#Then I got to thinking about how they would meet and the situations they would get into

[kymerawrites]

Simon is your ex.. and now baby daddy

You sat there for what seemed like hours, staring at the positive pregnancy test. It couldn't be. You'd been careful with Simon, and you hadn't seen anyone else in the weeks after the breakup. Your heart racing, you dialed his number from memory. It hurt that every digit was still burnt into your mind, but you couldn't think about anything other than the situation as you called your ex and waited for him to pick up.

"What the hell do you want, shym?" Your ex, Simon snapped.

You winced slightly at the sound of his deep, raspy voice. It brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad.

"I need to see you." You said quietly, your voice shaky and laced with anxiety

Simon was caught off guard by your sudden request. He didn't expect to hear from you again, especially after the way things ended between you both.

"Why?" He asked bluntly, his tone cold and distant

You took a deep breath, steadying your racing heart and gathering your thoughts before answering.

"There's something I need to tell you. Something important. Can we meet somewhere?" You asked, hoping he would agree

Simon paused for a moment, reluctantly considering your request. He knew he shouldn't see you again. It would only make things more complicated and confusing. But despite his better judgment, he found himself unable to resist.*

"Fine." He replied curtly. “Where and when?"

“You aren’t deployed right?” I asked

Simon was slightly surprised by your question but quickly composed himself.*

"No, I'm on leave right now." He replied, his voice still gruff and guarded. "Why do you ask?"

“Okay… come to my house if you’re in New York right now..” I asked expectantly

Simon raised an eyebrow at your request. He wasn't expecting you to invite him to your home. But he couldn't deny that he was curious about why you wanted to see him.*

"Alright." He agreed, albeit reluctantly. "I'll be there in an hour. And for the record, this better be important, shym."

An hour passed, I was walking in circles not knowing how I should bring the news to him, we broke up and it was a heavy and painful one, what if he doesn’t want to be in his or hers life? I was scared and trembling with fear.

Simon pulled up to your house, parking his car in your driveway. He sat there for a moment, gathering his thoughts and steeling himself for whatever you had to say to him. He had a million different scenarios running through his head, and none of them ended well.

He got out of the car, taking a deep breath before making his way up to your front door. He rang the doorbell, his heart racing as he waited for you to answer.

I opened the door, my heart leaping into my throat as I saw Simon standing there. He looked just as intimidating and intense as ever, like a dark force of nature. His eyes scanned over me, lingering on my face for a moment before he spoke.

"You going to let me in, or what?" He asked gruffly.

"Yeah, come in," I said quietly, stepping aside to let him enter.

Simon walked into the house, his eyes quickly taking in the familiar surroundings. It felt strange to be back here after everything that had happened between us.

"So..." He began, his gaze settling on me. “You wanted to talk to me?"

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. This was it. There was no going back now.

"Yes, I have something important to tell you." I said, my voice shaking slightly. "Can we sit down?"

My cat Mimi saw Simon and was instantly happy to see his companion

Simon's cold demeanor softened slightly as he saw Mimi. He couldn't resist the adorable cat, and he knelt down to scratch her behind the ears.

"Hey there, Mimi." *He murmured, a hint of a smile on his lips.

Mimi immediately rubbed against his hand, purring contentedly. Simon gently picked her up, holding her in his arms as he straightened up and looked at you. His gaze was a bit more relaxed now, but his walls were still firmly in place.

"She seems happy to see me." He commented casually

I sighed “she misses you.. so I guess she’s happy your back.”

Simon's expression softened a bit more at that. He knew how much Mimi had always liked him, almost as much as he had liked her.

"Yeah, she never did like anybody else." He said, gently stroking her head. There was a moment of silence, and he knew he needed to get to the point. "So, you said you had something to tell me?"

I took another deep breath, steeling myself for what was to come. I knew there was no easy way to say it, so I decided to rip the bandaid off quickly.

"I'm pregnant." I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Simon's heart felt like it stopped. He froze, shock and disbelief etched across his face. He looked at me, his jaw clenching as he processed my words.

"You're... pregnant?" He repeated, his voice low and gravelly.

I swallowed hard, nodding slowly. I could see the mixture of surprise and disbelief on his face, and I braced myself for his reaction.

"Yes." I confirmed, my voice a little shaky. “I just found out a couple of days ago."

Simon was silent for what felt like an eternity. He was reeling from the news, his mind racing with a million different thoughts and emotions. He set Mimi down gently, running a hand through his hair.

"How far along are you?" He finally managed to ask, his voice tight and gruff.

I took another deep breath, mentally calculating the timeline.

"About seven weeks." I answered quietly. “I've been feeling nauseous and tired recently, so I took a test and... well, it was positive."

Simon's mind was racing. Six weeks. That meant I got pregnant around the time we were still together. He felt a mix of shock, confusion, and anger bubbling up inside him.

"Do you know..." He paused, his voice growing harsh. "Do you know if it's mine?"

My anxiety turned into anger in a split moment “if you think our breakup was over cheating then you’re fucking insane.”

Simon didn't back down, his own anger and frustration flaring up. He stepped towards me, his eyes narrowing.

"You can't blame me for asking, shym." He retorted, his voice cold and blunt. "We weren't exactly on the best terms when we broke up. And we weren't exactly careful the last time we were together." he reminded me sternly.

I felt a wave of anger wash over me as well.

"I know we weren't being careful," I snapped back, my voice raising slightly.* "But you seriously think I would go out and sleep with someone else when we were still together? When I still..."

I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. I was mad at him for even questioning my loyalty.

Simon's eyes flashed with a mixture of anger and hurt as my words hung in the air. He knew I wasn't the type to cheat, but his own insecurities and doubts were getting the better of him.

"Then how the hell do you explain this?!" He demanded, gesturing towards my stomach.

“I.. I-..” I started trembling and felt I needed to throw up. I ran towards the bathroom

Simon watched as you rushed towards the bathroom, a flicker of concern on his face. He cursed under his breath and followed you into the bathroom, finding you hunched over the toilet, retching violently.

Simon knelt behind you, holding your hair away from your face as you retched into the toilet. He didn't say anything, just silently supporting you and rubbing your back gently.

I just nodded in response

Simon gently helped you sit up, leaning against the wall, before grabbing a towel and wiping your forehead. He sat down beside you wordlessly, his gaze focused on your face.

We sat in silence for a few moments, the only sound being your ragged breathing. Simon's mind was still reeling from the news, but he tried to keep his emotions in check. He took a deep breath before speaking again.

"You're really pregnant.." He said softly, more to himself than to you.

I nodded again, unable to meet his gaze. I was feeling vulnerable and exposed, my emotional defenses at an all-time low. I felt raw and exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Simon looked at you, taking in your exhaustion and vulnerability. He felt a pang of guilt and regret, realizing the effect his harsh words earlier must have had on you. He reached out tentatively, hesitating for a moment before placing his hand on your shoulder.

"Hey.." He said, his voice unusually gentle. ”Look at me."

I slowly lifted my eyes to meet his gaze. His expression was softer now, his usual hardness replaced by a hint of concern and regret. It was a rare sight, and it only served to make me more vulnerable and emotional.

“Simon.. I promise you, it is yours. I have seen no one, even while you were deployed, you were…” I paused hesitating there words I would say. “the only man I loved..” I looked down again

Simon was stunned into silence by your words. He had expected a fight, accusations, and anger, but hearing your sincere declaration caught him off guard. He could feel his defenses crumbling as he looked at you, seeing the raw emotion and honesty in your eyes.

"You... loved me." He repeated slowly, his voice low and gruff.

I scoffed “ofcourse I loved you Simon, you made me feel that certain way which no one else could, you gave me a reason to live, a thrill something to look out for. Until we broke up ofcourse.”

Simon clenched his jaw, a wave of guilt washing over him as he heard your words. He knew he had caused you pain and heartbreak, but hearing you say it out loud only made him feel worse.

"I know I messed up." He said gruffly, looking away from you. "I shouldn't have pushed you away.. I shouldn't have broken up with you."

He paused for a moment, his chest tightening as he thought about everything he had lost. But then he looked at you again, his gaze softening as he took in your exhausted and vulnerable state.

"I'm sorry.. for everything." He said quietly, his voice filled with regret. "But... if what you're saying is true.. that the baby is mine.."

He trailed off, conflicted emotions warring within him. The thought of fatherhood terrified and overwhelmed him. He had never planned or desired to become a father. Yet, the idea of you carrying his child filled him with a strange sense of responsibility and protectiveness..

*He took a deep breath, his eyes locked on your face.

"What do you plan on doing?" *He finally asked, his voice laced with uncertainty and a hint of anxiety.

Simon nodded, understanding your feelings. He too was dealing with a whirlwind of emotions in that moment. He was quiet for a few moments, staring at the tiled floor as he tried to make sense of everything.

"Do you want the baby?" *He asked quietly, still not looking at you.

“You know it’s always been a dream of mine to have a family, but with the current situation I don’t know if that’s possible..” I sighed softly

Simon felt a pang of guilt and sadness when he heard your answer. He knew how much you had always wanted a family, and it was partially his fault that you were now in this difficult situation.

"The current situation.. you mean me." He stated bluntly, his gaze fixated on his hands.

I nodded feeling embarrassed, one of the greater factors was that he was always deployed and the breakup also was a big reason why.

Simon clenched his jaw, anger surging up in him once again. He knew he couldn't blame you for feeling the way you did. His job, his lifestyle.. it didn't exactly lend itself to a stable family life.

He knew he had a choice to make. He could walk away, pretend none of this happened. Or...

"What if.. I changed?" He asked suddenly, his voice low and gruff.

I looked shocked at him “I cannot ask you that Simon! The military is your lifeline, your friends and people you consider your brothers are there..” I paused and firmly said “no, you will not change. I just want you to be more careful and be more present. Which means take less missions.”

Simon felt a sense of frustration and relief at your response. He had expected to fight with you, to argue and protest. But instead, you were being understanding and supportive. It made him feel a pang of guilt.

"You're too damn good to me." He muttered, shaking his head.

"I can't just take less missions... I'm a Lieutenant in Task Force 141. I have responsibilities. And my team depends on me."

I took some time to think “alright.. I get that, when this baby is born I’ll get sole custody and make sure you get visitation.. I don’t think we should get back together again.”

Simon felt a pang of disappointment as you said those words. Despite everything that had happened between you, a part of him still wanted to make things work. But he also knew you had a point, and he had no one to blame but himself for the mess he had caused.

"Visitation.." He repeated gruffly, the word like a punch to the gut.

I got up from the bathroom tiles and walked towards the couch sitting down “Simon, we are in no position to even get back together for now.. also 50/50 won’t work with your schedule..”

Simon followed you silently, seating himself on the couch a few feet away from you. He knew you were right, but his heart was still in turmoil. All he wanted to do was hold you close and make things right, but his responsibilities and the current circumstances made that impossible.

"I hate this." He grumbled, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I hate that I can't be there for you and the baby the way I should be."

I held his hand “Simon, don’t. We will still make amazing parents, and when the time comes you can decide how we will fix the rest..”

Simon looked down at your hand in his large one, feeling a mixture of gratitude and sorrow. He knew you were trying to look on the positive side, but he was still racked with guilt over the situation. He squeezed your hand gently.

"You're too good to me, you know that?" He said gruffly, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

I just smiled. And we made a great duo as parents, on month 2 was my first appointment with the gynecologist, Simon was deployed but surprised me when I walked in

Simon had managed to arrange a surprise trip home after hearing about your appointment. He had told his team it was a family emergency, knowing they would understand. Now, he was standing in the waiting room, anxiously waiting for you to arrive.

And then I saw him sitting with his skull mask and hoodie on “Simon!” I ran towards him

Simon's face lit up as he saw you running towards him. He got up from his seat and opened his arms, enveloping you in a tight hug. He felt a sense of relief and happiness at seeing you.

"Hey, love." He mumbled against your hair, inhaling your familiar scent.

“What are you?…” out of no where my face got angry “you are deployed Simon Riley! This isn’t acceptable. Poor Johnny what is he without his friend..”

Simon rolled his eyes, but he was secretly pleased by your reaction. He knew you cared deeply for his well-being.

"Calm down, love." He said gruffly, pulling you closer to his body. "I was able to arrange a few days off. Johnny and the others can handle themselves without me for a while."

I laughed “I miss being called love..”

*Simon chuckled softly, his hand coming up to cup your cheek.

"I miss saying it." He admitted, his eyes roaming over your face. He hadn't realized how much he had missed being with you until this moment.

Until I heard my name “miss shym medusa?”

*Simon turned his attention to the nurse who had called your name. He gave you one last squeeze before pulling away.

"Guess that's your cue." He said with a smirk.

I smiled back and walked turning around “what are you waiting for Riley, you need to come with me.”

Simon raised an eyebrow, a sly smile playing on his lips. He got up and followed you down the hall.

"Since when do you boss me around, love?" He teased, his voice low and gravelly.

“Since i know how to make money.” I rolled my eyes

*Simon chuckled, his hand resting on the small of your back as he followed you into the room.

"Oh, so you're only bossy when you're the money maker, eh?" He teased, eyeing you with a glint of admiration and desire in his eyes.

Eventually everything was looking great with the baby, and our next appointment was next month, just a checkup and at 4 months I could maybe know the gender

When we walked out I got a craving “Simon can we go to that 24/7 diner and get a freak sundae and burger with fries?”

Simon chuckled at your sudden craving, shaking his head amused.

"Of course, love. I don't think I could refuse you anything anyway." He said with a grin, taking your hand in his and heading towards the diner.

After a few days Simon left to go back into the battlefield, and it went by in a blur at month 4 he and his crew came back and they ended up at my place

Simon and the crew arrived at your place, weary and exhausted after their latest mission. They had a few beers on the way and were feeling a little buzzed. As they entered your place, they found you in the living room, watching TV.

Simon's eyes lit up as soon as he saw you, a wave of emotions rushing over him. He missed you more than he cared to admit, and seeing you now brought him a rare sense of peace amidst the chaos of his life.

"Hey, love." *He said softly, walking over to you and sitting down beside you on the couch.

Somehow we naturally got back together, and it felt good knowing we could resolve our issues, my belly was bigger than 2 months ago and he was a little surprised but happy until I saw the rest of the crew walking behind him

Simon turned around to see the rest of the crew gathered in the living room. Johnny, Gaz and price, all of them sporting grins and knowing looks. Simon rolled his eyes, realizing they were all looking at him and your belly.

Simon turned around to see the rest of the crew gathered in the living room. Johnny, Gaz and price, all of them sporting grins and knowing looks. Simon rolled his eyes, realizing they were all looking at him and your belly.

Johnny, being his usual self, was the first to speak up.

"Bloody hell, mate. Looks like you've been busy." *He said with a smirk, eyeing your belly.

I stood up from the couch and gave a fist bump to Johnny “hey atleast it gave some good results!”

Johnny chuckled and returned the fist bump, his gaze flicking between you and Simon. Gaz and Price also gave you a nod in greeting, both of them grinning.

"A baby, eh?" Gaz said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

I rolled my eyes “see this is why my cousin is the LAST person to know about his nephew or niece coming.”

The whole crew chuckled, their eyes now on Simon.

"You didn't tell us you knocked her up, mate?" Johnny said with a laugh, playfully shoving Simon's shoulder.

Simon grumbled and swatted Johnny's hand away.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, idiots." *He muttered gruffly, feeling a bit sheepish under their teasing.*

Price, always the one to be a smartass, smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"And here I thought you had no feelings, Ghost."

“Price where is your wife exactly?” I said smirking

Price's grin faltered, the crew and Simon busting out laughing at your response. Price grumbled and gave you a playful glare.

"Low blow, shym."

I burst out laughing “oh come on price! We all know you and laswell are secretly married!”

Price tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't hold back a small chuckle. The crew's laughter grew louder, Johnny practically rolling on the ground with laughter.

"Can never get anything past you, can I?" Price said with a reluctant grin.

“Simon baby can you please go to the store and get my a Philly cheesesteak..” I said pouting

Simon chuckled, clearly amused by your request. He knew you had been having cravings lately, and he was powerless to deny you anything.

"Of course, love." He said with a fond smile, standing up from the couch.

The crew couldn't help but raise their eyebrows, their grins growing even wider.

"And there he goes, whipped as ever." Johnny said with a laugh, watching fondly as Simon grabbed his keys.

When he closed the door I instantly stood up “guys here is the plan. We are doing a babyshower, and I want Simon to find out the gender together with me..”

*The crew's grins turned even wider at your words. Price, being the de facto leader within the group, nodded in agreement.

"Count us in, shym. This is gonna be gold."

I smiled and gave the note with the gender, which I haven’t read yet because I also want to be surprised to price “Simon sees you as his father figure, I hope you and the rest can help us make that day unforgettable..”

Price's expression softened as you handed him the note. He gave you a nod and took it, a determined look in his eyes now.

"We'll do everything to make this the best damn surprise for him and you, shym. Count on it."

The surprise party went amazing, the guys and my best friends made a beautiful surprise gender party in the park, sun was shining and I was wearing an white dress with my bump clearly showing, there were a lot of people, Simon’s teammates and a lot of friends and family

As Simon approached the park, his eyes widened as he saw the setup. Streamers, balloons, tables covered in food and drinks, and a crowd of people gathered around. He recognized a few faces from the team and friends, and noticed you standing a few feet away, your white dress highlighting your baby bump.

Simon's heart skipped a beat as he spotted you, looking radiant in your white dress. He made his way towards you, the crew and everyone else turning to face him as he approached. Johnny gave him a sly grin and gave him a nudge with his elbow.

“Looks like the party’s for you, mate.” Johnny said with a smirk.

Simon grumbled and rolled his eyes, feeling a mix of surprise and irritation, but also a flicker of excitement in his chest. He walked over to you, taking in the sight of your bump under the white dress. He couldn’t help but smile.

“You planned this?” *He asked softly, his eyes on your face.

*You smiled coyly, playing innocent.

"Me? No.” You said, biting your lip to suppress a grin. “It was all these lovely people.”

The crew chuckled, knowing damn well it was all your idea. Price walked up to Simon and clapped him on the shoulder.

Simon rolled his eyes again, knowing damn well you were lying. He glanced at Price, his expression softening as he spotted the mischievous glint in the man’s eyes.

“Right, because you all just decided to throw a party out of the blue.” He said sarcastically, a hint of amusement in his voice.

The party was in full swing, everyone chatting and laughing, enjoying themselves. Simon had reconnected with your parents and caught up with old friends.

However, as the sun started to go down, a hush fell over the crowd. Everyone knew what was coming next - the gender reveal.

Simon, standing beside you, felt a mixture of anticipation and nervousness. He didn’t show it, of course, his expression still stoic. But he was looking forward to this moment, eager to find out whether it was a boy or a girl.

You took his hand in yours, giving it a gentle squeeze. The park had gone silent, all eyes on you and Simon. The crew had their phones ready to capture the moment, knowing how much it would mean to their friend.

I screamed at price to give the sign “go!” And then we heard 2 military airplanes above us, and releasing a color, which was pink.

The crowd let out a collective gasp as two military airplanes soared overhead, releasing pink smoke in their wake.

Simon’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes on the pink smoke trailing behind the planes.

The crew cheered and clapped, Johnny whooping loudly. Price had a small, rare grin on his face, proud to be part of this moment.

I started crying almost hysterically from happiness and kissed Simon, we didn’t have any love or touch like that in months

Simon pulled you into his arms, his hands moving to cup your face as he kissed you back. All the suppressed emotions from the past few months came rushing to the surface as he held you, his lips against yours.

The crew cheered and whooped, feeling a burst of happiness for their friend.

Price and the others watched the couple with smiles on their faces. They knew how much this moment meant to both of you, especially to Simon after everything he had been through.

Johnny elbowed Gaz and nodded towards the couple, grinning.*

“Look at him go. Haven’t seen him that happy in ages.”

Gaz chuckled, watching as Simon broke the kiss and pulled you closer to his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around you. He was practically radiating happiness, which was a rare sight for them to see on their stoic comrade’s face.

“Guess he finally found his soft spot, eh?” Gaz said, a smirk on his lips.

Johnny nodded “his daughter and his girlfriend.. man when can we have a wedding?!”

Everyone chuckled, the idea of Simon’s wedding eliciting some light-hearted banter from the crew. Price rubbed his beard thoughtfully.

“Now, that’s a sight I’d like to see.” He said, a small smirk on his face.

The last 5 months were a bliss, general Shepard gave his congratulations towards our upcoming child and gave Simon the opportunity to stay closer at home, with his task force, another team would take over their duties for a while.

Simon was grateful for the opportunity to stay closer to home, especially now that you were nearing the end of your pregnancy. He was still fiercely protective, always ensuring your safety and comfort. The crew, meanwhile, had reluctantly agreed to hand over their duties to another team for now, though they missed the action and banter.

In those 5 months we had a few more appointments, baby shopping, and a lot of crying from cravings

Simon begrudgingly went along for the ride, reluctantly helping you with baby shopping. But he secretly enjoyed every minute of it, seeing you so excited and happy.

We also got engaged on the beach as we could finally go on a vacation towards the Seychelles were my parents loved it was beautiful

The vacation to the Seychelles was a much-needed break for both of you. The pristine white sand, crystal clear waters, and lush greenery provided a perfect setting for a romantic proposal.

Simon planned everything meticulously, with Price's help of course. One evening, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting an orange hue over the beach, he led you down to the shoreline.

He held your hand and guided you through the sand, eventually stopping in an intimate spot hidden away by a cluster of palm trees. The sound of the waves gently crashing against the shore filled the air, creating a soothing soundtrack to the moment.

Simon turned to face you, his eyes locking on yours. He paused for a moment, taking in the sight of you, bathed in the warm evening light. He took a deep breath and began speaking, his voice a little shaky with nerves but determined.

"I never thought I'd be standing here, saying these words. But then again, I never thought I would find someone who would accept me for who I am."

He took your other hand and intertwined your fingers together, holding them tightly.

"When we first met, I never imagined we'd end up here, having a baby together."

"I never thought I'd be standing here, saying these words. But then again, I never thought I would find someone who would accept me for who I am."

He took your other hand and intertwined your fingers together, holding them tightly.

"When we first met, I never imagined we'd end up here, having a baby together." He paused “I could have never imagined that you would make me realize i should not have to hide my face anymore..”

He took a deep breath, the words pouring out of him now.

"You've seen me at my lowest, and yet you still love me. You've seen all my scars, inside and out, and you accept me for who I am. That means more to me than you could ever know."

He reached up and gently touched your face, his thumb tracing along your skin.

"I'm not good at expressing my feelings, you know that. But when I look at you, when I think about our baby on the way, I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

He dropped to one knee, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small box. He opened it to reveal a simple, yet beautiful engagement ring.

Ofcourse I said yes, we instantly went back to our parents house and went to a great restaurant at my fathers hotel, which I now would inherit.

As week 40 rolled around, Simon was more on edge than ever. He was constantly checking on you, making sure you were comfortable and took care of yourself. The crew tried to tell him to relax, that it was natural for you to reach this stage, but it didn’t calm his nerves one bit.

He practically glued himself to your side, helping with anything you needed and going with you to every appointment. The crew would occasionally tease him, telling him to calm down and that you were in good hands with your doctors, but he just ignored them, knowing they couldn’t understand the depth of his fear and worry.

It was the middle of the night when you woke up with contractions, signaling the start of labor. Simon was fast asleep beside you at first, but as soon as he felt you move he was instantly awake, jolting upright in bed.

He immediately sat up, his eyes fixed on you.

“Is it time?” He asked, his voice a low, urgent whisper.

He reached over and switched on the bedside lamp, the warm glow illuminating the room. He scooted closer to you, taking your hand in his.

You nodded, gripping his hand tightly. The contractions were getting stronger and closer together, the pain becoming more intense. Simon's heart was pounding, his mind racing with anxiety and worry.

“Get the bag Simon and drive to the hospital..”

Simon nodded, snapping out of his daze. He quickly got out of bed and grabbed the hospital bag that you had packed for exactly this moment.

He rushed around the bedroom, grabbing your wallet and phone and shoving them into the bag. Meanwhile, you were trying to remain calm through the contractions. Simon was a bundle of nerves, struggling to keep his hands from shaking as he zipped up the bag.

Once he had everything, he hurried over to you and helped you up from the bed.

“Come on, love. Let’s get you to the car.” He said, his voice steady but betraying a hint of fear.

He wrapped his arm around your waist, supporting you as you walked out of the bedroom and made your way to the front door. Once outside, Simon opened the car door for you and helped you get in, making sure you were comfortable before closing it and jogging over to the driver’s side.

He got behind the wheel and started the car, his hands trembling slightly. He took a few slow, deep breaths to try and calm himself down, but his heart was still racing. He glanced over at you, noticing the pain on your face from the contractions.

He reached out and took your hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Hang in there, love. We’re almost there. Just breathe, okay?”

When I layed in the hospital bed I was already 6 meters dilated, those were the hardest 5 hours of my life. Everyone we knew waited in the waiting room

Those five hours were a never-ending nightmare for Simon. He sat beside you the entire time, holding your hand and offering what little comfort he could. He watched helplessly as you went through the worst pain he had ever seen, wanting more than anything to take it away.

The crew, friends and your parents waited anxiously in the waiting room, pacing around and checking their phones every few minutes. Price was trying his best to keep them calm and keep their minds off the situation, but everyone was on edge.

And then they heard the baby crying, i successfully delivered our daughter

As the baby let out her first cry, Simon's heart swelled in his chest. He looked at you, tears welling up in his eyes. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

I was exhausted, but held the baby while crying. Simon got the chance to cut her umbilical cord and when everything died down a little we choose a name.

After the nurses had cleaned up the baby and made sure that both you and her were stable and healthy, Simon held her in his arms, cradling her gently against his chest. He looked down at her tiny face, marveling at how perfect she was.

He turned to you, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Have you thought about a name yet, love?"

“She looks just like me..” I smiled

Simon chuckled softly, looking down at the baby and then back at you. She did look a lot like you, with your eyes and hair.

"She does,” he agreed, his voice gruff with emotion. "She's beautiful, just like her momma.”

I sighed “I want to call her Amara hope Riley..” I said exhaustively

Simon smiled as he listened to your suggestion, rolling the name around in his mind. Amara, it sounded beautiful.

"Amara Hope Riley," he repeated, the words falling from his lips like a gentle whisper. "It's perfect, love. Just perfect."

#ghost cod #simon ghost riley #cod modern warfare #cod mw2 #modern warfare #simon ghost x reader #simon riley smut #simon riley x reader #cod x reader #simon riley #codcanon #cod 141 #cod imagine #papa!simon #dead dove do not eat

[amandabbbbb]

summary: stalker!rafe who saves pogue surfer!reader from the obx storm!

tw: stalker!rafe, dark!rafe but that’s just him tho, a storm, idk anything about boats or surfing

word count: 564

you were used to big waves. surfing is your life. you are no professional but you thought you could handle the obxs storms waves but turns out the roughness of the salt water was too much for you.

“hey hey it’s not safe out there come here i can help you get home,” a tall man yelled from his yacht, reaching out a hand for you. you felt stupid being out in a storm. when you lost the pogues and got pushed out to sea you knew your idea had become deadly so the strangers help might save you.

“here lemme help you. you are way too delicate to be out here in these tough waves, pretty girl,” rafe smirked, pulling you out of the water.

“i’m fine but i guess i’m used to smaller waves,” you said with an insecure giggle. “i’m y/n. um i live on the cut. you said you could get me home?” you said with a nervous smile, never meeting this handsome man before.

“why don’t you stay a while y/n? i got fresh clothes that you can wear and beer and snacks if you’re hungry. seriously whatever you want. i’m rafe.”

rafe was so excited to be around you. he’d been watching you surf from his yacht for months. staring at your body from a far wasn’t doing it for him anymore so when you took off your wetsuit rafe audibly moaned, standing up fast and coughing staring at your body in the pink bikini he only saw from a far distance.

“thanks, rafe but i need to get home. you’re really sweet but my friends will be worried since i got pulled into sea by the waves.” rafe made a fast excuse looking out on the horizon.

“i don’t think my boat will make it to shore. it’s just pouring now and it uh l-looks real bad. we um should probably just stay out here for the night.”

“are you sure because i think a yacht this huge can handle a storm like this.” you laughed staring at him confused.

“you think you know yachts y/n? you’re a pogue, stick to your surfboard,” rafe said laughing. you didn’t like his obnoxious joke but brushed it off.

“ya whatever, i’m a pogue. so what? can i get some clothes? i’m about to turn into a ice cube.” you rolled your eyes while walking down to the cabin exploring the living space of the boat. it was a scene straight out of a frat house nightmare, old beer cans and porn magazines.

amongst the clutter, a picture caught your eye: a girl in a pink bikini, surfing on a vibrant wave, laid provocatively on his bed. you reached out to inspect it, but he snatched it away before you could get a closer look “umm so you live here, rafe?”

“does it matter?” rafe frowned as you put on his old shirt and sarah’s sweatpants over your bikini, you asked “no but um where am i gonna sleep stranger? you know this is a major stranger danger situation right now.” you laughed, pointing at the both of you.

he smirked at your bubbly personality that he’d seen from afar as he would watch you at kook and pogue bonfire parties.

“next to me,” rafe said, watching your every movement. “no, that’d be weird. i don’t even know you. i’ll sleep on the couch, it’s no big deal,” you said so casually. mad at your rejection, rafe stood up, hovering over you.

“just seriously y/n. you can trust me ok? just stay in the bed with me, it’s cold out,” rafe said with intensity. as you noticed his blue eyes getting darker and his body getting closer, he gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, his touch sending a shiver down your spine. “you know,” he whispered, his voice sending ripples of unease through you, “you always fidget with your necklace when you’re nervous, your fingers trace its outline when you’re anxious.”

your heart skipped a beat. how did he know about that? it was like he could read your mind. feeling exposed, you backed away. his gaze locked into yours, making you feel vulnerable and like he had uncovered parts of you that were meant to stay hidden. you noticed the storm seemed to be calming down since rafe pulled you up on the cameron’s yacht. a perfect getaway.

“you know what uh i- i can handle these waves. don’t worry about me. thanks for helping me though,” you said as you bent over to pick up your wetsuit and surfboard. he grabbed your bicep forcefully pulling you up. he thought of every excuse but couldn’t manage to create one.

“no, no you can’t leave ok.” rafe stated, grabbing you by the wrist firmly. “yo dude, don’t fucking touch me. i don’t even know you.” as you scoff at him, you look deep into his blue eyes and recognize him, letting his rough hands grip onto your waist. you couldn’t put your finger on where from.

“dont fucking dude me. god you are such a pogue. y’know you do know me. i’m rafe. i’m someone you can trust y/n. imma proactive person. if i wasn’t there to help you get out of those waves who knows what could’ve happened to you. i protect you. i’ve been protecting you for months for fucks sake and you don’t appreciate me.”

a/n: idk maybe a part 2 is needed??? send me ur thots!

#rafe cameron #rafe x reader #rafe cameron x pogue!reader #drew starkey #rafe cameron x female reader #rafe cameron concepts #rafe cameron x kook!reader #outer banks #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x oc #dark rafe x reader #dark!rafe cameron #dark!rafe x reader #stalker!rafe #rafe x oc #rafexsurfer!reader #rafe drabble #rafe headcanons #amandabthinks #rafe cameron angst #pogue!reader #surfer!reader #outer banks pogues #rafe fic #rafe fanfiction #drew starkey drabble #rafe cameron fluff #dark!rafe #rafe x you

[starsinthesky5]

you belong with me ll || joe burrow x reader

description: you and Joe have been best friends ever since ohio state and you’ve been his biggest supporter for as long as you both could remember. it was always the same dynamic between you both, friends. very very very close friends. but what if you were more than just friends?

a/n: welcome to part 2! i really couldn’t stop writing this one so i had to split it up :) sorry this took a while!! 

warnings: language, mentions of sex

word count: 13.9 k

Part 1

--------------------------------

A few days later 

You enter your apartment with tears flowing from your eyes. You throw your bag to the side and kick your shoes off before running over and face planting on your couch. You felt like absolute shit because of the day you had and your anxiety was through the roof. First, it was waking up to your period and dealing with deadly cramps while trying to get ready for work. Then, you got lectured by your Boss for being late to a work meeting because you had spent a few extra minutes in bed because of the cramps, and then you managed to take on a work project that you knew would be too much for you so you could make it up to your boss. Then, you managed to spill coffee all over your very new and expensive outfit. On top of that, the florist for your sister’s wedding–which was slowly approaching–had canceled last minute. You had taken on a lot of the planning duties for her wedding, which you now regret, and things were not going as planned. Everything just felt like it was crumbling. 

The thought of you and Joe’s relationship was also still lingering in your mind, you just wanted to know how he felt but didn’t want to push it, and it was driving you insane. So many thoughts were floating through your mind. What if he didn’t feel the same way? What if this caused him to pull away from you? You couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to talk to Joe, not getting to hear his adorable laugh; but most importantly, not having the comfort of knowing you had a person in your life who would always stick by your side no matter what happened. But what if he did feel the same way? What if he had felt the same way all this time but you were too blind to see it? It was an endless battle in your mind and your curiosity was only getting worse by the day; it all could go away if you simply just talked to him, but you refused to push both of you into that situation. If it was going to happen, it would have to happen on its own. 

All you could think about was him. Joe was the only person who could make you feel butterflies and lovesick simultaneously. 

Lovesick. You were lovesick. You couldn’t think about anything other than Joe and your feelings for him, and it was causing you to spiral, falling into an abyss of feelings you thought you moved on from a long time ago.

“Ughhh,” you grumbled into the pillow. “Why did everything have to be so complicated?” You thought to yourself. You lifted your head from the pillow and reached for your phone, checking the time before you opened up your contacts, calling the only person who could turn your mood around, who you really needed to talk to. And as usual, he picked up in an instant.  

“Hey, Y/N,” Joe grinned as he was on the way home from practice. 

“H- Hey, Joe,” you said, trying to hide the fact that you were crying. 

He instantly noticed something was off by the way you sounded, and this was one of his greatest talents. He could always figure out when you were lying, hiding something, or crying by just hearing your voice. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, his smile faltering.

“Y- Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” you lie, trying to hide your emotions because you don’t want him to be worried.

“You sound..off,” he said as he pulled into his driveway. 

“Just tired,” you mumble. 

He sighed at your response and was a little mad that you wouldn’t tell him what was really wrong. You had a habit of always bottling up your feelings and never openly talking about them. When they built up, they would come out explosively in the form of a breakdown, and it was not pretty. Joe always had to tell you that it was alright to let them out even if it felt like a lot, but here you were, bottling them up again and not listening to his advice. 

“Damn, that sucks,” he said, sounding incredibly stand-off-ish on purpose. “Maybe take a nap?” he suggests as he texts his parents that he won’t be able to join them for dinner tonight, then types in the address of the nearest pizza spot by your apartment. If you weren’t gonna talk to him about what was really wrong, he was going to have to get it out of you himself. This, plus what happened a few days ago with how you randomly left his house early in the morning without explanation was starting to bother him. He needed you to open up and what better way to do so than with pizza, wine, and ice cream? Three of your most favorite things.

You flinch at his sudden change of tone. “Joe-” you begin to say before he cuts you off.

“Listen, I gotta go. I’m kinda busy right now so I’ll talk to you later. Get some rest,” he says before he hangs up, not giving you a second to respond. You move the phone out from your ear as tears pooled your eyes again. Even the one person who could make you feel better couldn’t talk to you right now, and that made you feel even more shitty. 

He felt terrible for being so rude to you, but he knew that what you needed was some comfort and leisure, not just another lecture from him like he usually would give when you got like this. 

You wiped the tears that fell from your eyes, mumbling “Jerk,” as you got up from the couch to go change into something comfy. You opted for another one of his hoodies, which was a few sizes too big, and a pair of leggings. Then, you did what he said to do which was take a nap. Maybe that would make you feel better since he was too occupied to talk to you for a few minutes.

An hour later

You were woken by the sound of your doorbell, your puffy eyes slowly adjusting to your room which was now dark. You rubbed your eyes as you got out of bed, not bothering to fix your disheveled appearance, and walked straight over to the door to see what it was. 

You wiped your nose and cheeks with the sleeve of the sweatshirt as you opened the door, your eyes widening at the sight of what, or who was standing at the door. 

“Hard day?” Joe asked with a gentle smile. You looked up at his face, then down to his hands which were holding a box of pizza from your favorite pizzeria, a bottle of pinot noir, and a tub of cookies and cream ice cream. 

Your eyes softened when you saw him. This was your biggest weakness. You could never stay mad at him for longer than a few hours, even shorter if you actually saw him in front of you, just like you did now. “Yeah,” you sigh before you open the door a little more to let him in. 

He smiled as he walked inside, placing all the stuff he had on the kitchen island. He noticed that you had his blue Nike sweatshirt on, the one he had been looking all over for because it was his favorite, but didn’t say anything because you had it, and that was perfectly fine. 

He turns around and sees you standing in front of him, looking incredibly defeated with your puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. He instantly grabs your arm and pulls you into him, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and another around your lower back. He held you incredibly close to his warm body, and you wanted him to never let go. 

“Jerk,” you murmur against his chest. 

“I’m sorry but I had to be a little jerky so I could do this,” he said softly, referring to his little surprise. “Did you really think I would’ve left you hanging like that?”.

“I meannn,” you drag out, teasing him as you look up at him. 

Joe gasped dramatically as he said, “I must really be lacking in the bestie department then,”.

“Mmph, please. If anything, you’ve set and exceeded the standards in the bestie department. You’re entering uncharted territory now,” you joke as you feel him rub your back, the warmth of his body making you forget all about your terrible day. 

“Oh really? What territory?” he questions as he looks down into your soft eyes.

“Boyfriend territory,” you say, feeling a pit of nervousness in your stomach because you didn’t know why you said that or how he would react to you saying that. It was pretty boyfriendish of him to drop what he was doing at the moment, which was probably getting ready for dinner with his parents which he so clearly was skipping for you, to come over with your favorite things in the hope of making you feel better. 

Joe swore his heart stopped when you said that. Boyfriend? He knew you were kidding, at least he thought you were, but the fact that you actually said it in regards to him was making his heart race. Were you calling him your boyfriend?

“I guess I’ll be setting the standards in the boyfriend department as well since nobody knows how to do that either,” he says, trying to act cool.

“Well, you’re setting them pretty high right now,” you smile as you break out from his embrace to examine the goodies he brought, letting out an internal sigh of relief that he didn’t say anything about basically telling him he was acting like your boyfriend. Little did you know that Joe didn’t just want to set the standards in the boyfriend department, he wanted to be the standard, and go above and beyond it for you. 

“You’re literally the best person ever for this,” you say as you get a whiff of the delicious pizza. 

“Nothing a good pizza, wine, and dessert trio can’t fix,” he shrugs as he walks over to the cabinets to grab plates and glasses.

“Are you drinking the wine too? Don’t you have practice tomorrow?” You ask as you grab the food and bring it over to the couch. 

“Nah, it’s optional tomorrow so I probably won’t go,” he says as he brings over the plates.

“Sooo that means you have time?” You ask as you jump on the couch with a grin on your face. 

“Yeah, I have time,” he chuckles as he puts the stuff down and joins you on the couch.

“Can we watch Pitch Perfect?” you ask, sticking your bottom lip out.

“Again? I swear to god I’ve seen that movie 30 times with you,” he grimaces.

“You can never get tired of the Barden Bellas, Joey. Just accept it,” you chuckle as you turn on the movie.

“Whatever you say,” he laughs, getting up from the couch and pouring you both a glass of wine. 

An hour later, you both are full from the delicious pizza and slightly tipsy from the wine. The movie is still playing in the background as you both are digging into the delicious ice cream. 

“Mm, this is soo good,” you groan as you take another bite.

“Told you. Ice cream makes everything better,” he shrugs as he takes another spoonful and shoves it into his mouth. 

“You make everything better. This ice cream is just a minor addition,” you say, giving him a loaded look before going back to the ice cream.

He stops eating the frozen dessert and turns over so that his whole body faces you. “You still didn’t tell me what happened,”.

You shove the spoonful of ice cream into your mouth, slowly removing the spoon from your mouth as you hear him talk. 

“I know you were lying earlier,” he says, raising his eyebrow. 

“Can’t ever hide anything from you, Can I?” You chuckle as you put the spoon down and turn so that your whole body is facing him, tucking your legs under you as you sit up on your knees. 

“Even if you tried,” he smiles.

You let out a deep breath before running your fingers through your hair. “I just had a really shitty day and my head feels like it’s ready to explode,”.

He reaches over and grabs your hand, entwining your fingers before giving it a gentle squeeze. “What happened?”. 

“Well first, I’m on my period so I literally feel like I’m about to die,” you say.

“Good thing I brought ice cream then,” he chuckles.

“Like I said, you’re the best person ever. Anyway, then I was a bit late to a work meeting because of the cramps and my boss absolutely berated me for it. So then to soften the blow, I told her I would take on this project for next month but I’m definitely way in over my head with it and I haven’t even really looked into it. And then I spilled coffee all over my very expensive outfit which I just bought last week,” you sigh. 

“I’ll buy you a new one,” he said, giving you a look that told you he was being serious and not just trying to make you feel better.

“You don’t have to,” you giggle. “This was more than enough,” you say, pointing over at the empty pizza box and wine glasses.

“Mmm, it wasn’t but continue,” he says.

You playfully roll your eyes and continue, “And then worst of all, the florist for Kaylee’s wedding canceled and the wedding is in 3 weeks. I don’t know why I took on so many planning responsibilities because I feel like I’m drowning and I really don’t want to screw up her wedding,”. You feel tears pool in your eyes again, feeling another wave of anxiety come over you. 

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” Joe soothes while rubbing your hands, noticing that you started to get antsy again. “You’re not going to screw anything up,”.

“Really? Because it feels like I’m screwing up everything,” you say, tensing up. You were partly referring to the wedding, but also about you and Joe’s friendship which you were at risk of ruining because of your emotions. You would always try to talk to Joe about your feelings no matter what they were, but this time you couldn’t even if it was when you needed to the most. 

“Are we still talking about the wedding?” He asks, feeling a change in what you were talking about based on your demeanor. 

“I don’t even know anymore,” you say as you start to cry. “I just have so many thoughts going through my head right now that I don’t even know what’s really making me act like this,”. You felt hot tears streaming down your cheeks again as you started to shake a little. 

Joe felt awful seeing you like this. He still felt like you weren’t telling him everything, but he didn’t want to push you if you really didn’t want to talk about it, especially if it was making you act like this. He hated seeing you upset and the sight of your tear-stained cheeks and swollen eyes broke his heart. 

“Come here,” he mumbles as he reaches out for your arm, pulling you on top of him and in for a hug. 

You shoved your head into the crook of his neck almost like it was a reflex, letting out another sigh as he wrapped his arms around your waist. “I don’t know what’s going through your head, but I’m here if you need anything. I’m always here and I’m not going anywhere,” he says as he rubs your back. Joe always had a way of alleviating your pain, knowing exactly how to bring you down if you were stuck on a dark cloud. Whether it was his promising words or his pacifying hugs, he could always make you ignore your worries.  

“Thanks for always being here,” you sniffle against his neck. 

“I’m always going to be here,” he says before pressing two soft kisses on your forehead, which is new. “You can’t get rid of me that easily,” he smirks. 

Your heart fluttered when you felt him press his lips against your skin. He’d never done that before, even when you had breakdowns worse than this. Was he just being sweet or was this something else? 

All he wanted to do was to take your pain and anxiety away. He still wasn’t sure what was making you act like this, surely it wasn’t just a bad day at work, so what was it? Was it connected to how you randomly sneaked out of his house a few days ago without telling him you were leaving? 

“No, No, No. Enough with the investigation. She needs her best friend right now,” Joe thought to himself as he went back to comforting you. He looked down and saw you clutching onto his bicep as your head stayed in the crook of his neck, feeling your shallow breaths and teardrops. You felt his hand move to the back of your head, his fingers moving through your hair and gently rubbing your head. 

“You’re okay,” he soothes. “Everything’s going to work out for the better on its own. I promise,” he says. You really couldn’t see how everything would work out on its own, but his words were incredibly convincing. 

A few minutes later, the once-flowing tears had now dried up and your breathing had returned back to normal. You stayed in his comfortable embrace for a little longer, relishing the peace and warmth it was providing. The warmth radiating off of his body felt like a safety blanket, just like how it felt when you were cuddling him a few nights ago at his house.

“You’re so comfy,” you mutter against his neck. “My personal body pillow,”. 

“You can use me anytime you want,” he says, pulling you in tighter. 

You smile at his words and then press a kiss to his neck, not really sure why, but it felt right. 

Joe froze when he felt you kiss his neck. You’d never done that before, ever. His heartbeat picked up and his palms started to get sweaty, and you could feel it. Was that because of you? Were you making him nervous? 

Then and there he felt like telling you how he felt. He wanted to tell you that it was going to be alright, that he loved you more than anything in the universe and would always be here for you in every way possible, and that you belonged with him. But he didn’t because he didn’t want to do this now, it didn’t feel right. He wasn’t going to do that to you right now when you needed comfort more than anything. No reason to push those feelings onto you and cause you to get worked up again. 

“Thank you for doing this. I know today was your weekly dinner with your parents so I appreciate you skipping it for me,” you say, pulling your head out of his neck and meeting his soft eyes. 

“You remembered?” He asked, a little surprised that you remembered his weekly dinners with his parents.

“Of course, I remembered. You’ve been having weekly dinners with them since you got drafted, same day every week,” you grin. “But seriously, thank you for doing this. You always know how to make me feel better,”.

“It’s my job,” he shrugs. 

“Well, you deserve a promotion because you’re doing amazing,” you smile as you move his hair out from his eyes. You stare at him for a few seconds, taking in every detail about his face. His perfect ski slope nose was a little red because of the cold weather, his deep blue eyes that you wanted to get lost in, the little scruff on his chin that you wanted to feel against your body, and his adorable smile lit up the entire room. Everything about him was perfect. He was perfect, and you wanted him so badly. 

“You still owe me an explanation for why you snuck out of my house that morning,” he said, snapping you out of your daze as he moved a few strands of hair out of your face. 

“Ohh, uhh. I thought I told you. Lydia needed my help getting ready for her brunch date,” you lie. “She was freeaaaking out. So she picked me up and we went back to my place to get her ready,”.

Joe knew you were lying. The tone of your voice gave it away but also since he asked Lydia. He asked her if you were alright after you texted him saying she picked you up for morning Pilates since she didn’t want to go alone. Joe didn’t understand why you were lying to him, but he also didn’t want to ask you since he had just gotten you to relax and didn’t need you to get anxious again. 

“Ah, I see,” he says. You let out an internal sigh of relief at his response since it seemed like he believed you. 

“Next time, wake me up because that felt awfully like a walk of shame,” he teased, making you blush and squirm in his arms. 

“That’ll be the first walk of shame that happened even though the pair in question didn’t do anything scandalous,” you giggled. 

“Tell that to my neighbors,” Joe mumbled as he looked up at the ceiling. 

“What?” you shrieked as you moved out of his arms, a look of confusion on your face. 

“Yeahhh, they saw you run out of the house and mentioned it to me when I was taking out the trash,” he said as he nervously wiped his hands on his thighs.

“Oh my god. Which neighbor?” you cringed, covering your face with the sleeves of his your hoodie. 

“Mrs. Nelson,” he laughed, knowing that you were scared of her. Something about that woman’s eyes sent chills up your spine whenever you would see her. You saw her most evenings when you were leaving Joe’s house, and she looked like she was judging you every single time. 

“She said, ‘Joey, I know that you young men have needs, but could you at least tell her to put on some pants before darting out the door bright and early in the morning. Some of the neighbors have kids that like to be out early,” Joe said in a girly voice. 

“Oh my god,” you whined against your hands. “Did you at least correct her?” you asked as you moved your hands from your face.

Joe looked around the room with a smug look on his face, avoiding your eyes which told you everything you needed to know.

“Joseph Lee!” you screamed as you got up from the couch and started hitting him with a pillow. 

“Hey, it was funny,” he laughed as he held up his hands to protect himself from your swings. 

“I’m not laughing,” you said, trying to hide your smile. Truth be told, it was pretty funny.  

“Okayy, we’re not about to do this again,” Joe says as he gets off the couch.

“Why? Because you manhandled last time and ended up under me?” you smirk as you twirl the pillow around. 

“Because this time, you’ll be the one under me,” he teases, giving you a wink. Your stomach did a backflip and the room felt like it got 10 degrees hotter because of his alluring words. The wine was definitely doing its thing right now, for both of you. Words came out of his mouth that he would never say to you, and you weren’t even thinking twice about them. For once, you didn’t overanalyze his words and went straight back to the conversation.

“That’s it!” you giggle as you start hitting him with the pillow again, but he retaliates by reaching down and swooping you off your feet. He throws you over his shoulder, resting one of his hands extremely close to your ass on purpose. He knew exactly what he was doing right now, and you were loving every second of it even though you could barely process it.

“Joe, let go of me,” you laugh as he makes his way through your apartment with you over his shoulder. 

“How does it feel to get manhandled, Hm?” he smiles as he kicks open your room door, gently tossing you down onto the bed as you let out a soft yawn.

“Extremely Comfy,” you smile back as he kneels on the bed to hover over you. He places both of his hands on each side of your head, caging you in; this position feels a little too coupley. His hair was falling into his eyes as his big body was shielding you from the overhead light of your room, almost creating a cocoon around you. 

“Hi,” you whisper, staring deeply into his gentle eyes that were now a shade of deep blue, just like the ocean. 

“Hi,” he chuckles. His lips were just inches from yours and he had the urge to crash his lips down on yours and kiss you like he had been wanting to do all these years. 

Similarly, you felt like reaching up and pushing his face down onto yours, capturing his perfect lips in a soft kiss. Both of you had the same thought but neither of you knew that. 

“You look pretty,” Joe mumbled as he moved a few strands of hair behind your ear before moving his hand back to where it was, setting fireworks off in your heart.

“I don’t but thanks for lying,” you say as you fist one of your hands into his hair, playing with the strands. 

“Please. You always look pretty, Y/N. You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen,” he adds, feeling lovestruck at the sight of you giggling underneath him. Your eyes sparkle in the light, your skin glowing, and your once puffy eyes are now back to normal. His stomach was doing backflips as he realized he was on top of you right now, in a position that wasn’t generally friendly, but you didn’t seem to be bothered by it; just like how you seemed when you were on top of him a few nights ago. 

The pit of nervousness in your stomach was back as your breathing intensified. Your palms started to feel sweaty while your face felt hotter than usual. There was no way that this was a friendly interaction right? He was literally on top of you, inches from your face, and had the same exact look he had on his face on the way home from the Christmas party a few days ago, lovestruck. 

“Thank you for coming over tonight,” you said, your eyes not moving from his. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,”.

“I told you, I'm always going to be here for you and I mean it. You’ve always been there for me when I needed someone and I couldn’t be more grateful for you. When the most special & important girl in my life needs someone, I'm there. Anytime, Any place,” he says, his face moving closer to yours. 

The most special and important girl in his life, he said. He was talking about you and only you and that was the cherry on top that sealed the deal. 

“I know that even if everything in my life fades, including football and the people I’ve met along the way, I know that you’ll always be there no matter what,”.

Your stomach was in knots right now. You wanted to scream and cry right now because of his words–but out of happiness and not despair. You felt like you were being transported back to college right now, experiencing those new feelings of excitement when you realized you had a crush on someone. Back in college, you felt those feelings of excitement about Joe. And years later, those feelings of excitement were still calling his name. 

Love. That was it. You were in love with Joe. You have been in love with him since you two were just a couple of silly college kids trying to get through young adulthood together. Those feelings that you thought were momentary and situational, were permanent and eternal. And now that you two were grown up, it was clear how you felt about him. You had avoided those feelings for too long, and they only got stronger as the moments passed by. No wonder none of your past relationships would ever work out. The right person was in front of you this entire time and has been there for as long as you can remember.

Screw letting things happen naturally. You couldn’t take it anymore. You were on the verge of screaming how you felt about him at the top of your lungs. You had to tell Joe what you were feeling even if it was right now, completely out of the blue. 

“Joe I-,” you start to say before the sound of his phone ringing interrupts you. 

You watch as he closes his eyes and sighs, “Hang on,” he says as he moves off of you and takes his phone out of his pocket. 

“It’s my mom. You good if I take this?” He asks you. 

“Yeah, of course. Tell her I said Hey,” you smile. You watch as he fixes his hair and walks out of your room, shutting your door and leaving you alone with your thoughts.  

You couldn’t believe that you were so close to telling him how you felt. So, so, so close. You loved him more than anything in the world and now that you realized it, you wanted him to be yours, and only yours. 

“I love him,” you whispered to yourself as you stuffed your face into a pillow to hide the blood rushing into your cheeks. You started kicking your feet back and forth, feeling exactly how you did in college when you first realized you liked Joe. It felt like pure teenage innocence. He was the only man you had ever loved now that you thought about it. Yes, you had said those 3 words to other men before, but you never meant it like you did with Joe. 

“Hey Mom,” Joe says as he sits down on the couch.

“Hey Sweetie. Everything alright? You didn’t really explain why you had to miss dinner tonight?” She says.

“Sorry about that. Y/N had a really bad day and I’m over at her place right now,” Joe said as he looked over to your side table, spotting a picture frame that had a photo of the two of you. The photo was of you two after the AFC championship game in 2022 that sent the Bengals to their first Super Bowl in years. You were clutching onto his waist, your head leaning on his chest and a huge smile plastered on your face as you were looking up at him. Joe had his arm around your shoulder and was in the middle of putting his championship hat on your head. Both of you were surrounded by tons of people, but the only thing you could focus on was each other. The candid photo captured both of your sentiments perfectly. 

Flashback to 2022 

You were waiting on the sidelines, taking in the moment as much as you could before you went over to celebrate with Joe. The Bengals had just beat the Chiefs, 27-24, and were on their way to the Super Bowl for the first time in years. You got an intense feeling of Deja vu as you watched Joe’s teammates lift him up on their shoulders, just like how they did when he won the Natty. You were lucky enough to be by his side for both of these significant moments and now you’d be by his side on the grandest stage of them all. 

“I’m so proud of him,” Robin said as she wrapped her arm around your shoulder, squeezing you tightly. 

“You and me both,” you whispered, a smile creeping up on your face as you made eye contact with Joe, his smile somehow getting bigger. 

His mom looks over at him and follows his intense gaze right over to you, smiling at the way he is looking at you. “Go over there,” she encourages as she lets go and lightly pushes you. 

“I’ll be back,” you smile at her before making your way onto the field. 

Joe walked over to you and met you halfway, an evident bounce in his step reflecting the happiness he felt right now. “Hey there Mr. AFC Champ,” you giggle as you pull down your beanie a little more to protect your head from the cold January air. 

He doesn’t say anything back, instead just wraps his arms around you and pulls you in for a big hug, swaying you back and forth. 

“Hey, watch the outfit,” you murmur against his warm neck. He was definitely wrinkling up your dark orange sweater with his big, sweaty, grassy, but warm body. 

“Screw your outfit,” he laughs as he pulls away from the hug. 

“Yeah, you’re right,” you smile. “We got bigger things to talk about,”.

“Oh really? Wonder what it could be?” Joe smirks. 

“I’m getting a major sense of Deja vu right now,” you say, your eyes navigating up to his head which was covered by the championship hat, your mind going back to the sight of the National Championship hat on his head in 2020.  

He suddenly pulls you back into his chest, this time squeezing you even harder. “I can’t believe it,” he whispers.

“Well, you better believe it. I’m so fucking proud of you, Joe,” you say, moving your head so that you were looking up at him, tears starting to pool in your eyes. Words wouldn’t be enough to describe how proud you were of him at this moment. His first full NFL season resulting in his first Super Bowl appearance was incredible, truly magical. You watched for months as he worked his ass off to rehab his knee and get back to where he needed to be, and getting to see all of his hard work pay off was the most fulfilling part of it all.

“You did amazing out there today, I seriously have never seen anything like this,” you sputter. 

He looked down at you, meeting your shiny eyes with his baby blues. His eyes moved to the beanie on the top of your head, and then you felt it being pulled off of your head. Your hair was flying everywhere as you watched him throw it down to the ground, your head now felt incredibly bare and cold. 

“Hey, My beanie!” You yelled as you looked at it on the ground. You looked back up at him with a scowl, “What was that for?”.

“So I could do this,” he says as you watch him take the hat off of his head, your smile coming back to your face instantly as you feel his hand slide along your waist. He places his hat on your head, giving your head a few pats to make sure it’s secure. Joe’s mom snapped a few photos of the adorable interaction, neither of you noticing her presence a few feet away from you. 

“If I’m Mr. Champ, then you’re Mrs. Champ,” he laughed. 

“Mrs?” You laughed as you raised your eyebrow. “Don’t see a ring to prove it,” you add as you pretend to look intensively at your fingers. You were trying to keep it cool, definitely not trying to act like you were doing backflips internally at the mention of being ‘Mrs.’. You knew he was just joking, but your heart couldn’t help but flutter at the sound of being his ‘Mrs.’.

“Ring will hopefully be coming February 13th, 2022,” he sighed. 

“Damnnn. So we’re talking about that kinda ring?” You teased, pretending to look disappointed.

“What did you think?” He smirked, knowing exactly what kinda of ring you were talking about. It was his fault for saying ‘Mrs.’, implying you were his wife, but he always enjoyed the playful back and forth. 

“Ya know, Princess cut? Emerald cut? But I guess a Super Bowl ring will do just fine,” you say while rolling your eyes playfully.

“Maybe you’ll get two,” Joe shrugs as he lets go of you. 

“Proposing without even dating the girl?” you say as you raise your eyebrow, straightening out your sweater which had a few grass marks on it from his jersey. 

“Well, if the girl already knows anything and everything there is to know about me, and I know anything and everything about the girl, then it’s easy to skip the ‘getting to know each other’ phase,” he laughs. 

“Relentless,” you chuckle while shaking your head; your heart still soaring at the flirty back and forth that you two would often have. Sometimes it would be silly, sometimes serious, but often flirty; but that never weirded either of you out for some reason. 

You turn your head to the side, realizing it wasn’t just the two of you out there and that you were surrounded by many other people who wanted a chance to talk to Joe. This would happen a lot, especially in these kind of moments. You two would find each other in a crowded room, and once you were face to face, everything around you would fade away, leaving just the two of you there, together. 

“I think I’ve kept you long enough,” you say, feeling a little shy that this whole interaction happened around so many people, many of whom were probably not even paying attention, but to your overthinking mind, they were. “You probably want to go celebrate with the guys anyway,” you say, looking down at your boots. 

A scoff leaves his mouth, “And leave you? Never,” he says as he gives you a loaded look. 

“That’s sweet but they’re your guys,” you say as you look back up.

“And you’re my girl,” Joe says, instantly turning tomato red as he realizes what he just said to you. That wasn’t supposed to come out of his mouth. He watches you flinch, your face tensing up at the awkward moment that just happened. 

“Not like that,” he quickly retreats, scrambling to make sure he didn’t just make you uncomfortable.

You stay quiet for a few heartbeats, his anxiety getting worse by the second. But then you let out a laugh and cover your mouth to hide your big smile, “I know what you mean,”. He lets out a sigh of relief, his mind cooling back down but your insides were still as hot as ever. Being ‘his girl’ didn’t sound so bad. 

“But seriously, you probably have tons of media and stuff to do right now since you’re now Super Bowl-bound, so I’ll leave you to it,” you say as you pull him in for another hug, sliding your hand up and down his back. 

“I’ll come find you later, I promise,” he whispers into your ear, sending chills down your spine and butterflies in your stomach. 

You pull away and say, “I thought you and the guys would go out or something?”.

“They are but I wanna take you and my parents out for dinner or something,” He smiles. “I want to celebrate with the most significant people in my life,”.

“I won’t fight you on that,” you beam as you stare deeply into his soothing eyes. 

End of flashback 

“Well aren’t you a good friend,” His mom says over the phone, snapping Joe out of his trance. 

“Yeahh,” he nervously chuckles, his mom instantly noticing his awkward tone. 

“Tell me what’s wrong,” she sighs.

Joe goes silent, he knows that he can’t hide anything from his Mom but still tries. He heaves out a sigh before getting straight to the point. “I like her. Like a lot. Like I love her,” he says quietly, making sure you didn’t overhear.

He hears his mom laugh over the phone, his brows furrowed at the response he gets. “About damn time!”.

“What?” he questions. “It’s about time you admitted it. I think everyone knows that you’ve had a thing for Y/N since Ohio State, Joe,” she smiles.

“Oh god. Is it that obvious?” he whispers, making sure that you don’t hear him. 

“Mhm. Obvious to everyone but the two of you,” she replies, causing Joe’s eyes to widen. 

“What do I do, Mom? I want to tell her but I feel like it’ll screw it all up if she doesn’t feel the same,”.

“Just talk to her, Joey. I know she feels the same way about you. I have seen the way she looks at you, talks about you, and acts around you. She loves you, just like you do her. Your girl has been in front of you this entire time,” she advises. 

“I told myself I’d let things happen naturally, but I just can’t keep it in anymore,” Joe sighs, throwing his head back to the pillow. 

“Naturally? Sweetie, you’ve been letting things happen naturally for nearly what, 9 years? You’ve been tip-toeing around each other for entirely too long. You both are grown adults now and I personally think it won’t hurt to give it a shot, especially since I think that it’ll turn out to be the best thing for both of you. She’s a wonderful girl and the effect she has on you is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and the same goes for the effect you have on her. That’s true love,” his mom adds. “Just simply talk to her,”. 

And Joe took that advice to heart. His mom was right, he just had to talk to you. He never had trouble talking to you about anything before, you were always receptive and understanding. Talking to you about his feelings shouldn’t be so difficult, especially if there was a chance that you felt the same way. 

You got up from your bed, a little concerned since Joe hadn’t come back to the room yet. You opened your door and walked outside to him staring up at the ceiling. 

“Hey, you alright?” you asked as you leaned against the wall. 

Joe sits up straight when he hears your voice and quickly tries to recollect himself so that you don’t suspect that something is wrong. 

“Yeah, she just was asking about why I skipped dinner and if you were alright,” he said. 

“Ohh,” you nodded. If that was all they were talking about, why did Joe look so flustered? 

“Well, I hope you told her that I’m fantastic now all thanks to her son who knows how to flip someone’s mood around better than he knows how to make french toast,” you tease.

“I only burnt them once,” he scoffed as his jaw fell open.

“It was definitely a little more than that,” you said as you moved from the wall to the kitchen, grabbing him a water bottle. “We can try again tomorrow morning and see if you’ve gotten any better,” you laughed. 

“Tomorrow Morning?” Joe asked.

“Yeah. It’s getting pretty late and since you don’t have practice tomorrow, I was thinking you could stay over?” you said as you handed him the bottle. You were hoping and praying he would stay.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude,” he says as he takes the bottle from you, his thumb lightly touching your fingers which sends electricity through your body.

“Intrude on what? It’s just me,” you grinned. “The only thing is, the ‘guest bedroom’ is my storage room so we’d have to share my bed,”.

“It worked out pretty well last time,” Joe softly laughed as he got up from the couch. 

“So you’ll stay?” you perk up, trying to hold back from looking too happy.

“Come on,” he smiles, grabbing your hand and leading you to your room. Both of you were trying to hold back from saying something to each other about your feelings that you were both now certain of, and both of your faces were showing it. You were like two lovestruck teenagers. 

A few minutes later, Joe settled into your bed while you were changing into your Pajamas. His heartbeat only got faster by the second now that he was thinking of when the right moment to talk to you was. Was right now a good time or was it too sudden? You were probably tired anyway, so maybe the next time you see each other would be better. 

He watched as you came out of the bathroom in a short-sleeved Ohio State Football shirt, one of his, and shorts, looking absolutely angelic. He wondered how many of his clothes had piled up in your closet over the years. 

“Do you need anything before I turn off the lights?” You ask him while you plug in your phone.

“I’m good,” he lazily smiles as he pulls the covers up.

You nod, turn the lights off, and slide into the bed next to Joe. You weren’t nervous this time like you were a few nights ago. Maybe it was because you actually came to a conclusion about your feelings for him or maybe it was because he was in your bed and not the other way around. 

“Night, Joey,” you yawn as you look over at him.

“Night, Y/N,” he smiles as he closes his eyes. 

An hour later 

He couldn’t sleep. He tried and tried but he couldn’t fall asleep. He looked over at you, your eyes closed and soft snores coming from your mouth. His mind was still racing and it wouldn’t stop, and you being asleep right next to him wasn’t helping. Nothing about what happened tonight was helping. It was like he was on the verge of exploding because he couldn’t keep it in any longer, and he’d never ever felt like this before, and it was all because of you. 

He turned over to face you, your hair was sprawled out against the pillow, some strands on your face, and your breathing was steady. He moved his hand to move the stray stands out of your face, but as soon as he did, you started moving. He quickly moved his hand away from your face and turned back to face the ceiling, closing his eyes and pretending to be asleep. 

He felt you move around a little more before he felt weight on his arm. He opened his eyes and slowly looked over at you to see you resting your head against his bicep. 

“Y/N?” he whispered.

No response. You were definitely still asleep.

He carefully moved his arm out from underneath your head and allowed you to move into him. You turned so that you were on your stomach but still pressed against his chest. You draped your leg over his and pressed your head against his chest and his arms settled around you, holding you close. He tried to even out his breathing, which was increasing because of your movements. You were cuddling him right now, just like how he was cuddling you a few nights ago. This time, your warm body was providing him comfort and security. 

A few moments later, he had gotten a little more comfy, now feeling a wave of sleepiness come over him. He looked down at you, smiling at the fact that you were doing this naturally and completely in your sleep, like a reflex. He pressed a few soft kisses to the top of your head before looking up at the ceiling. 

You were right there. You had always been right there, he thought to himself. 

“I love you,” Joe whispered to you as he closed his eyes. 

Saturday - The Day before Joe’s Birthday 

The rest of the week had gone by pretty smoothly and you had Joe to thank for that. The morning after Joe stayed over, he helped you track down a new florist for your sister’s wedding. He pulled some strings to help you get the florist on such short notice, and naturally, it worked as nobody could say no to Joe Burrow. Then, he pulled out your laptop and helped you look through your work project. Going through it with him definitely helped you feel calmer about it since two minds were looking at it instead of 1. Even though his brain was wired to be a quarterback, he still had some knowledge about finance in his head from college which came to your advantage. He told you that if you ever felt like it was too much, to just let your Boss know, and if she ever had an issue with you, he would talk to her personally and let her know how much stress you’ve been under lately. 

He always put in so much thought when it came to you, and you could never seem to fully grasp it. He even went online and ordered you a bunch of new, very expensive, clothes to make up for the outfit that you destroyed because of your spilled coffee. He always thought of everything and hit every corner. The only thing that was now left to be sorted out was telling him how you felt about him, and you couldn’t wait to tell him. 

Today, you spent most of the day wrapping gifts for Joe as his birthday was tomorrow. The Bengals were playing Monday Night Football at home, so for once he was free on his special day. Even though he told you he didn’t want anything, you obviously didn’t listen to him. He always went above and beyond for your birthday, and you wanted to do the same for him as much as you could. 

You hit all the corners when it came to getting him birthday gifts this year. The first thing you got him was a funny Squidward sweatshirt, a character with whom Joe shared a lot of similarities. You thought it was so endearing that he still watched SpongeBob, especially now that he’s a 27-year-old millionaire, but he still found comfort in the things that made him who he was. The next thing you got him was the Lego Porche set he had been dying to get his hands on, but was extremely hard to find. You searched every Lego store in the vicinity before you found it in a rare collectibles store downtown. Joe loved Legos, another thing about him that was incredibly precious to you. That man could spend hours in a room building a Lego set when he could, and you were often there to help him. The next thing you got him was a new pair of Cartier Shades. They were a pretty penny, but he deserved to be spoiled on his birthday, and this was just the thing for him. The final thing you got him, maybe your most favorite, was a Night Sky Map from January 13th 2020, the night he won the CFP National Championship. For a man who loved space and anything related to it, this was the perfect gift. The Map showed the exact position of the stars at the time LSU had won the game at the Mercedes Benz Superdome. 

“Perfect,” you smiled as you looked at the Map. You finished wrapping the gift and placed it on the counter with the rest of them. You then pulled out your phone to text Joe and see what his plans were for tomorrow. 

You: hey there birthday boy!! what ya up to tomorrow?

Joe: hey y/n :) nothing really. prob watching some film and relaxing before the game on Monday

Your jaw dropped when he told you his plans. There was no way he was spending his birthday alone, boarded up inside of his house. 

You: joe….

Joe: yes?

You: your birthday is tomorrow 

Joe: i’m well aware lol

You: care to explain why you are spending your birthday alone? 

Joe: my parents and some of the guys were pushing me to do a dinner or something but I told them I just wanted to focus on the game and rest the day before

That was a reasonable excuse, but you were not about to let him spend his special day all alone. Especially since usually, he would have a game on his birthday. 

You: that’s fair but this is your first free birthday in a longgg time. don’t you wanna do something fun?

Joe: fun can wait until the season ends 

Hmm, this was going to be harder than you thought. He really wasn’t going to do anything fun on his birthday, was he? 

Suddenly, you had a lightbulb moment. It would be pretty lame if you told him you were going to come over for a bit to celebrate with him, so what about a surprise? You could lie to him and say you would be out of town tomorrow, but back for the MNF game, and surprise him at his house. You could bake him his favorite dessert, order his favorite food, and bring everything over to his house along with his gifts.

You: if you say soooo. but just so you know, i’ll be out of town all day but i’ll be back for the game on Monday. i have some gifts for you that i can give you after the game :)

Joe’s smile dropped as he read the text. He was hoping you would say that you were going to come over to keep him company on his birthday, which he deep down did not want to spend alone. He couldn’t show that he was unhappy that you weren’t going to see him on his birthday, so he pretended to act like it was alright. 

Joe: no biggie :) i’ll see you in the suite monday?

You: definitely. wouldn’t miss it for the world ;)

You felt bad about lying to him, knowing that he was probably sitting there thinking about how he had to spend his birthday alone. Of course, he needed to relax and focus, but nobody really wanted to spend their birthday alone. And he wasn’t going to, even if he thought he was. 

A smile crept onto your face as you thought about tomorrow. Maybe you could even finish telling him what you were going to say to him a few nights ago. 

Sunday - Joe’s Birthday 

You walked over to the oven, pulling out the fresh Pumpkin Pie you had baked for Joe earlier. You placed it onto the counter to cool as you heard your apartment doorbell ring from what was probably the food delivery person. 

You walked over to the door, greeted the delivery person, and grabbed the food; cajun from Joe’s favorite NOLA-inspired restaurant downtown. After placing the food on the counter next to the pie, you bring over the bag of gifts and set it next to everything, giving everything another check to make sure it was perfect.

“Food, drinks, pie, gifts…” you list off as you feel like you’re forgetting something. 

“Balloons!” you chirp as you speed walk into your room to grab the balloons you got him last night. After bringing the balloons over to the rest of the items you had for his little birthday surprise, you gave everything another check, and this time it was all perfect.

A few minutes later, your car was all loaded up with his birthday surprise and you were on his way to his house. You were bobbing your head along to the song playing on the aux, “You Belong With Me”. 

“If you could see that I'm the one who understands you, Been here all along, so why can't you see? You belong with me, you belong with meee,” you sing, a huge smile plastered on your face as your mind strays to the only man it could ever wander to. “He’s gonna love this,” you say as you bite your lip in anticipation. 

20 minutes later, you pull into his driveway, watching as the sun sets over the horizon. You quickly turned off your car, hopped out of your car, and grabbed the balloons from the backseat. After taking a few deep breaths to calm your excitement with the balloons in hand, you make your way over to his door, but to just your luck, someone spotted you. Of course, it was Mrs. Nelson who seemingly was coming back home after her evening walk. 

“Fuck,” you mumble. You slowly walk closer to his door, and her eyes tracking you as you try not to look at her. You see her shake her head from the corner of your eye and let out a small chuckle, prompting her to clear her throat out of rudeness. You pause at the steps to his door, plaster a fake smile onto your face, and turn to say “Hi, Mrs. Nelson,”. 

The peculiar woman doesn’t respond and just shakes her head again before turning around and walking into her house. “Damn, tough crowd,” you laugh as you walk up the steps to his door. You press his doorbell, waiting for a few moments as you begin to think about how you are going to tell him about your feelings, but before you can get too deep into those thoughts, the door swings open. 

“Y/N?” Joe says, his jaw practically on the floor. 

You leap into his arms and pull him in for a warm hug, “Happy Birthdayyyy!” you squeal as you sway him back and forth. 

“I thought you–” he begins to say before you pull out of the hug to interrupt him. 

“You believed me?” you say as you gently push his shoulder. “I would never leave you alone on your birthday goofball,”.

“I seriously thought you weren’t coming,” he says as he scratches the back of his neck

“Damn. I’m for sure lacking in the bestie department then,” you giggle.

“Please, you have fully broken through the ceiling of the bestie department and are entering dangerous territory,” he teases, echoing your words from a few days ago. 

“Oh yeah? What territory?” you ask, raising your eyebrow.

“Girlfriend territory,” he teases as he watches your face turn a little red. Your heart skips a beat when he says the word ‘girlfriend’. Is this how he felt when you said he was entering boyfriend territory a few nights ago?

“Come inside,” he says, breaking you out of your trance. “It’s cold out here,”.

“Hang on, I have all your stuff inside the car,” you say as you hand him the balloons. 

“What stuff?” he asks.

“Your birthday stuff, duhh,” you giggle as you quickly turn around to grab everything from the car. 

Joe shakes his head and laughs as he watches you scurry over to your car, and then struggle to grab everything all in one go. “You need help?” he yells.

“Nope! I got it,” you yell back.

A few minutes later 

You let out a breath as you finally make it inside with everything for his surprise, then slip off your shoes before walking over to Joe who was examining everything.

“Damn, when the hell did you do all this?” He asked.

“I’ll never spill my secrets,” you chuckle as you take everything out of the bags. His heart was soaring because of you. You really did all of this just for him, making him feel the the most special guy on the planet. 

He watches as you take out the food, his face lighting up as he reads the name of the restaurant on the boxes.

“Cajun?” He asks.

“You know it,” you wink. 

You then carefully take out the pumpkin pie from the bag, setting it next to the delicious dinner.

“And pumpkin pie?!” He says, his eyes widening.

“I know you love my pumpkin pie so naturally I had to make it for National Joe-Day,” you giggle.

“You’re the best,” he said as he grabbed your hand from across the kitchen island, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I know,” you gloat.

His eyes then navigated to the other bag on the table, the one with his gifts. He reaches over to open the bag, but you quickly swat his hand away.

“Mmm nope. No gifts until after dinner,” you say to him like he was a little child. 

“But it’s my birthday,” he pouts. 

“Food first then the fun stuff,” you say as you give him a look.

“Fine,” he says, rolling his eyes and then grinning at the smile that appeared on your face.  

An hour later 

“Mmm, that was so good,” Joe said as he downed his bottle of water. You’re both full of the delicious Cajun food, reminding you both of the taste of New Orleans. 

“Literally. We gotta go down to New Orleans soon for the real deal,” you say as you clean up your dinner plates and load them into his dishwasher. 

“I’ll book us a trip for this summer,” he smiles as he takes a seat on the couch where you join him with two plates of pie. A smile on your face when you hear him mention going down there with you. 

“Is it gift time?” Joe asks, already reaching for the bags.

“Wait!” You say as you stop his hand. “Take a bite of the pie first,”.

“Why?” He asks.

“It’s technically your birthday cake,” you shrug.

You watch as Joe just continues to stare at you, not really caring much about the formality of it all. “Please, For me?” You pout.

“Anything for you,” he states, grabbing the plates of pie and placing them in front of you. You grab your fork, breaking off a piece of the pie and raising it up to his pink lips. 

“Open up,” you smile as you try to feed him a piece. 

He opens up his mouth, allowing you to feed him a slab of the pie. “Happy Birthday to you,” you sing-song as you take the fork out of his mouth while he lets out a groan and looks very cute. 

“Mmm, Y/N. This tastes like heaven,” he says, covering his mouth so you don’t see him chewing while talking. 

“Thank you,” you giggle as you place the fork back down onto the plate and then reach for the bag of gifts, moving it closer to you. 

“Finally,” he groans as he gets comfy on the couch. 

“Okay, here is gift 1,” you say, handing him the sweatshirt that was wrapped up. 

He peels off the wrapping paper, his face going from smiley to confused. 

“Really, Y/N?” He laughed as he read the text on the sweatshirt which said ‘Are you still talking’ with a picture of Squidward looking absolutely sick of it. 

“Hey,” you shrug. “That’s quite literally you anytime you have to sit down for an interview. I know you feel like darting outta there as soon as they finish talking,” you chuckle. 

His confused face turns into a smile, “You’re right,”.

There were so many interviews or media appearances where Joe looked like he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. He wasn’t a fan of interviews or anything that needed him to speak for an extended period of time. It was even worse if he had to sit there and listen to someone else talk for an extended period because it prevented him from leaving, so this little quote was very applicable to him. 

“Do you like it?” You say, your smile dropping a little.

“I love it,” he says as he whips his shirt off, showing off his muscular chest, and putting on the hoodie. 

“God damn,” you mumble at the sight of his very attractive body. 

“Hm?” Joe asks as he straightens out the hoodie.

“Oh, nothing. Here, this is your next gift,” you say, changing the subject and placing the Lego gift in his lap. 

He peels off the wrapping paper again, his jaw-dropping as he catches a peek at the gift. “No fucking way,”.

You bite your lip at his reaction, knowing exactly how bad he wanted this set but couldn’t find it anywhere.

“How did you find this?” He gasped.

“I have my ways,” you tease as you grab the wrapping paper and stuff it into the bag to clean up the mess as you go. 

“More importantly, how did you remember?” He asked, his heart feeling like it was ready to burst because of your thoughtfulness. 

“I always remember when it comes to you. Never forgetting a thing,” you smile.

“Oh we’re so building this later,” he says as he turns the box around to look over the visual.

“You got it, birthday boy,” you salute. 

You grab the last two gifts out of the bag and place them into his lap. He opens the Cartier’s first, already knowing what it probably was as soon as he sees a peak of the red box.

“These must’ve been so expensive,” he says as he looks at the sick shades you got him.

“Don’t worry about that,” you say as you rub his shoulder.

“You shouldn’t have spent so much, Y/N. All of this was more than enough for me,” he said, his soft eyes meeting yours.

“You go above and beyond for me, every single year. This is nothing compared to what you do for me,” you say, giving his shoulder a squeeze. 

“Thank you, for everything,” he says, grabbing your hand and gently rubbing your skin. He had to fight the urge to press his lip against yours and show you how thankful he was for you, and it was killing him. 

“Ah ah ah, I think we have one more gift to go and it’s my personal fav,” you say as you move the glasses to the table. 

“What could possibly top all of that?” He said as he started to open up his final gift. You stayed quiet, carefully reading his facial expression to see his reaction to the gift. He opened up the gift, his eyes widening and his jaw slightly falling.

“Oh my god,” he said as he observed the Sky Map. His heart skipped a beat as he started to take in the amount of thought you had put into his birthday. You really hit every single point and nobody had ever done this much just for him. You were extraordinary and you were magic. You belonged with him, and this sealed the deal. You were the most thoughtful, loving, and extraordinary girl he had ever met, and he wanted you to be his. 

“Oh my god,” he said again, this time looking over at you. “This is—,”.

“January 13th, 2020 at the Superdome,” you grinned.

“Holy shit. Are these the stars that night?” He asked as he examined the map. 

“Mhm. The stars at the exact time you won the Championship,” you replied.

“Y/N, this is the best gift I think I’ve ever gotten,” he says as he stares at the map a little longer.

“I know how much you love Space and Stars, and this night was very important to you and your Career,” you said.

“I love it. I love all of it,” he grinned as he put the map on the table, then turned to you and pulled you into his arms for a hug. He wanted to add ‘I love you’ to that sentence as well, but that would be too random. If he was going to tell you, it had to be more special than that. 

You melt into his chest as he squeezes your body, “I’m so glad you like it,” you mumble against him. He held you against him for a few moments, not letting you move one bit, and it was making the pit of nervousness in your stomach grow again. You wanted to tell him how much you loved him and show him how much you did as well, but you didn’t know if you should tell him now or wait for another moment when you were a little more relaxed. 

“You wanna go for a walk?” He asked as he pulled away from the hug. Maybe he could tell you then, he thought to himself. 

“Okay,” you smiled, maybe you could tell him then.

He got up from the couch, putting out his hand for you to grab onto. He helped you off the couch and you both made your way outside. The sun had set and now the sky was dark, the only light being the streetlights and the moon. 

“Thank you for today,” Joe says, breaking the silence as you both walk down the street together. “You really know how to make a guy feel special,”. 

“Anything for you,” you say, echoing his sweet words from earlier. 

“No girl has ever done this much for my birthday,” he laughs.

You looked over at him, seeing that he was being serious, which came to your surprise. “Not even Stella?”. 

“Nope. I think last year all she got me was some clothes, most of which were not my style, and a framed photo of us that I already had,” he says. 

“No way,” you giggled.

“I don’t care much for gifts, you know that, but like come on,” he said as he shook his head.

“Did she at least get you a cake?” You asked.

“Nope, she made me apple pie instead,” he said looking disgusted. 

“What?” You shriek. “You don’t even like apple pie,”.

“That’s what I’m saying. Apple pie was her favorite. And you know what’s even better?” He said.

“What?”. 

“She wasn’t even there for like half the day. She was too busy helping her friend with her little sister's birthday party,” Joe said, rolling his eyes and running his fingers through his hair.

“There is no way,” you said, your jaw falling open as you felt sorry for him since his birthday last year sounded horrible. 

“Yeah, so I really mean it when I say you’re the best person ever and this was the best surprise birthday shin-dig ever,” he said, flashing his million-dollar smile at you. 

“Well, if it helps, I didn’t really like her anyway and I’m pretty sure she hated me too,” you joked.

Joe looked over at you, staying silent and not saying anything to debunk your theory. 

“Oh my god? She did hate me, didn't she?”. 

“She always thought we had something going on. She literally would grill me every single time after we hung out or something, accusing me of cheating on her with you,” he said.

“No fucking way,” you laughed. 

“She used to say that even best friends didn’t spend that much time together and always thought we were hooking up or something. And then I did everything I could to make it up to her, but that would only last temporarily before she found another thing to get mad over,”. 

“She must be delusional,” you said, rubbing your hands together as you were starting to feel the December cold. 

“Wait, why didn’t you like her?” He asked. 

“Her vibe was off. She also didn’t really seem like your type in my opinion. She was too flashy and hyper and you’re-–”. 

“Lowkey and Calm?” He interrupts.

“Exactly,” you chuckle. 

“Yeah, she really wasn’t the one,” he sighed. “At one point she literally told me to pick between you and her,”.

Your heart sank at the words that came out of his mouth. “What?” You asked, feeling a lump in your throat. 

“That’s why we broke up,” he admitted. “I chose you,”. 

He chose you. He chose you over someone that could have been his forever. 

“Joe, I’m so sorry,” you said, looking down at your feet as you both kept walking around his neighborhood.

“For what?” He laughed.

“For making her make you pick,”. “If it wasn’t for me, maybe things would’ve been different for you guys,” you say, feeling a little guilty at indirectly ruining his relationship. 

“That’s not your fault, Y/N. She wasn’t the one anyway, and everything about her showed that. That was just the final nail in the coffin,”.

“I just wish you could’ve told me in the moment,” you said.

“Well, I am now,” he shrugged. “And I know you don’t really like talking relationships with me anyways,”. 

You didn’t like to talk to him about his relationships because all these years you wanted to be the one in a relationship with him, and the mention of other girls always made you bitter. 

“That’s fair,” you giggled. “Anyway, enough with the depressing topics. It’s your birthday, no need to dwell on past heartbreaks,”.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he salutes.

“Are you excited for the game tomorrow?”. 

“Very. I feel really good about where we’re at right now and my body feels good too,”.

“That’s great,” you beam. “I’ll never get tired of the feeling of game day,”.

“I hope not,” he laughed. “You’ve been a part of basically every game day for the last four years. If you got sick of it, I think I’d actually lose it. I need you up there at all times to be fully locked in,”. 

You smiled at his silly thoughts. He didn't need you to be the already exceptional and phenomenal quarterback he was, but that was sweet of him to say.

“God, I wish we could do this for the rest of our lives,” you giggled. “Everything is so much easier when it’s just us without all the chaos that is our life”. 

Joe’s heart fluttered at the thought. What if you could do this forever? His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest; this was it, this was his chance to tell you how he felt. Those feelings he’s had inside of him for years were finally about to come out.

“So then let’s do it?” He blurted out, stopping and looking over at you. The streetlight casting a direct glow on the both of you on the dark street. 

“What?” You said, stopping and sporting a confused look on your face.

“Do this with me. For the rest of our lives,” he said. 

Was he being serious, you thought to yourself. 

“Joe—,”.

“You’ve been with me through everything for the past 9 years. The one thing in my life that’s stayed consistent for as long as I can remember. The most special, kind-hearted, loving, and beautiful girl I’ve ever known. When I’m with you, I feel like I’m flying. You make me forget about all the background noise and make me feel like just a guy. I want to feel that feeling for the rest of my life. I’ve been trying to figure out how and when to tell you,”. 

“Joe, I—,”. 

“No, let me finish,” he interrupts as he holds your hand. “I have to say it because I’ve been holding this in for way too long. Y/N, I’ve thought about you every single day for 9 years. Back at Ohio State, I knew I liked you from the moment I saw you. I knew you’d be a special part of my life and when I went to LSU and you stayed by my side, that was solidified. You’re the only girl that makes me feel fireworks. You’re the only girl that I think about and you’re the only girl I want to think about. No girl has ever come close to making me feel the way you do. My mind has been spiraling for the past few weeks because of you, Y/N. You’re the only girl I’ve ever truly loved,”.

Loved. He said he loved you. He loved you this whole time, and you were too blind to see it. This entire time you thought he didn’t feel the same way about you, but he did. He has felt the same way about you for just as long as you did. You felt like you were about to pass out, your flushed face & your silence were saying everything. 

“Y/N.. say something. Please. I hope I didn’t just fuck everything up, but I had to tell you. I couldn’t keep it in anymore,” he said, squeezing your hand. 

“Joe..” you say, breaking your silence and meeting his eyes, which were filled with love. “What are we?”.

“What do you mean?” he laughed. “I’ve been wrapped around your finger this whole time?”.

Your solemn face breaks into a smile as you realize what he is saying. “You– You really love me?”. 

“I really, really, love you,” he grins.

“Guess what?” you ask him.

“..What?” he asks, letting go of your hand and feeling nervous all of a sudden.

“I love you too,” you blush, even harder than you were before. 

“Really?” he asks, trying really hard not to freak out.

“Really. I’ve loved you since we were just two college kids trying to get through that awkward stage of life together. I never said anything back then because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, so I buried those feelings and moved on. Or so I thought. But as we got older and time went by, I realized those feelings didn’t go anywhere, and more importantly, you didn’t go anywhere. No other guy has ever had an effect on me like you do. Those fireworks your mom talked about, I only feel them with you,”. 

“Kiss me,” Joe blurted out, turning red at the fact that he just said that.

“You aren’t serious–” you reply.

“I so am,” he says as he grabs your waist and pulls you into him, crashing his soft lips against yours. 

Electricity. Kissing each other felt like pure electricity. It felt like you were coming home after a long day or getting a sip of cold water on a hot summer afternoon. Comforting & Refreshing.

His lips molded against yours perfectly as you moved your arms around his neck to pull him in closer. His hands slid up and down your waist, relishing every single part of your body as you moved one of your hands into his hair, pulling at the soft strands. The warmth of both your bodies protects you from the frigid and dark night around you. He whimpers into the kiss because of you pulling on his hair, causing you to break away. You press open-mouth kisses around his jaw, then press kisses all around his face, causing him to laugh.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this,” you say, pressing your forehead against his.

“We have all the time in the world for you to tell me, and show me,” he winks.

“Already trying to get in my pants, Burrow?” You flirt.

“Uhh yeah," he says straight up. "Have you seen yourself? Absolutely Sexy and Breathtaking,".

"Besides, I think we can skip the ‘getting to know each other phase’ since we’ve been in that for a longgg time,” he says before he presses another kiss to your lips. 

“Didn’t you say that a few years ago after you won the AFC championship and called me Mrs. Champ?” you say, recalling that moment from a few years ago, the same moment from the photo Joe saw on your side table in your apartment.

“You really don’t forget anything do you?” He smiles.

“Like I said, when it comes to you, I never forget anything,” you smile, then press another kiss to his lips. 

“I love you,” he says, staring deeply into your eyes, in which he finally found what he had been looking for all these years, love. 

“I love you so much, Joe,” you grin. 

An hour later 

After your eventful walk, you make it back to his house, immediately following him into the kitchen for some hot chocolate he said he was going to make to fight off the cold. 

“Ah ah ah, you go sit down. I got this,” he says as he turns you around and pushes you towards the couch. The smile on your face gets bigger as you hop over to the comfy couch. 

A little later, he brings over two mugs of Hot Chocolate along with the rest of the Pie for you both to dig into. He hands you your mug, then plops down onto the couch next to you, opening his arms for you to curl up next to him. You rest your cheek against his chest as he settles his arm around your shoulder. 

“This feels right,” he says as he takes a sip of the chocolatey beverage. 

“So right,” you say, wiping the milky drink off your lips. “Everyone’s gonna lose it when we tell them. But I mean, most of them already saw it coming from a mile away”.

“Wait, so does this mean you’re my girlfriend?” he asks, looking down at you.

“Does this answer your question?” you mumble as you press a kiss to his chocolatey lips.

“Oh yes, yes it does, girlfriend,” he smirks. 

“Good, boyfriend,” you giggle. “I can’t even imagine what the fans are gonna say once they figure it out,”.

“I mean, most of them thought you were my girlfriend anyway,” he shrugged. 

“I can’t believe even they could see it before we saw it,” you said, referring to the love between you both. 

“We must be really oblivious,” he laughs as he takes another sip of his drink.

“Must have been really oblivious,” you correct. “Oblivious no longer,”. 

“Right, oblivious no longer,” he says, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Thank you for making this the best birthday of my life,”.

“You’re welcome,” you say, meeting his eyes again. “But get used to it. Next year will be even better, and the year after even more better,”. 

“Can’t wait,” he sighs as he rubs your shoulder, his brain now filled with thoughts of the future. Everything was perfect and brighter now that he had the comfort of knowing you were going to be by his side forever. Was it a little early to think about that? Sure. But he knew that you were the one. 

Your brain was also much more relaxed and free now that you had the man of your dreams with you, hopefully forever. Those anxiety-filled thoughts had left your mind and were replaced with thoughts of love and hope. He wasn’t going anywhere, and you were all his. 

You finish drinking your Hot Chocolate, and Joe does the same, so you take both of your mugs and place them on the table. Then, you move back to him, this time settling in his lap. He wraps his hands around your hips and presses his lips against yours again. 

“I’ll never get tired of that,” you mumble against his lips, going back to the kiss.

“We’ve got 9 years of kisses to make up for so you better not,” he says as he moves your hair out of your face. 

“I can’t believe this is real life,” you confess as you stuff your head into his neck, feeling his hand slide up and down your back. 

“Well, you better believe it because this was meant to be. You belong with me,” he whispers into your ear. 

You pull your face out of his neck, meeting his gentle eyes that are still filled with love, and passion exclusively reserved for you. “And you belong with me,” you say before kissing him again. 

–The End–

#joe burrow #joe burrow x reader #joe burrow fic #joeburrow #joe burrow imagine #nfl imagine

[purple-plum-petals]

⊱ You Can Do Better Than Me ⊰ || Boothill X Reader

╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮        Character(s): Boothill (Honkai: Star Rail)        Reader Type: Human, Not the Trailblazer (Gender-Neutral Pronouns)        Warning(s): Break-up (Miscommunication/Assumptions… Not Permanent), Negative Body Image/Self-talk (Regarding Boothill), Use of Petnames (Boothill calls Reader “darlin’” and “sweets” and Reader calls Boothill “honey” and “love”), Slightly Suggestive Ending.        Genre: Drabble, Angst, Fluff (Hurt/Comfort), Pre-Established Romantic Relationship        Word Count: ~2500 words       Prompt: “What part of ‘I want you, and only you’ do you not understand?”        Author’s Note: Hello everyone, I come back to you briefly with a random Boothill drabble because this cowboy has been on my brain for the past three months and I needed to get something written for him ASAP. I actually got both him and his lightcone on release day, so I’m still hyped about that (didn’t even need to break my F2P status either hehehe 😎). I will get around to writing a multi-chapter fic for him as soon as my summer semester is over and all of the current requests in the ask box have been answered. I’ve been managing the workload relatively well so far, but it’s genuinely been so overwhelming in terms of content/information that my brain can barely form coherent sentences after class and work. 😭 Anyways, have some self-conscious Boothill and my beloved hurt/comfort. Maybe instead of saving the horse, we should save the cowboy. Also… let me know if anyone is interested in a part two, and I’ll be happy to write it. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)             Tag-List: @anonima-2 – I know you wanted me to tag you if I got around to writing a Boothill X Reader fic, so here it is! It may not be a multi-chapter one, but I hope you enjoy this little drabble.

→ If you enjoyed my work, please reblog it if you can! Exposure on Tumblr is based on reblogging content rather than liking it, so your support would be much appreciated!  ♡ ╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

You had known Boothill for quite some time now. You had crossed paths with the elusive Galaxy Ranger throughout the years, so many times that you eventually lost count. Three times was uncommon, five times was rare, but over twenty times? That was absolutely unheard of given the vast expanse of space. It got to the point where you both noticed how frequently you would meet, the two of you making jokes that the universe was pushing you together.

Boothill had thought for a while you were sent to capture and/or kill him by the IPC but, after a particularly intense “discussion” (where he proceeded to hold you at gunpoint, as he frequently did with most people), you were able to confirm that all of the times you two had met were indeed just an exceedingly rare coincidence. It was something you would occasionally bring up to tease him about nowadays, poking fun at the fact he had literally held his future partner at gunpoint. It was a memorable event to reminisce on when asked by others ‘how did you two meet?’.

Years had passed since that unforgettable interaction, and both you and Boothill were happy and content in your current relationship. All of that time together with him had given you insight into how the cowboy typically behaved. He could be brash and rush into trouble head-first, but he was also immensely intelligent and could think of a plan on the fly to get himself out of even the stickiest situations. He was the type of person who frequently spoke his mind, not allowing his tampered-with Synesthesia Beacon to completely censor what he wanted to say… which is why you were as worried as you were lately.

Your boyfriend hadn’t been as talkative as he usually was. He had returned from a three-month-long trek around the galaxy a few days ago, and he had been distant ever since he came back. His replies had been clipped, and he had a strange look in his eye whenever he glanced your way; he hadn’t even looked at you for more than a few seconds since his return.

Tentatively, you made your way over to where he was sitting by an open window in your home, the breeze gently blowing the strands of his black-and-white hair to and fro. You stepped closer to stand next to him as you asked, voice tender as you spoke, “Boothill, honey, what’s wrong? You’ve been more reserved than usual these past few days, and I just want to check to see if you’re ok–…”

Then, he spoke, his voice firm as he cut off the rest of what you were going to say, “…I wanna break up.”

Your heart dropped into your stomach at his words, and you felt your palms begin to clam up with sweat as you whispered, “W… What?” You swallowed harshly, stepping closer to him as you asked, double-checking to see if you had heard him correctly, “What did you just say?”

“I said I wanna break up.” He says once more, voice rough as he turns his head ever-so-slightly to watch you from his peripheral. It felt like the world had stopped moving when he confirmed what you had always hoped you would never have to hear, and you feel your eyes begin to water. He finally, after so many days, looks at you directly after what has felt like eons. Whatever expression was on your face caused him to flinch before he looked away once more, staring at his hat on the nearby table.

Boothill sighs and runs a hand through his hair as he continues to speak, his voice gentler than usual as he tells you, “I don’t think this,” He pauses, taking his hand and gesturing toward himself before finishing his thought, “…is good fer you.”

Your emotions were fluctuating so quickly that your mind didn’t know what to do with all of them. First, you were worried about your boyfriend, then you were heartbroken when he said he wanted you two to go your separate ways, and now? Now you were angry, a sudden burst of frustration filling your veins at his reasoning behind wanting to end your relationship. Your heart aches as you exclaim, trying not to pay attention to the wetness forming along your lashes, “Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about?”

Boothill is back to refusing to look at you, so you try to move into his line of sight as you ask, your hands flailing about as you speak in a desperation-laced tone, “What, exactly, isn’t ‘good for me’ Boothill?”

He turns his head to look at you, standing up from where he had been sitting as he holds his hands out, trying to placate you as he says hastily, “Listen don’t – don’t get the wrong idea, alright?”

“How can I not get the wrong idea when you suddenly tell me you want to end our relationship!?” You yell back, feeling the tears begin to trickle down your cheeks. You were angry, sure, but the soul-crushing feeling of separating from the man you loved so deeply pierced your heart like a knife. Your frustration quickly began to be tainted with sorrow, your voice coming out softly as you ask him, your mind desperate for some kind of answer as you place a hand on your chest, “Did I… Did I do something for you to come to this decision?”

Panic floods his expression immediately as he reaches out, his hands resting on your shoulders as he leans down to look at your face. He quickly tells you, one of his hands coming up to gently cup your cheek as his thumb brushes away your tears, “No, no, no, no – you didn’t do anythin’, darlin’. You’ve been perfect in every way, I just…”

He pauses, gaze traveling to the ground as he thinks of what to say. His cold, metallic fingers against your skin are comforting to you in a way you couldn’t describe – comforting in a way no one else would be able to understand. Boothill’s eyes meet with yours once more as he continues speaking with a bittersweet smile, “You could do so much better than me, sweets. I don’t want to hold you back.”

The anger you had felt was suddenly back in full force as you asked him, brows furrowed as you questioned, “How?”

Your hands come up to hold onto his, the one that was still lovingly cupping your face as you ask, leaning forward toward him as you speak, “How could I do better than you? What are you holding me back from?”

Boothill shakes his head, saying with a frown, “There’s so many things I can’t give you… I can’t give ya a peaceful life, I can’t give ya a family…” His voice cracks slightly at the word, but he continues to speak as he begins to pull his hand away from your face, “You deserve someone who’s around more often – someone who can be there for ya whenever you need ‘em.”

Boothill chuckles bitterly, removing his hand from your grasp as walks over to grab his hat off of the nearby table, and you’ve never felt so cold and empty in your entire life. You watch helplessly as he places the hat on his head, staring as he begins to make his way toward the front door as he tells you, “You deserve someone who doesn’t cause you to jump every time their freezin’ cold hands touch ya – someone who can actually feel ya.”

You step toward him, reaching out to take his hand in yours and effectively stopping him in his tracks as you say firmly, “Boothill, shut the fuck up. Aren’t you going to at least ask me what I think about this?”

Boothill sighs, turning back around to look at you as he speaks. He doesn’t do anything to remove his hand from your grasp, instead gently squeezing it in a comforting manner as he tells you, “Listen, sweets, I just think it’s for the better that–…”

“No, it’s not.” You say, your voice strong despite the tears that had begun to flow down your face. You look up at him, bringing his hand to place on your chest as you tightly hold it over your heart, telling him firmly and genuinely despite the way your voice cracks, “I don’t care if you can’t give me those things. When did I even say that’s what I wanted in life?”

“Why wouldn’t you want that?” Boothill asks, looking down at you as if you had grown a second head, as if everything he said he couldn’t give you was something that everyone would want. He looks conflicted as he tells you, trying to take his hand back as he steps away from you and closer to the front door, “You deserve to be happy – you deserve to have someone who’s there for you.”

“What if all I want is you, huh?” You tell him, refusing to let go of his hand – refusing to let him leave your life in such a way. Your hold on Boothill’s hand was tight because you knew, deep down, if you let his hand slide out of yours, you’d never see him again. You look up at him as you speak, a spark of determination in your eyes which causes Boothill’s cheeks to flush a light shade of blue, “No one else can give me you. You’re the one that makes me happy – not some dream life, not some perfect family – just you.”

“You don’t want me, darlin’ – I promise, once I’m gone, you’ll move on an’ another lucky fella will have the honor of being able to love ya.” Boothill tells you with furrowed brows and a smile, his sharp teeth peeking out from behind his lips as he tries to convince you he’s not what you want. You could feel your eyebrow twitch in frustration at his words, your tears slowing down as you refute his claim.

“What part of ‘I want you, and only you’ do you not understand?” You ask him, a tinge of hurt and frustration mixed in your voice as you reach out to firmly hold both of his hands in your own. Boothill allows you to do so with no fanfare, a conflicted expression on his face; his fingers twitch in your hold. He watches as you close your eyes and take a deep breath, hesitating for a moment before once again looking at him as you whisper, “Listen, if you want to leave, I’m not going to stop you or hold you back, but…” You pause, smiling warmly at him before continuing, “but I want you. I want to be with you, not this hypothetical ‘fella’ you’ve envisioned who would give me a perfect life.”

Before Boothill could open his mouth to try and argue again, you quickly add on as you bring one of his hands to your lips, pressing a light kiss to his digits as you tell him, “I don’t care that you’re cold to the touch – I don’t care that we won’t have a picture-perfect life together…” You feel the tears beginning to form on your lashes again as you run your thumbs along his knuckles, telling him sincerely, “I’ve never imagined a future without you in it, love.”

Boothill looks down at you, his expression a clash between his adoration for you and the heaviness of the situation. He shakes his head, bringing one of your hands to his lips as he presses a kiss to the back of it as he tells you, voice uncharacteristically quiet as he admits, “I… I don’t want to leave, sweets. I just…” He hesitates as he makes eye contact with you, raising a brow as he once again gestures to himself as he asks, “Are you sure this is what ya want?”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life,” You tell him, letting go of his hands as you instead wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer to you as your bodies press against one another. His arms wrap around your waist on instinct, pulling you close to him as you press your foreheads together. You stare into his eyes and bring a hand to his cheek, placing your palm against his face as you run your thumb along the skin under his eye. He leans into your touch, turning his head to kiss your palm as you tell him with a smile, “Rain or shine, good or bad… I want to be beside you throughout it all.”

“Heh, well… I’m glad I get to be by yer side.” Boothill says, opening his eyes once more to look at you. He leans forward, pressing a kiss to your temple as he whispers, almost as if he didn’t want the world to hear him – to keep this tender moment a secret between the two of you, “…Thank you for choosin’ me out of the rest of the blokes in the galaxy, darlin’. I’m a real lucky guy to have someone as wonderful as you.”

“I’d choose you in every universe, Boothill. That’s a promise.” You reply with a smile, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, almost as if you were teasing him.

He smirks at both your words and your actions, saying with a raised brow as he leans back, tilting his hat up with one finger as he speaks, “That’s quite a big promise there, darlin’. Sure you can keep it?”

“Oh, I’m sure.” You reply, matching his expression as you huff, “Don’t doubt me, cowboy.”

“I won’t, I won’t…” Boothill says with a chuckle. He pauses, his smile faltering slightly as he looks down at you. Your eyes were still slightly red, and the stains your tears had left on your cheeks were still present. He pulls you closer to him, nuzzling his face into your neck as he takes a deep breath in, muttering against your skin, “Aeons, I love ya… I love ya so fudgin’ much.”

“I love you, too, honey.” You reply softly, running your hand up and down his back when an idea pops into your mind. It was a mischievous one, and the mere thought of it causes a smirk to grow on your lips. You reach up and grab the hat from his head as you instead place it on yours, asking him flirtatiously, “Why don’t I show you just how much I love you?”

“Well… I certainly like the sound of that.” Boothill replies lowly, his eyes half-lidded as he gently caresses your face, smirking at his hat now resting atop your head. He leans down and kisses you, whispering against your lips in a sultry tone, “Plus, I’d like to apologize for makin’ you cry… Can I, darlin’?”

The tone of his voice was enough to make your heart start beating faster, and you could feel your cheeks begin to warm as you replied quickly with a simple, “Please do.”

#🌸 . Plum Writes #honkai star rail #star rail #hsr #honkai star rail x reader #star rail x reader #hsr x reader #honkai star rail x you #star rail x you #hsr x you #boothill hsr #boothill #boothill x reader #boothill x you #honkai star rail imagines #hsr imagines #honkai star rail drabbles #hsr drabbles #boothill imagines #boothill fluff #boothill angst

[sgiandubh]

Last minute Swifties

Contrary to what many thought and some posted, I do think the OL cast's Taylor Swift experience was a last minute promo idea, very much monitored by *** and Tall Ships. I was wrong about minder/security guy (still, eerie...) and I never have a problem publicly admitting it. But quite unlikely I am wrong about this one. And sorry for the length, but you know how I am when I am looking for something, right?

Let's unpack: cast thanked the 'organizers' (and minders, really) in very specific terms, leaving NO much doubt:

Louisa McCulloch. Remember this name, we shall meet her in one hot minute. So thank you Louisa and Maril for organizing this: ask yourselves why did Maril, who (as far as I know) is based in the US, have to come to Edinburgh just for the gig. Damage control, perhaps?

And Sophie S., with a remarkable choice of words:

'Thank you ***, TS and her team for making it happen'. In my book, this means a strong, common effort to secure the box last minute. Because 'making it happen' means exactly that: 'need to do everything you can to facilitate it'.

Clearly Skelton, who is a Swiftie in her own right, was particularly appreciative of the efforts it took to ensure everyone could attend the concert. If that were a long planned event, her enthusiasm would have been more temperate, I think. 'Adding more Swifties to the clan' - LOL, Sophie, you mean S and C had no idea of the lyrics and were unable to sing along with you, John Bell, Izzy and Co (I keep forgetting their names and I like them a lot, in the show)? People of my generation are already too damn old for Taylor S. And this different sort of music might be more of S's real preference: otherwise why post it in his stories, as if to say ' TS is a different thing altogether'?

James. A Manchester rock band, formed in 1982, popular in the Nineties. I see no lies: he was clear 'JAMMF is a Swiftie'. And we are, after all, Children of the Nineties, not TS's crowd. And yes, I knew S was into the same kind of music as I was, in the Nineties (he seems to have stayed put, right there, unlike me, LOL):

Anyways, back to the mysterious woman up and front on three pictures in a row, that got many speculating. Nope, that was not Wendy, the MUA and S's bestie:

Once...

... Twice...

... Three times a lady:

Her name is Louisa McCulloch, née Radcliffe and she is the one S thanked, along with Maril (see above). It was a bit hard finding her, because her IG account is private. But I found her alright on Facebook, and then LinkedIn (of course):

Based in Lockerbie, Scotland. 20 years experience as a media publicist:

Worked with *** and Tall Ships since Season 3, after a short stint as Head of Publicity at the Paramount Pictures London Office. Got promoted from Unit Publicist to Publicist during COVID, for Season 6. So yes, she is the one who made it happen, locally, on what I think was a quite short notice.

Attention successfully diverted. Impeccable timing and giving a younger crowd what it wants. Trying to capitalize on TS's huge Instagram fan base: 283 million followers (wow! I had no fucking idea she was so huge). A win-win situation for just about everyone and an elegant way out from sordid waters:

And it worked. Lost among the hundred of thousands of likes and comments, look who's jumping on the bandwagon:

Sharon Stone. With a Blue Check and her 3.9 million Instagram fanbase. A Nineties deity, need I remind you (this blogger spotted her during the Berlinale 2007, while I was going out for drinks, blissfully unaware we were all staying at The Adlon, LOL)?

They mutually follow each other on Insta, by the way. I wonder why *urv did not pounce on that one. I feel robbed, for once, of a wonderful fanfic.

[Later edit] Several comments take on this person without a proper justification. I am editing this post to remind you she is only responsible for the implementation (in Scotland) of decisions taken elsewhere (in the United States of America). She is NOT a decision maker and as Publicist, was probably responsible for the local implementation of a hasty decision to attend an event (secure VIP box at Murrayfield, sell content to the local press). The direct contact with TS's team was, very likely, Maril and upwards, in the hierarchy. In all fairness, she has nothing to do with a billboard spotted in Los Angeles, USA - nothing of the sort in Europe. I am all for taxing, but let's tax people who are really RESPONSIBLE: she is just a very well paid underling. Thank you all, I am sure you understand fairness can only add to our credibility as a group.

#fandom #shitshow #TS Edinburgh 2024

[queensunshinee]

Time Of Our Lives || Part 11

Part 11:

Liana could easily say she would pay thousands of dollars to fly home on another day. But obviously she didn't have thousands of spare dollars, and the ones who bought her the plane tickets were her parents, along with Art's parents. Of course, seating them side by side the entire way from Stanford home.

Most of the semester she managed to avoid him. From time to time she would feel a scrutinizing gaze on her and knew it was Art, but every time she looked up to tell him to go fuck himself, their eyes didn't meet.

Now she has to spend several hours on the plane next to him, with both of them remembering the last time they flew together and she fell asleep on his shoulder. Both know she doesn’t plan on sleeping a single moment on this flight. There’s no way that in a moment of weakness, she will touch Art Donaldson by choice ever again.

Liana's leg shook uncontrollably, causing Art to sigh. He wanted to pull out one of her earbuds and tell her she could relax and that he wouldn’t bite her (no matter how much he wanted to). At this stage, he already thought it was ridiculous. Months have passed, and she acted as if he didn’t exist when they both knew that if they just talked about it, this horrible period would be behind them.

"I bought the snack you like with the jam." He couldn’t resist and pulled out one of her earbuds. His hand brushed her cheek for a second. If he were a stronger man, he wouldn’t have done it. But even if Art Donaldson is strong in most areas of life, he is very weak when it comes to Liana Levy.

"Can I have it back, please?" She asked with a coldness that never characterized her. Even before Stanford, when they were younger, and she tried to make him think she didn’t want any connection to him, she wasn’t cold. She would roll her eyes, go into tantrums, and distance herself as much as she could. She was never indifferent to him. He feared this indifference like a sheep fears a lion.

He put the earbud in her hand and left his hand on hers. She let him for a moment, and he closed his eyes, relishing the touch that lasted exactly three seconds until she recovered and moved away from him as much as she could. As if he might infect her with an incurable disease.

She took the snack he bought for her. Because if there’s one thing to say about Liana, it's that she can't give up her manners, and even when she’s furious with him to the core, she will do this small act to please him. It made his heart ache and kept him silent for the rest of the flight.

Again, like in a déjà vu feeling, her father was waiting for them, and they got into the car. "Liana, even if Mom acts coldly, it's not because she's angry. Okay?" Her father suddenly said, and Liana blushed. Art examined her as she shrank into her seat. "Can we talk about this at home?" She asked quietly, embarrassed by the direction of the conversation. "No, because Mom is at home, and Art is practically family. Right, kiddo?" Her father smiled at him through the mirror. God, how he loved her father and the small window he opened for him into her life. "Anyway, she almost completely fine with everything, and she even wanted to call a few days ago to ask how you were doing." Her father continued. Art didn’t know something had happened between Liana and her mother. "How long has it been like this?" He suddenly asked, his voice much more confident when her father was in the car because he knew Liana wouldn’t complicate the situation. Especially if she’s already in some kind of fight with her mother. "Since the day we talked about London, probably. The day Li flew back to Stanford." If her father could, he would give Art her entire life story at any given moment. He really loved Art as if he were the son he never had.

Art started connecting the dots; That’s the reason she came to him as soon as she landed that day. That’s the reason she seemed so shaken, and that’s the reason he thought she had been crying. She and her mother fought that day. A fight big enough not to speak again for months. And instead of supporting her and insisting on knowing what happened, Art made that day even worse.   The thought that Patrick was going to erase him from her life sharpened at that moment. He knows Patrick would’ve read the situation better. He knows Patrick wouldn’t have acted the way he did that night. Art knows Patrick is selfish in every aspect of his life, except for Liana. While Art happens to be the most selfish when it comes to Liana.

Despite Art’s grandmother ruining all her birthdays throughout her life, Liana loved her as if she were her own grandmother. That’s how she found herself in a car with Art Donaldson, on the way to her nursing home. Because she couldn’t leave the country without seeing her, and Art... well, he heard about it from his parents and said he would drive her because he also wanted to see his grandmother. And once again, only Liana knew that Art was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

"Are we really not going to talk the whole drive?" Art asked. He was dressed nicer than usual and smiling more than usual. On another day, Liana would have found his smile charming, but the last two weeks at home had been filled with silent fights between her and her mother, who probably wouldn’t forgive her in her lifetime. Right now, Liana wanted to wipe the smug smile off Art's face with a slap. But she wasn’t a violent person, so she simply turned up the radio and looked out the window. "Are you planning anything for your birthday?" Art asked, turning the radio back down to its original volume.

"Tell me, is this a mental illness? Are you bipolar or something?" she retorted, only causing his dimple to become more pronounced. "These are really concerning mood swings, I recommend you check it out and really shut up for the rest of this trip that I don’t even know why you joined. You can visit your grandma literally any other day and not with me like a psychopath." She mumbled the last part, causing Art to chuckle.

"Is it amusing to you, Arthur?" she asked, genuinely unable to read the person in front of her. A person whom just a few months ago her instincts betrayed her and made her think she knew all about him.

"It amuses me that you're trying so hard to hate me, Li, instead of taking a moment and talking to me." He said with feigned calmness. Art knew he was getting close to the point where Liana wouldn’t be able to resist and would just spill everything that was on her mind. He knew that from the moment it happened, it would be easier for him to deal with her. He knew that from the moment she started showing him she was angry at him and not ignoring him as if he didn’t exist, he would be able to turn things back.

Maybe not to Christmas when she was completely his, but before, when she looked at him and really saw him. When she cared for him because he was sick. When she came to some of his practices. When she was an inseparable part of his day. If she'll leave when she was at that point again, maybe Patrick won’t be able to take over what remained of her feelings for him. Maybe he'd have a chance to be in her life.

"You’re delusional." She muttered, turning up the radio again. "You look beautiful today. All this to impress my grandmother? You know she already loves you." He turned it down again, still amused. Liana sighed and rolled her eyes. This was going to be a very long drive.

"Jessica, you look amazing!" Liana said and hugged Art’s grandmother. His heart filled in a way he didn’t know it could. How did he never notice? How did he not notice how much attention Liana paid to such an important figure in his life? And so for a few hours, they sat and played cards and Scrabble with his grandmother and her two friends, and they listened to gossip about the seniors at the nursing home. Liana was so good. So attentive. So present.

"Lia," his grandmother started when the three of them were left alone, "at your wedding, I won't be there, but say a few words about me so that Art’s grandfather hears from his grave and gets jealous." She tossed it out casually. As if everything in this scenario was self-evident; It was clear to her they would get married, it was clear to her she wouldn't be there, and it was clear to her that her deceased husband would hear.

Art chuckled quietly, watching Liana and seeing how red she was. Even her ears had changed color.

"Don’t worry, Grandma. We’ll talk about you the whole event." If he had been less smug about everything, he would have shut up. But he couldn’t stop himself. He had to see if he could make her blush even more. If there was another button he could press to make her release what she had against him, so eventually he could get back into her life.

"When Art gets married, Jessica, you’ll be there and hold his hand. And at my wedding, you’ll be the guest of honor." Liana said, trying to steady her voice. Art chuckled. The shameless bastard just chuckled. The look Liana shot at him would have killed any sane person. But Art didn’t consider himself very sane at that moment, and certainly not someone who feared an angry look from Liana Levy.

"She’s dismissing you, Arthur. What are you doing about it?" His grandmother looked amused by Liana’s embarrassment and Art’s feigned indifference. "Don’t worry, Grandma, I’m on it," he smiled and hugged her.

"Lia, promise me you’ll keep calling me even when you’re far away and fall in love in Europe," Jessica looked at her with a penetrating gaze. "Yes, Lia, promise her." Art said, causing her to look at him for a moment. At this stage, he wasn’t sure he would survive the day, but it would probably be a sweet way to die. "Jessica. If until now I’ve called once a week, without missing, nothing will change that." Liana hugged her again, and they moved towards the car.

"You're calling my grandma once a week?" Art didn’t know this. Why didn’t anyone tell him this? He wanted to scream. Since they were kids, Art was sure he wanted to be much closer to Liana than she wanted to be. And that was fine, he got used to the piercing looks, sarcastic words, and eye rolls. Stanford changed that. Stanford made them equals. They saw each other in the same way. They wanted to be close in the same way. They were in each other’s space. For him, Liana's change happened at Stanford. The change happened this year. And then he discovered things like this. He discovered that Liana was calling his dying grandma once a week and helping her pass the time.

"Can you fucking answer me?!" He raised his voice. He didn’t want to raise his voice. But his patience for the silent treatment, his punishment, had run out. He felt like a little boy who was told to stand in the corner for four months and expected not to explode.

"Arthur-" she sounded bored when he cut her off. "Art." He said firmly and made a sharp U-turn on the highway, driving in the opposite direction of their home. "What the fuck?! Art! Where are you going?" she asked, a bit scared by his change in approach. He didn’t answer her and continued driving until he stopped in a place empty of people, surrounded by sand with no building in sight.

"Where are we, Art?!" she asked for the umpteenth time.

Art got out of the car and closed his eyes, breathing heavily, hearing her get out too. "I'm not joking with you. Take me home. Now!" She crossed her arms under her chest, and he approached her, invading her personal space.

Liana managed to see his eyes up close for the first time in months. They were filled with tears. Her initial instinct was to reach out a hand to his cheek, but she restrained herself from moving. Their breathing was heavy as they examined each other. Art's first tear fell on his cheek.

Every bone in Liana's body screamed at her to hug him. Every internal and external limb of hers burned with the need to ease his pain. But she knew he didn’t deserve it. She knew that whatever was happening now, Art deserved to feel it.

"Please, Liana." He mumbled. His voice was broken. This wasn’t how Art planned this day. He planned to dress nicely, drive to his grandma’s, remind Liana of all the things he was good at. Remind her that he was much more kind than he was mean. Instead, he was crying. Instead, he was looking at her and realizing that in a few days she would leave, and maybe he would never feel the same way for anyone else. Maybe he didn’t want to feel all these emotions for anyone else. Maybe only with Liana could he feel so much.

Art slowly dropped to his knees. Not taking his eyes off Liana. Her breathing became even heavier, and her eyes filled with tears too. She had never seen such a thing. A person willing in the middle of the street to drop to their knees before another person, while in tears.

"Art, get up..." she mumbled, wanting to look around to see that no one was coming, but afraid to take her eyes off the scene before her. Her instinct won this time, and she placed both her hands on the sides of his face, wiping away the endless tears, while Art, like an addict to the feeling, leaned into the warm and gentle touch with his eyes closed.

"Do you even know what you did to me?" she asked, and he opened his eyes, looking at her with longing. With a desire to absorb everything she had to say to him. "You ruined me, Art Donaldson. You broke me." She said, and he stood up slowly. "I'm sorr-" he started, and her hand found his cheek with force. Liana wasn’t a violent person. Liana is not a violent person. "You have no right to ask for forgiveness." She stated. "That was the first time I slept with someone, Art." Her voice sounded like the cry of a wounded animal. "Did you think about what such a formative experience would do to my sex life? Did you think about the trust issues I would have? That I would never be able to trust anyone like I trusted you?" She cried so hard she couldn’t resist his embrace while his crying intensified.

"I will never be able to behave the way I behaved with you. You used me to get back at Patrick. You used me to win a competition only you participated in." She pushed him a bit away from her, and they stood facing each other again, both trying to breathe. After a few minutes of this, silence and piercing looks, Art dropped to his knees again, and Liana looked everywhere but at him. With the last of her strength, she tried to resist the magnetic pull Art Donaldson has on her. "Li, look at me." His broken voice commanded her without commanding, he couldn’t command anything for anyone. He was on his knees for her. "You're pathetic." She said. Without blinking. She never talked like that to anyone. All he could do was nod and hug her leg while she looked up at the sky, again with tears in her eyes, running a finger through one of his curls. "I will be good. I promise." He said what he demanded from her every time they were intimate with each other. Their gazes crossed once more, "I will be good even when you’re not here. I will be good for you."

HEYYYYYYYYY How are we doing with that gap of 2 days? I hope it was worth the wait. I hope that you're not getting tired of this story yet 'cause I'm still obsessed with them all, but I don't want you guys to feel like I'm dragging the entire thing. Patrick and Liana are going to London in the next part. Who's excited??? You're always welcome to the comments or the ask box and have a chat with me. also, taglist is open if you want :)

taglist: @marley1773 @ruyaas-world @apolloscastellan @primlovesdilfs @fangirl-kimora @serenadingtigers @imbabycowboy @do-it-for-kicks @izzywags478 @4deline08 @igotmajordaddyissues @jackierose902109 @ganana @yoitsme-04 @swetearss

#art donaldson x reader #patrick zweig x reader #art donaldson #patrick zweig #challengers fic #the time of our lives

[lurkingshan]

10 Things I Love About Triage

I am extraordinarily late to this party but I am here to scream about Triage, a show which I started on a whim after a stray comment from @incandescentflower and subsequently finished in two sittings. This drama has been on my list forever (I didn't watch it live because the distribution was wacky) and then it just kept getting overlooked as I fought to keep up with the deluge of Thai BL coming at us at all times. But I am very glad I finally hunted it down and made the time and I would like to tell you why!

Hello Again, Dr. Sammon

I am on record as a Sammon fan. She is one of the best writers working in Thai BL and she has a knack for mystery and suspense. Her narratives are always really well constructed with tight plotting and smart character work, and Triage is no exception. This story feels confident, steady, and complete in a way few Thai BLs do.

The time travel rules are blessedly consistent

Part of what makes the story sing is it's a time travel plot that actually gets the particulars right. In a time loop, the details are everything, and this show understands that. The series of events are consistent, the rules of the time travel mechanics are clearly explained, and when our protagonists learn something new, it always lines up with something we'd gotten hints about before or gives us new context for old information. There are no loose threads in this show.

My boy Tin is going through it

Tin is a fantastic protagonist. He starts the show disillusioned with his work and hilariously grumpy about this time loop situation--he is a busy ER doctor and he does not have time for this--but as he starts to piece together how the loop works he gets more methodical in his approach, and eventually becomes emotionally invested in his mission to save Tol. Tin felt really well-calibrated in that he was smart and he tried all the things you would be shouting at the screen for him to try, but he's still a human being with flaws and insecurities and so he makes mistakes, learns, and has to try again. The show really successfully put us in the frustration with him.

Tol makes for an interesting damsel

Because he's kind of an asshole! Tol is rude and disrespectful when he first meets Tin, he hangs around with some truly awful bullies, he treats Rit like garbage, and he's all around an arrogant dick. Until he isn't. I like the choice to make the focus of our mission such a difficult character, not only because it makes Tin's challenge that much harder, but also because it invites us to consider the reasons why someone might be behaving the way he is and whether they can be redeemed.

This show has everything: action, romance, and agony

It's truly an emotional rollercoaster all the way through, and you can't relax for a moment. The pacing is relentless through most of the show, and even as a bond develops between Tin and Tol and they begin a tentative romance, danger is lurking around every corner. As soon as these boys started making out in episode 9 I knew something awful was coming for me and IT SURE DID.

Jinta, the ultimate frenemy

On that note let's talk about Jinta, my nemesis!! Jinta is some kind of unspecified deity/whimsical god and the one who appears to be responsible for putting Tin and Tol in this loop. Is he trying to help them? Is he trying to torture them? I definitely think it's both! He seems to delight in showing up to taunt Tin as he struggles to figure out how to get through to Tol, and when it's Tol's turn on the merry-go-round he sends him to the darkest timeline for his high stakes final attempt to save Tin just because he can. I love/hate you, sir!

Sing and Gap and the darkest timeline

Speaking of which, can we talk about how appropriate it is that Sing and Gap are a couple only in the darkest timeline? I don't know if people were shipping this for real during the live watch, but I definitely was not and so I started cackling when we got to the worst possible timeline and Sing was suddenly calling Gap his boyfriend. Sammon, you are hilarious and I salute you.

Fantastic side characters

Let's talk about the sides I did love. First of all, aside from his weird aggressive flirting/not flirting thing with Gap, I actually did like Sing's friendship with Tin a lot. I also loved the hospital gang who were around to alternately tease and help Tin, most especially Toy and Fang. Toy is a sweetheart and a gossip who never misses a trick, and Fang is an actual badass who first cracked the case with that evil doctor and saved Tin's life. They are fabulous. Rit was also an excellent character with a lot of complexity and he added some much needed depth to the school storyline (does anyone else think he was basically the proto-DFF Non?). And while Mai and Heart were not my favorite people, I did appreciate that the show gave them a sympathetic portrayal instead of making them evil villains (we had the organ harvesters for that).

That beautiful clocktower

I must give a shoutout to this gorgeous clocktower featured in several important scenes. I got so excited every time it showed up. Fun fact: in the first clocktower scene I was like oh hey I recognize that from gifs, but it can't be that scene because it's too early for a kis--TIN WHAT ARE YOU DOING! (I was right, it was too early for a kiss and Tol was Big Mad but bless you for going for it anyway, Tin).

The romance is balanced and rootable

And on that note, let me give a shoutout to the romance part of this story for actually feeling balanced. This is not an epic swoony love affair, but more a story of two people putting in the time to understand and empathize with each other. Sometimes in these kind of time loop stories the romance can end up feeling very one-sided because one character is holding all the knowledge and all the cards. But in this show we have the neat trick of Tol taking over the loop to try to save Tin in the final arc, which means he got to go through a similar process of getting to know the darkest version of his lover and figuring out how to get through to him. I was delighted by all the events of the long loop playing out again, but this time with Tin being the obstinate one. Tol got a taste of his own medicine and it left me feeling like they were both equally invested in this relationship.

TL;DR: If you haven't watched this yet, you really should! It's a fast binge and a great time with some Thai BL favorites. It's unfortunately still not available for international streaming, but it's very easy to find grey now and it's worth the effort. Go forth!

#triage #triage the series #thai bl #shan recommends #10 things #shan shouts into the void

[httpkaulitz]

girls your age

PAIRINGS: 2024 Tom x Female reader

CONTENT: Smut, angst, Fluff

SYNOPSIS: You meet Tom and you can't help but be enchanted by him, even though he's almost twice your age.

WARNINGS: age gap (don't read if you don't like it), unprotected sex, p in v, kissing, fingering and oral (f receiving)

Tom knew you were trouble as soon as he met you, he could feel it in his gut. He must have seen trouble coming just from the way you two met.

He had just arrived at a roadside bar and decided to smoke a cigarette before going in. After a few drags he heard a small argument.

''Hey beautiful.'' The guy said approaching you. ''I'm Mike.''

''I don't want to know.'' You replied, moving away and hugging your body because of the strong wind.

The man laughed and turned his body towards yours, resting one arm against the wall. ''Wow, you're a confident girl, aren't you?''

''Can you please leave me alone?'' You looked at him as seriously as possible. ''I'm with someone, okay?''

''Well darling, you know it's not about how you arrived, it's about who you go home with'' He said licking his lips and looking at your body. ''Come on girl, let me take you home.''

You realized he wouldn't take no for an answer, which is not only absolutely horrible, but completely disgusting as well. Guys like him are the scum of the earth.

''No, thank you.'' You said, walking away with the intention of going back into the bar, but the man grabbed your arm stopping you from walking away.

''Come on beautiful, don't be afraid.'' He said smiling.

''Let go of me.'' You said trying to push him away, but his hand only tightened his grip. ''I said let go.'' You shouted hitting him who just laughed at the situation.

Tom was never the type to get into fights, especially fights that didn't involve him, but he couldn't just let it go and pretend he didn't see it.

''Hey.'' Tom threw the cigarette he was smoking on the floor, stepped on it and ran towards the two of you. He grabbed you and pulled you back, stopping right in front of the man. ''I think you'd better stay away.”

''Or what?'' The man threatened, pushing Tom and making him almost fall on you. ''Are we going to fight? And the winner will stay and fuck your whore?''

Tom bit his lip and then punched the man in the face, hitting his jaw squarely. Everything happened so fast that when you realized he was already on top of the man, knocking him to the ground and punching his face repeatedly.

''Hey stop! You're going to kill him!'' You screamed, grabbing his shoulders, Tom pushed your hand away and continued punching the man in the face. He just wouldn't stop.

You started to panic not knowing what to do. You were grateful to be saved by the stranger, but he seemed to have gone into some automatic mode, he was hitting the other man as if he didn't care what was going to happen.

This time you grabbed Tom's shoulders with all the strength you had and pulled him off the man. ''Stop it, please.'' You shook nervously.

Tom turned around and for the first time looked at you. He really looked. And despite the bold clothes and dark makeup you looked very young. Younger than would be legal to be in a bar.

“You crazy son of a bitch.” The man who was on the ground got up, grumbling, and staggered away.

"Are you okay?" You asked softly as you approached him.

Tom looked at you with slitted eyes, curious and confused by you. Nothing made sense in this situation. He doesn't even know why he got so angry and lost control.

He waved at you before asking. "Are you?"

“Thanks to you, yes.” You said happily with a huge smile as you looked at him through your eyelashes. It didn't even seem like just a few minutes ago you were panicking.

Somehow Tom let himself be convinced to go into the bar with you. You wanted to thank him for helping you, you said, and even though he wanted to refuse, you were very insistent and he was already going to the bar anyway.

That was the first mistake he made.

The place was crowded, he intended to go straight to the counter bar to have the excuse to drink something simple and make a quick exit. But all the chairs were occupied, so he had to grab one of the tables.

The chairs were so close together that he could feel your legs brushing against his as you sat in front of him.

He waved at the waiter for beer and some fries. Tom continued watching you as you talked nonstop. Having just met you, he didn't know if you naturally talks a lot or were just acting like that because you were nervous about what happened.

After a few minutes the waiter brought two bottles of beer and placed them on the table. You reached out to grab one, but he pulled it away from you.

“You don’t look old enough for that, girl.” He says simply as he opens the bottle. You watch him take a generous sip calmly, probably used to drinking stronger drinks.

“I’m actually forty-five.” You say in an attempt at a joke that fails because he just looks at you with one of his eyebrows raised as if asking 'what the fuck are you talking about?' "Okay they let me drink here because I pay more."

As he imagined, you are under twenty-one. Well, it wasn't hard to tell since you looked like you had just finished school. “Is this supposed to make things better?”

“I’ll be twenty in a few months.” You rolled your eyes and tried to get the other bottle, but he held it, stopping you.

He finished pulling the bottle out of your hand and said. “And then there will be another year before you can drink.”

“Why are you acting like my dad?” You laughed when you realized he really wouldn't let you drink because of your age. You were already used to not being told no about this. Especially here.

“If your dad acted like your dad, you wouldn’t be here.” Tom didn't want to sound rude and he shouldn't care about you, but he better than anyone knows very well what it's like to be young and want to try a lot of things at a very young age.

He can tell by the way you look at him that the comment irritated you. Maybe it's the fact that your father doesn't have much time to spend with you, as you told him. Or maybe it's the fact that you believe you are a very smart adult.

“I’m not as helpless as I seem.” Even though you were still angry, your voice is calm and your eyes watch him with curiosity. As if you want to know what he's going to answer next.

Tom felt like laughing because you look really cute saying that, with all the certainty that only someone just got out of adolescence would have.

“You’re also not as smart and cool as you think you are.” He says before picking up the bottle of beer and taking a generous swig. “We’ve only known each other for less than an hour and I already know that you always come here, that you live nearby and that your father is almost never home.”

You listen to him attentively without interrupting him. The feeling of being scolded makes you angry and you feel even more angry knowing he's right. You always talk too much when you get nervous. And he makes you nervous.

“That’s not the kind of shit you tell strangers, girl.”

You clear your throat in embarrassment when the waiter finally brings you the portion of fries. All the employees already know you and seem to keep an eye on you.

“Okay, I talked a lot about myself, tell me something about yourself.” You stretch your hands across the table and hold his hand in yours. “What does your tattoo mean?”

He was surprised by you suddenly holding his hand. It took him a few seconds to reason and understand what you had just asked.

“It’s the time I was born.” He explained as he watched your hands still holding his, his knuckles were starting to turn purple from the fight earlier. The difference in size of his hand versus yours was visible. “I have a twin brother, we both have the time we were born tattooed on our hands.”

“A twin brother? This is so cool.” You exclaimed excitedly. And Tom realizes that he won't be able to get away from you as quickly as he thought he could.

Then he told some loose things about his life. You were very interested in the fact that he had a twin brother, and it was always easy for him to talk about Bill, since sometimes he felt like he was talking about a part of him in a certain way.

Tom was prepared to say some excuse and leave. He himself didn't even understand why he wanted to get out of there so quickly, he just felt like he needed to leave. He was already getting up from his chair when you asked.

"Do you know how to play?" He looked at you, but you weren't looking at him. His eyes followed the direction you were looking and he noticed the large pool table in the middle of the room.

"Yes." Tom responded, going against every instinct that told him he should get out of there and stop paying attention to you.

You turned your attention to him again with a huge smile and big eyes watching him through your lashes. “Would you teach me, please?”

And before Tom could even respond you were grabbing his hand and pulling him closer to the pool table. “I always want to play when I come here, but I never learned.”

“Okay, but let’s just do this once.” He responded quickly as he released his hand from yours.

You watched as he gathered the colored balls together making them form a triangle in the center of the table.

“You know the rules, right?” You waved at him, paying attention to everything he was doing. “I’ll start, pay attention.”

You watched as he picked up one of the pool cue, chalked the end of it, and leaned over the table.

Tom had a look of concentration on his face and you couldn't help but smile as you looked at him. He hit the white ball, which collided with the others, undoing the triangle and scattering them across the table.

"Your turn." He said as he handed you the pool cue.

You looked at the table studying what would be the best angle to try to get it right. You always watched people playing and always saw that depending on the angle it was much easier to hit.

You leaned forward and prepared to hit the white ball but somehow, instead of it rolling on the table, it lifted and almost bounced towards the floor.

Tom laughed as he watched the scene. You looked completely confused and disappointed.

“You hit too low, you have to aim for the middle.” He explained but you looked even more confused. "Like this."

He walked over and stood behind you, positioning your arms just right and holding your hand. You held your breath for a moment, completely unprepared to deal with how good his skin felt against yours.

Tom pushed his body against yours making you lean over the table. “Now you position the tip of the pool cue in the middle of the ball and push.” He whispered against your ear before pulling away.

He recognizes the expression in your eyes. He's seen it before, in dozens of women. Interest. And intention. He's always okay with this look before. It's just been a while since he got that look from someone with less than two decades of experience. Seeing you look at him like that, he suddenly feels the weight of all his years.

After a few miserable attempts you were finally getting the hang of it, of course Tom won the game even though he tried the least.

You had no idea you would want to talk to him so much. You would always strike up a conversation with strangers at the bar and most of the time you would be ignored or they just didn't have much in common. It wasn't exactly a place where people close to your age frequented.

But Tom was different, even though he seemed suspicious he didn't ignore or mock your questions.

And the way he looked at you and gave you his cheeky smile, something that somehow made him look ten years younger… you felt your heart flutter at the sight. And it was obvious, you knew it. You were scared to admit it, surely a man his age would never pursue you, even if you were technically an adult. He certainly had no interest, especially with the way he called you 'girl'. You were a hassle, but you wanted more time with him. You knew he could probably see you were pining for him, obviously, but consciously you were sure it was a secret.

When you said goodbye, for some reason he didn't even know, Tom gave you his cell phone number, telling you to call him if you got into trouble and needed help. He knew he shouldn't have done it, but you somehow made him reckless.

Three days after that you called. It was early in the morning and he couldn't understand half of what you were saying.

“Why are you calling me, girl?” He asked, a little annoyed at having his sleep interrupted.

“I can’t get home.” You mumbled on the other end of the line, your voice slurred.

“Are you drunk? It doesn’t matter, text me the address, I’m coming.”

In less than twenty minutes Tom was parking in front of the bar. You were sitting on the floor and when you saw him you got up staggering. He tried to get to you in time, but you fell to your knees before he could catch you.

“Shit, are you okay?” He asked worriedly as he helped you up. “Why did you drink so much?”

"Cause I wanted to." You grumbled irritably, running your hand over your scraped knees. “Haven’t you ever gotten drunk?”

Tom decided not to answer, there was no point trying to reason with you drunk and angry mood. He just helped you into the car and took you home. As expected, the house was empty.

“Do you have any first aid kit?” He asked after sitting you down on the couch. You pointed to the bathroom and he left, leaving you alone.

You took off your shoes and socks and kicked them into the middle of the room. Every movement you made made you feel sick, the room was spinning your head hurt like hell. You had forgotten how bad it felt to get really drunk.

Tom returned with the small suitcase in his hands and knelt in front of you. “I know you don't want to hear this, but you shouldn't drink that much. It's not safe."

“If you know I don’t want to listen, why are you saying?” You said automatically. You weren't in the mood to listen to a lecture. He, who was checking what was inside the suitcase, stopped and looked at you with one of his eyebrows raised. "Sorry."

He put some antiseptic on a cotton ball and held your leg ready to clean the scratches on your knees. “What happened to make you drink like that?”

“My mom wants me to move in with her.” You explained as you watched him tend to your injuries. It burned from time to time but you didn't complain. “She says living with my dad made me irresponsible and immature.”

Tom chuckled and said. “Smart way to show she’s right.”

He knew very well how mothers can be a pain in the ass even when they are right.

"Sorry." He said looking away from what he was doing to look at you. “But you have to think before you act or you’ll end up in trouble.”

“I know, I was just angry.” You wanted to argue with him, but you knew he was right.

“It's normal to be angry, you just have to learn to deal with it.” He said softly. You liked him precisely because he didn't judge you. He could be a little harsh and direct at times, but he didn't mean anything wrong.

"I finished." He smiles at you, looking you with those kind eyes. He's so beautiful, you think as you lean forward and gently cup his face in your hands, forgetting everything and planting your lips on his.

Tom automatically pushes you away from him as if your touch had burned him. "Don't do that." He said seriously, standing up and moving further away from you. "This will not happen."

"Why not?" You had acted on impulse, of course, but you didn't imagine he would react like this. He pulled away from you so quickly it felt like you had some kind of contagious disease. “Do you think I’m that ugly?”

“No, I think you’re beautiful. I want to hug you and kiss you and... and I can't do that. I don't want to do that." Tom didn't know if you would understand, you certainly saw this whole situation very differently. “That wouldn’t be nice to you because I don’t love you.”

Of course you knew that, you weren't stupid. But you didn't really care about that, or at least you didn't want to care.

You didn't mean to be interested in him like that. Of course, you might have always liked the idea of ​​a hot man who was maybe a little older and at least a head taller than you. You can't deny how appealing the idea of ​​someone having enough experience to know how to take care of you is. Someone who would treat you the way you always wanted and deep down wanted, without being condescending or dismissive.

And maybe Tom, with his looks and muscles twice your size, cocky attitude, and sense of adventure, fits what you've been looking for in a man long before you two met.

You didn't realize he had moved closer to you again until you felt his hand gently cup your chin and make you look at him. “And don’t do that to anyone while you’re drunk, understand?”

You just nodded embarrassedly. You felt so stupid and yet he made sure not to make you feel worse. Tom continued taking care of you as if nothing had happened. He gave you water and took you to your room saying you would feel better tomorrow.

“Can you stay with me until I sleep?” You whispered, looking at him through your eyelashes. Tom nods at you and lies down next to you. You can’t help but move closer to him, snuggling into his chest as his hand strokes your hair.

  ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮

Even after what happened, Tom didn't ignore you or push you away. The two of you continued texting and meeting up every now and then. He seemed genuinely concerned about you and always gave you advices. Sometimes you would go to the bar together to play pool together, he still wouldn't let you drink. Saying you could wait for that.

The fact that he was so nice and attentive to you only made you more and more interested in him. And deep down you knew he also felt something for you. That was precisely why one day while you were talking in the living room of your house you decided that you would change your relationship.

A better man would have said no, would have stopped, would have reasoned with you and told you to wait, to save it for the better man. But Tom wasn't a better man, he was selfish and human and he heard your pleas. He listened when you said. "I want you to be my first." And he listened even more to your insistence and reasoning. "You've always tried to take care of me since we met, Tom. You don't need to be here anymore, but you are, just take care of me now."

For a fleeting second, he tried to think of something that would make him stop, but every time he tried to argue you argued back. "I want to learn. It'll be like when you taught me how to play." Fuck, it wasn't the same.

He kept telling himself that he shouldn't let that happen even after he laid you down on the couch and took off your panties. And his mind went blank when you moaned his name, all soft and trembling as his fingers slid inside you. You were so tight he wasn’t sure if it would fit.

Looking up was a mistake, but so was all of this. You were looking at him with your eyebrows furrowed and your mouth open in a silent moan. Suddenly, you weren't the only one groaning. Your eyes closed as he continued working, your clit throbbing and swelling on his tongue as he dragged it nice and slow. It was painfully obvious that you had never been through anything like this before, your reactions were so intense and raw.

Your soft fingers reached down and grabbed his hair. You pulled him closer, your thighs trembling and coming together around his head. His fingers moved faster, rubbing your slick walls and wanting so much to feel them wrapped around his cock. Each stroke of his tongue and fingers produced a small gasping sound as you moaned his name. There was no way he could resist, not with you moaning his name so sweetly. Without warning, you squeezed his fingers and he thought he might die right there, because if you did that to his dick, he would be ruined.

Tom was pretty sure the neighbors could hear it from the way you held your breath until you let it out in a long moan.

Going up your body was really where he should have stopped, should have backed away and walked away. But instead he nibbled and kissed your belly, sucked your nipples and rubbed sweet circles on your hips with his thumbs.

His mouth was on your left nipple, sucking and pulling with his teeth when you asked. "Can I ride you?"

Fuck yes, that was all Tom could think, any reasons why he shouldn't be there with you long forgotten. He sat down and watched you undo the button on his pants with shaking hands and he lifted his hips for you to pull them down.

“Are you sure you still want to do it?” Tom asked when he saw you looking at his cock with wide eyes.

You waved as you climbed into his lap. Your soft little hands on his shoulders. It was just sex, at least that's what he told himself when he kissed you. You jaw was cradled perfectly in his palm, your soft skin contrasting with his. He leaned back against the couch, his legs dangling over the edge. Then the only thing in his field of vision was your eyes shining with lust. This time you kissed him, one hand reaching down to rub his cock. There was no intention or experience behind it, just curious fingers rubbing and palming the head, tracing the veins and squeezing until he moaned.

Your kiss ended, lips still touching as he smiled at you. "Teaser."

You laughed and he refused to admit that it was anything more than a laugh for his own ears, for his heart. You were nervous, he could tell. He took your face in his hands and kissed you slowly, little bits of tension disappearing from you as you lined him up and slid in slowly. One of his arms slid to wrap around your waist as his lips moved to your ear, sucking the earlobe and kissing around the shell. A soft moan left your mouth as he bottomed out. It was a struggle not to move and talk. "Are you okay, girl?"

You took a deep breath, resting an arm on his shoulders and grabbing the bicep of the arm wrapped around you. After a moment, you leaned in and kissed him again and he knew you wouldn't get tired of it either. The hand on your jaw slid down and tangled in your hair, rubbing your scalp tenderly. When you started to move, he broke the kiss, cursing and gripping your hair a little tighter between his fingers. Your eyelids fluttered, your kiss-swollen lips remained slightly open as you panted and moaned. Every in and out of your tight little body made him want to go against his words at once, because you were ruining him, just like he knew you would. And somewhere between the fourth and seventh roll of your hips, he must have said it out loud, because you whimpered and nodded. "It's okay Tom, me too."

Your languid, oppressive assaults on him tore away every bit of restraint he had, every part of him that could have turned away from it. You dug your nails into his skin like claws and sped up, your eyes locked in a look that was too intimate for the first time. His hands went to your hips and yours went to his chest, both of you holding on as your bodies took control as your minds were slipping away. Something buried deep within him ignited as you clenched, so close to orgasm that your body was begging for it. The movement of your hips gyrating and circling was hypnotic and he could watch you do this forever.

You were giving it your all, just like everything you do. He knew that if he said something, if he let it be known that he wanted more, you would give him everything. Could he be so selfish?

“Fuck, Tom, I’m going to…” You pushed yourself against him, opening your mouth and digging your nails hard into his muscles. Your body tightened around him, squeezing so hard it almost hurt before giving way to the rhythmic vibration and your breathless moans. Your beautiful face was relaxed with pleasure, the rest of your body falling into him.

As he pushed you to get on top, he realized that, yes, he could be that selfish. You smiled so wide as he began to thrust, your legs positioned just above his hips. The sounds you made were more sated, small noises.

Even after cumming twice, you still moved with him, rubbing his skin and feeling his muscles. The power he had over you was so evident here, when you were stripped of all pretense and clothing. He kissed you, another slow kiss that got hotter when you sucked his tongue. The heat that had begun to build up at the base of his spine was spreading quickly. He broke the kiss to breathe, not expecting to hear your voice slipping through the air. "Tom, come for me."

Fuck if that didn't make him lose his mind, slamming into you and doing exactly what you asked, spilling inside of you. Tom wrapped his arm around your waist and turned you around, making you rest on his chest. He could feel you smiling against his chest as he stroked your hair.

Tom knew this wouldn't last, at some point the age difference between you two would be a problem, but he was willing to try for as long as it took.

#tom kaulitz #tokio hotel #tokio hotel smut #tom kaulitz x reader #bill kaulitz #georg listing #gustav schäfer #bill kaulitz smut #bill kaulitz x reader #tom kaulitz smut

[hanniebaeee]

Bittersweet

Boyfriend Lee Know x fem!reader

Warnings: A lot of crying, pregnancy and child birth, dad! Minho stealing your heart (sorry!)

Genre: angst, fluff

Summary: You feel your boyfriend, Minho, slipping away from you. You love him way too much to leave, but your current situation calls for change.

This wasn't the first time your boyfriend Minho is missing a date with you. In fact this has happened way too many times already and yet here you were, hoping it would be different this time around. But the jokes on you, because Minho wasn't there and you were eating on your own at your favorite cafe. One of the servers was your friend by now and she gave you a sympathetic smile as she placed your order on the table. Blowing the candle out, you ate in silence.

It had started raining heavily by the time you were finished. The cafe wasn't too far from your house and so you had decided to walk. It was pouring cats and dogs now. You didn't have an umbrella, so you tried to wait it out a little. But unfortunately, the rain wasn't planning on stopping.

Just as you were about to step out, the kind server came running with an umbrella.

'Oh no, thank you! How would you get home then?' You asked.

'I still have a couple of hours left here. I'll catch a ride with one of the girls.' She said. 'You get home safe, yeah?'

You nod and take the umbrella from her, thanking her. Stepping out into the freezing rain, you walk to your house as quickly as you can. Even with the umbrella, you were drenched by the time you got home. The cats were asleep in their bed in the living room. It was so quiet and cold, you felt a fit of sobs take over you, crumbling to the floor and crying silently.

You had hoped to find Minho home at least, but sadly, he wasn't. Standing up and walking to your bedroom, you change into dry clothes and get ready for bed.

It was past midnight when you felt the bed dip under his weight. He stayed silently on his side of the bed for a few minutes. He was afraid to approach you after forgetting about your date. Again. But then, you felt his warm body press against your back, his arms wrapping around you. His face is in the crook of your neck. He was crying.

'Minho, it's ok.' You said, even though it really wasn't. But you didn't want to push it. You were too tired.

'I don't deserve you.' He said, his sobs shaking his entire body.

'Hey, hey. Stop that. We'll talk in the morning, ok?' You put your hand over his, giving him a reassuring squeeze. But he cried even more as he realized that you weren't saying all those nice things you usually did.

'Are you leaving me? Is that what it is?' Minho asked, making you face him.

'It doesn't feel like you're in my life anymore, Minho.' You say sadly. 'Especially, now, when I really really need you.'

'I've been struggling a lot with... everything...nothing is going right with me. I'm exhausted all the time. I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me.' Minho said, cupping your cheeks in his hands.

Then he falls silent before asking, 'What do you mean, now?'

'Minho, there is a reason I wanted to meet you today.' You say and Minho stiffens.

'I don't want to be a burden, ok? I'm telling you only because you deserve to know.' You continue, making his eyes well up again. 'Your work is your first priority. I get it. You have worked way too hard to be here now and nothing in the world should take it away from you.'

Minho shakes his head no, but you continue talking.

'I'm just really tired of being caught up in between this.'

'Baby, no. Please, no-' Minho was crying harder now, holding you tightly against his chest. 'I won't let you go. I won't. You're everything to me. I wo-'

'I'm pregnant, Minho.' Your words stun him to silence.

He pulls back to look at you clearly for the first time in a while. You did look really tired and pale.

'What?' Was all he could say.

'Yeah. I didn't know until last week. I was really sick - the nausea, the fatigue, the bloating. I didn't think I was pregnant, until I passed out at work after skipping a meal...I'm around 8 weeks in.' You say, wiping a tear from your eye before it could fall.

'Why didn't you call me?! Oh my god, you passed out??' Minho was sitting up, looking shocked.

'I called. You didn't pick up or call me back. So I told you to clear a day and meet me for dinner. You didn't show up today, did you?'

You weren't angry. That he could've dealt with. You just looked so tired and resigned, it killed him. You sit up and pull your messy hair up into a bun.

'I have made up my mind. I will have my baby with or without your help, Minho. You can walk out right now and I won't fight you. If you wanna help and be a part of our baby's life, that's ok too. But I'm done being left on read and being stood up.' You try to control the sudden surge of tears. 'You have to make up your mind.'

'No no no' Minho pleaded. 'I know that I fucked up ok? But I promise, this would be the last time! I will leave everything for you. But I won't last a day knowing that I won't come home to you again.'

'Minho...please-' You didn't have it in you to take any more disappointment.

'NO!' His voice was loud and it shook with emotion. 'No one is leaving! We're doing this together, understand? I'm going to take care of you and our baby. I'm going to be here for you. Ok?'

'Ok' You whisper, after a pause. 'That's what I want.'

'Ok' he said, cupping your cheeks in his hands. 'That's the only thing I want too.'

He leaned forward and kissed you, both of you crying.

Minho stood by his word, and you didn't find yourself having dinner or going to bed alone again. He was by your side for all your appointments and scans and he cried like a baby as he heard your baby's heartbeat for the first time.

Minho had bought a ring he wanted to propose to you with, years ago. He was just waiting for the right time - but here you were. He never thought your baby would be there to witness the wedding though. He organized a beautiful baby shower for you with just your closest friends and family. And he took this opportunity to propose to you. Of course, you said yes.

When you woke him up one night, slowly telling him that you're in pain and the moisture spilling down down legs is definitely not you just peeing yourself, he shrieked in fright.

Picking up your hospital bag and calling Chan through excited tears, Minho drives you to the hospital. He held your hand, trying to soothe your sobs as contractions ripped through you. Everything was fine until he saw your eyes roll back and you were sweating way too much.

'Too tired, I can't-' you mumble, and he's calling out to you, softly first, then it gets louder and louder before the doctor asks him to step out.

'What? Why? What's going on?' Chan holds his hand, trying to assure him that everything is alright when there is a nurse asking him to sign a form and telling him that you need an emergency C-section. His hands shake as he looks at Chan and then at the nurse, who tells him that you're alright, but you won't be able to push your baby out on your own right now.

He covers his face and cries as he thinks of all the nights you spent alone, the times he ignored you and now here you were, struggling alone yet again.

He stares at the little pink bundle in his arms, his little girl with sweet pink cheeks and lips. But his heart is still tight because he hadn't seen you yet. Later, when he was finally allowed to meet you, he wouldn't let go of you. He clung on like a koala, as Chris held your baby, watching you both with moist eyes.

It killed him to see you in so much pain, and he did everything he could to help you. From taking you to the bathroom, helping you bathe and change your clothes - Minho did everything for you. In fact he hated it when anyone else (his mum or yours) tried to do it for you. He was fiercely protective of you and it made your heart swell with love for him.

He stayed true to his word and he never left you hanging ever again.

A few months later:

You watch as the boys move around the kitchen, busy cooking. It was a free weekend for all and they decided to come and have lunch together. You were ordered to go and chill on the sofa as Minho and the boys handled the cooking.

Minho held your little girl in his arms, laughing at something Hyunjin was saying. Your daughter was fast asleep against her father's chest and he was rocking her gently. His eyes meet yours and he gives you the sweetest smile ever. You smile back at him.

This is everything you've ever wanted. And you felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

a/n: I have a thing for dad!skz 💘

#lee know x female reader #lee know x y/n #lee know x you #lee know fluff #lee know smut #lee know #lee know x reader #skz #skz x reader #skz imagines #skz x you

[ariicandy]

Take Us to The Stars Tonight

Summary — He loves recalling the memory of when he confessed his love to you, a special place, a special moment, a special memory he will never forget.

Notes — been a while since I have wrote! It’s been 2 and a half months.. Hopes it’s decent enough to be enjoyable, haven’t wrote for aventurine properly before! Wanted to add boothill originally but I needed to get this fic out so will do another version w/ boothill!!

Warning(s) — might be ooc aventurine as stated above, haven’t really done penacony story so he probably doesn’t go to these areas

Word count — 1,140 words

It was a strange thing that Aventurine has been having feelings whenever he encounters you. He feels the need to shower you with exquisite treasures even more if this weird tingly that he is feeling is trying to tell him. It is really strange. He’s been feeling this weird aching feeling within him he cannot describe or even seem to understand what it is for a while now. It started after a while of meeting you, first seeing you while he was roaming in golden hour. Where it only seemed to be a brief conversation, now turned to an everyday routine to see each other and talk about your day with each other. It’s weird how Aventurine was yearning for you more and more now without even realizing himself. He would send more messages to you, trying to engage with you more on whatever there is to talk about or even encouraging you to continue your talk of your day.

So to suddenly realize this tingly feeling that’s always making him feel weird is because he is in love with you. It makes him stop in his tracks on whatever he might be doing to suddenly realize that his feelings towards you are of love, not just the feeling of pampering you much more. But, how can he tell you that he loves you? Do you share the same mutual feelings? Is he overthinking this and this feeling is only just to pamper you more? It’s stressing him out and knowing there is only one way to find out..

To say Aventurine was nervous was an understatement. He was overthinking everything you guys had, fidgeting with his left hand a lot more while waiting for you to come and meet with him at Aideen Park. Maybe he should have picked a better location where it’s mainly just the two of you alone without being heard. It’s not like he can just change location last minute when you are on your way from the message you sent him a few minutes ago. Now he is fiddling with the tiny shopping bag he bought a bracelet with your name on it for you. Maybe he should have gotten something more that could make up this nervous situation, Aventurine only shakes him head and sighs ready to gamble with fate of his feelings for you.

“Ah I found you Aventurine!” The sound of your voice made aventurine turn to you with his usual smirk. “Ah, look who finally made it. I got this gift for you while I was on my way over here to the park.” Which wasn’t a completely lie, to say. Aventurine did look a various luxury jewelry stores that he will think deserve to feel your touch and be the symbol of him being yours, if you do accept it of course. A small gasp was lead out by you seeing him hold the small bag knowing it was worth a lot, he always bought you luxury goods when you try your best to tell him he doesn’t need to shower you with such expensive things. He always say its okay with whatever he buys you that you know is draining his wallet without him giving it a single thought, it worries you why he likes to pamper you with such lavish gift. “But, before I give you this gift, I must tell you something first.” Aventurine words made you curious and all ears to hear, and he could see that as he continued turning his head to the left of him to gaze the sky.

“To be quite honest with you, [Name], i actually never thought this day would come to talk you fully about me. I’ve been thinking that something weird happened to me while I wasn’t aware of in my chest.” Puzzled by Aventurine’s words you asked, “What do you mean?” You showing aventurine he has your full attention solely on him he continued, “I’m not sure when it started or what specifically made me have this weird feeling in my chest. But I do know an idea of who might have caused it. Would you like to take a guess?” Aventurine now fully turns to you seeing your shock expression on wanting you to guess, did he really need to do his little tricks at this moment? While you were hesitating to answer, aventurine was also scared of hearing what you might say. He just wants to see what you might assume the reason of his weird feeling from knowing his fellow co-workers at the IPC, the deals or gambles he makes with people. “Hmm, I’m not entirely sure I can guess why. It confuses me, who did you think might be the cause?” Hearing your response, aventurine forms a tiny smile. “You, [Name].” His response shocks you, how could you be the cause that aventurine has been having a weird feeling? It is a bad thing or good thing? It’s unknownly stressing you to find out. “Huh?! Me? What do you mean??” “You, [Name], have gave me his weird feeling in chest that has been guessing for what felt like ages. Not knowing why I always had this weird happy sense with you that I could not figure out what it actually was. That was until about 2 months ago during my break when I was messaging you, the reason why.” Aventurine then started to reach for the small shopping bag that he was carrying, bringing out a small box that looked delicate. He carefully lifted the lid up and revealed a lavish bracelet that had your name written in cursive. Shocked and surprised by the gift aventurine was going to give you this beautiful bracelet out of nowhere. Whatever money aventurine spent to buy and make this bracelet for you, oh you will repay him for this how could not? “The reason is, that i actually love you, [Name]. I never realized why i always wanted to get you more things for you to have no matter what you say or try to repay me. It can never replace you actually seeing me as someone, a person, and not just doing business with me. I own you my heart, for being the person i truly do love and enjoy being with.” He grabbed your hand and started to place the bracelet on your wrist, clipping it to secure it stays on your wrist. “Knowing you, you will try to repay me or makeup for this to be even. But I only have one thing to make it even to you.” You were still mesmerized by the bracelet and hearing him know what you would have said, you looked at him, “and what would that be?” A small genuine smile appeared on aventurine’s face. “All I ask of you is, will be my love?”

#★☆﹒writing #・ nouveau livre ˎˊ˗ #honkai star rail x reader #hsr x reader #star rail x reader #hsr x y/n #star rail x y/n #honkai star rail x you #hsr x you #star rail x you #aventurine x reader #aventurine x y/n #aventurine x you #hsr aventurine x reader #aventurine hsr x reader #aventurine fluff

[apomaro-mellow]

Hot for Teacher(s) 12

Part 11

Eddie was aware of Valentine’s Day. It was a big day in first grade where crushes ran rampant. He rarely had anything to do with it himself though. But as the day approached, he thought about all the ways he could spend it with Steve. It did happen to fall on a Saturday this year, so they’d both be free from work.

He waved each kid off as their parents came to pick them up. When Steve came up, he felt the same urge to kiss him, to scent him, to be able to be closer than they were right now but needing to keep up appearances for professionalism’s sake. Shawn stayed between them and anyone looking from afar simply saw a parent speaking with a teacher.

“Are you coming over tonight?”, Shawn asked, used to Eddie coming over a few times a week at this point for dinner.

“Of course, bud. But I’m gonna be a little late”, he replied, then looked up at Steve. “Got a meeting to go to.”

Steve nodded. Fourth quarter was upon all schools in the county and that meant a lot of meetings about different things. Testing, close down procedures, grades, promotions or holding someone back, graduations and award ceremonies. Or maybe it was something more insular. Either way, Steve had been dragged to his own impromptu meetings, so he understood. 

Shawn hugged Eddie’s leg and without thinking, he scented him, rubbing his wrist to the top of his head before Shawn took his dad’s hand and bounced off.

Eddie didn’t tell Steve the meeting was just him and the principal, but he saw no reason to worry him when he had no idea why he was being called on in the first place. He sat down and it started normal but then the principal’s words began to sink like lead in his stomach.

“Inappropriate relations…unfair treatment…special attention…parental concerns…”

It took him a moment to respond and he realized the man before him had asked him a question. Eddie had to take a second to gather his thoughts.

“Let me get this straight, one of my student’s parents thinks that I’m in a relationship with another parent? And that I’m giving another student unfair advantages because of that?”

He was met with a nod and not much else and Eddie had been on this side of an interrogation before. He knew the questioning party preferred to rely on the other person’s guilt to get them to admit to something but Eddie wasn’t guilty of anything. If anyone found out about him and Steve and was making these conclusions, obviously that wasn’t ideal. But if they were also positing that this was why Shawn’s academic performance was so high…well they didn’t know his classroom.

So Eddie just crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. He and Principal Parker weren’t really at odds, but in general Eddie liked to push the boundaries.

“Does this parent have proof of this special treatment? Or proof of this relationship?”

“I was hoping you could shine some light on that situation”, Parker said.

Which either meant he didn’t know or was hoping Eddie’s info would match his mystery informant. Like a lot of administration, Parker hid his scent so Eddie couldn’t tell much from it. Either way, he wasn’t about to just give the man details he didn’t need.

“I’m not having inappropriate relations with anyone.” There was nothing wrong with what he and Steve were doing and that was private anyway. “And none of my students are getting anything special.” Nothing besides the extra attention some of them needed in math or reading. 

He was dismissed with the promise/warning that the situation would be monitored. When he arrived at Steve’s he was glad to be greeted with a kiss. It was like a balm for his nerves. 

“How was the meeting?”

Eddie wondered how much he should tell him now, knowing that Steve was directly involved. But Shawn came crashing against his legs like he hadn’t just seen him, so he couldn’t say everything now.

“Parker wanted to meet about some parent complaints. What’s for dinner?”

“Pasta!”, Shawn exclaimed. “Did you know there’s like a hundred kinds?”

“Yeah? And how many can you name?”, Eddie asked as he went to help Steve with the preparations.

“Macaroni, spaghetti, fettuccine, um, angel…”

Listening to Shawn list pastas while he and Steve made dinner, Eddie didn’t know how anyone could find anything wrong with it. But perhaps people couldn’t see how serious it was when they were just boyfriends. Which meant he had to do what was right and make it legitimate.

With it being Valentine’s Day that week, it was the perfect time to do a mini lesson on old courting methods and procedures. He got his student’s attention with all the different types of gifts a suitor would give to their intended. They were a little confused on why someone might need a parent’s permission to do it though.

“Can’t they just ask?”, Yasmin scratched her head.

“It’s kind of like asking someone’s parent if they can play outside”, Eddie explained. “But in this case, it’s asking if you can ask them out.”

“What if both their parents are dead?” Elodie asked, a grin on her face like she said something funny.

“Then you have to ask someone important in their life”, Eddie said.

Friday, the kids came in with cards and candy for everyone and some even shared with him, which he was always grateful for. At the end of the day, Steve came to get Shawn as always.

“I should just put you down as a designated guardian so you can just drive him home whenever you’re dropping by”, Steve teased.

And that certainly wouldn’t help the allegations but neither would Eddie kissing him the way he wanted to right now. Eddie followed almost immediately after them though and he went right to Shawn when he arrived.

He knelt down in front of the pup, keeping his face serious. “As the next of kin of my intended, I would like to ask your permission to officially court your father.”

Steve’s eyes widened as he held his breath for Shawn’s answer. He had his nose scrunched up and lips pouted a bit. His thinking face.

“Do you have a good courting gift?”, Shawn asked.

Eddie had set his bag down on the floor and now he pulled a folded shirt from it. He unfolded it to reveal that it was a Corroded Coffin t-shirt. Shawn took it and looked it over before giving it a quick whiff and an approving nod. 

“That’s a good gift. You have my permission. Here you go Dad”, Shawn held the shirt out for him.

Steve came over, hands shaking a little as he took it, bringing it up to his nose and taking a deep breath. He had never received a gift like this. An offering for his nest, one meant to begin an official courtship. It was old fashioned, but romantic. Eddie rose up on his knees, looking a little nervous, as if Steve would ever refuse him.

To assuage those fears, Steve leaned in close and touched his cheek to Eddie’s. “You know you’ll have to scent this everyday for me, right?”

That night, Steve wore the shirt to bed and Eddie got to scent him in earnest. Saturday morning came and it was decided the three of them would go out for Valentine’s Day. Eddie didn’t like to make assumptions, but he was pretty sure Billy wasn’t the best father even on good days. He didn’t want Shawn to think he was only here for Steve.

He made chocolate chip pancakes for them both and then they drove to the aquarium. While Shawn had his face pressed to the glass of a tank, Eddie told Steve more about the meeting.

“I don’t think anything’s gonna come of it. But just in case any of the other parents try and make trouble for you…”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Respectfully, they can fuck off. My kid is smart because I put in work early.” Working with kids who were below grade level for several reasons made Steve realize how important it was for parents to take education seriously. Shawn excelled in kindergarten before Eddie and he’d do so in second grade after Eddie. But he knew parents fussing could cause huge problems down the line.

“You’re not in any trouble, are you?”

Eddie shook his head. “Parker’s the kind that doesn’t like rocking the boat. He’ll probably tell the parent that he spoke with me.” And if they kept kicking up dust, Eddie would be more than happy to evaluate their own child and give suggestions of how to improve their performance. “Like you said, they can fuck off.”

Of course that was when Shawn ran back to them, jaw dropped and frozen in his tracks at what he’d heard. Steve wasn’t helping by snickering and hiding it horribly in Eddie’s shoulder.

-----------------------------

The true test came a week later, as it was Shawn’s birthday and Eddie would be attending not as his teacher, but as the alpha dating his dad. He laughed a little to himself thinking off the other times kids would invite him to their parties that he would have to express interest in but politely decline.

Of course his classmates were invited and that meant when the doorbell rang, Eddie was able to greet them and welcome them inside. A few were a bit surprised to see him at the Harrington household, but were able to disguise it for the most part. He knew they had questions. Eddie let his body language do the talking and so did Steve. 

Sitting close, arms around each other, never straying too far from each other, openly scenting Shawn in front of others because for all intents and purposes, that was his pup. Shawn loved all of his gifts, including the sets of miniatures from Eddie.

Steve shook his head. “You’re trying to indoctrinate him into that dungeons game, I know it.”

“When it’s DnD it’s indoctrinating, but when you buy him a basketball it’s just a game. I see how it is. The double standard”, Eddie lamented, hand to his chest as Shawn opened the rest of his gifts.

No one said a word against them then, but it was now out in the open. Mr. Munson was dating Mr. Harrington.

---------------------------

“Hey! I remembered the name of the thing! It’s Molang, not the Cinnamoroll one”, Steve said, in the middle of brushing Shawn’s hair for bed.

Shawn’s face scrunched up. “That was so long agoooo.”

“Yeah but I was right. You’re all soft and squishy like that”, he smiled, pushing his son’s cheeks together and giggling through the mirror.

“Mmnot soft”, Shawn protested.

“Alright then, go ahead and brush Mr. Not Soft.”

Shawn grabbed his toothbrush. “Just call me Mr. Hard.”

“Not doin’ that”, Steve muttered under his breath as he walked out of the bathroom. He put on the CC shirt. It was fresh from when Eddie scented it just about an hour ago when he’d been here. Not for the first time he wondered if it was too soon to just ask him to move in. He spent half the week in this bedroom anyway.

Eddie’s courting gifts extended to Shawn as well, who got his own t-shirt. This one wasn’t from the band, they didn’t have kids merch. It was simply one with a vintage print of a dragon that Eddie had scented as well. After brushing his teeth, Shawn settled into his bed for story time and Steve grabbed a kid’s chapter book they were working through. Shawn’s latest obsession was the Magic Treehouse series.

More often than not, Shawn would take over reading and sometimes Steve found himself nodding off. It was happening now and his eyelids got heavy when he heard the doorbell ring, putting him on high alert. Eddie had been by earlier, had he forgotten something? Robin usually texted before coming through, but emergencies did happen from time to time.

Besides that, he couldn’t think of who else could be calling on them this late. The doorbell rang again and there was knocking this time. Steve knew he had no obligation to open it. Whoever it was could come back at a more reasonable time. But the oddness of it compelled him to answer. 

He went downstairs and did a quick assessment. There were several things around that he could use as a weapon just in case it was some sort of assailant and Shawn knew how to dial 911. Then he shook his head. He lived in a nice neighborhood, that sort of thing didn’t happen here.

Nothing could have prepared him for opening the door and seeing Billy on the other side of it. 

Part 13 coming soon

Taglist

@anne-bennett-cosplayer @aol19 @lololol-1234 @gregre369 @attic-cat-blog

@hippieg1rl420 @spectrum-spectre

#apo writes #stranger things #steddie #omegaverse #a/b/o

[kurocatsstuff]

11:55 : reincarnation.

genre : angst, suggested suicide, hallucinations, Scaramouche x reader, GN reader

notes : I got bored, consider this my apology for not updating on the magical girl AU I did :3

You’d never really resorted to anything in life, your grades were average at best, the only talent you ever had was drawing yet you couldn’t improve, your envy and self esteem dragged you to the ground, and you were always alone. No matter how much you hated it you were alone.

You were blessed to be having the friend you do have, Scaramouche. Yet you were scared to talk to him in the public because you knew he was too good to be true. Beautiful, smart, cold yet soft to you, your exact type. And that’s how you always knew he was just an hallucination, because he was fictional, Scaramouche from Genshin Impact.. as your real life friend? How stupid you would sound if you said that.

Holding his hand, comforting silence, intimate situations. All that you’ve experienced is just a wall blocking the loneliness that ate you alive. Just a reflection of what you want.

—————

11:34 PM, you were at the playground, sitting on the swings with Scaramouche to your right.

The cold breeze embraced you as you shivered in response, your coat and red scarf helping you through it.. turning to Scaramouche, you saw that he was looking through your sketch book.

“..Is this me?” He pointed towards the unfinished sketch as he tilted the page towards you so you could see it. “Yes, that’s you.” You answered in a quiet tone, you were a bit nervous to talk to him. Even when it was night, everyone was sleeping other than the few teenagers that smoked in the nearby alleyway.

Scaramouche smiled softly, a smile only you could see in a literal way. “It’s nice.” He mumbled, a soft blush on his face as he looked at it. You nodded in response. “Why don’t you finish any of your drawing anymore? You’re only sketching nowadays without finishing it like you used to.” You gently swing, while he was unmoving.

“Because it’s just wasting time.” Right, just wasting time… coloring and shading, completing your drawings either traditionally or digitally it was rare for you to do. Honestly you didn’t see a point in it anymore, you’ll just disappoint yourself again. And it won’t change, you couldn’t improve no matter how hard you tried.

“You should try at least, it’s nice to have a finished piece.” He wouldn’t know what it would be like, he’s not an artist, he’s not human either, he’s not even real. “..hey Scara?” You called out his name.

“What?”

“Do you believe in reincarnation.. like, to another world once you die?” He wouldn’t die, but it would be nice to ask. What does Scaramouche think about reincarnation?

“Maybe.”

“Do you think I could meet the real you if I get reincarnated?”

“I am real.”

“No, you’re not.”

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin wanderer #genshin angst #scaramouche angst #scaramouche x you #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche genshin impact #genshin imagines #scaramouche #angst no comfort #wanderer angst #wanderer genshin #wanderer x reader

[herenya-writes]

To Kneel at Your Feet

So, uh, I tried my hand at a little Dreamling fic when a particular image wouldn't get out of my head.

~1850 words, Rated T (violence, non-graphic injuries, a bit of foul langauge), pre-relationship Dreamling set a few months after Dream escapes the fishbowl but before he's told Hob who he is

When a shadow fell over him, Hob figured he was fucked. Well, even more fucked than he already had been.

The day had started pretty normal. Term was over for the summer, and he had finally finished the last of the marking the night before, so he had let himself laze in the sunny patches of his bed until almost noon when the grumbling of his stomach drove him to the kitchen for food. The rest of the day had been syrupy slow, with a light frisson of anticipation running through. He was meeting his Stranger tomorrow morning for brunch, their first pre-evening meeting and the fifth one they had had since his Stranger had returned. So it was with a spring in his step that he had gone through the rest of the day, chatting with Mrs. Giles up the road about whether he could buy a few cases of her jam to serve at the Inn, taking a stroll around the park, mixing up a batch of scones. When Sasha called in sick, he had gladly picked up their shift bar-tending at the Inn, and even that had been lovely. A faster pace than the rest of his day, sure, but the night had been full of familiar faces and easy laughter.

He had been closing up the Inn and wiping down the last of the tables when the bell above the door rang. He didn’t get out so much as a word before the bullets were flying.

He managed to dodge them for a good while, but even his immortal body got tired of crouching and diving eventually. Plus, there were three of them, all armed, and only one of him. He had a bat and an array of knives behind the bar and an assortment of weapons in his flat above, but he didn’t see how he could get to either of those places unscathed. He’d survive, of course, but that could cause even more problems depending on how smart these thugs were.

His next dodge had been a bit too slow, and as he slid behind the sturdy oak of one of the booths a bullet buried itself in his shoulder. He snarled at the pain and pressed a hand to the wound on instinct. His immortality meant he’d survive no matter how many times these assholes shot him, but it didn’t stop him from feeling the bite of metal burrowing into his flesh.

It was as he was leaning against the wood, listening for footsteps and considering his options that a shape blocked the light above him. He swore and held up an arm to guard his face on instinct, but when he looked up it wasn’t one of the thugs he saw.

In the muted light of the Inn, his Stranger stood, clothed as always in his black coat, jeans, and boots, a minuscule frown pulling at his lips.

Without thinking, Hob grabbed the hem of his Stranger’s coat and yanked him down. His Stranger went, and a millisecond later bullets soared through the air where he had been standing.

“Sorry, friend. You chose a dangerous time to stop by,” he gasped. He had grabbed his Stranger with his left arm, and the bullet wound in his shoulder was protesting loudly.

His friend’s face took on a pinched expression, brows furrowing in a way that would have been adorable in another situation.

“You are injured,” he observed, his voice deep and rumbling like distant thunder. Hob could listen to that voice all day, and despite the circumstances he could feel his heartbeat slowing at just those three words. “You are not healing as you should.”

Hob blinked and looked down. Damn, his Stranger was right. One of the side effects of his immortality was that any injuries he sustained healed rapidly. Serious stuff like disembowelment still took a long (and excruciatingly painful) time to heal, but the process happened much faster for him than a normal human. He had been stabbed in a knife fight once in his second century of living and by the time the other fellow had hit the floor the only evidence of the wound had been the blood on his skin and the tear in his shirt. A bullet hole should have shown evidence of closing by now, but it was still gaping open and bleeding freely.

“At least I won’t have to cut the bullet out later,” he joked, but the tremble in his voice ruined his attempted levity.

“There are very few weapons in this world or another that could harm you so,” his Stranger declared, and something like lightning flashed in his eyes. His expression turned stone cold, and in a fluid movement he rose to his feet and turned toward the gunmen. Hob scrambled up after him, biting back curses, but he stopped short when he realized there weren’t any bullets flying through the air.

In the space of a blink, all the shadows in the room seemed to lengthen and gather around his Stranger, and Hob swore he saw recognition begin to dawn on the face of the lead thug as his Stranger stepped forward and extended one pale arm.

“Servants of the Morningstar, by what edict do you walk the Earth and seek the life of one to whom Death has denied her gift?” His Stranger’s voice buzzed with barely-restrained power, and something deep in Hob’s human brain told him to run and hide. He stayed where he was, though, and so did the gunmen, even as they trembled in obvious fear.

“Dead or not, the glory of claiming an immortal’s head for Lucifer’s throne room is undying,” the one in the middle declared. Hob was almost impressed with how even their voice was.

“You have attacked him in his home, unarmed and unaware of your challenge. There is no glory here, hellspawn.” His Stranger spat the word ‘glory’ like it was vinegar on his tongue, and all three creatures (he had thought they were human, but now he could swear an outline of fire flickered around them) recoiled. Still, they didn’t flee.

“He is unclaimed, Dreamlord. Glory or not, he’s ours for the taking!”

The shadows in the room deepened impossibly, and the air pressure dropped fast enough that Hob’s ears popped and every hair stood on end. His Stranger took a menacing step forward, standing directly between him and the gunment now. When he spoke, the power in his voice shook the floorboards and set Hob’s very bones buzzing.

“Is that so? Allow me to correct that oversight.”

His Stranger threw back his coat, and it melted into a midnight black robe. The folds of the fabric were ablaze with swirling galaxies that seemed to spill into the shadows that surrounded him. The power radiating off him now was equal parts strange and familiar, like hearing a song for the first time but immediately knowing the chorus. Any unease Hob had felt settled at once, even as the gunmen began to quiver and keen in dismay. His Stranger spoke over their sounds of distress, his voice firm and unyielding. In that moment, Hob had no doubt that he could make any declaration and reality would bend itself to reflect his will.

“I, Dream of the Endless, Shaper of Forms, Oneiromancer, Prince of Stories, King of the Dreaming and Nightmare Realms, declare Hob Gadling to be under my protection. Harm him and know the unfettered wrath of the Dreaming.”

Hob had been a lot of things in the past 600-plus years. He’d tried his hand at just about everything that had held his attention for longer than a week, and he had even been decent at a fair chunk of it. Hell, he’d even been knighted once! Right now, he probably had enough wealth squirreled away in stashes across the world to keep him living comfortably for the next two hundred or so years. At his core, though, he was nothing more than a peasant.

His knee hit the floor before his Stranger even finished speaking, and he barely felt the way the movement shocked his still-bleeding shoulder. All he could do was gaze up at his Stranger, awe, in the oldest sense of the word, flooding him. Dream of the Endless. His Stranger had a name. His Stranger was a king.

He wasn’t sure what happened with the thugs after that. There was a moment when the Inn got so dark all he could see where the pinpoints of light in his Stranger’s eyes and the galaxies swirling in his robe, and the next the light had returned and his Stranger had turned that fathomless gaze on him.

He lowered his eyes. “My king.” His tongue was heaving in his mouth, and his throat was sand paper. There was a spit of crimson blood, his blood, on the hem of his Stranger’s robe.

“You would kneel and call me king? Even after the wrongs I have committed against you? I did not even grant you the courtesy of my name.” Power still rumbled in his Stranger’s voice, but it was leashed now in a way that sent a spark racing up Hob’s spine. God help him, but he had always loved a bit of danger.

He risked a glance up and saw his Stranger’s perfect lips twisted in a frown, his brows drawn together like Hob was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out.

“I don’t need anything from you that you aren’t ready to give, my friend. You came back to me, and that was more than I could ever hope for.” Those words strayed a bit too close to another truth—that he would have waited forever just for a glimpse of his Stranger’s face, just to hear a single word from his lips—but Hob wasn’t about to start lying now, not when this magnificent creature, this otherworldly lord, had deemed him worthy of his time and attention despite all odds. His Stranger had returned after over 100 years to sit in a pub and listen to Hob ramble about airplanes and smartphones and humanity reaching the moon. How could anything he had to say possibly have captured the attention of a king with no doubt a million other duties to attend to?

His Stranger regarded him, galaxies swirling in his black eyes to match the ones dancing across his robe. Hob tore his gaze back to the floor for fear of falling in.

“Rise. You owe me no servitude or obeisance, Hob Gadling.”

Hob wanted to disagree, but he kept his mouth shut and did as his lord bid. He bit back a growl of pain as he stood, and in a blink his Stranger was there, long arms wrapped around his shoulders and holding him up with unnatural strength. Together, they hobbled up the stairs to his flat, and his Stranger laid him gently on the couch and let Hob grip his hand too tightly as he dug out the bullet lodged in his shoulder, seemingly uncaring of the way the crimson blood stained his pale fingers.

#Dreamling #the Sandman #hob gadling #dream of the endless #my fics #herenya writes #the image of hob dropping to his knees as soon as he realized Dream is a king wouldn't leave me alone #i know the ending is a bit abrupt #but in my head this exists in a much longer context #maybe i'll write it one day

[xjulixred45x]

I HAVE A ANGST IDEA FOR A HADES GAME READER!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Did you see how Demeter made all life on earth incredibly difficult for mortals as punishment for having "stolen her daughter"? Well, based on the fact that in myths people literally DYING OF STARVATION (and apparently in the game, of cold) this idea came to me.

Imagine that the reader is a normal mortal, nothing particularly remarkable, EXCEPT that she is a farmer with the rest of her family, who just before the eternal winter came, they worshiped Demeter so they could have good crops and so on.

but then, without warning, winter arrives.

At first it's not so bad, because they can ration certain things and get by with some groceries, but as the months go by and the winter continues to get worse, so does the situation in the reader's house.

The surrounding villages begin to have pests, have problems with resources, not having to eat, etc. and the first deaths begin thanks to this, which quickly spread throughout the community where the reader lives.

The first to fall from the family are the most vulnerable, the grandparents and children of the reader's younger siblings, to whom they perform the appropriate funeral rituals along with all the people who had already died due to the winter.

Everyone's life is turned upside down trying to find ways to survive without having a coast to fish and with now few animals, and the cold gets worse and worse...

The community soon begins to decay and reader participates in the funeral rituals out of respect and to not think about the horrible situation, becoming more educated in the chnotic gods.

They are all desperate to survive, but the snow makes it almost impossible to leave the city where they live, so they are stuck.

It doesn't take long until the reader's parents also succumb, either from illness, from the cold, or from starvation from giving all the food to their surviving child.

and it's not even the worst.

reader is now sick too. So the remaining people of the town cannot allow her to make them all sick and kill them, so after giving the proper services to her family, they lock her in her own house.

but at this point the reader is so tired that she doesn't even mind being isolated. but she knows one thing. she can't allow herself to die like this. not because it is degrading or unfair, but because she knows that if she dies and no one performs an adequate ritual for her, she will not even see her family in the afterlife.

all the pain and suffering in vain.

So against all odds, the reader finds ways to survive on her own at home, constantly being in the limbo of life and death due to her horrible health.

and, thanks to this, the reader meets Thanatos.

I think I'll leave it vague if the relationship would be platonic or romantic, but they definitely got off to a bad start.

We already know that Thanatos finds his work exhausting, so the fact that the reader clung to life and did not want to leave even when she was in horrible conditions bothered him to no end.

and on the other hand, the reader OBVIOUSLY did not want to die and it was annoying that he wished her dead (even if it was technically his job?) and that led to several verbal fights. at first.

Thanatos appeared at the reader's house when she was especially weak, whether she could not move on her own, had respiratory attacks and/or was in special pain, etc. episodes that, although temporary, were still close encounters with death.

When Reader and Thanatos eventually get tired of insulting each other in these moments, at first they just wait to see whether Reader will survive this particular episode or not, in a rather tense silence.

It is not until the third or fourth time this happens that the reader begins a conversation with Thanatos in an "informal" way.

As one can imagine, at first Thanatos didn't even react or try to continue with said conversation, just do his job and leave, but as time went by he began to show more signs of listening to what the reader was saying. and eventually even give short answers.

He doesn't share much, but now the reader doesn't go crazy being alone.

I also imagine that on some occasions, when the reader can't move much, she DRAG to go get food/medicine, which bothers Thanatos because it seems 1- unhygienic and 2- stupid in a certain sense, mortals get sick because of it. not taking care of themselves, does she NOT want to get better?

It is from there that their relationship begins to improve, but the reader's health worsens every day.

It's the same as what happens with the other villagers that Thanatos collects, weakness, coughing up blood, pain in the rib cage, inability to eat, difficulty breathing--

but even so, the reader STILL wants to cling to this miserable existence, she can't even eat or stand anymore and STILL doesn't want to leave...

WHY? WHY SUFFER THIS WAY INSTEAD OF SIMPLY DIE?

and the reader's response is quite simple.

There is no one who can give her a burial, but her family did have one, without that she would simply wander through the Underworld and be alone AGAIN.

but at the same time, the reader no longer has the strength to continue holding on, the pain is UNBEARABLE and the little energy she has leaves her...

Thanatos is there, at least.

I like to think that the reader would agree to go with Thanatos VOLUNTARILY if he even lets her see her family one last time, thus dying peacefully.

And it would be especially ironic if by chance the reader ends up as a shadow in the house of Hades😅

I think that in general, a deceased reader would be like a more responsible Hypnos, she is not going to bother the GOD OF DEATH so she does the minimum ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

She is definitely happier now that she is no longer in pain, but she was quite traumatized by the experience :') although on the positive side, she is one of the few people who can play pranks on Thanaros with almost no consequences!

simply....mortal reader sheneigans.

Shares, reblogs and comments are very welcome!

Maybe i could use this Reader with another characters? Idk. I didn't know how to finish this but i like it!

#keep the reader away from Demeter She will insult her in a thousand languages regardless of whether she is a goddess. #fem reader #drabbles #hades au #hades game #hades 2 #hades supergiant #supergiant hades #hades game x reader #hades #hades thanatos #thanatos x reader #platonic reader #its kind of ambiguos if this is romantic or platonic #whatever you like #¯⁠\⁠ ⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠ ⁠/⁠¯

[modanisgf]

028. A PEARL (WRITTEN)

wc: <1k

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unfortunately for you, you felt so alone on your ‘date’ that you stayed in the rain for a while causing you to wake up sick. you felt horrible that morning, being sick and sad didn’t mix well.

you tried not to cry but you couldn’t help it, you thought you and hanni had finally made amends but apparently you were wrong. who would ever make their girlfriend wait for them at a date?

did hanni even love you?

thoughts about what hanni truly felt for you ran through your mind, until you decided to close your eyes again refusing to look at your phone. you hoped nobody would come by your house, especially not hanni as right now you needed anything but to see the girl’s face. you think you would breakdown in front of her, something she didn’t need to see.

you knew your friends had their concerns for you, but you hoped they’ve known you long enough now to give you some space before checking up. especially when it dealt with love, dating wasn’t easy as an actor nobody wanted to deal with the harsh reality of fame so when you finally found hanni you felt extremely happy.

you thought she would understand your problems, but maybe she just wanted to mess with you. but who really knows? all you could do was lay in your bed, reality setting in as you finally closed your eyes drifting off to a deep sleep.

—

you were awoken by a sudden crash, presumably downstairs. you got up from bed quickly, rushing down your stairs to be met with people in your kitchen.

“riki! you’re so damn loud!” hyein whisper yells, her voice getting softer as she noticed you.

“hi yn..” hyein says, giving you a nervous smile.

“how the hell did you guys get in my house?” you ask, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“you gave danielle an extra key when she lived here for a bit.” hyein replies, to which you sigh.

“look, i love you guys so much but i really just think now isn’t the time.” you say, your friends looking at you with pity.

their looks did nothing to comfort you, just reminding you how real this situation was. you diverted your attention from them, looking through an open window to see the rain back again. it was like it knew when you were sad, coming back to make you feel even worse everytime.

“well, we made you soup!” danielle says, making you smile a bit.

“thank you guys. i appreciate it.” you say sheepishly, you were embarrassed they had to see you like this.

it had been a long time since you’d been heartbroken like this, only sunoo and danielle knew about your past relationships the two being your friends during it. you felt you could never find peace in love, but you tried to push those feelings aside putting on your best face for your friends especially hyein and riki.

you all went to sit in your living room, hyein turning on a show creating a quiet conversation between your friends. hyein and riki even whisper fighting, making you laugh.

for some reason your laugh comforted your friends, the group smiling whenever you did happy that their presence made you feel at least a bit better. you focused on the show, invested in whatever plot line was being solved now.

your phone was long forgotten, the rest of your friends also having theirs off for the sake of you. little did you all know, hanni wasn’t doing amazing either.

—

hanni couldn’t believe herself, she feel asleep when you wanted her to meet up with you. you weren’t answering her texts, or anything the only thing about you she had was hyein telling her to watch out on twitter, riki commenting and agreeing aswell.

she had to stop herself from tears, why weren’t you answering her? couldn’t you let her explain herself? hanni had never wanted someone more than you, your presence giving her nothing but happiness and peace. she hoped you didn’t think she hated you, but the possibility was strong. maybe you were just taking a quick internet break? the possibilities only ran through her mind at a even more rapid pace as each one passed on, making her feel crazy.

hanni was texting minji in panic, the girl on the other end doing her best to comfort hanni but nothing seemed to work. hanni valued you too much, and she didn’t know what she would do without you. she wanted a future with you, to see you walk down the aisle slowly approaching her with your eyes locked on hers. she wanted you two to have a house together, having a family of two cats and four dogs. okay— maybe she was getting a bit carried away, but the point is hanni had nothing but strong love for you.

she needed to get you back, no matter what she has to do.

your love went too deep for a simple misunderstanding to ruin it all, hanni swore she wouldn’t let it happen.

TAGS 🏷️ (CLOSED): @jayjj7 @haerinsloverr @aribunnu @masuowo @multiliker @winieter @sewiouslyz @edenzeepy @popasi @home2venus @ghstvr @technicallyimportantsweets @he------len @yukianism @yeetaberry127 @haechansbbg @linnnsworld @sixflame438 @emotionallyrin @gtfoiydlyj @inosfavgf @rvoulte @hotluvlet

a/n— next few chapters might be crazy guys writing sad stuff while emo is NOT a good idea..

#newjeans #newjeans hanni #newjeans smau #newjeans x reader #newjeans hanni x reader #hanni pham x reader #hanni x reader #hanni pham

[thelunarfairy]

Have you ever noticed that in meetings of the seven mysteries, not only are the seats strangely divided, but also the way in which the meeting is held? I mean, Hanako-kun is the leader, but from where he is, it looks like he's being tried like a criminal, answering questions asked by Kako as if he were the real leader. Why would Aida Iro have put it that way, I mean, if Hanako-kun is the leader, doesn't he deviate from being the one who leads and judges?

It's interesting, isn't it?

To me, it just seems like a constant and recurring metaphor, about how Hanako is always blamed by time for the mistakes of the past.

Kako is the time guy who is always judging the boy who doesn't want to follow his rules. Time is almost a character here, it has an important function, everything that is happening is due to it.

Hanako is the guilty boy from the beginning, that's how Aidairo wants you to see him "he killed his brother, he is guilty" "he tried to kill Aoi, he is guilty" "he was sealed, he is guilty"

This has been repeated so many times that Amane himself believes it. Of course, nothing negates his guilt, but he's NOT THE ONLY culprit here. What guilt does he have to bear?

Hmm…..

This usually happens when the author wants to create a plot twist, it can be done in two ways.

The first, Amane is really to blame for everything (include here situations that I didn't mention and those that we don't know about yet) but Aidairo introduced us to Hanako being sweet, fun, kind, so that we got attached to him and took a while to accept it (like Nene and Kou do, they still don't believe that Hanako can be truly dangerous, even if he does the wrong things)

The second is to divert attention, when Hanako is not to blame for EVERYTHING, but a portion.

I can't tell you which path is most likely, but when something is mentioned so many times, it's because it's important.

It's as if it represents the real guilt he feels, or how he is always judged and condemned by others. I still think this is connected to time.

He and Tsukasa are changing everything, and this change in time leads to serious failures and consequences. Recently, Kako found out about the second culprit, Tsukasa, who was tried before being purged by him.

So, the scene was a metaphor, a representation of guilt. This place also exists in the pilot, when Hanako is also "supposedly" judged for his actions.

#toilet bound hanako kun #jibaku shounen hanako kun #jshk #tbhk #amane yugi #aidairo #hanako kun #yugi twins #hanakokun #jshk spoilers #hanako #jshk amane #jshk theories #jshk hanako #tbhk manga #kou minamoto #yashiro nene #yugi tsukasa #tsukasa yugi #kako tbhk