it’s just a stuffed frog right?”

His eyebrows furrowed and lips turned into a frown, “You think I’m just some emotionless machine, don’t you?”

She bit her lip, “Not entirely machine. Cyborg maybe? Dr. Terminator?”

Ethan barked out a laugh, “In that case, even a cyborg would cite the studies show how emotional attachment can play statistically significant roles in patient recovery.” He glanced over her, a smirk on his face, “So not even I, ‘Dr. Terminator’ think it’s just a toy.”

“And Dolores is a friend.” She smiled knowingly.

“She’s a patient first, while in our care. But yes,” He nodded, “She’s also a friend. If a stuffed animal will help her get through this, I’ll find her that damn frog.”

“I think you may be a softie at heart, Dr. Ramsey.”

Ethan scoffed, “Far from it. I’m practical.” Pulling over onto the side of the road, he turned off the engine. “And that’s enough prying for now. We’re here.”

Opening up the car door, Ethan stepped around the front of his Mercedes and grabbed the passenger door.

“Oh,” Jordynne said in surprise, ducking out from inside the car, “Thanks.”

The pair turned around together — taking in the orange flames burning the office complex. The rancid smell of burning plastic and plaster filled the air. Fire engines were parked in front, hoses spun out and water rushing out of them — trying to beat back the flames.

Ethan’s eyes widened as the sight — the flames reflecting back in his pupils, “We can search the perimeter, but if it fell from her purse in there…”

She grabbed onto his elbow, “Let’s hope it didn’t.”

The pair started searching side by side, looking around on the street — imagining where Rafael would have pulled up with the ambulance. Jordynne pulled out her iPhone, turning on the flashlight and scanning the dark road.

“Look, there in the storm drain.” Ethan pointed to it, bending over to get a better look.

Jordynne’s pink mouth opened in fear, “Oh, hell no! I am not going down there! Haven’t you seen ‘It’?

Ethan’s dark brows furrowed in confusion, “Seen what?”

“Never mind...,” She shook her head, her voice exasperated. “Well, you better lower me in. I’ll fall in headfirst if I try to reach it on my own, but not if you hang onto my hand.”

Ethan shrugged, “Sounds like it’s worth a shot.”

Handing her phone over to him, she knelt down onto the cold pavement. She started wriggling her top half into the storm drain, holding her hand out in the air for him. Standing over her, Ethan grabbed onto her fingers — they were warm and soft. She started rolling further into the dark storm gate, he bent down closer to her so she could see better.

Glancing down, he noticed her tan, bare legs peeking out from underneath her skirt and long cardigan — pressing down against the pavement. Gulping, he averted his gaze and tightened his hold on her hand, “Can you reach?”

“Al…most…,” He heard her voice strain, as she stretched a bit further. “Got it!”

At her words, Ethan used his strength to pull her back out effortlessly. She kneeled on the ground, pulling her skirt down before grabbing his outstretched hand again. He lifted her up back, brushing off her grey cardigan. She glanced down at his fingers wiping off the dirt on his shoulders, and he coughed awkwardly as he stopped.

“Well,” She showed him the wet stuffed frog, waving it in front of him. “Mission accomplished.”

Ramsey nodded sternly, “Excellent work. You can give Dolores the good news when we get back.”

The pair started heading back to his car, and Jordynne crinkled her nose at the stuffed animal. “After we sterilize this, of course. We wouldn’t want it anywhere near a pregnant woman, otherwise.”

He grimaced as the dirty stuffed animal made its way into his Mercedes. “My thoughts precisely. Come on, we still have some work to do.”

_______________________________________________________________________

The flashing lights on the television screen were making Ethan’s eyes tired. He wasn’t really watching, but the show was making Dolores laugh. He was sitting on a chair he had dragged in from the hall, his elbows resting on his knees.

Dolores’ head was resting on her pillow, laying on her side as she stroked her belly.

“Why do you like this garbage?” Ethan asked, taking another sip of his coffee.

“It makes me laugh. It’s a feel-good show, Ethan.” She said, turning down the volume a bit, glancing over to him. “She’s good.”

The Rookie. Fiddling with his leather watch strap, he didn’t move his eyes away from it, “Who?”

She gave him a knowing look, “Doctor Holland. She’s pretty too.”

His blue eyes flashed to her, “Dolores.”

“What? She is.” A cheeky grin spread across her face, before turning into a line. “Besides, it’s been a year since Harper.”

He let out a breath, “I like being alone.”

“No, you don’t Ethan. I know I’m your patient, but you’re also my friend.” She met his eyes, her stare unwavering. “You wouldn’t be in here with me if you liked being alone.”

He gulped, “I—,”

A light knock on the window interrupted him. Jordynne had moved up some of the blinds, peeking through to get his attention. Ethan excused himself, going out into the hallway to meet her.

“Jordynne,” He greeted her, noticing the folder in her hands. “You get the labs?”

She didn’t say anything to him, her mouth in a hard line — she held the labs out for him.

Ethan’s eyebrows furrowed at her silence, and he grabbed the file from her. His blue eyes dashed over the results, and he felt his face fall. No, no, no…

Jordynne finally speaks, “She has serious preeclampsia.” Her eyes moved to his, filled with worry. "Her baby’s in trouble, isn’t it?”

Ethan rubbed the lines in his forehead, “Yes. Let’s go tell her.”

Turning on his heel, he headed back towards the door. When he didn’t hear footsteps following him, he turned back around to Holland. She was hesitating, biting her pink lip. “This is the job, Rookie. Come on.”

He held the door open for her before they shuffled in together. Dolores smiled at the pair, but it faded as she noticed how serious they both looked. “What is it? Ethan?”

Ethan didn’t look at her, instead turning to Jordynne. He nodded at her, trying to be encouraging.

He watched as she took a deep breath through her nose, before speaking, “Dolores, I don’t want you to worry —”

Her eyes flashed to Ethan, “That’s what people say when you should be worried.”

“Have you ever heard of preeclampsia?” She asked, but Dolores shook her head. “It’s a serious condition that affects up to one in ten pregnant women. In many cases, it’s manageable if monitored, but I’m afraid yours is quite serious.”

Dolores’ hands wrapped around her swollen belly protectively, “How serious?”

“The blood flow to the placenta is slowing. It could soon deprive your baby of vital nutrients and oxygen. “ Jordynne’s voice remained professional, unwavering. But Ethan could see her fingers trembling at her side.

Ethan stepped forward, grabbing onto the railings of the bed, “Your baby is at risk.”

Her eyes filled with panic, “But… everything feels fine! I can still feel the baby kicking!”

“Dolores,” He kept his voice soft, "This just means we’re going to have to deliver the baby early.”

Anger flared on her face, “No! It’s too soon!”

Jordynne stepped up next to Ethan, their shoulders almost touching, “Babies delivered at twenty-six weeks have a good chance of survival.”

The pregnant woman’s mouth opened in horror, “A… a chance?!”

Jordynne found her voice again, speaking up, “He’ll have to spend some time in the NICU, and yes, there’s a risk of post-birth complications—“

“And some don’t make it at all!” She moved her legs up, pulling herself into her swollen stomach — trying to protect her belly more. “Is my baby in danger now?”

“Not immediately, no. But —“ She cut Ethan off.

Her mouth set in a hard line, “Then my little tadpole is staying put.”

His blue eyes went big, he was pleading with her, “Dolores —“

“No, Ethan!” She shouted, tears welling in her eyes, “Just… give me a week. Give me as long as you can. Please.”

All emotion wiped from Ethan’s face, he crossed his arms over his chest, “I’ll give you tonight. To come to your senses.” He shook his head, disappointed. Stalking out of the room, he waited in the hallway for Jordynne to join him.

She closed the door softly behind them before she started playing with her blonde ponytail nervously — tightening and swirling it through her fingers. Finally, she let her green eyes meet Ramsey’s blue ones — both of their faces were filled with worry.

Jordynne broke the silence first, “I’ll keep checking on her. Maybe we can talk her around.”

Ethan croaked out, his voice low, “No. Just go home. Your shift’s been over for hours already.”

He knew she was studying the worry lines on his face, the dark circles that were starting to form under his eyes, “But…”

Shaking his head, he cut her off, “I’m taking over this case. You’re… not ready for it.”

The hurt that flashed across her face made his stomach twist. But Ethan needed to do this — this was his friend, this was his responsibility now. He wasn’t going to let it fall to her. Before she had time to talk back, he stalked away — his dress shoes sending echoing clicks down the silent hallway.

_______________________________________________________________________

The sky had long gone dark outside, the city lights ablaze in downtown Boston. Ethan stood in front of the large window on the fifth floor, chewing absent-mindedly on a dry, leftover sandwich from the cafeteria. A typical dinner for him once he realized he would be at the hospital all night. His leather couch in his office called for him, but he wanted to be available if Dolores’ changed her mind and she wanted to see him.

He had tried a couple hours after the Rookie and he had given her the diagnosis. But she had laid on her side — ignoring him completely. A nurse was giving him updates — she had started complaining about a headache and some nausea — but it could just be from the stress of her diagnosis. Or, even worse, her preeclampsia was already getting worse.

Rubbing his forward again, Ethan tried to massage the tension out of his forehead when he heard yelling from the down the hall. Without even thinking, his dinner dropped out of his hands and he began sprinting down the hallway. He watched as a nurse and Doctor Neilson ran into Dolores’ room — shouts echoing down the hall.

Ethan’s dress shoes slid on the white tiled floor as he turned into the room. The doctor and nurses were turning Dolores onto her side gently — speaking to her in low, calm voices. He didn’t say anything — his breathing hard as they watched them.

The attending finally spoke up, noticing Ethan. Her voice was fast but coherent. “Patient had a seizure… She started convulsing — I think she was trying to hide that her symptoms were getting worse — to put off delivery.”

Ethan’s heart started pounding in his ears, “We need to get her into the OR, right now for cesarean delivery.”

“Already on the way,” The attending placed her hand on his shoulder, backing him out of the room. “Dr. Ramsey, I know you know the patient, but you need to let us do this.”

Anger flared in him, “This is mine and Dr. Holland’s patient,” But he found himself pushed out of the room, making way for Dolores’ bed to be wheeled out into the hallway.

“I am not doing this with you. We are running out of time, Ramsey!” The attending mirrored his anger, grabbing onto the side of the bed — rushing her down the hall.

Rushing down the hall with him, his blue eyes were trained on Dolores. She was blinking lazily, obviously confused as she was hurled down the bright hallway. “Dolores,” Ethan spoke to her, trying to get her focus.

“Ethan…”, Her voice was a murmur in the hustle in the hallway — but he heard it.

“It’s going to be okay, Dolores.”

Dr. Neilson moved down to talk to her — speaking too low for Ethan to hear. They neared the swinging OR doors.

The on-call surgical team appeared through the doors, grabbing onto Dolores’ and ushering her inside. As he went to follow them through the doors, Doctor Neilson moved her hands up to block him. “No, you are not going anywhere near that OR.”

“Like hell I’m not,” He snarled, going to move past her.

“Dr. Ramsey! We have done what we can.” Her eyes softened at his, understanding his frustration. “Let the surgeons do their job now.”

Tightening his hands into a fist, Ethan’s knuckles turned white as he stalked away from her. He could feel his heart hammering through his chest now, his jaw clenched into a hard line. He stood for a moment, his eyes closed. Let her be okay. Not her too. Please.

“You’ve been here all day, Dr. Ramsey. If you’re going to wait, go find a seat. I’ll update your intern.”

My intern? My intern. Rookie. Ethan gulped — he didn’t think he could face her.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat in that waiting room for. It wasn’t very often he was sitting on the opposite side of the doors — waiting for someone to walk out of the room. If he had been a better friend, called her more, seen her more often — he could have diagnosed her earlier, noticed the symptoms. It shouldn’t have come to this.

The sound of a door swinging open caused Ethan to flick his eye up from the white tiles to Dr. Neilson. He knew — from the moment he saw her face, he knew. His stomach dropped, his face immediately turning hot.

She gave him a sad look, standing over him with her arms at her sides. “Placental abruption,” She spoke to him scientifically — distancing herself from him. “There was too much bleeding to save the mother. The baby survived, for now, he’s in the NICU. Fifty percent chance he will make it through the night.”

“I know the odds.” He said coldly, not looking up to the attending.

She chewed her lip, “I’m sorry Dr. Ramsey.” Turning on her heel, she stopped for a moment, “Go home. Sleep.” He heard the sound of her footsteps as she walked away from him — leaving him alone in the waiting room.

Putting his head in his hands, Ethan closed his eyes as he felt water starting to fill them. World-class diagnostician but can’t save your own friend. He ground his teeth together, angry at himself. First, Dolores. Next will be Naveen.

The clicking of high heels echoed throughout the empty room, but Ethan did not look up at the sound.

“Doctor Ramsey?” Jordynne’s voice was soft as she walked towards him. He didn’t look up. Why? Why did she have to come? She would make it so much harder.

“What happened? Where’s Dolores?” Her voice started wavering at his silence.

He didn’t answer for so long, that by the time he finally looked up at her, she had opened her pink mouth to speak again. But when they locked eyes, she closed her mouth — she knew. He didn’t have to really say.

Furrowing his brows, he finally spoke, “Dolores had a seizure. Full eclampsia.” Wringing his hands together, he swallowed hard, “We had no choice but to deliver the baby. It’s fifty-fifty he’ll survive the night."

Her green eyes were wide — her long lashes blinking fast. “And Dolores?”

“She died.” He croaked.

Jordynne’s eyes filled with tears. She seemed to lose her balance in her high-heeled boots as she stumbled back. Grabbing onto a chair, she steadied herself, “Dr. Ramsey, I’m so…”

Shaking his head, he cut her off, “I’m fine.” Standing up, he brushed the wrinkles out of his trousers before rolling his shoulders back — standing up straighter. He dropped the emotion from his face, before striding away — leaving Jordynne standing alone in the middle of the empty waiting room.

______________________________________________________________________

Closing her locker, Jordynne placed her head on the cool metal and let out a sigh.

It felt better being in her scrubs. She had raced to change out of her ridiculous mini dress and boots the second Doctor Ramsey had raced away from her. Heading to the mirror, she scrubbed off the makeup she had put on just a few hours before — her mascara running under her eyes with the tears she had been shedding. Her face was red from crying, and she had thrown her hair into a fast ponytail — she didn’t look like the professional doctor she was trying to become, but tonight she didn’t really care.

She checked her phone, realizing how many missed texts she had from her roommates and Bryce. She had left Bryce high and dry — running in her heels to the nearest subway to get to the hospital as fast as possible. Her thumbs quickly typed up a text, before she slipped it in her pocket and headed towards the NICU.

Jordynne carried the stuffed green frog in her hands as she walked, swinging it lightly. She had stopped in Dolores’ room on her way to the locker room — still empty of her bed. It sat on the side table, discarded in the chaos.

Entering the NICU, she weaved through a couple incubators until she same the familiar surname. New tears welled in her eyes and her chest tightened as she looked at the name tag — Ethan Hudson. A sob escaped Jordynne’s mouth, which she quickly covered.

“Can I help you?” An attending approached her, looking Jordynne up and down.

“This baby’s mother is my patient.” She grimaced — Was her patient. Past tense.

The attending nodded at her, realizing who she was.

Jordynne pointed at the name tag, a small smile forming on her face, “She got to name him?”

She pursed her lips, “She told me just as she was rushed to the OR.” The pair stared at the infant in silence for a moment, “The poor thing. We’ll know more in the morning.”

Eyeing the couch nearby, Jordynne asked, “Do you mind if I sit with him tonight?”

The attending eye’s filled with understanding, “Feel free.”

Holding up the stuffed frog, she chewed her lip, “Can I give him this? His mother wanted him to have it. It’s been sterilized.”

“Go ahead.” The attending gave her a sad smile, before turning on her heel and leaving the room.

Finding a box of gloves, Jordynne pulled them on quickly before placing the frog softly next to the baby, “Here you are, tadpole. Mommy’s still with you.” She smiled as he snuggled weakly next to it. Softly, she ran a finger over the baby’s tiny fist.

“What are you still doing here?”

Ethan’s voice was softer than usual — he sounded exhausted. Jordynne looked up, her eyes meeting his blue ones. They were red and blurry, his coat and collar askew, arms hanging at his sides.

She swallowed, returning to stroking the tiny baby’s hand. "I’m going to stay with him tonight. I hate the idea of him having to fight for his life alone.”

Putting his hands in his pockets, he stepped forward — his eyes still locked on her, not looking at the baby. “There are plenty of doctors working overnight. If something happens, they’ll be here.”

She bit her pink lip, forcing back more tears, “I know.”

He nodded at her, understanding. Finally, he looked down at the baby, his expression gentler then Jordynne had ever seen it.

“Would you mind if I joined you?” He asked sheepishly, his eyes big.

She stepped away from the incubator, pulling the gloves off. “Not at all.” She moved over to the love seat nearby, patting the spot next to her. “Plenty of room here.”

Ethan sat beside her on the couch, their knees almost touching in the close space. Jordynne breathed in at their touch — smelling his cologne -- sandalwood, and leather. Together, they sat in silence for a moment, listening to the gentle whoosh of the ventilator.

He broke the silence first, shifting his focus from the incubator to her. “You gave him the frog. Dolores would have been…,” His voice broke. “She would have been pleased.”

Jordynne blinked away tears, but a few slipped passed running down her tan cheek. She turned her face away from Ethan, trying to wipe them away quickly so he wouldn’t see.

But he still noticed. “Don’t Jordynne. I think we’re past hiding our tears from each other.” He croaked, tear stains visible on his cheeks in the bright light.

Her lip quivered, and she closed her eyes — relieved he hadn’t called her Rookie.

He knitted his fingers together on his lap, leaning back into the couch before speaking, “My first patient I lost… was in my fourth week. I didn’t make any mistakes. He had stage four metazoic melanoma. He just… fought like hell and lost. I liked him. He wasn’t much older than I am now. I knew he didn’t have long to live, but it still hit me hard.” He glanced over at her, swallowing.

Her blurry green eyes stared at him, “Does it ever get easier?”

“Grieving a lost patient isn’t a weakness. Good doctors should value life. For itself.” His pupils shifted as he studied her face, “I’d be more concerned if you weren’t upset.”

She let out a breath, nodding at him. “You didn’t answer my question though.”

His eyes betrayed him, looking down for a moment. “No, I didn’t.” He took a deep breath before speaking again, “Just know… this wasn’t your fault. Or mine. Or Dolores’. We all made the best decisions we could with the information we had.”

Jordynne’s eyebrows furrowed, her voice wavering again. “But she trusted us. She was my patient. She put her life in my hands.” Water formed in her eyes, and she didn’t wipe them away this time. She felt the hot tears roll down her cheek.

“You’re right. Remember this, even when the patient is mean or stubborn. Their life is in your hands. That responsibility has to come first. Always.” His voice was serious but gentle.

Pulling at the seam in her scrubs nervously, Jordynne asked, “Why are you being so nice to me? You’re usually so…”

“Demanding?” Ethan finished for her, before starring into space. He couldn’t give her a straight answer to why. They had been through the whole day with Dolores together maybe. But it could be something more than that. “There are doctors with unlimited patience. I’m not one of them. Energy I could use socializing or making someone’s day better, I put towards my patients. They’re who I’m here for.”

“But you’re a teacher too.” She said honestly.

He raised his eyebrows in agreement, “One of many, and you shouldn’t model yourself after any of us.” Pinching the bridge of his nose he continued, “Idolatry among physicians is absurd. We’re here to teach you practical medicine. You need to find your own way of being a doctor.”

“But…,” She hesitated, swallowing hard, “How do I do that?”

A small, but genuine smile spread across Ethan’s face, “You already are.”

Suddenly, the baby made a small sound — stretching his tiny hands open and close. Standing up, Ethan grabbed some gloves, before offering his finger to the infant. As he grabbed onto his finger, a smile spread across Ethan’s face — his eyes shining with water again.

“She named him after you,” Jordynne said softly, gesturing to the name on the incubator.

His eyes flashed with surprise as he looked below him, to the name tag. She watched as he swallowed hard, chewing on his lip. “I… see she did.”

The stood together, hovering over the incubator — standing shoulder to shoulder. “You must have known Dolores a long time.”

“Over ten years. When I first emailed her I only meant to check in. But she was recently divorced, feeling alone, so she insisted on coffee. And then it turned into more emails and meeting once every couple months for Sunday roast.” He smiled, thinking about past dinners.

“She sounds like a good friend.”

He nodded in agreement, “I didn’t make friends easily when I started here, so I was always grateful to her for that.” He swallowed again, falling silent as he stared at Dolores’ baby.

Instinctually Jordynne reached over the incubator, putting her hand over his — still holding onto the baby. “I’m sorry this happened.”

Ethan looked up at her, his blue eyes shining. He held her gaze for a long moment, searching her green eyes. Their hands turning warm as they touched. “Me too.” He said his voice earnest.

Jordynne felt her chest tighten for a moment, and she gulped.

Suddenly he cleared his throat, moving his hand out from underneath hers. “I think we need coffee.”

She shoved her hands into her scrubs pockets, “I can get some.”

He shook his head, putting out his hands, “No, I’ll go.” He gave her a half-smile, before leaving the NICU.

Returning to the leather love seat, Jordynne curled up into the corner of it — angling herself so she could watch the baby’s little chest. “That’s it, little tadpole. In and out.” She whispered to herself.

Ethan returned with two mugs of steaming coffee, handing one to Jordynne before sitting next to her. Her knee resting against his thigh, but he didn’t seem to mind. She took a careful sip, before grinning, “This doesn’t taste like cafeteria coffee!” She whispered excitedly.

He grinned at her reaction, showing his perfect white teeth. “This is from my private coffee machine. As soon as I got an office, I vowed never to drink that caffeinated dishwater again. Nobody knows I have it, so…”

Smiling, she took another sip from the coffee, “I won’t tell a soul.”

His eyes crinkled, “I know.” He took another sig, before speaking again, “What was with your get up earlier?”

Jordynne flushed with embarrassment, “I went to a concert after my shift. To try and keep my mind off of here. I guess it was pretty different from my scrubs.”

Ethan licked his lips, eyeing her, “A little. Not that you don’t look good now.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I just meant,” He waved at himself — his coat and trouser long disheveled, his hair tousled from running his fingers throughout it nervously all night. “All things considered.”

She chuckled, self-consciously rubbing her tired skin and trying to flatten her ponytail. “You really need to work on your compliments there, Ramsey.”

A snicker escaped him, “I gotta work on a lot of things Jordynne.”

______________________________________________________________________

Ethan woke with a stir, his eyes flashing open in confusion at his surroundings. He was still in the NICU, the bright fluorescent lights causing him to blink. He went to move his right arm but he felt resistance. Glancing over, he saw Jordynne’s blonde head leaning against it — her eyes closed as she slept.

Darting his eyes around, he realized they were alone. He looked at the incubator, noticing the rise and fall of the infant’s chest. His heart swelled — he made it. Risking another glance, Ethan gulped as he studied her face. She looked so peaceful — her full lips pursed together, long lashes casting a shadow on her cheeks, her ponytail coming undone sending pieces falling wildly around her face.

A big part of him wanted to stay like this — let her use him as a pillow, keep leaning on each other like they had the night before. But he couldn’t, he shouldn’t.

Clearing his throat, he softly shook her arm with his other hand, “Jordynne… Jordynne, wake up.”

“Hmmm,” She blinked herself awake, before snapping her eyes open. “Uh, sorry!” She moved off of Ethan’s arm, smiling sheepishly.

She immediately stared at the incubator. As soon as she woke up, her eyes went to the incubator. “He made it!”

Ethan nodded, “He’s getting stronger.” She beamed at him, her eyes twinkling at the good news.

She glanced at her watch, before jumping up quickly, “Oh crap, I have rounds in twenty minutes. I need to get a shower.” Checking her pockets, she looked longingly at the incubator.

“I’ll sit with him a bit longer.” Ethan comforted her.

Jordynne nodded at him, pursing her lips. She grabbed onto the edge of the incubator, peering in on more time, “Hang in there little one.” She whispered to him, before turning on her heel.

He swallowed as she watched her leave, Do it. Do it now. “Jordynne?”

Her head whipped around her blonde ponytail swinging. She paused in the doorframe, holding onto it.

He rubbed his rough stubble, “Thank you.” His voice was sincere.

She met his eye, a small smile stretching her pink lips, “Of course.”

Ethan breathed in deeply, closing his eyes for a moment. He could smell her, her scent lingering on his coat from where she had slept on him. He chewed his lip, stopping himself from letting the pleasant noise out of his mouth. God, what had he gotten himself into.

Part Six

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macbookpro-hard-drive · 5 years

Text

jumpstarted [jeremy h. x reader] pt.2

tumblr hates links so if anyone wants to give me money - i have a paypal and a ko-fi, dm me if you want!

i cant believe i forgot to put this shit here

warnings: none pls enjoy this fluffy shit

What went from being a simple crush was blown into straight-up hardcore pining within a few weeks. After that pool party, it seemed like Jeremy’s friends had settled on taunting him by inviting you everywhere they went. He’d go get froyo with them on the hotter weekends when he wasn’t working, and miraculously you’d be there - invited by someone in the group with a knowing smile. Michael would be having a movie night and he’d just oh-so-casually throw out your name while he and Jeremy would be getting things together, and laugh when he’d fumble with the bag of M&Ms he’d been pouring into a bowl. To push it even further, Michael miraculously managed to get everyone on board with making the only space for Jeremy to sit (because they all knew Jeremy took forever before movies began just getting an extra soda so he wouldn’t have to get up later, and then would debate about what he’d want while the argument of what to watch was hashed out in the basement) was by you. He didn’t mind - he never minded, after all, because it was you - but the way your knee pressed into his own while you were entranced by the movie (and he’d never forget when you dozed off, your head falling against his shoulder while his heart pounded in his chest and he thanked whatever was looking out for him that everyone else had already fallen asleep by them) or the way you hid your mouth when you laughed (something he’d never understand - you were ethereal in his eyes) or the way your eyes lit up when he brought you a Kit-Kat when someone was kind enough to give him a warning that you’d be hanging out with them. What he had hoped would happen would be that he would be able to get over these messy feelings before senior year officially started.

But, of course, that wouldn’t have happened anyway. Jeremy knew for a fact that the day he’d be over you would be the day you went your separate ways for college - and he had been fine with that. He was fine with lying in bed at night and thinking about your laugh and your smile and your everything with red cheeks and a warm feeling in his chest. He was fine with looking at you and sometimes wondering what it’d be like to kiss you, to hold your hand, to fall asleep next to you or with your head on his chest and knowing you liked him back. He was fine with hearing your soft, teasing “Jeremiah?” when he got too lost in gazing at you, and the way you’d laugh it off and ask what’s up with him (something he always had to bullshit an excuse for, and thankfully you seemed to buy every single one) - and fuck, he realized how much he hated his full name but you made it sound like a song and he wanted to listen to it on repeat if you were the one singing it. His nerves made him especially fluttery around you, because you were you and he found you amazing in every way.

And god, did he have it bad for you.

But you liked it. You liked the way he got lost in your eyes sometimes, only for you to smile and make him fluttery and fidgety with the edge of his shirt while stuttering out an apology and a excuse you knew was bullshit (but it was cute to watch him get so nervous over you, because wow, he was cute). You liked teasing him with his full name from time to time, watching how his cheeks would flush and he’d smile at you like an idiot before resuming what he’d been saying with a small stumble over his words. When Jeremy rambled, you honestly fell in love with the passion he held for anything and everything - whether it be theatre or video games or science. The way he lit up was enough to make your heart skip a beat and send you into a tizzy, because you loved it when his smile reached his eyes and the exciting lift to his voice when he was just so damn happy. At first you thought it’d been his friends just being nice to you, inviting you along so that you’d have friends. The day you woke up with your head on Jeremy’s shoulder was the day you realized it’d been more than that. The butterflies in your stomach were enough to confirm the feelings that’d been budding and preparing to surprise you when you least expected it - because while you found Jeremy extremely cute and sweet and passionate, you hadn’t processed why you found yourself gravitated towards him so often. Part of you wanted to play for a little longer, to tease him and see how flustered he could get before you finally maybe made a move on him and asked him out (or, maybe you’d straight up kiss him out of frustration, because holy fuck you caught yourself staring at his lips too often and you kept wanting them to be on your own). You found yourself smiling when you got home, staring at your ceiling with a Kit-Kat on your dresser from Jeremy because he remembered your favorite chocolate.

That was the most frustrating part. Anyone and everyone could see the mutual pining between the two of you. It got worse when classes began and the two of you had classes together. Michael caught every single glance you stole towards Jeremy, Rich noticed his love-struck gaze from across the table, and Chloe was growing more and more aggravated with the fact neither of you seemed like you were intending on doing something about it - and no one else had any plans either.

So she took it into her own hands, for both you and Jeremy and for the sake of everyone around the two of you as well.

When Chloe invited you to go to an amusement park one Saturday afternoon, you were beyond excited. Something about having some fun before the stress of senior year got to all of you. So you were glad to meet the group at the amusement park, happily chatting about the day ahead of you until you got inside the park and immediately were abandoned by everyone except for Jeremy. The way your heart hammered in your chest as you turned to face him, unsure of whether to run off or to stay with him. You didn’t know the park. Jeremy, on the other hand, did due to years of going there with Michael.

“I can, uh,” Jeremy started as he stepped to your side, “show you the best rides since...” He paused, looking around, “I guess everyone already had plans?”

“I’d like that,” you said with a small smile.

As Jeremy walked away, you quickly fell into step beside him. He pointed out every ride with a story to tell from years before, rambling on and on while he guided you around and in lines. He warned you about everything - the fast, thrill rides that he’d grown to love over years of building confidence (a few of which you had to withdraw from, Jeremy glad to redirect you elsewhere) and the worst places to get certain snacks and the games that were definitely rigged because he and Michael had been trying to win at them for years and they totally didn’t suck at them (you laughed at that, and Jeremy blushed, and then you blushed, and for a moment the two of you were just laughing stupidly at such a small comment). You found yourself reaching for his hand on a thrill ride, gripping it tightly as you screamed.

The moment you were off, you turned to Jeremy, “sorry about that.” When he stared at you curiously, you continued, “I think I crushed your hand.”

“Oh!” He then cracked into a small smile, scratching the back of his neck, “I didn’t mind.” He paused, before looking around, “why don’t, uh, you chose something?”

You immediately knew what you wanted. “You aren’t afraid of heights, right?” You asked with a smile.

He understood immediately and grinned back at you. “Not with you around,” he immediately dropped his grin before realizing what he said and you only chuckled in response.

You reached for his hand, slipping yours into his while looking up at him for any sign of discomfort. He only smiled at you. So you smiled back again. “Good.”

Thirty minutes later and the two of you were climbing into a car and waiting for the Ferris wheel to start. Every step of the way, you glanced to Jeremy in attempts to read him and make sure that he wasn’t uncomfortable. True to his word, he seemed calm with you at his side. When the ride jerked to life, you felt his hand grasp yours tightly for a moment before relaxing. And as fate would have it, you felt the cliche come to life as the car stopped with you and Jeremy at the very top - tightly holding hands and smiling like idiots at one another.

“You scared?” You asked, a teasing little tone to your voice.

“With you here? Never.” And then he realized his words and he pulled his gaze away from yours. “Hey, uh, [y/n], I have something I, uh... want to tell you-”

Before he could finish, you only laughed softly. “I like you too, you big dork.”

He whipped around to face you. “Wait, you-”

“Yes, Jeremiah, I know you have a big ass crush on me,” you smiled, “I’m just surprised you didn’t realize I like you back since I wasn’t exactly hiding it.”

“This... is going to sound really cliche, but...” The way his cheeks and the tips of his ears turned red gave away what he was about to ask you.

“Yes.” You beamed, “you can kiss me, Jeremy.”

His face burned with heat as he leaned forward, and you met him half-way, lips about to touch right as the ride jerked back to life. He scrambled back from you, face still red as a tomato as he looked away, rambling under his breath about of course this would happen he was right about to kiss you and he really wants to kiss you and-

Before he could finish his hurried mutterings, you got his attention and took your chance and you kissed him. He tensed up slightly at first, only for relax, and you pulled back for barely a second before he was kissing you again. The moment the car had lowered to a certain point the two of you drew back, smiling at one another with sunkissed skin and an ever warmer feeling resting in your chests. Maybe it was cliche, but... you didn’t mind.

After all - it was Jeremy. You were glad it was Jeremy you fell for - and nothing would ever change that.

#percy's writing corner #be more chill #bmc #bmc reader insert #be more chill reader insert #bmc x reader #be more chill x reader #be more chill imagine #bmc imagine #jeremy heere #jeremy heere x reader #jeremy heere imagine #i wrote this in like 30 minutes because i wanted to write something cute n happy and i enjoyed this also #this has been long overdue haha sorry

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probablymango · 5 years

Text

Dungeons and Arcana

Chapter 1: New Game

Lucio rubbed his face, trying hard not to glare at the others at the table with him. “Explain to me again, what is it you want to do?”

Asra smiles, setting down his glass. “We want to bring two more people into the game with us.”

“I got that. Who are they, do I know them, what are their experience, and do I need to start a new campaign?” He hated getting new players. Not that he wants to keep others from playing, but it meant having to learn them, figure out how they play characters, see what they could and couldn’t deal with, merging them into pre-existing campaigns was a bitch.

Julian raises his hand a bit. “My sister, she’s got a bit of experience from playing with me.”

Lucio nods, then looks at the other two.

“Our roommate, Muriel. You’ve probably met him before, or well, at least seen him.” Mordenkainen answered, making vaguely descriptive hand gestures. “Tall guy, beefy, wears a hoodie all the time, and has the big service dog. Ring any bells?”

It did, mostly because the guy was like a huge brick wall, but he wasn’t very social, so Lucio didn’t know him very well. “Does he have any experience?”

Asra and Mordenkainen look between each other with small looks of worry. “... We’ve tried…” “But neither of us are good dms so….” “Not really….”

“Jesus christ.” He groans, rubbing his face and pushing his glasses further up his face. “...... I’m going to have to meet them both, then we’ll see about a new campaign. Nadia!” He looked over his shoulder towards the kitchen.

“What?” Nadia yells back.

“You’re going to need to make a new character!”

“Okay! What kind of campaign?”

“Not sure yet! Probably just a self inserts and fantasy!”

“Hella!”

Lucio rolls his eyes then turns back to the three in front of him. “Same time or do we need to reschedule for the others?”

“Muriel is good with us.” Asra smiles brightly, lightly jumping in his seat.

Julian thinks for a bit, then pulls his cell out of his scrubs pocket. “... I’ll have to check in with her for that, but let’s stick with the same time for now.”

Lucio nods, ideas of what to make the campaign starting to form. “Good, good, please get them in contact with me before then please. I need to meet them first, even if it’s over webcam.”

Nadia came out of the kitchen, holding a bowl of grapes and milk shake. “So we’ve got more people coming?”

“Maybe.”

“Yes.” Rang in everyone else.

She nods, thoughtfully sipping at her shake. “We’ll have to order more food then. Do any of them have allergies?”

“Portia does, but I doubt that’ll stop her from eating what’s presented.”

“Still, best to make preparations anyways. What’s she allergic to?”

“Dairy, but she doesn’t acknowledge that fact.”

“Oh.” She makes a face. “Is…. is there a non-dairy pizza? Hmm, I’ll keep an eye out for non-dairy snacks that taste good.”

Julian sighs with relief. “Thank you. I can try to get her to send a list of snacks she likes, if that’d help?”

Nadia and Julian start to discuss food, while Lucio turns to the other two. “So, I know of Muriel, but what’s he like? Asides from being a big boy.”

“Shy, not outgoing, and suffers from anxiety.” Asra says, ruffling his brown hair. “We figured that doing it with friends would be the best chance at having him play and plus you’re pretty good, so we figured you’d be best at being one of his first dms.”

Lucio sighs in defeat. “We’ll talk more about this later.” He glances at the clock, then groans. “After work, it’s time to go.” He and Asra stand up, grabbing their bags and coats. “Bye Noddy!”

“Bye Mayor!” Asra grins, sliding on his obnoxiously colored green, pink, and orange jacket.

“Not mayor yet.” She laughs, waving them farewell. “Don’t forget your arm charger!”

“Thank you!” Lucio quickly grabs it from the counter, then goes out to the car. “What do you plan on playing tonight?”

Asra buckles himself, as he makes his signature cat face. “What do you mean?”

Lucio narrowed his eyes at him as he buckled himself in and pulled out. “Do you plan on being a memey little shit with the music tonight or do you plan on doing normal bar music?”

“Oh, you know.” He grins, giving Lucio the answer he knew. The bar was going to be filled with meme songs, most of them were going to give him a headache.

“You little shit.” He groaned, already feeling the headache forming from just thinking of what he was going to hear for the hours they were working together. “Can you at least put on good meme music?”

“Excuse you, but Smash Mouth is great music.” He laughs, watching the buildings pass by.

“No, no it’s not. And please, for the love of god, don’t play What’s New Pussycat, because I swear, I will jump over the bar and strangle you for it.”

“Kinky.” He snickers, poking at his shoulder.

“It’s not a kink thing you perverted little shit!” He groans, keeping his eyes on the road as he blindly slaps at Asra.

Asra snorts, weakly batting his hand away. “What if I play, It’s Not Unusual?”

“That’s worse!” He groans, putting his hand back on the wheel. “Just… Please, take some of the patrons’ requests.”

“I’ll consider it.”

It was quiet for the next few minutes, but as Lucio finished parking, his speakers came to life with-

“DO YOU LIKE WAFFLES?”

“ASRAAAAAA!”

The culprit ran into the bar, laughing with bastardly delight. Lucio groaned, rubbing his face as he turned off the car, and grabbed his bag. He hoped today will be slow, so he could write, but since Asra took over the music selection, more people started coming in. It was good for business, but not good for his creativity. He went inside, clocked himself in, and went to his usual part of the bar, the one with the plug-in built into the counter. He plugged in his phone and arm, hoping people chose the other bartenders, but knowing he’s never that lucky.

His fear was confirmed about 10 minutes into his shift. Asra had some weird remix playing as a sickly looking older man came to the bar in front of him. Worm man, or Vlastomil, as his name tag reads, comes in regularly. The only reason Lucio even remembers this fucker is solely because he stands out; super pale, an almost leprechaun face, dark clothes, and is usually saying something about worms. He assumes the man works at the bait shop, but honestly didn't care enough to find out. “What will it be, sir?”

“Drunken worm cocktail.”

He gets out the ingredients, passion fruit vodka, peach schnapps, cointreu, coconut rum, sweet and sour, cranberry juice, and gummy worms. It looked tasty, white bottom, with red top, ice, and gummy worms resting on the top. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” He sets down $15 and walks away to a darker part of the room. A weird, but alright person.

He stares at him for a bit, then picks up his phone and starts typing. Vlastomil…. Sounds like a perfect fantasy name…. He quickly made some notes, then put away his phone as another person came over. “Hi, how can I help you?”

The man in front of him was beautiful, like almost a model. Long hair in a braid, brown that somehow beautifully turns to blond, and clothes that looked a bit more expensive than this area normally gets. Dammit, he didn’t need an instant crush on a stranger. “What kinds of wine do you have?”

“... Uh, I’ll have to check the list.” Not many people wanted straight wine, so he forgot the actual names of them. “We have…. Pinot Grigio.. Some Chardonnay… uhhh.. Pinot Noir… Rose and Cabernet Sauvignon?”

He raises an eyebrow and has a small smile. “Not used to serving?”

“Not used to serving straight wine. Which would you like?”

He stares at the bottles for a bit. “Pinot Noir.”

“You got it.” He pours him a glass and hands it to him, then watches as he awkwardly holds the glass, probably expecting a wine glass instead of the regular ass glasses they have.

“Thank you.” He continues to stay at the bar, drinking as he looked around, sipping thoughtfully at his wine. “Hmp, this is just like him too.”

He shouldn’t butt in or even mention that he heard it, but his nosiness is getting the better of him. “Who?”

He sighs, leaning back into the bar. “My ex, he used to bring this home constantly. Should have expected the bad after taste of him with it.”

“That’s rough buddy.” Did he really just say that? He’s been dming too long, now he sounds like an actual NPC!

He snorts softly, turning to smile at him. “I didn’t think bartenders actually said that.”

They don’t, I’m just too used to fantasy. “I like going beyond people’s expectations.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He turns back around, continuing to sip at his wine.

Lucio looked over at Asra, only to see him gesturing to…. Do something? He looked at his phone and, oh, he sent a text.

Snek meme bastard: is that valerius? Me: Who is that and why should I care? Snek meme bastard: cuz hes muriels cuz Me: ….. Me: Can u try that again with proper spelling? Snek meme bastard: valerius is muriels cousin Snek meme bastard: is that valerius? Me: not sure Snek meme bastard: ASK Me: NO Snek meme bastard: please Me: no Snek meme bastard: please Me: no Snek meme bastard: please Me: no Snek meme bastard: please Me: no Snek meme bastard: please Me: no Snek meme bastard: please Me: no Snek meme bastard: ………. Snek meme bastard: ill give you $20 bucks if you do Me: …… if he calls the cops im bringing you to jail with me

He groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose, then looks back up at the handsome man in front of him. “What’s your name?”

He looks up at him. “.... any reason you want to know?”

Shit, shit, what does he say? “Why wouldn’t I like to know the name of an attractive person at my bar?” He grins, dying on the inside. He really needs to stop hanging out with MC, they were giving him bad habits of unnecessary flirting with everyone who sticks around for more than 5 minutes.

He looks at him for a bit, then laughs. “You…” He snorts, setting down his drink. “Where.. How did you learn to talk like that?”

“I have no idea of what you mean.” Well, at least he got the stranger to laugh, hopefully that means good things and not being considered a creep. “I speak like a regular people.”

He laughs more, then tries to take a sip of his wine. “I’ll…” He snickers. “I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me your’s.”

“I’m Lucio of Vesuvia!” He adds a bit of lordly flair to the way he says it, deciding to commit to the weird way of talking for this man. “And you are?”

He giggles, barely able to talk at this point. “I’m- hehehe- I’m Consul Valerius, at your service!” He goes back to laughing.

His phone lights up, warning him that Asra wanted to call. Fuck that, it’s too loud for that to work out. He declines the call to see that Asra had texted him. A lot.

Snek meme bastard: is it him? Snek meme bastard: hey Snek meme bastard: lucio Snek meme bastard: lucio Snek meme bastard: is it him? Snek meme bastard: LUCIO Snek meme bastard: lucy Snek meme bastard: i said get a name not flirt Snek meme bastard: …… Snek meme bastard: bitch Snek meme bastard: dude Snek meme bastard: respond or i will rick roll the entire club Snek meme bastard: im serious Snek meme bastard: just say if he is or isnt Snek meme bastard: 3 Snek meme bastard: 2 Snek meme bastard: 1 Me: WAIT

But it was too late, the room was filling with the beginning of Never Going to Give You Up, sending almost every person in the bar into a collective flight or fight response. Some were booing Asra, others just loudly complaining, some were laughing, and even fewer actually left. Asra stared directly at Lucio, demanding a response.

Me: YES HIS NAME IS VALERIUS Me: TURN IT OFF Snek meme bastard: :3

The music was changed to.. Something else, the song wasn’t familiar, so that was good. He sighs, rubbing his face. “Sorry about that. Our DJ is a…. He’s a bastard and let’s leave it at that…”

He shrugs, finishing his glass of wine. “It’s alright, odd choices in music, but he seems alright.”

After the song, one of the other DJs took over for a bit, then Asra made, as straight as he could, for them. “Valerius?”

“Who wants to know.” His mood immediately dropped back to being serious.

“Muriel’s roommate, Asra.”

He glances at Lucio, as if to get confirmation.

“This is my bastard coworker, Asra, the memelord.” Lucio sighs, gesturing at him.

Asra grins, then starts talking to Valerius, but Lucio stopped listening so that he could make some more notes. Vesuvia and Valerius… wonderful names..

“Excuse me!” A loud person, yelled at Lucio. He looked up to see Vulgora, one of the few people you actually remembered the name of. They were constantly getting into fights and just overall loud. “Get me a beer!”

“Any specific kind?”

“A beer!”

Lucio nodded, getting the cheapest beer he could find and putting it in a glass, then handing it to them. “Here you go.” Vulgora and the bar had a deal, they could drink as much as they wanted and the bill would be put directly on their bank account. The bill on most days was too many drinks, on worst days, over hundreds of dollars for repairs. He didn’t understand why they were let back in after the first time, but at least they were paying for it.

With their drink in hand, Vulgora started chugging as they went to find someone to arm wrestle, and Lucio went back to his phone. Vulgora… that’s a rather unique name…

There was tapping on the counter, he looked up to see one of his greatest fears: Dr. Valdemar. The doctor might not have done anything specifically harmful to him, but waking up in the middle of surgery was still lucid led to….. Visual nightmares that have haunted him for over 6 years. “..... How can I help you?”

“Have you seen Dearil?”

“Uhh.. no?” Name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place who it was.

They look around, contemplating their next words. “Dark orange hair, reddish brown eyes, and is probably carrying a skull?”

No, no he has not. Well, maybe, there’s a lot of people here. He shrugs. “Can’t help you, sorry.”

They nod, setting down a bill. “Thanks anyways.” They wandered into the crowd, hopefully to never be seen again.

…. They would make a great villain. He typed some more at his phone. He was getting a lot of V names tonight.

“Um, sir?” There was a lady in front of him. “Do you serve food here?”

“The bar with food is over there.” He points to the other side.

“Thank you.” She smiles, walking away and someone said “Volta!” as she approached.

This place has a surprising amount of people with Vs in their first name… He went back to his phone, waiting on Asra to stop talking to the cute guy.

#mysterious art #lucio #arcana #nadia #julian #asra #apprentice #oc #fan apprentice #valerius #vlademar #vlastomil #volgora #volta #fanfiction #fanfic #oh yeah. i write sometimes

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bighandslittlefeet · 5 years

Text

Hello Everyone!

So we left Sydney in Val the Van and have been on the road for six days now! It's been marvellous. We’re not sad to see the back of Sydney, serving coffees and running escape rooms can only hold your interest for so long, and I think we packed in all of the good touristy stuff in the first two weeks, so by the end of two months we were definitely hankering for something new! We’re sad to say goodbye to our friends and new work colleagues of course, but the open road beckoned, and on Sunday we set off in a freshly packed Val. We made a short stop for coffee at Four Brothers for Espresso and had a cheeky egg and bacon sarnie and then began the journey properly.

We headed south to go north, hitting up Jervis bay as we had been told by numerous folk that it was truly unmissable. It took us a good five hours to get down, owing to bad traffic on the main highway, it looked to us in passing that a lorry driver had had a serious near miss and was on the side of the road shedding tears to a police officer, meanwhile, we were all diverted down into the valley and onto the b roads. A lot of traffic wound its way through two very picturesque, but very small, seaside towns. Eventually though we made our way out of Sydney and further and further south.

Jervis bay is a nature reserve park with stunning beaches known for their high silica content which keeps them cool and makes them brilliantly white to look at. As we arrived at the park boundary we decided to buy a two day pass, after talking with a really nice park keeper who was sure that the campsites inside the park were a rip off and we’d do much better commuting in and out. So we drove in, the road becoming less and less sealed, further and further, the bush growing more and more tangled and dense. We came to the end of the road. The far end of the peninsula. The furthest beach. We did the obligatory suncreaming and made for the nearest beach. The view was stunning. A sweeping bay with white sands as far as could be seen interspersed with pockets of green and rocky outcroppings encroaching on the shore. We soon realised that this particular edge had quite a lot of rocks and weeds in the amazingly clear water and made our way back to Val, and proceeded to the other side of the headland. This beach, similar in beauty, was replete with a smattering of folks, swimming, eating, sunbathing, and so we felt more comfortable getting out togs off and jumping in. Val came with a full face mask snorkelling kit and two other normal snorkel masks and mouthpieces, so we took the opportunity, as recommended gain by friends, to do a bit of snorkelling. It was chilly water, but gloriously clear. We could see small silvery fish about a handspan in length, and a few jellies here and there. The sand quickly dropped away into the bay and we stuck to the shallows. Later, reading a pamphlet on the beach we would find that we were meant to always face the sea, as sharks were regular guests of the bays! Luckily we were spared any sightings that day!

After a short nap on the sand and a dry off in the early afternoon sunshine we made our way back out of the park. We drove to Hyams beach, another stunner, but the sun was beginning to get low on the horizon and we were starting to get peckish. We made our way to a shop to pick up foodie stuff, the plan was to make a bit of a mexican feast, poached chicken, smoky pepper mole, quac, salsa, blackened corn, and warmed mini tacos. We then made our way over to another site we had identified at bream beach. We couldn’t have done any better, well priced, on the edge of a lake and the people who greeted us were so super friendly. And the kangaroos. They lived on the site. 15 of them, just out of season, so there were some very small young ones! Very cute and very friendly. We watched the sunset with a glass of wine and had leftovers as it was too late to cook.

The next day we headed back into the park. We headed to steamer’s bay, a secluded beach a bit of a hike from the nearest parking spot. It was recommended no swimming, and as we crested the hill we could see why, the beach ran long and shallow and must have had quite a significant drop off as the swell was immense, waves taller than our heads relentlessly crashed onto the beach. We descended the steep staircase into the bay and walked the beaches length and breadth before turning back to the staircase and the walk back to Val. That night we made the feast and ate very well indeed. The next morning we set our sights on hunter valley, a location renowned for its wine and more importantly north of Sydney. We set off and broke the journey for a coffee and a bite in Wollongong, a small seaside town just south of Sydney. A lovely cafe playing Paolo Nutini, served great coffee and a bacon and egg roll - scrambled this time, not fried, and with a nice tomato relish. The BNE as they are called here, seems to the staple of cafes rather than the BLT, as in the UK. I think it is rather excellent. The time in Wollongong was rounded off with a walk up to a lighthouse and along the coast for a little stretch before once again we headed back towards Val. Some of you may know that Becca and I have a collaborative Google map on which we have been bookmarking places to see and go on this trip and we actually had one marked for this town. As we walked back through town to the car park, we passed Chicko’s a fried chicken hut - we couldn’t remember for the life of us why we had tagged it but it looked like it was doing roaring trade. We would have had some had it not been for the lovely food we had just had! And also, fried chicken mid morning seemed a little odd!

Back on the road we blasted the tunes until we climbed the foothills, into the mountains, and finally the valley. An uncanny sense of deja vu took over as it seemed we were transported into the South of France, vineyards and gateways with no fences, lined the route sporadically. Until we hit the towns which were a strange american cultural mix, I could have been in France, although driving on the wrong side of the road! We pulled into the campsite we had booked and set up camp, the temperature was cooler here, and so we shrugged on some jackets and walked across the way to a brewery. We got a tasting platter of local brewed beers, reasoning that tomorrow we could do the wines. We sat and chatted as the sun gto lower and lower in the sky and decided to have a bite to eat at the brewery. A very satisfactory fish and chips and chicken parmo later, and we were contentedly strolling back to camp for a deep sleep.

The next day we did our first campsite wash. The temperature was up so the clothes hung in the sun and were dry in no time. We were soon picked up by our tour which we had booked in Sydney a few weeks ago as a sort of early Christmas treat to ourselves. When in Rome… The tour had been recommended by a friend and was run by a winery/restaurant known as Two Fat Blokes. Julie, our van driver came picked us up at the gates of our site and warned us that today we would be drinking around a bottle and a half of wine each and so had plenty of water on hand - we rubbed our hands with glee. The other couples on the bus were Swiss and American and we picked up a trio of Irish women before making our first wine stop at Leogate. The nine of us sat at a long table outside under a shaded canopy and we were served a flight of 10 or so wines of varying styles and ages. They were all young and fruity and really quite nice. My old world sensibilities have definitely been eroded by this experience. We barreled back into the van, after a few obligatory photos of the vines with the mountains in the background, and began the drive to the next cellar door. Conversation was much more lubricated, thanks I am sure in no small part to the copious quantities of wine just imbibed on near empty stomachs, and we began to chat with the Americans, who turned out to be an Australian and an American who had been dating long distance and were here during their week together. I was asked who my team was, which I had no reply to, until Becca told me he was enquiring about football - at which point I was at even more of a loss. Grasping at straws I related how many people in the UK seemed to be interested in the NFL now, and I myself had picked up a t-shirt at a charity shop which I had been reliably informed was to do with an american sports team, but which I had bought because of its florid tie-dyed aesthetic.

The bus rounded the corner and we were suddenly in a spanish villa. An uncanny sense of deja vu washed over me again, as were were ushered through large oak doors into a high vaulted room. The dude who lead our tasting this time had a very nice pair of DMs on and was a pretty chilled and nice guy. Another flight of wines and we were soon in the van on our way to the two fat blokes pop up restaurant where we had been promised not only nine more wines to taste but also a flight of tasty cheeses to accompany them. The cheese was phenomenal. I’m proud to say the best of the cheese was imported from good ole europe! It was stunning. A real range, and all of them worked very well together on the palate. A new cheese, which I had not had before - a labna, was incredibly creamy and flavoured with a light floral tang. The smoky, the creamy, all went together with the light, the fruity, the well bodied, the red, the white, the rose, and the liqueurs that were placed before us. Placed by, frankly, our alcoholic guide, who admitted to always having at least ten of such and such a bottle on standby, and could happy put away a bottle or two of x and y wines by herself! Much respect. The tasting was made all the more hilarious by the bunch of Irish lasses who had the most amazingly over the top reactions to every cheese we had, it was either ‘the best fucking cheese I have ever tasted, oh my god, Sairosie, have you actually tried this cheese, it's incredible’ to ‘it literally tastes like, and you’ll forgive me for saying this - bird shite’. It was a hoot.

We were the first to be dropped off by the van and we settled into the van quite merrily, making our pre-planned ham and cheese toasties as our designated drunk food. But! These were no ordinary ham and cheese toasties!! As I set about making the roux to form the basis of the cheese sauce, Becca sliced the sourdough breads and began buttering every side. Soon we could begin construction. A doorstop slice of bread, a smear of the cheese sauce, a slice of edam, a few slices of chunky deli ham, a slice of edam, another smear of the mustardy cheese sauce, and finally another double buttered sourdough slice to complete the architectural marvel. Straight to a hot pan, toasted to a golden crisp on both sides, the innards, steaming and goopy. A triumph if we don’t mind saying so ourselves.

The next day we took to the road, bidding goodbye to our strange little campsite in the rolling vines of Hunter Valley. We made a stop at the two wineries we had visited prior to the two fat blokes stop and bought a couple of bottles for Christmas. We then made our way over to Nelson Bay. We spent some time durdling around on a very lovely beach and then made our way up to the headland lighthouse which had stunning views of the bay. We had a spider - an australian coke float, and shared some scones and cream. A questionable variant on the British Cream tea, to be sure. That night we found ourselves in a lovely beachside campsite next to the beach. We tried for another walk but the wind was so strong that it was like being sandblasted. We quickly gave up and turned in as the sun set. That night we found the joys of staying in a powered site, the next day all of our gear was fully charged and the fridge was lovely and cold, now flashing error signs for us as the second battery contended with watery first morning light falling on the solar panel. We set off towards Seal rocks, our next stop, having been recommended a campsite there known as Treachery Camp, by a colleague of Becca’s in Sydney. En route we decided to have lunch at the Rick stein signature restaurant. We hadn’t had any fresh fish yet and we had been looking forward to it down here. So we opted for a fancy meal to treat ourselves. We drank sparkling water on the balcony and ate spiced crab and wonderfully fried fresh fish, and bbq’d king prawns. It was fab!

Soon again we were on the road, barreling along the edge of lakes, and through winding twilight forests. Before we knew what hit us we hit the unsealed road and poor Valerie began to bounce and scream like no-ones business! We slowed to a five km/h crawl and still felt like we were sat on a giant washing machine. After a three kilometre stretch we hit the campsite and found ourselves in the midst of the remains of a festival type hangover. To top it off we were told that they didn’t assign sites we just had to find a spot ourselves. We were a little stressed and found ourselves between some trees - which we soon found out dappled our solar panel! We set out for the beach which was desolate, windy and beautiful. But alas we had no signal and had not expected being without it so couldn’t contact family to let them know we’d be off grid for two days. We didn’t feel like decamping either - only wanting to put Val through that dirt track once more when we left. We made some cracking food though, a very tasty cassoulet, and soon the rabble rousing crowd left and it became a much more young family beach vibe place. We grew more comfortable and relaxed.

We rattled our way back down the unsealed road two mornings later and were soon back on the road towards Port Macquarie. And I’ll leave you with this little tidbit of the next installment - koalas, friends and drinking - oh my.

With Love, Hugs, Spotty Signal and Low Battery Level Power Packs,

Sam and Becca

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