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refinedbuffoonery · 2 years

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Flawless (10)

Con Artist AU. masterlist.

This ending of this chapter has existed since the very beginning. To those of you who have stuck around to read it: thank you and I love you.

The painting mentioned in this chapter— “Woman-Ochre” by Willem de Kooning—is a real painting that had an exhibition dedicated to it in the Getty this summer. The story I tell about it is true; it was stolen from the U of A Museum of Art in 1985 and was recovered in 2017. The rest, of course, is fictional.

*****

“Let’s do a job,” Riley announced over lunch, causing Leanna to choke on an oyster.

They were at a Santa Monica seafood restaurant that overlooked the ocean and, since they’re both rich and could easily afford it, had gone all out on today’s lunch. They ordered a trio of appetizers—oysters on the half-shell, miniature uni tacos, and an off-menu surprise selected by the chef (an ex of Cage’s that the Five Eyes remained on good terms with)—and split a plate of caviar nachos. The tiny patio was packed with customers dressed in L.A. finery: well-made clothes that were a mix of trendy and timeless, paired with Rainbow flip flops and dark sunglasses.

Things between her and Leanna had officially returned to as normal and not-weird as they were going to get, so all that was left was to entice Leanna to come back to the fun side. Leaning forward, Riley conspiratorially whispered, “Tonight.”

Dropping the empty oyster shell onto her plate, Leanna hissed, “Are you crazy?” Her eyes widened and her head cocked slightly to the left—an expression that, after a decade of being on the receiving end of it, no longer fazed Riley. However, that didn’t make her judgmental stare any less annoying.

“Stop looking at me like that. And also stop worrying. I already have the whole thing planned out.” She tossed back an oyster.

Leanna muttered something that sounded like, “Good for you.”

The job came to Riley, quite literally, in a dream. After hearing on the news last night that a da Vinci sketch had been stolen from the Getty Museum, Riley reached out to a few of her old contacts—contacts she met through Nikki—to see if they knew which of LA’s lowlifes pulled off the job.

They did.

Unfortunately for her, Riley happened to be well acquainted with this particular group of lowlifes, on both a professional and personal level, although she hadn’t spoken to any of them in years. And for good reason.

The Getty job was pulled off by none other than the Coltons, a notorious take-no-shit crime family and Riley’s ex- potential in-laws.

The only positive was that thanks to Mama Colton’s desperate attempt to recruit Riley to the family business, she knew exactly how they operated. Which meant she also knew how to con them into screwing up their own con. Riley left that part out of her explanation, but Leanna likely knew her train of thought anyway.

“Ri, this isn’t a good idea.” Leanna chewed her lower lip—a nervous habit she broke years ago but had apparently returned. Her eyes flicked to each of the nearby tables, checking for eavesdroppers, but no one paid them any mind. Riley had already checked.

Despite Leanna’s doubt, Riley refused to be deterred. “Sure it is. Listen. It’ll be easy. All we have to do is—” Leanna cut her off before she could explain her plan.

“I’m not participating in this.”

“Sure you are.”

A measured sip of water. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m done with that life.”

Disbelieving, Riley’s voice fell to a near whisper as she said, “But you came back.”

“I came back for my friend. Not to be a criminal again.”

“Sorry to inform you, your friend is a criminal,” Riley spat. She’d had enough of Leanna’s new holier-than-thou attitude. She was no less of a criminal than Riley. The only difference was that one of them had a rap sheet and the other a government paycheck.

Leanna covered Riley’s hands with her own, and Riley stiffened. “You don’t have to be. You can leave, just like I did. Get a real job with a steady paycheck. Have health insurance and a retirement fund.”

“I don’t need a retirement fund.” She didn’t bother to hide the bitterness in her voice.

Rolling her eyes, Leanna pressed, “It’s about the principle of it all.” She squeezed Riley’s hands. “Let go, Ri.”

Riley pulled away, folding her hands in her lap. “I can’t.”

“Why.” It came out as more of a demand than a question. Leanna slurped down another oyster, her endlessly calm demeanor only pissing Riley off more.

“I like what I do. I like living on this side of the law.”

Leanna scoffed, “You’re an adrenaline junkie who likes attempting impossible things just to see if you can pull them off.”

“And I can,” Riley said, gritting her teeth.

“You got lucky.”

“Last I checked, you’ve spent years benefitting from that luck.” When Leanna didn’t rise to the bait, Riley muttered, “Whatever.”

Where did Leanna get off thinking she had any right to judge her? Her best friend of eleven years was no better than her, despite Leanna’s newfound superiority complex proclaiming otherwise.

Just growing pains, Riley thought. We’ll get through this.

But a petty argument wouldn’t sway Leanna. It never had, nor would it now. She would have to be strategic to convince Leanna to give up her 9 to 5. Riley resumed eating, pretending she didn’t feel like their friendship was fraying at the seams, and said, “Well, the offer stands if you change your mind.”

“I won’t.”

Riley let her have the last word, biting her tongue hard enough that it bled.

*****

Perched on top of a hill overlooking West L.A., the Getty Museum was a haven for tourists and locals alike—at least those willing to brave the 405 in order to get there. Since it was technically autumn—although it still felt like summer—the gardens were in a sad, but natural stage of half-brown, and smoke from a distant wildfire plumed on the horizon. It was far enough away that Riley wouldn’t have to worry about evacuating.

Fires burning in the distance always led to fires burning at home. The stress of waiting for everything to go up in flames was a breeding ground for strife.

Living in L.A. her whole life, the scent of wildfire smoke in the air set Riley on edge. It was a slow kind of anxiety—always waiting for the other shoe to drop, prepared for the worst-case scenario to become reality. She’d only been at risk of losing her home once, as a child, but after her fair share of evacuations, even the slightest risk brought her childhood fear back to the surface.

She ducked into the museum quickly, not lingering in the gardens like she usually would, and the filtered air was a sweet relief.

To avoid suspicion, Riley planned on doing a lap of at least two wings of the museum, one of which would include the scene of the crime.

Ironically, one of the exhibits she passed featured a painting called “Woman-Ochre” that had been recently recovered after its theft in 1985. According to the plaque, it had been cut out of its frame; a man cut it out while a woman distracted museum security. Nikki probably knew more about it, including the identities of the thieves.

The rest of the exhibit detailed the restoration process, which Riley didn’t care about. Instead, she studied the painting itself to figure out what made this one theft-worthy. Depicting a woman’s torso, it was mostly abstract except for the boobs, which were perfectly clear. Riley rolled her eyes and continued walking.

She wound her way through the halls until she reached the area blocked-off with police tape, an empty space on the wall.

She thought about sandpipers and the risks she was willing to take for a reward. After two years of being clean, it was no wonder Leanna’s threshold of acceptable risk was so much lower than before. It was no wonder she hesitated. But for Riley. . . those two years only made her risk tolerance higher, not lower.

Automatically, Riley’s brain mapped the museum, cataloging potential ways in and out until she determined the most probable path the Coltons took to steal the sketch unseen. The LAPD had no leads on the thief, but Riley knew the Coltons’ style, and an immaculate job such as this was one only an elite few could pull off—a group that included both the Coltons and, until recently, the Five Eyes.

Maybe Leanna had a point, but at the end of the day, this was Riley’s life. She couldn’t just give it up. She didn’t know anything else.

She might’ve once, back when her teenage self discovered the power in hacking. She was good too, but all her attempts to get a job that would actually challenge her skills were ruined by doubting, sexist interviewers who saw a beautiful young woman and decided there was no way that face matched her resume.

Her friends at the time—Kai and Peyton, also hackers—diverged; privileged Peyton landed a nice job with assistance from a little nepotism, and Kai broke the trio’s promise of being “the good guys” and became a black hat hacker.

It was Riley who tried the longest, who kept applying to job after job, went to interview after interview, all with the same result: No.

Not to say that was all for nothing, because it was walking home from yet another failed interview that Riley met Nikki.

She stopped applying for jobs after that.

Entering Nikki’s favorite wing, Riley continued to wander, fantasizing about how good it would feel when Billy Colton realized she ruined his perfect job.

*****

She texted Leanna. Offer: meet me at this address in an hour. We’ll intercept the Coltons before they can finish the job

Leanna replied immediately. Counteroffer: Meet me at your apartment in an hour, and I’ll help you get back on the right side of the law.

Riley didn’t respond. Leanna would come around eventually. She was sure of it.

*****

Nails drumming across glossy red paint, Riley sat on the sun-warmed hood of the truck, leaning back against the windshield, and waited. The truck was sleek. New. Well, it probably had thirty thousand miles on it by now, but the Coltons bought it to replace their previous gas guzzler right after she’d broken up with Billy, right before she’d gone to prison.

The point was that Riley had never ridden in it, and thus it was new to her.

It was parked in an average suburban parking lot, part of an average suburban strip mall which housed an average suburban bank. It was one of the national chains, with locations in cities big and small. Riley kept her money in a better one, but she could see the appeal for a family who never stayed too long in one place.

When they weren’t thieving, however, the Coltons ran an art forging business out of their backwoods diner. While the diner certainly wasn’t as lucrative as their dealings in the art world, it had a most loyal customer base.

There was a time when Riley was one of them.

Now, however, she’d like nothing more than to take a chunk out of the Coltons’ profits, rather than contribute.

Oversized purse slung over her shoulder, none other than Mama Colton herself exited the bank, her daughter Jesse in tow. Upon spotting Riley, her immaculate red manicure vanished as she momentarily clenched her fist around her purse strap. Good. That meant Riley caught her off-guard.

Riley’s lips curved into a satisfied smirk. “Nice to see you again, Mama.”

“Can’t say I share that sentiment,” Mama replied. Behind her, Jesse slowly reached for the gun Riley knew she had concealed beneath her leather jacket. She wouldn’t shoot—or even take aim—without an order from Mama. And while Mama likely still hated Riley, murder wasn’t her style. Riley was perfectly safe.

Mama and Jesse walked all the way to the front of their truck, but Riley didn’t budge from her perch on the hood. Instead, her sneer only grew.

“I’ve always wanted to do a job at the Getty,” Riley drawled, “but all that driving on the 405 never seems worth it.”

“Funny,” Jesse replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please.” Riley hopped down from the hood. The metal was starting to burn her skin through her black jeans. “I just came to see if you still stash stolen art beneath the backseat. A horrible idea, really. Anyone could break in and steal it. You wouldn’t want that, now would you?”

But Mama didn’t balk at her thinly veiled threat. Worse, she laughed.

“Bless your heart for looking out for us, but there’s nothing to worry about. The boys already fenced it.” Mama had a poker face that could fool God, but the victorious gleam in Jesse’s eyes made Riley inclined to believe Mama’s claim.

Riley was too late.

“Now,” Mama continued, “you best be running along. You’ve already screwed over one of my children, and there will be consequences if you come after my family again. Now kindly get away from my truck.”

For the record, what happened between Riley and Billy was not her fault.

Mama walked past Riley like she wasn’t even there, but Jesse shoulder-checked her—she learned that from her older brothers—and held up a middle finger behind her back. Mama couldn’t see the gesture, but Riley couldn’t miss it, and for a few horrible seconds she was right back in prison. Standing in the cafeteria, standing in the yard. Before she knew better. That move was the precursor to a beating, and she knew damn well that Jesse could brawl with the best and win.

Once, there was a time when Riley was beloved by the Coltons, instead of hated. Once, she found herself as the lynchpin in some of the family’s most ambitious jobs. Once, Jesse even worshiped her as the older sister she’d always wanted.

But breakups were between more than just the couple in question, and no matter the truth of the situation, family would always side with family, which means Billy would always have their full support and Riley would always be the villain of that story.

Just another example of people who swore they cared, and then left.

Riley watched them drive off, alone and empty-handed.

*****

She was thirty minutes late meeting Leanna back at her apartment. The key was barely out of the lock and she could already tell Leanna was pissed. She sat on one of the barstools, arms crossed and glaring hard enough to put a hole through Riley’s chest.

“You’re late,” Leanna snapped. The old Leanna did appreciate punctuality. Riley supposed the scolding was warranted. Sort of.

“Hello to you too.” Riley dropped her keys on the counter. Poured herself a drink of water.

For a moment, the only sound was the clinking of the ice in her glass.

“You went after the Coltons, didn’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

Refusing to give her the instant satisfaction of being right, Riley opened the fridge in search of a snack. She did a double take. Leanna had reorganized the whole thing, throwing out old leftovers and labeling everything else. It was immaculate. Nothing was where Riley had put it. Bristling, Riley challenged, “So what if I did?”

“It was a bust, wasn’t it?”

Damn her, for knowing. For figuring it out. Damn her. Damn her. Damn her.

“Who was there?”

Rapidly losing her appetite, Riley closed the fridge without taking anything out. She answered, “Mama and Jesse.”

“Describe their body language.”

“Jesse looked entirely too pleased with herself, but that’s normal for her.”

“And Mama?”

“If Mama Colton lied, we’d never know. She’s too good. You said so yourself years ago.”

Leanna persisted anyway. “That was before I became a trained interrogator for the CIA. Now tell me exactly what she did. No detail is too small.”

The reminder of Leanna’s new job stung. Especially after Riley had done such a good job not thinking about it. But even she had to admit Leanna’s new skills could come in handy.

Closing her eyes, Riley replayed her exchange with the Coltons. “She was holding her purse with one hand. Relaxed posture. She put her free hand in her pocket when she was done speaking.”

“She lied.”

“What?” Riley’s eyes snapped open. “How the hell do you know?”

“The oddly-timed gesture,” Leanna explained. “If she were telling the truth, she would’ve put her hand in her pocket before or while speaking, not after. Liars tend to have delayed hand gestures.”

“Damn, okay,” Riley said, impressed, but that feeling quickly melted into annoyance at being lied to. Thinking out loud, she said with increasing speed, “We can still salvage this. Even if they’ve already fenced it, I know what dealer they sold it to—they always use the same one—and we can convince him the Coltons sold him a fake. He’ll believe it too, since Frank and Billy run that forgery business on the side. It’s—”

“Riley, I don’t think—”

“—not that hard. Nikki and I have done it before and—”

“Riley!” Leanna yelled.

“What?” Riley yelled back.

They mirrored each other now, standing on opposite sides of the counter, arms crossed. Both used to the other listening when they spoke, not whatever the hell this was.

“For the last time, I’m not doing a job with you. Stop fucking assuming I’ll change my mind.”

It was her most blatant rejection yet, and it hit like a punch to the throat. Gasping for air, Riley scrambled to figure out why. This wasn’t like Leanna. This wasn’t who she was.

“I’m CIA. I can’t do shit like this anymore.”

“You’re a wanted criminal in seventeen countries,” Riley reminded her. “For grand theft.”

“I’m a wanted criminal in twenty-four countries,” Leanna corrected. Riley raised her brows. “You didn’t think I had a desk job, did you?”

Riley snorted. “You’re not the type.”

Finally, Leanna uncrossed her arms. “I’m serious though. I don’t do that stuff anymore. And maybe you shouldn’t either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re a criminal, Riley! And since you clearly didn’t learn anything in prison, maybe you need to go back.”

Riley couldn’t believe what she was hearing. And after what she’d done. . . “What the fuck is wrong with you? I went to prison to save your ass! And Nikki’s! You know damn well it could’ve just as easily been you in there instead of me.”

“And I’m sorry that happened to you. What I’m trying to say is that I learned from that situation, and I had hoped you did too.”

“What,” Riley snarled. “What was I supposed to learn?”

“That what we did was wrong!” Leanna’s voice cracked. “God, Riley. Are you that blind? We’ve been awfully lucky for a lot of years. It was only a matter of time before that luck dried up and we were worse off than when we started. We can’t be criminals forever.”

Riley laughed, but there was no humor in it. “We can’t be criminals, so you decided to become a professional liar instead? No wonder your boyfriend dumped you.”

“I don’t blame him for not wanting to go through all the lies again.” Leanna clamped her hand over her mouth, but that only made Riley’s mind lock onto that last word even more.

Again.

“What do you mean, again?” Tears started to fray the edges of her accusatory tone, and Riley fought to hold them back.

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

“Forget I said it.”

“Not likely. Start talking.”

“Fine.” Leanna sighed. “I knew it was only a matter of time before Bozer got suspicious, but it’s not like I could confirm or deny anything. I could get in huge trouble for just the little I’ve told you. But it kept getting harder as my assignments got longer and more frequent, and then he figured it out about Mac, and—”

Mac.

Nikki’s Mac.

Nikki’s Mac who was a spy. A spy who lived right here in L.A.

“You work with Nikki’s ex-boyfriend?” The pieces didn’t add up.

“Different agencies. I met him through Nikki, but sometimes our work paths cross, yes.”

“And how does your boyfriend know him?” Leanna winced at the word ‘boyfriend,’ but Riley didn’t give a shit how she felt anymore.

“They grew up together. Been friends most of their lives. They still live together.”

Riley took a step back. And another. And another until she backed right into the cabinets.

“I cut ties with everyone when Mac was reintroduced to me as a spy. He’s a smart guy. I knew Nikki wouldn’t be able to fool him forever, and I wasn’t about to risk my new life by associating with all of you.”

Reeling, Riley gripped the counter for support as the world rocked under her feet. Leanna didn’t just leave. She left because the Five Eyes were no longer advantageous to her. That selfish bitch.

She knew Mac. She abandoned her best friends because of Mac.

Mac.

Mac, who was at the Louvre that night. Mac, who nearly ruined the heist of Riley’s dreams.

The heist, which Leanna knew about. Because Riley told her. Standing on the porch of her boyfriend’s house, which was also Mac’s house.

How was Paris? Leanna had asked.

Leanna knew perfectly well how Paris went because she fucking set them up.

“How could you?” Riley screamed. There was no stopping the tears now, and they ran down her face in steady streams, blurring her vision. “After everything we’ve been through together, how could you do that to me? To us?”

“I did it to save you.”

“From what? Because clearly it wasn’t from going back to prison.”

“From yourself! You could do anything with your life, be anyone, yet this is what you choose? Riley, as a thief you will never be able to stop running. Never be able to live an honest life.”

“An honest life. That’s rich coming from you.”

“At least I can be proud of what I do now. I don’t have to live with that sinking feeling after a job anymore. You know, when the adrenaline has finally worn off and you have to face the fact that what we did was wrong. I hate that feeling.”

“It doesn’t bother me.” In truth, Riley didn’t experience the guilt at all anymore. She hadn’t in years.

“I’d hoped prison would change that. Change you.”

“Well it did fucking change me. Just not the way you wanted it to, apparently.”

“It’s still not too late to help yourself.”

“Go to hell.”

Leanna stared. Riley stared back.

A decade of friendship lay between them, dead.

Hammering the final nail into the coffin, Riley growled, “Get the fuck out of my house.” Leanna flinched. “And stay out of my life while you’re at it.”

Shaking with hurt and anger and betrayal, Riley could do nothing but watch as Leanna calmly packed up her stuff. Then she fished around in her bag for something small—Riley couldn’t tell what it was—and approached the kitchen counter once more.

“This belongs to you,” Leanna said, dropping her copy of Riley’s apartment key onto the granite.

When she let herself out, the door softly clicked closed behind her.

Since the Louvre, Riley had been balancing on a knife’s edge. She could go forward or backward, but either way she’d end up sliced and bloody. So she kept to the straight and narrow, just like she promised her parole officer. She kept moving forward. Better to hurt herself in the future than do it while dwelling in the past.

But if this was where the future led, it fucking sucked.

Betrayal, on both ends of the line.

Even standing still, the knife’s edge cut deeper into her feet. She felt the sting, felt the metaphorical blood slicking the metaphorical blade.

To her side was the abyss. To her side was no knife at all. No moving forward or backward, but no pain either.

Jump, the voice said. It’ll be easier.

For once, Riley didn’t question it. She simply let herself

fall.

~ Tag List ~ Want to be added? Send me an ask.

@improvidus / @holbytlanna / @hellishrose / @mylifequotesshowallofthem / @thecarrieonokay / @whumpflumpthump / @fandoms-and-sunshine / @bluedrew12 /

#beth writes #flawless au #macgyver #macgyver fanfiction #riley davis

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c0nfessions-and-lies · 1 year

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I love my boyfriend, but sometimes I am so jealous of him I start hating him a little. Mostly I hate myself.

In winter of last year, we started going to the gym regularly because I’m starting to really deeply hate my body and myself again and instead of starving myself like I would usually do, I agreed to try the “healthy version” with him. He also wanted to become stronger and gain muscle mass.

But then, since December, after we had finally seen the first results, we didn’t go anymore. It started off with him getting a cold, then it was Christmas, then we agreed to go again but he would go and meet friends instead, and afterwards either felt too tired or it was 2am and since I need to get up at 7:30 and the gym is half an hour away, it isn’t an option for me to go then. Or he said he just wasn’t in the mood for it, didn’t want to drive there (I offered to drive as well but he still didn’t want to) and all in all, I ended up asking him regularly for the past two months and got promised that today would finally be the day, just to be told it wouldn’t work out in the end, or that “we can still go” (again, past midnight it’s a no from me, I can’t show up to work with four hours of sleep three times a week.). On the weekends, whilst I had uni, he slept in bed all day and went to see friend for “only a few hours” which then resulted in it being almost midnight again every time, despite him knowing we had agreed to go the gym afterwards.

So why didn’t I go to the gym alone? Because I am literally ashamed to let people see me because I am almost back at the weight I used to be when I first started starving myself, and I feel self-conscious and I hate the look in the mirror. So I ended up in another self-hating spiral of not eating and then eating too much and then getting the food back out afterwards because I have no other coping mechanisms, because the gym had become my other coping mechanism and my social phobia kept me from it. Obviously, a lot of this is my fault. I wasn’t angry at him for this.

But then, today, after months of pleading, he finally agreed to go and actually came with me. So we went through our usual routine and all the progress that I had before seen lost in the mirror, all the ugliness I had seen return both in mirror as well as on the scale, was back. Most of my progress is lost. It’s like starting all over again, it felt horrible, I was ashamed to be seen by people, I was ashamed to see how low the number of weights have gotten than I can work out with again. I felt like the ugly fat blob that I used to be, that I had worked so damn hard for to disappear, for years. And all of that hard work is lost.

So I was pretty close to crying and not feeling to great. Then I told him this, that I’m frustrated with myself and all the progress is lost and how I hate that I just didn’t go without him.

His answer?

He grinned and said “Hm. Somehow, despite not working out, I’ve gotten even stronger.” And then he laughed awkwardly and asked why my legs aren’t shaking yet, that I need to work out with more weight.

That’s why I’m so fucking jealous. After months of pleading to go to the fucking gym because I am hating myself so much it’s unbearable sometimes, we finally go, and whilst all my progress is lost he has made progress despite being part of the reason my progress is lost.

And I hate myself so, so much for not feeling able to go without him. For being so self-conscious, and for being back to literally square one.

Idk why I’m even posting this, I just feel like I need to get it out. He doesn’t understand why I’m upset now and I just really feel desperate to go back to the unhealthy coping mechanisms. Because so far, that’s all that has worked. In a few weeks I need to travel to a different city for uni and won’t be able to go to the gym anymore anyway (which we knew. It was a deadline, I wanted to get a head start and build muscles so I could cut in the time I’m unable to go to the gym. He knew of that plan.)

It just feels like he didn’t give a shit. And worst of all, it’s my own damn fault because I should have just gone without him. Now the social phobia is much much worse and I hate my body more than ever.

I’m such a fucking idiot.

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princess-pill-enjoyer · 2 years

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Ended up taking all the spare pills I had in my bag. I took 200 before I left for the uh "looseness" effect of it. Which worked pretty well. Talking and joking around wasn't too too hard. But the extra 450 I took throughout the event was purely for the high. Not even gonna front

I got to drink a bit with my uh god grandma. Originally I was popping more to heighten the diluted ass liquor but after a while I just gave up on drinking snd just popped em as I thought about it. I don't get why I don't ever get that much of an effect from alcohol actually. Maybe I do but with me being used to being fucked off dph I don't notice the effects as much. Or cause the adults seem to like light light buzzes over being drunk so it wasn't that strong anyway. Tho.. I don't really drink so I'd figure I'd be an ultra lightweight. I dunno lol

It was nice to see everyone after all this time. It's kinda odd to see some of em for the first time in like.. 10 years? Something like that. I don't see my mom's side of the family often at all so my mental image of them versus what they actually look like now was a little off. Twas good to get an updated look you know?

Tho since I'm not really close with them they were bringing up my old uni not knowing I dropped out like half a year ago now. It made me feel like shit ngl. If I didn't come there with someone I would've either dipped early to cry or just run away in general. I just like.. I dunno. I know if they knew me and everything going on they'd see me as a fucking loser and I can't even blame them. I feel so gross just thinking about all that.

Stressing my god grandma out was the only reason I didn't. She was my ride so me not coming back would make her go nuts tryna find me/feel like shit for not keeping an eye on me. I didn't want to put that on her. So I ended up just taking dose after dose tryna make it harder to think.

Only semi worked as for one, I was only taking 100/150 extra at a time and while I did the majority of that before like 3-4ish it was still semi spaced out + around other people mode kicked in kicked in which made me subconsciously hide and brush off the high anyway. Actually the only one that semi fucked me up was the final 100 I had left that I took around 7. I was already teary-eyed thinking about what R said and I just had multiple family members chatting about my college shit. I would've just cried and taken extra care to wipe my eyes frequently buut I didn't trust myself to do it without getting too caught up and sobbing so I took the 100 as a distraction. It worked out pretty alr I was able to not cry at all and we dipped soon after

As for now I just woke back up from a nap. I wasn't really that tired but the high from all the pills was still there so I just went to sleep instead of building onto it. I think I was sleep for a good 4 hours so it was lowkey a full night's rest. Probably won't be going back to bed for a while..

Plus, lowkey feel like I'm gonna puke. My stomach started to burn again and I'm sure it's from the alcohol-benadryl concoction it had to put up with today. I figure I might as well let that settle first as to not puke it up and waste more pills

I don't know what I want to do anymore. On one hand I know I'm going to have to cry and beg my mom to let me borrow money from her. I don't want to but I know if I let that uni debt shit fester they'd be pissed once they found out. It's gonna be hard to cry in front of her. I know if I asked in my normal/casual tone she'd look at me worse though. I'll have to figure that out. Past that, I don't know what'll be my next move. All I want to do is od on this shit and finally be free. Tho, ig that's a bit dire. I think everyone would be mad at me throwing in the towel this early on. But it's all I want atp. I'm tired of feeling like this and I don't care enough to make some miraculous comeback. I'm over it atp

#vent #dph #benadryl #diphenhydramine #dph addiction

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theblondegoesabroad · 2 years

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Day 5

Friday 6th May 2022

Today we decided to have a lazy day. We slept in, then did a bit of “planning” for our day. We found a park that we planned to spent the afternoon at with our books. Then we got up and made an early lunch. While we were cooking our vege pasta dish we received a message from the guy that we parked our car at. Essentially parking in London is so expensive so we found an application where people rent their parking spots outside their house etc, and so instead of paying like 120£ for a parking building we ended up paying only 10£! Anyway, the man messaged us this morning saying that his sister had two free tickets as she is the flute player in a concert tonight. It is a concert put on at the science museum with music from Ancient Greek. Not something we would usually go to nor pay for but we decided not to turn down the opportunity. So instead of going to our park and lazing around for the day. We changed our plans. The science museum is near Notting hill so instead we decided to spend the afternoon there. We once again walked into city and on to Notting hill. Although today we slowed our pace. Normally we are speeding along at a very fast walk but today to give ourselves a break we walked a bit slower and stopped a bit more often. We stopped for coffee in a park near the Thames river. We sat in the garden, made the most of the sunshine and admired the flowers. It was stunning. And the coffee was pretty good too. Then we were off again, we headed through the famous Trafalgar Square to Hyde park. We walked through the park and once again admired all the flowers, trees ans nicely cut lawn. Honestly London is a very well manicured city, even with all the tourists, it is very clean. As we headed out of the park we found an Italian gelato place, so we stopped for ice cream. It was delicious. And then we were in Notting hill. A stunning neighbourhood. We walked down portobello road which is a famous street with heaps of stalls ans outdoor markets before heading back through the suburbs a bit. Benoît bought himself a slice of pizza and we ate that on our way back through Hyde park. We explored a bit more of the area, with its big buildings. We were in more of the University and museum park of town and so found the uni bar to order a cheap pint before we headed into the science museum for the Greek music concert. It was an interesting experience. The first half was based around a artificial reconstructed instrument, similar to a harp. They had used 3D modelling and algorithms to remodel the sound of an ancient instrument, that can now be played on the key board, as they reconstructed the sounds of each note and then transcribed it to an electric keyboard note structure. It was pretty neat and they played some never before heard music found from the 1700. So an old instrument playing “new”

Music. Then the second half they had actual rebuilt/remade an old instrument. A two piped flute essentially and had found ancient sheet music inscribed on columns. They learnt how to read it in Ancient Greek, described to us how they read it and what it all means and then two completely excited historians came to play for us. They were incredibly enthusiastic as anyone would be after finding their calling by combining their passions as an musician and Ancient Greek historian. A very small niche I can imagine! They played for us and honestly it was impressive. They were very talented and it’s not every day you hear Ancient Greek music played on ancient instruments. After the “concert” we headed home. as we passed by all the bars and pubs alive with people, we laughed at ourselves, we really aren’t night owls, and maybe going to museum concerts with 60 year olds is our new demographic. Pair that with the camping in Canterbury and you might even call it a trend haha! So yes we headed home and fell into bed! Love Kate xxxx

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otblou · 3 years

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#y'all can ignore me i just need somewhere to let it all out #anyways i go back to uni today... after a year and a half off and i'm so anxious about starting at a new school and doing this online thing #but im so excited for my classes??! i'm taking a history of rock music course which i'm curious about #though i'm most excited about my gender studies course!! everyone's doing introductory posts (which i usually get very anxious about)#but i already met another non-binary she/they!! and they're also doing my same major and minor!#i had been so scared and that's why i haven't been as active the last couple of days #and i don't know if i'll be as active (acc to my phone's activity log i was on here like 9hrs a day... wtf) again #i do have my queque set up and i'll still pop in every night cause like i have really bad fomo #anyways i don't know where i'm going with this but i needed to let some things out and my best friend hasn't gotten back to me in days ://#maria overshares on the internet #*

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iwadori · 3 years

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When they neglect you for another girl Part 5 (Kuroo)

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five

Word count: 1.3K

Genre: angst, fluff

masterlist

You and Kuroo have been dating all throughout highschool and now your in you first year of university

It’s a bit harder to see each other because of your conflicting class schedules

But when you did see eachother kuroo has been acting a big suspicious, ‘secretly’ glancing at his phone or always needing to head out early.

And you were going to get to the bottom of this.

You were just finished with your class, and you had plans to meet your boyfriend at the library so he could tutor you for your chem test that you on Tuesday. On your way over there, you got boba for both of you and some study snacks to get you through the session.

You arrived their first, which you didn’t really mind as Kuroo was usually a bit late to your study sessions (especially recently with his dodgy behaviour.) You decided to go over your recent class notes as you were waiting, which was pretty useless as you didn’t understand anything.

You actually met Kuroo bonding over chemistry, since it definitely wasn’t your best subject so in your first year your chem teacher suggested getting a tutor and recommend Kuroo Testuro the self proclaimed best ‘chemist’ in the school.

It’s been half an hour and Kuroo hadn’t shown up, you were about to call him until you saw a quite disheveled looking Kuroo who is heaving out of breath.

“Tetsu, what happened to you?” you exclaim with amusement.

“Umm I kind of got in a fight?” he said questioning himself “well not really a fight but a disagreement.”

“A fight? With who?” you said a bit too loudly, as the librarian gave you an obnoxious ‘shusshhhh’ glaring at you.

“It doesn’t matter babe.” he said nonchalantly “I see you have your electrolysis work out, why don’t we get started.”

“But what abo-”

“So what is positive, the anode or the cathode?” he asked distracting you from asking him about what happened.

You spent two hours going over all the topics that were going to come up on your exam, and you can’t lie and say Kuroo didn’t help you. However, you weren’t as focused as you were wondering what happened to him.

After your study session, you both went to your dorms. Sadly, you couldn’t share a room since your University didn’t allow co-ed dorms (and maybe if you did live together, you’d be able to understand his odd behaviour.)

Even though he was still in highschool, every Friday afterschool you and Kenma made sure to spend atleast an hour playing a game online together, and today it was minecraft.

“Kenma help, theres a creeper outside my door!” you screech frantically running around on game.

“One second Y/N” he murrmed

“Kenma, do you know what’s going on with Kuroo.” you inquire.

“What do you mean, isn’t he being his loud cat-like self?” he responded

“Well yeah of course, but recently he’s been on his phone ALOT, and always leaving our dates early or showing up late and stuff so I don’t know I thought maybe you’d know something.”

“Oh maybe it’s just that he’s been pretty busy with Hana right now.” he said nochalantly

“Who’s Hana?” you say, your eyes squinting.

“Oh you don’t know Hana,” he said a bit surprised “Ooops Kuroo’s going to be so mad at me.”

“Mad at you, what do you mean mad at you?”

“Um, I got to go by Y/N!” he said quickly

“But Ken-” the sound of him leaving the party cut you off, and now you were in more of a confused slump then you were before. What is Kuroo hiding? And who the hell is Hana?

Since you couldn’t go over to Kuroo’s dorm right now because of your universities weird curfew times, you decided the only thing you can do right now is call him. After a few rings he finally answered and you could hear his background was really loud.

“Um, Y/N this isn’t really the best time right now – ow shit.” he said frantically.

“Kuroo, what's going on it sounds like you’re at a rave. Wait are you at a rave?”

“No I'm not at a rave I'm just – Hana stop doing that.” he said trying to whisper the last bit.

“Who’s Hana, Kenma mentioned her on PlayStation tonight but he didn’t explain.”

“Kenma did what? God – Ouch “there was ruffling in the background before Kuroo finally “Sorry Y/N I got to go..”

He hangs up before you could respond. What is wrong with these boys today?

It was your study week break, so you don’t really go into school to do classes you just have to prepare for studying. Which was great for you, since you could actually get revision done without being distracted and you can avoid Kuroo whilst thinking about what happened a few days ago.

Kuroo didn’t message you anyways, which kind of sucked, since these chemistry notes aren’t going to learn themselves. You went over each of your topics that you need to learn and you’d say you were pretty much ready for your exams. So for the rest of the week, you didn’t have much to do. Kenma was pretty busy with volleyball and his high school life and your boyfriend was still being odd and you didn’t have any real close friends at Uni since you’re only a first year and Kenma and Kuroo were mainly all you needed anyways.

You chose to go on a date, by yourself, to your favourite bookstore café to have some ‘self care’ time. On the way their you heard a familiar voice shouting down the street, looking in that direction you saw your boyfriend yelling “HANA!” “HANA!” repeadetly.

Going over to him you said, “Kuroo, are you okay?”

“Umm hey Y/N...” he said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck “to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“The pleasure of being my boyfriend properly again,” you said smartly.

“Oh Y/N shit, im sorry about that” he apologised “I’ve just been really busy right now with Ha-”

“Hana.” you say rolling your eyes “Who is she?”

“I can’t really say Y/N, it was meant to a be a surprise.”

“A surprise for who?” you say

“Well fo-”

Before you can finish you say a loud ‘HISSS!’ Come from near your feet. “Hana! Thank god!” Kuroo said picking her up, but then dropping her again when she did a even louder HISSS at him. “Umm I really need to work on that..”

“So this is Hana.” you say a bit stunned “She’s a cat.”

“Indeed she is.” he said “ surprise...”

“You got me a cat?” you said still very stunned

“Indeed I did.”

“A feral cat?”

“Feral!” he said shocked “What do you mean feral!”

“Tetsu! She’s obviously feral!” you say reprimanded him.

“No she’s not! Look” he tried to pet her again and she nearly bit him and then sped off “Okay...maybe she is.”

Kuroo explained that he saw this cat one time outside of his dorm building and wanted to adopt her and give her to you as a gift. He’s been spending his time trying to ‘train her’ but every time it would result in Kuroo getting scratched up or him having to try and chase her around the city. You did appreciate the sentiment, however you reminded Kuroo that if he would’ve told you, you could’ve easily shown him that she was feral or if he listened to Kenma, then Kenma would’ve told him (which he did) that she was feral.

Kuroo did feel bad that his big plan didn’t work and he ended up looking like an idiot, not knowing the difference between a stray and feral cat. But you took him to a cat café as a little ‘pick me up,’ and promised him that for his birthday you’ll adopt a real cat for him.

An: this is basically a shit post but who cares 😃 Also am I the only that thinks that hana being a feral cat in the end is funny? Or is my humour that dry😭

#haikyuu x reader comfort #haikyu angst #haikyuu fluff #haikyu x reader #haikyu scenarios #haikyu headcanons #haikyu #kuroo testuro #kuroo x reader #kuroo tetsurou x reader #kuroo fluff #kuroo angst #signedwithane😌

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nonstoplover · 3 years

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protagonist ~ joe liebgott (band of brothers)

my masterlist | my hbo war masterlist

pairing: joe liebgott x female reader

short summary: joe's assigned to search for the perfect house for easy's hq in the new town they'll soon arrive to on their way through germany and finds one with a girl in there who's like the protagonist of one of the comics he's read - courageous, fearless, heroic.

words: 2.5K

a/n: first of all, sorry for disappearing, exam season has started at my uni and i've been hella busy these past weeks (and gonna be for the following few as well, u g h ).

anyway this fic came around from a conversation i had with the lovely @now-im-a-belieber when i was telling her about an idea i had and she technically came up with the base of this. thank you, Pearl, i love you xx (i hope i did justice to your idea)

oh and let's just say i have no clue if this would have been possible, at least the exact way i wrote it.

taglist: @how-are-those-nuts-sarge @50svibes @pennyllanne @nowinnablewar

gif credit: @basilone

Four loud bangs sound against her front door right as she starts washing the dishes after they finished lunch. With her eyes widening in surprise she rushes back into the room, telling the family of three to hide as she's drying her hands in her apron before making her way to the door.

After taking a deep breath she grabs the handle and opens it. The next thing she knows is being pushed to the side as a figure storms in past her without a word. A gasp leaves her lungs as her back lightly collides with the wall, head turning to watch as the soldier barges in the house.

What is going on? Has someone found out about them?

With a hand reaching behind her back she pushes herself off the wall and hurries behind the man. Trying hard to sound completely calm and innocent she asks him what is going on, but he only barks back something almost inaudible - only a few German words reach her ears.

The soldier is moving with such speed that she hasn't got a single chance to get a better look at his uniform as he's entering every room one by one. Who is he? Worry swiftly floods her veins - more importantly, what is he looking for?

She can only pray the family has had enough time to properly hide.

As he reaches that door, she holds her breath back, repeating her little prayer like a mantra inside her head. The man comes to a sudden halt just as he steps through the doorframe and in an instant fear makes her blood turn freezing cold. She carefully moves closer to glance inside next to his body, not knowing what to expect.

And what she sees makes everything else in her mind disappear - just the thoughts of all hell breaking loose any time now move around inside.

Her best friend crouches on the other side of the room, clearly frozen mid-movement as her body is still half out of the hiding spot, eyes wide as she stares at the soldier, not a single muscle moving. It's like everyone's got frozen in time, none of the three people makes a move.

Liebgott's mind slow to catch up to what he sees - he didn't expect to see that as he rushed through the house. He's only been trying to decide whether it's a good place for Easy's HQ, as he has been ordered to do when Winters sent him ahead of the company.

His eyes then start moving around the room, trying hard to find a good reason as to why that girl is half inside the wall. A book is laying on the table next to the door, open at around the middle. With one glance at the pages he recognises the letters of the hebrew alphabet, and suddenly it all makes sense.

She's a Jew.

His breath hitches in his throat as he struggles to comprehend this new information, and just in that very moment the silence is broken by a voice. And it's not coming from either of the two girls in the room - more like it's coming from inside the wall.

One simple sentence, ending with a Yiddish term of endearment - one he can perfectly understand. It came from a woman, asking the girl crouching facing him from across the room why she's stopped moving.

There are more Jews in there.

His lungs fill with a sharp breath he's taken and he spins around, staring straight at the girl who opened the front door only minutes prior. The question must be clear in his eyes as she starts stammering in defense, her voice audibly shaking.

Joe shakes his head, stopping her mid-sentence. "No, they're Jews, I can see it," he says in perfect German, and the already pale girl suddenly seems even whiter.

He swiftly grabs her arm and pulls her in the direction he remembers finding the dining room in, trying to find a chair for her to sit down on, as she's visibly close to fainting - though the reason behind it he can't find.

(y/n) flinches with utter fear, weakly trying to resist being pulled away - he most probably is now taking her away to kill her, right? He's a German soldier, that's what his job is. But no matter how hard she tries to wiggle away, his grip is too tight around her arm and she can't do a thing.

Just when they arrive to the dining room and he kind of pushes her into one of the chairs is when Joe realises that she's scared of him - she immediately pushes the chair further away from him as soon as he lets go of her. So that's why she's shaking so bad.

"No, wait, don't be scared," he rushes to say. "I'm a Jew too."

This finally breaks the scaredness - instead her eyes fill with utter confusion. Her forehead wrinkles as she tries to make sense of what he's saying. How can a German soldier be Jewish? It makes absolutely no sense.

With a sudden wave of suspicion she moves her glance down to his uniform, examining every detail she can lay her eyes upon.

Is he not German?!

Suddenly she can see differences - details about his uniform that she's never seen on a German soldier before, and she's seen her fair share of those in the past years.

But if he's not German, who is he and what is going on?

She takes a still shaky breath and looks back up into his eyes - seeing the waiting expression on his face as he's standing there in patient silence for her to say something.

"Are you-" Her voice cracks mid-sentence. It's not good. She clears her throat and tries again. "Are you German?"

All of a sudden he bursts out laughing - so loud, and somehow so dark that her eyes widen once again. She just can't decide if it's from fear again, or only surprise.

A minute or so goes by with nothing but Joe laughing - this must be one of the most hilarious things he's heard in the past couple years. That he is a German.

Then his laughter finally quietens down to slight chuckling and he speaks up once more to confirm the truth. "No, of course not," he shakes his head in amusement. One look in her eyes tells him that somehow she still has no clue about his nationality, so he opens his lips again to give an answer to her question in advance. "I'm American. Don't worry, you're not in trouble for that," Joe points back in the direction of the room with the hiding spot above his shoulder.

A loud sigh escapes her lungs, her shoulder visibly falling a bit as she slumps more into the chair. It feels like years worth of stress and nervousness have just come to an end - it's truly like an enormous stone has rolled down from her chest and shoulders. She somehow feels free again for the first time in years.

Relief completely replaces the worry and fear in her veins as all other thoughts leave her mind. She's not gonna die. At least not today.

"They're Jewish," the soldier speaks again - and it's not a question. More like a statement.

(y/n) nods, unable to say a word as she's still overwhelmed with her new feelings.

"You're hiding them?"

She just raises an eyebrow, and Joe mentally slaps himself - what a stupid question. He could've might as well just asked her the colour of the wall.

"Since when you've been hiding them?" He corrects his question.

"Ever since the whole thing has started," she answers, her voice so quiet it almost disappears in the air between them.

"Wow," Liebgott breathes out before he can stop himself. He stares at the girl in disbelief. She looks so innocent and young - she's probably one or two years younger than him. How could she pull off something such a thing? Such a dangerous and pretty reckless thing?

"Esther is my best friend, she's been ever since we were little kids, they all are like a second family to me, I've spent most of my days with them," (y/n) explains, the relief causing her to ramble and Joe - for about the first time in his life has to struggle to keep up with the German words that come flying out past her lips. "I just had to help them, you know. I couldn't just leave them here."

"Where's your own family?"

"My parents left to France to be further away from the chaos, and my brother joined the Luftwaffe, and since then I haven't heard from none of them."

"Why didn't you leave with your parents as well?" The young soldier keeps asking, moving closer to the table and sitting down on a chair on the opposite side, facing her. Pushing his M1's strap down his shoulder he places the weapon on the table, pushing it only a little further in order to calm the girl more. He knows he probably shouldn't do this - and keep Winters waiting, but he's too curious to stop himself, he has to hear the rest of her story.

"I love this town, I was born and raised here," she shrugs as if it's obvious. "But more importantly, I didn't want to leave and let innocent people like my best friend's family suffer. I wanted to stay and fight back as good as I could."

Joe subconsciously mumbles under his breath before he can stop himself - words that praise her absolute bravery, words that give away his true feelings he suddenly feels towards her - then he has to move his gaze away from her, fearing that she sees the embarrassment in his eyes. He tries hard to think of another question while also trying hard to forget the look of the half-smiling expression that took over her face just a moment before - it does nothing good for his heart.

"Did you make that hidden room yourself?" He asks in the end, thinking back to what he saw in the room.

"Oh," she giggles - and it's the prettiest sound he's heard in a very long time. "No, my father made it when me and my brother were young and often played hide and seek. I just improved it a little so they can fit in more comfortably."

Liebgott hums, not knowing how to tell her - or if he should even tell her in the first place - how absolutely super impressed she left him with every single thing she's told him and what he's seen. It's one of the craziest things he has ever heard, and he had a fair share of unbelievable stories told to him in his life. He simply couldn't even imagine how on Earth this girl could manage to do this - and not get caught. Throughout the whole war.

In that very moment he swiftly decides that he'll go and find another house for the HQ, and that he'll somehow get back to this particular one, no matter what it takes. He wants to get to know her better. He has to get to know her better.

She's the most incredible woman he's ever heard of, read about or met. She's a woman who fits in the stories of the comics he's been reading his whole life - as the protagonist, the hero. He can't leave this town without hearing more about her, seeing her face more. That would be the biggest regret of his whole life, he can already tell.

But for now, he has to leave. It wouldn't be a good idea to keep his officers waiting even longer.

He stands up, fingers reaching out to grab his M1 before looking back into her eyes. Damn, he doesn't even know her name.

"I have to head back to my company, but I'll come back later, if that's okay with you."

Her eyes are already on his, seemingly staring straight into his soul with that intensity that lays in her (y/e/c) orbs. The girl then rises to her feet - still never breaking the eye contact.

Thoughts race inside her head, and it's like an angel and a demon are sitting on each of her shoulders, one telling her to say no whilst the other trying to convince her to say yes.

What if he only wants to use her? What if he only wants to sleep with her? Maybe force her to do so, threatening her with his knowledge of the Jewish family. He might not even be who and what he says he is. How could she know?

But on the other hand, there is this feeling she has about him. A feeling that tells her that nothing she previously thought will happen. She doesn't know what it is, but it's there, right in her chest, and she can't fight it. He seems genuinely curious and impressed, and honest. And she feels a pull towards him. She wants to see him again.

In the end, the devil on her shoulder wins, and she simply nods - right before she could change her mind.

"I'm Joe," the young soldier moves around the table, one hand held out towards her.

A glance cast down and right back up to his face she takes his hand and gives it a shake, holding onto it tightly, as if only to let him know how strong she actually is.

It probably works, 'cause he raises an eyebrow, slightly tilts his head and the corners of his lips curve up into the smallest smirk she's ever seen - but it's there.

"(y/n)," she eventually answers with her own introduction.

A few seconds pass and neither has let go of the other's hand, not yet. They just stand there, staring into each other's eyes, only the small noises of them breathin breaking the silence.

Then Liebgott blinks, clears his throat, pulls his hand out from her grip and instinctively places his fingers upon his weapon hanging from his shoulder whilst nodding towards her as a gesture of saying goodbye without words.

She watches as he turns around and walks out from the room, and after a tiny, happy sigh she follows the sound of his steps.

Just as he opens the front door and moves through it is when she arrives to the hall. Joe glances back over his shoulder for one last time, offering her a small smile, then looks back ahead of him and continues his walk as if nothing has happened. None of the past dozen of minutes.

(y/n) leans against the doorframe and watches him right until he disappears in the distance with a dreamy look in her eyes.

She can't wait until he comes back again.

.::the end::.

(might write a part two if i'll have time and you'd like to read it)

my masterlist | my hbo war masterlist

[wanna be added to my taglist?]

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realcube · 3 years

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comfort with the haikyuu!! boys hcs 💝

characters: kenma, bokuto, ushijima, tsukishima, akaashi

thanks to anon for the request (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

ALL AGED UP! (no mature themes though) (i just like the post-timeskip domestic dynamics)

tw// hurt! reader, swearing, mentions of death, fluff, angst if you squint

Kenma Kuzome

bb has cat senses so he can tell when you’re sad

he can also tell bc you do the exact same thing he does when he’s sad, which is cuddle underneath blankets in bed, play animal crossing and blare lo-fi music to conceal your faint sobs

so when he walks into your shared room and notices you wrapped up in blankets on the bed, he does his best to suppress a snicker whicH HE FEELS SO BAD FOR HAVING IN THE FIRST PLACE

like he knows you’re sad but a part of his mind is just like ‘heh, (y/n) burrito.’ like you just look sO FKN CUTE!!

anyway, the first thing he always does when you’re down is approach you on the bed, sneak under the blankets and join to you to become a (y/n) & kenma burrito

also, he might turn the speaker off depending on how loud the music is lol but if it’s at an okay volume then he’ll just leave it on and vibe with you for a bit as he desperately wracks his brain, trying to come up with something reassuring to say

you usually comes up with the something basic like, ‘what’s wrong?’ but i mean, you don’t really mind - at least he’s making an effort and you know it must be difficult for him to think of things to say lol

depending on how sad you are, you might just tell him straight-up what happened or you might text him bc you don’t think you’ll be able to choke out an answer without bursting into tears again

then he’ll ask you if you want to be alone and act accordingly

assuming that you say ‘no’ bc you want his presence, he’ll just recollect on the last time you comforted him while he was down and mimic it tbh

..you always comfort him so well 🥺 and whenever you console him, he always feels so much better so he just thought that maybe if he imitates you, then it’ll work just as well

so he started off by resting his head on your shoulder and whispering kind things in your ear just like you did to him, ‘you know i love you, right?’ , ‘i hope you feel better soon’, ‘do you want me to bring you some food?’

he’ll seriously do everything in his power to make sure that you’re as comfortable as possible

and he’ll stay as a (y/n) & kenma burrito until you feel better or until the sun rises ( *^-^)ρ(*╯^╰)

Kōtarō Bokuto

i’ve said this before and i’ll say it again - he’s such an empath and so overdramatic

so when he comes home from work and you don’t run up to the door to give him hugs & kisses- he’s about to burst into tears himself

so he sulks up to your room now IMAGINE HOW SHOCKED HE IS WHEN HE WALKS IN TO SEE YOU CRYING UNDER THE BLANKETS

emo-mode engaged :(

his hair deflates as he pounces on you and wails, ‘(Y/N)! WHY ARE YOU CRYING?! ARE YOU OKAY?! WHO HURT YOU?!’ (ಥ _ ಥ)

and the bitch dives on you while you are under the blanket, essentially scaring and suffocating you

‘bokuto, get off me!’ you shrieked, wriggling out of his grip and out from under the blanket

when he notices you had escaped the blanket with tear-stained cheeks, he felt even worse

he threw himself into your arms, howling, ‘(Y/N)!! I AM SO SORRY!’

at this point all the blood had rushed to your head and you had kinda forgotten that you were sad for a moment or two

‘bo! you should know you’re own strength by now.’ you muttered, rubbing the underneaths off your puffy eyes

‘I KNOW!’ he wailed once more, burying his face into the crook of your neck

you sighed while rubbing his back, unable to supress a slight giggle, ‘bokuto..’

there was ages of silence between the two of you before he pulled away to look you in the eyes and asked, ‘(y/n), why were you crying before i got here?’

you’d explain the issue to him and he’d do everything in his power to solve it because the way he sees it, why should he try console you when he can just fix the variable that’s making you sad in the first place?

like, if you were just fired from your job, he’ll go full karen and he will call corporate to demand for your job back if you don’t stop him

or if your loved one died, he’ll become a fkn medium or study resurrection

or if you’re just stressed from exams/tests, he’ll just be like ‘why do you need to go to uni anyway?’

‘so i can get a qualification.’

‘why do you need that?’

‘so i can apply for a job.’

‘why do you need a job?’

‘so i can make money, so i don’t starve.’

‘you can have my money!’

you couldn’t help but chuckle at how much life-experience bokuto had, yet he will still so naïve; honestly, you couldn’t even tell if he was joking or not. ‘what if we break up?-”

“DON’T SAY THAT!” he gasped, instinctively tightening his grip on you

Wakatoshi Ushijima

both you and ushijima’s pride did not allow y’all to cry in front of one another

if you ever had to cry, you’d just run to the bathroom, lock the door, turn on the tap to drown out the sound of your sobs and just let it all out

and if he ever had to cry, he’d just do it in the shower

but like- you both knew when the other one had been crying because of their puffy, damp eyes but you both mutually agreed to not mention it

i mean, up until now y’all had both been able to flourish in the relationship while dealing with emotions on your own so why bother changing?

and if anything, you both felt more comfortable crying to yourselves

that was, until today

you had cracked under the pressure of your job - you were simply sitting at your desk in the study room, doing some work then it all just came crashing down

ushijima had just stepped out of the shower in his towel and was currently wandering around the house in search of you, to inform you that he ran out of shampoo so it would be greatly appreciated if you were to add it to the shopping list

but when he entered the study to see you sitting there by your computer, bawling you eyes out..he froze

like he had to do a whole double-take bc he wasn’t sure if he was seeing this correctly

your face was buried in your hands so you didn’t notice him at first but then you heard him awkwardly clear his throat from the doorway and your neck immediately jerked to look at him

it was quite embarrassing for the both of you, ngl

like he was standing there half-naked, staring into your red eyes in hopes that what he saw was just a hallucination

after what felt like hours of deafening silence, ushijima broke it by muttering under his breath, ‘uh, is everything okay?’

‘everything is fine, toshi.’ you replied, forcing a bright smile onto your face as you went back to typing, ‘did you come down here to tell me somethi--’

‘i can tell that there is something wrong.’ he stated, walking towards you while using one had to hold his towel in place and draping the other over your shoulders to pull you into his chest. ‘do you want to tell me?’

you let out a long sigh, resting your cheek against his chest while still staring at the many tabs you had open on your desktop

but ushijima quickly fixed that by taking your chin in-between his thumb and index finger, then turning your face to look up at him,

‘work?’ he hummed his assumption

‘yeah.’ you mumbled, quite surprised at how understanding he was being

but then again, ushijima obviously knows what it feels like to be overworked and burnt out too, so he was able to provide a lot of empathy in that sense

Kei Tsukishima

ok a bit of tsukki slander but i feel like tsukishima would make it worse WEILUBRGBE

wait no well, he doesn’t make it worse but he doesn’t make it better either

like he’ll walk into the living room and see you curled up under a blanket on the couch, lightly sobbing from underneath- and he honestly doesn’t know how to act

this is the first time he’s seen you cry bc usually y’all keep your emotions to yourselves - you’re both v independent like that （￣︶￣)

anyway, mans thinks he can just tease the sadness out of you 🙄

‘awh, is my little couch goblin feeling sad?’ he said shakily, clearly intimidated by your figure lying on the couch, and you could tell he was nervous per his use of the nickname ‘couch goblin’

‘‘TSUKISHIMA, FUCK OFF!’ you barked, hastily wiping away your tears and clinging to blanket to prevent him from pulling it away, as the last thing you wanted him to see was your weary figure just so he could tease you about it

‘bitch, i live here.’ he hissed, rubbing the back of his neck - feeling rather conflicted

on one hand, you seemed serious when you asked him to leave; plus, the last thing he wanted to do was make you feel uncomfortable by staying when you’re already sad

but on the other hand, he genuinely wanted to help

he’d feel bad if he were to just leave his s/o in tears when he could’ve done something to make you feel better

‘do you really want me to go?’ he asked and for a change, not a hint of mockery or sarcasm was found in his voice

there were several moments of silence until you mumbled from under your blanket, ‘no.’ then proceeded to lift up your arm to allow him to crawl under the blanket and join you

he did so, pulling you against his chest so you could sob lightly against his cotton shirt while being engulfed by warm darkness

‘what could’ve possibly went wrong to make the evilest blanket demon cry?’

‘evilest blanket demon’ - that was definitely a new one, and you’d be lying if you said a small snicker didn’t escape your mouth at how monotonously he was able to deliver such a unique nickname

and after years of being in a relationship with tsukki, you’ve learned to find comfort in these nicknames considering they were a big part of how he expressed love

in his vocabulary, ‘you’re so annoying.’ is equal to ‘i love you’

so him calling you an ‘evil blanket demon’ was, in his eyes, the highest and most sincere form of flattery

you eventually tell him what happened that made you sad and he just listens

feel free to ramble on about anything/everything that’s worried you for the last few months bc he’s all ears

he figured that other than make you dinner and hug you, that was the best thing he could do to help bc he was far from a romantic who’s good with words

if he tries to console you verbally it would probably come out like ‘uh, don’t cry - i understand what you’re going through, i think, but like- cry if you want. this must be tough for you, to be honest.’

so he just listens to what you have to say and occasionally inputs a lil’ ‘mhm’ or ‘yeah’

he’s probably the most patient with you so you could stay sad on the couch for the next few weeks, as long as you’re eating the meals he delivers to you and you’re staying healthy, he’ll just let you mope until you feel better tbh

Keiji Akaashi

boyfie material right here

i’m hardly an akaashi simp but he’s probably the best at comforting you while you’re sad tbh

because he’s literally been dealing with bokuto and his emo-mode for god-knows how long so he’s very good with reassuring people😌

also, i just know that this man can detect emotions so well- evEN THROUGH TEXT ISTG

he’d text you the usual ‘goodnight ❤’

and you’ll quickly wipe away your tears that were blurring your vision to reply ‘goodnight 💕’

then he’ll deadass text back like ‘i’m coming over. what’s wrong?’

HE JUST KNOWS!! don’t question it bc he doesn’t even have a logical answer lol

anyway, he’ll arrive and immediately begin with the reassurance before you even tell him what’s wrong

‘you’re coping so well, (y/n).’

‘i’m so proud and i love you so much.’

‘is there anything i can do to make you feel better?’

‘would you like a hug?’

‘you’re beautiful, (y/n). i hope you know that.’

‘do you want me to get you ice-cream?’

a king- 👑

also, you weren’t embarrassed to cry in front of him either bc you had seen him cry before

plus, y’all both established at the very beginning of the relationship that you’d both try be as honest and open with your emotions as possible

so now, you were both sitting beside each other on your bed while sharing a banana split that akaashi made (you put the sprinkles on though so you basically gave it flavour ✨)

akaashi is definitely the therapist friend to so he gives great advice

but if you don’t want his advice and you’d prefer him to just listen, then he can do that too

honestly, he’d do basically anything to make you feel better 🥺

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jungshookz · 3 years

Text

teeny tidbits: it’s valentine’s day and everyone’s in love 💕💫

i couldn’t let valentine’s day go by without showing you what some of your favourite couples are up to on this romantic day so i hope you enjoy these six teeny tidbits!!

unfortunately i couldn’t do one for everY single character because i would literally die at my keyboard but i hope these ones still manage to give you all the fuzzy feelings :-)

happy valentine’s day!

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ lveb!namjoon (feat. lveb!yoongi): it’s valentine’s day and namjoon & y/n won’t let yoongi forget it

“if these come out ugly, can i just eat them?” yoongi asks, his hands starting to tremble as he continues to squeeze the frosting out of the piping bag

he’s been doing this for the last half an hour and his hands are starting to go numb

you shut the oven door before tossing the kitchen towel over your shoulder and turning around to look at how much progress yoongi’s made

…

maybe you should put him on cleanup duty instead

luckily he’s only frosted four and a half so there’s no major loss here

you reach over to pluck the piping bag from yoongi’s hands and he immediately frowns

you don’t need to say anything for him to know what that means

you never appreciate his hard work!! you’re breaking his heart here!!

“you know, the messiness just makes them more unique.” he points out, gesturing to his beautiful tray of heart-shaped cookies, “it gives your cookies character!”

“mhm…” you roll your eyes playfully as you turn to grab a tupperware box from the cabinet so yoongi can pack up his cookies to bring home

“all i’m saying is that you never appreciate my artistic abilities.” yoongi murmurs, swiping a glob of frosting off the table and promptly sticking his finger into his mouth to suck it off

“abilities is a reach.”

yoongi gawks, about to respond with a retort about how he doesn’t have to help you but he chooses to because he’s a good friend but he doesn’t get the chance to before he gets distracted by the sound of the kitchen door creaking open

he swivels around on the stool, about to greet namjoon enthusiastically and to tell him all about how you’re refusing to sell his beautiful cookies because apparently they’re ‘ugly’ and ‘look like a two year old decorated it and then sat on it’

namjoon brings a finger up to his lips to tell yoongi to be quiet, yoongi opening his mouth to say something before closing it again

“did you ever return that round container?” you ask, yoongi looking back over at you to see you sorting through the cabinets

“the round container?” yoongi asks dumbly, watching as namjoon crouches down with a devious smile on his face, “uh, yeah! i’m pretty sure i did.”

“really? because i can’t find it anywhere-” you move to turn around, yoongi’s eyes widening as he suddenly gets up from his stool and points to the cabinet so that you don’t notice namjoon creeping up behind you

“there! i see it right there!”

“whe- oh!” you jump in surprise when suddenly an arm slinks around you from behind, a kiss being planted on your cheek a moment later, “you scared me!”

“mm, sorry, baby-” namjoon hums, pulling you closer and squishing another kiss to your face, “i was hoping i’d be back before you got up!”

namjoon left before you woke up but you didn’t have much time to think about it because you had to get straight to baking

for you, valentine’s day is one of the busiest days of the year which means you’re basically in the kitchen all day

you appreciate the business but you’re always so exhausted that you basically pass out covered in flour by the end of the day

yoongi came over to help because he usually helps out anyway (and also because you usually have extras that he likes to take home) but he said that he couldn’t stay for long because he had to prepare for his ‘plans’ tonight

(you know he’s going out on a date with that receptionist girl with the hershey kisses but you haven’t hounded him on the topic because the last thing you want is to freak him out and get him all sweaty before his night of romance)

“where’d you go?” you ask, turning your head and reaching up to turn namjoon’s face towards you so you can give him a proper kiss, a giggle bubbling from your lips when he leans in for another one after you pull away from the first one

“to get you these-!” namjoon suddenly pulls a lush bouquet of forget-me-nots from behind his back and holds it in front of you, the sweet surprise automatically drawing a gasp of delight from you, “happy first valentine’s day!”

oh :’)

how romantic :’)

“i love them!” you take the bouquet from his hands with wide eyes before turning around so you can face namjoon, “you’re so sweet…”

namjoon purses his lips for another kiss and you immediately hear yoongi let out a groan

“all this kissing is going to make me hurl- also, are there no flowers for me, darling?” yoongi asks sarcastically, clasping his hands together before making obnoxious kissy noises at namjoon while fluttering his lashes, “and why didn’t you get roses instead? that way, i could’ve taken one.” he huffs, frowning in disappointment, “can’t give her stupid forget-me-nots…”

“her?” namjoon perks up, tilting his head in curiosity before looking back at you with a raised brow

he grins when you lean up to give him a sneaky little smooch while yoongi’s distracted

“yoongi has plans tonight.” you hint as you pull away from namjoon, slipping past him so you can grab a vase for the flowers

namjoon’s eyes widen for a second before he looks back over at yoongi with a knowing grin, “ah… plans! sounds fun.”

“uh, yeah, i guess you could call them plans. it’s just, like- we’re just having dinner at my place but honestly i’m probably going to order pizza or something.”

“you know, some places are making their pizzas heart-shaped since it’s valentine’s day. you should consider doing that!” namjoon points out, nodding enthusiastically, “ooh, or maybe you can ask them if they’d be willing to cut the pepperonis into little hearts-”

“that seems like it’s a little much for something casual-”

“casual-” you snort quietly to yourself as you fill the vase up with water, “we all know it’s not casual-”

“it is!” yoongi argues, straightening up a little, “it just so happens that today is valentine’s day, alright? whatever!”

“i still think you should consider the heart-shaped pizza. do you want me to order it for you? ah, what if i take care of dinner for you??” namjoon clasps his hands together, “i love planning romantic dinners-”

“i-it’s not a romantic dinner-!”

“it’s not romantic, but…” you trail off, carefully pulling a couple stems out of your bouquet before pulling one of the satin ribbons that are typically used for wrapping up the boxes off the table, “give this to her! just to be courteous.” you hum, carefully wrapping the ribbon around the stems before handing the mini bouquet to yoongi

yoongi blinks at the mini bouquet before taking it cautiously from your fingers, “courteous?”

“mhm. it is valentine’s day today, after all.” you nod, smiling lightly when you notice yoongi’s cheeks starting to get a little pink, “and if you’re feeling extra courteous, you can even do this-”

yoongi’s eyes pop open when you suddenly lean over and plant a big kiss on his cheek, his face instantly going bright red, “y/n!”

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ ceo!yoongi; it’s valentine’s day and yoongi & y/n are still very much in love with each other

“i have to admit that this flavour isn’t actually half bad.” yoongi hums, scooping up a little spoon of ice cream before bringing it up to his mouth, “but the vanilla frozen yogurt is still the best choice here.”

“low-fat, low-fun, old man.” you remind him, reaching up to wipe the chocolate syrup off the corner of your mouth, “but i’m glad you mustered up enough courage to try something new this time!”

yoongi branched out and decided to try the strawberry-chocolate flavoured frozen yogurt because this is his version of spicing things up

in his eyes, he’s an unhinged man tonight!

“you’re just being a hater- you and your ridiculous red-velvet-cake and chocolate syrup nightmare-”

you watch fondly as yoongi continues to rattle off about your questionable choice in ice cream while he scrapes at the side of his cup

the man you love and whose child you birthed hates ice cream and somehow you’re still very much in love with him

“so what else do you have planned for tonight?” you ask, yoongi looking up at you from his cup

you don’t know if maybe it’s because you’re getting old and you like to go to sleep early now but you wouldn’t mind calling it a night after dessert

you had fish tacos for dinner - because of course you did - and now you’re having ice cream for dessert at your favourite parlour in the same booth where yoongi kissed you for the first time - because of course you are

everything about tonight has been perfect and now all you want to do is go home

yoongi pauses, his eyes narrowing slightly

“well, i was thinking that maybe we could…” he drops the little plastic spoon into his cup before pushing it aside, folding his hands on the table and leaning forward

“we could…?” you ask innocently as you fold your arms up on the table and lean in as well, taking your bottom lip in between your teeth

“you know…” yoongi tilts his head, eyes flickering down to your lips for a brief moment before he looks back up at you “…buy a couple extra-large pints of ice cream to bring home?” he smiles knowingly, “they’re having a valentine’s day discount!”

“min yoongi... that is…” you reach across the table to squeeze yoongi’s wrist, “hands-down the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ uni!yoongi: it’s valentine’s day and y/n knows the way to yoongi’s heart

“in my opinion, valentine’s day is silly. it’s an overly commercialized holiday where large corporations take advantage of lovey-dovey couples who are willing to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on each other just to show each other how much they care, you know?” yoongi sighs, watching as you continue to rummage through your backpack, “like, i don’t need one day out of the year to show you how much i care about you when i care about you literally everyda- OOH, a present!” his eyes immediately light up when you pull out a box with his name written on the tag and you can’t help but snort at how quickly he’s changed his tune

“i just want you to know that if you don’t like these, i can totally go back and return them…” you clear your throat, watching as yoongi enthusiastically tugs at the ribbon before tossing it over his shoulder like a madman, “okay, you know you have to pick that up later-”

you’re pretty sure he stopped listening to you like three seconds ago but whatever

“y/n, you could give me a chunk of dirt and i’d still like-” yoongi takes the lid off, a wide grin suddenly stretching over his face, “no way! this is way cooler than a chunk of dirt!”

!!!

they’re a new set of wheels!

for his skateboard!!!!

they’re see-through with little red hearts sprinkled throughout the resin which isn’t usually the style he goes for but nonetheless these are going to look so sick!!!

“they’re new wheels for your skateboard!” you smile, watching as yoongi brushes the shreds of tissue paper off of them, “i know that little red hearts aren’t your thing, but they’re my thing and i thought it’d be nice because you could match with my scrunchie…” you trail off shyly, reaching up to rub the back of your neck, “but, yeah… if you don’t like them, i can return them for something cooler! they had ones with flames painted on them-!”

you don’t get a chance to say anything else before yoongi’s reaching over to grab the leg of your chair so he can yank you towards him for a kiss

“i love them-” yoongi beams, nudging his nose against yours before pulling away, “plus, i needed a new set of wheels so this is great.”

he takes another second or two to admire his new wheels before suddenly looking up at you, “now i feel like my present is super lame compared to yours…”

“oh, don’t be like that.” you frown playfully before bouncing up and down a little in your chair, “what’d you get me??”

“do you remember that polaroid picture we took over christmas?” yoongi asks, twisting in his seat so he can grab his bag, “the one of us sitting by the christmas tree in your apartment?” he pulls a brown paper bag out and hands it to you and you take it with greedy little raccoon hands

you’ve been looking forward to this all week

obviously you loved his present last year but you have a feeling you’re going to love this year’s present even more!

“mhm. i love that photo! i stuck it on the fridge, remember?” you ask, carefully peeling the tape off and folding the strip in half before setting it on the table

“well, i sent it to this person on etsy…” yoongi trails off, waiting for you to pull his gift out before making his announcment, “…and they turned it into a little keychain!”

omg

you can’t help but coo at the miniature polaroid, smoothing your finger over the surface

“oh, yoongi…” you giggle softly, pinching at the little red heart charm attached to the chain before looking up at him, “i love it! this is such a thoughtful present…”

“ah, it’s nothing…” yoongi murmurs, averting his gaze before shrugging, “i just thought it’d look nice on your keys, that’s all.”

“it’s going to look very nice on my keys. thank you, yoongi.” you lean forward to give him a peck, yoongi humming happily as you do so

“also, before i forget-” he perks up, “i found these and had to get them-” he turns and starts digging into his bag again before pulling out a pair of fuzzy handcuffs (it’s white with red hearts because that seems to be a recurring theme here), “you know, i’ve just been going through an etsy phase. there’s so much cool stuff on there!”

you zip your backpack up before turning back to face yoongi

“yeah, there’s a lot of stuff you can find on et- yoongi-!” your eyes nearly roll out of your skull at the sight of him twirling a pair of handcuffs around his finger, “oh my god, put those away!“ you hiss, looking around frantically before reaching over to try to grab them from him only for yoongi to raise his arm up

“what? you keep slipping out of the scrunches so i figured it was time to upgrade to something more secure.” the corner of yoongi’s mouth twitches in a smirk, “and the best part about these was the free shipping-”

“put them away-!”

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ mechanic!yoongi: it’s valentine’s day and yoongi won’t pay attention to y/n

“yoongi…” you sigh, placing your hands on your hips as you gently kick at yoongi’s feet, “c’mon, pay attention to me!”

you have a surprise for him and he was supposed to take a break like an hour ago!

“gimme one second, doll…” yoongi trails off, his voice muffled from where he is under the car, “i just have to do this-”

“you could be doing something else right now-” you grumble, reaching down to pick at a piece of lint off the jumpsuit you’re wearing

you bought a very pretty lingerie set a month ago in preparation for valentine’s day and you would really appreciate it if yoongi would spare you one second to notice that you’re wearing one of his jumpsuits (which already should’ve raised a red flag for him, but for some reason it didn’t) and underneath this grubby jumpsuit is a very pretty bra and an even prettier pair of panties!

it’s navy blue to match the jumpsuit and it even has little ribbons sewn onto the thigh garters which you know for sure he’s going to be a big fan of

“you said one second like ten minutes ago…” you whine quietly, hoping that yoongi can hear the pout in your voice so he’ll finally wheel out from under this damn car, “don’t you wanna know what your surprise is?”

“i do, baby, but i’m almost done…” yoongi’s hand shoots out from under the car to blindly reach for a wrench and you nudge it towards him with your foot, “thank you, pretty girl…”

“you can’t call me that if you’re not even looking at me.”

you know he’s beefing up the nicknames right now because he knows you love it when he calls you all sorts of terms of endearment and you’re trying noT to let that butter you up but there’s something about the way he says baby that just makes your tummy tingle

...

what were you doing again?

you shake yourself out of your trance before crossing your arms stubbornly, “you know what? maybe i’ll go and show namjoon what’s under this jumpsuit since you’re obviously a little too busy for me right now- NAMJOON, i need you! can you come out here for a second?”

“mm, you can show namjoon first and then i swear i’ll be done after- wait, under the jumpsuit-?!”

you hear a thud and a low ‘ow, fuck-’ before yoongi suddenly rolls himself out from underneath the car, scrambling up from the ground frantically, “did you say under the jumpsuit?” he asks, reaching up to wipe his face with the back of his hand only to smear more grease across his cheek

“i did.” you nod, placing your hands on your hips again before taking a step back, “and i would let you find out what’s under it for yourself, but your hands are very dirty so you’re not coming anywhere near me- anyways, if you weren’t so busy doing whatever it is you’re doing to that car-” yoongi’s eyelids flutter rapidly when you yank the jumpsuit open in one swift move, his mouth immediately going dry at the sight of… holy shit- “you could’ve been busy doing me.”

“i could’ve-” yoongi chokes, his eyes unable to look away from your chest, “i could’ve been do- we could- yeah, i can definitely do something else right now-”

oh, wow

it matches the jumpsuit and everything

...he wants to rip it off of you using his teeth.

“y/n! did you call for me?”

“joon! yeah, i was wondering what you thought about this-” you’re about to turn around to see if namjoon will appreciate your present more than your own boyfriend, yoongi lunging forward immediately to keep you from literally flashing namjoon, “yoongi-!” it’s only a second later that you feel yourself being lifted up and practically thrown over yoongi’s shoulder, your head spinning for a second at the sudden movement

“namjoon, there you are!” yoongi clears his throat before gesturing back to the car, “also, could you check on the- uh, the thing for me? the thing i was doing? to make sure it’s working?”

“yoongi, put me down, you lunatic-!”

“what? i don’t-” namjoon blinks owlishly when yoongi slaps a wrench down onto his palm, “i don’t know what you were doing, i’ve been in the office this whole ti-”

“great, thanks!” yoongi gives him a hearty slap on the shoulder before brushing past him, namjoon turning to look as he trots off towards the office with you still hanging over his shoulder

“do not get any grease on me, you brute-!”

why would he-

oh.

“yoongi-” namjoon clears his throat, “remember to hang a bandana on the doorknob this time!”

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ balletteacher!jimin: it’s valentine’s day and jimin & y/n have to be more careful next year

“okay, i know you told me not to get you anything for valentine’s day, but i couldn’t help myself.”

“jimin…” you turn to glance at him over your shoulder as you continue blindly rummaging through your duffle bag, “i told you i didn’t need anything!”

“but it’s valentine’s day!” jimin argues, shutting the closet door before spinning around on his heels with a cheeky grin, “and they’re just flowers!”

“yeah, but knowing you, they were probably really expensive flowers-” you tease, getting up from the ground before dusting your knees off, “and you didn’t have to get me a whole bouquet, i would’ve been perfectly fine with a single rose like last year-”

“i’m allowed to spend however much money i want on you-” the two of you walk towards each other until you’re standing in the centre of the room, jimin reaching into the bouquet to adjust the little note tucked into the centre of it, “now, i was going to go with roses, but i saw these red gardenias and thought they’d be the better option because i got you roses last year. plus, roses are a little cliché this time of year, don’t you think?”

to: y/n - there’s not enough space on this card to write a lot so happy vday i hope u know how much i care about u

“aw, jimin…” you giggle, unable to fight the grin off of your face after you read the endearing handwritten note, “happy valentine’s day to you too.”

jimin’s eyes widen in surprise when you suddenly pull a little heart-shaped box out from behind your back with a small giggle

“what? i thought you said you didn’t get anything for me?” jimin gasps, tilting his head before taking the box from you, “sneaky!”

“i know. i lied.” you crinkle your nose as you shake the box gently, “i customised it too and chose all your favourite flavours!”

“that’s very thoughtful of you, darling-” jimin smiles softly, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you towards him, “i can’t wait to-”

“mr. park, i think i left my-” you immediately spring away from jimin when the door suddenly swings open and smacks against the wall, “oh-!”

“seulgi!” jimin clears his throat, his grip tightening on the bouquet, “hello!”

“what’s… going on…?” seulgi trails off, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the bouquet of gardenias that both you and jimin are still holding onto, “are those flowers?”

“uh…” you look back over at jimin and the two of you exchange brief glances of pure panic, “yes! these flowers…” you trail off, your brain working overtime to come up with a believable reason as to why you and jimin look like you’re exchanging very romantic gifts, “are for everyone!” you chirp, grabbing the bouquet from jimin’s hands before spinning around to face seulgi with a smile, “mr. park wanted to give them out earlier but it slipped his mind so he asked me if i could hand them out to you guys!“

“oh my gosh, really?” seulgi gasps, bringing her fingers up to cover her mouth, “you know, i love gardenias-” she takes her bottom lip in between her teeth as she leans against the door frame, eyeing jimin dreamily, “that’s so sweet of you, mr. park. we didn’t know you were planning on surprising us again! you really didn’t have to do this!”

“yes, i… really didn’t…” jimin forces a smile on his face, “but i did… because i just… care so much about all of you ladies on this special day…”

“what about the chocolates?” seulgi leans over a little, her eyes flickering down to the box in jimin’s hand

you twist around to look down at it

you knEW you should’ve saved it for later tonight!

now you don’t have flowers and jimin’s about to lose his chocolates!!

jimin pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he stares down at his precious box of chocolates given to him by his very lovely girlfriend that he was planning on sharing with his very lovely girlfriend later tonight

…god damnit.

“…the chocolates are also for you guys.” jimin looks back up at seulgi, trying his best not to look like he wants to strangle her for interrupting what would’ve been a sweet moment, “why don’t you call everyone back?”

“okay!” seulgi practically squeals, disappearing from the doorway in less than a second

a couple seconds of silence pass by before you slowly turn around to face jimin with a sheepish smile, jimin letting out a chuckle before shrugging at you

“…happy valentine’s day?”

“happy valentine’s day.”

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ roommate!taehyung: it’s valentine’s day and taehyung can be romantic if he wants to be

“dark chocolate… oh my god, is this lemon? ew!” taehyung frowns, swallowing the bite before shuddering and placing the other half of the chocolate back into the box, “who in their right mind wants to eat lemon gunk inside a piece of dark chocolate?”

“i got peanut butter chocolate, so i’m happy with my selection.” you hum, dusting your fingers off before peering into the box for another piece

“what?? i wanted peanut butter chocolate!” taehyung whines, picking up the pamphlet to look at the different flavours again, “damnit. there’s only one peanut butter chocolate!”

“hey, you ate the milk chocolate caramel and you know i like that one!”

“everyone likes milk chocolate caramel, y/n. you’re not special!”

“i know you’re just lashing out because you’ve been getting all the gross flavours, so i’m going to forgive you for saying that.”

“like, ten of these pieces look the same…” taehyung scowls and continues to flip through the pamphlet, “i want milk chocolate and almond but it looks exactly like this one that’s milk chocolate with some kind of whipped orange filling inside of it…”

long story short, the two of you have been sitting here for the last half an hour snacking on a big box of chocolates that you decided to splurge on instead of using up all of your money on an overly-expensive dinner

valentine’s day is nice and all but you and tae both agreed that you wouldn’t make a big deal of it

you had a discussion about valentine’s day and the conclusion of that conversation was that you’d go all out on your anniversary but just take it easy on valentine’s day

but then again… a lot of your friends who are also in relationships have been posting cute pictures all day long of them and their significant others

and you know that you literally said valentine’s day wasn’t a big deal but... but the giant teddy bears… and the beautiful bouquets of flowers… the shiny, twinkling jewellery… the fancy dinners at fancy restaurants… it all looks so nice!

it’s not like you feel like you’re missing out on anything because the only thing that matters is that you and taehyung love each other blah blah blah anD you definitely don’t want to make it seem like you only care about materialistic things but it really makes you wonder if you and taehyung are just... bad at being a couple?

“are we bad at being romantic?” you ask out loud, turning to look at taehyung, “because we basically have no plans for the rest of the day besides gorging on chocolate and… well, gorging on more chocolate.”

“i don’t think we’re bad at being romantic. this is just… our version of romance!” taehyung shrugs, setting the pamphlet down before turning to face you as well, “everyone can celebrate today however they want to celebrate it, and we just so happen to be celebrating it like this!” he gestures to the two of you and the box of the chocolates

you’re wearing a grubby, stained sweatshirt and your fingers are sticky with chocolate and taehyung’s currently trying to fish a chunk of almond out from his molars

you’re not sure what kind of romance this is but it’s definitely something

“yeah, i guess you’re right…” you trail off, picking at one of the empty paper wrappers in the box

“why do you ask?”

“ah, no reason. you’re right. i mean, i’m the one who said that valentine’s day was-” you clear your throat before dismissing him with a flick of your wrist, “yeah, nothing.”

taehyung’s shoulders droop slightly as he watches you pick at the chocolates with a slight frown on your face

it’s not like he didn’t have anything planned for valentine’s day - as a matter of fact, he was going to get you one of those fancy buckets of roses that he sees all over instagram AND he was going to place a custom order for a whole bag of candy hearts with your guys’ initials on them - but then you mentioned one night that valentine’s day was kind of a goofy holiday and he immediately changed his mind

“...okay, c’mon.” taehyung dusts his hands off before getting up off the couch, a couple paper wrappers fluttering onto the floor, “go and get changed.”

“what are you talking about?”

“you want romance? i can do romance! one time i folded a girl’s clothes the morning after, and if that doesn’t scream romance, i don’t know what-” taehyung pauses when he realises he probably shouldn’t be talking about his past girls in front of his current girl (also you’re giving him that look that screams i dare you to continue talking), “i… am going to change the subject now because i feel myself wandering into dangerous territory- the point is: why don’t you change into something a little less comfortable?”

“what- why?” you frown, taehyung reaching down to wrap his hand around your elbow and pull you up off the couch

“we’re going on an impromptu date night, that’s why!”

“all the restaurants in the city are probably fully booked already, though-” you shake your head, reaching down to pick your phone up, “i don’t know…”

“aw, c’mon. looking for a restaurant on one of the busiest nights of the year is all part of our valentine’s day fun!!” taehyung chirps, reaching up to pinch your cheek, “plus, if all else fails, we’ll come home and order takeout like we were originally going to - which will still be super fun and romantic, because everything we do is super fun and romantic. okay?”

a wide grin spreads on taehyung’s face when he notices the excited smile starting to twitch at the corner of your mouth

“…okay!” you giggle, taking tae’s hand as you bounce up and down on the balls of your feet, “okay, let’s go change-” you turn around, pulling tae along behind you, “i bought a new pair of boots and i’ve been dying to wear them out-”

“yay! also, i’m just letting you know now that after we come home i’m going to bone you so romantically that you won’t even know what hit you-”

“tae-”

“what?! you said you wanted romance!”

✨why don’t you explore the rest of the library while you’re here?

💫or perhaps you want something shorter to read?

🌟or something even shorter?

348 notes · View notes

heshoes · 3 years

Text

Uni Daze

She was his best friend and they shared everything together already anyway. What difference would it make if it were a hat, shampoo, or the same bed sometimes? So what? That's what the Uni Daze were about, having fun, traditions, getting serious, new relationships, friendships, heart ache, break-ups, make ups, secrets, the occasional/casual bajingo here and there, and possibly, just maybe, finding the love of your life and hoping that it all works out.

Warnings: Slow burn, smut, angst, mentions of abortion, mentions of verbal abuse

Pairing: Harry Styles x OFC ( face claim Zendaya)

Uni Daze Masterlist

Chapter 4 (word count 11.2k)

Harry

Usually a busy day keeps me grounded and out of any possible trouble that Michelle could help get me into, but today was different. It seems like whenever there was something toolook forward to, the day seems to drag and the minute and second hands on the clock move at a non existent pace. Any other day I would almost dread going to work the front desk in the first year halls though I know it had to be done. Today, however, I looked at it as four hours that I could use to talk to Rion.

There was a two hour gap in my time frame today due to a professor sending out a bullshit email telling us the reasons as to why his class was cancelled. He was one of the youngest professors at the university with a track record of hanging out with his student's. But what he did behind the closed doors with Lumen, the girl who lived down the hall from Michelle and I was none of my business.

After I'd taken the spare time to shower, change clothes, and read a chapter and a half ahead in my anatomy text I found myself antsy and ready to go to work, much to Michelle's amusement.

"Just sit down. You have twenty minutes left yet. Did you not have some kind of I'm an important person meeting that you could have went to? Or any equations that you could crack in hopes to surpass both Galileo and Einstein combined? Over achiever."

"Michelle, your grade mark average has been higher than mine since birth and I'm older than you."

“True. But I just don't put as much effort into it as you do."

"That's what makes it all the more annoying. No, I don't have any meetings lined up for senior class. You could be a part of it you know. All you have to do is come to a meeting."

"I'll pass on that. Thanks."

"It looks good on job applications."

"And so does First Class Honors at an Ivy League Uni." Michelle spoke, paying little attention to me as she smiled down at her phone. Ten minutes had passed before I stood from the couch, drawing Michelle's attention again. She smirked at me while shaking her head.

"I'm gonna walk. It's a nice night out, plus if I work a little earlier I get paid more and that doesn't hurt."

"No, I'm sure it doesn't. Especially if you're not really in it for the money in the first place, Hershey. Ask her out today, yeah?"

"I just enjoy talking to her. I don't want to ask her out. It's too soon. It's cliche."

"Says the man who was turned down once and then gave up completely. You don't have to date her Harrow, but stop lying to yourself. It gets you nowhere fast. Ask her to the party."

****

The walk to the first year halls was quicker than I expected. I wasn't sure if it was due to the distraction of the scenery change or my pace, but a fifteen minute stroll was cut down to one that only took ten. When I walked into the double doors I saw her again, seated at the front desk with her eyes focused on the pages of her book taking in each word with a lazy grin on her face.

“Hi Rion. How are you?" I asked somewhat loud, causing her to jump. "Sorry didn't mean to scare you."

“No, it’s fine. I didn't see you walking up. I should pay better attention sitting here. Sometimes I just get so engrossed in the words that I forget what's going on around me. How are you this evening?"

I grinned at her before running a hand through my hair and taking the hair tie that I'd stolen from Michelle off of my wrist before pulling it halfway up.

"I'm alright, but I think I asked you a question first.” Rion looked down at her half way finished novel that she had barely scratched the surface of on Monday and then smiled up at me as I made my way around the desk, taking the seat next to hers.

"I'm doing quite well actually. I have no real complaints." Her face dropped.

"That face that you're making is telling me that the last thing that you said was a lie. Clearly."

"Well..."

"Go on. Say it." I grinned while pushing my chair back and resting my feet on the shelf of the desk in front of us.

"My flatmate."

"Yeah?"

"She had company last night.” Rion's voice lowered to a whisper and her cheeks twinged the lightest shade of pink.

"And?"

"And they were very...loud. I didn't get much sleep and every time I had time between classes and I went back to my dorm to take a nap I would always oversleep. I could swear I was late to almost every class today, but my professors were kind of understanding. They all cut me a break because I'm new." Rion rested her head in her hands before she began to shake it back and forth. "I mean I don't want to be that girl who switches dorm flats because their flatmate makes them uncomfortable. She's a really nice girl you know?"

"Uh-huh." I chuckled. I didn't mean to laugh at her misfortune and bad day, but she looked so distressed while explaining it all. No wonder she was rushing about today.

"But I can't risk being late to class, or miss classes because her and her girlfriend insist on having loud goes at each other. My parents had to pay so much for tuition here and I'm working at least three jobs to pay the loans I've taken out myself."

"Yeah that's-Wait what did you say?"

"I said I'm working three jobs to pay off loans and my parents for school and-"

"Wait, no. Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off, but what did you say before that?"

"My flatmate and her girlfriend have loud goes at each other."

"Your flatmate is a girl?"

"Yes." Rion tilted her head, looking at me as if I'd lost it. When you live on campus, the dorms are usually co-ed, but the actual rooms aren't.

"And you said she had a girlfriend?" It wouldn't be her. It can't be.

"Yes she's a les-"

"Lesbian."

"Yeah. And it's not that, that makes me uncomfortable. I believe love is love no matter who you find it with. It's just that they were so loud and I think sex is a very private and sacred thing… And I mean it was so disrespectful because Alison knows that I have to be up so early for my first class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but she was— they were both...and then there was this buzzing sound. I think toys were involved."

I laughed out loud. I couldn't help it. The mix of the story, the situation, and the toys made it too good to be true. Rion pouted, but I could still see a trace of a smile on her lips.

“Sorry. It's not funny. You were just making a funny face. Did you say your flatmate's name was Alison?"

"Yeah. Do you know her?"

"No." It's really not a lie. I don't know her.

"Oh. She's a really sweet girl, but I need sleep."

"You do. Three jobs is a lot to juggle. It makes me feel like I'm not doing enough."

"You do though. You work, you have more classes than I do, and you're president of senior class. We both are tackling a lot…But, I can't help but feel like something is missing from the equation for the both of us. I just can't quite put my finger on it."

“Yeah, me either. Do you know Alison's girlfriend. Have you seen her?" I don't know why I'm hoping that there's a chance that this Alison is playing the same game that Michelle is or that it's a completely different girl.

"No. I'm sure that she said it at some point last night, but I put my earphones in to try and muffle the sound as much as possible." Rion sighed as she turned around to face the desk again, looking back down at her book.

"It kind of sounds like you need an escape." I say, hoping that she would turn back around to face me.

“It's only the start of the year. Usually I'd be fine, but I'm already tired. Cambridge comes with a price, but I'm more than willing to pay it. A get away sounds good."

"Well, there's this party on Saturday that practically the whole school contributes in. I've even seen some professors there, the younger ones at least."

"Really? At a school like this?"

"Rion, Cambridge may seem mysterious, with all of its prestige, low acceptance rates, and student's who attend with big brains, but it’s a university first. Parties exist here and because we're not supposed to be considered a school known for parties, they exist a little bit more than your regular university. We just keep it a secret. You should come."

"I'm not really that much of a partier. The last one I went to was after I finished all of my GCSE. I was talking to this boy that I liked and I'd never really drank that much, but I was with my friends and peer pressure and all... It just didn't end well."

"Let me guess. You threw up on him?"

"No... I— I can't! I can't tell you it was so embarrassing!" Rion laughed covering her mouth before she stood up to help a first year out. I swear its only Wednesday and more than a fourth of the first years who live in this building have already lost their keys. I'm sure that after the party on Saturday and the excessive drinking that's going to take place there's going to be a line outside the door for key replacements.

Chelle: I'm so bored so I'm gonna clean the apartment. Starting in the living space, then your room, then mine. Anything that might stick to my fingers if I touch it this time? 😜😷

To Chelle: Don't clean my room! It's already clean! And please don't tell me you touched anything in my bin?😨😳

Chelle: I haven't, but I assume the worst. And I may or may not have changed your name in my phone to Mr. Tissue. I will never let you live that down.

To Chelle: Call one of your bitches and leave my shit alone, pimp daddy. I'm buying a lock for my door.🔒

Chelle: 😼Bitches? What good will a lock do when I'll have the spare? 🔐👀

To Chelle: We'll discuss this when I get home. I’m Busy. 🗣DO NOT TOUCH MY SHIT!

"You alright?" Rion asked pulling me out of my text war with Mitchell.

"Oh, yeah. Just texting my flat mate."

"Mitch, right?"

"Yeah," I snickered, shaking my head while thinking about the well being of my things, "So are you going to tell me what happened when you were at this party years and years ago talking to the boy you liked?"

"Ugh, no I can't. I absolutely can't embarrass myself that much again. It would be like reliving it."

"I'll tell you one of mine. My most embarrassing, but you've got to tell me yours first.” Rion hid her head in her hands peeking out at me between her fingers and laughing.

"Fine. But please don't judge me. It was my first time being drunk. Promise?"

"I promise that I might not be able to not laugh and I won't judge you but tease you for it later."Rion squinted her eyes at me processing what I said before she turned around facing away from me in her swivel chair. I heard her take a deep breath before she started.

"I'd never been drunk before and we were at this party because everyone finished their GCSE. We weren't really old enough to drink-"

"No shit?"

"Don't interrupt," she laughed dragging out the words, "All of the toilets were taken in the house so I was waiting outside of this one when Flynn came up to talk to me-"

I laughed out loud for the third time today and the story wasn't even over. "His name was Flynn?"

"Yes. He was very cute! Let me finish!"

"Okay, soz."

"So we were talking and I was really drunk and I really had to go and....I peed! Don't laugh! You said you wouldn't judge me!” Laughing was an understatement. My stomach hurt and my eyes started to water.

"You pissed yourself?!"

"I didn't talk to anyone for a week, even my best friend for letting me get that drunk."

"Why didn't you go wee outside?"

"Well it's so easy for boys to do that isn't it? You can just whip it out, shake it off, and put it away. Girls have layers that they have to get through, and I'm a lady."

"A lady who wet herself."

"And what's your story?"

"And it appears that we're out of time."

"Oh no you don't!" She laughed wiping the corner of her eye and pouting, "You promised!"

"Alright I guess. I was out with one of my friends and his parents had just gotten divorced so he was living with his mum at the time. We'd went to a bar and I'd gotten so drunk that I forgot where I was-"

"That's it?"

"No, I wish it was but no. We went back to his place because my mum doesn't like me drinking and I didn't want to hear her nag. But when I got back to his place, I started stripping off."

"You didn't!"

"I did. I took off everything.... Everything. My friends mum was at work at the time but when she came home the next morning I was ass naked in her hallway sleeping on the floor...on my back...and it was morning...My friend had went in his room and closed the door. But, now every time I come home to visit him and his mum is there she winks at me and pinches my bum."

Rion was in tears the same way that I was a few minutes ago and I didn't even care that the story was embarrassing, because her laugh was as cute as she was. I looked at my phone to check the time and our shift would be over in five minutes. Any other day time would have dragged on, but it always seems when I'm here with her it goes by a little faster.

"I can't believe that." Rion spoke while wiping her eyes again.

"Well believe it, because it happens every time. Makes for a good story though." We both started to gather our things to leave but before we left the building, Rion tore a sheet of paper from her notebook and began to write on it.

"Here. Um, that's my number. I don't know about the party just yet because I have to check my work schedules and everything else, but I don't know. Just text me sometime before then?"

"Sure. I mean yeah of course I will.”

Rion grinned at me while biting her bottom lip before walking away and the walk home that usually took fifteen minutes now felt as if it only took five.

****

I closed the door behind me with an exhaled breath and a smile on my face before inhaling the scent of pine and citrus. Michelle poked her head out into the hallway that led to the door where I stood before she stepped out of the kitchen fully wearing pink rubber gloves, a pair of my favorite Green Bay sweats, and a t-shirt that also happened to be mine.

“Honey, I'm home."

"Bitches?"

"Excuse me?" I looked at my best mate confused as she crossed her arms across her chest after removing the gloves from her hands, tilting her head to the side as she spoke again.

"You said I have bitches, Styles. Apparently there's more to discuss."

I walked away from the door removing my work shirt and tossing it at Michelle. She tried to move out of the way and dodge the laundry that I'd threw at her but it still landed on her shoulder. She shrugged it off, causing it to land on the floor before shouting at me.

"I've just cleaned this entire apartment and you come in here making a mess! Pick it up and take it to you're room you quadruple nippled fuck."

"Girls don't mind my bonus nipples. It even sometimes becomes interesting foreplay, when I was having sex that is."

"Gross!"

I laugh and duck when she launches the shirt back to me causing it to land in in a pile on the kitchen floor. We both look at it and step over it before I grab two beers out of the refrigerator, one for myself and one for Chelle.When I try to hand her the beverage, she frowns at the twist off cap and then pouts at me causing me to scowl before I open it for her.

"You're so useless sometimes, Chelle."

"Says the man who doesn't clean, yet looks around at a spotless household that smells of cinnamon. I wonder who did that? Ah, it must have been the useless one. Now," Michelle spoke before clicking the neck of her beer with mine and then taking a sip, "What's this about my bitches?"

I chuckled as I took a gulp of my drink and headed for the living-room with Michelle close behind. We sat on the couch on on opposite ends of each other, relaxing after a long day as we usually do.

"Maybe not bitches in the plural sense. Maybe there's just one?"

Michelle stretched out on the couch putting her mitch-matched sock clad feet on my lap, drawing a displeased look from me but ignoring it entirely as she dramatically massaged her temples with her free hand.

"I can't deal with your game of clue today. The chemicals from the cleaning made my brain go fuzzy and I don't think the beer is helping. Just tell me what you think you know so I can tell you that you're wrong as usual."

I smiled at her, placing my half finished beer bottle on the table in front of us and then began massaging her calves causing her to close her eyes and hum in appreciation before taking another swig of her drink.

"Alison."

Michelle opened one of her eyes before quickly closing it again.

"What about her?"

"Was she a part of your plans B and C last night? Because something or someone tells me that she may have been." Michelle's eyes snapped open and she looked at me in shock. "It's okay if you like her. You can't help who you like."

"I don't like anyone," Michelle looked down briefly at her lap as she shrugged off my discovery. If I've learned anything about her from being her friend its that when she fails to make eye contact, she's lying. "Gianna stood me up last night and Alison was my backup plan. It's simple. I got what I wanted and left in the morning before she even woke up."

"Okay," I smirked at her before picking up my beer again, finishing what was left of it.

"I'm serious. I don't like anyone. I don't feel anything for anyone anymore. Senior year, up the ante, remember? I barely like you."

"Alright," I chuckled before pushing her legs off of me, returning to the kitchen to grab another drink.

"Harry!"

"I believe you, I believe you. You you're an emotionless drone," I spoke as I opened the refrigerator, "We need to go to the grocery store. This is getting ridiculous. We don't have anything in here besides beer, fizzy drinks, and water."

"There are plenty of noodle cups in the cabinet. We'll just tell people we're on an all liquid diet if we ever get visitors. We're not done talking about the other thing. Stop changing the subject. How did you even know I was at Alison's last night?"

I closed the door to the refrigerator with a smirk on my face walking past Michelle to go back into the living room. She followed behind me while lighting a candle that smells like oranges to keep the citrus scent going.

"Well? Come on Har. I don't want to have to chase you around the apartment all day for answers."

"Make me a noodle cup and bring me a bottle of water and I'll tell you."

"You were just in the kitchen!" Michelle speaks as she throws her lighter at me but does what I ask.

When she gets back, she hands me a fork and places the bottle of water on the table in front of me. I smile at her as a thank you before I speak.

"Rion."

"What?"

"Small world right? Or, small campus? Rion, is Alison's flatmate and she kind of, she heard you two last night. I mean, unless that wasn't you and there's another girl named Alison on campus? She said you guys kept her up because you both were too loud."

"There very well could be another Alison, Harry. It's not like there are only four lesbians that exist on earth. But Rion? The girl that you work with? The one that you have the hots in the pants for, Rion?"

"Yes and I don't just like her that way."

"Hm. Of course you do, you've only known her for three days..."

"What, hm? What do you have to say about her?"

"Oh, nothing except Alison calls her prudence. She says she's a real goody good and she's annoying."

"Thats sad," I say as I finish all that I was going to of my noodles leaving the rest for Michelle to eat. She takes the cup from my hands and takes a bite while looking at me to finish what I was going to say, "Rion says Alison's really nice and sweet."

“Well, I don't know. Rion may very well be Princess Peach. You know I don't do girly gossip. It gets on my last nerve. Alison just feels the need to talk to me when I'm there and its like shut the fuck up, girl. I didn't come over here to hear you talk, now get between my legs and-"

"Woah! Okay, and Mitchel is back. How are ya bro? I haven't really seen you in a few days."

"Fuck off Harry." Michelle laughs. "I hear the sordid details of you and the lads sexcapades all the time...well not you so much now, but you know what I was getting at."

"Yeah but, it's kind of different..."

"How?" Chelle quirked an eyebrow and turned her head looking to me for an answer that I'm not sure that I wanted to give her.

"Well, because... I um... and it's just that sometimes-"

"Wait! Harry you pervert! You get turned on by it don't you? It gives you a stiffy?"

"No!"

"Yes! Yes it does! You're turning all red!"

“No it doesn’t, Michelle!"

"Then what's your valid reason?"

I couldn't think of a lie fast enough and Michelle started to laugh, nasty snort and all. I took a pillow from the couch and threw it at her, making her fall backwards on the floor and stay there, using the pillow to her advantage as she lied down on the throw rug that covered the majority of the hardwood flooring in the living room. Our apartment was pretty nice considering that it was still school property, then again we did luck out putting in our bid in order to get into the newer buildings.

"Okay Hersh, I'll keep my dirty details to a minimum for the sake of your tight trousers. I can only imagine that, that gets uncomfortable. Anyway, did you ask prudence- sorry, Rion, to the party this weekend?"

"I did." I smile as I think about the neatly folded piece of paper in my pocket with her number written across it.

"What did she say?" Michelle looks up at me from her place on the floor.

"She said that she's not really that much of a party person." I smiled again a bit harder than I had before.

"So she's not going and she turned you down again? Maybe she is a prude. Don't worry about it Harry, there are plenty of other girls out here on campus just as smart, if not smarter than she is, prettier, and who will appreciate you for- What are you smiling about? Why are you so giddy from being turned down twice?"

I chuckled to myself while shaking my head and standing from my place on the couch, stretching before going towards my room.

"I didn't necessarily get turned down."

I could hear Michelle's footsteps close behind me as I walked into my room. She'd been in here. I can tell not only because of the clothes that she wore to clean that were mine, but because I could still faintly smell her perfume. Nothing was on the floor anymore and she even made my bed. I looked around the room and then back at her before I sat, grabbing one of the neatly placed pillows to put under my head, then lied back on it with my legs hanging over the edge of the mattress.

"Before you say anything, you'll be able to find your things. I just put everything where it’s supposed to normally go."

"I wasn't going to say anything besides thank you. I'm still buying a lock for my door, but thank you."

Michelle rolled her eyes. Something she calls a brainless trait. When she catches herself she covers her face in embarrassment before she continues to bother me, taking a seat next to me on the bed. "So how is Rion's telling you that she's not a party girl, not necessarily turning you down?"

"She gave me her number. You know, for someone who doesn't like to hang out with girls you surely do a lot of girly gossip. You're so nosey, Jesus."

"Oh please, Harrow. You wanted to tell me just as bad if not worse than I wanted to know. Are you going to call her tonight?"

“No. That's too forward and desperate. I'll text her tomorrow or something."

"You're such a teenaged girl. You think about things too much instead of just doing them. Sometimes I wonder if you have a bajingo where your penis should be. If she gave you her number its because she wants a call.”

"Go fuck off somewhere else Mitchel! And by the way, those joggers and that shirt are mine. Thief."

Michelle stood from the bed with a smirk on her face before she took off my shirt and my sweats, folding them precisely before she put them in my washing basket. I kept my eyes on her face when she looked back at me and I swear that I tried to keep my eyes on her face the entire time, but I would be lying if I said that my eyes didn't roam over her smooth skin when she wasn't looking at me. I closed my eyes quickly and turned my head away. Hearing her laugh was the only evidence that I had to let me know that she was still standing in my room.

"I didn't say take off my clothes right now. God, Chelle don't be so literal. Go dress yourself!"

"I have on underwear! And you took off your shirt when you came through the door. AND I've seen you walk around in your boxers plenty. Is there some sort of double standard because I'm a woman?”

"That's not the point! And yes there is! Please go put on trousers and a shirt?"

“Whatever, Harry. I'm going to bed. Clearly I'll have to sleep this way because it's hot as hell fire in my room. It's a shame that this is a new building but they still didn't bother to make sure that the ventilation was right before they stuck people in it. Good night and all that."

"Night." I looked towards Chelle and then looked away again as she began to walk out of my room, her nicely rounded bum bounced as she closed the door behind her.

****

Saturday came quickly. Too quickly for my liking, and I hadn't text Rion or called her at all. I didn't want to seem desperate, but perhaps waiting three days made it seem like I wasn't interested? I hadn't seen her at work for the past two days because she has two other jobs to juggle. I'd hoped that she could get off for today, however, even though I haven't said a word to her.

"Just call her. Stop being a chicken shit. The party is tonight, and I'm rooting for you, Styles." Michelle spoke as we walked down the aisles of Sainsbury Supermarket. We'd been here for nearly half an hour and had nothing in our cart except beer, noodle cups, frozen pizza's and a bottle of Goldschläger for tonight. Broke college students can afford alcohol when they can't afford anything else.

"Are we going to buy any real food, or is this about as good as it gets?" I asked, ignoring Michelle's comment.

"What? We've got plenty. Plus I think there are chicken nuggets in there and that's a delicacy for us. Don't avoid what I've said to you."

"I haven't avoided anything, and we would be able to get more than chicken nuggets and noodles if you would just call your parents."

Michelle hesitated before she looked back at me and then back down at her list. She doesn't call her parents much to ask for money if she can avoid it. Her mum isn't doing so well health wise and to the best of my knowledge she hasn't been for some years now. The doctors thought that she had leukemia, but apparently they've only just discovered that's not the case. I think it's what drives Michelle's dream to become a doctor. She's eager to find out what's going on with her mum so that she can be the one to cure it.

She glanced at her phone having an internal battle with herself on whether she should ring home or not. I felt bad for asking her and I normally wouldn't, but I'm running low on funds myself. I usually get a stipend every other week from my mum and paid every other Friday from my shitty job, but unfortunately I'm between pay checks and for some reason my mum is late.

Michelle decided against my idea putting her phone back in her pocket.

"We're in our last year of uni. What would it look like if we resorted to calling our parents to wire us food money? You call yours if you're so hungry."

"It would look like we're both working shit jobs barely making wage and paying to rent out the apartment that we have so that we can finish out this last year with a roof over our heads. I wouldn't ask you to usually, but is an emergency. I asked my parents last time. It's your turn."

“Well, we can just get rid of something then if we don't have enough." Michelle stopped the cart and began to sift through the contents inside it, moving over ten cups of noodles out of the way and the one bag of chicken nuggets that we had. When her hand landed on the alcohol, we both looked at each other and shook our heads no. "Fuck," Michelle groaned under her breath, "Fine I'll ask my parents tomorrow. Let’s just get this for now and get out of here."

When we left the grocery store, after loading all four of our bags into my car, Michelle got quiet while looking out the window. I still hadn't told her that Louis is planning on meeting up with me and the lads to drink before we go just to prove that he's not one of those people and usually, now days anyway, wherever Louis is Michelle is far away and vice versa. I figure that there's no better time to tell her rather than now while she's quiet, but at the same time I don't want to hurt her feelings. She seemed lost in thought, but there's still a smile on her face.

I cleared my throat causing her to look at me quizzically with an eyebrow raised.

"Um, so.."

"Yes?"

"About the party tonigh-"

"No you don't!" Michelle cut in not allowing me to finish what I was going to say as we pulled up to our apartment. "You're not cutting out of this. Gosh, Harry, I know that you want to be more serious and that this year and I'm sorry for not using the Ultimate Alarm the other day when you were in an alcoholic hibernation, but it's a Saturday. Can you not have fun on Saturdays?" Michelle frowned pouting a bit.

"I'm going to the party, if that's what that speech was pertaining to at all? I wasn't going to say that I'm not going."

"Oh. Well then by all means continue." She smiled this time, happy with herself because she didn't have to argue her case any further.

"Yeah, I um, I'm going to the party, but Louis wanted me and the lads to meet up with him before we go. Pre-gaming and all that." I spoke quickly hoping that she didn't mind or hear what I said for that matter. Her eyes stayed straight forward, looking outside the windshield before she replied.

"All of you?"

"Yeah. He kind of asked about it earlier this week when I saw him...But you know we'll hang out at the party and stuff."

She nodded her head. It was the only response she'd given as her eyes stayed on the boot of the car in front of us.

"Are you alright with it? I can always-"

"Don't worry about it, Harrow. You were his friends first after all, and we live with each other. I'm tired of seeing your ugly mug anyway." Michelle laughed while patting my cheek and I shoved her hand off of me. "Plus, we all know I have bitches that I need to tend to so it's fine."

She covers up how she truly feels with a joke and all of a sudden I feel guilty.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah it's fine. You're very much a pleaser, Harrow. Did you know that?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I parked the car and grabbed the groceries out of the back seat to go upstairs.

"You can't please everyone. In the end someone is going to have to be let down or hurt. That's the way of life. It's okay to be selfish sometimes, Harry. That's what I mean."

Michelle sighed as she walked ahead of me, using her keys to unlock the door to our flat. I put the groceries and my things down in the kitchen before I went for a wee, all the while trying to figure out where the hell that last bit of our conversation was coming from, but when I came out of the bathroom she was back to acting like her normal self.

"Since you're leaving me to fend for myself tonight," Michelle spoke holding up two double shot glasses filled to the brim with alcohol, "We didn't buy this for nothing." She spoke in reference to the Goldschläger that ate up the majority of our money and bit her bottom lip while smiling at me.

I winced, already feeling the burn of the liquid going down my throat, before looking at my watch.

"It's only five. No one is going to start drinking until at least nine. You're trying to kill me. I said sorry for agreeing to go with Louis and the lads. Why are you making me do this?"

"Harry, when we were first years we drank early all the time."

"And my liver paid for it."

"Oop, Harry what's that?"

I looked over my shoulder confused before I looked back over to Michelle.

"What's what?"

"Is that a bajingo between your legs where you penis should be?" Michelle started to laugh while pointing in that general area.

"Piss off Chelle!" I spoke before walking up to the table and grabbing the shot that she'd placed there for me. I held it up to eye level inspecting it first. There was something floating in the glass.

"It's actually gold," Michelle said seeing the confusion written clean across my face, "hence the name Goldschläger."

"So we can afford to drink gold flecks in alcohol, but we can't afford real food?"

"I'm going to call my parents tomorrow I said, Mr. Sensable. Now shut up and down it!"

I looked at Michelle shaking my head as we clinked glasses and turned the shot up to our lips. The burn of it made my eyes water and when I looked at Michelle, hers were doing the same. I picked up the bottle on the table and read it before Michelle took it from my hands, pouring us both another shot.

"This is forty-five percent alcohol."

"Yes. It's strong. So, so strong." She nodded as if she already knew.

"We'll be trashed if we keep drinking this. We probably wouldn't even make it to the party." I spoke before I walked over to the refrigerator to grab us beers, hoping that she would switch substances.

"No we won't. I won't let us miss it. But legend has it that this is supposed to get you drunk quickly. The gold flecks supposedly make microscopic cuts in your esophagus so the alcohol can get into your bloodstream faster. Cheers." Michelle handed me the shot glass again as if after hearing that I would want to drink it again.

"Michelle that's horrible. I don't want to-"

"Just take one more shot of it and then we'll just sip beer until you leave to go meet up with Louis and the rest of the lads."

Her eyes were pleading and I couldn't tell her no. We both flipped our heads back as he downed the shots and with in a peer pressured hour, ten shots and two beers later, there was a sloppy grin on my face and I my vision was doubled. Michelle however seemed fine.

"Your alcohol tolerance has lowered dramatically. It’s almost seven. What time were you going to go to Louis'?"

"In an hour."

"I'll drive you." She spoke as she sat against the couch taking out her phone and laughing at my facial expression.

"You had just as much to drink as I have. You can't drive."

"I can. I've got a buzz but that's all. You're trashed. I only had three shots. The other seven you took alone." I looked at her in shock. How could she have tricked me that way? I swear she was drinking too. Michelle laughed and I could already tell that she was recording me. "I'm putting this on instagram."

"Don't! I really hate you." I slurred while pointing at her, only causing her to laugh more.

"You need to loosen up, especially for your hot date tonight. There's no point in you being so uptight at the start of the quarter. I'll let you go back to your boring self when Monday comes around again." She pulled her phone away from me as I tried to take it from her. "You might want to check your phone by the way. It seems you have a message."

I looked down at the notification that showed on the screen, squinting my eyes to try and focus on what was there. When my eyes adjusted, I almost felt sober.

Rion: I was starting to think that maybe you'd forgotten about me. I checked my schedule and I'm actually free tonight. I don't know how long I'll stay, but I'll meet you there. Alison is going so I'll just be with her.

My eyes widened before I scrolled up to see what I supposedly said.

To Rion: Hiiiii, It's Harry. Sorry for being such a stupid arsehole and not texting you sooner, but would you still want to go to that party tonight?

"You texted Rion?"

"Yup."

"But I-I'm not...Fuck!"

"What? You like her right? I've done you a favor."

"Yeah, but—“

"No but's. You either like her or you don't and if you do and if she likes you, which she does, obviously, then you have the go ahead to call. She wanted you to call. She clearly likes you. She's excited and so are you. You're just nervous. You haven't been on a date in six months or maybe more? But, this should be like riding a bike, if you will. I've removed your kickstand, now all you have to do is pedal."

I looked at Michelle and shook my head before I went in my room to find something to wear for tonight, deciding on the usual skinny jeans and oversized shirt, leaving a few of the buttons in the front undone as I stumbled into the living room to wait for Michelle. She reappeared from her room shortly after I did wearing black leather looking tight pants and some sort of red cut off shirt along with her fake glasses and red lips. She looked beautiful and I could only think that she was doing so for Alison.

As much as Chelle would doubt it, I think the player may have taken an interest in one that's supposed to be a pawn in her dating game. All I can hope for is that Alison treats her right. She deserves someone who would.

"What's the point of wearing a shirt if it’s barely buttoned, Styles? And it's see through. I mean I guess kudos for buttoning the three buttons you did bother with correctly." It could be because I'm drunk, but I could have sworn that I saw her look me up and down...not necessarily in a friendship manner. I ignored her while grinning and standing from the couch before she grabbed the Goldschläger again pouring us both another shot. "One for the road?"

"I'll take it if you take it first you lying Judas. I'm already drunk enough as it is."

Michelle cringed before she threw her head back downing the shot, eyes watering again by how strong of a burn the cinnamon schnapps left behind. I did the same and then took another for the hell of it since I wouldn't be driving tonight. Michelle eyed me as I walked down the stairs and to her car as if I would fall.

"Stop watching me and walk yourself."

"Someone has to watch out for you. You're clumsy enough as it is, bambi. Adding alcohol to the mix is a disaster waiting to strike."

"Says the absolute asshole who got me drunk in the first place."

"Oh yeah...That's right." Michelle smiled victoriously before she spoke again, clearing her throat before hand, "Uh, so, since I'm taking you to Louis' place where does he stay? I know he must have moved from where we lived before..." Her face dropped slightly.

"With his bird about five blocks over... Sorr-"

"It's fine." Michelle started her car, looking through the windscreen straight ahead like she did earlier as she drove and listened to the directions I gave her, telling he where to turn.

When we pulled up in front of the house, Niall was outside on the porch with a beer in his hand, smoking a cigarette. No doubt because Hollie put him out of the house, not wanting anything to smell like stale smoke.

"Harry! Hi Mitch!" He waved to us as he stumbled over to the car clearly drunk himself and louder than usual. "You're staying too, Michelle?" She shook her head no while smiling half way at Niall as I got out of the car. "You should stay. This thing, whatever it is, between you and Lou is ridiculous. You guys were so close and it can get there again. Just get out of the car and-"

"I can't Ni, I have somewhere to be, myself." Michelle's eyes begged Niall to be more quiet but he didn't get the hint. He was going to speak again, but was cut off by Lou as he walked out onto his porch with Hollie close behind. He didn't notice that Michelle was with us until I moved to walk towards the house.

"Lads!"

I looked from Michelle to Louis then back to Michelle again and as I did I saw her eyes widen right before she cursed under her breath. Louis paused in his steps, and his eyebrows drew together slightly before he spoke.

"Michelle." He nodded at her as a greeting gesture making everything more awkward.

"Louis."

"Mitch can stay right?" In that moment everyone looked at Niall as he took another drunken, oblivious drag off of his cigarette and it appeared that everyone wanted to punch him in the face, including me.

"No actually I was just leaving. Enjoy your night boys. Be safe, Harrow. I'll see you later yeah?"

I nodded my head before she spoke a simple "good," and sped off as quickly as her car could take her. Louis took a deep breath, shaking his head before smiling at us and inviting us in for more booze. I honestly didn't think that I would drink anymore tonight, but after that I felt the need to.

Niall dropped his cigarette and stepped on it while shrugging his shoulders at me as we followed behind Louis into the house where everyone else sat.

“Read the room next time, yeah?” I spoke under my breath hoping that only Niall would hear me.

“What room? It’s stupid that they don’t talk anymore. For fucks sake he was going t’ marry—”

“I know, Niall. I know.” I interrupted Niall mid sentence and could not help but notice the hitch in my jaw, that became more sore than it had been in a while.

We all spoke as we walked in the house and I put the topic behind me in order to proceed on with the rest of the night and for the first time in a while I was happy that the liquor continued to flow. It seemed to put me and everyone else around in the right mindset for one of the biggest parties of the year, but Louis still seemed somewhat flustered about seeing Michelle for the first time since they called things off. I know Michelle probably didn't feel the best either and I tried to text her to see if she was alright, but I got no response.

Chelle: Are you okay, Chelle? I'm so sorry about that. Didn't know that he would come outside.

Though I got no response to my text, I expected to see Michelle as soon as we got to The Barn. The title of the bar was fitting as it was out closer towards farmland and covered in red paint as it actually was previously a stable. It was crowded with everyone from students to professors indulging in what the night had to offer, but as I skimmed the crowd I began to get more anxious. We had been here for an hour. I was sure that by now that I would have run into her. Taking out my phone, I’d opted to give her a ring, but before I could unlock my screen my phone began to buzz in my hand.

"Hello?" I slurred on the line while closing my opposite ear with my finger so that I could hear whoever it was I was talking to.

"Harry?" The deafening music and noise in the background made it almost impossible to hear.

"No, this is Harry." hiccup “Who is this?"

"Harry, it's Rion can you hear me?"

I walked away from Niall, Darragh, and the rest of the lads as they prepared to make Niall do a keg stand; swaying as I went.

"Who is this?" I repeated trying to hear better, hoping that it was Michelle calling me back in response to the text I’d sent.

"Harry, it's Rion. Can you hear me now?"

"Rion?"

"Yes."

"Hi." I smiled as if she were in front of me, when in all actuality I was in the middle of the crowded street surrounded by a sea of strangers. A car honked at me just as I was about to cross back towards the party, causing me to step back so that I didn't get hit.

"Where are you?" She laughed into the phone causing me to smile again.

“Outside enjoying the weather. Are you here? At the party I mean."

"I am," when she spoke I could hear the smile in her voice, over the excessive chattering and music in the background. "Can you come to the doors near the front of the pub and meet me there?"

"Sure. Stay on the phone with me? You know, just until I find you." I slurred into the phone but Rion laughed again nonetheless.

"Of course...Is that you in the middle of the street? Please be careful if it is."

I looked around, confused as to how she could see me but I couldn't see her. I walked towards the pub again forcing my bleary eyes to focus until I spotted her, standing on a large rock that was just outside the door. When I reached her, I held out my hand to help her down. She took it and called me a gentleman before I said anything else.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" I asked as I looked down at her in her jean jacket and simple black dress that clung to her chest then flowed down to her feet.

"I guess. It's not that bad. Ten times better than the last party I went to already."

I laughed.

"You haven't drunk anything?"

"One mixed drink, but I didn't really finish it. Are you enjoying yourself?" She asked me as we began to walk to nowhere in particular.

"I am. A little bit more now, actually.” A slight blush came to Rion's cheeks before she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and I cleared my throat to continue. "Where's your flatmate?"

"Alison? I'm not sure. She said she was going to meet up with a friend of hers. The same girl that she was with the last time no doubt."

My mind went to Michelle as I checked my phone again and still I had no messages from her.

"So, she left you here?"

"I haven't seen her in the last hour... She could have. But if she did, I have no real way home now. She was my ride. I knew I should have just driven on my own."

I didn't say anything more, but I had the feeling that Alison bailed. I might have an idea as to who with and where to as well.

"Well, are you ready to go?" We ended up closer to the street facing in the direction of the campus. "The night is oddly nice for the end of August and the sky isn't as cloudy as it could be. We might miss getting rained on if we leave now."

"Do you have your car?" She asked looking towards me as if it were a deal breaker.

“No, but I would walk back with you. The parties aren't really my thing anymore. I just came to catch up with some friends. It was nice to get out. We're only about a 15 minute walk away from campus."

Rion looked towards the pub and then back at me again before she smiled and answered me sweetly.

"I'd love to get out of here with you."

Rion and I began walking, but as soon as we got a little bit past the corner where the party was being held at she stopped, causing me to stop as well and look back at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Are you going to tell any of your friends that you're leaving?" She asks while holding her dress up just past her ankles so it doesn't touch the ground.

I grin at her, absolutely ecstatic that she's giving me the chance to walk her back to her dorm room. If those tossers want to know where I went they know how to call. I guess Mitch really did do me a favor and I might owe her one after this.

"Oh, um...No. They're having a good time. I'm sure they won't even notice that I left. It's okay. Besides, I'm getting kind of tired anyway. I could always just shoot them a message."

Rion nods her head in agreement before we begin to walk again. Bunching the material of her dress in one hand in hopes not to step on it, I couldn't help but chuckle as I looked at her.

"Its so long. I love this dress but it's a bit of a hassle to wear." Rion comments, already knowing the reason for my amusement. I gently grab her hand to stop her once more and this time she looks at me with as soft smile forming on her lips.

"Here, let me..." I trailed off, gently taking her hand that had the fabric of her dress, causing her to let it go. Our eyes met as I slowly went down on my knees in front of her. If I would have gone too fast I'm sure I would have lost my balance or worse. It's almost a wonder that I can form a coherent sentence. All that I can hope is that I don't completely reek of alcohol.

I take the hem of the dress and tie a knot in it that's hopefully loose enough to undo when she gets home if she wants, and high enough so that she doesn't have to worry about stepping on it or have it sweep on the ground to get torn or dirty; just above her ankles. I'm not going to lie, when I was down there I looked at her feet and what I could see of her legs. I won't say I have a foot fetish or anything weird like that, but if a girls toes looks like they can pick up an orange with ease and whip it at the back of your head, it's kind of a turn off for me.

Her feet were beautiful aside from a few cuts here and there on her the tops of them. She even had a plaster or two on one of them, but somehow she even made that okay because they matched the purple coloring of her nail polish.

I stood after I was finished, and by the look on her face I must have been down there for a reasonable amount of time to make a knot, at least I hope I was. When I was looking at her feet, I had to make it not so noticeable that that's what I was doing. I don't want her to think I'm some kind of a freak.

"Thank you," she exclaimed while smiling, "I don't know why I didn't think of that."

"Yeah I saw some other girl do it and thought it made sense."

Rion smiled at me again and as we walked next to each other, her hand grazed mine; once, twice, three times before I grabbed it in my own. I saw her look over at me through her peripheral vision. It was a quick glance but I saw it nonetheless. I also saw her bite her bottom lip to try to prevent her smile from getting any bigger than it already was.

I didn't want to bust her out and embarrass her, but I did want to tease her a little. I gently squeezed her hand while biting my bottom lip to stop my smile from spreading much like she did, causing her to laugh before I changed the subject.

"The sky is really clear tonight. I can see Orion's Belt. It really might not rain after all."

"My namesake." Rion smirked.

"Sorry, what?" I spoke noticing that the party sounds were fading farther and farther into the distance.

"My mum is really into Greek mythology and constellations, so my name and its spelling came from Orion himself." She pointed towards the sky and the huge constellation before she looked back at me, slipping her hand back into mine purposefully.

"Cool story. And I'm not being a sarcastic asshole or anything by the way. That makes your name original." hiccup "And I like it a lot. I think my mum named me Harold because it was the only male name that begins with H and that comes after G that she could think of. Her creativity stopped after she realized that she wanted to put her kids names in alphabetical order." Rion laughed and nudged my arm.

"Don't talk about your mum. I think she might have chosen the name because Harry fits you. I've always liked that name."

"Have you now?" I asked with a smirk on my face and an eyebrow raised.

"I have."

"It's because of Prince Harry isn't it? Be honest."

"No it's-"

"Tell the truth."

"He's just so cute. He's the dreamiest ginger I've ever seen besides Ed Sheeran. All due respect to his royalness." Rion spoke causing me to laugh and shake my head before she continued. "Then again, all of the Harry's I've had the pleasure of meeting were pretty fit." She said looking over at me and then back up at the velvety black night sky speckled with beautiful stars.

"How many of us have you met?"

"Well...Just one so far."

I looked over at her as we finally reached a street that had lamp posts and she let out a small chuckle that sounded as if she were clearing her throat. Her eyes caught the light that lined the streets making her irises seem to brighten even though her eye color was dark brown.

We'd finally reached campus just as the clouds started to roll in at two in the morning and from there, I followed Rion's lead back to her dorm. In my three full years at Cambridge, I'd never been to this one in particular, but apparently, Michelle has. I saw her car in the parking lot. Something told me that she would be here, seeking comfort for the blow she received earlier. The sooner that she realizes that fucking doesn’t fix what hurts her, the better off she'll be. Part of me wants to bang on the door as soon as we get to the room, but I decide against it. All I cab hope that she’ll talk to someone eventually. If that someone happens to be Alison, then I'll be happy for her, I guess.

"Thank you, Harry. For getting me home safe and asking me to come out. I had fun for the amount of time I was there for." Rion leaned against her door, smiling while looking up at me.

"It was no problem. Thank, you for, you know, coming." I could hear myself wanting to ramble before I closed my mouth.

“Good night, then." Rion spoke, still smiling and then pausing.

"Goodnight."

Rion turned to unlock her door and when she got it open I turned to leave, but before I could go I could feel her pull my hand. When I turned she had a pout on her face.

"You know, you're really horrible at picking up on signals."

Huh?

"I-"

"I waited so patiently as well."

"I'm-"

"Three days. You didn't text me or say anything for three days. I didn't know what to think. I still don't."

"You're-"

"Oh shut up, Harry."

Rion crossed her arms over her chest and out of shock I closed my mouth, not really sure what to say or do. Rion squinted her eyes at me before shaking her head and turning to go into her little dorm before I stopped her, pulling her to me before I kissed her deeply, pushing her against the wall a bit to show her how it should be done.After it was over Rion sighed in content with her eyes still closed before reopening them slowly. I grinned against her lips before speaking knowing that I’d won her over.

"I didn't know what to think either to be honest. It's been a while."

Rion grabbed me by the front of my shirt, bringing my lips back down to hers.She pulled away, kissing the corner of my mouth making a trail to my ear and then kissing me right beneath my earlobe. There was no tongue involved at all but it still had been the most action than I'd gotten in months and it was still enough to leave us both breathless at the end of her antics.

"Do you know what to think now?” She pushed her door open, speaking before she closed the door behind herself with a cheeky smile.

I’m not sure how long I stood there with a goofy grin on my face after it was all said and done, but when I got to the stairs my drunken mind allowed my legs to work properly and carry me down while still having the memory replay in my head.

I'd only gotten through the doors of the exit of her dormitory before my brain went to my pants, thinking that I might be able to get a good wank before I fell asleep with Rion's lips pressed against my jaw as the mental muse. Just when I thought about flushing any possible tissues instead of putting them in my bin, my phone rang.

"Harry?" Rion whispered into the phone, sounding on the agitated side.

"Rion? What's wrong?"

"She's at it again." Rion exhaled into the phone before I heard the creaking of a door, sounding as if it were being shut.

"Who's at what?"

"Alison and her, friend."

I started to chuckle, thinking of all of the ways that I would tease Michelle tomorrow when I saw her. I know that she's been active, but damn. She's got to be insatiable. I pictured her and Alison, terribly sweaty, gasping for air-

"Harry?"

"Sorry, what did you say?" Rion's voice snapped me out of getting too carried away in inappropriate thought again. Thoughts that I shouldn't venture into about my best pal.

"I really want to be able to sleep without being disrupted. Do you mind if I come to yours? I'll sleep on the couch, the floor, a chair. Anything you wouldn't mind sparing really."

“No, of course I don't mind."

Oh god.

"Are you sure? Should you ask your flatmate first? I wouldn't want to intrude on you or him."

My mind was swimming with a thousand things. Minor details that had the potential to be major. Is my room clean? When is the last time that I had a girl in my room that wasn’t Michelle? Do we have water bottles that I can offer Rion when we get into my flat if she's thirsty? Why does Rion think that Mitch is a guy?

“No… I uh, I'm alone for the night, actually. My flatmate is staying somewhere else I think." In your roommates' room, disrupting you currently.

"Thank you so much." Rion breathed out, sounding somewhat relieved.

"Yeah no problem. I'll turn around now."

"Oh shit, did you get far? I'm so sorry."

"No it's fine. I just got down the street a bit." I spoke as I neared her building again.

I saw her walking out in the same clothes she was wearing before. When she got to me, she thanked me again before we took the surprisingly short walk towards my flat.

"You live in the new buildings? Fancy."

"Yeah, it's alright. For it being new, the ventilation sucks in Mitch's room, but that's the only complaint we have."

I unlocked the door and turned the knob saying a silent prayer as we walked in, but I'd forgotten that Michelle cleaned the whole place, including my room despite my protest for her not to. It was the first time that I’d been happy that she didn’t listen to me.

"It's really nice, Harry. You were being modest." Rion spoke as she tiptoed through the apartment, stopping in the living-room and taking a seat for herself before removing her sandals. "Really clean for two lads."

"Oh, actually-"

"Sorry, Harry. I don't want to interrupt, but do you think I could use the restroom first? I'm bursting to go."

I laughed while running my hand through my hair. "Sure. It's just down the hall. We wouldn't want a repeat of your last party."

Rion turned red, covering her mouth in a laugh and speaking to me as she walked down the hall.

"I really still can't believe I told you that."

While she was gone, I grabbed extra blankets from the linen closet and laid out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts of mine for her to wear on my bed. I also grabbed a bottle of water and put it on my desk for her in case she was thirsty, thankful that I made Michelle put some of those noodle cups back in exchange for it. Before I made my bed on the couch, I went into Michelle's room to steal one of her pillows but I’d gotten distracted easily. On her bedside table was a picture of the both of us taken last year. We were both pretty out of it and you can clearly tell in the photo, but in the midst of all the insanity Michelle was still alert and smiling at me while I was laughing and pulling her shirtsleeve with my teeth.

When I heard Rion leaving the bathroom I quickly left from Michelle's room, placing the photograph back down where I got it from and closing her bedroom door behind me.

"You'll be in my room. I've laid you out some things to make you more comfortable."

"Awe, Harry. I can take the couch really. I don't want to kick you out of your bed."

"No you won't. Now, go to bed. Good night, but for real this time."

Rion eyed me as she nodded her head in agreement, a slight grin on her lips.

“Yes for real this time.” She spoke before her bottom lip was drawn into her mouth. The liquor I consumed tonight made me do the same as I looked her up and down shamelessly, grinning as I did so.

I started to take a step backwards only to notice that Rion advanced forwards causing me to stop in my tracks. Our lips connected again more fervently than they had before, before I started to walk again leading Rion back into my bedroom.

#Harry Styles #harry styles slow burn #harry styles smut #harry styles writing #harry styles fanfiction

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kuroo-shitsurou · 3 years

Text

Bestfriend (College!Childe x College!Reader) PART 1

note: hello! i'm going to be making an entire college au series for the genshin characters ehe. this is a pretty lengthy one so i had to cut it into two parts. i hope you enjoy!

word count: 4.4k

"Why can't I get this shit to work?!"

You checked the clock.

3:28 AM.

Great. You had a half-seven morning class with professor Cyrus, and yet, here you were. Baking cookies at 3:28 AM. Although, baking wasn't really the appropriate term for it. Maybe... burning was a better fit.

You weren't a culinary arts major; Far from it, actually. You were in a college course that needed immense analytical and critical thinking skills: Accounting. You loved your course. You were always amazed by how numbers can always add up properly if you analyzed all the transactions properly beforehand. It also gave you more patience to thoroughly understand each problem presented to you so that you'd end up with the right answer in the end.

Which is why you were so dumbfounded when your cookies looked like pieces of charcoal the moment you took them out of the oven.

You followed the recipe, didn't you? Why don't your baked goodies look like those gorgeous gooey chocolate chip cookies on the website?

That was the... fourth batch of cookies you made that night. Frustrated, you carelessly threw the still-hot baking sheet in the sink. You didn't even mind that there were crumbs and burnt cookie residue in your damp sink. Like, there were burnt cookies on your counter, on your dining table, and even on your stovetop. Why be bothered about the sink, right? You could clean it up in the morning, anyway.

"Why am I even doing this?" You sighed, eyeing how there was a bit of black smoke coming out of your oven. You opened a window and fanned it out to prevent the smoke detector from going off. You didn't need more nuances adding to your already dwindling patience.

Taking in the sight of the flour, sugar, and egg-coated workstation you had, you realized that baking just wasn't your forte. If only your boyfriend was interested in receiving his complete financial statements for the year, then maybe you'd have an easier time in thinking of a present for his birthday.

You looked at the calendar.

July 20th.

It was the day of Childe's birthday.

He informed you yesterday that his friends had invited him to go to a party the night of the 20th to celebrate his birthday, and you politely declined his offer for you to be his plus one. Of course, he was disappointed. You could notice by how his cerulean eyes drooped to the floor and how his thin, pink lips pushed themselves into a pout.

"But... You have to be there, _____." He whined, taking your hands in his.

"I know, Childe. But you know that I have to review my presentation for professor An's class. It's going to make or break my term grade." You were disappointed. You wanted to spend the entire day with Childe, maybe cuddled up in bed, eating hot pizza and watching Netflix. However, you knew how much he loved partying and hanging out with his friends- Kaeya, was it? and the other boys in their fraternity. You disapproved of his frat-boy party-going lifestyle, but you didn't want to impose, so you just kept it to yourself.

"But it's my birthday," He reasoned, voice laced with sadness.

"I know, darling. I know. We can still spend the entire afternoon together before you head out to party with your friends... If you want. You're free for the entire day, right?" Your voice faltered a bit, unsure of whether he'd accept your proposal or not.

"Mhm! I'd be more than happy to spend the whole afternoon tomorrow with you, babe. We can hit the amusement park, or maybe watch a movie, or maybe have a picnic, or..."

As Childe continued to ramble on about all the possible plans you could do tomorrow, you couldn't help but smile at him. How his demeanor changed, and how he could never seem to hold a grudge against you even if he was upset. He spoiled you so much and you wanted to let him know that you appreciate him as much as he loves you.

And... Here you were.

You didn't expect baking to be so hard. You thought that following a simple recipe would lead to a great outcome the first time around.

Look how that turned out for you. Your tokens of appreciation for Childe were there. In the sink, on the counter, on the dining table, and on the stovetop. All burnt and inedible.

"Fuck this baking thing, I'll just get Zhongli to help me before lunch." You muttered, taking off your apron and retreating to your couch. You didn't want to sleep in your bed because your clothes were still messy, but you were too tired to clean up (too pissed to even care, to be honest).

And so, you flopped on the couch and set an alarm for 6:00 AM before you drifted off to sleep, dreaming of burnt baking pans and noisy smoke detectors.

The annoying sound of your alarm rang in your ears like a never-ending mockery of how your life is going. Why do morning classes exist? Why do alarms exist?

You groggily rubbed your eyes and rolled off the couch, landing on the carpet with a soft "thud". You blindly felt around the coffee table to look for your phone. Upon feeling the silicone texture of your case, you pulled it towards your chest and squinted your eyes as the bright display of the lock screen glared against your eyeballs.

You opened your phone by using the passcode (0720, go ahead and guess what that means) and tapped on the green message icon to open your texts. You then quickly typed out a message for a certain history major.

[ Hey, Zhongli, mind if you help me out before lunch later so I could bake some cookies for Childe? ]

Sent 6:04 AM.

You looked up at the ceiling and waited for a while, already planning out your itinerary for the day. The ding! of your phone was heard, waking you more than you already were.

[ I don't see why not. I have a vacant period right before lunch. I'm off at 9:00 and I'm vacant until noon. Are you free then? ]

Received 6:06 AM.

You couldn't help but grin. Zhongli was so kind. He was Childe's friend since high school, and although you found him somehow... creepy because of the knowledge he possesses (Seriously, was his brain implanted with a computer chip or something?), you still considered him a good friend.

[ Thank you so much! Yeah, I only have one class today anyway. I'll meet you in front of the main building by 9:00. ]

Sent 6:08 AM.

You got up from the carpet and stretched for a bit, wincing when the small burn on your arm stung. You had a few cuts and burns on your hands, fingers, and arms because of how clumsy you were in the kitchen, but it was fine. Who doesn't fuck up from time-to-time

You headed to the kitchen to clean up. You dumped all the burnt biscuits into a large garbage bag, wiped the counters, and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Most of the mess was already gone and disposed of, and you whispered to yourself that you could probably deep-clean later that evening after reviewing your presentation.

The ding! of your phone brought your attention back, and you smiled at Zhongli's response.

[ I'll see you then, _____. I appreciate you doing all this for Childe. ]

Received 6:15 AM.

You quickly made your way to your bedroom and grabbed different pieces to throw together a decent outfit. You assumed that Childe wouldn't let you go by the time that your little date would begin, so it's best to be prepared.

You hopped in the shower and did your morning routine, making sure to use your favorite body wash, which happened to be Childe's favorite scent. You dried your hair afterwards and threw on the outfit you prepared earlier. You checked your phone.

6:45 AM.

There weren't any new messages from Childe, so you assumed that he was still asleep. After all, it's his day-off from uni. The lucky bastard got to get one whole day without lectures, and the freest day you had still required you to attend one morning lecture.

"I have to rush to McDonald's if I want to make it in time," You whispered, grabbing your bag and slipping your shoes on before rushing out the door.

You wanted to buy Childe a nice breakfast before heading to your own class. So, you sprinted to the McDonald's just a corner away from your dorm and stood in line. You ordered his favorite breakfast meal: A big breakfast deluxe set with hot chocolate, five-piece nuggets, and a side of apple pie. You also ordered a McGriddle for yourself that you could sneakily bite out of in class.

Childe's apartment was right beside the McDonald's you went to, so it wasn't any trouble reaching where he was. You checked your phone again.

7:10 AM.

Crap. Twenty minutes until your lecture with professor Cyrus. Childe still seemed to be asleep, so you decided to leave his breakfast with the receptionist, Verr Goldet. She already knew who you were because of how often Childe invites you to his apartment.

"I'm really sorry to leave this with you, Verr. But I have to get to class in twenty minutes and I think that Childe is still asleep." You said sheepishly, placing the paper bag on her counter and fiddling with the strap of your bag.

"Oh, _____, you act as if I'm a stranger!" She laughed, taking the paper bag and placing it behind her. "Don't worry, I'll keep it warm for him. Would you like to leave a note?"

"Ah, yes please!" You took a piece of paper and a pen from your bag and scribbled a short message for the ginger.

Happy birthday, Childe! Have a hearty breakfast, I got your favorites. I'll see you later for lunch, okay? I love you! ♡

You tried to make your handwriting as neat as possible, and even added a messy doodle of the man himself. Although, it did look more like a potato than the man you were trying to draw.

"How cute you are." Verr sighed, "It must be nice to feel the wonders of youth."

"Thank you so much, Verr! I really have to get going if I want to get to uni in time."

"You're welcome, _____!"

You bid your farewells and headed out of the apartment's lobby, walking towards the shuttle stop nearest to you. You had at least fifteen minutes before professor Cyrus' class. The shuttle was about ten minutes away from uni, and it would take you a little over five minutes to get to his lecture hall. While waiting for the shuttle, you quickly tapped out a message for your boyfriend.

[ I left something with Verr for you downstairs. You better get it as soon as you wake up ♡ ]

Sent 7:15 AM.

The shuttle arrived as soon as you hit send. You showed your ID to the driver and scrambled for a seat, shoving earbuds in your ears to drown out the rest of the world with a bit of music. Fortunately, the shuttle ride was quicker than usual since there were lesser stops for that day. You gave a light bow to the driver before you rushed out of the shuttle doors and bolted to get to your lecture hall.

It was on the third floor of the left wing of the main building. You were desperately trying to catch your breath as you felt a burn rising in your lungs. You wanted to puke because of how hungry and tired you felt so early in the morning, but you brushed it off.

You sprinted down the hallway to professor Cyrus' lecture hall, seeing that nearly all the seats were occupied. There were still a few vacant seats at the back, but you were glad to see your friend, Xingqiu, waving you over from the middle row.

"Thanks for saving me a seat," You thanked your blue-haired friend, fixing your hair and disheveled clothes. You sat down just in time as professor Cyrus walked into the lecture hall and began setting up his laptop to present.

"No worries. I knew you'd be late. It's Childe's birthday today, no? You've been talking about it all week. I already expected that you'd do something for him this morning." He said, not even batting an eyelash as he carefully opened his laptop in front of him.

"That predictable, huh?" You chuckled, placing your own laptop on the table and taking out the McGriddle you shoved in your bag earlier. Professor Cyrus seemed to be tweaking a few things on his presentation, so you decided to use the spare minutes to eat the sandwich you purchased.

You scarfed it down in a few bites, leaving Xingqiu confused and a bit scared. He thought you were going to choke.

"Didn't you have breakfast before you left your dorm?" He asked, marveling at how you managed to eat the McGriddle in- four, maybe five? bites.

"I mean, I bought this," You said, motioning to the crumpled up wrapper in your hand. "It was getting late since I dropped by Childe's apartment to leave him his breakfast."

"How charming of you, _____." Xingqiu chuckled, slipping on his glasses.

"I wonder if he's awake now," You mumbled, loud enough for Xingqiu to hear, but he didn't react to it.

You opened your phone and saw seven messages from your dorky boyfriend.

[ _____ you're gonna make me cry ]

Sent 7:28 AM.

[ Where are you now? Are you already at uni? ]

Sent 7:29 AM.

[ God, I love you so much, _____! You even got me nuggets!! ]

Sent 7:30 AM.

[ I love you sooo much!! You're so cute it's unreal!! Btw, is this supposed to be me?? Do I really look like that??!! ]

Sent 7:31 AM.

[ I'm so lucky to have you, _____. You really are the sweetest!! ]

Sent 7:31 AM.

[ I'll see you later at noon. I'll pick you up at your dorm, okay? ]

Sent 7:32 AM.

[ You must be in class now. Good luck!! I'm already eating. Thank you so much, darling! I love you!! ♡ ]

Sent 7:34 AM.

You couldn't help but smile at how his aura radiated even through the screen of your phone. You clicked on the notification from Instagram and it opened to a video on Childe's story. It was a boomerang of him making a winky face and then showing his meal neatly placed on his table.

There was a caption beside a heart sticker which read:

What a great way to start my birthday. Thanks to my lovely @_____. I love you so much! ♡

A familiar warmth spread throughout your chest and you couldn't help but smile at how sweet he was. It was amazing, really. Childe's words and actions always had such an effect on you, and it didn't even matter how you were the one who did a romantic gesture for him because you were here all blushy and gushy over his sickeningly sweet messages of affection.

You put your phone away as soon as professor Cyrus soon started his lecture on the different trading policies limited by oversea regulations- or something like that.

The lesson itself was interesting, but you couldn't help to nod off and daydream about your wonderfully dorky boyfriend and his beautiful eyes, his cute button nose, his slim cheeks, his pink lips.

Childe sneezed.

As soon as the last bell rang, you quickly gathered your things and shoved them in your bag. You nodded a swift goodbye to Xingqiu before running off to the entrance of the main building.

Zhongli messaged you that his lecture ended earlier than expected, and that he was waiting for you by the entrance already.

You saw the brunette sitting on one of the benches, a thick history book in hand and reading glasses firmly sitting on top of his nose. You noticed a few girls just a couple of feet away from him. They were eyeing him up, probably drinking in the sight of this beautifully constructed creature.

You chuckled. It was common for you to be more aware of people fawning over Childe and Zhongli. They were a couple of incredibly hot males, you knew that. You got used to the sight of other people gawking and eye-fucking your boyfriend and his bestfriend that it was just hilarious and amusing at this point.

"Zhong!" You called, earning the attention of both Zhongli and the group of girls.

"Ah, _____. Glad you're finally here." He closed his book and tucked it away in his satchel (This man owned a satchel) before he stood up to greet you.

"Were you waiting long? Sorry." You said sheepishly.

"No, not at all. I was enthralled by this one chapter on the Ming Dynasty and their more underrated feats. History never fails to amuse me." Zhongli replied, a glint sparkling in his amber eyes.

"Hey, um," You inched yourself closer to him, "Mind if we go on ahead? Some of your fangirls are scaring the hell out of me." From the corner of your eye, you could see how they were drilling holes at your head from staring too hard. You could've sworn one girl was even holding her phone up, as if taking a photo.

"What?" The taller man whipped around to look at the girls and they scurried off upon seeing the intimidating glare in his eyes.

"You and Childe really attract attention everywhere you go, don't you?" You chuckled, walking towards the shuttle station.

"Childe, certainly. He, along with his... fraternity brothers do attract quite the crowd whenever they are together. As for myself, I doubt it. I'm more of the silent-type compared to him, anyway."

"Are you kidding me?" You bit your tongue to hold back the thought.

"I see."

"Those girls look familiar, though." He mentioned.

"Oh? Maybe history majors as well?"

"_____, if they were history majors, I would've at least recognized their faces more clearly. I feel like I've seen them somewhere."

"Ah, my bad. You and your eerily accurate memory." You teased, climbing onto the shuttle and sitting on one of the empty seats.

"It is not eerie, thank you very much." He retorted with a snarky tone, joining you on the seat.

"Of course it isn't. You remember what I said to Childe when we were watching that one movie Rex Lapis: Revenge of the Fallen?"

"Indeed I do. You said, "Rex Lapis would be hot if he was a human, don't you think?" and Childe replied, "Yeah, but I could probably beat him up. I'd be way hotter than him." It was comedy, really. Rex Lapis, although a fictional figure, has far more capabilities than Childe could even dream of."

"Do you... not see the eerie part of that?"

"What? That Childe thinks he can beat up an actual Archon?"

"No... Zhongli, we watched that movie three years ago."

"Your point is?"

"...I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday."

"Childe bought you some sushi."

"See what I mean?!"

"That means you have a poor memory, _____." Zhongli laughed at your face curling into a frown. "Anyway, while you were entertaining me with your banter, I recalled why those girls are so familiar."

"Do tell."

"They're part of Childe's posse."

You could've sworn your heart leapt to your throat. You knew that your boyfriend was pretty much sculpted by the Archons themselves, but, really? a fucking posse?

Zhongli noticed how the lump in your throat bobbed, and he decided that it was better to calmly explain how and why he knew about it.

"See, it was during the first year of university. Childe started hanging around Kaeya and his other fraternity brothers. There was this one occasion where Childe was nearly black-out drunk in a bar. If I didn't see on Kaeya's Instagram story, I wouldn't have known," You noticed how Zhongli's face visibly darkened, "These girls were hanging off him like koalas to a strong tree branch. It was unsightly."

"I... see."

"Although he was about to pass out, he pushed them away. Charming, really. He was already crazy about you even during the first year of uni. Even though you weren't together yet, he didn't want to "cheat" on you by entertaining other females." A soft smile made its way to your face upon hearing Zhongli's confession about how your boyfriend felt about you.

"I'm determined to make these cookies a success," You said determinedly.

"Glad to hear it. It seems we're already at your dormitory. You still have enough ingredients for the cookies, right? I assume you failed quite a few times yesterday."

"How did you even know?"

Zhongli once again laughed as you stepped off the shuttle, "Lucky guess."

Unbeknownst to the two of you, three figures were following you the moment you left the campus.

"_____ is so sweet! They got my favorite breakfast this morning." Childe mindlessly gushed over his significant other.

Diluc wasn't really one to listen to other people ramble on and on about feelings and love and romance, but it was his friend's birthday. He'd let it slide.

"Bro, that's just gross," Kaeya spat, taking a chug of his beer.

"Oh, shut up, Kaeya. Just because you don't plan on committing to anyone doesn't mean the people around you are obligated to do so as well." Diluc rebutted, without even looking up from his journal.

"You're in college. It's the time when you're supposed to have a shit ton of flings, no commitment. And yet you're here being loyal to _____?" Kaeya glared at Diluc, but the redhead only flipped him off.

"I don't see the problem with that." Childe spoke up, toying with the bracelet on his wrist. It was a gift from you during your first anniversary. You said you made it yourself, and although Childe could purchase all the expensive jewelry and accessories he wanted, this particular bracelet meant more to him than anything.

"The problem is _____'s going to hold you back!" Childe knew that Kaeya was half-drunk and it was still before noon, so he didn't really take his words seriously. "They aren't going to the party later, right?"

"No, unfortunately. They have to review a presentation for professor An's class."

"Hah! Review my ass. If I knew any better, that little toy of yours is just messing around with some other dude."

"Watch yourself." Childe stood up from his seat. He knew that Kaeya disapproved of their relationship because it wasn't really a "frat-boy" thing, but he didn't care about that. He cared about you more than a stupid reputation, and definitely more than a stupid lifestyle of partying, getting high, and getting drunk.

"Back up, softie. _____'s pussyness rubbing of on 'ya?" Kaeya's words were slurred, but Childe knew that there was malicious intent behind them.

"Look, I don't care about what you say about me. Call me a softie? Call me a pussy? I don't really give a shit. But the moment you start shitting on my _____? Don't even consider that I'd just stand around and let them be slandered, you piece of fuck." Childe was a few centimeters taller than Kaeya, and he always used that to his advantage when he wanted Kaeya to understand his point.

"Whatever you fucking say. It's your birthday, I'm not gonna fight with you on your birthday." Kaeya lightly pushed Childe away from him before downing the rest of the beer can in his hand.

"Don't mind him," Diluc spoke, staring into Childe's eyes. "He never thinks straight, whether drunk or sober."

"Yeah, I kinda got the message." The ginger chuckled, watching as Kaeya nearly tripped over his own feet while walking towards the case of beer supposedly for the party tonight.

"I'm glad that you and _____ are still getting along. It's refreshing to see normal people once in a while."

"Well, when you put it that way." Childe could only laugh.

"Where's the tall brunette at? Isn't he always with you?"

"Ah, you mean Zhongli? I don't know, actually. He has a lecture this morning and I wanted to meet him for a light meal before lunch, but he isn't answering my texts."

"I see."

As if on cue, Childe's phone emitted a soft ding!

He typed in his password and the screen faded into a photo of you. You were wearing one of his hoodies (it was way too big on you) and he could've fainted because of how absolutely adorable you looked.

He received a few Instagram DMs from Ellin. Ellin was a member of their posse. Childe would rather refer to them as "fraternity friends", but she insisted otherwise.

[ You're seriously praising _____ for being a good partner? Poor you, dear. ]

Received 9:41 AM.

He frowned.

[ What are you talking about? Mind your business. ]

Sent 9:42 AM.

[ Oh? It's not my business, sure. But you might wanna see this. ]

Received 9:44 AM.

[ 3 Images Attached ]

Received 9:44 AM.

Childe's eyes widened. Ellin sent three photos.

The first one was a photo of you and Zhongli standing awfully close to each other in front of the university's main building.

The second one was of you and Zhongli sitting beside each other in the shuttle.

The last one was... you and Zhongli entering your dormitory building.

"What the..."

He checked his messages to see if either you or Zhongli texted him about the ordeal. However, he was only greeted by messages wishing him a happy birthday from some of his family and friends back in their hometown. No messages from Zhongli, and no new ones from you.

"What the hell?"

He quickly typed out a message for his bestfriend. He didn't jump to conclusions; He trusted both of you, but what was this feeling in his gut? It felt icky, gross, and disgusting.

[ Where are you rn? Answer me. ]

Sent 9:46 AM.

His foot tapped against the floor at a rapid pace. Diluc wanted to question him, but the worried look on the ginger's face made him bite his tongue.

Childe wasn't the type of person to jump to conclusions, nor was he the type of person to get upset immediately over trivial things. But upon receiving an irksome reply from the amber-eyed bestfriend he knew and love, his blood began to boil.

[ None of your business. ]

Received 10:05 AM.

#genshin #genshin impact #gi #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #gi x reader #childe #ajax #tartaglia #childe x reader #tartaglia x reader #ajax x reader #im gonna fucking cry i love this ginger man so much #genshin childe #genshin tartaglia #genshin fanfic #genshin ajax

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