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ericsangyeon · 3 years

Text

addicted - l.sy

‘He was like fire, she was his igniter. Together they were each other's addictions.”

pairing: sangyeon x female! reader

word count: 7.0k

genre: angst, fluff, suggestive

theme: gang au sorta??

warnings: SMUT!!, profanity, drinking, guns, blood, kidnapping, bang chan and skz are villians

a/n: hey guys! i wanted to try writing a fic bc why not! this is my first tme ever writing smut so be nice. also this was edited many times but there could be mistakes so just bare with me. enjoy it! i worked really hard hehe -t :D

playlist moodboard

“Kevin oh my god. I'm not going to that criminal ball.” I roll my eyes at my best friend.

“Pretty please? You can finally meet Jacob! And I'm pretty sure a certain someone wants you there too,” Kevin smirks from the other side of the work area. I stop cleaning the countertops and stare up at him with wide eyes.

Kevin, and his boyfriend Jacob, are members of the underground mafia group TBZ, which never gets brought up when I'm with Kevin because he knows it makes me uncomfortable. That was until Lee Sangyeon came into the picture. Sangyeon is the leader and “big boss” (as Kevin calls him) of TBZ, and has somehow found interest in me. Ever since Kevin brought him into the cafe a month ago during one of my shifts, I kept bumping into him everywhere. From work, to campus, to even near my apartment. He tries to make small talk with me, which I always ignore and keep distance from him. I see him all the time despite wanting to, and I want nothing to do with him…. even though he literally looks and talks like an angel sent from heaven. I'm positive there is some sort of an attraction between the two of us. But don't tell anyone I said that. Lee Sangyeon is hopelessly attractive and I couldn't help myself to have developed a crush on him. If it wasn't for his shady career choice, I would have hooked up with him in an instant.

“How many times do I have to tell you Kevin? I want nothing to do with him,” I cry while Kevin snickers.

“He's not even that bad, he only hurts people who have wronged him” Kevin explains.”But never mind about him, Jacob really wants to meet you and you said you’re free Friday so please, please pl-”

“Fine oh my god.” I huff while Kevin claps, pleased with himself. “One problem, I have nothing to wear.”

“Not to worry about that sweetheart, I got that covered. Just text me your measurements.” Kevin says. I was going to try to argue with him but I knew he would win no matter what, so I just shot him a thumbs up.

“Anyways babes I gotta go to class now. See ya y/n!” Kevin grins, blew me an air kiss which I caught with a small smile, and walked out of the cafe.

I sigh and put the cleaning supplies away. As I went to greet a customer, all I could think was - it's just a ball, with your best friend and his boyfriend. What could possibly go wrong?

On Thursday night, as I was getting ready to make dinner, there was a knock on my apartment door. I went to answer it, but found no one there when I opened it. Instead, a white box with a small bag on top, both had my name on it. “Oh yes.” I thought to myself. “The criminal ball.”

I grabbed both items and brought them to my room to open them. I unsecure the first box to be greeted to white tissue paper and a note on top, which I pick up and read the writing.

“This colour will look ravishing on you. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

Or at least that's what I thought it said. It was written in a script that I had never seen before, and it certainly wasn't Kevin’s handwriting. Maybe Jacob’s? I put the note aside and unwrap the tissue paper to take out the dress and my jaw drops. I pull out a ball gown that was wine red and had a lace strapless top with a semi-poofy skirt attached. Below it were gold open toed high heels. I laid everything down on my bed and reached for the small bag that was on top. Without checking first, I pull out what was in that bag and gasp. In my hands is a beautiful gold mask with black silk fabric to wrap around my eyes. Fuck. Kevin never mentioned it being a masquerade ball? Now I have a higher chance of running into Lee Sangyeon since I probably won’t be able to tell who's who.

I send Kevin a quick text saying thank you for the dress, cursing him out for not telling me that piece of info. To finish my day, I made my dinner and went to bed early.

Friday night at 6:45pm, found me applying my last coat of lipstick as I stood up from my vanity chair. Staring back at me in the mirror was a completely different person. I loosely curled my long straight hair so it was falling down my back in waves. My makeup was not too heavy, yet not too light. My eyeshadow was a nude colour to contrast with my mask, as well as my lipstick was wine red to match my gown. The dress and shoes fit me perfectly (thanks Kevin), as well as the finishing touch, the gold mask.

My phone beeps and I looked down to see a text that the car Kevin sent for me was here, so I grabbed my phone and clutch and locked up my apartment. “Goodbye bed, I’ll see you later tonight.” I thought to myself, smirking.

The car waiting for me downstairs was gorgeous and sleek, and when I entered the back seat, the driver tipped his hat at me and we were on our way.

After driving 20 mins out of the city, the driver turns onto a single sided road where in the distance, I could see a huge house with bright lights shining.

“Oh my god.” I whispered to myself as the driver pulled up to a mansion - no - castle with a staircase leading to the entrance. The car stops and I could feel myself start to get nauseous. The driver came to open my door, lending me a hand so I could get out of the car safely.

“Have a great evening, Miss y/n.”

“Thank you, I do hope so.” I smile softly as I turned to walk up the staircase on this warm June evening.

As I was walking in the big hallway that led to what I'm guessing is the ballroom, I went over my rules for tonight. 1) Don't trip 2) stay with Kevin 3) avoid Sangyeon at all costs.

But of course, when the guards opened the big double doors for me to enter, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me as I walked further into the room. I see someone come forward from the crowd of people and my eyes go wide because I know it is not Kevin or Jacob.

Lee Sangyeon is walking towards me like he had been waiting for this moment, and there was nothing I could do about it.

He looks amazing of course, like a walking marble statue that came to life. His light brown hair was pushed back to reveal his amazing eyebrows and smirking lips and he was dressed in a black velvet suit that was so low cut that I could see a glimpse of his defined pecs. He wore a black velvet mask over his brown eyes. Sangyeon had me very much weak at the knees right now so thank god everyone went back to minding their own business.

“Y/n! I'm so glad you could make it.” He smiles at me. That goddamn smile. “You look exquisite.” Sangyeon said to me as he reached down, grabs my hand and softly kisses it while staring at me.

My breath hitches. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” I softly smile at him. “Now excuse me,” I whisper, attempting to create some distance. But his hand on mine got tighter. “May I have this dance?” Sangyeon asks. I nod my head, not sure what took over me. He softly smiles at me and leads me toward the dance floor, where other couples are dancing already. As we were nearing the dance floor, I felt myself trip over my gown. Before I could faceplant with the floor, rough hands were on my waist pulling me up.

“Be careful y/n.” Sangyeon chuckles and I thought I would throw up on his designer shoes.

He puts my hands on his neck and grabs my waist to pull me close to him. Sangyeon starts to sway me back and forth, eyes never leaving mine. As we danced for a few minutes, I felt his thumb lightly brush against my hip bone and I saw him slightly leaning his face towards mine. I finally jumped out of the trance he put me in and unwrapped my arms from his neck.

“I can’t do this. Excuse me.” I told Sangyeon as I brushed past him, leaving him on the dancefloor alone.

I speed walk over to the bar and spot a familiar black head of curls standing with a brunette boy wearing a similar tux.

“Where have you been, asshole?” I yell behind Kevin, making him jump and then smile at me.

“Hey y/n you made it! Meet Jacob, my boyfriend.” He gestures towards the man next to him wearing the same mask.

“Nice to meet you, Jacob. Kev, I'm getting a drink and then calling a cab to leave. I can’t be here.” I say while looking around.

Before Kevin could say anything back, I turned my back to him and ordered red wine from the nearest bartender. I sigh and drink my wine and look over at the guy who is standing next to me.

“Rough night?’ He smiles at me.

��You could say that.” I smile back as I drank more of my wine.

He chuckles and extends his hand to me.”I’m Bang Chan.”

“Y/n.” I shake his hand back.

His smile faded once I said my name.”You’re Lee’s girl?”

I stare wide eyed at him. “I'm who's girl??”

Before he could answer me, a body was standing between us. Sangyeon.

“Piss off Bang, she's mine.” Sangyeon growls at him.

“Excuse me?” I said but no one seems to hear me.

“Chill out Lee, I was just getting to know her, but I’ll leave.” Bang Chan waves bye to me behind Sangyeon’s back and walks away.

Sangyeon turned around and looked at me, his defined jaw clenching tightly.

“Y/n, we are leaving.” He states.

“I am not going anywhere with you!” I yell back while a muscle in his jaw twitches as he clenches his hands into a fist.

“Y/n. I suggest you go with him before he tries to shoot someone, because he will.” Kevin appears and says behind me, squeezing my shoulder. I just nod my head at Sangyeon. Kevin would never put me in danger. Right?

Before I could even say bye, Sangyeon grabs my hand and is leading me out the ballroom door, out of the castle and towards his car.

He opens the passenger seat car door for me. “Get in.” He says to me. I glare at him as I get in slowly.

Sangyeon shuts the door and walks over to the driver side, gets in, takes his mask off, and starts the car without even saying anything. And we are off to god knows where.

The entire drive was silent. Sangyeon is gripping the wheel tightly, rough fingers scattered with rings turning white. I'm too scared to move, only moving my hands to remove my mask and my heels that were starting to hurt my feet.

20 minutes later, we are back in the city and Sangyeon is pulling into a parking garage surrounded by guards. He pulls into a parking spot, and leaves the car after stopping it. I open the car door to follow him, barefoot and all.

In the elevator I kept trying to glance over at Sangyeon, but he’s looking straight ahead, defined jaw still clenched. The elevator door opens and I gasp. I walk out behind Sangyeon to see a beautiful penthouse common area surrounded by glass windows overlooking the city night sky.

Before I could even admire the place and the city lights that surrounded the room, my back is being pushed against a hard wall to face a livid Sangyeon. He grabs my wrists and leans in.

“How dare you talk to other men, especially him.” Sangyeon growls in my ear. “You’re mine.”

I stare at him in disbelief as he faces me again. “I-I will never be yours. You can't tell me what to do.”

A smirk slowly appears on his face. “Oh yeah? We will see about that, princess.”

Before I could even think of a witty response back, Sangyeon grabbed my face and his lips were on mine, and I felt my tough interior crumble as I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him even closer, bodies touching.

He kisses me again. And again. Like he is possessing me. And it was working as I kissed him back hard. “You are mine” Sangyeon whispers against my lips. “No one else’s.” Sangyeon starts kissing down my neck, lightly sucking on certain parts, while I’m biting my lip trying to hold back my moans. It felt so goddamn good, but I'm stubborn and didn't want him to have the upper hand. Sangyeon sucks hard on the crook of my neck, making me release my lips and moan as I feel him smirk against my neck. He won, I lost and now I am melting into his touch.

Sangyeon kisses my shoulders and exposed collarbones, stops and chuckles into the crook of my neck.

“You know I picked this dress for you. Not Kevin.” he says while unzipping my gown.

“What?” I whisper, shocked.

“You heard me.” Then my dress is on the ground, leaving me in just my black strapless bra and panties. Sangyeon is staring at my body with lust covered eyes as I just stare back at him, both of us breathing heavily, a boner starting to appear in his velvet suit pants.

“Wow, you’re so fucking beautiful.” He says quickly before kissing me again hard on the lips, shoving each other's tongues deep inside our mouths.

“Jump” He mumbles against my mouth and I obey, wrapping my legs around him as he carries me to his bedroom, never breaking the kiss.

When we enter his room, he lays me down softly on the huge mattress and proceeds to take my bra off, leaving me topless.

“God, these tits.” I hear him growl as I hiss at the cold air hitting my bare breasts, but the hissing quickly turns into moans as Sangyeon takes my right nipple into his mouth and sucks on it while playing with the other one using his hand.

“Fuck.” I moan loudly, mouth parting.

After rotating, sucking and playing with my breasts, Sangyeon removes his mouth from my nipple and starts to kiss down my stomach, inching towards my panties.

“You're such a good girl for me.” He coos on my stomach as I moan and squirm. Sangyeon brushes his fingers lightly against the fabric of my panties and looks up at me and mouths “you sure?” I nod my head back. He smiles before removing my panties with his teeth. I am now bare naked in front of a fully clothed Lee Sangyeon.

Sangyeon positions himself right in front of my pussy and spreads my legs open as I gasp and watch him lean down. He kisses and sucks on both my thighs, guaranteeing hickeys in those spots later on.

“You’re so fucking ethereal, Y/n.” Sangyeon mumbles and kisses the tops of my thighs softly, and before I could even think, his mouth was on my clit and I scream.

“FUCK Sangyeon oh my god!” I arch my back and moan loud as he licks into my clit.

“So wet me for me already.” He murmurs against my pussy.

He starts to suck and kiss my clit and I can’t breathe. I could feel his tongue exploring my entire pussy, eating it up as if it was his favorite food. My hands found his soft light brown hair and as I ran my hands through it, he sucked on my clit even harder. After for what seemed like seconds, Sangyeon comes up for air and proceeds to put a finger slowly in my hole, pumping in and out.

“You tasted so good, I can’t wait to see how you take my fingers and then my cock.” Sangyeon rasps out as he adds another finger as I'm a moaning mess below him.

“FUCK! Im gonna-” “Cum for me babygirl.” He says while pumping his fingers faster. I arch my back and scream his name while I cum onto his rough digits. He removes them from my pussy and sucks on the juices that got on them.

“Tastes so sweet.” He says while licking his fingers clean and staring directly at my hooded eyes and parted mouth.

Before I can even catch my breath, his lips are on mine quickly, stands up from the bed and unbuttons his blazer, revealing his amazing toned upper body and taking off his pants and boxers, cock slapping against his abs. He was huge, I gulp knowing that that's going to be inside me soon.

“I'm on the pill!” I hear myself blurt out. Sangyeon chuckles at that.

“Good to know y/n.” He says with a smile while running a hand through his hair before positioning himself over my body, hands on each side of me and aligning his cock with my hole.

“This is gonna hurt.” I thought to myself, since the last time I had sex was high school and it was awful to say the least.

Sangyeon starts to slide his dick in slowly and I can’t breathe again.

“Fuck. You're such a tight baby girl.” He rasps out as I let out a string of curses.

Sangyon thrusts into me slowly at first, but when he realizes i'm no longer screaming and just moaning, he removes his cock and slams it back into me hard and fast, which makes me lose my mind. He swears under his breath a few times before he speeds up the movements. I wrap my arms and legs around him, leaving scratches on his back as he leans closer to me and touches his forehead with mine.

“You're so beautiful sprawled out like this under me princess.” he growls into my ear as he thrusts even harder into my pussy, making both of us swear and moan each other's names as I move my hands from his back to his hair and he moves his to play with my nipples.

Between Sangyeon pinching my nipples and his cock tearing me open, the pleasure flowing through right now is something I have never felt before.

“Shit y/n!” Sangyeon grunts and thrusts hard once more into my pussy and pulls his dick out and uses his right hand to pump out his orgasm all over my stomach. His other hand reaches down to rub my clit in circles while kissing my neck and leaving more hickeys to help ride out my second orgasm of the night.

“Fuck Sangyeon!” I scream as I release all over his fingers once again. He licks it up again and mumbles “so sweet princess.” while looking at my dilated pupils.

He gets off me and rolls over so that he's beside my overstimulated body but head is tilted towards my direction.

“Are you okay?” Sangyeon asks me, concerned eyes looking over my shaking body that's struggling to even look at where he is.

“I'm amazing.” I respond back softly, him sighing in relief as he strokes my cheek with his knuckle.

“I've wanted to do this for so long.” He whispers and smiles softly at me.

“Me too.” I whisper back smiling as he kisses my lips softly and jumps out of bed, and runs into the connected bathroom fully naked leaving me alone in his huge bed, body paralyzed.

Sangyeon returns with a washcloth and a bowl of warm water and moves my shaking body so I'm lying on his leg while he dips the cloth in the water and starts to clean me up.

“You did so well for me. You were so beautiful when you came. So beautiful for me.” He murmurs to me fondly, rubbing the cloth over my body tenderly as I'm falling in and out of slumber. As I fall asleep, Sangyeon gets into bed next to me and tucks us both in. He kisses my forehead and wraps his arms around my waist and I rest my head on his chest.

“What a night.” I think to myself before dozing off in Sangyeons strong arms, moonlight shining through the huge windows.

Tomorrow is a new day, where we decide what happens next. But one thing's for sure.

I am addicted to Lee Sangyeon.

Light shines through the windows as I open my eyes to an unfamiliar surrounding, and then it hits me. I had mindblowing sex with Lee Sangyeon and now I am lying naked, tangled in his bedsheets. I feel an arm loosely draped around my bare waist. As I sigh and glance over next to me, I find Sangyeon lying on his side, staring at me with fond eyes.

“Good morning, beautiful.” He whispers to me in his deep morning voice. Swoon.

“Good morning, handsome.” I whisper back to him with a smile on my face.

I untangle myself from his arm, and attach my lips softly to his. Sangyeon does not react at first, but proceeds to kiss me back softly and full of tenderness as he cups my face into his hands. I break the kiss and lay my head on his bare chest.

“Last night was amazing.” Sangyeon murmurs into my hair and kisses my temple as I nod back.

Oh fuck, I just remembered. I sat up and faced the man with wide eyes.

“What's wrong baby?” Sangyeon asks, genuinely concerned.

“Fuck, what do I tell Kevin?” I gape at him.

Sangyeon chuckles loudly, eyes crinkling as he grabs my waist and pulls me down towards him. He tickles me, making me laugh.

After lying in bed for what seemed like hours and just talking, Sangyeon reaches over to the night table next to him. He grabs his phone and starts to furiously type as I just stare at his fingers flying across the screen.

“I told Jacob he is in charge over at the house this weekend, which means I get to spend it all with you.” He says as he puts his phone back down. Apparently, now I was spending the weekend at Sangyeon’s luxury penthouse. Good thing I didn’t have work this weekend.

After taking a shower in Sangyeon’s massive ensuite bathroom (and looking at myself in the mirror, in shock at the sight of my hickeys across my body), I changed into the clothes he left me, which seems to be his boxers and a blue and pink pullover sweater. I walk out of the bedroom towards the kitchen to find a very shirtless Sangyeon putting waffles on the island counter. He briefly explained to me earlier that he sent all his staff home, including his cooks, so it could just be us in the penthouse.

“Wow, waffles? You really know the way to a girl's heart.” I say amused as I take a seat on one of the island chairs.

He laughs loud and leans over the island, arms resting on the counter. “It's one of the only things I know how to make, so expect take out the rest of the weekend.” Sangyeon says with a smile on his beautiful face as I wolfed down the waffles in front of me.

“One day I’ll teach you how to cook.” I wink at him.

Sangyeon grabs my hand softly and rubs his thumb over my knuckles and kisses them softly. “I would love that, y/n.” He says with a smile on his face.

The rest of the day is spent just relaxing. Sangyeon shows me around his penthouse, from his impressive indoor gym to his walk in closet in which he implies that will once be mine as well. I ignore his comment. Afterwards, he shows me the tv room where a massive flat screen was attached to the wall and asks me to pick a movie, which I pick The Notebook.

“Really y/n?” Sangyeon rolls his eyes as he sets the movie up.

“Yes Sangyeon really. Now come sit here and enjoy.” I respond as I pat the spot on the leather couch next to me.

After the movie, and laughing at an almost crying Sangyeon, I go to retrieve my phone from my clutch to find 15 missed calls from Kevin.

“Oh good! He didn't kill you!” Kevin cries in my ear after picking up after the first ring.

“Yes Kev, I'm totally fine.” I respond quietly.

“Did you guys fuck?” Kevin asks and when I don’t respond, he screams into the phone, which makes me cringe and move the device away from my ear.

“OMG I KNEW IT YOU HAVE TO TELL ME EVERYTHING! WAS HIS DICK AS BIG AS JACOB AND I THOUGHT?” He yells into the phone as I softly chuckle and proceeds to tell everything to a panicking Kevin.

“Holy shit. I owe Eric $50.” Kevin sighs into the phone after I explained everything to him.

“You were betting on me? Anyways I don't even wanna know.” I say annoyed.

“Are you guys like a thing now?” He asks me.

“I'm not entirely sure.” I reply unsure.

“Well no matter what, I support you sweetcheeks.” Kevin assures.

I snort. “Thanks Kev, right back at you. Gotta go now eat dinner, I'll update you later.”

Kevin laughs. “Enjoy Sangyeons big d-” I hung up on him.

That night found Sangyeon and I, fully clothed, cuddled in bed and holding each other, just listening to each other's heartbeat and making small talk.

“Sangyeon, how did you become the leader of TBZ?” I asked, looking up at him from where my head was on his chest.

He sighs and looks straight ahead. “For generations, a Lee has always led the gang, no matter what. It was between my cousins and myself, but my elders picked me, as my dad was the former leader before he passed and I've always been a leader, even since I was a young boy,” Sangyeon replies.

“I’m so sorry.” I say to him. He smiles softly and kisses my cheek.

“Don’t worry about me princess. Tell me, what are you studying?” He asks me.

“I'm studying childhood studies and english lit so after I graduate I can enroll in a teachers college. I wanna be an elementary school teacher.” I answer him proudly.

Sangyeon smiles at me fondly. “You will be an amazing teacher.” He says while stroking my face with his hands. He kisses me softly as I melt into his touch.

After not being so sure about Sangyeon, I have come to realize how amazing he is. I can feel myself starting to like him more and more each day.

I am his and he is mine and in the end, it's him and I.

Months pass, and Sangyeon and I can’t get enough of each other. Everyday when I finish my shift at work, he picks me up and we either go to his place or mine to have dinner. Last week I even taught him how to boil pasta! But, sometimes we don’t even make it to dinner because I end up riding him in the back of his luxury car. Whoops.

One day while we were lying in bed after having sex, I sat up.

“Wait Sangyeon, what are we?” I asked him, facing where he was lying on his back.

Sangyeon sat up next to me. “Well y/n, I'm extremely fond of you and think you are the most intelligent and beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on, and I wish to give you nothing but happiness and satisfaction. I would love nothing more than for you to be my girlfriend,” He says to me, a glimmer in his eyes.

I stare at him, shocked because no one has ever said anything like this to me, and then I felt myself smile at him as I wrap my arms around his shoulders.

“Yes Lee Sangyeon, I will be your girlfriend. I will be yours.”

He smiles wide back at me. “Then you are all mine.” He whispers back as he connects his lips with mine for a passionate kiss.

Kevin thinks it’s hilarious that I wear more turtlenecks more often, which always makes me turn beet red. Because when Sangyeon and I have sex, he doesn’t just bite, he chews on my body like a fucking dog (“Doesnt it feel so good though?” “Kevin I swear to god.”) I have also gotten to meet Sangyeon’s entire gang, made up of 11 men including himself, and watching Sangyeon speak to them so confidently and leader-like makes my heart flutter. Yeah, I definitely think I’ve fallen in love with Lee Sangyeon.

A rainy Thursday afternoon found me finishing up my shift at work, getting ready to close the cafe as the only employee left. Sangyeon had texted me earlier saying he couldn't pick me up today due to an important meeting, so I was stuck walking home alone. Which was fine with me since my apartment was only a ten minute walk from the cafe.

As I was locking up the cafe doors, I heard a car engine behind me. I turned around smiling, expecting to see Sangyeon, but my smile faded, when the window opened and Bang Chan was in the passenger seat, pointing a gun at me.

“Y/n. Get in the car right now so no one gets hurt.” He commands me in a monotone voice.

“Never.” I sneer back at him and start to back away from the car.

“Fine. Guess we are doing this the hard way.” He replies.

Before I could sprint away, someone appeared behind me, put a cloth to my mouth and grabbed my waist. As the world around me went black, all I could think was, “Lee Sangyeon is going to murder you for stealing his girl.”

Blood. Blood is dripping from a gash in my forehead when I regain consciousness. I look around frantically to find myself in what looked like an abandoned warehouse with my hands and legs tied together with heavy rope.

“Help!” I scream loudly, but that did not do anything for my situation. Instead, Bang Chan enters with another man holding a rifle and I feel another scream forming in my throat. The rope tied around my hands and legs were digging into my flesh and I could feel blood emerging from them.

“Ah y/n! Lee’s playtoy! Glad to see you awake!” Bang Chan claps and smiles at me wickedly while I just glare back.

“TBZ knows you're with us sweetheart.” He says. “We told them it's either you or the money.”

My mouth opens and then closes. “What money? I swear I don't know anything, he never tells me about his work,” I cry to him.

“LIES!” Bang Chan screams. “Han. Go get her.” The other man - Han - walks over to me, ignites the rifle and puts it against my head hard. I start to cry even harder and squirm in my spot even though I feel the rope burning getting worse.

“We are going to try this again y/n. Where is the money?” Bang Chan yells into my face. I spat at him and Han forced the gun to my already bleeding forehead harder.

“I'm done. Shoot her.” Bang Chan shouts.

“No, please don't shoot!” I cry, knowing nothing will make a difference.

As I felt Han press down on the trigger, I stop thrashing and sat still. At this point, there was nothing I could do to stop this myself.

Lee Sangyeon, don't forget about me.

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH HER!” A familiar voice yells behind Bang Chan.

I wail loud with my last bit of strength I had. “Help m-” BOOM!

Around me, I see the building collapse, rubble hitting my head as it knocks me over. Gunshots were loud and clear although my ears were ringing loud.

The last thing I remember before blacking out again were strong arms pulling me out of rubble.

Beeping. White ceiling. That is what I see and hear when I finally regain consciousness again. Looking around the plain room, I can see that I’m in a hospital bed. There is a bandage on my head and I can feel both my wrists and feet bandaged tightly, as well as an IV in my right arm. I move my head to the right slowly to the hallway window and see guards are positioned outside the hospital room. “Anything for Lee Sangyeon’s girl.” I think to myself and chuckle.

Wait. Sangyeon. Where is he? Is he alive?

“Hey sweet cheeks.” I hear a voice from the other side of the room. I slowly turn my head to see Kevin standing up from the couch that is in front of my bed and smiling at me.

“I'm glad you're okay. You woke up earlier than the doctors thought. You don’t have to worry about the Stray Kids gang anymore. They all died in the explosion.” He explains to me.

I nod my head slowly.

“Sangyeon. Where is Sangyeon?” I rasp out to Kevin.

Kevin softly smirks and shakes his head at the ground. “He's okay, he was here a few minutes ago, he hasn’t left your side in days. I’ll go get him, he's just getting his bandages touched up. He got injured in the explosion while pulling you out of the rubble.” Kevin tells me as I feel tears in my eyes. He would’ve sacrificed himself to save my life.

After patting my head softly, Kevin left the room to get Sangyeon, leaving me alone crying softly.

“Y/n.” I gasp and sit up and look towards the door, where the love of my life, Lee Sangyeon is standing with white bandages on his left arm and tears streaming down his scratched up, but beautiful face. Seeing him standing in front of me, makes me cry even harder. Without saying anything, I rip the IV out of my arm, slide out of the bed and jump into Sangyeons arms, and engulf him in a hug, which he gladly returns.

“I thought I lost you.” I cry into his shoulder as he sits down on the bed with me on his lap. I move my head to stare into his beautiful eyes, that still have his usual shimmer, even after all that has happened. “You'll never lose me.” He whispers fondly as he cups my face in his hands and wipes away my tears softly with his right thumb.

Sangyeon held me like I was a broken doll, fragile but sweet. He whispered sorry to me over and over again, which I quickly shushed and ran a bandaged hand through his soft brown hair.

“I love you so much.” I say to him, grabbing his neck softly and pulling him towards me.

“I love you more princess.” He says while smiling wide at me, which made me smile back at him as we connected foreheads.

“God Sangyeon. Go take a shower you stink.” I say to him as we enter his penthouse after being in the hospital for days, which ended with the doctor clearing both of us. I got the bandages on my head, hands, and feet, and he got his bandages removed.

“And you don’t smell y/n?” He smirks at me as I scoff. “Shower with me.” He says, eyes darkening as my breath hitches.

“Okay.” I nod, and we are on our way to his huge ensuite bathroom.

We both strip out of our dirty clothes and get into the massive glass shower, me going in first with Sangyeon following.

I watch him pump the liquid from the shampoo bottle into his hands, and lather the shampoo into my hair as he stands behind me.

“You’re so fucking beautiful Y/n” Sangyeon tells me as I lean my back into his chest. His hands lightly trace my body, lingering on my lower stomach and my breasts. I could feel his erection growing, and being the little greedy bitch I am, I grind down on it slowly. All of a sudden, he turns me around and attaches his lips to mine hard, and we are both caught in a rough make out session. He breaks the kiss and stares at me with lust clouded eyes.

“Are you gonna take care of this princess?” Sangyeon asks me while his eyes are motioning to his cock.

“Yes Sir.” I reply, not sure where that came from, as he pushes my shoulders down lightly and I feel myself fall to my knees.

Without thinking, I grab his hard cock with my hands and pump it a few times.I licked the slit tasting the precum that had come out, before sinking my mouth down his shaft softly, making him swear under his breath.

“Fuck you’re such a good girl. You suck my cock so well.” He hisses while grabbing my hair and guiding my head back and forth while I lap up his precum. He guides my head so that I swallow his cock and I gag on it a bit, which makes him growl loudly. My watering eyes glanced up at Sangyeon to see his head tilted back, mouth open partially.

“Fuck y/n I’m gonna cum. Gonna dirty up that hot mouth of yours.” Sangyeon rasps out as I feel his hot cum go down my throat as he rides out his orgasm. I release myself from his dripping cock and swallow the cum that had landed in my mouth.

“Fuck y/n. Princess. You're so good at that.” He cooes at me while helping me stand up and kisses me quickly and firmly on the mouth.

“Do I get something for being good, Sir?” I ask him while batting my eyes together, trying to pout as much as I could.

“That depends, what do you want? You want me to fuck you in this shower until you can't walk” He asks me loudly.

“God yes!” I answer him. Sangyeon picks me up like I weigh nothing as I wrap my legs and arms around his broad body.

“FUCK!” I scream as Sangyeon slams his cock into my pussy without any warning.

“You’re so fucking tight, shit.” Sangyeon curses under his breath.

I moan like crazy as Sangyeon fucks me hard, every thrust hitting my g-spot.

“You feel so good y/n. Your tight pussy feels amazing around my cock.” He rasps out before sucking on my jaw, making me arch my back and moan. I could feel my orgasm coming already. Sangyeon is a sex god and he knew how to have me cumming within seconds.

“I'm gonna cum in you, y/n, ok? I want you to feel my hot cum inside of you.” He growls in my ear as I loudly moan. I couldn't even answer him, I just nodded my head while leaving scratches on his back.

“FUCK!” We both scream and cum at the same time, I shudder feeling Sangyeons hot load entering my pussy. He drops his head onto my shoulder, whispering praise in my ear as I'm shaking in his arms. Both of us panting and sweating, even underneath the water. When he pulls his cock out, his cum and my cum is dripping fast out of my pussy. Sangyeon puts me down but I start to fall over, so he catches me and starts to snicker.

“Well I guess we have to take a real shower now and clean ourselves up.” He says amusingly as I roll my eyes and smack his chest as he laughs.

June 2021, I finally graduate college! As my name is being called, shouts and cheers come from the audience as I look and see the entire TBZ gang jumping up and down. My smile grows even bigger when I'm shaking the headmaster's hand and see Sangyeon, my boyfriend of one year, in the audience holding a bouquet of red roses with a huge proud smile on his face. After enrolling in teacher’s college and officially moving in with Sangyeon, Kevin announces to everyone over a gang family dinner that he and Jacob are getting married, and that I'm his best person, which makes the whole gang erupt in chaos. Sangyeon has to calm everyone down, and congratulates the happy couple fondly, knowing that everyone will be as supportive when he finally asks his best girl to marry him.

Two months later I found myself at the MoonBae wedding. During the reception, Kevin calls all the non-married men and women to the dance floor so he can throw the bouquet. What shocks everyone the most is when I catch it, making Kevin and Jacob both scream and tackle me in a hug. Sangyeon chokes on his glass of scotch and turns purple watching the whole event unfold.

Sangyeon proposes to me one quiet night four months after Kevin and Jacob’s wedding as we are both drinking wine and watching the sunset on his penthouse balcony.

“Y/n, You are the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me.” He says to me with tears in eyes as he gets down on one knee. “Will you marry me?” Sangyeon asks.

“Yes! Of course I’ll marry you. ” I answer him crying.

Sangyeon smiles wide at me and picks me up and spins me around before kissing me passionately.

“I love you so much y/n l/n.”

“I love you more Lee Sangyeon.”

“You’re mine forever.”

“And I'm yours.”

well i hope you enjoyed! sorry if it was bad or rushed again it was my first time hehe

stream breaking dawn and support tbz on kingdom :D

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aritany · 3 years

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Do you have any advice for writing good dialogue? Most advice online is about punctuating/tagging correctly, which I know is important but I've been looking for writing better banter, and I'm just not a funny enough person.

hey! i honestly don't know how long i've had this sitting here but it's been far too long. so sorry for the delay, i've been trying to think of how to answer this one, because of all the things i write, dialogue comes the most naturally to me.

Practicing Dialogue

if this is something you struggle with a lot, here are two strategies i recommend:

write your scenes like a script

watch comedy shows

these each serve specific purposes.

Scripting Scenes

writing out your scenes with dialogue ONLY can be super helpful if you know you're trying to communicate something specific. i find it makes it easier to adjust the direction of the conversation without disrupting any prose.

as an example, here's a script scene i wrote for HCMF, and then i'll include what it became.

A: I'm so relieved. I was ready to be inconsolable. No I don't know what I'm supposed to feel.

F: You'd have been fine. [without conviction]

A: Without you? I'd have driven myself to an early grave worrying about you doing something dumb.

F: Like you'd have a second spare to worry about me.

A: You'd gotta be a special kinda stupid to think that. [beat] Hey. I'm being serious.

F: Serious about me being stupid?

A: [annoyed] I said I was being serious.

F: You're not serious about anything.

A: Only some things.

this allowed me to just get through the meat of the conversation to make sure i understood where the scene was meant to be going (often i don't really know specifics until i'm in the moment!). i add non dialogue notes in [ ] just to get anything onto the page that i feel is essential. it meant that when i went back to add dialogue tags, i got to feel out the flow and change things where i felt they needed to be changed, but the ground work was there.

here's what that script became:

“I’m so relieved,” Andrew said, and then he laughed and crushed his nose into my shoulder. “I was ready to be inconsolable. Now I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel.”

“You’d have been fine,” I said, without much conviction. It felt a little as though the ball of misery in my chest had begun to drain away.

“Without you?” Andrew laughed again, open-mouthed against my neck. Then he bit me, light enough that it didn’t hurt, but I still smacked his head away and stepped back. “I’d have driven myself to an early grave worrying about you out there risking your neck just for the adrenaline rush.”

“Like you’d have a second spare to worry about me.” I tried not to smile too hard as I reached up and touched the skin just under his ear. “You’d get so busy you’d forget all about me.”

“You’d gotta be a special kinda stupid to think that,” he said, and when I laughed he grabbed my wrist and pinned it against the door. “Hey. I’m being serious.”

I grinned indulgently. “Serious about me being stupid?”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “I said I was being serious.”

“You’re not serious about anything.”

He looked at me. “Only some things.”

you'll see that some of the lines changed a little, but mostly all i did was add action and dialogue tags.

Why You Should Watch Comedy

it's fun

you will learn by copying. analyze why certain lines make you laugh. analyze why they make other people laugh. you'll get a sense of cadence and the shape of jokes

it gives you a funky break from actually writing that is still productive so if you're like me and taking a break feels like scraping your face against concrete it can feel a little easier to take a breather and do something different.

the same advice applies to reading comedies. if you don't feel like comedic banter comes naturally, consume media about a similar age demographic to what you're working on!

i'm sorry this is so late, anon! i hope it helped you a little bit.

(tagging the HCMF taglist as it is right now because Content: @florraisons @emdrabbles @haniawritesthings @absolute-nonsense-scribblings )

#asks #dialogue #writing dialogue #writing help #banter #help this scene gives me Emotion </3 #hcmf #hcmf excerpt

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nahimjustfeelingit-writes · 2 years

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So I have a rant and an eventual question at the end.

Black porn scare me…the camera angles and how aggressive some of the mens ovary tappers look when going in seems like hurts. I consider myself a porn connoisseur. I’ve been consuming all forms from an early age, not always proud of that, but it’s been 12 years now. As a teen I didn’t like it. The ways black men and women were and are portrayed in porn is just gross. From Pinky to Lex Steele and all the others I couldn’t get into it with big everything. It doesn’t even look real, and I know porn isn’t always real but damn. So now my dilemma is I’m disgusted during sex and it makes me mad that I can’t enjoy it. Do you have any suggestions to help?

I started watching at a young age too mostly out of curiosity and also because it was around to access 🥴 (left in the DVD player, mixed in with movies, late night TV, hearing your parents) and I felt the same scripted porn for the most part always made me cringe and feel uncomfortable like the positions and all that. My suggestion now would be to eliminate porn. Take a break or just stop watching. You gotta get your mind away from porn and not apply that to the real life sexual intimacy. Also, don’t expect your sexual partner to be on porn level or try not to compare.

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kuekyuuq · 3 years

Text

So, mid-season finale [SG 6x07]

They basically made a bottle episode for a mid-season finale. Ambitious..?

Didn't quite work, imo... :| C'mon, people it's the last season! As much as I enjoy myself a nice character-study, sadly, personally, I feel even with Brainy and J’onn unaffected, it stretched itself too thin and missed the mark a bit...

Harry Potter / Dementor reference for the Phantoms was long overdue (sucking souls, bringing up fears, it even gets colder when they are near)

What was the point of the shield-meter protecting them from the outside Phantoms going down drastically into yellow after the 3rd(?) turbulence / the flash / in the beginning of Alex' and Kelly's parts (detail: it didn't go down on the main-screen) when the nightmares came from the Phantom in the containment unit?

...I really liked Lena making (only) Nia part of her vision ^.^ They made a good combo! (Although, the loss of the others was a deep-cut for her fear of losing people she cares about / ending up alone) - Oh, and Lena was the only of the four who figured out it was a vision / nightmare and applied Kelly's advice. Smart cookie.

Also, Lena facing the water-monster like Ellen Ripley the xenomorph queen; difference being who turned be the mother (I did think it looked like Kara still with her bangs at first, tho...)

Kelly sorta applied her own advice by reminding herself of everything real about Alex and their relationship

So, with the Phantom locked back up, only Kelly and Lena faced their fears. With Lena by actually looking at her fear come to life (and it transforming into the underlying memory of her mother) and Kelly overcoming her passiveness and using a shield and being kick-ass (future female Guardian?). Alex learned a lesson of sorts, still, and went through with the self-sacrifice. Nia mostly self-confirmed her already existing issues of failing in the most horrible ways...

I'm thinking, the picture on the thimble was meant to show the white flash striking the Tower-Ship, and the thimble itself how Dreamer still can't interpret things right ('a desired result not being met' according to online dream-analysis, which sounds much more fitting than Nia's interpretation and failed attempt at sewing with her powers) - that said, sadly no new revelation on that end... Her powers work just fine, and maybe instead of fearing to fail, she should try find ways to learn the skill.

...balloons ARE scary. Don't you want a balloon, Georgie?

Kara had like 4 minutes screen-time in the episode about her return... (Didn’t actually clock it, but sounds about right)

The Tower-Space-Ship is bigger on the inside :)

The Tower-Ship needs a name. SIDRAT? BigBen? Spotlight? Headliner? Huh, I like headliner... >.>

So, I guess Zor-El was Kara's touch-stone? (Eh, did he do another "until you came along" speech? Supercorp shippers will know what I mean. Now it's awkward...)

Gotta love the detail, that Kara's scratches on her neck are immediately healed after the yellow-sun bomb ^.^

While Kara super-speeding to Alex was awesome, I feel deprived of a group-hug :(

After having spent a larger amount of time in the Phantom Zone (yes, time may “not pass” there, but it’s still duration, since ppl inside are moving; meantime, several days passed on Earth) the promo for 6x08 shows Kara jumps right back to work? ...let’s hope, there are some repercussions. You know, just a tad of realism? Our girl’s been horribly traumatized 20 times and some in her life... She could book out Kelly for life.

If this episode had happened at any other spot during the season, I would maybe have given it a 6/10. But it being a mid-season finale kinda makes it rather disappointing. I am not even taking into account anything Supercorp, because I 100% did not expect anything on that front to happen anyways. Even with the episode plot being wrapped up nicely, this arc's plot ending felt rushed and like a side-note... no emotional pay-out.

--> And THAT is why I am disappointed with the episode. Not because of shipping. But because, objectively (or at least in my best objectiveness), this episode was not what it should/could have been. Stretched too thin, a misplaced bottle-episode (which are a skill to master), a filler-episode even (a whole different episode-filling plot squeezed in the middle of the rescue-Kara arc - anyplace else can be a good/interesting idea, but is disconnecting at the finale of an arc). Maybe the original script was much better? But, taste differs. I hope, others enjoyed it much more than I did.

I still love the characters and the actors are doing a great job. And while I have some misgivings on Kara jumping back right in after everything that happened, I do LOVE the show for the fun stuff (uncle Archie?) and Kara supering :) So, after one and a half third season of drama, I can’t help but look forward to what the promo promised! \^o^/

#supergirl #6x07 #mid-season finale #kara danvers #alex danvers #kelly olsen #lena luthor #brainy #nia nal #dreamer #6x08 promo #why can't I post less than 500 words!? XD #review #episode #supercorp

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imagining-supernatural · 4 years

Text

The Work Call

Part 18 of Seventy Percent

Series Summary: When you left on your trip to Vegas, you’d planned on letting loose for one last weekend before heading back to reality and getting your affairs in order so your best friend wouldn’t be left cleaning up your mess when your cancer finally ended your life. What you hadn’t counted on was waking up married to a celebrity who has a knight-in-shining-armor complex, connections with an oncologist, and amazing insurance…

Chapter Summary: You call your boss to get some work to do in your free time and do a little flirting ;)

Word Count: 2,258

With Sebastian off in Georgia for a week, you felt like a teenager whose parents just left her home for alone for the first time. Suddenly, you could break all of the rules. Not that your rule-breaking was something that would get you in too much trouble…

Since the press seemed to have gotten it through their heads that you were off limits, you finally had your privacy and space back again. As a result, you were taking advantage of the last few weeks of autumn before the snow came. After your hospital appointments, you walked down the street to a cute little café and sat in one of the over-sized, plush chairs for a bit. You’d either bring a book or your laptop.

On Wednesday, the café cat apparently decided you were okay and hopped up into your lap, purring loudly as you read. You’d snapped a quick selfie and sent it off to Sebastian.

Me: [image attached] Don’t be surprised if you come home this weekend and I’ve catnapped ol’ Misty here

Sebastian: What if I’m allergic to cats?

Me: Sucks to be you, I guess

Me: The apartment’s lonely without you

You stared at the last text you’d sent, suddenly overthinking it. Sure, you were married. And, sure, you were wearing his ring now. But you two hadn’t really discussed what that meant, exactly. So was that last text too strong? Too forward?

Hell, you didn’t even know what you’d meant by it.

Sebastian: Don’t know how I feel about being able to be replaced by a cat

Sebastian: Maybe I need to up my game

Up his game?

Shit, it had been so long since you’d flirted with anyone. So long since you’d even considered a relationship. After your hellish life growing up, you’d put all of your focus into school. You were determined to set yourself up for a better life than the one you were born into. Then you graduated and worked hard to secure your place at your job. School only taught you so much, and you needed to be able to apply what you learned to real life.

Once you felt secure in your professional life and you were finally ready to start exploring a relationship, you found out you had cancer.

So to say you were woefully underprepared for this situation would be the understatement of the year.

Me: Luckily for you, I like Jenny’s coffee so much that I don’t want her to hate me for stealing her cat

Sebastian: You still thought a cat would replace me

Sebastian: That hurts, sweetheart

Sweetheart. In writing.

Me: I’ll find some way to make you feel better this weekend

Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

Why did you never read over your texts before you sent them?

At least you hadn’t put a winky face emoji. Now that would have been a disaster.

Not that you didn’t want your relationship with Sebastian to keep going. You did. But there was a lot more pressure riding on this than there was back in high school when you went to the prom with Brad Trayton, or in college when you slept with the guy from your Chemistry 101 lab three times before having to break it off with him because he always smelled like bacon.

This was Sebastian Fucking Stan. And you were married to the guy. And you were in a literal life or death situation. If things went badly with him, that would make the rest of your cancer treatment very awkward, to say the least.

Sebastian: I’m sure you will…

Sebastian: I gotta go to a script reading rn. Skype tonight?

Me: Of course

You’d been Skyping with Seb at least twice a day since he left on Sunday night. It was almost like he never left, in that regard.

But with him gone, you found that you had a lot of free time on your hands. With your body starting to get used to the cancer treatment, you also had a bit more energy and nowhere to put that energy to good use.

So you called your old boss back home, dialing his direct extension to avoid getting his assistant. The press might have backed off, but thanks to the updates from Jasmin, people who knew you were still reeling over your marriage.

“Plathway.”

“Hey, Brendon, it’s Y/N.”

“Y/N!” he exclaimed, and you could just imagine him leaning back in his chair. Brendon Plathway was your mentor and had grown into a close friend. Of everyone in your life, you would say he was the closest thing to a good father figure you had. “How are you doing? I’ve seen your name on Facebook a few times.”

“I’m doing pretty good, all things considered. I’m in a clinical study in New York and the doctors are optimistic that it’ll work. They’re hoping I’ll get the tumor out sometime in February.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Brendon said. “And that husband of yours… he treating you well?”

“It’s not… it’s not quite like that. But yeah. He’s great.” It was a pretty decent segue into the reason for your call. “He’s actually out of town, shooting for a TV show. So I have a bit of time on my hands and was hoping—”

“Y/N Y/L/N?”

The unfamiliar voice interrupted you before you could finish. You looked up to see a guy about your age with a newsboy bag, notebook, and tape recorder.

A fucking journalist.

“I thought it was you. You mind if I ask you a few questions?” He didn’t say it like a question, nor did he give you time to respond before he sat on a stool beside you and set up shop on the small table. “If I could write an article on you, it would just—”

“I’m actually on a phone call right now.”

“Oh, I won’t take too long. I just can’t pass up this opportunity. You’re quite the enigma. No one’s gotten your side of the story.”

“And neither will you. I’m not going to answer any questions.”

He completely ignored you, flicked on the recorder, and put his pen to paper. “People have been saying that you planned your rendezvous with Sebastian Stan in Vegas. What do you say to that?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I have no comment for you.”

“I thought you’d appreciate the chance to get your story out there. There are some nasty rumors spreading—”

You cut him off before he could continue. “I know my story and the people I care about know my story. I will not be answering any questions for you today.”

“Do you feel no guilt for being the reason Sebastian Stan’s reputation has taken a massive hit?”

“I’m going to give you one more chance to leave me the fuck alone before I call the cops.” He opened his mouth, but you spoke over him, voice lowering to a red-hot hiss. “And if you write a single word of this conversation or make any sort of insinuations that I said anything at all, I will slap you and whatever blog or magazine you work for with a libel lawsuit. Don’t even think about trying to manipulate your recording because you’re not the only one who has been recording this conversation. The phone call you interrupted was with my boss and it’s company policy to record all incoming and outgoing phone calls. He’s a witness that I repeatedly rejected your attempt to start an interview and anything else you say can be construed as harassment. Have I made myself clear?”

He stared at you, wide eyed. Guess he hadn’t expected a cancer patient to be so blunt. Nevertheless, he gathered his things and stood. Just before walking away, he muttered, “You didn’t have to be such a bitch about it.”

Once he was gone, you groaned. “Sorry about that, Bren.”

“Is that something you have to deal with often? That’s horrible.”

“No. Not since I got sick because stupid reporters were sticking their germy microphones in my face and Seb threatened them with lawyers.”

Brendon hmphed. “Well, you sounded like you had that speech prepared. Sounded like you’d said it a few times.”

“Before he left, Seb made sure I knew how to threaten any reporters like that. Luckily this was the first time I’ve had to remember what he told me.” The reporter had shaken you, and it took a few deep breaths before you felt calm enough to continue with your conversation. “Anyway, back to my original reason for calling… Are there are projects I could jump on long distance? I’ll probably only be able to put in about ten to fifteen good hours of work a week, but it’d be nice to have something to do other than wait for new episodes of my shows to come on Hulu.”

“Let me poke around the office a bit. I know there’s a big one coming up next week. Rachel’s heading that one. You’ve worked with her before right? She’d probably appreciate your input. Trent is in the middle of one for a pharmaceutical company, but he’s not feeling too sure about it. I’ll see if he wants you to try and hack the system and find holes.”

“Anything. I’ve worked with both of them before and I think we work well together. I did quite a few initial proposals before I left for Vegas and I enjoyed those more than most people do.”

He promised he’d send any projects your way that he could. After a few more minutes of catching up, you ended the call and headed outside to wait for Sean in the chilly fall air.

“How was the reading?” you asked later that night. “Any juicy plot lines?”

“Not that I can tell you,” Seb replied. The phone in his hand shifted as he settled further into the hotel bed that Marvel was putting him up in. “But it was good. We’ll start shooting tomorrow.”

“Excited to lube up your arm?”

He laughed, head falling back against the headboard. “I take it you finally did some research on me?”

“A little. The hospital was running behind today, so I was there a bit longer than I planned and I fell down the YouTube abyss of interviews. Anthony seems like a fun guy to work with.”

Sebastian grinned. “He is. Speaking of work, did you call your boss?”

“Yeah.” The reminder of the phone call – or rather of the interruption – made your roll your eyes.

“Didn’t go well?”

“No, no. It did.” You knew your news was not going to go over well with Seb, so you took a minute to get settled into the bed. It had been a long day and laying down felt good. You turned your laptop on its side so your face would still be the right way on Seb’s phone. “Brendon’s gonna check around work and find some projects and work to throw my way. That’s all good.”

“Then what is it?”

With a deep sigh, you began. “While I was on the phone with him, some hipster reporter dude interrupted.”

“Son of a—”

“It took a minute to get it through his thick skull that I was not going to give him a story but he finally left. It just kinda took a bit out of me.”

“God, Y/N. I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yeah, it’s not,” you agreed softly. “But you prepared me. I handled it. Then Sean made me eat dinner with him and his wife. She’s an amazing cook. Sometime when you’re home, they want to have both of us over. And when this is all over, we definitely need to think of a hell of a way to thank him for everything. He’s done so much more than a driver gets paid to.”

The two of you brainstormed for a bit about how to repay Sean for his kindness and friendship. Then your conversation moved on to different subjects, bouncing around for a bit until you yawned for the third time in five minutes.

“You seem more tired than usual. You doing okay?”

“I’m fine. I mean, I haven’t been sleeping well, but that’s your fault.”

“My fault?” he asked.

“Yeah. You made me sleep next to you for two weeks then you just up and leave me alone. It’s rude, Mr. Stan.”

Something in your words sparked something in his eyes that filled you with… excitement?

“Well, Mrs. Stan…” His words were accompanied by a wink that stopped your heart. Forget your brain tumor. Sebastian was going to be the source of your death. “You only have two more nights before I’m home for the weekend.”

Flirting? Were you flirting?

“Two nights with you and five nights without you is just not a fraction I like.”

My god, you were flirting.

“If you can convince Marvel to move their studios to New York, I’m all game. Until then, we’ll have to make the best of those two nights.”

“Make the best of them, hmm?”

“Yeah,” he said in a low voice. “Mackie’s commentary on The Voice isn’t as good as yours. I’ve been waiting to watch the new episodes until I’m with you.”

The unexpected twist made you laugh out loud. It didn’t escape your attention how his eyes crinkled at the sound, affection flooding his expression. “The Voice on Friday and Dancing With The Stars on Saturday?”

“I’ll pen it in my calendar, sweetheart.”

“Ooo. I’m pen-worthy. That’s so much better than pencil-worthy.”

“You’re white-out-worthy, baby. I’d white-out plans I have with someone else to pen in plans with you.”

Fucking hell. Baby was a new one.

If he’d put on half this much charm on you in Vegas when you were drunk, it was no wonder you’d married him.

“Then I guess I need to go erase the pencil plans I had for Saturday evening and make room for you. Maybe even buy a special pen just for you.”

“Maybe wait for tomorrow? You’ve had a long day. Seems like you need a good night’s rest.”

“You too, hun.” The pet name felt foreign on your tongue, but it somehow felt… right? “Shooting starts tomorrow. You need to be ready to keep up with Mackie’s energy.”

“He wants to meet’cha, you know. Apparently I haven’t shut up about you.’

“Gimme a few more weeks to get used to this treatment and maybe I can spend more than three seconds around him without needing a nap,” you joked. “Unless he only has that energy when there’s a camera on him…?”

Seb laughed. “That is him all the damn time.”

“Then I better let you go for the night. You’ve spent the last few weeks shlumping around with me. Gotta get your rest to keep up with him tomorrow.”

“And you gotta get your rest so you can hand out candy tomorrow.”

“I’m excited for that, actually. Trick or Treating really slowed down back in Utah lately. I think last year I got, like, maybe three groups of kids?”

“You’ll get your fill this year. A lot of the kids in the apartment complex go to every door. Just be careful, okay? I don’t want you getting sick.”

It took twenty more minutes before you were finally able to say your goodbyes and hang up. You stared at your phone for a moment before placing it on the side table beside Sebastian’s bed and turning off the light.

Houston, we've got some flirting!!! Also can we just take a minute to appreciate how amazing Sean is? But things seem to be looking up!

CHAPTER 19: THE LONG DAY

#sebastian x reader #sebastian stan x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #marvel fanfic #fluff

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champhangman · 4 years

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Bleed Into the Night

Title: Bleed Into the Night Part: Three / ? Characters: Hangman Adam Page x OFC Summary: She wasn’t looking. Neither was he. For a brief flash, they found each other. Word Count: 11,138 Warnings: Alcohol use. Mild cursing. Previous: Part One | Part Two

Tagging: @adampage / @cowboyshit / @baysexuality / @lilmisswhiskeygypsy / @bigpixiefoot / @mindofasagittaruis / @kalliravenne / @sadlittlecountess / @baronsbelleevangeline / @brie-mode-activated / @xbreezymeadowsx / @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch /

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At first, it was easy. Adam didn't have to put too much thought into pretending to date Serena. When he opened Twitter and saw things she had posted, it wasn't difficult to like the post and keep going. When Britt asked him backstage, barely a week after he'd met Serena, if they'd gone on their first date yet, he was able to shake his head and tell her they were waiting for their schedules to mesh. And he was busy with work. He went to a toy convention to see the action figures that would be released in the fall. The next day he, Kenny, Nick, and Matt filmed a commercial for the figures. And it seemed that every day there were more and more media interviews to do. Podcasts to appear on. Not to mention he was just getting into the groove of shows on weekends. He was busier than he had been in years.

His sole interaction with Serena that wasn't on social media that first week was a late-night text to make sure they were really going through with the plan. She hadn't replied until the next morning, telling him that yes, they were. Ten minutes later she had texted again to let him know that Cole was trying to talk her into going to the AEW pay-per-view next month, since Cole would be accompanying Britt.

He didn't know how that would work. Surely NXT was putting a show on the same night? He messaged her to let him know if she was coming so he could see to it she got the proper VIP treatment.

And had received no reply.

After two weeks, he began to feel that just saying they were going to go out at some point was enough. Britt hadn't cornered him or pestered him anymore, merely asking if he'd talked to Serena lately. She seemed satisfied with his lie that they talked nearly every day, but when he told her that they were both too busy to have a date she looked skeptical.

Watching her walk away to sit at a table in catering, he heaved a sigh and pulled out his phone. This was bullshit. If he was going to fake date someone he would at least like to, if not literally go on a date, talk to them occasionally. What was the point of having a woman pretending to go out with him if he couldn't fucking talk to her?

Pulling up Serena's info, he hit the call button and made his way to an empty table.

"Hello?"

"Hey," he greeted. Remembering that he wasn't supposed like her, he wondered why the fuck he'd called her. But it was too late to hang up. "You busy?"

"I just finished up at the PC. What's up?"

"I was just checking in. Haven't talked to you today," he said, aware of Britt watching him.

"Oh," Serena said, dragging the syllable out. "Sorry about that. I've been busy."

"I know. Me too." He picked at the label on his bottle of water. "What were you doing at the PC? Working on your enzuigiri?"

"Fuck that move," she muttered. "No, today was promo work."

"How's your promo?"

"Abysmal." She sighed. "Hang on a second."

Adam took a sip of water, halfway listening as she spoke to someone about the show that night. Her promo was abysmal? He wondered why. He knew that company tended to script a promo down to breaths and pauses. Would she do better if given free reign? She was saying she was excited to wear her new gear and he sat back with a soft grunt. He had no idea what her gear looked like.

He had no idea what her wrestling was like. Yeah, he'd seen her a couple of times when he'd watched NXT. But truth be told, he'd only seen the ending of her matches. He was sure he remembered a powerbomb. But nothing else. And not even the vaguest memory of what her gear had looked out.

What a shitty fake boyfriend he was turning out to be.

"Sorry, what were we talking about?"

"Your promo."

"Ugh," she groaned. "They had me practicing babyface skills and do you know what?"

"What?" Was she a babyface? Or a heel? How could he not know anything about her career? Other than what she'd shared when they'd been in the pool, which hadn't been much. In fact, except for saying she'd been so nervous she'd thrown up before her first televised match, she hadn't mentioned WWE or NXT at all. No, she'd said that she'd applied and tried out for the hell of it and still couldn't believed she'd been signed. And what little bit he'd seen of her work hadn't been enough to know anything about her character.

"I am not cut out to be a babyface."

"No? I thought you just radiated sweetness and light," he teased. Because it was easy to tease her. He had only spent a few hours in her company, but he could imagine her eyes rolling. He liked teasing her, he decided when her reluctant laugh rang in his ear.

"Right now I'm radiating sweat because my car is hotter than the inner circle of hell. And I thought you were the sweetheart?"

"Yes, ma'am," he allowed. When she didn't reply, he pulled his phone from his ear to make sure the call hadn't been dropped. "…You still with me?"

"Yeah…"

"Where's the show tonight?" he asked after a moment.

She cleared her throat. "Jacksonville. I'm about to head that way now. Are you working tonight? Shit… I should know that, shouldn't I?"

"It's fine." He wasn't about to admit that he only knew she was working because he'd overheard her saying so. "We're in Jacksonville too."

"Ooh, competition," she cooed. "I'm surprised Cole didn't tell me."

"Yeah, Britt didn't tell me, either." Adam glanced over to the woman, but she was walking out of catering. At the door, she glanced back and gave him a smirk. What the hell—

"We're such dumbasses!" Serena suddenly yelped.

Adam rubbed his chin. "I'm not gonna disagree, but why?"

"They probably assume we both already know. Duh," she snorted. "We're supposed to be talking practically every day. Of course we'd know. Which means—"

"Yep." Adam lightly banged his fist against his forehead. He knew exactly what it meant. He bumped his forehead harder, as though to punish his brain for being so fucking stupid. For thinking that this would be even remotely easy. That explained Britt's face when he'd said they were still looking for a good time to go out. "Shit."

"It'll be weird if we don't."

He didn't have to ask what she meant. He already knew. And he couldn't ask her the question because the whole point of this bullshit ruse was that he didn't have to ask her. He almost drove his fist against his skull harder but stopped, dropping his hand to his thigh with a loud slap. "Fuck."

"No, no, we're smart. We can figure this out."

"You just said we're dumbasses," he reminded her, standing and carrying his empty bottle to the trashcan. Nodding in greeting to Matt, he headed in the direction of the locker room. "You could just come to my apartment?"

"And let everyone think we're having sex?"

He pulled the phone away and scowled. Did she have to sound like the idea was repulsive? "You got a better idea?"

"I think my hotel has a bar."

"Okay?"

"Then we can meet there."

And do what, exactly? Sit there and drink? He could do that on his own. He sighed. "Yeah, sure."

"We could go to a different bar," she suggested. "Unless you can come up with something else."

His mind went blank. He'd spent enough time in the city to know places to visit after a show. Had gone to several with his friends. And yet he couldn't think of one place they could go for their non-date. "I'll figure something out," he finally said. "Text me your hotel."

"Why?"

"So I can pick you up."

"Oh right. Southern gentleman." He heard a rustling, then the monotonous chime that meant a car door was open. "Sure. I'm about to get gas then hit the road, I'll text you before I leave here."

"I thought they got vans or buses when y'all were in Florida."

"I prefer to drive myself. And it's only a couple of hours."

"Not taking it slow today, huh?" he asked, smiling as he remembered their chat about drive times. He leaned against the wall outside the locker room, glancing up when Nick came to the door.

"I'm not on my own schedule so I can't," Serena said.

"Hey, we're ready to do that bit when you are," Nick told him.

Then the bastard stood there. Waiting.

"I gotta go," he muttered into the phone. "I'll see you tonight."

"I'll text you," she promised before the call ended.

Adam used the hem of his t-shirt to polish the screen before sliding his phone into his pocket. Feeling Nick's inquisitive gaze, he reached to run his fingers through his hair. And, when Nick didn't speak, he sighed. "What?"

"Who are you seeing tonight?"

Shit. "Um… Lots of people?"

Nick rolled his eyes.

"Britt introduced me to someone," Adam said. "We're going to meet up after the show."

Nick's lips parted, and Adam knew he was about to say Again? But he closed his mouth and nodded. "Is she coming to the show?"

"Nah, she's gotta work." He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Two short vibrations to let him know he'd received two texts. Predicting they were from Serena, he didn't bother checking.

"What's she do?"

"She's with NXT."

"Yeah? Wrestler?"

"Yeah. Her name's Serena."

Nick shook his head. "I've heard the name but I'm not familiar with her."

Neither was he. He really needed to remedy that. It would at least give them something to talk about during their date that wasn't a date. Pushing away from the wall, he followed Nick into the locker room. He was surprised to see it empty. He pulled off his shirt and moved to get the one he was supposed to wear for the bit. "We met a couple weeks ago. We haven't been able to get together yet. They're in town for a show tonight, so…"

"Where are you taking her?"

"I don't have a fucking clue," he admitted. "Still trying to figure that out."

"I'm sure something will come to you," Nick assured him. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

A short while later he returned to the locker room and dropped onto the couch to relax for a bit before the chaos of the show started. Settling back, he reached for his phone to see the texts from Serena. Making note of her hotel, he propped his feet on the arm of the couch while the others milled around. He barely heard their discussions about that night's matches, merch sales, and everything else as he checked his social media. Twitter was calm for the moment, though he noted some more people had commented on his and Serena's tweets.

Apparently, fans were shipping them. Whatever the fuck that meant.

He moved to Instagram and pulled up her account. His thumb swiped the screen, scrolling past her most recent posts. He stopped randomly and tapped on the photo his thumb was hovering over, eyebrows lifting at the sight of her with teal hair. He wondered why she didn't keep her hair its natural hue. Eyes scanning the caption while Kenny, Nick, and Matt continued to chatter around him, he chuckled.

I'm an f'n mermaid. Trading in my wrestling boots for a fin ASAP!

He instinctively double-tapped the screen, then muttered a curse under his breath when he realized he'd done so. He almost unliked it then shrugged. It wasn't as though he'd gone to a picture she'd posted eight years before. Backing out to her profile, he scrolled towards her more recent pictures. There weren't, he saw, many pictures of her. She seemed to love sunsets and even as he tucked that nugget of information away for later, he wondered why he deemed it important. She also posted a lot of pictures of a cactus in a window. When he finally saw her face again he stopped to open the post, snorting softly at the sight of her standing next to a proud-looking Triple H. it must have been after her debut on NXT. He liked it then went through more and was taking a sip of his drink when he saw her most recent post.

It had been taken at Britt and Cole's. He immediately recognized the patio table with the spread of food, and the twinkling fairy lights above it. And there she was, back to the scene, her pink hair wet and messy, her lips tilted in a secret smile.

Damn, she was pretty. He let himself admire the dimple in her left cheek, then studied the rest of the picture, smiling when he recognized himself in the background, laughing. She must have taken it right before they sat down to eat. What had he been laughing at? He couldn't remember.

He just remembered that he hadn't laughed so much in a long time.

His gaze dipped to read the caption and he felt his lips tug into a smile.

Good times. Good friends. Good food. Good beginning?

"What's got you grinning?"

Adam jerked his head up to find his three friends looking at him, each with a mixture of amusement and confusion on their face. He grunted as water splashed from the bottle and onto his chest and sat upright. "Huh?"

"We've been talking to you for like ten minutes," Nick said. He looked the least confused.

No they hadn't. Adam hadn't even been in the room for ten minutes. Had he? Looking to his phone to check the time, he saw with irritation that an hour had slipped by. He hadn't been on her Instagram that long, had he? Surely not. Matt or Nick would have begun kicking him if he'd ignored them for so long. "What?"

"Who is she?" Matt asked.

A small part of him was surprised that Nick hadn't already blabbed. No, he shouldn't be surprised. Nick didn't blab. He didn't share things that weren't work-related unless he was specifically told he could. One of many reasons why Adam appreciated having him as a friend. Brushing the water from his chest, he looked to Matt warily. "How do you know it's a she?"

"I can see the picture, dumbass."

Oh. Fuck. He looked to his phone. "Oh. Right. That's Serena."

"She's very pretty," Kenny commented.

"Thanks." Adam screwed up his face. Thanks? Like he had anything to do with her attractiveness. "I mean, yeah, she is."

"Who is she?" Matt asked again, snapping his gum.

"I just told you," Adam said slowly.

"Lay off, Matt." This from Nick, who'd leaned to get a look at the photo. Leaning back, he smiled. "She is pretty."

"Britt and Cole introduced us," Adam explained to Matt with a sigh. "We're going out tonight."

"She coming to the show?" Matt's eyebrows raised.

"No. She's got to work. She's with NXT. Yes, she's a wrestler. We just met a couple weeks ago and haven't had a chance to go out yet. No, I don't know where I'm taking her, but I'll figure it out. Any more questions?"

"Can we meet her?" Nick asked with a smile.

"Fuck no."

"We'll be nice," Matt promised.

"Double fuck no." Pretend or not, if he introduced her to the clowns he called his friends, she would run for the hills. Or at least call for an Uber. God, just the idea… Well, he supposed Kenny wouldn't scare her off. But the doofuses asking to meet her? They would pester the fuck out of her. They'd ask her a million questions as though interviewing her for some extremely sensitive job. Matt, aggressively chomping his gum and firing off questions faster than she could answer, his manic energy in every word. Nick, watching her with that speculative gaze that unnerved people who didn't know him. He almost shuddered.

"C'mon, we want to meet her."

"No."

"Please?"

"If I say yes will you shut the hell up?"

"Yeah."

"Then yes. But also no."

"What's wrong with us?" Matt demanded.

"What isn't wrong with you?" Adam retorted.

"I'm offended," Matt gasped, clapping a hand over his chest. "You're ashamed of us, aren't you?"

"When it comes to this sort of shit? Yeah," he admitted. He looked down at his phone, made sure to like the picture, the locked it and shoved it into his pocket while he rose to his feet.

Matt's demeanor shifted to somewhat normal. "You really don't want your girlfriend to meet us?"

"She's not my girlfriend," he said quickly.

"Your soon-to-be girlfriend, then."

"She's not that either. She's…" Not interested in me at all and this is all a farce. Hah! Ain't that some shit? He tried to picture what their reaction would be. But all he could see was them as they were now. Kenny, interested but calm. Matt, eyes wide and anticipating an answer. Nick, a smile pulling on his lips.

"It's too early to say what she is," he finally managed. "We've only talked a few times—" Lies. "And… I don't know, man. She seems cool."

"Cool," Nick repeated, and Adam didn't know if he was questioning Adam's summation of Serena or just agreeing with him.

"So when do we get to meet her?" Matt demanded.

"Never," Adam muttered.

They continued to pester him the rest of the afternoon. Matt had questions, as always. Nick, too, but to a lesser extent. Kenny's only question was had Adam decided where he was taking her after the show.

"Not a fucking clue," Adam groaned while lacing up his boots.

His phone chimed behind him on the bench but he ignored it.

"Well you have to think of something," Kenny pointed out, reaching behind Adam. He chuckled. "Heart eyes?"

"What." Adam snapped upright so quickly his head swam. "Heart eyes?"

"Serena. Heart eyes. Heart eyes."

It was then that he saw Kenny was holding his phone. "Huh," he chuckled nervously, taking the phone and sitting down. He didn't know whether to tell Kenny she had done it or let the man assume he'd done it himself. But he was distracted by the message she had sent him.

Just got to the venue and it has been decided for me that I'm coming with Cole to Daily's. Told him I was leaving our date up to you and if you don't have something we're going bar hopping with him and Britt.

"Fuck me," he groaned.

"Bad news?"

"Not bad. Not good, either. But not bad." Just the worst.

"Come on. It's not the end of the world, is it?"

"No, no, it's fine," he murmured, hunching forward to compose a reply.

Bar hopping? I don't know. I was thinking just one bar. There's a little honkytonk I know that has karaoke on weekends if you're into that. I don't sing but it's a nice little place.

Her reply was quick. That sounds fun. You don't sing? Shame. I do. Will they kick me out if I don't wear cowboy boots?

He chuckled. She'd look cute in… No, no, he couldn't allow his thoughts to stray in that direction, no matter how enticing the idea. No, you can wear whatever. They might kick you out if you don't practice your enzuigiri though.

Just for that, I'm gonna make you sing tonight.

Oh no.

What had he gotten himself into?

***

What had she gotten herself into?

It had seemed so easy. Serena would drive Cole over to Daily’s, he and Britt would go off and do their thing, and she and Adam could leave to do… Whatever they were going to do. Simple. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, as her niece would say. She hadn't paid attention to Cole's threat of bar hopping. A nice little honkytonk sounded fun, and Cole wasn't into karaoke. It would all be fine. Right?

Wrong.

As it turned out, Britt was into karaoke. And wouldn't it just be so much fun for them to make it a double date? Cole didn't care as long as he could have a few drinks with his beloved.

Standing outside her car, Serena looked to Adam for help. It was already too late, though, because Britt was asking someone if they would take her and Cole's luggage to the hotel. Adam sent her an apologetic look, and damn the man for looking so adorably sorry that she couldn't be irritated with him. Not that it was his fault, anyway.

"You can put your stuff in the back," she said, hitting the button on her key fob to open the trunk. She moved to the back of the car, lifting an eyebrow at the sound of clinking when he placed his backpack on the ground.

"Tag team belt," he explained before slinging his suitcase into the trunk. He set the backpack next to it and closed the trunk with more force than necessary. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I slam it all the time."

"No, not that—Well, yeah, that too," he corrected. "I mean about them."

She shrugged. It was done now. She supposed they could be sneaky and leave before Britt and Cole made it back to the car, but she didn't relish their complaints if they did so. "How was the show?"

His smile was brighter than the lights illuminating the parking lot. "We tore it down."

"You and Omega are the tag champs, right?" She shrugged again when he looked to her. "I Googled you."

"Yeah, we're the champs." He looked over to the group of people that Cole and Britt were chatting with. "Do you know him?"

"No. Cole talks about him a lot, though."

"You want to meet him?"

"Meet him?"

"C'mon, he won't bite." Adam hesitated. "Unless you ask nicely."

The breeze carried her laugh away as she walked with him towards the group. Her steps faltered when she saw every head swivel to watch their approach and she tugged at Adam's sleeve. "You said Omega, not the whole damn roster…"

"It's not the whole roster," he promised. "Just don't let Nick and Matt intimidate you."

"Nick and Matt?" she echoed, but he'd already planted his hand at the small of her back and propelled her forward.

"New blood! New blood!"

"Man, chill, you know that's Cole's protégé!"

"Marq and Isiah," Adam said with a smile, nudging her forward a couple of more steps. "Guys, this is Serena."

One second, she was standing with Adam. The next she was being tugged into a welcoming hug by Marq – or was it Isiah? – and greeted excitedly. She could have sworn one of them said he'd heard a lot about her. From Adam? She glanced to him, saw his quick shrug, then turned back to the two men. "Hi," she greeted, reaching to push her hair behind her ear. "Nice to meet you."

They were fun and lively and brimming with youthful energy, and after two minutes of chatting she felt as if she'd known them for years. It was impossible not to smile while talking to them. Promising to come to a show to see them in action soon, she felt almost dizzy when they departed.

"Serena," a gentle voice greeted. She turned and, recognizing the man, smiled.

"Kenny. You've heard a lot about me too?" she guessed.

"Enough to know that you need to work on your—"

"Don't say the word," she begged, slipping her hand into his for a brief shake. "It causes flashbacks."

"Perhaps you need a better teacher?" Kenny suggested.

"Hey!" Cole protested.

"He acts like he's my teacher." Feeling a gentle hand on her back, she knew without looking that it was Adam. She wasn't sure how she knew and decided to not ponder that at the moment, instead smiling up at Kenny. "When he's really just my self-appointed brother, determined to make my life a living hell."

"Doesn't he do that to everyone?"

"Fuck you," Cole said, giving Kenny a light shove. Then he glared at Serena. "And fuck you, too."

"He always comes out with the 'fuck you' when he knows he can't defend the statement," Kenny said in an aside.

"But he'll keep trying," Serena sighed.

"You're goddamn right he will." Kenny's smile was pleasant. "It was great meeting you, Serena. I'll see you soon."

She watched him walk off, then turned to face Adam. His hand was still on her back, and she swallowed as her movement caused his arm to wrap around her. She lightly tapped his chest. "I think—"

"Cole! We didn't know you were coming!"

Serena watched Adam's face slide from easygoing to annoyed in half a second. She heard Cole say that he'd tagged along with her and could have sworn that Adam winced as the man who'd called to Cole spoke again.

"Serena? She's here?"

She turned at that and saw two men approaching. Recognizing them, she lifted her hand in a wave. Adam's fingers curled against her back and she thought she heard him mutter several curses under his breath. About to turn to ask what was wrong, she instead took a tiny step back when the men's faces split into wide grins.

"Oh, fuck," Adam muttered. Then, with a sigh, he said, "I'm so sorry."

"Why? What's wrong?" Confused, she looked to the two men. "Hi?"

"I didn't think he'd actually let us meet you."

"I thought for sure he'd never bring you close to us."

She blanked on their names. She knew they were the Young Bucks but had never paid enough attention to their looks to know which was which. The one on her right was just an inch or two shorter than the other, his thinly bearded jaw working furiously on the gum he was chewing. The one to the left regarded her with a faint smile, though she couldn't shake the feeling that he was inspecting her. Suddenly self-conscious, she took another small step back and looked from one to the other. "Why wouldn't he bring me close to you?"

"He's ashamed of us," the gum chewer sighed with a dramatic roll of his eyes. "Thinks we'll scare you off."

"Which is crazy, because we're two of the nicest people on the planet," his brother assured her.

"It's been my experience that people who brag about their niceness have a tendency to be assholes," she said without thinking. Grateful when they burst into laughter, she felt herself relax. And noticed that Adam's hand was still firmly on her back. As though prepared to haul her away from them.

"I'm Matt." The gum chewing ceased for two seconds. "And I have a feeling we're going to become the best of friends."

"Nick." He extended his hand with a warm, welcoming smile. "I promise, I try my best not to be an asshole."

Matt's eyes lit up. "So, where are you two headed?"

Serena faltered. "Oh. I, um. I—"

"We're going for a drink," Adam cut in.

"Really? Where? We might drop in."

"Adam said something about a honkytonk with karaoke?" Serena offered. Glancing down, she saw that she and Nick were still clasping hands and gently pulled hers away.

"The place we went to last time?" Matt asked Adam.

She watched his face as he processed the question. Felt his heavy sigh before he nodded. "But I don't—"

"We love karaoke!" Matt exclaimed. "Don't we, Nick?"

"You love karaoke. I love watching you make an idiot of yourself," Nick corrected. His blue eyes swiveled to Serena again. "He's always doing it, which means I'm always having a good time."

"You don't sing?" she asked.

"Only when no one can hear me," he laughed. "And when I'm far away from dogs and children."

"That bad?"

"Worse."

"I love to sing, but I don't know that I'm good. I don't even care if I'm good. I just like having fun. Like I know I'm a terrible dancer but that doesn't stop me from putting on shows for my houseplants when I'm home…" She was rambling. She forced herself to stop and looked at Adam, saw this his annoyance appeared to have eased. When he caught her looking at him, his lips tipped into a small smile. She felt his fingers relax and was surprised when his thumb began to lightly stroke. Probably an involuntary movement, she told herself. She gave the hem of his t-shirt a gentle tug and smiled up at him. She wanted to ask him if he'd mind of Matt and Nick went to the bar with them, since it was obvious that Cole and Britt would be tagging along. A group thing would be easier, right? There would be other people to talk to. He wouldn't have to feel obligated to talk to her much.

Or maybe he wanted to talk to her?

His fingers squeezed at her back. "We better get going. Don't wanna miss last call."

"Definitely not," she agreed, looking to Matt and Nick. "Great meeting you."

"You, too," they said in unison.

"They're nice," she said as she and Adam walked away.

"Yeah?" he sounded doubtful.

"Do they usually embarrass you?"

"More than you'd think," he admitted. He dipped his head so he could speak lower. "You want to try to leave without Cole and Britt?"

She sneaked a glance over her shoulder and saw that Cole was in deep conversation with Nick and Matt. "You think we can?"

"Don't say anything," he murmured. "We'll sneak away."

"Do you want to drive?" she asked softly when they reached the car. "Since you know where it is?"

While she passed him the keys and they climbed in, she kept expecting to hear Britt or Cole call out to them. They didn't, though, not even during the long while it took Adam to get the seat adjusted for his height. She sneaked another glance as she closed the door, and her sigh of relief mirrored his.

"Did you sneak out a lot when you were a kid?" she asked once he'd started the engine.

"Didn't really have to sneak out. I had to sneak back in a lot, though," he said with a chuckle. Planting his hand on the back of her seat, he turned to watch as he reversed the car.

"How do you sneak in?" She had to ask. Talking took her mind off the aroma of his cologne and the fact that her car suddenly seemed tiny.

"I grew up in the country, you know? So sneaking in meant I turned the headlights and engine off about a mile from the house and I would coast up the path. I always drove my dad's old truck and it coasted like a dream." His sigh was reminiscent. He waved to the security guard at the parking lot exit. "Mama locked all the doors at midnight, so I'd have to climb the tree at the back of the house and slip in the upstairs bathroom window because it was the only one without a lock. I only got caught once, and I was able to lie my ass off and swear I was in my room the whole time and was getting ready to take a shower. I don't think Mama believed me but she didn't catch me coming in the window, so I was safe."

"Why did you have to turn the headlights off?" She was enthralled. It sounded like something out of some stupid teen movie, but coming from him, it was believable in its ridiculousness. And so different from when she had missed curfew as a teen.

"So my brother wouldn't see them through the window and tattle on me. And I coasted because Dad's old dog would bark his head off if he heard an engine."

"He didn't bark if he heard the door shut?"

"Oh I just climbed out the window. Caught hell for leaving it down when it rained one night, but I was young and stupid." He stopped for the red light and looked at her. "Didn't you grow up in the country?"

"I grew up outside of Modesto."

"Britt told me you're from Montana."

"I was born there, but my parents moved to California when I was three."

"So you do have country roots."

"I don't remember it, so they're flimsy roots," she decided with a roll of her eyes. "I didn't learn how to coast a mile down the road and shimmy up a tree if I got home past curfew."

"What happened if you missed curfew?"

"Mom would call my cell phone to check on me. And she'd wait up until I got home." Serena smiled at the thought of her mother. She really needed to spend her days off with her parents. She missed the comfort of her family.

"I had a cell but I was always so deep in the sticks the signal wouldn't reach."

She opened her mouth to ask more about where he'd grown up. The only thing she knew about Virginia was what she'd seen of Richmond and Norfolk when going to shows. She had an inkling that his hometown was a far cry from either of those cities. Drawing in a breath, she grunted when her cell phone began to ring.

"How much you want to bet that's Britt?" Adam asked.

"It could be Cole," she pointed out, leaning to retrieve it from the cupholder. Turning to see the screen, she huffed. "You win."

"Knew I should've made you bet," he muttered. "Are you gonna answer?"

Serena looked at the screen for several seconds. Adam had told the Bucks where they were going. No matter what, Britt and Cole would show up. She concluded that she could handle Britt's irritation better once she had a drink or two and rejected the call, then silenced her phone.

"Now she's gonna call me," Adam told her.

"Are you gonna answer?" she asked, snorting as his phone began to vibrate on the console between them.

"Hell no."

"Good boy."

He turned his head slowly to look at her, and she saw his lips twitching into a small, pleased smile. His tongue darted over his lips before he looked forward, his breath exhaling in a stuttered rush.

He liked being called a good boy. Interesting, she thought, tilting her head so she looked out the window instead of at him. Wondering why, without warning, she felt a stab of desire.

***

A reedy voice was murdering a pop song when they entered the bar. Adam glanced around the barroom and motioned to a table almost in the corner, close to the bar. When Serena nodded, he slipped his hand to the small of her back to guide her in that direction, lifting his chin in greeting when he spotted a couple of familiar faces.

Just as they got their drinks and he was thinking of what to say, he heard a familiar voice from the entrance. Not wanting to be obvious, he glanced over while taking a sip of his beer, lowering the mug with a sigh. "They found us."

Her back was to the door, and she obviously didn't want to be obvious either. "Which they?"

He watched over her shoulder as the group of people entering grew. "Britt. Cole. Matt. Nick. Brandon. Cash and Dax."

"Do they see us?"

They were impossible to miss, what with her neon pink hair glowing like a beacon in the soft lighting. The thought had just crossed his mind when Britt's eyes landed on them. She waved, even though he wasn't looking directly at her, and they began to descend upon their table. "Yeah, they see us."

There was noise and commotion as the empty table next to theirs was dragged over to make more room. Chairs screeched across the floor in a way that made Adam cringe, and the weary-looking server approached with dread. He frowned against he rim of his mug when everyone squeezed in between him and Serena, then decided that he didn't mind. Until he saw Nick leaning in to speak with her. He wondered what he said to make her smile like that. It lit up her face, and even from across the way he could see her dimple.

The weary server returned with drinks, plunked a fresh beer in front of Adam, and smiled when Brandon thanked her sweetly. Conversations began to rise and fall around him, and he joined in when directly spoken to, the questions he had thought to ask Serena falling to the back of his mind.

What the hell were they talking about? Their heads were close together and he could see from the way Nick's hands were moving that they were discussing something important. Serena was nodding. Smiling. And when Nick's hand made a slicing motion through the air she began to laugh.

A foot slammed against his leg and he jerked up, glaring in the direction it had come from. Britt tilted her head to the side, eyes questioning, then announced she was going to sing. Some of the group at the table called out requests as she crossed to the small stage. Moments later a slow song began and there were several groans from his friends when she began to sing a love song.

"Leave her alone," Cole said, raising his voice so they could all hear him. "I'm the reason she sings love songs these days."

That only made the chorus of groans grow louder. Adam joined in, because tormenting Cole was fun, and was sliding into Britt's empty seat so he and his friend could bullshit when movement across the table caught his eye.

Nick was standing. Then Serena was, too. And then, with the barest of glances towards him, she took Nick's outstretched hand and let him lead her to the little dance floor.

Five heads turned to look at Adam, with varying degrees of puzzlement.

All he could do was shrug. So she wanted to dance with Nick. What was it to him? It wasn't like he wanted to dance. Not to the overly sweet, sappy song that Britt was crooning.

"What the hell, man?" Cole asked once conversation had resumed around them.

Adam shrugged again. "Not like I dance, Cole."

"Still."

"It's not that big a deal."

But, he thought when Cole shrugged and began talking about work, it felt like somewhat of a deal. Even if this whole thing wasn't real, it stung a little to see her obviously having fun with another man. He lifted his drink, intending to take a small sip, only to gulp it down when he glanced over and saw her being twirled.

Fucking Nick, he thought with a scowl. No, he corrected, reminding himself that Nick was one of his best friends. He was just being nice. Making sure she felt welcomed into their close-knit group. That was the Nick he knew. The people pleaser, the one who wanted to make sure everyone was being included and having a good time. Even when doing so made him forget to have a good time himself.

But did the bastard have to enjoy himself so much?

"Where are you going?" This from Cole.

Who, Adam realized as he rose to his feet, had been mid-sentence when he'd shoved his chair away from the table. Draining the rest of his beer in one gulp, he set the glass down with a sigh. "Bathroom."

He went in that direction, even though he didn't have to use it. He just couldn't fight the sudden urge to move. To look at something other than the two people dancing. Once in the bathroom he leaned over the sink with a sigh.

"Dammit," he muttered to the shadow of his head darkening the porcelain.

How the fuck could he be jealous over a woman he didn't like?

With another heavy sigh he lifted his head and glanced to his reflection.

Because, maybe, he did like her.

And how could he not?

He washed his hands, bending to scoop the cool water into his mouth. As though doing so could rinse away the sourness. Okay, so he liked her. That was fine. It didn't mean anything. He liked a lot of people. He liked Britt. That didn't mean he got upset when she spent time with her boyfriend.

As comparisons went, it was the palest possible. But it was the best he could do.

When he returned to the barroom the song was over. His gaze darted and he saw Nick at the table. The seat next to his was empty. He looked to the left, saw the flash of pink that was Serena's hair. She looked over as soon as his eyes landed on her, and her smile lit up the room. Then she was walking away from Britt, slipping by a group of women crowding the bar.

Walking straight towards him.

He felt his lips curving as she approached. Felt them pull further, until it almost matched her smile. "Hey."

"Hey, I think Nick is—"

"Someone you might be interested in?" he interrupted. Then, feeling like a complete ass when she reared back slightly, he groaned. "What?"

"I was going to say I think Nick is ready to leave," she said, enunciating each word with obvious care. Then her brow furrowed. "And what the hell did that mean?"

"He's been flirting with you since he got here," Adam pointed out. He was sure that if he looked over at the table, he'd see Nick watching them with that thoughtful expression. Like he was waiting for the opportune moment to play his hand. And he had no idea why the thought of Nick being interested in Serena bothered him. Or why the thought of Serena being interested in Nick bothered him more. He just knew that watching them dance slow together had caused his stomach to burn as though he'd gulped down fiery cinnamon flavored liquor. Unable to stop himself, he glanced to the table.

And saw that Nick was in deep conversation with Dax.

"No, he hasn't." Serena laughed, a nervous, self-conscious laugh that only irritated him further. It turned his attention back to her, and he saw the doubt in her eyes.

"Why's that so hard to believe?" he asked softly.

"Men don't flirt with me, Adam."

"The hell they don't." Isiah and Marq had. Of course, they flirted with everybody… But Nick sure as hell had.

"Are you one of those people that thinks normal everyday niceness is flirting?"

"Are you too blind to see that you're an extremely attractive woman that any red-blooded straight man would want to flirt with?" he fired back.

Judging by the way her eyes widened, she was. Her cheeks darkened and she shook her head a little. Her eyes dipped to the floor and when they lifted again, they were filled with hurt. And when she began to speak, her voice was small. "I'm not stupid, okay? Men are nice to me. They laugh with me. Not because they're flirting or they think I'm hot, but because I'm… I'm not. I'm safe. They don't have to impress me, because they're not trying to get into my pants or take me back to their place. I know I'm not hideous, but I don't disillusion myself into thinking I'm pretty or that men find me enticing. I know my place, Adam."

He stared at her. She was one of the most vibrant, upbeat, confident women he'd ever met. Stunned, he blinked slowly, mind racing to analyze the words she'd just said. He knew that she wasn't fishing for compliments. She wasn't saying what she'd said just to have him reassure her that she was beautiful. Could tell that if he uttered those reassurances, she wouldn't believe them. He was more than a little surprised by the sudden view of her insecurities and wondered why she trusted him enough to share them. In a flash, he remembered her scoff when he'd told her she could end this mockery of a relationship when the time came.

Like anyone would believe that.

And, suddenly, it was crystal clear. Someone, somewhere, at some point in time, had destroyed her heart.

"Serena," he whispered. "Who hurt you?"

"It doesn't matter," she said. "Because it's true."

"It's not true." When she shook her head again, he reached to cup her shoulder. "Hey… Your place is wherever the fuck you want to be."

"That's sweet of you to say." Her hand lifted, fingers swiping at the corner of her eyes, and Adam had the sudden urge to bring her close. To truly reassure her. To hold her, find out just how nice an armful she was.

To help her fight the demons he sometimes fought himself. To see if she could help him fight them, too.

Rocked by that urge, he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. He was a breath from tugging her close and putting his arms around her. He even shifted his stance, ready to let himself show that he liked her a little. And then, maybe, he could find a way to get her to call him a good boy again.

But in the blink of an eye the moment passed. She was smiling again, curling her hand around his wrist.

"Come on," she said.

"Where?"

"To the stage."

"Why?" he asked warily, dropping his hand.

"We're gonna do a duet."

"Oh no," he protested. "No."

"Come on," she encouraged, tugging on his arm. "Britt already picked the song for us."

"I told you, I don't sing." When she squinted her eyes at him, he sighed. At least she wasn't—

"Please?" The squint was gone. She wasn't pleading but damned if she didn't look adorable.

"If I say yes, will you promise to not bug me to do this ever again?" he requested, holding his ground. But when she gave a plaintive little sigh, he found himself already caving. "What song did she pick?"

"A classic."

"Zeppelin? Cash? Queen?" he guessed. He kind of liked her holding onto him. "Willie? Hank? If it's a fucking boyband—"

"Elton John."

"Dammit," he muttered, even as he smiled over her exuberance. Like a kid finally being allowed to ride one of the big coasters at a theme park, she dragged him along behind her towards the stage.

"You know it," she promised. And when she squeezed his hand it felt natural.

"I'm so glad that you can dive into my brain and know that I know something. Did you happen to catch what ate for lunch? Or maybe my bank account number?"

"You probably ate a salad with chicken."

He grunted. Because, dammit, she was right. But he supposed that anyone could have guessed that. It had been his go-to lunch for ages. "What kind of chicken?"

She rolled her eyes. "Grilled."

Adam snorted. "Lucky guess."

"Okay, you do me. What did I have for lunch?"

How the hell was he supposed to know? Tilting his head when she lifted her eyebrows, he took a stab in the dark. "Pasta."

"What kind?"

"Angel hair."

"Sauce?"

He wondered if his guesses were correct or if she was just teasing him. Licking his lips, he was about to take another guess when her hand let go of his. Taking the microphone Serena handed him, he motioned for her to step onto the stage first, squinting his eyes at the screen so he could see which song Britt had chosen for them. Hearing a rowdy cheer from the corner table he threw up his middle finger, recognizing it as Cole's. "How'd you know I know this song?"

"Everybody does," she explained with a shrug while picking up the second microphone.

She had a point. He did know the song. He felt his stomach tumble with nervousness, felt his breath hitch in his throat. Sure, he'd sung before. He liked to sing. In the shower. While driving. During bits on BTE. But this? In front of a bunch of strangers? He was going to make a fool of himself. He could only hope no one would film it and post it online for everyone to make fun of.

"Hey," she said an instant before the music started. Her hand touched his arm, gentle and comforting, and he didn't have time to wonder why, exactly, that her simple touch managed to ground him.

Taking in a breath, he gave in and turned so he looked at her. And, smiling, he began to sing.

***

"Don't go breakin' my heart…"

Serena nearly dropped her microphone when she heard his voice. He'd said he couldn't sing. Hadn't he? Surprised by the quality of his singing, she totally missed her first few lines, and felt her cheeks burn when he gave her a gentle nudge. Finally catching up, she made a face when he had the audacity to grin at her distress.

Was it wrong of her to hope someone was filming them? As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she caught sight of Britt at the table near the stage, her phone trained on them. She was glad because she wanted to listen to him sing again. And maybe again after that.

"When I was down," he sang, lifting his eyebrows.

"I was your clown." She was rewarded with another grin and decided she hated him for enjoying that she'd lost her step. It seemed natural to lean closer to him as they sang the next line together, and she met his eyes, smiling. "Ooh, nobody knows it…"

"But right from the start." She saw his hand moving but was too busy trying to decipher the color of his eyes in the bar's dim lights to notice what he was doing. They had looked blue the day they met. Now they looked green…

"I gave you my heart," she crooned, going still when his fingers brushed her cheek. He slowly tucked the lock of hair back behind her ear. His fingers lingered and she felt her breath catch in her throat. "Oh… I gave you my heart…"

"So don't go breaking my heart." His fingers swept along her jaw before his hand lowered.

"I won't go breaking your heart," she sang with sudden feeling, gripping her microphone tighter.

Are you too blind to see that you're an extremely attractive woman that any red-blooded straight man would want to flirt with?

Who hurt you?

It was over too soon. She liked singing with him. Liked that their voices almost harmonized. Liked that he made silly faces that caused her heart to do a fluttery jump in her chest. Liked that halfway through the song he took her hand and practically serenaded her.

She placed the microphone in its stand and turned to step off the stage. Surprised to see him standing there, she was about to jump down when his hands caught her waist. "What—"

Lifting. Spinning. The lights inside the bar whirled and so did her brain. Her hands landed on his biceps during the seconds of weightlessness and she felt them ripple as he lowered her so both her feet were on the floor. His hands stayed for a few seconds, though, and she unconsciously squeezed his arms.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"That was fun." He was smiling.

And his hands were still on her waist.

"Yeah," she agreed, swallowing when his hands gave a brief squeeze. She would have thought she'd be relieved once they moved away but, oddly, she felt almost sad.

Are you too blind to see you're an extremely attractive woman?

"C'mon," he said. His hand slid to grasp hers and she was struck by how natural it felt, how easily he seemed to do it. As though he'd done it without thinking.

Without thinking, she tilted her hand so their fingers twined and walked with him back to the table. She murmured her thanks when his friends complimented their duet, too focused on how his hand encompassed hers to pay much attention to what they were saying. She bit back a laugh when Adam kicked the chair Nick was sitting in, causing the man to yelp, and turned to muffle her snort as they glared at each other.

"Move your ass," Adam finally said.

"There's an empty chair right there," Nick told him, pointing to the chair Adam had been sitting in.

She cleared her throat. "I'll go—"

"He'll move," Adam promised.

"Will he?" she asked when Nick threw up his hands.

The chair scraped back with more force than necessary, and the grin Adam sent her was smug. "See?"

"I'm only moving for Serena," Nick said, catching the back of the chair and turning it slightly. He gestured to the empty seat and waited.

Serena looked from him to Adam, then back again, then once more to Adam. She didn't know what to make of the tension she could feel radiating from him. One thing she did know was that Nick hadn't been flirting with her earlier. Their conversation before he'd asked her to dance had been about wrestling, and if she'd looked awed it was because Nick Fucking Jackson had said he'd watched some of her stuff and thought she had talent. She didn't know what Adam had seen, but it hadn't been flirting.

Okay, she had enjoyed the dance. Slow dancing was fun, especially with a good-looking partner. Double especially when said partner had natural rhythm. And, really, the twirl had given her a little thrill. But then he'd apologized for taking up so much of her time when she was on a date with Adam.

Adam. Who could sing so beautifully and had made her heart do that funny little jump. Adam, who was still holding her hand.

She looked to the empty chair, then at Nick once more. Saw understanding in his eyes when he smiled. And felt Adam relax when he let go of the chair and headed for the other empty seat.

He released her hand and she sat when he held out the chair for her. She nodded when he asked if she wanted another drink, and when the server approached after Adam's wave, she moistened her lips and requested a whiskey.

"Same for me. Double," he said, draping his arm across the back of her chair.

And she had to endure his fingers brushing her shoulder as she sipped her drink. The conversation around the table was lively, boisterous even, but she didn't try to keep up, too aware of him. Of his laugh when Cole or Matt shared an inside joke. His arm across her back when he leaned to set his glass down. The scent of his cologne and soap and Pantene shampoo. His thigh bumping against hers occasionally, because she learned in those moments that he couldn't sit completely still.

She didn't mean to, or even think about it. But when his thigh bumped hers again, she reached over and placed her hand on it, gulping her whiskey down as it went deathly still. His hand cupped her shoulder and she sensed his head turning, could feel his blue or green eyes looking at her. She kept her gaze on her hand, though, and began to pull it away when she remembered she had no business touching his thigh.

No matter how much she suddenly wanted to.

The hand resting on the table in front of him dropped down, covering hers. Serena lifted her head and pressed her lips together when he guided her hand back to his thigh.

"It's fine," he whispered, squeezing her shoulder.

"You sure?"

He leaned in and for a split second she thought he intended to kiss her. But he tilted his head at the last second, bearded jaw grazing her cheek as he whispered in her ear. "Britt's watching like a hawk."

"Fuck Britt," she muttered.

"I'd rather not," he chuckled.

His lips skimmed her jaw as he pulled back, and she couldn't fight the shiver that resulted.

"You alright?"

"Just tired," she said, going with the safe answer. She was tired. It had to be close to two in the morning. Just as that thought crossed her mind there was jangling noise from behind the bar, causing her to jump slightly, and she felt Adam's arm tighten around her shoulders.

"Last call," he said. "You want another?"

"I can't," she said with a shake of her head. "I'm driving."

"I thought I was driving."

"You're gonna drive me to my hotel then Uber back to your place?" she asked.

"Oh." He chuckled, ducking his head briefly. "Sorry. Forgot."

"I forget things too," she promised.

"I've had fun tonight," he said suddenly. "Even if you did make me sing… It's been fun."

She smiled again. "It has, hasn't it? Nothing like drinks and friends, right?"

"Yeah." He lifted his glass and gave her a small salute with it. "Drinks and friends."

"You ready to go?" she asked once he'd finished his drink and set the glass on the table. "I mean, we can stay—"

"Nah. Let's go."

She felt his hand squeeze her shoulder again and impulsively squeezed his thigh in return. He pushed his chair back and she did the same, standing while he reached for his wallet. When she offered to pay he shook his head, tossing a few bills to the table. There was a flurry of goodnights from his friends. Serena studiously ignored Britt's pleased expression when Adam reached for her hand, calling out a quick goodnight as they left the table.

The late-night air was balmy, the street quieter and dimmer than when they'd arrived. Adam's hand was gentle but firm as they walked to where he'd parked the car, and she got the feeling he was protective when he situated himself so he walked between her and the street. Knew he was protective when he released her hand and tucked his arm around her shoulders, guiding her close to him, as they passed three men smoking outside a twenty-four-hour diner.

She liked that he opened the door for her and made sure she was inside before closing it and walking around. Liked that he didn't drive like an asshole. Liked that his hand found hers a few times while he drove to his apartment building.

"Do you need help?" she asked out of habit after he parked and turned off the engine. Accepting the keys when he handed them over, she hit the button to open the back.

"Nah, I got it. It's just two bags."

She got out as well, glancing around the complex. "Where's your apartment?"

"Second floor." He pointed to the unit they were parked in front of. "It's not much."

"Just a place to hang your hat when you're here?"

"Exactly." He rolled his shoulders before pulling his suitcase out of the trunk. It hit the ground and tipped over. "Shit…"

She got his backpack while he righted the suitcase. Handing it over, she wondered what she could say to take the sudden awkwardness she felt away. "Hey."

"Yeah?" He bent to fiddle with his suitcase.

"You know when you leaned over to whisper in my ear at the bar?" She released a small laugh. It was embarrassing, but now it was too late to not tell him.

"Yeah…"

"I thought you were gonna kiss me."

He straightened, yanking the suitcase handle so hard the case lifted off the pavement. "What?"

"You know, because everyone was there. Watching. To keep the lie going," she added lamely.

"We agreed on no PDA," he said.

"I know that. It doesn't matter anyway. You don't want to kiss me." She scowled. "And I don't want to kiss you either."

"Sure," he said with a snort. "Then why the hell were you groping me?"

"I wasn't groping— You're disgusting," she told him, reaching to slam the trunk closed. He lurched back to avoid being hit by the door and she felt a tiny glimmer of satisfaction. "Goodnight."

"Putting your hand on someone's thigh? And squeezing it?" He scoffed. "Hate to break it to you, baby, but that's groping."

"I put my hand on your thigh because it kept bouncing like one of those jumping beans," she pointed out. She felt heated, and she hoped it was anger and not something more dangerous. "And you're the one who put your arm around me."

"Hey, I kept it above the waist!"

"You're such an asshole!" she snapped.

"Good thing we ain't really dating then, isn't it?"

"I don't even know if I want to pretend to date you," she muttered, turning to get into the car. Gasping when his hand caught her arm, she turned before he could pull, anger fleeing as she caught the vulnerability in his eyes. It was gone as soon as he blinked, replaced with irritation. Fire. And though his grip was as loose as possible, she didn't even try to pull away. "I didn't mean—"

"This was all your idea, Serena."

"I know," she whispered. She had expected to end up liking him. And that she would think he was attractive. But she hadn't expected to feel tiny sparks of longing when he looked at her or touched her. Or that he would make her open up and share one of her insecurities. And she would never have believed that he would react to that insecurity with apparent understanding.

Who hurt you?

"I'm sorry," she said, exhaling slowly as his hand slid down to hers.

"Me, too," he murmured. "This is supposed to be easy, right?"

"Yeah," she laughed. Looking down at their hands, she watched their fingers twine. And when his thumb stroked the back of her hand, she squeezed. "I didn't mean to grope your thigh, and I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable."

"I wasn't uncomfortable. Just surprised."

"You're not an asshole." She lifted her head in time to see his lips tilt into a smile.

"You sure?" He took half a step forward.

"Positive. In fact…" She mirrored his smile. "You're a good boy."

"Yeah?" His whisper was husky. His tongue darted over his lips and he released a quick breath, his cheeks darkening slightly.

And again that stab of desire pierced her belly. "Yeah."

"If you want…" He cleared his throat, and she watched his lips purse before he spoke again. "If you want someone to flirt with you, ma'am, just say the words."

"I'll keep that in mind." She drew in a breath of his cologne and Pantene. "I should get going."

But she didn't step away. Neither did he.

"I did have fun tonight," she said, meeting his eyes. Were they blue? Or green? In the light of the parking lot she couldn't tell.

"I did too. And… Not because of those assholes with us. I, um." His thumb skittered over the back of her hand. "I liked spending time with you."

"Yeah?" she asked, unable to keep the smile from pulling at her lips. "Me too."

"And we can do this again, right?"

"Sure. But—"

"Without those assholes," he added.

She grinned. "Absolutely."

"Shake on it?" he asked. Then, looking down at their hands, he released that nervous little chuckle she'd heard from him so many times over the course of the night. "Or not."

"Adam?"

"Hmm?"

She pushed herself up onto her tiptoes. She was going for another kiss to his cheek, like she had that night they'd met. At the last second, though, she wrapped her arm around him in a hug. She heard him sigh. Felt his chest expand. Their hands parted and she tucked her other arm around him. Then both his arms were around her, holding her to him, and she was touched by the tenderness of his embrace. Relaxing, she closed her eyes briefly, sighing softly when his hand raised and smoothed her hair. She let her head rest against chest, soothed by his breathing and the gentle echo of his heartbeat.

It was, she decided, much nicer than a kiss on the cheek would have been.

How long had it been since she'd just been held? It was so different from the hugs she gave and received so freely. There was something so comforting about being enveloped in a pair of strong arms. When he gave a squeeze and she felt his head lean against hers briefly, she had an hunch that he would be fantastic at cuddling.

They parted simultaneously, and she appreciated the way his hands held onto her waist for a few seconds before falling away. She didn't want to say anything that would burst the little bubble of wonderful. Wished she were witty enough to come up with a phrase that would be vivacious and a little dramatic, then get into her car and drive off. But she could only stare at him.

He slowly licked his lips and exhaled sharply. "We still don't like each other, right?"

"No?" She hated that it came out as a squeak. She tried again for a normal tone of voice. "No. We don't."

"Thought not."

"Do we?" she asked.

"No, no, definitely not," he answered quickly. "Not like we kissed or anything."

"Right. Yes." She bit her lip.

He smirked. "You want one?"

Yes, she did. But she shook her head. "Maybe next time."

"Sure. I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah. I'll call you?"

"Works for me." He stepped back, letting the balmy air between them again, and reached for his suitcase. She heard the rattling of his title belt in his backpack when he adjusted it on his shoulder.

"See you soon," she said softly, smiling when he reached to open the car door for her.

"Drive safe." He waited until she was inside and had brought the seat up before gently closing the door. Ducking to look at her through the window, he gave her a smile that made her heart do a silly tumble. "Good night, Serena."

"Good night, Adam."

#adam page fanfiction #adam page imagine #aew imagine #aew fanfiction #my fics #multipart:BITN #if fucking tumblr ever lets me POST that'd be great

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wulf-and-eadwacer-project · 3 years

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Entry 23: No Beer & No TV Make Homer Something Something

1st June 2021:

It's nearing the end of semester one. I’ve got two major assignments left until the mid-semester break. God, I can’t wait! Not just because it’s a “break” (I don’t actually think I’ll be able to “break” much), but because I will have five weeks of uninterrupted time to work on my project.

I’m dying for this time. There’s sooo much to do! I’m finishing the concept art and script (draft 1) this week, but that’s nothing compared to the 1-200 pages of drawing I will need to do for the project.

That and the thesis.

The 8,000-word thesis.

I’ve made a timetable to help me keep on track. It includes what creative work I need to do but what I should be researching each week.

Just gotta keep reminding myself what might come if I can do this. Scholarship. PhD. Meaningful and financially stable employment (no more under the poverty line! Better healthcare! Heating -- omg heating!!!!).

In other news, I’ve been told by serval teachers and one of my supervisors that I should apply to present at this academic conference held by the uni.

“It will look good on your resume,” they said.

So I guess I should probably do that too. Not complaining. I think it’s a good idea. Just tired.

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arukou-arukou · 4 years

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A Non-zero Chance

I jumbled the timeline as I was writing this. Just go with it, okay? For @stevetonygames prompt Fluff: Sparring, for team angst. Also adding fic non-linear and tropes: soulmates. Angst with a hopeful ending. Mentions of sex acts. Canon typical violence. There is a read more line after the first section.

Many many months after that faithful day in Sibera, Tony returned to the scene of the crime. The site was untouched. He hadn’t told Ross about it, and apparently T’Challa had decided well enough was better left alone. The holes they’d put into the bunker of the facility had completely covered over in frost and ice, and Tony had to wonder how Zemo had even dug the little hillock out in the first place. Though there had been a snowcat parked outside when they all first arrived. Without any care, though, it had once again faded into the arctic surroundings. Only someone who knew what they were looking for would find it.

Tony broke in through the holes rather than the front door. He wasn’t really in a mood for digging, and as satisfying as it might be to melt snow with an overloaded repulsor, this mission was also supposed to be stealth and secretive, and he didn’t really need Ross any further up his ass.

Inside, the evidence of their fight wasn’t as big or horrifying as he remembered. There were some structures that had toppled, and a few spots where he’d scorched cement with a repulsor, but it didn’t look nearly as bad as he remembered it being. The Avengers had certainly done worse elsewhere. Tony ran his hand over a shield-shaped crack in the wall.

—

“This is ridiculous, Cap, we need to know how to fight together, not fight each other.”

Steve smiles back over his shoulder. His ridiculously broad shoulder. “After Wanda mind-whammied us, I’m not taking any chances. We should all know how to incapacitate each other just as a precaution.”

“Only incapacitate, Steve? Not maim?”

Steve chuckles and starts strapping on boxing tape. “No maiming on the docket today. Maybe next Tuesday.”

—

Tony followed their trail of destruction back into the heart of the bunker, where the super soldiers still rested suspended, illuminated in sickly yellow. There was the fucking TV, right there. The thing that had ruined it all. Tony stared down at it, wondering where the tape reel itself was located. Probably back in that room Zemo had been hiding in. The bulletproof one. Somewhere in the hallways, Tony could hear water dripping. Impressive, really, given the permafrost all around. He would’ve thought the systems had frozen over long ago. Near his foot, there was a gun, the semi-automatic Barnes had been carrying. It was useless now, its clip and firing mechanisms slagged by his repulsors. He picked it up all the same and aimed it at the glass where Zemo had hidden. The suit’s fingers were too thick to fit over the trigger—what was left of it anyway—so Tony just imagined how satisfying it would be to fill that glass full of shrapnel, to watch Zemo crumple to the ground.

—

“Why are you even training me, Rogers? I’m retired. Aren’t you supposed to be looking after the rookies?”

“Just because you’re retired, Tony, doesn’t mean trouble won’t come looking for you. You’re a pretty attractive target.”

“Why yes. Yes, I am. Thank you for noticing.”

Steve punches his bicep gently before offering a bottle of water. Tony takes it, squirting some into his mouth before moving on to his sweat-drenched hair. On Steve’s left wrist, he catches sight of the red band that hides Steve’s words. It would be rude to ask. Totally taboo. But Tony can’t stop himself.

—

Tony managed to jimmy his way into the control room, and there he found the VCR, still loaded with the incriminating tape. If he were smart, he would just rip the thing apart, burn the tape and shatter the shell. And Tony was smart. Just not smart in the right ways. He fired up the power to the TV, rewound the tape, and then hit play again. He’d rewound too far. Barnes was in his cryo tube. Some slimy scientists were hauling him out, shoving him into some horrifying chair, pushing down the nodes, saying the words.

No. Tony didn’t want this. He didn’t want to feel sympathy for Barnes. He wanted to let his rage fester and corrode him until he didn’t care anymore. All caring had ever gotten him was betrayal.

—

“Do you know who they belong to?” Tony asks, looking up defiantly, refusing to be sheepish about his lack of willpower. Steve glances down at his band before looking up again.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.” He looks wistful and boyish, sweet and beautiful. Tony wants to kiss away the sorrow he sees in that face.

“Who?”

“Doesn’t matter. He’s dead now.”

“Oh.” Tony touches his own band, thinking of the words beneath. He’s my friend. The most significant thing anyone will ever say to him. The thing that, if the romantics would have him believe it, points him toward his soulmate. He’s never really gone in for that, though. His parents had had each other’s words, and their marriage was anything but blissful and romantic.

No. Tony’s got a different theory about the words.

—

There. Tony spotted it before even knowing he was looking for it. On Barnes’ collarbone. Had fate known he would lose the arm? It was unusual for words to be somewhere else on the body. Non-dominant wrist. That was the norm. The tap quality was shit and Tony couldn’t enhance it without bringing the tape back to Fry. And like hell he was bringing the tape home. Were the files somewhere? Hadn’t Zemo had a book? Maybe it was here?

Tony searched the control room, trying to find evidence of the thing Zemo had used to control Barnes. There was no sign of it, but what there were were dozens of filing drawers, all of them covered in a layer of dust. Tony started digging.

—

Steve’s off his game today, Tony can tell. He’s distracted by something, mind not in the ring, and Tony takes advantage. Just like Steve and Nat taught him to. He sweeps Steve’s leg, rolls on top of him, pins his leg in a position that's precariously dangerous even for a supersoldier, and applies weight. “Yield?”

It’s late, the halls are quiet. Tony hadn’t even meant to do sparring with Steve today, but Steve had asked, so Tony had delayed his return to New York City and well, the late hour puts his mind elsewhere.

Their eyes lock. Tony’s still on top of Steve, holding him in place, threatening his knee joint. Between one breath and the next, their positions are flipped, Steve on top of Tony, both of them hard, teeth clacking. Tony doesn’t make it back to New York City that night.

—

What felt like hours later, Tony finally discovered what looked like a medical log. He’d been trying to learn Russian, but adding a new script was harder than adding a spoken language, and he was a busy man, what with covering Rogers’ ass every other day. Natasha might have been a master spy, but Steve was a puppy who hadn’t learned how to control his tail wag yet, and he left destroyed crockery in his wake. There was always some trail to some terrorist or smuggler or weapons dealer that needed cleaning up, lest Ross take notice. The point being, Tony’s Russian wasn’t exactly sparkling.

But he’d double-checked ahead of time to know what he was looking for and now he was pretty sure he’d found it. Flipping through the file, Tony found what he wanted to know almost instantly. ‘Til the end of the line. The words. Those words.

—

It’s a thing. Sort of. Tony comes to the compound. They spar. They fuck. It��s only their third time sleeping together that Steve drags him into the shower, wristband conspicuously absent. Tony touches the thin skin, for once asking permission before he looks down. Steve nods, trusting, contented. I’m with you to the end of the line, pal. “He” Steve had said. Tony doesn’t need to ask to know who “he” is. There was only one really important “he” in Steve’s life way back when. And it makes sense, too. After all, Barnes plunged to his death trying to protect Steve and Steve had tried to protect him just as hard. Of course they’re important to each other.

“Can I see yours,” Steve asks, kissing Tony’s band. Fair’s fair, Tony thinks to himself, and nods.

Steve gently unclasps the snaps and sets the band aside outside the shower. He looks down at the words and then up at Tony with a silent question. “I don’t know whose they are.”

“And you’re still okay with us?”

“Steve, I’m standing naked in a shower with you. I’m pretty damn okay with this.”

The bright grin Steve gives him feels like a gift.

—

Tony left, hauling the tape and the filing cabinets behind him. They would be useful sooner or later, he was sure. And it felt so important, hauling his literal baggage along with him back to the US. Well, first a pit stop in Wakanda so Shuri could make copies. Fry flew the quinjet on autopilot, which was maybe a mistake. Tony needed distractions and all he had were files rendered in Russian, which were frankly giving him a headache. He wanted to hate Barnes so much. But fate was literally sending him a message. Barnes. Rogers. ‘Til the end of the line.

Eventually, frustrated, he managed to sink into a fitful sleep, which took him to Wakanda’s borders. T’Challa sent along an escort at the shield wall to make sure Tony was alone and also to make sure Tony didn’t cause any undue trouble. As if he could manage anything more than a nervous breakdown at the moment. Shuri was waiting for him on the platform, and for her and her brilliant mind, he managed a tired smile.

“Brought a present for you.”

“Thank you, Tony. I would get them myself, but—”

“No, no. You’re busy in Oakland kicking science ass and shooting layups with the youth. Let the old guy take care of the analog—” Tony shuddered theatrically “—files.”

Shuri smiled more brightly and kissed him on the cheek. “You look tired. Go see my mother. She’ll be wanting to mother you.”

“I shouldn’t. I’ve gotta—”

“My brother has already ensured that General Ross cannot find you. Go. Eat some food. Get some rest. Perhaps we can talk about your latest arc reactor designs in the morning. I have some ideas.”

“I bet you do.”

Tony knew when he’d been dismissed, and he also knew he was being handled a little, but it felt nice to be handled. It felt nice to not have to be trying to outwit Ross at every turn for a little while. So he allowed Ramonda to stuff him full of delicious, spicy food and then shuffled off to the guest wing, intent on getting at least four hours before he took off.

But the second he laid down, he was awake and restless, unable to settle. His thoughts kept going back to those files, going back to the “end of the line,” thinking again and again about the letters carved into Steve’s skin. How many times had he kissed that wrist? How many times had Steve kissed his? How was it fair, that Steve would be Tony’s words, but Tony wouldn’t be Steve’s?

Fed up, he yanked on a pair of loose cotton pants and a loose cotton T-shirt and wandered the palace, looking for distraction. None of the guards stopped him, though they watched him with considerable distrust. He didn’t blame them. He wouldn’t trust him either. Not anymore. It was only when he heard the sound of skin slapping leather that he stopped short. That sounded like… But it couldn’t be. All the same, he pushed through the door, freezing as he discovered a huge training ground, Steve inside, alone at a punching bag.

Steve froze too, and the bag caught him on the backswing, smacking him straight in the nose. Tony found himself caught between laughing and rushing forward with concern, and ended up doing a bit of both, snorting as he approached, though he remained well out of Steve’s personal bubble. “Smooth, Cap.”

“Tony, what are you doing here?”

Tony scuffed his toes into the mats, which felt solid right up until he kicked them and then gave way like kinetic sand. It felt heavenly and he wanted to play with it and see what it was made out of. “Oh, you know. Just dropped in for a cuppa with the King.”

“Did…did you bring those files?” Steve remained sprawled on the floor, looking up at him, a trickle of blood trailing from his nose.

“And if I did?”

Steve swallowed heavily, rubbing at the blood and smearing it. And then he was up, faster than Tony could react to, holding Tony, kissing him sloppily through mumbled “I’m sorry’s.” Tony didn’t know how to react. Was this what an out-of-body experience felt like? He remained motionless even as Steve broke away, jumping back, looking more unsure than he’d looked since he and Tony first met. “Shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… You don’t want…” Steve took a huge breath and squared his shoulders, looking Tony in the eye. “That was wrong of me. I hurt you. In so many ways. It was wrong of me to kiss you.”

“Also pretty sure you’re cheating on your boyfriend if you kiss me. Don’t forget that bit.”

The little line between Steve’s eyebrows deepened. “Bucky and I, we’re not… We’re just not. I thought we would. But I can’t. Every time I tried, I felt like I was betraying you. And Bucky felt like it was wrong, too. We didn’t…we didn’t click. Not romantically, anyway.”

“You’re not…” Tony could barely dare to let himself to hope. “Didn’t you back in the war, though?”

“No. No, we didn’t. It was too much, running missions, fighting Hydra. Plus, he was afraid I’d get caught and outed. So we didn’t. I should’ve told you. But I didn’t think it mattered.”

All the thoughts Tony used to have about the words, the idea that maybe they had nothing at all to do with romance, came back to him. He ran a finger over his own wrist, where Steve’s words were hidden.

“Hey, Steve?”

“Yeah?” Steve stood there, square, looking as though he was waiting to be punched, ready to take his punishment like a man.

“Wanna spar?”

#writing #fanfiction #steve/tony #stony #angst with a happy ending #team angst

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chaoticspacefam · 3 years

Text

OC Music Meme

I was tagged by @raven-of-domain-kwaad , thank you! :D I shall tag (no pressure as always, only if you want to!): @mercurypilgrim , @mimabeann, @rainofaugustsith , @thelastenvoyyy , @a-master-procrastinator and anyone else who wants to do this one, yes, I promise I mean you!

Yaaay another music meme, I LOVE these, as any of my long-term followers/mutuals probably know :P Oh no, Raven what have you done! 🤣🤣

List one or more songs that relate to the following

*drags Rai and her three consecutive playlists full of songs in here and plops her down proudly* Now I’m not joking when I say combined her three playlists would run for ~10 hrs if I played them all back-to-back. Sooooo for that reason I will be trying to restrict myself to 3-4 songs per “question”, except for the last one which is annotated with an explanation there, ANYWAYS!

reminds you of them most:

Down To The Bottom - Dorothy :: This is a very new one to her playlist (discovered a few days ago), but it still vibes so well with Saarai’s attitude to love, and her need to have some sort of emotional closeness to other people, to love and be loved, or else she just doesn’t function quite right

Up The Wolves - The Mountain Goats :: This was one of Rai’s first EVER theme songs that made it onto her list as I gave the Ahaszaai the backstory that led to them becoming main characters, so it feels only right that I include it here. To me it perfectly sums up her character progression, from a frightened young woman with a lot of skeletons in her closet and no willingness to be a commander of anything or confidence that she could, to a strong and dedicated leader willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people she works with, and make sure that the person who once took it from her family will suffer the righteous justice he deserves for his actions. Oddly enough, Saarai never goes back to take over the Sith Empire as D’leah planned (in Subterfugeverse anyways), they do eventually “come home” and build something of their own with the other members of the Alliance <3

Bruno Is Orange - Hop Along :: This song is very important too. It makes me feel a lot of things and as I developed more of Saarai’s backstory and began tying everything together, it became an essential part of her backstory. This is 100% a “Saarai Song” in my brain (and I’ve had the script for that meme planned out for over a year, I’ll get to it soon :3), summing up the chaos and her own feelings on what happened with Tsâhis (and her mother and sister’s reactions to finding out about what happened, and Ty, the baby which resulted from that clusterfuck of a relationship)

Someone New - Hozier :: Kinda supplements “Down To The Bottom”, Saarai was a character who puzzled me sexuality-wise for a long time, she has a lot to unpack and a lot of nuances in her attractions, and for a long time (because it is the default for modern media) I tried to shove her in the monogamy box, except...that doesn’t work for Saarai LMAO. I remembered this song existed one day (I think it came up on Youtube shuffle or something) and it was the lightbulb that went on in my head that finally clicked and told me she was actually polyam as well (though ironically I forgot to actually put it in her playlist until @darth-bagel reminded me it existed again a few months ago LOL).

reminds another character of them:

All The Pretty Girls - KALEO :: (Sash - Zephyrverse AU) This one had a few options too, but I think this is the best song that Sash would associate with Saarai. Their relationship was slow burn, although there was near-immediate attraction there, Sash struggled with self-doubt and her own insecurities for a long time, firmly believing that Saarai would get bored of waiting for her to be “ready” to take things further and explore other options (she didn’t. They’ve been married something like 20+, nearing 30 years now, you’re stuck with her sweetie <3)

The Last of the Real Ones - Fall Out Boy :: (Lana - Subterfugeverse) “I know this whole damn city thinks it needs you, but not as much as I do.” Lana wasn’t looking for Saarai when she found her, but Lana wouldn’t have it any other way. Though Lana is a big pillar of support for Saarai, and Saarai in turn is the social “glue” that holds the Alliance together, what many people don’t realise is that the feeling is mutual and Lana relies upon her just as much. Saarai’s dependable, and trustworthy, even if sometimes she makes Lana want to roll her eyes into the ceiling because of her antics, she wouldn’t want to change her for anything, it’s that part of Saarai that she secretly loves the most because it reminds Lana that it’s okay to unwind and have fun or be silly every once in a while, especially with the people you love.

Shut Up And Dance - WALK THE MOON :: (Koth - Subterfugeverse) Koth’s relationship with Saarai took a lot longer to develop into something openly romantic because Saarai had a lot of stuff to work through before she could accept her own feelings for him, but the cantina party at the end of KOTFE was the moment that Koth realised she was comfortable with him, because it’s the first time she really opened up to him, the first time she asked him to do anything together, and the first time she didn’t flinch or jump away from him when he touched her.

reminds you of a relationship of theirs, doesn’t have to be romantic, can be paternal, friendly etc.: I’m taking that as an invitiation to do a song for each of the main ones of any kind and that means this one has like six songs because...Saarai has a lot of influencial relationships in her character arc, I’m sorry (but not really) :’)

Broken Crown - Mumford & Sons :: Saarai & D’leah (Familial, It’s Complicated). This one is probably gonna be the “controversial” song of this post but you know what I’m gonna do it anyway. Saarai and D’leah have a very complicated relationship, because on the one hand Saarai does love her mother very much in spite of the horrible things she said and did, and on the other...the last thing that she wants is to turn out like her. And sometimes, sometimes you gotta call your mom out on her toxic shit. Hey Brother - Aviici :: Saarai & Ni’kasi (Familial Love). “What if I lose it all? Oh sister, I will help you out. Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you...there’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do.” The “brother” part does not apply to the twins, gender-wise, but the essence of this song is undoubtedly Saarai & Ni’kasi’s relationship. When Saarai thought she had no-one else, Ni’kasi was there to pick up the pieces and get her back onto her feet. They’re ride or die till the very end, wherever Saarai leads, she knows Ni’kasi will follow her.

Son of A Gun - Lord Huron :: Saarai & Tsâhis (Romantic ”Love”, though I’mma be very clear here that he was a manipulative abusive asshole, but Saarai loved him so...quotation marks. Y’get it yeah? Good.) “Well she fell in love with that son of a gun, but he was not the man that she took him for.” This line in particular sums it up. Saarai was young, naive and a perfect target for someone like Tsâhis to take advantage of because she didn’t know any better and believed him when he said he “loved her”, only for him to pull the rug out from under her feet later on. (he got his tho, don’t worry 😈)

Youth - Glass Animals :: Saarai & Tyûk (Maternal Love). This is the closest I can find to a song that sums up their relationship, I have a lot of thoughts about it but there are very few songs (that I’ve found) that touch upon the essence of Saarai & Ty’s relationship. D’leah chose to blame Ty for his father’s actions, Saarai chose the opposite. She chose to love him in spite of what his father had done to her, and to make sure he grew up feeling safe, loved, and learnt to be better than that.

Curses - The Crane Wives :: Saarai/Sash (Romantic Love) Both Saarai and Sash have had difficult pasts, with a lot of emotional trauma, and they both had hurdles they had to overcome in order for their relationship to truly work and stay healthy. But with each others’ support, they’ve managed it and are all the closer for it. If you asked either of them where “home” was, they’d say the other’s name.

Sorry I Stole Your Girlfriend - Stereo Skyline :: Saarai/Lana/Koth (Romantic Love). Okay, I really really wanted to pick a more serious song from their playlist for them, BUT....this song is the song that started this ship in my brain so here we are. LMAO Originally, this popped into my brain as an idea of Saarai’s response to Koth’s attempt at getting between them in that scene of KOTFE on the Gravestone. Koth and Saarai’s moral compasses are very similar and I wanted them to sit down and have a proper, healthy discussion about their feelings instead of becoming enemies and sort of agreeing not to hold a grudge against each other, though I didn’t expect for that piece to get away from me and for Saarai to end up developing feelings for Koth too, I can’t say I’m unhappy with it. I love them and I will fight anyone who tells me I can’t make them an OT3, I can, I will, and I have. >:) (Healthy Polyam Good, Love Triangles Are Fucking Stupid (tm). No I am not taking criticism on this lmao) Though Saarai & Koth’s relationship isn’t sexual in any way, they love each other just as much as they love Lana, just express it differently. So even though the snideness of this song doesn’t really apply to them, I kept it in their playlist and it also became their ship name because it was too good to pass up, though “Stole” is in inverted commas as it’s definitely more of an inside joke between the three of them than actually seriously accusing them of stealing each others’ girlfriend. 🤣 (as always, Saarai & Koth thinks it’s hilarious, Lana rolls her eyes at the stupid pun but also secretly thinks it’s funny as hell)

#swtor #star wars: the old republic #swtor OCs #tagged meme #OC music meme #swtor oc: saarai ahaszaai #sith pureblood #the outlander #LS! eternal empress #subterfugeverse #ot3: sorry i ''stole'' your girlfriend #saarai/lana/koth #saarai x tsâhis #zephyrverse au #saarai/sash #the ahaszaai twins #the sith twins #yes i have written down a lot of stuff regarding the ot3's relationship and how it developed etc #one day i will throw them out into the world when i feel like they're ready #but they're not ready yet so sorry y'all you gotta wait #but trust me when i say this is very elaborately planned out #LMAO #[banging pots and pans] they're. poly. and. in. love. fucking. deal. with. it. or. leave #my ships my rules #complicated mother daughter relationships are complicated #projection? i don't know her #no sir #tw: manipulation #tw: abusive relationship

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moonnightyoongi · 4 years

Text

yours | mark

love me like im never gonna leave, love me like im yours

word count: 2k

genre: angst (mainly), fluff, swearing (tehe)

a/n: just can’t stop thinkin of mark

based off the song yours | alina baraz

It had happened more than once, in fact you were definitely somewhere in the double digits but you couldn’t stop. Everything about him was intoxicating, the way he looked at you and the way he smiled at you, the smirk he had on his face when he would open the door to you - it was cocky and even though you hated it nothing could make you turn around and go back home. His voice was smooth and no matter what you asked him he never stuttered, there was a simple answer to everything.

Except one question.

“What is this?”

You had asked him one night and you swear every single bit of colour he had in his body drained and he was left with his mouth open, small stutters coming out. You looked at him and realised what it was and what it always would be… sex. There was no hope of anything progressing past it so you simply shut your feelings off and continued to fuck him.

“Are you leaving?” He asks as you rolled out of the bed.

“Of course,” you reply searching for your dress, “I gotta get back to the wedding.”

“You already left, why do you need to go back?”

“Because my sister is so drunk she won’t remember giving me the go ahead to leave. Besides I have four missed calls from my mum and I don’t think using the excuse that I’m looking at her and waving is going to work at 1am.”

“Just stay here.”

“Why would I do that? I got a room in a 5 star hotel and a massage booked in the morning,” you frown.

“I want you to stay,” he says.

“Well I want a 5 star hotel room and a massage,” you fire back. His smile falls for a second before he looks out the window.

“Can I come with you?” He asks.

“I specifically remember you saying you never want to meet a family member or be my date to my sisters wedding,” you reply.

“I don’t, I wanna have sex in a 5 star hotel room,” he smirks. You look at him and roll your eyes, he was always so good at getting what he wanted out of you, you would move heaven and earth for him if he asked.

“Get dressed,” you sigh.

“Shall I put on my best trench coat?” He jokes.

“It’s cold, you won’t have a penis left if you do.”

He falls silent and looks at you, blinking harshly, “You’re so crude sometimes.”

“Oh sorry, do you not like hearing about how your penis will shrivel up from the cold temperature?”

He laughs, “Sweatpants it is.””

“Jeans, it’s a 5 star hotel Mark. You can’t stroll in wearing sweatpants.”

“Oh, its the brush your hair before going down to breakfast kinda vibe?” He asks.

“Brush your teeth too,” you reply.

“Can’t have orange juice then.”

“It’s the price you pay to not be judged by Gary, 55, on a business trip.”

“Where do you get these names from?” He asks laughing and throwing on a clean t-shirt.

“They just come to me,” you reply, “Zip up my dress.”

“It’s a very pretty dress,” he says walking over to you, “Floor length gowns suit you.”

“I’m just glad she let me get a navy dress and not that God awful pink dress,” you tell him. You shudder at the thought of the dress, it was a bright pink that made your eyes sore, even the thought of it irritated your eyes again. Of course, it nearly was the dress you had to wear because the meter of the groom thought you looked absolutely delightful ‘like a strawberry cheesecake’. Last time you checked you weren’t a fucking dessert.

Mark’s hand touched the bottom of your back as you moved your hair out the way to avoid it getting caught in the zipper (again). His touch was soft, like he was afraid he would break you (or the zipper). Zipping it up slowly, he paused halfway through - letting out a sigh.

“Ah yes, do take your time Mark, there’s only a 55 year old woman waiting to chop my balls off,” you say. He lets out a laugh and you feel his breath on your shoulders causing you to shiver, even his light touch was enough to drive you mad. All you wanted was him to be yours.

“Done,” he says obviously coming out of his trance and finishing your zipper quickly.

“Let’s go,” you tell him, “Uber’s nearly here.”

<—>

She was like a dog to a bone, as soon as the Uber pulled up in front of the hotel she was rushing down the stairs ready to pounce on you. Until she saw Mark get out of the car with you.

“Who is this?” Your mum asks surprised.

“My friend Mark,” you reply with an awkward smile. She stares at him before putting her hand out for him to shake.

“Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” he smiles.

“Where the fuck have you been?” She snaps looking at you, clearly breaking out of her Mark trance.

“With Mark, he needed me,” you say. It was partly true, he had needed you - just a different kind of need.

“I had locked myself out,” he says, “My roommates are all out and not answering their phones.”

“We tried to get in through an open window but he nearly dropped me,” you lie.

“That’s so you, even when you’re not the one navigating you get lost.”

“What?” You ask confused.

“Who knows, I asked your father to get me vodka and he got me whiskey. It’s my nonsense drink,” she dismisses, “He’s useless, all men are. Your poor sister, her husband is the worst. He tripped over a table cloth today, how could he miss it? The floor is brown and the cloth was fucking white, not to mention there was also a table underneath it.”

“Go to bed mum,” you cut in.

“Is Mark staying with you?” She asks.

“Yes.”

“You know the rules.”

“I can’t leave the door of the room open, anyone could come in.”

“Leave the bathroom door open,” she says turning on her heel.

“Wh-,” Mark begins.

You shake your head and cut him off, “Don’t question it, she’ll start another conversation that’ll last another 10 minutes and I haven’t got it in me to de-code her.”

“Are you the same on whiskey?” Mark asks as you both walk up the steps of the hotel.

“Gin!” Your mother shouts, “Gin is her mumbling drink. On her birthday last year she started to recite the whole script from the film The Bee Movie. I don’t know know where she learnt it, we were always such Shrek people.”

“What is going on?” Mark asks, eyes raised.

“Don’t ask,” you reply, “Where’s your room mum? We’ll walk you.’

“Don’t be silly, there’s your father. FATHER!” She shouts, “Wait he’s not my father, MICK!”

“Who the fuck is Mick?” You ask her, “Dad! Take her, she’s driving me insane.”

You walk her over to him and he smiles weakly, “She’s been watching a lot of shows lately, Mick is one of the characters.”

“You hope,” you smile before walking back over to Mark, “Let’s get to the room quick, she might start reciting Shrek.”

“Donkey!” You hear her shout as you run up the staircase to the floor you were on.

“It’s begun,” you say looking at him. He laughs loudly as you walk down the hallway to the room you would be staying in.

“Fancy,” he says kicking off his shoes and unbuttoning his jeans. He looked around intently while all you could do was stare at him, he looked beautiful even with his messy hair and tired eyes. Part of you was so glad he asked if he could come, you didn’t want to leave him - well, ever.

“What are you thinking about?” He asks snapping you out of your daydream.

“My mum,” you lie.

“She’s really funny.”

“Lucky for you she’s so drunk she won’t remember she met you tomorrow,” you say throwing the room key on the desk.

“I don’t mind if she does,” he says walking into the room.

You smile awkwardly once more and lean against the desk, unsure of what move to make. You normally knew what you were going to do when you saw Mark - but this felt like alien territory. Would you lie next to him? Turn the TV on and watch shitty morning television shows? Or would you simply sleep 2 feet apart?

“Come here,” Mark says putting his hands out for you to take.

“What do you want?” You ask accepting them and letting him pull you towards him.

“What are you really thinking?”

“About what to do.”

“We could just relax and watch TV, order some room service?”

“That sounds really nice,” you smile.

<—>

Less than hour later you both sat on the bed eating ribs and watching some stupid quiz show. Everyone answer you shouted was wrong of course, how did people know these things? How didn’t you know these things?

Times like this felt nice, it was just you two doing normal things together. It wasn’t some quick hook up then ended with you leaving after it was done and feeling shit as you walked out the door, him not even batting an eyelid at you.

“How do people know these things?” Mark asks.

“That’s what I was thinking,” you reply throwing the rib bone on the plate and sighing, “I ate too much.”

“You don’t need to get back into the dress, you’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be bloated for my massage tomorrow.”

“She’ll deflate you,” he jokes.

“He’ll,” you correct.

“A male massage therapist, lucky you.”

“Hm, he’ll apply more pressure,” you say lying down and rubbing your eyes.

“Can I admit something to you?” He asks.

“You always wanted to be a massage therapist?” You joke.

“No,” he laughs moving to lie down next to you, “I really enjoy your company.”

“I bet you do.”

“No, I mean your company. Like that night we played games and the winner got oral,” he says, “I like doing those things with you.”

“Cause’ you always win and get oral,” you tell him.

He looks at you seriously before looking down, “Yeah, because I always win.”

You almost didn’t believe him till the smirk reappeared on his face seconds later, “Wanna play a game?”

“Goodnight Mark,” you groan turning over.

“Goodnight Y/N,” he whispers.

You never wanted it to be morning. You wanted to stay in this moment with him. You wanted to feel his body heat next to you forever, you wanted to stay up late doing stupid mundane things with him.

You wanted him to be yours.

masterlist

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ajeevan · 3 years

Text

05/01/21

5:15 AM

Day 2 of Compositing.

Yesterday was all about the introduction. Today is our first day using the software. Well first time using it during class for me. ;)

I gotta make a kickass final project for this module. Can add it to the portfolio when applying for internships.

Also should try and make a Rotoscoping video. Like download a clip from a movie and edit it.

I think it would be better to just film something myself instead of using a film scene.

There are two projects we can do for the module. An easy one and a hard one.

If I do both for the portfolio I'll increase my chances of getting an internship by tiny little bit.

I am going to do the hard one for the module. I don't think I'll have time for the easy one as well. Just gonna finish that one for the portfolio.

Compositing is the job I'm looking at rn because from what I've heard it's a more higher paid job. I need that.

3D modeling and animation is what I need for my sci fi project. I have no idea how to get it made. Plan is to get as much done by myself as possible ie script, storyboards and concept art. Maybe even modelling. So much.

If I could draw I could turn it into a comic book first. Which would be a lot cheaper. A 3D animated movie is expensive af and hard to do by yourself. A comic book on the other hand would be very much possible to do by yourself.

I thought about the comic book route a long time ago. I could try to publish it through Image Comics. That way my idea would already exist in the world and I can use it as a foundation for the movies.

If it does go that way it'll be a straight up comic to movie adaptation like Watchmen without changing anything to the story or even art.

That means that I need to improve or rather get drawing skills. Learn how to draw comics. Just yesterday I tried to draw a face and boy was it disgusting.

No other way than learn anatomy and all that and start working.

Having a comic book or a physical version of my story would be cool af tbh. The drawings would have to be high quality af though because I know me. I won't settle for anything that isn't amazing.

And guess who has to draw amazingly? The guy who can't draw :)

Focus rn is to write the script. As well as learning about VFX and getting ready for a good job. From there we'll be working in the industry and working up the ladder while working on projects on the side. I need to write other stuff too.

As well as just make other stuff. The car video turned out good. So let's see what's in store in the future.

#work #hustle #comics #artist #drawing #image comics #uni #grind #hard work #movies #filmmaking #vfx #art #writing #sci fi #science fiction #fantasy #aspiring writer #story

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phoenotopia · 4 years

Text

2019 December Update

The game is officially playable from beginning to end!

That battle has concluded...

Soon begins the war! But first, a brief reprieve for the holidays.

And I must throw in the usual caveats. We're still playtesting, we're still polishing, we still gotta get age ratings, more red tape, etc etc. And most importantly, we need to figure out the launch strategy. Think Megaman, charging his shot for 5 and a half years... We're not allowed to miss at this point. It has to HIT.

Luckily, we're in a relatively stable position where we don't have to rush the game out immediately. It's not LAUNCH or STARVE - it's... take some time to aim a little. We don't want to launch in the shadow of a bigger behemoth game, and we don't want to launch completely unknown either. We have to build up the game's media presence, which has been neglected so far. I know it's annoying to have to continue to wait... but please bear with us a little longer!

Here's what we've been doing for the past couple months.

---------- THE SCRIPT ----------

The script sits at over 80,000 words. I didn't realize the significance until a teammate told me that that's actually as long as a novel! I looked it up, and sure enough, it's a little longer than the first Harry Potter. But unlike Harry Potter, hardly any of these words are wasted on, pffft, narration. It's all juicy dialogue!

(Some of the game's golden nuggets of dialogue)

There was actually a lot of mundanity getting to the end. Pirate, acting as my editor, caught tons of errors and inconsistencies. One of the most recurring issues had to do with capitalization. I like to capitalize things, often inconsistently. Some common questions that arose:

Why is this text highlighted yellow, and this one highlighted blue?

Why is this monster name capitalized, but this monster not?

Why is this item capitalized, and this one not?

... and so on!

All very mundane issues, but all very necessary to tackle. And there was a TON of 'em. (em vs 'em was another thing we had to make consistent). I actually did some research to see what capitalization rules Zelda had. From what I could tell, when it comes to animals and monsters in the Zelda universe:

All monsters are capitalized

All regular animals are not capitalized

The Cuccos are special, and ARE capitalized

(a collage of Zelda pictures I assembled to study)

In the Zelda universe, all regular items are lowercase, but highlighted blue when mentioned in a quest context (e.g. "butter", "hylian wheat"). Items can be uppercase, if they are special named items (e.g. "Sheikah Slate"). We adopted similar rules as Zelda in some cases, and deviated in others. For instance, in the Phoenotopia universe, there isn't a clear distinction between animals and monsters - that fish monster is really just an animal that happens to be the alpha predator in its natural habitat. So most entities are lowercase, but "big deal" entities can be uppercase.

(we made a formal document to consult whenever a question regarding capitalization arises)

---------- A SAMPLING of QUEST AND CHARACTERS ----------

A lot of new quests have arisen in our great writing effort extending over the past several months. And with it, new characters, big and small. I'll tease a sampling of some of them here (warning: some light spoilers ahead):

My favorite new quest is undoubtedly our game's new "Trading Quest". This one takes inspiration from the Zelda series - the trading quest similarly has you roaming the world and its towns in search of needy people who desire a particular item. Deliver them the item they desire, and get a new item. Do this 10 times, and the ultimate weapon awaits you at the end.

I tried some things to vary up the formula. Some NPCs don't reveal what they need right away - steps have to be taken to get them there. It's also possible to go down the wrong route in the sequence, and have to double-back. We try to keep it interesting.

---------- LOOT PLACEMENTS & GAME BALANCING ----------

A great effort was also spent towards balancing the game this past 2 months. Because even one good healing item, easily obtained, can throw the game's whole difficulty off-kilter. And this same principle applies to other areas, like the money economy and player powerup options. Altogether, they form a very delicate ecosystem for enjoyment.

One of the recent things I did for this game was put down exactly where each heart ruby, energy gem, and moonstone could be found. And this was actually a rather involved process because you have a limited number of rewards to distribute (you wouldn't want the final max HP count to be a weird number like 297). Put too many rewards in the beginning, and the late dungeons would have no rewards to offer. Put too much in the end, and the inverse happens.

I found myself going back into earlier areas and plundering their rewards to fill the later areas. And then to ensure a relatively even spread of rewards within each area themselves, I drew crude maps of the dungeons & their reward spots, so that they could be studied from a bird's eye perspective.

But it was still not enough. With NPC quests and towns also taking up their own allotment of the rewards, I found myself running low on things to distribute. So I went back to the books and upped the number of rewards across the board. Before there were 44 Heart Rubies to collect - there are now 55. Before each Heart Ruby boosted your max HP by 5, but now each one now boosts your max HP by 4, so your final max HP count would still end up the same. It's kinda similar to what happened with Twilight Princess, where they broke with tradition and made 5 heart containers required to gain a new heart instead of the usual 4. Overall, the final tally for treasure to find is:

55 heart pieces

30 energy gems

108 moon stones

Who's crazy enough to collect them all?

---------- BADGES / ACHIEVEMENTS ----------

As one of the game's finishing touches, there's a menu for BADGES - they're this game's version of achievements. This is an ongoing task that we hope to stamp out this December. A few favorites of mine from the original flash game will return ("Pillow Connoisseur" is among them).

(The menu looks like this before any badges are earned)

I allocated slots for just 33 badges, so we're selecting the badges very carefully. We got rid of most of the fluffy ones that appeared in the flash game - we wanted to reduce the number of badges that you would earn automatically for just playing the game (so no more "1st boss", "2nd boss", "3rd boss" achievements). We're aiming for a healthy mix of easily earned badges, hard earned badges, collectathon badges, secret fun badges, and so on.

The badges have another twist - they bear miniaturized portraits of characters from the game! In the initial brainstorm mockup phase, I wasn't really fond of the badge designs. You got a medal of a heart because you collected some hearts, and you got the medal of a moonstone for collecting moonstones, etc. It just seemed so... expected.

(various badge mockups)

How could we engage the players on a more fun and deep level? The idea came - what if we attached pictures of the people you meet on your journey? And these people's stories and character would have a connection with the achievement? That could keep the player guessing which character would come attached with an achievement, or even reveal a hidden detail about the character you didn't know.

---------- MUSIC ----------

Will has just one more task to do. And that's to recut the song for the trailer. One of our other goals for this December is to make a really good trailer... again. There's actually 2 other trailers we cut and never made public for reasons. Maybe I'll talk about them one day in the post-mortem.

Since this may be the last conventional update, we wondered with which song to best leave the audience. And we decided that the most suitable song is "Sanctuary". It's a song that the player will often encounter often when they happen upon a quiet resting place in the world.

There's a little story behind this song. Two and a half years ago, I linked Will the Earthbound song, "Buzz buzz's prophecy", and told him, make a song like that!

In response, Will made "Sanctuary".

Give it a listen HERE. What do you think? Did Will hit close to the greats?

---------- FAN ART ----------

Three fan arts have come in the last couple months. I display them here proudly:

Another submission by Cody G! Gale looking shy as she flashes the V sign for the camera. I like how Cody G's art is continually evolving. Note the additional detail on her eye, and how her hair is drawn extra fluffy. Very nice!

Shafiyahh is another consistent contributor, and made one in the spirit of Halloween. I really like their costumes! Gale as an angel, and Lisa as a demon, fittingly captures their relationship, since Gale is the responsible one and Lisa is the troublemaker. So cute!

A contribution from a new artist, Negativus Core! Wow, Gale looks so bada-- here! We often forget about Gale's tough side due to the cutesy graphics. This is probably how her enemies see her. And the gummy (slime) is a cute touch!

---------- FINAL NOTES ----------

Similar to last year, this will be the last update for a while. If things run too slow, I'll post a status update come end of February 2020.

It's possible, and this is a BIG IF, that something notable happens sooner than expected - like we're going to a con or we have reason to drop the trailer sooner than later. If so, this blog will update earlier than expected. BIG IF. Otherwise, it's end of February till next you hear of us.

The game's development has reached a new uncharted territory. We're going to take the time and figure out exactly what our next steps are. In addition, we'll still be doing some playtesting and script polishing. And we'll be taking a break too. It is the holiday season, things move kind of slow around this time of year. We'll enjoy the company of our family and friends.

Until then, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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clevercatchphrase · 4 years

Text

2019 year in review

So… The 2010’s are almost over. Huh. What a decade it’s been. Hard to comprehend how much has changed in 10 years. I can barely believe that I was in high school at the beginning of this decade, and now I’m a college graduate with 2 degrees who’s been working at the same job for the last 3 years. But trying to summarize the past 10 years in a single post is a good way to give myself an existential crisis, so let’s not do that! Instead, let’s just focus on 2019 because there has been more than enough shit that’s happened to me in this year to talk about.

PART 1 OF 2: 2019 AND 2020 GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS

Huh, looking back through my archives, I apparently didn’t make a tumblr post about my goals this year. I definitely had some, though. Lemme list ‘em off real quick, and then we’ll go through them point by point.

1) Pay off all my student loans 2) Finish some song comics 3) Make art for my Redbubble account 4) Finish the first rough draft/script of a game I wanted to make 5) Practice ASL 6) Sew some stuffed animals 7) Finish some fan fictions 8) Work on Ghost Switch 9) AMVs 10) Do some original writing 11) Make illustrations for my fan fictions

Okay, first off, the student loans. I was actually SO CLOSE to successfully completing this one bUT THEN MY CAR HAD TO BE A WHINEY PISS BABY AND HAVE ITS ALTERNATOR DIE ON ME WHILE I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY AND THEN A BLOW OUT THREE WEEKS LATER.

GOD, if I had to summarize this year in two words, for me it would be “Car troubles”. I swear I spent more on auto repair in the first third of this year than I ever have just freakin’ OWNING a car. All four of my tires had to be replaced, my alternator failed and my car literally just SHUT OFF while I was driving, and I was barely able to coast into a gas station. Both my front breaks and rear breaks were worn down the metal and I only learned this when my car was barely able to stop after I had to slam the petal down full force! I went in for an oil change, and they found some problems and then I didn’t get my car back for three days! I don’t even like owning a car! I hate driving! I hate my country’s refusal to provide universal, free public transportation! I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS!

Oh-kay… number 2. Finish some song comics. I didn’t finish any. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t work on them. I have made tiny progress, but that’s certainly better than no progress. One of these song comics I hope to be realizes is going to be a collab with one of my friends. It’ll be a long-time coming as it’s pretty low priority for the both of us, but if anyone else out there was disappointed with KH3’s ending, we’re gonna have ya’ covered… With SONG!

3. Make some redbubble art. I actually did this one! Not in the way I expected, but I added (technically) 3 new designs to my redbubble in the middle of the year. If you like butterflies and dragons, I got some product for you~!

Number 4, finish a script for a game I want to make. I… thought about this. I thought about this a lot, but I never put pen to paper, so… oops. It almost happened! I debated making this my main writing project for NaNoWriMo this year, but ended up having more inspiration for another story. Maybe next year? (god, I hope not. I don’t want to wait a full year just to write something)

Number 5, practice ASL. I just straight up didn’t do this and I only have myself to blame. Still keepin’ up that Danish Duolingo streak, though. 4 years going strong and not a day missed yet.

Number 6, sew some stuffed animals. Again, another one I just straight up didn’t do, but I have an excuse of trying to save money while my car crashed and burned in every other sense except literal this year. Hopefully 2020 will be different. I’ll definitely be able to pay off this last loan within the first half of 2020, and then I can start saving for whatever I want to buy.

Finish some fan fictions was number 7, and I did this! Well, I only finished, 1, but it was a story I’ve been working on for over 3 years, and it came out to over 200 THOUSAND words long, which is the longest thing I’ve ever written, and I’m quite proud of myself. Now that the big story is out of the way, and I’ve gotten into a good rhythm of working on Ghost Switch, maybe I can squeeze in some short writing sessions more frequently. (either that, or just wait for my car to break down again and then go on a writing spree in a pepboys. The lord and the fan fic discord know that’s solely why I finished my other fic this year)

Speaking of Ghost Switch, working on it was a goal this year too, and I did that! I kept it up all year and took a vacation in November and it was wonderful. While the major plot points have been in place since before I started drawing, I still need to script each arc beyond Snowdin, but hey, by the time we get there, it’ll be 2022 so I got time. (Note, don’t do this, kids. Script your stories and comics thoroughly before publishing. The road I’m on is paved with misery and pain and it will only end in tears unless I change lanes soon)

Number 9, amvs. Do people make AMVs anymore? Idk… the last one I made was... Jesus, 5 years ago? (it was a gravity falls/fall out boy crossover, if you were curious) I’ve been wanting to do 2 more for just as long, but in order for me to do that, I’d have to spend time re-watching the shows to find the footage, and then actually edit them together, and I just don’t…. feel like it. Maybe someday, but not any day soon.

10; do some original writing. I did this! For nanowrimo! I wrote the first draft of some original fiction I’ve been planning for a year or two now and it completely sucks! But it’s on paper now and I’m happy. Will I revise and edit it? Sure, but not for a while. I want to let it sit and forget about it and look at it with new eyes months from now so I can be sure I can make it better when time comes to rewrite.

11, make illustrations for my fan fics. Now that You Monster is done, I want to go back and add pictures to it. I didn’t do any this year, but I did keep a list of scenes I wanted to draw, so I have plenty of ideas to do as warm up sketches next year~ I kinda want to stream them~

So, that was 11 goals, and I successfully fulfilled 4 of them! That’s! Not a very good ratio… QmQ So, goals for 2020. Some I’m gonna keep from this year, some I’m gonna drop and some I’m gonna add. In short I would like to,

1) Finish paying off that last student loan 2) Put more stuff on my redbubble 3) Illustrate my own fan fics 4) Sew at least one stuffed animal 5) Make an enamel pin 6) Read one new book a month 7) Write one page a day/Complete at least one new fan fic 8) Learn Python or C# for the game I want to make 9) Finish fully scripting Ghost Switch 10) Boost my patreon

Most of these I think are pretty self-explanitory, but I’ll go into detail just a bit because I’m on a roll and typing my thoughts helps me feel less alone in the middle of the night when you’re super tired and you know you should probably go to sleep, but the toddler in you is throwing a tantrum and doesn’t wanna go to sleep just yet, but you can’t fight the progression of time either way.

Number 1- I should be able to reach this goal by the end of March. End of June at the absolute latest. Once that goal is met, my secret new year’s resolution will be unlocked as well!

Number 2- I want to put more art of my OCs on redbubble. These OCs are tied to the game I want to make. There’s already some art of them up there, but I want at least one piece for each character.

Number 3- Mostly for You Monster. Embrace the cardinal rule of fan fic and apply it to fan art. If you want to read about see art about certain ideas, scenarios, or what-ifs, you gotta make it yourself.

Number 4- I have 3 potential ideas to sew. One is definitely leagues easier than the other two and will probably be chosen if/when I have the time and materials.

Number 5- This year I got really, REALLY into the idea of making enamel pins. Unfortunately it’s a pretty big investment (like, $350 to make 100 pins you might not even sell). If this happens, it’ll probably be towards the end of the year, and if I get enough interest. I’m currently torn between making an original enamel pin and one based off Undertale. We’ll just have to see where this goes.

Number 6- Back in 2018 when I paid off one of my many student loans, I rewarded myself by spending over 200 dollars in used books. All these books had a theme; they were focused on dragons because I have a problem. I have not yet read a single one of these books I have bought, and I would like to fix that. I have, like, 20 unread dragon books, and even if I only read 12 out of 20, I would consider that an amazing accomplishment and money well spent.

Number 7- I currently have about 8 different WIPs I could work on. (well, I don’t know if I can even call them wips. More like, a general idea and a title written down.) I want to build good writing habits, and if I can write just 200 words a day, hell, even 200 words a week and just one of my 8 stories done, I would consider this goal met.

Number 8- I’m torn between making my game in unity or ren’py. I know jack shit about both. Ren’py is more user friendly, but unity will allow me more customization. (Lol, can you guess what kind of game I want to make yet?)

Number 9- I really just want the full story to be done and written incase anything goes horribly terribly wrong in my life and I find myself unable to continue making ghost switch in comic form. Then at least I can finish the story by other means, you know?

Number 10- It always surprises me every month when I get that patreon email saying I got paid. Sure, I don’t even make double digits on it, but it still awes me enough to know that people out there like my work enough to throw me a tip. I can’t thank my patrons enough for supporting me and I hope to one day be in such a good place I can update my comic/song comics/writing frequently enough without need for goals or milestones. But until that magical day arrives, money is always a great incentive for anything, I suppose. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ALRIGHT. PART 2 OF 2: SHIT THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN 2019

Cheesus crust what a year. This year started off great! Back in late January Kingdom Hearts 3 FINALLY released, and let me tell you a little story. Back in the summer of 2006 I was a 13 year old middle schooler with no way of making money other than by doing house hold chores at a rate of 25 cents a task. A few weeks ago, I had a sleep over at a friend’s house and they let me play this weird game called “Kingdom Hearts” and god, I was instantly hooked on it. That summer, I did over 800 chores, enough to earn myself 200$ and buy myself a playstation 2 (just in time for the ps3 to come out, gg me) The only games I had for the ps2 were KH1, 2, Re:CoM and Okami, and I beat them all… except Okami. Miffed that the PS3 wouldn’t allow for backwards compatibility, little 13-year-old me made a promise. I looked myself in the mirror and said “I will not buy the next playstation console until KH3 comes out, AND BOY that was probably a good choice for me to make with my level of gaming. I’m even less of a casual gamer than the average casual gamer, but I have been waiting 13 years for this piece of closure, and I even told my friends and family that “the day Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out is the day I will buy a playstation 4”. My dad apparently thought this was the funniest shit, because he literally took the day off from work that Friday to drive me on base to get the game and console (he thought it would be less crowded than a regular walmart, I suppose). I paid $400 on a ps4 pro while he bought me the game. Again, I have an impecible sense of timing seeing as the PS5 is now right on the horrizion, but just like before, I’m not buying a new console until the next KH game is released. See you in 2045, sony~. While I was at the gamestop on base, I also picked up Okami HD and The Last Guardian. For all of February and even early March, I took my time playing through KH3. And…! It was the best disappointment I’ve ever played. After a month away from gaming, I started The Last Guardian and finished it in a couple weeks. I love trico and would die for him, but trying to get 100% completion on that game is udder insanity. Okami, HD, however… again after a month break after finishing TLG, I started replaying Okami. I think I had only managed to get about halfway through the game before I just… stopped playing it on my ps2 version. I am currently SO CLOSE to getting a 100% on the ps4 version. In fact, I’ve beaten the game. I only (techinically) need 2 more trophies to be done; 1st, escape the water dragon without being eaten, 2nd, I need to beat that dumb stupid race with Kai, in order to get the last bead on my rosary, as well as the top dog trophy. I hate her so much. I hate this race so much. It’s awful and bad.

Flash forward to December! Earlier this month I was at Barnes and Noble, buying myself a planner for 2020. I exit the store and notice that there’s a gamestop across the street. For shits and giggles I go inside to look at their game selection, and I find KH 1.5 and 2.5. Now, my PS2 died a few years back (it just won’t read my discs anymore, I don’t know why) and I haven’t been able to replay any of my other kingdom hearts games since. If you had seen me the day I finished kingdom hearts 3, after the ending credits rolled, you would have heard me say “Man…. I wish I could play kingdom hearts 2 again”. AND NOW I CAN, ALONG WITH BBS which I had never even played yet, but knew the story of. I’ve restarted playing kh1, and I was so happy to hear that familiar music when I booted the game up for the first time. While at the game stop, I also picked up Rime and Tearaway, two games that had looked interesting to me. At the time of writing, I’ve finished Rime and am 25% done with tearaway. Rime was…. An interesting experience. I learned about it through Jacksepticeye’s channel a couple years back and thought the art style was enticing. For a super casual gamer like me, I found the puzzles just the right level of challenging and exploring was a blast! The music gave me VERY strong Princes Mononoke vibes, but the overall story left something to be desired. Overall I had fun, and enjoyed completing this game to 100%. Now for tearaway. Can I just say this game is super fucking adorable? I know the original was on the ps vita and the gameplay there was arguably more diverse and imaginative, but this game is just so fucking cute I don’t care?? ALSO, this game’s sound track is ABSOLUTELY incredible and I’ve only heard the first fourth of it! Listen to The Orchards, Pig Riding, and Gibbet Hill Pilgrimage for a taste of their wonderful beats and fantastic use of string and woodwinds! God, I’m so excited to get some more games in 2020. I’m proud to say I currently own more ps4 games than I ever did with my ps2 (and now the majority AREN’T Kingdom Hearts titles!), and I’m still hoping to play Journey, The Witness, and Abzu before everything becomes ps5.

What else happened to me this year. Oh, I went to a doctor for, like, the first time in seven years. I also had my blood drawn for the first time ever, and the nurse said the most disturbing thing to me while she did it. Now, whenever I get shots, I refuse to look. I did that here. So she thought it would be appropriate to say to me “Can you feel your blood leaving your body?” Lady… You can clearly see I am uncomfortable with what is happening here. Why, of all the things you could say, did you choose to say that. Unfortunately, while my doctor is nice, she keeps wanting to run tests on me, that I just cannot afford with my current salary, and my monthly insurance is about to go up to 200$ a month, so I’ve cancelled my next appointment with them, and don’t plan to go back until it’s absolutely necessary. Capitalism is fun, guys. Preventative healthcare is for wusses.

I started going to a chiropractor on a monthly basis. Story time- I don’t know when it started, but sometime late last November I began to notice that I had a headache that just... wasn’t... going away? And each day it was starting to get a little worse. It made it hard for me to find a comfortable position to sleep, it made it hard for me to be in bright areas or move fast. So I said to myself “Okay, if this headache persist through the month of december, then something is proooobably wrong and I should go see someone about it. And hoo-boy were thing wrong with me. By the time this January rolled around, I couldn’t even stay on my feet for more than a few hours without it physically hurting to just BREATHE. So I started going to this chain called The Joint (A+ name, I know). THey aksed me “How are you doing?” I said “I’m in pain” and they said “We can help fix that!”. I’ve only been to a chiropractor once before in my life a few years back after my freshmen year of college because I began to notice my hips weren’t able to support me? LIke, I would lie on my back, and I couldn’t push my hips up when my feet were flat on the floor. I also couldn’t climb anything steep, because my legs just couldn’t push me up if my knee had to bend more than 90 degrees when I lifted my leg up. (Turned out both my hips were apparently out of place). This time only one of my hips were out of place (which they fixed. they said one of my legs was an inch “longer” than the other because I had been leaning all my weight on one leg when I stand). But two of my ribs were apparently “Stuck” which was why it was hurting for me to just breathe, and one of my shoulders was missaligned too, causing one of my trap muscles to constantly be streched, which was pulling on my skull, and causing the headache. Anyway, after they popped all my bones back into place, I still felt terrible, but by god, that night was the first time in weeks I was able to sleep without a migrane. A chiropractor can’t magically heal your arthritis, or fibro, but I definately think they have merit to keeping your posture good and helping your body with things like circulation. 10 outa 10, would recomend. It’s all the fun of getting your neck snapped without the dying!

Earlier this month I got together with two of my friends and we baked Christmas cookies. It was a lot of fun, as well as a great learning experience. A member of my family has a gluten allergy, so we used rice flour for most of the cookies. We learned this is a bad idea! The cookies will just fall apart! A few member’s in one of the friend’s family have nut allergies. Other friend and I knew this and were careful to avoid cookie recipes with nuts, bUT THEN COMPLETELY FORGOT THAT ALMOND MILK AND ALMOND EXTRACT COUNT AS NUT. IN FACT, ALMOND EXTRACT IS PURE CONCENTRATED NUT JUICE AND WE FELT SO BAD FOR ALMOST ACCIDENTALLY POISONING THE FAMILY.

Earlier this year me and these same friends took a field trip to Hobby Lobby and just dicked around the store for a couple of hours. It was super fun, 11 outa 10, would recommend, a great date idea for your artsy S.O.

Back in May I went to a wedding for the first time in my life. (well, not true, but the first one I could remember) we left at 5am, drove 5 hours to get there, hung out at a zoo and spent the night in a la quinta before the wedding day. I slept on the bathroom floor because my mom was snoring too loud in the main room and keeping me awake, and the rest of the day was just spent me trying to keep myself together because I was pissed off and tired.

Other than all of that, nothing really major happened to me this year. I guess one more thing I’ve tried to do this year is started the process of breaking certain internet addictions so I can use my free time for more personal projects. Seriously, I found myself watching way too much youtube and following blogs that didn’t even make me happy. I had a personal intervention with myself where I sat down and asked myself, “why do you watch these videos and youtubers? Why do you follow these blogs? Do you really enjoy their content? Do you really care? If you stopped watching/following them, would you even notice?” After critically thinking it over, I’ve found myself unfollowing several channels and blogs and suddenly I feel so much happier. I thought I would miss it, but I realized I didn’t really care if I saw their content or not. I wasn’t missing much. And now I feel like I have more time to draw, read and write. If you think you spend too much time consuming and not enough time creating, I suggest you try and de-clutter your internet habits as well. It’s done wonders to un-fuck my headspace.

And… well, that about sums up my year. How are your holidays going? Anything fun, exciting, dramatic happen to you this year? I hope your new year is warm and safe! Good night, everybody!

#new year's resolutions #year in review #long post #(seriiously this think is like 3k words)

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oh-theatre · 5 years

Text

Sycamore High: Mix and Match (Chapter 23)

A/N: I feel so bad for people who dont know something rotten they must feel so confused...im SORRY. Also yes I did write the entirety of lyrics from memory

summary: First rehearsal for Something Rotten!

words: 2,502

warnings: Swearing, funeral mention, lyrics, implied harassment (at the end, will find out more next chap)

Ao3 Link

“Welcome to the first official rehearsal for ‘Something Rotten’!” Chad announces to a loud cheer from the cast. Save except for a very quiet Ted sitting in the front row and a sad distant Tommy shoved in another row. Chad notices and feels a tug at his own heart, he shakes his head continuing. “I'd like to get started by doing a read through, so if everyone could gather on the stage” The crowd follows creating a circle on the stage, each student with a script in their hands. Chad counts before realizing something. “Ok, so we are going to have to sing acapella, because I may have forgotten to call in the pianist” He chuckles awkwardly, Bill ponders before raising his hand. Chad points at him prompting him to talk.

“I can play the piano,” He says, a tug pulls at Ted and Paul as they share a look. It's true, though not his main hobby, his mother did teach him. He stands and goes to the piano opening the sheet music and tickling the keys, something dances through him as it comes playing back to him. He nods at Chad, who smiles back.

“Alright! Let's begin!” Chad spins pointing to Caleb, another cast member who smiles excitedly “Take it away minstrel, Bill” Bill nods, turning to Caleb who studies his music quickly before giving a thumbs up. Chad starts swinging his fingers Bill begins playing the opening song.

“War of the roses, Chaucer's tale. The brutal feudal system. Holy crusade, Bubonic plague. Can't say that we've really missed 'em. So dark and barbaric, So dull and mundane. That was so Middle Ages. That was so - Charlemagne” The group giggle excitedly as Caleb continues, Bill continues, hitting the note. The cast looks around excitedly as Caleb continues, everything washes away. “Welcome to the Renaissance. With poets, painters, and bon vivants and merry minstrels. Who stroll the streets of London a strummin' they lutes”

“In puffy pants and pointy leather boots!” The male ensemble continues, Chad smiles. It sounds great.

~~~

“Hit it, Bill!” Chad exclaims, and so Bill does hitting the keys ecstatically but carefully. Ted turns to Paul revving up.

“Ohhhhh God I hate Shakespeare!” The crowd cheers. Paul clutches his pearls offended. “That's right I said it”

“No!” The ensemble cries, Ted feels his heart flutter. Everything seems ok as the music plays and the bubbling energy bounces around the room. Everyones buzzing with excitement, happy to be here.

“I do, I hate Shakespeare” He makes sure to sing that line at Sam who couldn't care less.

~~~

“I am stronger than you think, Don't be thinking I ain't tough I am where you oughta go. When the going's getting rough. So when things are going badly-” Charlotte belts happily, lovingly staring at Ted.

“But they're not” Ted insists, Charlotte bites down a giggle.

“They kinda are” Paul points out. Bill continues happily watching his friends.

“No, things are fine” Ted turns to Paul, who raises his eyebrows innocently.

“But if they weren't” Charlotte tries again, Ted and Paul smile widely.

“But it's ok”

“Love?”

“What?” Something catches Ted off guard at the name, he glances to Tommy feeling his face fall.

“Oh!”

“What?” He watches as Tommy bounces happily, watching the trio back and forth. His heart pounds in his ears he can't hear the music anymore.

“Quit trying to protect me” Charlotte's voice seeps through grounding Ted once more, he shakes his head delivering his line.

“Can we change the subject, please?” He didn't mean to beg so desperately, hopefully, they would just think he was getting into it.

“Not until I know that-”

~~~

“What the hell are musicals?” Ted asks feeling his voice get caught, Tommy can't meet his eyes and seems focused on his sheet music.

“It appears to be a play where the dialogue stops and the plot is conveyed through the song” Tommy says, his voice sweet with a hint of insane. Ted chuckles to himself, he's been practicing.

“Through song?”

“Yes” The group laughs and Ted does too, he's doing exceptionally well.

“Wait, wait, wait, so an actor is saying his lines and then out of nowhere he just starts singing?” Ted recites, he likes this monologue.

“Yes,” Tommy repeats, his grin his wider now. It feels like it's just the two, practicing as if no one was there. Ted looks to Bill nodding, he turns and prepares.

“Well that is the-” He starts singing “Stupidest thing that I have ever heard You're doing a play, got something to say so you sing it? It's absurd! Who on Earth is going to sit there while an actor breaks into song? What possible thought could the audience think other than "this is horribly wrong?" Bill hangs on the note as Tommy smiles wide.

“Remarkably?” He asks “They won't think that!” Ted can practically feel the room buzzing with excitement.

“Seriously, why not?” Ted asks back, Tommy can't hold it in, he flashes his most insane smile.

“Because…” He looks to Bill, they smile at each other “It's. A. Musical! A musical!” Everyone lets out small cheers as the song begins. “And nothings as amazing as a musical” Well, I can think of one or two things that are, Ted thinks as he watches Tommy enchant the entire class. Tommy continues with Ted and for a moment it's as if nothing is wrong.

~~~

“Paul and Emma, ready?” Chad asks, Bill flips to the song nodding at the group. Paul takes a deep breath as Emma just giggles smiling at him.

“Ready as I’ll ever be” She announces, Chad points at Bill who begins playing softly. “I love Sidney and Marlowe and often I borrow their words to express how I feel. I love poems of mystery, fantasy, history, Oh, what seductive appeal. At night, alone in my bedroom satisfying my needs. The candlelight fire ignites my desire...to read” Emma sings sending thrilling chills down Pauls back, he might miss his cue from listening to her enchanting voice. It's suddenly his turn after he misses three verses tuning out the actual words.

“It's the end-all, the be-all, oh, you oughta see all the books that I have on my shelf” He sings softly, a little nervous. Ted and Bill nod encouragingly.

“Me too!” She exclaims “I find pleasure perusing those writings and musings, so often I pleasure myself” She pauses giving off an awkward smile, the crowd laughs “Wait, that didn't sound right”

“No, I know what you mean” Paul goes again, a little more confident “When I'm deep in the throes of impassionate prose I could scream”

“You scream?”

“Yeah!”

“So do I!!” And so she did scream, much to everyone's delight

~~~

“Sam, boys, you ready,” Chad asks excitedly going through his notes. Sam practically bounces a childlike grin wide across his face. Charlotte giggles and Emma can't help but smile, he looks genuinely excited. “Go Bill!” And he does almost less excited. Sam stands, followed by his 4 boys already.

“My days are so busy, it's making me dizzy, there's so much I gotta do. There are lunches and meetings and poetry readings and endless interviews. Gotta pose for a portrait and how I deplore sittin' there for eternity. Then it's off to the inn where my innkeeper friend wants to name a drink after me! Then it's back to my room, where I resume my attempt to write a hit. Just me and my beer and the terrible fear that I might be losing it” He sings drunkenly, the groups nod along enjoying this. He's got the voice down. The boys jump around him singing their lines. “And it's hard”

“It's hard” They point at Sam playing around, it's a whole routine.

“It's hard”

“It's hard” They go again, struggling to keep a straight face. The whole song is pure fun.

“It's really, really hard, so very, very hard” They sing in unison

~~~

“Welcome to America!”

“Land of opportunity!” Ted finishes strong smiling. The room erupts into cheers with everyone hugging everyone, at one point Ted feels himself wraps his arms around Tommy pulling away quickly. They stare awkwardly giving each other sweet longing smiles before each is pulled off into a respective group. Bill stands to join his friends congratulating them. They pull him into a hug. “Bill! You were amazing! Seriously, singing and piano wise!”

“Oh! Well, thank you” He nods blushing slightly. Chad comes over clapping him on the back. Bill lurches forward making an ‘umph’ sound.

“Bill that was wonderful!” He compliments “You are truly gifted” Now Bill is blushing harder than ever. Ted smiles, pride is not the words he's looking for. Bill leans in a little to Ted who laughs wrapping an arm around his small friend, understanding what he needs. He continues the conversation politely before leading Bill away from the crowd and setting up right outside the doors. “Thank you” Bill mumbles as they sit down on the cool floor, a change from the sauna that is the auditorium. They lean against the wall, Bill collapses onto Ted's shoulder, his eyes heavy.

“Of course,” Ted says nudging his friend, Bill yawns flexing his hands. They're cramping after such a massive play, he feels the ivories phantom and urges to keep playing. “You really did do amazing Bill” Ted compliments playing with his fingers, Bill chuckles nodding. A comfortable silence falls between them, Bill can't seem to relax his hands so Ted takes them applying soft pressure. It feels nice, Bill sighs relieved. He looks up a bit to Ted seeing him stare far off as if playing with Bills fingers is the only thing keeping him from drifting off, becoming particles of sand left in the wind for all of eternity.

“Would you like to discuss it?” Bill inquires softly, Ted's eyes merely gaze over to him. “You and Tommy, I mean” He clarifies, wanting to be there for his friend as he had so desperately failed in the past few months.

“Hmm?” Ted hums, he shakes his head a sad smirk appearing on his face “Not unless you want to talk about whatever's going on with you” Ted says, he's sure the subject will be dropped, that he has ‘won’, perse.

“Ok,” Bill says sitting up, Ted's face falls and so do his hands, losing contact with Bills. He giggles softly before continuing “I dont know whats going, or what was going on with me. I treated you unfairly and was somebody that I was not. I let my emotions get the best of me, the fight with Billy…” He eyes Ted, his tone becoming softer “And at the funeral” He barely whispers. Ted nods processing the words his small friend speaks.

“I miss my mom, and my dad...apparently kill-” He chokes suddenly, Bill squeezes his hand, no pressure...take your time. “And I made a mistake, I took it out on Tommy,” He sighs rubbing the bridge of his nose “But he doesn't deserve me! He deserves someone better, someone whos not…” He grunts pressing his lips together tightly, irritated “Me...someone whos not me” Ted finishes, Bill takes a deep breath.

“You're right,” Bill says, Ted's eyes go wide, oh? “He doesn't deserve you, in my opinion, nobody does Ted. Nobody is good enough for you” He says, Ted feels his heart pull “I've always thought that you're my best friend how could I not?” Ted chuckles lightly “But I have never seen you happier than when you're with Tommy, every word, every movement, every smile...I see how it affects you” Bill remarks, Ted struggles against tears. “You love him, and mind you, he loves you too” Ted nods, that he knows, I do love him. “I will always think that no one is good enough for you but Tommy? He comes pretty damn close” Bill finishes, Ted raises his brows lovingly.

“Bill Dorris, did you just swear?” Ted asks teasing his friend. Bill turns to him, dead serious.

“Yes I did, and no one will ever believe you” They erupt into tired laughter and sit until the night comes to a close. The professors come to collect Ted, and Bill gets a ride with Paul. But something changed that lively night, another part of the puzzle was found and it fits perfectly. However, another part of the puzzle was lost that night, a part no one thought could be lost, a fury of love and sunshine...finally dimmed out.

~~~

Something had died that night, and it had died alone. Tommy watches as Ted led Bill out of the theatre, smiling at the pair happy to see things falling back into place. He waved at Ted who only caught a glance but smiled at him. He sighs happily turning towards another group, he starts a polite conversation with them but feels something boiling in the back of his brain, an itching. He glances around seeing Billy leaning against one of the sides watching him intently. He shivers trying to shake off the pit now consuming him.

“Bye Tommy,” Charlotte says hugging her friend, he hugs back eyes wandering towards Billy, he holds on a little tighter wanting her to stay. But she does and soon so does everyone, until its just Tommy, Chad, Billy and his friends. Chad and Tommy carry on a conversation that leaves Tommy feeling pleasant, it comes to a slow however much to Tommy’s disappointment.

“Oh wow” Chad says looking at his watch he perks back up to Tommy “I gotta get home, um...have you by any chance seen Ted?” He asks, Tommy ponders for a moment recollecting the events that had transpired.

“He went out towards the foyer with Bill” Tommy smiles, as the professor nods. He thanks him quickly, giving him a rushed farewell until suddenly once more Tommy stands alone on the stage with Billy watching him. He moves to the piano feeling himself wince at every step. He reaches for his phone checking for an update from his mom or anything really...from Ted.

“Hey” A slimy voice whispers abruptly, a painful shiver runs down Tommy's spine as he recoils jumping. Billy smirks at him, play the part, Billy. Tommy feels his lip quiver, he feels his phone buzz and reaches for it once more. An instant wave of relief hits him seeing a familiar, not yet changed name pop up.

Dearest

Ted: Hey… I just wanted to make sure that you were really alright

As much as Tommy wishes to reassure him, to continue to another subject he can't. He wastes no time sending an urgent text, something he knows he’ll understand. How could he not? It was pretty clear.

Tommy: Still at school, alone with Billy, please help.

“Oh no need for that” Billy's voice intrudes his mind once more, he watches as the disgusting teen grabs the phone from Tommy's hands throwing it on the floor. Tommy winces instinctively as the shatter hits the ground...and the pieces all fall apart.

#sycamore high #tgwdlmhs #tgwdlm #the guy who didn't like musicals #musical theatre #theatre #musicals #starkid #joey richter #lauren lopez #robert manion #jeff blim #corey dorris #jaime lyn beatty #jon matteson #ao3 #writing #my writing #archive of our own

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