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call it fate, call it karma (olderry x alt!y/n)

in which harry's getting an unfortunate tattoo covered up at the shop y/n works at, they're 12 years apart, and they have big, fat crushes on each other. also, harry hates frappuccinos.

word count: 10.1k

content warnings: age gap (12 years), harry's kind of an idiot at first, angst (all is solved in the end), smut (daddy kink, p in v penetration, fingering, dirty talk, choking, slight size kink, crying)

masterlist | talk to me

. . .

When Harry was 29, he made a mistake.

Well, maybe not a mistake. Perhaps… a series of poorly thought out decisions.

It started out when he met May. They were seniors in college and for years, Harry swore it was love at first sight — and with the enthusiasm and dopey, loved up grin he had when he told the story of how they met, May believed him for a long time. It always started the same: He didn’t want to go out that night but his friends begged him, telling him it was his last year in college to party before they went into the real world at full force. Finally, they wore him down enough to the point where Harry agreed, except he felt no desire to drink or smoke once they got to whoever’s house was throwing the get-together. He sat on the couch all night, nursing a warm beer from a plastic red solo cup, waiting for his buddies to decide when they’d had enough so Harry could ensure they got home safe — and then, May Wilkins walked in.

Harry always claimed that it seemed like the weed and cigarette smoke parted the second she entered the room, though he promised to revise the story when they told their future children. As soon as he laid eyes on the clean-cut brunette girl, he insisted that May would be his.

And, by the end of the night, May was his.

In fact, May continued to be his until he was 32 years old.

For the first few years, it was heaven. People doubted them — they said it was stupid to get into such a serious relationship when graduation was looming, just a few months away, but it only fueled them further. After they received their degrees, they moved in together. The following year, Harry proposed. By 25, they were married.

Within a year of marriage, the fighting started.

It seemed that they had a problem with everything the other did — if Harry stayed late at work, May was angry and accusing him of cheating on her. If May went out for a girls night with some friends, Harry was calling her at 1 a.m., demanding to know where she was. They didn’t trust one another, and the insecurities ate at them; first slowly, and then all-consumingly. Eventually, May couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as Harry. He started getting tattoos and she hated every single one. Every time he came home with a new one, she rolled her eyes and asked why he couldn’t put that money towards their savings, so they could buy a house in the suburbs like they’d planned to five years prior.

Harry wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet, though. After that, they tried couples counseling. When that ended in a screaming match, they decided to try sleeping in separate beds to put some space between one another. That worked for about three days before May got wine drunk one evening and crawled into his new bed that he purchased for the guest room. By the end of the week, they were back to sharing a mattress again.

And, believe it or not, it’s only then that he made his big mistake.

He thought maybe May despised his tattoos so much because he had so many for other people — his sister, his mum, his godchildren. Maybe if he got her name inked on his skin, she would see how much he really did love her, despite all the arguing and fighting.

Except, when he walked through the door to show her that evening, she was so angry that she stayed at her friend’s house that night.

A week later, May filed for a divorce.

He was exhausted. He wasn’t sure how they got there, but he knew it was time. There was nothing they could do to save their marriage.

The divorce was settled relatively quickly. Neither of them had much more fight left in them. They split all their assets down the middle and since they didn’t own a house together, Harry offered to move out of their shared apartment and let May live there until the lease was up. She didn’t, though. She broke their lease four months early with a mumbled explanation of not wanting to live there anymore.

When it was officially over, Harry’s friends took him out to celebrate. An evening of debauchery filled with enough alcohol and drugs to keep Harry satiated for the next decade.

But that’s when he realized that the hard part was just beginning.

Divorced life in your early 30s wasn’t easy. He threw himself into his job, but he felt lonely and empty without May by his side. It wasn’t even because he loved her anymore — he’d just spent so many formative years with her that he didn’t know who he was without her.

For five years, Harry focused on himself. He worked hard, he bought a house, he spent time with his family. He made himself the best son, brother, friend, uncle, and godfather he could be. And at 37, he was mildly content with that — he owned a beautiful home and was at the top of his company. Dating was so far down on his list of priorities that he didn’t even know how people met anymore. His friends encouraged him to join “the apps”, offering to help create a profile for him, but the only girls he dated had been from his years in school. He could admit that he was a little lonely, but the thought of starting over with someone completely new was intimidating and scary. Plus, there was one very big reminder of his past still inked on his arm.

So, that’s when he came up with his plan: He would cover up his tattoo of May’s name. He’d never gotten a coverup tattoo before but based on his research, they weren’t easy to do. It could take multiple sessions, which he was more than okay with — because, when her name was finally banished from his skin, he would officially throw himself back into the dating pool and try to find someone new.

A month later, he was walking into Jaded Tattoos for his first session.

. . .

Tuesdays are Y/N’s least favorite days.

When she comes into work on Monday, she at least has some sort of energy. She typically feels semi-refreshed from the weekend and always makes sure to stop for an iced latte on her way into the shop. Plus, Mondays are one of the calmer days at Jaded Tattoos — after all, there weren’t a ton of people coming in to get tattooed on the first day of the workweek.

But Tuesdays are just… icky. Y/N works as the makeshift secretary at the shop, so she manages everyone’s schedules and handles client booking — it would all be terribly boring if she didn’t work at Jaded, but she can get a new tattoo or piercing anytime one of the artists has some down time. Plus, no one ever judges her for the existing art on her skin, which she can’t say about other jobs she’s had in the past.

However, on Tuesdays, for some reason, the shop is always bustling. Clients are always canceling or showing up late (or, worst of all, missing their appointments altogether without saying a word), which in turn makes the artists annoyed. Y/N understands that — it’s annoying and rude, but then the energy in the shop gets all wonky and everyone feels tense and stressed out. Even her mid-afternoon break, when she takes a walk around the block to get herself a coffee and a pastry, isn’t enough to pull her out of the weird mindset.

She’s just settled into the last part of her day, using the iPad to look through the schedule when a fairly looking clean cut man walks through the door. At first, she assumes he’s lost, but only an idiot would come in without knowing it’s a tattoo shop. He has neatly groomed brunette hair and wears a navy blazer over a white tee-shirt, complete with matching trousers. It makes Y/N involuntarily quirk her eyebrows, a pesky wrinkle appearing between them as she accidentally stares at him. He offers a tight, awkward smile when he walks up to her desk, placing his elbows on the surface.

“Hi. I have an appointment at 3 with Jan.”

Y/N tries her best not to let her jaw drop. She knows she should really be less judgemental, but based on the slight crows feet wrinkles that creep at the edges of his eyes, this guy has to be nearing his 40s. Was he having some kind of midlife crisis? She supposes it’s possible, but why wouldn’t he just opt for buying a new car or house or something? He looks rich enough.

“Hello?”

Y/N realizes that she hasn’t said a single thing since he approached and parts her lips, mumbling out an embarrassed apology as she scrolls on the iPad to look at Jan’s schedule. Sure enough, she’s blocked off from 3 to 4:45 p.m.

“Um, is this your first tattoo?” Y/N asks, cocking her head to the side. Her eyes quickly roam over his body, but most of his skin is covered. There’s a spiel she says with people who are tattoo virgins — making sure they’ve eaten and they’re hydrated and if they’re not, she gives them snacks and water. It was one of the policies she implemented when she started a few years back, and it makes her happy to know that she helps newbies feel more comfortable before getting jabbed with a needle for an hour.

“No,” he chuckles with a shake of his head, “No, sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. Jan’s helping me with a coverup.”

“Oh, okay. Yeah, Jan is great with those.” she replies as she slides the iPad across to him. “I’m just gonna have you fill out this consent form and some other fun stuff. I’ll let her know you’re here, but my name is Y/N if you have any questions.”

He nods and flashes her a bright smile, and Y/N swears her heart skips a beat. She wonders what tattoo he’s getting covered up. She doesn’t often ask clients what they’re having done unless they decide to talk to her about it. It can be a rather personal experience for some — while she has some completely asinine, ridiculous tattoos herself, she also has a few with meaning, and she would certainly be taken back if someone randomly asked her about them.

Jan is busy getting some sketching done when Y/N gently knocks on her open door. She turns around in her wheely chair and smiles before asking her what’s up.

“Your 3 p.m. is here,” she says, leaning against the doorframe, “He says you’re covering something up for him?”

“Yup, that’ll be Harry Styles.” Jan replies with an affirmative nod. “We chatted a decent amount through email. Took the guy like, a month before deciding to come in.”

Y/N raises an eyebrow. “What’s he getting done?”

Jan stands from her chair and stretches her back and arms out, revealing a sliver of her tattooed stomach. “Wants his ex-wife’s name covered up. You know how it goes. You can send him in whenever he’s ready, I just need to photocopy some stencils.”

Y/N nods and hopes Jan didn’t catch the way her eyes widened at the mention of an ex-wife. She supposes she shouldn’t be too surprised — she did figure he was on the older side, at least 10 years her age — but is still a bit shocked that someone who looks that wealthy and put together would tattoo his partner’s name on him. Y/N, despite having a plethora of permanent tattoos herself, didn’t believe in any of that. She felt like it was bad luck. Plus, she didn’t see herself ever loving anyone enough to do that. The thought itself made her shudder.

When she returns back to the front, Harry’s drumming his fingers along the surface of her desk and looking around the interior of the shop. He doesn’t look nervous, but she wonders if he is. She’d seen her fair share of grown men pass out or vomit from being under the needle.

“All done?” she asks, pointing to the tablet. He nods. “Cool. You ate before this right? Hydrated and everything?”

Again, Harry nods, but this time a crooked smirk appears on his face. “Yes. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

“Just making sure,” she murmurs, plugging the iPad back in the charger, “Okay, you can follow me to Jan’s workstation.”

“Sure. Just one question — is there a place I can put this?”

Before Y/N has a chance to ask him what he’s talking about, he sheds the blazer he’s wearing to reveal two heavily tattooed, very muscular arms. She has to forcibly prevent her jaw from falling to the floor as her eyes roam over the myriad of black ink that swirls over his tanned skin. There doesn’t seem to be much of a theme, but her tattoos lack coherence, too. She swallows like some kind of lovestruck cartoon character, and when she finally glances at Harry’s face, he has a stupid, cocky smirk on.

She narrows her eyes. “There’s some jacket hooks by the door.”

“Perfect,” he grins cheerfully. He turns, showcasing a few more scattered designs on the backs of his arms, and places his jacket on one of the hooks. “Now you can stop judging me like I’m some old man going through a midlife crisis.”

This time, Y/N’s jaw really does drop.

“I’m not!” she immediately scrambles, even though they both know it’s a complete lie. “I just— I didn’t see any tattoos and I wanted to make sure you were prepared—”

“Sure, sure,” he cuts her off, pointing to some of the workstations in the back. “Jan’s is back there?”

“Yes, but I really wasn’t judging you, I have a million stupid tattoos myself—”

“Right, but because you’re half my age, it’s fine, right?”

“That’s not what I thought at all—”

“Have a good rest of your day.”

Y/N’s left standing there, confusion and embarrassment seeping into her bones, as Harry walks over to Jan’s station.

. . .

Exactly one hour and 45 minutes later, Harry leaves the shop.

Y/N spent the entire time nervously straightening up, sweeping the floors and rearranging their supply closet, trying to decide on what she would say to him when he walked by. She wanted to apologize, especially because she hoped he didn’t say anything to Jan. A client had never complained about her — not once in her three years of working at Jaded, and it would ruin her to know that somebody had a poor experience because of her.

Instead, she chickened out and watched him grab his jacket off the hook. Like every tattoo client leaving, he had a clear piece of film wrap stuck to the inside of his left arm. She wished she could see Jan’s work.

A few minutes later, Jan is heading out, too.

“Don’t stay too late tonight, Y/N. The needles and ink can get sorted tomorrow.” she says, nudging her chin the direction of the closet she’s currently busying herself with. Y/N hums and peeks her head out.

“How was the coverup?” she tries her best to make her voice seem nonchalant, as if she’s sincerely curious in how it went as opposed to finding out if he made any mean comments about the nosy girl in the front.

“Fine,” Jan shrugs as she pulls her car keys from her tote bag, “We didn’t get too far. He’ll be coming in for the next three or four weeks. It’ll take some time to cover that shit up. I’ll see you tomorrow though, yeah?”

Y/N nods robotically and forces out a “get home safe!”.

Three to four weeks?

Harry Styles is going to be the death of her. She’s sure of it.

. . .

The following Tuesday, Y/N has a plan.

When she arrives to work that day, she double checks the schedule to ensure she hasn’t been driving herself insane for a week over nothing (and maybe she has, considering her brain has been a hamster wheel of overthinking a man who uttered a few snarky sentences to her). Sure enough, Harry Styles is scheduled to come in for his second session of covering up his tattoo at 3 p.m. sharp.

Here’s what she decides to do: She’s going to dig her Doc Marten-clad heels into the (metaphorical) ground and politely but assertively tell this Harry Styles that it wasn’t very kind of him to assume she was judging him. After all, isn’t that more judgemental on his end? He had been acting like a classic, wealthy, powerful man, asserting his so-called power over a young woman who was simply trying to make his tattoo experience as seamless as possible. What a dick!

It goes without saying that when he shows up at Jaded at 2:45 p.m., her eyes automatically narrow his form. She’s slightly hopped up on caffeine (she’ll admit, she’s been waiting for this moment all day). She doesn’t even allow herself to to assess his outfit today, which consists of another white tank top, a dark gray blazer, and a pair of matching trousers. It’s similar to what he arrived in last week — all business and ridiculous and stupid, she thinks, especially in comparison to her cutoff denim shorts, vintage band tee-shirt, and platform shoes.

“Hi Harry,” she says, greeting him with a fake, rage-filled smile, “Do you have a moment to chat before your appointment?”

Harry raises his eyebrows, almost as if he’s surprised that she’s even speaking to him to begin with.

“Sure.”

Y/N nods and stands from the front desk, motioning for him to head outside. He does and she follows him, immediately crossing her arms over his chest the second they’re no longer within earshot distance of the shop.

Instantly, a stormy look comes over her face and she flares her nostrils. “Last week when you accused me of judging you for going through a midlife crisis? Yeah, that wasn’t cool. You can’t just do that to people. I get it, you’re a privileged guy who’s used to getting whatever you want in life, but I’m here to put my foot down and tell you that it wasn’t nice. It actually really hurt my feelings! And, you know what, why does it even matter what—”

“You’re right.”

Y/N’s head snaps up.

“What?”

Harry shrugs and stuffs his hands in his pants pockets. “You’re completely right. The second I left, I felt awful. I wanted to say something when I was leaving, but I felt it was better to give you your distance.”

Confused, she fumbles over her words, forgetting where she was in her speech. She clears her throat and nods curtly.

“Yeah. You should feel awful.”

A small smile appears on his lips. “I do. I even brought you a cookie from my favorite bakery by my office building.”

“Really?” she asks, raising her eyebrows.

Harry nods and digs into the work bag on his shoulder. Sure enough, he produces a cookie that’s the size of Y/N’s face. She recognizes the sticker on the wrapping as a bakery that’s downtown — she’ll order pastries and snacks from there for the staff sometimes, but it’s usually too expensive and far away for her to treat them. She accepts it from him, but not before she peers up at him with narrowed eyes.

“What kind is it?” she questions, as if it’s a test.

“Raspberry white chocolate,” he answers. “I didn’t know what you like, obviously, so I went with my favorite. I hope that’s okay.”

She won’t tell him that that’s also her favorite, but she offers him a short nod of approval. She swallows tightly as she looks back up at the taller man. “Thank you for the apology cookie. Do you wanna share it with me?”

The edges of his lips curl up into a grin. “Sure. I have some time to spare before my session.”

Y/N digs into the bag and retrieves the cookie, breaking it in half. She hands a piece to Harry, who murmurs out a soft thank you. Together, they stand outside the shop in silence, each nibbling on their half of the cookie. After a few moments of quiet, Y/N sneaks a glance at his tattoo. Jan was right — they haven’t gotten very far in covering it up since she can still clearly read the three letters that spell out MAY.

Harry must have followed her gaze because he glimpses down at her. “Do you guys get a lot of people covering up dumb tattoos?”

She does her best not to choke on the bit of cookie in her mouth.

“Um, I mean, some people end up regretting… certain things they get,” she replies, stumbling over her words. “You’re, um, definitely not the first to… y’know. Get their partner’s name done.”

He chuckles, but it seems more humorless than anything. “Yeah. Stupid mistake for sure.”

Y/N shrugs her shoulders. “It can’t be that stupid if you learned something from it.”

“What do you mean?”

She swallows the rest of her cookie and leans back against the cool, brick wall of the shop. It feels nice in comparison to the rising temperatures outside. Now that they’re slowly dipping into warmer climates, she finds herself appreciating small instances of cooling down, like an air conditioned coffee shop or the evening draft when the sun’s gone down.

“We all make mistakes or decisions that don’t end up working out. You’re certainly not the first person to get divorced or even get their significant other’s name tattooed,” she explains. “But did you get anything out of the process? Did you learn anything from it?”

Harry thinks for a moment. He hadn’t really considered that — not in the five years since he and May made their divorce official. It was a shitty experience from start to finish, that much was apparent. But when he ponders whether or not anything decent came out of it, he wonders if she has a point.

“I mean, I guess I did. I don’t think I would be where I am, standing here now, if it hadn’t happened.”

She hums. “It wasn’t a complete waste then.”

He shrugs. “I guess not.”

Y/N pulls her phone from the pocket of her shorts and glances at the time. 2:58 p.m.

“We should probably head back inside. Your appointment’s starting soon,” she says, straightening out her posture. “Thank you again for the cookie.”

“Sure,” Harry nods. “Thanks for the advice.”

She shoots him the smallest of bashful smiles in response.

. . .

The following Tuesday, Y/N feels far less intimidated about seeing Harry.

In a weird way, she’s actually looking forward to his 3 p.m. appointment. He’s way more talkative than some of the other clients that come in, and she’d be lying if she said his little cookie stunt from last week hadn’t placed him in her good graces. She also felt as though it was a crime not to acknowledge how attractive he was — she’d noticed it from the first moment he stepped into the shop, but now that they were on better terms, she was more open to recognizing it. Beyond the plethora of tattoos that covered his skin, he didn’t look much like other people Y/N had gone after in the past — not that she was going after him in any way.

Her exes consisted of a rough roster of less than satisfactory partners: There was Declan, who she dated in college, but they broke up after he got kicked out for doing stick-and-poke tattoos in his dorm room. After that was Alice, but it turned out she was just using Y/N to figure out her sexuality and, after three months of dating, decided she didn’t like going down on girls. Lastly and most recently there was Jonathan, who had so many tattoos he lost count. He had big dreams of becoming either a professional skateboarder or a drummer in a punk band, but he didn’t own a bed frame so his mattress took permanent real estate on the dirty, hardwood floor of his loft, and he was constantly sending Y/N Venmo requests for money with captions like “pls babe haven’t eaten in 2 days.” (It’s safe to say that all of those relationships ended for good reasons.)

While she didn’t have any plans to approach Harry romantically, there was something about him that piqued her interest. Well, maybe it was multiple somethings. For one, he was 12 years older than her. She’d never thought about dating someone that much older, but she happened to sneak a glance at his consent form to see his date of birth just out of plain — and legal — curiosity. Harry seemed to have his life together. Every time he came to the shop, he was coming straight from work in what appeared to be a put-together, expensive suit. He always tipped Jan well (30% for each session — Y/N knows because she did the math) and he was kind to all the artists, even if he’d never spoken to them before. And, she had to admit that the communication and vulnerability he offered last week had been a stark change from the treatment she was used to.

Yeah, so maybe she had an eensy, tiny, miniscule crush on Harry. But she’s sure it’ll fade away once he’s finished with his coverup — he only has two sessions left, anyway. How much damage could be done in that small of a timeframe?

. . .

“Y/N, I need you to postpone Harry’s session today!”

Jan’s haphazardly running around and grabbing her things, mumbling out nonsense as she looks for her car keys. Confused, Y/N gets up from her seat at the front desk.

“Is everything okay?” she calls out as she walks over to the jacket closet, grabbing Jan’s keyring off the hook. Shutting the door behind her, she finds Jan scrambling through her office. When her eyes flit up to see the keys in Y/N’s hand, her eyebrows relax as she grabs them.

“Not really,” she mutters, yanking her phone out of her pocket, “You know that girl I’ve been seeing? Lizzy? She was at my place with my dogs today and apparently one of them must’ve eaten something bad because now they won’t stop throwing up. I’m meeting her at the vet downtown. Tell Harry I’m really sorry, okay?”

Jan is gone in a flash, running down the sidewalk to get in her car. Y/N can’t blame her — her dogs are her entire life, so her stomach sinks as she thinks about something bad happening to them. She makes a mental note to text her and check in with her later, but not before she messages Harry to let him know that his appointment is canceled.

When she heads back to her desk, she brings up Harry’s digital paperwork to retrieve his number. They don’t have a phone specifically for the shop, so she has to text him from her personal number, which makes her heart beat a little too quickly for her own good. She nibbles on her bottom lip as she types out a message: Hey Harry, this is Y/N from Jaded. I’m just texting to let you know that Jan had an emergency and can’t tattoo you this afternoon. She’s really sorry about the inconvenience.

She places her locked phone down on the dark mahogany of the desk and tries to ignore the pit of disappointment that settles in her stomach. Had she spent a few extra minutes primping her appearance this morning in preparation to see him? Maybe, and there’s a teensy, tiny part of her that despises herself for it. Harry doesn’t want anything to do with her. She’s 12 years his junior and she’s nothing more than the nice receptionist at the tattoo shop he’s getting a piece done at.

With a self-deprecating sigh, she picks at her fingernails when her phone lights up. She reads Harry’s name across the screen and assumes he’s probably responded with something kind and unassuming; something that will make her heart beat embarrassingly fast in her chest.

That’s okay. Thanks for the heads up.

Are you still at the shop? Maybe we can get together instead.

Y/N’s eyes are the size of saucers as she quickly replies: okay! Where should we meet?

. . .

Harry chooses a coffee shop that’s within walking distance of Jaded. He’s never been there before but each week he noticed Y/N sipping on iced drinks with the name of the cafe sprawled across the cup, so he figured she must like it.

It’s been a long while since a girl has been Harry nervous, and he’s somewhat surprised that she comes wrapped up in a body with sprawling tattoos and piercings, always in cute skirts and platform Doc Martens. She’s sweet — he likes that her shoes are so heavy that he can hear her walking before he sees her and that she fiddles with her nose ring when she’s bored. He likes that her wardrobe is a rotation of baggy band tee-shirts and black jeans or plaid skirts, that her soft, smooth hands are covered in nonsensical designs that likely have stories similar to his — a friend with a tattoo gun, a boring Tuesday afternoon. She’s nothing that Harry has ever been attracted to and yet, she’s everything he wants.

He’s made careful efforts not to put her on a pedestal. At first, he wasn’t sure if he was just horny and depraved — I mean, what kind of guy would walk into the shop and not drool over the pretty, young girl working the front? And while he’s not entirely proud of what he did next, he found it to be a necessary next step: He sorted through his rolodex of hookups, texted his most foolproof girl (a tall, leggy brunette who modeled on the side), and invited her over.

It turns out, Harry could only come when he pretended she was Y/N.

In hindsight, it made him feel gross and icky; lusting over a girl who’s certainly at least 10 years younger. It’s why he forces himself to try — if she rejects him, he can move on with his life and find someone more age-appropriate.

But she doesn’t. In fact, she replies within a minute and asks where she should meet him.

It’s how Harry ends up clutching a small Americano in his hand, sitting in a back booth at Buzzybee Cafe.

He’s nibbling on his bottom lip, nervous and jumpy, keeping his eyes glued on the front entrance. Every now and then, he’ll glimpse down at his phone on the table to check the time. He halfway expects her to text and let him know that she’s not coming — an understandable and believable excuse about getting busy at work or, Harry doesn’t know, maybe not wanting to meet up with someone who’s older. Why would she? She’s capable of getting nearly anyone she wants in this world, she’s pretty and funny and smart and stands up for herself and—

“Hey, Harry.”

His spiraling thoughts come to a screeching halt when he glances up to see the object of his affection standing over him with a small, timid smile on her lips. He blinks, somewhat surprised that she’s there.

In front of him.

And he hasn’t said a thing yet.

“Hey,” Harry finally forces out, his throat bobbing as he swallows nervously, “You made it.”

“Of course!” her eyes light up and he feels his heart thump noisily in his chest, “What’d you get to drink? Do you need anything?”

“Just an Americano,” he answers, trying not to feel lame about his boring drink choice. Y/N wrinkles her face in response.

“You would be one of those manly ‘I-only-drink-espresso-and-black-coffee’ kind of guys, wouldn’t you?”

She says it with a teasing smile and it offers him permission for a small scoff to leave his throat followed by a joking roll of the eyes.

“What, was I supposed to get one of those sugary drinks you always seem to get?” he fires back, making Y/N’s eyes widen.

“They’re not that bad!” she exclaims through plush, lipstick-stained lips, “Here, now I’m gonna order one and make you try it. You’ve dug your grave, Styles!”

She’s turning on her Doc Marten-clad foot to order before Harry has the chance to offer to pay for her order. That had been the plan, but like most things about Y/N, he realizes, those pre-decided upon strategies get tossed out the window the second she pops up. It makes Harry jiggle his leg beneath the table, both as an expression of unfamiliar excitement and nervousness.

She returns to their table with some sort of coffee-hued concoction with whipped cream piled high. It makes Harry’s nose crinkle, and he doesn’t notice that Y/N smiles at the way his skin ripples underneath the cute expression.

“Okay, since you were kind of a dick to me the day we met, you have no choice but to try it.”

Harry’s eyes instantly form into rounded saucers, apologies quick to make it to the tip of his tongue. Before he can start, she puts her hand up.

“I don’t care about it now, you’ve already apologized for it. But the only way for us to move on is if you try my white mocha frappé.”

“Y/N,” Harry sighs. He scoots his elbows forward and peers up at her. “What the fuck is a frappé?”

She giggles before wrapping her lips around the straw, taking a hearty sip of the drink, “It’s like a blended coffee. It’s my go-to when I’m having a shit day.”

“You drink this when you’re having a bad day?” Harry asks as she pushes the cup in his direction. “You don’t think this will fuck your stomach up enough to absolutely ruin your day?”

“No, because it’s a fun treat. And a little treat will brighten up anyone’s day.”

Y/N answers his question like it’s plain and simple science. He wants to continue on about the sugar content, how this is likely a heart attack neatly compiled into a 16-ounce cup, but he can’t — not when he looks at her and she stares back with an expectant expression, waiting for him to take a sip.

“Fine,” he mumbles, flexing his fingers to wrap them around the cold plastic cup, “But promise you won’t bring up my… shortcomings anymore?”

Y/N grins. “Scout’s honor.”

It tastes exactly how Harry expected — sugary, way too sweet, and slightly nauseating. But when he sees that puppy-like look of excitement painted over her face, he can’t help but let out a quiet laugh and shake his head.

“See? That wasn’t too bad.” Y/N replies as she takes her drink back.

“No,” not when you look at me like that, “Not at all.”

. . .

Harry and Y/N sit tucked away in their booth at Buzzybee for far too long.

It’s easy to talk to her, Harry finds. She’s receptive and kind and lets him finish his stories without interrupting. She doesn’t judge him for his divorce, not even when he tells her that he played just as much of a part in ruining his marriage as May did. He tells her about his job as a museum curator, his affinity for playing tennis on the weekends, his six year-long trek with veganism, and his secret passion for hunting down vintage band tee-shirts from the 1970s and ‘80s.

Y/N isn’t ashamed to reveal just as much which, if she’s being honest, is quite uncharacteristic for her. It typically takes weeks, if not months for her to completely warm up to a person and start telling them about her hobbies, family dynamic, and the time her grandma cried when she realized she got her nose pierced. She tells him about how much she loves playing cozy video games on her Nintendo Switch, the myriad of plants and greenery that decorate her loft apartment, and how she actually started working at Jaded to become a tattoo apprentice, but ended up falling in love with working the front instead.

By the time the cafe is closing up and the nice employees are now glaring at them, silently pleading that they leave, Harry feels like he’s known Y/N for a million years. In some weird way, he doesn’t know how he’s gone this long without her bright smile and saccharine laughter in his life. It’s all he can think about as they throw their empty cups away and slowly stroll down the sidewalk, back in the direction of the tattoo shop. He doesn’t mean to be lost in his thoughts as

Y/N chatters on about the latest game she’s been playing in her down time, but he can’t ignore the small shining pit of happiness that’s glowing deep in his belly right now. He’s missed this — this hopeful feeling with the promise of someone special on the other end.

It’s all he can think about as they approach Y/N’s car and, when she turns to face him to say goodbye, he’s already blurting the words out without a second thought.

“Will you go on a date with me?”

She blinks, parting her plush lips as her tongue peeks over the ridges of her two front teeth. “Oh… I thought— this wasn’t a date?”

Harry’s eyes widen, “Oh! I mean— it could if you wanted it to be. I just— I didn’t ask you beforehand and I’d want to do that. And pay for you and all that.”

“I’m sorry if I misunderstood, I just thought— I don’t know what I thought—”

“No, you were right, I was just being dumb—”

“No, no!” Y/N shakes her head and the smile that edges at her lips makes Harry’s chest pulse with relief. “We’re both being silly, I think. I would love to go on a date with you, though.”

“Yeah?” he asks, the slight disbelief apparent in his voice, “Are you free this weekend?”

She nods with a small smile.

“How about Saturday? You can come over and I’ll cook you dinner?”

She has to bite her lip to hide the growing grin on her lips. “Okay. I’ll see you Saturday.”

He watches as she starts her car and pulls away from the curb to make sure she’s safe on her way home.

. . .

On Saturday evening, Y/N shows up to Harry’s house. She wears her favorite black midi dress and matches them with a pair of clunky boots. When she arrives, the smile that encompasses Harry’s face makes her chest glow.

He’d texted her earlier that day to make sure she didn’t have any dietary restrictions and made them a delicious pasta dinner. Afterwards, they cuddle on the couch, Y/N’s heart thrumming quickly in her chest at the close proximity. When it’s finally time for her to go home, Harry seals the deal by smearing his lips against hers. It’s warm and soft and his large palms splay over her hips as she wraps her arms around him, gently playing with the curls at the nape of his neck.

By the time she gets home that evening (texting Harry to let him know she got back safely, per his request), they both know they’re head over heels for one another.

. . .

Perhaps quite predictably, Harry and Y/N start seeing each other more regularly after that first afternoon at Buzzybee Cafe. It’s slow at first — Harry’s nervous about scaring her away, so he sets boundaries with himself, only pledging to text her a few times a week. She’s receptive, though, and he’s thrilled that her messages start coming in more often: Sometimes pictures of dogs that come in with clients to the shop, other times it’s memes that remind her of him. (She’ll sometimes have to explain them to him because he, embarrassingly enough, doesn’t always understand.) Weeks of casual texting complimented by his weekly appointments with Jan tumble into daily good morning texts accompanied by selfies and outfit shots. When his tattoo of his ex-wife’s name is finally covered up by a detailed illustration of a sailing ship, he’s anxious in his realization that he’ll have to come up with new ways to regularly see her, but she’s already two steps ahead of him with an invitation to their second (official, third unofficial) date for the upcoming weekend.

The rest is somewhat history.

Well, sort of.

It’s a month and a half in when Harry asks Y/N to accompany him to a work event at some smarmy art museum in the city. His office had had a huge hand in sourcing the pieces and there were a ton of donors involved, so the museum’s director was throwing some type of soiree to celebrate the opening. Inviting Y/N as his plus one was a no-brainer — call him old fashioned, but he had plans to ask her to be his girlfriend sometime soon. He wanted to make it special, though, maybe with a candlelit dinner at her favorite Thai restaurant or a well thought-out picnic in the park they loved to walk through on the weekends.

“This isn’t, like, on the level of the Met Gala or something, is it?” Y/N asks that evening as she swipes a q-tip beneath the sharp cat eye of her eyeliner. Harry snorts and shakes his head from his spot in the doorway, where he watches as she diligently finishes up her eye makeup. He’d picked her up from work and eaten an early dinner together before they planned to head out to the museum.

“It’s really not a big deal, it’s just a small event with a bunch of snooty art people,” Harry replies nonchalantly, crossing his arms over his chest. He’s wearing a fashionable set tonight, consisting of a powder blue undershirt and a navy blazer with matching trousers. As usual, his fingers don their usual jewelry. When Y/N saw what he was wearing, she’d wanted to match him, but she didn’t have any dresses in her closet that weren’t black. He insisted that it was fine, but there was a teensy sliver of her that felt bad about it.

“How snooty?”

He thinks for a moment. “I mean, no one will be mean to you if that’s what you’re worried about. I’d never let that happen anyway.”

She ignores the way her cheeks warm as she sweeps some bronzer over the structure of her face.

“It’ll be fine, baby,” he murmurs, coming up from behind her. He knows better than to disturb her while she’s doing her makeup, so he waits for her movements to still before he drops a kiss to the top of her head. Her heart stutters at the pet name. “Almost done, yeah? We gotta leave soon.”

“Mhmm,” she nods, picking up her freshly sharpened lip liner, “Just gotta do my lips and put my dress on and we’re good.”

“I don’t know why you’re putting lipstick on when I’m not gonna be able to keep my mouth off yours all night.” he instantly fires back as he issues a squeeze to her waistline. Y/N squeals and bats him away, eager for some peace from Harry’s playful teasing. He chuckles, presses a kiss to her temple, and murmurs out something about calling the Uber as he leaves the bathroom.

Y/N has to force the smile off her face so she can finish applying her lip liner.

. . .

Apparently, when Harry meant “snooty”, he really meant to say, “the most annoying, judgemental, snobby people on planet Earth”.

From the second Harry and Y/N had stepped into the museum that evening, she was on the receiving end of horrified stares. From the colorful ink that decorated her arms to her arm being threaded through Harry’s, it seemed like everyone had something to gawk at. Truthfully, she was used to people looking at her — not in an arrogant, “pick me” kind of way, but in the way where she understood she had tons of tattoos that some people liked and others hated.

But the snide eyes weren’t just because of her ink, and she knows that. It’s because she’s here with Harry.

Harry, who knows nearly everyone at this event.

Harry, who’s apparently one of the most high up curators at his job and Y/N had no idea.

Harry, who’s capable of rubbing elbows with even the rudest of people while Y/N just stands there, unsure of what to say, because when the first person asked her what she does for work and she said “I work at a tattoo shop”, they replied with a simple, disgusted, “oh.”

She feels like an idiot.

She feels small.

She feels judged.

And the person she came here with is doing nothing, aside from the occasional grimace when the conversation finally ends.

Y/N’s last straw comes in the form of one of the museum’s assistant directors, who comes over to thank Harry once again for all of his hard work. When her eyes dart to Y/N, who has one hand curled around yet another glass of fizzy champagne, they widen and pingpong back to Harry.

“Harry, you didn’t tell me you had a daughter!” she exclaims as her lips stretch into a huge grin. Immediately, Y/N’s arm drops from Harry’s and she swallows as bile begins to build in her throat.

“Oh— Gwen, no, this isn’t— t-this isn’t my daughter,” Harry stutters nervously, blinking as he watches the horrified look in Y/N’s eyes. “Um, this is Y/N. We’ve been seeing each other.”

Gwen’s eyebrows raise, “Oh, my mistake. Apologies to you both. I just assumed Harry would spend his time with someone a bit more… savory.” her gaze flits back to Harry. “You must understand.”

Y/N doesn’t allow herself to hear Harry’s response. She knows he’s too kind and professional to chew her up and spit her out the way she wants him to. Instead, she simply slams her glass down on the nearest waiter’s tray, turns around, and rushes out of the building.

The words continue to replay in her head as tears flood her vision. All she wants to do is go home. She never should have entertained this relationship — who does she think she is? Someone a bit more… savory.

You didn’t tell me you had a daughter!

You must understand.

Fat, salty slip down her cheeks as she walks outside, her platform heels clicking against the concrete sidewalk. She doesn’t know where she’s going, instead just picking a direction and walking in it as she uses the back of her hand to wipe the wetness away.

You must understand.

Because everyone, including Y/N now, gets it — she doesn’t fit in to Harry’s world. She never has and she never will, and it was pathetic for either of them to think she ever would.

Gripping her silky dress in her hands, she continues walking as far as she can get from the museum. As her vision begins to clear, she makes half-baked decisions: She’ll order an Uber when the distance from Harry is decent enough to feel comfortable. She’ll block his number. She won’t even care to pick up any of the clothing she’s left at his house, and she’ll simply throw away the few tee-shirts and sweatshirts he’s left at hers.

She doesn’t know how long she’s been walking but she’s ripped from her thoughts when she hears loud calls of her name. She recognizes the voice — how couldn’t she, not when he’s the only person that’s seeped through her psyche and into cotton candy tufts of her dreamland — and tries to quicken her pace. She mentally curses the heels on her feet, sniffling as she begins to limp from the pain of the high platforms.

“Y/N, please! Stop!”

The sound of his shouts only makes her eyes blur with tears once again and suddenly, the tall figure is beside her, panting and breathing loudly. He wraps a careful arm around her shoulders as he matches her slow pace and shushes her, caroling them over to the side in front of a business that’s already closed for the night. Through weepy eyes, she can hardly make out his face, but she can tell it’s Harry just from his touch and scent alone.

“Baby, please,” he says, slowly smoothing his hand down her back. It’s comforting and she wishes it wasn’t. “You have to breathe, honey. C’mon, inhale and exhale.”

Y/N’s brain is a wash of noisy static so she welcomes the direction, quickly abandoning her plans to remove herself from Harry’s life. It helps that he’s reminding her of how to do the most basic of human functions, guiding her in slow, deep breaths that start to regulate her speeding heart.

“There you go, sweetheart. You’re doing so good.”

When she finally manages a glimpse up at him, his eyes are bleary and red-rimmed. She finds it difficult to believe that he would’ve been crying over her, too, so she quickly blinks and looks away.

“What happened back there?” Harry asks, his throat bobbing with a swallow, “I know that was weird, but why did you run? Why couldn’t you have talked to me?”

Y/N can’t fight the scoff that forces itself free from her chest. “All night, people were staring at me like I was some kind of alien. As if my tattoos weren’t enough of a reason to gawk, they were looking at me like I didn’t even deserve to be standing next to you. I felt pathetic, Harry. I just— I don’t fit in with this lifestyle and I think it’s better if we just… just leave it.”

“What lifestyle?” Harry demands as his eyebrows thicken with anger, “I’m not like them, you know that—”

“I don’t want to go places and have people think I’m your daughter, Harry!” she yells with wide eyes, “I don’t want to be looked down upon if we go to a work thing for you! People acted like I was your fucking sugar baby. Do you know how demeaning that is?”

“And do you realize how disgusting that makes me feel?” he seethes. “Bringing someone 12 years younger than me? Being in love with someone who wasn’t even around for the first part of my life?”

“You don’t mean that,” Y/N breathes, shaking her head in angry dismissal. “You’re just saying that.”

Harry takes a hesitant step closer and reaches out to cradle her elbow. “Yes, I do. I would never lie to you, Y/N. But I love you— I love you so much that it’s killing me that you would ever think you don’t have a place in my life.”

“I don’t, Harry—”

“You do,” he cuts her off and reaches to take her hands in his palms, squishing her cheeks together. “I don’t give a fuck what anyone else says or thinks. I don’t care what they think of us. I love you, Y/N. I want you in my life.”

Y/N swallows harshly. She can’t escape his locked-in gaze, but she doesn’t want to. It’s all she needed, even if she didn’t realize it until now — the verbalization that he wants her there. And that’s enough.

“Okay,” she whispers, nodding her head in his grasp. His eyes widen. “Okay. I want to be in your life, too.”

“You promise?”

A small smile curls at the edges of her lips. “I promise,” she says, leaning forward to press a light kiss to his lips. “Take me home now, please.”

. . .

The second Harry and Y/N walk through the doorway of his place, it’s a blurry scene of spit swollen lips, wet kisses, and sprawling touches.

Harry imagined their first time being far more romantic than this, but he doesn’t care. Neither of them do. Now, more than ever, they need each other.

The air is thick with tension when Harry momentarily breaks their kiss only to shed Y/N of the straps on her shoulders. He gently tugs them down to her shoulders before slowly traveling down her body, sliding his large palms over the silky fabric of her dress to meet her platform heels, where he diligently unbuckles them and slips them off her feet.

“Thank you,” she breathes, watching as he gets back up from his knees. He hums and cups her chin with his fingers, bringing her closer to lightly kiss her lips.

“I want to show you that you’re not making a mistake,” he whispers as he gently leans his forehead up against hers. “That giving me a chance is something you won’t regret.”

Immediately she shakes her head. Despite the close view of her face, Harry can tell her eyebrows knit together; a familiar furrow whenever she’s particularly determined.

“I know it’s not. You don’t have to show me anything.”

He notices that her fingers shake as she brings them up to his neck, winding them around to the back of his head. He swallows, allowing her the space to experiment, both verbally and physically.

And then: “I love you, Harry.”

At first, he doesn’t say anything. His heart races and his chest feels warm as he blinks, repeating the words in his brain.

Finally, raspberry lips part.

“You don’t have to say that just because I said it,” he murmurs, thumbing over the apple of her cheek. “We can go slow. There’s no pressure.”

“I know,” she nods, “I know. But I do. I love you so much.”

A pause.

“I love you,” Harry says, sliding his hands down the curves of her sides and to her waist. “Fuck, I love you, Y/N.”

“Don’t stop saying it.” she whispers. His fingers dip below the material of her dress and she swallows when he finds the bare skin of her hips. Exhaling shakily, she allows him to pull her lacey underwear down over the bend of her bum, letting them pool uselessly at her feet.

“I love you.” he says again, his hands suddenly at her wrists. He uses his gentle grasp to lift her arms up so he can push the dress up and over her body, leaving her in just the strapless bra she’d fit herself into for the evening. Just as quickly, his skilled fingers pop the clasp open, and they’re in a futile pool of Y/N’s clothes while Harry stands before her, still in his navy blue ensemble.

It’s a vulnerable place to be but she doesn’t hate it — not when he stares at her with soft eyes, dragging his gaze up and down the expanse of her form. She wants to cover herself, but she doesn’t. Instead, she reaches forward and thumbs open the button of his blazer before sliding the fabric off his torso. Just as he did to her, he watches as she slowly sheds him of his shirt, then his trousers, and finally, his briefs.

His cock is thick and long and Y/N’s hand immediately loops around it the second it slaps up against his lower belly. He hisses and grabs her hips, pressing blunt fingernails into the soft skin as he pushes her back against the couch. All too flawlessly, he’s now given himself the upper hand, hovering over her naked body, his biceps bulging as he keeps himself up.

“Please,” she says breathily, “I want you. No teasing.”

Harry huffs out a guttural chuckle as he begins to plant kisses along her collarbones and down to her chest, landing just above her belly button.

“I’m big,” he murmurs into her skin. “‘M not trying to tease. Just don’t want to hurt you.”

“I can do it,” Y/N insists, her voice growing whiney with need. “Don’t wanna wait any longer.”

"You're cute when you beg." Harry mumbles out in response as his lips curve into a smirk. Her jaw drops a smidge, prepared to respond, but he quickly stretches over her body to press his lips to hers again. Just as it was the moment they came home, the kiss is frantic and driven with energy, filled with tension and electricity. Harry catches each of her noisy whimpers with his lips, a groan of his own on the verge of tumbling out. He feels her squeeze her thighs together and assumes it’s an attempt to relieve some of the pressure building in her core, making his cock continue to swell between their bodies. If he wanted to, he knows he could get them off just like this — him grinding against the soft skin of her stomach while he dips a few fingers into her sopping pussy. But they both need more than that.

Again, he breaks this kiss, this time resulting in a rather frustrated Y/N. Her lips are slicked with spit and swollen from the frenzied kissing, his likely appearing the same.

"Is this okay?"

"Yes," she breathes, nodding her head like a bobblehead, "Yes, I want you. Please."

"You want me?" he teases, and she has to resist rolling her eyes at the sudden uptick of arrogance. "That's awfully forward of you. What happened to my sweet good girl?"

"I'm still here," she whines, "Harry, please, you're— you're being mean, you know what I want."

He ducks under her jaw to press soft kisses along her neck, gently sucking at spots of skin. Light splotches appear from the welcomed assault, ensuring that they remember this long after it’s over. She instantly weaves her painted fingernails into his curly hair.

"Tell me what you want." Harry demands, placing his hands on either side of her head. He keeps his palms flush against the throw pillow, caging her in. Her face begins to flush and her lips flutter over the words, so he leans down to brush his nose against hers; a reminder that she’s safe. "Go ahead, bun."

"I want you to fuck me," she mumbles, her bottom lip nearly quivering with need. She looks like she could cry all over again — only this time, for good reasons.

He reaches his hand up to her mouth, jutting his thumb out to pull at her lip. Immediately responsive, she parts her lips, making him smile as he pushes his finger inside. She sucks at it lightly.

"You're so good. So cute, so good," he says softly, watching her. "I want you just as bad, sweet girl. Y'sure you're ready for my cock? I haven't even seen your pretty pussy yet—"

"Shut up," she mutters out, his thumb laying heavy on her tongue. "I can take it. Promise.” He lets out a laugh at her sudden boldness. He removes his finger from her mouth, mumbling out a greedy girl as he leans down to wrap his lips around a nipple, moving his hand down to her mound.

At risk of her snapping at him again, he presses a thumb to her clit, applying just enough pressure to make her gasp. He begins to circle his thumb tightly, her muscles suddenly tightening underneath his grasp. Selfishly, he takes joy in watching her slowly crumble underneath him, her soft whimpers growing into moans when he dips his finger further down, circling her hole once, twice, before dipping in.

"H," she whined, her eyes screwed shut."What, bunny?"

"I— please, need your cock, no more teasing."

He stills his fingers inside of her, gently pulling them out. On any other day, maybe he would have persisted with the slow burn of pleasure, but he’s feeling just as desperate as her. He wraps his fist around the head of his cock, using strings of her arousal to slowly pump, relieving some of the built up pressure.

"Y'still good, baby?" he asks, resisting the groan at the tip of his tongue.

"Yes, daddy."

His head snaps up to see an arrogant smirk painted on her features. "Are you gonna fuck me now?"

This time, he finally does let out a moan.

Shuffling his knees forward, he rubs his cock against her core, painting the tip from her clit to her hole, up and down, until she wiggles her hips down. He smirks as she lets out a pathetic whine. Slowly, he pushes forward, the tip of my cock instantly encased by her tight walls. He hisses at the feeling and reaches down to grab her hip, his hand gripping her skin tightly.

"More," she chokes, nodding her head eagerly, "Please, more, daddy."

Once he knows that she’s not in any pain from the intrusion, he keeps going until his hips are flush against her warm skin, his cock buried deep inside of her. Her plush lips form a soft 'o' as she reaches forward to rake her nails down my chest, a silent plea to move.

"You feel so fucking good, bunny," he mutters out as he begins to snap my hips, slowly building a steady pace. He’s careful not to push her too quickly, but the fear of coming too fast is consistent in his brain. Despite sleeping with his fair share of people, he’s never felt so complete inside of someone. The way her pussy is so snug and tight around his cock makes him feel like an addict.

She’s a moaning mess beneath him, her fingernails pressing harshly into his back. Her eyes are wide and teary now, making him smirk as he lifts a finger to wipe the liquid away.

"Don' need to cry, babe, you're doing so good for me." he says, leaning down to pepper kisses over the surface of her face.

"Yeah?" She gasped, her hand snaking down the length of her body. Her fingertips quickly find her clit and he looks down to watch her make tight little circles into the skin.

"So fuckin' good," he mumbles, entranced by the sight of her touching herself, "y'gonna cum all over daddy's cock, angel girl?" She nods eagerly and he speeds up his thrusts, desperate to make her finish before he manages to explode. He can feel his muscles clenching, her pussy somehow getting even tighter with every movement.

"What do you need?" he grits out with a clenched jaw.

She’s moments away from finishing now; he can feel and see it, but he’s determined to push her over the edge. Swallowing harshly, her jaw drops as she mumbles out, "c-choke me, please."

Groaning, he wraps his hand around the column of her throat, pressing gently against her windpipe. He watches as her eyes roll back and feels the way her muscles instantly contract around his cock, triggering his own orgasm to approach. At the sounds of her moans, he quickly pulls out and pumps his cock twice before finishing all over her stomach and chest, a splatter of come painting itself on her soft skin. They’re both breathless and Harry resists the urge to completely collapse against the girl beneath him. He would have, if not for Y/N’s closed eyes as she catches her breath. In the silence of the moment, he takes in the appearance of her naked body covered in his come. Grimacing slightly at his softening prick, he grabs his boxers and shuffles them over his hips. He stands from the couch and straightens his posture when he hears a sleepy mumble from below. "Where are y'going?" "Gonna clean you up," Harry says softly, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead, "be right back, 'kay, bunny?” Y/N asleep before he returns a few minutes later with a wet washcloth. He sits at the edge of the couch and gently runs it over her body, wiping away the remnants of their intimacy. Her eyes blink open when she realizes he’s returned, granting him a small, lazy smile. He returns it. “You did so good for me,” he murmurs, tossing the dirty cloth on the floor. He’ll throw it in the washing machine later, but right now, taking care of this sleepy, fucked out lump is the top priority. “Do you wanna go upstairs and change? Go to sleep in my bed?” She shakes her head. “Let’s sleep down here. Too tired to move.” And yeah, maybe Harry hasn’t slept on a couch since he was in his 20s because he has back problems. Yes, his hips will surely ache from sharing the space with the girl he’s been crushing on for months. Surely, they’ll shift positions multiple times throughout the night as they attempt to find something that’s semi-comfortable for the both of them. But he’ll do anything to see Y/N smile. “Sure, baby,” he replies, grabbing a soft throw blanket from the end of the couch. He wiggles himself into her side so he’s holding her from behind, tossing the cozy material over their bodies. “G’night. Lemme know if you need anything.”

She hums, and then it’s silent.

Harry allows his eyes to fall closed, sinking into the comfort of the warm girl beside him. It’s only then that he hears her inhale, followed by seven soft words: “I love you, Harry. I mean it.”

He tucks his face into her shoulder and hides the grin that stretches over his face.

“I love you, Y/N. I mean it.”

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penelopepine · 2 months

Text

Little Purple Stars Pt. 2

Part 1 Part 2

Ghost x FemReader x Soap

Content: Soulmate AU, fluff, no angst

Despite having made contact with your soulmates it had taken another 2 weeks before finally being able to meet up in person. They had managed to get in contact with your coach though and the three of you were able to exchange phone numbers.

It turns out that Sun and Moon, or Johnny and Simon as you know them now, had found each other a while ago. They had just been waiting for you to show yourself; which led you to where you were now. Sitting on a plane making your way to England; to them.

You wished that you could've dropped everything and ran to them, but you needed to stay and cheer on your fellow teammates during their events. That didn't mean you weren't almost constantly talking or texting with them though.

Johnny and Simon talking over the phone matched the way they drew. With Johnny being talkative and open; while Simon was more reserved and added his input when he deemed it necessary. Their voices had initially surprised you, but surprise was soon replaced by butterflies in your chest with the way they said your name.

Plans were quickly made to meet up as soon as you were able to. Everything was happening so fast, but at the same time not fast enough.

All throughout the plane ride Johnny and you had been exchanging little doodles; Simon adding his little hearts next to all of them. Making sure to let you know that he was here, and engaged with what you two were doing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated, we are about to land in just a moment." The pilot announced to the plane; it was time. Time to meet your soulmates. You had a photo of them already, Johnny had sent it on the second day of you three talking to each other saying it was only fair that you know what they look like as well.

The photo has been very cute, you may or may not have made it your phone's screen saver. It was them lying down together with Johnny smiling wide at the camera while Simon's face was partly hidden behind Johnny's head. Leaving you only to see his intense stare and blonde hair.

You make your way off the plane to the baggage claim making sure to keep an eye out for two certain individuals. It isn't until you spot a giant sign with your name on it surrounded by purple stars do you finally see them.

Simon is standing stoically, a bouquet of flowers in his hands, and with a plain black face mask covering the bottom half of his face.

Johnny on the other hand is practically jumping where he stands. He is also holding onto the sign and starts to excitedly shake it once he catches your eyes. "Lass, over here!" He yells as he pats on Simon's shoulder before pointing to where you're currently standing.

You can't help but smile watching them. Doing your best to not all out run to them as they too start to walk towards you.

As soon as you’re in arms reach Johnny drops the signs and picks you up. Spinning the two of you in circles, giggling while holding onto one another. He quickly places you down right in front of Simon.

"These are for you." Simon holds out the flowers for you to take.

"They're beautiful!" You bring the flowers close to your chest smelling them before you hesitantly open your arms out in a hug. It seems that was all Simon needed before he too was pulling you close to his chest; holding you tight.

"Well done love, winning the gold, we're disappointed we weren't able to be there, but just know we were watching you the whole time." Simon whispers before he releases you from his grip kneeling down and picking up your bag. Obviously ignoring your remarks about how you can carry your own stuff.

"Aye let him carry it lass heaven knows once he gets his hands on something he doesn't let go." Johnny says, giving you a wink.

"Oi don't start with that now Johnny."

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true Lt." A mischievous grin spreads on his face as he turns to face you, "Simon here might act all big and tough, but I promise ya he's a softie."

"I'll keep that in mind next time we train MacTavish. Let's see if you still feel that way afterwards."

In a faux whisper that clearly meant for all to hear Johnny leans into your ear and says, "See what did I tell ya; a softie that one."

Simon doesn't say anything, simply glares at the other man in front of him.

You couldn't help but laugh at how the two are acting. It's cute to see them bickering with one another; you feel content to just listen to them talk.

Upon hearing you laugh both turn towards you. Simon's eyes lose that glare once making eye contact with you. "I can be soft for you though, love." His hand comes up to caress your check.

You feel your face become hot as his hand continues to touch you for just a few more moments before pulling away as he looks towards the other. “Johnny, pick up the sign and let’s get out of here.”

"Aye, let's get you home bonnie! We have the entire day planned out for you; starting with you taking all the relaxation you need. Take a nap, shower, or whatever you need while me and the big guy here make our ice princess a very special meal."

Johnny holds your hand, and Simon has a hand on the small of your back as the three of you make your way out of the airport.

Home that was a good way to describe what you were feeling right now; you felt like you were home right now standing between the two of them. There was still a lot you had to learn about them, but you would gladly spend a million lifetimes doing so if needed.

End Notes:

Thank you to everyone who has read and enjoyed this! It really does mean a lot to me. I plan to start writing more so if anyone has any ideas swing them my way and I'll see what I can do!

#ghost x reader x soap #john soap mctavish x reader #x reader #simon riley x reader #ghost x reader #soap x reader #fem reader #soulmates au

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isa-ghost · 3 months

Note

amfmn missa.. p please.. please mother … feed us

I'M BEING ENABLED PPOVERHEAT

He's an actual grim reaper. That's where he's disappeared to so often in canon, reaper duties. It's a very demanding job, you know.

Doesn't stop him from feeling terrible about being gone so often though. He misses his husband and kids and hates how often he's out of the loop :(

Fr though Phil and the kids make him so so happy after spending countless hours working such a sad job. It's also partially why he sings and makes art. That brand of fun is catharsis for the soul.

He has all his canon weapons but I ALSO gave him a reaper deathscythe. And boy is he gonna use it. Fucking AWOOGA MissaSinfonia when he's angry.

Btw as a reaper he can FEEL souls. He can see their power, their condition, feel the surface level emotions and personality of its owner. This will come in handy later in the fic. ;)

As per the post I made asking for Missa appreciation so I can characterize him properly: He's undyingly loyal, he fights hard and loves even harder, he's protective, silly, and goddamn can he flirt.

All his wet cat behavior is a result of getting too overwhelmed by The Horrors. He's seen A Lot as a reaper. But somehow Quesadilla Island and all its... Everything. Always manage to show him a new brand of What The Fuck he's never even imagined before. Hence all his screaming and weeping when he's caught up on what he's missed. Like how tf else is he supposed to react??

Somewhat attached to that, he and Phil rlly were a match made in Federation Heaven bc they both have issues with self-doubt despite being insanely skilled and sharp-witted. Missa is better abt it than Phil though. His only acts up when he messes up a lot or just. Doesn't have a clue how to handle a situation where it's dire that he does. It's more of an insecurity about being unprepared and failing his loved ones than it is a doubt he has skill. He KNOWS he does, he hates when it's not enough. That's how he differs from Phil, who thinks he has none at all.

Btw when you fuck with the people he's protective over, he gets PISSED. We're getting a LOT of pissed off Missa in AMFMN <3 Ofc there'll be a lot of reaper tears too, his husband is suffering and there's little he can do about it. :( But ohohoho when the sad turns into rage. BARK WOOF. Eventually he decides EK is catching these hands and scythe.

He also shakes hands with his husband on being a self-sacrificing little shit. And. Yeah this is gonna happen later in the fic. (He's not dying dw dw)

You have no idea how excited I am that I basically get to build his dynamics with Fit, Etoiles, and Bagi from scratch. I'm so hyped. People are welcome to reply with this with any crumbs we have of their dynamics in canon but afaik they've rarely interacted outside of very minor moments, so AMFMN will largely be a sandbox for me to establish what I THINK they'd be like. Which in my fic plan so far, is largely taking each character's personality and applying how I think they'd react to a situation, and how that would look when two of them are interacting in that situation. Ex: at one point Etoiles has to comfort Missa bc he's just having a ROUGH time with this saving Phil stuff. But Etoiles is NOT a comfort guy. So he does his Etoiles thing: hearing Missa out while also cracking his usual brand of jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood.

I also have a plot point planned with him and Bagi when shit is hitting the fan the hardest and OUUGHHH. That self-sacrificing shit am I right.

God I'm being so mean to him specifically in AMFMN though. Ender King is a sack of shit, he knows exactly who to harass most using Phil's body >:/

See in my AMFMN Fitza headcanons, I said they're each other's confidants. Which IS true. However, no one in the fic gets the honor of Phil FINALLY communicating with someone about his issues other than his husband. Missa is the person he caves and confesses things to. Missa gets the HC Deity lore and what's been happening to him lately. This is actually what Chapter 3 is :D

Also I am so sorry but I'm sliding a Missa Romantic Love Confession attempt into the fic and it gets interrupted by The Horrors. But yeah Missa is romantically in love with Phil, he just respects that Phil sees things platonically. He still wants to communicate his feelings though.

#qsmp #qsmp pissa #pissa #qsmp philza #qsmp missa #AMFMN things #deathduo #qsmp deathduo

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lia-snow · 1 year

Note

Blue lock ask what is your opinion on ryusae

They are everything that matters(?) Ahahah

Are you talking about the ship in general, or the ship in THAT order? If it's the former, the manga put it very clearly: they are a match made in heaven. I think what attracted Sae to pick Shidou from all the bllk players (aside from his booty :p) was his wild style; but also that he knows he needs someone/something to still take that free spirit in a better direction. I love that they complement each other not only in the game but also personality wise. One is a condescending little genius and the other is a walking menace, so I think not a lot of their fellow players can stand them, but with each other? They just work. I think even though Shidou might be a little pushy, he still respects Sae's boundaries. And I think Sae also showed he can give in a little to Shidou's wants. They're just perfect for each other <3

As for the later. I have to say I do like defined roles in my ships (and before anyone starts: yes, I understand that's not how real relationships works). So I prefer Shidou on the bottom if I'm being honest. Shidou being a power bottom is an image that lives rent free in my head ww, he's very pushy alright but I also think he'd love to be… dominated ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Plus, Sae has a lot of boss energy.

BUT, for this ship specifically, I really don't mind the order. Sae being in the bottom is fine too. I can picture it and I understand why people think Shdou would be the one to seduce Sae and try to be the one in charge. I think both ways work perfectly. If you're asking about my preference, defintely boss Sae and bottom Shidou would be my choice tho <33 Can't you just picture Shidou on a leash and bowing to Sae? haha :p

(This image does not illustrate my point at all wwww but you get the idea(?))

#reply #blue lock #sae x shidou

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vibrantpuppeteer · 6 months

Text

So, it's been a couple of days since the final preview for The Indigo Disc. Gonna put thoughts and cover what We've heard below a break. If you don't wanna read them, thanks for reading this far.

🚧 Potential spoilers beyond this line.🚧

🚨Last chance to back out.🚨

✅Okay, spoilers start here.✅

First off, the Synchronization Machine. Holy heck, they're letting us play /as/ Pokémon in a mainline game! Apparently, Pokémon that can fly will be able to fly while you control them. Can't wait!

Second, the return of static Legendaries! With their themes, no less! That means there's probably going to be new versions of the themes, which means We get to hear the theme of best bird (Ho-oh) for the first time since HGSS! They're doing it right!

The guy who makes the snacks for the Legendaries is apparently named Snacksworth in the English version. Nice name, very fancy.

The big rumor is that the actual name for Dokutaro starts with a P, likely a Pe. Best potential name We heard so far would be based on the phrase "peachy keen" to match the vibe of the loyal three's names, but Pokémon-ified (Maybe spelled Peachikeen?)

FLYING IS BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE ORAS! Yeah, We knew this for a while by now, but still. This is great! Temporarily at first, but unlocked fully eventually.

There's more Area Zero beneath Area Zero. This includes a mysterious tree fully made of crystals. Maybe a way to encounter the opposite of your box legendary?

Speaking of that tree, We have a feeling it's going to be connected to Dokutaro in some way or another. Then again, sometimes a suspicious crystal tree is just a suspicious crystal tree.

Yeah, of course Kieran is going to challenge us. Nobody's really surprised that the character who was swearing to get stronger than us will be making good on that promise.

The Paradox Legends do /not/ seem to be raid exclusive, thank the heavens.

#pokémon #pokémon violet #pokémon scarlet and violet #Pokémon scarlet #Pokémon dlc #the indigo disc spoilers #Pokémon spoilers #Pokémon dlc spoilers #spoiler warning

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br333 · 2 years

Note

been looking through all those other benson ships and like. Pam x Benson is the only one I genuinely like 🤘🤘 I mean THEY'RE A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD 🙌👌

Thank you op for all your crop-watering sweetness ☺️💗

Tbh yea, when it comes to Benson ships outside of him and Pam, i'm not at all a fan either |:P

And you're welcome !! 💕😌💖

#regular show #ask #pamson

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frenchfrywrites · 2 years

Note

hey can you write jealous bros hcs but like make it spicy with amab reader pls?

Jealousy HCs (but they're a bit spicy ;))

MINORS DNI

some of these got kinda toxic teehee :P cw for (intense) possessiveness?

Lucifer

He does not get jealous often

Or does he just not show it often? ;)

Nah seriously I think he’s pretty secure

However it does happen every once in a while

He starts to peacocks himself whether or not he notices it

He’ll show you how much better he is than the other person

Even if you reassure him that you’re only interested in him, he can’t help it

This follows him into the bedroom

He’ll ride you, suck your dick, and do just about whatever he can to show off his skill and desire for you

He gets more submissive when he’s jealous

He doesn’t need praise or reassurance, he just needs you to know that you’ve got a very powerful (and hot) demon under your control

Mammon

Gets jealous semi-easily

Immediately becomes possessive and clingy

If it’s easily accessible he’ll wear his collar (or any other wearable gifts you’ve given him) to get your attention

Begs for hickeys or bruises and totally tries to mark you up too

He’s gotta make the other person know you’re his and he’s yours

He’s even more into piss play when he’s jealous (if that’s even possible)

It’s got something to do with marking you/scenting you for him

His breeding kink also gets amped up

He needs a lot of reassurance and praise to feel better but also gets over it quick (especially when you stroke his ego (and his cock))

Leviathan

Oh my god. He gets SO jealous all the time. Literal avatar of envy jdakjdg

Most the time he becomes very insecure and wallows in self pity

If you fuck him when he’s like that do it slow and sweetly with heavy amounts of praise

Luckily I think he kinda gets over it quickly (because he experiences it so often)

He just needs a lot of reassurance in general

Though sometimes he gets really possessive of you

He feels the need to show you how obsessed he is with you

If he’s made any fanfiction or fanart about the two of you (and he has) he may leave it out for you to find

Then when you’re fucking him, his tail will wrap around you tightly (maybe a bit too tight)

And afterwards he’ll beg for you to stay deep inside him until he feels better

Satan

Doesn’t get jealous often

When he does, he gets angry (because he thinks it’s silly that he got jealous)

He’ll beg you to either fuck him hard or indulge in pet play or do some hypno so he can work out his anger

He might scratch or bite you, getting out his anger and marking you (a win win for him)

If you want to avoid that, gag him

Though he’ll beg for you to mark him in return

However you want to do that is fine for him

Once he’s calmed down (and fucked dumb) he’ll apologize

He gets over it quick because he’s usually pretty secure about your relationship

Asmodeus

Hm.. I don’t think he gets jealous often but when he does… oh man he’s scary

He’ll lock you in his room (and maybe kill the other person)

He never wants to hurt you tho

You just have to know that it was silly to give that other person attention when you have Asmodeus, former jewel of the heavens, at your beck and call

I think he’ll be more submissive and attentive to you when he’s jealous

Tell him what you want, no matter what it is he’ll do it to impress you and to remind you what you have

He’ll be bragging about your relationship, posting more, doing whatever you please, even the smallest thing like wearing matching clothes/accessories to show that you’re together

Beelzebub

He probably doesn’t get jealous too much, but it happens occasionally

He’ll get sad and mopey when he gets jealous

You'll be able to tell something's wrong that's for sure

He might be more affectionate too

His breeding kink gets amped up to 100

He’ll beg you to breed him and give him kids

(cough cough baby trapping you)

Beel will also want you to stay inside him and with him for as long as possible when he’s jealous

Like he’s trying to break a world record for how long someone can cockwarm

He gets over his jealousy with heaps of praise

Belphegor

Honestly I see him as getting jealous quite frequently

He’s just not very expressive about it, nor does he let it consume him

I think he could get very possessive during sex though

While he’s stroking you off he’ll mumble “mine”

And when you start fucking him he’ll softly moan “I’m yours” and drag his nails across your back and chest or nibble you to leave his mark

Again he’s not too expressive about it

But his eyes will give him away

He looks at you like you’re the world (and the other person is dirt 😈 (and when you interact he glares))

He gets over his jealousy when you call him yours and get equally possessive

#rq #spice #obey me #brainrot #cw possessiveness #p/iss #cw pet play #cw hypno #mentioned but still

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opera25 · 3 years

Note

Bdubs eating anything could mean that he's the taste tester for whatever strange and sometimes worrying drinks and cakes makes. Also I wanna think Scar is also sometimes asked to taste test something. Sometime's it's nice, sometimes it's just... madness. Like, Grian goes "Scar drink this" and it's an energy drink mixed with coffee and tea

PURI I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW YOU KEEP COMING UP WITH SUCH BANGER IDEAS, I RESPECT YOU SM

Yeah Bdubs is pretty much human kirby, that means he's the only one who dares to Etho's experimental food that he sometimes makes. They're a match made in heaven your honor! (/p)

OMG TASTE TESTER SCAR!! YES I've been waiting for C-aha-fe Crew and Scar's shenanigans!! God they better not hurt scar too much though... or else >:(

#MLL #OLL #ope ask

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yjwonz · 2 years

Note

If you're comfortable, ship your moots!!!

LMAOOO YES LETS GOOO im shipping them w anime characters bc if I ship them w each other it'll take me an additional 5 hours so

@katsdni and shinsou . listen, shinsou doesn't give a shit. theo doesn't give two shits. a match made in heaven really

@luvguji and akaza . I've learned ciel likes men who make donuts <3

@kiyokumura and monoma bc they're the exact same person idk

@p-ol and me idc idc

@nnotemo and megumi bc it just makes sense in my head

@gogogostopsatorugojo and draken lwk idk they give the same cool vibe

@kenvais and kazutora ofc ofc

@ittosfav and thoma bc I feel like they'd get along well idk

@xiaovais and baji- now listen I was gonna do chifuyu but xiao and baji would be a menacing power couple could write an essay abt why I think xiao and baji would be a great couple dawg

@chifemi and me kakucho OKAY LISTEN IT MAKES SENSE IN MY HEAD BUT I CANT EXPLAIN IT

@zukudni and tsuyu bc in a way it makes sense to me???

lmk if I missed you, pretty sure I missed like half my moots but these were the first that came into my head idk ANYWAYS ILY GUYS

#here comes the angry people oh em gee #ALSO ANON IF YOU MEANT LIKE W EACH OTHER IM SRRY BUT I COULDNT THINK OF ANYTHING !!!#but anyways boom

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annebrontesrequiem · 2 years

Note

Xxxholic for the fandom ask pls🥺

Of course!

The first character I first fell in love with:

Yuuko 100%, it was love at first sight, and even now everytime I rewatch the first episode of xxxHolic or reread the first chapter my heart flutters. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

Hmm... probably Himawari? I wouldn't say I disliked her at any point, but I think I used to find her character sort of flat. I pretty much loved all the characters, so it was mostly just her seeming kinda forgettable. Now however I am hardcore Himawari stan, and will not condone any slander against her. She deserves all the love. The character everyone else loves that I don’t:

Maybe Jurogumo? I guess I would say that I don't really love the "I'm teaching you a lesson" antagonist, I prefer a more organic character growth. Her telling Watanuki "You are being stupid and need to learn to value yourself more" doesn't work as much as, say, Yuuko telling Watanuki that or Domeki potentially sacrificing his and Watanuki's relationship to keep him alive. It sort of muddies her motive as a character a bit. But I don't dislike her per se. I guess I'm just kinda neutral. She is pretty though.

Also Kohane. I can't really explain why, I think it's more her role in the story later on [spoilers] as Domeki's spouse which I believe is canon (?) I personally think that's weird and a great disservice to her character arc. Tbh I can't tell if my dissatisfied feelings about where her character arc ended with the feathers and all are me disliking her or that particular storytelling decision. Probably a bit of both. Another case where I don't dislike her I guess I'm just kind of neutral, and I wish her arc hadn't been so rushed and ended like it did. I feel bad saying I dislike her lol, she is baby.

I would have once also added Domeki since I had p neutral feelings on him, or so I thought, but after sobbing for five hours at the end of xxxHolic I can safely say that is not the case (that last line of Watanuki talking to 'Domeki' made me just burst into tears). The character I love that everyone else hates:

Maybe Zashikiwarashi? I don't know if people hate her but I think some people dislike her dynamic with Watanuki and the romantic tensions cause Domeki. But I don't know if people hate her.

Tbh I've never heard of people hating xxxHolic characters so I can't really answer this. Maybe possessed art student? The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

I love basically every character in this stupid series, so this is kinda hard to answer. Uhhh, it's been ten minutes lol.

Honestly, I can't name any. The character I would totally smooch:

Yuuko, Yuuko, Yuuko. The character I’d want to be like:

Honestly? Watanuki. I think it's easy to ignore how strong Watanuki is; he has to be to survive all that he has. His ability to keep on clinging to hope and his determination to survive to see what he wants done is honestly really inspiring, and I wish I was more like that. The character I’d slap:

Watanuki lol. I did just compliment him, but also WHY YOU IDIOT CHARACTER DID YOU MAKE THE DECISIONS YOU DID?! A pairing that I love:

Ame and Zashikiwarashi. Yeah I know they're a rarepair, like, a really rarepair, but this is the ship I have the most investment in hands down. I would die for this disaster bisexual and her mean lesbian girlfriend, I really would. Match made in heaven, 11/10 flawless. A pairing that I despise:

Disclaimer I am not attacking anyone who ships this I'm sure you have great reason to do so and I can see completely why some people ship these two characters. You are totally valid even if I disagree with you and I love you.

Yuuko x Watanuki. I feel like to have to explain their relationship via romance is just kinda derivative. Their bond is incredibly strong without having to be romantic, it is a perfect platonic idea of love, a combination of philia and storge. Though Watanuki begins as basically Yuuko's prodigy, by the end I see them as equals. They both care deeply for each other in totally selfless ways and without thought to each other.

I honestly think their dynamic is just a beautiful example of how important a relationship can be without being romantic, and I just am sick of the idea that for a relationship to really matter it has to be romantic. So the romantic pairing of them kinda feels hollow and frustrating. Is the only way we can comprehend these two characters' relationships romantic love? Absolutely not. It's hard to convey my feelings for why exactly I dislike this pairing tbh, but I hope I did an okay job??

Thanks for giving me an excuse to ramble, hope you liked the answers lol

#asks #uppertwist #ask game #xxxholic #clamp

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mellometal · 3 years

Text

Hello. This is really what Dhar Mann decided to do...again. Welp, the first video you did about LGBT people in sports was SO good, right? That you decided to make ANOTHER video about LGBT people and fuck that up too??? Real appropriate timing, Dhar Mann. Because it's the end of Pride Month and tomorrow is the start of Wrath Month.

Let's talk about it, shall we?

Before I begin, this will be talking about homophobia, being forced to come out of the closet, blackmailing, and outing of closeted LGBT people. In my response, it touches on assault, murder, execution, abuse, discrimination, fetishization of the LGBT community, harassment, and how being LGBT was once considered a mental illness. If any of that is triggering for you or makes you uncomfortable in any way, please feel free to scroll to other content that sparks joy for you.

To sum up the video, there is a gay boy (Pete) who's running for president (presumably student body) again, he's handing out flyers, and he's having a grand old time. His boyfriend (Julian) is being ever so supportive. To be honest, I've NEVER seen anyone in school handing out flyers to get elected in the student body. A student body, for anyone not familiar, is basically the group that "speaks for the students". Best way I can describe it.

Then some guy (Frank) comes up to him in the hallway to intimidate him...OVER A STUPID SCHOOL ELECTION. The terribly written, sorry excuse for a bully then takes Pete's flyers out of his hands, sees there's a rainbow on them, and calls them gay before throwing them on the ground. That's after Pete told Frank to give them back. Frank then asks if Pete and Julian are dating. Pete, being closeted, says no, and that Julian is his friend. Frank then leaves after intimidating Pete some more. Julian is offended that Pete referred to him as a friend, despite Pete explaining why he did that...y'know, because he's NOT READY TO COME OUT AS GAY and he was trying to protect himself and his boyfriend. (What the fuck did you want him to do, Julian? Come out when he obviously wasn't ready to just to make YOU happy? Pete was trying to protect you and himself, Julian! I understand that you want to be shown off by your boyfriend, but I really think that your safety is more important than being shown off.)

When Pete and Julian are at a restaurant together, Frank JUST SO HAPPENS to be at that same restaurant. Pete and Julian don't know that until later. Frank takes a picture of them just holding hands...which, why would you do that? I've actually seen posts of REAL PEOPLE taking pictures of their classmates (without their knowledge or consent), posting them online, and shipping them together. It's not a good look. It's fucking gross.

Frank tells Pete that he saw them (he and Julian) at the restaurant, shows Pete that he made flyers of the picture HE TOOK OF THEM, and uses it as blackmail. He threatens to out Pete when he already publicly outed him in the fucking hallway, which brings me back to the dumpster fire that is Glee...because Gary Stu (Finn) outed Santana as lesbian in the hallway WITHIN EARSHOT OF EVERYONE. That where you got your inspiration from, Dhar Mann? If so, it's fitting because Glee is a shitty show, and you're a shitty person. A match made in heaven.

Julian notices Pete is distressed. He says he has to drop out of the race because of Frank threatening to out him to the school if he doesn't.

How does the video end? Well, Frank gives his speech that is just D*n*ld Tr*mp type beat bullshit, Pete pretty much says he has to drop out of the race, the students go wild on Frank because he's a homophobe and called another gay student a fruit, Pete forces himself to come out as gay, the students are going wild, and he's elected as the student body president! WHOOP-DEE-FUCKIN-DOO.

This video is an absolute piece of infuriating shit. Enough said. I'll tear this video to shreds and put my response down.

I get the message they're trying to go for here, but there's a big issue with this! THERE ARE STILL MANY PLACES AROUND THE WORLD WHERE YOU CAN BE ARRESTED AND EVEN EXECUTED FOR BEING LGBT! DHAR MANN, YOU OBVIOUSLY KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT BEING LGBT AND YOU NEVER WILL BECAUSE YOU'RE A CISHET MAN! DO SOME BETTER RESEARCH IF YOU'RE GONNA DO VIDEOS LIKE THIS, OH MY FUCKING GOD! Not everywhere is like the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and other countries where it's safe to be openly LGBT! You don't believe me? Look it up! (Obviously at your own risk. There's A LOT of triggering, upsetting things that happen to LGBT people in other countries.) Getting discriminated against, harassed, assaulted, and murdered for being LGBT? Yes, that all still happens around the world. Even in places where being LGBT is legal and not considered a crime. Like the United States!

Oh, wow! Taking pictures of people without their knowledge just so you can have some "dirt" on them for a stupid student body election. That'll help. /s Blackmailing an innocent person for who they are? FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC. Good job! How's that working out for you?

Maybe instead of jacking your raging homophobe self off, you worry about the fact you look like and act like D*n*ld Tr*mp's long-lost son and you fix yourself, Frank. Take the log out of your own eye before you try to pull the twig out of someone else's eye. Just a thought!

Also, I could make a better flyer than a picture with a big red x. So creative. I expected more out of D*n*ld Tr*mp's long-lost son. Fucking top tier. You couldn't top this off if you tried! /s

Onto my response! It's a long one, just fair warning.

If you're in the closet because it's not safe for you to be out as LGBT where you live, you're so valid and I love you. /p Come out on your own terms. Don't fall for peer pressure. For anyone who's been outed before, I'm so sorry, I feel you, and I know what that's like. I've been there before. It sucks. It's scary. I hope you're doing better, if that's ever happened to you.

Dhar Mann, you will NEVER know what it's like to be LGBT. You will never begin to understand what the LGBT community has gone through and is STILL going through. Don't act like you do just because you probably watched one YouTube video about the LGBT community. You're a cishet man who's also a cringe ass nae-nae baby. Why don't you LISTEN to the real people you're hurting with these videos?

Here are a few suggestions you can do instead!:

Talk to actual people in the LGBT community!

Attend pride events to show support.

Read up on their history.

Support LGBT creators.

Donate to the community.

Happy Wrath Month, everyone!

#mello speaks #dhar mann talk #dhar mann #dhar mann is a piece of human garbage #please stop supporting dhar mann #dhar mann will live to regret his decision to make these fucked up cringe videos #dhar mann will live to regret his decision uwu #dhar mann is a cringe ass nae nae baby #tw homophobia mention #tw murder mention #tw assault mention #those actors deserve better #pride month #wrath month #tw dhar mann

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 4 years

Text

Breezeblocks (Peter Parker's iPod, Part 1.)

Revisioned and revisited: September 2023 🕸️

Description: The blip was hard. Dating Michelle Jones was a daily pleasure in Parker's life. So... It was even harder to swallow when MJ announced to Peter that things weren't working as she wished they would. That happened one month before they starting attending university. Now, Parker is unsure if he can handle falling for yet another amazing girl.

Part Summary: Peter Parker was thrilled about going to university. Too sad he hadn't a girlfriend to share the experience with.

A/N: First off, in this AU we shall be pretending Mysterio didn't bitch out Spider-Man's real identity, and because of that, No Way Home won't happen. Also - each chapter in this story will be named a song Peter could have on his iPod, at least according to me. I do not accept no as an answer (jk). I am not from the USA so I actually have zero idea about how GPU and SAT work and also, let's just assume they're going to an unspecified uni in NY, not MIT because I really want Aunt May to be in this story (I said what I said). Also, excuse my enthusiasm when it comes to May and Peter's relationship. Marisa's version of May is my favorite ever because she actually looks like what I'd imagine an aunt to look like. Ofc, Sally's version blew me out of the water multiple times, but I just think that Marisa and Tom were a match made in heaven when it comes to May/Peter's relationship. There's nothing better than watching her open up a topic and Peter just immediately panicking and shutting it down because he's so awkward. Also, Marisa's version got closest to passing on the Spider-Man principle and I couldn't be happier about it.

Fun fact: In the #15 issue of the Spider-Man comics (1962), it actually isn't Uncle Ben who gives Peter the pep talk. It actually comes in the form of closing narration at the end of the issue and Lee says "With great power, there must also come great responsibility".

Word count: 7K

Tagging: @eridanuswave

Master list: H E R E | Peter Parker's iPod: P L A Y L I S T

Peter Benjamin Parker.

If Peter was standing amongst a crowd of people, there was a great chance that you wouldn't notice the boy. Even if the selection would be narrowed to a singular line, the boy probably wasn't catching anyone's eyes first... At least that was what he thought of himself. Confidence could be a huge issue when it comes to Parker. Everyone who knew him better knew that Peter has a heart of gold and the unbreakable spirit of a golden retriever, that he's also very sweet and shy... But those weren't qualities you'd notice at first glance.

Who even was Peter Parker? How would he describe himself? He'd most likely start by stating that he was born and raised in Queens. Secondly, he'd mention his undying love for memes, legos, and pop culture. Thirdly, he'd mention his enthusiasm for science and his highly valued internship at Stark Industries. Rightfully so, the internship wasn't given to simply anyone; Peter was brilliant enough to earn it on his own, yet he wouldn't admit that in a million years. Then, Peter would trail off and start talking about how he wasn't good with fashion or cooking but loved math and chemistry, his favorite subjects. The boy would definitely admit that he's a dreamer and believer. On the subject of his looks, Peter wouldn't describe himself as attractive in any way. He'd tell you he's just your normal, everyday guy who basically disappears when put amongst a crowd.

Well, if you'd ask MJ about Peter, she'd most likely list a long list of qualities she admired about him. When it comes to Peter's appearance, MJ would most likely grin and flush before stating that Parker was breathtaking when he wasn't paying attention. It was the small moments she found him the hottest. For example... It was the way he bit his lower lip when solving a math problem or the slight furrow as he tried to understand a joke. Parker was admirable when he got flustered, especially when his cheeks reddened and his eyes started to shine. She adored the way Peter looked right after he woke up or when got fully hooked on the movie they were watching and fell in love along the main characters.

At least that was what MJ would say about Peter before it happened. Before she sent Peter a text to meet her in the bistro they frequented, right before she sat down at the box and looked Peter in his eyes. That would be before she told him what was on her mind and that, in her opinion, they'd be better off as friends. From that moment on, Parker would say that's broken-hearted and confused as hell. From his point of view, everything was going great. He loved it when he could simply... Knock on MJ's window after a patrol and snuggle with her in her room until they both fall asleep. He'd usually leave early in the morning, after a horde of hasty kisses and giggles - so her parents wouldn't find him in MJ's room. The boy was over his heels for her, even after the year they spent together.

Just a month ago, he and MJ celebrated their first anniversary. She was seemingly happy and in love as they sat on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, swinging their feet around as they ate the food Peter had prepared for her (even though he was a horrible cook). The boy also asked May for help with picking out the bouquet consisting of MJ's favorite flowers - she bought Peter a very expansive toolbox he was gushing about for months on end. Everything seemed to be filled with happiness... Until it wasn't. Sure, Peter knew that having him as a boyfriend wasn't the biggest win due to his Spider-Man-related responsibilities, but... MJ knew that he'd be busy at times. That there would be days or weeks they won't be able to see each other. And yet, she seemed happy. She had never brought up the topic when they talked about serious stuff. Until now. Until she simply announced Peter she can't do this anymore.

At first, Peter sat there in shock as the waitress brought their order - two milkshakes and french fries. His mouth was hanging wide, his fists deep in the pockets of his hoodie. His brain had trouble deciphering what Michelle just said. MJ, on the other hand, was twitching on the other side of the table, waiting for any reaction. She waited for literally anything Peter would do... Or say... But his brain froze, seemingly. This reaction was making MJ rather worried as she licked her lips and leaned closer to Peter, controlling the boy's breathing. She also measured the time he hadn't blinked for - an impressive minute and thirty-eight seconds.

Parker was well aware that if MJ told him all of this information, she must've been thinking about it for a long time. The girl presented every point as concrete evidence as to why it wasn't working between them. Two months before they were supposed to start attending university, the last summer of real teenage freedom. They both dreamt about this summer, about all the road trips they're about to do as well as other plans about which they talked many, many times. MJ even planned every single detail of said plans. And now, she... Peter knew there was very little he could say or try to change Michelle's mind, but this couldn't be happening, right? This must've been yet another awful nightmare, surely. She didn't... Did she?

"What?" - Peter asked, voice riddled with confusion. His voice cords were cracking as he fought the urge not to cry. MJ was looking all over the booth as she tried to come up with an answer; she shifted her posture multiple times, licked her lips, and rearranged her hair before answering. "Peter... This... I... 'We' simply isn't working for me anymore. I don't know what changed, really, but... The longer we're dating, the less I see you - you have barely texted me in the last three weeks. When we hang out, you're absent, thinking about other stuff that bothers you. Ned has begun to notice it as well. How many times did we meet up in the last week, huh?" - There was undeniable sincerity in her voice as she fought the urge to crack up and cry. Seeing Peter sad and vulnerable always made her emotional. She hated seeing him suffer - but was also tired of her own suffering. This was MJ's way of dealing with important decisions- fast, straight to the chase, no playing games.

"B-But... MJ, I have my responsibilities that can't be thrown away. I-I can't just say 'To hell with it, I'm not Spider-Manning tonight'. That's not how this works." - The boy answered finally, pain and disbelief in his voice were clear as day. MJ took a deep breath, trying to stay calm to guide Peter as well as herself through this confrontation. "That's correct, Pete, but I am... Was your responsibility as well. Of course, not as big as your superhero gig, but still... If you want a working relationship, there need to be two people present in it, right?" "I wasn't present? What?" - The boy chuckled dryly, trying to catch his breath as he held back tears. - "I texted you each time I could, called you whenever it was safe... I dropped during every patrol to kiss you, just to wish you a great day and... And..."

"Listen, I know you tried your best, I really do. We both did. The point is, you shouldn't promise me vows you weren't confident in keeping. It's that simple. I'm unhappy with how things are and can't sit about, watching us both puddle in this mess. And sadly, I realize that if you'd attempt to strain yourself even more just to fix this relationship..." - That was when MJ caught his palm in hers, giving Peter a watery smile. "You're already juggling so much, Peter. There's Spider-Manning, the internship, university, and helping Aunt May in FEAST... You'd go insane. And I don't want you to burn out. Sometimes, things simply... Don't work out the way we planned them. And that's okay." - MJ took a sharp breath in, staring at her milkshake as she took the first sip of it to cool off a bit. "You sound so disappointed in me, MJ. Do... Do you want me to leave now? To just... Disappear out of your life?" - Parker's face was flustered, eyes restless, and the point of his ears were burning hot. All Parker wanted to do was to go home, get in bed, cuddle up into a small ball, and watch movies until he falls asleep. On top of all the chaos inside him, Peter really wanted to cry. To be alone, to take the pain in and let it dissolve. May taught him that he should let the pain breathe at its own pace until one day, it won't be there anymore.

"No!" - She blurted immediately, shaking her head. - "No, I don't want you to leave and I don't want to cut ties with you. At least in perspective. I realize that it will be better for both of us to go off the radar for a bit, to figure our stuff out... But... Eventually, I'd be more than happy to be friends with you again." - She admitted weakly. MJ really struggled when expressing emotions at times, and this was one of those "times". But one thing she knew was that she didn't want Parker out of her life - she just couldn't be in a relationship with him. "I like you, Peter, but not enough to love you anymore. There will always be a place for you in my life - at my table in the uni's canteen, at my flat during study sessions, and any time you need a friend to lean on. If that's what... You'd... Also like, of course." - The girl explained, letting his hand go as Parker tried taking the tension and panic washing over him. He sat up, brought the straw of his milkshake to his lips, and took the first french fry.

"Flat?" - The boy breathed through his mouth because his nose was full from holding the tears back. MJ smiled sheepishly, nodding. "The one you helped pick out, remember? I've talked to the landlord and I'll be moving in after a trip to Washington we planned with Betty." "Are you... Moving in with Betty in the end? Haven't even told me how that turned out." - There was little to no confidence in the question because Peter tried to speak as few words as he could. He was worried his voice would give out any minute. "I talked about this with you two weeks ago, Peter..." - MJ admitted silently, huffing out as Peter just proved her point. Whatever was happening, they were growing more and more distant lately. - "No, I am not moving in with Betty. Turned out there was a different girl who responded to the insertion first. She's interested in the apartment as well, and she's willing to split the expenses in half. The landlord gave me her number, and we met at a coffee shop near the uni. We talked about how we'd imagine living together, what's a no-no and what would we expect from each other. I think we'll get along well, she gave off great vibes."

Then, the long and awkward silence started - the two youngsters sat at the table, sipping on their shakes, slowly getting through the basket of exquisite french fries. They were the reason Peter and MJ chose to frequent the bistro - it was affordable for middle-school students but offered some great food choices as well. "I'll go now, MJ. I don't know if I can talk to you... At the moment." - Parker admitted under his breath, trying to clear his throat without crumbling to pieces. As usual, he pulled out the cash and tucked it under the caster, leaving a generous tip for the waitress. Just as he was about to rush out of the bistro's door, MJ caught his wrist and made him look her in the eyes. "I meant what I said, Peter, okay? I still feel good around you, I do. And I still see you as my best friend. I would hate it if you'd just give up on our friendship after everything we've been through together." - Yes, MJ realized how cliche everything she just admitted was. She realized how horrible and selfish it must've sounded. And yet, her feelings for Peter were still deep. All she wanted for Parker was for him to... Be happy. And to relax a bit. It was simply the wrong place and the wrong time of their lives to start dating.

"Honestly, right now, I don't know if I'd be able to do that, MJ." - Peter admitted and with that, his voice finally cracked. First tears rolled out of his eyes as he stared down at MJ, shaking her palm off. The duo knew each other for the longest time and they've been through so much and yet, Michelle had never seen Peter this distraught. - "As you said, it'll be better to get off the radar and think about... Stuff. Have... Have a nice summer, you deserve it." And with that, Peter left the bistro and walked into heavy summer rain, pulling his hood over his head.

As Peter set on his walk, finally being on his own, he had a lot of things to think through. Everything that MJ accused him of and was unhappy with... It hurt. It was burning Peter alive. She opened a gaping black hole in the middle of his chest, he'd swear that he could feel his heart slowly deteriorating with each step he took forward. To be frank, he hadn't seen their relationship the way she did. And maybe, as he thought about everything on his way home, he started seeing why MJ was so upset about everything. When was the last evening Peter had the time to crash on the sofa and watch movies with Ned or to just buy a whole-ass Lego set and build their hearts out? When was the last time he talked May down to have dinner with him to simply... Chat about nonsense? When was the last time their entire group gathered at their favorite Mexican bistro and had an adventurous night that ended with an awful karaoke session?

Parker was constantly on the run these days - preparation for the SAT and the fuss surrounding their graduation took massive amounts of time off his hands. During the last few weeks, Peter also spent serious loads of time helping May with running FEAST, mainly due to the org being ridiculously understaffed. Rather than seeing May trying to do everything by herself, Peter prompted himself to help her since he hated seeing her tired, working herself to the bone just so she would be able to pay for his university. After the sun settled down, Peter usually put his suit on and patroled about until he felt his eyes were starting to burn or close themselves. This was his life. This cycle was tiring him to death. Sometimes, he even wandered into his small laboratory located in Brooklyn - that was the supposed internship MJ mentioned briefly. Pepper Potts offered him the lab as a safe place where Parker could experiment to his heart's desire; it was one of the last gifts Tony left for Peter and she wasn't going to keep it away from the boy. As he thought about it, he realized how little time he had for his friends and family; sure, they were seeing each other on a daily basis yet there wasn't any real time to sit down and deepen their connections. As his mind wrapped around the fact that he isolated himself due to the massive workload, Peter started to cry even more.

And now with the university semester starting soon, all the tests, studying along with his current obligations... Where will Spider-Man get enough time to also be Peter Parker? If he had to say just one thing about MJ, it would be that although he lost himself to all of his duties, she was his rock. Anytime Peter felt that he wasn't able to press on, he knocked on her window and held her in his arms. Usually, he'd stay the night to have a really good rest. Even though May had never mentioned it, Peter had the feeling that she was well aware of her nephew sneaking out to spend the night with his girlfriend. And God, she was also well aware of how necessary that was for Peter.

There was only one circumstance she asked Peter to abide. It wasn't even a full-on conversation, May simply mentioned it one night as she passed Peter's room. "Can I come in for a moment?" - The woman asked, leaning her shoulder into the doorframe of Peter's room. The boy was just studying, empty cups of hot cocoa and tea laid on the table mixed with chaos consisting of notebooks, pencils, geometry utensils, highlighters, and textbooks. Peter himself was sitting on the chair, resting his eyes for a bit. "Uh-uh?" "I'd like to ask you about something... I didn't know how should I... Open up this topic with you, so I asked my assistant, Corrie, you know Corrie, and she thought an analogy would do wonders."

"Uh-uh?" - Peter nodded, the tone of his voice growing suspicious. May entered the room with a few small steps, sitting on the edge of his bed. The look on her face was making Peter worried. "I know that Michelle is a wonderful young lady..." - May started carefully, alerting Peter almost immediately. Sure, they had their bees and butterflies talk multiple times (which Peter suffered through with his eyes rolling each time), but May couldn't stress it enough. She was simply worried about the young couple as well and she tried showing Peter that... Sex is just a casual part of one's existence. There was nothing more human than to talk about it. And honestly, even if the topic could get a bit iffy at times, she'd be rather if Peter approached and asked for her advice than to do something stupid. - "... And for my sake, I'd like to ask you to... Hm... If you really love her, wear a cover." "MAY!" - Peter squealed in horror, closing the textbook with a loud thud. The boy turned to his aunt with his eyes popped out, staring at her with his mouth open. By the look on her face, she wasn't done with him yet.

"No glove, no love. Don't make a mistake, cover your snake. Cover your stump before you hump..." "I get the message you're trying to get across, May!" - Peter cried, his voice cracking and cheeks flushing. May stopped reciting the slogans. At that moment, Peter was so embarrassed that he hadn't even tried to imagine how many more May memorized before she approached him with the topic. - "I get your point and appreciate your concern and I don't think we have to cover it again!" His aunt was looking at him as if she was searching for something but furrowed a bit, nodded, and stood up. Without saying anything else, she patted Peter's shoulder and left the room - yet just before she closed the door, she turned back to Peter and whispered his name. "Love you, kid." - The woman whispered with sincerity, hoping she'd get a response. Sure, her bond with Peter was close and they told each other these kinds of things often, but there was still a small part of her that got worried every time. "I love you too, May." - Peter answered without hesitation, making May smile contently.

To one extent or another, Peter understood why May tried bringing the topic up multiple times - the sadder he was that he and MJ never... Sure, they kissed and did other... Stuff like heated make-out sessions, undressing to their underwear, sometimes even more... But they never really found the appropriate moment to... He remembered it clear as day when May mentioned that the moment would be right if he felt this subtle click. Not only May mentioned it, he heard multiple times that he should feel it coming, that moment and impulse when he thinks 'fuck it' and just goes for it. And for both his and MJ's sake, Parker really hoped he'd be able to man up soon and... But the click never came for Peter. He was perfectly capable of making the first step and he fully realized that MJ was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on, but he never felt ready to snap and just do... That.

Now, it was too late to try taking everything back. All Peter could do was live with the consequences of his actions as well as with all the failures that followed up as the outcomes. Peter lost himself somewhere along the road home. The streets were empty due to the heavy rain and all he recalled was that he stopped on the bridge to take a long breath. He lost all sense of time, watching the river below him. When Peter finally entered their apartment, he noticed May sitting at the kitchen table with a deep furrow, her phone in her palm - clearly, she was trying to reach out to Peter to ask him where he was and when he was coming home. May was also terrified that there's a possibility that Peter got himself into some investigation again, chasing bad guys somewhere. However, due to being Spider-Man for quite some time now, Peter learned better than to leave May in the dark - he usually informed her that he wouldn't be available for a bit and let her know that she better be ready to call the ambulance or the police.

That summer evening, however, couldn't have been different. The moment her eyes landed on Peter, all of that terror and anger left her. Her beloved nephew, her little boy, was looking miserable. His eyes were red, there were huge red spots on his cheeks that came up anytime Peter cried, and the dark circles under his eyes became much more prominent. His usual chaotic and energetic spirit was nowhere to be seen - the boy simply stood at the door like a picture of misery, waiting for May's reaction. In an instant, May put her phone down and walked over to Peter to close the door behind him, hug him tight, and cradle him in her arms, letting out a long sigh. She also took the cloak off his head and kissed his temple, scratching his scalp with her fingers.

"Where were you? I was so worried, Pete." - May whispered, feeling as Peter returned the hug forcefully, bursting into tears once more. His grip was maybe a bit too tight for May's liking, but she didn't say a word. Peter needed her at the moment. She could feel her clothes soaking, but she didn't pull away. "I wanted to be alone for a bit." - Peter admitted silently, trying to wipe his tears. "Okay, that's fine. Would you like to talk about what's going on?" "MJ... She... We..." "Oh, honey." - May whispered into Peter's hair, kissing the top of his motherly. Her own grip around Peter tightened as her other hand started to carefully rub his back.

Neither of them knew for how long they simply stood in the hall and embraced each other. It was long enough for Peter to calm down a bit, take a breath, and finally let May go. Her clothes were soaked with rain water but she still couldn't care less. "Would you like to talk about it? Or is it too soon for you?" - May asked, smoothing his cheek. "I don't really wanna talk about it at all." - Peter answered honestly, letting May nod at his statement. She was well aware that right now, Peter was going through the worst of it - of course, he didn't want to talk about anything. She had a suspicion, though, that Peter would come to her when he was ready. "How about you get into the shower and put some warm clothes on while I prepare you a cup of hot cocoa? I bought some tarts, they're in the fridge, and then... We can watch a movie?" - As made the offer, she was worried that Peter would turn her down, rather go for a patrol than take a day off. Sure, May would partially understand why Peter would want to work all of the stress out, but she also realized how dangerous that could be if it'd became a habit. The relief she felt when he smiled carefully and nodded was very intense. - "That sounds like a great plan, May. I'd love to do that."

The following month seemed to pass by without Peter taking notice. Before he had the time to grasp the fact, he was officially a university student. The boy took everything MJ complained about to heart - he tried his best to take it slow, to savor certain moments and make more time for his friends and family. Sure, he couldn't do much about the patrolling that needed to be done, but spending time with May became his priority. Peter still spent a lot of time helping around FEAST, such as helping with moving shipments in and serving food to those in need, but he also made sure that May got her rest. Peter's way of making May rest consisted of taking her out for dinners, for which Peter even offered to pay if he had the cash on him. Sometimes, they set on a walk through Queens, sitting around the benches in the park, listening to various street musicians playing. There were few instances when the two even got to see a movie in the cinema - which they hadn't done since Uncle Ben died. On the nights neither of them felt like leaving the apartment, they usually baked various sweet goods, cooked or played board games, Scrabble being May's personal favorite.

While making sure he's spending enough Peter time with May, the boy also prioritized spending time with his best friend Ned. Ned Leeds was someone who had been there for Peter since forever. Neither of the boys could precisely date how far back their friendship goes, that's how long they've been friends for. It was much easier to spend time with Ned - both of them shared their excitement for science and robotics, so Peter oftentimes asked Ned to hang out in his secluded Brooklyn lab where they could do whatever they pleased. The lab in Brooklyn was also a very bittersweet gift to Peter. Sure, it was his own small universe where no one could tell him what he should or shouldn't do, but... It reminded him of Anthony Stark each time he entered the code into the notepad and entered it. Calling it a 'lab' was probably exaggerating a bit - it was located on the top of a tenement and consisted of one room and a toilet. There was a small kitchen counter in the room as well as a few technical facilities at which Peter was free to create whatever he pleased, yet more than half of the room was empty. While Stark gave Parker the means to fulfill his basic scientific needs, there was a whole work ahead of Peter as well as space to expand into. A space where he was free to come up with whatever.

It wasn't even properly decorated; the only decoration left behind by Stark was a picture of the duo. It was taken on the day Peter started his so-called 'internship' for Stark Industries. The one where he held the plack upside down and gave Tony rabbit ears. Ever since Peter obtained the code from Pepper Potts, he carried over a few decorations to make the place feel more lived in - a few really cool movie posters, photos of him and his friends, and a few trophies from his American Decathlon contests. The lab also became an ideal hiding spot for all of his outdated Spider-Man tech. Parker felt most serene when he could pick his old utensils apart and modernize them, branching out with new possibilities and prototypes. This was an activity both he and Ned enjoyed endlessly.

Sometimes, the two boys simply ordered a take-out and spent their nights with scientific research. Other times, the two boys just sat at the small round dining table and watched movies or memes until they got tired and called it a day. Slowly, Ned started bringing other stuff over to make the lab even more lived in - there were small Lego Minifigures everywhere on the shelves, inside the cupboards and some even made into the fridge - Peter knew better than to ask Ned about those. Other than Minifigurines, Ned brought over a few Lego models, small colorful carpets his grandma knitted, and a few old books related to science. Peter started to love this small place hidden away from everything and everyone.

To Peter's surprise, MJ stayed true to her word and didn't leave the boy behind. She was the first to break the silence, sending Peter a very funny meme that made him chuckle sourly. Now, with hindsight over the relationship and well-sorted thoughts about all the stuff MJ told him, he didn't even cry upon seeing the meme. He even responded. If anything, MJ's behavior was making him conflicted and confused about the break-up. It felt as if nothing changed, as if they never started dating - she kept on sending him various memes, silly thoughts, stuff that weirded her out, and photos of her surroundings or the stuff she was up to. During that time, MJ mostly hung out with Betty Brant, their mutual friend from high school. The personalities of the two couldn't clash more - while Betty was outspoken, fierce, didn't take no for an answer, and wasn't afraid to ask questions that overstepped every boundary of politeness (it could be seen that she'd be a great journalist one day), MJ preferred to be isolated, observed her surroundings very carefully and loved to talk about existential questions, oftentimes going too far with them. However, despite being different, the duo made their friendship work; which could be seen in many photos MJ shared with Parker - there was a picture of Betty holding an ice-cream cone as MJ's palm held a cone in front of the camera, a photo of them in front of a theatre since they decided to on a play. MJ wasn't shying away from sending Peter a ton of pictures of their trip to Washington.

There was even this one time she texted into the group chat, which hadn't been used since the afternoon the pair broke up, and asked if they'd like to hang out. MJ was testing the waters, waiting to see Peter's reactions - unsurprisingly, while Ned and Betty seemed to be on board with that idea, Peter didn't bring himself to open up the chat. He never answered the text.

When the morning of Peter's first uni day rolled around, their apartments turned into a tangle of chaos. Parker was over the moon while simultaneously worried sick because it was supposed to be the first time he'd officially see MJ since the breakup. May, on the other hand, ran around the flat and made sure Peter had everything he could potentially need. "May, you need to chill a bit." - That was right after she asked Peter if he had money to buy himself lunch for the fifth time. - "It's just the first day of the semester, I'll be fine, I have some change on me." - May put her palms on her waist, watching her nephew for a few. Then she walked closer to kiss the top of his head and ruffle his hair in a motherly gesture. That made Peter snickered as he turned away slightly. "That's the thing, I know you can take care of yourself and you've managed to pack everything... I'm just worried because I still see that little adorable boy who forgot his backpack on his first day of middle school... I'm just worried you won't need me anymore, you know?" "Oh, come on, don't you get sappy on me now." - The boy chuckled, joining May on the couch. First, Peter sat down and then bumped his shoulder into hers. When May returned his gaze, Peter could see the tears in her eyes; May always got extremely sentimental and sappy on occasions such as this one. - "There's no way in the whole universe that I wouldn't need you anymore. I'll always need you, May. You're my aunt, remember?"

"Oh, you!" - May exclaimed softly, sobbing quietly because she wasn't able to hold the tears in. Peter stood up, looking at his phone to see what time it was. Just before he was about to leave the apartment, he raised both his hands and called out to May, making the woman turn in his direction. - "How do I look? Is it too much? Too little? Or somewhere in the middle?" "You're looking like a very promising and good university student who is ready to steal all the ladies' hearts." - May answered, making Peter roll his eyes - that made her giggle. With that, she walked to the apartment door to make sure it was closed after Peter left. - "I'm just kidding, you're looking fine. It's time to leave now though, you promised Ned that you'd stop in that cafeteria for a cup of... Something." "Right. Love you, May!" "Love you too, kiddo! Go get 'em, tiger!"

An hour later, he and Ned entered the campus with cups of coffee in their hands. And the view simply enchanted Peter - the buildings looked beautiful as well as the park surrounding them. Sure, he had walked and swung around this place a million times before, but this was the first official time he'd walked into the campus as a student. The pride, as well as nervosity inside his chest, was making him excited. The boy couldn't wait to start his biophysics major consisting mainly of biomedical and molecular studies. Both he and Ned simply stood on the main plaza and looked around with their mouths hanging open - since it was the first official of the semester, the main plaza was filled to the brim with various stands offering various extracurricular activities, like joining the choir, various sports clubs, and a wide range of scientific activities. Peter had a feeling that Betty would love the debate club (MJ would love it too since she loved arguing with other people about facts) and he also noticed, that the university's newspaper was looking for new blood; ideal for Betty. The way he knew MJ, he would bet that she'd join one of the activist groups and he could even imagine that MJ would be a great addition to the student government. As for Ned, Peter didn't need much more than seeing the expression on his face as he took notice of the science club stand as well as the Science Fiction Society stand. Peter thought about joining some clubs himself too, but there was a lot of very careful planning in order to make his extracurricular activities work along with Spider-Manning and his personal life. Also, the overall feeling of the place was different. At first glance, the students seemed to be way more mature than high schoolers. Both Peter and Ned knew that it was simply the first impression and they sure as hell were as immature as their past schoolmates. As they walked around the plaza and received a million fliers, Ned was telling Peter about this very cool movie he had seen recently. His eyes were wandering all around - taking in a very robust fountain in the middle of the plaza that was overtaken by students sitting around it, and other students sitting under the old trees all over the park. Some were playing cards, and some were just laying about or talking.

Suddenly, the tingle made Peter's head turn over his shoulder as s he watched some girl riding a bike very fast. The problem was that neither her bike's brakes or bell worked, so she yelled as loud as could, asking people to move out of her way. Peter, who noticed her at the last moment, pushed himself and Ned out of her way. As he looked back at the girl, the time seemed to slow down as she looked back at him; mind you, she was riding the bike at a ridiculous speed and yet, she chose to turn her head back to Peter. Parker watched the girl with his mouth open, taking in her flowy white dress with daisies all over it accompanied by a shabby denim jacket and masterfully done, messy hairstyle. Her bag was almost falling off her shoulders, making the girl look almost ridiculously chaotic and disorganized. But there was... Something about her. Something that captivated Peter so much that he wasn't able to look away. While the two boys watched as the rider disappeared into the crowd, still yelling for people to jump out of her way, Parker couldn't help himself and kept on staring in the direction. It was when Ned patted his shoulder when he noticed that he was saying something.

"Thanks, bro, I owe you one. Hadn't got any idea that the university also has a course for illegal street races..." - Ned breathed out, having Peter chuckle at his statement. Both the boys turned to an incoming person who wanted to check if they were alright - MJ was hurrying their way, leaning her palms to her knees and catching her breath when she finally reached the duo. Betty followed behind, waving in the boys' direction. Everything Peter felt just a minute ago was gone - as he looked MJ into her face for the first time in a month, his expression became bland and blank. The gaping hole inside his chest reopened a little and reminded him of the heartbreak, yet he made a lot to fill the hole up. At least he wasn't about to cry while looking MJ in her eyes.

"Hey, guys." - The girl looked at both of her friends with worries, tucking a strand behind her ear. - "Saw that psycho almost running you over. All your parts where they should be?" - She continued, grinning a bit at her own question. Ned was supposedly really glad to see MJ after such a hiatus, hugging her briefly - when MJ wanted to greet Peter, he simply nodded in her direction and took a step away from her, not letting the girl in his personal space. "Peter to the rescue again, we're just fine - but we seriously need to report her to someone, that girl is a public menace." - Ned answered, exchanging a hug with Betty as well. The petite blonde girl didn't hesitate and briefly hugged Peter too, making MJ's heart sting uncomfortably upon the sight.

"Nah, trust me, we don't need to go through all the paperwork and such She's a little headstrong, but I'm sure that after whatever this is, she'll finally take that damn bike for a checkup." - Michelle headbutted as the party of four walked closer to the fountain. - "Betty and I told her a million times not to ride the bike after she almost crashed it under Queensboro bridge last week. Her argument? The bike hadn't fallen apart so far so it doesn't need a checkup." "I'd hope she'll get it checked. Seems that the brakes stopped working altogether." - Betty joined in, sighing tiredly. That was when Peter spoke to MJ for the first time in weeks.

"Do you know her?" - Parker asked immediately, almost too eagerly. MJ was surprised and blushed at his question, but she nodded nonetheless. "Well, she's pretty weird and probably a bit crazy, but that's what makes me gravitate towards her in the first place. I like weird." - MJ stated as a matter-of-factly, making Betty nod in agreement. Yea, both Ned and Peter had to admit that everything MJ said was describing her perfectly. All four of them watched as you got off that old, rusty bike and started to lock it in place as if anyone would attempt to steal that piece of crap. In MJ's opinion, not even the puniest of criminals in Queens would touch that bike with a pole and they'd even pay you to keep it. - "That's Y/N, she's the roommate I told you about, guys."

#peter parker #peter benjamin parker #spider-man #spider-man mcu #ned leeds #michelle MJ jones #michelle jones #mcu #peter parker imagine #betty brant #peter parker x fem!reader #spider-man x fem!reader

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roswelldetails · 4 years

Text

RNM 2x08 - Say It Ain't So

EPISODE SUMMARY:

JAMIE CLAYTON GUEST STARS — Despite promising Liz (Jeanine Mason) that he’ll take things easy with his new heart, Max (Nathan Dean) sets out to find Cameron after learning that she’s gone missing. Michael (Michael Vlamis) grows concerned about Maria (Heather Hemmens) after a surprising discovery about her family history leaves her vulnerable. Elsewhere, ready to move on, Alex (Tyler Blackburn) goes on a date with Forrest (guest star Christian Antidormi), and Rosa (Amber Midthunder) makes a decision about her future. Rachel Raimist directed the episode written by Eva McKenna & Christopher Hollier (#208). Original airdate 5/4/2020.

DETAILS:

Rosa's secret identity:

"...Cousin Rosalinda from Arizona. My mom married a minor league baseball player, but when he got relocated to a team in Florida…"

"Okay, you know what, let's just go with, they're dead."

This is a Twilight reference.

Rosa about the Mean Girl's art in the cave:

"That reminds me of Stephen Powers before he sold out."

Stephen Powers is a former street artist who went commercial. Some examples of his older work here:

Other examples of his newer, more commercial work here:

By the way, speaking of the cave:

And this is some fabulous visual storytelling right here:

Max is working at the Wild Pony. Temporarily, of course.

"Turns out debt collectors don't care if you've been half dead in a glowing pod for a few months."

So much for the headcanon that Max "I've been driving the same car since high school and am a homeowner before 30" Evans is good with his money. 😆 Debt collectors don't show up that fast… not that I know from experience or anything. 😳 *backs slowly away*

Iris refers to the cave as the go to hang spot for all the artsy weirdos. So it isn't like it was specifically Rosa's cave/hidden spot.

It's the first time we've seen this particular cave other than in 2008 flashbacks.

Iris Sanchez & Rosa Ortecho. Flower, Mexican family name. 😭 The hint is there!

Also 👀 from:

The iris earned its name from the ancient Greek Goddess Iris, a messenger to the gods who was thought to use the rainbow as a bridge between heaven and earth...these flowers were named to honor the Rainbow Goddess and bring favor upon the earth.

Mimi made Maria take back the necklace.

"She said that it was too late for her and that I needed it more."

Michael has seen the necklace before, but he didn't know what the flower was when he fixed the clasp and returned it to her in 1x10. It was 1x11 when they learned of the existence of the anti alien pollen. Michael reminds us:

"I know this flower. Its pollen has a paralytic effect on alien abilities."

Once Maria takes it off, she can name every card Michael pulls from the deck.

Maria lists off a bunch of necklace facts from past episodes that fandom has previously noted...

Her powers were heightened when Michael had the necklace in 1x10.

She wasn't wearing it when Noah invaded her at the gala.

And she wasn't wearing it at Woman As Warrior in 2x02 when she sensed that Isobel was pregnant.

"Kyle said you aren't an alien."

Fact. Kyle did say that. It doesn't mean that it's a fact that Maria doesn't have alien DNA in her though.

Kyle determined that her blood doesn't carry the alien protein that's in the Pod Squad and Rosa. He is making an assumption that the protein is tied to being an alien.

He said he ran other tests, but the results would take longer to come in.

Also, just a personal theory, what else do Rosa and the Pod Squad (and Noah) all have in common? They all spent significant time marinating in a pod full of goo. Rosa (10 years), Pod Squad (at least 50 years), Noah (60 years). Kyle has not studied any samples of alien biology from an alien who didn't spend time in pod goo. It's possible the protein is related to the pod goo, moreso than the alien biology. Again, just speculation on my part.

Maria confirms that her mom started getting sick when she was 18, just after she passed the necklace on to Maria.

"If this prevents you from having more episodes, it probably stops the neurodegeneration process too. It's not kryptonite, Maria. This is preventative medicine. Keep it on."

In 2x06 it was established that in addition to Sanders' place being a junkyard and a mechanic/auto shop, they also do tow truck service. Now that comes into play again as Michael was hired to bring Cam's car back to Roswell for the investigation into her disappearance. He brought it to the junk yard first though to give Max and Liz an hour to check the car for clues before the sheriff's department comes to collect it.

Max is smart too, in his own way. He quickly identified that "Agent Powell" was driving a rental car and that her gun wasn't government issue.

However, it's only when he sees her tattoo (which Cam told him about in 1x07) that he confirms that she's actually Charlie Cameron!

(10 points to fandom!)

Max & Liz's conversation with Charlie is mostly just reminding us what we know about Charlie and Jenna's relationship.

Liz indicates that Jenna had been looking for Charlie for months. Charlie responds that she didn't want to be found (both things we learned in 2x04 through Cam's discussion with Jesse Manes.

Max indicates that Jenna thought that Charlie hated her, a call back to us first learning about Charlie and the matching tattoos in 1x07.

"I worked on a controversial project a while back. A lot of dangerous people want to know what I know."

(Again, stuff we learned in 2x04).

They learn through Cam's text history that she was looking for Jesse Manes (which we already knew, because...2x04).

"I'm just a guy standing in front of a tourist trap asking a history buff to shoot him with high velocity paint."

Tongue-in-cheek reference to the movie Notting Hill.

"So, you're cool playing war? Doesn't bring anything up?"

"Oh, yeah, my PTSD triggers are a little more complicated. Suffice to say, this war zone is the only place that my family actually got along when I was a kid."

"Yeah, some of my old platoon buddies actually play in leagues."

"I didn't know that you served."

"Yeah I wouldn't go bragging about it to a guy with a Purple Heart. I might have googled you."

New information… both that Forrest served, that he looked into Alex (which could be innocent OR sketchy…).

And of course this is the first open discussion about Alex's PTSD issues.

Cowboys versus aliens paintball… Alex is the cowboy, so Forrest must be the alien.

The call that interrupted Forrest's attempt to kiss Alex was from the hospital. Hence why Alex goes there to see Jesse.

"Look, if I had a little lucky charm that could stop people like Noah from messing with me, I would have that surgically implanted into my décolletage."

Have to admit, I wasn't sure what décolletage meant, so in case anyone else isn't familiar:

"These abilities are a part of me. I'm not gonna just throw away the chance to learn about who I am. That make sense to you?"

"Yeah, actually, it does."

"You've gotten stronger this year, right? Can you teach me to train? Learn how to control it all?"

"Look, it took a lot of practice before I could do anything without puking and guzzling acetone to kill the pain. And you can't practice, because according to Kyle, every time you do it eats your brain."

"Look, I'll stop before it goes that far, okay? I know the signs. Besides, if you help me, maybe I can help you. There must be something that you want to know about your future."

"What about my past?"

Max meeting with Jesse at the Crashdown. This is super interesting because it's the first time Max has sat down, face to face, with a hostile human who knows he's an alien.

"My uncle used to bring me here. That was back when it catered to a more civil clientele. People who actually respected the history of this town."

This is likely foreshadowing what's to come next week, based on the promo pics released.

Again, similar to the scene with Charlie at the junkyard, much of this exchange between Max and Jesse is just reminding us of stuff we learned in 1x04.

"The last time I saw her she came to me with questions about her sister. And I told her that the people most interested in Charlie's device were a black ops group based out of Los Alamos. They're called Deep Sky. This is their logo. Paramilitary. And I told Jenna that what she was getting into was gonna be dangerous. But apparently she didn't listen.

Note: in case any of you are unaware, in Los Alamos there's a US DOE lab that has a long, sketchy history of weapons development. Makes perfect since that it's where a paramilitary organization interested in Charlie's research would be based there.

The Deep Sky Logo

I compared this to a number of screenshots of alien symbols (like the ones we saw in Jim Valenti's letters in 1x12) and there were no matches.

However, fandom has already noted that the logo matches Trevor's ring in 2x06 (see that episode's details post for the photo).

"Charlie Cameron's mind is a unique specimen. Kind of like you. And there's always someone in the shadows waiting to crack those open."

"What did you do to Jenna?"

"I told her the truth. Which is more than you ever did. You're kind of a wolf in sheep's clothing, aren't you?"

"And what are you? Do you feel like a hero? All those people you tortured, all those people you killed. Turns out none of them were an enemy. They were refugees. So you're not just a murderer, you're a failure."

"Yeah, I know. I am. But I tell you, something shifted in my brain when I had the stroke. All the hate's gone out of me. All the fight. Caulfield is over and my son Flint has been reassigned. Look at me. I can barely walk."

Liz and Charlie in the car:

"Waitressing's really got to blow when you've grown a fully functioning heart muscle in a lab. Or are you not the same Elizabeth Ortecho who co-authored a 2013 paper on cellular reprogramming? Some people build model trains; I do my homework. Your boyfriend seems more like the train type."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"We've discovered new worlds and changed the course of mankind from a microscope. Should I go Netflix and chill with my boyfriend or stay in the lab, architecting the future?"

"No offense, but if it's true that you've been in prison and in hiding, it does not seem like you've seen much of the inside of a lab either."

"I went too far. I thought I was building something with real value. The thing is, anything that has the potential to create real change, it scares people. And anything that scares people is inherently dangerous no matter what your intention is."

"You could start over. Get a new identity, work at a research university."

"I've done extraordinary things. Everything ordinary is ruined now."

More exposition that we already know as Max catches Charlie and Liz up on what he learns from Jesse.

"He said Cam is headed to Los Alamos to investigate a group called Deep Sky. Does that mean anything to you?"

"No. Let me reach out to some of my military contacts, do some recon. Give me a day, we'll go from there."

Liz and Michael, in the lab, on The Science:

"I'm looking for the sample of yellow pollen."

"The stuff I swept off the floor after throwing it at Noah? I don't know. I didn't see it while we were packing up."

"Well it was here a few months back. Did I miss an experiment where it grew legs and a fondness for the outdoors?"

"Could have been accidentally thrown away. Sample was too oxidized to be of much use, and I've been trying to get my hands on fresh flowers, but it's impossible. I think they might be extinct. Why are you freaking out?"

"Because I have a math problem. There's only one flower in Maria's necklace, but there are two DeLuca women and apparently the flower is the key to preventing their illness. This is everything from the Caulfield drives and the experiments done on Maria's grandmother. A lot of it was lost in a lab fire in the '80s, but…"

"I'll take a look."

(Aside… 👀 Lab fire in the '80s. I have a feeling that's more foreshadowing.)

"I just want you to see if anything done could be undone. I don't want you to, like, Dr. Frankenstein it. The experiments were very bad."

"My days as an alien scientist are officially over."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"'Cause it's hard not to think about the far-reaching implications of this kind of research. You don't get sick on this planet. If I could figure out why, I could eradicate all illness."

"But you can't. Because that would expose us."

"Which I would obviously never do. It's over."

Arturo's text to Liz:

Have you seen our little mouse?

"Rosalinda" is late for her first shift.

Isobel and Maria go to Michael's trailer and Isobel shows Maria the newspaper clip of Michael's mom to try to trigger a vision.

"It's not working. And I don't feel great going through this stuff without Michael knowing."

"Why not? One day this palace might all be yours."

"It's not working. I have a business to run, and you need to go Instagram something."

"Says the social media revitalizer. Listen, word to the wise, every time Max saw Liz in a skirt and tried not to pop a bulb, he wound up setting off a fire alarm. Everytime I push myself too hard, I miss time, or wind up accidentally realizing that my mom still thinks about her ex-boyfriend Rocco, like, in vivid detail."

"Okay, where are you going with this?"

"Effort doesn't equal control. So if you want to do this you're gonna have to embrace your inner ice queen and let it go."

"I'm not great at letting things go."

"Yeah, I know. That's hard…"

Maria's vision:

Triggered by a t-shirt hanging in the trailer.

Louise is hanging laundry

Walt runs up to her and gives her a little windmill with her name on it. (Initially I thought her name was pressed or punched into the metal, but on second viewing, it looks like it might be puff paint or something similar.)

Walt runs off to find Nora and Louise goes back to hanging laundry.

After the vision Maria's nose starts bleeding.

Max goes after Charlie to stop her from turning herself in.

I wonder if his tire screeching action guy driving is supposed to be emphasizing to the audience that he's not being as cautious as he should be?

Deep Sky said that if Charlie "...wasn't at Sutter's grain depot by 11pm, that they would torture (Cam) to death."

Charlie heard on the call:

A train rolling by

A demonic laugh

And somehow that's enough for Max to magically know exactly where Cam is.

Alex and Jesse at the hospital:

"Hey, they said that you mixed whiskey with your medications. That's not like you."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I don't know. I mean, you're my father. I can't seem to shake you."

"Yeah. I failed."

"Yes. But in what way specifically?"

"Uncle Tripp. I let him down. I never could figure out what he needed of me. And tonight I went to the bunker. And I keep trying to crack the code."

"Liz said that you spoke to Max Evans. She said that you were half decent to him. Is that what this is about?"

"One of them killed Tripp, you know."

"An alien? Yeah. Then he hunted them. He dragged them to a torture chamber. I'm not surprised one of them…"

Jesse slams his cane.

"He was the best man I ever knew.

Jesse tries to stand and falls into Alex, then continues to walk away.

The location that Deep Sky is holding Cam looks like a rodeo or horse arena or racetrack with a big grandstand.

There are nearby train tracks, and a warehouse where a mechanic repairs old carnival rides.

As Max and Charlie are scoping out the area you can hear both sounds softly in the background.

The sniper was watching and shooting at them from the grandstand.

Charlie is shot in the leg.

"Let me go get her."

"No. Deep Sky wants me alive. Your brain is worth considerably less to them which means it'll be splattered all over the dirt."

(Oh the irony...confirming that Charlie doesn't know that Max is an alien.)

"If anything goes wrong, call Liz. No doctors."

Max does shoot the sniper!

And then uses his powers to knock out the power (and instantly feeling it in his heart when he starts to use his powers!!!!!!) which, as @angsty-aliens very eloquently pointed out, is absurd because there was a big red lever that would have done the same thing. *facepalm*

Cam on her kidnapping:

"The last thing I remember is this weird sound. It made the hairs on my arm stand up. And this bright light, and the pain in the back of my neck like you wouldn't believe."

Cam's burn is fractals. Like Liz's burn from Max's powers in 1x03. Top is Liz's fresh burn in 1x03, bottom is Cam's not-so-fresh burn in 2x08. Keep in mind, we don't know how long Cam was missing for.

Rosa and Iris at the "art show".

"So you said you're from Roswell?"

"Oh, I was from Roswell. I got out and went to art school as soon as I graduated. I work for an artist now. I help her run her gallery. Yeah, I used to want to be a painter, but then I realized I loved curating art way more than I ever loved making it."

👀 I wonder what this says about Rosa's internal motivation. If Iris is the life she wishes that she had, does she not want to be a painter? Or is that her internal insecurity rearing its head. Like, she can't even dream about that possibility because it's what she really wants above all else. Which is why Iris then motivates her to paint and prove to her inner self that she is an artist?

Speaking of which, here's Rosa's painting from the episode. Mucho gracias to @rosaortecho for giffing it for me since it wasn't cap-able in a single shot.

Iris's assessment of Rosa's art:

"This piece is you outrunning your demons. This is amazing. That's what you have to do. You have to capture them and rattle the cage. This is art. This is what you're meant to do, Rosa!"

Rosa's hallucination starts to fall apart as they dance. She starts coughing and having trouble breathing.

"Your star sign's just out of whack."

Play on lyrics from God of Wine by Third Eye Blind, which was heavily referenced in 1x02.

The direct quote is "your star sign's out of whack" and the next lyric is "a fraudulent zodiac"

Which, of course, is what Rosa had written on her hand before she died in 2008 and is a reference to Ophiuchus, which was Noah's zodiac obsession.

And then Liz finds her overdosing in the cave.

The coughing in Rosa's hallucination was from smoke inhalation. Because while passed out she started a fire with her powers.

Feels like a good time to point out that it's the same cave that she died in back in 2008, and she would have died there again if Liz hadn't found her. 😭

At the hospital Rosa tells Liz that she wants to go to rehab, but she knows she can't since she can't control her powers.

Liz gives her Maria's necklace to borrow since it will suppress her powers and allow her to go to rehab.

Alex and Forrest at the Wild Pony:

"I still have my dad's voice in my head telling me that being seen with a man in public is an embarrassment. To my name and my uniform."

"Well, there's nothing like a dad voice to mess up a perfectly good date."

"It's also just that...I mean, Roswell's so conservative. This bar is filled with cowboys. If you want to go someplace private…"

"Look, I like you. But I don't want to climb into somebody else's closet."

"I cannot tell you how badly I want to be done with this frickin' closet."

"But you're not. And that's okay. Really. Listen, if that voice in your head ever shuts up, give me a call. Because between you and me, making out with a hot guy in public is only made hotter when it pisses off all the bigots and homophobes."

Charlie took off and left a note for Jenna. According to Jenna it says she's gonna disappear again and not to look for her.

Arturo is taking Rosa to a rehab center that Kyle set her up with "a few hours away".

Max tells Liz "let's go home." So… did she move in with him??

Liz says no though. She says she has to open the diner and cry alone. But instead she goes to the secret lab.

Both Max and Liz were evading the truth a little bit here. Liz didn't tell Max that she wanted to go to the secret lab. Max didn't tell Liz that his heart did wonk out after using his powers and he did overdo it going after Cam. Bad Echo!!

Liz goes back to packing the secret lab up initially, but then her eyes fall into the Caulfield folders, and she stops.

She unpacks her stolen equipment (genetic sequencer?), puts on her lab coat, and sits down to start reading the file.

Isobel brings Michael beer as a peace offering, since she's coming to admit that she helped Maria trigger a vision. She thinks Michael will be mad, but he isn't because he and Maria already worked it out.

So Isobel tells him about the vision and seeing Louise, and specifically about Walt giving Louise the windmill.

Michael immediately reacts, goes to a shelf, and grabs a similar windmill.

Turns out Walt is Sanders. He pulls up in his car and Michael immediately confronts Sanders.

"It was you. You're Walt. You're the little boy in the photo. You knew my mother."

And Sanders nods.

10 more points to fandom.

Max goes to Charlie's hotel to confront her about turning herself in to Deep Sky.

The windmill in both scenes. Until I put this together I didn't think they were the same one (because Louise's name isn't on Michael's. But other details (like the word weight on one of the legs) are the same.