#but it is okay she gave us the actual option of choosing the date

[pinkieroy]

Didn't go do my exam today (I will do it next week) feeling kinda guilty not gonna lie

#they way she explained her exam i was like sounds easy so i left to do my reading for the last minute 🙃 and then i didn't finish it #like i hate essay questions because i have a hard time writing a whole page about something i can summarize in maybe a couple paragraphs #and she was like i want short answers and i was like yay #and then i overestimated how fast i could study oh the hubris #text #personal #but it is okay she gave us the actual option of choosing the date #i just feel stupid lmao

[tender-rosiey]

𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐊𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒 | gojo x f!reader

| pt 5 | - | pt 6 | — [SERIES MASTERLIST]

ᴀ/ɴ: I am feeling a little down but oh well, maybe I just need some ice cream HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS ;))

“gojo, that’s cruel and unforgivable of you.”

“hm?”

nanami sighs while sharply looking up from his newspaper, “you lied to both shoko and y/n.”

“nanami, nanami! I can’t just tell them that the only reason I started talking to y/n is because I heard that she can go through my infinity!” gojo whines while nanami scoffs.

“so it’s better to lie to shoko? and to lie to y/n, who despite your awful actions, still gave you a chance?”

gojo rolled his eyes, “she didn’t agree to a second one, so she probably doesn’t actually want it and instead accepted the first one so I can get off her back,” he claps his hands together with a big grin, “which isn’t a problem because I already got what I want from her, at least to an extent,” and he falls back to couch spreading his legs with a satisfied smirk.

gojo heard rustling, “nanami?” and said man puts the newspaper away making his way to the door, but not before turning to the white sorcerer.

“who knows, gojo, maybe you’re lying to yourself as much as you’re lying to them.”

gojo rolls his eyes at the statement; he is aware of what he got himself into and how he will get out, and even managed to make you hate him less so that was a plus, he guesses.

so far it has been a month since you guys have been paired up by the higher ups, as he said, and even with the punch in the gut he received, you guys were now on reasonably okay terms.

he knew it will take more than this so he can finally be able to analyze in proximity. would you agree to spar with him now? maybe even showcase your skills? might as well try.

“y/nnnnnn!!”

a vein is already threatening to pop on your forehead as you see a figure of a 6ft white paint brush approach you, “no.”

he pouts, “I didn’t even say anything!”

“whatever you will say, no.”

he props his elbow resting his chin on his hand while batting his eyelashes, “how did you know I was going to ask you to do something?” a smirk playing at his lips already making you want punch his face.

you pull on his ear making him release a series of over dramatic ow’s, “because you’re annoying like that,” then letting him go making him rub his ear in a (poor) attempt to comfort himself.

“not having an infinity between both of us is so not fun,” he complains, “now I actually get beat up!”

you roll your eyes and shrug, “if you weren’t stupid then you wouldn’t get beat up.”

“anyways!” he smiles and for some reason you feel something really bad will happen, “you have two options either we spar or you go on a date with me!”

“I actually have three.”

he clasps his hands together and a wide grin is on his face, “be my girlfriend?”

“It’s not to do any of them and— wait ew, be your girlfriend? I would rather date that mahito curse instead.”

gojo falls to his knees, clutching his chest and with a “pained” voice starts speaking, “and they said the worst she can say is no.”

“but like seriously, choose one; I want to spend some time together,” he takes off his blindfold and looks at you.

you laugh mockingly, “is that supposed to pressure me into agreeing?”

he puts it back on while grumbling,” you’re in no way normal, ugh.”

“okay, sure I guess.”

he hums while looking at you looking for more elaboration and you continue, “guess we can go on a second date and maybe spar after it a little.”

gojo jumps up in joy, “HAHA!” and he places his hands on his hips while puffing his chest proudly, “two birds with one stone!”

you tilt your head, “two birds?”

“first one: being able to admire you all pretty and get to know you even more; second: being able to admire you all hot and badass.”

“you have no filter.”

“it’s one of my many redeeming qualities.”

you cough, “yeah, redeeming.”

“you’re a very rude person; anyone told you that?” he crosses his arms and you nod while walking away.

“It’s one of my many redeeming qualities!”

soon gojo is left alone, and he smirks, “yeah, it will be plenty of fun.”

“sensei, you have a sad love life.”

“HAA?!” said teacher snaps back at students aggressively who are all standing behind the door and they all raise their hands in surrender, “17 packets of paper assignments because you are all super ungrateful and rude.”

gojo smiles in victory as he hears the whines and insults thrown at him for the punishment.

your date was scheduled to tomorrow so you had free time, and decided to head to shoko in the infirmary. “hey shoko!” you greet and she looks at you with a nod of acknowledgment before going back to what she was working on.

“heard gojo is trying to make amends; is it true?” she asks.

you reply, “I guess. honestly, I am not sure. there has to be something else, he isn’t the type of person to just try to get back in contact just for the sole reason ‘he misses me’,” you hold your chin, pondering, “but what else could it be?”

shoko, done with her work, takes off her gloves to look at you, “I am suspicious of it too, but let’s try giving him the benefit of the doubt. who knows? maybe that loser is actually coming back to his senses.”

you chuckle lightly, “gojo and sense? they don’t match together at all!”

you and shoko share a laugh and spend the rest of the night together until you, regrettably, had to say goodbye.

“byeee, my dear shoko! we will shall be reunited again soon—“

“y/n, we work in the same place.”

the sun has risen once again, as you struggle to get out of the comfort of your beautiful and majestic bed to the dreaded world and see the face of someone who only needs a punch to the stomach again so he can disappear from your life once again.

you hear a knock, and it makes you jolt awake because what the hell? you live alone.

just as you were about to open the room to your bedroom, you are greeted by a way too energetic and smiley man with a huge bouquet of flowers with him opening the door himself.

“good morning, gorgeous—!”

“AHHH!”

“AHHH?”

“YOU DISGUSTING STALKER!” and so the strongest sorcerer takes a slap to the face and is now a smiley man with a really really visible red handprint on his cheek.

he whispers, “okay,” before speaking clearly again, “maybe surprising you like this was a bad idea.”

you retort, “obviously, and how the hell did you get my address?” you eye him up and down, “how did you even get it?!”

he clears his throat, “so first, you can thank our savior shoko,” and he sees you texting a chain of curses at said person before continuing, “and second, in case you forgot my dear: I can teleport.”

“you know, gojo, I think my idea of you changed.”

he beams, “really?” then throws his head back laughing, “that’s great to hear.”

he leans on the door frame, “what do you think of me now?”

you lean, as well, close to his face, and gojo is surprised at how small the distance between you is, and he hears you speak, “at first I thought you were an asshole, someone who couldn’t care less about anything.”

your fingers wrap around his collar gently and for some reason he feels his heart beat rather rapidly, isn’t he supposed to keep his cool? he didn’t actually have feelings for you after all.

ignoring his silence you continue, “now, I think,” and he finds himself anticipating an answer, “I think you’re a sick pervert who has officially lost his mind,” and then he is pushed back, away from your door as you slam it.

he takes a moment to process before yelling, “hey! what about the date?!”

you open the door once again, “I am going to get dressed, shut up,” and slam it again.

“what about the flowers I got for you?” he sounds sad, but you know that he is sporting his usual smirk so you open the door to snatch the flowers from him and slam it closed again.

he whines, “what about a kiss?”

“fuck off!”

taglist: @magenta-cat-drawingss @pompompurin1028 @scul-pted @dazaisdeathwish @requiem626k @nameless-shrimp @shinys-bsd-world-1 @sonder-paradise @ravenina14 @jessbeinme15s-notebook @todorokichills @ginneko @missrown @shrynkk @simplyxsinned @beautiful-is-boring @bakugossanity @izukus-gf @irethepotato @thekaylahub @luciferspen @sagejin @evalynanne @shuxjodie @amii-babii @literaturememesfordummies @greeniegreengreen @mykyoon @arehzhera @carirosesg @akazxii @fiona782 @kisakitwister

copyright © 2020 tender-rosiey

do not copy or plagiarize or you will be reported

#i wasn’t waiting series #saturo gojo #gojo satoru x reader #satoru gojou #jujutsu kaisen gojo #gojo hcs #gojo satoru #gojo imagine #gojou satoru x reader #gojo x reader #gojo x you #gojo x y/n #jjk x you #jjk oneshot #jjk headcanons #jjk fluff #jjk fanfic #jjk imagines #jjk x reader #jjk gojo #jujutsu kaisen scenarios #jujustu kaisen imagines #jujustu kaisen gojo #jujustu kaisen #jjk scenarios #jjk #jujustu kaisen x reader #jujustu kaisen x you

[finallydelight]

Loving the drama Jen 😆 Meeting the members was so funny and Mark is just adorable ❤️ I was hoping maybe (if you have the time) for a small drabble or something for Ming and Shua. I've been obsessing over Joshua lately and the way he takes care of the members is so cute. So Ming and Mama Shua on one of their little outings together would be so sweet. 😘 Thank you Jenny and I wish you all the best for the new year ✨️

Bracelet Buddies | Ming Chapter

author’s note: aren’t we all obsessing over joshua lately? hehe ☺️ but thank you so much for the request, glitter! I had fun writing this one! it started as a drabble, but I couldn’t help to sprinkle some markmingjun drama in there 🤭 I wish you all the happiness in the world, my dear! happy new year, everyone !! 🎊

December 20, 2022

The timid knocks on her bedroom door took Ming's attention away from her phone. ''Yeah?'' The door opened and Joshua walked in, his signature smile on his face.

''Yerimie~,'' he sang her name, ''you want to go out with me?'' He asked, sitting down next to her on her bed.

Ming gave him a glance. ''Oppa, I love you a lot, but you're more like a brother to me.'' She teased him, a smirk on her face. Joshua lightly pinched her side. ''Hey! You know what I mean, we haven't done something in a while.''

''Yeah, because you're always with Dokyeom-oppa.'' She mumbled under her breath, not realising she was thinking out loud. Now, it was Joshua's turn to be the teasing one. ''I think someone here is jealous.''

''Jealous? Wha- what do you mean jealous?'' Ming stuttered, caught off guard by Joshua having heard what she said. ''You're jealous of Dokyomie~'' He teased her some more, pinching her side again.

Ming slapped his hand away. ''Stop it, you!''

''Why are you complaining, anyway? Every time I want to hang out with you, you're either with Soomin or Chaeyoung.''

She simply shrugged her shoulders at his words, knowing that most of the times she's told Joshua she's with Soomin or Chaeyoung, she's actually with Mark or Yeonjun.

''What do you wanna do, oppa?'' Ming changed subjects.

Joshua stood back up again, walking side to side as he spilled out his ideas. ''Maybe we can go eat something and watch a movie afterwards? Or we can go to Han River? Karaoke? We haven't done that in a while.'' He commented, his scrunched nose indicating he was deep in thought.

''We could also go to that cat café? I know you normally go with Wonwoo, but I wouldn't mind going there. Oh, I got some new beads, we could make some bracelets and put on a movie?'' Ideas flew from his lips, making Ming overwhelmed by all the options he had.

Once he was done, Joshua patiently waited for her to make her choice. ''Making bracelets sounds nice, it's a little too cold for me outside.'' Ming decided, not too keen on going out of the dorm.

Joshua brightly smiled, happy with her answer. ''Okay, I'll get my box!'' He opened her door to walk to his room. ''You can choose the movie, Yer.''

''Okay.''

Ming and Joshua regularly used to go on little dates with each other. When the weather was decent, they would take their bikes and cycle around Seoul, and they would go to the cinema after they got too tired. Their dates also were the start of Joshua's love for making bracelets, as Ming had brought the idea to him.

Some time had passed since their last one. The tour got in the way and since her whole situationship with Mark had happened, there had been this unaddressed tension between them. The tension wasn't too bad, but ever since Joshua admitted to not trusting the younger man, he and Ming hadn't hung out with just the two of them. So, she was delighted to know that Joshua wanted to do a small activity with her like old times again.

''Hey, can we watch Matilda? The original one. Soomin got mad at me, because I hadn't seen it.'' Ming suggested to him, remembering a few weeks earlier when her best friend had mentioned Netflix making a musical adaptation of the 1996 film.

''Yeah, sure, that's a good one.'' Joshua was already seated at the table, setting everything up to make the bracelets.

After she started the movie, Ming took the seat next to him and noticed the new beads he had bought. ''Wow! I like those! Where did you get them?'' She asked, grabbing the bag and admiring them.

''I got them in Japan, there was this small shop and I saw them in the window.'' Joshua explained, taking the bag from Ming's hand and opening it.

After a mere few minutes, the movie had already become background noise as the two focused on their bracelets and their conversation. ''Are you making one for my birthday?'' Ming asked him, grinning at the older man.

''I got you something else for your birthday.'' He answered. Her head turned to him upon hearing his reply. ''Really? What did you get me?'' Ming became immediately curious.

Joshua's focus stayed on his bracelet. ''You'll know on your birthday! By the way, mine is still before yours! I should be asking you what you're getting me.'' He argued, one eyebrow raised at her.

''I got you a shirt.''

''Why are you telling me that? Now it's not a surprise anymore.'' Joshua exclaimed, shocked that Ming would just tell him what his present was.

She laughed at his frustrated expression. ''I was hoping that you would tell me what your present for me was, if I told you what I got for you.''

''You're just gonna have to wait.'' He smirked.

''Can you at least give me a hint?''

''No.''

''Why not?''

''Because I don't want to.''

''You suck.''

''Thank you.''

Ming sighed at his persistence, she just wanted to know what he had gotten for her birthday.

''Anyway, how are things with, uh, Mark?'' Ming was surprised he asked about the NCT member, thinking it was the last thing Joshua would want to talk about.

She gave him a confused glance. ''What? I can't ask you about that?'' He said, looking wide-eyed.

''I haven't seen him since I went to their concert.'' Lie.

''Do you still talk to him?'' He continued.

''Not much, honestly.'' Another lie.

He simply nodded, taking her words in. ''How come?'' Joshua was stunned, he thought Ming was still seeing him between schedules.

''You know, I'm busy with the tour and everything, he's busy with his own things, it's just too, uh, difficult.'' She stopped her eye-contact with Shua and focused herself on finishing her bracelet, being uneasy talking about Mark or for better words, lying about Mark.

''I think it's better this way, to be honest. You're both too busy to make time for each other and it's gonna hurt you in the end, so maybe you're better off this way.'' She felt bad for lying, because she could hear the sincerity in his voice and this was also the first time in a while that Shua didn't roll his eyes when talking about the young Canadian.

Ming hummed, not knowing how to appropriately answer him. ''Yeah, that's, uh, a good point, I guess.'' She would tell him the truth and say she's still seeing him, and that there's even another person there, but she likes that this is her own thing. She loves the members, they're family to her, but there are certain factors of her life that she would like to keep for herself and that includes her romantic interests.

''I always make good points,'' he smiled, ''here, should I give this one to Seungkwan?'' Joshua held his bracelet up to Ming's face for her to inspect it.

She briefly looked at it. ''Yeah, it's really nice.'' Ming absentmindedly said, her head occupied with guilt over not being honest to the people she considered her brothers.

''You alright, Ming?'' Joshua noticed her mood shift, a bit worried.

She briefly turned her head to him. ''Yeah, I just realised that I don't have a clue what to give Seungkwan-oppa.''

''You're the last one to worry about that, you could give him a kiss and he would be happy with that.''

Taglist: @mystic-luv @cosmicwintr @mythicalamphitrite @billboard-singer @stopeatread @still-astray @sakuurra @multiplums @giverosespls @seongwhaffels @kimhyejin3108 @smoooore

#ming.svt #kpop oc #kpop au #kpop addition #14th member of seventeen #seventeen 14th member #seventeen female addition #seventeen female member #seventeen addition #joshua x oc #seventeen x oc #seventeen au #glitterhart

[misc-obeyme]

am I the only one who doesn't feel represented when it comes creating female lead in general?? i see rare unique and different female mc or characters compared to the typical female lead of interactive choice-based games.

my mc or me personality is more challenging and rebellious, she has that macho attitude and knows how to push someone's buttons. She is muscular and aggressive with a "what's up bro" and "nah fuck that fuck society" vibe, unlike the soft, pale as snow with "cute elegant clothing, long lustrous hair, slender physique and a quiet pleasant personality" typical female lead. there is nothing wrong with cute gals, they cool, they cool, but they're other gals then the submissive ones.

i do enjoy the game, let's be honest, who can survive simeons charm?? but i don't actually feel myself when i play as mc if you get what i mean. this wasn't only for tomboys tho it was for female mc in general who don't find themselves in mc, not getting represented. i gave my example and my struggling.

I think this is an issue for a lot of otome style games. I find that I don't like playing ones that have an actual image for MC. If they don't use the pronouns too much, I can usually gloss over that stuff, but the MCs are so very different from how I identify as a person that I can't self insert at all. (Not that I would if I could, to be fair.)

In fact, I feel like Obey Me is the only game in this genre that hasn't been as bad. (Well, Arcana was pretty good with this too since they let you choose your pronouns but I haven't played it in a while lol.)

MC is gender neutral by default, so they have that at least, which is more than I can say for most otome games. However, the personality problem still exists in OM and really I'd say it's just as bad as most of the others. Generic OM MC has some funny and unhinged lines, but most of the time everybody talks about how nice and sweet they are. I mean, we all joke about them being the demon therapist, but that's really how it is.

On the one hand, it's kind of annoying because you're right. Different types of MCs just don't exist really. And since the default is often female, it's like the one personality they think anyone female can have.

On the other hand, they're going to have to do this at a certain level. They can't give MC too much of a personality. In the end, they're still going for a target audience and I guess they think most female players are going to want to be portrayed as nice and sweet MCs?

All that rambling aside, your feelings are completely valid. To be honest with you, I don't see this changing in otome style games any time soon. So the best we can do is imagine the story differently for ourselves!

So many times I've been given a set of dialogue options for MC and been like... okay neither Ciaran or I would say any of those things. Here is what Ciaran would say if they were experiencing this moment! Then I choose the dialogue that's closest. Or if it's main story, I choose the ones that I think will raise intimacy lol.

Anyway, I don't think you're the only one. I think this is a pretty common feeling. And maybe one day someone will make an otome or dating sim game where the MC has a more rebellious attitude or is female but muscular. It says a lot about how women are perceived when the "generic" female lead is considered to be a nice and meek type of person. It's an unfortunate circumstance of society.

#tbh I would also be thrilled to have a muscular female love interest #obey me #anon asks #misc answers

[invisibleraven]

online dating + rulie?

Julie scowled at the website sitting in front of her. "Remind me why I'm doing this again?"

"Because you refused to speed date, have turned down every guy that Carrie and I have set you up with, and you're constantly moaning about being single," Flynn said.

"But online dating?' Julie groaned.

"Look, we could sign you up for Tindr, but you know as well as I do that most guys on there expect only one thing," Flynn drawled. "Although, let's sign you up for that too, cuz then at least you get some."

"Flynn no!" Julie said, swiping for her phone, but failing to grasp it from her hand.

"Flynn yes!" Flynn replied. "Now finish that profile!"

Julie sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She knew Flynn would check to make sure she set up a profile, but she doubted she'd be checking if Julie actually used it... so she set up a bare bones profile, choosing a simple picture, and scowled once more as she clicked the finish program.

"Done."

Flynn glanced over the profile and rolled her eyes. "Way t put in some effort Jules. Here's your Tindr set-up."

Julie looked over the page that Flynn had set up for her, which was far better than the little effort Plenty Of Fish page Julie had done. A flattering photo, a quote from a favourite song, and enough info to make her interesting but not enough to be revealing.

"So what do I do? Start swiping?' Julie asked.

"Yup!" Flynn said. "There's a mix of guys and girls, so you have lots of options. Let's see what we got!"

They swiped left on Braydon, Brandon, Jaydon, and Jordan, a bunch of bros with fish pictures. Right on Kayla, Liam, and Andreja who all liked a few artists and authors that Julie also enjoyed. But she wasn't really upset when none of them swiped her back.

"No luck so far?" Flynn commiserated a few days later.

"Not really," Julie confessed. "I saw a few interesting people, messaged one or two, but nothing substantial."

Flynn snatched Julie's phone up, swiping back and forth before stopping, and handing Julie's phone back to her. "Him."

The picture showed a very cute guy in a black tank, giving the camera a cheeky grin. His name was Reggie and he apparently liked dogs, Star Wars, and a nice glass of wine with a rom com at the end of the day. His job was listed as musician, and his location local.

"Okay, he's pretty cute," Julie admitted, swiping right, then getting a notification that it was a match. "Oh, he swiped back!"

"You go girl!" Flynn encouraged her, waving her off to message Reggie while Flynn got them more coffee.

And message him she did!

They talked back and forth all day, finding they had a lot in common, and Julie fond Reggie was really easy to talk to. He was funny, even a bit goofy, but incredible sincere and humble. By the end of the day they exchanged numbers to text, and Julie may or may not have deleted Tindr after that.

It was weeks of back and forth, talking for hours, chatting as they watched a movie together in their own homes, Julie coaching Reggie through a recipe for her famous brownies for his MeeMaw, while Reggie gave her some ideas for a song she had been struggling with.

"You are so damn smitten with this guy," Flynn commented one day. "What's he like in real life?"

"I don't know?" Julie squeaked. "He's been travelling for his job, and I've been swamped with mine, so we haven't exactly... met."

"Julie!" Flynn exclaimed. "How do you know he's not catfishing you?"

"I trust him," Julie insisted.

"Girl... meet him. If he's all that, then I let it go," Flynn replied.

"Fine," Julie sighed. She tapped out a message to Reggie, beaming when he got back to her right away. "He says he has tickets to the Sunset Curve concert next Saturday, backstage passes and all. He wants to meet me there, get a drink after."

Flynn whistled, "How'd he score those?"

Julie shrugged. Sunset Curve was the hottest band around, scoring a number of awards last year. However they always wore masks when they played, so no one knew what they looked like, and only went by monikers, which lead to their appeal.

The next week, Julie arrived at the SoFi stadium, getting her tickets from the box office, and being escorted backstage. "The band is doing meet and greets right now, if you wait here," the nice assistant said.

Julie bit her lip, taking out her phone, letting Reggie know she was here. Though it was a bit worrying when he didn't get back to her. She paced around, looking out on the stage, the assembling crowd, the various crew who were all nice to her, even though she was sure she was in the way.

Finally the band came out, and the guy in the ornate red and gold mask-the bass player from Julie's research stopped as he saw her. "Julie?"

"Um hi?" she said, giving a little wave.

He pulled off the mask and there he was-Reggie. "You came!"

Julie was stunned as Reggie pulled her in for a hug, his smile blinding. "Y-you're..."

Reggie blushed, looking away and then back at her. "Yeah, it's kinda hard to date when you're supposed to be anonymous. So I figured I'd try just being Reggie, see how he did."

"He did pretty good," Julie admitted. "Do I need to like, sign a NDA now?"

Reggie shrugged. "Eh, I trust you."

"Reg we're on in two!" the guitarist called.

"Fuck I gotta go," Reggie swore. "You wanna hang out here for the show? Then after you can meet the rest of the guys in the green room before we go for that drink?"

"I'd like that," Julie said, and in a fit of boldness, pulled him in for a kiss. "Break a leg."

Reggie looked struck dumb, but shook himself when his bandmates called him again. "I promise to make this my best show-for you."

He dashed off, but then Julie called his name, holding up his mask, making him giggle. She put it around his face, pressing one more kiss to his mouth before he dashed off, ready to rock her world.

And Julie swore she was never admitting to Flynn that she owed her for signing her up for Tindr, but she wondered if she would accept Sunset Curve tickets as thanks. She was fairly certain that from here on out, she had a hook up for them.

#filled prompts #ficlet #rulie #rulie relajante #julie and the phantoms

[purpleprincessonfyre]

And now something a bit soft, inspired by an idea that @jackiequick gave me that devolved into a full fledged Found Family fic. Sorry not sorry.

Marvel AU - Not Your Barbie Girl

Characters: Liane Felton and Jason Underwood aka JJ

Mentioned: Ethan Lensherr, The OG Avengers, Rochelle Romanoff-Felton, Rei Stark

Setting: The Avengers Tower, post Battle of New York

Themes: Found Family, Grumpy and Sunshine friends

IB: Not Your Barbie Girl by Ava Max

Liane was stressed. She was pacing her room back and forth, her music nearly blasting, her bed strewn in dresses and outfits, shoes cluttered across her floor and she was clenching her pillow tightly, trying not to scream. She was not doing well.

Ethan had asked her on a date. Yesterday. He was very slightly nudged by his brother Cole into saying it outloud but Liane had said yes almost immediately. Actually she'd shouted it. Causing everyone to stop in their tracks as her cheeks turned a deep shade of peony. But Ethan had smiled, that dumb sweet grin that made Liane feel special.

But now she had the arduous task of choosing what to wear. Smart? Casual? Smart casual? Streetwear? Black tie? She was racking her brain trying to predict what kind of date this was going to be or how her date was going to dress. Ethan wasn't really a suit person but what if he wore one tonight? There were too many options.

Finally Liane settled on a classic look of hers; white collared blouse, pale pink sweater, plaid grey skirt, white knee socks and black Mary Jane heels. She smiled as she put it on, feeling that confidence she had before and stepped out of her room to check with the other girls about her outfit choice.

But as Liane entered the main area she realised how quiet it was. She looked around and only saw one person. Jason Underwood. She frowned, clearly confused.

"Where did everyone go?"

"Nat's off training Rochelle and a few of the others, Bruce and some of the guys including Rei are at the lab and the rest are busy. I'm only here so the Tower isn't left unsupervised."

"Oh. Okay. Do you...do you mind if I get your opinion on something?"

"Go ahead but it might not be flattering," stated Jason, his eyes still fixed on his newspaper. Liane stood in front of him in her outfit, smiling.

"Does this outfit look good for my date tonight with Ethan?"

"Sure it does." Jason replied, still not looking up. Liane sighed.

"At least look at it."

"Fine." His gaze flicked up to her outfit then back to his paper.

"Yep, you look like your usual...pinky self."

"I- But what do you think? Be totally honest."

Jason lowered his paper, making eye contact with her, not sure if this was a trap or not.

"You want ME to be honest?"

"Brutally honest."

"Fine." He put his paper down, sat bolt upright and fixed his gaze on her outfit. He looked her up and down carefully before he spoke, having made up his mind.

"You dress like a Boarding School Student who thinks they're rebellious for wearing nail polish and earrings at school. You're on a date, not taking your SATs. All you'd need to top it off is a dog in your purse and a crucifix necklace to show them just how devout you are."

"Okay now you're just being rude."

"You wanted honest! And honesty is I don't like your outfit. You need to find something new."

"Wait what?" Jason stood up and got up to Liane's eye level, using all his skills acquired from being a godfather to Rei to try and talk some sense into Liane.

"You have spent your whole life dressing the way people expect you to dress, talking the way people expect you to, dating the way people tell you to and living the way people think you should live. Why don't you figure out who the real Liane Felton is for once?"

"N-no one's ever asked me that before...I- would you come shopping with me? For new clothes?"

Jason stopped still. He hadn't expected that. He turned around and saw her hopefully eyes and remembered that despite her reputation she was still so young. And naive. And he was literally her only option. If anyone could help this poor girl salvage a personal style from the wreckage of her preppy barbiecore closet then it would have to be him.

Jason held out his hand kindly, smiling.

"Let's get you some new clothes, Doll."

-----

The unlikely duo got out of the car and headed into the mall, in search of new clothes for Liane. Liane strode ahead, her eyes determined while Jason followed behind closely, also slightly acting as a guard dog to her since she wasn't the most liked person in the world.

They headed into the first clothes store they saw and grabbed a basket.

"Okay so what is your signature colour right now?"

"Uh pink?"

"Exactly. Not that pink isn't pretty but of course but maybe it's time to add some other colours to your closet. Pick out an outfit in every colour of the rainbow. A jacket, a dress, pants, a suit, skirt, you name it. And well we'll see what your new thing is."

Liane grinned. If there was one thing she excelled at, it was making an outfit. Soon the basket was overflowing with shades of crimson, ochre, tangerine, emerald, azure, navy and lavender and some whites and blacks were thrown in for good measure. After being satisfied with her choices, Liane marched into a dressing room with her outfits ready to try each of them.

Jason took a seat outside the changing area, ready to critique each look. Eventually Liane emerged in a red dress, topped with a red coat, black boots and a red hat. Jason raised an eyebrow, amused.

"A bit Carmen Sandiego for you."

"I dunno I think femme fatale suits me."

"Try again, Miss Scarlet."

Next she entered wearing a sunny yellow 50s style dress with white heels, a little cardigan and a bow in her hair. Jason tried not to laugh.

"Tell me about it, stud."

"Oh man! Not Sandra Dee! I was going for Marilyn.."

She kept trying on outfits in varying shades and pulling funny faces when Jason gave his verdict until he stopped her when she reached green, looking her up and down.

"None of these are working...what colours do you have left?"

"Blue, dark blue, black, white oh and purple!"

Jason's eyes lit up. He took Liane by the hand and led her back to the room.

"Try the purple jacket with this top, these pants and those mini gogo boots."

Liane nodded, seeing his vision and stepped back into the dressing room to redress, hopefully the final time. When she finally emerged Jason beamed from ear to ear. Liane was wearing a turtleneck styled white top with high waisted blue jeans, a purple leather jacket, white mini gogo boots with gold hoops in her ears and had stuck her signature heart-shaped sunglasses in her hair like an Alice band.

"What do you think?"

"I love it. It's mature, the colour suits you so well and you don't look like a school girl. And it's understated too. Very nice. But what do you think?"

"I really like it, it's so comfy too!"

"Liane Felton we have found your colour. But don't be afraid to experiment with other colours too don't limit yourself."

"Who knew you were so good at fashion?"

"Clearly I didn't."

"Ethan would be crazy not to be impressed by that outfit too."

"You think so?"

"I know so, Doll."

Liane smiled softly, then flung her arms around Jason's neck, standing on her tiptoes to reach as she hugged him tight, engulfing him in a cloud of her candy scented perfume. He was taken aback at first but realised she probably really needed this hug. Reluctantly he wrapped his arms around her in the hug, smiling as she held him close. Sometimes it was easy to forget that these Heroes of the Future are still pretty scared young people with fears and needs.

None more than Liane, who had been her mother's personal doll since birth. He'd heard the stories and the rumours but now he knew the real Liane he had nothing but sympathy for her. And after having dealt with her father in previous skirmishes and work, he felt sort of protective of the bubbly blonde princess. And she finally had a chance to break out of her shell for once and be her own person.

Hope you enjoyed!

Tagging: @jackiequick @gcthvile @cherrysft @blueboirick @meiramel @askstevella @ask-missparker @ask-starrk @therealdaydreamstark @thechoooooosenone @wizzzardofoz @finlayholmes @rickb-chaos @luna-d-marsh @missstrawbs2001

#liane felton #liane's blog #askliane #marvel roleplay #violet pyre #marvel ask blog #mcu fandom #ask my ocs #ethane #uncle jj #jason underwood #glenn powell #amanda seyfried

[lordkingsmith]

Okay, I saw the blurb reference for ask, and now I GOTTA, just because: Matt Cook + All of his OC babies~ (we all know WHY)

lol yes we know why. I was debating whether or not I cover Matt dear, so thanks for deciding for me XD

canon children:

none that we know of

OC Children:

Kimberly Hart:

Kelson Hart. Aged 21. Older Twin brother to Kira Hart. Kim’s a single parent, raised her kids mostly on the run after Matthew died when they were four, but she and Matt never got married. More of a friends with benefits thing, off and on until she got pregnant with twins. Kelson has nothing to do with his family. Intergalactic diplomat at 21. Does not live on earth, but shows up every Christmas. He is not associated with any color. He blames power rangers for a lot of his family and planet problems actually. He loves his mom and sister and family, but he can’t bypass their glaringly massive differences in opinions.

Kira, aged 21, younger twin sister to Kelson, green ranger on SPD B Team. She’s often her brothers body guard when he’s on earth for official business, but they bicker constantly when they actually speak to each other outside of work. He blames the power rangers for everything, she thinks he’s an idiot. The reason Kim was on the run in the first place was an unreformed Zedd heard about the kids and as Matt used to work for him, decided those kids were his, actually. As payment. Matt died killing Zedd. That wasn’t power rangers fault, that was Zedd’s fault.

Billy Cranston;

When Billy loses his ranger status and goes to work for Grace, Matt is also there as the green ranger. Billy keeps his distance for a while; the guy is more or less a massive dick. Especially over something that wasn’t Billy’s fault. Billy’s also not taking pot shots at his friends or Zordon over it with Matt. They start dating after the War, and Matt’s final betrayal. More because he finally wore Billy down, but Billy had a good time hanging out with him again. And then both of them had the rude realization at the same time of “I am attracted to this man-fuck he noticed-oh he’s into it” which snowballed. They adopted one kid, and had another via help from alien technology mixed with a little magic. Nora, aged 26, is a professional hockey player. Matt decided he was going to support her sport even if it wasn’t his sport. Billy quickly developed a love of hockey at one of her events when she was little. Mostly because this game is ridiculous. Though he does worry about her on the ice. A lot. They adopted her when she was five, and she’s loud and enthusiastic and very rarely is she ever sad or genuinely upset. Her opinion on things is mostly “be friendly at it or challenge it to a fight” and generally speaking the options work enough she’s never needed to figure out other plans of action. She met her wife during a game. She’s from an opposing team. Nora gave her a concussion; she knocked Nora’s front teeth out. This was par for the course and they bonded in hospital. Billy’s still trying to figure out HOW. Matt thinks it’s hilarious. Is the green dragon ranger. She is legitimately feared by most and can solve most problems without suiting up. The threat is enough.

Their other child is Abner. He’s socially transitioning, he’s 18. He wants to be a writer. He and his sister have a very loving if slightly antagonistic relationship. When Abner came out to her, Nora’s response was “well now you don’t need to steal my clothes. Give them back” which lead to an argument but not the one Abner was expecting. They negotiated the clothing situation. Abner’s not giving back a pair of boots; they look way too good on him. Matt and Billy both support him. Matt sometimes slips up with name, however he’s quick to correct himself. Billy helped Abner choose his name, and was the first person he came out to. Abner is a little self conscious about his looks, and about his public image. More in regards to if he’s going to make his family look bad. Like Matt he tends to brood and focus on negative details way too much. Like Billy he tends to strive for perfection and his vocabulary makes it hard for people to understand him.

Eugene Skullovitch;

Matt dives head first into the villain persona, and is happily doing so. He's thriving. Until he's forced into an ultimatum; save Bulk and Skull from certain death by the hands of Goldar, or vanquish the Solar Rangers. Against his better judgment, he saves Bulk and Skull. Skull, unfortunately for timing wise, had said he'd kiss whoever saved their lives minutes before Matt saved them. He's a man of his word, but he also punched him in the mouth immediately after. Matt's confused as hell. So instead of chasing after Kim, begins chasing after Skull because what was THAT. This leads to a very weird redemption arc because Matt has realized 2 things; he likes being kissed by Skull and he does not want Skull mad at him anymore. Cut to fifteen years later; they've got a kid of their own and no actual idea how they got there really. But, they're happy, don't hate each other's guts, their kid's thriving, it's all good. The entire empire of evil absolutely hates them though and Matt somehow managed to get himself on the shit list of Thor. As long as he doesn't go out while it's thunderstorming he should be fine.

Their son is ten, his name is Jude Cook. Jude is one of the weirdly luckiest kids alive. He's survived an insane amount of attempts on his life, falls, kidnappings, and things he should otherwise not survive. His parents have stopped asking how. Loki helped give them a son, which is partly why Thor's pissed, so they've at this point accepted demigod baby is just gonna do what a demigod baby do. It's probably for the best. Spike's his older brother, and is training with Loki to be some sort of spirit of shapeshifting mischief. They both love causing mild trouble. Like Skull, Jude's got a fear of flying which makes things a little interesting. Skull's got his sons and his partner on a very very strict promise; if the shenanigans could cause an enemy of something power, walk away. Walk far away. Neptune exists. We don't want to get on the bad side of Neptune.

in a tangential version, Billy coparents with the two, and studies demigod ten year old, and deals with the Norse gods being in his business. At the very least nobody's been sucked into Ares' prison jar, so that's good.

*Bonus Poly of Billy Cranston, Matt Cook, and Eugene Skullovitch has all above children mentioned. They live in a large house, Eugene's a famous rockstar and restaurant chain owner, and they actually use every room in said house. In this version they met via Matt asking the only person he knew with experience in bdsm for some help with his newly realized kinks; Skull's payment was pizza nights and then Billy got dragged in because he was certain Matt was abusing Skull, but realized it was fine, actually. And fun.

Tommy Oliver;

Tommy and Matt did not really like each other at the beginning. Matt blames Tommy for so so much, but can't do anything about it, and Tommy's missing Dragon Green something terrible and dealing with massive amounts of PTSD for related but different reasons than Matt. Rita trapped them together in a gladitorial area of the Dark Dimension, and Tommy and Matt managed to talk to each other and get into an understanding. When they started dating, it was actually Grace who saw an opportunity, not Rita. But it’d be three more years before she could enact the plan. She didn’t tell Terona, and she was intending to eventually get every coin as well, for a full set.

Verdun Cook is 24, he’s the green dragon ranger, and he’s never met his dads. He’s a top agent for protection of earth. He thinks his parents gave him up to Grace. They think he died in infancy, an unfortunate complication in how he was made. They also think the dragon dagger was destroyed as well, around the same time. When parents and son finally meet, Tommy and Matt are furious. Billy’s furious. Terona's furious. He got Verdun to Tommy and Matt when he found out, even. Everyone’s furious. Matt and Tommy have Verdun live with them to acclimate to civilian life, and get used to being a person. His entire life has been as a weapon; he’s trying to very rapidly learn how to be human. It’s not like he was a success in the program either; the plan was a whole team of legacy rangers in their parents Colors, and he was the only one they could get.

Currently the only people allowed to mess with Tommy and Matt’s DNA is Billy and the Aquitarans and, hilariously, Zedd. He only made a clone. He was very transparent about what he was intending for the clone. Tommy knows where the clone is. He DIDN’T know where his son was, that he was alive, what Grace was intending or what he was doing. He and Matt are in agreement; If they had to chose they’d choose Zedd with their DNA.

When they thought their biological son had died; they adopted. Ricky is fifteen, not associated with a color, and is trying to get used to this with along with their dads. Ricky really is trying to be nice as well, but his overenthusiasm and attempts at bonding are often coming off too strong and borderline antagonistic. He doesn't mean to be. But the bright side is Ricky’s got someone to hang out with. And better yet, Verdun knows nothing about video games, pop culture, or really anything. So. Who wants to watch Star Wars? Ricky's got mixed feelings about his brother, but they're ranging from sad to excited, there's nothing jealousy related. Their dads are awesome, and he's sad Verdun never got to grow up with their dads. And he's excited to be able to have fun with his brother. Ricky is very excitable, and works on the school newspaper. He does volleyball, and has goals to be valedictorian when he graduates. Friendly, upbeat, can sometimes take things too far, but he tries to make those moments right.

They’re all making up for lost time with Verdun. It’s long overdue. At least both kids get along.

Trini Kwan;

Trini smacked sense into him after the upteenth pity party. She also forced him to come along for a mission in space with the Solar Rangers. He wanted to be let in on the whole thing? Fine! They could do that! Welcome to space Matt, everyone you meet is going to die or kill you! Have fun!

After, he put the dagger up, and he and Trini actually talked about what happened on the moon. She also retired from being a ranger, and they focused on taking a page from Bulk and Skull; being helpful as civilians. Matt asked Trini to marry him, and Trini said no. They made a game of it for a few years before she finally did say yes, when they were both financially stable.

They have Minh, and do foster parenting. Currently fostering JJ Oliver, due to unforeseen events leading to both Tommy and Kat unable to care for their kid for the time being. It’s hard being s foster family, but it’s nice being able to see the kids go back to their parents or move on to hopefully better situations. Matt’s at peace, and Trini is too. Trini is a plane mechanic; Matt is a fireman.

Zack Taylor;

During everything Zack and Matt were friends with benefits, though Matt tended to use Zack as an emotional scapegoat as well. Zack finally had enough after a bit, and told Matt either he got his head out of his ass or they weren’t continuing. He was serious, too, and Matt got left in the lurch for a little while before actually looking at himself long and hard and deciding whether or not his grudge was worth losing Zack again. It wasn’t. His parents loved Zack, Kira loved Zack, and most importantly he loved Zack. He came out to his parents and family, and then put in the effort to get over himself to get Zack back. One daughter by surrogate parent, and Matt owes Kim big time. She’s made it clear though. This was for Zack. He gets this, and accepts he and Kim are probably never even going to be friends. His and Zack’s daughter is Layla Cook-Taylor. Layla is sixteen, tiny firecracker of positivity. She has her low moments, but she’s never down for long. She likes swimming and playing guitar. She dances with Zack in dance classes and Matt adores her so so much. She’s frank and earnest and tries her best. She doesn’t give up easily if ever. White ranger. Saba loves her, too. Yes Matt has gotten in arguments with the uppity dagger why do you ask?

Jason Lee Scott;

Getting with Jason felt a little like leaning how to breathe again. Jason came home and Matt quickly got into sparring with him every weekend, like old times. It devolved into a lot of pent up rage related sex. And then all of that was gone…and there were two angry hurt teenagers who didn’t know how to be healthy about love or sex. Cut to fifteen years later, Jason’s a mechanic, Matt’s an accountant. And nothings changed. In between then and now, Jason had a kid. He doesn’t remember who the mother was, and anyway Diego Scott was left on his porch basically. He’s four. Matt likes the way Diego likes piggy backs. And dinosaurs and zombies. Matt likes how whole he feels with Jason and Diego. It’s pretty late in life, but he’s willing to make a go of this, if Jason is willing. And so far, he is. Diego keeps the two on their toes, being ready to get into the thick of everything and anything. But he's four, that's typical, and he's Jason's. And Matt thinks the kid's the best.

Sharkie;

Surprisingly the two manage to click and gel together really well. Three kids, two boys and a girl. Lexie Cook aged 24, Gavin Cook aged 19, and Quincy Cook, aged 17. Sharkie and Matt bonded over being left behind by their friends, though Sharkie doesn’t have any ill will to Bulk or Skull. Stuff happens. The first time he morphed he did it to impress Sharkie and she laughed in his face. He then spent the rest of his life trying to impress her, and stumbled into becoming a better person in the process.

Lexie Cook works as a radio host for a popular music station. She has a popular segment where she runs down the monster of that week and ranks it’s strengths and weaknesses and how to avoid it while putting out a prediction for the next week’s. She does this in between her music playlist, and she’s been right in her predictions a few times. Starts and ends her show saying hi or goodbye to her parents. She has a huge sweet tooth and will do anything for sweets. Lately her brother Gavin's been Off, so she's been adding him in the hi and goodbye, and a 'hang in there bud' as well. not associated with a color

Quincy “Flea” Cook is one of the punks at school, and one of the comedy duo. He's antagonistic to the 'goody twerps' Matt just knows is the power rangers, and neither he nor Sharkie really know if they should step in or just let this play out. Currently letting it play out. Quincy’s grown a lot since the current team's shown up, and he's gotten braver, less self serving, and a lot more noble. Matt's just made sure he's well aware he needs to get out of a situation if buildings are falling. No exceptions. He can grab the person closest to him but he is staying out of the area. Sharkie is making sure he also knows when to stop antagonizing, and know who and what all monsters are. Quincy is in love with art but he's got a Reputation. He's gotten a reputation for being spraypainting sides of buildings. His murals are always well done, but with a sense of humor, and often calling out the villains. Something's up with his older brother though, so he's been trying to figure out what. not associated with a color

Gavin Cook's currently working for the villains. Mind controlled, he's not really even interested in power rangers, normally. Evil ranger sixth ranger, he's been living with a roommate since he was eighteen in an apartment near his parents house and sister's apartment (the reasoning being this is his first try at being properly independent, and if he needs help they're near him to assist if need be). They don't spend enough time with him to know anything other than he's not acting right. Quincy's actively trying to figure out what's wrong though, and Gavin's dreading the day he's going to be told to attack his own family members. He's the villainous Maximum Ranger, and he's waiting for the good rangers to free him and his roommate so he can get back to not caring about power rangers. and hug his family. and go get therapy because yea...he needs to Unpack This. When not a mindcontrolled villain, Gavin's pretty chill. He lets Quincy hang out to get away from their parents, and usually is playing music while watching his brother. He really doesn't give a damn about power rangers, could care less. Matt was one, and that's fine, he's not anymore and Gavin doesn't care about the legacy. He works at the local coffeeshop, which is where the good rangers love hanging out. He hates spying on them, he used to love the atmosphere, and he knows his dad and his job is why he's currently here. All his parents know is he went missing for a week and came back, well, off. They're there when he asks for help, the kicker being, right now Gavin literally cannot.

(maximum is a shade of green)

Marleau Eskin;

He got with her in high school to get back at his former friends and ex girlfriend. It was a joke, turns out he’s the joke. But he and Marcel don’t talk to Marleau anymore. Matt’s a sports reporter, and Marcel’s a professional esport gamer in his late 20’s. Matt sees his kid on the weekends for weekly lunches and check ins. Had to take a second when Marcel said he’d started dating Minh Kwan. Had to decide if the anger was worth it. It wasn’t. He’s not talking to the group still, but Marcel’s got his blessing, and he's fine with Marcel seeing Minh. That has to count for something. Matt was able to prove without a shadow of a doubt that Marleau was a negligent parent, and had left their kid in frankly dangerous situations when he was young. Marcel broke his arm left alone at a park, and Matt was never more happy or enraged. But, it lead to Marcel being genuinely happy as the son of a single parent, so Matt's happy to let him live his life. Also somewhat relieved Minh or her family heard the last name 'Cook' and is still letting this happen. Marcel is not associated with a color.

Stan Skullovitch;

They were kidnapped together and replaced with putties. They were tortured together, and formed a trauma bond. Stan had enough sense to say 'no' to a relationship with someone who 1) hated his brother and 2) was still in highschool. However they kept running into each other over the years. When they did get together, it was when Matt had his head out of his ass a little, and was in a stable job. Stan was a singer at a lounge, and the trauma attraction had settled into a healthier flavor. Everyone's got their opinions on the two getting together but it seems okay right now? Rita as Mystic Mother used magic to give them a child because as Matt pointed out in a confrontation with her; she kind of owed them big time. Ulysses "Bones" Skullovitch is twelve, and kind of a natural wanderer. It's not unusual for him to leave the house at dawn and come back around dinner time with all sorts of things in his pockets. He's not loud, but he's not shy. Prefers watching than acting, though will step up if need be. Stan finds it hard to not worry about him, but Spike and Spike's friends keep an eye on Bones while keeping their distance. He's alright, he's just the kind of person that likes being by himself playing. However he might be getting some friends, and Matt's starting to wonder if power rangers is a genetic thing. Bones will be a red ranger when old enough.

Violet Arias;

she slapped him. Then yelled at him, then apologized because his cheek was swelling and her nail had accidentally caused a cut on his eyelid. He had to wear an eye bandage for two weeks and she gave him flowers. Then he apologized for, well. everything. After that they started dating, balancing his ranger status with school and her trying to be okay with it. They've been in hiding with their kids since Zedd put a price on Matt's head. Myrtle and Tyrian are fifteen and ten, respectively. They don't know their dad was a green ranger and still is when called to be so, Matt's not going to put them in danger over this. As much as he can help, anyway.

Myrtle Arias plays the trumpet in the school marching band. She's extremely good at coded cyphers, and wants to be the president of the united states one day. She's also on the chess team. She has no opinions on the power rangers or the monsters that seem to constantly show up. She's just trying to get through school without being shoved in a locker. Hard to connect to her dad, who was a popular kid, so it's easier to talk to and connect to her mom. is not associated with a color.

Tyrian Arias learned his name's the actual name for the color royal purple (named after the snails whose shells are used for the pigments) and decided he was going to make this his entire personality. He is a ten year old sixth ranger, he is not hiding this. His only saving grace is that he is constantly telling so many tall tales his parents aren't entirely sure if he's telling the truth (and if he is there will be WORDS with whoever gave him Purple), and everyone else thinks he's just an exceptionally imaginitve kid. Matt is...hoping the extra excitable new ranger is not, in fact, his son. However, deep down he knows it's Tyrian and he's freaking out.

-

if there's others I'm not thinking of or missed, please let me know :)

[voraciousvore]

Big Corp Inc. (26/43)

Chapter 26: A Real Date

Martin stood back up to his full, extraordinary height, still holding Candy in his hand. “Um... okay... what would you like to do? I’m guessing you probably wouldn’t want to go out to dinner, considering what happened last time...” 

Candy hadn’t eaten since she had her instant oatmeal for breakfast, since she had missed lunch while trapped in the vending machine. “Actually, I am hungry,” she admitted. “I think it will be okay, as long as we don’t go to Bucky’s again. Maybe we could go to a place you’re more familiar with? I think as long as nobody takes me away from you, we’ll be fine.” 

“Gosh, Candy, you’re so brave! I really admire you!” Martin confessed, blushing. “If I was in your position, I’d be paralyzed with fear, to be honest.” 

“It’s not easy,” Candy remarked softly. She knew, if she wasn’t so desperate, she probably would not have had the courage to stay. “Having you with me gives me strength.” Her cheeks turned pink. If she was honest with herself, Martin gave her some very strong motivation to stay too. Without him, she probably would have given up, but he gave her a compelling reason to come into the office, despite the hazards she faced. Candy, as a hopeless romantic, was guided more by her heart than her intellect. 

Her words touched Martin, making him smile. “I’m glad to hear that.” He brushed her side with his thumb. “I’ll take you to a little pizza place near my apartment. How does that sound?” 

“Pizza sounds great!” Candy said. “Although, I don’t know if I could eat a Giant-sized pizza, even if it’s just a single slice.” 

Martin laughed. “If not, we’ll figure something out.” The Giant headed out, keeping Candy safe in his hand. Clouds were rolling in, obscuring the sun, and another gust of cold wind made Candy shiver, with her skimpy office clothes that were plainly insufficient to keep her warm. Martin closed his fingers around her so only her head was sticking out, sheltering her from the wind and enveloping her in warmth. Candy snuggled up to his warm, soft skin. She was so comfortable, like being wrapped up in a blanket in bed, she felt as if she could fall asleep in his hand. 

Martin came up to the restaurant, which was a cozy, old-fashioned place with the name “Pan’s Pizza Palace” written in green letters next to a goofy cartoon satyr holding a slice of pepperoni pizza. Even though Candy knew she was safe with Martin, she began to experience a swell of trepidation at the thought of entering another Giant restaurant, with the reminder of being eaten by the manager. She trembled, and Martin held her tighter in his hand. 

“Are you still cold?” he asked her, oblivious to her fright. She didn’t want to ruin their date a second time, so she shook her head and smiled up at him. He gazed down at her lovingly before the seating hostess addressed him and took them to their table, failing to notice Candy with only her teeny head poking out of his huge fist. The temperature was warmer indoors, so Martin released Candy onto the table and opened the menu in front of her so she could see her food options. 

“What kind of pizza would you like?” Martin inquired. “Obviously, it would be best for us to share.” He chuckled as he imagined Candy trying to eat a whole pizza by herself. A solitary piece of pepperoni would be larger than an entire human pizza for her. 

“You should choose, seeing as how you’re going to be eating most of it,” Candy pointed out. “What do you usually get?” 

“My go-to is typically a large meat lover’s, extra cheese, thick crust. But with you, I should probably get the thin crust. Might make it easier for you to eat,” Martin noted. Candy approved of Martin’s decision. The waitress, a young Giantess who appeared to be barely out of high school, stopped at their table to take their order. She was relatively pacific, until she saw Candy. 

“Is that a HUMAN? Oh. My. Gosh! She is sooooo cute!” the waitress gushed. Candy flushed slightly as the waitress bent down to get a closer look at her on the table and squealed with delight. “I’ve never seen a human in real life before! I didn’t know she’d be that small! She’s like an adorable little doll!” Martin was annoyed by the waitress’s intrusive behavior, until he saw that Candy was charmed from being fawned over. Candy, with her simple uncorrupted mind, liked the extra attention and didn’t find it to be patronizing or condescending at all. Martin was amused by this development. He loved her even more for her sweet innocence. Anyone else would have been irritated by the waitress’s ignorance, but Candy didn’t interpret any malice and took the compliments at face value. Candy helped Martin see the world in a new light, free of cynicism and judgement, and he liked what he saw. 

The waitress, once she had her fill of admiring the human, got back to work and left. Candy giggled. “She’s nice,” she remarked, pressing her hands to her face bashfully.  

Martin laughed. “As are you, my sweet little cupcake!” He swept Candy up in his hand and gave her a quick kiss that made her swoon. The waitress returned with their drinks, giving a special little smile and wave to Candy which the miniature woman happily returned. Martin had ordered a root beer float which he shared with his date, helping her eat what was to him a small spoonful. By this point, having skipped multiple meals for the past two days, Candy was ravenous and eagerly slurped up what she could of the ice cream and root beer from the Giant spoon. Even Martin, a big eater himself, was impressed by her appetite, coming from such a small person as herself. 

The waitress brought out on a platter the Giant pizza, which to Candy looked as big as a dance floor. “Hold on just a second! Before you touch that pizza, I have one more thing to bring out!” she announced, and raced back into the kitchen. She returned with a plate. She set the plate down in front of Candy, who was shocked to see a pizza closer to her size, dwarfed by the gigantic plate it sat on. The waitress beamed. “I asked the chef to make this for you, out of a little extra dough he had left over from the other pizza. No extra charge.” 

“Wow, thank you so much!” Candy exclaimed with glee. “That was so thoughtful of you!” 

“You’re welcome,” the Giantess giggled and scampered off. Candy stepped up on the plate and walked over to the center to examine her pizza. It was still larger than a regular human pizza, and a bit crudely shaped since it was made by Giant hands, but she appreciated the kind gesture nonetheless. The pizzeria staff had even cut the pizza into slices for her. She lifted up a hefty slice and took a bite. She realized a gigantic cut of pepperoni covered the entire surface area of the pizza up to the crust, hidden under a layer of mozzarella cheese. 

“Mmmmm, that’s so good!” Candy praised, taking another bite. She hadn’t enjoyed a restaurant meal in a long time, due to her pecuniary difficulties. “This was a great idea, Martin. Thank you for taking me out.” 

“No problem,” Martin replied, chomping into his own jumbo pizza slice. He shoveled the slice into his mouth and demolished it in record time, digging into another slice right away. Candy watched with amazement as he polished off the second slice in three substantial bites, and then devoured a third with alarming rapidity. She knew Martin was a big guy, and she had partaken in lunch with him several times prior, but she hadn’t really conceptualized just what he was capable of stomaching when he was truly hungry. He didn’t even chew that much as he ate, mostly using his teeth to tear off bites and then swallowing considerable chunks of his food whole. Candy realized this style of eating was probably what kept her alive when she was inside his sandwich. Otherwise, her body would have been crushed into a pulp by his molars. 

Candy looked down at her own pizza. It was huge to her, too big for her to eat by herself, but to Martin it wouldn’t even constitute a mouthful. Candy was always aware of the size difference when she was on the large side of the city, but abruptly she felt smaller than ever, in an especially disturbing way when she was comparing herself to the size of food items. As much as she hated the thought, and as much as she trusted the friendly Giant, she suddenly felt slightly afraid of Martin, in an instinctive, animalistic way. She was reminded of all the times she had been eaten, including by him. His surname was Maneater, after all. The significance of such a detail had not escaped her. 

She tried to shake off these disturbing thoughts and enjoy her date. She knew, rationally, she had no real reason to fear Martin. She had even willingly climbed inside his mouth before, covered in cake no less, and he didn’t swallow her then. She ate her little pizza until she was full as she witnessed the gluttonous spectacle of Martin slaughtering his own humongous pizza. His rate of consumption was finally slowing down as he circled around to the last few slices. He cleaned tomato sauce off his lips with his tongue as he bolted down another slice. 

“Hey... Martin?” Candy asked hesitantly. His mouth was stuffed, so he couldn’t reply, but he gave her his full attention. “Um... is it normal for Giants to eat humans? Is that something that happens a lot?” Martin was swallowing his mouthful of food, but he was so startled by this question he choked. Coughing, he downed a big gulp of root beer and finally got the chunk of pizza to slide down his throat. He gasped for breath and stared at Candy with wide eyes. 

“What a question,” he said, scratching the stubble on his chin. He wasn’t sure how to answer. He didn’t want to terrify the poor woman. After hesitating, he began, “Well... it’s not a civilized thing to do.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “But it does happen. Giants are meat-eaters and predators, after all. Um... it used to be far more common in the past, before our civilization was more enlightened. Particularly among... certain lineages.” He cringed, looking sheepish. “Such as my family line. We’re not called ‘Maneater’ for nothing. My ancestors were brutal and gobbled up humans all the time. Regrettably, that ancient blood still runs through my veins.”  

His eyes darted over to Candy to gauge her reaction at this information. To his shock, she looked frightened. She was huddled up on the Giant plate, gripping her knees with her hands, adjacent to her microscopic leftover pizza slices. He had to admit, with her sitting on a dinner plate, she did look appetizing. Even though his belly was full of pizza, he could still recall the alluring sweetness of her flavor, and he found himself licking his lips. She’d make an ideal dessert to follow up his dinner. He forgot for a moment that he was in conversation with her as he entertained his fantasies. 

“You wouldn’t eat me though, right Martin?” Candy asked earnestly, snapping Martin out of his reverie. 

“Of—of course not! I wouldn’t dream of it!” Martin stuttered. He faltered. Was he telling her the truth? He’d never want to hurt her, but he had thought about it, certainly. If he did eat her, he would be killing her. There’s no way he could do that. “No, no. I would never,” he affirmed, just as much to himself as to Candy.  

Candy was reassured. He only had kindness in his stormy eyes, not the bloodthirsty, malicious hunger she had witnessed with Mr. Hardon or the restaurant owner Bucky. Before she could continue the conversation, the waitress came over with a box for their leftovers. Martin put his solitary slice in the box along with what remained of Candy’s pizza, since the restaurant didn’t have human-sized takeout boxes. Martin handled the check, since obviously Candy couldn’t pay. When he was done, he collected her with the leftovers and left the restaurant. The waitress enthusiastically waved goodbye to Candy as Martin opened the door, and Candy waved back with a smile. 

Martin was torn as to the next step. He wanted to invite Candy over to his apartment, but he thought that might be too forward. He didn’t want to offend her or pressure her into anything, especially with how much power he held over her simply by virtue of his great size. He had been raised as a gentleman, and he knew the first date was too soon to be taking her home with him. Even so, he was tempted. This was more of a second date than a first, wasn’t it? Should he wait until the third date at least? Was he overthinking things? Did her being a human change the rules of etiquette? He wasn’t sure. 

He wanted to ask her, but he had a thick lump in his throat that prevented him from speaking. He swallowed nervously. He recalled her look of fear while they were in the pizzeria, directed towards him, and he was overcome with guilt. He should have been more emphatic in his response to her question, to assure her she was safe with him. He didn’t want to scare her, and he didn’t want her to see him as a savage ogre. Reluctantly, he trudged toward the railway station. 

While all these thoughts were racing through his head, Candy was reflecting on some thoughts of her own. She hoped Martin would invite her to his home, since obviously inviting herself would be rude. If not, she wasn’t sure where she would stay for the night. She didn’t know if Big Corp Inc. locked the doors at night, but even if she could get in the building, she likely wouldn’t be able to hitch a ride on the Giant elevator to the third floor. She huffed. Why did everything have to be so complicated? 

 Candy didn’t want to appear ungrateful. “I had fun today, Martin. Thank you for taking me out,” she said, petting the palm of his gigantic hand and looking up at his face. 

“I’m glad to hear that. I did too,” Martin agreed, with genuine feeling in his tone. He stopped outside the railway station and stooped down so she could dismount from his hand. “I’ll bring your leftover pizza to you tomorrow for lunch, alright?” 

“Okay. Thank you,” Candy replied quietly. She gazed up at Martin, towering over her, with undisguised longing. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight,” the Giant responded in kind. “My little cupcake,” he added with a tender smile, standing up. Candy stared after him as he strode away, the quakes of his footsteps waning until his lofty figure disappeared over the curve of the horizon. She sighed again and turned away. 

Chapter 27

Chapter 1

#g/t writing #g/t #giant/tiny #giant #tiny #size difference #g/t fluff #giant tiny #gt fluff #gt writing #big corp inc

[abbatoirablaze]

The Avenger's Initiative, Chapter 16

Word Count:  3.7k

Warnings:  angst, mentions of death/murder, jealousy, Stockholm syndrome, manipulation, and mentions of mental health.

Kenzie’s POV

"So what, you aren't even going to talk to us now?" She looked at me and then looked down, tears pinching the corners of her eyes, "come on Mira. We know you're talking now.  We know that you can do it. Loki told Jade he can't bring the connection back because he's still too weak and you spoke to the avengers."

Her eyes flickered back between Jade and I.

"She's dead, isn't she?"

"It wasn't her fault."

"Stop protecting her," I growled, angry that she still chose to protect her, "Dr. Banner already explained it to us yesterday when we had that bullshit excuse for therapy. It is her fault.  I mean...do you see Cassie or my sister here?"

Mira shifted away from me and looked down at her bottle of water on the table.

"There's no possible way she knew what was going to happen," Jade recovered, "Like you said, Banner explained it to us. Each of the guys had the chance to choose someone. It looks like two of them didn't want to pick anyone."

"Well Loki picked you," I muttered, "but I still don't know who picked me."

"It was probably Thor," she said nervously, "he's the only one that you haven't touched, and he was probably curious."

I glared at Mira and my guilt over kissing Bucky faded away.  Suddenly I wanted to wipe it in her face.  

"Did you know I kissed Bucky before everything went down?" I asked, wanting to drive an emotional knife into her heart, "maybe he's the one that picked me."

I saw her jaw tighten and I smiled.

"Turning into your sister much?" she growled, looking up, finally choosing to use her voice, "or are you just interested in sloppy seconds...maybe I should call you Cassie." 

"Be careful what you say, Mira."

"Or what?" she asked, "remember. This is all my fault, right? Shouldn't I be the one laying out the empty, open threats?"

"It's not an empty threat."

"Guys!"

We both looked to Jade.

"Mira didn't know that the rest of the guys wouldn't choose Cassie or Dani!"

"Bullshit," I spat, "she should have tried harder!"

"Do you know what my options were?" she yelled, finally breaking and glaring at me, "I let the guys choose who they want to bring back or they killed all of you! Am I sorry that Cassie's gone? Fuck no. She was a manipulative cunt. She got together with my abusive ex-boyfriend then flaunted the fact that he never hit her. Am I mad about your sister? NO! We weren't friends. She was always making fun of me or sabotaging me. At homecoming she actually encouraged the kicker on the football team to drug my drink.  The only time she was ever nice to me was the day before we got abducted by the guys. She helped me get ready for a date. MY DATE! WITH BUCKY!"

I stood up from my place at the table. Nostrils flared. I was ready to kick the shit out of her, "THAT WAS MY SISTER!"

"Yeah, well your sister was a frigid bitch up until the very end. One act of kindness doesn't make up for the horrible human being that she was," she yelled at me, "BUT EVEN THROUGH ALL OF THAT, I TRIED TO GET THE GUYS TO SAVE HER. I TRIED TO PUSH THEM TOWARDS HER SO THAT THEY WOULD CHOOSE HER AND CASSIE TOO!"

"YOU FUCKING LIAR!"

"She's not lying."

I looked to Jade.

"Loki told me when he gave me the champagne that only him and Bucky chose someone. Steve and Thor didn't choose anyone. But Mira asked Loki to save me...that's the only reason I'm here."

"Jad-"

"It's okay," she replied, cutting her off, "I know Loki doesn't care about me like that...I'm just confused on where it goes from here. We obviously aren't going to go back to school...and we're not going to be cheerleaders anymore...do we all eventually just start working for the Avengers? Or will they kill us when they find someone they actually want?"

I looked from her to Mira.

"I'm not going to sit around," I said, shaking my head, "I'm not going to find out the answer to that."

"Actually," a new voice said, coming into the kitchen, "that's exactly what you are going to do."

Natasha came in with Dr. Banner following her, "we uh, came up to get some blood work. We want to make sure that none of you are pregnant, and that you all are healthy. Then from there we'll g-"

"What's going to happen to us?"

Dr. Banner looked at me. I looked between him and Nat.

"Well, this is an unusual situation," he said slowly, "we're just trying to figure out ourselves what we are going to do about everything."

"So, you don't know?"

"The lake house experiment is done," Nat confirmed, "indefinitely for the time being...at least until we get your situations sorted."

"Are you going to kill us?"

"No," Nat said, shaking her head, "Loki chose to take Jade, and Bucky chose to take you, Kenzie. They want to work on that choice. Jade will be seeing Loki, and once Bucky's therapist says he's allowed to see you, then you can start that relationship."

"We aren't in a relationship."

"Well not yet, no," Dr. Banner said quickly, "But maybe in time...who knows...but first we have to make sure that each of you are healthy."

Mira nodded, standing up, and allowed him to take her blood.

How could she be so okay just going along with all of this?

She rolled down her sleeves when he had finished and sat down by us again.  I felt a sneer rising onto my lips.  

"You disgust me."

Mira looked at me. Beneath the silence I could see discomfort across her features. She didn't like what I'd just said.

"Whether you want to believe it or not, you caused all of this," I began again, looking between the four people in the room, "you two allowed this to go on, and you two...you made deals with them. You protected it.  You protected all of them."

"I did what I had to do.  I played their games and went along with it.  We’re alive, Kenzie," Jade said, looking down, "they wer-"

"They weren't going to hurt her," I growled, shaking my head, "you said Loki told you himself that she was 'off the board' for them. You let them get away with it though. You accepted it. Just like she did.  That makes you just as bad as any of them."

"I wasn't the last one to kiss Bucky," Mira said angrily, glaring at me, "remember when you point fingers some are bound to be pointing back at you. I pushed him away from me...and because of that, you're here too. You encouraged him to kiss you. You played just as much a part in this as I did...so if you start thinking about why your sister isn't alive, maybe you should wonder if he would have gone after her if you didn't encourage him!" 

Bucky’s POV

"James," my therapist asked, trying to bring me back to reality. I looked at her, shaking my head, "Sergeant Barnes, are you still listening?"

I nodded, not wanting to look her in the eyes.  She raised her brow, giving me a disapproving look, then turned back to her recorder, turning it off.  

"You need to start being more verbal."

"Call me Bucky."

"Bucky," she nodded, "are you trying to distance yourself from your past by not allowing me to call you by your first name?"

"People have called me Bucky my whole life," I said with a shake of my head, "it's not some shrink trick, doc." 

"But you let Miracle call you James."

"She was my girlfriend."

"No, she wasn't."

I thought about how she smiled at me. How her eyes lit up when she saw me coming back to her at the end of the day, "yes she was."

"No," she said dismissively, "we've gone over this Sergeant Barnes. Miracle was not your girlfriend.  How did you come to the conclusion that she was your girlfriend, hmmm?"

"Then what do you call someone you come home to everyday?" I asked, "someone that you kiss. Someone that you hold at the end of the night.  Someone that you-"

"Someone that you what?  It was a by-product of the circumstance and situation, James," she said quietly. I felt my jaw tighten as I watched her write in her notepad and by the fact that she'd used my first name again. When she looked at me again, she tried to engage me, "do you feel like Miracle would have dated you outside of the situation, James?"

"We had a date," I admitted, "right before she stayed with me. She would have dated me outside of the lake house.  She wanted to.  We had a connection."

"Before you abducted her."

I looked away, clenching my jaw, "Stop saying that.  She wanted to be with me.  She was my girlfriend.  She was mine.  But I fucked it up by kissing Kenzie."

"You have to admit that, James. You abducted Miracle and her friends."

"We helped them."

"James if you keep lying to yourself about how you came into contact with these women your progress will halt and it may even end up pushing you backwards.  Do you want to regress James?"

"Fine," I swallowed as I glared at her, "we took them. Are you happy?"

"Now, your fascination with Miracle, how does that translate into you choosing Mackenzie?  You mentioned that you kissed her."

"My fascination with Miracle?  That and Kenzie have nothing to do with each other." 

"Yes.  It does," she nodded, "you had feelings for her."

"For Mira or for Kenzie?"

She sighed, taking her glasses off and putting them beside her, "you know what, let's change the subject." 

"Fine." 

"Let’s discuss Mackenzie," she guessed, giving the statement an open-ended tone so that I was forced to think about my time with her, "your last few sessions you've been focusing on Miracle."

"Well, what if I want to talk about Mira still?" I asked.

"Do you?" she asked.  I bit my lip as I thought about her question. My leg began to bounce as I thought harder on it,"I don't think that you do."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't think you want to talk about Miracle," the therapist said quickly, "when I ask about her you start to have a nervous tick.  Your leg bounces.  I think that maybe we should focus on Mackenzie today."

"What about her?"

"Well, when we discuss Mackenzie your leg stops shaking, and you stop playing with your hands," she revealed, "does she mean anything in particular to you, James?"

"No."

"Well, she must if you chose her.  If you brought her here, instead of leaving her behind at the lake house," she replied, "tell me about your last few conversations with Mackenzie. Did they change your perspective of her enough so that you did choose her to bring back?"

"What do you want me to tell you?"

"The truth, James."

"Steve raped her," I started, feeling guilty over what had happened to her, "she tried to kill herself after that. She confided in me that when her room was cleaned up, she still had something that she could finish the job with. She gave it to me."

"She gave you control."

"No," I said, shaking my head, "she felt safe enough to tell me...I don't think she wanted to die. I think her trying to kill herself was just her way of regaining control...she felt powerless after what Steve did to her."

"Do you see yourself in Mackenzie, James?"

"What do you mean?"

"She had tried to hurt herself, but she ultimately decided against it, and confided in you for some reason," she responded, "do you think that she sees herself in you?"

"She compared me and Steve to her and her twin sister, so I guess so."

"And did you feel any response when she told you that."

"It made sense," I shrugged, not digging too much into it, "When we were younger, before the serum I had to watch out for Steve all the time. Everyone babied him because he was sickly.  I had to make sure that he was alright.  He was always picking fights and everything, so he was always the focus. Then after, it was like he became the golden boy. I was in a POW camp, and he saved me...but by then I had already become the Winter Soldier. So, while he was off saving the world, I was slowly destroying it. Kenzie knows what it's like to feel that burden.  She knows what it’s like to feel alone and abandoned."

"What burden are you talking about, James?"

"Never being good enough," I admitted, "she said that Dani, her sister, was the one that was always treated like the golden child even though she drank and did some pretty nasty things to herself and those around her."

"And do you think those emotions are what made you develop feelings for Mackenzie?"

"I don't have feelings for Kenzie."

"You kissed her?"

"She kissed me," I said defensively, "It's different."

"The second time," she smiled, "the two of you engaged in consensual kissing...there had to have been some emotions there, James."

"There-I-"

"It's okay to be conflicted, James," she said softly, "emotions are often difficult to try to read...especially in a situation like this one. That's why you're here. So, we can work through them together."

"But I don't have feelings for Kenzie."

"Well, you feel some sort of kinship with her," she replied, making more notes on the pad, "enough that you felt like you had to save her."

"Woah-"

"I know," she chuckled, "you don't like the 'save' word. But it's okay James. Mackenzie was in a position where she confided in you. You shared a few intimate moments with her. That kinship has developed and as of right now it seems like she's the one that has kept you grounded through all of this. She's your security blanket in this situation. And while I don't normally encourage it, I would suggest that you investigate that."

"Investigate it?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I want you to set up some time with her. I'll talk with Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner, but I want you and Mackenzie to spend some time together. Make her dinner. Ask her out on a date. Spend the night with her and watch movies. Talk to her."

"You want me to ask Mackenzie out on a date?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I want you to explore your reasons for finding security in Mackenzie."

Mira’s POV

"You're doing good kiddo," Mr. Stark smiled at me. I looked up from my research and gave him a soft smile. It was fake, but he knew that.  Our relationship had been nothing if not forced, but we were both trying to make the best of the situation. He was trying to pay me a compliment, "how's the new tech update coming?"

I gave him a short smile in response to his question. He sighed and sat down beside me, pulling a pack of blueberries from his mini fridge, "you can talk to me you know."

"Last time I talked to you, you threatened to kill my friends," I muttered, trying to focus on the sequence I was working on. He faced the package to me, and I shook my head, "I don't think we have that much to talk about, Mr. Stark."

"Well, you are good with tech," he said quickly, popping a few more blueberries into his mouth, "and that's something we can bond over. Hell, you shut down the systems from the lake house on more than one occasion without having any of the heavy hitting access codes.  That’s impressive. Caused some trouble when you were trying to protect those friends of yours."

"And look how well that turned out," I sighed, moving one of the markers into another sequence set, "one is pregnant, two hate my guts, and two are dead. I'm working some great percentages."

"Alright so 60% of them are alive."

"And that's a failing grade in my book."

“You didn’t even like the two that are dead.”

“That’s not the point, Mr. Stark.”

He chuckled, trying to make the mood in the work room lighter, and I stopped my work to look at him, "you know, kiddo, you're funny. I'm glad we hired you instead of having you as an intern. I don't talk to the interns."

"That because you're afraid of sexual harassment suits?" I asked with a smug, knowing grin. His smile faltered and his jaw twitched, "or did that stop after Pepper?"

"Every human being has their flaws, Mira," he said, hopping off of his chair, "even you. Maybe you should get off your high horse every once in a while."

"Pot and kettle." I muttered more to myself than anyone else.

"I heard that," he began as he walked up to my workstation. He slapped my hands away and slid my work over to his main station in the center of the room, "come here."

Sighing, I followed him to where the sequence was pushed out in a larger format. The holographic screen was easily double the size of mine.

"Use the big screen when working with the sequences in the code."

"I don't need the big screen."

"I don't need the big screen," he mocked. He widened a few angles and then pointed at a crack in the sequence that was further down the line, "you're focusing on the small issues, instead of the larger cracks."

"Dr. Banner asked me to get the tics out of Bucky's arm. I have to fix the smaller glitches in the code, and work down the line."

"This is robocops arm?"

I nodded, "ever since he started therapy the tics came back, Dr. Banner had the Wakandans send their blueprints and I've been working with an updated scale when he had Bucky in for tracking a few days ago."

"So, you're helping him?"

"I'm doing what Dr. Banner asks so that we don't have to close earth for a day or two."

He chuckled, "you remembered that."

"I was in the city when it happened," I acknowledged, "you guys totalled my car."

"Sorry about that," he said with a quirky smile. He leaned on the desk, "so tell me again why you can't fix the larger crack first?"

"Would you rather work down the line, and the crack get smaller because the fracture in the programming is lessened, or would you rather fix the crack, and have to backtrack down both sides as a newer problem arises."

"But you don't know a new problem will rise."

"You don't know that it won't," I replied quickly, "I'd rather do the job right the first time instead of backtrack."

"Excuse me?"

Both Mr. Stark and I turned to see a younger woman at the entrance of the lab. She was one of the interns that Bruce had hired for the spring semester.

"What is it?"

"Uhm, Miss. Daniels?" she asked, "I-Dr. Banner asked that I come get you."

"Told you I should have been there today," I laughed, looking at Mr. Stark. As I stood, he began to look at the sequence I was working on. Playfully pushing him out of the way I put my thumb on the scanner, "F.R.I.D.A.Y code lockout, override playboy. Sequence read-only, scan to unlock edit via Bunny or Hulk only."

"Read only receipt confirmed. Scan to unlock edit sequence of file by Miss. Daniels or Dr. Banner."

Tony hurriedly rushed over to the work station and tried to tap on the sequence to change it, "undo it."

"Nope," I laughed, "Banner told me that only he and I are allowed to work on it. "

"You bitch." he growled playfully.  I could see the excitement in his eyes and I shook my head, “I like you, kid.  You got fire to you.”

"Catch you later, Stark!" I sent him a wink and went with the intern. She looked nervous even being in the same area as Tony.

"How do you deal with him?"

I gave her a tight-lipped smile and she led me down the hall to Dr. Banner's lab. The shades were drawn tight.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "Dr. Banner told me to come get you and bring you down here. Then he gave all of us the rest of the day off...I guess he needed your help with something."

"Oh."

I knocked on the door, and Bruce opened it.

"Good," he smiled, letting me in, "you're here. Thank you, Kaya. That'll be all."

As I entered the lab I felt a sense of nervousness, "what's going on?"

"I need to ask a very personal favor," he admitted. He sat down on the chair and patted one that was next to him, "You know how we have the guys in therapy, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well one of the therapists have suggested that in order to get over and start making amends, he meets with you."

"Me? Why me?"

"In her words, you are the one that he hurt most in the situation," he said slowly, "Now...I won't make you do it if you don't want to. I told her that I would ask you first. But she's in my office with him right through the door."

"So, what's your question, Bruce?"

"Please," he sighed, "I've never seen him like this. Even when he came to us. Even when he was lost in this time period. He's broken, Miracle. I thought it was just some silly infatuation, but he needs you. Please go in there and hear him out."

I felt my heart in my throat as I looked at the door.

He needed me?

I frowned, thinking about the lake house.  How safe I felt with him.  How our relationship bloomed.  And how it fell apart.  I sighed, "O-okay."

He gave me a simple smile and I stood up, feeling a million different emotions. I felt anxious. Sick to my stomach. Happy.

Bucky needed me.

I took a deep breath as the door to his office opened and the therapist immediately drew my attention to herself. She was sitting off to the left with two chairs facing one another.

"Bruce?"

But as I turned back to the door, he had already closed it.

"Hello Miracle."

"Dr. Banner said-"

"Bunny!" 

Chapter 17

Tag List:  @krissy25, @lohnes16, @multifandom-world8

#avengers initiative #dark avengers #the avengers #basement wife #marvel #marvel au #bruce banner #the hulk #hulk #soft bucky #bucky #bucky barnes #james barnes #sergeant james barnes #sergeant james buchanan barnes #james buchanan bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #falcon and winter soldier #the winter soldier #winter soldier #tony stark #iron man

[pbandjesse]

I am such a good day today. Honestly I wasn't super excited about it because I felt really nervous for my workshop. And I slept better last night but I still didn't sleep great.

After I got home last night I was really tired. I got back here and got showered and changed and me and James were getting ready for bed. I was doing my skin care routine when James gets a phone call. Angie had locked her keys in the museum and she couldn't get home because her keys were in the museum. And so she apparently called a couple other people and no one was picking up. So we were her last option. And so of course me and James put on slippers and we headed out to save her.

And it didn't take long. It only takes about 10 minutes each way. Give or take. And she was so excited to see us. Very soon we were home.

We both got woken up a bunch last night though. It would get really hot at one point. And then too cold. I was very nauseous. We were just going through it.

But this morning I woke up and everything wasn't so bad. I had put everything together for my workshop already and James took everything down to the car. I didn't want them to take it all down to the car because they're really not supposed to be holding heavy things. But they did it anyway. And soon we were off to the museum.

I was really glad to have the extra time to set up. I did add a couple more pages to my slideshow and James printed them out for me. Then I had to go on a hunt throughout the museum to find a stapler that actually worked. And I set up the table and I felt really good about everything. The only thing I couldn't find was a seam ripper. I didn't think to bring one and it would have been nice to have. But we made it work.

Annie would come around 9:00 and make sure I was set up. And really it's nice to have her there is a little intro for me but she didn't need to bring her whole family in it was okay. I feel bad that she does it but I still really appreciate it

I'm very slowly my people started coming in. All in all I ended up with seven. And shockingly only one of those seven was a child. The first three people that showed up were a family. But their daughter was an adult. And they were so lovely. Dad was really into bears. Apparently their whole house is filled with antique ones and fun ones and they were really excited to learn. The mom already knew how to sell but had never made a teddy bear before. And they jumped right in to looking at the fabric. I had laid all the fabric on the table and also cut out one pair of each fabric just in case someone didn't feel comfortable cutting things out. Annie said that she was surprised by that because she thought that cutting the fabric would be part of the journey. But in my experience people sometimes get very intimidated by that so instead I gave them the option.

And a few people did choose to cut out their own. The dad in the daughter in the first group that came in decided to choose ones that were already cut so I was able to get them started right away. I had pre-thread a bunch of needles and that made things very easy for everyone as well.

We also had one single woman who came in who wanted to learn to sew because she teaches special ed to adults. And then a couple who I think might have been on a first or second date. Which I love when that happens. They were very cute. He's apparently working on a PhD or just dropped out of his PhD because he got to the Masters level and that's all he wanted anyway. And she was really nice too and seemed very very smart. And then someone walked up to buy a ticket for their daughter. Who I think was younger than 10, she might have been like six or seven. But she was very very much a good listener. She was scared of the sewing machine but she was very good all in all. And the dad was a very big help. Honestly I would have let him make a bear too if he asked but he didn't so we focused on her bear.

The whole program took about an hour and a half. Which was very good time. I had had said that it could be two to two and a half hours just in case. But we didn't eat all that time. Stanley had helped me set up chairs and two tables so I can have the sewing machines. And what I would do would be once someone has their fabric cut out and pinned we would use one length of thread to sew a whip stitch as far as they could with that one left. And then I would move them to the sewing machine have them have their hands on the fabric while I control the pedal and then after a few inches they would take over the pedal as well. And we didn't have any sewing machine issues at all. The worst we had was one a thread tour. But the grape sewing machine I have does that all the time so it really wasn't that surprising.

And because of the layout some people were cutting some people were hand sewing some people were machine sewing almost no one was waiting at any given time. And I was just so happy. It was a lot. I was running around constantly. But I was giving everyone lots of encouragement and everyone seemed pretty comfortable. And I had some really nice chats and was just really having a really fun day.

Slowly though everyone finished and I helped them put eyeballs in which always looks a little violent because we're using an awe to stab through your bear's face but they looked so cute. And then once everyone stuffed them I taught them all how to do a ladder stitch.

So they would leave with a whip stitch, some sewing machine, and the ladder stitch as a skill. And they all did a great job. And I really hope that we can run this workshop again because everyone was really excited. I think one of the problems is just doing workshops near a holiday. The one that we did near Easter didn't work out and the one we did near Christmas last year didn't work out. But I think if we do this again it would for sure be a good time.

The family that had come in first stayed the longest. And help me clean up because they were very sweet. And we talked for a little while about other things. The dad apparently is a potter and asked about selling at the farmers market. So I told him how he could apply. And maybe I'll see him again in the spring.

Once I was cleaned up I went up to the front desk to see James. And then I told them I would be back in a few hours for them. I was going to clean the apartment. I was very determined.

On my drive back here a homeless couple that's always at the edge of Martin Luther King boulevard got really excited about my mole cars that I have in my window. The guy got all excited was pointing and I rolled down my window to show her what they look like. And when I got home I put one that I have extra in my purse because next time I see them I'm going to give it to her. She told me that when her life was different, when it was better. When she was a kid. She made a stop motion animation at avam. And I really think that even though I don't have anything else to give her this little thing might make her happy. And making her happy would make me happy.

I got home and brought everything upstairs. Mr will stop me at the door and he helped me bring the sewing machines up. And Tina and her sister were here as well. Her sister was a lot younger than I was anticipating but she was really nice. We talked about James and Christmas and just how things were going. And then I came upstairs and had a snack and got to work organizing and cleaning the apartment. It's not perfect. But I got a lot done. Spray down the tub and vacuumed and did some dusting. I put a bunch of paperwork away. And all of the materials for the program today I got put away in their homes. I also moved all of the stuff that we're getting rid of into the hallway so that it at least it'll be by the door and ready to go down to the car when I'm ready to take it to the first store or wherever I'm taking it.

And it was just a really nice afternoon. I didn't really work on anything else. I'm still a week behind on my knitting and I hope to do a lot of that tomorrow. But it was just a nice way to spend the day.

Eventually I would lay down because my back hurt. And soon enough it was time for me to leave to go get James.

I had to wait in the parking lot for a little while but that didn't bother me. Once James came out we decided we would go over to Jimmy John's and get sandwiches for dinner. And that is always very quick. So we got our sandwiches and went right home.

When we got back here we went upstairs and we ate and then we realized that the Christmas cards we ordered had come so we packed those in the envelopes. James has to put the addresses on them but I wrote all of the names. And we chilled until it was time for James to go out to go to the theater.

That's where they are now and I'm waiting to hear if they want me to pick them up or not. But while they've been gone I have been resting. And I went through all of the Christmas presents that I have. I wrapped some. I made some notes about things I need to fill in. Places that I think I can do better. And was just feeling really good.

I took a bath and watched a short documentary. And I washed my hair. And now I think I'm going to go dry it and wait for James to let me know if they need me to come get them. Sweetp is laying on me right now because he likes hearing my voice. And that's really one of the nicest things about doing talk to text. Sweetp just really like listening to me and back in the day I used to talk to him a lot more I think. I love him so much. He is a very good boy even when he is being a bastard.

I have the next couple days off. Tomorrow I don't have to do anything. When James is done work we're going to go to the gift shop at avam to buy stuff for presents. And then Monday and Tuesday James has doctor's appointments. And we also have the holiday party on Monday. Tomorrow I think when I wake up I'm going to go to the grocery store and get stuff to make my special dessert for the holiday party. But it might just be a test run. I also want to make more thumb print cookies because our jam Advent calendar has been great. But we have so much jams now. And I need to use it for something.

So I hope you all have a great night tonight and sleep better than I have been. Let's hope that the heat stays at an even temperature and not up and down all night long. Until tomorrow everyone.

[havethetimeofyourstyles]

in which you’re harry’s assistant and harry needs to open his eyes.

a/n: ASSISANT!YN has finally arrived! this took me three weeks and a half to write, so please enjoy and kindly rb with feedback! i’ve had this concept in mind for SO long, and i’m proud of it! this is also inspired by my love for the barcelona pic, pictured on the left, that I think about on the daily along with some thoughts in a dressing room! also picture on the right at the final show is an aspect in the story as well!

also big thank you to my bestie @stylesloveclub for screaming and hyping this up for me while I rave about it, ily!

enjoy a long slowburn of 26.3k words of a friends to lovers fic that’s filled with angst and some smut! genuinely be ready for the angst hehe

COME INTO MY INBOX AND LETS TALKING ABOUT WANT YOU HERE! i’d love to know your thoughts and feedback!

pls rb to share! <3

16 December 2017

The smell of fresh flowers brought allergies to your senses as you shuffled and continuously rubbed your nose with a tissue. 

You were at the flower shop with two bouquets in your hands as you debated which bundle to get. You were given specific instructions to find a bouquet that’s full and big with the color white being the dominant color of the bouquet, and your options were a white orchid bunch, which weren’t your personal favorite, but it was one of the white bouquets, and your other option was a white lilac bouquet with a couple of white roses and baby’s breath around the large lilacs. 

“Do you need help choosing a bouquet?” The lady that was named Vicky asked. She had an expression of curiosity as she was probably wondering if you were going to buy anything since you’ve been standing in the corner for quite some time as you tried choosing which bouquet to get. 

“Oh, no. Thank you,” you replied back with a smile, and she nodded her head, walking away to help another customer, but you knew she was going to be back to ask you again in the next ten minutes if you don’t make your mind up right now. 

After another three minutes of deciding, you opted for the white lilac bouquet, and headed to the cashier. You gave the employee your number for rewards since you were at the flower shop quite a lot that you’ve managed to rack up some points in order to get a free bouquet. Once you paid and were on your way, your phone rang in your purse. Struggling to reach for it as you were holding the big bouquet and a few shopping bags, you moved to the side to set your paper bags down on the ground, and quickly grabbed your phone so it won’t go to voicemail. 

“Hey,” you answered cheerfully, knowing exactly who it was. 

“Hi there. Where are you?” The voice from the other end asked. 

“I just left the flower shop—should be there soon.” 

“Okay, perfect. Thank you for everything.” 

“Harry, you don’t need to thank me every single time,” you chuckled. “I’m your assistant. It’s my job.” 

“I know, I know. It’s just…I’m grateful for what you do,” he said thankfully. 

“I know, and I’m grateful for having this job and working for you. So, thank you also.” 

“Look who’s saying thank you now,” he joked, and you laughed. “But I’ll see you soon. Walk back safely, please,” he said, bidding you goodbye. 

“Always do. See you,” you hung up the phone, picking up the shopping bags, and walking towards Harry’s place. 

You’ve been Harry’s assistant for quite some time now; exactly two years. You started working for him when you were both twenty one, and he had just gone separate ways from the band. Harry was in the midst of writing his very first album and planning his first world tour as a solo artist in smaller theatre venues, and desperately needed an assistant to do some basic errands and remind him of his scheduling. Luckily as Glenne’s friend, you were in need of a job. You were fresh out of college as you had your bachelor’s in public relations, and being friends with someone who’s boyfriend is in the industry has its perks. 

Glenne had immediately recommended you once Jeff mentioned that Harry was looking for an assistant, and since Jeff had met you a handful of times, he told Glenne to call you in for an interview, but somewhat knowing that he was going to hire you already since Harry desperately needed one and you were a friend. 

When you walked into the interview, you were greeted by Jeff and Harry. That was your first time meeting Harry, and you were quite shocked that he was a real person. Of course you were a fan of him, and you were still surprised whenever Glenne talked about him, but when you saw him for the first time, you immediately thought that he was more gorgeous in reality. 

“So nice to meet you,” Harry said, shaking your ring filled hand. The coolness of his metal rings met your shaky hands, and sparks had immediately shocked your body. 

“Great to meet you too. I love your shirt,” you complimented. He was wearing a bright blue button down shirt with a cherry blossom print on it with a white t-shirt underneath along with some black skinny jeans and brown boots. 

“Thank you. Your trousers are very nice,” he said back, looking down at your pants. You were wearing burnt orange corduroy pants with a white semi turtleneck blouse with a pussybow tie on it, along with some black booties. “Actually, I love your whole outfit,” he added, and you chuckled, trying to hide your blush. 

Never in a million years would you have thought you would meet Harry, let alone Harry complimenting your entire outfit. You’re really living the dream. 

The interview went extremely well and only lasted about thirty minutes. The first ten minutes were some generic interview questions because they still had to keep it professional, but the last twenty minutes consisted of asking about your interests and simply getting to know you because you would spend most of your time with Harry. 

At the end of the interview, it was quite obvious Jeff and Harry knew they wanted to hire you. They loved your personality and how you made jokes, especially how you laughed at Harry’s jokes, which he thought was a very important aspect of being his assistant. 

Jeff exited the room, telling you he would be right back, but really he went into his office to grab some paperwork for you to sign. That left you and Harry in the conference room alone as you made conversation with him about university. You also told him that you were a fan of his, which you thought was a mistake to tell him because you’re sure he doesn’t want a crazy fan to be his assistant and practically have access to his personal life, but he said gratefully said thank you, and asking if you had a favorite song off new released album. Your favorites off his album were ‘Only Angel’ and ‘From the Dining Table.’ 

“Good picks,” he teased. 

“I would hope they’re good picks. It is your album,” you teased back, making him laugh, and he thought that it was a great choice making you his assistant. 

Once Jeff was back, he opened a folder, taking out various paperwork before Harry broke the news and told you that he’d love for you to be his assistant. You hadn’t expected to be hired on the spot, or be hired in general, but there you were, reading over the contracts and signing your name at the bottom of the last page along with the date. Jeff and Harry both shook your hands, telling you that they were excited for you to be along with the ride, and you told them that you were excited as well. 

You had thanked Glenne a million times for getting you an interview, and till this day, you always made sure to thank her because one mention of your name had gotten you an opportunity and a well paying job that you actually really loved. 

Harry also made the job bearable; not truly treating you as only an assistant, but rather a friend who helps a lot. Throughout the years of knowing each other, you and Harry had grown quite close. With always being around him, it was like hanging out with him, and you were thankful for that because you were sure no other job would feel like this. Harry also doesn’t give you difficult tasks either. He just has you go on coffee runs or run to the store to grab him something, but the most work you’ve had to do for him was to call several people on his guest list for a party he was hosting last year or write out his whole schedule for the entirety of the year. But nothing strenuous that would leave you frustrated with him. 

He would also make sure everything that he assigns you to do is okay for you to do, and you really appreciated that, but you would do anything for that man. 

You stood in front of Harry’s door, setting your bags down onto the floor before you reached into your purse to grab your keys where a spare key to Harry’s place hung on the metal ring. Before your hand could even find them, the door swung open revealing Harry smiling at you, looking impeccably sharp in his suit, which caused your heart to flutter. 

“Ah, thought I heard you. Here, let me help you,” he grabbed the shopping bags from the ground and the flowers from your hands, leaving you empty handed as you followed behind him into his home. “Thank you for getting these. I’ve just been so busy lately,” he thanked once again as he did on the phone. 

“Yeah, I know. Afterall, I am your assistant,” you teased, and he laughed as he studied the bouquet. 

“This is a lovely bouquet. Good pick,” he said, and your mind immediately goes back to when he said that to you for the first time at your interview. He said it quite often as you ultimately always make the decisions when he asks you to go out and grab something for him. 

“I thought so too. Also,” you opened one of the shopping bags, taking out the garment bag before unzipping the entire thing, “I got the exact dress you asked for, and get this: it was the last one in her size. Lucky man, you are, Harry Styles,” you handed him the Yves Saint Laurent black dress so he could get a better look at it, and he held it up, smiling. 

“It’s perfect. Thank you so much, angel,” he said, and you slightly blushed from the pet name that you would never get used to. 

Harry started calling you ‘angel’ when you were two months into working for him. With all the work you do for him, the pet name had slipped out, but it stuck once he kept calling you that. You loved it--a lot, and you hoped that one day, he wouldn’t forget to call you that because you would miss the simple name coming out of his mouth very much. Plus, it was fitting because your favorite song of his is ‘Only Angel.’

“Are you excited for tonight?” You asked. 

“Yeah, I am. It’s been a while since I’ve properly taken her out on a date, so I’m stoked for it. Pretty sure she is too.” Harry had a busy schedule. With being involved in interviews and promo for his upcoming tour, he was a busy man, which you knew of course. But it had affected his personal life greatly. 

“Well, I’m happy if you are. I hope she loves the dress,” you said painfully. 

“She will. She’s been talking about it for a while now. I just hope she didn’t go buying it without telling me because that would be really awkward once I tell her to go change into this,” he chuckled softly, and you joined him, agreeing. Harry quickly checked the time on his phone as it read 6:30 p.m, and he carefully placed the dress back into the garment bag and zipped it up. He grabbed the bouquet of flowers and his wallet on the counter. “I gotta go. Gonna be late if I don’t leave now. Lock up for me if you decide not to stay, yeah?” You nodded, walking him to the door as if it were your house. “Oh!” He turned back around because he had forgotten something, and you were holding up his keys already, and he chuckled. “Thanks again. You’re a lifesaver. Don’t know what I’d do without you,” he leaned in to give you a brief kiss to your cheek, which he has done often, and you waved at him. 

“Have fun tonight! Call me if you need anything,” you called out from his front door and he waved the flowers as a sign of goodbye before getting into his car. You watched him reverse out of his driveway and drive off to his girlfriend’s house. 

With a sigh, you closed the door, looking around at what needs to be done. Harry’s place was relatively clean. He just had some things laying around on random surfaces, and you think that was probably because he was in a hurry, so he just placed them on the nearest surface. If Harry were here, he would probably tell you that cleaning up his own mess was so unnecessary and that he doesn’t expect you to, but you know that he’s grateful you’re doing it anyways. 

You were silent as you tidied up his house, putting things back in his closet, and washing the bowl of yogurt and fruit he eats in the morning. It was an unnerving silence, and you just wanted to make any kind of noise just to fill the quietness that was slowly eating you away. You grabbed one of his shirts off the ground that slipped off the hanger, and you brought it up to your nose. His scent filling your senses as you closed your eyes, taking his smell in. You inhaled enough to practically take away his entire scent that was left on his shirt to fill the satisfaction in your body as you pretended he was close. 

As you did that, you uncontrollably sobbed into the material, letting out a heartbroken cry as you covered your face with his shirt. You slowly sank down to the floor, completely sitting down on the cold tiles. The sudden outbreak of your cries weren’t new; they had made their appearance when he left for dates or after he was done talking about someone he liked. When you would go out to the store and grab things he wants gifted. When he would call you angel while he was with the devil who was keeping you two apart. 

Once you calmed down a bit, you thought about how hugging his shirt was the closest you would get to him as you wished you were the lucky person he would be greeting them with his presence and a pretty batch of flowers, but he doesn’t even know your favorite flower.

It was the next day, and you woke up in the comfort of your own bed. 

You had taken an Uber home around ten p.m the night prior as you figured Harry was still on his date and perhaps wouldn’t be coming home till later. So, after watching a movie on his couch and having dinner, you turned off all of the lights and locked up as you headed to your place for what you hope is a relaxing night. 

A weird feeling had taken over you as you got ready for bed and it felt strange. You knew you weren’t yourself, and you hated that. The outburst of your crying was long forgotten as you climbed into bed and slept the day away. 

Once you had woken up from your deep slumber, your charged phone was ringing with your text tone. Groaning, you stretched your body from the tenseness from your sleep before you reached for your phone, unplugging the charger. You rubbed your eyes and blinked a bit as the brightness of your phone was straining to your vision. When your sight had cleared up, you were greeted with various messages from Jeff, asking if you had heard from Harry or if you’ve seen him. Going to Harry’s message, you hadn’t received anything, so you texted Jeff back and told him that he hadn’t contacted you and the last time you saw him was last night. Jeff immediately texted back, asking you if you could kindly go to his place and check if he was there, and you instantly said yes, a bit worried as Jeff seemed to be worried as well. 

You got out of bed for the day, not wanting to leave, but knowing you had responsibilities, you got ready for the day, doing your normal hygienic routine.

 It was Sunday, and usually on Sundays, you didn’t have much work to do since it was Harry’s day off as well. That is, if it’s not on tour, he gets a nice little day to himself. So, you chose a comfy outfit—one where you wouldn’t sweat so much as you walked to Harry’s house in the summer heat. You opted for a big t-shirt and pairing it with black biker shorts, and some sneakers. With one last look in the mirror, you were out the door and headed to Harry’s house. 

The day was beautiful as the sun was out and the sky was blue. Rarely any clouds to overcast the sun, and there was a slight breeze in the air, making the walk more bearable so you wouldn’t sweat all that much. 

Once you got to Harry’s house, fortunately, it wasn’t that far of a walk from where you live, you unlocked the door and walked in. 

“Harry?” You called out, looking around the living area. His shoes that he normally wears out are by the couch, so he should be somewhere. He might still be asleep, you think. You walk up the stairs to his room, knocking lightly before entering. And what you saw was something you wanted to erase from your memory forever. “Oh, fuck! Sorry!” You immediately slammed the door as you stood still outside of his room, in disbelief of what you just saw. 

You had just witnessed Brooke giving Harry head. They were both obviously naked, and her actions were on full display too because the bed faced the door and Brooke was on the side of Harry rather than in front of him as she had his dick down her throat, and of course, Harry had his head back, simply enjoying it because what guy wouldn’t. 

You heard shuffling through the door, and that took you out of your spaced out mind; quickly walked down the stairs and to the kitchen, grabbing yourself a glass of water, feeling yourself get flustered from how bare Harry was in front of you. 

“God, does she ever learn how to fucking knock?” You heard Brooke faintly say as they both walked down the stairs, most likely thinking you didn’t hear, but you definitely did as her voice echoed throughout the whole fucking house. “Hey, girl,” she smiled once they both made it to the kitchen, and it was the fakest smile you’ve ever seen. No wonder she’s a good actress, you think. 

“Hi,” you said back, sipping your glass of water as you avoided eye contact with Harry. 

“Hi. What are you doing here? Do I have to be somewhere today?” He greeted, but immediately asked questions as if you were invading his privacy and day off. You looked at him very briefly, but remained your sight on his marble counter. 

“Uh, no. Jeff told me to come here and check on you; said that he hadn’t heard from you, so he was worried,” you explained, glancing up and Harry nodded. 

“Oh, okay. The last time I talked to him was before I left, but I hadn’t checked my phone since. Was it anything urgent?” You shook your head, realizing Jeff never really explained why he needed Harry, but you brushed it off. 

“He bought me this lovely bouquet of flowers and a pretty dress for dinner!” Yeah, I know. I was the one who got them, you thought. “Then he took me out on a boat ride, and we came back here-”

“Spare me the details? I already know all of this. I am his assistant afterall,” you said in a not so friendly tone, interrupting her and not wanting to know the details of what happens in his bedroom that entails Brooke. Usually, you weren’t so harsh to anyone, but you had a reason to be a bit stern with Brooke because she bites back. Unfortunately for her, you bite back even harder. 

Harry and Brooke have been dating for what seems like forever, but it’s really only been about six months. You tried being nice to her--you really tried, giving her your patience, but every time you see her, she would act cold towards you. Of course not in front of Harry because he thinks she’s an absolute saint, but she was the complete opposite of that. She was the devil and you were the angel. But of course, Harry doesn’t see that. 

Brooke gives you a harsh look, rolling her eyes a bit as Harry grabbed a glass of water for both of them. She turns to him, giving him a big smile before reaching up to kiss his lips, knowing exactly what she was doing in front of you. She then took a sip of her water, hugging Harry before she said, “I gotta go. Have a meeting at ten. I’ll call you?” Harry nodded, walking her to the front door, giving her one last kiss before she was off and Harry shut the door. You scoffed to yourself as you watched them, rolling your eyes in a way to attempt to hide your pain. 

Harry walked back to the kitchen, leaning on the counter, matching your stance. 

“I’m sorry you had to walk in on us-”

“Harry, it’s fine. I should’ve waited before I knocked,” you tried to get rid of the thought of seeing Brooke’s mouth on Harry. That was the first time you’ve walked in on him like that--fully bare on the bed while in action. Brooke was probably his first serious girlfriend in years, but he’s had some one night stands here and there, which he called you in the morning to pick him up. It wasn’t your preferred task to do because of the pain you would always feel when you would see him walk out of the house he just slept in, but then again, he is your boss. 

It was a bit quiet between you two, and Harry thinks that it’s because you practically saw his dick on full display. Partially it was for that reason, but it was also the way Brooke would treat you almost every time she sees you. Harry thinks back to when Brooke was in the house, and he could practically feel the anger from you when she was there. 

“You know, you could be a little nicer to her,” he stated, recalling what you said to Brooke and how you said it. 

“Well, she could be nicer to me in general,” you raised your brows, waiting for what he has to say about that. 

“She is nice to you. She always talks about wanting to invite you places, but she comes back sad because you’re always so quick to turn her down.”

“Brooke has never invited me anywhere. In fact, she’s never said a word to me unless you were there,” Except for that time a couple of months ago when you two had a little chat that ended up with you in tears at the end of the night. You laughed as you were in disbelief that she would actually lie to Harry that she actually wanted to be friends with you. 

“What? No. She’s always talking about wanting to get to know you more, but you just shut her down,” Harry’s brows furrowed, and you laughed even more. “W-What’s so funny?”

“Harry, you would know if she would have talked to me because I would’ve told you, but your girlfriend has never mentioned anything other than…” you trailed off as you stopped laughing, not wanting to overstep or overshare some of things that Brooke has really said to you. 

“Other than what?” He noticed that you cut yourself off. 

“Maybe ask her if you wanna know. I gotta get going,” you said, brushing it off as if it didn’t matter to you as you avoided his suspicious eyes while you headed for the door. “Make sure to call Jeff too. Oh, uh,” you turned around to find him following you to the front door, “Did you need me to do anything for you while I’m here?” You asked, still knowing that he was your boss. 

“Oh, hmm, no. Don’t think so. Enjoy your day,” he said, and you got off of his doorstep.

“Bye, H-,” you were interrupted by the sound of his door closing. You raised your brows in confusion as Harry never really interrupted you, especially not like that. He would usually wait for you to get in your car and pull out of the driveway, but he didn’t even wait for you whatsoever. 

You tried not to make it a big deal because you figured he was frustrated and probably a bit pissed that you weren’t so nice to Brooke, but how could you cover up her lie like that especially if she was so mean to you? You grew some thick skin when you first started working for Harry, and that meant that you learned how to stand up for yourself no matter who is talking to you, not even Harry’s girlfriend. 

You groaned; on the topic of Harry’s girlfriend: how could he possibly think she’s a nice person? She put up such an act in front of him, and whenever he’s not around, that act is the complete opposite. 

When will he realize what’s right in front of him? That’s been right in front of him for years now. You were tired of meeting his new love interests and picking him up from other people’s houses when he could be at yours without worrying about going anywhere or leaving because the morning would be spent cuddling and making breakfast together. Oh, how you envied the people he got to hold onto tight and freely kiss as you wished for those lips to land on you as he called you angel. 

The thought was driving you insane because you wouldn’t dare tell him whatsoever. Afterall, he was your boss and it would be awkward if he didn’t feel the same way. But you think he would never see you in that way, so you keep your mouth shut and hold your heart close as you just go with the flow despite the pain you feel. 

20 December 2017

Harry was laying on his back breathless as Brooke collapsed right next to him, deeply sighing as she tried catching her breath. 

“How does it get better every single time?” She giggled as she was in a post orgasmic state. She shifted so she was laying into Harry’s side, cuddling him as he wrapped his arm around her. He smiled, kissing the top of her head. Brooke’s hand roamed his chest as it was her way of showing that she would like to go for another round. 

She started kissing his chest and his neck, and Harry wasn’t opposed to the idea, but the sound of his phone vibrating on his bedside table had killed the mood. 

“Don’t answer it, please. Want you again,” she sat up slightly and buried her head more into his neck as she kissed and sucked his skin. He was so close to listening to her, trying to block out the sound of his phone, but as it kept vibrating, he realized he couldn’t ignore it. 

“M’sorry,” he sat up causing Brooke to pull away as she groaned, laying on her side of the bed. Harry picked up his phone and Brooke had a little peek at who was texting him. He had changed your contact name from your name to your nickname ever since he started calling you ‘angel,’ and it’s been the same ever since. He loved it; it added a little flare and he would always smile when he sees your contact name pop up on his phone. 

“Does she always have to make an appearance at the worst times? Or in general?” She asked, but the last part was definitely muttered under her breath as Harry was too focused on reading your texts. Harry had sent out a text  a few hours after you left on Sunday, saying that he was sorry for being rude and practically slamming the door on you. You had texted back saying that it was okay, and that you were sorry for being rude to him too. There were no rude remarks towards him, but your tone had said otherwise, and you knew that you could’ve handled that conversation better. 

My Angel: Hi, H. I was wondering if you wanted to do some suit fittings before you leave to go back home or after? Let me know so I can tell Lambert and Harris. 

“Sorry. She’s just wondering if I’m available to do some suit fittings for the upcoming tour,” he said to Brooke before texting you back. 

H: Preferably after the holidays. We’ll do it right at the beginning of January. 

“Isn’t she your assistant? Why doesn’t she just schedule it already?” She asked cluelessly. 

It wasn’t like Brooke was stupid. No, she was smart. But there were some things that didn't click for her, which makes Harry and anyone have to explain things twice. She would usually have her assistant do everything for her without confirmation, and Brooke would just go with it.

“Well, I still have to approve of it, love. Can’t just book me without me knowing,” he chuckled slightly. 

My Angel: Okay, perfect. I scheduled the fitting for January 4th. That’s okay right? I know you’ll be back before New Years, so I just wanna make sure. 

He always loved how you were so cautious about everything. Sure, he wanted you to let loose sometimes and not take everything so seriously, but you two were a perfect team because you need to keep him in check sometimes, but you did let loose and have fun off the clock. 

H: Yeah, should be good. Thank you, angel. xx

My Angel: That’s what I’m here for! You don’t have anything scheduled for tomorrow before you leave. Do you wanna get some coffee before your flight? Say at 8?

He smiled down at your text. Brooke noticed, which made her furrow her eyebrows in confusion, so she started rubbing his back and his stomach as she tried getting a look at his text messages. Once she saw a bit of it, she climbed on Harry’s lap. 

“Do you want to get lunch tomorrow before you leave? I’m gonna miss you,” she pouted slightly, and Harry had only glanced up at her very briefly before looking back down at his phone as he was in the middle of responding to your question. 

H: Sure! That’d be great. The usual spot?

My Angel: Yes, the usual :) see you then, H! 

He grinned before locking his phone and placing it back on the bedside table. He looked up at Brooke who was impatiently waiting for him to give her attention as she had her arms crossed. 

“Well?” 

“Oh, sorry I’m actually getting coffee with Y/N,” he frowned slightly, somewhat feeling bad rejecting her offer. 

“You don’t wanna see me before you leave?” She asked in an annoyed tone, getting off his lap to sit beside him on the bed. 

“W-What?” He said in disbelief. “You’ve been sleeping over since Saturday. That’s why we planned for you to stay here until I leave right?” He stated obviously. They clearly talked about her sleeping over after their date on Saturday until he leaves to go back home for the holidays. So, he’s wondering if she’s missed something or she’s just acting like this to get a rise out of him. 

“You think four days is enough? You’re gonna be gone for two weeks until I have to see you again, and you would rather spend your time-” 

“Four days is a really long time! And I’m seeing you for New Years. I don’t understand where this is coming from,” Harry got off the bed and pulled on his boxers. 

“I’m just saying…she’s already your assistant. Why do you have to spend so much time with her?” Brooke asked as she got under the covers as she watched Harry pull on his sweatpants. 

“She’s also my best friend. Where is all of this coming from? Are you jealous or what?” She scoffed, rolling her eyes, and Harry furrowed his brows. 

“Please. Like I could ever be jealous of her. All I’m saying is that I just want to spend all the time I can get before you leave, or I can go with you back home…” she suggested, and Harry perked up. 

“What? You want to come with me?” She nodded eagerly as she smiled. 

“Yeah, why not? We can spend the holidays together, and it’ll be fun. What do you say?” She crawled over to the edge of the bed where Harry was standing, and she sat on her knees as she looked up. 

They’ve been dating for six months, and Harry hadn’t introduced her to his family. It wasn’t like he didn’t like her or he was embarrassed that he’s dating her, but that was a really big commitment that needed a lot of thought put into it. Meeting the family is just a big step for him, and although his family has met his previous partners, that was when they were still friends and not together. But with Brooke, it all happened so fast that his family had never met her when they were friends or hooking up. They obviously know he’s dating someone, but to bring them home? Especially on Christmas? He wasn’t ready for that. 

“Maybe some other time. I’ll talk to them to see if they want to come over here for my birthday or something,” he rejected her suggestion. Home was just something so vulnerable to him that he wouldn’t just bring anyone. 

Brooke sighed deeply, “Okay, I’ll hold you to that,” she said, impatient that she hasn’t met his family yet, but he’s met hers. “How about I come with you tomorrow morning to get coffee?” She looked at him as she pleaded with her eyes. 

He knew that you wanted to spend time with him before the holidays and he wanted to as well. But Brooke obviously wanted to see you as much as possible now that he’s denied her suggestion of coming home with him, but she had been sleeping over for the past four days, which Harry thinks is enough time. 

“I’m sorry, but no,” he said as it came out more like a question as he didn’t want to seem rude by saying no to her. Throughout the months of dating Brooke, he learned that she hates when people say no. Obviously, it’s fine when he says no to sex, but he could tell that it really frustrates her. “I haven’t seen her in a few days because I’ve been with you the whole time, so I think it’ll be good to catch up with her before I leave,” he smiled lightly, trying to make light of the room. 

“Sure. Have fun,” she said sarcastically before heading to the restroom. 

Harry sighed, grabbing his duffel bag from the closet before he started packing. He was simply just excited to see you tomorrow and his family over the holidays. 

21 December 2017

You waved over at Harry once you saw him standing at the entrance of the coffee shop. Harry walked over to you with a beaming grin as he looked incredibly handsome. He wore black circular sunglasses that sat on his nose, a blue hawaiian shirt with a gray t-shirt underneath as a brown coat was thrown over his body. He wore his famous black skinny jeans and his famous brown Yves Saint Laurent boots that you know he has a whole collection of. His hair looked amazing as he recently cut it a week ago, and it’s starting to grow out a bit as the ends of his hair started to curl. 

As he was close enough, you snapped yourself out of your trance of checking him out before you stood up, giving each other a hug and a cheek to cheek kiss. 

“How are you, angel?” He asked, taking his coat off before taking a seat, and setting his coat down on the chair next to him. 

“I’m good. I hope you don’t mind, but I went ahead and ordered for us. Should be out soon.” You had gotten Harry an iced black coffee, and despite the weather, he was always up for an iced beverage, especially when it came to his coffee; and you had ordered him a coffee cake--the coffee house’s specialty. 

“Of course not. Thank you. So, you’re going back home right?” He asked, placing his arms on the table. Right as he asked, the drinks and food had arrived and you waited for the barista to leave before you answered. 

“I might,” you said, taking a sip from the coffee mug. 

“What do you mean you might? Told me that you were going,” he furrowed his brows in confusion because you two had just had this conversation the other week, and you were excited to go back home. 

Home was in Oregon for you, and you moved out when you were eighteen to go to school in New York. It had always been your dream of moving to the big city, and although you loved Oregon, New York had made space for you to have a home as well. 

“I mean, I was. But you know how I’m saving to buy a house right? Well, flights are expensive, especially when it’s around this time,” you explained. 

“I can always-” 

“No, no. Before you go saying that you’re going to buy me a ticket, don’t even waste your breath because I’m not taking it,” you shook your head, and Harry chuckled. 

“C’mon, please? I know how excited you were to go back home. Don’t want you to be alone during the holidays,” he pouted as he cut into his coffee cake. 

“I told mom the situation, so they might come here for a change, but not definite yet--was just a suggestion. But honestly, I don’t think they will because it might be too late and all that, y’know how they are,” you chuckled, knowing how late your family will be if things happen last minute. “Don’t worry though. Glenne asked if I could take care of Penny, and I said yes if I’m not going home,” you said, smiling at the thought of the shih tzu that Glenne and Jeff own. 

“I mean, you can always come home with me,” he put it out there, and your eyes perked up. 

“W-What? No. I can’t do that.”

“Why not? It’s not like I would be buying you a plane ticket either. We’ll be using the jet,” he smiled lightly as if there were no meaning behind his words. 

“God, you just don’t know how rich you are--saying shit about your own fucking jet,” you teased, and he laughed loudly. 

“But really. Think about it. Mum would love to see you again and I know Gems has so much to catch you up on,” he said, taking a sip from his straw. 

You had met Anne and Gemma several times as they often visited sometimes or you would fly home with Harry and hang out with them while he’s working. They were a lovely family, if not, your second family, you would say. They were the kindest people you’ve ever met, and you’re so grateful that Harry was raised by great people surrounding him. 

“Really, H. Thank you, but I’m going to pass that up. I’ll probably just suck it up and buy a plane ticket,” you scoffed slightly at your indecisiveness. 

“Alright. Well, if you change your mind, which you have practically a day to figure it out, let me know and I’ll see what I could do with the jet going back here,” he said with a smile, wanting you to have choices rather than being stuck at home all alone during the holidays. 

“Thank you, Harry. I appreciate it.” 

The rest of the hours spent at the coffee spot was filled with conversation and laughter. Luckily, Brooke wasn’t one of the topics during your time together, and you were glad for it. Harry was also happy you didn’t mention Brooke either because he just wanted his mind to rest during his vacation, and not to say that he doesn’t like her, but it can be a bit stressful to communicate things with sometimes. 

“Oh, you have to head to the airport already,” you said, looking at your phone and realizing that he has about two hours to head to the airport. “Do you have everything packed?” You asked as you two stood up from your seats and put your coats on. Harry put on his sunglasses, hopefully a way to avoid the curious eye of the public. Luckily when you two were having coffee, no one approached him, but there were some looks made towards you two, but none of them walked up to the table. 

“Yeah, you have my shirts right?” 

“Yup. They’re in my car.” Once you two made it outside, you were parked on the curb and Harry’s car was about three cars behind you. You took Harry’s shirts out from the backseat that were folded very nicely and ironed. You had borrowed a couple of shirts from him when you would sleepover and had forgotten to give them back to him, but Harry said it was fine for you to keep until he needed them. “Alright, here you go. Don’t need anything else before you leave right?” 

“Actually, if you’re not busy doing anything, do you want to drop me off at the airport? I can call ahead of time and tell them that my driver isn’t going to take me, so we have access to the back,” he said with hopeful eyes. 

“Oh okay, sure,” you smiled softly. 

“Great,” he gave you a big smile before looking down at his phone, and you assumed he was texting Kyle, his driver, that he didn’t need to pick him up anymore. “Okay, I’ll see you at my place? I just have to get my shit.” 

“Okay, race you there! Wait, no, just kidding. Really, drive safe,” you chuckled, and Harry laughed. 

You met Harry at his house which was only about ten minutes from the coffee shop. His car was already in the driveway when you had pulled up, and you just decided to wait outside by your car for him, popping open the trunk. A few minutes later, Harry came out with his duffel bag, locking the door behind him. 

He put his stuff in the trunk before hopping into the passenger seat of your car, and you were off to the airport. 

Traffic was a bit heavy, but you made it just in time for Harry to check in and get settled without having to worry if he was late or not. You had pulled into an underground garage of the airport, and got out of the car as Harry got his stuff out from the trunk. 

“Guess I’ll see you on New Years?” You stood in front of Harry behind your car. He nodded before taking you into your arms. 

“Yeah, I’ll see you then. Let me know if you’re going back home or if you decide to join us,” he said into your ear as he hugged you tightly around your waist. Your arms were looped around his shoulders, giving him a warm squeeze. 

“I will. Have a safe flight, and text me when you land,” you said back into his ear. 

“Always do.” 

Both of you pulled away, but his touch had still lingered on your arm; raking his hand slowly down your arm as he walked away, and you had wished you weren’t wearing a coat with many layers underneath just so you could feel his hand on your bare skin. 

“Don’t miss me too much,” you teased. Harry turned around and smirked; the one that made your stomach do flips. 

“You know I will. Gonna miss me too?” He asked in return. 

“Always do, H. Always do,” you blew a kiss at him, and he caught it, placing his hand on his heart before walking through the doors. 

You sighed as you got into your car before pulling out of the garage and driving back home. 

It may seem a little peculiar on how you two ask towards one another despite him having a girlfriend, but it’s always been like that between you two. It all started when you were at a party right beside Harry, and a few friends of his went up to you two and asked when you two were going to get together. At that time, your heart stopped because you had just figured out that you had feelings for him. But Harry responded with “until she lets me,” and it was meant to tease you, but it had left you in confusion. 

Since then, you two would tease each other and somewhat act like you were together, but it had died down a tad bit ever since he’s gotten a girlfriend. And although Harry is a natural charmer, you two were best friends, so there was a tad bit platonic flirting between you two. 

But you wished that he would see past the best friend line and assistant line. 

31 December 2017 

The cold air from the room had made goosebumps rise onto your skin, although it seemed warm in the room from the crowd that was gathering rather quickly while the music started becoming louder, and chatter and laughs filled the room. 

You were talking with Glenne and observing the people around you at the same time; everyone was wearing their best attire for the new year, and you were as well. You were wearing a red silk dress that hugged you just right as the material in the back dropped to your mid back, showing almost the entirety of your back. You wore nude four inch heels, feeling like the height of your shoe was enough so you weren’t completely struggling to walk throughout the night. And your makeup was sparkling with gold colored eyeshadow and a red lip. You looked hot, and you knew it. 

One of Jeff’s friends had booked a hotel room on the top floor, literally right next to the ball drop, so everyone can just look out the window rather than going outside in the freezing weather. 

It was nice to dress up after being cozied up throughout Christmas. You had decided to go back home after all, buying your plane ticket right when you got home from dropping Harry off at the airport. It was a bit pricey because of the fact that you were buying the ticket a day before the scheduled time the flight is supposed to take off, and considering that it was the holiday season as well. But you had gotten a Christmas bonus unexpectedly, and everything worked out. 

You enjoyed your time with your family and getting to spend a week with them before you had to leave for New York again for New Years. 

You also hadn’t expected to receive a gift from Harry on Christmas morning when your mom was passing gifts out. With a confused expression, you took the big box from your mom’s hands that was wrapped in red and white festive wrapping paper with a bow on it. Once you opened it, you had softly gasped when you saw the items inside; it was all of your favorite things, including some extra items Harry had picked out for himself. He had gotten you a much bigger planner, for the next year, that will help for work, and you smiled, knowing that he had remembered you talking about how much you wanted the planner so badly. The box also contained some of your favorite snacks, little Knick knacks that reminded him of you, and a velvet rectangle box that held a small diamond pendant attached to a thin gold chain. 

It was absolutely stunning, and Harry must’ve spent a lot on it, but he didn’t mind. He thought it was going to look so beautiful on you, and it made you feel special that you were wearing something so meaningful from someone that means so much to you. 

The gold chain sat perfectly on your collarbones, and you hadn’t taken it off ever since you received it; only when you showered, but you put it right back on after. 

The volume of the room had increased, and you turned your head towards the door and found Harry walking in with a bright smile on his face, and of course, Brooke right alongside him with her arm looped with his. 

They looked absolutely stunning together as they walked inside the building as they greeted everyone with big smiles. They radiated perfection and luxury as everyone’s eyes were on them as if they were a piece of art hung up high in the gallery--worthy enough to be looked at. But your eyes were placed on one person in the room, and you so wished you were right beside him instead of her. 

The couple had made their way through the crowd when Harry spotted Jeff in the corner. With Harry leading the two of them with their hands interlocked together, they greeted Jeff and Glenne before Harry let go of Brooke’s hand to give you a hug. 

“Hey, angel,” he smiled, wrapping his arms around your waist as he slightly picked you up off the ground. His hands met the exposed skin of your back and he felt goosebumps rise onto your skin as his cool metal rings touched your skin. 

“Hi, H. How are you?” You asked against his ear and he set you down on your feet before pulling away. 

“Good, good. Missed you.” 

You blushed, “Miss you too. Also, thank you again for your present, it was so thoughtful and lovely.” 

“I’m so happy you liked it. Thank you for yours as well. I love it a lot,” he beamed as he looked down at you. You had given Harry three presents. The first one being a black soft leather journal with his initials engraved in the middle and spine of the journal in gold. The second gift was a manicure set because he recently started to paint his nails, so you wanted him to have all the tools and colors he needed. The third gift was a photo album of his success (you also threw in a couple of you and him). You told him that he can look at it anytime he wants, but it’s just a reminder of how proud you are of him and how far he’s gone; and you would be adding more in the future. It had made him tear up a bit as he found the gifts to be so sweet and sentimental of you. 

“Hi, Brooke,” you greeted with a small smile, and you saw her face beam as she hugged you, but you knew that it was definitely a fake one to put up an act in front of her boyfriend. 

“How are you, girl?! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” She yelled over the loud music. 

“Good, thanks. How are you?” 

“Great! Did you see what Harry got me for Christmas?” She waved her arm out to show you the diamond bracelet that sat on her wrist. It was very beautiful, you had to admit. It was very Brooke, and you were glad Harry didn’t ask you for any help with trying to find her a Christmas present. 

“I’m gonna get another drink,” you excused yourself, not really wanting to be around her much longer as she smirked and tried to flaunt her gift in your face. But you didn’t let it get to you because you truly loved the gifts Harry had gotten you, and it made it extra special because he put so much thought into it. 

You made your way to the bar, downing the remains of your drink before asking the cute bartender for another one. 

“Having fun?” He asked with a smile as he set your drink down onto a black square napkin. 

“Sure, let’s just say that,” you chuckled sarcastically before throwing your head back to take the entire cup of alcohol down your throat. 

“Thanks,” you set the glass down before walking away. 

You wanted to go back to where Glenne was standing, but you had bumped into some friends that you had met through Jeff on your way, so you had to catch up with them and tell them everything that’s going on with you after they told you their whole life story. 

The hours to the new year went by pretty quickly. You ended up hanging out with a few friends and going outside with them to have a smoke. The alcohol and weed had eased you, and you actually had a really fun time with them. The idea of Brooke clinging onto Harry had left your mind and you loosened up, smiling and dancing along with drinking. 

There were five minutes left until midnight, and everyone was gathered next to the window that overlooked Times Square. The volume in the room was loud as everyone screamed and laughed—excited for the new year. 

You were standing next to Harry, and of course Brooke on the other side of him. Glenne and Jeff were on the left of Brooke, and both of the couples had their arms around each other as the only thing you were holding was a glass of tequila as you didn’t have anyone to celebrate the new year with. 

“Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!” Everyone chanted, and you chuckled, laughing at your loneliness when there were so many people around you. Your eyes watered up, crossing your arms as you looked at the shining lights through the window.

“Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!” The sounds of cheers and party horns erupted in the room as people took each other against their lips. 

You slightly glanced right next to you and saw Harry and Brooke kissing lovingly as she smiled into the kiss, along with Jeff and Glenne. 

You turned away, looking out at the window as you raised your glass. “Cheers,” you whispered to yourself before throwing your head back and consuming your tequila shot. 

Everyone was so consumed in one another that nobody noticed the tears streaming down your face as the loneliness you had felt physically and mentally took over. 

4 January 2018 

Harry was standing on the elevated box in front of a mirror. He was wearing a sparkly pink suit with gold lining on the seams, along with a gold shirt with a pussybow. Harry Lambert was behind up, straightening out the jacket. 

You had sat on the couch of the large private dressing room as you observed. Harry looked at you through the mirror, giving you no emotion. You smiled, but he didn’t smile back; only looking away and taking his attention on the suit. You furrowed your brow, confused as to why he was looking at you like that and so coldly. 

You stood up, walking over to him. “It looks great, H.” 

“Thanks,” he said quickly. 

“Think you can dance in it?” You teased as you smirked, trying to add some sort of lightness to see if his cold looks were accidental. 

“Pretty sure,” his tone was very short, and your smirk fell. 

“Wait right here. Just need to get something really quick for the pants,” Harry Lambert said before walking out of the dressing room. 

There was a moment of silence, and Harry pulled on the suit jacket so it sits nicely on him. By this point, he would’ve asked for your opinion and for some reassurance because sometimes he needs those extra words that tell him it doesn’t look too much or weird on him. But you got silence. 

“Is everything okay?” You asked warily. 

“Yeah.” 

“You sure?” You still weren’t convinced enough. 

“Yes, now can you please stop asking me? Fuck,” He rolled his eyes, voice slightly raised. 

“What is your problem?” Your brows furrowed. 

“What my problem is, is that you won’t leave me the fuck alone nor would you stop talking. I’m just trying to do some fittings, but you wouldn’t stop talking,” he huffed. He didn’t even turn around, just kept looking at himself in the mirror. 

You scoffed, grabbing your bag from off the couch. “Don’t fucking ask me to come with you if you didn’t want me here.” You headed for the exit before turning around at the last second. “And next time, look me in the eye and tell me that shit,” you said before you completely exit the building and head towards your apartment. 

You’ve never been so annoyed before, and that says a lot because you deal with a lot of people from the industry and Brooke. You didn’t know what came over him because he’s never talked to you like that nor has he raised his voice at you. With utter confusion, you sat on your couch, taking off your shoes for the day since you didn’t have any other work to do for the day, and you thought going with him to his fitting was a waste of time if he was going to act all pissy on you. 

Only moments later, you heard a knock on your door, and you immediately knew it was Harry probably coming by to tell you that he was sorry and he didn’t mean to say those words. But words are words and despite not meaning to say them, they still came out meaning that he was thinking it. But since this was Harry, the kindest human you’ve ever met, you opened the door because he’s your best friend and you deserve an apology. 

Huffing, you opened the door to find Harry standing on your doorstep with his head down and a slight frown to his face. Without saying anything, you moved to the side, opening the door wider for him to walk through, which he does. You walk over to the couch and take a seat; Harry sitting on the other side. The fact that you weren’t saying anything was killing him, but he doesn’t blame you. You crossed your arms as you waited for him to say something, and he inhaled deeply before he spoke. 

“I’m sorry for what I said back there. I shouldn’t have taken all my anger out on you because you don’t deserve that whatsoever. You were just trying to make sure I was okay, and I really appreciate that,” he resented himself for acting that way towards you. His eyes were red and he looked quite sad, and you want to know what made him originally feel this way. 

“Why were you so mad to begin with?” You asked curiously, and he sighed as you brushed away his apology. 

“Brooke and I have been fighting--ever since New Years. She claimed that I was always hanging out with you and that I left her at the party to be with you, but that’s not true right? I feel like I barely saw you during the party,” his brows furrowed in confusion. He was right; you barely even hung out with him during New Years because you were some other friends, and the only time you really spoke to him was when he arrived and after the countdown, but that was it. 

“Why is she so…” you trailed off, not wanting to sound so offensive towards his girlfriend. 

“You can say it.” 

“Possessive? Obsessive? Threatened by me? I mean I get that you’re her boyfriend, but I haven’t done anything to trigger that, have I?” You tilted your head as if you were thinking. You were never the one to steal someone’s boyfriend because that wasn’t any of your business; no matter how much you liked that person. But your attitude towards Harry was very much best friend-like. You miss him on days when you don’t see him, you give him big hugs when you reunite, you give each other friendly kisses on the cheek in a way to say ‘thanks,’ but it was never meant to steal him away from her. 

“No, you haven’t. I don’t know… I feel like she’s always had this problem with you because you’re my best friend, but also assistant--the closest person to me. I always tell her that she has nothing to worry about, but she doesn’t trust me for some reason.” 

“I’m sorry, H,” you said, placing your hand on his knee in a way to comfort him. He placed his hand right over yours in a way to say ‘thank you for understanding.’ 

“I should be the one apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong. I really am sorry for how coldly I acted towards you,” he softly smiled, and you gave him one back. 

“It’s okay. Was it unnecessary? Yes. But it was one time,” you forgave him. 

“You’re the best. But I should get going to finish up the fittings,” he said, standing up from the couch. You stood up, walking him to the door. “I’ll see you?” You nodded, giving him a big hug. He embraced you with both arms as he squeezed tightly before he walked out the door. You figured there was no point in going with him since he only has a couple of suits to try on, so you stayed back. 

About thirty minutes later, your phone vibrated. Seeing Harry’s contact name, you smiled to yourself. 

H: Attachment: 2 images 

How do these look?

You chuckled. He had sent you mirror pictures, holding up a peace sign as he was in a sparkly blue suit. 

My Angel: You look like Cinderella lmao

I love it!

Harry smiled. He was about to text you some silly joke about being Prince Charming while you’re the princess, but he heard a voice at the door, making him stop what he was doing. 

“Hey, babe!” Harry looked up and saw Brooke walk in. His eyes widened as he turned around, and she gave him a kiss. 

“W-What are you doing here?” He asked, confused. 

“Jeff said you’d be here, so I decided to surprise you!” She said cheerfully, holding his hands. 

“O-Oh, I’m very surprised,” he chuckled nervously. He didn’t really know why he was nervous, but possibly the fact that if he hadn’t snapped at you, then you would still be in the room, which would have raised questions and yet another argument with Brooke. 

“I figured after you’re finished, we could get an early dinner and you could come back to my place?” She suggested. “Think we need to talk about some things.” 

“Yeah, that sounds good. I have about two more suits, so you can wait outside-”

“Silly! No, I’ll wait here,” she took a seat on the couch you were just sitting on thirty minutes ago. He nodded without saying anything before he proceeded on to his next suit. 

You looked down at your phone on Harry’s message thread, waiting for his reply. You saw the text bubbles pop up and you smiled, waiting for him to say some corny joke, but they went away. You waited for a moment, so they could pop back up, but they didn’t. So, you shrugged, locking your phone, and wondering if he got caught up in something, so he couldn’t reply. 

1 February 2018

It was Harry’s birthday and the crowd was rolling in. 

He decided he wanted to spend his birthday in Los Angeles since most of his friends are there anyways. Plus, it’s a small get together before the tour starts next month and then he would be all over the place. He wanted a semi small party at his house, nothing too crazy, he just wanted everyone he cares about at the party. Anne and Gemma flew in the day before to join in on the fun, and you were excited to see them because you missed them like crazy. 

“Angel! This party is great! Thank you for keeping it so nice and small,” Harry said, giving you a hug. He also handed you your favorite drink, which is a whiskey on the rocks. 

“I’m happy you like it, birthday boy,” you smiled as you watched everyone gather into his Malibu house. There were about thirty people in total that were on the guest list, only adding people Harry was close to.

“Ah, there’s mum and Gem. Let’s say hi,” he told you, and you excitedly smiled, walking towards the door. 

“Mum!” Harry called out, and Anne’s eyes lightened up. 

“Oh, my baby! Happy birthday, my love,” she kissed his cheeks as he hugged her. 

“Hi, Gems,” he greeted his sister, also giving her a hug. 

“Happy birthday baby brother. One more year and you’ll be a quarter of a century,” she joked, and Harry chuckled. 

“Ha ha, very funny. I’m so happy you guys are-” 

“Y/N? Is that you? Oh my god, come here you!” Anne interrupted Harry once she saw you. Her eyes widened and she was smiling like crazy as you walked towards her, giving her a lovely hug. “Oh, darling. It’s been a while since I saw you!” 

“Yeah, it really has been. You both still look so amazing,” you said, giving Gemma a hug. 

“Please, you’re too sweet to us. How have you been? Don’t want to quit just yet because of this one?” Anne joked, nudging Harry as he playfully rolled his eyes. 

“Heyyy,” his brows furrowed, and Anne pinched his cheek. 

“I’ve been good. And not yet. Give me about five months and we’ll get back to this conversation,” you joked back, looking at Harry to see him frowning. You looped your arm around his waist, giving him a hug, and he stopped frowning; his face turning into a small smirk. 

“Let’s definitely catch up later. I’m going to say hi to Jeff and Glenne. Be right back,” Anne said before walking through the crowd, Gemma following her. 

You and Harry were alone again as you two sipped on your drinks. Some people said hi to them, but not making conversation for too long as they wanted to get another drink or food. 

“Is Brooke here? Haven’t seen her,” you asked curiously. Harry’s face dropped, and you looked at him confusingly. 

“Oh, fuck,” he pinched the top of his nose as he looked down, shaking his head. 

“What?” 

“I totally forgot she was coming,” he said, and you fought the urge to laugh. 

“How did you forget your own girlfriend?” 

“I don’t know--I was just so focused on the tour and this party that it slipped my mind that she was coming,” he sighed. 

“Oh okay. What’s so bad about her being here?” You wondered. 

“That means she’s gonna meet mum and Gem.” Your mouth formed an ‘o’ as if realization struck you, and Harry nodded his head as if he was saying ‘yeah, that’s why.’ 

“Better prepare for that because I could already hear her laugh,” you placed your hand on his shoulder, patting it. Harry took a deep breath and downed the rest of his drink before he walked over to the entrance. You chuckled as he did so as you found it amusing that he had to do that to deal with her. 

After you heard her squeal, which meant that Harry had gone up to her already. You started walking towards the entrance door, and you saw them hugging; she then started jumping and kissing him, whispering into his ear and biting her lip as he gave her a smirk. 

As you watched from the sidelines, your heart started to ache. You wished that it was you instead of her. You wished you could whisper all things sweet and dirty into his ear as he looked at you with a smirk before biting his lip. You wanted him to give you the same smile he gave her, although you were starting to see less and less of that smile. You wanted what she had. 

But you would never get that. 

“Hey, you,” Gemma sneaked you from behind you, causing you to slightly jump. “Sorry,” she chuckled. 

“It’s okay. What’s up?” You smiled, trying to hide the pain in your eyes. 

“You’re not going to tell him, huh?” 

“Tell who what?” You raised your eyebrows, pretending to be oblivious. Gemma gave you a knowing look as she raised her eyebrows. 

“You know what. Not gonna tell him at all?” You sighed, shrugging your shoulders as you turned your head back to them. They were posing for some pictures with their arms around each other’s waists. They took a couple: smiling ones, funny ones, and even a kissing one. You turned your head back to Gemma once they started to kiss for a picture, and she softly smiled at you. 

“There’s no point. He’s with Brooke, and it’s not like he’s ever going to like me or get with me,” you sadly explained. Gemma looked at you as if you were totally wrong. “If he’s happy with Brooke, then why would I ruin that for him because of my selfish reasons?” 

“It’s not selfish for wanting to tell someone you love-”

“I don’t love him,” you immediately interrupted. 

“Y/N…c’mon,” she raised her eyebrows, knowing you’re completely wrong. 

“Okay…” you sighed in defeat, and she chuckled, continuing what she was saying. 

“You’ve known him for what, two years? That man makes sure you’re a priority. He makes sure you’re happy. If you could hear the stories he tells us and how he talks about you, you would think otherwise,” she stated before taking a sip of her drink. 

You stay quiet for a moment and think. Was there any way that Harry could have possibly liked you? There’s no way. You hadn’t noticed anything different about his behavior in the past two years you’ve known and worked for him. So, there was no way he could’ve liked you. And you know you’re only telling yourself that now, so you don’t lose your shit at his birthday party. 

“W-What does he say about me?” 

“Maybe you’ll know some time in the future if you tell him,” she challenged, and you rolled your eyes, causing Gemma to laugh. 

After Harry and Brooke managed to get away from the entrance, you and Gemma saw them walking towards you both. 

“Y/N, hi!” She greeted you with a not so surprising high pitched tone; only because Harry is right next to her. She also gave you a hug, which you only put in half the effort like always. Harry smiled at both of you, and she let go. 

“Gems, where’s mum?” He asked his sister. 

“Think she might be in the back,” she replied, looking at Brooke for a brief moment before looking back at Harry. 

“This is Brooke,” he introduced his girlfriend. 

“Hi! It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Brooke said with a big smile on her face, giving Gemma a hug. Polite as Gemma is, she hugged back. 

“You too,” Gemma simply said. 

“Should we go to the back and find mum? Brooke wants to meet her,” Harry asked, and Gemma nodded before walking towards the backyard. 

You stayed back, realizing that you weren’t needed and you didn’t have any business following them for Brooke to meet Anne. So, you walked over to the kitchen to grab a plate of cheese and crackers. Since the kitchen was right next to the large doors that led to the backyard, you looked up and saw Brooke jumping up and down slightly as she greeted Anne with a hug. You saw Anne smiling, hugging her back before they pulled away and started talking. Harry looked at them so fondly as they spoke. 

“Hey,” a voice next to you had startled you, making you slightly jump, taking your attention away from what’s happening in the backyard. Luckily, not dropping any of your food. 

“Hi,” you said back to the man you don’t know. 

“I’m Alex. One of Jeff’s friends. I don’t believe we’ve met yet,” he shook your hand, smiling. 

“I don’t think we have. I’m Y/N,” you nicely said back. 

“So, how do you know Harry?” He asked, grabbing a grape. 

“I’m his assistant, and best friend.” 

“Oh, shit! Special person I’m talking to, right here,” he smirked. Alex was cute and very attractive, but it wasn’t the same kind of smirk that you’ve been in love with for two years. 

“Hardly,” you scoffed before giving him a small smile as a way to tell him you’re somewhat joking. 

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short. By any chance, you want to go somewhere to sit and talk?” He proposed hopefully. It wasn’t a bad idea whatsoever. You needed to make new friends and possibly make some new connections. You also didn’t want to depend on Harry all the time when you wanted to talk to someone because he’s busy, and his girlfriend doesn’t like you. So, you nodded. 

“Yeah, I’d like that.” He smiled, leading you to a more quiet area of the house, which was the sitting area. 

Meanwhile as you were chatting with Alex, Harry watched Brooke interact with Anne with a smile, but he still felt a weird feeling in his chest, like he’s happy about it, but he’s still wary. He brushed that feeling off, looking around and wondering where you were--if you’re having a great time. He turned his head towards the kitchen, and saw you talking to Alex. Smiles were placed on both your faces, and Harry frowned. He knew Alex was charming him up because that’s what he does. Alex technically wasn’t a bad guy, and Harry’s known him for a few years. He was nice, attractive, and can charm the shit out of someone just like Harry. But the sight and thought of seeing him actually charm you did not sit well with him. It really didn’t sit well once he saw you following him out of the kitchen. 

Harry took deep breaths, trying not to let the thought of you possibly enjoying hanging out with Alex as he carried on with his birthday night. 

6 February 2018

A deep sigh was let out once you sat in your seat on the plane. 

It was cold in Los Angeles and you knew the flight back to New York was going to be a bumpy one considering the weather in both cities, so you dressed comfortably, wearing grey sweatpants, a black sweatshirt, and some white sneakers. Your headphones had been plugged into your ears ever since you were cleared at TSA. 

As you got comfortable in your seat, Harry sat next to you, sighing. You obviously didn’t hear it because your headphones were in, but you definitely heard it the second time when he did it louder. You didn’t do anything, just browse on your phone until he dramatically sighed again, even louder this time. 

“What?” You said, taking your headphones out. 

“Why are you ignoring me?” He immediately asked, and your brows furrowed. 

“Ignoring you? Why would you think that?” 

“Well, for starters, you haven’t really spoken to me since my birthday. What’s up with that?” 

“Well, I didn’t really have to, did I?” There was no reason for your somewhat sarcastic tone and it’s not like you weren’t mad at him or anything, but you were exhausted from flying back and forth, plus doing your job. It’s not like you were ungrateful, but sometimes, you just needed a break, and that included, not talking to anyone. 

“You could’ve just answered my texts saying you were okay and that you weren’t going to be on your phone,” he scoffed, and you knew he was right. You were about to say you were sorry until he muttered something else. “Too busy with Alex, I see.” 

“What?” You asked in disbelief, knowing he said what you heard, but wanted to clarify. 

“You were, right?”

“What does this have to do with Alex?” You were starting to grow frustrated. 

“I mean, I saw you two at my party, and you two left together and stuff. So, you were probably busy for the entire week,” he said casually, scrolling through his phone as if you weren’t fuming right next to him. 

“It was one night-”

“Are you saying you had sex with him?” He turned his head towards you with raised eyebrows. He had this look on his face that told you he knew everything, but he just wanted to hear you say it. So, you did. 

“Yeah. So what if I fucked him? Is there something wrong with that? Didn’t get a little birthday sex? Don’t worry, I had some for you!” You tried containing your yells, but it came out like a loud whisper. Luckily there weren’t that many people on the plane; only the people who flew first class. 

It was true. When Alex had suggested talking, you found out that he was a very nice and funny guy. The night was getting late, and you said you were going to head home (which was a hotel), so he offered to drive you since you took an Uber, and that led to you inviting him up to your room and him gladly saying yes. It all happened so quick. You had immediately kissed him once you closed the door, and that led to him taking both of your clothes off before he fucked you. It was average sex, but you had fun considering that it’s been a while since you’ve had someone fuck you. That morning he left, telling you to text him, but you hadn’t and you don’t know if you will.

Harry stayed quiet, looking back down at his phone, and you shook your head, sitting correctly, and looking out the window, knowing that this was going to be a long flight. 

Just as you knew, the ride was bumpy, raising your fear and anxiety as you held onto yourself for dear life. You turned your music up, put your hands into your sweater, and crossed your arms in a way to calm you down and feel like someone is holding onto you. You closed your eyes, trying to focus on the songs until you felt a hand on your arm. You opened your hands, and saw Harry with his eyes closed, but you knew he wasn’t sleeping. He had always held your hand when you two would fly together and there was turbulence. It was something he did that made you feel safe and comfortable during the flight. 

You smiled softly, taking his hand in with your as you shifted closer to his seat despite the middle console in between you two. For the rest of the flight, you weren’t as scared. 

Once you two landed, Harry’s driver was immediately outside in the designated area, and you two were taken back to your place before there was any cause of commotion at the airport. Harry helped you with your bags, walking to your front door. 

“Hey, I’m sorry for everything on the plane,” he said as you looked for your keys in your purse. 

“It’s okay. I’m sorry too--for not replying to you and for snapping at you on the plane as well,” you said back. “Can I just ask why you were so...angry I was with Alex?” You wondered. 

“I…uh,” he stumbled over his words, trying to find the right thing to say without it coming out like he was a jealous prick. “Just...Alex is known for charming the shit out of you, so he could sleep with you, but seeing as you already slept with him…” 

“Harry, isn’t it my job to decide who I can and can’t sleep with? I get that you want to look out for me, but just let me decide that, alright?” You said softly, and he nodded. 

“Think I was jealous,” he blurted out, and he immediately closed his mouth and widened his eyes once he said that because he really didn’t mean to. 

“W-Why?” You looked at him concerningly, and Harry took a deep breath because now he had make up an answer because god knows what the truth is. 

He took a step forward, looking at you so intently. You felt like he was staring you down, but you didn’t look away as you were so lost in his eyes that it physically made it difficult to even glance the other way.

Next thing you knew, he was inches away from you, glancing down to your lips and back up to your eyes. You held your breath as you looked up at him, looking extra close at the pinkness of his lips. Your chests were pressed so close against one another that you were sure he could feel your heart pounding through his. It was so loud that it rang through your ears—so loud you couldn’t hear anything else except for the constant chanting in your head screaming ’Harry, Harry, Harry.’ It was Harry that you wanted to kiss so badly. It was Harry who’s lips you could touch in an instant if you were to just lift your feet. It was Harry. It always has been. 

But you couldn’t.

Brooke.

You immediately stepped away from him as your eyes looked down, finally away from Harry. “I’m sorry-”

“No, I’m sorry-”

“Because Brooke, and-”

“Yeah…” 

You nodded, not sure what to do next, but seeing as you were still outside of your door, you finally got your keys out, and unlocked it. 

“Well, I’ll see you.” 

“Yeah, I’ll text you,” he said as he started walking backwards away from your apartment. 

You nodded. “Yup. Bye.” He waved, turning around and walking down the hall. 

Walking into your space and bringing your luggage in, you sighed as you closed the door. It was completely silent as your mind was racing and your heart was beating. 

What the fuck just happened and what the fuck was that?

3 March 2018

The first show of Harry’s tour was kicking off, and you were excited for him. He was slightly nervous and jittery, but that was expected. 

The ‘moment’ you two had when you came back from Los Angeles after your birthday was past you two. Although, you still think about it way too often, Harry seemed like he didn’t want to talk about it, so you respected that and didn’t bring it up. Besides, what was there to talk about anyways?

The first show started in Basel, Switzerland and you were very stoked. You’ve never been to any of the countries he’s going to play in besides London and some cities in the states, so it was going to be an adventure for you. For his very first tour that included small venues, you rarely went to any of the shows, so to say you were excited was an understatement. 

You were with Harry Lambert, looking at the first show suit in the stylist room. It was a Gucci black sparkly suit with gems on the lapel. You hadn’t seen this particular suit on him yet because you weren’t at the fitting the day he tried it on, but you absolutely loved it. It gave everyone just a hint of what the rest of the suits for the tour will look like. 

“Har—oh,” Brooke had entered the room, assumingly looking for Harry, but was disappointed when she saw you. “Have you seen Harry?” 

“Uh, I haven’t. He might be out on the stage,” you said honestly, and she nodded, turning around. But before she could exit the room, you called her, “Hey, Brooke.” She turned around, rolling her eyes. “I just kind of want to mend things between us. I feel like there has always been some sort of tension ever since we met, and seeing that you’ve been around for long and might be around for even longer, we should be civil towards one another.” 

“Well, obviously there has been. You’re trying to steal my boyfriend,” she said straightforwardly, and you raised your eyebrows, looking at Lambert. He was looking at Brooke with a not so friendly look, knowing that you would never do that despite knowing that you were in love with him. “I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. You will never get Harry. He’s in love with me, not you. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do. You will never be enough for him because you’re just his assistant. That’s all you are to him. Don’t think you’re more than that, okay?” She said with a smile, and you bit your lip, not wanting to argue with her. 

There was something about her words that really got to you, and you think that’s because she’s actually dating Harry and has managed to weave her way into his heart.

“I’d hate to continuingly have to tell you this, but I think the first time was enough, right? Now you’ve made me tell you twice,” she continued as she scoffed. “Anyways, I need to go find my boyfriend,” she turned around but suddenly stumbled back as she was met with Harry. “Oh, Harry. I was just looking-”

“Don’t even speak right now,” his eyes were dark and he was angry. 

It wasn’t like you to see Harry so often considering that he sometimes deals with rude fans and pushy paps, but he was mad. 

“I-”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now? Trying to degrade my best friend and assistant?” 

“Har-”

“We need to talk,” he told her, leaving the room. She turned around to look at you with sad eyes, but you simply couldn’t help her, not like you would anyways. She followed him, and the room was left with a weird tension that needed to be cut with a knife.

“Well, wasn’t that interesting,” Lambert said. 

After about thirty minutes, Harry walked back into the room. He stayed complete silent and started undressing to get into his suit since there was thirty minutes left until he had to go on. You and Lambert looked at each other, not knowing if you two should say anything, but decided to keep your mouths shut and let him get ready. 

Once he was dressed, he thanked Lambert and walked out of the room; once again with the same tension being in the air. You walked out as well as you debated whether or not to talk to him, but you saw him and the band gathering together, so you figured you could just talk to him after. 

The show had finally started, and the band was going out on stage. The crowd was roaring like crazy as the anticipation of seeing Harry was finally coming to an end. Once the band was fully equipped, Harry started to climb up the stairs. Around the stage it was dark as the beginning of ‘Only Angel’ started to play. You turned on your flashlight on your phone, and called out for him.

“Harry!” He turned around, holding the railings of the stairs, and his expression was normal; no smile or anything.  “Goodluck out there!” Once you had said that, the corners of his lips turned up as his mouth turned into a soft smirk. 

“Thanks, angel,” he said before pointing up as a way to say ‘listen to the song.’ “This is for you,” he quickly told you, running up the stairs and to the stage before the big circular screen rose up. 

You watched the rest of the show from the side of the stage, not too far away from the front of the pit. He was spectacular on stage; he truly belonged there. He charmed the crowd, made them laugh, scream, cry, and dance their hearts out for an hour and a half, and you were truly amazed. The atmosphere of the venue was insane, loving every second of it. 

Once he finished with ‘Kiwi,’ he said his goodnights to Switzerland before running off the stage and meeting the band, talking about how crazy and fun the first show was. He told everyone that it’s only going to get better from here, and everyone nodded and high fived excitedly. 

After a few minutes, Harry walked to his dressing room to cool off, and you followed behind him. It may seem as clingy, but you were concerned for your best friend. A lot went down with Brooke in just a few minutes, and you wanted to know if he was okay, despite not showing any signs of sadness or anger on stage. 

You knocked on his dressing room door and opened it before you heard ‘come in.’ Harry looked up, and saw you peek your head through the door, and he gestured you to come in all the way, which you did. 

“That was an amazing show, H,” you complimented. 

“You watched?” He asked surprisingly. 

“Yeah, didn’t miss a moment. I was on the side of the stage.” 

“Oh, well. Thank you,” he said. 

There was a moment of silence as you tried to form your words on how to go about talking to him about what had happened before the show. 

“I-I just wanted to ask if you were okay?” You started. He took a seat on his couch as you stayed standing up in front of him. “I’m sorry for what happened before the-”

“Why are you saying sorry?” He asked, looking up at you as if he was genuinely asking. 

“I...I don’t know what happened with Brooke, but if something did happen then I’m sorry,” you nervously. The only reason why you were so nervous was because you hoped that he didn’t get mad at you for whatever happened with her. 

“You didn’t do anything, angel. You did nothing wrong at all,” he sighed, and you stayed quiet as there was definitely more of what he wanted to say. “But I did break up with her.” Your brows raised at that, and you fought the urge to jump and cheer. 

“Y-You did?” 

“Yeah. I kind of wanted to a few weeks ago, but I never got the chance to. But before the show, she gave me another perfectly good reason why we shouldn’t be together, so I ended it.” There wasn’t a hint of sadness on his face as he told you. 

“What were the other reasons?” You hadn’t known that he wanted to break up with her before the events that happened today. You would expect him to talk to you about it, but you weren’t hurt by it. 

“I…” he cut himself off, and you waited patiently to see if he was going to say something. After a few more seconds, you saw him debate with himself to see if he actually wanted to tell you, and you wondered if he trusted in that sense; to talk to you and tell you things that were on his mind, but you didn’t want to get into it with him. 

“Are you okay?” You asked instead, truly wanting to make sure. 

“I should be asking you that.” 

“No-”

“Angel, c’mon. Behind closed doors, I didn’t know half the shit she was saying to you. I told her to fess up everything she’s done to you, and she did. Let me tell you, I was not happy at all that you had to deal with that without me knowing. And that fact that she lied to me about asking you to hang out and pretending to be nice to you--no wonder why you didn’t want to hang out with her.” 

The first time you had hung out with her was when you had to pick up some lunch and dry clean for Harry. They had only been dating for two months, so you thought it was best to get to know her since you were Harry’s best friend. You asked if Brooke wanted to go, and she hesitantly said sure, but when Harry thought that was a great idea, she perked up to it and said yes. When you two were in line for lunch she had asked you the basics of your job before rudely interrupting you and telling you that she knew that you were in love with him. Before you could even deny, she wasn’t having it and told you that you weren’t good enough for him and that you were only hired because you were Glenne’s friend. You were quite devastated after that and you faced Harry everyday with a smile on your face, but with the lingering thought of her words in the back of your mind. 

“Yeah, she wasn’t my particular number one person to hang out with,” you said sadly, and Harry sighed, standing up. He walked closer to you, and it felt like that time when you got home from the airport, and placed his hands on your shoulders. 

“Her talking shit about you was the last straw. Can’t have anyone talk to you like that, ever,” he said while looking into your eyes as if he was trying to convince you. 

“I am really sorry that you had to go through a break up though--especially on your first night of tour. Plus, it was your first serious relationship you’ve had in a while,” you felt bad because no one should go through the pain of a breakup. 

“It’s alright. Wasn’t in love with her like she said--didn’t even say those words to her. And it was her idea of wanting to meet my family. I was still wary about it, but that was one of the subjects for most of our arguments,” he sighed. “But I’m gonna be much happier without her. Felt like I was always stressed out around her,” he chuckled, causing you to as well. “But if anyone that I know talks to you like that ever again, please don’t hide that from me. I hate knowing that you were taking all of that shit, especially for months.” You nodded your head and he gave you a smile. 

He pulled you in for a hug and you wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your head on his chest. You two stayed like that for a moment as you both felt like it’s been a while since you two has had one of these hugs. All thoughts and worries flew out of your head--not thinking about when the next time you’ll have one of these types of hugs again, and you felt safe in his arms. 

And you cherished it. 

30 March 2018

Tour was going by rather quickly as the first ten shows were already done with. 

You were able to see some beautiful sightings of the countries with Lambert and some of the band, and throughout that time, you had wished Harry was with you all, but for obvious reasons, he couldn’t be out in public so casually. 

Everything you’ve seen was so beautiful and your jaw dropped everytime you would look at a tall and high building, or the skyline of the entire city. You were quite amazed. 

Now, everyone was in Barcelona, and it was by far one of your favorite cities that you’ve visited. You loved the atmosphere and the ambiance that walking through the streets of Spain had placed a beaming grin onto your face. You were only staying for a couple of days before everyone had to pack up and head to Madrid, but you made sure to snap a mental and physical photo to remember your time in Spain. 

But rather than spending your day on the streets, roaming around the beautiful city, you were currently looking for Harry because Lambert was also looking for him, and of course, you decided to help find him. You pretty much checked every room backstage besides the bathroom, and you didn’t really think to check the restroom, but he might be in there, so you made your way towards it. 

“Oh! Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in,” you said once you entered the restroom. 

The sight before you had made you sweat. A series of butterflies made its appearance in your stomach, making your hands shake. The slightest bit of air from swinging the door open had made chills rise onto your skin, but you knew that it was because of the beautiful man in front of you. 

You had walked in on Helene taking pictures of Harry, possibly so he could post them on Instagram. But he was candidly looking into the mirror as he sprayed on his Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille cologne; the one that you had picked up for him multiple times, and the one that you think smells amazing, specifically on him. He strutted around like it was made for him, and it was honestly your favorite scent. His suit was a custom Palomo black and white checkered sequined suit that just looked fucking good on him. 

“No worries, sweetheart. Just about finished. He’s all yours,” she winked at you before heading out of the bathroom. 

“What’s up, angel?” 

“Just wanted to tell you that Lambert is looking for you. Said he needed to fix up a stitch really quick before you go on stage,” you said, not meeting his eyes. 

“Is that all?” He asked, sensing your nerves, and he knew that it was possibly from walking in on him, doing a mini photoshoot because he knew he looked good. 

You gulped, “Y-Yeah.”

“You don’t sound too sure,” he challenged, walking closer to you, but not too close as there was a bit of space between you two. 

“Uh-”

“Tell me,” he shifted even closer, making you nervous. You didn’t know where the sudden outbreak of him being somewhat flirtatious as he demanded you to tell him came from, but the sound of his raspy and deep voice, and the way he was looking was making you act up as you were about to confess your feelings towards him. 

You figured it was time as you felt like he sensed that kind of vibe from you, plus Brooke mentioning that you were in love with him, which you think you’re pretty sure he heard, but you’re wondering why he hasn’t 

“I-I want to tell you something, and this may potentially ruin things between us, but-”

“There you are!” The sound of someone else’s voice in the room and the banging of the room had interrupted you, and you and Harry stepped back from one another. “Everything okay here?” Lambert asked, looking at both of you and practically feeling the tension. Once you two nodded, not looking at each other, he looked at you both suspiciously before continuing. “Anyways, come with me. I need to fix something,” Lambert walked out of the restroom as Harry followed him, not giving you another look. 

You turned around to look in the mirror, sighing to yourself as you shook your head. 

Well, guess that’s not happening right now, you thought. 

Watching Harry up on stage was something you would never get used to. You made sure to never miss a show as you watched from the side, and since he knows where you stand during the show, he always makes sure to go to that side of the stage and wave to you. But seeing him on stage was different every night. His performances and conversations with the crowd were always different and that’s what made them and him so entertaining. 

Once the show was over, he made his way off the stage and to the dressing room. He talked a bit with the band, as they always did right when the show ends, to talk about their favorite moments and which songs they needed to work on for rehearsals. After that, Harry walked to his dressing room and you would follow every single time. 

“Another great show, H. Never get tired of watching you,” you said once you entered the dressing room.

“Thanks, angel. Always feel like I’m on a high when I’m trying to cool down, like I just have so much energy to perform another hour,” he chuckled, wiping some sweat off his forehead. 

“That must be exhilarating--being up there every night for your fans,” you walked towards him to stand in front of him as he leaned on the table of the vanity. 

“Yeah, it really is,” he smiled. He pulled your arm towards him and wrapped his arms around your waist, giving you a hug. You were surprised by the sudden affection, but Harry was an affectionate type of guy, and really, you didn’t mind being close to him. Plus, he seemed extra needy since he recently just broke up with someone. “Thank you for being here.”

“Of course, Harry. Always going to be here for you,” you said against his ear as your arms were around his shoulders. 

“And I’m always going to be here for you,” he said back. 

For a moment, it was just this--hugging him as he cooled down in your arms, and you liked it...a lot. But when you pulled back, you didn’t pull back completely and it made you face to face with him, literally inches away from each other. You two looked at each other in the eye, glancing your eyes to his lips and back up to his eyes. The only thing you thought was: I really want to fucking kiss him right now. 

And it seemed like he did as well because he crashed his lips with yours, molding them together as your arms were wrapped around one another. It was everything you expected as you dreamed of his lips on yours quite often, and you absolutely loved it. He felt like a drug, like all of your pain and worries went away once his lips touched yours, and you were addicted. You wanted so much more. 

Your tongue makes its way in his mouth, meeting his, and he swirled it with his before lightly sucking on it. Your teeth found a way to bite his bottom lip and he let out a groan. He pulled back for a bit, looking at you before kissing you again. 

“God, been wanting you for so long,” he groaned, and you felt butterflies in your stomach, trying not to take his words literally as to keeping your hopes down. But little did you know that his words were serious. “Can I touch you?” He whispered in between kisses. 

You nodded, whispering out, “Please.” Harry’s stomach did flips once you gave him consent, and his hands trailed down your body. Luckily, you were wearing a simple dress with straps, so it was easier. He bunched up your dress up to your hips, and you held it up with your arm before touching you over your panties, feeling a wet spot over the fabric. 

“Practically drenched. It’s for me, right?” He muttered, wrapping his free arm around your waist so you were closer. 

“Yes. Always going to be for you,” you moaned as his hand continuously rubbed you and he smirked. Your words had completely slipped out, but it was the truth. 

“Can I take them off?” He asked, and you nodded your head before he slid your drench underwear down your legs and you kicked them off to the side somewhere in his dressing room. You molded your lips with his again and grabbed a fistful of his curly hair, causing him to kiss you even harder. 

Harry then started roaming his hands around your thighs, going to ass and squeezing the flesh, and you moan against his mouth. His hand moves up and to your stomach before trailing down to your hot core. He took his fingers and swiped up your slit, making you groan from the feeling of his hands. 

“Fuck, you’re so wet,” he whispered before touching your clit and rubbing it. He buried his face in your neck to kiss, suck, and nibble on your skin, and that feeling made you throw your head back as his hands rubbed you and mouth kissed you. The feeling was indescribable, but it was Harry. 

You felt his fingers slip inside of you, starting off with one finger before pumping in and out of you. He then added another finger as he curled them in an inward motion and brushed his fingertips against the soft upper area of your pussy. 

“Shit, that feels so good. So, so good, H,” you groaned out. Harry took the straps of your dress off your shoulders, and kissed your chest where the gold chain he had gifted you rested. He pulled on the front of your dress to expose your tits, and his mouth immediately wrapped around your hard nipples, sucking them and pulling on them before releasing them with a pop. Your grip on Harry’s hair tightened as you felt like you were going to rip out his hair from the way you’re feeling. “Add another,” you whimpered out. 

“Another finger?” He looked at you with wide eyes, but all he saw was your eyes closed and head being thrown back; and you nodded. He added his pinky finger in with his ring and middle finger, trying his best to curl them up into you, but the snugness of your hole was challenging him. “Fuck, you’re so tight. Practically squeezing my fingers,” he said, kissing your neck. 

His words and fingers had gotten you to the edge, and you were minutes away from releasing around him. He saw you bite your lip and take deep breaths, and he knew you were close. 

“C’mon, angel baby. Let go for me, yeah? Know you’re close,” he thrusted his fingers deep into you, and that was when you hit your peak. With loud moans, you jolted around his fingers, riding your high out as Harry continuously pressed kisses to your chest and neck. He took his hand, sticking one of his fingers in your mouth, and you swirled your tongue around his finger that was covered in your orgasm, and moaned. He took the other two fingers, and placed them in his own mouth, tasting yourself on his fingers. “Taste so good,” he smirked, kissing your forehead, and you leaned your head on his shoulders to take a breather.

Once you calmed down, you turned your head to kiss his neck, sucking on his skin to calm your breathing down, and Harry hissed. His hands ran through your hair and all the way down to your back, soothing you. After a minute or two, you lifted your head up, meeting his eye before you kissed him, deeply. You two made out for a while you unbuttoned his black shirt, and you pulled away from his lips to kiss down his torso until you were on your knees. Harry was hard as rock in his pants and desperately needed some release that he could possibly come any minute with how you’re kissing him. 

His entire suit was still on and he went to take his jacket off, but you stopped him. 

“Keep it on,” you looked up at him as you told him so before proceeding to kiss down his stomach. He put his arms down, and gripped and sat on the edge of the desk. You got to the hem of his pants and looked up at him, giving him a sight to die for. “Can I take these off?” 

He looked down at you, smirking before nodding his head. “Please, take it all off,” he gave your cheek a stroke with his thumb, and you smiled looking back down to his pants to unbutton it, pulling down his trousers to his ankles, you saw his bulge, and smirked before you kissed over his underwear. Harry took a deep breath in as you palmed him before grabbing the hem of his briefs and pulling it down, his dick springing up as Harry’s shoulder relaxed from the lack of restraint. 

“Fuck, you’re so big,” you said, grabbing his dick. You knew very well that he was well endowed because of the many times you’ve seen him get hard on stage, and also from that moment when you walked in on him in Brooke’s mouth had confirmed it, but seeing it up close was unreal. You licked your hand and grabbed his cock before looking up at him. “What do you want me to do, Harry?” Your voice asked seductively. He was completely under your spell as his breaths were staggered while you stroked him. 

“Anything you want,” he breathed out. You smirked at the state he was in at the moment, and you loved every second of it. 

You put your mouth around his tip, sucking it lightly, and that caused Harry’s breath to hitch in his throat. You took more of him in your mouth as you relaxed your jaw. He was bigger than the guys you’ve fucked and you really hoped you were doing a good job for him because you wanted him to feel good. You hollowed your cheeks in and sucked hard, slicking your tongue on the underside of his cock. 

“Feels so good, angel baby,” he moaned, throwing his head back. He was already embarrassingly close, but he wanted to feel you more, so he tangled his fingers in your hair, getting a gentle but steady grip, and started guiding your head up and down his cock. You let him take control for the time being because honestly, you loved hearing the sounds of his moans start to progress. “That’s it,” he muttered under his breath once he felt the back of your throat. 

You placed your hands on his thighs, gripping his skin harshly so that your nails dug into it, and he hissed, but the pain felt so good to him. After a few more pushes to your head, you pushed on his thighs so he could release you, and when you did that he knew that he was done being in control. You grabbed his cock that was slick from your mouth, and you loved your head down so you could take his balls in your mouth. More of the beautiful sounds coming from his mouth came out more loudly as you sucked until he finally said the words. 

“Gonna cum, angel. Gonna fuckin’ cum,” he moaned. You saw his knuckles practically turn white as he gripped the desk hard. You loved your head back up to place the tip in your mouth as you fondled with his balls before he spurts his come in your mouth. “Such a fuckin’ good girl,” he said as you swallowed. 

You kissed back up his stomach and to his neck before meeting his lips again. He tasted himself on your tongue, and you were a good mix with him. You two pulled back from one another, looking at each other before you both started giggling—post orgasm haze. 

“Jeez, such an angel, but that mouth of yours is sinful.”

5 June 2018 

The rest of the Europe, Australia, and Asia leg went by, and you were back in the states for the first show of the US leg. 

Ever since the dressing room escapade, you and Harry had been acting differently towards each other. There weren’t anymore sexual acts, but there was a lot more affection. Sadly, not any kisses to the lips, but kisses to the cheek and forehead were made, and they were welcomed and given. He would always put an arm around your shoulder when you two were walking, and there was the occasional cuddle in his hotel room before or after the show. It was definitely different, but you enjoyed it. 

What you didn’t enjoy was the fact that you hadn’t told him you liked him. You were sure he had an idea, but you wanted to say it out loud to get it off your chest. You also didn’t know if he felt that way towards you whatsoever, and that thought scared you. Just because of what happened in the dressing room didn’t necessarily mean he had feelings for you. The thought of him just leading you on and messing with you feelings made your heart sink when you think about it, and you really hoped it wouldn't get to that point. 

Tonight was the Dallas show, and Harry wore an Alexander McQueen embroidered pink floral suit. As always, he looked amazing. But your favorite was the Barcelona suit, and you might be a bit biased on that given the events that happened in that particular suit. You chuckled to yourself as you followed Jeff and Glenne to your seats. 

You decided to watch the show with them in the reserved seats in the lower level of the arena, and it was a change from the side of the stage, but you could really see more from the seats. Once you got to your seats, Harry had already finished up with ‘Only Angel’ and was moving on to ‘Woman,’ but a familiar man had caught your eye. 

“Alex?” You called out through the music. 

“Y/N! It’s so great seeing you!” He said, giving you a hug. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“Jeff and Harry invited me! Haven’t seen Harry perform since last year, so they reserved me a seat,” his face was close to your ear, so you could understand him better through the loudness of the crowd and the bass of the music. 

“Ah, well I’m glad you’re here! It’s been a while,” you said completely innocently, and he nodded, smiling before turning his head to watch Harry on stage. In all honesty, the thought of Alex slipped your mind because your head was constantly thinking about Harry as it always does. 

For the rest of the show, he was amazing. The crowd was wild as always, and he absolutely looked so cute in his suit. Your favorite part was when someone threw a rainbow sequined cowboy hot on stage, and he picked it up to wear it. It was a look, to be honest. 

Before the band said their goodbyes to the crowd, the four of you headed backstage, so there wasn’t any delay with everyone trying to leave at the same time. As you were walking, you were walking next to Alex as Jeff and Glenne walked in front of you two. 

“Hey, I was thinking. Maybe we should get dinner tonight? Y’know, to catch up? I know some places that are still open,” he suggested, and you liked the idea. 

“Yeah, sure. Sounds good,” you said, smiling back. 

The four of you met with the band as they laughed and talked about the show. You met Harry, giving him a hug as you told him that he did amazing out there. He hugged you back tightly, telling you thank you. 

“C’mon,” he said, taking your hand as he wanted to go to his dressing room as you always did after his shows. 

“Oh, uh, actually,” you pulled your hand back, causing him to stop walking. “I’m going out to dinner with Alex…” you said nervously, and he raised his eyebrows, looking down the hall and noticing Alex talking to Adam. 

“Oh okay, yeah. Go ahead,” he let go of your hand, completely dropping it from his as his face dropped. In that moment, you wished you didn’t say yes to Alex and went with Harry to his dressing room. This would be the first time you were going to miss out on dressing room chats as he calmed down from his energetic state from being on stage. It would be the first time you weren’t going back to the hotel with him while holding his hand in the car and up to your rooms. 

“Hey,” Alex caught up to you, not feeling the tension between you and Harry. “Ready to go?” You looked up at him briefly, placing a fake smile on your face before looking back at Harry who already had his back turned towards you, walking to his room. 

“Yeah, I am.” 

21 June 2018

The prospect of not talking to Harry as much hurt you a bit. 

You haven’t had a full conversation with him in about two weeks. The most you’ve ever spoken to him was when someone was looking for him or if he was clearing up and clarifying his schedule. But other than that, nothing. You didn’t know why it was like that, but you tried not to let it get to you as you told yourself that he was tired from the tour. He was on the last month of tour and the flying had definitely caught up to him. 

But that wasn’t the real reason. 

You have been going out with Alex ever since that night in Dallas, and you thought it was nice to have someone to talk to other than Harry and the rest of the crew and band--although they’re very nice and fun people, you saw them everyday. And you came to find out that Alex was even more fun once you’ve gotten to know him even more. 

Alex made you feel free. There was something refreshing about hanging out with him that made you want more, and he definitely took your mind off of thinking about Harry... by having his tongue down your throat and inside of you. There have been plenty of pleasurable times when Alex had made you feel good, and vice versa. It started out in the night at Fort Lauderdale, two days after Dallas, and you went out with Alex to a bar in the city. Both of you had too much to drink and he asked if you wanted to go over to his hotel, which of course you said yes. One thing led to another, and you were underneath him, moaning his name out. Ever since then, he would watch every other show and you two would have date nights that took the night away into a hotel room. 

It was nice, and he liked you and you liked him back. 

Liked him as much as Harry? Not quite. But there were definitely a little bit of feelings for him. Besides, he calls you nice things and tells you you’re pretty. 

It was Harry’s first New York show in Madison Square Garden as a solo artist, and he was pumped, but also a little nervous. You were so incredibly proud of him and what he’s done in his career, so you were happy for him. And you were happy to be back home for a few days as well because you haven’t been home since the beginning of the month. 

Alex stood next to you with an arm around your shoulder the entire time of Harry’s show. He was wearing a custom Gucci white suit with flowers printed all over and the phrase ‘Memento Mori’ underneath it. The lapel part of the suit was a velvet material and he wore a black shirt underneath. The trousers were flared from the knee down, and you absolutely loved it. 

When the show was over, you and Alex headed backstage to meet with the band. You had expected that he wanted to get dinner already, but he hadn’t mentioned anything, so you assumed that you were going to go back to your hotel and hang out with him there. 

“Lovely show, H,” you hugged him tightly, but he didn’t reciprocate the same energy into the hug like you, and you found that odd because he usually hugs you tight. 

“Thanks,” he smiled softly, shaking Alex’s hand before thanking him for coming to the show. 

You turned towards Alex and asked, “What’s the plan for tonight?” 

“Oh, I was going to tell you, but I’m hanging out with a couple of friends from college that live here. So, I can't hang out with you tonight. I’m sorry,” he slightly pouted. “I’ve got to get going now though, so I’ll see you tomorrow?” You nodded understandingly. 

“Yeah, definitely. Probably best we don’t hang out all the time because I don’t want you to get tired of me,” you joked, and he shook his head no. “But I’ll see you tomorrow. Text me,” you told him before he gave you a kiss on the lips before heading towards the exit. 

Harry had watched the whole interaction with a small frown. He tried to contain his jealousy when he saw Alex kiss you and you smiling, but it was difficult for him to not scoff loudly, so he turned around and walked towards his dressing room. You turned around to find Harry missing, and you assumed he went to his dressing room, so you headed over there. You knocked on the door before entering, and you found him on the couch with his phone in his hands. 

“Hey,” you smiled, sitting on the couch as he muttered a ‘hi.’ “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, what makes you think I’m not?” He said defensively, and you furrowed your brows. 

“I never said you weren’t. I just wanted to make sure you were. I haven’t talked to you in a while.” 

“Well, that’s not my fault,” he whispered under his breath before continuing to scroll through his phone. 

There was a bit of a silence, and unfortunately, it was an awkward one. You didn’t feel needed in the dressing room, but you sat there awkwardly as you didn’t know what to say to him. 

“You’re seeing Alex?” He suddenly asked, breaking the silence. 

“Yeah. Just hanging out with him,” you got up to grab a water bottle from the table, and you opened it, taking a sip. 

“So, you’re fucking him?” He said casually, but you choked on your water, immediately coughing. Once you calmed down, you looked at him with watered eyes. 

“Uh…” 

“You can tell me,” he said sternly. 

“I mean, yeah, we had sex a few times, but there’s no label or anything like that. We’re just hanging out,” you told him, and he nodded. 

“Do you like him?” He raised his brows, and you took a deep breath, wondering what all these questions were for. 

“I think so, but-”

“Good, he’s a good guy,” he interrupted you. You liked Alex, yeah, but comparing your feelings for Alex to Harry...unmatchable. “I’m glad you’re happy,” he said, getting up from the couch before grabbing a towel from the vanity and walking out of the dressing room. Once he left, you were alone in the dressing room. You sighed deeply as you buried your face in your hands. 

“Yeah, sure I am.”

22 June 2018

The sound of ringing had woken you up from your slumber. 

You groaned as you tried to make out where your phone might be on your bedside table with your eyes closed, but you were hitting empty spots, so you opened one eye and grabbed your phone. 

“Hello?” Your morning voice coming out through the speaker. 

“Y/N. Can you come by, like right now?” It was Harry on the phone, and you groaned. After the night prior, you thought he didn’t want to talk to you, but seeing as you’re still his assistant, of course he would call you. 

“Why must you call me at,” you pulled your phone back to look at the time, “six in the morning?” 

“Please. It’s important. I have some stuff I need you to do,” he pleaded, and you stretched your limbs out, making inhumane noises while still being on the phone, and Harry chuckled. 

“Fine. Be there in like twenty.”

“Thank you, angel! See you.”

He must be in an awfully good mood this morning, you thought. And it’s been a while since you heard your pet name, but you brushed it off and got ready. 

You unlocked the door of Harry’s house, letting yourself in. You found him sitting on the couch, reading a book until he looked up at the door and saw you. He got up and walked towards you, and opened his arms, giving you a big hug. 

“Hey, angel. Thanks for coming by,” he said into your ear, leaving you in goosebumps. 

“Course. Everything okay?” You asked once you pulled away. 

“Yeah. I miss you, y’know. Feel like we haven’t spoken in a while,” he trailed off a bit, and you squint your eyes at him. 

“I sense a ‘but,’” you said, and he chuckled. 

“I actually need you to get these for me, if that’s okay? Just need them before the show,” he handed you a list, and you looked at it. 

The items were something similar as before: a bouquet of flowers and a gift basket with various types of snacks. As you read through it, that’s when you knew and your heart sank. 

“So who is it?” Harry looked at you curiously, and you waved around the list up. “Who are you dating?” 

“Oh, this girl I met through a mutual friend. She actually was at the Dallas show and we met after at a bar. She’s in the fashion industry; her name is Rena,” he explained with a smile. “She’s coming to the show tonight, so I just wanted to get her a little something.” 

“Okay, I’m on it. I’ll see you tonight,” you headed out, figuring since you had nothing else to do, you could stretch your errands out until the show. You decided to have breakfast first and get some coffee since it was quite early still, and enjoy a day to yourself until Harry introduces you to yet another girl. 

Rena was a nice lady. She was two years older than you and Harry, and she was drop dead gorgeous. You’ve never seen anyone this stunning up close. She always had the sweetest smile, and you were contemplating if she was real or not, and why Harry is calling you ‘angel’ and not her. It was difficult to hate her, and it’s not like you wanted to, but considering that you have feelings for Harry, you wanted something to be wrong about her--maybe a Brooke 2.0, but she was so kind to you, and she loved everything that was gifted to her from Harry, even if the items were the smallest things. So, there were no complaints. 

Harry seemed happy with her, so that’s all that mattered. 

1 July 2018

It seemed like Rena was around all the time now, like she was at every show since night two in New York. You tried to busy yourself by going around the town you were in or talking to Alex, but you missed Harry. It was always like this when he was dating someone; the first few months, he would completely forget about you and always hang out with the person, but once he starts settling in, he wants to talk to you. And since he’s only been dating Rena for a month, he hasn’t been talking to you lately. 

You watched Harry on stage in St. Paul next to Rena, Alex, and Jeff as Harry was wearing a sparkly pink Gucci shirt with a pussybow on the front and some black trousers. The energy in the room was amazing. By far it was the best performance of ‘Medicine’ you’ve seen him perform. He even held out a pair of handcuffs in front of the crowd, making them go crazy, and he looked up at your section, glancing at Rena before smirking, making you cringe a tad bit as she cheered. 

At the end of the show, you greeted the band, and immediately Rena was attached to Harry, which made you impatient because you wanted to hug him like you always do. But they were wrapped in each other’s arms as they kissed, no plans of letting go of one another. 

“Hey, wanna head out?” Alex asked. You still hadn’t said hello to Harry, but you figured you could text him later, so you nodded, glancing back at the two of them and walked out with Alex. He took you to a diner that wasn’t too far from the hotel and you both ate breakfast for a midnight meal because breakfast simply hits differently when it’s at an unusual hour. Alex then walked you back to the hotel room, and you were exhausted by this point. You just wanted to get out of your shoes and sleep for a very long time. You were lucky that you weren’t sharing a room with Alex because sometimes you just needed to be alone, and this moment was that time. “So, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” he said, stopping in front of your room and your brows raised as he continued. “We’ve been dating for about a month now, and I really like you, so I wanted to ask if you wanted to be my girlfriend.”

You had expected anything else, but that question. Your heart beat practically stopped for a moment as you looked at him, wondering if he was serious, and when he didn’t say he was joking, you realized that he was actually being serious. 

“Oh, uhm…”

“It’s been fun getting to know you and travelling to these places with you, so I figured it was time to ask you.”

“Alex...you’re a really nice guy, but I’m just not sure I can be your girlfriend,” you told him honestly, and his brows furrowed. 

“Why’s that?”

“I-I like you, but I feel like my feelings for you aren’t 100% there when it comes to being your girlfriend.” He only nodded, and you were getting quite anxious when he didn’t say anything. 

He then started laughing, pacing around in the hallway and you crossed your arms. 

“That’s hilarious,” he said. 

“What-”

“No, the only reason you don’t want to be with me is because you’re in love with someone else!” His voice raised, making the hallway echo a bit. You looked at him, not knowing what to say. “Yeah. I know you’re in love with Harry. Noticed that the first time I met you; that you were staring right at someone that wasn’t yours, but desperately wanted to be.”

“I…” you were speechless. Had you really been that obvious about your feelings towards Harry that everyone around you noticed? 

“It’s a shame though, isn’t it?” He had a grin of the devil; mischievously and humiliating. You looked at him nervously, urging him to continue. “You’re in love with someone that doesn’t even want you,” he stated. “That doesn’t look your way for a second when he thinks about a relationship because you’re only his assistant. Not once would he look your way down the street if you weren’t working for him,” he looked you up and down, and your eyes started watering, and you were embarrassed that you were about to cry in front of Alex as he crushed you in every possible way. “It’s okay, don’t cry. You have me,” he opened his arms to take you in for a hug, but you physically pushed him away because now you were angry. 

“I have you? Are you fucking kidding me? After you just humiliated me?” You were breathing out through your nose as your tears made their way down your cheeks. 

“Hey, I’m just telling you the truth-”

“Why did you even ask me to be your girlfriend?” You asked, genuinely confused on his logic. 

“Well, the question that you’re supposed to be asking is why did I talk to you in the first place?” 

“Why did you?” 

“Since you want to know so bad,” he teased, and you rolled your eyes. “When I saw you, I definitely liked you, but then I saw you were giving heart eyes to Harry, so I thought I could change your mind. See if I could switch your feelings up,” he chuckled. 

“So, this was some sort of experiment? Guessing your hypothesis was wrong then, huh? Go ahead and write your conclusion as: fucked her, but dick wasn’t good enough to fall in love. So, fuck off,” you rolled your eyes and opened the door before slamming it shut in his face. Your back was leaning against the door as more that you’ve been holding onto fell from your face as you heard him still talk. 

“You’ll never be like Brooke or Rena, or whoever he dates in the future! You’re nothing to him!” He yelled through the door as his words came out muffled. 

Sliding down the door, you finally heard him leave, and you were full on sobbing. You tried not to let his words get the better of you, but the way Alex spat them out so easily, it was hard not to. 

Because what if he’s right. 

7 July 2018

Harry noticed that you had been feeling off the entire week. 

It was like you were simply existing, but not present in some moments when people would talk to you. You had this dull look on your face, and it wasn’t the same as your bright and happy look that he looked forward to everyday. He noticed it when everyone was leaving from Minnesota, and he told himself that it was because you were tired, which was true, but he didn’t know the whole reason. 

After the show in Seattle, he didn’t see you like he used to, and he wondered where you or if you even watched the show. Once he high fived and talked to everyone for a bit, he headed to his dressing room, hoping that you were in there, but you weren’t. So now, he was worried. 

H: Hey, where are you? He texted. Luckily, Rena wasn’t around anymore because she would want all his attention after the show. He simply couldn’t take someone being so clingy, so he called things off with her. It may have also had to do with the fact that he didn’t want to hide his feelings anymore, and being with other people just wasn’t working for him anymore. Not when you were in front of him. 

It’s been a long time coming now, and he felt stupid for not telling you in the first place since he’s been in love with you since last year--during the time he was with Brooke. He was honestly afraid to tell you, and when he heard Brooke say it, he just felt so much shock run through him, so he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t have an excuse as to why he got with other people while being in love with you, but it just made him feel in control of himself because he couldn’t control his feelings towards you, so he got scared. So, he decided that when everyone gets to California in two days, he’s going to confess his entire feelings for you. 

Harry walked to your hotel room, knocking on it as he waited for you to answer. He could hear shuffling and movement through the door, and he hoped to god that Alex wasn’t in there with you. 

“Who is it?” You said through the door, softly. 

“Angel, it’s Harry. Can I see you?” He asked. There was a pause, but then he heard the door handle rattled as you opened the door. 

Your face was a crying mess and your hair was up in a very messy bun. Harry’s mouth opened slightly as he concerningly asked, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” His question and concern had made you sob even more as you shook your head. “C’mere,” he pulled you in for a hug and you sobbed into his chest as he walked you over to the edge of your bed. He observed your room and saw that there were a stack of clothes folded on the other bed along with your open luggage with some of your belongings inside. “Angel, what’s going on?” You pulled your head out of his chest to look at him, knowing that he was probably wondering why you were packing; and he had a sad expression on his face. 

“I’m leaving,” you simply said. 

“Leaving? Where are you going?” His brows furrowed. 

“I’m going back home.” 

“W-What? Why?” 

“I can’t be your assistant anymore, Harry,” you cried, and Harry’s heart sank as his jaw dropped. 

“What are you talking about? A-Are you quitting?” You stood up, placing the stack of clothes in your luggage as you sorted them. 

“Y-Yeah,” you said quietly, and Harry has never been more confused in his life. 

“W-What did I do wrong? I’m sorry we haven’t been seeing each other lately, but I promise after tour-”

“No, no. It’s not you, I promise,” you shook your head. In this moment, you felt like you should tell him everything because he deserved an explanation from you. “Please, listen, okay?” He nodded. You walked to sit on the desk chair in front Harry as he sat on the edge of the bed. You proceeded to tell him everything that Alex said from him asking you to be his girlfriend to you saying no. “He said these mean things that-”

“What the fuck did he say?” He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. 

“Just listen,” you stopped him. “He said those things because I’m in love with someone else…I’m in love with you, and you probably heard Brooke say that, but you didn’t say anything, so I just assumed that you didn’t want to believe it.” It was the words Harry has been wanting to hear and he went to open his mouth, but you immediately started talking again. “I have been ever since I started working for you, and I thought it was just a crush on my boss, but it’s way more than that. Alex told me I’m not good enough for you and that you would never love me, and I think that’s true-” 

“No! That’s not true! I love-”

“Please, don’t,” you shook your head as you sobbed. You’ve been waiting for years to hear those words, but you knew that you couldn’t hear them just yet. “Don’t say those words because I’m leaving and to prove Alex wrong.” 

“I’m not trying to prove him wrong, it’s true,” Harry’s eyes watered, and you sighed.

“What he said got me thinking…I go to all these stores and pick shit up for your love interests, sending me a list of all their favorite things, and wishing that they were for me. And in the midst of it, I realized you don’t know what my favorite flower is! I’ve been hurting for so long that I covered it up everytime and put a fake smile on my face just to see you happy.”

“Your favorite flower is-”

“I just really think that I deserve to be happy as well,” you nodded your head as a way to try and convince yourself. 

“You do deserve to be happy, angel baby. But we can be happy together? I-I… want you here. With me.” His voice was filled with hope, and it only made it harder for you. 

You closed your eyes for a moment, burying your face in your hands. “I want that so bad. I do, H. But I really need to be happy with myself and by myself first. I depended on you and the others around me a lot, and I just didn’t save that love for myself, so…I need to leave,” you sniffled, wiping your cheeks. 

“And when you come back?” 

“I don’t know when that will be or what’s going to happen, but I’m not asking you to wait for me or anything because you should live your life. But when I come back, I’ll call you, and we’ll talk,” you told him, and it seemed like you had everything planned already, but you were just as lost as he was. He dropped his head, crying into his hands. You rolled your chair closer to him, grabbing his wrists, and he lifted his head. “We’ll be alright, okay? Just need a little time to myself.” He nodded, sniffling. 

You stood up and walked over to your luggage, zipping it closed before you looked around to see if you forgot anything. Harry stood up and walked over to you, grabbed your wrists, and pulled you to him, giving you a hug. His face was buried in your neck and you felt him press kisses against your skin as he cried. 

“You’ll be back?” The pain in his voice was enough to tip you over the edge of bawling. 

“Yeah, I’ll be back,” you said in between sniffs. “I’m going to stay with my parents for a while; get a job back in Oregon,” you told him, so he’s not completely out of the loop. He pulled back, looking down at you. 

“When you come back, your job will always be here.” You smiled sadly, raising your hand to caress his cheek. 

“We’ll see, okay? But I have to go to the airport now. My flight is in two hours,” you managed to free yourself from his grasp as it tightened so you wouldn’t go, but you really had to. 

“Let me drop you off?” He offered, and you shook your head. 

“No, it’s only going to make this harder,” you said, grabbing your luggage and backpack. “Have a great rest of the tour, alright? Take care of yourself,” you placed your palm on his cheek again, looking in his sad eyes before you reached up and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you, honey.”

You walked out of the room with no glance back at him, and Harry was alone in your hotel room, and it was the last memory of you that would be ingrained in his mind forever. 

14 July 2018 

The crowd cheered loud for Harry for his final show in Los Angeles. He overwhelmingly smiled as he took a deep breath before continuing onto the next song. Everyone seemed to know what the next song on the set list was, so the room went a bit quiet as the crowd turned on their flashlights as the lights went completely dark, and the only thing was heard was the strumming of the guitar. 

Woke up alone in this hotel room… As he sang, he took in his own lyrics, feeling like they really related to him at the moment despite writing the song two years ago. Harry sang with every emotion in him as he let it all out in the dark room that was silent, and the only thing he heard was his voice and the guitar that was played by Mitch. 

We haven’t spoke since you went away…He had thought of you every night he sang this song since you left in Seattle, and it pained him that there was no contact between you ever since you left, but he figured that was what you wanted. What you needed. 

Comfortable silence is so overrated… The moments when there would be silence between you two, he hated looking back at those moments because he knew he should’ve said something, you would’ve still been here. 

Why won’t you ever say what you want to say? Why didn’t you say anything, Harry? 

Even my phone misses your call, by the way…He missed your contact name pop up on his phone that went along with his contact picture for you. You were smiling bright as you ate ice cream. It was a summer day in New York and really warm outside, so you decided you two took a break from running around and got some ice cream. You were so happy that day, and he was happy he got it on camera. 

Harry would often find himself looking at your pictures together; trying to pinpoint the exact moment you knew you were in love with him. Your smile always made his day, and it broke his heart knowing that he wouldn’t get to see that smile for a long while--at least he hoped it’s not a long time till he gets to see you again. Since, he knew when his feelings had progressed, he looked back on the pictures when he knew he fell hard. His smile had gotten bigger and the look he gave you was full of love, and he wished that you saw how he looked at you. 

He missed you so much. 

13 December 2019

It took you quite a while since you felt whole again. 

You hadn’t felt so empty as you had been when you left Seattle. The year and a half you spent back at home really helped you with that. You were able to find yourself again; spending time with your family and with yourself was something so refreshing that you cherished every moment with them. You learned a lot about yourself, and you reshaped your own worth and values. You came back stronger than ever and you’ve never been happier than you are now. 

You nervously walked over to the section you were going to be sitting in. The room was dark and the crowd was absolutely wild as they were finally seeing the one person they’ve been waiting for. You looked down, watching your step as you held your phone with the flashlight on your feet as they stepped onto the red floor of the pit, until you saw the familiar faces you’ve been looking for. 

“Y/N! There you are!” Glenne smiled, taking you in for a hug. “I’ve missed you babe,” she said in your ear as you hugged her tight. 

“I missed you too, so much.”

“Hey, Y/N. It’s good to see you again,” Jeff said, giving you a warm embrace. 

The music was playing and the crowd had gotten louder as the man of the hour finally stepped on stage, and all the spotlights were pointed on him. You watched him as he walked down from the high stage to the main stage, grabbing his guitar as said hello to everyone before strumming the first note. 

As you remembered, he was amazing on stage as he wore the same outfit as the album cover. He ignited the crowd with his charm and voice that left people in tears from being so overwhelmed by him. You felt overwhelmed as well; seeing him for the first time in a year and a half had made you quite emotional. 

You knew you wanted to go to Harry’s ‘One Night Only’ show when he first announced it. From keeping in contact with him, you figured you could keep in contact with updates of him, and what he’s up to these days. You streamed his music, watched his music videos, and stayed up late just to hear a snippet of him on the radio. You were always excited when you would get the notification on your phone of new pictures and videos of him because that was the only way you were able to see him. You found out that he had spent quite some time in Japan towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year. You really hoped he was doing okay. During the days of finding yourself, the thought of seeing him again had scared you, and you weren’t ready for that, so you waited until this day to see him. 

So, at the beginning of the week, you had texted Glenne that you wanted to go to the show, and she immediately said yes, putting your name on the list. You told her not to tell Harry just yet because you wanted to surprise him, and she was on board with the idea as was Jeff. 

They were both really supportive of you during your times sulking and growing, and Glenne had even visited you in Oregon to make sure you were okay and simply just missing you. You were really thankful for both of them because you knew that it was hard to see their two friends in pain, but you were glad that they supported your decision. Glenne had always known that you were in love with Harry, and you told her ever since you figured your feelings out. But you had made her swear on her life and Jeff’s that she wouldn’t say a word about it to anyone, not even Jeff (although Jeff saw it coming). 

“He’s going to be so happy to see you and know that you’re here,” Glenne said to you as the beginning of ‘Fine Line’ was starting. You thought the album was an  absolute masterpiece that was composed of beautiful lyrics, melodies, and emotion. You made sure to dance and cheer for the songs you didn’t know the words to extra loud, and you sang to the ones you knew without hesitation. You stayed up all night, listening to the album multiple times on repeat and trying to get the words down, and you were sure everyone did the same. 

As you listened to Harry sing the outro and the words ‘We’ll be alright’ coming out so effortlessly, you were reminded of your words to him as you left the hotel room. The song was quite hard hitting and you felt every inch of your skin cover in goosebumps. 

You practically lost your shit when Stevie Nicks came out and performed ‘Landslide’ with him, and when he sang ‘Wonderful Christmas Time’ while fake snow was falling from the ceiling. Before you knew it, Harry was in the middle of singing ‘Kiwi,’ and Glenne tapped your arm, telling you to follow her and you knew that you three were going backstage already. You felt butterflies in your stomach, feeling really nervous to see him again up close after a year and a half; and you only hoped that he was happy to see you as well. 

You heard the muffled final beat of the song as the crowd loudly cheered for him, telling him to do another song, but you knew that it was the end of the show. Jeff had walked way ahead of you both to grab Harry really quick, so he could point his attention towards you. Your hands were shaking as your arm was looped with Glenne’s as she provided physical support for you, holding you up, and continuously telling you that he’s going to be so ecstatic. 

Cheers erupted from the crew as everyone hugged each other, proud and happy of the success of Harry’s first show of his sophomore album. Once you were close enough, you could make out everyone’s faces. The band was there along with Harry’s friends and producers that had written the album with him. Finally, there was Harry; his back was facing you as he hugged Jeff, and Jeff gave you an amusing smile as he hugged his best friend. You heard him whisper into Harry’s ear, and Harry pulled back, saying, “What?” 

Jeff nodded, and Harry quickly turned around. His face was pulled into a shocked expression as his eyes widened and his body was practically frozen as he took in your presence. You smiled softly, waiting for him to say or do something because you didn’t know how he felt with you being here on his special night. 

Finally, he took two long strides towards you, pulling you in for a hug. Your body collided with his, and smiled into his shoulder, wrapping your arms around his tone body. 

“How are you?” You whispered in his ear as you practically felt him shaking in your arms. 

“I’m doing good. Better now,” he said softly. “What the fuck are you doing here, angel?” He chuckled, finally realizing that you were here in his arms. The sound of your pet name had widened your smile as your eyes watered; feeling so happy that you finally got to hear that name come from out of his mouth again. 

“Came to see you,” you said in his neck. He pulled back, looking at you in the eye before smiling like crazy as he took you in his arms again. He felt like he was on the moon; the overwhelming feeling of the feedback from the album, the show, and now finally getting to see you for the first time in a very long time—he truly couldn’t believe it, so he held you tight, not wanting to let you go as he felt like if he did, then you would vanish again. You felt his hesitancy or not wanting to let you go, so you whispered in his ear, “Hey, I’m here. Not leaving.” 

He eventually pulled back, and noticed everyone that gathered around you two, and smiles were on their faces with their hands over their hearts. They all had really witnessed Harry struggle the past year and a half; from song writing, recording, rehearsing, and just being present. They really saw Harry at his lowest, and now they're happy to finally see him happy now that you’re here. 

“I-I have to go meet some people and take some pictures, but do you think, uhm…” he trailed off, realizing that he might be acting too eager. 

“H, I’m right here. Do what you have to do, and I’ll wait for you, alright?” You told him with a smile, and he nodded. He didn’t want to walk away from you, but you knew that some people were waiting for him, so he had to leave. He gave you one last hug, which brightened your smile, and he walked down the hall of The Forum. “Stay in my dressing room!” He called out, and you laughed, remembering the talks and moments in his dressing room after his shows. 

Heading over to his dressing room, you stopped to say hi to everyone as they excitedly greeted you. You couldn’t believe that you were here again. The journey to get here was a struggle, but reuniting with everyone had made it so worth it—seeing Harry again was worth it, and you knew that you had to do it. 

After an hour of catching up with the crew and band, and sitting on his couch, mindlessly flipping through the pages of the Fine Line Booklet that contained pictures of Harry in the process of recording his album, he finally showed up. Sighing as he walked in from the rush of the entire day, once he saw your face again, he knew he wasn’t in the state of dreaming because you were really here. 

He took a seat on the couch next to you, taking your hand in his. He hesitantly raised your hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on the back of it; you smiled at the sweet gesture, caressing your thumb against his hand. 

“How are you, angel?” He asked, softly smiling as he was trying to contain his excitement that you’re finally here. 

“I’m good, H. I’m happy,” you said, and hearing that made Harry’s eyes glossy because that’s all he wanted from you. He wanted you to be happy; with yourself, with others, and with life. 

“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” he smiled, dimples poking out. You reached over to caress his cheek, rubbing his dimple out, and he turned his head to kiss the inside of your hand. 

“I want to hear everything from you--catch me up on everything?” He nodded eagerly, wanting that from you too. 

“Security said that the parking lot is empty now because they had to practically kick everyone out, so there’s no one out there, but what do you say we go out there and walk around the parking lot?” He suggested. It was almost midnight, and despite being exhausted and overwhelmed by this whole day, he’d rather stay up and talk for hours with you. 

“Are you sure? You’re not tired?” You asked, and he shook your head. 

“No, not at all. It’s been a year and a half since I last saw you. I want to spend time with you.”

“Okay, I’d like that,” you smiled, and he nodded, telling you that he was going to change really quick. He walked over to his duffel bag, grabbing some clothes before walking over to the changing room that was in his dressing room. Before he walked in, he turned around, facing you. 

“Hey.” You perked up, smiling. He missed your smile so damn much. “Your favorite flower is a baby pink peony,” he said before walking into the room. 

You were immediately taken back to the night when you had left when you had told him that he didn’t know what your favorite flower was, but all this time, he knew. He had always known. 

Walking towards the exit of the venue, the night was dark as the moon shined from up above you. With cold air rushing through you, you shivered, and Harry smiled next to you as you two walked through the emptiness of the parking lot. Before you two even spoke a word on how to go about having the ‘catch up’ conversation, you sensed Harry’s nervousness as he felt a bit hesitant with you because of the distance and time spent apart. But you wanted to remind him that you were the same person. You had the same feelings for him, and you really hoped he had some feelings for you too. 

So, you brushed your left hand against his right hand, cheeks flushed, and you interlock your fingers together, holding his warm ringed hand with your small one. 

This was it--this moment right here. This was where you were supposed to be. 

please come into my inbox and tell me how you’re feeling and what you thought of this! she was an emotional one :’)

#harry styles angst #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #harry styles friends to lovers #boyfriend!harry #harry styles dirty imagine #harry styles one shot #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader #harry styles ff #harry styles writing #harry styles one direction #harry styles #hs #harry

[darthwheezely]

dating fred weasley and being a ravenclaw

wow i am a SIMP for this man! this ain’t new info but! he is truly such a divine man and like…yeah i had to- also this might be longer because Fred has a lot more things to cover in terms of this and his own issues sksksjjs

warnings: light smut, angst at parts, wicked hot men named frederick gideon weasley, mentions of sexual degrading and not the hot or kinky kind :/ basically dudes being scumbags

people that might like this (?): @whiz-bangs78 @wand3ringr0s3 @gcdric @thatdumbbitchxx @pansydaisy��@vogueweasley @slytherinsunrise @thehufflepuffwife @theweasleyslut dm me to be on the twins taglist or for requests for blurbs/ships/one shots :)

fred thinks you’re an actual literal on god 111% angel sent by god

i swear-

he basically runs into (…literally) when escaping from filch, and knocks into you coming out of transfiguration

and i shit you not, he catches you by the waist like mid dip

oh my GOD please I’m in love with him

Fred Weasley, professional jackass, looked down at you hand still on your waist. He grinned at you and winked and you swore to god you heard the sparkle sound effect. “Hullo, gorgeous.” He heard filch scream “WEASLEY!” and broke away from you, pulling you up and pushing you off of him, leading a running filch to slip in the middle of the hallway, the hall erupting in laughter: including you. Fred inhaled harshly, heart pounding at you laughing at something he managed to pull off. “I’ll…I’ll see you again, yeah?” You froze smiling in place. “Um…yeah…yeah you will?” “Yeah?” He grinned. “Yeah.” With another wink he sped off down the hall…

he couldn’t stop thinking about the wicked hot girl in the hall

god what house was she he thought?

oh shit she had blue on fuck she’s a ravenclaw he thinks. why does he think like that?

she’s outta my goddamn league, he thought before he could stop himself

“Freddie, I know you’re not giving up on the idea of this girl this easy.” George shook his head smirking in the Hall.

“I’m not giving up on anything - she’s just…too good for me.”

“Mate, you know nothing about her except how her eyes ‘sparkled like the stars’ or some whack Tolstoy shit like that…besides, you always did love a challenge, yeah?” At that Fred grinned.

“Georgie, I was thinking exactly the same thing…”

frederick gideon weasley knew what he had to do

FUCKING RUN AROUND THE CASTLE AND LOOK FOR YOU DUH

i swear he probably skipped like a half a day of classes just running from classroom to classroom tryna find your gorgeous self

he also probably was like “anyone seen a literal angel around” and everyone was just like ~please shoot this kid he cannot be deadass~

anyway, he’s starting to run out of breath guys, pobrecito is about to give up for the day and throw in the towel but then

then, fellas and foals-

he sees you

sitting in the center of the quidditch pitch

reading a book and writing in your notebook

and god when i tell you he physically had his ass floored

i mean, Jesus Christ, it’s the way you were just serenely sitting in HIS favorite place in hogwarts, not even in the stands, just absorbing life in the ACTUAL PITCH just

just being there

“What are you doing here, love?” You look up and see Fred, chest heaving, rosy cheeked and fucking glorious. He looked otherworldly with the sun at his back, seemingly glowing. “Knitting a sweater.” You said coolly, and gave a small smile. He bit his lip and made his way over to you and sat down in front of you.

“I’d like that sweater somewhere else, gorgeous.”

“Where, in your mum’s dirty laundry?” He scoffed

“No silly, on me but I’ll take that option too ;)”

You scoffed back and rolled your eyes. “On you? Please, this is made to fit an actual person with a body, Fred.”

“And I don’t have a good enough body for it?”

You bit your lip, gathering courage to look straight back at him. “I wouldn’t know I haven’t seen it.”

and that alone has Fred Weasley garnering a massive tent in his pants

He gulped. “Whats your name, darling?”

“Y/N. Y/N Y/L/N.”

He grinned, blushing wildly. “Y/N, you’re never getting rid of me now”

that, my dear, was the truth at its finest

for the first time, he’d found a woman that matched his energy

his banter his intellectual mind was finally satisfied by this beautiful, honest, blunt girl that made him

HIM, THE MAN THAT CAN NEVER SHUT THE FUCK UP, be still.

be quiet. be at peace

“freddie, don’t fucking prank first years you’re better than that”

“Fred, please don’t be a bully. You’re not an unkind person so don’t act that way, okay? Come on”

it’s about three to five days of just non stop flirting

constantly leaving him breathless and without a rebuttal, again something no one has ever been able to do

after this period, he’s eating in the great hall, not having talked to you today and bouncing his knees violently

and he sees you get up and leave the hall

this prompts him to get up and run after you

“Y/N!” You turn to see him running full speed behind you, and you smile widely, blushing a fair ton as he stops in front of you, chest heaving. Your smile falters as he doesn’t say anything “Fred, w-what’s wrong?” He then bites his lip “I’m sorry but I have to” and presses his mouth to yours. You kiss back immediately, wrapping your arms around his neck as he backs you up against the wall. The kiss is hungry, passionate, and after a few moments he pulls off you and leans his forehead to yours. “I need you.” He says hoarsely. “And I need YOU, Freddie.” He smiles and you wrap your legs around his waist…

from that moment, you two are inseparable

we are talking handsy too

oh fuck this about to get fluffy as hell

freddie basically waits until you’re out of class and then will pin you against the wall and kiss you like he hasn’t seen you in years

“My angel, it’s been far too long.” He says breathlessly, smiling wide before giving you a kiss attack, sending ammunition of kisses all around your face, making you giggle uncontrollably. “My love, it’s only been an hour,” you say in between full body laughter. He then stops, looking at you very seriously. “Darling, that simply will not do,” he clucks and then throws you over his shoulder, sending you into fits of laughter again as he takes you to your next class.

you and fred have so much sex

empty classrooms

in his dorm

in your dorm

in the locker rooms

in the library

“Freddie, harder baby, please” you gasp out as he’s thrusting inside of you at a rhythmic pace, him slipping into you like hot oil, skin slapping as he has you in the shower. “How much do you need me, angel? Cmon love I wanna hear your words...” “yes, yes I need you please” you moan as he hits a new angle “That’s my princess, taking me so well, do you love it when I fill you up? Fuck you so good you can’t walk?” You nod and throw your head back. “Freddie, I’m gonna come” “Good girl, princess, come all over my cock” He growls setting a faster and harder pace, as he chants your name like a hymnal, his hips and movements getting sloppier as he finally releases into you, chest heaving and presses his lips to your forehead.

“Where should we try next, gorgeous, hmm? I think snape’s office should do it, he won’t even know us from the grease stains from his nose” this earns him a smack on the arm

fred marks you up constantly too

wants everyone to see how much his “good little princess” really feels

anything that says “I choose/belong to fred weasley” he’ll make you do

and you adore it and think it’s hot as fuck

he’s also marked his name onto your thighs and boobs before

george basically accepts the fact that you’re his new baby sister too, and when fred isn’t there will protect you like it ashsajdsahjsa

by this i mean fred has employed him to (but mainly george just does it because he loves you too)

but basically

during potions, draco slides in next to you and propositions you:

“How about we strike a deal, Y/L/N?” He looks at you smugly. You roll your jaw. “Yeah I agree, you shut the fuck up and let me pass our project, and I get all the credit without you destroying my handiwork?” He flares red and grabs your wrist. “I know Weaselbee the fourth probably tastes like the rest of his family - trash - but how I about I let you try something different, hmm?” You immediately pull away from him when he releases and make an attempt to focus back on your book. 

fred obviously hears about this because some slytherin guys in the hallway are talking about how much Y/N wants to suck Malfoy’s dick

he’s not stupid, he knows you get sexualized by that dumbass constantly, even before y’all started dating

basically he finds draco in the boys bathroom, corners him, and beats the fuck out of him 

“if you ever get near my girlfriend again, i swear to godric i won’t be so nice next time - don’t wanna get your balls cut off before 17 do you?” 

oh and he’s stupid hot when he’s mad btw but we all been knew

he finds you where he always finds you once you start dating, in his dorm stop his bed

He swallows thickly at the sight of you clearly upset, watching you sit up immediately tears welling in your throat as you begin to apologize. “Freddie, love, I didn’t do anything I promise I didn’t want him to come onto me-“ “Y/N, it’s never your fault. You have to trust me with that I...I hate seeing people hurt you love.” He pulls your body into him whne he reaches the bed, touching you like you’re porcelain, careful not to break you. “I know I get violent and angry or pouty when guys do that to you because I feel like you’ll either choose someone else or I can’t protect you and...you mean everything to me, my angel.” He whispers into your hair, tears stealing on his cheeks. “I promise no one will hurt you anymore because I love you and loving someone means you do anything for them.” He babbles like a small boy, convincing himself of everything until he realizes he’s said it and he inhales. “Y/N y-you don’t have to say it ba-“ “I want to say it back. Remember? I love you and I need you, Fred.” You look up at him softly, chin on his chest and he smiles through tears on his face. “And I love you and I need YOU, my love.”

fred knows you love him and choose him over everyone but again

he gets insecure

in the way George is scared people won’t see him as Fred

fred is afraid you’ll find someone better

someone more stable and less quick tempered

you guys have fights sometimes that end in frustration or angry sex

but fred is always there an hour later sitting outside your dorm door praying to god you forgive him for his mistake

he’s never abusive or malicious

he just gets impulsive with pranks or doesn’t consider feelings sometimes

ON TO THE BURROW!!!!

molly is so thankful for you and hugs you immediately as you walk through the door whispering

“Thank you for making my son feel how he deserves” and your eyes water lightly murmuring a thank you

you instantly catch bill’s attention as he notices the way fred is so much calmer and confident with you around

he seems more sure of himself, and not as angry

his temper too is calmer with your presence, as if the very essence of you is soothing to all youre around

he is, so so in love with you

and yes he can be brash

and yes he can be insecure

and yes he can be impulsive

but yes he would do anything for you

but yes he sees you like no one else can

but yes he knows you struggle and he wants to be there

fred weasley is absolutely incandescently in love with you

and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

#fred weasley headcanons #fred weasley #fred weasley smut #fred weasley x ravenclaw!reader #Fred weasley imagines #Harry Potter #harry potter imagine

[homoose]

Love Has a Learning Curve: epilogue (reader)

Summary: An early morning, a doctor’s appointment, a new beginning.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader

Category: fluff

Warnings/Includes: pregnancy (including like… probably incorrect math and science but my degree was in English and this is fanfiction okay)

Word count: 2.7k

a/n: I’m actually so emotional don’t look at me thanks ♥️

Series Masterlist

———

The sound of Spencer’s ringtone pierced through the early morning quiet, shrill and disconsolate. Y/N hummed against his chest, shifting as he clumsily reached across to the bedside table to answer it. 

“Hey,” he croaked, voice still smothered in sleep. “Mm... When?” He paused, and she could almost make out the answer on the other end. “Got it. Yeah.” 

He carefully set the phone back on the bedside table, and then his arms came around her shoulders. He let out a long sigh, the one she’d gotten quite used to over the last year and a half— the one that meant he had to go. She squeezed him around the middle and let out her own sigh. “Case?”

“Yeah.” He ran light fingers down her arm. “Jet’s taking off in ninety minutes.”

She glanced at the bedside table to the alarm clock that read 4:57am. They both knew he needed to leave within the next half hour if he was going to make it on time, but neither one made any effort to move. Instead, they breathed together in the pre-dawn stillness— a single moment of peace before the world and all its ugliness could crash through the fortress they’d constructed around their space and around each other.

“I don’t wanna go,” he whispered. 

“I know.” She pressed a kiss over his heart through his t-shirt. “I know.”

“I’m gonna miss everything,” he lamented. “Appointments, and milestones, and firsts, and I— I’m gonna miss all of it.”

She lifted her head at the tears in his voice. “Hey.” She shifted in the circle of his arms to prop herself up on his chest. “You’re not gonna miss all of it. You’ll miss this one appointment. And it’s— it’s not even an important one,” she assured, gentle fingers swiping away the lone tear that had managed to escape over his lash line. 

“Yes, it is.” He shook his head. “They're all important.”

She gave him a sympathetic smile, leaning forward to press a quick peck to his lips before sitting up and deciding to reassure him in the only way she knew how. “Okay, doctor. Eleven weeks. Tell me what we’re gonna find out today.” 

She pulled him up out of bed, interlacing their fingers and pressing their shoulders together. As she led him to the bathroom, he explained, “Dr. Layton will do the first ultrasound, and Baby will look more like a baby now. At around ten weeks they made the transition from embryo to fetus. They’ll be about two inches long.” 

She handed him his toothbrush and turned to grab his toiletry go-back from the linen closet, stifling a yawn. “Mmhm. What else?”

“Did you know they’re breathing now?” he asked, and she smiled at the way the excitement crept into his voice. “Between weeks ten and eleven, the fetus starts to inhale and exhale small amounts of amniotic fluid, which aids in the development of their lungs. It’s kind of like they’re breathing underwater.” 

“I didn’t know that,” she admitted, turning back to set the bag on the counter. “That’s pretty amazing. What about the heartbeat?”

He nodded vigorously as he applied toothpaste to the bristles of his brush. “We should be able to hear it, although sometimes it’s too early— depending on the accuracy of the estimated date of conception.”

He ran the water over the toothbrush before popping it into his mouth. She kissed his shoulder and then moved back into the bedroom, shuffling into their closet for his go bag. She checked it over on her way back to the bathroom, ensuring it had been fully repacked after the last case. She set it on the counter and placed his toiletry bag inside, leaving it open for him to pack his toothbrush and then sitting on the closed toilet lid. 

He rinsed his mouth and put his travel cap over the head of his toothbrush, gesturing with it and then dropping it into the bag. “They’ll do some routine lab work to test for things like gestational diabetes, and we can also choose to do additional screeners for chromosomal abnormalities and possible complications.” He looked at her then, and she saw the despondence creeping back in. “I should really be there, just— just in case.”

“Honey.” She stood and held out her hand to him, smiling a little when he accepted it with a squeeze. “It’s gonna be okay.” 

He let out a breath and pulled her into his arms, and they held each other in the silence, the soft light from the vanity washing over them. His phone buzzed with an incoming message, and she knew he needed to get on the road. Still, she held him for a second longer, and then they shuffled through the door and into the bedroom together. 

Y/N made her way back to bed, scooting down under the duvet to preserve the last remaining notes of his body warmth. She watched as he dressed silently, pulling on trousers, socks, a button up and cardigan. He skipped the tie in favor of coming to sit on the bed, bringing his hand to rest lightly over top of her belly over the covers. 

She covered his hand with her own and laced their fingers together. “Maybe you could ask Luke if you can FaceTime with his phone. You can probably take twenty minutes, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.” He rubbed a tired hand over his face. “Maybe I should just upgrade my own phone.”

She huffed out a laugh. “Oh, I see how it is. Couldn’t upgrade for me, but once a baby comes along you’re ready for an iPhone.” 

“That’s not— you— you shouldn’t have to do all of this alone,” he huffed, and she realized her joke didn’t land when his voice cracked at the end. 

“Spence, I’m— I’m just teasing.” She lifted her hands to his face, pulling him closer and meeting his eyes. “I’m sorry; you’re upset, and that wasn’t nice.” 

She leaned up to kiss his forehead, letting her lips linger and breathing him in. “But I’m not alone. With you, I feel— the opposite of alone.”

“Irritated?” he offered. 

“No,” she laughed. “Supported, and cared for, and loved,” she corrected with a smile. “You’ve been all of that since day one. And I know that’s not going to change, whether you’re physically present in that doctor's office or not. Right?” 

When he nodded, she continued, “I love you. The most. And you are easily the best baby daddy on planet earth. Okay?”

The term of endearment dragged a smile from him, as it always did. “Okay.”

She leaned forward to press her lips to his, both sets upturned and a little dry from sleep. “Now, you need to go, or you’re gonna be late.”

“I know.” He kissed her again, long and slow, and then pulled back to lean their foreheads together. He hesitated for another ten seconds before standing to grab his bag from the bathroom. 

When he re-emerged, she reminded him, “Ask Luke about the FaceTime thing. I’m sure he won’t mind, and we can trust him to keep the secret. The appointment technically starts at 1:00, but I probably won’t be seen until at least 1:30.”

He crossed to give her another kiss. “I love you.” He crouched to press a kiss to her tummy. “And you.”

“We love you, too,” she smiled, fingers tangling in his curls. “And we’ll talk to you in a few hours.”

She kissed him one more time— couldn’t help herself. And then his warmth was gone from the bed, and the house was suddenly much too quiet. She snuggled back down under the duvet, her head on his pillow and the scent of his shampoo shrouding her senses and easing her mind.

Spencer really was supportive— endlessly so. Not overbearing, but interested and involved in every moment: reading all the newest research, bringing home her favorite treats, writing out a color-coded timeline of all the appointments and milestones. She wasn’t lying when she called him the best baby daddy. He was always there for her. So much so that the apprehension she’d had at the beginning of this surprise journey was nowhere to be found. 

As she drifted back into sleep, there he was again— she could almost hear the jangling of his keys in the bowl in the entryway, his feet on the stairs, the rustling of his pants and sweater being discarded onto the floor of their bedroom. 

And then she felt the warmth of his palm low over her tummy, coming to rest over the barely-there bump. She felt his lips on her shoulder and his chest pressed against her back. When she went to cover his hand with her own, her exhausted brain registered that it wasn’t a dream at all.

She turned her head, blinking her eyes open to see him smiling at her and drew her brows together. “What’s going on?”

He pressed another kiss to her shoulder, snuggling even closer and rubbing his thumb along her belly. “I’m, um— I told Emily I’m gonna consult from home on this one.”

…

“Okay, Mom, this’ll just be a little bit cold.”

Dr. Layton smoothed the gel over Y/N’s lower abdomen, and Spencer moved to thread their fingers together, shifting to stand even closer to the examination table. The ultrasound machine gave off a low hum as the doctor adjusted the wand over her tummy. She felt Spencer press a kiss to her temple and turned to smile brightly at him before turning back to the black and white screen. 

At her first appointment five weeks ago, she’d been by herself— alone and uncertain and terrified— and she’d declined the option of the ultrasound. It felt wrong to see the baby before Spencer even knew about them. Now, together with him, with her soon-to-be husband— she was more than ready to see their baby for the first time. And she could practically feel Spencer’s excitement next to her, his body nearly vibrating with it. 

“Ah, here they are. Hello, Baby Reid.” Dr. Layton pointed to a small, white figure on the screen. “Okay, right here, you can see their big ol’ head— perfectly normal size for this stage of development,” she assured, eyes deftly scanning the image in front of her. “Everything looks great! Now, I’m just trying to find…” 

She adjusted the wand over Y/N’s tummy, and suddenly a wub wub wub came over the tinny speaker of the machine. “There we are,” Dr. Layton smiled. “Very strong heartbeat.”

Spencer squeezed Y/N’s hand, and she felt the drop of a tear on her shoulder. She brought her other hand over to cover their tangled fingers, rubbing her thumb along the skin of his wrist and kissing his arm. 

Dr. Layton made a slightly perplexed humming sound, moving the wand again and losing the sound of the heartbeat, only to pick it up again— this time slightly faster. Y/N’s own heart stuttered a little as the doctor moved the wand again twice more, and then cleared her throat. “Is something— is everything okay?”

She turned to Y/N with a kind smile. “Yes, yes,” she confirmed, and then she raised her eyebrows. “Just— do you hear the difference?” 

Spencer tilted his head in consideration, drawing his brows together and straining to hear. The doctor shifted the wand once more, allowing them to hear the two distinct patterns. 

Two distinct patterns, Y/N realized. 

Dr. Layton pressed the wand a little more firmly into her abdomen, moved it just slightly. “Those are two different heartbeats.” She pointed to the screen. “And those are two different babies. There’s a matching set of Baby Reids in there.”

Y/N couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping. “Is there—” She turned to Spencer incredulously. “Do twins run in your family?”

He shook his head silently, eyes wide. “Yours?”

“Nope,” she squeaked. 

“This obviously changes things slightly,” Dr. Layton explained, cleaning up the residual gel. “I’d like to see you every three weeks rather than every four. Then at twenty eight weeks, we’ll see how we feel, okay?” 

She smiled gently as Y/N and Spencer nodded dumbly. She removed her gloves and stood. “I’m going to give you two a few minutes. I’ll be back with your photos in a bit, and we can talk about any questions you might have.”

The door closed behind her, and the room was bathed in silence. Y/N sat up carefully and swung her legs over the side of the examination table. She looked down at her tiny, unassuming bump and felt a tear slip over her lashes. 

“Are you— are you okay?” Spencer whispered. 

She brought her gaze to his, found them teeming with barely restrained joy and yet the ever-present worry. “Well,” she started. “I, um— I always imagined two kids.” She brought her hands up to her sweaty cheeks and held her own face between her palms. “I guess this is— you know— just a quicker way to get there.”

Spencer immediately wrapped her in a hug, pressing kisses over her hair, her forehead, her shocked mouth. “Two babies. We’re having two babies.”

“Twins, Spence,” she breathed. “Twins.”

He replaced her hands with his own, cradling her face and kissing her sweetly, sighing all of his joy and adoration into her mouth. “I love you. So much. The most.” He lowered himself to press his lips to her belly. “All of you.”

She used gentle hands in his hair to tilt his face up, meeting his smile with a watery one of her own. “We love you, too, baby daddy.”

She could see the gears turning as he stood, his hands coming to rest on her hips. “About that.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Yes?”

“Do you, um— how difficult do you think it would be to get everyone together this weekend?”

She paused. “You wanna get married this weekend?”

“Yeah, that’s probably too soon, huh?” He huffed out a sigh, then his eyebrows shot up. “Oh, what about next weekend?”

“That’s just as soon!” she laughed. 

He furrowed his brow. “No, it’s not. There's a seven day difference.”

“You’re really in a rush, huh?” she teased. 

“Well. I just— I figure you should really be on my insurance anyway,” he reasoned. “Especially now that it’s— now that it’s twins.”

“Mm, yes, I’m sure that’s the reason,” she grinned.

He let out a long breath, and she watched his eyes journey over her face— memorizing every curve and angle, every new wrinkle, every last inch of her. And she knew the reason. 

“I know it’s just a piece of paper,” he murmured. “It doesn’t really change anything, but…” He used gentle fingers to brush her hair back from her face. “I just… really want to be your husband.”

She took her own minute to memorize the way he looked in this moment: her fiancé, the father of her children, the best man she’d ever known, the absolute love of her life. And she knew her own reason. 

“The paper might not change anything,” she agreed. “But— you’ve changed everything.”

He squeezed her hips. “In a good way I hope.”

“The best way.” She brought her hands to his face, rubbing her thumbs along his cheeks. “The best way.”

He closed the distance between them to kiss her with all the honey and magic and reverence he always did. He broke away to lean his forehead against hers with all the warmth and devotion and love he always did. She sighed, and it was all joy and vulnerability and contentment like it always was. And she knew their reasons. 

She kissed him again, and then murmured against his lips, “You know I’m still gonna refer to you as baby daddy, right?”

The laugh erupted from his chest and wrapped itself around her heart, tying tight and secure— a shield, and a haven, and a refuge— keeping her safe from every terrible thing. 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

…

O no! Love is an ever-fixed mark 

That looks on tempests and is never shaken; 

It is the star to every wandering bark, 

Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.

- William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

———

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#spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x you #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds self insert #homoose writes #lhalc

[bokutoslittlebird]

Family Vacation

Bokuto x reader x Akaashi

Author’s Note : no incest, I promise ; the request included some slight BokuAka interaction, however I made it more than slightly ; the hot springs resort is loosely based on three different locations under the Kinosaki Onsen in northern Hyogo [Mikuniya Ryokan, Yutouya Ryokan, Nishimuraya Ryokan]. Each one offers different things, but they all have some common aspects that I liked: seafood served during winter months [November - March], traditional ryokan, and options for the hot springs [indoor, outdoor, and family] ; holy fuck is this wrong.. but holy hell is it erotic

Warnings: introduction of the Bokuto family, best friends to lovers au, playful teasing [about reader’s virginity], some mlm [Bokuto x Akaashi] interaction, fingering, face-sitting, handjob, blowjob, cum eating, spit exchanges and mentions, no penetrative sex, virgin!reader, virgin!Bokuto

“Oh, [Y/N]! I’m so glad you could make it!”

“Thank you for having me, Bokuto-san,”

“Oh, dear, call me Fuyumi! You’re practically family, anyways,” she smiles, eyes crinkling as she does. Her smile makes you smile, bowing in respect as if you haven’t known her for years.

The Bokuto family always spent their winter vacation before New Years at an Onsen in Hyogo. Yasurai-fukurou was well known for their hot springs throughout the year, but their meals included seafood in the winter. Kōtarō and Shinjiro both love seafood, especially crab, so it made sense the Bokuto family would come to this place specifically. Winter meant snow, and snow meant the garden view from the spring was gorgeous, having the silver lining the green foliage as the pebbles along the ground glistened with melted snow, cold and slippery. It was Kōtarō’s and Machiko’s favorite season, so it was an added bonus. The family had the money to spend, treating the members to a relaxing trip. Even Keiji, Kōtarō’s friend, joined them his first year at Fukurodani.

You didn’t usually attend, yet you always wanted to. Your family celebrated holidays differently, so you often found yourself swamped with family activities around December, only getting free to hang out by the time school started back up. Always wishing to go, you finally got your wish this year. With the stress from school this past semester, your family decided to let you choose what to do, so you declined spending the holidays with your family. Instead, you were free to spend that quality time with the Bokuto family. Fuyumi practically begged Kōtarō to invite you, knowing you’d be alone, so you didn’t have to worry about inviting yourself. There was one problem, however.

“[Y/N] should room with us!” Machiko points out. “She can’t board with boys!”

“What do you take us for? We’re her best friends,” Kōtarō waves off his sister. “I worry Amaya might try to wrestle her,”

“She could use the practice!” She pipes up, only to be shut back down. “I wouldn’t hurt her,”

“Why not let the girl choose herself? It is where she will stay, in the end,” Shinjiro said. Although he was right, you suddenly felt your heart tugging in two different directions. Machiko and Kōtarō gave you the puppy dog eyes, begging to choose them. A heavy sigh came from you as you weigh the options presented in front of you.

“I trust Keiji and Kōtarō, I’ll room with them,”

“No!” The two girls dramatically shout, falling to their knees. Fuyumi laughs, patting your back.

“Good choice, dear,” she compliments. You know why. Her daughters may be considered mature and adults, but they are both hectic and chaotic in their own way. At least with Kōtarō, he has Keiji with him. There’s no reason to mull over the decision, you know full well that Keiji and Kōtarō wouldn’t hurt you.

Once settled into each room, your bedding laid between the two of them, the trip to relax in the ryokan was in order. The two genders were separated, of course, so you sat in the spring with Machiko, Amaya, and Fuyumi. It wasn’t a bad thing, being with the three, but you knew Machiko and Amaya like to tease you.

“Gosh, [Y/N], you’re so innocent! You’ve never done anything?” Amaya’s face made it seem like she was much more malicious than on the surface. “Even I had a couple boyfriends that I had special adventures with before your age,”

“Excuse me? Amaya!” Fuyumi scolds her daughter. “You never told us this,”

“Why would I? You and dad never allowed me to have a boyfriend until I graduated. Kōtarō even had a girlfriend in his second year,” she pouts, puffy cheeks making her less malicious and much more adorable. Though unintentional, her words make your mood sour, Kōtarō’s slipping from her lips. Machiko notices this, however.

“Well, Kōtarō is a boy and I told your father to make sure he doesn’t do any of that dating stuff, but it seems like he did,”

“You know, I’m kind of tired. I’m really relaxed,” you mention, moving to exit the water. “I should lay down and take a nap,”

“Oh, are you sure? Dinner will be served soon,” Machiko holds out her hand, as if to stop you. You’re quick about getting out, rinsing yourself off before wrapping a robe around your naked body.

“I’m sure. Wake me when dinner’s ready,” you cheerfully smile, waving to them as you leave the setting. Your smile falls, an artificial thing as you continue to pad towards the room. Passing the window leading to the garden, you notice the cascading of the white snowflakes, shimmering in the light from the outdoor lamps. It’s peaceful, the way it floats down to the ground until it rapidly melts, joining the slush forming on the pathway. A sigh leaves you, heart aching from the words Amaya let spill.

It wasn’t her fault, you tell yourself that as you continue to the room. Amaya doesn’t know, but Machiko does. Machiko has always had the older sister intuition, knowing when her younger siblings had something to hide or something embarrassing. Whether it was from her years of travel around the world, or just a trait of hers, she could pinpoint things that made you want to crawl in a hole. What does Machiko know, exactly? Your big, fat crush on her little brother.

Kōtarō has been your crush as long as you’ve known him, aka since you guys were waddling around with chubby legs. Your family and his family live near each other, so it made sense for you two to play a lot as children. As the years passed, your admiration for him evolved into a crushing thing, yet your young mind wouldn’t allow such a horrid thing to be spoken. No, it festered until you broke down one day in high school and confessed to the dark of the night, the only witness of your confession was the moon. You confessed that you loved him, you were in love with him, nobody else could compare. It hurt even more now, knowing you were falling in love with him while he was loving someone else. Even Keiji probably loved Kōtarō, knowing how close they were. You wouldn’t put it past them to be in a relationship, either. Each thought accompanied a step you took, each one bringing tears to prickle your eyes as you finally shut the door to the room, and your problems.

With the dark encompassing the room, you found yourself easily situating yourself on the ground to cry, curling up in a ball as you did so. A pathetic scene, you knew it was, yet you couldn’t help yourself.

After you left the ryokan, Shinjiro happened to be talking to the boys in front of him, both of them flushed red from the warmth of the bath and the topic at hand.

“I knew something was off in the way your mother encouraged you to invite her! I never thought it’d be that, however,” his guffaw had Kōtarō sinking into the water, bubbles coming from his nose as he huffs. Keiji looks at him pitifully, but doesn’t do much of anything else.

“She doesn’t even like me like that. This trip was a mistake,” Kōtarō mumbles, his mouth going back under the water. Keiji sighs, looking into the water where his distorted hands lie. Before he can speak, Kōtarō beats him to it. “I have to go to the bathroom. I think I’ll leave early,”

“You sure it’s just that?” Shinjiro teases. “Or are you going to wait for your lovely friend?”

“Okay, maybe it’s a bit of both,” he huffs, cheeks puffed out. Keiji lets the words die on his tongue, letting Kōtarō leave the spring without any reason to look back.

Shinjiro sighs, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks into the water. “Maybe I went too far. I shouldn’t tease him about his crush, it seems like it’s important to him. I don’t think she sees him in that light, anyways,”

“She does, actually. I think she’s been in love with him for a while,” he confesses. Shinjiro’s eyebrows rise as the words sink in. However, he is quick to understand. No longer laughing and joking, his smile is more bitter and sad. A pity smile.

“And you’ve been in love with her, haven’t you?”

Keiji turns his head to the side, yet he nods. The red dusting his cheeks is no longer just the warmth of the water. Shinjiro moves closer to Keiji, putting his hand on the younger man’s back.

“Then tell her. You both need to confess, not let this fester and turn into something ugly. Don’t let this ruin your friendship with Kōtarō, either. It’s not worth it,”

“I know. I know, Bokuto-san,”

“When you gonna call me Shinjiro? Or even dad? You need to let loose, Keiji!” He laughs again, getting Keiji to crack a smile.

While Keiji ponders how he should go about this, Kōtarō trudges up to his room for the week, unaware you’ve also turned in early. His mood has taken a turn for the worse, hair deflating as he pouts. No matter what, he’s always found himself finding your validation to be the most important. Throughout the years, he’s reached out to both you and Keiji for validation, finding them both to be important to him. While he knows Keiji partially does it just to make him happy, which he is thankful for, he knows yours is genuine. Even when he forced himself to move on, knowing you didn’t see him in that light, he found it hard. You followed him into his dreams, gleeful chimes of your laughter as the future he aims for bloomed into an obtainable goal. Yet, he’d wake up to see the empty space beside him, a brutal reminder that his dreamt future would stay in his head, playing on loop until he could do something about it in the real world.

When his door comes into view, he sighs, relief flooding through him. As he gets closer, he hears a soft voice from inside. Leaning his ear against the shut door, he hears you — a squeak of his name, accompanying a soft mewl, most likely held back due to the thin walls. Even he understands what you’re doing, it’s not like he’s never thought of you that way, finding himself wishing you could relieve his stress in the best way possible. As to respect your privacy, and settle his nerves, he quietly creeps away, to his parent’s booked room. He decides to use the toilet in there, giving you a few moments to finish your own business.

Leaning against the door once more, he doesn’t hear your heavy breaths or your moans and mewls, so he slides open the door to see you under the covers, laptop shining in your face as a movie plays. “Hey, what’re you doing here?”

“Huh?” You jump, turning to see Kōtarō’s large frame at the entrance of the room. It’s scary, the way he seems to have popped up after you finished, or attempted, getting off on thinking of him. “Oh, Kō. It’s just you. No more hot springs for you?”

“Oh, no, I found it to be getting too hot,” he lies, rubbing his neck. The robe you’re wearing is the one you put on after exiting the spring, so his perverted little mind knows you’re completely naked underneath. Not only that, you’re probably nice and slick from thinking about him—

He stops himself, hearing your voice. “Did you hear me? I asked if you wanted to watch the movie with me,”

“Oh, sorry, off in my own world. Uh, sure, what is it?”

“Crown for Christmas. A sappy romance Christmas movie, from America. It’s very predictable, but it’s cute. My mom loves it, so I brought it to watch,”

“Oh, that’s interesting,” he hums, lying on his own bedding. He didn’t move closer to you, giving you some space, but he finds himself panicking when you move closer.

“Can’t see if you’re all the way over there, dummy,” you giggle, pressing play. He can’t find it in himself to focus, the movie being background noise to his thoughts. The hot springs help to add a special glow to your skin, making it seem smoother than before, and you smell so nice, not to mention he can feel his cock throbbing at your soft voice calling out his name. What would it be like if he used his own fingers, would you be able to hold back? Or would you come completely undone as you came on his fingers— even better, his cock? Just the thought has him groaning, head shoved into his pillow as you pause the movie, probably confused.

He looks up, seeing your dazed expression — yep, totally confused. He sighs and shrugs, apologizing. “Are you okay? You seem.. tense,”

“Tense?” That’s one way to describe it, he supposes. “I’m just.. dad was teasing me earlier. That’s why I left. I’m.. remembering what he said,”

“Oh, I get that. Amaya kept teasing me about girl stuff, so I left. Machiko tried to stop me, but I was already out of the water,” you admit. It’s not the full truth, but that’s okay.

“Girl stuff? Like what?” Kōtarō never shied from girly stuff, including the weird stuff that happened to girls like puberty and the menstrual cycle. You chalked it up to his older sisters being shameless, never making it seem gross. Even when you started your period in class, Kōtarō was there to help you, a knight in shining armor.

You wish they were less shameless.

“Oh, um, you know, the romantic stuff,”

“Like? Boyfriends?”

“Yeah, I’ve.. never had one. No experience on my end. Amaya was teasing me because she had a couple of boyfriends before my age, so it.. it didn’t hurt my feelings, but it made me feel some kind of way, you know?” Your attempted explanation was kind of butchered, trying to explain it without giving too much detail. Kōtarō wouldn’t judge you, of course not, it wasn’t something to judge you about.

He knows the feeling, being inexperienced.

“W-Well, if you want any experience before going into the dating scene, I could.. always help you,” he whispers. His words hang in the air, settling into both of your minds. He’s berating himself for using such a lame line to try and get in your pants, but you’re trying to find a way to say yes without seeming desperate. However, “I mean! I have experience, so I could help you! I’d say I’m pretty good at doing stuff. Oh! It could be like.. any advice or something.. hands on,” he whispers the last part again, his confidence melting like snow on a summer’s day when your face falls.

It isn’t you don’t want it, you just would prefer him to not word it like that. It reminds you of Amaya’s words and the pain in your chest, the churn in your stomach. “If you’re gonna be like that, maybe I should ask Keiji,” you huff, turning your body away from his. Focusing on forcing your stomach to stop twisting in knots, you don’t even notice when Kōtarō closes the laptop and presses himself against you. Well, not until you feel something pressing into your back. “Kō—”

“Don’t be like that. I’ve never actually gone all the way, I’ve been saving that for someone special. I can help, though, if you’d let me,” his breath fans over your ear, sending shivers down your spine. His arm snakes under you, pulling you into his stomach while he lays on his back.

“Kōtarō!”

“You’re stressed, gotta loosen up a bit. I’m helping,” he just says, making sure your legs are hooked over his. With the lack of clothing under the robe, your nether region is spread open towards the door, sending your adrenaline skyrocketing. Kōtarō is quick to ease that, his thick fingers spreading open your folds while his middle finger rubs against your sensitive clit. “You’re absolutely soaked, do I turn you on that much?” He’s grinning, you know he is. Gritting your teeth, you keep your mouth closed as you focus on the feeling of his fingers, now sliding up and down and collecting your slick.

Kōtarō doesn’t want to tease you for too long, slipping his middle finger into your cunt as you mewl, hand coming to cover your mouth. “What a reaction. I wonder..” he trails off, pulling his finger out, only to add in three fingers. You’re arching, legs tending against his as he fingers you, lips pressing themselves to your hair and ear. When his tongue flicks out against your ear, you squirm and he grunts, his left arm keeping you firm against him. “Sensitive, are you?”

He doesn’t get any vocal confirmation from you, but the way you’re clenching around his fingers tells him all he needs to know. He makes sure to keep his thumb bumping against your clit, adding pressure. You can feel the familiar feeling, the beginning of an orgasm as he pumps his fingers into you. With a squeal of his name, your nails dig into the meat of his arm, liquids spilling out of you and all over Kōtarō’s fingers. The squishing sound enters your ears, legs tensing as you mewl, his fingers rubbing themselves against you some more.

“You’re so wet.. I bet it’d be easy to slip my cock in there, wouldn’t it?” His voice is low, a rumble in his chest as your cunt clenches at the thought, your wildest fantasies so close to coming to fruition when someone clears their throat. You pop up, Kōtarō jolting and keeping you on his chest as he moves.

Keiji is looking at the both of you, a heavy blush adorning his cheeks. The room is dim, only the lights from outside the inn illuminating him. He’s right at the door, right in front of where Kōtarō was just fingering you. Kōtarō’s hand finally leaves from between your legs, glistening wetness shown in the lamplight. “If you want to give her experience, you need to go over everything involved in foreplay, Kōtarō. There’s more to prep,”

“M-More?” your voice is small, barely a whisper as you find more slick oozing from you, Keiji entering the room. He kneels down in front of you, still held against Kōtarō’s chest.

“Has he even kissed you, yet? Or did he go headfirst into fingering you?” When you shake your head, Kōtarō himself sucking in a breath, Keiji knows he was right. With the elegance he always exudes, Keiji tilts your chin up towards him. “Then, allow me,”

The kiss is gentle, yet not simple. His lips are firmly against yours, molding perfectly as he keeps your chin tilted. As he deepens the kiss, you find your hands grasping at his own robe, feeling yourself lighter than you were when you had entered the room. Keiji moves to pull away, a brisk kiss on your lips once more before swiping his tongue over your bottom lip, sending heat all over your body.

“Akaashi..” Kōtarō whines, his grip on you tightening. “This is supposed to be my time with her,”

“Well, you’re going too fast. Why not elongate the time spent together, hm?” His voice sends tingles down your spine, his hands removing you from Kōtarō’s grasp. “Lay back, Bokuto-san. You’ll get your turn,”

Your brain is going haywire as he speaks, undoing Kōtarō’s robe with unconscious grace. He’s not doing it on purpose, you know he isn’t, it’s just how he is. Once Kōtarō has been disrobed, you find more heat springing to your cheeks as his muscles ripple and flex. The lack of light prevents you from seeing everything, but you’ve always found yourself insatiable when thinking of his broad frame and what hides under his clothes.

“Give me your hand, [Y/N],” Keiji’s voice has you coming back down to earth, yet you find yourself once more shy with Kōtarō’s legs spread, his cock heavy and so large in Keiji’s hand. You comply, though, your much smaller hand joining Keiji’s around Kōtarō’s girth. It’s so much, the way it feels and the heat of the skin under your fingertips. A soft groan comes from Kōtarō as Keiji moves his hand, his other hand shuffling you between his legs.

“This is called a handjob, [Y/N],” Keiji says. You nod in understanding, realizing he’s teaching you. “Moving your hand up and down the shaft is the basic function of it, but you can also use your fingers to tease the slit, like so,” he demonstrates, swiping his thumb over the small slit, puffy and red where Kōtarō’s cum is dripping from. The simple act has Kōtarō throwing his head back, moaning as his hand covers his mouth. The walls are thin and if his family is back, they probably have a good idea of what’s going on.

“I see,” you hum, continuing to move your hand up and down the shaft. Keiji nods, seeing you’re understanding.

“Or tease his balls, like cupping them or massaging. Don’t squeeze them hard, though. It won’t feel very nice,” his hand moves to cup and tease Kōtarō’s balls, the man himself laying on his back as his face turns red, the ministrations getting to be too much. “There’s also a blowjob, but we can teach you that next time,”

“N-Next time??” You squeak, jumping a bit. Whether it was a one time thing or the beginning of a relationship didn’t cross your mind. His words, however, seem to please you more than imaginable.

“Of course, darling. We’re not done here, either. Why don’t you let Bokuto-san show you what other kinds of pleasure he can give you?” At Keiji’s words, Kōtarō pops up with a bright smile on his face.

“Sit on my face, baby,”

“Oh, woah, wow, uh..” you stop, unsure how to politely decline. His mouth and nose, down there? Not to mention your weight on his head? You were sure he’d regret his decision. “I don’t think”

“I’ll be fine. C’mon, I gotta show you what else my mouth can do besides dirty talk,” he winks, sending more heat to your cheeks, making you feel rather hot for a winter’s day, clad in only a robe. Keiji seems to read your mind, taking your robe from your shoulders, the belt falling undone easily from the previous activities. Once you’re down to your birthday suit, Keiji presses a kiss to your shoulder blade, a whisper to go that sends you crawling closer to Kōtarō’s face. He grins, eagerly taking your thigh and placing it on the other side, keeping your drenched cunt close to his face. He says something, but only a muffled noise comes out, his tongue swiping along your folds.

With your back to him, Keiji wishes he told you to face him and watch, yet he finds the scene of you erotic. He may have a bit more expertise than you and Kōtarō, it seems that’s all that’s needed. He smiles, gaze catching on the way Kōtarō’s fingers dig into the fat of your thigh, making indents. Completely forgotten, Keiji spits a glob onto Kōtarō’s cock, him jumping at the feeling. With a few more pumps of his hand, he flicks his tongue against the head.

Kōtarō’s moan has you mewling, the sound acting as a vibration as your fingers tug harshly on the silver and black strands. Though not as long as they were in high school, there’s enough to grasp and pull on. The wet sounds from behind you has your head turning, eyes falling on Keiji’s mouth wrapped around Kōtarō’s cock. It’s an erotic scene, his head moving up as more of the length is revealed, his blue eyes settling on your own as you feel a nip down below. So focused on Keiji, Kōtarō wants your attention all on him. Keiji chuckles, almost like a hum, that vibrates around the cock in his mouth that has Kōtarō moaning.

The tongue that flicks against your clit has you squirming, restrained mewls and moans leaving your lips as hands tug on his locks. Kōtarō licks and suckles on your clit occasionally, then moves down to prod and swipe over your entrance. The position makes it easy for him to breathe, but he moves down further. New position has you squealing, hands flying to your mouth as you squeeze your eyes shut to focus on the pleasure. Another moan from Kōtarō that sends shivers down your spine, heat to your core, accompanying the obscene noises of Keiji sucking Kōtarō off.

With Kōtarō’s nose bumping against your clit, his tongue’s only focus is on your pretty little cunt, sucking and swirling his tongue. The sensitivity from earlier makes quick work of you, hunching over as your thighs tighten around Kōtarō’s head, his strong hands keeping you from hurting him as you gush all over his face. A moan comes from him as he laps at your juices spilling over his face, his own orgasm coming as Keiji takes him down as far as he can. Globs of white cum spurt from the side of Keiji’s mouth, a gagging sound as he struggles to swallow it.

A hand on your shoulder has you leaning back, falling against Keiji’s chest with his cheeks puffy. Kōtarō manages to look up at the scene, gaze fuzzy as he watches Keiji kiss you once more, cum seeping from where his lips meet yours. When Keiji pulls away, his tongue is out, pushing the dripping cum into your mouth where the rest lies. It’s enough to have Kōtarō hard once more, a dark and heavy blush settling across his cheeks and nose.

The thick appendage pressing into your back once more has you gasping and jumping, some cum spilling out your mouth and down your chest. As it travels between the valley of your breasts and over the perk nipples, Keiji takes it upon himself to lap at the milky droplets. You gulp down the rest in your mouth, making a show of it by tilting your head up, throat contracting as you swallow it all. Kōtarō finds himself unable to look away from the scene.

“Ah, seems like someone’s still raring to go,” Keiji breaks the silence, eyes glancing back to look at Kōtarō’s cock, once more standing tall and proud. He then looks to you. “Shall I let you handle this one alone?”

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu smut #Mr. Kōtarō #Mr. Keiji #BB.Kinky #bokuto x reader #akaashi x reader #akaashi smut #bokuto smut #BokuAka #bokuaka x reader #cw.cum play #cw.semi public sex #tw.semi public sex #cw.spit

[eirikaanemo]

Trust Fall

Warnings: Description of a panic attack

Venti x GN!Reader

2k Words

Venti helps you get over your fear of heights.

Things started out alright. You were at Angel’s Share with some friends, relaxing after a long day of work. “Jean works us to the bone. And I can’t even be mad at her! She does so much too,” you groan. Kaeya and Amber nod in agreement.

“I know how you feel,” Amber sighs. “Sometimes I really wish I could be mad about it but we’re so short on hands that she just can’t help it.”

“I’d almost blame Grand Master Varka, but he’s just too likable,” Kaeya commiserates. You all simultaneously take a good, long sip of your drinks.

“Wow, you guys look awful,” someone behind you comments. Amber glances over her shoulder.

“Oh, hi Venti,” she replies. “Sorry, we didn’t see you there.” You turn in your seat to see your boyfriend, Venti standing there. It looks like he’d just finished performing for other patrons and was ready to get some drinks himself.

He slid into the seat next to you and waved to Diluc, who was managing the bar himself tonight. “Dandelion wine, please,” he called out excitedly. Diluc rolled his eyes but slid a drink over to him and walked to the other end of the bar to serve other customers. Venti hummed in delight as he took a swig of his wine.

“You sure like dandelion wine a lot, huh Venti,” Amber remarked.

“Of course I do, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he proclaimed with a smile.

“And here I thought your partner here was the best thing that ever happened to you,” Kaeya mused loudly.

“Them too,” Venti agreed. “Both of them have a special place in my heart. I love them a whooooole lot!” You hid your face in your hands and groaned, hoping no one noticed your ears turning red.

“You know, if you’re doing that much maybe you should take some time later to relax and have fun,” Venti observed.

“Maybe we could go gliding together or something.” Amber considered it, but then noted, “That wouldn’t really work, with your partner being afraid of heights and all.” You pulled your head out of your hands to glare at her.

Thankfully Kaeya seemed to be too busy flirting with someone to have heard what Amber had said. Convincing him to keep it a secret would have been much harder. Glancing at Venti you noticed him looking at you, thoughtful and concerned. He’d definitely heard and you were definitely not ready to deal with that right now.

“Amber, I thought we agreed not to talk about that,” you whispered not-so-quietly.

“Oops,” Amber said sheepishly. “I forgot you were keeping that a secret.”

“It’s fine,” you sighed. “They know now so there’s nothing we can do about it. Just keep your mouth shut about it from now on please.”

She nodded vigorously. “I promise,” she assured you.

Kaeya seemed to have completely forgotten about you, chatting with yet another group, this time half-way across the bar. With your friends gone you took another sip of your drink and turned your attention back to Venti. He still looked contemplative, and it was starting to make you nervous.

Amber finished off her drink with a gulp. “Well, I’d best be heading home now,” she admitted. “I have to get up bright and early tomorrow.”

“Alright, sleep well then,” you wished her. “And get home safe.” She responded with a big smile and a ‘thank you’, and headed home.

“What’s on your mind, Venti?” You asked nervously.

“Are you really afraid of heights?” He asked.

“Well, kind of,” you confessed. “It’s honestly more like a fear of falling, to be honest. I’ve noticed that I rather enjoy the view when I’m confident I won’t fall.” He nods in understanding.

“And I guess gliders don’t really look all that trustworthy,” he ponders out loud. You nod sheepishly.

You consider your options, but keep coming back to how he seemed to have a longing look in his eye when he mentioned wanting to go gliding with you. He really did want to go. And he’d done a lot of things for you that he hadn’t really wanted to do. Maybe you could give this a try. Just for him.

“Well, do you think you could trust me?” He asks. You send him a funny look.

“Of course I trust you, you’re my boyfriend.” You explain exasperatedly.

“No, no,” he said, shaking his head, “that’s not what I meant. I meant to ask if you would trust me to not let you fall.”

“Why do you ask?” You inquire nervously.

“Well, I would like to go gliding together sometime and I was thinking maybe I could help you feel better about doing it. Y’know, since I have an anemo vision and all. I could help keep you from falling."

---

“Alright,” you sighed. “I’ll give it a try.” The smile he gave you in response was almost enough to make it worth it all on its own.

“Thank you,” he exclaimed as he reached over to drag you into a hug. “I promise you won’t regret it!”

You regretted this already. Venti chattered excitedly as the two of you made your way up to the place he’d decided to glide from. Apparently it wasn’t as high up as some other places, according to him, and you were really grateful for how considerate he was being, but you still felt really, really nervous.

There weren’t just butterflies in your stomach, there were all sorts of other creepy crawlies that sent a shiver down your spine as you thought about what was going to happen soon. Taking a deep breath to calm your nerves, you continued to follow Venti up the slope. Your heartbeat pounded in your ears as you tried to not look over the edge to your left.

You made it to the spot much too soon in your humble opinion. Daring a glance over the ledge, you could feel yourself pale as you saw how small the trees looked. Without realizing it you started to breathe faster, slipping into hyperventilation with panic seeping into your bones and suddenly you couldn’t breathe. Visions of every way this could possibly go wrong flashed through your mind.

A hand on your shoulder brought you back to reality. Venti had maneuvered you into a seated position and was gently humming a tune that you recognized to be one of your favorites. “Hey, come here, it’s alright,” he murmured softly. Shuttering, you tucked yourself closer to his side and closed your eyes. Focusing on your breathing you started to calm down. In, one two three. Out, one two three. In, one two three. Out, one two three.

When you had finally calmed down you chanced a glance at Venti, ashamed of your sudden reaction. Would he be angry? Maybe frustrated? Upset that you weren’t trying hard enough to do something he wanted to do? But when you actually met his eyes you saw nothing other than pure concern and worry.

“Are you okay if I hug you?” He cautiously asked. “I really want to help in any way I can but I know that sometimes people don't want to be hugged and need space and I don’t want to make things worse for you-” You cut him off by pulling him into a hug yourself. He carefully, slowly wrapped his arms around you and gently held you- not so tight as to make you feel trapped but not as loose as to make you think he didn’t want to hug you.

Pulling away quickly, you wiped the tears from your eyes. “No, no,” you exclaimed, “if you want to do this then I want to do this. Besides, I’ll have to face my fear sometime. And what better time to do it than when I have someone I trust there to catch me if something goes wrong.” A watery smile makes its way onto your face, your tears not quite ready to leave yet.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered to him. “I know you really wanted to do this and I’ve messed it all up.” Your eyes were moist. You blinked. And you could feel tears start to roll down your cheeks.

“Shhh,” he whispered, “there’s nothing to apologize for. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, I love you and want you to be happy. And if that means we don’t go gliding together, that’s okay.”

“How, uh, how exactly do I hold this again?” You inquire sheepishly. Venti quietly laughs a little, stands up, and walks over to you. He gently adjusts your hold and explains how to use the glider for what’s probably the twentieth time. Holding tightly to the glider you walk a little closer to the edge.

“Are you sure? You really, really don’t have to,” he said as he wiped some tears from your eyes.

“I’m sure,” you stated, determined to give this a try. For him.

“Alright,” he said softly, “just let me know when you’re ready.” You nod, take a deep breath, and stand up. Picking up your glider you turn it over in your hands.

Backing up some first, you started running and, closing your eyes first, you jump off the edge. “Open your eyes if you can,” Venti called to you. “The view is half the fun!” Then you heard him whoop as he jumped off the ledge to follow you, his glider already out and ready to catch him. You cautiously open one eye, then the other, as you choose to trust Venti and admire the view.

“Alright,” you start a little shakily. “How is this going to work?”

“Well, first you run to the edge and jump off the edge,” Venti describes. “Then you hold onto the glider until you reach the ground. I’ll make sure the wind doesn’t bother you.” You nod, determined to do this.

Just like Venti promised, no winds blew you off course. With his help and your trust in him, you somehow felt safe knowing that he could and would catch you if you fell. Because of this you were able to actually enjoy the view. He was right, it was beautiful and a lot of fun to see it grow as you gently glided towards it.

Eventually, and much too soon for your liking, you touched down to the ground. You fell to your knees and thanked Barbatos for your safety and for your amazing boyfriend. Even though you had been able to trust Venti, you felt yourself shaking from both remaining fear and the adrenaline running through your veins. You could feel more than hear Venti touching down behind you and jogging over to you.

“Are you okay? What did you think?” He asked carefully. You looked up at him and smiled.

“I think,” you said slowly, “that we’ll have a lot more gliding dates in the future.” He beamed and pulled you into a hug, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“I’m glad,” he whispered, “I’m really glad that you trusted me enough to give this a try. And I’m glad that you enjoyed it too.”

You grin and pull away again, this time completely. You laugh as he pouts at you, before picking up your glider and running back towards the slope. “Ready to go again? I bet I can make it back up first!” You tease him. His pout turns into a grin as he grabs his glider and chases after you. And that’s how the two of you spend the rest of the day.

You smile and pull back a bit to kiss him on the cheek and smile up at him. “Thank you for helping me overcome my fear, Venti. You’re the best partner ever.”

He blushes, pulls you back into the hug, and whispers in your ear, “No, thank you. You’re truly the best thing that’s ever happened to me, dandelion wine doesn’t hold a candle to all you mean to me. Thank you so much for being my partner.”

#eirika writes #venti x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin venti #venti

[ptergwen]

4 times peter loved you and 1 time he said it

warnings: angst, swearing, and flash being a dickwad (love him tho)

a/n: i wasn’t sure if i would ever finish this bc i started in march? and gave up but i really like the concept so i made myself get back into it and AHH i’m really happy with how it turned out! fingers crossed y’all like too ahaha. also this is unrelated but send me requests!

-

to say you and peter were each other’s missing halves would be an absolute understatement. there wasn’t a secret you didn’t share, an inside joke you didn’t have, a text or call left unanswered, or a second you weren’t on the other’s mind.

it had been like that since your first day of freshman year. you took the seat next to peter in first period spanish, and the rest was history.

peter knew you better than you knew yourself. as cheesy as it sounded, it was true. he could guess what you were going to order at a restaurant before you picked up the menu. if you had a bad day, he’d come over to your place with tissues and hugs, without you having to ask. he knew all the little things.

you? you were a peter parker encyclopedia. you watched all his favorite movies so he could rant to you about them, and you’d actually understand what he was saying. whenever he felt overwhelmed by his chaotic life, you found a way to calm him.

you two were soulmates in best friend form.

best friends, nothing more.

♡ 1.

you had an arm around peter’s neck as you picked at some fruit on his lunch tray. his head was resting comfortably against your cheek, whole body leaning on you. impromtu cuddle sessions weren’t unusual for the two of you. they worked in both of your favors. peter was your own personal heater, and you were just really comfortable to nap on, in his opinion.

“are you gonna eat all my grapes? i was looking forward to those,” peter whined, taking one out of your hand. “are you gonna keep using me as a pillow?” you challenged. he responded by moving his head to your shoulder and chewing. “then, yes. i am gonna eat all your grapes.”

“you know what two people who share food are?” ned chimed in from across the cafeteria table. already knowing what he was implying, you sighed. “what, ned?” he cupped his hand over his mouth like he was about to spill the world’s biggest secret. “a couple.”

it wouldn’t be a regular day without ned trying to play matchmaker for you and peter. the idea made peter scoff. “leave us alone, man. that doesn’t even make sense.” “yes it does!” ned nudged mj for backup. she only raised her hands in defense. it was always a hard pass from her on getting involved in these types of things, unless she found a reason to.

“really? how?” you grabbed peter’s milk and took a sip just for the hell of it. he chuckled at that, forgetting he was supposed to be annoyed with you. a bit of milk dripped down your chin in the process. “oops,” you grimaced at yourself and licked it away.

something about the whole thing made peter’s heart clench. it was so... you were so... cute. cute was definitely the word he was looking for. wait, what? that was new. peter had always thought you were pretty and all, but he’d never found himself endeared like this over such a little thing you did. or had he? no. nope. it was ned’s stupid theory messing with him. that was all.

“y/n, dude, everyone knows it’s a thing. like, why else would someone give up their whole lunch? it’s flirting,” ned interrupted peter’s sudden thoughts about your cuteness. the smug look on his face made you want to throw the tray at him.

before you even joined their friend group, ned was on a mission to set the two of you up. peter described you to him and mj as “the actual sweetest girl ever. she makes me laugh a lot. you guys gotta meet her.” mj obviously ‘tsked’ at him, but a light bulb went off in ned’s head. peter was crushing. he just didn’t know it yet.

part of how you and peter got so close was that ned and mj used to back out of group plans. you’d end up hanging out alone most of the time. of course, it was ned’s idea. a successful idea, yes, but neither of you understood the obsession. apparently it was a guy in the chair’s duty to be a good wingman, and you should leave it to him. whatever that meant.

“if i remember correctly, you and your mom went halfsies on a piece of cake at your birthday party last year. what are you trying to tell us, leeds?” mj asked with a smirk. you and peter looked at each other and burst into laughter, ned’s mouth hanging open. the girl could really get someone when she wanted to.

“shut up, you guys! that’s different!” “so is y/n stealing my food and you calling it sharing,” peter made a point of saying more to you than ned. despite his words, he pushed the tray over to you. it was basically yours, anyway.

you thanked him with a pat on his cheek and popped more grapes into your mouth. in that moment, peter decided he’d get you all the grapes in the world if he could. jeez, he seriously needed to reel it in.

ned was only going to keep going now. “see that? peter’s such a sweet boyfriend. isn’t he, y/n?” he cooed and clasped his hands under his chin. you didn’t have the chance to change the topic before flash appeared at your table. he’d probably overheard your conversation. “penis parker is somebody’s boyfriend? good one.”

feeling peter tense up next to you, you put a hand on his shoulder to let him know you were there. you’d been in too many of these situations. the way flash talked to peter pissed you off in ways you didn’t think were possible. he was fine with everybody else, so why did he choose to pick on him? peter was the least deserving person of having to put up with it from anyone.

“just ignore him, okay? he’ll get bored and leave. works every time,” you reminded peter. too uneasy to say anything, he reached back and put his hand on top of yours. he tried to focus on how nice your touch felt instead of the fact that he was about to be humiliated by flash yet again.

“peter could totally get a girlfriend! he has, like, tons of girls after him,” ned attempted to back peter up, pleased with himself. groaning, peter put his head down on the table. he couldn’t bare to watch his friend destroy what was left of his social life. “you’re really pushing this now. stop talking,” mj warned in a whisper yell to ned. that didn’t stop flash from hearing her.

“she’s right. even parker agrees! look at him,” he snickered at peter’s embarrassed state. you’d had more than enough of him at that point. screw the silence. it wasn’t going to cut it for this one. while wingman ned was still making up stories, you tapped peter’s shoulder to find out how he was doing. his head remained down.

“you okay? want me to say something?” “i’m used to it, and no. i don’t wanna make you deal with him.” peter hated putting his issues on other people, but you couldn’t stand another second of listening to the things flash was saying. you cut into an argument between him and ned about peter’s body count. like his was any higher.

“fuck off, flash!” he stopped in the middle of his sentence. “huh?” “i said fuck off. anyone would be so lucky to date peter. you’re probably salty at him all the time because it’ll never be you,” you finally snapped. his tough guy persona faltered for a few seconds at your words, ned and mj taking the opportunity to high five you for telling him off.

peter was glad his head was still down because his cheeks were pinker than he’d like to admit. did you really mean that? would you be lucky to date him, too?

“what are you, president of the parker protection squad? or are you two a thing?” flash quickly recovered. there he went trying to get the last word in. the embarrassment for peter if you denied it was exactly what he wanted, but you weren’t letting him have it.

“ask me again some other time.” you plastered on a shit-eating grin and waved goodbye. unsatisfied with your answer, flash huffed his way back to his own table. after he was gone, peter looked up at you with something you’d never seen before twinkling in his eyes.

“thank you, y/n. you really didn’t have to say all of that.” “oh, no. don’t thank me. i‘d do it for you anytime. i am president of the parker protection squad, after all.” your fake smile turned into a genuine one for him. peter couldn’t help but mirror it.

his was heart doing that thing again. he guessed it was because he loved you so much, but this love felt different somehow. it wasn’t the friend kind of love he’d had for you all those years.

it was the kind of love he saw in the rom coms you made him watch when you got to pick for movie night. cupid’s love was the official name for it. when he put two and two together, the realization smacked him straight in the face. ned was right.

peter was starting to fall in love with you, and there was no way he could stop.

♡ 2.

peter was a workaholic. patrolaholic to be exact, especially when he had a reason. he’d sometimes find himself in a cycle of getting home late and going out early for days on end. he’d gotten used to the sleep deprivation. his grumbling stomach from missing meals wasn’t too big of a deal either. not when he had a city to save.

it was also a good distraction from everything else going on in his life. man, did he need a distraction. after peter came to terms with the fact that he loved loved his best friend, he narrowed it down to two options; telling you about his feelings or taking them to his grave. since the city was so busy, he was thankful he could throw himself into patrolling and not decide just yet.

may would usually only allow peter to patrol on weekends. school existed, and he had to take breaks. peter really wanted to help out more, so he proposed an idea that could potentially let him up it to the full seven days. he had to make it home in one piece every night for a trial week. that would prove to may he could handle it.

ignoring his black eye on tuesday and limp on thursday, it worked out. peter was positive he could finish off the week just fine. may didn’t have the same optimism. she decided that so much as a scratch on friday and it was strike three. friday came, and peter had impressively managed to end the day, like he thought, just fine.

he did one last swing around the neighborhood he was in, then started heading back to queens to gloat to may. on his way, he remembered he had to text you goodnight. he was bound by a pinky swear to you that he would do it every time he finished patrolling.

peter being spider-man was something you figured out only a few months after he got his powers. he technically exposed himself, and you pieced everything together. it all happened when spider-man offered to walk you home from school one day.

the way he rubbed the back of his neck while asking was a nervous habit that was oddly familiar, and urged you to say yes. you also thought it was strange how even though he didn’t ask for your address, he somehow knew where he was taking you. then again, he was spider-man. it was his job to know new york city and the people living in it.

you came to the conclusion you were making things up until he was about to leave. he walked you to the door of your apartment building and said, “stay safe, squirt.” nobody called you that besides peter. he came up with it because he had recently grown a few inches taller and could finally give you hell for being the short one.

needless to say, peter didn’t take off like he was intending to. he realized his slip up as soon as the nickname came out of his mouth. you brought him upstairs and had a long afternoon of questioning, explanations, and making promises.

peter typed out a message telling you he was fine and to go to sleep. as he was about to hit send, he swung too low and smacked his head right into a traffic light. that was what he got for texting while swinging. he could imagine mj giving him one of her famous safety lectures already, but that wasn’t first on his list of worries. he had a throbbing head and may’s third strike to deal with.

crap, may couldn’t know about this. she’d ban him from patrolling probably forever. going home was out of the question, but peter was in desperate need of an ice pack. there was already a bump forming from where the light hit him. his next choice would be to go to happy, only he couldn’t do that because he‘d tell may.

peter’s hands worked faster than his brain, and he started swinging over to your apartment. the overthinking began soon after. nobody wants to deal with a surprise appearance from their possibly concussed friend at 2 a.m. besides, what would he say? he’d barely seen you all week. it wasn’t fair to you, but it was too late to turn back.

peter landed on the sidewalk with an “oof” and crawled up the wall of your building. when he reached your window, he knocked in the same rhythm that he always did. no answer. he knocked louder. no answer again.

seeing as he had no other option, peter had to let himself in. he pushed on your window to see if it was unlocked. thank god it slid up then, but he made a mental note to remind you about keeping it locked another time. he climbed through the window with as little noise as possible so your family wouldn’t hear.

after navigating in the dark, peter pulled off his mask by the side of your bed. he instantly melted at the sight of you. your face was squished into your pillow, hair sprawled everywhere. you’d must have fallen asleep waiting for his text because you were holding your phone. peter was sure he’d never seen something so adorable.

he let himself stand there and watch the peaceful rise and fall of your chest. the bump on his head was no longer a priority. peter was utterly and completely entranced with you. god, why was he acting like this? oh, right. he was secretly in love with you.

before peter could help himself, he brushed some hair that had fallen into your eyes away with his fingers. you squirmed in your sleep, peter pulling his hand back. he was such an idiot sometimes. your eyes fluttered open and landed on him.

“peter? ‘s that you?” you squinted to see in the darkness of your room. he moved closer. your legs dangled over the bed as you slowly sat up. “yeah, it’s me. sorry to wake you.” he went to scratch his head out of nerves, but stopped when he remembered it really freaking hurt right there.

“‘s okay. i was hoping you’d come over soon. missed you all week.” you frowned at the red and blue clad boy in front of you. except for school, you hadn’t seen peter the past few days. “lots of crime to fight lately?” “missed you more, and yeah. been kicking lots of asses.” the awkwardness peter was imaging faded away when he plopped down next to you on your bed.

“how’s your eye doing? and the limp?” you turned his head towards you by his chin. he exhaled in relief. “getting better, i think. now that we’re talking about injuries...” the sleepiness was knocked out of you. you all but leapt to your feet and turned on the lamp by your bed. peter had a feeling you’d slightly freak.

“we’ve been making small talk and you’re hurt? what happened, peter?” “i-i sort of, um, i was texting you and swung into a traffic light.” “oh my god, where?” he pointed at his forehead with a weak smile. surely enough, there was a big bump. you gasped. “please don’t be mad at me.” “i’m not mad at you. just feel bad it was kinda my fault. do you think you have a concussion?”

you weren’t sure what to do beyond the mostly useless first aid videos they played in gym class. being an avenger, peter had had his share of experience with wounds. whenever he came to you hurt, he talked you through how to help him. the most you’d ever dealt with was a few particularly deep cuts. this was not the same.

“i‘m not sure. you could try that finger thing?” he suggested. you crouched down in front of him. “good idea. let’s do that.” as you waved your index finger back and forth and peter’s eyes followed it seemingly well, his mind was elsewhere. he was thinking about crawling into bed with you and sleeping in your arms.

“well, you passed or whatever they say. i’m pretty sure you don’t have a concussion. you’ll heal fast because of... you know.” you stood up and mimicked the way he shoots his webs. peter chuckled quietly. your thumb ran lightly over his bump, making him wince. “how bad does it feel?” “on a scale from one to ten it’s, like, a five and a half.”

although not what you wanted to hear, it was manageable. you hoped so, at least. “i’m gonna go get some stuff. change into comfortable clothes.” “yes, doctor y/n.” peter saluted you. you were happy to see he still felt up to joking around. biting your lip to hold back a smile, you made your way to the kitchen.

peter searched through the spare clothes he’d left here over the years. there were so many, you had to give him a drawer. he changed into pajama pants and a t-shirt, then sat back down criss cross on your bed.

you came in shortly after with a water bottle, two advil, and an ice pack wrapped in a towel. “i was kidding about the whole doctor thing, you know.” “too bad.” you handed him the advil and water. “take these. they’ll help until your magic healing powers kick in.” peter took the pills while you pressed the ice pack to his bump. he took it from you when he was finished.

“is that any better?” “much better. i’m all good. i should probably go soon.” he mumbled, not meaning it but also not wanting to overstay his welcome. you’d already done so much for him. you stopped him from getting up by putting a hand on his chest.

“what? you already changed, and i’m not sending you home to get killed by may. just stay.” “are you sure? i don’t wanna bother you anymore. it was annoying for me to come here so late in the first place.”

a frown set on your face. “peter, don’t you remember my promise?” there was a beat of silence while he thought about it. “that you’d help out with spidey stuff?” “however and whenever i can. i don’t know what made you think differently just now, but nothing’s gonna change that. doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of the night or early in the morning. i’m always here.”

only you could reassure him just like that. peter was really lucky to have you. really, really lucky.

“right. you’re right. sorry for... whatever that was.” “you apologize too much.” you poked his chest to punctuate your statement and switched the light off. “sorry for that, too,” he teased, wanting a reaction from you. “peter benjamin parker, just get in the bed.” “yes, ma’am.” that was enough before you changed your mind and threw him out.

you rolled to lay on the other side of peter. still pressing the ice pack to his head, he laid down next to you. it didn’t take long for both of you to be settled under the covers. “try not to bang into the wall or something,” you joked and pulled your comforter up to your chin.

peter puffed some air out of his cheeks, tugging more of it back. “you can’t be mean and hog the blanket.” “it’s my bed, so i actually can. i’ll hog everything.”

to prove your point, you moved over to peter until there was no room between you. both of you knew it was an excuse to cuddle. he wasn’t mad about it at all. peter opened an arm for you. you curled into his side, letting him hold you close. his whole body relaxed as you hugged him against you. “goodnight, spidey.” “night, squirt.”

♡ 3.

“what does that cloud look like to you?” you pointed up at the sky. peter’s eyes darted around as he tried to find exactly which one you were talking about. there were a lot of them, in his defense. you made a big circle with your finger around the cloud in question.

“the really curvy one. right there.” “kinda looks like a tiger. can we keep walking now?” peter tugged your arm linked in his in an attempt to move you from the spot you’d randomly stopped in. he made a whiny noise when you didn’t budge.

“i think it looks more like a horse, and no. why are you in such a rush?” furrowing your brows at him, you tightened your grip on his arm. “because some people don’t like cloud watching, grandma.” “i only asked you about one! i’m just... trying to get the most out of today.”

with college around the corner, you and peter both had a lot to do and a little bit of time to get it done. your only hangouts had become some shared extracurriculars and weekly study group with your other friends. trying to binge watch your shows together on facetime hadn’t been easy, for one thing. you fumbled to keep your phone up more than you payed attention.

on a more serious note, being apart sucked majorly. it was going to be this times a million when you would inevitably have to split up in a few months. thinking about it for too long usually made you cry.

peter was struggling in other ways. his more than a friend feelings for you were only getting stronger. having all that love and not being able to give it to you was hurting like hell, and he had to just pack everything up and act normal during the rare moments you were together. you were both going through it.

this was the first sunday in what felt like forever that you and peter were both free. you decided that the nice weather called for a meetup at central park. so, there you were, arm in arm on your afternoon stroll.

“don’t say it like that, y/n. you’re making me sad.” peter let out a breath as you rested your head on his shoulder. “that was the point.” you started walking again, peter following next to you. he kicked at pebbles while you smiled up at him. that made him smile at his feet. you were getting really good at making him flustered.

“so, did you finish that pre calc packet?” peter asked to distract himself. you lifted your head off his shoulder with a groan. “peter, we’re not talking about school for once. let’s talk about literally anything else.” “like what?” you were about to make a suggestion, but something caught your attention.

you raced over to a swingset, dragging peter along with you before he could realize where you were taking him. you stopped in front of it and threw your hands up to present it to him. he let out a breathy laugh. “when was the last time you went on one of these?” you asked, taking peter’s arm again. peter shook his head. “way too long ago.”

with a smile, you walked him over and took a seat on one of the swings. peter sat on the one next to you. you spun around in a circle to see how much you could twist the chains, peter laughing. “y/n, what are you doing?” “having fun. you should try it sometime.” he backed up to get himself started and grabbed his own chains. “i do have fun. it’s just not in the ways you think.”

you untwisted yourself to watch peter. “so, how?” “well,” he started going higher, “i like learning about stuff, even the things we have to in school.” “everybody knows that. that’s the first thing i thought of.” you did know everything possible about him.

everything except his new feelings for you, but this wasn’t the time for him to blurt that out. he was still figuring out when or if he should.

“guess i’m not gonna say i like movies, either.” “singing?” you were swinging next to him, turning it into an unspoken competiton for who could get the highest. peter slowed down a bit since he’d had a head start. “i suck. the only person who’s allowed to hear me is you.”

“it’s possible to suck at something and still enjoy it.” the breeze blew your hair around, peter seeing it from the corner of his eye. he’d always loved how carefree you were around him. it rubbed off.

“remind me to force you to do karaoke one day.” “you’re so annoying.” that motivated you to kick off harder on the ground. peter huffed and tried to catch up to you. “don’t be mean to your only source of fun.” if that wasn’t true, he would’ve came up with a comeback.

the only time peter remembered to relax was when he was with you. it was usually because you reminded him. he skidded to a stop on the swing and looked up at you.

“why’d you let me win? was that too mean?” you looked over your shoulder. “nah, i just got tired.” “oh. we can do something else now. catch me?” “sure,” peter chuckled and got off the swing. he stood in front of you on the grass and waited for you to get lower. you clenched your teeth into a nervous smile.

“ready?” “ready.” swinging towards him, you jumped off and expected to land in his arms. you ended up completely on top of him instead.

the wind was knocked out of both of you, but peter had it worse because he broke your fall. your hands were on his shoulders and one of his was around your lower back. neither of you realized the position you were in. you were too busy trying to breathe again.

“god, that hurt.” “my bad,” peter mumbled. in any other circumstance, he wouldn’t be complaining about this. “i should’ve warned you or something,” you dismissed him.

you were still hovering over peter, your lips dangerously close to his. he could’ve sworn they almost touched. that was when you got off of him. he only forced out a laugh. nothing ever went his way. you offered him a hand, oblivious to his inner conflict. peter took it and pulled himself up, falling into step next to you as you headed to another path.

that could’ve been a chance to make some sort of move, and he blew it.

♡ 4.

it hadn’t been easy for peter to move on from that day. his mind kept replaying the split second you almost kissed on an endless loop, and all he could do was come up with what he should’ve done in the moment.

things were getting to a point where he had no clue how to act around you. being your friend was hard, but becoming your boyfriend would be that much harder. his stupid feelings put him in an awkward place, and he was afraid you were starting to realize. he couldn’t lose you altogether.

you asked peter to meet you for coffee after school. it was this small place in between your apartments you’d both been to once before. they had really good cookies and an overall cozy feeling you liked. peter wasn’t sure what this was all about.

were you going to confront him? did ned say something? maybe it was a mistake to confide in his most gossipy friend about how he felt.

with a headache from stress and a heavy backpack hanging off his shoulders, peter walked into the café. he spotted you at a table near the window. you’d already taken the liberty of ordering, two drinks and a chocolate chip cookie waiting there. you looked up from your phone when peter pulled a chair out.

“hi.” you gave him a small smile and put your phone down. “i already got everything.” peter shrugged off his backpack with a grin. he sat down facing you. “thanks. sorry i’m kinda late. i had to stop at my locker.” you usually met him there. come to think of it, why hadn’t you today? you pushed peter’s drink over to him. “you’re fine. i came here early to get us a table, anyway.” phew.

peter bent the straw to his iced macchiato and took a sip. it made him feel grown up, casually drinking coffee with you over a boring conversation. adult life must’ve sucked. “so, how was the rest of your day?” he asked to fill the silence. you only had two classes without him after lunch, so that was a dumb question. he’d never had so much trouble talking to you.

“eh. betty fell asleep on me during this cold war documentary we had to watch.” “didn’t she say american history is her favorite?” you broke off a piece of the cookie with a laugh. “not after that. what about your day?” the light from the window was shining directly on you, blocking out everything else from peter’s view. he wanted to tell you how beautiful you were so bad, but that would be creepy.

you took a bite of your cookie and raised an eyebrow. he was staring. “uh, nothing interesting. i’m gonna patrol a little bit later.” peter sipped his drink again. you clicked your tongue and let out a breath. “that’s all you do these days.” he knew you were catching on to how off he’d been. what was he supposed to say? it would’ve helped if he’d prepared a few excuses.

“just trying to help out while i’m still here.” that was a half truth. “yeah, but you should still take some time for yourself.” you ripped open your straw wrapper and blew it at peter. he caught it just before it hit his face. rolling your eyes, you put the straw into your drink. “i hate your reflexes sometimes.” he shrugged one of his shoulders casually. “jealousy is a disease.”

neither of you said anything for a few minutes. you stared out the window while peter finished the rest of the cookie. he could tell something was on your mind. whenever you were deep in your thoughts, you sort of zoned out like this.

he was too nervous to ask you what was wrong because of the conversation you just had. it sounded like you had already considered he was being distant before today. his feelings aside, he needed to reassure you. that was more important.

“y/n?” you turned your head to look at him. “yeah?” peter’s gaze shifted from you to his thumbs twiddling in his lap. “i know we’ve both been really... busy lately, but i’m still here. don’t forget that.” a hint of a smile played on your lips. you would’ve hugged him if you could reach. “thank you, peter. i kinda needed to hear that.” he nudged your leg under the table. “of course. hey, you wanna come with me tonight?”

a couple of hours later, you were in peter’s arms on a rooftop that was much higher up than it looked. he insisted on taking you for a swing so you could get the full experience. he’d been trying to get you to do this for the longest time, so he wondered what made you agree today. you wanted to find out what was so enjoyable about it.

“i trust you, but you’re not gonna drop me, right?” your legs were around his waist, and he had one hand supporting you by your back. that wasn’t terrifying at all. you grabbed peter’s shoulders, the idea of it making you nervous. he wrapped his arm tighter around you.

“oh my god, no. i can always web you back up.” “peter! that’s not funny.” even behind the mask, you could tell he was smirking. “you’re always safe with me, squirt. don’t worry.” you brought your arms up to loop around his neck.

“i feel better now.” “good. i’m gonna jump when we get to the edge, okay?“ your whole body stiffened up. peter could sense it. as excited as he was to share this with you, he didn’t want to make you feel pressured. “or we don’t have to do it.” his voice was quiet. you tried to relax in his hold. “i’m just gonna close my eyes. i think that’ll help.” “we’re about to find out.”

peter started walking towards the edge of the building with you holding on even tighter to him, your eyes squeezed shut. he kept finding himself in situations where he was close to you in the ways he’d been wishing for, but never for the same reasons. it was bittersweet.

he bit down on his lip and aimed his free hand at a building. you squealed when he leaned back. “i’m jumping now,” he prepared you, and before you could respond, you were in the air. you hid your face in peter’s chest the second you felt yourself pretty much flying.

“what the fuck, you like this?” you had to yell so he could hear you. peter shot another web to keep swinging. “it’s really not that bad! try looking up!” he shouted back, clearly amused.

grip tightening around his neck, you slowly pulled your face away from him. he kept you close as he swung. you somehow convinced yourself you weren’t going to die by looking at something besides peter. your eyes landed on the sky behind his head.

the sun was almost completely set, deep pink and orange merging together against the glowing lights of the city. you were finally understanding why he liked this so much. it was beautiful.

peter peeked at you for a second to check on you. he swore his heart was going to explode out of his chest. the look of adoration on your face, it was even better than the view. it was the view. the little moments where peter got to see you this way made him realize how in love with you he really was.

“this is... wow. i get it now,” you laughed in disbelief, watching as the city whirled past you. peter smiled so big it hurt. “pretty awesome, huh?” one of your hands slid back down to his shoulder. “take me with you more often.”

♡ 5.

peter licked his lips out of habit as he held the door open for may, who was following behind him with a look of pride. he was about to graduate high school. the ceremony was being held in a really nice stadium-like place. trying to find it added minutes on to the parker tradition of being late to everything important.

peter wasn’t as concerned with his tardiness as he was with finding you.

while he tossed and turned in bed the night before, he went over his whole school year in his head. that meant little things and big things. he was starting to drift off until he remembered a conversation with ned a few weeks back. they decided on a deadline for peter to tell you about his feelings, and it was before graduation.

they chose it because if peter got rejected, he’d be over it by the time college started. that was the goal.

it wasn’t that peter had changed his mind. it was that he completely forgot. he didn’t have a solid plan for what he should do. these things needed to be decided way in advance. he ended up pulling something together last minute because it was you. plus, this extra pressure gave him the push to go through with it. somewhere between steps seven and eight, he passed out.

may rushed him to get ready because he’d slept past his alarm. the whole morning was a mess, and he had at most fifteen minutes to confess his love to you by the time he got there.

“you should go make sure you’re marked here. i’ll see you after. love you.” may pressed a kiss to his cheek and half-jogged to the auditorium for a seat. he squeezed her arm and headed off to check in. your whole grade was already lined up along the walls for what looked like miles. the deal was to tell you before graduation. he still had about ten minutes.

peter walked past hundreds of students with his heartbeat thumping in his ears. everyone was in alphabetical order, so it didn’t take too long to find you. relief washed over you when you saw peter. you were worried he wouldn’t show up at all. his cap was in his hand, hair getting tangled from running his fingers through it. he looked at you with pleading eyes.

“finally, i’ve been trying to call you all morning. where were you?” your tone was dripping with concern. “i overslept. there’s something i gotta tell you, y/n.” he gulped. you smiled in a way that was kind of pitying. “we’re about to start going inside. i- you have to wait, pete. go get lined up.”

this wasn’t how it was going to end. not again.

he looked around to see who was watching, then he grabbed your wrist. “peter, what are you-“ “just come with me really quick.” despite yourself, you let him lead you down the hallway. you dodged a couple of teachers having a conversation and went into a bathroom that was vacant by some chance. he let go of you after the door shut. you stood behind it while he walked over to a sink.

it was making you anxious to not be out there. you could be late. peter was the same way when it came to school, so you knew this had to be pretty serious. you gave up the battle with yourself and made your way over to him. he was looking at himself in the mirror, trying to get a stray curl back in place.

“let me help.” you stood next to him. he turned to face you, that same look of urgency still in his eyes. you used two fingers to brush through his hair. there was so much gel that it was wet enough to mess with. you smiled a bit and took your hand out of his hair. his hand was gripping the sink.

“you look good, pete. you smell good, too.” “so do you.” his voice was lower than usual. you flattened out the material of your blue gown. “thanks. so, talk to me. what’s up?”

the question was so simple, but way too many answers were running through peter’s brain. he wasn’t even sure he’d have enough time to explain everything now. this was why he needed a written out and carefully crafted plan.

but, like he said to himself last night, this was you. his best friend in the entire world and any other that might exist. the person who’s been there for his most embarrassing moments, and who’s been responsible for some of his best ones. if he couldn’t finally say the three words he’d said to you so many times before, what was the point?

his fingers drummed a steady rhythm while he mustered up the last remaining bit of courage in him. you watched him expectantly, waiting for him to say something. “just, um...” he was stalling. he pulled his hand off the sink. “i... love you.” peter only glanced at you for a second, too afraid to see your reaction. “i love you, too. is everything okay?” his heart sank. you thought he meant it in the friend way.

that was what he got for being so terrible with words.

“no, y/n. not like that.” he blurted. you were lost. peter pressed his back against the wall and sat down. confused and equally worried, you sat next to him on the floor. “then what do you mean? you’re scaring me.” he checked the watch may made him wear to see how much time was left before graduation. four minutes. he really should’ve woken up on time.

“we have to get back in line soon. i don’t wanna miss-“ “i love you, y/n. i’m in love with you.” a weight that had been on peter’s chest for months was lifted just by saying it. you squinted your eyes at him, but said nothing.

“i’ve been trying to tell you for a while, and it’s okay if you don’t feel the same. i just had to say it.” “fuck, are you serious?” you sounded what peter could only describe as disappointed. yeah, it was unrequited. here came a summer of crying. “i was gonna tell you first.”

peter’s breath hitched in his throat, and he swore you could hear it. he was so sleep deprived that it felt like he was hallucinating. you shook your head as heat came to your cheeks.

“how long have you...” peter trailed off, an eye crinkling smile interrupting him. “that day we went for coffee. something clicked, so i thought for a while and figured it out. i think i’ve loved you for a really long time.”

you inched closer to peter, just barely resting your head on his shoulder. for once, you felt like the shy one. he put his hand on top of yours. his thumb traced over each of your fingers. “i’d ask you out, but you know. we don’t really have time.”

“peter, it won’t take that long.” you giggled. he squeezed your hand in his. “hm. y/n, would you wanna go out with me after this?” you thought about teasing him for it, but he was right. you had to go. that was the friend still in you. “i’d love to go out with you, peter.”

with that, you both jumped to your feet and ran out of the bathroom. you were still holding hands, and a few classmates made faces when you rushed past them to get to your spots. you exchanged one last smile with peter before lining up.

the person in front of you said everybody was looking for you two. honestly, you didn’t care all that much. you were too excited for your date later. peter already knew he’d be checking his watch throughout the whole ceremony.

it was a best friend and soulmate thing.

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