#cackling at this show and boyfriend is again like what on earth is wrong with you | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cotccotc · 4 years

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┈┈ 𝐬𝐤𝐳 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬/𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 *:･ﾟ

✩ ot8 reaction headcannon, 2.5k words (eek sorry)

✩ genre/s: **fluff**, humor, established relationship, ot8 x gender neutral!reader

✩ warning/s: MOBILE TUMBLR HATES ME (some gifs & author’s note might not appear),,,, my terrible sense of humor/commentary, a couple of them are suggestive if you s q u i n t

✩ a/n: idk if the concept makes any sense but it does in my mind \_( ‘-’ )_/ also seungmin’s part is the exact same kinda similar to a brief scenario in my txt soobin “brightest blue” fic... but it’s fineee. also i’m sorry that some are longer than others! enjoy :))

chan:

chan is definitely extremely interested in the music you listen to.

in fact, sometimes he’d probably insist that you show him your current playlist from start to finish lol.

i can imagine y’all hanging out at the dorms, maybe even mid-cuddle, listening to some of your recent favorites.

but there’s this ONE SONG--

your absolute JAM

you get up from your seat or the bed and start completely jamming out.

he stays where he is so he can watch you have the time of your life.

i guess nobody told him you’re a professional lip syncer… awk...

you grab a hairbrush and hold it up like it’s a microphone.

honestly you’re thriving,,

he’s kinda stunned. not in a bad way, but he’s just so mezmorized by how cute (and maybe a lil sexy) you are when you dance like no one’s watching.

there’s a particularly awesome beat drop toward the end of the song, which leads you to do some equally awesome head banging.

he’s cackling at this point, which drives you to act even sillier.

*ending pose*

once the song ends and you’re trying to catch your breath, he slowly starts clapping for you.

“the song was great, but the performance was even better,” he’d say, coming off a bit sarcastic. but he means well!

you start to get a bit self-conscious and shy as you put yourself together again.

he’ll try to comfort you, standing up to wrap you in a hug.

“don’t be embarrassed!” (cue soft chan),

“baby that was awesome”,

“you should join a rock band!”, etc.

overall, he’d love it when you share your music taste, and this event will probably set off a chain reaction of similar jam sessions in the future.

minho:

ok so we all know minho’s a cat person, blah blah blah...

but what if you got super excited about a really cute dog?

let’s say you’re on a walk at a park, holding hands, and talking.

all of a sudden you see someone walking their dog…

and when i tell you this is the cutest, tiniest dog on the face of the earth,,,

you immediately stop walking and squeeze minho’s hand. you point to the dog and start freaking out because it’s so cute.

he’d say something silly like, “what are you talking about? it looks like a rat.”

you disregard it because you’re just so excited about this puppy!

“can we pet it?” you ask.

“... fine” he replies, smiling at you, despite his attempts to act uninterested.

y’all go over to the woman walking her dog and ask if you can pet the puppy. when she says you can pet him, you immediately sit on the ground, ready to have the best puppy playdate of your life.

minho’s still standing, watching you with loving eyes.

of course, you start talking to the puppy as if he’s a baby. minho laughs, trying to stifle all the uwus emanating from his heart

the puppy climbs onto your lap and licks your face just a little bit.

you look up at minho with wide eyes, saying “awww, isn’t he so cute!”

he’d playfully roll his eyes because why would he cheat on cats like that…

then you tug on his hand, motioning for him to sit with you. he does, reluctantly.

you place the puppy on his lap to see what happens.

the dog loves him! (of course, because what living thing wouldn’t love lee minho?)

the puppy is licking minho all over as he makes faces of disgust and struggles to pull him away.

you laugh out loud, happier than ever at the two very good boys in front of you.

he smiles again, completely endeared with your excitement despite being covered in puppy spit...

so, it doesn’t matter what kinds of animals you two prefer, since you’re the cutest thing he’s ever seen. (aww)

changbin:

i feel like changbin is the type to not be ashamed of/shy about showing you the songs he’s writing.

...except for right now.

he just got home from the studio, dropping his bag onto a table… but some papers fall out.

you attempt to grab the papers, but changbin stops you and grabs them himself instead with a subtle hint of nervousness.

pretty suspicious if you ask me.

“what’s up?” you ask, a bit confused about what just happened.

he’d try to play it off like nothing suspicious was going on, but you know his poker face.

it’s too cute not to notice.

he likes to play all tough but you (and everyone else tbh) know him better than that.

you go to grab the papers, but he steps away. you try again… and again, and again, and again.

you become increasingly more frustrated and impatient with each attempt, until changbin holds them up high in the air where you can’t reach them. he has a look on his face that says ‘haha! gotcha!’

you’ve never done this much jumping in your life.

but you’re not a quitter.

“okay… i give up,” you say, returning to a stationary position and placing your arms around his neck.

however, just as he lowers his hands to your waist, you snatch the papers!

“AHA!” you exclaim.

all he can say is “damn it!” as you scramble to the couch with the papers in your hand. you sit facing away from him, attempting to speed-read the lyrics sprawled across the pages.

he follows you to the couch, trying to take the papers back from behind.

“binnie, these are so good!!”

“thanks… but were they worth betraying your innocent boyfriend?”

“yes. every word.” you finally hand him back the papers with a smirk.

he’d curse under his breath, ditching the papers in favor of tickling you instead.

what a terrible punishment!

hyunjin:

we all know hyunjin is a drama queen,,

you can be a bit of a dramatic person yourself (who isn’t?).

so when you lose your favorite sweater, you’re immediately going on a wild goose chase around the dorms, because that’s where you had it last.

you’re practically talking to yourself. double checking everywhere you’d been. retracing your steps like a mad person.

you need this sweater!!

you let out a little “urgh!” as you begin getting frustrated.

hyunjin would ask what’s wrong, and when you tell him, he’d GASP.

he’d be like:

“have you checked under the bed?”

“the couch?”

“what about over here?”

“over there?”

this boy will not REST until the sweater is back in your possession, wasting no time in matching your level of concern/dramatics...

… if not exceeding it.

y’all have practically torn the whole room apart at this point.

until finally, you find it in a random drawer (of course smh)

“I FOUND IT!” you’d exclaim, flopping onto the bed and putting the sweater on,

to which you’d receive a “YAY!” in return

tired and leaning against a wall, he’d say something like, “thank GOD! now, why do you need it so bad?”

and you’d simply and softly respond, “... i got chilly~”

he wouldn’t give a verbal response, but his face would go from relaxed to ‘bruh’.

you knew he’d be shocked at your statement, but you choose to tease him instead with a smile.

he would then opt to tackle you in the bed, fumbling with the covers and vowing to make you as warm as humanly possible.

jisung:

jisung definitely loves showing you the music he’s been working on, just like changbin.

except… this time, the lyrics aren’t necessarily what you’re used to hearing.

you can tell jisung’s a bit nervous as he presses play, choosing to keep his eyes on the floor as he nods his head to the rap.

you’re listening intently, as curious and excited as you are every other time…

but then you realize that it’s about you……

the lyrics talk about letting someone into his life and his longing to be even closer to that person than he is now.

therefore,,,, u w u

you giggle, which prompts him to look up at you almost immediately with anticipation about your reaction.

you decide to wait until the end of the song to react, but you can already feel the excitement bubbling up inside of you.

the song ends, and you’re sitting in silence alongside jisung. “so… what did you think?”

“well… i think…” you trail off, looking into jisung’s eyes.

with a bit of a squeal you leap up from your seat and essentially attack him.

you straddle his legs (don’t get any *ideas* this is FLUFF for goodness sake) and wrap your arms around his neck, locking him into a big hug.

“i love it, baby. so, so, so, much,” you respond quickly and genuinely.

he laughs, his arms wrapping around you.

he’d probably remark, “you scared me for a second!”

you laugh in response, apologizing for your delayed reaction.

deep down, he’d feel so relieved that you liked the song and its sentiment.

he’d also be so happy to have you, his overexcited sweetheart, in his arms.

however, at the surface, he’d prefer to tease you. “next time, don’t make me wait so long!”

felix:

ok so y’all send memes and tik toks back and forth all day every day. it’s just protocal.

also,,, you could literally be in the same room, and he’d still just start sending you tik toks he’d saved just to send to you and see your reaction.

but there’s this o n e

you can’t quite explain why but when you watch the tik tok that your boyfriend sent you from across the couch, you laugh harder than you’ve ever laughed before.

whatever humor you may have, this tik tok completely encompasses it in a beautiful, stupid way.

before you know it, you begin cackling.

felix knows that you’ve always been a bit embarrassed of your laugh (who isn’t, right?), so when you start letting loose he’s a bit caught off guard.

still, he joins in (at a smaller scale, of couse).

he always wants to see you happy, but this is a whole new level of cuteness in his eyes.

your laughter subsides a bit...

until you decide to watch the tik tok again.

believe it or not, it’s even funnier the second time!

you double over, laughing so hard that no sound is even coming out of your mouth.

“are you okay?!” he’d ask, laughing harder now at your actions.

he’d put his arms around you so he could hold you up.

you’d mouth out a “no” in response.

there are practically tears forming at the corners of your eyes.

he’d continue looking down at you with a beaming smile, holding you up until your laughter comes to a full stop.

“was it really that funny? i can’t even make you laugh like this.”

you’re almost dazed, your stomach hurting (in the best way possible). you try to steady your breathing.

after a few seconds of recovery, he’d whisper in your ear with a deep, silly voice...

“...wanna watch it again?”

it’s safe to say you won’t fully recover for a while.

seungmin:

on days off, you watch dramas with seungmin to take both of your minds off of work/school/whatever’s been keeping you busy.

however… of course you can’t go a whole episode without laughing hysterically, and it’s all because of seungmin.

it could be the most dramatic, intense, or heartbreaking scene in the show but he would make it into a full blown impersonation comedy routine.

ESPECIALLY if the drama is in a foreign language.

this boy will reinact all of the subs in the stupidest way possible.

but, today he’s a bit exhausted, snuggling up against you and not saying much.

our boys work too hard :(( (but wbk)

...so you decide to take his place.

you start off kind of hesitantly, waiting to see if he’d even react. when the main characters start to have an argument, you begin reading the subtitles in a silly voice.

you hear a soft giggle from your boyfriend has be tightens his arm’s grip around your waist.

you begin to use different voices for each of the two characters, alternating between a nasly, high pitched one and a lower one with voice cracks. this makes seungmin laugh harder, going from a giggle to his usual open-mouthed chuckle.

he’s so cute >_< ,,anyways…

as the scene intensifies, so does the volume of your impersonations.

“yOu’Ve bEtRaYeD mE!”

“BuT yOu LiEd tO mE!”

at this point seungmin is cackling despite his heavy eyes and unwillingness to move. he’d be so caught up in your routine that he’d forget he was even tired.

you look up at him to see that big smile and those sparkly eyes you love so much, which motivates you to be even goofier!

you sit up, leaving seungmin’s grasp. you begin making hand gestures to match your overdramatic tone.

the scene comes to a climax, in which you recite the final line with more ferver and fake passion than ever before. you finish it off with a fist in the air for ~emphasis~.

as you hold this pose, you hear your loyal audience member begin to cheer for you. he claps, whisper-shouting “ahh” to create fake crowd noises.

“what a show!” he would commend you with an expression of sarcastic awe on his face.

you’re really glad you decided to cheer him up…

but not nearly as glad as he is to have you with him on a day like this.

jeongin:

jeongin’s smile could literally melt anyone’s heart. everybody knows this.

i don’t care who you are, if you see jeongin smile, you either smile or cry and there are no other options.

i don’t make the rules.

so, when he shows you the ‘lovestay’ version of his latest dance practice, you’re bound to go insane with adoration.

as soon as his solo comes up and the camera zooms in on his sweet, smiling face, you give his cheek a little poke

you say, “that’s you!”

“shut up,” he’d respond, giggling.

“wait, i missed something,” you say with a sense of urgency. you take the phone from his hands, rewinding a few seconds.

he’d roll his eyes at you, getting a bit shy.

you resume the video until the boy in the video holds up a finger heart, at which point you press pause.

“look how cute!” you exclaim, looking up at jeongin and pointing back and forth between him and the screen.

“stop it!” he’s blushing (and you’re screaming internally at how cute he is) as he tries to refrain from making a big smile.

you poke his side, resulting in a small fit of laughter that forces his bright grin to peek out.

he swats your hand away, putting his arm around you

(partly to show his affection and partly to make you hold still)

you place your head onto his shoulder, resuming the video for the final time. “you’re too cute. i can’t help it.”

“but you’re the cutest...” he murmurs, almost inaudibly to someone who isn’t as close to him as you are now.

heat rises in your face.

you: “...stop…”

him: “hah!”

touché...

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c-rose2081 · 3 years

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Flying Higher:

Chapter 1

—

In the dark of night, Mal’s great aubergine wings stirred the air, and her heart beat loudly within her chest. On the school rooftop, Audrey’s wicked smile gleamed up at her, illuminated by the sickly tint of Dragon Eye. Celia was caught between the older girl's arms, held out in front like a shield. It was the only thing between them - Mal was so close to ending this - but her fire was too broad and hot. She’d hit her.

“Careful not to fry your little VK buddy,” Audrey taunted, pulling Celia closer which resulted in a sharp cry of pain. Mal wasn’t sure what to do. Glancing down at the lawn, Uma, Harry and Gil watched her from the grass. There wasn’t much else they could do but wait and see what happened next. Glancing down, Mal opened a clawed hand to reveal her fathers ember. The stone was dark and waterlogged...but maybe...maybe she could try one more time?

“Come here, you little brat!”

Lifting her head for only a moment, Celia had managed to get away from Audrey’s hold, running to the other side of the rooftop. Mal breathed a plume of flame around the Ember, hoping her last ditch attempt would work. The heat was only slightly warm against her scales, but didn’t sear her fire resistant leathery hide. The gem in her grip flashed excitedly back to life, revived by the heat of pure Dragon Fire. Mal felt its power flex in her hand, responding to what little of Hades magic she had in her blood. Audrey had given up on Celia, standing alone on the rooftop with a vicious gleam in her eye.

It was now or never.

She cackled loudly, wielding the scepter in front of her as the stone illuminated brightly. Mal thought of the Coronation a few years before. Would turning the power of the Scapter back on Audrey work to negate her powers? Swinging to the side as there was a jet of pink magic, it just barely missed her already sore wing. She didn’t have time to sit and think about it. Mal wasn’t sure what the spell would do to Audrey; she wasn’t the same as Maleficent. But as the Princess raised the scepter for another strike, Mal lifted the ember to counter. There was a brilliant flash as two beams of pink and blue collided. Mal couldn’t see Audrey through the neon haze, but she continued to push her magic into the light show.

“No!” The other girl's voice was barely a whisper in the whipping wind as there was a loud crackle and a piercing shockwave as the Ember’s Magic made contact with Dragon Eye. Mal felt her chest explode in pain as she was forced to retreat, falling ungracefully back to Earth. She landed on the grass with a hard grunt and a shallow thud, sore and forced back to her human self by pure exhaustion. Uma was by her side in an instant, grabbing at her arms and hoisting her up into a sitting position.

“Did you do it?” She asked, staring up at the rooftop as a ball of magic flashed and illuminated the sky, “what’s going on?”

“I have no idea,” Mal admitted, holding her chest and wincing hard. She felt the Dragon Fire go cold in her lungs, leaving a prickling winter chill in its wake. The ember pulsed in her hand, beating slightly at the same rate as her heart. But the magic Mal had come to know since leaving the Isle of the Lost felt faint and small in comparison. Staring up at the rooftop, Mal knew in her gut it wasn’t over yet. Something was wrong. Last time, turning Maleficent’s magic back on her had cancelled out the spell. According to Fairy Godmother, she was reduced down to the smallest amount of love in her heart. It was fast, and happened in an instant. Everyone was freed, and that was it.

But the ball of Magic above them only seemed to grow brighter, and even from a distance Mal could hear Audrey screaming in pain somewhere within.

“It’s not over yet,” she croaked, “the magic...it’s to different. It should’ve negated her powers. It should’ve made all of this stop!”

“So what did you do?”

Mal couldn’t say, but she was silenced as there was a burst of power from above. She and Uma were forced to cover their eyes as to not be blinded. But Mal’s skin prickled at the sound which echoed across the landscape.

A roar. A long, loud, billowing wail which resembled a twisted bird call.

“Oh...god...”

Uma’s words were low and disbelieving as Mal peeled her eyes open. On the rooftop, a large dragon perched at the edge of the brick and mortar tower. Elegant magenta wings stretched out from a muscular but limber body, catching on the moonlight and sparkling like an early dawn. She had her long neck extended up into the sky, eyes closed as she breathed.

“What have I done?” Mal croaked, glancing to Uma who shook her head.

“You turned her into a dragon.”

Mal opened her mouth to respond, to defend herself, but was cut off as Audrey roared again. Her head tilted downwards as cat-like eyes flicked open, revealing piercing green irises surrounded by pure midnight black. A long tail with fur at it’s tip thrashed wildly, Audrey’s front claws struggling to keep her balance as she spread her wings even further, yelping out as she awkwardly took flight mid fall. The stones of the tower crumbled under her weight, the pink figure gliding away from the school in a plume of mortar dust and sand.

“Well, that wasn’t what I was expectin’ te happen,”

Harry, who had arrived at some point with Gil, hauled Mal up off the grass with two arms, “I thought ye were tryin’ to beat the lass?”

“I was,” Mal snapped, stumbling on her feet as Gil caught her arm and held her aloft. Uma furrowed her brows in confusion, folding her arms tightly.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m not sure,” Mal admitted, holding her chest which burned with cold, “it’s like everything’s been sucked out of me. I’m so tired,”

“Can’t you go after her?” Uma asked wildly. Mal shook her head.

“I can’t feel my dragon fire; it’s just so cold,”

“Alright, fine,” Uma huffed, “Harry, you and I will get Mal back to the palace. Gil, you go up and get Celia. Make sure she’s alright,”

“Aye, aye,”

Gil gave a little salute as he ran into the school, while Uma and Harry hoisted Mal between their combined shoulders. It took forever to get back to where they started, and waiting for them there was Jane and Fairy Godmother.

“Oh dear!” The FG cried lightly, bustling forward as Uma and Harry gently guided Mal towards a place she could sit.

“Guys!” Jane said, breathless as she hurried down the alabaster steps from the Castle, “you did it! The spell has been broken,”

“It’s not over yet,” Mal coughed, groaning as she was left to sit on the side of the ceremonial fountain, “I think I messed up,”

“What happened?” FG asked, “where’s Princess Audrey?”

“I used the same spell to reflect the power of the Scepter back onto her, like I did to mom at the Coronation,” Mal explained, “I thought maybe it would cancel out the spells she cast with Dragon Eye,”

“You were quite correct,” FG nodded, bristling slightly with what appeared to be pride, “as you can see, I’m no longer a garden decoration. What else happened?”

“I don’t know,” Mal yelped out, pulling at curls of bouncy purple-blue hair, “there was this flash and a bang when the magic collided, and then there was this massive ball of light. And Audrey...she was...turned into a Dragon, somehow,”

Both Jane and the FG blinked in surprise as Uma and Harry nodded in agreement.

“That’s the jist of it, FG,” the Pirate confirmed, “and Mal here can’t fly after her, or use her dragon powers to reverse it, because she’s...cold,”

“Cold?” Jane asked curiously, “that’s never stopped you before,”

“It’s not that simple,” Mal growled out loud, tossing Uma a dirty look, “it just felt like everything was sucked out of me at once. I’ve never felt so disconnected to my fire before,”

“Hm, that is a bit worrying,” FG mused lightly, “the spell you used at the Coronation transformed Maleficent into a creature which represented the love in her heart. Itty-bitty,” the FG made a motion with her thumb and forefinger as Mal bobbed her head, running a hand across the back of her neck which was prickling with sweat, “I don’t know why it would’ve been any different for the Princess.”

“You aren’t saying she turned into a dragon because she has a huge, loving heart,” Uma snapped, “she nearly killed everyone! And that might be really awesome where I come from, but y’all are way to...good, here,”

Uma made a face as Mal dropped her head into her hands, groaning hard. She felt very sick to her stomach, like that time she had ridden the Super Coaster with Ben at the Boardwalk.

“Uma! Jane! FG! Thank the gods you’re alright,”

Mal glanced up as Evie’s form appeared from the forests edge, followed by Ben, Carlos and Jay. They were safe. Probably still mad at her - she couldn’t blame them - but safe.

“Evie,” Jane embraced the bluenette tightly as the boys caught up, happily exchanging fist bumps and shoulder slaps with the pirates, “thank goodness you’re all ok,”

“The spell is broken. Does that mean Audrey is...?”

“Not yet,” Mal spoke up, forcing herself to stand despite her dizziness, “there was a complication,”

Evie lifted a fine brow, but said nothing as Ben engulfed Mal into his broad arms, hugging her close to him.

“Mal,” he breathed into her ear, clearly deeply relieved as she sighed and sunk into his embrace, “I’m sorry. I haven’t been a very good boyfriend. I promise I’ll...”

“We have to talk about this later,” Mal croaked, pulling back slightly to look into her fiancé’s face. He looked hurt, but she smiled and gently caressed his scruffy jaw, “I promise we’ll talk about it. Properly, this time,”

“As touching as this is, lovebirds, we have a problem,” Uma announced, tossing an arm across the lawn. Down the street, a plume of pinkish smoke was rising into the night sky, its bottom illuminated by licks of flame.

“That looks like the Museum,” Carlos announced. Ben looked horrified.

“Did Audrey do that?”

“Yes, but it’s complicated,” Mal insisted, “we need to get over there. Now!”

And so the group - minus FG who went to speak with the King and Queen, and the Pirates who returned to the school to find Gil and Celia - hurried across the grounds towards the billowing ball of destruction. Mal wasn’t sure what to expect when she got there - a scene from an illustrated storybook wasn’t it.

Audrey, her deep magenta scales and rich pomegranate fur illuminated by the fires raging around her, had punched a hole in the ceiling of the museum. She used her hooked wings and long tail to attach herself to the building, clinging to it like a lizard on a wall as she ducked her long neck into the ruins.

“That’s a dragon!” Jay cried in alarm, turning to Mal with wide eyes, “a dragon who isn’t you,”

“I don’t know how it happened,” Mal managed, trying to wave away some of the haze accumulating around her nose with a cough, “when our magic collided, I tried sending it back towards Audrey,”

“Like you did to Maleficent,” Evie concluded as Mal nodded firmly.

“Right. I thought it would maybe reverse the Scepter’s power to what Audrey was before. But...it obviously didn’t,”

“What is she doing, exactly?” Carlos puzzled. Mal, who wasn’t sure herself, glanced up to watch. Audrey was just pulling her head out of the Museum’s main hall. And even though they were further away, she could see the glint of something sparkly in the dragons claws.

“She’s...hoarding, I think,”

“Hoarding?”

“Yeah. It’s that instinct in dragons that makes them enjoy big piles of gold and stuff,”

“So she’s collecting sparkly things,” Evie mused, “but why?”

“Not sure. Like I said, it could just be instinct,” Mal mused, “I have to fight mine off too, sometimes.”

“Uh guys,” Carlos spoke up, “Ben is running right for her,”

Mal’s head shot up as she looked beside her. Ben was no longer at her side. He was instead sprinting down the street.

“Ben! Damn it, it’s like Cotillion all over again,” Mal hissed, “this is what I get for falling in love with someone who’s diplomatic,”

Evie laughed lightly as the four VK’s followed after the King. They were just in time to hear him start yelling in Audrey’s direction, waving his arms to get her attention.

“He’s going to get himself killed,” Mal hissed, “and I don’t have my powers.”

“Audrey!” Ben yelled, “Audrey, stop!”

Mal was about to grab Ben’s arm and chide him for yelling at a full grown dragon, but Audrey’s hearing must’ve been exceptional. Her looting stopped as a narrow head pivoted sharply. Three ear flaps lifted up and twisted their way, and Audrey released her grip on the museum walls as she stalked towards them. Mal wouldn’t ever admit it, but Audrey was a lot more terrifying up close then she expected. After all, her dragon form was pink. Like a Princess.

But as she slammed down to the pavement from the museum roof, vibrating the earth and cracking the asphalt under wicked silver talons, Mal gulped thickly.

“Ben, this isn’t a good idea,” she hissed, goosebumps rising on her skin at the horrible growl which tumbled in Audrey’s chest.

“Audrey! Please, listen to me. You have to stop this!”

Mal felt Evie grab her arm as the dragon opened her mouth to hiss, revealing a maw of horrible silver teeth. Pink smoke — like the smoke used to put everyone to sleep — billowed from under her tongue, cascading like a heavy fog onto the ground between them. Mal reacted quickly when she saw the golden glow of a spark in Audrey’s throat, and pulled Ben backwards, keeping him from going up in flames as the cloud ignited instantly.

The fire was hot, unearthly so, and Mal pushed Evie towards Jay and Carlos as Audrey’s form leapt through the billowing pink and blue curtain of inferno. She growled again, unfurling her wings and hissing like a snake. Mal tightened her grip on Ben and urged him to step back, but he didn’t move, staring into fierce green eyes with a lip jutted out.

“Audrey,” He said again, “please, if you can hear me you have to listen,”

The dragon licked her lips with a forked tongue as she began to circle them, long tail flicking back and forth, back and forth angrily. There was nothing human in her hungry green eyes, Mal noticed. She didn’t know how much good talking would do. Audrey could’ve been dead, with this monster replacing her.

“I know now how much I hurt you,” Ben insisted, “how much we...hurt you. And I know how much pain you must be in right now, after all of this. But I know you. I’ve known you for a long time. And I know somewhere inside, that kind, sensitive, gentle part of you is screaming to be let out,”

Audrey merely hissed again, lowering her body to the ground like a big cat ready to pounce.

“Ben,” Mal croaked, “I don’t have my powers.”

“Audrey,” Ben inhaled shakily, “I know you don’t want to hurt Auradon. And I-I’ve owed you an apology for a long time. I’m...I’m so, so sorry,”

Mal didn’t react fast enough. She felt a steel-like tail crash square into her chest. Something inside of her screamed as she was thrown a few feet back, hitting the ground hard as something cracked. Gasping with pain as kaleidoscope flowers blossomed in her vision, she watched Audrey grab Ben’s shoulders with her claws and push off into the air like a bullet.

“B-Ben!” Mal cried, unable to move from her place as Evie, Jay and Carlos ran to her side, “Ben!”

“Don’t move,” Evie insisted, “even I heard something break,”

“But where’s Ben!”

At that moment there was a sharp scream from above them. Mal looked straight up and saw Audrey drop the young King from her claws, sending him plummeting down towards the ground, “no!”

Mal’s throat was sore from the shriek as her fiancé fell, unable to stop himself. Mal tried to summon her powers, to transform and catch him, but she was still cold inside.

“I can’t watch,” Evie croaked, shielding her eyes as Jay and Carlos stared with open jaws.

Was this it?

Wincing as Ben got closer and closer to the ground, Mal’s heart leapt as there was a blur in the sky above. Audrey was lithe in the air, nearly invisible against the backdrop of pink smoke. She dove without fear straight down, 90 degrees towards the street. Then, at the last moment, she opened her wings which billowed like glittering sails. Her back claw grabbed Ben by the jacket, and with one mighty flap, he was placed gently back on the ground.

Mal couldn’t believe it. She saved him.

She didn’t have much time to think about it though as the street suddenly swarmed with figures. It was all a bit blurry as royal guards grabbed Ben and pulled him away from the danger. Audrey cried out sharply as something long struck her in the chest. The pink figure was laced with ropes and forced to the ground with a mighty thud.

“Don’t hurt her!” Ben cried, though I fell on deaf ears as Audrey began to chirp a pathetic, crying wail. She was in pain. Mal tried to sit up, but was immediately forced back by Evie.

“Stop. Just...rest for a minute,”

Mal wanted to complain, but her adrenaline was running out. Every corner of her body was flooded by ache and exhaustion. And as her eyes fluttered closed, all she could hear was a ghostly, melancholy dragon wail before everything went black.

#disney descendants #descendants #audrey rose #mal bertha #ben florian #disney #descendants fanfiction #disney fanfiction #dragon!audrey #canon continuation #descendants 3 #fantasy

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meloncholy-words · 4 years

Text

A Snake’s Skin

Based on the idea that Deceit, in all his old-timey, fancy nature, can make the other sides do A Fluster™ by showing even the slightest bit of skin. I don’t remember who had the original idea, but I’m turning it into a fic. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and am finally doing it, especially now because I need my comfort. I’m ditching all new information because I don’t wAnNa ThInK aBoUt It.

Ship: DLAMP

Warnings: Other than Dee and Remus, none, I need CoMfOrT

Deceit yawned. He was bored. The others weren’t giving him enough attention. Patton and Virgil were baking in the kitchen, Roman and Remus were doing God knows what in their room, and Logan was reading, right next to him, and not giving him any attention. Which was, by the way, illegal! But then, Deceit had an idea…

He made a few glances towards Logan, before shifting around slightly, before he struck. He let out a loud, exaggerated yawn, lifting his arms up as high as he could, letting his shirt lift up ever so slightly. He took a small little peak at his boyfriend, and inwardly smiled to himself.

Logan’s face was a bright red, his eyes were wide open, and his jaw had dropped. He stuttered a little, before he let out a squeak and lunged forward, pulling Deceit’s shirt down.

“D-Dee,” he stuttered out, voice unusually high, “I get that we’re alone, but now isn’t the time for that.”

“Oh, my apologies,” he said smoothly, a small smirk on his face as he spoke,” I was just yawning. See, I’m just so bored here, with nothing to do and no one to do anything with.”

“I see,” Logan said, adjusting his glasses. His face had gone down in hue, but his cheeks were still fairly dusted in a vibrant red, and his voice had lowered back down to normal. “If that’s the case, perhaps we could watch a documentary and cuddle?”

“That sounds excellent!” he said, clapping his hands together and smiling a wide, happy smile.

Logan pulled up Netflix and threw on a documentary about the earth and its shape. They fell asleep in each other’s arms before it reached halfway through.

~~~~~

It was an unusually hot day in the Mind Palace today. Not unbearable, but definitely noticable. While the others went outside to play in the pool, Deceit had stayed back to stay in his room instead. However, that decision was made after breakfast, and he was hungry. He left his room in favour of heading to the kitchen, an “evil” smile gracing his lips when he peeked into it. For you see, there was Patton, making lunch for everyone. He wasn’t dripping wet, but he was certainly not dry. He was also there, standing so innocently, in nothing but some swim trunks, flip flops, and a thin, wet tank top. This was a big contrast to Deceit, who was covered in layers upon layers of clothing. This wasn’t uncommon in their household, though.

‘Hm, it has been a while since someone’s paid attention to me..’ the sly snake thought. He hid himself back back around the wall, before adjusting his hat slightly, and then striking.

Deceit made his way around the corner, dramatically sighing as he removed the hat he’d just readjusted.

“My my, it’s so hot. Oh, hello there, Patton.” He started lightly fanning himself with his hat.

“Oh, hi Dee!” Patton said in his normal giddy tone. “Yeah, it is. But we have some lemonade and iced tea, if you need any!” He let out a soft giggle, before returning to making the sandwiches.

“That sounds like a good idea, but-” he had unclasped his cape at this point, and had it folded as he placed it down onto one of the dining chairs, “-I don’t think that’ll be too helpful.”

Patton let a glance towards his direction, before slightly tensing and looking back away, a light red tint on his freckles cheeks at the sight of some of Dee’s neck. This caused Deceit to smile again, like the evil child he is. He reached towards the top button on his shirt and popped it off.

Walking up to Patton, as he began pulling his shirt collar more outwards, he leaned over his shoulder, and asked, “Oh, what kind of sandwiches are you making?”

“Oh, you, know just some simple ham sandwiches, maybe some apple sli-” Patton let out a loud squeal, nudging deceit away as he looked in the opposite direction. “D-Deceit, that-that’s highly in-inappropriate!”

“Oh, I’m sorry Puffball,” he said softly, “it’s just sooooo hot, I couldn’t help myself.” He shuffled himself a little closer, and whispered lightly, “You wouldn’t want me to overheat, would you?”

Patton made a strangled sound before pushing past Deceit grabbing the sandwiches, yelling out, “ITWASNICESEEINGYOUBUTIGOTTAGONOWBYEHUN-” and fleeing the scene, leaving Deceit to cackle by himself.

This really was just too fun.

~~~~~

Deceit sighed to himself. Roman had invited him to join him in the imagination for a fancy ball. Of course, he blended right in, using his lawyer suit because it made him feel special. What didn’t make him feel special was how Roman had decided that his kingdom was more important than him. Now, that was fair, it was very understandable. But that didn’t mean that he was happy with it.

He glanced towards Roman, and felt a twinge of sadness. He felt lonely. He took a sip of wine as the gears in his head began turning. Finally, they clicked, and he felt his evil smile return. Right next to Roman was a long food table. That’s where he’d gotten the wine. There were some pastries stacked up neatly just beside him. He knew what to do.

Deceit, very gracefully, made his way over to the pastry rack. He made it clear that he had no intention of acknowledging Roman, at least, not yet. He gathered up two pastries, and made a, not big, but eye-catching, act of spilling some wine onto his gloves. Not too much, but a reasonable amount.

This certainly caught the eye of Roman, who was still giving the rest of his attention elsewhere. However, what really caught his attention was when Deceit, very slowly, removed his stained glove. This lit up Roman’s face a noticeable amount, not the colour of his sash, but enough. He quickly excused himself from his company, and grabbed Deceit by the arm, leading him out to the balcony.

“Deceit, we are in public!” he hissed into his ear. “You’re already wearing less than usual, was that really necessary?!”

“But Roman,” Deceit exclaimed, feigning innocence, “my glove! It got dirty! What did you expect?”

The prince, whose face had somehow become closer to his sash, pulled out a single extra glove.

“Stay here, put this on, and I’ll be back with another pair for you.”

“You’re gonna leave me out here.. Alone?” Deceit let his lip slip out slightly, and his eyes grew bigger. Yes, he was absolutely resorting to puppy dog eyes.

Guilt gently washed over his face, and he softly said, “I’ll be back fast, I promise.” He gave Deceit a light kiss on his forehead and disappeared back inside.

A pair of thick, orange gloves were the ones that Roman decided would best for his King Snake. However, when he exited back out to the balcony, he blue screened. Not only was Deceit’s hat off, but both of his gloves were off, too!

Noticing the prince, Dee opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by gloves smacking into his face. Roman had also returned back inside in a flustered fit, which made him giggle. His boyfriend was just too cute sometimes.

~~~~~

Virgil and Deceit were cuddling on the bed together, even though they should have been sleeping. They’d both had a hard day, and had taken to each other’s embrace. However, instead of sleeping at normal times, they’d stayed up well past 2 am to discuss conspiracy theories, and how believable they were. It was a fun game they’d like to play. One would say a theory they’d heard and start giving off some details about it, and then they’d both announce if they thought it was believable or not. If they both agreed that it was either believable or too crazy, they’d continue. If not, they would try convincing the other onto their side. They would carry on when they had both ended up on the same side.

Now, they’d both intended to sleep, as this game always started. This meant that they were both in pajamas, which is a significant decrease in the amount of clothing Dee would normally wear, though he was still quite covered. He had loose, baggy sweats on, thick, fluffy socks, and a long sleeved shirt. This contrasted with Virgil, who had on boxers and his (unzipped)jacket. And nothing else. Deciding he wanted to continue his game of flustering, he started hatching a plan. Virgil was used to seeing Dee like this, so him being less layered than normal didn’t make him red. However, this was the least amount of coverage that he’s seen him in. Which means…

“Ok, ok, fine, it’s believable, jeez!” Virgil exclaimed. At this point, they’d given up on being quiet. “Ok, now, you’re turn.”

“Hmmm… What about… me showing skin.”

Virgil looked into Dee’s eyes like he had gone mad.

“Least believable one yet. Next!”

“Oh, is that so?” Dee said, a smile in his voice. He snapped his fingers, which turned his long sleeved shirt into a short sleeved one, and his baggy sweats into baggy sweats, but with the ends rolled up, exposing his ankles and a little bit of his calves to the world. This made Virgil begin to turn red.

“DECEIT!” he screeched, hiding his face. “I know it’s late and you may be a little bored, but SERIOUSLY?! Nowisntthetime!!!!” This got Deceit laughing, and he snapped his original clothes back, cuddling right back into Virgil.

“I know, I know, sorry hun. I just had to prove you wrong.” Virgil huffed at this, lightly smacking the smaller man’s chest.

“That was mean!”

That got him laughing again.

~~~~~

The sides had cuddled up on the couch, watching Disney movies together. Remus had passed on the offer to join them, pretending to gag as he threw himself onto the floor to watch by himself. Virgil had fallen asleep after the first few movies, leaning onto Patton, who cuddled Deceit up into his lap immediately. Logan held Roman in his arms, and they were both also leaning on Patton, with Roman beginning to drift off but being determined to stay awake.

Deceit looked around at his boyfriends and smiled. Seeing them go into a gay panic was nice, but this was even better. He was content with them being like this instead. It made them all happy.

And that was all that he wanted, really.

#dlamp #ts dlamp #ts deceit sanders #deceit sanders #ts logan sanders #logan sanders #ts patton sanders #patton sanders #ts virgil sanders #virgil sanders #ts remus sanders #remus sanders #ts roman sanders #roman sanders

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turning-dreams-into-chaos · 4 years

Text

The Jimmy Jab Games

Chapter 3: Blind Team Quidditch

~The Jimmy Jab Games Master~

Paring: Sirius Black x Reader

Word Count: 3.8K

~Master~

Yesterday’s challenge was interesting. Seeing a Thestral was already fascinating, but adding Lily’s revelation afterwards?

Yeah, yesterday was something else.

Like every morning, Lily woke you up for classes and the pair of you headed down with Marlene to breakfast, seeing the boys already there. Your normal spot next to Sirius was empty as you fell into it, hitting his shoulder with yours on the way down.

“Well good morning to you too.” Sirius mumbled through his food as you sent him a playful glare and took a piece of his bacon off his plate. He chuckled as you bit into it. “You know you could get a plate of your own.” He told you but you shrugged.

“Nah, not really hungry. I just wanted a piece.” You told him, hearing him scoff and shake his head. Your moment was broken as you saw Lily slapping James’ shoulder and point to you. You knew that Lily was convinced about your secret love for Sirius, but you didn’t know she told James about it. Hoping that Lily didn’t share her wrong theories with her boyfriend, you turned away from Sirius, looking at Marlene instead. “Round 3, huh? How on earth are you going to top yesterday?”

“Well, I have a plan.” She whispered to you, tapping her fingers against the table. “Can everyone meet at the Quidditch Pitch an hour after classes?” You nodded as did everyone else and Marlene turned to Remus. “Can you meet earlier? I might need some help.” He furrowed his brows but agreed to help her.

“These games were pretty fun right?” you asked, casually trying to brag about your great idea to your friends.

“Yeah.” James said and you were ready for his stamp of approval. “The first good idea you had in a while.” He let out a laugh as did Sirius and Remus, Lily and Marlene’s eyes widening as they hide their giggles. Your jaw dropped open, not prepared for friendly bullying from James today.

“Oh, sod off.” You mumbled and slouched in your seat. Sirius put a hand on your back, not at all trying to stop his laughs as you fake pouted.

“He’s not wrong Y/N.” He chuckled, only making you more shocked. The look on your face only made Sirius laugh more as he doubled over. “Last week you tried to your spell potions book to read itself to you and it ended up screaming for hour.”

“I almost had it! And It was a good idea!” Your own laughs pulled through and you couldn’t stop them. You shook your head stealing another one of Sirius’ bacon’s and sticking your tongue out at him. “All of you. I hate all of you.” You stuck your nose in the air, refusing to look at them as you finished your- well, Sirius’ piece of bacon.

“Oh no you don’t.” Sirius said, slinging his arm over your shoulder. You looked at him, seeing him stick out his lip in a pout as you reached for another piece. “Y/N!” he groaned out but didn’t stop you from stealing his food. “Honestly!” You just smirked at him and ate the third piece.

“Ok! Enough you two.” Lily pulled your attentions away as you sent both of you a knowing glare. “We have classes and we don’t want to be late.” She started up, grabbing her bag and throwing it over her shoulder.

“Ah, Lily Evans. Ever the timekeeper.” You joked as you stood as well, grabbing your bag and pulling Sirius out of his seat. “Up you go. If you’re late to class again, McGonagall will have your head.”

“Minnie wouldn’t dare.” He smirked as he joined you and the rest of your friends went as well, no one wanting to be late.

As much as you loved your classes, you were excited for the school day to be over so you could get back to the games. Meeting on the Quidditch Pitch gave you an idea of what Marlene had plan. Well, it let you know it was Quidditch related at the least. You were in the library reading up on Thestrals after yesterday’s adventure when it was time to head down, checking your watch to see you were running out of time. You groaned and shoved as much of your belongings into your pack, throwing it over your shoulder. You picked up the rest of the books and rushed out of the library.

You barely made it down the hall before hearing your name called behind you and you spun around slightly irritated, not wanting to talk to someone when you had to get going. Your face softened when you saw Sirius jogging to catch up to you. “Why am I not surprised you’re running late?” You asked as he walked next to you.

He gave you a grin, taking your books from your arms. “You’re one to talk.” He said as you agreed with him and opened up your bag, rearranging the books inside to fit the outliers in while you walked.

“Thanks Pads.” You said as Sirius took your bag from you and wore it over his. “Oh you don’t have to-“

“I’m carrying your bag. Get over it.” He smirked as you sighed, shaking your head at him. You didn’t argue with him, knowing he wasn’t going to give up. Sirius kept glancing at you while you walked together, enjoying the sun as you stepped outside. “How’s your mum?” Sirius asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

You smiled, thinking about your mother. “She’s getting better. Since my father…” your voice trailed off and Sirius regretted bringing it up. You bit your lip and your smile turned bittersweet as you took a deep breath. “Not having me there is kind of hard on her, but she’s strong.”

“Like her daughter?” He quipped, making you laugh.

“She uh, she keeps asking when you’re coming back around.” Sirius hid the blush on his face. All these years you’ve known each other and the rest of your friends, your mom was always adamant Sirius was her favorite. Sirius had spent most of the summer at yours, going between James place and it, but always making sure to spend more time with you. Your mother smothered Sirius, always treating him like her own son. Sirius would always assure you it was alright whenever you would get embarrassed.

“Ah. Still asking if we’re together yet?” He tried not to sound so awkward when Lily’s words filtered through his head again and he hoped you hadn’t caught on. Little did he know at that moment, what Lily had told you was pushing its way through your thoughts as well.

“Only every time she sends an owl.”

“So, every week?”

“Pretty much.” Your walk ended after that, having arrived at the Pitch.

“You’re late!” James shouted as he cupped his hands over his mouth, yelling at you and Sirius across the grass. You rolled your eyes and Sirius and you shared a look before jogging to the rest of your friends. “Oh I get it, you snuck away for a little-“ He wiggled his eyebrows for his statement as your eyes widened, looking to the ground as Sirius shoved James in embarrassment and you heard James cackle. “I’m joking! It’s a joke!” He cried out.

You looked up at Lily, seeing her hold her head in annoyance at James antics. She grabbed onto him, giving him the Lily Evans glare of death as James quickly stopped laughing, realizing he was in trouble. You looked away from your friends, seeing how the Quidditch Pitch looked. It looked to be a giant obstacle course, obstacles high in the air and some lower to the ground. You tapped Sirius’ arm, getting him to look at you before catching what he hadn’t noticed before either.

“Wow Marlene, you really went for it.” Sirius muttered, turning to the blonde who shrugged.

“Didn’t do it alone.” She pointed at Remus who stood off to the side with Peter who was feeling much better.

“She made us work!” Peter complained, crossing his arms. Remus patted his back, knowing how Peter was feeling you chuckled.

“Since Sirius and Y/N finally decided to show up, can we get started?” Lily sent you a wink.

Marlene agreed with Lily, beginning to explain today’s challenge. “We all know how to play Quidditch. Some of us more than others. But this is different! I call today’s challenge… Blind Team Quidditch!” No one cheered, instead a few sounds of confusion went around.

“Sorry. You said Blind Team Quidditch?” you tried clarifying, stressing each word in hopes it’d make more sense.

“That is correct my Thestral Queen.” She joked. She reached into her pocket, pulling out 2 blindfolds and holding them up. “The 4 of you left will be spilt into teams and one person will be blindfolded and the other will be the team’s eyes. The goal is to get through the obstacle course and if both teams make it through, then whoever does it faster wins. Understood?”

Sirius raised his hand. “How are the teams decided?” He glanced to you out of the corner of his eye, lucky you hadn’t caught him.

Marlene reached into her other pocket, pulling out 4 pieces of paper. “James, care to choose first?” James nodded, raising a brow as he picked one of the papers in his hands.

A smile appeared on his face as he turned it for the rest of you to see. “My Lilyflower.” Lily grinned, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Sirius didn’t know whether to feel relieved or worried as he turned to you. “Guess that leaves me and you, Y/N.” He moved behind you and threw his arms around your shoulders.

James was blindfolded as Lily sat behind him on his broom, her hands on his shoulders as Marlene described the tasks. There were three of them positioned around the pitch. The first task was rather simple, 3 rings at various heights in which the unblindfolded directed the blindfolded through. Since James was wearing the covering, Lily was shouting commands at him. It took longer than they wanted, but they made it through without crashing.

The second task was slightly harder. There were several Quaffles someone charmed to float in the air and Lily was supposed to grab one. When she had it, she was to direct James into a position where she could throw the Quaffle at an apple floating in the air a ways away.

“Why’d you choose an apple?” Sirius asked Marlene, finding the item completely bizarre.

“It was the smallest thing we could find that still let you see it.” She admitted, turning to Peter and Remus who shrugged, finding no problem with the choice. It did work.

It took Lily several tries to hit the apple, James constantly teasing her when they had had to grab another Quaffle, but soon they finally made it and got to move on to the third task.

This task, although sounding simple, was the hardest. The goal was for the blind person to use the bat to hit the bludger through the goal hoop.

It was easier said than done.

After a few minutes of dodging the bludger and almost getting hit, the bludger struck the front of the broom, knocking both of them to the ground. As soon as your friends started falling you all ran over, checking them over.

“This is why we stay close to the ground.” Remus said and you all agreed, thankful they’d stayed low enough where if they fell, the worst thing they’d do was break a bone, something Madam Pomfrey could fix easily. James pulled off his blindfold, checking up on his girlfriend and groaning when Sirius helped him up and you pulled Lily off the ground.

“Well that was fun.” Lily giggled, wiping the grass off her clothes with a smile. Despite falling, she enjoyed her time with James in the air completing the challenge. “I guess that makes it your turn.” She told you as you swallowed, a little worry passing though your mind. Lily saw it, grabbing your hand and squeezing. “Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as it seems.

You smiled at her before turning to your game’s host. “No pressure, but in order to win you and Sirius have to complete the challenge in total. You know, get farther than James and Lily did.

“Right. Thanks Marls.” You took the blindfold from Marlene as she wished you luck. Sirius smirked as you came over to him. “Turn around.” You ordered him, using your finger to demonstrate.

Sirius obeyed and hopped on his broom and you moved the blindfold over his eyes. “You know this isn’t how I usually like to be blindfolded.” He whispered loud enough for you to hear. You felt your cheeks heat up as you tightened the tie, hearing Sirius snicker under his breath.

“I wish I had a blindfold for your mouth.” You mumbled into his ear as Sirius turned his head, despite not being able to see you.

“You mean a gag, love? Even better.”

“Sirius!”

“Stop flirting and get going!” Lily called out to you both as you pressed your forehead against Sirius. You climbed onto Sirius’ broom, your hands instantly going around his stomach as Sirius smiled at your touch. He, like you, wasn’t going to admit he really liked this feeling.

“Try not to kill us Y/L/N.” He joked as he started moving, making you grip him tighter and putting your head on his shoulder to peer in front of him. “This is feeling kind of familiar.”

“Yeah but this time you aren’t falling to your death.” Your voice was smooth in Sirius’ ear, causing him to smile as he enjoyed the feeling.

“The challenge is still young. You’re my eyes, got it?”

“Just listen to my voice Siri.” Sirius knew he wouldn’t have any trouble there, he’s been listening to your voice for years. “Pull up slightly and slow down.” You told him as Sirius listened and pulled up on the handle, waiting for your next instruction. “Okay, the first ring is just in front of you, head straight and when I tell you to pull up, go slow until I say stop. Sirius nodded, settling into the feeling of your arms around his waist as he flew straight for the ring. The moment you told him to, he pulled up before he was able to pass the second ring, and for the third ring he aimed the handle to the ground, relying on you to tell him when it was clear.

“That’s the first task!” you told him, and he felt your grip tighten for a hug he wished he could return. “Okay next task, knocking over the apples.”

“You better be a good thrower Y/N.” He laughed, hearing your laugh in his ear. His heartbeat sped up and he didn’t know what was happening or why it was happening at this particular moment.

You directed Sirius to where the floating Quaffles were as you reached out to grab one. “Got it!” you held the ball against you, adjusting your grip. “Okay, turn around completely, don’t move, and bend over.” Sirius smirked, turning his head slightly and you didn’t need him to say anything to know he was going to make a joke. “Pads, I swear if you say anything right now.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything!” You tried not to smile, but you couldn’t help it when Sirius was like this. He followed your direction, turning and stopping. You lined up your shot, taking a deep breath. Sirius could feel your nerves without needing to look. He removed one hand from the broom, using it to hold your wrapped around his waist. “You can do this, Y/N. Just take a deep breath and don’t miss.”

You laughed again, the sound bringing a smile to Sirius’ lips far faster than he’d wished. “Thanks Sirius.” You whispered and felt him thread his fingers with yours. You threw the Quaffle at the small apple Marlene decided to use and you thought you missed, but it wasn’t until you saw the apple fall to the ground before you realized you hadn’t. “First shot! That’s how it’s done Evans!” you pointed to your red headed friend who shook her head at you, watching you and Sirius have as much fun as she and James had. She still couldn’t believe neither of you would admit your feelings weren’t platonic.

Sirius cheered as he squeezed your hand, feeling elated as he spoke. “One more challenge, love. We’ve got this.” You nodded your head and he felt it against his shoulder as he pressed his head against yours, much like you had done yesterday on the Thestral. The third challenge was the hardest and that was proven when James and Lily both fell off the broom together as the bludger hit the front of their broom. You grabbed the bat and handed it to Sirius, loosing the contact of his hand and you hated the way your heart felt heavier. Like usual you directed Sirius to the next to challenge only this time you kept an eye out for the bludger. “Just remember Y/N, this time we don’t have anyone to catch us.”

“Thanks for the support Sirius.” You mumbled, slapping his chest. “Oh! I see it! Okay, when I say dive, do for 3 seconds then pull up. Got it?”

“Yes, Ma’am” he fakes salute you.

You waited until the Bludger was close enough. “Dive!” Sirius dove right away, both of you staring at the ground. “Up!” you shouted as you finished counting to 3, clearing the bludger. You watch the ball turn around, as Sirius straightened out. You were lined up almost perfectly with the goal hoop. “Siri, turn to your right just a little. When I tell you, swing the bat.”

“Okay, But Y/N? Hang on tight.” If this didn’t work out, Sirius wanted to make sure you were protected. He took a deep breath, turning until you said stop and waiting. He wasn’t sure how long he floated there for, but when you spoke in his ear to swing, he didn’t with no hesitation. His hand stung as the bat hit the Quaffle, sending the ball flying in the other direction, right into the goal hoop. You were silent, your mouth hung open and Sirius was terrified as he had no clue if you were alright. “Y/N?”

“You did it.” You breathed out and Sirius could feel your excitement increasing. “Sirius, you did it!” This time you cheered as Sirius felt you hug him. “We beat them!”

“We did it!” He joined and pressed against you, lowering you both to the ground. He jumped off first, ripping off his blindfold in the blink of an eye. Luckily, he did because not a moment later you threw yourself at him. Your arms went around his neck as Sirius wrapped his arms around your waist, keeping you in the air as you both laughed happiness, not believing you actually beat the real couple.

It was amazing how you got lost in him. Just the feeling of having Sirius’ arms wrapped around you and his head burying itself between your hair and neck. Everyone was watching you, but you and Sirius didn’t even realize, too focused on each other to care and never wanting to separate from each other.

Lily didn’t know how much longer she could take watching you and Sirius. You’d been dancing around your feelings for years. You and Sirius deserved to be happy, together.

“I guess we have our winners.” Marlene broke your hug apart as Sirius put you down, goofy smiles adorning both of your faces. “Moving onto the final round are the only two people who have managed to win any rounds so far! Y/N and Sirius!” Hoots and hollers came from all of you, Sirius and you both excited as you turned to look at him.

It wasn’t until your eyes met before you both realized you’d be in the finales, against each other.

Your face fell, Sirius’ doing so as well. “Well then, I guess we’ll see who’s better.” You whispered as Sirius nodded and bit his lip.

“Yeah. I uh, I guess we will.” It was weird at least, you knew you were always competing against Sirius, but something about being his direct competition just felt absurd. Sirius was feeling the same way. “Wait, about the third person?” He motioned towards Lily and James. “I mean, one of them moves on, right?”

“Well, technically they both lost, so they’re both eliminated. That’s the rules.” Marlene explained, James and Lily reluctantly agreeing it was fair as they didn’t want to decide who was truly eliminated. Sirius and your spirits fell slightly as everyone started to clean up, pulling out their wands as the occasional spell is heard.

You stepped closer to Sirius, laying your head on his shoulder as you watched them. “It’s just a game, right? No matter who wins?”

Sirius furrowed his brows. “Of course. No matter what happens you’re still my best friend.”

Best Friend.

That shouldn’t have hurt so much, but after everything you’ve felt the last few days and your conversation with Lily. That hurt.

“Thanks for the help guys!” James yelled sarcastically over to you and Sirius as you pulled your head away, missing the way Sirius’ face fell.

“Sorry Prongs! Sorry everyone!” you told them as they started your way, heading to the Pitch exit behind you. You turned around to see Sirius stood in place his brows drawn so close together, it scared you. “Siri? Are you coming?”

“What?” He looked over his shoulder, his face turning back to normal. “Oh, yeah. Uh, you know, I’ll catch up.”

“You sure?” He was sure, telling you to go on ahead. He just needed a minute. He watched you leave before closing his eyes, trying to remember the feeling of your arms wrapped tight around him.

“You need to tell her.” His eyes snapped open to see Lily in front of him.

He sighed but it sounded more of a groan. “Let it go Evans.”

“Not until you admit it!”

“There’s nothing to admit! I don’t see her like that!”

“Fine! You don’t think you’re in love with her?” Sirius rolled his eyes, annoyed with Lily’s persistence that he felt something for you beside friendship. “Then tomorrow during whatever challenge Marlene comes up with, don’t flirt with her. In fact, go the whole day without flirting with her.”

“No problem.” Sirius cocked before thinking. The realization of what Lily was telling didn’t set in in time.

“Great. Then we’ll see who’s telling the truth and who’s too daft to see he’s in love!”

“Sounds great. Can’t wait.” Sirius watched the red head storm off, her brows drawn together as she pursed her lips with crossed arms. He stood alone on the Quidditch pitch, staring off to where Lily disappeared.

What did he just get himself into?

A/N: Did I forget to post this earlier? Yup. Please leave feedback because I thrive on it! Last chapter out tomorrow!

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#sirius black x reader #sirius black series #sirius black imagine #Jimmy Jab Games #Sirius Black #marauders x reader #marauders #marauders imagine #new series #4 day series #chapter 3 #Blind Team Quidditch #moony wormtail padfoot and prongs

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heyheshi · 4 years

Text

Roommates...?

1.7k words

written and uploaded: July 30, 2020

🦋 - fluff

Please like and reblog! Also please don't post my writings anywhere!

Here's your request! Hope you like it!

Masterlist

Part 1

Part 3

_________

It has been almost a week since the last time you've seen Harry and you have to admit - he wasn't bad at all. You expected him to be like the other famous people who think that the world revolves around them but well he is the exact opposite.

He's so down to earth and open-minded about everything, you almost forgot that he's a celebrity during your meal! He was so eager to listen and learn about the town he's going to be staying in.

He's also a proper gentleman. It's common to have your door open up for you if you're on the passenger's seat but what surprises you was that after you parked the car outside of the resto, he went around the car to open up your door - the driver's door!

It didn't stop that, he opened the door of the resto for you and let you in first. Even pulled back your chair for you! The boyfriends of your other friends would be ashamed if they saw him.

Also, he made sure that you won't pay a cent and told you that you can only give the tip - which by the way was also generously given by him already.

You probably looked like a couple that day and you can't deny the fact that you found him interesting... and cute... and really handsome even though he didn't say much about himself and neither do you - just the basics. No one can know that you're infatuated by him, especially your cousin - who for sure is gonna rub the car's magic on you, plus you dropped him off his hotel after you ate.

But it didn't stop you from typing his name on your search engine and looking at his pictures. What can you say, he's an eye candy and you probably won't see him again since you live in the small village of your town and he would probably leave after a few days after all.

But how wrong could you be? Very, super, extremely, tremendously and all the adverb you can think of that have the same meaning as 'so so so wrong'.

You were carrying a tray of your best selling bagels when you saw a familiar head ordering on the counter from the glass on the door of the kitchen.

It's not like you didn't like seeing him - it's just that you're sure that you're going to be all blushy and shy in front of him after developing a crush on the guy.

"2 bagels and a classic tea!", the voice from intercom can be heard through the kitchen and that's when you know that you have to face heaven - oh you mean Harry, soon.

You made a beeline to the pastry display counter with your head hanging low hoping that he wouldn't see you but too late for that.

"Y/N! I didn't know you work here!", well there goes the prince charming, smiling brightly at you while you have to basically snap yourself out of your thoughts.

"Oh, she owns this bakery along with a few other branches.", one of your employees, Kayla, replied to him seeing as you won't be talking anytime soon, then she winked at you.

"Really?!", Harry walked in front of the display counter to talk to you as you finished displaying all the bagels out.

"Yeah, um well you know I own a bakery and this is my first shop, my main outlet.", you smiled a little trying so hard not to blurt anything embarrassing in front of him.

"You look nice.", Harry said but quickly corrected himself trying to play it cool, "what I meant was it was nice seeing you and this place looks cozily chic."

"Thank you. I try, really.", your brain is screaming to not overthink what he said but your cheeks and ear betrayed you, "why don't you take a seat, there's a cute table near the corner if you want some privacy."

"Will you join me? I mean you're the owner and well you're my only friend here in this town so far.", friend - oh well at least you two are friends... right? You really need to shut up now. This isn't how you were acting when you first met him!

"Of course! I'm done working anyway."

"Great! I'll be right there!", with that, he nods his head and strutted to the table on the far end of your shop.

You quickly removed your apron and insisted on bringing his order to him, not before stealing a muffin and a cookie from the kitchen, and getting your water bottle from your bag.

"So how are you liking it here?", you asked Harry while slowly placing his meal on the table for him.

"It's great! I quite like it here actually, my hotel was in the busier part of the town but I don't mind that much. I'm glad I discovered this little village to escape.", Harry explained, taking a bite on the bagel you just made, "mhmm, now I know why this is your best selling pastry."

You laughed at him while shrugging, "thank you, it was a family recipe and I don't let anyone make that bagel, they can make the other pastries but not that one - too sacred."

"I know exactly what you're talking about, it's like writing a song but not letting anyone hear it because it was your baby," H laughed at his own words, "oh, this tea reminds me of how my mum makes my tea, now I miss her.", his face now sporting an overly exaggerated pout after taking a sip of his tea and both of your laughs can be heard from a few tables down.

"Are you planning on going home?", you didn't mean to intrude, you're just curious.

"Oh, so you want me out now? Should've killed you that day!", he joked. If it was another guy, you would've left your seat and never look back but this was Harry we're talking about - and this is not a date.

"Wh- no! I was just asking! Plus we love having you here! You're welcome in our town!", if your mouth hasn't said anything then you wouldn't be blushing and Harry wouldn't be holding his stomach from laughing so hard.

"Oh, so now you love me, huh? That's not what you were saying before!", he was like a switch, before he was laughing so hard bit now his face is stoic without any trace of anything.

"No, what I me-"

"Just kidding! Should've seen your face, love!", now he's back on cackling and he looks adorable and cuddly - shut up Y/N!

"That's not funny...", you guilt-tripped him with your distressed and agitated face.

"I'm sorry!", H was still laughing while putting his hands in the air while you only crossed your arms in your chest.

You two made small talk while scarfing down your foods and asked him the question you didn't know if it should make you ecstatic or nervous about what's to come.

"Why did you said our village is your escape? I thought you already did that when you decided to stay here in our town?", you finished your cookie and drank your water.

"Dunno, this place is peaceful. The main town is great but a lot of fans have been waiting outside of the hotel and I feel like I'm not having the privacy I was looking for the first place, you know?"

"I'm sorry about that. I know this is not an excuse but no celebrity has ever stayed this long in our town that's why they're probably like that...", you looked at him with sympathy in your eyes.

"It's all good. I talked to my friend Jeff about it and he told me that if I'm planning on staying here longer then I should find a place - like a room or an apartment to stay and that's how I found this shop. I was strolling, I don't trust the internet ads, I'd like to look for one myself and that brought me to your neighborhood.", Harry explained and the only words that registered on your mind were "staying here longer".

"That's probably the best idea, not staying long in a hotel - I mean. How long do you think you're staying? Have you found a place?"

"For a few months most definitely. There are barely paps in here and I'm also planning on writing a few of my songs here... and sadly I haven't. Most apartments are on the commercial part of the town and I'm finding somewhere quiet. This kind of neighborhood perhaps.", he explained to you and you cannot stop your mouth from blurting out the next few words.

"I just bought a house a few blocks in this village and well I have an extra room...", well that was fast, your mind screams at you while you shut your eyes tightly.

"Are you offering me to be your roommate or housemate? I don't wanna seem desperate but you're pretty much the only person I know in here and I like this village so I'm not turning your offer down.", Harry eagerly replied to you but still keeping his cool intact.

"I think I am..."

"Really? Wow, thank you! Don't worry, I'm a good roommate - if the offer is still valid!", you and Harry both chuckled at that while standing in your seats.

"Well then, why don't I take you on a tour and show you the house? The village is full of families it's really peaceful here. And I'm not always home so you won't be bothered by me!", you joked at him as you went back to the shop's kitchen to get your things and say goodbye to your employees.

"Oh I know I'm the one who'll be bothering you a lot!", Harry opened the door for you as he joked.

"We'll see!", you just winked at him and walked in front of him while he jogged to catch up to you.

You introduced Harry to the village and showed him around your house. Hopefully, he'd like your home enough to be roommates with you.

_____

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mariinara · 4 years

Note

Love your writing! Can’t wait for your comeback!🥰😩 If you’re still doing HCs, can you do one where sam watches you get ready/put on makeup?

Awww, thank you, love! 🥰 I'll come back slowly but surely for you guys ❤

And, hey, we ALL know that Sam's a huge sap if and when he's in love, soooo..:

-Sam doesn't really show his love and appreciation with words, rather he prefers action.

-You know that, for a fact. All of your exes said sweet things but their actions almost always completely contradicted those words.

-Sam gave meaning to the three magical words: "I love you". They rolled off of his tongue only when his starry eyes were boring into yours and a warm smile played on his face. Usually, he'd top it off with a soft kiss to your lips or your forehead.

-One of the things he started doing when you first started dating was something you found very peculiar..

-He'd stop buttoning his shirt, midway, drop everything, and sit at the edge of your shared bed once you stand in front of the mirror and pull out your makeup bag.

-Elbows, braced on his knees, head propped up with his palm under his chin, and his eyes focused on you through the mirror. He'd sit, wordlessly.

-At first, it seemed extremely odd to you. You'd wonder what on earth he was doing. It made you pause and raise a brow at him, to which he'd smile softly.

-When you asked him why he did that, his explanation had you speechless.

-For the entirety of the thirteen years he'd spent, locked up and going about a mundane routine during his time in a Panamanian prison, Sam gained a newfound appreciation towards the little things in life.

-Before prison, he'd taken small things like spring or sunrises and sunsets or the powerful gusts of air that whipped through his hair while he rode his motorcycle for granted.

-All throughout those years, his eyes had been exposed to the ugliest of things and he feared his senses turning dull. He never allowed himself to get used to the gut-wrenching scent of the urinals or the sweaty men. He'd always meet everything with a grimace. Even if the source of everything he hated was himself.

-Sam always appreciated beautiful women. And while it took him some time to get back out there and get his head in the dating game again, you easily caught his attention and fired him up with the simplest of touches or smiles.

-And on that night in Boston's local bar, you exchanged numbers and he started asking you out on coffee dates first, then it escalated to actual dates, to casual walks throughout town and shared laughs, life experiences, and his less-than-average dad jokes that had you absolutely cackling. He was extremely charming, flirtatious, and had a great capacity for love and compassion that it was hard to imagine him as an ex-con in any way.

-And as a result, you'd top off those wonderful dates with steamy nights at your place or his. Whichever was closer, really.

-The best thing about those frequent dates was how both of you started noticing the little things. The looks he'd give you once you emerge from your bedroom made your heart nearly leap from your chest.

-No man had looked at you the same way he did. His eyes would roam every corner in your body, every crevice, every curve in whatever outfit you had on. He'd inhale deeply, nod to himself, as if he was confirming that you were – in fact – not an ethereal figment of his imagination or beautiful mirage. You were ACTUALLY there. With him. Giving him the smile that always had him sighing.

-He was truly special and the way he talked to you, looked at you, or touched you made you feel like you were the only girl in the world.

-And you were, indeed, the only girl for him.

-But, there you were, standing with your back given to Sam while he zipped up the back of your dress that you put on to get ready for your weekly date night.

-He confirmed he was done by pressing a soft kiss to your shoulder blade, to which you giggled, whipped around, and pressed your lips against his in a chaste kiss, which he returned with as much fervour as yours.

-Next was the moment that would make him fall more in love with every little thing about you.

-He stopped buttoning his shirt and hurried to sit on the edge of the bed, in the same way he'd been sitting for the past couple of years or so, and you sent him a wink and a flirtatious smile, to which he smirked and raised a curious eyebrow.

-All the products you needed were lined in front of you, ready for usage, and so, you began.

-Sam memorized your routine. He knew you liked prepping your skin with a moisturizer before you started on accentuating your beautiful eyes.

-God, those eyes..

-He never thought anything would make them more beautiful, but, oh, boy, was he wrong..

-Once you were done with your brows and picking the right shade for eyeshadow, you reached for your mascara, glancing at Sam with a smile, knowing that this was his favorite part.

-And there he was, leaning closer to watch you.

-He loved everything about that step. The way you'd slightly bend forward, giving him a fantastic view of your plump cleavage, the way your ass perked up a bit, the absolute focus that was evident in your parted lips and your slow, shallow breaths.

-He also adored the big, victorious smile on your lips once you get it done.

-And then, came the matter of life or death.

-Your lip color.

-If that went wrong, your entire look would be ruined.

-And so there you were, stuck between a bold, eye catching color, and a soft nude shade.

-Sam noticed your hesitation and the contemplating, low "hmmm.." that escaped you.

-He stayed silent as he watched you swatch the colors on the back of your hand and put them up near your face, and that was when he made his decision.

-"The nude one." He piped, instantly catching your attention.

-An amused but mildly surprised smile slowly played on your lips, "What?" You asked with a light laugh.

-Your boyfriend sheepishly shrugged, giving you a smile, "The nude one'll go better with the dress and the uh.." he gestured to his eyes, "Heavy eye makeup..?" He replied, his tone a bit unsure and awkward, as if you'd just exposed him.

-You stared at him in wonder for a few seconds, in awe, but you nodded slowly and forgot about the bold color, "Alright, sailor.." Your tone was playfully surrendered and it made him chuckle.

-And once you opted for his suggestion, you raised a brow, impressed.

-This was definitely a better choice than the dark color you had in mind.

-"Wow, that's.." You stood back to check yourself out, "That's not bad, Drake.. Not bad at all.."

-You watched him slowly rise from the bed to stand behind you, circling his arm around your front and pressing a kiss to the side of your neck, sighing at his favorite perfume on your skin, "I know.." He mumbled, resting his chin on your shoulder and looking at both of you through the mirror.

-His smile alone let you in on what was going inside that mind of his.

-And as if to confirm your thoughts, you found him murmuring, "How'd I get so lucky..?"

Tags: @missdictatorme , @the-drakeboys , @the-winchesterboys , @easy-and-steady , @elledrake , @samdrakeftw , @s4mdrake , @hrgnm , @purplezebra68 , @writer-jamie , @misslongcep

#sam drake #samuel drake #uncharted #peakymarvels #sam drake fanfiction #sam drake x reader #uncharted4 #samuel drake × reader #headcanon #my writing

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tickly-trashcan · 4 years

Note

Hi! I love your writings! Tbh I'm happy with anything you post but thought I'd play 😊 Ler!Bakugou Lee!Kirishima sparring with 25 and 19, but then 7 because Bakugous an ass. If you get to this thank you! Like I said just happy to read your stuff ❤

oooh i don’t think i’ve written for kiribaku before! thank you for the ask anon, this one was really fun to do, I hope you like it!

Sparring

Summary: Bakugou and Kirishima are sparring as extra practice, and Bakugou is unable to overpower Kirishima. How far is he willing to go to win?

Word Count: 1.2k (under the cut)

It was later at night at U.A. high, and there were sparring noises coming from Gym Gamma as two students from the hero course practiced to refine their moves.

Well, it was less sparring and more Bakugou relentlessly punching the hell out of Kirishima as he used his quirk to defend himself. Bakugou was honestly torn with Kirishima’s quirk: on one hand, he didn’t want to hurt his boyfriend, but on the other… he wanted to win.

Bakugou continued to throw some punches at Kirishima, aiming for anywhere he could reach, but it was practically impossible to cause any sort of yielding on Kirishima’s end due to his quirk. They were perfectly matched, as Aizawa would say, and therefore make a great partnership.

“Just… give… up already!” Bakugou yelled, still punching at Kirishima, who held his forearms up, easily blocking Bakugou’s explosive punches.

“Looks like someone’s getting angry again~” Kirishima teased, grinning widely at his hot-headed boyfriend.

Bakugou fumed, blasting his quirk under him as he flew over Kirishima, landing behind him, blasting him forward. Kirishima gasped at the sudden attack, flying forward slightly before recovering. He smirked.

“There we go, now you’re going somewhere, Suki!”

Bakugou growled at Kirishima, letting out a yell as he continued running at Kirishima, using more force than before, making him slide back until he was up against one of the walls of the gym, Bakugou closing in on him, little sparks flying from his palms.

“So? Give up, Kiri? If you do, I’ll give you five seconds to escape before I unleash my wrath,” Bakugou warned, a sadistic grin creeping up his face.

Kirishima smiled nervously, trying to quickly figure a way out as Bakugou began to count down. As Bakugou walked towards him, Kirishima leaned forward, kissing Bakugou’s nose once he was close enough, flustering him for just enough time to run out of the corner, laughing as he did so.

“Why are you laughing at me? Oh, I’ll give you something to laugh about, asshole!”

Kirishima laughed even louder as Bakugou chased after him, using little palm explosions to boost himself until he finally fell into Kirishima, the both of them rolling across the gym floor in a tangle of limbs before Bakugou was able to straddle Kirishima, who was still giggling a bit underneath him.

Bakugou cracked his knuckles, looking down viciously at Kirishima. “Well, well, Kiri, looks like I won the sparring match.”

Kirishima huffed out another laugh, smiling widely at Bakugou. “You didn’t win shit, I didn’t call uncle yet,” he stated matter of factly, crossing his arms triumphantly.

“Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be? I’ll have you screaming it in less than five minutes if that’s what you want,” Bakugou dragged a single finger up Kirishima’s tummy, making him giggle and uncross his arms, one reaching down to grab his wrist while the other went to cover his mouth as he shook his head.

“You’re a cheater if you have to use that to win,” Kirishima teased in a muffled voice, which only agitated Bakugou more.

“You already know I’ll do anything to win, even if I’m the dirtiest cheater on earth,” With those words, Bakugou’s hands descended on Kirishima’s sides, making him start laughing almost immediately, both hands grabbing at Bakugou’s wrists.

“Nohohohoho, Suki! Plehehehehease!” Kirishima laughed, squirming around under Bakugou’s legs as his fingers kneaded along Kirishima’s sides in an agonizing way.

“Ahahahahaha, not thehehehehere!” Bakugou grinned wickedly. “Oh, would you prefer here, then?”

He danced his fingers along Kirishima’s ribcage, Kirishima arching his back and squealing as he did so.

“Suhuhuhuhuhki!!”

“Call uncle!” Bakugou yelled over Kirishima’s laughter as he poked each rib individually, Kirishima shrieking at each poke.

“Nehehehehehever!”

His face began to get a closer color to his hair as he flushed from the laughter, covering his face with both hands when he felt it get hotter, not wanting Bakugou to see it.

Bakugou took the opportunity and immediately shot his hands up under Kirishima’s armpits, making him yell out as he did so.

“SUHUHUKI!!”

“Stop saying my name, just say uncle!” Bakugou teased, vibrating his fingers in Kirishima’s underarms, noticing that Kirishima was hardly holding his arms down, though he was trying to cover.

“Why aren’t you trying to stop me, Kiri?” Bakugou smirked, still wiggling his fingers in one of Kirishima’s worst spots. Kirishima shook his head, glad he was still covering his face so Bakugou wouldn’t see him blush at those words.

“I dohohohon’t wanna t-trap thehehehehem!” He managed to formulate through his laughter as his excuse. Bakugou clicked his tongue.

“Don’t like to me, I know you like this…”

Kirishima snapped his arms down to prove Bakugou wrong, also trapping his devious hands as Bakugou barked out a laugh.

“Desperate to show you don’t like it, hmm? Then what about… here?”

Bakugou managed somehow to wriggle his fingers free from Kirishima’s strong arms, latching his hands onto Kirishima’s hips, squeezing as Kirishima shrieked.

“NAHAHAhahaha Suki!!” He squealed, arching his back as ticklish shocks jolted through his entire body from that one spot.

“You know exactly how to make it stop Kiri, unless you really do like it. Then we can go as looooong as you want~” Bakugou teased, digging his thumb under Kirishima’s hipbone, Kirishima bucking beneath him as he tried to wiggle away.

Bakugou reached another hand back up under Kirishima’s arms while the other continued to work on his hip, making Kirishima scream.

“SUHUHUHUKIIII!!” He cackled, his hands finally unlatching from his face and reaching up to push Bakugou away, who was still grinning wickedly down at his red-headed lover.

“Say it!”

“Nohohohohoho!!”

“Say it!”

Bakugou continued his ruthless attack on two of Kirishima’s worst spots until Kirishima finally let out a wheeze, forming his hands into a T-shape.

“U-Uncle!” he cried, continuing to laugh as Bakugou didn’t stop until a few moments after Kirishima called uncle. Kirishima wheezed on the floor, Bakugou unmoving from his position on top of Kirishima as his hands rested on the spots they were just tickling, slowly retracting to rub Kirishima’s tummy lovingly.

“You’re so mehehean,” Kirishima said, some residual giggles still bubbling from his throat as he did so.

“I’m not mean, I’m just a winner,” Bakugou said proudly, puffing out his chest as Kirishima laughed loudly beneath him.

“You’re a dork,” Kirishima breathed, reaching up to ruffle Bakugou’s hair, who leaned down a bit so he could reach.

“So are you,” Bakugou retorted weakly, leaning into Kirishima’s hand.

“Can you get off me now? The floor’s really cold,” Kirishima chuckled slightly as Bakugou quickly moved off of Kirishima, standing up and helping Kirishima up along the way.

“So shall I brag about my win to everyone else?” Bakugou teased, running his shoulder into Kirishima playfully.

Kirishima bumped back, chuckling. “Only if you tell them how you cheated to win,”

“You enjoyed it though,” Bakugou pointed out, laughing when Kirishima punched his shoulder lightly.

“Did not…”

“Did too!”

Kirishima blushed a bit before grinning, wrapping his arms around Bakugou’s waist, who flinched slightly at the sudden touch, but quickly leaned into it.

“I think I know someone else who enjoys it…”

Bakugou felt a sudden squeeze at his waist as he gasped, looking at Kirishima fearfully.

“I think it’s time for some cheater’s revenge, Katsuki.”

#bakugou #kirishima #mha #prompts #anon

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heyyyharry · 4 years

Text

Chapter 5: So Big, So Small

(from the My Girl Trilogy: Stay Mine)

…in which Y/N says the truth and Harry cannot.

Word count: 6.6k

AU: actor!Harry, older!Harry, younger!Y/N, (4-year age gap).

Wattpad link (with original character: Thea as Y/N)

“Blake, hi, what are you doing here?”

“Hey, I wanted to see you to--” Blake trailed off as soon as he saw Harry on Y/N’s couch. He gave a courteous smile which Harry returned, but if Y/N had paid attention, she would have noticed the passive hostility between them.

Harry trusted Y/N as much as she trusted him, but he didn’t trust Blake. He assumed Blake had been doing all those nice things for her because he wanted to slip back into her life as if all those years he’d been away had meant nothing. And of course, Harry couldn’t stop him from wanting to get her back, but Blake would be an idiot to think he had a chance.

“You were saying?” Y/N asked her ex-boyfriend, who immediately plastered a smile on his face.

“I’ve got some good news for you,” he said. “So I was helping my boss with this new case and guess who the client was? Wait for it...Laura Hilfgard!”

“The author?!”

“Yes!”

Seeing Y/N’s face lit up with joy, Harry couldn’t stay out of it anymore. He got up and walked up to them. Blake pressed his lips into a small smile when Harry put an arm around Y/N’s shoulders and gave her a chaste kiss.

“Blake met Laura Hilfgard, babe! She was his client.”

Her excitement brought a grin to Harry’s face. “That’s the author you like, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t think you’d know her, Harry.”

“Of course I know her.” Harry faked a smile at Blake. “I’ve read all the books beside Y/N’s bed, so I know every author she likes and dislikes.”

“That’s...very impressive.”

“Thank you.”

The sarcastic tone the men had exchanged went right over Y/N’s head as she turned back to Blake. “But what happened? Was she in trouble?”

“No, it’s actually the opposite.” Blake laughed. “She’s getting a divorce. She’s pretty happy about it.”

“Oh, good for her!” Y/N exclaimed, hugging Harry’s arm. “So, what was she like as a real person? I suppose she was just as sweet as I imagined.”

Blake nodded. “She was very sweet. She’s also a literary agent, did you know that?”

“Yes! I actually sent her my manuscript a long time ago but she hadn’t replied. It’s probably got lost in the spam.”

“Well, would you like me to give it to her in person?”

Y/N’s jaw dropped. She snapped her head to look at Harry, whose brows drew together as he tried to figure out what Blake was up to. But the guy didn’t even spare him a glance. He was only beaming at Y/N.

“I think Ms Hilfgard liked me,” Blake said. “I’ll ask her to read the story and give you some feedback. I mean, if that’s fine with you.”

“That’s better than fine! Thank you! Thank you!”

Y/N then told Blake to wait as she ran to the desk by the window and took out a yellow folder from the top drawer. Harry was still gawking at her when she hurried back to the door.

“You finished the story already?” he asked, forehead puckered up as she told him, “no, this is the old version.”

“Why don’t you wait until you’ve finished, love?”

“It’d take forever. Laura might not accept submissions anymore,” she said eagerly. “You said the old version was good, right?”

“Right,” the men answered at the same time and exchanged weird looks with each other, but Y/N couldn’t care less.

“Then it’s worth the risk,” she said with confidence, taking a deep breath. When she was sure they had nothing else to say, she kissed the folder for good luck and gave it to Blake. “If this works out, I owe you big time.”

“I’ll give it to her tomorrow.” He smiled. “I have a feeling that she’ll love it as much as I do.”

Y/N was over the moon, her eyes twinkled as she kept thanking Blake until he was gone, but seeing the look on Harry’s face pulled her back down to Earth.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he said as she shut the door.

“You’re not happy for me?”

“I am. You know I am.” Harry scratched the back of his head. “It’s just...you were mad at me for giving your manuscript to John Conall, but now you’re so excited and--”

“It’s not the same though! I was mad at you because I thought you asked Conall to sign me. That guy didn’t even bother to read my story, and you kind of bribed him by agreeing to attend his daughter’s birthday.”

“And how are you so sure Blake doesn’t personally know Laura Hilfgard?”

“Because...it’s...Blake.” Y/N gave a shrug, her face scrunched up as if she couldn’t figure out a proper explanation. “Babe, this is not personal. I just want someone to like my writing because they like my writing, and not because I’m -- because I’m your girl.”

Harry sucked in a breath. He took a step forward, wrapping his arms around her waist as she put her hands on his shoulders.

“You might be my girl, but you’ve always been a great writer,” he said. “And if people like your writing, they like your writing. It’s not because of me.”

“We don’t know that.” She shook her head, her eyes narrowed. “People are always gonna be biased when it comes to who knows who. You work in a similar industry, you know what it’s like.”

“I suppose.” Harry gave a nod and kissed her lips. “I’m sorry. Let’s not fight, okay?”

“We’re not fighting. We’re just...debating.”

“And you win.”

As he put his mouth on her neck, she tossed her head back, laughing and pushing him away. “I don’t want to win. I just want us to understand each other.”

“Do you think we understand each other now?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” she mumbled, making him smile again.

Y/N held Harry’s cheeks and traced a thumb down the bridge of his nose. The creases between his brows disappeared as he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.

“Are you okay?” she quietly asked. “You seem so worried. And I know it’s not only because Blake showed up.”

Harry released a slight laugh as he took another deep breath. “Gemma texted me. She wanted to know how it went.”

“Oh, no. What did you say to her?”

“I haven’t replied,” he admitted. “And I--I don’t think I’m going to.”

“Harry!”

“No, listen.” He grasped her elbows as she pulled away. “I need to get to know Winton so I could prove to Gemma that he’s really changed.”

Y/N took in a sharp breath and cocked her head in disbelief. “You want to get to know Winton now?”

“I already told you--”

“I thought you were just gonna forgive him and let him go. If you want my opinion, then I don’t think it’s a good idea to take him back into your life, let alone get to know him!”

“I have to.”

“No, you want to!” Harry froze at the emphasised word. She held his face, stepping closer. “Baby, I had wasted so many years hating my dad and blaming him for everything that went wrong….I thought I was torturing him, but I was also torturing me. So I understand, and I’m happy you chose to forgive Winton. But...I just--I just want you to be careful before taking him back into your life. I love you so much and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Harry lowered his head. As he said nothing at all, Y/N had to ask, “promise me you’ll be careful?”

He ground his jaw before meeting her lips, nodding slowly. “Yes, I promise.”

“Bitch, look at me while I’m telling you a story!”

“Just a second!” Y/N tossed the second pile of clothes onto the bed and adjusted the laptop screen so her best friends on the video chat could get a better view. “Sorry, I’m having a fashion crisis right now.”

“Sounds serious,” Amala said, giggling at how Y/N was running around her room in an oversized tee and no pants.

“Are you going to another event with Harry?” Celine shook her fists enthusiastically. “I need to know the theme to help you decide if you should be a lowkey whore or go all out.”

“Cece!” Y/N cackled, her mouth fell open. “I’m not gonna be a whore. I’m having dinner with Harry’s dad and his half-sister tomorrow night!”

“Oh, shit,” Celine mumbled while Amala was in hysterics. “Then extra lowkey whore. Because you’re gonna fuck him after dinner anyway, right?”

“I hate that you know me,” Y/N said and all three of them dissolved into laughter.

“But wait,” Amala arched an eyebrow, “I thought Harry hated his dad and half-sister?”

“So did I, but he’s happy so I support him.” Y/N threw herself on the bed and lay on her stomach. “I’m still gonna make sure he’ll be careful with those two, just in case they’re not who they say they are.”

“Good.” Celine exhaled while exchanging looks with her wife. “Well, we also think you should be careful.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what we’re talking about.” Celine scoffed.

“Blake. Roman.”

“Why did you say his name like he’s Voldemort?” Y/N guffawed at Amala’s serious expression and ran her hand over her face, pushing her hair back. “I literally had to tell Harry that he was worrying for no good reasons, and now you--”

“He had a good reason,” Celine argued.

“And we’re with him on this one!” Amala added.

Y/N opened her mouth again but Celine didn’t even let her start. “Look, baby, the poor man is doing everything to get you back. He makes you dinner, checks on you whenever he gets a chance, and keeps asking to use your shower. I think he comes over even more often than Harry!”

“He’s just lonely, that’s all. He doesn’t know anyone else in London,” Y/N said as she sat up, rubbing her hands on her thighs. “Besides, you know I’m one hundred percent committed to Harry. I would never do anything to hurt him or our relationship. And I don’t even love Blake like that anymore.”

“I know, my love.” Celine sighed as she rested her head on Amala’s shoulder. “But Blake and Harry might not. Men are so stupid, you have to be straightforward.”

“Blake doesn’t love me anymore.”

“Do you really believe that?”

Amala’s question left Y/N tongue-tied. She blew out her cheeks, subconsciously picking at her nails as her eyes bored into the screen.

A knock on the door made her jolt right up.

“Y/N! Are you home?”

“Shit, it’s Blake.”

“Told ya.” Celine raised an eyebrow as she pursed her lips. “We should hang up now. Call us later?”

“Wait, don’t you wanna meet him? He asked about you guys.”

“He was never really our friend,” Amala said. “He was always too cool for us, and he hung out with us because of you.”

Y/N nibbled on her lip as Celine went on, “just don’t give him hope. You have to draw the line before he gets too close.”

Before Y/N could say another word, her two friends had ended the chat.

“Gimme a second!” she shouted to Blake and quickly put on her pyjamas pants so she could answer the door.

“I’m so sorry to disturb you,” Blake said as soon as she appeared, but she shushed him before he continued.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” She shook her head, her face brightened. “Did Laura respond?”

“Not yet.”

“Oh…” Her smile fell instantly. She had been waiting for good news for nearly a week and she had been so confident. So what if she was wrong?

“Laura is not in London at the moment,” Blake said when he saw her frown. “I gave your manuscript to her assistant and I’m sure it’ll get to her when she gets back.”

“Okay, thank you so much.” She nodded, smiling back at him. “So what do you need?”

“Um...this might sound annoying but...my shower broke again. Could I please use yours?”

“It broke again?” Y/N let out a harsh breath as she remembered what Celine and Amala had told her earlier. “Do you--do you mind if I come see it?”

Blake was taken aback by the response, but he didn’t question it as he invited her into his flat. It was neat and clean, the opposite of his childhood bedroom in Holmes Chapel. Such details reminded her that he was a different and grown man now, even though it hadn’t felt that way since he came back.

She followed him to the bathroom and he stayed at the door while she stepped into the shower. She turned the shower on and off a few times and not a single drop came out of it.

“Told ya.” Blake smiled when she turned around, her cheeks were so red she could feel them heating up.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He shrugged, the way his eyes were fixed on her made her heart feel jumpy. “What’s wrong, Y/N? Tell me.”

Y/N took a little time to think, but Blake wasn’t patient enough to wait.

“Look, I totally understand if you want to say no. I’ll just wait until tomorrow and--”

“No, it’s not like that,” she cut him off, finally looking up and meeting his eyes. “I was just...talking to Cece--”

“Oh, Cece’s over there?” His face lit up, but she shook her head, smiling.

“I was video-chatting with her and Amala. They’re married now.”

“Yeah, I heard.” He rubbed his jaw. “I wasn’t invited but no hard feelings.”

Y/N snorted and rolled her eyes. “Anyway, you know how I tell the girls everything, right?”

“And they think I still have feelings for you?” Blake asked, his expression remained unchanged. He didn’t even give her a chance to answer before asking another question, “does Harry think so too? That would explain why he doesn’t like me.”

At this point, Y/N had no choice but to be honest.

“He could be dramatic sometimes,” she said, “but...he’s a very loving man. He cares about me and I really love him.”

“I’m sure you do.” Blake’s mouth twitched as he hung his head. “Look...When I first moved here, I was very lonely. It was so nice to find someone to talk to, and not just anyone, you. We basically grew up together, Y/N. You felt like home to me, and...and I couldn’t help but care about you, but only as a friend.”

“Yeah, that--that was what I told them.” She sighed.

“I don’t need them to get it, as long as you do.” He let out a laugh, lifting his shoulder in a half-shrug. “But I’ll take it down a notch from now on. I know how you feel when people care about you too much.”

“No, it’s fine, really. Harry always cares about me too much and I’m starting to enjoy the attention.”

Y/N didn’t expect a reply, but it came as a shock to her that Blake would give a mirthless laugh. “What’s so funny?”

Blake chewed the inside of his cheek as if thinking if he should tell her, and eventually, he decided that he should. “You’ve been on your own so often lately, I feel like your boyfriend has other priorities.”

Y/N put her hands on her hips as she scoffed, her mouth opened wide.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Y/N. I’m just telling you the way I see it.”

“Well, the way you see it, is wrong. You don’t even know him.”

“You don’t have to defend him. I know he’s an actor and he has a different life--”

“I don’t have to defend him because I know him. You don’t!” She stabbed a finger at his chest before crossing her arms. “And I’m actually gonna move in with him so I don’t care what you have to say.”

Y/N did not believe she’d said it out loud. She was just as shocked as Blake and both of them froze for a second, just staring at each other with their mouths agape.

“When are you moving in with him?” Blake spoke first, he sounded rather frantic though he tried not to be.

“I-I’m not sure yet,” Y/N uttered. “He asked me a while ago but I haven’t answered.”

Blake jammed his hands in his pockets, his eyes shifted to the floor. “Well then--when are you gonna tell him?”

Y/N wanted to answer that question but she didn’t know how. She leaned back against the glass wall of the shower, biting a nail and pondering for a minute. She was surprised Blake was patient enough to wait for her.

“I’m gonna tell him the next time I see him.”

Blake wasn’t happy with that answer, but Y/N was too busy worrying about something more important to give him her attention. The sound of water leaking from the showerhead brought her back to reality.

“Your shower’s working again,” was all she said before rushing out of the room.

“Harry! Harry! Wanna read my new story?”

“Not now, Bambi! I’m busy!”

Nine-year-old Y/N stopped at the entrance of the treehouse as she found her older friend sprawling on the dusty wooden floor with paper, markers and paste. He didn’t stop to look at her, so she sat down beside him, crossing her legs and holding her pink notebook to her chest.

“Wow, is this for an art project?”

“No, it’s for Gemma,” Harry replied as he lifted the paper to show her what he’d been working on. It was an awful portrait of his older sister. She had red eyes, two devil horns on top of her head, and was spitting out fire. The word ‘PRANKED’ was written in capital letters right in the middle of the drawing.

“That’s so mean.” Y/N cringed, but Harry seemed rather satisfied with her reaction.

“Her new boyfriend is a jerk. He treats me like sh--I mean, he treats me terribly when she’s not around, but she always believes him and not me.”

Y/N took some time to think before she spoke, “it seems to me that Gemma is blinded by love. But why do you blame her for what her boyfriend did?”

Harry stopped colouring for a second. Y/N believed he was trying to think of an answer, and when he realised he didn’t have one, he said, “either you’re on my side or stay out of this.”

“Of course I’m on your side. Always.” Y/N sighed and put down her notebook. She guessed her story could wait.

Y/N was holding Harry’s hand under the table when Winton and Emilia arrived at the restaurant. They were looking around with eyes bulging out of their heads, so Y/N guessed they had never been to a place like this before. The first time Harry had taken Y/N to a fancy restaurant, she had been so thrilled, yet so scared that she wouldn’t fit in, so she knew exactly how Winton and Emilia must be feeling now.

But they weren’t the only ones who were nervous about that dinner. Harry was shaking his leg rapidly under the table while talking in such a chill manner that no one could tell he was faking it. His acting skills could be so useful in this kind of situation, but even so, the dinner still felt very awkward.

One person would be talking while the others tried to act interested, and there would be silence in between separate topics during which everyone was just eating and avoiding eye contact. It took them almost an hour, but once they had grown more comfortable with each other’s presence, the conversation flowed more easily.

Harry and Emilia found a common ground as film topics were brought up, and Y/N was happy to find out Winton was a dedicated reader and understood her passion for books and writing.

Harry had never wasted an opportunity to praise his girlfriend, so he couldn’t shut up about what a great writer she was. It made her feel like she was with her dad at a family gathering, but to be honest, she didn’t mind at all.

In the middle of the dinner, Winton noticed the ring on Harry’s hand and he happily exclaimed, “is that my ring?”

“This one?” Harry smiled as he looked at it. “No, it just looks like yours. I lost your ring when I was a kid and Y/N gave this one to me for my last birthday.”

“Aww, you guys are the definition of true love,” Emilia said with both hands on her chest.

“Thank you,” Y/N said, giving her boyfriend a funny stare which made him scoff into his fist. In their talk last night before bed, they had both agreed that Emilia was weird, but since they and the people they hung out with weren’t exactly the definition of normal, Emilia’s personality had never really bothered them.

“I have one good news!” Emilia said as the waiters brought desserts to their table. “Isaac asked me to be the model for his next shoot, and I said yes! Isn’t it exciting?”

“Wow, congratulations, Emi,” Harry said as he exchanged looks with Y/N again.

Emilia laughed at their dumbfounded reaction. “I know what you two are thinking. Isaac and I are just friends. He’s just really nice to me.”

“Did he tell you where Harry was having his photoshoot the other day?”

The question froze Winton and Emilia to the spot. Y/N honestly didn’t expect that, she simply asked that question because she and Harry had assumed Isaac was the one who’d told them.

As Winton was about to answer, Emilia blurted out, “yes, how else would we know?”

Y/N breathed out a smile, letting go of Harry’s hand under the table to fold her arms on top of it. She wondered why Emilia appeared so apprehensive. Did she think she was about to be exposed? Did she have secrets to hide?

“It’s just Isaac had never blindsided Harry like that. You two must be very close,” Y/N said, not breaking eye contact with Emilia, who leaned back into her chair and smoothed out her dress.

“Oh, come on, Y/N. Don’t be jealous.”

“Jealous? Why would I be jealous?”

Harry tapped Y/N on the arm but she shrugged him away, and Emilia pretended like she didn’t see her father’s warning glare.

“You used to model for Isaac, right?”

“That’s enough, Emilia,” Harry spoke as Winton heaved a sigh and picked up a fork to eat his dessert.

“I’m sorry, Y/N, it was a joke,” Emilia said as she touched Y/N’s hand on the table, but Y/N immediately pulled it away to hold Harry’s hand instead.

“It’s okay. Let’s just move on.”

Seeing the uneasy look on Emilia’s face, Y/N believed there was more to this girl than a bubbly personality and a tragic past. She must have had something to hide.

“I don’t trust Emilia,” Y/N said as soon as she was alone in the car with Harry.

He drove away, keeping his eyes on the road and one hand on her thigh. “I agree, she was talking too much about her biscuits.”

“No, I’m serious!” She smacked his arm as he cackled. “Didn’t you see the way she reacted to me asking about Isaac? What was that all about?”

“I think she’s just odd, but she means no harm. Well, except for when she was rude to you, that was unacceptable!”

Y/N laughed slightly and rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. I think she might have manipulated Isaac into telling her where you were.”

“Or...Isaac did it because he wanted me to hear Winton’s side of the story. Isaac is all about justice and kindness and forgiveness.” Harry gave a shrug and stole a quick glance at his girlfriend. “You look so sexy when you’re acting like a detective, but don’t get stressed out about this, babe.”

“You’re right.” She exhaled, fanning herself. “You’re probably right. Now I’m being weird.”

He chuckled and squeezed her thigh. “Are you tired, kid? I cannot wait to get back and go to sleep!”

“Go to sleep?” She gasped. “What about me?”

A corner of his lips turned up as he stole another look at her. “What about you?”

“You haven’t fucked me in two days.” She raised two fingers, pouting like a child, making him laugh.

“Oh, no. I haven’t?”

His fake surprised reaction got her amused. She leaned in and whispered into his ear, “if you’re tired, you can go to sleep. I promise I won’t be too loud.”

“Stop it! You’re gonna make me crash my car!”

As he started squirming in his seat to fix the bulge in his pants, she was shaking with laughter.

“You think this is funny?” He smirked. “Just wait until we get home.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes, I’m sure, Bambi,” Harry asserted. “You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to.”

“I want to!” Y/N said a bit too loud and the older boy shushed her as they kept tiptoeing up down the hall. Harry got down on his knees, so Y/N did the same and crawled behind him towards Gemma’s bedroom door. He sat on his heels, smiling devilishly while taking one last look at the envelope in his hand.

To: Gemma

From: Dad

“What if she gets angry and kills us?” Y/N whispered.

“Then we’ll die like heroes,” Harry told her, trying not to laugh at the way her breath quickened out of fear. Her face screwed up as she saw him kiss the fake letter before handing it to her and telling her to do the same.

“What’s it for?”

“Good luck.”

“Oh.” Her mouth formed a tiny circle. She quickly kissed it and gave it back to him.

Harry slipped the letter under his sister’s door and sat by it with his back against the wall. Y/N hurriedly rushed to his side and flopped down, hugging his arm tightly. Despite how worried she looked, the boy seemed enthusiastic. He covered his mouth and tittered into his palm.

“Oh man, she’s going to be--”

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

The kids screamed when Gemma burst out of her room. She tackled Harry to the floor before he could run and started hitting him while he was kicking her back to defend himself. Y/N was bawling as she tried to pull Gemma away, but Gemma was too strong and Harry was helpless. Gemma’s fist hit Y/N’s head by accident and knocked her to the ground. Fortunately, Anne showed up just in time to break off the fight before it got worse. She held Gemma back so Harry could escape. The boy crawled towards his little friend and hugged her to his chest. Both of them were crying.

“Let me go! Let me kill him! I’m gonna kill you, you little jerk!”

“Gemma, calm down!” Anne held her daughter tighter. Gemma was kicking and screaming and Y/N could’ve sworn she had never seen someone so angry. For a second, she thought Gemma’s head was about to explode like one of those cartoon characters on the TV, but suddenly, she buried her face into her mother’s chest and started sobbing.

Y/N was in shock. Why was Gemma crying? Because of the drawing? It was just a stupid drawing. Y/N was trying to figure out the answer when Harry took her hand and pulled her with him. They hurriedly ran downstairs, leaving Gemma with Anne.

Anne returned to the living room fifteen minutes later to find Harry and Y/N sitting on the couch, holding hands but too scared to speak.

“Harry, go to your room. We need to talk.” Anne jerked her head towards the staircase, and Harry gave Y/N one last look before he stood up.

The little girl rose from the couch as she watched her older friend run upstairs. His mother turned back to her with a gentle smile and said, “you should go home, Y/N.”

“But...”

“Harry will be fine.”

Y/N’s lip shuddered as she clasped her hands together. “Please don’t ground him! If you do, please let him come to the treehouse.”

“Just go home, baby. I promise you Harry will be fine.” Anne smiled and touched the little girl’s cheek. “It’s Father’s Day. Why don’t you spend it with your dad?”

“It’s Father’s Day?”

“Yeah, you didn’t know?”

“No.” Y/N’s eyes shifted to the floor as she started fidgeting with her own fingers. “My dad is out of town, and...and we never celebrate it anyway.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Y/N quickly looked up. “Was that why Gemma was crying? Because she missed her dad?”

Anne didn’t answer that question. “Why don’t you wait for Harry in the treehouse?” she said. “He’ll be there after we’ve talked about what happened.”

Y/N thanked Anne before she left and went straight to the treehouse to wait for Harry. She was pacing back and forth and biting her nail, and as soon as she heard his footsteps at the entrance, she turned her head so fast it could’ve fallen out.

She rushed towards him and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and chuckled. “You’re acting like I just went to war or something.”

“Are you grounded?”

“Yeah, but I’m still allowed to see you.”

Y/N put a hand on her chest and exhaled in relief as they sat down on the floor. Y/N wasn’t sure if she should bring it up or let it go, but she was curious to know how Harry felt about what had happened.

“Did you fake that letter because it was Father’s Day and you know Gemma was expecting it?”

The boy hung his head like a criminal in a courtroom, nodding slowly before he confessed, “yes.”

“Were you expecting a letter too?”

There was a pause.

“Yes.”

Y/N thought she should stop, but she couldn’t help it. She got on her knees and scooted closer to him, holding his hands on his lap. “What did your mother say to you? Was she angry?”

“No…” He breathed and looked up. “She was more disappointed...and sad…She made me apologise to Gemma.”

“So you two made up?”

“Not really. Gemma didn’t want to see me, but she’ll forgive me in a few days when she forgets. She always does.”

“What about her boyfriend?” Y/N asked, making Harry snort.

“I’ll come up with another plan for him.”

“Harry...”

“Just kidding, Bambi.” He pressed his lips into a smile and rubbed the red spot on her forehead where Gemma had accidentally hit her. “Does it hurt?”

She shook her head and pushed his hand away, not wanting to let him change the subject. “You’ve never liked any of Gemma’s boyfriends though. Why is that?”

“Because they were all jerks.”

“Not true. The last boy was nice.”

As Harry couldn’t disagree, he rolled his eyes and admitted, “she doesn’t need a boyfriend, she’s happy with us.”

“She’ll have to get married at one point.”

“No, she doesn’t. Marriage sucks. It only hurts people. Look what it’s done to your parents and mine, and us.” Harry picked up a yellow leaf at his feet and stared at it for a long moment. “You know, my mum told me that...after my dad left she had never felt so lonely. She had to take on more responsibility and did all the things my dad used to do when he was still here. The house that used to be small for the four of us suddenly felt so big. You might think missing one person wouldn’t make a difference but it does, Bambi. You’re lucky your parents are still together.”

“And that my house is smaller than yours,” she said with a serious face and he couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

“And that, too.”

Y/N took some time to gather her thoughts before she told him, “well, when I grow up, I will sell my stories and buy a small house so I won’t feel too small compared to it.”

“That’s nice, Bambi.” Harry beamed as he rubbed the red spot on her forehead gently. “What will you do with the rest of your money?”

“I’ll buy tickets to visit you once in a while,” she happily said. “You’re gonna be an actor, right? Actors travel a lot. You’re gonna have ten houses in ten different countries!”

“Well, if I’m so rich, I can just buy you tickets so you can visit me.”

“No, thanks, sir.” She pushed his hand away again, lifting her chin and crossing her arms. “I’m gonna make my own money because I’m gonna be an independent woman.”

“Of course, you are. I believe in you,” he said and tapped her nose. “Now, since I’m grounded and have nothing better to do, why don’t we read your new story?”

Harry and Y/N arrived at his house in no time. He drove his car into the underground garage, so eager to take his girlfriend to bed and call it a day. They raced each other upstairs to the living room like two little kids, completely carefree and unaware of what was waiting for them, well, who was waiting for them.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks as he loosened his arms around Y/N’s waist, and she turned around, eyes wide with shock.

“Your assistant let me in,” Gemma said as she got up from the sofa.

“What...what are you doing here?” Harry faltered, he let go of Y/N and walked up to his sister who was standing with her arms crossed.

“Where were you?” Gemma asked.

“We went on a date,” Harry told her. Y/N couldn’t believe he lied. She was biting her nail while waiting for Gemma’s response.

“I was invited, you know.”

“What?” Harry froze. And so did Y/N.

“To the dinner.” Wait, what? “Some girl named Emilia Styles called me. Do you happen to know her?”

Y/N’s brain stuttered for a moment and every part of her went on pause, waiting for her thoughts to catch up. She could only see Harry’s back from where she stood, but he was standing so still as if he’d stopped breathing.

“I knew something was wrong when you didn’t text me back and I got the phone call,” Gemma said slowly. “I turned her down. Don’t worry, I was polite because I didn’t know the girl. But I know you. You’re my brother. And saying that I’m disappointed and angry would be an understatement.”

“Gem--”

“Don’t!” Gemma raised her voice, making Harry jump. He reached for her hand and she pushed him away. “God, you are so fucking obsessed with wanting him back you let him get into your head and you lied to me!”

“I was going to tell you, I just didn’t know how! But--but Winton is not who we thought he was.”

“I don’t fucking care, Harry!” she shouted, pointing her shaky finger to his face. ”I don’t give a fuck if he’s joined the military or become a priest or been saving lives in Africa! No matter how ‘good’ he’s become, he’s still dead to me!” She gnashed her teeth as her bottom lip trembled. “And right now, I can’t help but feel the same about you.”

“You don’t mean that,” Harry’s voice broke. Y/N was white as chalk and her eyes were as wide as they could stretch. She wanted to say something, but she knew if she spoke, it would only get worse.

Gemma raised her chin as she clenched her jaw and whispered, “yes, I do. You are becoming selfish just like him, it makes me sick.”

“Gemma!”

Harry chased his sister out of the door, leaving Y/N to drown in the gloomy silence of the mansion. She gave herself a moment to catch her breath before going to the backyard for some fresh air. There was an outdoor pool which was cleaned every two days, but Harry rarely used it as he was busy all the time.

She sat down on the edge, feet dangling in the blue water. The soothing coolness helped her relax until she heard his voice from behind, “don’t jump in without me.”

She pulled her legs up, about to stand up but Harry had already sat down next to her.

“How was it?” she asked as he rolled his pants and put his feet into the pool.

“She left before I could catch up.”

“I’m so sorry, babe.” Y/N wrapped an arm around his shoulders, rubbing his arms. “Maybe you should give her a day or two to cool off and then apologise.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy.” He breathed while staring at the water. “It might have been like that when we were children, but it’s different now. We’re both adults. I knew there would be consequences, yet I couldn’t help it.”

Y/N sucked her lips into her mouth, her chest felt so heavy. She hated to see him sad and he had been through so much since the death of his stepfather. She was desperate to cheer him up, she would do anything.

“I think I’m ready.”

Harry turned to look at Y/N, his forehead creased as he was confused. “For what?”

“I’m ready to move in with you,” she said, but a smile turned into a frown as his reaction wasn’t anything like she’d expected. “What? Are you not happy?”

“I am.” He kissed her twice, holding her face. “But...are you?”

“Of course I am. I love you.”

But even after hearing those words, Harry still seemed unsure.

“Do you really want to or you just feel like you have to?”

Y/N was just about to say she wanted to, but her mouth froze as soon as it opened. Do you really want to, Y/N? she asked herself while looking around his enormous backyard.

“Hey, it’s all right.” He cupped her cheeks and turned her face back to him. She expected him to be mad, but he flashed her a toothy grin instead. “You know, when I saw you sitting here all alone, I realised how small you looked compared to all the space in this house. And I think I know the reason you were so reluctant to make that decision.”

“Harry--” She took his wrists, but he didn’t let go.

“Bambi,” he looked into her eyes and smiled, “I think you should keep your flat for now until we’re both ready for such commitment. At least you have your neighbours and won’t be so lonely when I’m away.”

“So it means…” she trailed off, biting her lip. “It means you don’t hate Blake anymore?”

The way Harry cringed at the name made Y/N giggle.

“I still hate that kid, and I still don’t trust him,” he said, his nose crinkled, “but I trust you, and I know you will put him in his place if he ever tries to cross the line.”

“Thank you.” Y/N wrapped both arms around his neck as he hugged her waist, burying his nose into her hair.

“Thank you for putting up with me, kid. As long as you stay, I wouldn’t care if everyone else left.”

“Don’t say shit like that.” She playfully hit his back but didn’t let him go. “I’m gonna have a serious talk with your crazy half-sister tomorrow. She’s crossed the line this time.”

Harry pulled away, eyebrows drew together. “Do you think Isaac gave her Gemma’s number?”

“Probably. For all we know, he could be brainwashed,” she said, making him laugh.

“Well, let’s not make an assumption too soon.”

“Agreed.” Y/N nodded once and dramatically puffed out her chest as she cleared her throat. “I promise you we’ll get to the bottom of this and find out what secrets this young woman might be hiding!”

“Holy shit, you’re so hot when you talk like Sherlock Holmes!”

Y/N’s lips curved into a smile as she poked the dimple on his cheek. “And you’re so lucky to have me.”

#harry styles fluff #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfics #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfictions #my girl series #older!harry #younger!y/n #bestfriend!harry #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x you #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines

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lemonietrinket · 4 years

Text

Dinosaur ||| Doyoung x Reader

Summary: Doyoung was worried to meet your family, but he needn’t have been. Genre: Fluff, Comedy, heated elements bc who doesnt want to make out with doyoung Warning(s): None Word Count: 2133 Theme Song: Fade Into You - Mazzy Star AN: December 17th prompt, meeting each other’s families (credit @songi-writes) Sorry this one is so much shorter than the others, I’m working on some bigger oneshots so needed to get this one done and dusted in a short period of time :(( EDIT: now I’ve edited I have realised how bad this was in places I’m so so sorry

~~~

You lay on your bed, taking in the sight of the man you loved. A single beam of light shone through the ajar door, falling in a golden haze at the strike of his jaw and gently illuminating the rest of his face for your eyes alone.

God he was so beautiful.

You stroked your hand across his cheek, thumb caressing the smooth skin there, slightly puffed in his sleeping state.

Relief washed over you like the waves on the beach of a calm summer’s day, sinking into your breath, steady and paced. He’d been so worried that morning, so tense throughout the whole drive there, and to see him finally resting let you finally allow yourself some peace.

You were staying round your parents’ house for the weekend, and he’d been absolutely terrified. They’d never met him before, and though you’d told them a fair bit about him, you’d tried to keep the details as unobtrusive as possible, knowing Doyoung was quite a private person—you preferring your relationship to remain that way too.

However, it meant your parents had no idea what to expect, and he was afraid they were going to struggle with his blunter energy.

Or, in his words, loathe him with every fibre of their beings and banish him from ever laying eyes upon you ever again.

As you tempted your eyes to stay open by taking in the shadows of his features, your lips spread into a smile remembering his panicked ramblings, and at how misguided they were.

You knew they were going to love him. Even if your parents rambled on about things you should watch out for and things that make a man a keeper, and even if they pestered you or seemed blissfully ignorant of your choices, they still retained that it was your decision, deep down. Even if they made a fuss about it first.

Nevertheless, Doyoung checked many of the boxes your parents required. Smart, polite, respectful, who was undoubtedly in love with you, with no eyes for any other. There was no doubt that they’d make a fuss about how good of a choice he was.

Still, your encouragement had proven little use, as the man—ever the pessimist—wouldn’t quite believe he was the perfect choice until he could see it for himself. And even then he would never admit it. You just worried for what this did to his heart, as he inevitably paced around, shoulders rigid, jaw clenched and lips pursed before you left.

Now he was peaceful again, and unbearably adorable as he twitched a little in his sleep. You pulled your hand away and let him nestle into a more comfortable position, content with just tracing the lines of his fingers instead.

When you’d entered through the door, you knew instantly that your mother recognised him. You knew it wasn’t a deep recognition, only that she’d seen his face before, and she’d questioned you about it while your dad spun Doyoung away to give him a tour of the house.

“Y/N, I swear to you that I’ve seen your boyfriend before,” she said, “is he a model? I-in one of the magazines?”

You’d chuckled, explaining that he was handsome enough to be, that she’d been more likely to have seen him on TV.

“Oh,” she’d said, “well I’m not sure about that, we don’t watch TV as much anymore, we only really have it on to watch the news, or big shows.”

Laughing, you asked her if Doyoung looked like he could be a big name to her.

She’d replied with a strong shake of her head. “No! No no. He’s too nice and gentle for big showbizz, hun. Why? He isn’t is he?”

You’d merely smiled in an effort to hold in your laughter, as well as slight pride, as you walked off to bring the bags in from the car.

Doyoung rolled over to face the other way in his sleep, and you shifted a little closer so you could still garner some warmth. You slipped your arm over his waist gently in order to not wake him, and rested your head against his shoulder blade. A sigh left your lips at the mere feeling of his being, as he existed, and he was here with you. You couldn’t even believe it sometimes, and he was one of the more down-to-earth members of his group. The thought led you to stifle a chuckle at the thought of who was going to end up dating Jungwoo, or Yukhei, or god forbid Ten or Donghyuck—they would all be hard work in different ways, but those two really required something extra. Still, they were all such catches. Nuzzling your cheek into his skin, you breathed in the scent of Doyoung, fresh and unintrusive, unable to hold yourself back from softly pressing a kiss into his back.

The truth had come out at the dinner table, when your father had asked too much detail about Doyoung’s career.

He just wanted to know how much he earnt, but it ended up being a full on presentation of how all of the NCT units worked. Eventually your boyfriend had multiple pieces of paper with in-depth diagrams placed upon your grandmother’s old easel in the corner, using a bread knife as a pointer.

Throughout the entire thing, and bless it took your parents a while to get it, you were laughing so hard that by the end that you felt lightheaded. You had to give your family credit however, for paying so much attention to him—the fact that they stuck with it proved to him somewhat that they didn’t hate him as much as he feared, and consequently you found his words coming together much smoother afterwards. Though you had to admit it came as quite a surprise to you. You hadn’t expected them to behave in such an interested, genuine and determined manner, even for one that they held in such high esteem.

Before you could dwell on the complexities of your parents’ behaviour—something that you would much prefer to leave in the past—Doyoung sat up in your bed, taking half of the blankets with him.

Ignoring the sudden cold across your torso, you lazily joined him, propping yourself up on an arm and gently holding his shoulder concernedly. “Hey, baby, what’s wrong?”

He turned to you in the dark, the sliver of light from the hall barely showing his face and leaving you to search his bleary eyes in the shadows. “I’ve met your parents, haven’t I?” he asked hesitantly.

You watched him bemusedly glance around the room, wanting to hold him closer and console him but not being sure if it was what he even needed. “Yes, you have.”

“Do they like me?” His voice was stronger this time, still grappled by sleep but no less worried about some part of his fate.

“Yes! They certainly do.”

There was a relieved sigh, as your boyfriend slumped back onto the bed. “Thank the world for that.”

“Why?” you enquired, shifting your weight so you could see him better in the dark. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“No,” he reassured, turning over to face you, “no, just a... really weird dream.”

“Do you want to talk about it? It may help,” you suggested, though as you leant in you saw how his sweet features twisted into a sheepish smile. You caught onto his train of thought, “Or do I not want to know?”

“Probably not.”

You hummed, resting your head on your hand as you sent him a playful grin. “I don’t know, I’m kind of curious now... Give me five words.”

He peered up at you incredulously from the pillow where his dishevelled hair framed his face perfectly. “You...? You know why am I surprised.” He sighed, biting the inside of his lip as he thought. “Let me see... ‘your mum was a dinosaur’?”

You mouth fell open in giggly shock as you gasped and playfully kicked his leg. “Excuse me, sir! My mother does not look like a dinosaur!”

“I know! She doesn’t! Of course! But she like,” he searched for the words desperately as he tried not to laugh while you gave into them yourself, “she-she was like half a dinosaur in my dream and it was really weird, I told you that you didn’t want to know!”

“What the hell, Doyoung?!” you questioned aimlessly with a cackle as you joined him back on the mattress, a hand reaching out for his. He accepted your hand reluctantly, playing with it surprisingly petulantly, thumping it into the duvet. “Genuinely only my boyfriend would worry so much about his girlfriend’s mum not liking him that she would appear as a dinosaur in his dreams to... what,” you took a wild guess, “eat him because she didn’t like him?”

He faked hurt, his cheeks puffed out which only made the urge to pepper him in kisses stronger. “You better be proud of me, then!” he insisted, before shaking his head, leaning in a little closer to you. “And no, she just sat down with me beneath this big, shiny tree and just lectured me for what felt like hours—it was actually much, much worse than being eaten.”

You laughed a bit too loudly at the image his words provoked, which incurred Doyoung to hush you. “Keep it down...!”

“Or what,” you snickered, rubbing your eyes, “I’ll wake the real dinosaur and then she can lecture you for real?”

“Aish, shut up!” he whined at your childish teasing, but this time your giggles didn’t stop. Rolling his eyes, he decided to take the opportunity and rolled over so he could press a kiss to your lips. Chaste and quick, he’d hoped it would do the job, as he feared what a deeper kiss would do to his system—he could get lost in you so easily after all. For a few moments you settled into a amused silence, and he smiled in relief, hovering above you.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite last.

“Is that all you’ve got? For the love of your life?” you pestered, smirking proudly. “A tiny peck to make me be quiet? When I know you’re capable of much more? Doyoung, quite frankly, I am ashamed!”

He guffawed, his lips smushing together in humourous indignance, before he let himself take revenge and tackle you into a deeper kiss. Your noses brushed as you met his lips, this time much hotter and deeper. Practically straddling you, your body was engulfed in warmth as Doyoung reached up to hold your cheek with a cold hand. The contrast made you squeak at the sudden iciness, but it only led him to sink into the kiss more.

Clutching at his shirt, you felt your laughter die down and a more comfortable haziness settle into your bones. You slowly slipped your hands up across his lithe waist, across his torso, toned yet supple beneath your fingers, finally knotting your hands behind his neck. He shuddered at your caresses of his chest, dropping onto his side so he could rest but hold you closer—his predominant aim, as he couldn’t sink into you how he wished with space between you. And so his hand slipped to the small of your back, fingers slipping beneath the hem of your shirt and traced calligraphy into your skin. The movement was so tender, but it did startle you, leading you to hum into his touch as you instead wrung your hand in the soft tresses of his hair.

Gradually you pulled away, your breathing slightly laboured and your lips plump from his ministrations; despite how he presented himself, Doyoung knew exactly how to steal your breath away, and he didn’t fail to do so. You gazed at him lovingly in the dim light, the auburn from the lamp beyond you revealing his flushed cheeks—reminding you of what you could do to him no less too. Slowly dipping in to kiss him once more, your touch ebbed with lethargy, he murmured as he pulled away, “Are you a little more tired now?”

“A little,” you admitted, letting yourself fall away from him and into the pillow. He nodded, feeling successful and proud but nonetheless exhausted himself. Reaching across he dipped into kiss your cheek, coming to rest just beside you. Meanwhile necessity implored you to seek cooler air to finally settle into sleep and so you rolled to face away from him, eyelids already feeling heavier again.

He hummed in acknowledgement, satisfied with the results he’d earnt, and joined you, his arms wrapping around you as he took the role of the big spoon. Nestling his nose into your neck, he whispered, “Goodnight love.”

“Goodnight,” you replied, closing your eyes and willing yourself into the world of sleep at last.

~~~

AN: I don’t like it. I don’t think it ended well. I’m sorry, I had to write it fast, I’ll edit it one day I promise.

I also just realised this isn’t very christmassy. That being said, I wasn’t in a very christmassy mood when i wrote this so it’s no surprise really Sorry :((

Check out my other stuff it is undoubtedly much better lol

EDIT: ok so, this was pretty bad when I first wrote it, but like, now it’s much much better. I think? I feel the tone is very different though.

still don’t feel the end is amazing but I’ve got bigg bois to write so this will do for now I think. hope this does doyoung a better service than the original did

[edited: 12th April 2020]

Masterlist

#doyoung #nct doyoung #doyoung fanfic #doyoung fluff #doyoung x reader #doyoung christmas #nct #doyoung oneshot #im so sorry doyoung i dont want to let you down

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trulymadlysydney · 5 years

Text

Somewhere In Time: Four

“Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I'm gazing at a distant star. It's dazzling, but the light is from tens of thousands of years ago. Maybe the star doesn't even exist any more. Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything.”

― Haruki Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun

Previous Chapters HERE

tw: Death, Loss of Parent

***Please Do Not Repost Without Permission***

12:02pm, October 5th, 1989

“Uhh, earth to Roni.”

A shrill voice followed by a few obnoxiously bubbly giggles brings fifteen year old Roni out of her own mind, and she looks up with a hot face. She uses a finger to push her thick-rimmed glasses up her nose, but she knows the voice before she even sees who it belongs to.

Lainey Prescott, one grade above Roni and just about the bane Roni’s existence.

She stands no taller than Roni, her two best friends Olivia and Janet standing on either side of her like her little minions. With their matching pink fingernails and Pom Pom hair accessories, they look like little clones. Roni has to fight the urge to roll her eyes.

This happens nearly every day during free period. They come up to bother her, get their little digs in wherever they can, and then continue walking their laps around the track because they’re “working on their figures.” Roni has tried everything to put an end to it, even going so far as to sit in the dirt under the bleachers, but they’ve always ended up finding her. So now Roni sits out in the open, expecting it almost every day and thanking her lucky stars when it doesn’t happen.

“Hi, Lainey,” she mutters.

“Hey, super cute high-waters today, Ron!” Olivia and Janet snicker behind Lainey, who looks incredibly pleased with herself. “Whatcha reading?”

Roni sticks her finger between the pages of her book to mark her place and averts her gaze, ears growing hot. “Nothing.”

Olivia speaks up. “I bet it’s another one of those sci-fi books. We all know she gets off on weird shit like that.”

Olivia’s words feel like a blow to the chest, but Roni keeps her composure and swallows around a lump in her throat. Lainey doesn’t seem to notice when she nudges Roni’s sneaker with her sandal. “No seriously, what is it? Looks cool.”

Roni looks up sheepishly. “Do you really care?”

“Totally, babe.”

Roni lets out a sigh, somehow taking the bait. “It’s called Timescape,” she explains. “It’s set in two different time periods: the sixties, and the nineties.”

“Wow,” Lainey says, “The future. So cool.”

Roni licks her lips in hesitation before continuing. “Anyway so, everything in the nineties goes wrong, and this scientist guy is trying to contact the past so that he can prevent whats happening and essentially stop it in its tracks.”

Roni hears Janet mutter an “oh my GOD, so like time traveling? ” to a ridiculously giggly Olivia, but Lainey doesn’t acknowledge them. She instead raises her eyebrows. “Wow, tell me more, Ron.”

Now Roni knows for a fact that the girls are making fun of her, and she’s about to say something when Lainey adds, “I mean, it must be super interesting. You’ve been sitting over here reading out loud to yourself. Did you know you did that?” She laughs over her shoulder with the other girls before continuing. “It’s adorbs. I’m sure any guy would find that super cute.”

“Lainey—“

Lainey cuts Roni off, as if this thought has just occurred to her. “Hey, speaking of, you don’t have a boyfriend yet, right?”

Roni sighs. “I don’t.”

You know I don’t, asshole.

Lainey giggles. “Awww, it’s okay, I figured as much. But listen, my parents are out of town this weekend and I’m throwing a party. It’s gonna be a boy-girl party, and you’re invited. I’m sure we could find you a guy there.”

“Yeah,” Janet adds, “and it’s BYOB. Bring your own Book.” Her stupid joke coaxes a cackle our of Olivia, and Roni rolls her eyes.

It wasn’t even that clever.

“Yeah, you can show us all your super cool time traveling tricks.” Olivia snickers. “Or at least spew out more time traveling facts. That’ll be a hit.”

Lainey smirks. “Totally. You should come.”

What Roni wants to do is tell them to fuck off. She wants to tackle them to the ground, rip the pom poms out of their hair and shove them down their throats until they’re all blue in the face. But she can’t do that, because there’s more of them than there is of her, and frankly they scare her.

So she clears her throat. “Guys, I don’t think—“

“Oh come on,” Janet groans. “What, do you have to ask your mommy for permission?”

Roni’s heart stops the moment the words leave her mouth, and even Lainey and Olivia shoot Janet an incredulous look, as if even they can’t believe she’s just said that.

Janet looks back at them, completely oblivious. “What?! You know she probably does.”

“Janet,” Olivia says quietly, “you know her mom died.”

Roni doesn’t know why people do that; say “died” around her like it’s a filthy word. She’s noticed that everyone does it, including her own grandmother, and it makes her feel sick to her stomach every time.

Janet’s mouth forms a wide O shape as the realization dawns on her. “Oooooohhhh. Shit. My bad. But she doesn’t care.” She turns back to Roni. “You don’t care, right? Like, you know we’re just joking around.”

Roni feels her eyes welling with tears and she wills them to stop, please stop— at least until the girls walk away.

“Please leave me alone,” is all she manages to say.

Lainey’s perfect smile returns to her face, only far more nervous than before, and Roni can tell she’s trying to do damage control. “So anyway.” She glares at Janet before smiling sweetly. “The offer still stands. You better be there, girl.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Roni mumbles at the ground, vision now completely blurred with tears.

“Sweet! Catch ya on the flip side.” Lainey waves her perfectly manicured fingers in Roni’s direction before she and her minions turn on their heels— each executing a perfect hair flip as they proceed on their way.

When she’s sure they’re out of ear shot, Roni lets out a quiet sob, reaching up to rub at her runny nose with the back of her sleeve. How girls can be so cruel, she’ll never know. But these three in particular have tormented her since elementary school, and it’s exhausting.

She doesn’t know why they do it. Why they can’t just leave her alone. She’d never spoken a word to any of them before it began, always minded her own business, and still they were relentless. Even after her mother passed, they kept it going. In fact, it almost seemed to get worse.

But Roni is not about to let them see her cry. Not today. So she stands, flings her backpack over her shoulder, and walks off.

She doesn’t have a destination in mind, all she knows is that she needs to get far enough away from them as possible— even if that means hiding out in the girl’s bathroom until the end of free period (Which she’s also tried doing before. It didn’t work. They always found her).

She makes her way back into the building, heading straight for her locker. The halls are surprisingly quiet, which doesn’t surprise Roni. It’s a gorgeous day out. That was the whole reason she was even outside in the first place. But then Lainey and her friends had to go ruin it, and now Roni isn’t even sure what else to do except grab some things from her locker and wander aimlessly for the next thirty minutes.

Roni rounds the corner and nearly bumps into someone exiting the boy’s bathroom. She’s about to say something snarky when she realizes who it is.

Staring back at her with an apologetic smile lighting up his entire face, is Oliver Ward.

Oliver is one of her friends, she guesses. A grade older than her, he’s not exactly considered popular but he has more friends in general than Roni does. She doesn’t talk to him as much as she should, despite the fact that he’s always treated her with more kindness than most people at this school. He softens once he recognizes the person he’d nearly taken out.

“Roni! Hey!”

Roni reaches up to wipe at her nose and half-heartedly reciprocates his smile. “Hey.” It comes out rather unenthusiastically, and she diverts her gaze from his. She doesn’t mean to come across as so pathetic, and she definitely doesn’t want him to know that anything is wrong. But the way his face falls when he hears her response lets her know that he is most definitely on to her.

“Have you been crying?” His question is right to the point, and it makes Roni want to start crying all over again.

“No,” she lies.

“You have,” he says, his voice softening. “What happened?”

Roni knows there’s no use lying to him, so she shrugs. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

Oliver scowls. He knows what that means. “Did Lainey do something shitty again?”

Finally, Roni looks up and gives Oliver a weak nod. “I don’t know why she won’t just leave me alone,” she admits. “I leave her alone.”

“Oh, Ron,” Oliver coos. “Fuck her. Why don’t you tell someone?”

Roni shrugs again. “That would do more bad than good, Ollie, you know that.”

Oliver tries his hardest not to smile at the nickname she’s given him. Nobody’s called him Ollie since the first grade, and he doesn’t have the heart to tell her that he’s always hated it. Because for some reason, when she says it, he doesn’t hate it at all.

“I dunno,” Oliver says. “It might finally put an end to her shit.” He nods his head towards her. “Where were you headed?”

Roni sniffs pathetically. “Anywhere. Just trying to kill time I guess.”

Oliver smiles. “You can come with me! I was just gonna finish up some homework in the library, so I don’t know how interesting it’s gonna be. But at least you’ll have some company!”

Roni eyes Oliver, weighing her options. On the one hand, she doesn’t want to tag along; be his little sidekick while he finishes up his work. The last thing she wants is for him to feel the need to entertain her. But on the other hand, she figures it’s better than moping around without any direction feeling sorry for herself. And besides, the way Oliver grins at her so full of hope and light, makes it hard to resist.

So Roni giggles and nods. “Okay.”

“Cool.” Oliver beams, nodding over his shoulder to signal Roni to follow him. As they begin walking, he launches right into casual conversation. “So, what’cha reading?”

Oliver is the kind of person who can hold a conversation with just about anyone and make it feel completely natural. Roni hasn’t talked to him too many times, but each time she does, she thanks her lucky stars that he’s so good at keeping conversation going because otherwise she knows they would be screwed.

However, her ego is still a bit bruised from Lainey’s words, and she’s not too keen on sharing any more information about this book with anyone else. “It’s nothing.”

“What? It looks really cool. What’s it called?”

Roni can feel her cheeks growing hot, and she refuses to look at Oliver when she answers him. “Timescape.”

“Ooooh! That sounds cool. Is it about time?” Not a hint of sarcasm is attached to his words, and although Roni can’t see his face she knows he’s genuinely interested. The thought lifts her spirits just the tiniest bit.

“Kinda,” Roni says. “It’s like, time travel stuff. Someone in the future is trying to go back and warn people in the past about like, these catastrophic events happening in the world. It’s actually really cool.”

Oliver whistles. “No kidding! That sounds rad.” They round the corner and open the large doors into the school library. Oliver lowers his voice as they make their way to a small round table with empty seats. “Think I could borrow it when you’re done?”

Roni nearly stops walking. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah!” Oliver smiles at her, slinging his backpack off of his shoulders and onto the table. “Hell yeah. I’d love to read it.”

Roni realizes she’s been smiling because her cheeks ache, and she tucks her bottom lip between her teeth to hide it. She clears her throat. “I mean yeah, if you want to.”

“Sweet!” Oliver starts unloading the contents of his backpack before pausing and looking back at Roni. “I mean like, no rush or anything. Finish it on your own terms. Don’t like, freak out trying to get it to me.” Roni notices the slight red tint to the tips of Oliver’s ears, and for some reason it’s beyond endearing. She giggles, taking her seat beside Oliver.

“Don’t worry, I’m a fast reader anyway.”

Oliver smiles, seemingly relieved. “Well that’s good.”

There’s a silence that doesn’t necessarily feel awkward, but it’s charged, and now it’s Olilver’s turn to clear his throat. He turns his attention to the textbook in front of him, opening it up and flipping through to find a specific page. He effectively changes the subject, but it feels more like a bookmark has been placed on the tension that Roni just experienced. She doesn’t necessarily hate it, she’s just never felt it before. Not with Oliver Ward.

“So anyway,” he says, “Are you any good at chemistry? I’ve been stuck on this one problem for ages.”

-----

8:19am, January 2nd, 1925

Roni wakes earlier today, refreshed and optimistic after spending a good bit of the previous night dancing and laughing with Harry. She feels much more at peace and surprisingly less disappointed to wake up in 1925 than she was yesterday. In fact, she’s optimistic at the prospect of what today might hold, and she’s feeling thankful that she’s here with Harry instead of with any other guy. She does however, feel a pang of guilt at the fact that she’s made Harry spend yet another night on his couch. She decides she’s going to work something out with him; maybe they switch off the bed every other night she’s here-- for however long that may be.

With a long stretch that cracks her entire body, she rolls out of bed-- careful not to move too quickly since she’s already seeing stars. She adjusts Harry’s boxers around her waist, combing her hand through her hair and preparing herself to find Harry cooking breakfast again. Maybe she can even help him. She smiles to herself at the thought.

Roni tries not to think about last night. How good it felt being so close to Harry, and how wonderful he had smelled. She refuses to acknowledge the tension that had singed the air, the way he’d watched her and clung to her every move, and the way he’d laughed not at her, but with her. The night had been Roni’s first taste of normalcy in the past few days, and she’s beyond grateful to Harry for making that a possibility-- tension or not.

The closer to the door she gets, however, she notices she doesn’t smell or hear anything. In fact, it sounds almost completely silent in the other room. Harry hadn’t mentioned having to work today.

That’s odd.

She pushes the door open as quietly as possible , deciding that Harry must still be asleep. She doesn’t want to bother him and she figures she can sneak a shower in before he wakes up— effectively minimizing any awkward encounters that involve her in a towel.

And then she sees it.

Roni stops dead in her tracks at the sight before her. There’s Harry, splayed out and sitting so ungracefully-- legs spread wide and toes curling into the carpet beneath the pooling fabric of his trousers, and a hand wrapped tightly around his cock.

His bottom lip is tucked between his teeth, eyes closed in concentration as his hand pumps up and down, slower towards the bottom of his shaft and more rapid jerks of his wrist the higher up he gets. When Roni hears him muttering a curse word under his breath, her blood runs cold.

She can’t help herself. It feels like a train wreck or some other disaster that she can’t help but watch. He’s so much longer than she would have guessed. Not that she’d given it any thought in the past few days, because truth be told she really hadn’t. If she’d had to guess, she probably would’ve at least been a bit generous with her assumptions, sure, but never this generous. He’s so well endowed she can’t tell if she wants to drool over it or just shake his hand and congratulate him.

The whole vision is just so… beautiful in an odd way, and Roni’s mouth waters when she spares a thought for what he must taste like.

Get it together, Roni. Fuck.

She turns to head back into the bedroom to leave him to it, but her ears perk when she hears him mutter another curse word and a few other filthy things that he would probably say if he were fucking up into someone.

No fucking way.

She’s not doing this right now. There’s no way she’s going to indulge in any of this, and she knows she really needs to close the door and get back in bed. Never mind the fact that she’d had the same idea as Harry last night once she’d gotten in bed, and had to physically stop herself from doing anything to ease the dull ache and wetness between her legs. She’d settled on squeezing her thighs together every now and then to see if that would relieve any pressure (it didn’t) and had simply gone to bed telling herself she was absolutely batshit crazy.

She wasn’t going to get herself off in this boy’s bed, and she certainly wasn’t going to entertain any crazy fever dream fantasies about him either.

But now here he is, doing the exact same thing that she’d been so tempted to do, whimpering out what sounds like maybe the filthiest dirty talk she’s ever heard, and she feels like she’s going to pass out.

Harry’s head falls back against the couch, and his eyes flutter closed as an almost inaudible sigh passes his wet lips. “Fuck, you’re so tight,” he mumbles. “Soaked for me, aren’t you?”

Does this happen often? Who is he thinking of? Who, in his mind, is fucking him so good that he’s practically crying alone on his couch? Roni feels a brief pang of jealousy followed by guilt and a mental slap to the face to remind herself to get it the fuck together.

Roni allows herself a few more moments to watch him tease himself, watching his swollen cock drip with his pre-cum, and she can’t help but to lick her lips when she sees the way his lips curl around his teeth. With eyebrows furrowed, Harry slaps a hand across his mouth to mute his pitiful whimpers. He’s close, and Roni decides that now is as good a time as any to go back into the bedroom and grant him his privacy.

Silently closing the door behind her, Roni lets out all of her air in one long exhale and stares at the wall opposite her. Try as she might (or might not), she can’t get the image out of her brain. How is she supposed to face him later? Is this even something she should bring up? How would she even start that conversation? And what kind of response would that warrant from him? Surely he’d think she was snooping, and probably be mad at her for invading his privacy.

Roni presses the heels of her palms to her eyes, willing the image of him getting himself off to completely exit her brain. She takes a few minutes to breathe, pacing around the room to get this strangely nervous energy out of her system, before sitting down on the bed with another long sigh. She knows she’s got no choice but to wait it out now, and for some reason it makes her anxiety a million times worse than it was before.

It’s a few minutes later when Roni hears the bathroom door close, and finally she feels brave enough to make her way back into the living room of the apartment. She moves slowly, still, as if afraid to make too much noise, and bites at her lip as she makes her way into the quiet room.

No one would ever guess that the events of a few minutes ago had even occurred. The couch looks completely untouched, the little blanket Harry’s been using at night folded up and slung neaty across the arm. The air does feel unmistakably hotter in here (or maybe that’s just Roni), but otherwise everything is perfectly still and normal.

She makes her way unsurely into the kitchen. Should she make herself at home and start cooking? It would be a nice gesture on her part, and a somewhat wordless apology for the slight invasion of privacy. Even if she wasn’t outright apologizing, it would definitely clear her conscience.

Roni reaches up to open one of the cabinets to see if there’s anything available to make for breakfast. It blows her mind that Harry doesn’t have a simple pantry in his apartment, although she’s not even sure a pantry would fit given the size of the place.

She frowns when she’s met with stacks of plates behind the cabinet door. Where the hell does Harry keep his food anyway?

The refrigerator in the corner of the kitchen is no bigger than a box, and when she opens it she’s met with even less food than she’d been expecting. Does Harry even eat?

“Oh! Morning!”

Roni turns with a start when she hears Harry’s pleasant greeting, his tone now a stark contrast to the desperate whimper it was just minutes ago. Roni’s entire body shivers at the memory.

“Hey!” she greets as normally as possible. “Morning.”

Harry walks over to pour himself a glass of water. “Sleep alright?”

“M-hm!” Does he know that she knows?

“That’s good.” Harry smiles, completely innocent. “You’re up earlier this morning. Did I wake you?”

“What?” It takes Roni a moment to realize he’s not referring to that, and she laughs nervously. “Oh, no, you’re good. Just like, my natural clock I guess.”

“You’re getting more used to being here.” Harry grins. “Wonderful.”

Roni smiles at him a tick too long, and she turns her attention to the cupboards. “Anyway,” she says, “Can I help with breakfast?”

“You don’t have to do that!”

“I want to!”

“You’re a guest.”

Roni shrugs. “Not really. Not anymore. I told you I’ve gotta earn my keep around here.”

Harry chuckles, shaking his head at her. “Alright.” He blows his messy morning hair off of his face and glances around the kitchen, pondering what to even suggest. “Well, I haven’t got much.”

“Eggs are fine again!” Roni suggests, before a thought pops into her mind. “Actually, got anything to make pancakes?”

Harry beams. “I think I do.”

“Perfect! Pancakes are my specialty.”

Roni and Harry set to work then, falling comfortably into step side by side as they weave their way around the kitchen. They launch immediately into conversation as they work, and it all feels so disgustingly domestic and comfortable that Roni almost forgets there’s anything abnormal about her situation. (She also temporarily forgets what she just saw on the couch minutes ago, although every time she catches a glimpse of his hand she is so painfully reminded.) They discuss buying Roni new clothes, since she is going to be here for the foreseeable future, and Roni asks several questions about what to expect when entering the roaring 20s. Harry answers her, “lots of lions” and when she doesn’t understand right away, he giggles through his explanation of, “‘Roaring.’ Get it? Sorry.”

It’s when they’re sitting at the table side by side, shoveling pancakes into their mouths, that Roni shifts topics.

“Your eye looks better!”

Harry chuckles. “It does, doesn’t it? Just got a look at it in the mirror. The swelling has gone down significantly.”

“Thank goodness,” Roni nods. “We have to be looking our best tonight, after all. We’re still on for dancing?”

Harry smiles around his glass of milk as he sips, and there’s a brief moment where he forgets to wipe his milk mustache off in which Roni completely melts. “‘Course we are,” he says with a nod.

“What kinds of places are we going? Like are we just gonna go bar hopping? Or like… what’s the plan? What should I prepare for? Should I wear comfy shoes?”

Harry makes a face, not answering her right away. He opens his mouth, then closes it again. He takes another sip of milk, and now Roni is wondering if she’s said something wrong, because his entire demeanor shifts. “What? Is that not how it works here?”

Harry won’t even look at her, but the smile on his face hardly falters-- if anything it just looks a bit more regretful. “No,” he says. “It’s not that.”

Roni frowns. “Well, we don’t have to go if you don’t want to! We can just--”

“It isn’t that either.” Harry finally looks at Roni with embarrassment. He hesitates to speak, until she presses him with a look. He sighs. “Veronica, I have to tell you something.”

Roni hates those words. Any time someone has said something to her along those lines, it is almost always followed by bad news. She leans closer to him. “What’s wrong?”

“I… don’t have enough money… to take you to several places. I can only afford one, and it’s only because I know the guy who owns it.”

Roni still doesn’t understand, so she shakes her head and places her hand on Harry’s arm reassuringly. “Harry, that’s not a big deal, I don’t mind if--”

“No, listen. Please. I have to tell you this because it’s gone on for too long, and I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to hide it from you.”

Roni swallows, preparing herself for the worst. Harry’s got a wife and child living somewhere else that he has to support, and they don’t know about this apartment. Harry is sick and dying and only has enough money to pay his medical bills for the next couple of months until he shrivels away. Harry has--

“I don’t have a job.”

Oh.

Roni blinks back at him, trying to find the proper words to go about responding to him. She isn’t mad by any means, but he’s looking at her like she should be. His cheeks burn red, and his skin under Roni’s hand feels hot to the touch. He licks his lips, raising his eyebrows expectantly at her, and she realizes she’s just been sitting here with her mouth open. She shakes her head, and speaks with as much gentleness as she can conjure up.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t. I don’t think I anticipated you being here as long as you are-- which, I’m so happy that you are, by the way-- so I didn’t think it would come up. And now I want to take you out and buy you clothes, and I still very much intend to do that, because I do have money left over for that. But I just can’t do it to the extent that I would like to. And it’s awful, because I really would love to show you around, take you to several dance places, etcetera etcetera, but…. I can’t.”

The amount of sadness in Harry’s eyes makes Roni’s heart feel heavy, and she gives his arm a squeeze. “Harry,” she sighs.

“Are you disappointed?”

“Of course I’m not disappointed. If anything, I’m disappointed in myself. I’ve been so selfish this entire time--”

“Don’t do that.”

“--But if I’d known, I could’ve helped!”

Harry chuckles, and it’s the first time in a few minutes that he seems like himself again. “How on earth could you have helped?”

“I don’t know,” Roni shrugs, “but we would’ve found a way. You’re doing so much to help me, I can’t just sit here and let that happen without returning the favor!”

“There’s no favor to return,” Harry says with a smile. “It’s my pleasure.”

Roni sits back in her chair, already brainstorming and completely ignoring his words. “Lets see,” she says, drumming her fingers along the table top. “I don’t need clothes--”

“Yes you do.” Harry snorts. “You’re practically swimming in mine.”

“Yeah but--”

Harry holds up his hand to stop her. “I’ve got that part covered, Veronica. I promise you.”

Roni rolls her eyes. “Fine. One outfit--”

“Two.” Harry cuts her off again, his cheeky smile fully returning to his face. “At the very least. You need one for tonight and another for anything else.”

“But--”

“I’ve already got it all sorted. You’re not going to persuade me otherwise.”

“So you’re just gonna blow the last of your money… on me?”

“Not the last of it!” Harry shrugs, then laughs when Roni scoffs. “Love, I didn’t tell you this to worry you. I’ll find another job sooner or later. I just told you so that you wouldn’t be let down when I turn out to be a rather disappointing date.”

“You’re not disappointing.” Roni frowns. “We’re gonna get you a job, alright?”

“I believe you!” Harry says, popping another piece of pancake into his mouth.

“Starting today.”

“Today?!” Harry speaks through a mouthful and swallows a bit harder than he’d intended. “No, love, today is about finding you clothes--”

“And finding you a job.” Roni grins brilliantly at him. “We’re doing both at the same time.” When Harry narrows his eyes at her, she only giggles and echoes his own words back at him. “You’re not going to persuade me otherwise.”

Harry rolls his eyes, but his dimpled smile has returned full force. He shakes his head and takes another bite. “You’re something else, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Roni pops the ‘p’ at the end of the world before taking a sip of her milk. “So hurry up and finish breakfast. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”

----

It’s three hours later when Roni and Harry find themselves downtown, after an hour of cleaning up their messes in the kitchen and Harry awkwardly explaining to Roni how the shower worked. They’d wasted no time in buying Roni the appropriate outfits, and she’d changed in the restroom at a high end cafe. (The looks she’d received were actually quite hysterical-- dressed in Harry’s clothes and entering the women’s restroom only to emerge wearing a brown dress, stockings, and brand new shoes.)

Roni’s first time stepping out of Harry’s apartment and into the daylight had been surreal. She’d felt dizzy several times, especially when comparing the shops and restaurants along the streets now to the ones of her own time. It wasn’t that she didn’t know her way around; she knew this city like the back of her hand. But seeing everything-- and everyone-- so different is a feeling unlike anything she’d ever experienced in her life.

But now here she is, dressed the part and feeling a hundred times more confident and present than before. She and Harry had visited numerous businesses for him to apply to, and each one had given them roughly the same answer. Promises to call seemed to only crush Harry’s spirit, which Roni understood. But she’d remained as positive and enthusiastic about the entire process as she could, and now here she is-- encouraging him to just pop into one more store with her.

“What if they’re the ones that are gonna offer you a job, you know?”

“Or they’ll just promise to call me,” Harry says with a shrug. “You know how those things work. They promise to call and they never do.”

Roni is about to launch into an entire spiel about how Harry is only going to attract what he puts out there and he shouldn’t be going into this with a negative attitude, when something catches her eye.

“Oh my god.”

She stops dead in her tracks, and it takes Harry a moment to notice she isn’t behind him. He turns to see Roni staring in disbelief at one of the little shops along the strip. He follows her gaze to understand what she’s so struck by, but it only confuses him more. “What, the tobacco place?”

“No, the book store.” Roni feels like crying and she doesn’t even know why. It’s not a particularly emotional moment by any means, but it’s strange and surreal and the only thing her body can think to do with all of the unusual feelings she’s feeling is to expel them through tears.

She doesn’t end up crying, not really, but she does have to blink the mist out of her eyes to make sure she isn’t seeing anything.

The sign above the book shop is the same one she’d gotten so used to seeing nearly every day of her life in the 90s, but now it’s got a fresh coat of paint and it’s bright and shiny rather than weathered with time. It reads, loud and proud in white paint: The Little Read Book, and Roni laughs in disbelief.

If Roni remembers correctly, the shop was opened in 1920-- which technically is five years ago-- by Eileen’s grandmother, and Roni realizes that that means Eileen isn’t born yet, and won’t be for another ten years.

“Harry,” Roni says quietly to a patient Harry who’s been waiting for her to say something, “I work there.”

“What?” Harry scoffs, glancing from the shop to Roni’s awe-stricken face. “What on earth do you-- oh.” It finally dawns on Harry, only now he isn’t sure at all what the proper way to respond to this situation would be. He clears his throat. “You don’t say? Well, that’s interesting.”

Without thinking, Roni grabs Harry’s hand and yanks him with her as she makes her way to the shop. “We have to go in,” she says, completely unaware of the way Harry is blushing at her small hand in his.

A familiar bell rings the moment Roni opens the door, and out of habit she wants to call out a greeting to Eileen. The shop smells exactly the same, and it’s organized almost identically to the way it looks in the 90s. The difference is on the walls- there are significantly less photographs covering them, and the ones that are tacked to the green wallpaper are fresh and not yellowed with age.

A few customers walk among the shelves, talking quietly to themselves, and faint jazz music plays from the radio behind the front desk. The radio is still there in Roni’s time, but it has long since stopped working, and seeing it in all its glory is something so surreal that Roni gets dizzy all over again.

“May I help you?”

Roni turns her attention to a girl much younger than her rounding the corner carrying an armful of books. Roni’s knee-jerk reaction is to go help the girl but she refrains-- reminding herself that she does not, in fact, work here at the moment.

The girl plops the pile onto the desk and Roni gets a glimpse of her nametag. It reads “Daisy” in a plain blue font, and Roni wracks her brain trying to remember if she’s ever heard this name before and if this person holds any significance in Eileen’s life.

It’s Harry who speaks first. “Hi, I was wondering if you had any available positions open?”

The question takes both Daisy and Roni by surprise, and Roni can’t stop her jaw from falling practically on the floor. Of course it makes sense for him to work here, and she wishes she’d come up with the idea herself. She’d been so shocked to see this place in the context it’s in now, that she’d forgotten all about the task at hand. A pang of guilt strikes her belly for a brief moment.

Daisy blinks back surprise, a pleasant smile growing on her face. “Really?”

“Yes ma’am.” Harry beams, “I’m looking to start as soon as possible.”

Daisy eyes Harry for a moment, stopping briefly on his still faint-purple eye, before leaning against the counter and grinning. “What’s your name?”

“Harry,” he replies, holding out his hand. “Styles.”

Daisy shakes his hand with a smile before turning expectantly to Roni, and now Roni suddenly feels put on the spot.

“Uh,” she stammers, reaching to shake Daisy’s hand. “I’m Roni.”

Daisy makes a face, cocking her head to one side. “As in Ronald?”

Harry snorts, and Roni sighs. “No, Veronica. Sorry, I should’ve been more clear.”

“No!” Daisy says, “It’s just a unique name. I’ve never heard anything like that before. I like it. Are you interested in a position as well?” Her bright beautiful smile returns back to her face, and it’s the first time that Roni’s really looked closely. She can clearly see the almost chilling resemblance to Eileen now, and it makes her feel woozy.

It takes everything in Roni not to explain the situation, but how would she even start?

Actually, I do work here, but not right now-- seventy-four years into the future, and I can give you my official employee reference for you to hire Harry!

Roni sees Harry smirking at her as if he’s thinking the same thing she is, and she giggles nervously. “No. Thank you though.”

“Alright, but if you change your mind, I’m always hiring!” Daisy makes her way behind the counter to organize the books as she speaks. “My name is Daisy Hartford. I actually recently took over the business with my husband Lawrence. My mother opened the shop five years ago, but she gave the business to us when we got married last summer.”

Roni tunes Daisy out as she comes to the realization that Daisy is Eileen’s mother. It feels so strange to see this young girl, likely no older than nineteen, running a business that Roni knows by heart, and speaking of her mother and her husband so candidly. She doesn’t know that she’s going to have four children, and that one of them is going to be Eileen. She doesn’t know that Eileen is going to take over the shop one day. Hell, she probably doesn’t even know that the shop is going to make it another seventy-four plus years. She doesn’t know any of this-- but Roni does.

Daisy continues rambling, bringing Roni out of her thoughts. “I love it, but I could use all the help I can get. Especially once we start having little ones running around, do you know what I mean? I’m sure the two of you understand.”

Harry’s smirk only deepens while Roni feels her face is on fire. Her voice is so quiet that even she has a hard time hearing herself. “Oh, we’re not--”

“Well” Daisy unintentionally cuts Roni off, smiling sweetly. “I’m sure I don’t need to bore you with my story.” She turns to Harry with a pointed look. “Mr. Styles. Have you any experience working with books?”

Roni can almost hear the panic bells going off in Harry’s head, but his exterior remains cool and collected. “I do not,” he says, “But I am a fast learner.”

“Excellent.” Daisy flips nonchalantly through a book before setting it aside. “And your current employer is whom?”

Harry swallows, his ego clearly slightly bruised. He fidgets with his fingers when he talks, drawing Roni’s attention to the fact that even she’s fidgeting with her ring out of pure nervousness. “I don’t have one, ma’am. But my previous employer was Milton and Sons. I made shoes.”

“Oh, how funny! I’ve got a pair of Miltons on right now!” Daisy kicks out her leg a bit to show off her shoes, and it makes both Roni and Harry giggle.

“Those are quite nice,” Harry says. “I’ll bet I made them.”

“I’ll bet you did!” Daisy beams, before realizing that this is still a job interview-- albeit a very lax one. She clears her throat and settles herself down. “Alright, alright. Next question. Why The Little Read Book?”

It’s another one of those moments where Roni wants to jump in, and Harry can see her internal struggle. “Well,” he says slowly, “A dear friend of mine recommended this place.”

“Did he? What’s his name?”

Harry’s lips twitch. “Ronald.”

Roni nearly chokes, but Harry remains completely serious as Daisy thinks long and hard. “Ronald…. Mr. Whitley? He comes in here quite often.”

“Maybe,” Harry says with a shrug. “I’ve never caught his last name before. But in any case, Ronald has been coming here for years now. He speaks very highly of this place. Says it feels like home to him. And I can see why. You’ve got a remarkable business here, Mrs. Hartford.”

Daisy beams. “Thank you! That’s lovely to hear.”

After a few more questions that almost all lead into a conversation of some sort, Roni, Daisy, and Harry feel like three chums just hanging out and having a chat. Which was something Eileen had constantly told Roni about Daisy.

“My mother could befriend a rock if you gave her enough time,” Eileen would say. “She would hold conversation with just about anyone. Everybody loved her, and with good reason.”

Now that she’s meeting her, Roni would have to agree.

“Well, Mr. Styles,” Daisy says through a sigh. “I suppose I’ve just got one question left for you, and it’s the most important one.”

Harry nods. “Shoot.”

“When can you start?”

Roni can tell that Harry wants to leap up in the air and celebrate. She knows how much this means to him and, frankly, she’s feeling the exact same way. She beams at Harry, expectantly awaiting his answer. While he remains as calm as possible, there is no denying the dimple on his cheek showing just how happy he is.

“Tomorrow?” Harry raises his eyebrows questioningly.

“We’re closed tomorrow.” Roni and Daisy say this at the same time, and when Daisy shoots Roni a look of confusion, Roni fumbles over an explanation. Truth be told, it was merely force of habit. But that isn’t something she has time to explain to Daisy, so she shrugs.

“Sorry, I’ve just-- tried to come in here a few times on Saturdays and Sundays and always realized you were closed. Made that mistake too many times. Ha. Sorry.”

This is a tradition no longer kept in 1999, but Roni remembers the days when both Saturdays and Sundays were off days. In 1998 Eileen had decided to open up Saturdays for business, keeping Sundays blocked off because “I’m a God-fearing woman, Veronica.” But still, it is Roni’s knee-jerk reaction to respond the way that she just has, and she’s thankful that Daisy bought her explanation.

“Right,” Daisy giggles. “Well, in any case, Mr. Styles, are you free to start Monday around eleven?”

Harry nods. “Monday around eleven sounds great.”

“Wonderful! I can’t wait to work with you.” She turns to Roni. “And I’m sure I’ll be seeing much more of you in here, Mrs. Styles.”

Roni opens her mouth to say something but is cut off immediately by Harry taking her hand and tugging her towards the door. “Right, lovely to meet you, Mrs. Hartford. I’ll see you Monday at eleven, and not a minute later!”

The door closes behind them and they’re back outside, squinting at one another in the sunlight. Harry’s smiling like an excited little boy, and after a moment of watching him, Roni presses him with a nudge. “Well?”

“Veronica,” Harry says softly, “We fucking did it.”

It’s the first time Roni’s heard Harry (knowingly) curse in front of her, and it makes her giggle at his unfiltered excitement. She takes both of Harry’s hands in hers and squeezes, beaming up at him before just giving in and wrapping her arms around his torso. She gives him a tight squeeze and leans affectionately into him.

“Hell yeah,” she says, “We fucking did.”

----

“Harryyy,” Roni whines from the bathroom.

“Yes, love?”

Roni sighs loudly, and the noise makes Harry chuckle to himself from his spot on the couch. “You can’t laugh, okay?”

“Why would I laugh?”

“Because.” Roni opens the door a crack, barely peeking her head out to look at Harry. “I need help.”

It’s a few hours later and Harry and Roni have found themselves back at Harry’s place to freshen up for the evening. Roni had insisted she’d be fine changing in another public restroom, but Harry had refused-- saying that he needed to get changed into something “spiffier.”

The outfit Harry had bought for Roni seemed nice enough, but now that she’s actually trying to do up the buttons in the back while keeping the sash tied correctly, she’s realizing just how complicated the entire outfit is. It doesn’t help that the only bra she has is the one she’d been wearing the night she arrived, which is very modern in comparison to the rest of the dress. Try as she might, there is no way she could manage getting the buttons all done up herself. So she’d swallowed her pride, and now here she is-- pitifully asking Harry for help.

Harry looks lovely, of course, and it’s the nicest Roni has seen him dress the entire time she’s been here. He’s in a gray suit buttoned up the front, and a nice pair of leather shoes that, admittedly could use a bit of a shine but are altogether so handsome and so Harry. He completes the entire ensemble with a little gray cap on his head-- because of course he does-- and Roni suddenly feels self conscious when he looks at her.

He smiles knowingly, rising to his feet and heading towards the bathroom door. “Too advanced for you then?”

Roni pouts, stepping out of the bathroom in the half buttoned, half tied mess of a dress. “I just can’t get the buttons done,” she huffs. “And the belt won’t stay tied!”

Harry snorts, picking up the ribbon that droops around Roni’s waist. “It doesn’t go there.”

Roni rolls her eyes. “Well that would’ve been nice to know ten minutes ago.”

“Alright, alright,” Harry says through another laugh. “Turn around.”

Roni complies without thinking, and Harry’s breath catches in his throat the moment she does.

It’s the first time he’s seen a woman’s bare back in, god, he doesn’t even know how long. She’s gotten the buttons done up herself all the way to the spot just before her back dips into her bottom, and Harry subconsciously licks his lips at the involuntary thought of what lies beneath the southernmost button. The lace of her brassiere clings delicately to her back, and although Harry has seen a decent amount of brassieres in his lifetime, he’s never quite seen one this intricate. He would give anything to unlatch it and place his lips to the spot on her skin where it rested, but he knows he can’t. He knows he’s got a job to do here, and she’s waiting.

Harry doesn’t realize he’s been staring for so long until Roni speaks. “What, did I mess it up?”

“Yes” Harry says, praying that Roni doesn’t notice the audible crack in his voice. “But it’s okay. Nothing I can’t fix.”

With shaky hands Harry works to fasten the buttons up her back. Roni sighs, seemingly unaware of the way Harry trembles behind her. For some reason the fact that this is completely normal to Roni, in a time where it’s scandalous for any unwed woman to present herself to a man this way, is making this all the more sexy to him. He licks his lips, focusing on getting this done as quickly as possible so as not to make it weird, while also savoring the moment as much as he can.

He can feel the heat from her skin, and he can smell his shampoo in her hair, and he closes his eyes to allow the scent to fill his nose. Should he say something? Is he being weird by not saying anything? Can she feel how absolutely tense he is as he tries to focus on not touching her for too long? He’s completely short-circuited, and he gulps trying to come up with something to talk about.

When Harry’s finger accidentally grazes a spot on Roni’s back, she jolts, starling Harry.

“Sorry, sorry!” Harry blurts. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, no, it’s just-- your hands are cold.”

“Oh.” Idiot. “Sorry.”

“No,” Roni says again. “It felt… good.”

“Oh.”

Can he say anything other than oh?

Harry watches as goosebumps prickle Roni’s skin, and he moves slower now, taking special care to brush his fingers against her back occasionally. If she said it felt good, it’s all he can do to keep her feeling that way. She swallows and audibly exhales, and the goosebumps never fade or shrink.

Harry doesn’t know why it happens this way with her. Everything is always so friendly and normal, and then the most casual and mundane thing sets him off. He knows she feels it too, because even over her shoulder he can see her eyes nervously darting around with every controlled breath she takes. She, too, looks like she wants to say something and can’t find the words, but Harry doesn’t mind. The higher he gets with her buttons, the slower he goes.

With a shaky hand, Harry reaches up to gather Roni’s hair in his hand and gently brushes it over her shoulder and out of his way. She shivers when he does this, and it makes him smile to himself. If ever he should be lucky enough to be this close to Roni again, he needs to remember that she likes to have her hair played with.

When he finally reaches the top button, he takes his time fastening it. He doesn’t realize that he and Roni are both holding their breaths until both of them let it out in a sigh. He closes his eyes briefly, willing time to stop just for moment so that he can savor this longer, but he has no time to linger on the thought before Roni is spinning around to face him.

“Does it look okay? Like seriously, do I like… fit with the times?”

She looks genuinely worried, and her eyes scan his for any sign of humor in his response.

How can Harry tell her that she looks like a dream? She looks like everything he’s ever wanted and so, so much more. Of course he’d gone a tad over his planned budget in buying her this outfit, but seeing her here, wearing it and looking like that makes it all worth it. Were dresses like this supposed to fit this way? He’s never seen a dress look so good on anybody before, and he doesn’t know how on earth to tell her that without frightening her off.

So he keeps his composure as much as he can, smiling mischievously down at her. “Not yet.”

He reaches for the tie that Roni had mislabeled a belt and, feeling bolder now, unties it from around her hips. She squirms a bit in his grasp but she isn’t smiling, not yet, and Harry realizes that fitting in is something incredibly important to her.

“Right, hold still.” Harry loops the tie around the back of Roni’s neck, brushing her hair up over it and smiling when he notices the goosebumps on her skin once again. He watches her face closely as he ties the tie in a loose knot in the middle of her chest. She won’t look at him anymore, but there’s a hint of a smile gracing her pretty lips, so he knows he’s got her where he wants her. He secures the knot and takes the two loose ends of the tie in his hands, yanking her gently closer to him.

Roni stumbles and gasps softy, before glaring up at him. “Hey, careful! I could’ve--”

She trails off when she sees the way he’s smiling at her, and she softens immediately. Her eyes hold an almost indiscernible worry, and if Harry had blinked he would’ve missed the way they darted down to his lips for just a split second.

Harry smirks. “Now you look perfect.”

Roni giggles nervously, a red tint glowing from her cheeks as she averts her gaze. She seems to come back to her senses slowly, and Harry is pleased with the effect he has on her.

“Thanks,” she says softly, stepping back and out of the circle of his arms, “For… helping me. I don’t mean to be so helpless it’s just…. You know.”

Harry nods. “I do know,” he says with a reassuring smile.” He places a hand on his belly. “I also know that my stomach has been growling for the last hour, and I’m itching to show you off on that dance floor.” He offers her his arm, grinning smugly down at her. “So. Shall we?”

---

The New York air is much colder now, and Roni leans closer to Harry for warmth as they walk. She’s significantly less afraid now that she looks the part, even going so far as to give passersby a few polite head nods and a quick “good evening!”

Harry grins down at her, squeezing her arm with his own. “You’re a proper lady now, aren’t you?”

Roni takes on her best posh accent, making Harry snort when she talks. “Well I look the part, darling, but now I’ve got to act it, haven’t I?”

Through residual giggles, Harry shakes his head. “You had me up until the accent.”

“What a shame,” Roni says, making her accent even thicker and giggling to herself. “I’ll have to work on that.”

A clocktower in the distance chimes six o’clock as Harry and Roni finally approach their destination. It’s busier than Roni had anticipated, but then again it is Friday night. This seems like the place to be, and if this is the only place Harry can take her tonight, he definitely picked a good one.

Harry talks briefly with the host at the front desk, who he’d mentioned to Roni that he was friends with, but Roni doesn’t even pay attention to anything being said. She instead takes this time to really study the place. Several round tables surround the large dance floor. If Roni remembers correctly, this building is a roller rink in her time, and it’s so strange to see it as something so drastically different now.

It’s also strange to see how many people are smoking indoors here, and Roni coughs when a woman walks by and wafts cigarette smoke into her face.

They’re seated shortly at a smaller table in the corner, and when the host returns back to his post, Harry beams at Roni. “So? What do you think?”

“It’s cute!” Roni says. “It’s weird because I’ve been here but you know, like… in the 90s.”

“Yeah? Is it pretty much the same?”

“Not at all,” Roni laughs. “I mean the big dance area kind of looks the same I guess. But it’s a huge roller rink.”

“A what?” Harry scrunches up his face, but doesn’t even give Roni a chance to answer him. “Oh, like for roller skates?”

“Yeah!”

Harry looks out at the dance floor thoughtfully. “Gee. So that area is just filled with people roller skating, huh? That’s odd to think about.”

The waiter approaches, quickly shifting both Harry and Roni’s attention. He informs them that his name is Stanley, goes over a few of the food specials for the evening, and then asks them what they’d like to drink. Harry orders a lemonade, and then both he and Stanley turn to Roni expectantly.

“Yeah, uh, I’ll take a rum and coke, please.”

If a record-scratch silence was such a thing in these times, it would have happened at that exact moment. Stanley, the people at the next table over, and even Harry all stare at her as if her order is the most scandalous thing they’ve ever heard. Roni stares back blankly, trying to gather what on earth the problem could be, before finally looking to Harry for help.

Harry catches on quickly, laughing dryly and leaning across the table to place a hand on Roni’s. “She’s joking, of course,” he says. “She’ll just have a coca-cola. Please. Thank you so much.”

Stanley lingers a moment, as if processing what just happened, before turning slowly on his heels and making his way to the kitchen.

When Harry is sure the waiter is out of earshot, he leans across the table with a serious look. “Don’t do that,” he hisses quietly.

“Do what?!” Roni asks incredulously. “Order a drink? What, are women not allowed to drink here?”

Harry chuckles. “Actually no one is.”

“What the fuck?” Roni says, biting her tongue the moment it escapes her lips because she knows she shouldn’t be cursing like that in public. Not here at least. She glances around to make sure no one heard her, then lowers her voice. “Why not?”

Harry grins smugly. “You mean to tell me the prohibition isn’t something significant in the future? Like it just… ends?”

Roni rolls her eyes. “Oh god,” she says. “The prohibition. Forgot about that.”

“Ah.” Harry nods. “So you’ve heard of it.”

Roni pouts. “Yeah, and it sucks.”

“You’re telling me,” Harry says through a laugh.

“I guess just a coke is fine though,” Roni admits. “Probably don’t need anything making me more disoriented me more than I already am.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Roni sighs, glancing around the restaurant again in another attempt to take it all in. When she catches the eye of an older lady a few tables over, she notices the woman is frowning at her, and she shifts in her seat. “Are people staring? They’re definitely staring. Did you button me up wrong?”

“I didn’t,” Harry says. “Maybe they’re staring because of how beautiful you look.”

Roni’s cheeks grow hot and she rolls her eyes, but she can’t suppress the smile on her face. “Harry--”

“I’m serious!” he says. “That dress is divine. I must say, whoever picked it for you has excellent taste.”

“Hey, I picked it out, too.” Roni sticks her tongue out at Harry.

“Maybe so,” Harry says with a shrug, “But of the two of us, I’m the one with the fashion sense here.”

Roni opens her mouth to protest, but Harry only rises to his feet and holds his hand out for her. “Anyway,” he says, “care to dance?”

At first Roni feels awkward on the crowded dance floor. Everyone around her seems so experienced, and there she is stumbling around like she’s never even heard music before in her life. She accidentally bumps into several people, and Harry always calmly apologizes for her before jumping right into the impromptu dance lesson he’s giving her. Of course she feels bad, but he’s so encouraging (and went through all the trouble to get them here), so she puts on a brave face and soldiers through it.

By about four songs in, however, Roni’s insecurities wash further and further away with every smile or word of praise Harry gives her, and suddenly it feels like they’re the only two in the entire building.

The familiar opening chords of The Charleston begin booming from the orchestra, and Harry and Roni immediately exchange open-mouthed grins. “You know this one!” Harry yells over the music, already beginning to tap his feet.

“No I don’t!” Roni giggles, already being swept off her feet by Harry.

Once again they’re laughing like children, stumbling over one another while Harry shouts incoherent commands at her.

“Remember? Left, kick, left--- Veronica, focus!”

“I can’t! Not with everyone around!”

Roni finally allows her giggles to get the best of her, letting go of Harry and hunching over to clutch her belly. Harry watches her, an endeared smile on his lips, before reaching to take her hand again. “Veronica--”

“Wait!” Roni stands up straight. “Wait, it’s my turn. Let me show you how it’s done. Ever heard of this one?”

She starts half-jumping, half- running in place and Harry lets out a loud cackle. “What on earth are you doing?”

“It’s called the running man!” Roni calls back. “All the rage where I come from!”

Harry’s face grows redder by the second from laughing so hard, and he lets out a hacking cough. “Oh my god, you look ridiculous!”

“Yeah? Like that one? How about this one?” Roni places her hands on either side of her face, framing her head and moving her hands from her cheeks to her chin and top of her head. . “This one is called Vogue-ing.”

Harry wipes at his eyes, clutching his stomach. “Veronica,” he says through a wet laugh, “Please, no more.”

“And here’s a classic!” Roni goes completely stiff, bending her arms at the elbows and moving robotically. “They call this one the robot!”

“God,” Harry shakes his head, face now beet read from laughing. “You’re so bloody weird.”

“You aren’t gonna try it with me?” Roni asks. “I try your weird dances with you!”

Harry rolls his eyes, but he knows she’s got a point. “It’s not the same.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Roni calls back. “C’mon, just try the robot one time.”

Harry glances nervously around before deciding to just completely throw caution to the wind and join her. He goes stiff as well, mimicking her movements in the most forced and uncomfortable looking way.

Now it’s her turn to laugh, and she lets out the most adorable cackle Harry thinks he’s ever heard. “Ha! You’ve got it!”

“Do I look absolutely mental?” Harry asks through a grin.

“Absolutely, babe,” Roni says with a nod.

“Good!” Harry starts moving faster, knowing damn well he isn’t doing this dance correctly at all, until Roni can’t even dance anymore. She’s nearly on the ground with how hard she’s laughing, and both she and Harry completely ignore the dirty looks from everyone around them who’s actually taking their dancing seriously.

Harry is completely out of breath by the end of the song, and he genuinely feels he’s going to be sore tomorrow.

But if it meant seeing Roni this happy and full of laughter, he’d take her out dancing every single night.

---

“So what was it like?”

Roni turns to Harry. “What?”

Roni and Harry are walking home side by side, and Roni is carrying her shoes-- even though Harry had informed her several times how filthy the ground was. When they’d finally decided to stop dancing and sit down for dinner, they’d launched immediately into conversation, covering just about any topic under the sun. Harry marvels at how easy it is to talk to Roni, and he reckons he could sit and listen to her talk about absolutely nothing for days on end.

“The moment you traveled back. I know you said it was a lucid dream of sorts, but what was it really like? Was it like you were flying?”

“No, not really,” Roni says, and she takes a moment to think of how to explain this to him. “It was just like walking. But I couldn’t walk fast enough. I wasn’t being threatened or anything. I just knew I had somewhere to go and I didn’t think I’d get there in time.”

“Where were you trying to go? You’d mentioned something about the 1980s… is that correct? Something about your mum?”

Roni smiles sadly at him. “You remember me saying that?”

“‘Course I do.” Harry notices the sadness of Roni’s features, and he lowers his voice. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s okay,” Roni says wistfully. “I wanted to go to 1985. That was the year I lost my mom. In a car accident.”

“Oh, Veronica,” Harry coos. “I’m so sorry.”

“Cars were… well, are a lot different where I come from. People drive like assholes. Pardon the language.” Harry smirks to himself. Since when does Roni feel the need to apologize for her language? He doesn’t have time to tease her, however, and he figures now is not the time. So he lets her continue.

“So mom was driving to work one morning. And this guy fell asleep at the wheel. A trucker. He’d been driving all night.” Roni seems lost in her own thoughts, and Harry hangs on her every word. “And it sucks because… it was just like any other day, you know? We just said a normal goodbye. She was planning on ordering pizza that night when she got home. I asked her to take me to the pool, and she couldn’t. She was working overtime so that she could pay for this stupid class trip for me.” Roni shakes her head bitterly, and Harry wants to say something, but he decides to let her sort through her own thoughts.

“I just thought that… maybe if I could go back to that day I could stop her, do you know what I mean? I thought I could maybe warn her not to leave. She would’ve listened to me.” Roni chuckles softly to herself. “I was always good at persuading her.”

They round the corner, beginning their ascent up the steps to Harry’s apartment. He finally speaks as he fumbles with his keys. “You know you can’t give up, right? You’ve proven that time travel is real, now it’s just a matter of perfecting the specifics.”

Roni shrugs as Harry pushes his creaky front door open for her to walk through. “I suppose,” she says, “I just don’t know if I want to risk going to another unfamiliar time period. I’m not sure anyone else would be as kind as you.”

Her words tug at Harry’s heart strings as he locks the door behind him. “Can I say something?”

Roni kicks off her shoes. “Of course.”

“I’m really glad you showed up here.” When Roni shoots Harry a look that says “don’t be cheesy,” he giggles. “I mean it! You’re somebody that I feel very, very lucky to have met. You’re an incredible person.”

“Oh stop it.” Roni and Harry make their way through the living room, while Harry begins unbuttoning his jacket and Roni fumbles to untie the neck-tie that has been itching her skin all night.

“I’m serious,” Harry says. “You’re intelligent. And witty.”

Roni smirks at him. “Alright fine, keep going.”

“And funny,” Harry adds with a pointed look. “Gosh, Veronica, no one makes me laugh as hard as you do, you know that?”

“The feeling is mutual, dude.” Roni frowns down at the knot that she still hasn’t been able to get untied, and Harry keeps talking.

“You keep me on my toes, but in the best way.” Harry wiggles out of his jacket, placing it neatly over the back of a chair. “I never know what to expect from you.”

“Good,” Roni says, distracted and still scowling at the stubborn knot. “I want to keep it that way.”

“You’re unlike any woman-- no, any person in general, I have ever met in my life. And I’ve met a lot of people, you know. You’re someone special. I feel like you were meant to come into my life, even if you came from the future. And--” Harry trails off when he notices her struggling. “Do you need help with that?”

Roni frowns up at him, finally giving up. “How tight did you tie this thing?!”

Harry laughs, making his way over to her. “Alright, c’mere. Let me see.”

It feels good to be this close to Roni again, and although they’d spent the last roughly three and a half hours dancing closely, this feels so much better. Harry feels the same nervous energy he’d felt while tying this thing, but somehow he’s more confident about it now, and he doesn’t shy away from standing so close to her.

“You can keep going on about how great I am if you want,” Roni teases.

“Oh can I?” Harry asks. “Thank you for your blessing, madam.”

“Anytime!”

Harry smiles, working at the knot gently and really searching to find the right words in his mind. “Suppose everything I’ve been saying is rather sappy, innit?”

“I don’t mind.”

Harry’s heart pounds at her words, although he isn’t exactly nervous. “Well, may I say something else sappy?”

“We’ve made it this far, haven’t we?”

“Fair.” Harry smiles. Admittedly, he’s got the knot figured out and could easily side the tie off with no problem. But he likes having something for his fingers to fidget with, and he definitely likes having his fingers so near her body. “On top of everything else I’ve said, you are… undoubtedly… the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.”

Roni’s mouth falls open so subtly that Harry would have missed it if it wasn’t for the almost inaudible gasp that accompanied the movement. He doesn’t look at her eyes, he instead focuses on the knot-- which he is now halfway done with.

“Harry.”

“Pardon me if I’m being too forward, Veronica. I just think it’s high time that I let you know that. You deserve to be told that every day.”

Harry shakes the knot a bit, effectively loosening it so that it practically slides off. But he doesn’t let go of the fabric, holding it loosely on either side of her neck. He swallows and she lets out a shaky breath, eyes darting frantically along his face as if she can’t decide on a place for them to land. The mood in the room has shifted entirely just from his one confession, because they both know that his words hold so much more depth to them. He isn’t just complimenting her to fill the silence. He means it, and he means so much more by it.

“Can I say something as well?” Roni says quietly, and Harry only nods. “You’re… the most wonderful person I’ve ever known, Harry. And I wish… I wish I’d met you sooner.”

“I consider myself incredibly lucky to have met you,” Harry says. “And I... I don’t know how long you’re going to be here with me for. But I already wish I had longer with you. And I wish you were mine.”

Roni licks her lips as their eyes finally meet. They both wear looks of confusion, a bit of fear, and so much yearning that it would make Roni sick on any other day. But now she’s here, and she’s feeling something she’s honestly never felt in her life. She smiles, reaching up slowly to cup his cheek and run her thumb over the spot where his dimple lives.

“I wish that, too,” she says breathlessly.

Finally. Finally it’s the moment they’ve both been waiting for for so long. Harry tugs lightly on the tie, pulling Roni in so close that their faces are practically touching. It would be so easy for them to just do it, just tilt their heads the slightest bit and kiss already. Roni feels jittery and shaky, and Harry reaches up to take the wrist of the hand that cups his face.

They’re so close that Roni can feel the warmth radiating off of his skin, and she swallows down all of the words that she’s dying to say. She licks her lips, only briefly giving in to the “what if’s” swimming around in her brain, and she removes her eyes from his swollen pink lips. She scans the dip of his cupid’s bow, the little mole on the corner of his chin, the point of his nose, and finally his green eyes that match the intensity on his face. Memories of the image she’d woken up to this morning float back into her mind,-- images of him, naked and swollen and whining-- and this time she lets them linger for a moment. Enjoying the way the sight had made her feel. Enjoying the way that that same hand feels now against her wrist.

“Harry,” Roni whispers.

Harry bumps his nose to hers, lips so close that she can practically taste them. “Yes, love?”

Roni wants to stop herself from saying what she’s about to say. More than anything she wants to give in to this boy who’s standing so close to her, she wants to fasten their lips together and taste him. She wants to kiss his neck, and she wants him to kiss hers. She wants to touch him, lick him, bury him inside of her until they pass out from exhaustion. And she wants to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.

But instead, she says something she almost instantly regrets.

“I can’t.”

212 notes · View notes

spideyy-girl · 5 years

Text

Bulletproof ~ Steve Harrington

Summary: Y/N, a super individual like Eleven, and Steve are captured and interrogated by the Russian soldiers who are working under Starcourt mall and have to find a way to escape before they get killed by the commies…

Fandom: Stranger Things (3)

Warnings: swearing, torture, getting shot, and reader and steve being high as fuck lmao

Word Count: 3223 (9 pages)

A/N: so this was supposed to be uploaded like a week ago but if you follow me you might know that I’ve been having problems with the tag system, and my works never show up on the search engine, so sorry it’s so late! My school starts next Wednesday so updates might be a little slower (or maybe even a little faster) but I still have a Richie headcanon on the way!

~~~

Y/N had no idea how on earth she got herself in this situation.

When her younger friend Dustin told her and Steve Harrington, a close friend of theirs and Y/N’s sort of giant crush, about a secret spy code he had picked up from his homemade radio tower, she was intrigued, to say the least. And you know what they say: curiosity killed the cat. And it sure as hell seemed like she was gonna die, but she didn’t think her life would end tied up to said ice-cream slinger from before while being interrogated by a bunch of evil Communists in a secret Russian lair under the mall where he worked and she visited regularly.

It had been hours, and Y/N continued to scream for help, trying to get anyone’s attention so she and Steve could escape the insane hellhole they got themselves stuck in. Steve grumbled, the loud voice of the girl tied up behind him making his head pound harder and he felt like his ears were about to bleed from all of the noise she was making.

“Hey, could you please stop yelling?” Steve almost whispered, but Y/N still heard it clear as day in the small silent room. She tried to turn around to face him but soon remembered that she was strapped to a chair, so she leaned her head on his shoulder instead.

“Steve? Oh my god, hey. Are-are you okay?” Y/n said, feeling a tsunami of relief hit her. For a while, she truly thought he had gone and died on her. Steve chuckled at her and leaned his head on hers to give her a sense of comfort.

“My ears are ringing and I can’t really breathe, I feel like my eyeballs are about to pop out of my skull, but other than that I’m doing pretty good,” Steve mumbles to her. She couldn’t help but giggle, Steve always knew how to make even the worst situations just a bit more bearable with his humour.

“Well, you don’t look it, my friend,” she pokes back at him. He nudges her with his head, his long hair tickling her cheek in the process.

“Geez, that one hurt, L/N,” he says back, trying to keep the girl’s mind off of the current dilemma they’re in for just a bit. He knew that she gets stressed and scared easily, due to her past trauma at the lab. It made him feel good that he could take that away from her. He tried to rip off the tape that was holding his wrists together, but it wouldn’t seem to budge. “Hey, think your mind tricks could help get us out of these chairs?”

Y/N sighed and raised her head, shaking it. “Can’t move things with my mind like El, remember?” She said, and Steve let out a small “oh” and nodded in understanding. Y/N’s powers we’re slightly different than Eleven’s, where El’s powers consisted more of telekinesis- or moving things with her mind, Y/N’s was more focused on telepathy, or mind manipulation. “So unless I can get into their heads and convince them to let us go, there’s not much I can do…” She trails off, wondering if even that would work considering what the officer said earlier.

“It’s okay, Y/N,” Steve reassured, leaning his head back onto her shoulder. “Besides, I think that could work. Do you think you could, like, get in there?” Y/N laughed slightly, but still felt nervous.

“I-I don’t know if I want to,” she tried to joke, letting out another dry laugh that sounded more uncomfortable. “But, I’m not sure. They already saw the number. They, um, t-they know who I am, Steve,” Y/N’s voice quivered, but she tried to keep herself calm, not wanting to show Steve how scared she really was.

Steve felt his body stiffen, not wanting to think about what those Russian soldiers might do to her, what they might use her for if they know about her abilities. He felt the palms of his hands start to dampen, and he tried just a little harder to pull himself from the belts that kept his wrists held to the arms of the chair he sat in. He let out an unsteady breath, not sure if his next words would be true, but he continued anyway. “Nothing will happen to you, okay? I promise; I swear on my life. We’re both gonna get out of here, alive, and we’re gonna be okay. I promise they won’t hurt you, they’d have to kill me first before they even touch you.” He said boldly, picking his words carefully, but also just spewing any positive things that came to mind. Y/N smiled at Steve, thankful that he was showing how much he cared for her, but his last sentence did admittingly make her uneasy.

“Thanks, Stevey,” she whispered back, and before they could continue to try and hatch up an escape plan, there was a loud buzzing sound that rang through the room before the Russian soldiers and the alleged ‘doctor’ strolled through the heavy metal door. The comrade made eye contact with Y/N, since she was the one facing the door, and gave her a disgusting smirk that made her squirm in her seat. As he moved around her to see Steve, he brushed his hand over her shoulder, making her retract from the contact immediately.

“I see your little boyfriend has finally decided to wake from his beauty sleep and join us,” he said as he faced Steve, the teenage boy giving him a dirty look in return. The officer chuckled, leaning closer to whisper in his ear. “Good thing you did, little boy, or I might’ve taken your girl from you and used her myself.” Steve felt every muscle in his body tense up at just those words.

“Fuck off,” he spat at the officer. “If you touch a single fucking hair on her body, I swear to god I will-” Steve cut himself off as he saw the drill powered by some kind of blue serum the doctor held, his eyes widened. He looked between the machine and the comrade, who’s smirk grew.

“Try telling the truth this time, yes?” He suggested, his hand reaching up to play with Steve’s hair, twirling it around a gloved finger. “It will make your visit with Dr. Zharkov less painful, for the both of you.” The doctor comes closer to Steve as the machine starts whirring.

“Hey, hey! What do you think you’re doing? AH!” Steve yells as the drill is injected into his neck. Y/N is kicking around in her chair, screaming at the doctor to stop and leave him alone. The Russian officer came up to her and stared at her, a creepy smile on his face as he caressed her cheek, Y/N leaning away from the unwanted touch.

“Don’t worry, little slut,” he said to her, smiling wickedly. “You’re next.” And with that, he slapped her harshly, the glove making a sharp noise against her cheek which echoed around the room as he left, the door locking behind him. She heard Steve’s screaming stop and soon the injection was put into her own neck.

~~~

Y/N’s head rested against Steve’s, trying her hardest not to let her sleep deprivation get the best of her, as it didn’t seem like the best moment to take a quick nap. She put her head back on Steve’s shoulder and nuzzled her nose into the crook of his neck, to which he giggled.

“That-that tickles a little,” Steve giggled. Y/N let out a smile and laughed along, doing it a little more before stopping again and closing her eyes. A little rest wouldn’t hurt, right? Luckily, the drugs hadn’t hit her as hard as they did with Steve since she was used to similar types of torture back when she was trained in the lab. Steve claimed he didn’t feel anything either, but she could tell something was definitely wrong with him, and even she herself felt off.

“I mean, I feel fine!” Steve exclaimed, accidentally bonking his head against the back of Y/N’s. “Oop, sorry. But I think these morons messed up the drug!” Y/N couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips.

“Haha, yeah, stupid morons can’t even drug us!” She said happily, still laughing as her head lolled on top of Steve’s shoulder. Steve laughed along with her, continuing to mock the Commies.

“Hey morons! Morons! Woah-oh!” He yelled as he continued to laugh, Y/N trying to hold back her own giggles but of course, didn’t succeed.

“There is definitely something wrong with us,” she said with another small giggle and Steve nodded.

“Yup, something’s wrong,” he agreed. Then the door buzzed, indicating that the Russian officer was once again entering the room, accompanied by his doctor friend, who was pulling out very sharp and not very doctor-like tools from his lab coat. Y/N stared at him wide-eyed, watching his movements as the officer went back to face Steve, who was biting his lip to try and keep himself from laughing.

“Let’s try this again, yes?” his voice comes out through his thick accent, and Y/N felt Steve nod slightly. The comrade came closer and looked at the boy dead in the eye. “Who do you work for?” he snarled out and Y/N felt herself holding her breath to try and keep herself from losing it, whether that meant a laughing fit or a mental breakdown, she didn’t quite know yet.

“Scoops. Scoops Ahoy,” Steve replied as he chuckled. Y/N found his comment wildly amusing and started wheezing as she threw her head back and hit Steve’s, but he was also too busy laughing to realize. The Russian looks at the teenage girl who was still giggling and red in the face, thinking of what he might have to do to her.

“How did you find us?” He asked, his eyes not averting from the girl who’s back was facing towards him, but the question was still directed at Steve. The boy tried to keep a straight face as he answered, but still to no avail.

“Oh, totally by accident,” Steve said and Y/N started cackling, kicking her feet as her body fell forward and tears started to form in her eyes. The comrade looks back at the doctor and speaks something in Russian that they couldn’t understand. Then the doctor pulled out a pair of plyers and walked towards the pair, the other one nodding his head towards Steve. “What is that shiny little toy you got there?” Steve laughed as the doctor crouched in front of him and went to grab one of Steve’s fingernails with the tool, to which Steve’s smile finally dropped and he started to scream in protest.

“There was a code! We heard a code!” Y/N said when she heard Steve starting to go crazy. The doctor pulled the plyers away and the comrade made his way to stand in front of Y/N now, glaring at her. When he questioned what code she began to giggle again, and honestly that sound alone made Steve forget about his fingernail almost being pulled off. “You know, 'the silver cat feeds, when blue meets yellow in the west, blah blah blah. You broadcast that dumb shit all over town, and we picked it up on our little toy radio, and we cracked it in a day! A fucking day!” She laughed again as she looked up at the officer, who was snarling down at her.

“Who is we? Who else knows we are here?” He demanded, and Steve turned his head a little to talk, much to Y/N trying to tell him to stop.

“Well, uh, Dustin knows we’re here. Dustin Henderson?” Steve said as he started laughing again and Y/N leaned on his shoulder, still giggling as well as he continued. “Yeah, curly hair, small, kind of like a fro. He’s got great hair.” Steve tried looking back at Y/N and she made sounds of agreement with his descriptions.

“Dustin Henderson? Where is he?” He asked Steve, and Steve smirked at him.

“Oh they’re long gone, you big asshole!” He giggled. “And he’s probably calling Hopper, and Hopper is probably calling the US cavalry. They’re gonna come in here commando-style, guns-a-blazing, and kick your sorry asses back to Russia. You'r4e gonna be two pieces of toast.” And Steve lost it after finishing his statement, leaning forward as he wheezed, Y/N leaning back with him as she did the same. And before the comrade could say anything else, an alarm blasts through the air, just on time.

The Russian comrade jolted out of the room to see what the hell had happened while the doctor stayed to keep a watch on the drugged pair of teenagers. Y/N saw this as a perfect opportunity to try and escape. Steve nudged her, trying to silently tell her to use whatever powers she can to get them out of their current situation.

“Um, excuse me, kind sir?” Y/N caught his attention and giggled. The doctor looked at her confused, she could tell he obviously didn’t understand what she was saying but continued. “You wouldn’t mind helping a poor girl like me out, would you?” She flashed him a charming smile and as soon as she locked their gaze her face went straight and she tried to push whatever was in her system aside to concentrate. The doctor fell into a state of oblivion and Y/N giggled a bit, happy that it was working. “It would be awfully nice of you to let us go.” She said, and with that, he walked slowly towards them and unbuckled the belts.

Y/N was so surprised it actually worked so well that she forgot that she was manipulating someone and he fell out. But before he could make a move to get them back, Steve slipped out of his restraints and hit him with the chair, knocking him unconscious. Y/N giggled and clapped as Steve helped her get out of her own chair. “Gotta say, Harrington, that was the hottest shit I’ve ever seen,” she giggled and so did he. He grabbed her face and squished her cheeks.

“No, YOU’RE the hottest thing I’ve ever seen!” he replied quite loudly and they both laughed. Steve grabbed Y/N’s hand and dragged her towards the door. “Let’s get out of here finally!” He said and the girl squealed in excitement as they began to aimlessly run down the hallway. And as you could’ve probably guessed, that was not the best plan.

As they ran down one of the endlessly long hallway, looking for the storage room elevator, they heard a strong voice come down the other side of the hallway in what was presumably Russian, and the sound of a gun cocking. Y/N and Steve looked back and their eyes blew wide as they saw the giant riffle pointed towards them and two more officers joined his side and did the same thing.

“Oh shit! OH, SHIT!” Steve said as he tugged her hand and tried to get Y/N to run along with her. “Y/N, come on! We seriously got to go! Hey, what are you doing?!” They heard the ringing sound of gunshots fly through the air and it was as if everything was going in slow motion. Steve took Y/N’s hand and dragged her into a hallway going a different direction but it was too late, and Y/N had wedged herself between the bullets and Steve.

Steve caught her as she fell, holding her ribs where the bullets had made contact. He felt almost completely sober as he saw the girl squeezing her eyes shut in pain, groaning. Her breathing was heavy and Steve pulled her into a clear room and locked all the doors, rushing over to her and putting her head on his lap, trying to keep himself from crying.

“Oh god, baby, I’m so sorry,” he whispered as he pet her hair. She shook her head, trying to get herself to make words but was still in shock. “No no no no, this wasn’t supposed to happen, oh god, oh shit, I’m sorry I’m so so sorry.” At this point he couldn’t help the water escaping his eyes.

“Steve,” she said as she grabbed him hand. He began to sob as he looked at her and squeezed her hand, using his other hand to push hair away from her face. “Steve, hey, it’s okay.”

“No no it’s not okay! What were you thinking?” He screamed at her, his tears making his vision blurry. “You-you just got shot! You were shot! Please, you can’t die on me, not here.” he continued to ramble so much that he was completely distracted to the lack of blood on the floor.

“Steve, listen to me,” she said a bit more sternly. But Steve just shook his head.

“No, Y/N, you have to listen, okay? You’re gonna be fine. I promised myself that I wouldn’t let anything happen to you as long as I was alive, so I’m gonna make sure we get out. Just please don’t die, Y/N stay with me-”

“Steve!” She shouted as she reached up and grabbed his face. He opened his eyes and wiped his tears to meet her gaze. She looked at him with her eyebrows furrowed and laughed at him, pushing his hair from his face. He then slowly pushed his gaze to her abdomen, which seemed to be fine, as if nothing happened. She saw his gaze shift and lifted her shirt to show where the bullets had hit her had only left a couple of bruises.

Steve gasped as he looked between the purple marks to her beautiful Y/E/C eyes, and smiled, still feeling shocked. “Holy fuck. You-you’re, like, you’re fucking bulletproof! Holy shit!” He smiled at her and she smiled back, nodding excitedly. He felt his laugh die down as he continued to stare at her, a small smile still prominent on his face. “I love you, you know that?”

Y/N was taken aback by his words but smiled back sweetly once she processed the situation and kissed his cheek, pressing her forehead against his. “I sorta love you too,” she whispered. The pair pulled back to look at each other again and leaned forward, their lips brushing against one another. But before they could connect, yelling and gunshots were heard from just outside and they shared looks.

“Maybe we should save this for later and get out of here first,” Steve suggested and Y/N nodded, taking a hand he offered to her as they both got up.

“Yup, good plan,” she agreed and they unlocked the door and prepped themselves to start running. But before they went out, Y/N grabbed Steve’s face and quickly pecked him on the lips. “Just for good luck.” Steve swore he never smiled wider as she winked at him and opened the door for them to escape.

~~~

TAGS:

Permanent: @phonegalhelp @caswinchester2000

Steve Harrington: @irreplaceable-ecstasy @kiara-uwu @layxbubbly @pvachyy

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #stranger things #st3 #steve the hair harrington #imagine #011 #steve harrington x super!reader

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gryffindorcls · 5 years

Text

The Best Friend Swap: Chapter 2

“Alright, pretty boy,” Alya speared a piece of her crepe with a fork, “how do you plan on sweeping my best friend off of her feet?”

Adrien fiddled with his napkin. “Eiffel Tower.”

“Okay. That’s a location...not a plan. I’m going to need more than that if you want my help.”

“I’m sorry, Alya. Right now, my heart is pounding so hard that it might pop out of my chest. I can’t think straight. Plagg had to give me a pep talk before I left my apartment today. I just want everything to be perfect for her.”

“Adrien, I want nothing more than to see Marinette happy, as well. However, you do realize that you could propose to her while standing in line at Chipotle and she would say yes. That girl has loved you since day one.”

He raked his fingers through his hair and huffed. “You’re right. But she’s special, and I want her to know that.”

Alya reached across the table and placed a comforting hand on his arm. “And you already make her feel that way every day. You should hear how she talks about you when you’re not around. The things you do for her...let’s just say it makes us normal people look bad. It’s hard to compete with Prince Charming sometimes.” She shot him a sly smirk.

His eyes grew wide. “I never meant to make any of you feel that way. I’m so sorry.”

The journalist laughed, causing Adrien to shoot her a confused look. “I was kidding. Goodness gracious, Sunshine. I know you’re only being yourself, and you should never stop rocking who you are. Also, since when does the punniest cat in Paris not pick up on a joke? Doesn’t Plagg mess with you all the time? You are off your game today. Then again, you are a tad oblivious sometimes.”

Adrien hung his head. “Ugh...I think I’m a little on edge today. I’m super nervous. Sorry.”

Alya leaned over and jokingly swatted at him. “Stop apologizing! Besides, I don’t think us mere mortals should try to recreate the epic love saga of Ladybug and Chat Noir in our own lives. You and Marinette are next level when it comes to your relationship, and I honestly don't think I'd be able to handle that. I need my space, and sometimes I can get a little high strung. Nino is my perfect partner because he's chill and he understands my needs. He balances me out.”

Adrien laughed and raised his hands in surrender. “Okay! Okay! I get it. Thanks, Alya. I think I needed that.”

“Anytime, Mr. Model. NOW...how are you going to propose? I need details stat!”

“Okay. When she and I are transformed, we love to hang out on the support beams of the Eiffel Tower. Since that’s not exactly the best place to propose...because I would definitely drop the ring...I’ve rented out the top two floors.”

Alya pinched the bridge of her nose. “Occasionally, it slips my mind just how rich you are. Then you say stuff like ‘I rented out the top two floors of the Eiffel Tower’, and it all comes flooding back to me. How did you even manage to pull that off?”

“I know the mayor.”

“We all know the mayor. He used to show up at our school. He’s a dinosaur who needs to stop running for office.”

“Yes, but I am a multimillionaire who knows the mayor.”

“Touché, Agreste.”

Adrien crossed his arms. “You know, I’m not done telling you my plan.”

Alya huffed playfully. “Of course, you’re not.”

“You see, instead of going back to my place to eat dinner, Nino will be taking Marinette to Gabriel’s flagship store where they will be outfitted into evening wear. You and I will also be dressing up for tonight’s festivities. I have our clothes ready to go, and I’ve also arranged for stylists to work on our hair and make-up. At five o’clock tonight, we will be meeting our significant others at the Eiffel Tower, and from there we will make our way to the top. My father, Nathalie, and Marinette’s parents will be waiting for us on the open-air level. I will then propose, and we will have the space to celebrate for the next few hours.”

“It seems like you have everything planned out, but I’m surprised. No fireworks?”

He squinted at her. “You’re messing with me again, right? My brain is too close to exploding to tell right now.”

“Yes, Adrien. I’m kidding. Please don’t get fireworks. Your plan sounds perfect, and Marinette will love it. However, five o’clock is eight hours from now. It’s not going to take us that long to get ready, so what exactly are we doing until then?”

“We have a one o’clock appointment with the stylists at my father’s house today. Until then, I was hoping that you would help me decorate the space for tonight. Marinette likes these things called ‘fairy lights’, and I have no idea what I’m doing with them. I took them out of the box, and I spent twenty minutes to untangling myself while Plagg cackled in the corner.”

Alya laughed. “If you have enough money to rent out the upper decks of the Eiffel Tower, why don’t you hire someone to decorate?”

Adrien looked wistfully into the distance. “Because this is one of the most important days of my life, and I didn’t want to farm out the work to someone who doesn’t care about what they’re doing. It doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect. I want it to have a personal touch. Marinette would want that. I mean, look at her! She makes everything herself.”

“True. Good answer, Sunshine, but is it really going to take us four hours to hang up fairy lights?”

“No, I have a few other decorations, too. Also, I wanted to get things done early so I can get in the zone.”

“The zone?”

He scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. I’m probably going to need a few minutes to compose myself and not pass out before this all starts tonight.”

“Oh my God, Adrien.” Alya put her hand on her forehead and pushed back her hair with an exasperated sigh. “Come on. Let’s go get you the girl.”

***

Nino led Marinette down the sidewalk at a brisk pace. He was tight-lipped and silent, a far cry from his usual calm and collected demeanor. Marinette looked at him with concern.

“Hey,” she started, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he responded brusquely.

“No, you’re not. You and Adrien have the same ‘I’m upset but am too stubborn to talk about it look’.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Marinette grabbed Nino’s arm, stopping him in his tracks. She let go and crossed her arms.

“Come on, Marinette. We have to go,” he huffed.

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Please. Just walk with me. We’re going to be late.”

“What exactly are we supposed to be doing right now? Do we have tickets or reservations or something?”

“No, but Adrien made this schedule. He told me that we had to stick…”

Marinette cut him off. “So, are you telling me that we don’t have to be anywhere at this exact second? Yes or no?”

He sighed. “No, but..”

“Stop that! We are talking about what’s bothering you NOW. Otherwise, we aren’t going to have a good day, and I want to get to know you better today. You are cool and chill, and we never hung out enough growing up. So, please tell me what’s wrong. I want to help.”

“You know, when you say stuff like that, it always reminds me of why you got chosen to be Ladybug.”

“Does that mean you’re going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

He threw his hands into the air in defeat. “Fine. Ugh.”

Marinette pointed to a bench, and they both took a seat. “Alright, I’m waiting.”

“Do you think Alya wishes I was more like Adrien?”

“Good, God, no! Where on Earth did you get an idea like that?”

“Earlier, she sounded way too excited to be hanging out with Adrien today, and then she kept going on and on about how chivalrous he is. I tried to play it off like a joke, but for some reason, it’s really eating at me. Like...does she wish that she was the one who was dating a rom-com protagonist? Am I not doing a good enough job as a boyfriend?”

“Nino...no. You should hear how she talks about you when we’re having girl time. She loves you so much. Alya has told me on multiple occasions that you’re one of the only people on this planet who truly understands her. Then she goes on to make fun of how cheesy Adrien and I are all the time. She definitely doesn’t want to have a relationship like mine. She loves you.”

“But...should I be doing more?”

“You don’t have to. You give her everything she wants and more.”

“But...I think I want to do more,” he said softly, turning his eyes towards the ground.

She placed an understanding hand on his arm. “Then go ahead and do it. There’s nothing stopping you.”

“Yes, there is...I don’t know how to be all romantic and whatnot. All of this stuff seems to come naturally to Adrien. I can’t figure out how he does it.”

“That’s only because he learned how to interact with the world from watching movies and anime. He thinks that the way people act on the screen is how they are supposed to act in real life. Remember, there was a time that Adrien Agreste was shut off from the world and had no friends. Underneath all of that lovey-dovey stuff, he is a socially awkward bean who still has difficulty in certain situations.”

“Yeah, but he always manages to sweep you off your feet.”

Marinette paused for a moment and scrunched her face. Her eyes grew wide as an idea flooded into her brain. She hopped off of the bench and held out her hand for Nino to take.

“Come on. I have an idea,” she announced.

Nino shot her a skeptical look. “What is it?”

Marinette beamed triumphantly. “You just told me that we don’t have any reservations right now. So, instead of whatever you and Adrien planned for us to do today, I am going to help you figure out a way to sweep my best friend off of her feet.”

Panic flooded Nino’s eyes. “Uhhh...I don’t know, Marinette. Adrien wanted us to stick to the schedule, and it’s kind of important to him. We should…”

She cut him off again. “Look, Adrien isn’t here. Besides, he wants me to have fun, and this is what I want to do right now. Helping you surprise Alya sounds like the perfect way to spend our day. Come on...it’ll be fun.”

After a few seconds, Nino finally took her Marinette’s hand and stood up from the bench. “Fine, but we actually do have an appointment at two o’clock. Adrien might be kind of angry if we missed it.”

“I can work with that. I’ve had bigger time crunches before. If we are mindful of our time, we will have five full hours to come up with a game plan. Then, you can knock her socks off when we all meet for dinner.”

“Alright. What did you have in mind?”

A grin that almost rivaled Chat Noir’s spread across Marinette’s face.

***

Alya shielded her face against the gale-force wind that threatened the tenacity of the decorations she and Adrien had put around the open-air deck at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Twinkling lights and crepe paper vigorously flapped against the violently moving air.

“Hey, Sunshine. That sky isn’t looking too good. I think it’s going to rain,” she commented while looking into the distance.

Adrien groaned. “Ugh. Why does this kind of stuff always happen to me? Isn’t Paris supposed to have a ‘mild climate’? I know I’m the holder of the Black Cat Miraculous, but do I really have to carry around the bad luck that comes along with it?”

Plagg zipped over to his holder. “Hey, don’t pin this on me, kid. I don’t control the weather, and it’s not like it’s never rained in this city before. Also, Trixx and I have been on our best behavior this afternoon. She and I even hung up the banner.”

Adrien reached out to scratch his Kwami behind the ears. “You’re right, Plagg. I’m sorry. Thank you for all of your help. It’s not fair to blame you for anything.”

Trixx zipped over to the group. “What do you think Marinette would suggest if she were here? She always seems to have a plan.”

Alya tapped her chin. “My girl would probably move all of this to the other deck. That way it doesn’t get wet when it starts to rain.”

“But that’s going to take forever! We’re almost done setting up here.” Adrien slumped against the railing.

Alya shrugged. “It’s either that or they all get destroyed. It’s also getting a little too blustery up here for my taste. I’m guessing that you would like Marinette to actually be able to hear what you are saying when you propose.”

He threw his head back and sighed. “You’re right. I hope we don’t run out of time.”

“Don’t worry, cat, we’ll help you,” Trixx said with a smile, “And as much as I want to freak out people by making them think it’s raining flaming anchovies, I will continue to not do so.”

Adrien gave the Fox Kwami a distressed look. “Umm...thank you? That sounds horrifying, so, yeah...maybe let’s not talk about doing that again.”

“Yeah, kid. Stop worrying. We all know how important this day is. With all of us working, we can do it.” Plagg patted his chosen’s cheek.

“That is uncharacteristically helpful of you, Plagg. Thank you for not just sitting in my bag eating cheese all day,” Adrien responded.

“I wasn’t kidding when I made that promise to help you. I’m not going to let you down. I am a Kwami of my word.”

“Have I ever told you that you’re the best?”

“I know that I am. Now, let’s get moving before it starts to rain. I hate getting wet.”

The holders and their Kwamis started taking down the decorations and placing them into the boxes. A crack of thunder sounded in the distance, causing Adrien to cringe.

“So much for a perfect proposal,” Adrien scoffed.

Alya crossed her arms. “None of this extra stuff matters to Marinette, and you know that! She loves you no matter what. So what if there’s a little rain? There’s an indoor deck that has an equally beautiful view of the city as this one. Not to mention, you actually managed to book a private party at the top of the Eiffel Tower. You’ve done the impossible already. I can’t think of anyone else who could pull something like this off. She’s going to be excited no matter what happens.”

He offered her a weak smile. “I know. Thanks, Alya. Marinette is extremely lucky to have a friend like you.”

“You know, you’re my friend, too, Adrien.”

“Yeah, I do now. I’m having a good time working with you today.”

“Me, too, Sunshine.”

“Let’s just hope that nothing else goes wrong today.”

An explosion sounded below as Adrien completed his statement. Trixx and Plagg flew to their holder’s sides while Adrien and Alya raced to the edge of the deck to scan the ground below.

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Why today? Hawkmoth couldn’t have kept quiet for one more day.”

“There’s no time to dwell on it right now. We need to transform.” Alya looked at Trixx.

“You’re right,” Adrien turned to his Kwami, “PLAGG, CLAWS OUT!”

“TRIXX, LET’S POUNCE!”

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Fanfiction.net

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Thank you to everyone who has been reading and following my other stories. You are all wonderful!

I apologize for not updating my stories too much this week. I had a few personal things come up, but I am happy to be back at it!

Also, thank you to those who have left comments and asks on all of my works. They make my heart feel full! (That and I love talking with all of you!)

My username on Fanfiction and AO3 is clslovegood47.

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