#final note before i use up all my tags again i loved her concert outfit 😔give me them bracelets girl i cant find any

[odetogyus]

wait

↳pairing/s: idol boyfriend!yugyeom x fem!reader

↳genre: angst (w/ a happy ending lol), idol!au

↳warnings: profanity, mentions of alcohol consumption, trust issues

↳song: wait by maroon 5

✎author's note: idk what I was going through when I wrote this but this was from my 2018 archive and I think this baby needs to see the light of day,, so here it is!

—

"The concert should be done now," you thought to yourself while staring at your phone.

Since your brother's wedding was in 2 days, you didn't have time to fly to Toronto to see your boyfriend and his group perform. You've been on a few tours with them– sometimes working as a stylist for Yugyeom and the whole team. JYP himself even sends you an extra ticket to every single country the boys go to just in case you wanted to come with, but this time however, you had to stay home to help out with your brother's wedding.

It's been almost 3 years since you started dating Yugyeom. What started out as a very unexpected interaction at a dance showcase, later bloomed into something so beautiful. Your relationship wasn't always pretty. In fact, it's true what they say about the first year; it definitely is the hardest.

You've seen them grow, not just as artists but as people, too. You've built such tight relationships with each and every one of them, even the staff members. GOT7 was a family and you were over the moon to be a part of it.

After a few hours of waiting, you decided to take a hot shower before taking a nap. It was a tiring day for you and your family. The wedding was in 2 days and there were a lot of things left to do. You also knew very well that the boys come out exhausted after every show, and so you fought back the slightest feeling of worry in your head and fell into a deep sleep.

–

You woke up to the sound of your phone going off.

BREAKING NEWS

MEMBERS OF THE KPOP GROUP– GOT7, WERE SEEN AT A CLUB IN TORONTO AFTER THEIR CONCERT. MEMBERS MARK TUAN, JACKSON WANG & KIM YUGYEOM WERE SPOTTED HEAVILY INTOXICATED WITH 3 UNKNOWN WOMEN JOINING THEM AT THEIR TABLE. NO OFFICIAL STATEMENTS REGARDING THE INCIDENT HAS BEEN RELEASED BY JYP ENTERTAINMENT.

People you knew and didn't know were tagging you everywhere. Every photograph, every article, they all had their eyes on Yugyeom, and they all had their eyes on you, too.

Your brother's fiancée barged into your room shortly after the news broke out. She was always there for you, and the relationship you shared was a very special one. You trusted her, and you never hid anything from her after the first time she saw you cry.

"Y/N," your almost sister-in-law cooed. You both knew that it was very unlikely of Yugyeom to act that way, but then again, the people surrounding them aren’t always angels. No one really is.

Just then, the name you've been waiting to see finally popped up on your screen, but this time, you weren't sure if you had the guts to answer him.

"Should I answer?" You asked, sounding miserable as ever. Tears escaped your eyes, glistening like broken glass when the sunlight hits the surface.

"You need to hear it from him, Y/N. I'll be in the kitchen, let me know if you need anything."

Accepting the call, you swallowed hard enough and prepared yourself for what could either be the most painful truth you had to hear, or the biggest lie ever you had to believe.

"Y/N.. hey, please let me explain," Yugyeom's voice was incredibly raspy and shaky, and you knew damn well that he was in tears. It's only been a few hours since the incident, so it was safe to say that he was still quite hungover. You knew they were well taken care of, but what happened cannot be rewritten again. What's done is done.

"Go ahead," you answered. Holding back your tears is always the hardest when you know that you have no choice but to endure the pain.

"We had a few drinks, and we had fun. We had so much fun. The boys and I, the staff. Me and Jackson hyung tried the hose thingy, it was so– cool– but, but I'm sorry babe, I'm so sorry–"

"Do you just.. wanna talk when you’re not like.. this, Yugyeom? Because if you're gonna keep doing this, I might as well just hang up and talk to my fucking wall–"

Oh, the theatrics of a brokenhearted beast.

"No.. stop, listen to me, I'm trying to explain!"

"Okay, then do it," you said angrily. The tears from your eyes were flowing down uncontrollably. It was so painful that you couldn't even hear anything else but the sound of his lies breaking you continuously.

"Mark hyung joined us, and we got so drunk, and next thing you know, these random girls sat with us at the table. I don't remember a lot but– I think one even bit my neck– it hurts, and she– I think she sat on my lap but I think I tried to push her off but I passed out. I don't really remember anything else–"

"You know, Gyeom? Sometimes, I wish you knew what it's like to be the one that patiently waits for you to come home, hoping that the worries in your head just disappear. How could you be so irresponsible? Man.. how could you do this to me? To us?"

"Y/N, you know I love you more than anything else but for fuck's sake, will you please believe me? My head hurts so much and you're acting up! Jesus!"

Yugyeom knew not to push your buttons, but in that state of his, he pushed it all, not missing one.

"Well, if that’s the case then I’m sorry. I’m sorry for caring too much, and for being all up in your business all the fucking time. Have fun remembering how you got that stupid hickey of yours, I’m done–"

"No, you are not hanging up on me, Y/N. It was a mistake, okay? God, my head is killing me and I just.. need you to believe me. I drank too much, and I know it’s bad, but I swear to fucking God, I didn’t do anything to hurt you. I would never hurt you. But you need.. to stop being difficult.. you’re making things worse here–"

The tension grew even more. You were both screaming your lungs out at each other, thousands of miles away from the other.

"Really now?" You spat bitterly. That was it for you. The last straw. "Well then, I know my brother invited you to the wedding, but don't bother showing up. I don't want to see you."

Your harsh words must've hurt Yugyeom so much, that his screams of anger just managed to slip out of his already worn out body.

"You're really throwing this all away– huh? Almost 3 years worth of memories? Just because I made a mistake, just because I don't remember everything that happened to me while I was intoxicated? You think I wanted those girls to come close to us? You're so– Y/N, you really think I wanted to hurt you, don't you? So now.. you do this? You're really breaking up with me? On the phone? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Trust, Yugyeom. Trust. You broke the most important thing we built. Do you know how hard it is to do this? To date someone like you? People send me death threats, Yugyeom. Just because I decided to be with you. Do you even know how I feel? Do you know how Mark's girlfriend feels? How Jackson's girlfriend feels? Because I do. We all fucking get it!"

"Okay, trust. But let me ask you Y/N, if things were so difficult, why are you still here? Why date me when you could've left? That's what you wanna do anyway, right? You wanna leave, you wanna be free, right?"

But it’s not freedom if it’s not with you.

The bitter taste of surprise was too much for you. It was never meant to hurt that much, but it did.

"Wanna know why I'm still here, Yugyeom?"

"Why," he spat coldly.

"Because I thought that– loving you, oh god, I thought that that was more than enough to believe that we'd make it. But at this point, maybe we're both just better off alone. Separate ways, Gyeom."

Yugyeom let out a faint laugh. The most painful laugh one could ever laugh. A laugh of defeat.

"You're really doing this, huh? This is what you want? You're really doing this to us–"

"You don't need to show up at the wedding.. I'll just, tell them about us after. We'll meet when we're both ready to talk. Be safe."

"Fuck this, Y/N. Fuck–"

And with that, you hung up.

Your heart was broken once again, not by the same person, but because of the same reason you kept your heart safe and hidden in the first place.

Trust.

Yugyeom was your true love. The man you believed to be was your person. The person you entrusted your fragile self to. The person you needed.

But maybe he doesn't need you.

Putting your phone on silent, you cried yourself to sleep, wishing you'd never wake up.

—

wedding day.

Your eyes were still tired and gloomy, but you were better. You haven't heard from him since the fight and although it hurt you too much to be that person to hang up and end things, you knew better than to mope all day and question your existence.

"You look so beautiful in that dress! I'm so happy you chose that style! It's just perfect," your brother's soon-to-be wife exclaimed. She was the one who held you tight when your heart broke for the wrong guy, and she was also the one who held you when Yugyeom couldn't. It's safe to say she's the sister you never had.

"Thanks, I'm happy to be here. I'm so excited for you and my brother. I don't know what you see in him but I'm thankful you stuck around."

The bride smiled with tears welling up in her eyes. "You stick around for the one you love, Y/N. Even when the storm hits and everything falls apart, wait it out, then love again."

The wedding venue was everything you imagined it to be. A beautiful pathway to the garden, red and white roses everywhere, and photographs of your brother and his soon-to-be wife hung from the stringed lights wrapped around the tall trees to create the most beautiful ambiance.

Your quick peek of the venue ended since it was almost time for the actual ceremony. You were one of the bridesmaids, and you had to be wherever the bride was.

From afar, a tall figure walked towards the venue in a red suit. His dark hair complemented his outfit, and his handsome face was the cherry on top of it all.

Yugyeom showed up to the wedding a few minutes before it actually started. He took his time exchanging words of happiness and support to your brother. Yugyeom's relationship with your brother started out like any other brother – boyfriend relationship, but the two ended up being very close friends. A few moments before announcing the beginning of the ceremony, Yugyeom found his way to his seat. He sat close to the front, but in the corner.

The ceremony began, and every second felt longer than it should have. Closing your eyes, you took slow, but steady, steps to the podium where your brother was. You both agreed to welcome the bride with your whole family present next to him.

dirty looks from your mother

never seen you in a dress that color, no

it's a special occasion

not invited but I'm glad I made it

He looked at you like it's the first time he's ever laid eyes on you. His heart thumped like crazy, seeing how your hair fell perfectly down the length of your spine, in a red dress that exposed most of your back. Yugyeom couldn't resist every urge to kiss you. Every thought of you possibly breaking up with him completely made the poor boy pale. He was madly in love with you, in every possible way, that losing you meant losing everything to him.

The moment you stood next to your brother, your eyes met his. The eyes you hated to look into, but missed the most. Yugyeom stared at you for a long time, before you both snapped out of the trance only you two were in. You saw him mouth a "wow" before facing the bride and giving her a hug.

Walking to your designated seat, your mind went crazy just imagining how hard it would be to keep your composure when Yugyeom would literally be inches away from you.

"Beautiful," Yugyeom said in awe as you sat next to him. "You're beautiful, Y/N."

Without looking at him, you extended your gratitude. "Thank you, Yugyeom," was all you could say.

You both tried so hard to focus on the wedding. For the most part, it felt like no one else was there. You were in the moment, and so was he.

The exchange of vows was definitely something. Every word your brother and his wife exchanged was pure love. And deep down, you prayed that the love you needed was Yugyeom's.

oh, let me apologize

i'll make up, make up, make up, make up for all those times

your love, I don't wanna lose

i'm begging, begging, begging, begging, I'm begging you

As if on cue, Yugyeom held your hand without looking at you. His hand was shaky, and so was yours, but you didn't pull away. You held onto him, too. You held onto him like your life depended on it, and you held onto the person that longs for you the most.

"I do," your brother speaks into the microphone, looking at his woman. Yugyeom holds your hand even tighter, saying the same words your brother said, loud enough for you to hear it. Only you.

I do.

The bride reciprocates, and tears immediately stream down your face as the rush of emotions take over you.

Not wanting to lose the love of your life ever again, you follow suit, and said the same words the bride said. Only for you and Yugyeom, it meant something else. Only something the two of you could understand.

I do.

You both stood firmly, not letting go of each other, when the officiator finally said the words everyone wanted to hear.

You may now kiss the bride.

Not wasting a precious second, Yugyeom pulled you into a tight embrace, holding your head against his chest. His lips planted kisses at the top of your head, and suddenly everything was right in the world.

The scent of his perfume was home to you, and it made you feel so much better.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm so stupid, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry," Yugyeom whispered, still keeping you in his arms.

"I'm sorry, too, Gyeom," you answered, trying hard not to let the tears roll down your cheek and ruin your makeup.

Yugyeom finally kissed you.

He kissed you without stealing the spotlight from the newly weds. He kissed you softly, but it was clear that he longed for it. For you. He kissed you just the way you needed to be kissed, reminding you that he is yours in full surrender.

"I love you, Gyeom."

You finally meet his gaze. The prettiest eyes you've ever seen, and he really was the best thing that's ever happened to you.

"I love you, Y/N. I love you."

Wait it out, then love again.

#odetogyus #odetogyus.writes #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines #kpop au #got7 #got7 drabbles #got7 au #got7 x reader #got7 imagines #got7 yugyeom #idol!au #idol!yugyeom #yugyeom #kim yugyeom #yugyeom x reader #yugyeom imagines #yugyeom scenarios #yugyeom drabble #yugyeom angst #kpop writing

[kooala]

once you realize - chapter two

USERNAME CHANGE!!

!!used to be kookie-off-his-kookie  but now it’s kooala!!

A/N: I’m so sorry it has taken me forever to upload the second chapter but between no wifi at the new place and my apartment having all sorts of issues at the moment it really took longer than I expected! Thank you for sticking around though and I hope you enjoy the second chapter! xx

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader, Taehyung x his girlfriend Mina, Jaebeom!

Tags: best friend! Jungkook, idol verse, friends to lovers!

Genre:  angst, fluff, mutual pining, basically the cutest falling in love story

Wordcount: 6.3k

Warnings: language! flirting! nudity but not really, just bare legs

Parts: chapter one / chapter two / chapter three / chapter four / chapter five / chapter six / chapter seven

Summary: Not seeing Jungkook for a while had made you feel like what had happened was only a blur and you were imagining all of it. But apparently it wasn’t a blur for Jungkook and when all of you went out for a couple of drinks and you got too comfortable with someone that wasn’t Jungkook, he couldn’t help but feel his heart sink into a deep pit in his stomach.

masterlist

M Countdown had been one of the events you always looked forward to the most. The preparation that went into the choreography and stages beforehand was intense, but ultimately nothing was more rewarding than presenting a comeback stage and feeling like you were able to show what all of you had been working so hard towards. The entire vibe that was going on backstage, seeing other artists perform and getting inspiration was wonderful and as you were waiting to perform backstage, you couldn’t help but stare at the screens as BTS did their comeback performance for their new single.   It had been a while since you had fallen asleep on Jungkook’s bed, and seeing him on stage like this, you were amazed by how much his features along with his look and attitude had changed over those couple of weeks since you had seen him last. You’ve seen Jungkook and the boys perform countless times before but something about their new album concept and his ability to effortlessly hit those high notes even during a live taping seemed to make you feel like you were standing right in the crowd with army, screaming and rooting for their meticulous performance. They really managed to reinvent themselves over and over again and Mina standing next to you, staring at the screen, seemed to have the same thoughts. “Can’t believe they did it again.”, she mumbled and you could only chuckle at her expression, watching Taehyung with his newly permed hair. “I think you’re drooling.”, you smirked a little.

Taking position behind one of the probs on the side, you felt your nerves kicking in big time and as you looked up and saw Jungkook standing on the opposite side of the stage. He was standing right behind the big scaffolding looking at you and you couldn’t help but crack a smile. He had a cocky smirk on his face and nodding towards you he mouthed a “good luck!”. You nodded with a smile and saw Taehyung pop up next to him, resting an arm around Jungkook’s shoulder. He had always been a ladies man but Tae around Mina was more than anyone could handle.   As you were just about to turn your head away to not interrupt their long distance, lovey-dovey moment, you caught Jungkook checking you up and down once, seemingly looking at the outfit you were wearing. You along with the other girls in the band had always hated the little costumes they put you in for shows and concerts and now that you managed to box through your new concept which was a little more straight forward and edgy, you felt more than comfortable in your cargo pants and combat boots outfit, feeling like the bad ass video game character you wish you were. This had been one of those moments you simply couldn’t just let slide so with a smirk on your face, you did a little dance while turning around, letting him know you caught him right in the act of staring. Jungkook seemed to laugh and with a shy smile, he scratched the back of his neck, looking down to the floor. Something about that was satisfying to you and with an equally as big smile, you simply left it at that, looking down yourself. You only now realized how cute Jungkook was when he got really shy and thinking about it seconds before going up on stage, letting it cloud your mind, may not be the best move.

The new concept was the first time you guys had a proper rap part and a completely different concept and for the very first time since your debut you felt like this may be something where people would finally take you serious as artists, not only seeing the girls jumping around in little skirts. You were nervous to see what Jungkook and the fans would say now that the new concept was so different. After coming off stage, completely out of breath from the performance you started chugging down the water bottle that was handed to you by one of the staff.

“That was really… really good.”, Tae mumbled towards Mina who had a safe distance between both of them since their relationship wasn’t confirmed and official yet or for that matter – allowed. “I really like your new concept.”, you started talking to Jungkook. “Your singing has always been great but this timed it’s insane, you did so well.”, you smiled, drying your neck with one of the towels and Jungkook smiled down to you, nodding. He still felt a little confused about your performance and what it had done to him because it wasn’t what he had expected. It definitely was more mature and straight forward but something about it made him feel guilty for enjoying all of you dancing the way you had. He wasn’t supposed to see you that way - rolling your hips wasn’t part of the friendship, was it? His inner urge to suppress the fact that he seemed to be crushing on you even more after that performance, made him feel really shy. He felt like he could get caught for his feelings towards you and his ears started turning pinkish. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t help the fact that you looked like one of the characters from his computer game with that little t-shirt and combat boots. It was bad ass and he hated to admit it but he was kind of here for it.

“Are you okay?”, you asked after a moment of him not responding. He seemed to be far off with his thoughts, looking past or through you and only as you called him out for it, he slowly seemed to turn his face towards you again, catching his thoughts. “Yea, sorry.”, he laughed,  putting both his hands in his pants pocket nervously. “I really liked it. It looks like you finally managed to perform what you guys wanted to perform for a long time now, the song and concept and all. It suited you guys.” He made sure to include Mina and the others in the conversation as he spoke and with a smile you nodded, thankful he appreciated your hard work. He would’ve told you if he didn’t like it, you knew that. “Also, kind of bad ass you had one of the rap parts.” He nudged your shoe with his a bit and smirked at you. You blurred out what Mina replied to him and just stared at him for a moment. “Bad ass, hm?” Raising your eyebrows you smiled up towards him. “I thought that’s just my brand? Always on the bad ass side of things, you know?”, you teased him quietly with a smile cracking in the corner of your mouth. You still felt the adrenalin from performing and you knew you had to tone down the upfront conversation you were having with him. Watching a figure climb up the stairs on the side you saw one of the staff members scolding you for blocking the way right beside the stage and with a nod and small bow, all of you excused yourselves. “See you.”, you said watching him as he looked over his shoulder while walking down the hallway into the opposite direction. “Bye, noona.”, he replied with a cocky smile on his face before turning around and disappearing in one of the hallways. “Did… he just…?”, Mina asked confused as you stared into the now empty hallway. “Yea… I think he did.”

Arriving back home after all  the excitement, you felt absolutely exhausted from the long day. It had been a couple of exhausting weeks and the only thing you wanted to do is to shower and get into a comfy sweater, ready to just order in food and catch up with some cheesy tv dramas. The shower felt like the greatest thing in the world and once you put on that sweater you felt like you were ready to calm down. Preparing an event like this on top of keeping up with your regular schedule had been exhausting and as you dropped onto your bed you couldn’t help but check if the performance had already been uploaded to YouTube. There was always room for improvement. Hearing a soft knock on the door you pushed yourself off of your bed, only to open the door to someone you really hadn’t expected, especially not this time of night. “Hi… “, you chuckle, confused to see Jungkook’s smiley, soft face in the doorframe. Having visitors, let alone male ones, was prohibited at the dorm so seeing his face wasn’t what you expected. “Sorry for just randomly coming over but I really needed to see someone and hang out tonight. And not just six dudes that know everything better anyway.”, Jungkook chuckled quietly and his soft smile made your cheeks feel hot immediately. Now was the moment you regretted your grubby outfit. “If you managed to get that far without being stopped, how could I deny you.”, you joke, opening the door to your room more so he could come in. Trying to run your fingers through your hair you closed the door behind him. You felt a little awkward because he’d never seen you bare and not made up. You watched him carefully as he took a look around the room, taking in the details since he had never been here. He was smiling at the polaroid pictures you had stuck into the frame of the mirror to be able to look at them every day when you got ready. Embarrassing enough you had to admit to yourself, that there were a lot of Jungkook polaroid’s both of you had taken together.

“But seriously, how did you manage to get past everyone?”, you asked nosy, taking a seat on your bed. You watched him as he was scanning the room while he was walking around. “I told them I needed a good friend because I’m not feeling well.”, he chuckled a bit as he looked over to you. He started laughing even more at your confused expression. “Well, are you not feeling well? Do you want to talk about it?”, you sat up a little more straight, watching his every move to make sure you weren’t missing any signs of him lying about how he felt. Jungkook was never the one to dive deep into emotional conversation. Quite the opposite actually, he was a master of keeping how he felt hidden. “I’m not… bad. Just… confused maybe.” He took a deep breath, putting your picture frame with the picture of you and your friend back on the shelf and pulled in the chair from your desk to sit on it. He put his hands in his sweater pocket and just looked at you for a long moment. Jungkook was wearing big sweats and a massive sweater, looking like he had just crawled out of bed himself to come over and see you. You crossed your legs on your bed, looking over to him, waiting for him to start talking. All he did was stare at you though, smiling and as he looked away he scanned the room again. That little moment of him looking away and the smirk that had followed, made your stomach feel all fluttery and soft. You couldn’t help but stare at his hair, looking like he had just showered earlier, making them look un-styled and fluffy, perfect to run your hands through them. Trying to collect your thoughts before you ended up walking over to just run your fingers through his hair, you tried to pick the conversation back up.

“Confused about what?”, you ended up breaking the long silence after a while and Jungkook turned his head back over to face you. It had been a while since both of you had ‘unintentionally’ cuddled while watching the movies and after all that time had passed it somehow felt like you had interpreted way too much into it - as if it never really happened, almost like a blurred dream. “Let’s not talk about depressing things.”, he shrugged it off and sat up straight, stroking his hair back. “Want to do something?”, he added. “Well technically I was about to get ready to order… “, you laugh and he nodded, scooting over to put his feet on your bed. “Let’s order then and do exactly what we did last time.”, he chuckled and you couldn’t help but wonder if he chose those exact words because he wanted to point out he enjoyed the cuddling or if it was mere coincidence and you were the one overreacting.

About twenty minutes later, both of you ended up sitting outside on the roof terrace, unpacking the food delivery that had just arrived.  Although it seemed difficult to enjoy a mild spring night out on a balcony in the middle of Seoul, it always fascinated you how beautiful this city could be at night. Opening your soup, you grabbed the little extra packs with the spring onion and chili paste before putting it all in and stirring through it. “So as soon as we got back after the show, Tae told all of us that he was officially in a relationship now and asked the Hyung’s and management for permission.”, Jungkook mentioned, trying to sound casual but you could tell that this was exactly what had been bothering him. You took a few moments to carefully think about how to approach this. “And how did it go?” Grabbing some of your noodles you started eating and watched him as he stirred through his Bibimbap in thoughts, his thoughts seemingly somewhere far away. “Well we’re all okay with it and happy for him, obviously had to talk about how to keep things on the down-low and all that but it was nice. He seemed super happy… ”, he trailed off quietly. “But it made you feel shitty.” You went broad with that statement because it was very personal to make an assumption like that about someone, no matter how close you were. Jungkook looked up at you, flickering his gaze over your face for a moment, only replying with a nod. “Listen… I know it’s not ideal right now with almost all of them in a relationship but I’m sure you’ll find someone you want to tell the guys about.” You smile over at him, trying to encourage him but talking about the possibility of him introducing someone else as his girlfriend to you, made your stomach drop. He looked back down into his food, stirring around some more before eating a spoon full, not replying to your statement and although you really wanted to push it, you felt like silence would be best for now.

Debating on whether or not you should tell him about a date you had a couple of weeks ago which turned out to be nothing more so far anyway, you watched the skyline for a while. It was one of those things you really wanted to talk to your best friend about but at the same time, you knew that you just wanted to see his honest reaction. What scared you was the fact that it may hurt him. “I was out with a guy last month… “, you started before slurping some more of your noodles and the way his head shot up, almost an expression of pure panic on his face, made you already regret your decision. Maybe you shouldn’t talk to guys about other guys. “And thinking about all of this, it made me realize that I really do know how you feel. Alone and all.”, you nodded and smiled over to make him feel a little bit better about the statement. “Who was it?”, he pressed. “I’m not going to tell you because you know him. It wasn’t a bad date… but what’s the point in going out with someone when you know you like someone else? Already regret leading him on.” Almost choking at the honesty of your own words, you open your soda can and look out over Seoul, listening to the absolute silence following all of those bombs you had just dropped on the dinner table. “You like someone?”, he asked hesitantly after a while and looking back over to him you could see the realization seemed to hurt him although he was trying hard to not let it show. “I think I do. Just a bit… confusing to be honest.”, you picked up his statement from earlier, really hoping it was aimed at you and that he got what you were trying to hint at. You really hoped you weren’t making a fool out of yourself right now. A little smile cracked in the corner of his mouth, dropping immediately though as he was trying to compose himself.

Stirring the conversation into safer territory, both of you ended up talking about the performance and the award show, revisiting all the fun things that had happened. It had made it much easier to talk to him again and the heavy tension of unspoken words seemed to disappear throughout the conversation. After finishing all the food you cleaned up before heading back to your room, getting ready for a quiet night in and you couldn’t help but feel excited for the possibility of cuddles. “Are you going to stay a little longer?”, you asked, picking up some of the clothes on the floor and throwing them in the laundry basket to not make it look too messy. In that second the door burst open without a warning and Mina stared at both of you standing in the room like a deer in headlights. “Are you mental? Heard of knocking?!”, you asked loud and she laughed, no sign of remorse whatsoever on her face but her expression changed when she saw Jungkook standing in the corner of the room, looking at her just as shocked and scared as you had two seconds ago. “What’s going on here… ?”, Mina asked with a smirk on her face, eyeing both of you with a meaningful look that made you want to roll your eyes so bad they’d get stuck if you did. “Nothing’s going on we had food. Why are you here?”, you interrupted her harshly before she was able to make any uncomfortable dirty hints towards the both of you being alone in your room and she just took the bait you were handing to her. “We were all thinking about going out if you want to join? You know who is going to be theeeere.”, she announced smirking and your heart started dropping. Jungkook seemed to move a little uncomfortable, putting his hands in his sweat pockets, watching both of you half arguing half teasing each other. “I think we’re going to stay in, besides, Jungkook only has sweats on I bet he doesn’t want to.”, you announced to Jungkook and he lifted his hands a bit defensive. “I mean you can go without me that’s totally fine, we can catch up some other time.”, he smiled and looked over to Mina then, being his polite distant self again that seemed to come out every time someone joined the two of you. “Ach, just put on some of Y/N’s fitted Sweatpants instead of the baggy ones and you look like you always do? No big deal, we’d want you there, come on. Jungkook you’re only a big plus I wasn’t aware you’re here.” She started talking and you could see the little faded love bite on her neck when her hair moved. “Who’s we… “, Jungkook asked her suspiciously, more interested in ‘you know who’ than anything else. Mina, being the gossiper she was, started talking about all the people that were going to attend and you knew that Jaebeom was ‘you know who’ - but Jungkook didn’t and you’d like to keep it that way. You had always thought of JB as someone you found really attractive but since things had changed between you and your best friend, the fact that JB was going to be there seemed more obstructive than helpful. You could see Jungkook’s brain going through all the people Mina had just listed, wondering who it was that you allegedly were excited to see tonight. “Yea I don’t know,  I’m not feeling it, Mina.” “We should go… “, Jungkook mentioned to your surprise and you looked at him confused. “Come on, just a beer. I’ll walk you home after.”, he smiled and you looked at him a little suspicious. You knew exactly why he was pushing to go and it was destined to end bad.

Thirty minutes later all of you were sitting in one of the corner booths next to everyone else who had already been drinking and eating since way before you arrived. Everyone seemed to be there, even Yoongi and his girlfriend had left the house tonight. Jimin seemed to rock his happy-drunk facial expression and sitting next to him you chuckled, sharing a couple of shots of Soju with him to lighten up your mood. You knew that this night was going to end like all the other nights because none of you ever finished after ‘a couple of drinks’, ever. Feeling a good amount of tipsy an hour in, you didn’t mind when Jaebeom sat next to you and put his arm over your shoulders as the both of you started talking. You had done it countless times before and you always flirted back but had suddenly stopped after the Jungkook ‘sleepover incident’ a while back. It just hadn’t felt right since then. “Wasn’t expecting you to come to be honest. You’re working a lot lately.”, he said while sharing his beer with you, focused on you and the conversation completely. “I know, but it’s hard to find some time and I like being alone, you of all people should know what that’s like.”, you laughed and he chuckled as well. He dropped his hand off your shoulder, smoothly sliding it down behind your back, resting his palm on your hip. You were tipsy and definitely didn’t mind his touches while talking to him. It’s like you were in your own little world and being lost in the conversation, you had a couple more shots while catching up. This was what you usually did with JB and the alcohol definitely made you forget about the surroundings and your feelings you had so carefully pushed aside for months.  

Only when you had to laugh and let your gaze drift across the table, you felt like your insides freezing up. It wasn’t the fact that Jungkook looked at you, it was the look of disappointment on his face when your eyes met that made you feel like you royally fucked up as a friend. His gaze turned back to his bottle of beer before turning back to Yugyeom, whispering something to him. Both of them got up and walked out the backdoor into the yard. It felt like seeing him look at you made you realize that you were cheating on him and all of a sudden the touch on your hip was too much and the conversation felt too intimate. Everything was too close. “Excuse me.”, you smiled, squeezing past JB out of the booth, heading over to the restrooms and you couldn’t help but frown at your own stupidity. If you could have it your way, of course you’d be dating Jungkook right now. Why would you forget about that just because you can’t have him? Why would you flirt with someone else although the person you’d want to be with was sitting right across? Your mind was running wild and as you walked down the hallway without looking up, you only felt a full on smack against your head before stumbling back a couple of steps, holding your hurting forehead. Jimin had just cut a corner and the both of you hit into each other so hard, you could feel the tears. “Oh my god. Are you ok?” He put both his hands on your head to look at your face, checking for an injury. It wasn’t only the impact of him bumping into him that hurt you so bad, it was seeing Jungkook’s face that hurt a hundred times more. The tears welling up in your eyes seemed like a perfect cover for the actual reason you wanted to cry, so you didn’t fight them.   “Y/N… “, Jimin seemed a little panicked at your expression, thinking he really hurt you. “It’s not that. I’m fine I’m just…  I had too much to drink.”, you tried to stir in and he nodded carefully, stroking over your cheek comforting. Thinking you were drunk was way better than explaining why you were actually crying. “Want me to get Jungkook? He can- “, he started but you shook your head alarmed. “Don’t!”, you said a little too fast and Jimin looked at you with a confused expression on his face. “I mean… don’t bother him. I’ll just go home, it’s all good. Don’t worry”, you replied.

“Everything ok?” Jungkook appeared behind Jimin and the still hurt expression on his face turned into worry once he saw the tears on your cheeks. “Y/N… What happened?” Semi-gently pushing away Jimin, he made you tilt your head up to look at him, his face a bit panicked. “Did he do anything? Did something happen?”, he asked worried and you just closed your eyes to not look at him, shaking your head lightly. The fact that JB hurting you was the first thing on his mind only made you realize how much he must’ve been bothered by him.   “He didn’t do anything, I did.”, you mumbled as you felt the guilt creeping up even more and along with all the drinks you had that night, you really felt like going home was the best idea. “She said she’s drunk.”, Jimin chimed in, stroking over your back comforting. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”, Jungkook smiled softly. Stroking his thumb over your wet cheek gently to wipe the tears away. Jungkook shouldn’t have to comfort you like that since you messed up after all. You were the one treating him badly. You saw his face earlier when you mentioned the date, you saw how he cuddled you and yet you acted like you weren’t sure about his feelings towards you. You knew deep down, he had given you all the signs. You read them all and yet you got flirty with someone else. “Let’s go, hm? Maybe you’re just exhausted from today.”, he said politely, trying to make it seem like you weren’t even that drunk although you could feel that you were. Picking up the coats and wiping your face dry to make you look presentable before heading back out, Jungkook put his arm around your waist as both of you walked over to the table to say your goodbyes for the night. The overwhelming response of “booooo’s” made you chuckle. “You all know I’m weak, don’t act surprised.”, you chuckled and high fived some of them before heading outside with Jungkook, letting him lead the way.

“Y/N! Hold up.” Turning around while holding onto your best friend, your eyes feeling hazy and your head heavy you could see Jaebeom rushing out. He looked slightly awkward because of the fact that Jungkook was standing right next to both of you. Although he hated it, Jungkook was polite and took a few steps to give both of you some privacy and you could already feel that this was a bad idea. “Listen, I just wanted to know if you want to go grab some coffee sometime, maybe? I know this is sudden but I’d like it if you could make time soon.” His face and intentions were so pure that it hurt to even think about turning him down but there was nothing you could do. “Thank you so much for asking and please don’t take this the wrong way but I’m very drunk right now and I shouldn’t be making any judgment calls any time soon. I have someone I really like and it wouldn’t be fair to him. I know I kind of led you on tonight and I’m sorry, It’s not that I don’t find you attractive, because god knows you’re just my type, but I can’t go behind anyone’s back, especially my own. Besides that - I’m not allowed to date anyway so whatever it would be between you and me wouldn’t work out. But thank you, I really mean it. ” You smiled up to him, patting his chest once and you could see the embarrassment on his face he tried to cover with a smile.

“Let’s go.”, you mumbled, walking over to Jungkook, wrapping your arm around his waist as he tried to hold you upright while walking home. The way home was silent and you felt embarrassed about the fact he had to hold you but at least it gave you an excuse to be close to him. As he stopped in front of your building, you closed your eyes and leaned your cheek against his chest while he took the keys out of your coat pocket. He fumbled with the keys for a moment and maybe it was just wishful thinking but you were sure he had stalled to open the door on purpose. Standing up straight again you followed him with some difficulties and eventually reached out to take his hand. You could feel him tense up a little bit under your touch and when you looked up, his eyes were resting on yours and you weren’t able to read his expression at all. “Sorry.”, you mumbled, pulling your hand out of his, and for a split second he looked like he was about to take it again but he stepped closer, supporting your waist again and carried you up the stairs to your dorm while acting like nothing happened. He pulled off your sneakers and hung up your coat in the hallway, guiding you through the hallway to your room. “Alright, I’ll go get you some water and vitamins, okay?” You sat down on your bed, looking up to him and nodded as he walked out the room quietly.

Taking your clothes off turned out to be more difficult than you had expected it to be and with a few difficulties, you eventually managed to put on your sleep shirt. Getting up you pushed off your pants inconveniently, trying to pull the tight legs off your feet but eventually, you gave up and ended up sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for Jungkook to return.   “Oh shit.”, was all he said as he walked in, turning around immediately at the sight of your bare legs. “Dooon’t. I need your help, take them off, please.”, you said a little whiny and knowing yourself, you’d remember all of this tomorrow and hate yourself for being so annoying and drunk. “Y/N… You’re not wearing pants I can’t just…”, Jungkook started talking, looking to the ceiling. “Yes, you can. They’re legs, I’m not asking you to grind on me. Just pull the legs off for god’s sake.” He took a deep breath, stroking over his face seemingly stressed by how this night had unfolded, and turned around to grab the skinny jeans on your ankles to pull them off carefully. Dropping back onto your sheets you let him pull the pants off before just stretching out on your bed, closing your eyes from the comfort of the sheets. “Alright, do you need anything else? Pajama pants?”, he asked and you turned around, crawling up under the covers, making him fluster even more, raising his gaze to the ceiling until you were tucked into your bedsheets and safe to look at. “I never sleep with pants.”, you mumbled and pulled the pillow in, looking at him in the doorway. “Mh-hm…”, he only mumbled polite and your thoughts started returning to earlier.

“I’m sorry. For all of it.”, you start explaining but he just smiled. “Nothing to be sorry for, you’ve seen me worse.”, he chuckled and sat down next to you, stroking your hair out of your forehead carefully. “All we have to do is take off that makeup and then you can sleep, ok?”, he smiled and touched your cheek a couple more times than he usually would, making the apples of your cheeks heat up.   Jungkook left to get some make up remover and while you rubbed your face with the cotton pad, the painful expression on his face made you stop as he offered to help you before you’d reach the bones.

“I’m sorry for flirting with him.”, you said, watching his face carefully as he wiped away the last traces of foundation on your cheeks. “Don’t be, you should flirt with him if you like him.”, he smiled and you knew it must’ve cost him a lot of strength to react as calmly as he did. “I don’t like him though. Not in that way. Not anymore…”, you say and close your eyes as he gently wiped over them to remove your mascara. “You don’t?”, he asked patiently and you shook your head a bit, watching him get a new cotton pad. “I like someone else.”, you say and watched his face close to yours as he wiped over your lip one last time to get the lipstick off.   “Yea?” He seemed very patient with all of your talking but you could notice that he was distant about it all. He didn’t want to hear it and forcing things on him usually didn’t end well. “Don’t you like me?”, you asked after a moment of silence as he collected the cotton pads. “What?”, he mumbled as if he didn’t hear you and turned his head to look at you properly. “I said - don’t you like me?” His expression as blank for a moment. “Of course I like you. We’re best friends.”, he countered and wiped over your nose cutely one more time, making you scrunch up your nose smiling.

“But do you only like me as a friend?” You decided to go all in. At this point you were aware all of this could be one of your biggest regrets of a lifetime tomorrow. “Y/N… “, he chuckled nervously and got up to throw out all the cotton pads. “Just say yes or no. It’s okay if you don’t, but I want to know.”, you said, watching him carefully. “You’re drunk, how about we don’t talk about this now? You don’t know what you’re saying.” Sitting down next to you again he smiled while pushing your hair behind your ear gently. “Just tell me.” Your voice turned almost a little angry since he was dodging all the questions you had been asking and although you may have been drunk, picking up the courage to be as honest and vulnerable as you were right now, still wasn’t easy.   His eyes were focused on yours and he took a deep breath as he looked away. Stroking over his jaw he seemed to fight his own battle inside but he couldn’t get himself to give you an answer.

“Okay… “, you whispered after a long moment of silence. He didn’t seem to try and say anything and as you could see the apologizing look on his face, you felt a lump grow in your throat. You should’ve known pushing him wouldn’t work out and you should’ve known that getting drunk while feeling the way you did about him was a bad idea but there was nothing you could do about it now. You had said it all and now you had to live with the consequences. “Y/N… “, he said softly, putting his hand on your arm under the covers but you pulled away, feeling too hurt and embarrassed to look at him right now. “It’s fine, don’t worry.”, you mumbled. The least you could do is keep the last bit of dignity.

“It’s not fine. I just don’t want to talk to you about it when you’re drunk… Especially not after getting touchy-feely with Jaebeom. You can’t be mad at me, not tonight.”, he mumbled the last part. Knowing he was right you still didn’t say anything in return, well aware it was childish. “Don’t ignore me… You ignored me all night, that hurt enough.”, he said quietly and you looked over the sheets to him. “It’s not like you came over to sit next to me either, you know.”, you said a little too feisty. Jungkook looked at you for a long moment and simply smiled. There was no point in talking to you when you were drunk and hurt like that and he knew. He got up and smiled down at you. “Sleep well. I hope you’ll feel better tomorrow, okay?” He placed the water bottle on the nightstand closer for you to reach, laying the vitamins right next to it along with a pain killer. You took a deep breath and stroked over your eyes. “I’m sorry.”, you mumbled again and he bent down to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. “I know you are, love. And I’m not avoiding your questions but when I feel like telling you how I feel, I want you to remember that I said it.” His voice was soft, barely audible and you looked at his lips to understand what he was saying but got distracted by the little birthmark right under it. “Now sleep well. I’ll bring you some breakfast tomorrow.” The last thing you remembered was his lips, touching your forehead soft, comforting you while everything around you was spinning in circles.

If you’ve managed to read this far, I’d be more than happy if you could like and share my chapter if you enjoyed it! If you have any suggestions for improvement or any drabble requests - make sure to shoot me a message!

thank you so much for reading and I hope you’ll stay around for the third chapter! 💖

© kooala (stealing, translating or reuploading to other sites is prohibited.)

#jungkook #jungkook friends to lovers #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook #bts #bangtan #bangtan sonyeondan #bts fluff #jeongguk #jungkook fluff #jk fluff #jeon jeongguk #jeongguk fluff #bts jungkook #jungkook imagine #bts scenario #jungkook drabble #bts oneshot #jungkook oneshot #bts x reader #bts x y/n #jungkook x y/n #jk friends to lovers

[curiousconch]

Someone Else's Christmas Star

An OH Christmas One-shot

Synopsis: Casey performs in Edenbrook's annual Christmas charity concert. Set in the time jump of OH Book 2.

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC / Rafael Aveiro x MC

Words: 1.4k+

Rating: G / Fluff sprinkled with a little bit of angsty dust

Author's notes: This was mainly inspired by that Christmas Concert scene from Last Christmas where the adorable Emilia Clarke sang her own upbeat rendition of Last Christmas by Wham! (watch it here, I swear it gives off major Christmas cheer vibes). Disclaimer: all characters belong to Pixelberry, I am just borrowing them. Thank you for reading! ❤️

This will probably my last work this year. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! 🌲❤️

It was Christmas Eve, and Edenbrook's atrium was a buzz with activity. Tonight was their Annual Christmas Charity Concert, where the first year interns are performing. It's been a long standing tradition and honestly the closest to an initiation rite the interns can have. As if Dr. Ramsey's snobbery wasn't enough torture.

"Dr. Valentine, can I talk to you for a second?" Esme approached the blonde doctor at the nurse's station, mustering the courage she needed to make her say yes.

Casey turned to face the young intern as she closed the clipboards of her last patient for discharge. "Mind if I sit down first?" Casey's feet hurt from standing up all afternoon, as a lot of their patients were in a rush to get home before tonight.

"Uhhh, sure," the intern nodded, leading them both into the cafeteria.

"What's up?"

"Well..."

Casey eyed Esme suspiciously, it was clear this was a situation she would rather not do.

"We don't have all day, Dr. Ortega. Spill."

"Can you be our lead singer tonight? Gary can't just freaking keep a tune."

***

Three hours later, Casey was wearing a green elf outfit adorned with multi-colored fairy lights all over.

"I did say no right? I said no so many times. Why am I here?" she asked her boyfriend, who was fussing all over her along with Sienna.

Bryce put on a matching green Santa hat on her head and grinned his effervescent megawatt smile.

"Because you're absolutely one talented singer, baby. And people can't miss out on that gorgeous voice of yours," he said as he kissed her forehead, making Casey's cheeks cluster.

Sienna giggled behind her while she secured the wide black belt around her waist, completing the costume.

"You'll do great, Cass, the kids will love you!" she said, mentioning the main audience of the concert, who was also the beneficiaries of all the donations from it.

Casey rolled her eyes, but couldn't help herself from grinning. She loved the kids, remembering her recent visits to the orphanage with Bryce. She was an orphan herself, so it wasn't hard for her to fit in with them.

Bryce pinched her cheek and planted a peck on her glossy lips. "You can do it, baby. I love you," he winked then playfully spanked her ass, then left the room with Sienna before she could retaliate. Casey felt her face burn, still getting used to the way she and Bryce fit like a glove. They were only dating for a few months, but theirs were so uncomplicated that it didn't take too long to be comfortable around each other.

Bryce was the one who were there for her all those nights. He was there when she was at the brink of death, he was there when she tried to wrestle with her trauma. He was there when she dealt with her heartbreak. And this Christmas, she wouldn't spend it alone, because her wonderful, lovely and magical Bryce was there to be with her.

She recalled how she spent last Christmas in an unimaginable demise, that she instantly pushed the very thought of it to the back of her mind. It wasn't long that Esme called her at the back of the makeshift stage, letting her know that their number was up next.

With a brief intro, they climbed the platform. Casey stood in the middle, illumated by the bright spotlights. As she waited for the other interns to setup, she waved at Gabriella, Tony, Chris and the other familiar faces of kids sitting in front. They beamed at the sight of her.

As the applause and Bryce's whistles receded, Casey's blue eyes caught a glimpse of the familiar green bomber jacket a few rows back. Her breath hitched as she saw his arms wrapped around the shoulders of another, making her freeze for a few moments.

"That's my baby! Wooh!" Bryce's cheer echoed though the makeshift concert hall, eliciting a few snickers and chuckles from the other surgical interns. She immediately snapped out of her trance.

She smiled back at her boyfriend, and took a deep breath, before singing the first line in acapella:

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart

But the very next day, you gave it away

This year, to save me from tears

I give it to someone special

With that the band came in, playing in an upbeat tempo to the synchronous cheer of the audience.

She repeated the chorus, but now to the accompaniment of Esme's electric guitar, Mitch's drums, Sokh's trumpet and Gary's tambourine.

She twirled around, smiling widely before she took the wireless mic and stepped down the stage to approach the kids, singing the verse as she patted each of the kids's heads:

Once bitten and twice shy

I keep my distance but you still catch my eye

Tell me, baby, do you recognize me?

Well, it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me

"Merry Christmas!" the audience shouted, participating into the song.

I wrapped it up and sent it

With a note saying "I love you" I meant it

Now I know what a fool I've been

But if you kissed me now I know you'd fool me again

In response, Casey walked down the space in the middle of the hall, nodding at the familiar faces of her patients who were spending their holidays in the hospital, as she continued the tune.

She sang back the chorus again, waving her free arm in the air. As the music transitioned to the second verse, she walked towards Sienna, Jackie, Elijah and Aurora, the group of friends she now could call as her own family.

A crowded room, friends with tired eyes

I'm hiding from you and your soul of ice

My god, I thought you were someone to rely on

Me? I guess I was a shoulder to cry on

She stepped towards her man, and Bryce didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her waist, dancing with her as she sung the next verses.

A face on a lover with a fire in his heart

A man under cover, but you tore me apart

Now I've found a real love, you'll never fool me again

Together, they danced, temporarily forgetting the hundreds of eyes watching, as Casey sang the chorus again and again.

Bryce twirled her one final time before he brought her back the front, and helped her climb back onto the platform, winking with pride.

She swayed her hips to the chorus one last time, as the rest of the audience clapped and sang along.

Last Christmas

I gave you my heart

But the very next day you gave it away

This year to save me from tears

I'll give it to someone special

As the instruments played the outro, she pointed at each of the interns laughing and twirling, as the rest of the stage lit up in a burst of joyful color.

Once the song ended, Casey and the interns bowed down to raucous applause that even Dr. Ramsey can't help but join in.

"Baby you were incredible!" Bryce gushed as he embraced her, lifting her petite figure up from the ground. "You're my sexy shimmering Christmas star!"

She squealed in delight, her arms enclosing his neck as she pulled him to a kiss.

"Get a room, you two!" Jackie belched, as Elijah, Aurora and Sienna approached the two and the interns.

"Yeah, it'll take a whole lot of Christmas miracle to separate this pair of lo-" Elijah was interrupted by the barrage of youngsters who stampeded towards Casey.

"You were awesome up there Caseeeeeyyy!"

"Yeah Casey so cool!"

"Way to go auntie Casey!"

She crouched down to talk back to them, Bryce lifting one little girl onto his shoulder to the kid's absolute delight. The interns were beyond amazed at the sight.

"Thanks, Dr. Valentine," Esme grinned, as she tackled a young boy who was pulling the Christmas lights around her.

"I was just trying to keep up with you guys," Casey winked, to the chuckle of rest.

Several paces away, brown eyes watched the joyful cluster with a mixture of sadness and longing. He knew she wasn't his anymore, that she was someone else's Christmas star now. Yet he couldn't stop thinking about the million regrets he had since last Christmas.

Nimble fingers tapped him on his shoulder, making him turn away from the sight.

"You ready to head back? Your vovo's waiting," Sora spoke softly, as she handed him a bag of goodies.

Rafael took it from Sora's hands, forcing a smile and nodded. "Let's go."

Sora took his hand and together they walked away. Raf looked sideways, catching a final glimpse of Casey and Bryce. It was at that moment that he began to doubt himself, when he started to realize that he didn't entirely move on. He realized much later, that he really chose not to.

Tags: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

#open heart #open heart 2 #open heart fanfiction #choices fic writers creations #rafael aveiro #bryce lahela #choices fanfiction #bryce lahela x mc #bryce x mc #bryce x casey

[bella-spil]

2 Romeos & 1 Juliet- Part 4

Part 4- Its Buckys turn to take you on a date. Fem reader

Warnings- implied smut(not really) kissing/making out, cursing.

Word Count: 6.7k( I tried to add a lot more detail in this one so bear with me)

Taglist: @kmuir1​ @angrythingstarlight​ @wednesday-add-em​ @sea040561​ (lmk if you wanna join.  The more the merrier!)

A/N: This would have been done sooner, but the internet was down for the past three days.  I got some inspiration from GOTG vol.2( a tiny bit) and I added a lot more detail than normal.  And there might be a meme or two that I took a line from(its the “so I started blasting” one”).  Also the pic of the outfit is from me, amd Im sry for the terrible quality, I have a shitty camera.  Also the link for the 40s slang I used is https://rkcowles.wordpress.com/1940-slang-glossary/ , if you are in the mood to learn some.  I hope you enjoy, bc this one might be my fav of this series.  

You had a pretty good week after your date with Loki.  Whenever you saw the God of Mischief, you both acted like his attempted kiss never happened.  You acted like normal friends.  You read the note Billie gave you, alone so Loki didn't see, and she actually said she thought Loki was cute.  Not hot but cute.  You laughed at what she wrote, and you swore you would never show Loki.  

As the week went on, Bucky was planning his date out.  He had a place, one that you would both enjoy and have a lot of fun at.  He had everything prepared for you, but he was still nervous.  

What if it doesn't work?  What if she really doesn't like me?  What if I do something wrong?  He thought as the week carried on.  But he never showed the fear to you.  He was acting all confident, bragging about how he would win you over with his charm, like how he did with the ladies in his time.  You told him that you weren't like all those other girls, and he agreed.  He said that he would have a challenge with you, but he knew he would win.  He always won.  He also flirted with you constantly, which drove Loki up the walls.  You enjoyed this confident side of the Winter Soldier, you knew you were gonna see it more often.  

You also tried prying the location of the date out of Bucky.  But he was a Super Soldier, so that didn't work out.  You gave up in about 5 minutes.  

Then the day came.  You and Bucky were both anxious.  You had no clue where you were going, and Bucky hasn't been on a date in a while.

“Doll, we are leaving at 4 ok?” he let you know at lunch.

“Got it.  Where are we going?” you asked for the 100th time.  Bucky rolled his eyes and didn't answer.  “Fine.  What should I wear?”

“Hmm..” Bucky thought.  “Wear a T-shirt and shorts, like you did with Loki.  But we are going to be walking around a lot, so don't wear something uncomfortable.”

“Ok,” you said, walking to your room to get prepared.  Bucky thought he did a good job, not revealing too much about the date.  He liked keeping you guessing, it amused him more often than not.

~~~

As you were in your room, you paced back and forth from your closet to your bed.  You were stressed with not knowing anything about tonight.  But you were stressing out with the new feelings to your long time friend.  You didn't know if you were feeling them because of the upcoming date, or if you were making it up.  But you didn't have this on your date with Loki.  You had no clue, so you tried to ignore the feelings.  But they weren't letting up, getting you more and more nervous.  You tried to take deep breaths, and it worked.  So you focused your time on getting ready.

“What to wear, what to wear,” you muttered to yourself as you scanned your closet like a robot.  After a few minutes of rummaging around through heaps and heaps of clothes, you found a cute and comfortable outfit.  

You found a cute crop top that only exposed a small amount of your stomach.  It was low cut, but not too revealing.  It was a black t-shirt, and it was your favorite shirt because it looked really good on you, at least you thought.  You always felt a bit more confident whenever you wore it, and you knew you might need it for tonight.  

You also found a pair of super soft cotton shorts.  They were a dark, camo-like green.  They didn't have camo print, just dark green and a white lining.  You adored the shorts because they were the softest thing you owned, besides another sweatshirt you owned.  They were mid-waisted and were a little revealing on your ass.  But you loved the way the shorts made you feel, like any man would fall for you by just looking at you.

You found a pair of black Adidas sneakers, which would be good for walking.  You didn't put on any jewelry, since you weren't a big fan of it.  You only wore it at the concert because it was a concert, you wanted to look decent.  You left your hair down again, letting the natural curls and waves have a mind of their own.  After a couple flips of your hair, you had the look you wanted.  

Then you moved on to your makeup.  Since you would be walking a lot, you thought you might sweat a bit, so you didn't put too much on.  Only a bit of foundation to hide some blemishes on your skin, a tiny amount of blush and mascara.  You didn't like wearing makeup either, since your time in the mountains saw no need for it.  You didn't understand how people took hours and hours for makeup, and at the end of the night, they would have to wipe it off and do it all again the next day. 

When you finished, you took one final look in the mirror and you thought you looked amazing.  Your confidence soared through the roof as you checked yourself out.  

“Doll, its time,” Bucky knocked at your door.  “You ready?”

You got scared and flinched in front of the mirror.  You were not expecting time to fly that fast.  

“Yeah Bucky, i'll be down in a minute.” you answered, not trying to show that he scared you.

“Ok, I'll wait by the front door,” Bucky said.  You heard his footsteps fade as he left, and you took a sigh of relief.  You grabbed a small, black backpack, just to store your phone and some money since you had no clue what to expect.  You checked yourself out in the mirror one last time as you put on some lip gloss.  Then you put the lip gloss away and headed out of your room.

~~~  

Bucky stood anxiously by the door.  He wore a pair of shorts and a black Brooklyn logo shirt. The shirt was a little snug on him, so it made his biceps pop out a little more.  He didn't bother covering his metal arm.  He wasn't used to having it out in the open, especially in public.  But he always was comfortable with his arm around you, so he thought it would be the same with you anywhere.  He was not going to let strangers ruin his night with you.  His hair was down and he wore a pair of black Nike’s.  He had on his signature dog tags and in his pockets, he had his phone, which he barely knew how to use, and some money for the date.  But, like a true gentleman, he had a bouquet of red roses in his hands.  He never showed up to a date without flowers.  He knew his manners and class, and if he didnt, he knew his momma would reprimand him for not being a gentleman.

“What is taking her so long?” Bucky said out loud.  

“Don't get your hopes up, Wiener Soldier,” Loki said, smugly.  He was hoping to mess with Bucky before it was too late.

“Shut it, you Lord of the Rings looking ass,” Bucky said, not giving two shits for Loki's mind games.  Loki walked away, hoping that would do something to Bucky.

Then, you appeared from the hallway.  Bucky had to do a double take because, Jesus, you looked fine.  You looked so confident and proud of yourself that Bucky was in awe.  He loved a woman that walked with a purpose.  You looked perfect in his eyes.  He smiled as you came closer to him.  His heart fluttered as he realized he would be with you.  The person his heart had fallen for since he first saw you.

You saw Bucky standing there, the roses in hand.  Bucky's eyes looked brighter than ever, full of excitement and adventure.  He looked nice in his outfit.  You never saw him out in public with his metal arm showing, so it was a shock for you when it was on full display.  You also saw his muscles poking out of the shirt, and you tried your hardest not to stare.  

“You look like a dreamboat, toots,” Bucky gushed, using a ton of 40s slang.  You blushed, since you knew what they meant.  Anyone would know what those terms meant, but two years ago, Bucky taught all the slang he knew.  

“So do you,” you replied, smiling.  

“These are for you, doll,” Bucky said as he handed the flowers to you. 

“Thanks Bucky, you didn't have too,” you said.

“Well if I didn't, I know my momma would bust my chops,” Bucky said, chuckling.  You laughed with him.  You loved when his Brooklyn accent came through.

“Cmon lets get going,” Bucky said, leading you out the door.  

~~~

“Ok Bucky, where are we going?” you asked again in the car.

“You'll find out when we get there,” Bucky replied.

“Ok, when will we get there?” you asked, hoping for an answer this time.

“Bout 30 minutes,” Bucky answered to your relief.  “Ok I wanna quiz you on something.”

“Ooo car games, I love those,” you said, gaining interest.

“Lets see how much 40s slang you remember.” Bucky said, looking at you.

“Thats easy, I’ll quiz ya too,” you said. 

“You got a lotta moxie.  Ladies first,” Bucky said, placing his hand on your thigh.  This was the first time he had ever done this.  You were a little shocked at first and froze for a moment, but you weren't asking him to move it.  His warm hand felt so comforting on you.  You just wanted to let it sit there forever.  So you put your hand on top of his.  

Bucky took his eyes off the road for a minute, just to look at you and your hand on his.  If he said he wasn't over the moon right now, he would be lying.  He felt like he was on cloud-9.  

“Ok what does ‘beef’ mean?” you asked.

“It means a disagreement.  That was easy, doll,” Bucky said.

“Go, Buck,” you sighed.

“Fine.  What does ‘brown nose’ mean?” Bucky asked, his blue eyes shining into yours.  You took a second to think, but you didn't remember.

“I don't know, bucky.” you sighed in shame.  

“Haha! One for Bucky.  Zip for Y/N.” Bucky celebrated.   

“Don't celebrate too early, punk,” you teased.  “What does it mean?”

“It means ass kisser,” Bucky explained, earning a “ohh” outta you.

“Name five things that mean ‘attractive’” you said.

“Are you doing this to mess with me and trick me into saying it about you?” Bucky questioned, getting suspicious.

“Yeah, now answer,” you answered, unashamed.  Bucky rolled his eyes, getting a laugh out of you.

“Ok, first is ‘honey’. ‘Bombshell’ is one, so is ‘babe’.  Then, ‘20-20’ and… dreamboat.” Bucky answered.

“Good job.  Your turn.” you smiled.

“Since you did it to me, I'll do it to you.” Bucky mocked.  

“Fine.  ‘Casanova’, ‘doll’ is one, ‘drooly’, ‘glamour puss’, ‘glad lad’ and ‘heaven sent’.” you responded.  Bucky took his hands off the wheel and applauded you, which you laughed.  

“Good job, doll,” Bucky grinned.  “Now I have two questions for you.”

“Which are?” you asked.

“First is what's your favorite slang?” Bucky said.

“I think ‘toots’” you answered.

“Second, use 5 terms to describe me.” Bucky said.  He wanted to know what you thought about him, but he didnt wanna ask you straight up.  He wanted to make you at ease and have fun with you before asking.

“Ok then do the same for me,” you teased.

“Fine, go,” Bucky agreed.

“‘Fuddy-duddy’, ‘hot shot’, ‘heaven sent’, ‘camp happy’ and ‘blow joe’.” you answer.

“Really? Fuddy-duddy?” Bucky sighed.

“What? It's true!  You are old fashioned,” you mocked.

“Whatever,” Bucky rolled his eyes.

“Now you have to do it for me,” you fluttered your eyes to mess with him, earning a glare from him.

“‘Dreamboat’ obviously, ‘camp happy’, ‘a crack up’, ‘date bait’ and ‘divine,” Bucky said, looking at you with his hand still on your thigh.

“Aww you're so sweet,” you blushed.

“It's the truth, sugar,” Bucky smiled.  

You looked out the window for a second and saw something in the distance.  It was a ferris wheel.

“Bucky are we going to a carnival?” you asked.

“Yep,” he smiled.  You squealed and thanked Bucky till you got to the fair.  There were a ton of people there already, and you knew more would show up later tonight.  

“What time are we staying till?” you asked.  It was already 5:40pm and you and Bucky were walking up to the ticket booth.

“Till it closes, or whenever you get tired,” Bucky said, holding your hand.

“Till it closes.  I don't think I'll get tired from all the sugar we will be eating.” you admitted.  You both laughed and then you were up at the ticket counter.  Bucky bought bracelets for the both of you.  They allow you to stay for as long as you want and to go on unlimited rides for unlimited times.  They also cost a lot of money.  You tried to buy your own bracelet, but Bucky insisted on paying.

“I’m paying for dinner,” you insisted.

“No I am,” Bucky said.

“I am,” you bickered.  

You bickered all the way to the entrance, where you and Bucky stopped.  You stood marveling all the flashing lights and rides.  You already had a list in your head for what to do.  You loved how everyone here was happy and enjoying themselves.  You couldn't wait for night to come, because then all the lights would be flashing even brighter.  And less families would be there, which meant shorter lines. 

“What do you wanna do first?” Bucky asked, looking at the lights as well.  

“Lets eat, if you want,” you said.

“No, I'm always hungry too,” Bucky said.

“Great, because Loki took forever to eat.”

Bucky laughed as he took your hand.  You both ran into the fair like children as you searched for food.  You found a pizza stand and took two slices.  Bucky found a hot dog stand and took two ‘Coney Island Chili Dogs.’  When you saw what he ordered, your mouth watered a little bit.  Bucky took note very quickly.

“You know what doll?  You can take one of mine and I'll take one of yours.” Bucky proposed.

“That's smart,” you agreed.  You ate the pizza first and then the chili dog.  The chili dog took the longest, since you didn't want to ruin your outfit.  You had to lean over the platter the whole time to prevent stains.  

Bucky took a different approach.  Since the cooks put a lot of chili on the hotdog, Bucky found a different use for the access chili.  He took the extra and put it on top of his pizza, which you looked at him in disgust.

“What?” he asked when he saw you staring at him, food stuffed in his mouth.

“Nothing,” you lied.  He gave you a smirk, almost like he knew what he did, and continued eating.  He finished quickly, a little faster than you.  Almost like it was a competition, Bucky gave a little victory “woohoo” and you sighed, finishing your food.

“Congrats Buck, you ate faster than me,” you said sarcastically.

“Do I get a medal?” Bucky asked, playfully.  You chuckled as he took your hand, leading you further into the fair.

“Whats up first, sugar?” he asked.

“Why don't we play some games?  I don't wanna throw up on you in the Gravation,” you admitted.

“Sure, anything you want,” Bucky said.  “Which do you wanna play first?”

“Let's do the balloon and dart game,” you decided.

“This way, doll.” Bucky said, taking your arm and leading you to the famous game.  When you got there, not many people were there.  Only two others were in front of you, and they were fairly quick.  After they finished playing, the carnie saw you and got your attention.

“Hey there!  Wanna play?” he asked.

“How much?” Bucky asked, getting to the point.

“If you want three darts, 5 bucks, if you want five darts, 8 bucks,” the carnie answered.  Bucky got some money out of his pocket and paid $16 dollars in total.  The carnie handed you both 5 darts and then he moved out of the way.

“Ready, set, go!” the carnie shouted.  Then you and Bucky looked at each other, eyes full of determination.  Bucky threw his darts very quickly, and he only missed one.  Meanwhile, you took your time and got all five.  

“Congratulations, you two!” the carnie cheered.  “What do each of ya want?”  You and Bucky looked around at all of the options.

“Which can we pick?” Bucky asked.

“The miss next to ya can pick anything she wants,” the carnie explained.  “You can pick anything, just not something on the top row.”  The one Bucky was eyeing was on the top row, and he sulked in disappointment.  He saw a Spiderman inflate that he thought was really funny.  You found a small, tye-dye teddy bear that caught your eye.  You thought it was adorable, and you really wanted it.

“Bucky, if I get you the Spiderman, can you get me that bear?” you asked, with puppy dog eyes.

“Sure, toots,” Bucky smiled at you.  The carnie heard you discussing and got the prizes ready for you.  As you both said thank you, the carnie eyed you suspiciously, trying to figure out if you were dating or not.

“Any other games?”  Bucky asked as you walked away from the game.  You were about to answer when Bucky completely turned his attention to the mechanical bull a couple feet away. 

“Sorry to interrupt, but I was the best at that in ‘38,” Bucky said.

“You can do it, it's fine,” you smiled.  “But I'm paying.”

“No you're not,” Bucky said, before he sprinted off, trying to get there first so you wouldn't pay.  You ran after him, but Bucky and his stupid super soldier serum beat you there.  He got the money out of his pocket and handed it to another carnie.  

“Good luck,” you said as you took the Spiderman out of his arms.  He smiled back at you and headed up to the bull.  The carnie counted him down and then the bull started moving.  At first it was easy, Bucky had his right arm on the handle to keep him steady.  But after a minute or so, the carnie made it a lot harder.  Twisting and turning at high speeds, Bucky switched his right hand to the metal one, for a firmer grip.  He almost fell off after one really fast turn, but his left arm still held on to the handle.  His right arm was holding the side of the bull and he was able to readjust himself in time for the next spin.  After five minutes, he was still on the bull.  Bucky didn't even realise the crowd that was starting to form around you.  Everyone marveled as Bucky wouldn't dare to fall off the bull.  People around you cheered him on.  Even the carnie was shocked and tried his hardest to get Bucky to fall.  But it wasn't going to happen. 

After another 15 minutes, the carnie announced that Bucky had beaten the record for the mechanical bull, but Bucky still wasn't going to get off.  People cheered him on, but not as loud as you.  Your cheers were fuel for Bucky and the more you cheered, the more he wanted to stay on.  But, he didn't want to keep you waiting the whole night, so after 10 more minutes, he fell off the bull.  As he walked out of the pit, people cheered for him, earning a smile out of him.

“Congrats sir, that's the best bull riding I've ever seen,” the carnie said.  “Here's your prize of $200 bucks cash.  Everyone give it up for.. What's your name?”

“Bucky,” Bucky answered.

“Bucky everyone!” the carnie cheered.  Everyone joined in with cheers and applause.  You smiled at him, full of pride and happiness.  Bucky smiled and planted a kiss on your head, which you blushed at.  

“How long was he on for?” you asked.

“Your boyfriend here was on for 32 minutes and 48 seconds.” the carnie said.

“Wow,” you said.  “You are the best at that.”

“I know,” Bucky said.  As you walked away, other guys had gone up to Bucky, giving him a celebratory high five or pat on the back.  Even some girls had gone up and tried to flirt with him.  But Bucky said that he was with you, obviously, but that didn’t stop the girls from at least trying to get with him.

“Now we have enough money to eat anything and play as many games as we want,” Bucky said.

“If you didn't win that, we might have had to use some of the money I bought,” you said.

“Impossible,” Bucky chuckled.  “Now I think we can go on some rides.”

The night flew by, and it was already 10:30.  Bucky had taken you on the Ferris Wheel, Cliff Hanger, Frisbee, Fun House, Wipeout, Gravation, Tornado and the Swings.  You tried to get him to go on the Zipper, but he swore he would never get on that ‘deathtrap’ as he called it.  As you went on the rides, you were able to fit your teddy bear into your bag, but the Spiderman was causing some trouble.  You had to leave it outside on some rides, which you thought it might get stolen, but that luckily didn't happen.  Then he took you on the Swings, your favorite ride of all.  And then, he took you on the Bumper cars, his favorite ride.  You both laughed and had fun the whole night, but he still had some other things he wanted to do.

“Doll, before we go, there's two more things I wanna do before the night ends,” Bucky said.

“And what might that be?” you asked.

“I wanna play the High Striker game an-” Bucky started.

“Do you wanna play that game to show how strong you are?” you mocked.

“Maybe,” he admitted and you laughed.  

“I wanna do the shooting game before it's too late.” you said.  “I wanna see if I can shoot better than you.”

“We already know the answer to that question,” Bucky smirked and you hit him playfully in the arm.  “But we can do that after we have some dessert.”

“You read my mind.” you chuckled.  “Lets eat.”

Bucky took you to some of the concession stands around the fair, which you both indulged in so much sugar that it would give you diabetes.  Bucky bought both of you a plate of zeppolis, your favorite carnival food, and you bought a bag of fried oreos.  You also bought a thing of cotton candy.  After you thought no more eating, Bucky came back with a bowl of gelato.  All of the hunger in you resurfaced and you and him ate it, licking your lips once you finished.

“That was the best dessert ever,” Bucky said.

“Agreed, now we gotta play some games, it's already 11,” you said, trying to get Bucky to move.  He grudgingly got up and followed you to the High Striker game.  Bucky pointed at the bell at the top, as if saying ‘watch out’.  

“Wanna test your strength?” the carnie running the game asked.

“How much?” Bucky brushed off, getting the money from his pockets.  

“For one swing, 3 bucks.  For three swings, 5 bucks.” the carnie said.

“Three swings,” Bucky said, handing the carnie the 5 dollars.  The carnie handed him a sledgehammer and backed away.  The carnie told you to move back so Bucky could practice his swing, and you did.  Bucky practiced his swing about three times before he was ready.

He swung his arms back and hit the pad.  He got really close to the bell, just a few inches off.  Bucky swore under his breath as he got ready for his next swing.  The next one was stronger, but not close enough again.  He grunted as he saw it didn't hit the bell.

“Cmon Bucky!  You got this!” you cheered, hoping to boost his confidence.  When he heard you, you were like gasoline to him, giving him the fuel to hit it the hardest.  He swung down for the final time with a loud grunt.  The little knob had so much force behind it that it hit the bell.  Not only that, but it flew off the railing that was keeping it in place.  You and the carnie looked at each other in shock.  Bucky took a deep breath, and looked at you sheepishly.

“What the hell?” the carnie said.  “Well, um, pick your prize.”  

Bucky looked around at the options and found one that you were looking at.  You were looking at a stuffed llama as tall as a counter.  The llama, in your eyes, was even cuter than the bear.  It had pink and blue fur in little patches.  It also had little specks of yellow fur.  It had a little smile plastered on its face and it just looked too adorable to be real.

“The llama please,” Bucky asked.  You smiled at him and gave him a big hug, your arms wrapping around his muscular torso.

“Thanks, Bucky,” you said as your head was pressed against his chest.

“Welcome, sugar,” Bucky responded as he grabbed the llama from the carnie.  You snatched the stuffed animal from his hands and held the toy in your arms, cuddling at.  As the two of you walked away, you heard the carnie in the background telling the people next in line “sorry the things broken.”  Then you heard an angry man yelling at the carnie, saying “That's Bullshit!” and “You just want to go home and not do your job!”  

You and Bucky laughed as you headed to the last game of the night, then you would be going on Bucky's ride of choice.  You ran through the crowd of teens and made your way to the shooting game.  This carnie looked cheerful, more happy than the others that you have seen.

“Hey there!  How's your night going for you two?” the carnie asked.

“Good, how's your going?” you asked in a cheery mood, still clinging to the stuffed llama.

“So far, no winners tonight, but maybe you and your boyfriend can change that,” the carnie smirked.

“Oh, we aren't,” you started.

“It's ok, you don't have to admit it,” the carnie asked.  “By the way, the game costs 20 dollars per player.”

“What?” Bucky asked.  “That's ridiculous for a damn shooting game!”        

“Sorry sir, I don't make the rules.  It's priced so high because you get a lot of pellets to shoot and if you win, you get a huge prize.” the carnie said.  

“It's ok, I'll pay for mine and his,” you said, getting the money out of your bag.

“No I am,” Bucky said, racing to his pockets before you got your money.  But you beat him and he sighed in surrender, muttering how his momma would kill him if she were alive.  You handed the money to the carnie and the carnie set up the guns, ammo and targets.  

“You can go first, Buck,” you said, nudging him forward.  “I wanna see what exactly I'm going against.”

“You're gonna regret that,” Bucky snickered as he prepped the gun, leveling it at his shoulders.  There wasn't a scope on the gun, but there was an eyeliner for him to aim.  The target was a big, red star, which you laughed at in your head since Bucky had a star just like it on his arm.  

Then, he started shooting at the target.  The objective is to get the star completely off the target.  It has to fall to the floor, off the paper completely.  Bucky shot at the edges of the star trying to get the corners free.  Then he circled around the star, aiming at the star with such precision that you got worried you would lose against him, and you hated to lose.  Then, after a few minutes, Bucky ran out of ammo.  The carnie pulled the lever, bringing the target closer for you and Bucky to see.

“You were really close,” the carnie sighed.  Bucky took the target and saw that he had gotten completely around the star.  But there was a problem: one of the edges was still dangling off the paper.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Bucky grunted, running his right arm through his hair.  “This has to be a winner.”

“Sorry, sir.  But the star has to be completely off the paper,” the carnie said.  Bucky sighed and muttered something about how this was rigged.

“Your turn, doll,” Bucky said, giving the carnie a glare.  

You handed the carnie your money and he set you up exactly like Bucky.  Once the carnie was finished, he gave you a thumbs up and you started blasting.  You followed Bucky's example, starting at the corners of the star and working your way around.  You were careful to not pull the trigger too hard or else too many bullets would come out.  You had something in your head that said, “you have to beat Bucky, you have to win.”  Bucky was a master assassin and for him to lose helped boost your confidence as you continued to aim.  The star was starting to fall off, hanging off by a tiny edge of the paper.  But, luckily, you didn't have the same problem as Bucky, you had more pellets left.  You used those to your advantage and blasted the red star off the paper.  It fell to the ground, completely covered in bullet holes.  

The carnie stood there, completely in awe at how well you had done, and you still had bullets inside the gun after you finished.  Bucky was frozen like a statue.  His hands were glued to his hair, his eyes were coming out of his head and his mouth was to the floor.  The carnie gave you your target, and whispered to you “I knew you could beat him,” causing you to giggle as you scanned the booth for a prize.  Your eyes settled on a Captain America head.  Not a real one, a stuffed one.  You thought it was funny and grabbed it from the carnies hand.  As you and Bucky left the carnie said a congrats to you and hung your target on the wall with the other lucky winners.

As you walked, not knowing where you would be going, you got scared because Bucky hasn't said a word yet.

“Bucky you ok?” 

“Yeah doll, yeah,” he said.  “I just can't believe I lost.”

“Oh cmon dont be a sore loser,” you nudged him, making him laugh.

“Also I can't believe I fell in love with a girl like you, and I didnt even know she could hold a gun like that,” he blushed, brushing some hair out of his face.  He gripped your hand and led you to the ride he had been waiting for since the beginning of the night.

“Wait, you love me?” you asked.

“Why do you think you're here with me, doll?  Why do you think me and Loki are fighting for you?” Bucky asked. 

“Well… um,” you froze.  You had no clue about how you felt about Bucky yet.  One part of you loved him, the way he loved you.  But something else was fighting that feeling, seeing him only as a close friend.  Bucky sensed your nerves and held you closer to him.

“It's ok, you don't have to respond.” Bucky said, easing your mind.  “I'm gonna make you say those words before Loki gets the chance.” 

You laughed at him.  “I'd like to see ya try,” you sassed.

“Toots, just wait,” he smirked.

“Wait what ride are we going on?” 

“Well we are right in front of it, so it's a dead give away,” he said.  Without realizing it, you were right in front of the ride.  It was a dimmed ride, more like a boat ride.  The walls were covered in pink and red hearts and the boats were white swans.  The arches leading into the ride were hearts and three words were illuminated in front of your eyes.  “Tunnel of Love.”

“Oh my god,” you said.

“Cmon, it's not like anything is going to happen,” Bucky said, leading you to the swan.  The carnie controlling the ride took the stuffed toys and your bag from you to leave on the side.  She gave Bucky a thumbs up, letting him know nothing would happen to your belongings, but maybe for something else.  

You squirmed as you sat next to him, and the carnie buckled you into the ride.  A million things were running through your mind.  You didn't know if you should tell Bucky before the ride starts to not try anything.  You didn't know if you would let anything happen.  You didn't know if, even, anything would happen.  You assumed something would happen because, look who you're sitting next to.  Bucky was a ladies man, and he probably took other gals on the ride in the past.

“Doll, I assure you.  I won’t do anything unless you allow me to,” Bucky said, putting his right arm behind your back, for you to use as a pillow.  You settled into his body and then the doors swung open, leading you inside the ride.  

At first, there was nothing that would suggest anything bad would happen.  There was a little romantic garden, the one that would show up in a romantic movie.  There were little hedges and statues of Cupid with his love bow and arrows.  There were tons of roses and smooth jazz was playing in the background.

“This is music,” Bucky smiled.  The music playing tonight was mostly tons of pop music, which he hated and thought was annoying as hell.  So this for him was soothing.  It soothed you too, but not as much as it did for Bucky.  

Then there was another set of doors, and it led you into the next part of the ride.  This part was very dark.  There wasn't a lot of light, and it didn't look like anything was inside.  You got scared and found yourself leaning into Bucky more.  He didn't mind and eased into your touch.  

Suddenly, something, maybe a bat or something, you couldn't tell, popped out of nowhere.  Then a hissing sound and a scream played in the background.  You screamed and your head was buried on Bucky's chest.

“Hey, hey, it's ok.  It's not real, it's fake.  It's going to be ok,” Bucky soothed you.  He took the arm you were resting on and cradled you in it as you were in fear on his chest.  His right hand was rubbing circles around your back while his left was playing with your hair.  You stayed there, in that sense of comfort, that sense of belonging, that sense of peace, for a little bit longer.  You picked your head up at him, only to see steel blue eyes looking back at you.  They seemed like a haven to you, like a home that you could rest in.

“I’m sorry Bucky,” you apologized.

“For what? You didn't do anything,” he said confused.  Your faces were only inches away from each other, and you could feel his breath, smelling like sugar and cotton candy.

“When are we going to do something about this… unspoken thing between us?” Bucky whispered.

“There's no unspoken thing,” you whispered back.  At this moment, you doubted that Bucky was wrong.  Because this has never happened to you and him before.  

“Liar,” Bucky smiled, his lips only centimeters from yours.

“Prove it,” you challenged back.  The next thing he did took your breath away, literally.  He leaned into you to close that gap keeping you apart.  He kissed your lips tenderly, making sure you wouldn't back off.  His eyes were closed, savoring every moment.  

At first, you were in shock, frozen by fear.  Your eyes were open, trying to process everything.  But the longer he remained on your lips, you weren't doing anything to stop him, and you felt your eyes flutter shut.  You kissed him back, relishing in the feeling of his plump, pink lips on yours.  You were on each other for so long that you didn't realize that you entered the final room of the ride.  Then you and him separated, gasping for air.    

“Did I prove it?” Bucky mocked. 

“Maybe,” you grinned.  

And you leaned back into him.  You slowly moved onto his lap, for the remainder of the ride.  One of your hands cupped his cheek while the other was lazily tangling his hair.  His hands were gripped on your waist.  His tongue was stretching on your lips, trying to get in.  You obliged and your tongues danced together to some unknown rhythm.  You could taste the sugar on his tongue.  As you played with his hair, he let out a moan.  As he did, he could feel you smiling through the kiss.  

Then, Bucky peeked open his eyes and saw the exit approaching.  He didn't want people to see you making out, and as much as he hated it, he had to get you off of him.

“Doll, we gotta go,” Bucky urged.  You realized what he meant and before anyone saw, you slid off his lap and fixed your hair.  You both left the ride and headed to his car, eager to get home.

“Wow, that was amazing,” you sighed, settling into your seat with all the toys and your bag in the backseat.

“I have to agree.  You took my breath away, dreamboat,” Bucky quipped.

“Same, and you were a dreamboat back there as well,” you grinned.  Bucky placed his hand back on your thigh, and you placed yours on top of his, just like before.  But it wasn't to be friendly like the first time, but something more.

“Ya know, doll, I wasn't expecting to be necking,” Bucky chuckled as you drove off.

“I gotta say, you got a lotta moxie for that,” you laughed.

“You almost gave me the hots back there, sugar,” 

“Did I now?” you teased.  “Well too bad you can't do anything about that.”

“Shame.  Stupid bet.” he sighed.

“Oh wait, don't tell Loki about this,” you said.  “He will flip and probably do something to us.  Or you.”

“You got it.” he agreed.  “But if he does find out, or do something, what then?”

“To get honest, I don't know.  But you've still got one more date left to truly convince me.  And so does Loki.”

“I didn't convince you?” Bucky gasped.

“Not enough,” you teased, laughing at him as you drove home.  

Bucky helped you get the stuffed animals and your bag and helped you back to your room.  You took the llama, teddy bear and your bag back.  He held onto the Captain America head and Spiderman inflatable.  He gave you a kiss on the forehead before you bade each other goodnight.  

As the door closed behind you, you sighed, letting out a small howl, releasing all the emotions you felt tonight.  Your back fell to the door, and your knees gave out, leaving you against the door.

“Wow,” you sighed.

~~~

Bucky walked back to his room with a little pep in his step.  He was in a much happier mood than normal.  He was singing to himself and smiling all the way back to his room.  His hair was messed up, but he didn’t care.

But someone was watching him.  Loki.  Loki saw how messed up Bucky's hair was.  He saw the things Bucky didn't.  Like the lipstick that was on his cheek.

Then Loki felt angry.  But it wasn't even anger.  It was hatred, fury and rage.  It was boiling inside him and he didn't know what to do with himself.  But then, that God of Mischief mindset kicked in.  And he had an idea.  An evil, wicked, horrible idea.  One that would change everything.

“Oh, well,” Loki talked to himself.  “I wanted to play nice.  But you broke the rules.  And you know what happens when you break the rules.  You feel my wrath.” 

#bucky x you #bucky #bucky barnes #bucky fandom #bucky fic #bucky fucking barnes #winter soldier #carnival #amusement rides #first date #love #love triangle #loki #loki fandom #loki (marvel) #loki odinson #james bucky barnes #james buchanan bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes

[littlemisspp]

Invisible String | Mako

Chapter 3 | Chapter 5

Chapter 4

It was almost daybreak, the sun beginning to rise over the towers in the city skyline. I sighed, resting my elbow on the side of the piano as I laid my head in my hand. My eyes lost focus on the outdoors, my mind wondering back the night before.

We were inches apart. I could smell his cologne, a rich woody scent laced with the smell of soap. His breath fanned over my face, my heart nearly beat out of my chest.

I was up all night, restless in bed as I laid awake.

I should have said more. I should have mentioned it on the ride home.

After I finished my conversation with the stage mangers I met him in his police kart, not another word was spoken about the almost-sorta-maybe-kiss that happened in the concert hall.

He kept our minds busy with questions about the benefit, and useless information about the guestlist. I didn't care about who was coming, all I could think or care about was him.

He almost kissed me.

If we didn't get interrupted would he have done it?

The way his hand grabbed mine, the sour sounding keys being pushed meant nothing in that moment. It was like something out of a daydream.

Just for a split moment I saw him with his eyes closed, lips pursed as he leaned into me. He was gorgeous, beyond something I could have drawn up in a dream.

I look down at my hands, the light pink polish still smooth under the creeping sunlight. I trace the ivory keys with my fingers, a small laugh coming when I think back to showing him how to play a D major chord.

He was so clueless when it came to the piano, but something about that enchanted me even more. He was so excited to learn about it, so eager to listen.

A faint smile crosses my lips at the memory, the events still so recent I could almost feel the heat radiating off the top of his hand into my palms.

Hours later I'm woken up to someone shaking me. Startled, my eyes widen as Vera stands in her nightgown looking down at me.

"Did you sleep here all night?" she asks, standing straight as I sit up.

I nod, rubbing the back of my neck.

"I don't remember lying down here" I confess, my back suddenly aching from sleeping on the cramped couch.

"How was your rehearsal with Mako?" Vera asks, plopping herself into the arm chair across from me.

I smile, hands dancing around the fabric of my nightgown.

"He almost kissed me"

Vera's blue eyes widen in shock, a look of surprise crossing her face.

"Wow, El" she snickers, "I didn't think you had in ya"

I blush, standing from my spot as I move to go into the kitchen. I needed tea.

"We didn't actually kiss though" I frown, pulling a cup from the drawer. "We were interrupted"

"So he's definitely into you" Vera announces, leaning against the counter.

I shrug, "It could have been a spir of the moment"

Vera rolls her eyes, my hands going to collect the kettle to heat some water.

"Men don't just kiss women randomly if they aren't interested in them" She lectures, "Especially without any wine in their system."

A smile graces my lips as I look down at the kettle.

She was right. He did want to kiss me.

Moments later my father strolls in, already dressed for the day.

"Morning" He greets, kissing both of our foreheads. "I am going to be out for the afternoon, I have a meeting down at the clinic"

"Alright" Vera smiles, "Do you want us to pick up Bo?"

"That would be wonderful, yes" He nods, "Her school ends at 2"

We nod, watching him hurry out of the kitchen with a thermos of coffee.

"Mail is here" He calls from the other room, the sound of the door closing telling us we were now alone.

I pour two cups, placing tea bags in both as I follow my sister into the parlor. I set them down, watching as she shifts through the letters brought by the morning mail run.

She stops on the last one, face changing from bored to serious. She drops the other envelopes on the table and sits down beside me.

"What's wrong?" I hum, sipping the hot drink.

"It's a letter from Iroh" Vera whispers, fingers holding the tan colored envelope.

"Are you going to open it?" I ask, noting her sad expression.

"I don't know" she whispers, sad eyes studying the handwriting.

Iroh and Vera were a couple when we were staying in the Fire Nation a few years back. They met the first week we were there when we were having dinner with Fire Lord Zuko and hit it off right away. My parents were convinced they were going to get married. But his busy schedule with the United Forces took him all around the world, not allowing him much time for love or for Vera.

So he ended things the day before we were set to leave. Vera wasn't over it for a long time. I still wonder if she truly is now.

I pat her shoulder, watching her quickly reach up to wipe her eyes with her sleeve.

"I'll leave you alone" I whisper, standing from the couch and going into the kitchen.

After an hour I come out of my room, dressed for the day as I move back into the parlor. Vera was sitting stone faced in front of the fire, the thin slip of paper between her fingers. I could tell she had been crying, her cheeks puffy and eyelids red.

I sit beside her, hand on her shoulder as she sniffs.

"I'm alright" She declared, clearing her throat.

"What did he say?" I ask gently, watching her stand from the couch.

"Nothing of note" She shrugged, arms folded on her chest. "He wanted to make sure we were settled in and that I was happy"

I nod, biting my cheek. I was never good at giving relationship advice, saying I had never been in a relationship before.

"I don't want to dwell on it" She states, "Let's do something fun"

I nod, standing beside her.

"Like what?"

She walks to the window, eyes peering out over the bustling city.

"We have this whole city at our fingertips, let's do some exploring!"

We walked down the busy streets of Republic City, our arms locked together as we window shopped and discovered the sights of our new home. It was a lot busier than I had expected it to be. I always thought Ba Sing Se was the craziest place in the world, but Republic City had taken the crown.

People were everywhere, cars roaring by on the street as we weaved through crowds of merchants and families. Vera had bought a few new outfits, declaring "Shopping was the best medicine." She picked out silk skirts and ruffled tops, a few pieces of jewelry and a new scarf.

Now, after what felt like our 100th store, we settled at a small cafe to enjoy warm cups of jasmine tea. We sat on the patio under the cloth tent roof, people passing by on the street as we took in the sights and sounds of the city.

"I can't believe you didn't find anything you liked" Vera mused, sitting across from me with her pile of bags.

I shrug, stirring my tea.

"I didn't see anything that called to me" I say, "I am still looking for a gown to wear to the benefit"

"Are you going to invite Mako?" She asks, lips curling into a smirk.

Leave it to your big sister to tease the daylights out of you.

"I don't know" I confess, "I don't want to rush things. It could be awkward"

Vera waves it off, "I'm sure he'd be thrilled to go."

I open my mouth to protest but the sound of yelling makes us turn. On the sidewalk stood Mako. He was dressed in grey, out of his police uniform as he whispers harshly to the man beside him.

My eyes widen, pulse rising as Vera sends me a quick smirk.

"Come join us!" She calls, waving the men over.

I kick her under the table and hear her hiss in pain as the boys make their way over to us.

"Elena" Mako smiles

"Hey, Mako" I reply, "This is my sister, Vera. I'm not sure if you have properly met"

"Nice to finally meet you" Vera grins, shaking his hand as I roll my eyes.

"This is my brother, Bolin" Mako introduces, "Bolin, this is Elena and Vera Shen. Dr. Shen's daughters"

"Pleasure to meet you ladies" Bolin grins.

Bolin was a little shorter than Mako, his smile a little goofier as I could tell he was the less-serious one of the two.

"So, what brings you to our side of town?" Mako asks, turning to me.

"We were shopping" I say, "Vera suggested we do some exploring."

"There is a great store a few blocks that way" Bolin suggested, "Sells incredible belts with really nice leather-"

"Ignore him" Mako groans, nudging his brother. "He thinks he can buy anything he sees now that he is a mover star"

"A mover star?" Vera asks puzzled, "You are?"

"Sure am" Bolin smirks, "You're looking at Nuktuk- Hero of the South"

Mako rolls his eyes as Vera's eyebrows raise in awe.

"That is really cool" I smile, "I'm sure you've met a lot of cool people"

"Sure have" Bolin bragged, "Tons of famous people. Ginger was my co-star, who was totally into me by the way. And I'm best friends with the Avatar-"

"You're best friends with Avatar Korra?" Vera gasps.

Mako sends his brother a sideways look, my eyes wide in surprise.

"What is the Avatar like?" I ask, "I've read a lot about her"

Bolin shrugs, looking at his hands.

"She's cool" He muses, then smacking Mako's shoulder. "He's the one you should ask though, that's his ex-girlfriend"

I almost choke on my drink, eyes wide as I look at Mako.

"Your ex-girlfriend is Avatar Korra?" I exclaim.

Vera chuckles, twirling her spoon in her cup, "Oh boy"

Mako scratches the back of his neck, "We were together once, yes"

Bolin laughs, "He's a humble guy. Korra was head over heels for him. They broke up but then she almost died and forgot and he had to break it off with her again"

I stare at the brothers wide eyed, mouth slightly open as my mind rushes to process what I had learned.

Mako dated the AVATAR? I knew he was out of my league but this.... This was crazy.

~ 

Tag List: @zukostan221 @bispacesword

Message me to be added to the tag list!

#lok #lok fic #atla #atla fic #avatar #legend of korra #legend of Korra fanfic #mako #mako x oc #avatar fanfiction

[elevatorsnot-worthy]

Just A Little Chaotic (Chapter 5)

CHAPTER 5 - DRAWN

Description: Alison, a singer-songwriter and an actress, finds herself in a middle of a chaotic set up with two of her cast mates. One’s a new face and one’s an old friend.

Pairings: Chris Evans x OFC x Sebastian Stan

Just A Little Chaotic (All Chapters)

Author’s Note: It gets a little smutty. I’m still working on writing smut. lol. Comments and suggestions are open!

“Thank you, Boston! I love you very much!” I said into the microphone and my band and I took our bow. We are already nearing the end of the American leg of my tour. I’ll have a week off then we’re off to start our Europe and Asia leg. I looked at my left and standing on the side of the stage was Chris, keeping himself hidden behind the curtains. He showed me a bright smile and two thumbs up. I looked back at the crowd as they cheered, and I waved them my goodbye then ran to Chris.

“You were amazing!” He greeted me with a huge bear hug. After my tiring performance, I left comforted and recharged in his arms. “Let’s go?” he said, and I nodded then we walked back to the dressing room. During my tour, Chris would call me everyday and talk to me as much as he can. We are like teenagers that would talk to each other until we fall asleep with our phones in our hands. Even when I’m getting my hair and makeup done, we would call each other on Skype.

“Finally, I can finally do this again.” Chris said and kissed me on my lips as he shuts the door of my dressing room behind him. I missed the taste of his lips and I can’t help but to devour him. We moved towards the couch and Chris gently pushes me down. He laid on top of me and kissed me from my lips to my neck. He didn’t care that I was a mess after my concert. I knew he wanted me in any way possible. Chris took every piece of clothing I had and threw it on the floor.

“I missed you so much.” Chris whispered in my ear as his hand roamed my body. From my neck, to my waist, to my legs. Chris’ touch was gentle but was electric to me. He played with my nipples with his other hand and his mouth. I can’t help but to moan.

“God, Chris I need you. Now.” I whined as I pulled on his belt. Chris took of his white sweater and I got up and pushed him down so he’s lying on his back. I took off his belt and pulled down his pants with his boxers. His member sprung out all stiff. I licked the shaft to the tip and Chris groaned in response. I took his length into my mouth and slowly moved up and down.

“Ali,” Chris groaned, and he gently placed his hand on my head. I sucked him harder and faster. Chris started to moan louder. I loved how he was vocal, and he didn’t hold back his moans. “Deeper, Ali. Come on, I know you can take it.” He said as he guided me down his length. It took me a while to take in his full length. Not only he was long, his girth made it a little difficult for me to take it all in my mouth. Chris’ gripped tightly on my hair as I moved faster up and down his shaft. As I moved up, I kiss his tip.

“You like that?” I said and licked his shaft.

“I’ll like it better when you’ll ride me.” He smirked, and I quickly positioned myself on top of him. Chris placed his hand on my mound, feeling my wetness. “I see you are already ready for me,” He then placed his hands on my waist as he guided me down as he slowly enters me.

“Oh fuck,” I moaned as I rode him slowly. I felt euphoric with every move I make. I propped my hand on his broad shoulders and changed to a faster pace. Our breaths got shorter as we both reach our peak. Chris rubbed my clit with his thumb, making me weak. My legs twitched as I came involuntarily. Chris flipped us over and just started pounding in me. I gripped on his large arms as I lose control under him.

“Fuck!” Chris said to himself as he released his load in me. I placed my hand on his cheek as we both catch our breaths. Chris kissed me deeply and said, “I love you.” My heart skipped a beat after what he said. His blue eyes stared into me. A huge smile crept on my face. “I love you. I am madly in love with you. Ever since I saw you on set, I knew I gotta have you in my life. It’s just – It’s crazy.” He shook his head as he finds the words he’s going to say next. His eyes sparkled as he looked at me straight in the eyes with sincerity, with care, with love. I felt safe in his eyes, but I was still consumed by my past. I was scared to trust somebody again. I was scared to let myself love someone again but with him, I’m excited to take the leap.

“I love you too, Chris.” I whispered. His face lit up and he started kissing me all over my face. “Now, let’s get dressed before they see us here.”

After we got dressed up, we went out of the dressing room to go to the car that was waiting for us. I changed into a much more comfortable outfit. Slip-on shoes, black jeans, a gray jacket, and a white t-shirt underneath. We went straight to the car and to the hotel. Even though I need to be up early tomorrow, Chris and I went to the hotel’s cocktail lounge.

“Will you stay the night?” I asked Chris as I took a sip of my daiquiri. We were seated on the stools at the bar, both facing each other. He took a sip of his drink and he smirked at me.

“Do you want me to?” he smiled and leaned closer. I kissed his soft lips and held Chris’ face. I rubbed my thumb across Chris’ soft beard which really looked great on him.

“I’d love it if you would stay the night.” I whispered in between kisses. There weren’t too many people in the lounge, so we didn’t care about being too showy. I pulled away from the kiss and smiled at him. “But I can’t stay up too late, I’m a bit tired and I have to get up early tomorrow. You know, a lot of press stuff for the tour.”

“I know, we’ll just sleep. I want you to feel good tomorrow.” Chris said. “If you want, I’ll run you a bath later, so you can relax,” before I get to respond, a brown-haired woman tapped Chris on his shoulder and greeted him.

“My oh my, Evans! What are you doing here?” she beamed at him, and Chris smiled back in response. Her hair falls down to her back, and she flashed a bright pearly white smile. To me, she looked intimidating due to the strong features of her face.

“Tori, oh my God, how are you?” he said as he got off his stool to hug her. Chris hugged her tightly, so I assumed that she is someone really close to him. “I’m visiting Ali – by the way, Ali, this is my friend Tori, she was my classmate before,” he explained as he placed a hand on my lap.

“Alison Bella,” I said and reached out for a handshake. Tori looked at Chris as if she’s asking for a confirmation of what was my relationship with Chris. She softly shook my hand and smiled. “I’m his girlfriend,” I quickly added. Chris’ and my eyes met, and I smiled softly at him. Chris grinned like he just won the jackpot.

Tori turned to Chris and playfully tapped on his arm. “You better behave yourself, Evans.” She teased. “I’m a big fan, by the way.” She said and placed her hand on my shoulder. “Anyway, I gotta go. I might be disturbing you guys, and it’s already late. I just wanted to say hi.” She smiled at the both of us. She gave Chris another hug and said goodbye. “Bye, Chris,” she smiled and then turned to me before walking away, “Bye, Alison.”

Well that was random,” I muttered and took another sip of my drink. I felt awkward after the encounter with Tori. Am I jealous? No, am I crazy?! She’s his friend. She’s just his friend.

“So, I’m your boyfriend, huh?” Chris’ voice snapped me from my internal monologue. He has a smirk on his face.

“Stop teasing, Chris. I might take it back.” I joked. Chris chuckled and sipped his drink.

“But you meant it?” he asked.

“Yeah, like where would this be going right?” I said matter-of-factly. “We’re just headed to that direction.” Chris’ face lit up. “I just wanted things to be taken slowly ‘cause y’know what happened to me and my ex before. It was scary to let myself go and let myself feel but I don’t know with you it’s so easy.” I began pouring out my emotions. “Being away from you, touring and all, made me realize that I should just take the leap.” I took a deep breath and said wholeheartedly, “I just wanted to be with you.”

“You know, the first time I saw you, I was really taken aback. Then as we got closer, I just fell deeper and deeper for you. I’m drawn to you. I just wanted to be with you, even if I have to wait… remember that I will.” Chris said and planted a kiss on my forehead. I looked at him with his bright blue eyes melting my heart. He looks like the definition of a perfect boyfriend. God, I’m lucky. “I know, you’re probably really tired now, I can see it in your eyes.”

“Or I’m just a little drunk.” I joked, and he chuckled in response. But Chris was right, my eyelids felt heavy and my body was already looking for the nearest surface to rest on.

“Let’s go to bed,” Chris offered and helped me off my seat. My phone beeped in my pocket and I checked who it was. It was Brandon, my manager.

You were great earlier. I’m so proud of you. We have a meeting tomorrow morning. Don’t be late.

After sliding my phone down to my pocket. Chris and I went to my hotel room to sleep. As promised he ran me a bath, but he left me alone which I appreciated. He let me relax by myself and cuddled me to sleep in bed. At that moment I knew, this is what I want for the rest of my life.

Tag list: @everything-is-awesomesauce @supernatural-girl97

#Chris Evans #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans smut #chris evans x reader #chris evans x ofc #chris evans x you #Sebastian Stan #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan fanfic #sebastian stan imagines #sebastian stan imagine #chris evans imagines #chris evans imagine #Steve Rogers #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers imagine #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes imagine #steve rogers x reader #evanstan #evanstan x ofc #sebastian stan smut

[dreams-madeof-strawberrylemonade]

Shoelace

So this is the first request I got, thank you anon, hope you’re seeing this and you like it!! Title isn’t quite the best, sorry about that lol

Request:  I know the boys have mentioned that they go to thrift and antique shops often and that's were they get most of their clothes. Could you write a story about shopping in an antique shop and (literally) running into the boys there? Warnings: none Word count: 1418 words Thoughts and memories are written in italic. 

You woke up really early in the morning, the loud sound of the cars being the reason. You usually liked to sleep in, but since you were already up, it was no use to go back to sleep. You figured you could just watch the sunrise.

While you changed your pajama with the clothes you chose for the day, you watched the calendar on your wall. Tomorrow was the day. You had a big smiling face drawn next to the number of tomorrow’s date.

Finally. It felt like this day would never come, you thought and smiled to yourself as you put water in the kettle, waiting for it to boil.

You have grown up in a music-loving family and you easily picked up this love for bands, and music in general. You have always dreamt of having your own band and seeing the world, but most importantly, you dreamt of expressing your feelings with people and connecting with them.

Tomorrow was the day you would finally see Greta Van Fleet live. You bought tickets months in advance. It blew your mind how these boys that were your age managed to get so far already, and the idea that this is just the beginning of their evolution blew your mind even more. Even though their home town was in the same state as you were living in, you never got a chance to see them perform.

While you were sitting by the window, deep in thoughts and your excitement almost sky-rocketing, you noticed that the water for your tea just started boiling. You poured yourself a cup, and put in the tea packet and kept the cup in your hands, warming yourself.

Today you had a free day from work; actually even better- the whole week was free. You decided to call your best friend and ask her to join you to a day out. You needed to go thrifting to find the perfect outfit for the gig tomorrow.

Like she read your mind, your phone lit up. You read the text message: “Figured since tomorrow is the big day, we need to go shopping. Meet you at 11 by the fountain. Love ya”

You smiled and just answered her text with a thumbs up emoji.

You let your phone fall back on the bed sheets and returned to the window and admired the beauty of the sunrise, while slowly sipping on your tea.

Before going out, you decided to have a look in your closet and tried to put together an outfit, but nothing had that vibe you were looking for.

Time passed faster than expected, so now you were running late. You were always running late when you had to meet your friends.

It was 15 minutes pass 11, and Lisa, your best friend, wasn’t there either. You rolled your eyes and waited patiently. Soon, she appeared down the street, not hurrying and taking her time. You two were almost opposites, but the way you could understand each other made your friendship work. You were like Ying and Yang.

You greeted each other and started visiting the thrift shops one by one. In each one you found several good pieces, but none were exactly what you were looking for, but you still took them anyway.

Three hours must have passed since you and Lisa were walking from store to store, and you finally reached the last one, which was actually one of your favorites.

This shop always met your dreams. Whatever pieces you had in your mind, you could always find it there – from sweaters, to pants, handmade dreamcatchers and antique jewelry.

You and Lisa walked in, ready for action. The moment you entered the store, your eye caught a couple of items. You picked them off the shelf, and on your way to the dressing cabin, you picked up a couple more.

You tried on what you got and asked Lisa to come in and give her honest opinion on the outfit you put together, but she didn’t answer.

“Lisa!” you called out one more time. Still no answer. You put on your shoes and picked up the clothes you were previously dressed with and stepped out of the cabin. You looked around the corner and once you saw she wasn’t there, you jogged to where you’ve last seen her.

In your brisk jog, you stepped on your untied shoelace and tripped over, almost falling over a group of men that were looking at the vintage shirts section.

“Holy- “ you heard the moment you realized you didn’t hit the floor, but you were dangerously close to it. You had your eyes tightly shut, waiting for the moment of the impact, but since it didn’t come, you dared to peek at the surroundings.

That was the moment you would have fallen again, if you weren’t already kept inches off the floor by a strong pair of arms. It was like one of those cliché movie moments, when the guy catches the girl just before falling in front of him.

“Are you okay?” the dark haired man asked you as one of his shorter- much shorter- friends came to your help.

“You almost had quite a fall,” the shorter one talked and laughed.

As surreal as it seemed, they were the boys from Greta Van Fleet. You gulped and your cheeks heated up.

“Yeah, thanks for catching me,” you managed to say. “I would have probably been missing a tooth now if it weren’t for you,” you tried to lighten up the atmosphere.

“Daniel, actually Danny,” the man who caught you presented himself and his lips formed a smile. But you already knew who was each one of them, and honestly, you were trying not to fangirl.

“Y/F/N,” you introduced yourself.

The shorter one stretched out his hand. “Josh,” he said and you grabbed it and shook it. “These are my brothers, Jake and Sam,” he added and pointed to each one of them. The two of them witnessed the whole thing as well, but immediately resumed looking through a small basket of necklaces.

“I’m a big fan,” you spoke up and your cheeks heated up a little bit more.

They all stopped what they were doing, and a smile spread on all their faces. “Happy to hear that! It is an overwhelming feeling, at least for me, every time we meet fans, because we have been fans all our lives, and now we are the ones sharing a message and people are taking it in with love,” Josh said.

His little speech made you smile and just as you were about to say something, Lisa approached you.

“Have you seen this-“ she started but stopped. “Oh my…”

The boys laughed at her reaction as you stood in silence, figuring you already had the color of a tomato, but it didn’t matter.

“Are you coming to the gig tomorrow?” Sam asked, his brown eyes looking straight into yours. You just nodded as an answer. “Do you live here?” he questioned again and this time Lisa confirmed.

“Cool! Can’t wait to see you there!” Josh joined in the chat. “You said your name is Y/N, right?” he asked again as he took a post-it note out of his khaki pants’ back pocket and took a ballpoint pen off the counter in the store. You nodded again and watched him with interest.

“Here you go,” he said quickly and handed you the post-it. It had a VIP backstage code that stood instead of a pass for the concert tomorrow. Both you and Lisa got one.

You gasped as your eyes burned a little, that little burn before the tears. You hugged Josh and thanked him multiple times. “Sorry, shouldn’t have done that,” you admitted slightly embarrassed at your behavior.

“It’s alright darling,” he smiled and hugged you back.

The hugs continued for a quite a while. These boys were so humble and down to earth. They had the kindest souls that you have ever crossed paths with. It still seemed so surreal. Meeting them in your local thrift store wasn’t something you expected when you woke up that morning.

“So since you’re locals, would you want to show us around for a good place to have lunch?” Jake asked and smiled.  Lisa let out an excited squeal and nodded.

“What kind of place would you like to go to?” you asked, trying to contain yourself.

“Whichever is your favorite, since you two will be joining us,” Josh grinned.

Tags: @myownparadise96, @jeordinevankiszka, @littlegeekwonder

#greta van fleet #greta van fleet fanfiction #gvf #gvf fic #gvf fanfic #requested #anon #thrift shop #thrift store #josh kiszka #jake kiszka #sam kiszka #danny wagner #music #fanfiction #writing

[luciana-galvez]

rockstars & runaways | part 4

Nikki and Kat go way back, but with his issues and her family history, finding their way back together is a long and rocky road. And with the rockstar life, what’s the hurry anyway?

Fandom: the dirt

Words: 1.4k

Pairing: nikki sixx x oc

Warnings: none i think

Note: feedback is always welcome! :)

1984

“What’s your name on your new ID?” Nikki asked, his eyes still closed.

He had only bothered to put his briefs back on, and was sprawled out on the bed, his head resting on Kat’s stomach while she absentmindedly played with his hair.

“Charlene.”

Nikki lazily opened one of his eyes and looked at her. “Mhh,” he murmured, already closing it again. “You don’t look like a Charlene.”

“Who do I look like?”

Nikki thought for a moment. “Mhh,” he started, in a completely serious tone. “Bernadine.”

Kat laughed and temporarily interrupted stroking his hair to jokingly push him away. “Shut up. I take serious suggestions only.”

“How about Marybeth?”

“Nikki—”

“Gertrude?”

“Nikki—”

Before he could say anything else, Kat shoved her hand over his mouth in an effort to shut him up. In return, he bit her.

“Ouch,” Kat laughed, pulling her hand back. “You are—”

“Insufferable,” Nikki interrupted her with a grin. “I know.”

Kat smiled. “Yeah,” she said softy. “Yeah, you are.”

Nikki turned around and moved closer, until he was mere inches from her face. “You love it.”

“I really didn’t miss this at all.”

“Mh mh,” Nikki grinned and slightly shook his head. “I’m sure you didn’t.”

Kat chuckled and gave him a quick, gentle kiss, and then playfully pushed him over so he would fall on his back. She then grabbed his left arm and moved it away from his body, long enough so she could lie down against him and rest her head in the nook of his shoulder, and then put his arm back down around her.

“So, the Rockstar life,” she started, “what’s that like?”

Nikki contemplated for a moment. “Wild,” he said eventually. “It’s absolutely unreal. I don’t remember where we are most of the time. We party all night and sleep all day or not at all. And Ozzy is just,” he drifted off.

“He’s what?”

“Insane,” he smiled. “The other day he snorted a line of ants and then licked up his own pee up from the ground. Sometimes he throws meat at the audience.”

Kat laughed and Nikki added, “I love that weird old man.”

“What’s the craziest thing you’ve done so far?” Kat asked.

“We got detained in Canada for a while because we wore our concert outfits through customs,” Nikki laughed. “Apparently they were considered weapons.”

“I’m sure that made great publicity,” Kat laughed.

“It really did.”

For a moment, they were quiet while Kat used her fingers to absentmindedly draw invisible lines on his stomach. “Is it everything you wanted it to be?” Kat asked eventually.

“More,” Nikki said quietly.

Kat smiled. They were silent after that, and by the time Tommy showed up, she had dozed off.

“Nikki,” Tommy shouted while loudly banging on his door, “You here, dude?”

Kat groaned in protest as Nikki slipped out from under her. “Rude,” she murmured.

“Oh hey man,” Tommy exclaimed happily as Nikki opened the door. “We weren’t sure you’d be here. What happened?”

In response, Nikki stepped aside so Tommy could see the girl lying on the bed. She was grateful she was wearing underwear and a shirt. “Hey Tommy,” she said, pushing herself up on one elbow and yawning.

Tommy’s face lit up and he started walking into the room. “Are you back?” he asked, and then turned back to Nikki, “Is she back?”

“No,” Kat said. “Not really.”

Tommy looked back and forth between Kat and Nikki for a second, and then kept his eyes on Nikki. “You good, man?”

Instead of answering, Nikki simply raised his eyebrows and shrugged, a gesture that wasn’t quite yes but definitely wasn’t no anymore.

“Alright!” Tommy said, and then he jumped on the bed and tackled Kat.

Kat resigned herself to letting him as he pulled her into a hug, complete with slinging his long legs around hers, like a monkey holding on to a branch that was a third of its size. “Okay, Tommy,” Kat laughed.

“We missed you dude,” he said eventually as he let her go and propped himself up against the headboard. “Have you seen our show yesterday? We totally smashed it!”

“I saw,” Kat said. “It was alright.”

“Hey!” Tommy exclaimed and smacked her shoulder.

Kat laughed. “Loved it.”

Before they could say anything else, they were interrupted by Vince and Mick showing up as well. Nikki rolled his eyes as he watched them come in. “Sure, it’s open door policy today.”

It was a funny picture, seeing all of them and Nikki among them, still only in his underwear, but Kat quickly lost the smile on her face.

“I guess I owe you guys an apology as well,” she started.

“Save it,” Mick interrupted her and made a dismissive motion with his hand. “We’re sure you had your reasons. If Nikki’s good, so are we.”

Kat’s eyes flicked back to Nikki. “To be determined, then.”

Nikki only shook his head. “You guys are good,” he said. “And now get out.”

Vince laughed dryly. “Alright, just make sure you’re ready in an hour. We’re leaving.”

Nikki nodded and saw them out.

The rest of the hour they spent with sex and touching and talking and more touching. It was hard to catch up on two years in only a day, but God, they tried. 

Kat didn’t want to think about having to leave again. She wished she could just stop worrying about everything and hop on their tour bus with them and see where life would take Nikki and her, but even in her wildest fantasies she knew it was unrealistic.

When it was finally time to leave the hotel room and head downstairs, she felt like a physical weight was dragging her down. She watched as they loaded the bus, briefly met their manager, and before she knew it, Mick pulled her into a quick, one-armed hug.

“Good to see you, kid,” he said, and with that he was off.

Vince was next, and he gave her a proper hug and told her they’d missed her. When Tommy hugged her, he lifted her up and swung her around. There was no sadness in his goodbye, Tommy was too happy and cheerful, and Kat realized how much she had missed him as well.

When Tommy was done, he put her down and turned around to head to the bus, only to spontaneously pull Nikki into a hug as well. Nikki rolled his eyes, but Kat knew it wasn’t a mean-spirited gesture.

“He loves you so much,” Kat laughed as they watched Tommy disappear into the bus.

Nikki didn’t reply, and for a moment, neither of them knew what to say. Kat broke the awkward tension by pulling Nikki into a hug, her arms tightly wrapping around his middle and her head pressing against his chest.

He reciprocated the movement, and it surprised her just how fiercely he was holding on to her. “I’m still mad at you,” he said eventually. “But I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad you’re okay, too,” Kat mumbled into his chest.

She didn’t want to let go, but eventually Nikki pulled away. He looked at her for a moment, and then he pressed a kiss to her forehead and walked away.

“Nikki?” she asked as he was halfway to the bus. He turned around and looked back at her.

“Is it okay if I come see you again if I ever happen to be in the area?”

For a second, she was afraid he was going to say no, but then he nodded. “Yeah.”

She smiled and watched him hop onto the bus. And then she watched as the doors closed and the bus pulled away a couple of moments later.

When the bus disappeared around a corner, she turned around and started walking the opposite direction, first slowly and then faster and faster until she was running. And when that wasn’t enough, she found a small alley and leaned against the wall, her breathing coming in small and shallow intervals which didn’t do anything for her, but she couldn’t stop no matter how hard she tried.

The weight on her chest felt so heavy that it was difficult to breathe at all, and her hyperventilating didn’t help. She sank down against the wall and pulled her arms around her knees, trying to hold her body together as it was trying so hard to fall apart, as she had so many times in the past.

tags: @supernaturalvikingwhore  @miserablecunt  @sighsophiia  @fandomshit6000  @flizaa @hi-my-name-is-riley  @electradestiny  @starlalove  @kingbouji3  @sweetshutter  @baiabouk  @calspixie 

#the dirt #the dirt imagine #the dirt fanfiction #nikki sixx imagine #nikki sixx #nikki sixx x reader #fanfiction #imagine

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Black Dahlia (Chapter 10)

ALLLRIGHHT, TUMBLR! Strap in y’all, cuz the final battle of this crazy story has arrived! I hope I did this epic scene justice (but knowing me I probably didn’t), but that’s up for you dear readers to decide! Read on and enjoy, bc I’m SUPER excited for y’all to read this chapter! 

Tag: @cosmicrealmofkissteria

Back on Earth, the Star Portal glowed again, and the transport shot out.

“Remember what you’re gonna do?” Starchild asked Heather.

“Wait until after the second verse, you’ll introduce me, then I come out,” Heather replied easily.

Starchild smiled. “Great.” He threw an arm around Heather’s shoulders and hugged her tightly, a look of excitement clear on his face. “This is gonna be awesome!”

As the transport landed back into the ground, Demon contacted Manny. “We’re here, Goldman!” he said. “Open the gates, and let the Army in. We need to rock and roll!”

KISS and Heather quickly flew off to the main stage and headed backstage. Heather briefly put a hand over her face, and her face and hand glowed black and purple. Then, an intricate painting of a black dahlia flower appeared over her left eye.

It was the face markings she had used back in the 80s: her usual small black flowers along the right side of her face, and a larger black dahlia over her left eye.

Then the rest of her glowed, and her outfit changed. Her black leather jacket remained the same, but she now wore a tighter shirt that was a color purple so dark it was nearly black, black leather pants, and black platform boots with thin silver chains that, although lower than the guys’ boots, still raised her up a few inches off the ground. Dark purple lipstick appeared on her lips as her hair turned black again, and the look was completed by black fingerless gloves, dark purple nail polish, and black eye shadow.

When she was finished, she turned to Starchild, who had been watching her costume change. He looked it over, grinned, and gave her a thumbs up. “Lookin’ good! I mean, not as good as me, but still!”

Heather scoffed and smacked his arm. “Whatever. I look fabulous and you know it.”

Starchild laughed, and for a moment, Heather could swear it was 1981 again, and they were both getting ready for a concert. She’d missed this, the casual banter, and the exhilaration that came from knowing that you were about to play before millions of screaming fans. She could even hear the screaming fans right now, even from backstage.

The stage lights darkened, and the cheering got louder—the concert was starting soon.

“Okay, we’re gonna get onstage. You wait back here and wait for my introduction,” Starchild said to her.

Heather nodded. “Got it. Knock ‘em dead!”

A few seconds after KISS went onstage, Shandi appeared, wearing a headset and, Heather was pleased to see, clothes more fitting for a head techie. She glanced over at Heather, and did a double take, looking at her in surprise. “So you are going to be playing with them,” she said. “Did the guys clear you on what’s going to happen?”

“Yep,” Heather nodded. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Great. Here.” Shandi handed her a black sphere—a smoke bomb. “They told me to give this to you. Good luck!”

“Thanks. Same to you.”

Shandi walked off, leaving Heather alone. There was a pause, in which all she heard was the screaming of the KISS Army. Then a familiar voice boomed out of the speakers, making her smile widely.

“ALLLLLRIGHHHTTT, KISS WORLD! YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST! THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD… KISS!”

The opening chords to “Detroit Rock City”, then the drum beat, and then it sounded like the world exploded.

Even from backstage, the magnitude of what was going on out onstage was flooring Heather. It seemed that in the years she’d been gone, they had increased the scale of their stage theatrics. More explosions, more pyrotechnics, more flashing lights, and more lasers. Starchild’s powerful voice crashed through the speakers, the bassline made the floor vibrate, the drums pounded into her head, and the electric guitars screamed out. And any minute now, she would be going on and being a part of all that. Adrenaline began to rush through her veins, and a smile of pure delight burst across her face.

All too soon, the first and second verses were done, and Heather heard Starchild shout into the mic. “How ya doin’, KISS World?”

The crowd screamed back in reply.

“We got a surprise for all of you here tonight! Tonight, we’re gonna bring out someone for you all to meet! She’s a very special friend of ours, going way back to before KISS was even thought of! She played with us for a while, and tonight she’ll play with us again! Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for Heather McMann, the Black Dahlia!”

Heather threw the smoke bomb down on the ground, and disappeared in a gust of smoke.

Onstage, there was an explosion in the middle of the stage, and from out of the smoke, Heather emerged. The force of the screaming audience nearly lifted her off her feet, but she raised her guitar pick and began to play.

While Starchild was the rhythm guitarist and Spaceman was the lead guitarist, Heather had been what they dubbed “the harmony guitarist.” She was responsible for playing notes that harmonized with Spaceman’s lead guitar line. Her harmony line blended well with the other guitar lines, to create a sound that was entirely unique to their band. And she could tell the crowd was loving it—their cheering had gotten louder, if possible.

Starchild went back to singing. “Movin’ fast, doin’ ninety-five. Hit top speed, but I’m still movin’ much too slow. I feel so good, I’m so alive!”

Heather smiled slightly at that lyric. That was describing her right now perfectly.

“I hear my song playin’ on the radio. It goes—”

Heather sang into the mic with Spaceman, her more feminine voice blending nicely with all the guys’ voices. “Get up!”

“Everybody’s gonna move their feet!”

“Get down!”

“Everybody’s gonna leave their seat!”

Heather suddenly felt a rumble shake the stage, that definitely wasn’t from KISS’s pyrotechnics. And it was then that she remembered what they were even supposed to be doing in the first place. They had to stop the Destroyer, obliterate him for good.

And luckily, this time around, she knew exactly how they were all going to do that.

Spaceman launched into the bridge, and his blue glow formed around him. A blue light came out of his guitar, and flew up into the air. Heather knew what the light had been—it would be their way of projecting their astral forms into the portal to wherever the gang had led the Destroyer.

Starchild and Heather joined his playing, and Starchild turned purple, while Heather turned black, purple, and red. Shafts of light their respective colors flew out of their guitars, joining Spaceman’s. Catman banged his drums, him and his drum set glowing green, and Demon’s bassline shook the stage, their green and red lights flying into the air.

As they played, all of them in deep concentration, Heather’s sight shifted out of focus.

She was back in the portal. Behind her was the KISS Kraft, and before her was the Destroyer. He truly lived up to every menacing description of him… but Black Dahlia was not afraid.

Spaceman was projecting powerful blasts of lightning at him. Catman was swinging his claws, creating deep indentations in his body. Starchild’s Starbeams made deep fissures in his sides. And Demon’s Demonfire created giant burn marks. The Destroyer was roaring in pain, being blown back away from the KISS Kraft. He was weak, almost destroyed (no pun intended). But it still wasn’t enough.

Black Dahlia raised her arms. Black/purple/red flowers appeared in the air around her, and she sent them flying towards the Destroyer. They landed all over his body, and one after the other, exploded. The Destroyer roared in pain once more.

Then suddenly she was back at the concert, and Starchild was singing the last verse.

Heather felt another explosion shake the stage that wasn’t from the pyrotechnics, and smiled widely.

They had done it. They had finally done what their ancestors had sought to do thousands of years ago… all with the help of her nephew and his group of mystery-solver friends.

If I’m dreaming, I never want to wake up.

“I got to laugh, ‘cause I know I’m gonna die… Why?”

Heather wanted to laugh herself at that lyric. They were not going to die today. Not today, and not for a long time after this.

“Get up!”

“Everybody’s gonna move their feet!” 

Their playing seemed to have extra energy to it now—probably due to what they had just accomplished.

“Get up!”

“Everybody’s gonna leave their seat!”

And with the final chords, and one final leap into the air from Starchild, the song ended and the stage went dark.

Immediately, Heather felt Starchild tackling her in a hug. She could hear him laughing in her ear, and she was laughing too. Spaceman was raising his fist in the air, smiling like there was no tomorrow. Above them on his platform, Catman was pumping both his fists, shouting in victory. And Demon was smiling too, a rare, genuine smile.

When Starchild let go of her, Heather looked out at the crowd. The crowd was still going wild, and there were spotlights out on five forms crowd-surfing above everyone’s heads. When Heather looked closer, she saw it was the kids and Scooby Doo. They were all unconscious—Scooby’s tongue was lolling out of his mouth—but they seemed completely uninjured. Relief flowed through her, and if possible, she smiled even wider. They had beat the Destroyer, and the kids were all right? She almost asked Starchild to pinch her to see if she was dreaming.

They still had to worry about what would happen when the kids woke up, and the Crimson Witch. Not only her, but the other Crimson Witch, the one that had put this entire night into motion.

But they could worry about that later. For now, they had a concert to finish.

#black dahlia #chapter ten #black dahlia series #the epic final battle has arrived! #hey shandi is this the synergy thing you were talking about in one part of One Small Life? #please let me know bc i'm rather curious #anyway... #the destroyer has been destroyed! #(pun fully intended :P) #now they just have to deal with the two crimson witches #i'm sorta introducing my theory on explaining the crimson witch in the movie #but more on that next chapter #kiss au writing #scooby doo and kiss: rock n roll mystery #my writing #stay tuned for chapter eleven!

[ssromanogers]

who else could it be?

To: @aquajules

From: @cpt-stvngrntrgrs // Fatima

Note: Hey there! I hope you like it!!!

—

Steve was sketching his view of the Manhattan skyline when he got an alert that Natasha was requesting access to his floor. “Let her in,” he answered Jarvis, a bit distractedly. He was getting used to her dropping by that he wonders why the alerts are still there. He kept forgetting to ask Stark to take the “privacy warning” from his floor off since he wants to be more accessible to others and they keep hanging out together in his floor anyway.

The elevator pings and he can actually already feel her presence - as weird as that might sound - before she even enters his living room. He guesses that they really are just attuned to each other after working together for a while already. He felt her standing behind him, watching him sketch. He put down his pencil and turned around to face her.

“What’s up?” he asked with an easy smile. The sight of long red hair standing out from her all black outfit, with the natural light filtering in frames her perfectly, and Steve had to resist the urge to sketch her right there. He figured he zoned out a bit when it sounded like she asked him a question and was currently looking puzzled as to why she hasn’t gotten an answer yet. “Uh, sorry, what?”

Natasha squinted at him, looking at him up and down. “Did you not hear a word of what i just said?” she asked, a bit confused but also with a hint of worry. “You okay, Rogers? You seem out of it and that’s not very likely of you.”

“Y-yeah, of course,” Steve stammered, “Just uh, thinking about telling Stark to make my room accessible for you guys, or something like that.”

Natasha just nodded and shrugged. “Okay… well I came in here to ask you a question. I’ve been planning to take this guy out for a date and, well, I need opinions to see how a guy thinks, you know, romantically–” she explained, moving towards the couch to sit.

Steve followed her to the couch, feeling a lot more lost. There was a guy? That Natasha likes? He felt his brain split at that second as millions of questions come rushing in - questions that he doesn’t have the answers to. Steve has suspected that he might like Nat more than a partner should, kinda thought that she felt the same way to him, if he’s being honest, but apparently he misread everything. He felt a pang of pain to his chest and his mood plummeted, and he realized that he zoned her out again.

“– not that I wouldn’t know what a guy likes, since I live with all you dudes, and I’ve had tons of men before, but not in an actual, serious date.” Natasha continued to ramble on, not noticing that Steve wasn’t following her train of thought. “So will you help me?” she finally asked, turning to look at Steve who was staring at her with a blank face.

“Uh, yes, of course,” Steve answered, not even knowing what he agreed to.

“Great! I just have a couple of questions-” she pulled out her phone and turned to him, “-please just answer these honestly.” Steve nodded along, not really sure about what she’s going to ask.

“Which do you prefer for a first date: lunch or dinner?” she read off the first question.

“Lunch, I guess. It’s less formal and more relaxed, so you can get to know your date more.”

“Cool. Do you think a lunch date should come with a movie afterwards or would it be better to watch a concert afterwards? I think his favorite band has a show that day but I don’t want to make me look too anxious and stalker-ish to already know what he’s into, you know?”

“Well, I think he’d appreciate seeing his favorite band…” Steve paused. “Wait, what exactly is this for again? And do I know who it is? If I know him it’d be easier to answer your questions,” Steve prodded. He has no idea who Natasha could be interested in. Is it a SHIELD agent? He doesn’t exactly see her interact with people outside their circle so he has to at least have heard of the guy at some point.

Natasha rolled her eyes in response. “Just trying to gather first date ideas. Stark’s answers sucked, Thor’s suggestions are literally out of this world, and everyone else is MIA. So I’m down to you. And no, you don’t know him. I met him online and we’ve been talking for some time. And just answer the questions, gee,” she tried to sound exasperated but her smile tells him that she’s enjoying confusing him.

“You. Online dating? The Black Widow looking for a man online? Is that even allowed by SHIELD protocol?” he joked, to which she shrugged and laughed with. SHIELD would probably be too scared to call her out anyway. “Well, I’d definitely go with seeing the band if you know he likes them, I think that would be sweet. But if not, then movies or even a walk in the park might work for early afternoon…” he trailed off.

“Okay, that works, I think that’s all I need,” she put her phone away and lied down on the couch, sliding her legs on top of Steve’s lap. “Jarvis, can we watch The Lion King, please,” she ordered the AI.

Steve stared at her. “That’s it? You couldn’t have sent a text?” he joked, adjusting to be more comfortable now that they’re apparently watching a movie.

“Nah, I was bored and was going to come up here anyway.” she responded, already turned to focus on the movie. Steve just grinned and rolled his eyes. He loved moments like these between them - Natasha usually picks a Disney movie to make him watch and they’d rate how that movie moved or made them cry. Natasha bets that the Lion King would be no. 1 but Steve insisted that it will always be Bambi. He won’t know what will hit him.

–

“Come on, Rogers, let’s go!!” Tony has been trying to get Steve to go with him and stalk Natasha on her date, but Steve won’t budge on the reason that he ‘respects her privacy’ but in reality, he just doesn’t want to see her with someone else.

“No, Tony. We can’t spy on a spy! She’ll see us in a second and kill us both, you do understand that, right?” Steve reasoned.

“Yeah, but it’s not like she can do it in broad daylight,” Tony fired back.

“She can and she will,” Clint chimed in, not looking up from his game.

“Let’s just see what he looks like! From like, a window or something, then we’ll leave! Please?” Tony insisted.

“Can’t you just search him up or something?” Steve asked. He can feel like he’s losing this battle because as much as it’ll hurt him, he really is curious about who the guy is or what he looks like.

“I can, but that’ll be an even bigger breach of ‘privacy’, a thing you so highly find important. Who knows what I’ll find,” Tony winked and Steve gave him a disgusted face.

“Fine! But a brief look, okay!” Steve exclaimed, throwing his hands up and giving up to the pressure.

Steve begrudgingly stood up to follow Stark to the garage to leave. They asked Clint to tag along but he just shook his head and said that he, in fact, wishes to live. Steve asked himself if this really is a good idea.

When they got to the restaurant where Natasha’s date was taking place, they noticed that she was still sitting alone. Tony checked his watch, Natasha’s date was supposed to meet her 30 minutes ago.

“Hey, wait here,” Tony abruptly said to Steve, leaving their hiding spot and walking in the restaurant before Steve could say a word. When he finally processed what Tony did, Steve cursed under his breath because they were going to die.

Steve watched Tony approach a passive-looking Natasha and the two spoke briefly, until Tony said something that made Natasha laugh - which, in turn, instinctively made Steve smile. When Tony pointed a finger to their hiding spot, Steve’s smile disappeared as his eyes met Natasha’s. Crap. How could Tony out him like that! Natasha’s smile grew larger as he signaled for Steve to come to them, which he had no choice but to do, so he bowed his head down and went inside.

“Hey Steve,” Natasha greeted him warmly. “Take a seat,” she offered to the empty seat across from her.

“Uh, but don’t you have a date?” Steve asked, confused, looking between her and Tony.

Tony clasped a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with an enormous grin. “So, I’ll leave you guys to it. Romanoff, you’re welcome. You owe me one!” he winked at Natasha, who waved her off, laughing.

“Wait, Tony, wha-” Steve started to ask Tony, who just made him sit at the chair and left. Steve looked back to Tony’s retreating figure before turning around to face Natasha.

“Nat what’s happening? Did your date stand you up?” he asked her, his face scrunched up, still not fully grasping what’s happening.

Natasha simply smiled, not saying anything.

“Did he? He did, huh! Who is he, anyway? Because I-” Steve started to rant, placing his hands on the table as he started to get upset at the thought that someone would do that to Natasha, of all people.

“Steve, you’re my date,” Natasha cut him off, placing her hands over his.

That made stop talking. “I’m your what now?” He dumbfoundedly asked, eliciting a chuckle from Natasha.

“You’re the guy I want to ask out. And, I don’t know, but for some reason I want to surprise you because I don’t want you to overthink it.” Natasha explained.

Steve stared at her for a while, not saying anything, trying to process what she just said. “So does this mean that… you like me… or want to date me?” Steve slowly let out.

“Yes and yes. Again, like I said, Steve don’t overthink it. You’re here because I like you, and I think that maybe you like me too?” Natasha asked, her voice getting smaller as she got the question out.

Steve nodded rapidly. “I-i I do! I do like you!” Steve assured, finally letting out a laugh and moving his hands so he could clasp Natasha’s in between his. “So when you asked me about this the other day…” he trailed off.

Natasha laughed. “Yes, it was because I want to know what you personally think. Believe it or not it’s actually Stark’s idea,” Natasha shrugged, “and as you witnessed, he did help me pull this off, too. Who would’ve thought he had the knack for romance.”

“Well, he is very dramatic so I guess that played out well. Wait. You told me the other day that your date’s, which is apparently me, favorite band is performing and that you’d watch it after this. Is that still true?” Steve asked, sounding hopeful.

Natasha nodded. “Yup. Mayday Parade is playing this afternoon and we have VIP tickets,” Natasha flashed him a proud grin. That band is special to them because Natasha got Steve into that band and they spent many afternoons listening to their music in silence and enjoying the music.

“Wow, I can’t believe it! I’m so happy I could kiss you right now-” Steve exclaimed, before stopping as he realized what he said.

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” Natasha suggested with a smirk, watching Steve turn red and looking for words.

“Really? I mean- I would like to, uh you know, kiss you. Like for real, this time,” Steve muttered, avoiding Natasha’s eyes as he turns even more red.

  “You could’ve just asked,” Natasha playfully quipped. She stood up and leaned close to Steve, planting a soft kiss on his lips before sitting down again. “I’ll give you that for now, Rogers. After all, it is only our first date,” Natasha teased.

  Steve blinked, eventually smiling as he recovered from that. “First of many,” he said with a promise, clutching Natasha’s hand a bit tighter.

#romanogers #captasha #capwidow #steve rogers #natasha romanoff #fanfic #submission

[icequeenjules26]

All I Want (For Christmas) Is You

Summary:  Dan Howell's life as a student of modern piano music is completely turned upside down when he is grouped in an assignment with Phil Lester...

Word Count: 7,2k

Tags: University AU, Fluff, Pianist!Dan, Guitarist!Phil, 

A/n: This is written for @babethepig for the Phandom fic Fests Holiday Exchange. As always the biggest ever thank you goes out to my love @succubusphan, who spent a lot of time beta’ing this. You’re the best. <3 

Read on A03

Dans schedule was a proper mess this semester. His decision to specialize in modern piano music got frowned upon not only by his parents but also by his Uni, so his curses were not nicely fit together anymore. He had a lot of free time in between, but his time gaps were too short to get back to his dorm, so he mostly stayed on campus, spending his free time in one of the multiple coffee shops around or with his friend Louise, who was assigned a dorm room much closer to campus than he was.

 That’s how he caught wind of it first.

 He had always been good at playing the piano, the time at uni had only helped with that, obviously; but that he was supposedly the best in his studies had always sounded like an exaggeration. There were a lot of piano students, so he had tried toning down the people talking about him, directing them to someone else. Aside from his musical ability there wasn’t much interesting about him, though, so he had drifted out of the other students’ eyes - at least aside from the talk about whoever was supposed to be dating this week. His open bisexuality made for a large pool of possible suitors, but there were students much more interesting to talk about.

 Now, though, he was back inside of the rumor mill, and right in the center.

 It started off innocently enough.

 “The instruments students are doing trios this year, did you hear?” The two girls in the booth right next to his were chatting animatedly with each other, obviously unaware of him just sitting half a meter away. “Yeah, I’m so excited! We haven’t seen Dan Howell performing for a while, which is a shame. Him at a Piano is enough to get me going to be honest.”

 Dan was already puffing out his chest like a peacock, debating on whether to go over there or at least make his presence known otherwise, when the other girl’s reply made him halt in his tracks. “I mean same , but have you seen Phil Lester lately? He got rid of his emo fringe and stuff. He’s scolding hot .” She layed extra emphasis on the word hot and in Dan’s head, two mindsets started battling over what to do. The first one expressed some kind of jealousy in a “I wanted to tap that girl”-kind of way, the other one wanted to spring onto facebook to check out the guy they were talking about, whose name sounded kind of familiar.

 Former emo fringe musician that got hot? Sign him the fuck up.

 Chuckling lowly about his screaming bisexuality he continued listening, his interest now peaked.

 “Well, they’re doing trios right? Just imagine both of them on stage together…”

 The other girl actually moaned at the thought and Dan couldn’t contain the smirk creeping on his face. He took a sip from his coffee, his still open laptop on the table in front of him long forgotten. He probably should be working on one of his assignments due this week, but the girls’ conversation was too interesting to ignore.

 Dan had to suppress some swearing when his laptop dinged with an incoming email. He could hear the girls whispering behind him when they looked over because of the sound, realizing who he was - “Oh my god is that Dan Howell?” and “Oh my god, do you think he heard us?” -  and he quickly leaned forward to appear busy.

 The email causing the ‘ding’ was actually about the assignment the girls had just been talking about. He packed up his stuff immediately when he had read through it. The list of assigned groups had just been hung out in front of his professor’s office and she invited all participants to a meeting in about half an hour on the other side of the campus, so he had to rush.

 ~~~

 Even the rushing didn’t help in the end, the unfortunate incident of a broken down bus costed him the time to check the list before the meeting started. When he got there he still had no idea who his partners were, so he didn’t understand the reason behind the quiet whispers that started when he set foot into the lecture hall. He managed to find his friend Louise quite fast and slid into the free spot next to her. “What’s the fuss about?” he asked her quietly but before she could answer, the door opened again and a group of professors walked in.

 Their looks varied about as much as those of the students sitting in the audience, making for a quite colourful group. For this assignment, nearly all rock-centered curses were thrown together, not only piano but also guitar, drums, bass, violin and multiple other instruments. The hall was packed full, but the arrival of the professors assured silence among the students.

 “Good morning everyone! Hopefully you all checked the list and are in the process of contacting your partners. Teamwork is the key for this assignment! Because of the number of students most groups consist of one piano student, one guitar student and one of another instrument, specifically arranged to play into your strengths and make you work on your weaknesses.” The young male professor’s voice rung soundly through the hall and Dan couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Prof. Smith, responsible for the guitar department and  specialized on rock music, was so completely different from his own professor and so cliché rock musician that it offended Dan’s believes; he fit the stereotype perfectly, including tattoo covered arms, piercings and wild, green hair, often sporting band shirts.

 Prof. Johnson, on the other hand, was nothing like her profession. She was a middle-aged woman with slim, neon green glasses and grey eyes that always seemed to shine with mischief. Her jet black hair fell in untamable curls onto her shoulders and she seemed to never leave the house without a nerdy T-Shirt, merch for some comic, TV-Show or movie. When she stepped forward, the whispers around the hall got louder and the grin on her face was so wide Dan couldn’t help but grin back. He liked his Professor, even if she tended to overstep her boundaries and was eager to make friends among the students.

 “If you have questions you can always turn to me or Mr. Smith, Mr. Miller or Mrs. Adams, or any of the other Professors involved,” she said, then paused for a second to let the murmures and voices ring out.

 “Now, we know this is a big thing among the student body, but we hope you can keep it as low as possible. Drama and relations, as fun as they are to watch for us, will only make your work harder. If you want to outplay this though, be assured I will be watching with a glass of wine and popcorn.” There were chuckles among the group and Louise next to him went red trying to keep in her laughter. Dan grinned at her and made a mental note to tell her about the girls he had encountered before coming here.

It took some time for the students to calm down, but when she continued speaking, Dan was shocked into silence. “That also goes for other students aside from yourself. The list is out for half an hour and the only duo involving Mr. Howell and Mr. Lester has already caused an uproar throughout the whole university, so please think about what you are causing when you speak about information like this next time.”

 The rest of the meeting went by in a blur. The professors informed them of the nature of the assignment - the whole thing had pretty much the built-up of a generic talent show. They had to cover one song each week in an open, on-campus concert starting in two weeks. Each week two groups would be voted out by the professors until three groups remained for the finale.

 At the end Dan didn’t remember anything the professors had explained to them. He would beg Louise for her notes tomorrow, but that wasn’t the important thing right now.

 The important thing was that he was supposed to perform with the one and only Phil Lester - and after a quick facebook check he realized why the name had sounded so familiar. Dan had had a crush on the cute and amazingly talented guitar player performing every saturday in a close-by coffee shop for weeks until he had disappeared. What made it even harder for Dan was the fact that the girls had been right.

 The guy had gotten hot as fuck.

 Louise’ mumbled keep it in your pants seemed almost impossible to stick to.

 ~~~~

 It took Dan around half a week to stop running from Phil. He kept himself busy with papers not due for at least a few more weeks and working harder for other assignments than he ever had before - he did anything that would make him forget about the short message from Phil awaiting him on whatsapp, where he introduced himself and informed him they were partners. The little dog emoji at the end of the message made him squeal like a schoolgirl, but that was exactly the problem. He had to keep it professional. Which would be difficult considering the increasingly hot pictures Phil posted on his facebook and instagram…

 On thursday Dan finally realized he wouldn’t be able to hide from this forever, as he couldn’t afford to fail this class. So he decided to suck it up and went with a generic confirmation and the question to set a time for their first rehearsal as a reply.

 On friday Dan was about as nervous as he could be. Fidgeting the entire morning, he changed his outfit for at least five times until Louise threatened to rip his whole wardrobe to shreds if he didn't decide soon. Her teasing didn’t make his job any easier though. He was supposed to meet Phil in less than half an hour in one of the practice rooms in the music building half a campus away and he was dying a little.

 “Do you really think I look okay?” he asked Louise, who was seated directly next to him on the bus, anxiously running his fingers through his brown locks. Louise caught his wrist mid-movement and forced his hand back into his lap before she patted it sympathetically. “You look great, Dan. Just don’t behave like the little schoolgirl you’re portraying right now, okay?”

 Dan couldn’t get rid of the blush creeping onto his cheeks for the rest of the bus ride.

 When he arrived at their booked practice room, Phil wasn’t there yet. Sighing in relief, he let his backpack sink to the floor before moving over to the piano, situated on a little pedestal in front of the window. He took a seat on the stool right in front of it and let his fingers run over the keys testingly. A series of notes rang through the air and he realized delightedly that the piano was pitched precisely.

 He let his fingers push the keys purposefully and before he knew it they strung together to one of his favorite songs. He started singing along, just for the fun of it; but he got completely lost in the music. At one point a second voice joined in, harmonizing with him to an unbelievable extend, but he didn’t even realize; it just sounded like it had been there from the start.

 Like it belonged there, ringing alongside his own.

 Only at the end of the song he realized what had happened. When the last note rang loud through the now deafening silence he whipped around, eyes wide - and met the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

 He wanted to avert his eyes, wanted to check who it was, but he couldn’t; for a few moments, he was frozen, lost in time, no connection to reality except for the blue he was drowning in.

 The moment shattered like glass around him when some kind of crashing noise pierced in from outside of the room and Dan was finally able to move his eyes.

 “That was beautiful,” a deep, melodic voice said and he couldn’t help but stare at the black haired figure standing proudly and tall at the other end of the piano, smiling at him reassuringly.

 Dan had to blink a few times and pinch himself covertly, but the picture in front of him stayed the same: Phil Lester, in all his delicious glory, eyes shining so bright Dan was sure he’d need sunglasses.

 “It was,” he agreed with a raspy voice, watching wordlessly as Phil made his way over to him. “I’m Phil,” he said, sticking out his hand in front of him and Dan had to gulp down his fast rising excitement. I’ll get to touch Phil Lester!!

 When it happened, when their hands touched, he almost flinched back. A warm feeling shot up his arm at top speed and for a second, he forgot how to breathe. Holy shit.

 “Dan,” he rasped back, staring up at Phil with wide eyes, not really sure what to do with himself, only one thought ringing through his mind - if touching Phil felt like that , how amazing would kissing him be?

 Obviously, the black haired guitar player was not as shocked as Dan. “So, do you think we found our song for the first show?”

 Just like that they slipped over into work - and working with Phil, Dan learned, was just as easy as breathing.

 ~~~

 The first week with Phil was like walking on clouds. The numerous holes in Dan’s schedule made for good practice times, and the fact that Phil didn’t have many classes this semester meant that he was there for almost every one of them. Work flowed easily and smoothly and on monday they were already done segmenting the song and deciding who would get to sing which parts.

 But not only the work went great, even their voices harmonized like they were meant to be heard together. They didn’t even need transitions between Dan’s singing parts to Phil’s, the changes from line to line went just as smoothly as the ones with longer instrumental intervals between.

 Tuesday evening they were basically ready to perform. Dan had his piano playing recorded as a playback to make him more flexible on stage instead of immobile behind a giant instrument. Phil’s guitar skills maybe didn’t quite match Jimmy Hendrik’s yet, but they were definitely up there, and he had the song down to a T. Neither of them had classes the next morning, so as they were leaving the practice room, Dan felt quite courageous from all the adrenaline still rushing through him after a perfect run - and he boldly asked Phil if he wanted to get a coffee somewhere before retiring to their respective dorms.

 Ten minutes later they were sat in a coffee shop right off campus. Dan chose a cozy little booth in the corner directly next to the window front while Phil went to get their coffees. When Dan took the first sip of his drink he almost spat it right back out, but instead moved to first eye the drink and then Phil suspiciously.

 “How do you know?” he asked, his voice almost high pitched as he narrowed his eyes.

Phil just raised an eyebrow into an almost perfectly shaped curve, looking at Dan questionably as he calmly took a sip of his coffee, not saying a word.

 “How do you know my order?” Dan specified and watched incredulously as Phil’s full, kissable lips spread into a wide grin. He could almost picture it, attaching his own lips onto his as they spread into the exact grin before the kisses started to get more serious, more heated, Phil’s fringe messed up, his cheeks red as clothes were coming off…

 Oh my god, stop betraying me, goddamn heart.

 “I didn’t. I just ordered two of my usual order.”

 Phil’s voice ripped him out of his daydream and for a second he couldn’t do much else than stare in stunned silence. “You drink caramel Macchiato, too?” he asked, blinking. Huh. He really hadn’t expected that from a guy as hot as him…

 Jesus fucking christ, actually shut the fuck up!

 Dan’s attraction to Phil had risen to an unhealthy level by now. Not only was he hot as fuck, no; during their practice time Dan also had had to learn that the guy was smart, funny, lively, and talented as fuck , even more than Dan remembered him to be. Dan was lucky the assignment, and working on the music kept him busy and focused, or else he would have probably jumped the guy by now.

 “It’s my all time favorite,” Phil confirmed, his grin transforming into a cheeky smile, and Dan couldn’t keep a blush from dusting his cheeks pink.

 “Mine too,” he admitted and took another tentative sip from his drink, purposefully avoiding Phil’s eyes. He knew that if he looked into them now, he would drown in them.

 For a few moments it was silent between them, both nursing their coffee, Dan deeply lost in thought about the blueness of Phil’s eyes.

 “So, Muse, huh?”

 It was Phil breaking the silence and Dan looked up, surprised. It took him a second to realize how Phil had even known he liked Muse , until he realized they had met while singing their song Thought Contagion before choosing it for their first performance. This time he was pretty sure he kept the blush at bay.

 “Yeah. I love them.”

 Phil’s mouth stretched into a happy smile, his eyes shining brightly, full of honest excitement as he started chattering about them. Dan had to gulp and pinch his hand unsuspiciously to keep himself from losing his mind .

 They moved from Muse to Panic! to Fallout Boy to Paramore and even further. Albums became scores, which lead the way to games, movies and TV shows. It was almost scary how much they had in common, how much their interests overlapped, and it actually took Dan a while to remember a question he’d had since he’d heard of the assigned groups.

 He used a temporary lull in conversation - one that he could have easily filled with something relatable to the topic they were on, mind you - to finally ask.

 “By the way, do you know why we are the only duo?”

 Phil raised his eyebrow, a cheeky smile back on his face and Dan knew there was a blush creeping up his cheeks yet again. He couldn’t help but feel like he missed something vital here, but he had no idea what exactly.

 “Did you not pay attention at the meeting?”

 Dan felt his eyes widen in surprise and blinked, cheeks even hotter than before. “I might have been… preoccupied ,” he admitted and Phil’s smile grew into a full-blown grin.

 “Prof. Johnson and Prof. Smith spent like ten minutes explaining,” he informed Dan, “Apparently the numbers didn’t match up and they had to have one duo, so they both chose their best student and realized we would be a good match.” He put special emphasis on the word match and for a second, Dan wasn’t sure if he would be able to stay conscious. Was he just making a joke… Or was Phil Lester really flirting with him?

 “We - we are,” he stammered in response and Phil’s chuckling send his heart into overdrive. Oh god. How was he supposed to survive at least 2 more months working with the guy?

 “I think so too,” Phil whispered back with a husky voice, making Dan choke on his long cold coffee.

 Fuck, these next weeks are going to be torture.

 ~~~

 The next monday morning Dan found himself in yet another on-campus coffee shop, putting the finishing touches on an assignment that was due today. Normally it was a break he would spend with Phil, but he had stuff to arrange with one of his professors, so they decided he would join up with Dan as soon as he was able to. They had managed to get a headstart on this week’s performance by starting working on it on saturday, so they weren’t in much of a rush. They had decided on a song and discussed divisioning on sunday already; it was only practicing left.

 Of course the performance on Friday had gone great. They had gotten a lot of applause by the watching students, the little hall on campus used for performances had been packed to the rim, so there had been at least a few hundred watchers. The professors had obviously also been satisfied with their presentation, considering they had informed them they would progress into the next round even before the whole show had been over.

 So Dan and Phil had spent their Friday night celebrating. Even though neither of them were really the party going type, they had agreed to go out for a few drinks with their best friends Louise and PJ - who, coincidentally, were in the same group - and Tyler, a music production student Dan had been friends with for years. He had flirted with Phil quite obviously and had teased Dan for his sour mood afterwards, but had assured him that Phil only has eyes for you, you dumbass, pay attention!, coupled with a playful whack on his head.

 The memory let Dan grumble absently, but the arriving of a group of students in the booth right behind him ripped him away from his trip down memory lane. “I mean, they’re both bisexual, right?” one of the girls stated while taking a seat, making him peek up immediately. He liked to hear stories about his fellow unicorns and regretted only becoming aware of this conversation after it had already started.

 “They are,” a guy’s voice confirmed. Dan was pretty sure he had heard the voice before, but he didn’t have the courage to turn around and check. He was lucky enough to not have been spotted by the group, he really didn’t have to push his luck.

 “Have you seen their sexual tension? I know you want to fuck them both, Caleb, but come on.” The female voice was followed by a male groan and the sound of a head meeting the tabletop. “I knowww,” was the answer, “I’m sexually deprived, not blind .”

 Dan raked his brain, trying to figure out who they were talking about. Being friends with Louise and Tyler meant that he was mostly up to date with recent campus gossip, and he really wanted to tell them about this later.

 “Did you know there’s already a bet going on? About if they’ll be dating by the end of this semester.”

 “Which idiot would even bet against that?”

 The booth erupted into laughter and Dan furrowed his eyebrows, thinking. He leaned forward, trying to appear busy, but in reality the assignment currently open on his laptop was the furthest thing from his mind.

 “Okay, but aside from all that they were the best group, even if it was just the two of them. They’re gonna win this thing, hands down.” 

Dan’s eyes went as wide as saucers as realization seeped into him. They weren’t really talking about -

 “Absolutely. Thought Contagion was brilliant, I’m so excited to see what they’ll come up with for the next round.”

 That was the moment Phil decided to make his appearance, ripping him out of his thoughts almost violently. “Morning!” he said, cheerfully, two cups of steaming coffee in his hands. He pushed one of them over to Dan after he had taken a seat.

 A look of confusion, even concern appeared on his face when Dan didn’t react, just continued staring at his laptop screen with his eyes wide open. “Dan? Are you okay? Have you seen a ghost?”

 The chatter behind him ended immediately. When he slowly turned around a group of seven people was staring at him, wide eyed. All of them scrambled to their feets as fast as they could. “You’re a cute couple!” one of the girls squeaked out, then they were gone, leaving Dan to explain the situation to Phil.

 Needless to say Phil wasn’t fazed at all, instead he used the story to make more flirty remarks, making Dan blush yet again.

 Damn, I’m fucked.

 ~~~~

Almost three months passed by in a rush and by december Dan couldn’t even recognize his life anymore. All the time he had previously spent alone in front of his laptop, browsing tumblr or watching Netflix, converted into Phil-time, slowly but surely. They played games or watched TV-Shows nearly every day after practice. Dan’s roommate had even asked him if he was moving out with all the time he spent away, but Dan couldn’t help himself. Phil lived in a flat near campus all alone. A tiny flat, sure, but it made for the best meetup place, especially for gaming or movie nights or for research about their next song - and it gave them some privacy. Not that much had happened yet aside from the increasingly flirty comments and occasional cuddle sessions, but it still made their friendship easier.

 Especially because they were now something like campus-famous and got recognized wherever they went.

 So far, they had aced most performances and were through to the last show before christmas break. After New Year’s there was only one show left before the big finale. They were pretty sure they had a good grade secured, but they still gave it their all - they had come so far, there was no way they were giving up now.

 In the upcoming show only seven groups were left and it was the first one with two mandatory songs, one optional and one christmas themed, dropping the rock theme just for this once. Since the last week was cut short - Christmas break started on thursday - they had an additional half week to prepare. Dan and Phil had decided on Panic! ’s High Hopes for the first song and Last Christmas for the second and as always, they had been quite fast with their work. They were practiced and basically done on Monday, so they allowed themselves the night off. Phil’s brother was in town and Dan had heartlessly neglected Tyler since the assignment started (his words), basically forcing Dan to spent the night with him.

 Fortunately Tyler had a lecture early the next morning, so he wasn’t trying to get himself or Dan trashed. He did, however, made use of the time by grilling Dan about his relationship to Phil.

 Dan was a bit annoyed, but at the end of the day he was glad to be able to talk about it, even if he would never admit to that. Louise and her group were still in the run for the finals too, which made her so busy they barely were able to talk for longer than a few minutes at a time - and he desperately needed an outsider’s opinion.

 It took him almost an hour to get Tyler up to date on what had happened, all the while getting interrupted by texts from Phil. Right when he was done explaining his phone dinged again, indicating another text.

 ‘the girl two tables over has a cute lil pup on her lap i keep staring she probs thinks i'm a perv help’ it read and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Tyler inspected him warily from across the table, absently playing with the straw in his half-empty cocktail. “Okay, who are you texting?” he asked then, fixing Dan with a steely gaze.

 “Oh, it’s just Phil,” he answered distractedly, typing a quick response before turning his attention back to Tyler. “Why?”

 “Are you shitting me?” he asked back, a fitting expression on his face like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Dan just answered with a surprised “huh?”, shooting him a confused look.

 “Mate, how dense can you be? You are basically dating the guy, only without the good parts!”

 Dan blinked, completely lost now, unable to follow Tyler’s train of thought. “What?”

 “You and Phil are dating, Dan, wake up! The only thing missing is the sex!”  Dan was stunned into silence, staring at Tyler like he had grown a second head. It took the thought a while to register in his brain, but then he blushed, taking a huge gulp of his drink before calling the waiter over to order another one.

 He needed more alcohol for this.

 ~~~~

 The show on wednesday evening went exceptionally well. They had the most fun rocking to High Hopes and got really festive during Last Christmas , with Dan at the Piano and Phil sat on top of it. Their professors called them over and into the next show immediately, making them giddy and high on adrenaline in the process.

 The christmas party thrown by the rock music department started directly afterwards and PJ and Louise, immensely proud of their best friends even though their own group had been voted out, insisted on going. Still in an after show rush they agreed, but soon realized why they normally didn’t like parties. It was loud, the room stuffed with people and the food was average at best, and it took them around twenty minutes to revert back to the snacks table, where they hid from the actual party.

 When Louise, PJ and Tyler of all people found them, sporting a cheeky expression, Dan knew they were fucked. They were leaning against a wall, talking and laughing with each other as much as the music allowed them to, and only a few people were inspecting them from afar.

 “Do you know where you’re standing?” PJ asked when the group was within earshot and Dan raised an eyebrow. “Next to the snacks table where we always are?” he remarked drily, making Phil chuckle next to him.

 “Look up!” Tyler singsonged with a high pitched voice and flattered his eyelashes with faked innocence.

 Dan perked up immediately. He knew that voice.

 He didn’t even need to look up to know what was fixated on the wall over their heads.

 “A Mistletoe!” Louise grinned so widely Dan was sure it had to hurt. He turned his attention to Phil, his heart throbbing in his chest on full speed.

 There was a cheeky smile on the guitarist’s face as he took a step closer, taking a hold of Dan’s head with both hands. “They want a kiss,” he murmured, lowly, “let’s give them a kiss.”

 The second his lips met Phil’s was like a firework going off everywhere inside of his body. For a moment he forgot where he was, hell, even who he was, just continued kissing Phil with passion and lust and love. He didn’t even hesitate opening up his mouth at Phil’s silent request to let him in, too far gone to care - hell, to even realize they had an audience.

 The kiss lasted for minutes and it probably could have gone on much longer if there wouldn’t have been a sudden outburst of applause. The blood took a second to reach Dan’s brain after having rushed somewhere south only seconds ago, but when it did, it immediately spread into his cheeks. They broke apart, Dan’s face still in Phil’s hands, silently contemplating the recent event.

 He had just kissed Phil Lester. In front of basically the whole rock music department.

 Great. Just great.

 The applause and whooping didn’t stop soon and he couldn’t do much more then to exchange a long look with Phil. They had a silent discussion Dan himself didn’t know the content of, until suddenly and with no indication there was panic on Phil’s face as he hastily let go of Dan and scrambled to get his phone out of his pocket. It was vibrating violently in his hands and Dan couldn’t even blink by the time Phil rasped out a “Shit! My brother is waiting for me!” and left in a rush.

 Dan stood there, staring after Phil until most of the students had averted their gazes from him and went back to whatever they had been doing before. When the ice in his veins freezing him into place finally dissipated, he groaned. He knew Phil’s brother Martyn was picking him up for Christmas with their family, and he wouldn’t be back until january.

 Of course. That’s just my fucking luck.

 ~~~

 He spent christmas break in some sort of limbo, like his relationship to Phil was Schrödinger’s cat, platonic and romantic at the same time. He knew the kiss had meant something not only to him but also to Phil, that much had been obvious with the way he had taken the offensive in deepening the kiss and how he had held him afterwards. But that was about the amount of information Dan had, and neither of them mentioned the kiss on any level, so he decided to just ignore the issue for now.

 It did made him jumpy and fidgety and mostly unable to focus, though, and only his frequent skype calls with Phil got him focused and concentrated enough to get some much needed work done.

 There were only two shows left, but they were only one week apart and both required three songs, so they decided to learn all songs over the break. They spent hours on skype, deciding on the songs and how to play and sing them, so they would be done learning their personal parts until they could meet back up in person.

 For a short moment, their reunion was like the sun had risen again. They hugged, soft words of attachment and longing on their lips, but then it was like someone had flipped a switch and they were back in working mode. Phil didn’t mention the kiss and Dan didn’t dare to, so they went back to Status Quo, just like that.

 The first show in the new year went okay-ish. Neither of them poured everything into it, already looking forward to the songs they had chosen for the finale, but they still managed to pull through. Their only truly memorable performance was The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance , which they definitely aced, but the other ones admittedly fell a bit flat. Both their professors urged them to not take it too lightly just because they had done so amazingly until now, so they swore to give everything they had in their last performances together.

 They were the first group performing in the finale. It wasn’t hard for Dan to get in the mood of their songs, considering they were all pining lovesongs and he would have the one he was pining after up on stage with him, so he was glad they got to go first. It made the waiting and anticipation in between easier, and waiting for the results when they were done didn’t mean much to him anyway - he didn’t care too much about winning.

 He just wanted to give his best, pour all his feelings into the songs when he was up there with Phil. He wanted to make it obvious that he meant every word he was singing.

 He wanted to get Phil to understand…

 In short, he just wanted Phil.

 Their first song was a soft piano interpretation of It’s not living (If it’s not with you) by The 1975 , and Dan was so entranced by Phil he forgot to look at his hands while playing. He didn’t make a single mistake, thankfully,  but if he would have made one he probably wouldn’t even have noticed. He benefited from the fact that he had practiced the piano part so often on the tiny piano in his childhood bedroom that his parents had asked him to please, please stop.

 They spent their break with a bottle of coke huddled together on a tiny sofa backstage, making loose conversation and trying to get their mind off of things. Dan basked in the close physical proximity and simply smiled when Phil just casually took his hand while he talked, playing with his fingers. He had a feeling that things would be going well.

 Dan had particularly fun during their next song. The Last Of The Real Ones by Fallout Boy was one of his favorite songs and he connected a lot of the lyrics to Phil. The piano playing was not an issue this time since they had both laid down their playing previously and conjoined it in a track, so he had all the time in the world to focus on Phil, which he took full advantage of. They riled up the crowd so much that Tyler, who had agreed to be the presenter of the night, had trouble getting them back in check for the next group.

 During christmas break, far away from Phil and his feelings, their next song had seemed like a good idea. It was romantic, emotional and full of love and Dan couldn’t think of any other song that would make his feelings for Phil more clear than this.

 Now, though, it seemed entirely too personal to perform in front of what felt like the whole Uni. During practice he had refrained from building too much of a connection, afraid of taking it too far, but now he didn’t have much of a choice and it made him more nervous than any other performance before. His hands were sweaty, his stomach was rumbling and he was ready to cancel the whole thing when Phil noticed the state he was in.

 “Dan,” he whispered, pointedly ignoring the other people lounging around backstage, completely focusing on Dan, “It’ll be okay. You will be okay. And I will be with you, right there by your side the whole time, okay?”

 It was in this moment that something settled in Dan’s chest. He returned Phil’s fond look with courage and determination, grasping his hand in his and squeezing it tightly. “Me too. We’re on the same page.”

 He was sure Phil caught the double meaning when his look got soft. “I think I always knew,” he answered quietly, almost inaudible. “Let’s do this.”

 ~~~

 Their last performance of this assignment was a complete success. They performed The Only Exception by Paramore sitting huddled together on the little Piano stool in front of the huge piano and didn’t take their eyes off of each other the entire time. It was so emotional Tyler had tears in his eyes when he came on stage, hugging first Phil, then Dan tightly, muttering a soft “go get ‘em, tiger” into Dan’s ear and Dan could feel his heart swelling.

 This was it.

 Backstage, thankfully, they were alone. Both of the other groups were nowhere to be seen, and Phil obviously noticed faster than him.

 Before he even had the chance to turn around from closing the door he was already spun around and pressed against the next hard surface, Phil’s lips attacking his own.

 For what felt like ages they were kissing furiously, like they had deprived themselves of this for far too long and now a dam had been broken down, nothing holding them back anymore.

 Once they were out of breath Phil separated their lips, lovingly gazing into his eyes instead. “I have waited for this for far too long,” he whispered quietly, softly, his hands on the sides of Dan’s head, his thumbs gently caressing his cheeks.

 “Me too,” he mumbled back, drowning in Phil’s eyes and feeling himself falling, falling; falling even deeper in love with him. “I meant every word I sang.”

 There was a beat of quiet, then:

 “I love you.”

 The words were muttered completely simultaneously, and for the single bat of an eye both stared at the other, stunned into silence.

 Then they were both dissolving into giggles, holding onto the other to keep from toppling over.

 “That,” Phil gasped out, “was so us.”

 Dan couldn’t help but agree.

 ~~~

 “Do you really think so, Badiha?”

 “I don’t know, Henry, but they did seem smitten during that song, don’t you think?”

 “True!”

 There was a group of at least five people seated in the booth directly behind Dan’s and even though he wasn’t that much of a gossip he couldn’t help but eavesdrop. He was busily procrastinating the work he needed to do until the next day, refreshing tumblr around ten times a minute, so it wasn’t too surprising the conversation distracted him as soon as it got loud enough for him to hear.

 “But they haven’t been seen in public with each other in ages aside from their performances. I just really want them to be happy with each other, is that too much to ask?”

 That was the first voice again. Dan allowed himself a short look at the group out of the corner of his eyes and recognized all faces he was able to pick up on. They had all been to the performance Phil and him did twice a week in a near bar ever since their joint assignment last year, he was sure of it. He mostly recognized them because of the person that had spoken first, a girl with the pride flag drawn on her eyelids. He remembered how she had attracted his attention during their first show because of her truly iconic makeup.

 “I know, right?!” a male voice joined in and this time Dan didn’t need the information practically jumping into his face to realize they were talking about him and Phil.

 After their win in the finale they had decided to keep their relationship at a down low, trying to make themselves comfortable with being boyfriends before they truly made it public. They were still pretty famous throughout the students and the center of the rumor mill, but they had been in a relationship for almost a year now and had only recently realized there was nothing to be afraid of if everybody knew. Most of them would be happy for them, and the rest of them, well -

 They’d just have to suck it up.

 That was the moment his boyfriend decided to show up. He slid into the booth, taking a seat directly next to Dan, pressing their thighs together. “Morning, love,” he greeted Dan gently, planting a kiss on his cheek before grinning happily. “Busy procrastinating?”

 “Yeah,” Dan replied extra loud, grinning right back, “but I’d rather kiss my boyfriend.”

 So they shared a short, cute kiss, making the group behind them gasp loudly. “It’s them,” the girl with the pride flag on her eyelids whispered into the silence stretching between them. Dan grinned.

 “It is,” he confirmed cheekily, turning around to look at her. “Very iconic Make-up by the way, I like it.”

 “Oh my god, thank you,” she answered, a blush becoming apparent on her cheeks and Dan’s grin only got wider before he turned his attention back around to Phil.

 “What was that about?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and his head cutely tilted to the side.

 Dan pecked him on the lips. “Had to make a point.”

 Phil looked back cheekily, a grin on his face so wide Dan was able to see his tongue poking out between his teeth. “A point about what?”

 Dan puffed out his cheeks, feigning huffiness. Phil knew exactly what this was about, and they were both aware of that. “You’re an idiot,” he said, pouting.

 “Yeah, but I’m your idiot.”

 Dan looked at him, eyes full of fondness and adoration and love. “Exactly.”

#phan #phanfiction #phan fluff #phanfic au #my writing

[cometomecosette]

“Les Mis” review: US Tour, San Francisco, August 25, 2018

When I heard that the Les Mis tour was coming to San Francisco, I knew right away that I had to make the 2-hour drive and see it. I hadn’t seen the show onstage in three years and I’m always eager to see a new performance – only time and money limits stop me from traveling to see every professional production.

The current US tour is, of course, Laurence Conner’s 25th Anniversary production, which has been sweeping the world since 2009. The sets, costumes and basic staging were familiar and my feelings about them haven’t changed a bit. I could nitpick about all the details that feel inferior to the classic Trevor Nunn/John Caird production (the lack of any chairs or tables in Empty Chairs, the excessive slapstick in the Thénardiers’ scenes, the awkwardness of some scenes that were clearly written to be staged on a turntable, etc.), but overall, it’s a beautiful way to experience the musical. The impressionistic imagery derived from Victor Hugo’s drawings is both Romantically beautiful and appropriately somber and gritty, and for the most part, the staging excellently serves the story. So many little details enhanced the action’s moving effect: for example, in the Well Scene, Valjean found an exhausted Young Cosette collapsed in tears over her heavy bucket, and he gently approached her from behind and helped her to her feet, perfectly mirroring the moment when the Bishop first found him sleeping on his doorstep.

Believe it or not, this was my first time seeing the 25th Ann. production since 2012, before the movie was released. Since then I’ve only seen non-replica regional productions; I missed the 2014 Broadway revival and have never been anywhere near the International Tour either. So I noticed a fair amount of changes that have been made to the production since the original 2009-13 tours. Some of these changes I had already read about in other people’s reviews, but others were surprises. Here are all the differences I noticed:

*All projections that used to tell us when and where the action takes place have been cut. Maybe this was already the case in 2009-13, but I don’t remember. This must make the time skips confusing for first-time audience members who haven’t read the synopsis.

*In the Prologue, during the farm scene’s instrumental passage, two little girls run across the stage playing tag. One trips and falls, and Valjean approaches to make sure she’s all right, but her parents hurry protectively to her side and glare him away from her.

*Petit Gervais is included. Valjean takes his coin during “Now every door is closed to me…” I know this bit of staging has been in and out of this production since 2009 (it was present in the UK tour, then absent in the 2010 US tour, then reinstated in Toronto…), but for now it’s back. I think the placement is awkward, though, since it comes just on the heels of Valjean showing compassion to another child. I personally would have placed Gervais after the inn scene during “And now I know how freedom feels…” to show that Valjean’s increasing mistreatment has made him even more bitter and ruthless than when he was first released from prison. (Future directors, take note.)

*Fantine’s dress is now a solid turquoise in place of the stripe-and-flower pattern from the 2009-13 tours. I already knew this from the 2014 Broadway photos of Caissie Levy, though.

*In “At the End of the Day,” the Factory Girl now has a “girl posse” of two other women. They’re the ones who initially snatch Fantine’s letter and sing “And what have we here, little innocent sister?” then pass the letter to their queen bee, who reads it.

*Fantine’s first customer in “Lovely Ladies” is now the Factory Foreman. (This may have been the case back in 2009-13, but I don’t remember; it was the case in the 2006-07 Broadway production, though.) We get a long, horrible moment where they stand and stare at each other, Fantine appalled while the Foreman leers back at her, before she finally gives him her hand.

*Same scene: Fantine doesn’t sing “Come on, captain, you can wear your shoes…” anymore. Instead, she and the Foreman emerge from their “transaction” and two other whores ask the departing Foreman “Tell me, captain, did you wear your shoes?” “Don’t it make a change… etc.” while Fantine stands still and traumatized. She only starts singing at “Easy money, lying on a bed…”

*Fantine’s cause of death is once again TB, as Hugo wrote it. Back in the 2009-13 tours she wasn’t portrayed as sick; instead Bamatabois gave her a powerful kick in the side, which apparently broke her ribs, punctured a lung and killed her. But now she’s coughing before Bamatabois ever sets eyes on her. I suppose after Anne Hathaway’s dramatic weight loss and oh-so-believable illness in the movie, Laurence Connor decided he couldn’t kill his Fantine differently.

*In “Master of the House,” we get a more elaborate variation on the movie’s quick “watering the wine” bit. Halfway through the song, a man desperately needs to go to the bathroom; Thénardier directs him to Mme. Thénardier, who holds a chamber pot while he uses it. At the end of the song, she secretly pours out the chamber pot into the wine jug, then brings the jug to her husband, who drinks, then gags.

*I remember that the first time I saw the 2010 US tour, Mme. Thénardier tried to seduce Valjean during “The Bargain,” but later in the run, that bit of comedy was cut. Well, now it’s back. She “treats” him to some dramatic leg- and cleavage-flaunting and sprays herself with much too much perfume, making him cough when she comes near him. A little excessive, if you ask me.

*Gavroche’s costume seems to have been tweaked. Instead of the all-brown outfit of the 2009-13 tours, as seen on Robert Madge in the 25th Ann. Concert, he now wears a light blue shirt with a tan vest. Also, instead of “This is my school, my high society…” in “Look Down,” he now sings his more political lyrics from the movie, starting with, “This is the land that fought for liberty…”

*The street fight between the two women in “Look Down” has been cut. Why that vignette wasn’t cut to begin with when the show was first trimmed down in the early 2000s, yet actual characterization material from major characters was cut, I’ll never know.

*Enjolras and Marius’s lines in “Look Down” are now a public speech to the beggars, delivered on soapboxes with one or two other Amis (I don’t remember which ones) present too.

*In “Attack on Rue Plumet,” Éponine now snatches a knife from a gang member (I don’t remember who, though I don’t think it was Montparnasse – either Babet or Claquesous) and threatens all the men with it as she sings “I know this house, I tell you…”

*When Éponine delivers Marius’s letter, she doesn’t run straight up to Valjean and announce her purpose anymore. Instead the scene is staged more like the original Nunn/Caird version; she creeps into the garden and looks up at Cosette’s balcony, trying to determine how to get the letter to her, but then Valjean catches her and she gives him the letter out of fear. She also takes down her hair and reveals her gender on “He said to give it to Cosette,” though I’m not sure why.

*Gavroche flips off Javert the end of “Little People.” Not the Arm, which other Gavroches have done. The Finger. My friend who saw the show with me was disturbed that they let a child do that.

*Éponine’s death is now a self-sacrifice. When she enters over the barricade, she almost makes it to safety, but Marius, in his eagerness to talk to her, jumps up from cover while bullets are still flying and is almost shot. Éponine pushes him out of the way and takes the bullet instead, though she doesn’t let him realize she’s been hit until after they climb down to the ground.

*Gavroche’s death is no longer offstage, but now handled in the style that seems to be near ubiquitous in productions with no turntable. Gavroche makes it back to the top of the barricade, but is shot at the last moment and falls into Enjolras’s arms. Then Enjolras hands him down to Grantaire, who mournfully carries him from the barricade.

*Post-Final Battle, Javert now has a movie-esque moment of sympathy over Gavroche’s body. He finds the boy on the ground, kneels and contemplates him, then does a sign of the cross before lifting him up onto the cart next to Enjolras.

*Likewise, Javert now has a gun in his last meeting with Vajean. This has seemingly become ubiquitous in post-movie productions.

*In the wedding scene, midway through the Thénardiers’ exchange with Marius, the majordomo announces “Ladies and gentlemen, the cake!” A gorgeous wedding cake is wheeled onstage – and Mme. Thénardier promptly grabs the knife, cuts a piece and stuffs it into her mouth with her bare hands, much to the shock of the onlookers. In disgust, the majordomo orders the cake removed. I’m not sure whether I think this is funny or fatphobic.

*When the Bishop appears among the spirits in the finale, he and Valjean hug, rather than just bowing to each other as in 2009-13.

 Now for the cast…

Nick Cartell (Jean Valjean)

Both musically and dramatically, this man commanded the stage. His bright, ringing tenor was capable of all the magnificent power and magnificent gentleness an ideal Valjean should display; his only possible vocal flaw was that he sounded a bit too young. (The same could be said about his looks.) His acting was spot-on too. From the angry convict of the beginning, to the gentlemanly Monsieur Madeleine, to Javert’s fierce nemesis, to Cosette’s loving father, to the dying old man of the finale, he embodied each of Valjean’s identities. One worthwhile touch he added that I’ve never seen from any other musical Valjean was the limp Hugo ascribes to the character, as a result of living for years with his leg chained: at first it was barely noticeable, but as he aged it became painfully pronounced. Another, adorable touch to his performance was this: he took the popular detail of Valjean gently booping Cosette’s nose, and instead of only doing it once or twice, he expanded it into a special gesture of affection for her throughout their years together. Repeatedly he touched his own nose, then touched hers: first when he adopted her, then in “In My Life,” then at the beginning of “Valjean’s Confession,” and finally as he was dying. During the final curtain calls, the audience’s wild applause for him was well deserved.

Josh Davis (Javert)

I’m afraid he was my least favorite of the lead performers. Not in terms of his singing: he had a rich, powerful baritone voice that was just right for the part. But his diction tended to sound strange and his whole characterization was a bit too growly, aggressive and “cartoon villain”-like for my taste. I’m sure this was partly direction: Laurence Connor’s concept of Javert has always seemed more aggressive and neurotic than the novel’s or Trevor Nunn’s, regardless of the actor. But it still didn’t ring quite right for me. I agree with a previous reviewer who wrote that his delivery recalled William Shatner … particularly at the end of “Who Am I?” when he charged after Valjean yelling “CON!” which of course sounded just like “KHAN!” I literally asked myself “Did he just make a Star Trek joke?” (Though maybe it was one, since this was a matinee performance; I know it’s a tradition in the London production to add little jokes in the matinees.) Still, there were moments of his performance I liked a lot: for example, his unique, utterly broken, weary delivery of the line “This man has killed me even so!” I’ve definitely seen worse Javerts in the past. I’ve just seen better ones too.

Mary Kate Moore (Fantine)

A lovely, delicate Fantine with a beautiful mezzo voice and a poignant, pain-filled characterization. I just wish I could have seen more anger, pride and inner strength from her. Maybe part of the problem was my far-away seat, because I’ve read another fan’s review of her performance that praised her strength and anger. But personally, I never felt the complexity of the novel’s Fantine from her. Still, without question, her singing and acting were high in quality. I think my main issue was with the staging, which highlighted Fantine’s victimhood and reduced her agency. The factory “fight” consisted only of the Factory Girl beating her up, rather than letting her make a fierce effort to get the letter back, and the reassignment of lines in “Lovely Ladies” left her standing in mute, broken shock where past Fantines have made active, tough-talking advances to potential customers. She was a good Fantine, but might have done better in a different production.

J. Anthony Crane (Thénardier)

Scraggly, slimy, funny and slightly larger than life but never too hammy, dark and sinister in “Dog Eats Dog”… in short, he was just what Thénardier should be. His marriage to his wife seemed to be one where “pots and pans and underwear fly”: they bickered ferociously, but worked together effortlessly, and at the end of the Waltz of Treachery they “celebrated” their 1500 francs with his head under her skirt. Predictably, the audience loved them both.

Allison Guinn (Mme. Thénardier)

Good, but over the top. Her voice was powerful and strident, which is right for the role, but she made it a little too strident and annoying for my taste. The same can be said for her acting: just as brash, funny and nasty as it should be, but a little too slapstick and cartoonish. Of course she’s far from the only cartoonish Mme. T. I’ve ever seen, and while she didn’t perfectly embody the brute Hugo created, she was still a solid source of comic relief.

Robert Ariza (u/s Marius)

A very likeable Marius: cute and small (he was slightly shorter than Éponine!), with fluffy black hair and a warm, sweet tenor voice. He was adorably passionate and lovesick in the early scenes; I adored the moment in “A Heart Full of Love” when he thought he had scared Cosette away after she ran from her balcony, and was groaning “I do not even know your name!” to the wall of her house (such an INFP!) when he suddenly realized she was standing behind him. He also offered a warm friendship with Éponine and touching grief and tears at her death. His “Empty Chairs” was appropriately poignant too, with its outpouring of grief and anger. Knowing that first-time Les Mis viewers so often react to Marius in less than complimentary way, it’s a testament to his performance that afterwards, my first-timer friend praised the character’s coming-of-age journey and his romance with Cosette. Everything about his performance was more-or-less just right.

Paige Smallwood (Éponine)

A good, strong Éponine, with a beautiful, powerful voice and a solid, affecting characterization. She was a genuine street rat, never cutesy or ingénue-like, yet not too harsh either, but struck just the right balance of toughness, playfulness, anger, heartache and warmth. I especially liked a few of her small yet unique acting choices. On the line “I like the way you grow your hair,” for example, she started to reach out to touch Marius’s hair, but then pulled herself back, and distracted him from what she had almost done by throwing his book onto the ground. I also loved her grimly determined expression at the end of “On My Own,” when she set off to rejoin Marius at the barricade; other Éponines I’ve known have paused in uncertainty at that point, torn between love and fear, but this one strode to her fate with hard, unwavering resolve. Her death was excellent too, with the perfect balance between pain, vocal beauty and tenderness. The audience understandably loved her.

Matt Shingledecker (Enjolras)

I should have known to expect good things from this Enjolras, since his performance as Tony in the 2009 West Side Story revival (he replaced Matt Cavanaugh) was highly praised by the late Arthur Laurents in his last memoire. His bright, ringing tenor voice was just right both for Tony and for Enjolras, and his looks were ideal too: tall, strong and handsome, with a long mane of sunny blond hair. His acting was also spot on, with an excellent balance between stately dignity and rabble-rousing fire. I only wish I had been sitting closer, so I could see his expressions more closely and have more insight into this Enjolras’s relationships with his friends, especially Grantaire. But I have nothing but positive feelings about his performance.

Jillian Butler (Cosette)

A sweet, charming Cosette; not one of the most outstanding I’ve seen, per se, but very good. As with Robert’s Marius, it’s a testament to her talent that my first-timer friend loved their love story. Her voice was a bright, crystalline soprano, slightly thin, but never wispy or squeaky. Her acting was spot-on too; she was just as innocent, lovesick and tender as she should be, angry about Valjean’s secret keeping without being bratty, and appropriately distraught by his death. I do wish Connor’s staging let her show him more affection instead of highlighting their conflict, but of course this wasn’t her fault at all.

John Ambrosino (u/s Grantaire)

Effective, though I wish I had been sitting closer to see the nuances of the various looks he exchanged with Enjolras. They were subtle, but I have no doubt they were emotionally charged. Still, he was convincing as the wild and funny drunkard, as the sad cynic, and as Gavroche’s devoted big brother figure. I was especially struck by his private, despairing collapse against a wall after Enjolras glared at him at the end of his “Drink With Me” verse, and though his “NO!” at Gavroche’s death was slightly underwhelming, his staggering, open-mouthed anguish as he carried the boy’s body and quiet weeping into his chest on the ground were heartbreaking. Overall, an excellent performance.

Sam Middleton (Gavroche)

A first-rate Gavroche, old enough to be convincing and commanding onstage yet young enough to be poignant, with a strong, clear voice and good acting throughout. Besides the usual cheek and feistiness, I loved that this production made Gavroche’s compassionate side clear. He was the one who comforted Marius after Éponine’s death, and when Grantaire collapsed in despair after his “Drink With Me” solo, he gave him the sweetest consoling hug. The characters onstage weren’t the only ones distraught by his death, that’s for sure.

Elsa Avery Dees (Young Cosette)

A delicate, sweet-voiced little thing, just as any Young Cosette should be.

 My friend who had never seen Les Mis before was completely bowled over by this performance. She had endless praise for it our way home (though even she thought the slapstick in the Thénardiers’ scenes was overdone) and right away got tickets to see again with her family. Personally, I wouldn’t want to see the same cast back-to-back, but I am hoping to see the tour again when it comes to LA in the spring. This production might not be perfect, but still, both for first-timers and for longtime Les Mis lovers, it has no shortage of great things to offer.

#les mis #les miserables #musical #review #us tour 2018 #san francisco #orpheum theatre

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Entertainment (Halloween) Covershoot

Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Reader (no pairing)

Word Count: 1,475

Warnings: major fluff, EW covershoot, this is adorable and fluffy, mentioned of Sam Winchester and Jessica Moore

Request by @joseyrw: Hey can I request a fluffy/funny j2m x fem!reader based off the ew photo op? Like the reader is an actress on spn or something and they're all bffs. Please and thanks:)

Author’s Note: I’m so sorry for this being out weeks late. Hate on me if you want. I just hope you like it. If you want to be a Queen, let me know and I’ll add you to the lists! 

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“I am so excited for this cover shoot. This might be our best one yet. Halloween is my favorite time of the year.” You said to your PA, smiling at her while you sipped your coffee.

“I know! Jared and Jensen are always there and Misha is on his way.” Maria said, following you onto the set you would be using.

“Of course, Misha is always late.” You said with a giggle, taking out your phone to shoot Misha a playful text.

Way to go, Misha, always late.

Hey, Victoria needed me to do some things for her. Don’t be mean.

You’re so whipped. Just get your ass here. Everyone is waiting.

You giggled at the conversation, knowing that Misha was only messing around with you. You saw Jared and Jensen talking in their chairs, their makeup professionals doing what they do best.

“Hey short stack! You made it! Where’s Misha?” Jensen said once he saw you.

“Stuck in traffic, apparently.” You sat down at your makeup table, one of the girls rushing over to you and doing what she thought looked good on you. Since you didn’t need a lot, you were done within 5 minutes. Only then did Misha walk in the doors.

“Finally!” You teased him, throwing away your already cold coffee.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here aren’t I? What are we doing first, do you know?” Misha asked, wasting no time in getting his makeup done.

“I don’t have a clue.” You said. You barely got the words out before, who you assumed was the director, came walking onto set, a clipboard in his hand.

“Okay! Glad to know you’re all here and safe. Now, I do have clothes that the four of you need to get into and then we can begin with the group shots before we move onto the individual shots. Got it? Good, be on set in 5!” He swiftly turned around and left to his directing chair, reading over his notes.

“Wow, I wonder what outfit we’re going to get. The wardrobe people came over and handed a maroon suit to Jensen, a very nice tux to Jared, a flowery-ish printed jacket to Misha and a lace/spider-y web dress to you.

You thanked the woman who brought you the clothes and you quickly got changed. You learned to get dressed quick since working on Supernatural, you needed to change into a lot of clothes in a very short amount of time. The three men seemed to learn the same thing since they were done within a few minutes.

“Wow, Jensen, I think maroon might be your color.” You teased, giggling when he looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his hair. You saw Jared come out next and your smiled widened, seeing how fancy Jared was.

“Damn, Jared, back at it again with the sharp look.”

“Thanks, Y/N. But, hey, look at you. If I weren’t your best friend or co-worker, I would totally be hitting on you right now.” Jared said with a wink.

“I think you did all of that with Gen, right? No sense in wasting that energy on me.” You said with a smile, looking at yourself in the mirror. The dress was a deep purple and you have got to say, you looked damn good with it on. You might have to ask to keep this when you were done. Sometimes, they would let you keep some of the clothing you wore for the show.

“Yeah, good point.” Jared said with a shrug. Misha came out last, making sure his jacket was on correctly.

“Alright, now, I know all three of you look good, but come on, you’re making me look bad.” You joked, walking away from the mirror and to the set that was designed to be a graveyard.

“Stop that, you look amazing, sweetheart.” Jensen said, putting his arm around your shoulder.

“Don’t go all Dean on me, Jay. It won’t work on me.” You said with a smile.

“That’s not what Y/C/N says.” Your character has been in an on-and-off relationship with Dean, recently being back on the ‘on’ side of things.

“Okay, but that's my character. This is real life, dude.” You lightly laughed, pushing him off so the director could tell you guys what to do.

“Alright, guys, looking good! Now, here are the props you are going to use for this portion of the shoot. I’ll put some music on and you do you, and have fun.” The director said with a smile, nodding to some me off to the side. You watched as they brought you skeletons to work with.

You giggled and grabbed yours, feeling that they were made of a light metal with a foam overcoat, so that they could bend and shaped how you pleased. You looked at Jensen and saw him dancing with the skeleton.

“I found your girlfriend, Jay.” You teased. Jared laughed at this and high-fived you, earning a playful glare coming from Jensen. Some Halloween music started playing and smoke started to appear on the set, the smoke coming from those artificial smoke machines they used for concerts.

You and the three men started messing around with the skeletons, pictures being taken constantly, trying to capture you guys in the best way.

“Alright, I like what you’re doing there, Jensen and Jared, stay seating on that headstone. We’ll position the skeletons how we want them,” the director said, looking at Misha and his skeleton.

“You should give it a piggy back ride.” You joked, seeing the director smile at this.

“That’s actually not bad. Misha, do that.” Misha laughed and put the skeleton on his back, one of the crew guys helped him position it just right.

“Jared, is Sam having a nice conversation with Jessica?” You joked, seeing his face snap over to you.

“Oh, savage!” Jensen said, laughing.

“Yeah, I guess he is.” Jared said, taking one of the skeleton’s legs and hoisting it up over one of his to rest it there.

“Alright, Y/N, why don’t you [pick up the skeleton and carry it bridal style.” The director said, sitting back in his seat.

“Yeah, I can be like the lifeguards on Baywatch, pretending to save a person.” You said, bending the skeleton in the way you wanted it and picked it up, carrying it like you would a bride.

“Okay, guys, now this is going to be a ground picture so just hold still for me.” The director waited a few seconds before the camera crew started taking multiple pictures of you four at different angles. You had a ton of fun with this scene but soon, it was time for the next one.

“Oh my God! Look how cute they are!!” You gushed, picking up one of the black kittens they had brought over on set.

“Misha! They have your eyes!” You said, holding the kitten to your face, showing off her bright blue eyes. You were waiting on the director so you thought of a fun idea to do while you four waited. You walked over to Jared who held two kittens in his hands.

“Hey, let’s put them all over Jensen.” You said with a giggle. Jared nodded and he walked with you to Jensen who was fixing his hair yet again. You laughed and stood behind Jensen while Jared stood in front.

“What is going on, guys?” Jensen asked. Before you could respond, Jared put two kittens on Jensen’s shoulders and you put one on top of his head. They all meowed, afraid of dropping but you wouldn’t let that happen at all.

“Awww, look at Jensen all covered in kittens.” You stood next to him and Jared took the other side, smiling as he watched the kittens try and stay on Jensen. It wasn’t too hard since his shoulders were very wide and the kittens were very small.

“Make sure they don’t fall.” Jensen said, feeling the cat on top of his head start to slip a little. He chuckled when the kitten put on of her paws on his face to keep herself on there. You reached up and took her off Jensen’s head, giving her to Jensen to hold.

“Great! Stay like that! Misha, come in and get next to Y/N.” The director said once he came into the room and saw the kittens all over Jensen. Misha took his place next to you and the camera crew snapped a few pictures. Some of them were serious but others were playful and smiles.

The rest of the day was spent having fun with one another, taking different pictures with different props and teasing one another with the props that came from the show. You loved your job and you loved the crew you worked with. They were family and you didn’t want it any other way.

The Queens:

@maddieburcham1 @ginamsmith  @mogaruke @whit85-blog @inlovewithbja @spn67-sister @kdfrqqg @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @roxyspearing @supercalifragilistic26 @mishamigose @cobrakai1967  @essie1876 @wishedworld @crispychrissy @laqueus-ludovicus @nostalgic-uncertainty @jerk-bitch-and-an-angel @potterhead1265 @starswirlblitz @untitled39887 @ta-n-ja @deans-fallen-angel-boy @scarletluvscas @notnaturalanahi @tahbehonest @stay-in--place @dreaminofdean @posiemax @donnaintx @mikey1822 @alexandriajanae4 @li-ssu @just-another-winchester @obsessivecompulsivespn @emoryhemsworth @newtospnfandom @mizzezm @goldenolaf25 @jessikared97

@thing-you-do-with-that-thing

#jensen ackles #ackles #jensen #jared padalecki #jared #padalecki #misha #misha collins #collins #ew covershoot #entertainment weekly covershoot

[arthur-recaps]

I apologize for skipping recaps for the last two weeks but I am starting a new job and have been working late to reach out in my network to find my replacement and finish up my projects to make things smoother for my replacement. My new job starts next week and I will hopefully enter my groove again. Just to be safe, I am queuing up another recap to run next Tuesday as well.

Arthur surmises that the world can be divided into things that adults like and things that kids like. He thinks about the time Jane and David took him to see the foreign film Il Straneri, which was apparently about two people who never meet but throw coins in the same fountain. Arthur is confused as to why his parents think it’s such a great movie and I got to tell you Arthur, some day you will be an adult and still not get why other people like things. I think House of Cards is overrated but there’s a bunch of people who want to give that show a bunch of awards.

Similarly, modern art can be hard for kids to understand. All they see is the same scribbles and shit they did back in kindergarten and here’s some 30-year old person getting paid thousands of bucks to do it on a bigger sheet of paper. Arthur is skeptical of the praise Muffy gives to a painting and she admits that she doesn’t like it but her dad does so she wants to give it a try.

Ed announces that he has bought the painting and it will be installed in Muffy’s room. It’s not the ugliest thing in the world but if Ed really liked the style, he could have just gone down to the local Hobby Lobby, picked up some paints and canvas, and let a four year old go to town.

Am I wrong?

It’s morning at Chez Crosswire and Muffy is presented with concert tickets on her plate. She thinks it’s for the Tween Dream concert but Ed explains that the opera is playing his favorite, George Bizet’s Carmen, and he wants Muffy to accompany him. Side note: it’s been very much implied that the Crosswires are “new money”, especially with Ed’s job as a used car salesman but I like that he has “sophisticated” interests like the opera. I totally did not see that coming from a guy who uses car euphemisms when coaching the kids’ soccer team.

Muffy is a little bummed that the tickets aren’t for something that she’d like, but she hints to Ed that she’s going to need an outfit and he promptly hands over fifty bucks. I need Muffy to teach a class on how to become a sugar baby and swindle rich men out of money.

Muffy takes Francine and Prunella to go shopping with her and give opinions on outfits. Prunella declares that opera is nothing more than “people in silly costumes in a language you don’t understand” and Muffy brushes it off, saying that maybe Prunella isn’t sophisticated enough to appreciate it. Prunella snottily replies that she’s actually been to an opera and it was boring as hell, thank you very much. She also bets that Muffy will fall asleep before the overture.

To add insult to injury, Francine tells Muffy that the dress she’s trying on makes her look like a rice pudding.

Well, if your girls won’t tell you the truth, who will?

Muffy decides that perhaps it would not be a bad idea to listen to some opera before she actually goes to get an idea of what it would be like. She asks Bailey if he knows anything about opera and he responds by singing a selection from Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

Show-off,

Muffy is not impressed by her chauffeur’s Italian singing (Which she should be! How many people can sing like that?!) and does not like the idea of sitting through four hours of that. Then Bailey adds that opera lengths vary; Ring Cycle lasts for sixteen hours.

Muffy’s reaction:

Ed tucks Muffy in for bed and tells her that he can’t wait to go to the opera. Muffy dreams that they are at the opera, watching what the Arthur Wiki tells me is a mishmash of  Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Wagner’s Die Walküre, which is pretty impressive since Muffy doesn’t know jack about opera. In her dream, Muffy falls asleep during the show and her snoring is so loud that the whole theater, including the singers, stop to look at her. She wakes up and tries to applaud the show, calling, “Bravo!” Then she realizes the show still isn’t over and sits down, embarrassed.

At school, Francine suggests that Muffy just tell her dad that she doesn’t want to go so Muffy can stop worrying about whether she’ll like it or fall asleep. Muffy insists that she can’t because Ed is really looking forward to seeing the show with her. Francine asks what the opera is about and to their surprise, Binky interjects, describing Carmen as “professional wrestling” set to great music. He invites Muffy to come to his house after school to listen to the CD and gives her the basic plot: Don Jose is a soldier who falls in love with gypsy Carmen. He quits the army and leaves his fiance and becomes a bandit to be with her, but then Carmen falls in love with a bullfighter and leaves Don Jose.

As she listens to the music, Muffy pictures herself and her friends as the characters. Now, I know most of these voice actors are kids, but they don’t really have a strong set of pipes. Nevertheless, I like how the writers have reworked most of the plot details of Carmen to be more family-friendly. For example, Prunella and Francine work in a gum factory instead of a cigarette one and the soldiers sing for Muffy to let them take her to the opera, instead of asking her to choose a lover. Muffy sings back that she prefers boy bands and thinks the opera is “for tired old fools” and “soldiers who make minimum wage.”

Ouch.

Still, Binky, in the Don Jose role, literally drags Muffy to the opera against her protests. Then Rodney Gilfrey comes down on a flying bull and encourages Muffy to give opera a chance. Muffy immediately becomes more enthusiastic and runs after Rodney, much to Binky’s anger. He sprinkles sleeping powder on her so she’ll sleep through the show but he overdoes the dosage and she presumably dies.

Side note: I was very surprised to see that Rodney Gilfry is a blonde white dude because his animated version made me think he was black or at least, very tan. Observe:

Anyway, Muffy comes out of her daydream and tells Binky it was amazing. He is surprised because she slept through the whole show and snored.

Muffy worries that she is hopeless.

Muffy is even willing to return the gorgeous dress she bought so she doesn’t have to go the opera. She admits to her mom that she doesn’t like opera but Mary Alice convinces her to give it a chance. She tells Muffy that she didn’t like opera either and now it’s one of her favorite things. Muffy counters that it probably helps that Mary Alice is a grown up so Mary Alice gives her a pair of opera glasses, saying that the opera is more enjoyable when she can see the actors’ expressions.

Muffy is still apprehensive about enjoying the opera when she finally goes but just like Mary Alice predicted, she really likes the show! She even tears up at the end when Carmen dies. I’m not tagging this as spoiler because a 200-year old opera and there was even a version with Beyonce so we should all know what happens by now.

At the end of the episode, she is seen telling Francine over the phone that she is going to see an opera is Crown City and supervising Bailey hang up a framed autographed poster of Rodney Glifry.

It’s lights, camera, and opera for that other shitty painting.

Grade: A (This was very well written and well paced and I liked that the writers took the time to insert so many little details about opera in Muffy’s fantasies. I also like that the lesson here is for kids to take a chance on things they think are too adult and “boring”, but other than that, there really wasn’t anything that set me on fire her. It was a good, strong episode but it wasn’t amazing enough to be an A+. I can tell you that I’m a little divided on the dig Rodney Gilfry sang about Tween Dream being “teeny bopper trash.” I mean, Tween Dream probably is going to go down in the Music Hall of Fame but I don’t really like that whatever girls like, especially very girly girls like Muffy, must be trashy and unsophisticated. I mean, the Spice Girls and *NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys really had a big influence on kids even if they aren’t as artistically complex as The Beatles, who by the way, had a huge teen girl fanbase in their early years. That’s the only problem I had but I swear it’s not what prevented this from being an A+. I think if they wanted to get a +, they could have tried a little harder with the songs in Muffy’s fantasy. The rhymes and singing were really basic and even Rodney Gilfry could only elevate it so much.)

Rating: 79% intense. The opera is intense.

  Will Muffy like the opera? It's not over until the fat lady sings! #ArthurRecap I apologize for skipping recaps for the last two weeks but I am starting a new job and have been working late to reach out in my network to find my replacement and finish up my projects to make things smoother for my replacement.

#Arthur #Arthur: Season 9 #Bailey #Ed Crosswire #Grade: A #Lights Camera Opera! #Muffy Crosswire #Prunella Deegan #Rodney Gilfry #Television #TV #TV Recap

[thefinny-d]

When You’re Around

Tagging: Finn & Rachel Location: New York City Notes: When Rachel has a few shows in New York, Finn decides to head across the country and surprise her.

Finn couldn't stop smiling during his flight from LAX to JFK. It had only been a little over a week since he had last seen Rachel but he already deeply missed his girlfriend and after some secret planning with Taylor and Jeremy, he was flying to New York to surprise her. When he arrived in New York he got a taxi to take him to the hotel where Taylor, Jeremy and Rachel were all staying and he smiled at Taylor when he met him in the lobby. "Hey man, you can leave your shit in my room and grab it after the show once she knows you're here. She's gonna freak the fuck out when she sees you. She talks about how much she misses you all the god damn time," Taylor said with a laugh as they headed up to his room. "God, I miss her so much too. The timing with work and everything just seemed to go perfectly, you know? Any time I get where I can come see her I'm going to take." Once he had his stuff in Taylor's room, his friend headed off to the venue so he could get ready for rehearsals and Finn opened up his suitcase so he could get ready for the night. After getting dressed (into the outfit he had Savannah help him pick out) he was ready to head off to Rachel's show. Jeremy and Taylor and assured him that everyone was in on the surprise aside Rachel, of course, and when Finn arrived at the venue he couldn't help but smile. God, he just wanted to see his girlfriend. He stayed out of sight until Rachel, Taylor and Jeremy were on stage before he was comfortably backstage and able to watch his girlfriend perform. Her talent constantly amazed him and to see her in front of a huge crowd in New York City filled with people singing along to lyrics that she wrote was truly insane in the best possible way. Despite everything that she had been though she was finally living her dream and he couldn't wait for her to come off the stage so he could wrap her up in his arms and let her know just how proud of her he was.

Rachel was honestly just so excited to be performing. It was weird being away from Finn and never having any kind of contact with him, but she knew that this was what she had always wanted. It was insane to even be in a venue like she was in. "So, are we doing the normal set?" She said, sitting in her dressing room across from Taylor and Jeremy who were sitting on the couch against the wall. "Uh, maybe we shouldn't do the... covers and shit. Like the guitar covers you do with Josh's stuff. Change it up a little bit, you know? You don't want to do the same thing every time... Maybe do that nice song you're writing about Finn." Taylor said, her raising an eyebrow. "It's not finished, you know that." Taylor shrugged, looking to Jeremy. "You have it all finished. Just tell us the chords and we can totally do it. You underestimate yourself. You could totally do it." Rachel sighed. "Fine. We'll do it towards the end. Not last, because if I fuck it up, I don't want the concert to end on a bad note. I'll introduce the song so people know that if it's shitty, it's because it's not finished." It was weird going up on stage and having a different set list than usual, but she knew that it was still good. The entire concert went amazingly and singing her new song about Finn definitely wasn't as scary or as horrible as she thought it would be. Looking out at the crowd, she held onto the microphone, offering a small smile, waiting for some of the noise to die down. "I've been through a lot of shit in the past year. And I know all of you probably have, too. We're not perfect, you know? But... you guys are gonna find someone that loves you for all of those imperfections, okay? This song is called Malibu. It's about that one person that loves me even with all of the shit I put him through." She said with a soft smile before starting to play her new song. The moment it was over, she could feel her heart swell with love. She was pretty sure that she'd never get over the fact that her and Finn were good now. That they were finally together for real. For forever, hopefully. After finishing up the last couple of songs of the concert, she thanked everyone before walking off the stage, Taylor and Jeremy following close behind her. She handed off her earpiece to a stage hand before she laughed at a joke Taylor told, her rolling her eyes before stopping in her tracks when she saw Finn backstage. "Holy shit." Rachel breathed out, her smiling widely before she moved quickly over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "I can't believe you're here," Rachel laughed, gripping onto him impossibly tighter.

Finn smiled as he watched Rachel perform, knowing that she was truly the most talented person he had ever known. He was so proud of her for coming this far, for achieving a tour as amazing as this and just hearing people sing along with her music made him so happy. She had come so far from the girl he had fallen in love with when he was eighteen and he knew that he would just continue falling in love with her with each moment they spent together. When she began to introduce a new song, his eyebrows raised and when Taylor and Jeremy glanced over at him with smirks on their faces, he couldn't help but laugh softly. This was one of the sappy songs they had been telling him about, he figured. As he listened to the lyrics, he couldn't help but smile and he knew that this song was just making him fall in love with her even more. It made his heart swell with joy to listen to her voice and he knew that she had grown so much. He knew that they were ready to take it to the next level. God, he loved her so much and this tour was proving to him each and every day that she was dedicated to him and only him, that she was just as serious about him and their relationship as he was about her. When she finished the last couple of songs, Finn smiled as she started heading off stage and when he saw the expression of shock on her face when she saw him, he couldn't help but laugh. "Hi, baby," he said with a smile on his face as he hugged her back tightly and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I planned it with Taylor and Jeremy. I wanted to surprise you and I figured that surprising you in New York City would be a pretty cool place to do it." Finn smiled as he held Rachel, only pulling away slightly so he could dip his head down to press his lips to hers. He kissed her passionately until Jeremy smacked him on the shoulder and he couldn't help but laugh as he looked up at their friends. "Save your reunion sex for later," Jeremy said with a laugh. "I just wanted my girlfriend to know how much I love her and missed her. And how much I loved that song," Finn said softly as he looked down to Rachel once again.

Rachel couldn't believe that Finn was here. She honestly had no idea and while she knew that Taylor and Jeremy were acting a little strange, it wasn't any more strange than normal. It was honestly surreal and she was so happy that this was all happening. She missed him and while they had just seen each other, she knew that she hated being apart from him. "Hi," Rachel said happily, laughing softly as he spoke. "God, I can't believe that you're really here. This feels so surreal. I just... wow. I really didn't think I'd be seeing you until I got to LA. I can't believe you're in the city. This is insane." She said before kissing him again, pouting slightly at Jeremy when he spoke. "See, exactly. He wants to show his girlfriend how much he loves her. I don't see a problem with that. I mean, I'll start the reunion sex now. I don't exactly care if we have an audience. He might, though." She said before looking up at him, smiling gently. "I'm glad you liked it. I was writing it when I left, but I basically finished it on the road." Honestly, it had come to her randomly but it really did mean a lot to her. "So, what made you do it? Come all the way here? I mean, I know that we wanted to see each other, obviously. But I'm going to be in LA soon. I'm happy you're here, obviously. I missed you so much. But uhm... How long are you here for? Just as long as we're here? Or just the day?" She asked, her one hand at his cheek. "Thank you. Again. I can't believe that you're really here. It's so surreal. I was just talking earlier today about how I wanted to see you. And here you are. I'm surprised these two were able to keep a secret for as long as they did."

Finn smiled down at Rachel before they shared another kiss. God, he had missed this girl and he couldn't even describe how happy he was to finally have her in his arms again. When Rachel said she would start the reunion sex now even if they had an audience, he raised his eyebrows at his girlfriend and laughed softly. "I think I'd mind a little bit, baby. Sorry, Jeremy, I know you'd love to see how it's really done." Finn could help but laugh at the look on his friends face from his comment before he turned his attention back to his girlfriend. "The song was amazing, babe. You're so insanely talented." When she asked him why he gone all the way to New York to see her, Finn smiled softly. "Well, I've never been to New York before and I figured it seemed like a cool place to come see you. Plus, I mean, I missed my girl. I'll be here as long as you guys are. I had some time off of work and it just happened to match up with you being here perfectly." Finn resumed walking with Rachel, following Taylor and Jeremy offstage and to the room where everyone involved with the show and guests could hang out. "Here I am. I was thinking about how much I missed you ever since you left and believe me, if they hadn't kept it a secret they know I'd be pissed." Finn smiled at Rachel and leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek, his eyes filled with love as he looked at her. "So, did you guys have anything planned for tonight?" he asked as he looked from Rachel to Taylor and Jeremy. "I mean, we wanted to go out. Usually Rachel ditches us but maybe you two will actually come with us this time?" Finn laughed softly before he looked down and Rachel and smiled. "I'll do whatever you want to do, baby. I just want to spend time with you."

Rachel knew that they'd all make the most of having Finn here and she hoped that her and Finn would have a very interesting night now that he was finally here with her. Of course, she wanted to be able to hang out with Taylor and Jeremy with Finn because they were all friends over everything. But that didn't mean that she didn't want some alone time with her boyfriend. "I haven't been to New York in a really long time, so we can just explore. We have the day tomorrow because we have two shows here. And I mean, we'll have soundcheck tomorrow afternoon, but until then, I'm all yours. And then the next morning we leave. Which sucks, because I'd love to spend some time here and do touristy things with you. Maybe we can do something tomorrow morning," Rachel said with a soft smile before turning to Taylor and Jeremy. "I don't always ditch you, but it's better if I just don't go. I don't want to have issues because I decide to go out for one night." Rachel said to them, shrugging. "But I'll go out with you because I have Finn. Not all night, though. As much as I'd love to be spending time with the two of you, I do have some reunion sex that needs to happen at some point tonight." A laugh left her lips as she shook her head, moving to wrap both of her arms around Finn's waist, pulling herself close to him. "Alright, cool. Because we love you Rachel and we know you want to have your reunion sex or whatever you want, but he's our boy. So we gotta have a good time. All four of us. We used to go out all of the time so we need to have a good night. Let's go out somewhere and get a little crazy." Rachel looked at him and raised her eyebrow. "Uh.... I mean, we can get food and get just a tiny bit tipsy. You can just eat, if you want. It'll be way cheaper for you." Rachel chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, we can do that. Just don't get too drunk. Because I don't want to deal with the two of you hungover during soundcheck again. Oh, how the times have changed. Last year, that would have been me in your shoes so I'm kind of glad I don't feel like shit every morning now."

Finn nodded when Rachel said that she just wanted to explore. "That sounds good to me, baby. I like the sound of wandering around New York with you and just doing some touristy stuff." As she spoke to Taylor and Jeremy, he couldn't help but smile softly. It made him so incredibly proud of her to know that she was so in control of herself, that she knew when to go out and when to sit the night out to avoid temptation. He loved her more than anything and to know that she was in such a good place made him so happy. "Yeah, sorry guys, we can't give you our attention all night but we'll hang out a little before we head back to the hotel," he said with a smile as he looked down at Rachel and held her back tightly. Finn definitely wanted his and Rachel's reunion sex since it was something that the both of them looked forward to each and every time they were apart. "We'll have a fun night out and you two can not get too drunk so that we don't have to deal with you. After we all hang out tonight, my focus is gonna be on my girlfriend so you two better not get super wasted and ruin that," he said with a laugh. He only had a few days with Rachel and he knew that he wanted to enjoy their time together as much as possible. "I like that you don't feel like shit every morning too, it makes me happy to know we can get up early and explore New York a little bit," he said with a smile. "Alright well, let's head out then before you two ditch us. Oh - Finn, we have to find some video game time while you're here too," Taylor said as Jeremy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we definitely will guys. Maybe tomorrow after the show," he suggested. Once Rachel, Jeremy and Taylor had everything they needed and were ready to go, Finn smiled softly as he walked with his girlfriend behind their two friends. He took her hand gently in his as they walked, knowing that it just felt good to be with her like this. It felt good to just feel normal again."Do you have any idea where they want to take us?" he asked Rachel softly, a small smile on his face as their eyes met.

Rachel looked up at Finn with a smile and nodded. "Yeah. Finn and I don't want to have to carry you back to the hotel. You need to be coherent enough to get back on your own because I'm not dealing with you again," Rachel said with a soft laugh as they began to leave the venue, her eyes moving to her and Finn's hands that were latched together. "Hey, we won't ditch you that early. I want to be able to have fun even if I'm not getting crazy." As they continued to walk, she shrugged at Finn's question. "Not really. Probably some bar they like or heard about from the stage crew. Or some weird bar and grill thing so I can eat. I went out with them a couple of times and just stuffed my face with wings so I didn't do anything stupid. I usually just go back to the hotel room and talk to you on the phone if you're not at work, so I haven't been out with them all too much. I went out with them when we were at a show in Ohio and they were trying to pick up women. Ever since then, I've steered clear of their outings. But I know you want to hang out, so it'll be good for all of us." Once Taylor and Jeremy turned into a building, Rachel followed, her hand still in Finn's. "Isn't it weird to be together? I feel like I'm dreaming. I'm so happy you're here, especially because I get to do stuff a little out of my comfort zone. But I'll be with you, so it's fine. I'm just happy that we have time together and that we can talk for a long time but this time, not through a computer screen." As Taylor and Jeremy got them a table, Rachel sat down with Finn, running a hand through her hair. "I'm happy that I don't have to babysit them alone now. They're like little kids on this tour but I figure that they deserve it. I was crazy last time."

Finn looked down at Rachel with a smile on his face as she spoke. "Wings sound so good right now. That's a way better distraction than alcohol," he said with a laugh. "And I mean, I love the fact that I get to talk to you most nights. Hearing your voice is always the best feeling when we're apart." When Taylor and Jeremy arrived at a bar and grill, Finn followed along with Rachel. "It is weird to be together, isn't it? I feel like I'm dreaming too, believe me. This whole trip was kind of last minute since my schedule just seemed to work with when you guys were here. And this is out of my comfort zone too... a lot of stuff is out of my comfort zone unless I'm with you, honestly. And believe me, baby. I'm happy that we can have time too. I needed this." As the four of them sat down together, Finn turned his attention to Rachel and he couldn't help but laugh as she spoke. "We're always babysitting them, Rach," he said with a laugh. "And we babysat you half the time last tour. Finn covered the second half of the tour and we all know how that went," Taylor said with a laugh. Finn shook his head at his friends comment, knowing that the last tour was definitely the last thing he wanted to think about since it had been so incredibly dramatic and difficult. "Oh, I already see some drinks that I need here. Finn, you gonna have anything?" Jeremy asked. "Oh, no. You guys know I don't really drink. Maybe a glass of champagne or whatever at a wedding but that's it." When Taylor and Jeremy both exchanged a look, Finn couldn't help but laugh. "We're gonna get you drunk one day, Finn. I want to know what you're like." Finn sighed softly before he looked down at his girlfriend and smiled. "Why do so many people want to get me drunk? I promise I'll probably just be a mess since I never drink." Finn glanced down at the food menu as he leaned back on his chair while draping his arm over the back of Rachel's. "Well, you said that you'd have champagne at a wedding, right? So we'll know when you and Rachel get married then." Finn knew that Taylor and Jeremy loved bringing up him and Rachel getting married to get them flustered but the truth of it all was that Finn really was beginning to get serious about wanting to propose to Rachel and he couldn't help but smile to himself for a moment. "When we get married there's no way in hell I'm getting drunk. Do you guys know how much work goes into a wedding?"

Rachel looked over at Taylor and Jeremy as they talked about babysitting her. "Yeah, I know you did, but don't keep talking about it when I'm actually trying to not think about drinking. Plus, I don't think Finn wants to relive any of that in his mind, actually." Rachel said with a slight chuckle, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I just want a soda or something." Rachel said with a shrug, looking down at her nails for a moment. "Finn, even I want to see you drunk, but I get why you don't want to drink. You haven't had anything in forever. I can't remember the last time you even had a glass of wine or something." Rachel always tried to tell herself that she'd be able to handle a glass of wine or a beer when she went out, but she knew that she'd have one drink and not be able to stop. She wasn't stupid. She wanted it every single time she was at a bar, but she knew that she had to put that part of her life behind her. And so far, for these few months, she was doing better and she felt a lot better. A blush rose on her cheeks as Taylor and Jeremy brought up their wedding, her tapping her fingers against the table. "Shut up." Rachel said with a soft laugh, shaking her head. "Finn and I are going to be very sober for our wedding because it's going to be stressful enough to plan the night and then have to run around all night to talk to our friends and family and stuff, but... we definitely don't need any alcohol. You guys can take advantage of the open bar that we're going to have there because we can't have it. Well, don't want it, anyway. And why do you always have to bring up our wedding? It's not going to happen for a while, stop mentioning it." Rachel said, pointing her finger at them. "We'll get the drinks for everyone. Finn, do you care what you have to drink? Soda? Tea? Water? Rachel, we know you want a soda or whatever so we'll get you that. Taylor and I need to enjoy the night while we still can. If we have to deal with you two all over each other then we're definitely going to need some alcohol."

Finn laughed softly when Rachel told him that even she wanted to see him drunk. "You have seen me drunk before, baby. It wasn't exactly in a fun setting though. But still - I'm just really not interested in alcohol." When Taylor and Jeremy brought up him and Rachel getting married, Finn couldn't help but laugh because he knew that they loved trying to make them uncomfortable. "I don't know, I guess we talk about it because it drives you crazy but also because it's actually going to happen this time around. I mean, unless you find a way to fuck it up, Rachel," Taylor said with a laugh before Finn kicked his leg from beneath the table. "Fuck off, man. No one is fucking anything up." While he knew that Taylor was just teasing, Finn didn't want him to bring Rachel down or make them think about the past when it was all stuff that they had put behind them. "I'll just have a soda too, guys," he said with a laugh. The two of them got up from the table and headed to the bar to order all of their drinks and Finn smiled softly as he turned to face his girlfriend. "Do they bring up the whole wedding thing this much all the time? Or is it just when we're together?" he asked her curiously. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I can't wait to marry you one day but they talk about it more than we do." Finn bit down on his lip to hide his smile, knowing very well that a wedding was probably going to happen sooner rather than later. Especially since he had already picked out the ring that he wanted to get for her. While they had agreed not to rush, this tour was absolutely proving to him that they were ready, that their relationship was in such a strong, stable place. "God, it feels so good to be with you again, baby," he breathed out before he dipped his head down to press a kiss to her lips. "Told you that when we got back to the table they'd be making out," Jeremy commented to Taylor as they arrived with all of their drinks. "You guys are so annoying," Finn said with a laugh as he grabbed his soda and immediately took a sip.

Rachel laughed gently at Finn's words. "Yeah, seeing you drunk really sucked, Finn. I mean, you were drunk for a shitty reason. So it sucked. And I was always drunk for shitty reasons before." Rachel didn't want to bring up the past since she knew that her and Finn both hated talking about it, but she knew that she couldn't exactly forget it. It would always be their past, no matter what. "They do bring up the wedding thing all of the time. Not a lot when I'm alone with them, but I mean, they do bring it up. More when you're around, though. I just think that they think it's funny that I'm not some bitch when they bring it up because I can be a real bitch." Rachel smirked, shrugging gently. "They do talk about it more than we do, though. I think they probably even talk about it when they're alone because they're not going to know what to do when we're married and they're still single. But hey, I mean, we can't be matchmakers for everyone." When Taylor and Jeremy came back, she sighed, pulling away from Finn to grab her soda. "At least I have someone to make out with," She said, winking. "You guys had plenty of girls to fuck around with in the beginning of the tour. What happened? You both get tired of fucking random girls?" Taylor glared at her teasingly. "Shut up. I think the both of us kind of want something more steady. At least for a while." Rachel nodded and went to sip at her drink before turning to Finn. "Can you believe that I'm the tame one now? I mean, I know that I'm not a saint or anything but they definitely have had their crazy moments. One day a few weeks ago when we were sharing rooms, Taylor came practically falling through the door with some girl. Ever since I had to fake being asleep listening to him fuck some girl, I decided that I needed to have my own room." Jeremy shook his head, laughing gently. "You also take the longest showers ever. You were in there for almost an hour and we had to get ready, too. So it's better that we have separate rooms now anyway. Don't blame it all on us. It's not our fault you're all committed and boring now." Rachel chuckled, shrugging. "I guess you have a point. But you guys suck."

Finn laughed softly when Rachel told him that Taylor and Jeremy probably talked about them getting married even when they were alone. He knew that their friends were happy they were together and he was glad that they supported them, however, he also wished that they didn't bring up them getting married constantly. He was going to propose to Rachel, he was just waiting for the right moment. Finn didn't want to plan some elaborate thing the way he thought he would, instead he wanted it to be spontaneous and he knew that he would know when it was time. Finn smirked when Rachel asked Taylor and Jeremy if they were tired of fucking random girls, unable to stop himself from laughing softly at the expressions on their faces. "Wow, more steady? I never thought I'd hear the day you two wanted that," he said with a smile before he turned his focus to Rachel as she began to speak. "Taylor, did you seriously have sex with some girl while you were sharing a room with Rachel? You're such a dick," he said, shaking his head as Taylor shrugged. "Hey, I thought she was asleep! She could have acted awake and then I probably would have just went in the bathroom or something for some shower sex," Taylor said defensively. "You're an idiot," Finn breathed out before a laugh escaped his lips. "She might be committed and doesn't go out as much but Rachel isn't boring. You really can't use that word to explain this girl." He looked down at his girlfriend with a smile as he slipped his arm around her waist, knowing that he really was so proud of her for being so in control of herself during this whole process of staying sober. He knew how difficult it was for her, especially being around Taylor and Jeremy who partied often and he truly was so proud of her. "I'll make sure that you're not bored at all while I'm here, baby," he said softly with a playful smirk on his face while their friends groaned in annoyance. "You complain about us having sex with random girls but we've walked in on the two of you way too many times," Taylor said. "Yeah, because you two literally walk into our apartment at any hour of the day. That's your fault, not ours."

Rachel didn't hate being with Taylor and Jeremy all of the time, because they were definitely interesting. Unfortunately, there was definitely low points in everything and she got a little crazy being so close to them all of the time, but she was happy she had two people here who cared about her. If she couldn't have Finn, she knew that she was happy to have Taylor and Jeremy as they had been with her through so much. They had been there at really low points in her life and they had also been with her for really high points in her life. and she really hoped that didn't change. "So? Dude, you don't fuck some random girl when you're sharing a hotel room with someone. Or you give me a heads up so I can go chill somewhere while you're busy. I mean, it's whatever now, but still. For future reference, I'd do the same for yo . I'd give you a heads up if I was planning on having sex with Finn if we shared a hotel room. It's common courtesy. Thank god we don't all live together, because Finn and I would go crazy with you two." Rachel laughed as she sipped at her drink, rolling her eyes playfully. "Finn has a point. You definitely do just walk into our apartment at random hours. I mean, I like the company sometimes, don't get me wrong, but you definitely do just barge in. It's not my fault you walk in on us at our house because we just utilize every surface of the apartment. Not our problem. And anyway, as soon as we get home again, you guys definitely need to give us a heads up if you're going to come over. We love having you, but you guys are definitely a little much. Hopefully I'll be busy when I get home. I can't go from being out every single day to going home and doing nothing. I know we'll wait a little bit to start working on music again, but I'll have to see what happens. I just need to work my way back into home life, I guess. I love being on the road but I know it's going to be really awesome to go home. Even if I will go stir crazy really easily."

Finn nodded in agreement with Rachel's words. "We would definitely go crazy if we all lived together. And yeah, in fact, Rachel and I have shared a room with you guys before and we didn't have sex while you were in there." He took a long sip of his drink and he bit down on his lip as she spoke, a small smirk on his face as Rachel spoke. "Every surface of the apartment?" Jeremy repeated before a laugh escaped his lips as he looked between Finn and Rachel. "Hey, when you guys are away for months at a time me and Rach have to make the most of our time at home." Finn laughed when Taylor and Jeremy smirked and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. God, he was pretty sure the two of them thought about sex almost one hundred percent of the time. "I've said it once and I'll say it again, you're the man, Finn," Taylor said, causing Finn to laugh softly. "I truly never thought anyone would be saying that to me from what I used to be like," he said before he brought his gaze to his girlfriend. "And Rach, I know you, you'll find a way not to get stir crazy." It made him so happy to know that she was excited to go home because he knew that their lives were only going to get better once they were together again. He knew he was going to propose to her soon and while he still wasn't sure on exactly when, he figured he'd carry about the ring until he felt as though it was the right moment. "I can't wait to have you home with me, Rach. It's gonna be so nice to fall asleep next to you every night," he said softly before he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You guys suck. Like, I'm literally not a third wheel because I'm sitting next to Taylor but I still feel like I am," Jeremy said with a laugh. "That's just because you guys want to be in a relationship. You're growing up." Finn smirked when the two of them rolled their eyes and he finished off the rest of his soda before he leaned back in his seat. He brushed his fingers gently through the ends of Rachel's hair before he slipped it down to wrap around her waist, tugging her a bit closer to him. It felt so good just to touch her again after being apart for so long and he knew that they were both going to make the most of being together while they were in New York.

Rachel really wanted to just enjoy the time with Taylor and Jeremy even if half of the time, she really couldn't stand them. She loved that they could all play around and just joke but at the end of the day, she knew Taylor and Jeremy could be a little much sometimes. "Hey, Finn, you are most definitely the man. I mean, think about how you used to be all of those years ago and think about how you are now. I still was just as obsessed with you in high school as I am today so I mean, you were just as much the man then as you are now." A soft laugh left her lips and she leaned in to kiss Finn, smiling as she pulled away. "I can't wait to go home with you, too. I can't wait to wake up next to you all of the time because I definitely miss it out here. Thank god we don't have some crazy tour bus like we did for the last tour and now I can just kind of get on a plane and go to some new hotel. Being a little bit more famous has its perks. And one of those perks is free food and nice hotel rooms." As Finn pulled her closer, Rachel sighed contently leaning against him and letting her head lean against his shoulder for a moment as she let herself relax. "Ugh, you lovebirds kill me. But we get it. Maybe we should have let you sneak off to have sex. You probably wouldn't be as gross as you are right now." Rachel grinned and finished her drink off, looking over at Finn for a moment. "They're probably right, but at least we made the effort to go out. I mean, we could have been boring and just went to the hotel room. But we actually tried to resist each other for a while. I think we're doing pretty well, actually. We could be worse, guys. Way worse. Consider yourself lucky."

Finn laughed softly at Rachel's words. "I still don't know how you were obsessed with me in high school. I was so embarrassing," he said, shaking his head for a moment. As Rachel said that her, Taylor and Jeremy were able to travel on a plane and go to nicer hotels, he couldn't help but smile. She had truly come so far with her career and there were no words for how proud of her he was. "Free food and nice hotel rooms. Our careers are so different," he said with a laugh. "Meanwhile I have a room in the hospital where I nap whenever I have a break between patients." When Rachel leaned against his shoulder, Finn looked down at her and smiled before he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Yeah, I think we're doing pretty well too. If you guys think this is gross then you really have no idea what we're usually like," he said with a laugh. "But, we're probably not gonna stay out with you guys too much longer. I mean, you know, I do want to be alone with my girlfriend sooner rather than later." Finn loved their friends, he did, but he wanted to be alone with his girlfriend. He wanted to just talk to her about everything that was going on in their lives and obviously have sex too. God, he really missed her and while they had once promised they were done with the reunion sex, he figured it was just a part of their relationship now. However, he figured as long as it was just because she was on tour that he didn't mind it too much. "Where do you plan on taking me around New York tomorrow?" he asked Rachel softly as he looked down at her, a small smile on his face as their eyes met. He was so in love with her and he knew that just getting to spend the whole day before her show with her in a city he had never been in made him so incredibly excited.

Rachel looked at Finn with a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, I don't wanna be out too much longer. I mean, if we were getting drunk, it would be different. But I just want to be able to spend some time with my boyfriend. Just for a little bit." Rachel smiled as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, smiling gently and looking down for a moment. She loved the little things and she absolutely loved that he was so gentle with her and so sweet with her and he was everything she honestly always wanted. "I don't know. We can just... go to Central Park or go to the High Line or something. Whatever you want. We can get coffee on the way there and just... spend some quality time together. I have all morning. I just need to be home a little after lunch time and then I have to be stuck with these two again," She said softly, leaning up to kiss him. "I love you. And no matter what we do, I know that it's going to be amazing. I'm going to love spending time with you no matter what. Even if all we do is take a walk and hold hands. I don't care. It'll be great just because we're together." Rachel smiled gently before looking over to Taylor and Jeremy who were in conversation. A soft sigh left her lips and she played with the straw in her glass of soda that was now empty. "Hey, uh, I think we're going to head out." Rachel said softly, looking over at Taylor and Jeremy who moved to look at the two of them. "Use a condom." Taylor said teasingly, Rachel rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, we've got it covered. Don't miss us too much, alright? We'll see you tomorrow for lunch or something at the venue if you guys are there on time." Rachel moved to take Finn's hand for a moment and offered Finn a small smile. "Let's go, babe. I just want to spend some time with you. We have a lot to catch up on, even if its only been a week or two since we've seen each other."

Finn nodded when Rachel said they could go to Central Park or the High Line. He was sure that he would spend the morning looking up things for them to do while they were there since he wanted to make the most of the short time that they did have in the city. When she leaned up to press her lips to his, he couldn't help but smile into the kiss. God, he loved her so much. "I love you too, baby. And I know, I'm just happy to be with you again. We could just sit in our hotel room all day long and watch movies and it would be a perfect day to me." When she told Taylor and Jeremy that they were going to head out, Finn smiled softly at her. As much as he loved hanging out with their friends, he definitely just wanted alone time and he knew that she wanted the same thing. "I think we know how to handle the whole condom thing," he said with a laugh as he got up from the table with Rachel. When she took his hand in hers, he couldn't help but smile and he laced their fingers together gently. "Sounds good to me. I know we've been talking pretty much non-stop while you've been away but I still want to hear about how things have been the past couple of weeks." Finn smiled softly as they headed out of the bar together and he sighed contently when they began walking towards the hotel. It felt so good to just be with Rachel and he knew that he had missed her so, so much even if it hadn't been that long since they were together. "New York City at night... this is pretty crazy, isn't it? I don't know why but this place makes me feel like I'm in a movie," he said with a small smile as he looked up at the tall buildings. "And it's also probably the only place I've ever been that makes me feel small." Finn smiled as they walked together, his hand gently squeezing hers. "It was so cool to see you perform tonight, baby. How crazy is it to hear people singing the lyrics that you wrote?"

Rachel felt a smile rise on her lips as Finn laced their fingers together, her tightening her grasp on his hand after a short moment. She loved that they were always so close and she knew that she needed this closeness after so long of being apart. "I know we were talking non stop, but still, I feel like I've missed so much of your life while I was away. I mean, I haven't gotten to talk to you as much as I'd like, especially because you were working really weird hours and half of the time, we were on opposite schedules. Obviously we still got time in to talk, but it's not the same as what it's like to talk to you face to face." Rachel looked over to him after a moment and sighed, looking around at the city as they walked. "I love singing in front of everyone, especially that many people. I went from singing in my living room to singing in sold out crowds. But..." Rachel sighed contently. "It does feel like a movie. And I think that this is the part of the movie that the guy and the girl sneak off into the hotel and reunite," Rachel laughed, turning down another street and starting to walk a little faster, tugging him with her as she walked towards the hotel around the corner. After quite a long night with Finn, Rachel woke up to the sun pouring through the large window in the hotel room, her yawning as she turned over in bed to lean over Finn slightly. "Baby..." She breathed out, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. "Let's get up." Once she caught sight of the time, she knew that they had to get moving for the day so they had as much time as possible even if it was still incredibly early. "It's a beautiful day and as much as I want to stay in bed with you... I think we should actually see the city instead of just looking at it through the window," She murmured against his skin before pulling away, laying back down against her pillow.

Finn was so happy that he had visited Rachel, especially after the night that they had spent together. They were definitely professionals at reuniting with each other by now. When he felt Rachel moving beside him in the morning, his eyes fluttered open slowly and he yawned as she pressed her lips to the side of his head. "Mm, good morning, baby," he breathed out as he looked at her tiredly, a small smile pulling up at the corner of his lips. God, he loved waking up with her like this. "Says the girl who looks like she's getting ready to fall back asleep," he said, a soft laugh escaping his lips as he shifted closer to her on the bed. "You tired me out last night," he told her as he turned on his side to face her, leaning up on his arm and smiling softly as he looked down at her. There truly were no words to describe how much he loved Rachel. She was so incredibly beautiful and every day he found himself falling harder for her. After everything they had been through they had found a place in their relationship where they were so strong and stable and he was so, so grateful for that. "You're insanely beautiful, you know that, right?" he said softly as he trailed his fingers down along the smooth skin of her arm. "I love you." Finn smiled at Rachel before he leaned down to press his lips to hers, deepening the kiss for a moment. As he pulled away, he smiled and bit down on his lip before he moved to sit up. "Okay, if we stay in bed like this together we're definitely going to end up repeating last night all over again," he said with a laugh. Finn stretched before he moved to get out of the bed, a yawn escaping his lips as he made his way over to the bag he had brought with him to pull out some clothes. "Alright, I'm gonna jump in the shower quick and then I'll be ready to go. Feel free to join me if you think you can control yourself," he said teasingly as he headed into the bathroom.

Rachel smiled gently as she looked into Finn's eyes before letting her eyes shut for a moment as his hand ran along her arm. "I love you, too." She breathed out softly, sighing as he started to sit up out of bed. "I know that we'll repeat last night, but that's definitely not a bad thing, is it?" She asked, leaning up on her elbow as she watched him move around the room. "You know that I'd love to lay around all day with you, but you're right, we have plans. And I'll see, I mean, I want to join you, but your quick shower is going to turn into a really long one. But I'll see. Give me a minute." She said before yawning gently and sitting up once he disappeared into the bathroom. She really couldn't wait to just have time with him, especially after being so far away from him for so long. Once she grabbed some clothes for herself, she went over to the bathroom and smirked slightly over at him. "I'll control myself, don't worry." Rachel said, running a hand through her hair before moving into the shower with him, wrapping her arm around his waist for a moment to pull herself closer to him. "You always look so fucking sexy in the morning, babe." She murmured against his skin. Once she pulled away from him, she giggled softly and moved to look at him. "I don't want you to have to go home. But I know that I'll be home before we know it. And then we can get back into our routine. I just hate waking up alone in hotels all of the time. It sucks. I miss waking up next to you and spending the night with you. And when you leave, I'm going to miss it even more."

Finn sighed contently as he stepped into the shower, the warm water running over him causing his muscles to relax. He was just rinsing the shampoo from his hair when Rachel stepped into the bathroom and he couldn't help but smirk when she got into the shower with him. "You control yourself? I don't know, Rach. You've never been good at that when it comes to me," he said teasingly. A content sigh escaped his lips when she moved closer to him and Finn wrapped his arms gently around her waist to tug her a bit closer. "I look sexy? Have you seen yourself? You look fucking sexy all hours of the day," he said with a smile before he leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. Fuck, he loved her so much and he loved how he felt around her. He loved how she made him feel good about himself, how she made him feel happiness that only she could give him. "I don't want to go home either, believe me. But there's not too much time left on your tour. And your last shows are in LA so you'll be home for those and I'll be at every single one of them. You won't have to wake up alone in hotels much longer, baby." Finn dipped his head down to press his lips to hers, kissing her gently before he moved his hands down to rest on her lower back, stopping himself from moving them any lower since he knew that they would end up getting carried away." Finn laughed softly as he pulled out of the kiss and looked down at Rachel, smiling as he met her gaze. "I didn't realize just how difficult it was going to be to not touch you. I guess I'm the one that needs to control myself," he said with a laugh before he moved his hands to his sides. It felt so good to feel normal with Rachel again, to feel as though she was home with him and he knew that he couldn't wait until she actually was so mornings like this were a normal occurrence once again.

Rachel loved little moments like this with Finn. She wanted to have moments like this for the rest of her life with him. As his arms wrapped around her to pull her closer to him, Rachel bit down on her bottom lip gently. "I know that it's almost over, but it doesn't feel like it. I love it but I really miss the normalcy. I know that you love your job, but I'm sure you feel the same way sometimes. Sometimes you think about the way it used to be and it's just weird to think that it could be so much different. You were obviously always going to be a doctor, but I don't know, it's just so crazy. All of it." Rachel paused for a moment and laughed at Finn's words, rolling her eyes playfully. "Exactly. And you think I'm the one with the problem of controlling myself? I may have had a problem when we first started getting together, but now? It's all you, babe. But I mean, I don't mind." She laughed before she brought her hands to his waist, running her hands along his skin for a moment before chuckling and pulling away. "Kidding. We can't waste time. I mean, we can waste a lot of time later because we're not sleeping for as long as possible, but I mean, for now, we have to start practicing some self control." Rachel grinned as she started to run her hands through her hair, trying to actually get out of the shower quickly so they could go about their day. "Let's get this show on the road, babe. I can't wait to go explore with you. It's going to be so great to just have you here and not have to worry about Taylor and Jeremy, too. I love them but I definitely need some space."

Finn laughed softly at Rachel's words. "It's all me? Hey, you get some of the blame," he said with a smirk on his face as he looked down into her eyes. "I think whenever we're apart for too long we both get a little insatiable." When she said that they would wait until later to not have self control, he nodded in agreement. As much as he wanted to spend the day fooling around with Rachel, he did really want to see New York City as much as he could in the short time that they were there. "I can't wait to explore with you too. It's so good to be in the city where I feel like half of my favorite movies are filmed in," he said with a smile. Finn quickly finished washing up before he stepped out of the shower so that Rachel could finish as well. "I'll let you finish without me otherwise we'll never get out of here," he said with a laugh as he dried himself off with a towel. Finn headed out of the bathroom and quickly got dressed and once he was all ready to go, he sat down on the edge of the bed to wait for Rachel. It didn't take much longer before she was ready as well and Finn smiled at his girlfriend before he took her hand gently in his and led her out of the hotel room. "I want to spoil you a little today, baby," he said softly. "I figure while we're exploring if you find a store or something that you want to go into, I can buy you some things. Maybe some new clothes for your tour and stuff." Finn knew that Rachel had her own money, he knew that she didn't need him to buy her things but he liked spoiling her a little bit. He liked doing things that made her smile and he knew his girlfriend - she liked clothes. "Anything you want today is on me," he said softly as they walked together hand-in-hand.

Rachel tried to get ready quickly after Finn left the shower, her washing up quickly and getting out to dry herself off before slipping on an outfit. She was excited to go out, especially since her and Finn never really got this kind of time together, even at home. Usually, the both of them were working or they were both getting home too late to really go out like this. As they started walking out of the hotel, she looked up at him and smiled gently at his words. "Babe, you don't need to do that." She said with a soft chuckle, still holding onto his hand. She did get a lot of clothing from the tour itself and from some appearances where they let her keep what she had worn, but usually, she relied on her own wardrobe. But she was no stranger to shopping -- if she had time, she found herself shopping around in whatever city she was in before she had to start locking herself away in the venue. "Okay. I mean, you don't have to spoil me, but I appreciate it. You're a keeper. You know a way to a girl's heart -- shopping." As Rachel continued to walk with him, a soft laugh left her lips. "It's so weird how every city is just so different. I mean... LA is just so different than this. Especially depending on where you are in LA. Can you believe sometimes that I lived in that huge house and you didn't live that far from me and your development was just so different? And now, I mean, I'm so thankful to have the apartment that we do. It's really nice and it's our home." As they continued to walk, Rachel just kept looking around at the city, a small smile on her lips. It was just so strange to really be here with him and a part of her still expected to wake up from whatever dream she was in. "Can you believe so much time has passed? And... anyway, uhm, how are you? Like... after everything? I know that our last time seeing each other wasn't exactly for the best reason, but we haven't really talked about it too much since then." Rachel turned into a store that she saw as they walked, her hand still tight in his. "I just want to make sure that you're okay. Because everything looks like it's fine, but I still worry about you no matter what, you know that."

Finn smiled at Rachel. "I know I don't have to, but I want to. I like doing things for you." It felt so good to just walk with her hand in his after being apart for so long and while he knew that he had to go back to LA, he knew this trip would hold him over for a little bit longer. "They really are so different. And I remember that huge house, I used to think it was so cool," he said with a laugh. "My apartment was like the size of your living room. But yeah, I'm grateful for our apartment now too. It's a great size in a good area and it's all ours." It made Finn so happy to know that he had a home with Rachel, to know that they had a place where they felt safe and comfortable. Growing up neither of them had really had a home that gave them everything a home was supposed to and he was relieved that they had found that with each other. "No, sometimes I still feel like we're eighteen and have no idea about what life is going to throw at us," he said softly. "And I'm alright, baby. I - my mom is still in rehab. My dad seems to be off my back for now. I'm okay, I promise. I know that I kind of broke down last time you saw me but I think it was just because so many things were happening at once." Finn sighed softly as he followed Rachel into a store and when she told him that she just wanted to make sure he was okay, he smiled. "I love you, you know that? I promise I'm alright. If I ever feel like that again, I'll tell you. Although, I'm hoping I won't." Finn knew that his mom wanted to just go home to his dad once she got out of rehab but she had to go to a sober living community and he hoped being there would change her perspective. He hoped she would wake up and see his dad for who he really was. "I still can't believe that my dad kicked the crap out of me, you know? I mean, he's always been an asshole but he was never violent with me. Now he just... he seems to hate me more than he ever did and I'll never get it. I'll never get how you hate your own kid for no reason at all other than the fact that they had me really young."

Rachel knew that her and Finn had much different childhoods. While she didn't love her childhood, she was grateful for everything she was able to do with what she was given. However, she knew that she didn't have that great of a family life and neither did Finn, and she knew that it was part of why they were so connected. They definitely had their differences but that time of their life was a world away. "That's true. Your apartment was really small. But our apartment is perfect for us now, so I'm happy that we have what we do. It's not everything I ever dreamed of, but it's ours. And that's all that matters to me. It's yours and mine and we work hard for it. We obviously could get a lot more for our money, but it's all we need." She said, shrugging gently. As Finn started to tell her that he was okay, Rachel nodded gently. "Finn, you need to just... let it all out sometimes, you know? I mean... you can't just hold it all in and expect it to go away. Plus, ou know that I'll always be there to help you and I'll just be there to talk to." Finn was always there for her, and she wanted to be able to help him through things. "I can't believe he did that shit, either. If I see him again, I will literally kick the shit out of him, Finn. I mean it. If he even so much as says hello to me, I'll kill him. I hate him and I want him out of your life. I know that you don't like him and I just... god. I hate him." Rachel said as she looked at a rack in the store, a soft sigh leaving her lips. "I don't know how anyone could hate you, Finn. I mean, you're the nicest guy I've ever met and you actually care, you know? You actually want to make a difference in the world and you... you don't even hate anyone. Your dad is just so full of hate." Rachel really hated his father and she wished that she could figure things out for him even if she knew that was impossible. "I know that your mom is in a bad place now, but you've really done so much for her. She should be grateful, too. So grateful. You want to fix everyone, Finn. And as much as I love that about you, it also can be your downfall sometimes with certain people. You just try to make sense of the situation sometimes when there's just no way to make sense of it."

Finn nodded when Rachel told him that he needed to let everything out sometimes. "I know do. I just - my whole life I always held everything in, you know? It's what I'm used to doing. So now that I'm in a place in my life where I have you and we can talk about everything I guess I forget that I can lean on you a little bit too." Finn knew that Rachel wanted to take care of him just as much as he wanted to take care of her and he loved her for that. God, he loved her more than anything. When she spoke about his dad, Finn sighed softly as he shifted his gaze downwards for a moment. "You won't see him again because I'm not going to let him anywhere near you. I know you hate him and believe me, I want him out of my life too but I don't want you having to deal with his comments like last time." Finn followed Rachel's gaze to the rack of clothes she was looking through and he bit down on his lip when she told him that he was the nicest guy she ever met. "I don't know, baby. He just hates me for existing. I wish I could understand but I... I just can't. I just know that I'll make sure our kids know they're so loved and I want them to have a childhood, you know? I don't want them to ever worry about anything other than being a kid." Finn nodded when Rachel told him that him wanting to fix people was his downfall, he knew she was right but he couldn't help it. "She's not grateful. At least not right now," he said softly. "And I know it's my downfall but I don't know how to not be this way, you know? I just want to help people, especially my mom. God, even if my dad suddenly decided to be nice to me and needed my help, I'd try and help him too. I just wish my family was a family and not this fucked up thing." Finn shook his head before he focused back on his girlfriend, offering her a small smile. "You help me be better with all of that. You help me remember that I need to take care of me and I hope you know that I'm so grateful for that, Rach. I love you so much," he told her before he slipped his arm around her waist and tugged her close to him so he could lean down and press a kiss to her cheek. "See anything you like?" he asked a he pulled away from her, him looking around the store along with her.

Rachel sighed at Finn's words. "I know I'm most likely never going to see him again, but if I do, I hope you let me beat the shit out of him. I could very easily break a nose or worse. I mean, he's your dad, but still. His comments pissed me off just because no one had talked that way to me in a long time. I mean, Finn, you know the crowd I hung out with. I heard shit like that all of the time. I didn't like it and I stood up for myself even back then. But the fact that your dad did that? It's fucking gross." Rachel said, looking over at him after a moment. "And they will have a childhood. I've been sober and I'm staying sober, and we... we won't be like our parents, Finn. We'll give them a good childhood. I promise you that. You're going to be the best dad ever." Rachel said, smiling gently at him before looking around the store once again. "I know you don't know how to not be this way. And it's okay, you're just very sweet, you know? You care a lot. And that makes me love you even more. But I promise that I'll help you with everything. I know that you always concentrate on everyone else, and I need to help you worry about yourself a lot more." As he asked her if she saw anything she liked, she shrugged, moving to pick something up off of a rack she had been looking at earlier. "Well, I like this, but I really like this." She said, pointing at him and smirking before leaning forward to kiss him, her hand tightening in the fabric of his shirt as she held herself close to him. Pulling away, she laughed gently before holding the shirt up to herself. "Yeah, I think I'll get this. It's different, so I mean, I'll find a way to make it work." Rachel said, starting to move towards the registers. "Are you sure you want to get this for me? Because I can get it," Rachel said, standing close to him as she waited behind the person already in line at the register. "You know, if we're trying to make this shopping trip interesting, you need to walk into a lingerie store and buy me something. A nice little set that I can actually get use out of on a day to day basis. And I can't open the bag until I come home and see you." She said, a soft smirk on her lips as she looked up at him. "I'll show up at home with it on. I mean, obviously, I'll have other clothes on, but I mean, the other clothes won't last that long, right?" She said, not continuing because the woman signaled for them to come up to the registers. Speaking to the cashier, Rachel smiled gently, trying to keep up with whatever small talk that she was bringing up. Pretending to listen, Rachel nodded slowly, her hand moving around Finn to grip onto his shirt, keeping close to him as she stood next to him. "Okay, have a good day," Rachel said after they had paid and were given the bag, her quickly walking out of the store with him. "I love when people are friendly, but I mean, god, that woman can talk," Rachel said with a laugh, continuing to walk next to Finn.

Finn knew Rachel hated his dad and as much as he wanted to see her punch the older man in the face and break his nose, he also wanted her as far away from him as possible so that he knew she was safe. When she told him that she was going to help him worry about himself a lot more, he couldn't help but smile as he looked at her. "I love you, baby," he said softly. "No one has ever loved me like you do and I - I love you so much for always wanting to take care of me too." When he asked her if she saw anything she liked and she pointed to him, he couldn't help but laugh softly. He smiled as she pressed her lips to his before he slipped his hand around her waist and tugged her closer to him. "I really like you too, you know. I think I'll take you home with me," he said teasingly as they headed over to the registers. "Babe, of course I want to get this for you. I told you, anything you want." He rose his eyebrows when she told him to buy her lingerie and he returned her smirk and bit down on his lip. "You really want me to buy you lingerie?" he asked her, knowing that he would probably end up accidentally buying something that wasn't practical for everyday use whatsoever. "Do other clothes ever last long when you come home?" he asked her, a smirk on his face. Finn bit down on his lip to hide his smirk when they got up to the register and he tried his best to pay attention to what the cashier was saying. Once he paid, he headed out of the store with Rachel and he laughed as she spoke. "It was really hard for me to even pay attention to what she was saying after you were talking about you in lingerie of my choice," he said. "You know we're totally gonna do that, right? Because now it's on my mind. I'll pick something out for you but I want you to pick something out for yourself too. For me, for tonight." Finn smirked as he looked down at his girlfriend before he slipped his arm around her waist and tugged her into his side as they walked together. It felt so good to just spend a normal day with her and he hated that he had to go home the next day. He hated that they had to be apart from each other when he just wanted her by his side as often as possible.

Rachel laughed softly as Finn spoke, rolling her eyes. "Of course I do. I mean, you should get something that you want to see me in. I know I could be wearing a plastic bag and you'd still think it was sexy, so it doesn't really matter. I mean, you can get whatever you want. I mean, you can buy me something that's for special occasions. I can just wear it every once in a while if it's not ruined." Rachel grinned. Honestly, she made pretty frequent trips to lingerie stores, but she tried to at least buy some things that were practical and that she could wear all of the time. (When she actually wore something, anyway.) As soon as they were out of the store, she smirked up at him. "I'll buy you something for tonight. I'll wear it during the show. You buy me something that I don't know about, and I'll buy you something that you don't know about. Well, until later. You'll know pretty soon. I have to wait weeks, babe. That's not fair," She said teasingly, laughing softly as she wrapped her arm around him as well, holding onto his shirt slightly. As they walked around the city, Rachel knew this was how she wanted to spend every single day with him. Everything just felt so carefree and she couldn't wait to go home and be with him all of the time when he wasn't at work. "It feels good to be with you like this. When we go home, I know that before I left I talked about wanting to go on some vacation, but I'm definitely going to want to just go to sleep in my own bed for a while. I just want to be able to eat my own food and just... enjoy my own home. I want to be able to enjoy you, you know?" Rachel paused for a minute before looking up at him. "For tonight's show, do you want to be backstage? Or do you want actual tickets? Because I'll work out whatever you want, okay? Even if you want front row, I'll yell at people to make it work," She laughed, fixing the bag that she was holding to move onto her arm. "I'm excited for tonight. It's going to be a little bit of a smaller show. I love what I do now, but I remember performing for a couple hundred people like it was yesterday. And now there's thousands. It's just so weird."

Finn smirked when Rachel told him that he could buy her whatever he wanted. God, he really couldn't wait to buy her lingerie now. "I like the sound of that. And hey, I have to wait weeks too. Just because I'll know what it is doesn't mean I'll get to see it on you." As she wrapped her arm around him as well, he couldn't help but smile. He loved being close to her like this and he was so happy that they were together after what felt like forever. "Hey, I like the sound of the both of us just being home for a while. I just want to get back into our routine, you know? I love when we're home and we just... we get to start and end the day together, we get to sleep in the same bad and just hang out and watch stupid movies on Netflix together." Finn knew that him and Rachel would take some awesome vacation together eventually but he also knew that they just wanted to be home for a little while as well. Plus, he had a lot going on with his mom and his job and he knew that a vacation wouldn't exactly be the best idea just yet. When she asked him where he wanted to sit at her concert, Finn smiled softly at her. "Baby, I'll hang out backstage, I get a better view from the side of the stage anyway. And then I can see how much Taylor and Jeremy roll their eyes whenever you sing a song about me," he said teasingly. "And god, babe, you're doing so amazing, you know that? I'm so proud of you. It was so cool just hearing all of those people singing lyrics that you wrote. I sat next to you in bed while you wrote some of those songs and it's just so amazing to know that you are where you are now. You really made it, you know that, right? I wonder what high school you would say about your life right now because I think that Rachel would be in total shock. I always knew you'd get here. No one has a voice and has a passion like you." Finn smiled softly at his girlfriend as he looked into her eyes, knowing that he truly was so insanely proud of her. As they continued to walk, Finn felt a wave of contentment wash over him and it wasn't until he spotted a Victoria's Secret that he smirked and led her inside. "Alright, babe. You know what time it is," he said with a laugh.

Rachel nodded as he agreed to just go backstage. "I mean, that's true. You do have a better view and if I have three seconds backstage, I'll actually be able to see you and know that you're there. And I can just turn to the side during the show and see you. Which is really nice. I like having you at the shows. I just feel like everything is a lot better. I know I don't always play songs about you, but most of them are about you," She said with a soft laugh, rolling her eyes. "But... thank you. I mean, I worked really hard so I'm happy that it's paying off. And I'm happy I found the people I did. Taylor and Jeremy might piss me off every once in a while, but I love them and they're good guys. I could have been with people like Josh the rest of my life, but I found really good people who don't get into bad shit. And I know you're happy about that, too." Rachel said with a soft laugh, looking up at him. "But I don't know. The old me would definitely be in shock. She would think that all of this is some prank or something." As Finn pulled her into a Victoria's Secret, Rachel bit down gently on her bottom lip. "Okay. Well, make sure that you don't see what I'm buying and I won't look at what you're buying. There's no limit and I don't care what it is. I'll wear anything. I pretty much have owned almost every style of bra in this store, so it'll look good." After giving him a few more pieces of information, Rachel leaned up to kiss him before pulling away and disappearing into the store. Shopping for lingerie for Finn was always interesting, especially because he'd honestly like her in anything. As she searched through the different racks for something that she wanted, she grabbed one set before she continued to shop, picking up a few things she really didn't need before finding another piece of lingerie she liked. She figured that she had the money to spend and Finn definitely wouldn't complain if she had more than one piece, either. After paying, Rachel moved towards the front of the store, leaning against the wall as she waited for Finn to finish.

Finn smiled softly at his girlfriend. "I like being at your shows. And I don't care who your songs are about, I love them because they're yours." As she spoke about Taylor and Jeremy he couldn't help but smile. He truly was so happy that she had found them because they truly did fit with her and fit with all of their friends so well. "They are really good guys and I'm definitely happy you found them. I know you can take care of yourself but it does make me happy that you have them while you guys are touring, you know? Plus, you gave me even more people to destroy in video games," he said with a laugh. When they walked into Victoria's Secret, Finn nodded when Rachel said that they couldn't look at what they were buying. Once she told him her sizes so he could find something that fit her, they shared a soft kiss before going separate ways in the store. Finn thought that Rachel looked sexy in anything but he did want to find something that she would like. He wanted to find something that would make her feel even sexier but something that was also comfortable, something that she would love. God, he just wanted to get her something that made her happy. Also something that he wouldn't accidentally rip in his eagerness to get it off of her. Finn bit down on his lip as he walked through the store, knowing that he was probably taking a little longer than he should. When he found a black lacy bra with matching panties, he smiled to himself. He knew that she would look insanely sexy in this and he figured that she could also wear it whenever. So, once he had picked out her size he headed to the register and purchased it before he headed to the front of the store where she was waiting. "Hey baby," he said with a smile. "I think you're really gonna like this. I mean, I know I'm really gonna like it too." Finn laughed softly before he took her hand gently in his. "I can't wait to see what you bought tonight," he breathed out.

Rachel looked up when she heard Finn speak, smiling gently when she saw a bag in his hands. "Perfect." Rachel said with a soft laugh, her looking at the bag for a moment before looking to hers. "I'm sure you'll like what I bought. I bought three different things because I needed a little updating in the lingerie department, but I'll see what I decide to wear. Whatever I don't wear tonight, I'll at least have when I get home. So I'll have your pick to wear the first night home and I'll have the rest of my stuff to wear the rest of the week. Let's just say the first week that I'm home will be really, really interesting for the both of us," She said with a soft smirk before walking out of the store with him, her hand comfortably in his. "Well, our day out being tourists turned into us shopping. Not that I'm complaining, but... it's not like it left us a lot of time to do much of anything else. Do you want to just grab a smoothie or something and walk around for a little bit longer before we go back? We have a few hours, we can take a walk around Central Park for a little bit. But I do need to make sure I get back on time because I was late yesterday to sound check and I think everyone wanted to kill me. I felt like that typical primadonna pop star that shows up late to everything with Starbucks in her hand," Rachel said with a soft laugh before she began to lead Finn down a different street. "Thanks for surprising me, babe. I think it turned out really well for the both of us and the proof is definitely in these bags," She teasingly before smiling up at him, squeezing her hand in his. Rachel was just happy to be able to be here with Finn and she knew that New York was such a change from what they were both used to. LA, even though it was also crazy, was a much different pace than what New York was and while she loved being here and being anywhere in the country on tour, she also knew that she couldn't wait to get home and finally experience some normalcy with her boyfriend.

#when you're around

[marshmallowgoop]

Platonic Senketsu/Ryuko fanfic ? ( please ? )

I’m not sure if this is a request for fic recommendations or a request for a fic, so…

If you’re looking for the former, I made a list for Senketsu fic recs a while back, of which most are platonic Ryuko/Senketsu stories.

I also include a lot of platonic Ryuko/Senketsu stories in my own fic, Strings and Threads, a collection of Kill la Kill short stories. Any romantic Ryuketsu will be labeled with “Ryuketsu” there; the rest is platonic.

If you’re looking for the latter, well. I’ve been working on a platonic Ryuko/Senketsu story that might be of interest, maybe?

Title: comfortable

Fandom: Kill la Kill

Summary: A trip to the movies becomes something more.

Notes: Author’s notes/commentary for this story can be found here.

[AO3] [FFNET]

It all begins on July 7th, with a romantic space adventure.

The movie was Senketsu’s idea, ‘cause somehow—and it wasn’t any fault of hers—Ryuko’s ridiculous uniform got it in his ridiculous head to find the trailers intriguing.

Like, intriguing-enough-to-warrant-a-trip-to-the-theater intriguing.

And Senketsu didn’t just want to go as a joke, either. He was stone-cold, dead serious. Some sappy, insufferable love story between an alien and a human that those damn promos and TV spots couldn’t stop overhyping got him all starry-eyed in a way that Ryuko thought only a good ironing could do, and he was completely unapologetic about his excitement, eagerly gushing on and on and on.

And, well, Ryuko wasn’t gonna rain on Senketsu’s parade (he just hasn’t seen enough movies to know any better, she told herself), but if she were being honest, she was absolutely, utterly convinced that no one else in the entire world wanted to see the corny mess. Even Mako of all people passed up on it.

But beyond Ryuko’s most out-there, nonsensical, wildest expectations, Satsuki agreed.

Satsuki Kiryuin.

“I think it looks quite sweet,” Satsuki said, when Senketsu inquired about the cheese-fest while out on one of their shopping extravaganzas. She smiled his way—that-too-nice-for-Satsuki kinda expression that Ryuko’s still getting used to—not even hesitating as she declared, in no uncertain terms, “I would love to go with you, Senketsu.”

Ryuko right choked on her ice cream at that.

Senketsu couldn’t have been happier.

(But he tried very hard not to let it on, the obnoxious outfit.)

Still, even if the thought of her own flesh-and-blood sister having such terrible taste made Ryuko die on the inside a little bit, she put it on herself to see the best of the situation. She was stuck going to the theater with Senketsu no matter what—God knows (if there is a God, of course) that Ryuko would endure ten trillion times worse than a shitty movie to see Senketsu happy—but at least with Satsuki tagging along, Ryuko would have someone else to keep her company, too.

There would be no way that Ryuko’s very own big sis could think such a ridiculous, gooey, feel-good sap trap was any good at all once they were actually there in the theater.

No way in hell.

On the sunny, balmy afternoon of July 7th, Ryuko is wrong.

Very, very, very wrong.

Well, actually, Ryuko tells herself, as the three of them exit the dark theater, the movie was just as bad as she had expected. (Maybe even worse, if she were telling the truth.)

But she certainly, definitely didn’t expect the absolutely nauseating gushing that Senketsu and Satsuki got up into as soon as the credits rolled.

Heck, how they even kept paying attention past the first fifteen minutes is well beyond her understanding, but as soon as Ryuko comes face-to-face with the overly-bright, too-hot reality of summer in Japan, she can’t try to deny the sickening, horrible truth a second longer.

Satsuki and Senketsu didn’t just like the movie.

They loved it.

And they’d spent the last who-the-hell-knows-how-long spouting out nothing but praises and overeager blubbering, and they’re not stopping. They’re standing out in broad daylight and walking down the sidewalk talking their mouths off about the most embarrassing movie to hit the theaters in ten million years.

Ryuko half-considers tossing the last remnants of her Calpis over herself just to get them to yap about something else.

But she doesn’t.

And on they go.

On and on and on.

“If I saw it again,” Senketsu says, after spilling out a whole stream of I know, I know!s, “I still wouldn’t be able to keep myself from crying when the pair parted in Australia!”

He blinks movie-theater darkness from his eyes, staring up at Satsuki, who nods her head. “I didn’t cry, but I got awfully close,” she admits. “The scene was ruined a little by the night sky. There would be no way you could see those constellations at that time of year in Australia.”

Senketsu just about leaps right off of Ryuko’s chest at that. “I was thinking the same!” he cries. He’s as bubbling with excitement as he would be after the best damn ironing in the world, and he pushes Ryuko to walk a bit more quickly so that they can keep up with Satsuki’s always-too-fast pace.

Ryuko only begrudgingly follows his lead, sipping those final bits of Calpis from her cup as obnoxiously as she can.

Neither Senketsu nor Satsuki make any note of it.

“The inaccuracy wasn’t enough to pull me out of the moment,” Senketsu goes on, now right beside Satsuki, “but it was a bit glaring.”

Satsuki nods some more in agreement, and if Ryuko weren’t so fed up over a silly movie, she might have found something amusing or funny or nice about how thoughtful Satsuki is over a thing she enjoyed.

Maybe even something sweet.

But now Ryuko’s just tired and it’s not so amusing or funny or nice or comfortable to be ignored by your clothes and your sister, and she only feels her irritation build inside her as Satsuki continues, “You would think the filmmakers would do more research for such a big-budget film!”

Satsuki shakes her head, frowning a bit, clutching her bag a bit tighter. “And there is also no way that robot could have moved so easily in the sand,” she adds. “It was shaped like a soccer ball.”

“And practically all of Earth’s satellites orbit the planet west to east, not east to west!” Senketsu and Satsuki say together.

They both break out laughing.

Ryuko throws away her empty cup into the nearest trash bin with a grimace.

“I had no idea you were so interested in astrophysics and astronomy, Senketsu,” Satsuki says. She’s now smiling a very strange smile that makes Ryuko just a bit uncomfortable.

Senketsu blushes—at least, Ryuko thinks that’s what he does, since she suddenly feels a lot warmer (and she was already hot enough to begin with in this 500-degree weather).

“Well, y-you know,” Senketsu tells Satsuki, “Ryuko and I have both been to space. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.”

And Satsuki just won’t quit it with that smile. Ryuko swears it’s only getting worse. Weirder.

“You should take a look at some of the books in the Kiryuin library,” Satsuki says. There’s that overeagerness to her tone that’s almost as uncomfortable as the ever-increasingly-uncomfortable look on her face, and she smiles a bit wider, adding, quickly, excitedly, “I think you would particularly like—“

And Ryuko can’t help herself. She groans.

“Jesus,” she whines. “If you wanna yap about this stuff so much, I don’t think I should be the one wearing Senketsu!”

And they all stop walking. Right there. Just like that.

An awkward silence falls over the three of them, and in retrospect, maybe Ryuko would admit that she maybe sounded a bit too fed up and pissed off.

But at the time, Ryuko feels more than justified in her outburst. Being dragged along in a conversation by your damn clothes isn’t exactly what she would call a good time.

Or comfortable.

But Senketsu hardly seems to mind the abrasiveness of Ryuko’s words. He just brings his full attention to her, his eyes wide.

“Would it really be okay?” he asks. “For Satsuki to wear me?”

And Ryuko can’t really find the words to answer right away. Senketsu can no doubt feel her heart fluttering, and she’s come to feel very, very, very hot—like, way more than the this-is-summer kind of hot.

But Ryuko eventually takes a deep breath, tryin’ to think a bit before she speaks. “Kamui Senketsu,” she says, using the most chastising mom-voice she can muster (even though she’s well aware that she is not convincing in the slightest), “I thought you finally got it through your head that you ain’t just some outfit.”

She pauses, on fire, and then gently, quietly, she adds, “You got a will all your own, Senketsu. You’re your own person.”

They’re still stopped in place. Senketsu can’t stop staring up at Ryuko, and Satsuki is staring, too.

Ryuko bites down on her lip, turning away. “And grown people don’t go around asking other grown people for permission to be with a grown person who ain’t them,” she continues, hastily, face flushing. “Well, at least, they shouldn’t! So you shouldn’t be askin’ me any of this.”

Nobody says anything. They stay standing obtrusively on the sidewalk, and Ryuko can’t help but feel even more embarrassed when she sees that Satsuki’s awkward, uncomfortable smile has shifted into something you’d see plastered on the face of some proud mom at her kid’s violin concert.

But Ryuko doesn’t get too long to fuss over that as Senketsu sighs against her, which she takes immediately as Senketsu-language that he’s gonna disagree with her, or something.

And he promptly does nothing of the sort.

“You’re right, Ryuko!” Senketsu declares. “I should be asking Satsuki if it’s all right!”

So Senketsu looks to Satsuki Kiryuin and the big weird smile that she’s now directing his way (that’s continuing to make Ryuko feel even more uncomfortable), and he asks, very nervously, “What do you say, Satsuki? Would you… wear me?”

Satsuki’s smile only grows. “I would be honored, Senketsu,” she says. “It has been too long. And I—“

Satsuki stops abruptly, meeting Ryuko’s eyes, her icky, uncomfortable smile falling into what Ryuko could only describe as shame.

“And I would love to wear you again,” Satsuki finishes, weakly.

And, well, now Ryuko’s mild (yes, mild) discomfort and annoyance has twisted into the desire to just throw up all the popcorn and Calpis she’d spent the last two hours focusing on rather than the kill-me-now kitsch that was the ridiculous movie she’d overpaid for (even if it was Ladies’ Day, she still always bought a ticket for Senketsu (and the hot mess wasn’t worth even a single yen, if you had to ask her opinion)).

It wasn’t like Satsuki was trying to be a bitch or anything—at least, Ryuko hopes so, anyway. But the reminder of that time just turns and turns Ryuko’s stomach.

She doesn’t let it on.

“Let’s get on with it, then!” she says. “Let’s go change right fuckin’ now.”

“Now?” Satsuki repeats.

“This minute?” Senketsu tries to clarify.

“Right now this minute,” Ryuko insists.

And, okay, maybe she sounds just a little done with them.

But Senketsu and Satsuki agree, however reluctantly.

The three decide to grab lunch at a nearby convenience store, but before they do any of that, they head into the restrooms to change.

Ryuko, for one, is quite glad that no one else is in the facilities when they step inside. Quiet and emptiness meet them in the bathroom (as well as a space that Ryuko has to admit is much cleaner than she would expect from a convenience store).

Ryuko sighs as she enters a stall with Senketsu. Without a word, Satsuki goes into the one right beside her, the door closing with a click.

And Ryuko sighs once more, surrounded by mustard-yellow walls and a gleaming toilet. Though she would never say it out loud—and though she knows she hasn’t even been with Senketsu a year yet—life without him by her side still feels like a gross, distant past, and the thought of walking out of here by herself is… strange.

Uncomfortable.

Ryuko would never say it makes her nervous, though. Never nervous.

Her heart must say otherwise.

“Ryuko…” Senketsu starts, looking up at her with big, concerned eyes.

But Ryuko turns away, pulling him off as aggressively and suddenly as she had the day his memory returned.

She talks fast. “Senketsu,” she groans, “y’know better than to get all chatty in the bathroom. People’ll think we’re doing weird shit in here.”

Senketsu falls to the bathroom floor, leaning up against the wall. “But there’s no one else in here, Ryuko…” he says.

“Whatever!” Ryuko says right back.

She flings open the door and shoos Senketsu out like a little lost child. “Sis,” she says, much more loudly than necessary, “open your door up so Senketsu can get over there.”

Ryuko awkwardly reaches one arm out of her stall, using the other to hold the door close to her (as though to cover herself from anyone who might happen to wander in, but why the hell she gives a shit about modesty anymore is beyond her).

“Also I’m holding my hand out for your clothes,” Ryuko adds. “So, like, just, uh, give ‘em to me, or somethin’.”

“Very well,” Satsuki answers, and very uncomfortably, very ungracefully, she successfully passes her clothes into Ryuko’s hands. (Of course, Satsuki’s prissy ensemble almost falls to the ground what feels like half a dozen times and Ryuko has to stretch her arm out the farthest it’ll go to get to them and there’s a bit of swearing involved, but somehow, they manage.)

And armed with a new outfit, Ryuko retreats back into her stall and locks the door with a frown. Maybe they shouldn’t have done this right now this minute after all. The thought of wearing her sister’s clothes has never seemed so unpleasant—uncomfortable—until she has them in her hands.

“Sats, you dress like such a mom,” Ryuko whines, pulling an ankle-length wrap skirt over herself. Rayon has never felt stranger to her after wearing little but Life Fiber and cotton pajamas for so long.

“And who the hell wears sweaters in the middle of summer?” Ryuko’s barely pulled the cream-colored knit over herself and already she feels hotter than hell.

But Satsuki isn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to Ryuko’s complaints.

“Senketsu, you are lovely,” she says to Senketsu instead. “But I do think I’m a little old for sailor uniforms—don’t you think you are too, Ryuko?”

Ryuko’s frown deepens.

“I suppose you are still in high school…“ Satsuki muses.

Ryuko ties the slick white ribbon on the indigo skirt that now covers her into a sloppy bow. “Yeah, I am,” she grinds out. “So, what?”

Ryuko so doesn’t need this kind of patronizing bullshit right now. She fiddles with her sister’s clothes, trying—and failing—to look somewhat presentable. It’s more than obvious that nothing fits her quite right, and the sweater is the worst offender, hanging off her body loosely and awkwardly, the threads bunching up in a manner that’s way uncomfortable.

Deep inside, a part of Ryuko never even wants to leave this stall.

But she’d never let any of those feelings on.

“Do you not wanna wear Senketsu anymore, huh?” Ryuko finds herself asking. A familiar anger bubbles up inside—the kind that’d bring her to strip down to her underwear and take on a gun-toting, even-more-naked guy with just her fists. “I swear, Satsuki. I don’t care if you’re my sister. If you make Senketsu cry, I’ll—“

“And why would I ever do a thing like that?” Satsuki asks.

“I am not so prone to fits of crying!” Senketsu adds. He sounds so damn defensive that Ryuko doesn’t have to be anywhere near him to know that he’s got that hurt, put-upon look on his face.

Ryuko crosses her arms, leaning up against the mustard-yellow wall. “Hmph, excuuuse me for caring,” she says, feeling damn hot in the face, but Senketsu and Satsuki pay her no mind.

“You are an incredible person, Senketsu,” Satsuki is saying. “And I have been thinking. You are certainly more than a mere sailor uniform, so I know you are capable of looking like more, too.”

Senketsu stutters. “I-I…” he says, and though Ryuko can’t see, she imagines Satsuki giving him one of her uncomfortable, weird-o smiles.

“If we do something like Life Fiber synchronization,” Satsuki goes on, “then I know you can become whatever you like. Whatever suits you.”

“I’ve never done that before,” Senketsu says. His voice trembles in a way that Ryuko has hardly ever heard coming from him, and for some reason, it all makes Ryuko feel like she’s melting even more in this unseasonal sweater.

But she’d never say anything.

“I know you can do it,” Satsuki tells Senketsu. “Let’s try!”

“All right, Satsuki!” Senketsu says.

And before Ryuko knows it, together, as one, Senketsu and Satsuki shout out, “Life Fiber Synchronize!,” their words seeming to echo across the empty, desolate space around them.

And Ryuko sinks down to the bathroom floor (that probably isn’t quite as clean as she thought it was coming in) at the sound, letting her head fall against wall, wishing more than anything to tear this suffocating sweater off.

But she doesn’t.

And they laugh. Senketsu and Satsuki laugh more intensely than Ryuko even thought possible for the two of them.

“You look great!” Satsuki cries, when the laughter falls away. “This is exactly something I would put in my closet. How did you know?”

Senketsu can’t keep the excitement out of his voice. “I just gave it my best!” he says. “I saw what you gave Ryuko, and I thought, “If any ordinary clothes can look like that, then why can’t I?””

The stall beside Ryuko opens with a creak, and Ryuko hears her sister rush out with Senketsu, calling her name with that overeagerness that just serves to make Ryuko feel even surer that she’d love to never leave this stall.

But Satsuki insists. “You must see this,” she says. “Senketsu has done a fantastic job.”

“We did a fantastic job, Satsuki,” Senketsu butts in. “Remember, you are the one wearing me.”

So with a groan and a grumble, Ryuko rises to her feet, brushing down on Satsuki’s skirt and sweater and slowly, embarrassingly opening the stall door to reveal a sight that boggles the mind almost as much as the fact that human evolution was literally a thing just because of clothes aliens that wanted to eat them all.

Because her Senketsu… no longer looks like her Senketsu at all.

The outfit her sister wears before her is entirely foreign. Gone are the midriff-baring top, the suspenders, and mini skirt, replaced with a frilly, baby-blue button-up and a cozy-looking circle skirt in gray.

Ryuko wouldn’t even believe that the sight before her was her Senketsu at all, had she not looked towards the elaborate, floral pattern embellishing Satsuki’s collar and noticed, without a doubt, Senketsu’s warm eyes staring back at her.

She swallows very hard, feeling her face turn very, very red.

Satsuki smiles Ryuko’s way. “You ought to try this yourself sometime,” she says.

But Ryuko can only nod, dully, as Senketsu and Satsuki skitter to the bathroom mirrors and laugh and spin in front of the glass, complimenting each other and gushing about their teamwork.

In her head, Ryuko would admit that, well, okay, sure, maybe it is a bit jarring to hear Senketsu’s voice coming from somewhere other than her.

But she would never, ever admit that what leaves her firmly Not Hungry is the strange smile on her sister’s face and how Senketsu and Satsuki just can’t shut up. They’d gone right back to talking about that damn movie again, blathering on and on about this and that and how romantic!

Ryuko could hurl.

Somehow, though, Ryuko manages to at least nibble on her yakisoba-pan.

Then again, never in her life has convenience-store yakisoba stuffed in a hot dog bun tasted as bad as it does right now, as she sits next to Satsuki and Senketsu in the park and they act like some half-baked love story is worth more than a one-word review that just says, “Sucks.”

‘Course, Ryuko thinks, spending so long chewing the ends of a noodle that it quickly just tastes like mushy nothingness, Senketsu would tell her—all smugly and condescendingly—that it’s better to not eat much of this stuff. Junk food, he’d say. How can you expect to keep up your strength with that?

Least, he would say all that crap, if she were the one wearing him.

Ryuko sighs. It’s still summer and hot and sticky (and she’s still stuck with Satsuki’s sweater), but even she could admit that it’s a fine enough day. The sky is a rich, deep blue, the way the sun filters through the leaves is so picturesque that if Mako had come along she’d beg to take about a hundred photos, and sitting here in the shade surrounded by all this niceness—with a cool breeze fluttering by that should keep her from getting too overheated—would normally be great. Any other day, any other time, Ryuko would love to be where she is, eating cheap-o convenience store food with Senketsu and Satsuki beneath the trees.

But now, well. Now she’s never felt sicker. The yakisoba-pan seems to taunt her with its smell and pitiful, this-stuff-was-made-really-fast appearance, and it’s only when a bit of yakisoba slips from its bun and falls to the ground with a heavy splat that Senketsu and Satsuki take any note of Ryuko at all.

Senketsu looks her up and down at the noise (abruptly cutting off some conversation about space and time and love and who-knows-what).

“Ryuko,” he says, his voice filled with the kind of concern that makes Ryuko feel even more ready to just vomit all over the place, “are you all right? You’ve barely touched your food.”

More yakisoba drips from the bun to the ground, and Ryuko watches it fall, making absolutely no attempt to get it to stop. The cicadas are screaming and flies make their way to the dropped food, and, quietly, Ryuko stands herself up.

“It’s shit,” she says. Her voice is surprisingly calm for how much she wants to scream along with the cicadas, and as she makes her way to the nearest garbage can, she wonders when in the world she got this kind of self-control.

Ryuko stops before the bin. “I don’t want this crap,” she goes on, and without any feeling at all, she watches as the yakisoba-pan falls apart in the trash, the yakisoba spilling every which way, breaking away from the bun.

Ryuko takes her place back on the bench beside Satsuki and Senketsu. Satsuki frowns. Ryuko ignores it.

“I thought you’d like that I’m not eating that stuff,” she says. Ryuko meant to direct the words at Senketsu, but, well, actually, it probably applies to the both of ‘em.

Satsuki really didn’t like hearing about all the Cup Curry Rice and instant miso soup she ate before she lived with the Mankanshokus, after all…

And now, Satsuki just frowns harder—and it’s harder for Ryuko to ignore it—her caterpillar eyebrows furrowed in Concern. “Ryuko,” she starts, “are you—“

“I just wanna head home,” Ryuko blurts out. She supposes it’s true, but that doesn’t stop the blush creeping over her cheeks. “I-I mean,” she stutters, “it’s just been a long day, and I’m, uh, like really tired, and, uh…”

Satsuki stands with a graceful flourish and swish of Senketsu’s now long, gray skirt. “I see,” she says. “I suppose it is getting a bit late. I’d best return Senketsu to you, shouldn’t I?”

Satsuki’s sweater might as well be eating Ryuko alive. “Jesus,” she grumbles, looking away. “Senketsu ain’t fuckin’ mine. I don’t own ‘im. It’s Senketsu’s choice to do whatever he wants.”

Ryuko lets her eyes meet his, for just a moment. “Right, Senketsu?”

Satsuki’s blue top looks very suddenly a bit pink. Ryuko tries very hard to smile, though she’s not really looking at Satsuki and Senketsu anymore, and her effort probably just comes out seeming kinda fucked up and demonic.

“Look,” Ryuko says, standing up again herself, cracking her back as though she’s toootally cool with this whole situation (which she is, of course, definitely, absolutely, why wouldn’t she be?). “You two’re havin’ so much fun, so why don’t you stay with Satsuki for a change, Senketsu?”

The words fall out before Ryuko can even stop herself, and both Senketsu and Satsuki stare at her wide-eyed.

Well, Ryuko would be happy to join her fallen yakisoba and the screaming cicadas right about now.

But she can’t stop it with the incessant, worthless blubbering. “Y-Y’know,” she says, trying very hard—and failing even harder—to hide the twitter in her voice, “I was just thinking about how nice it’d be to spend some time away from obnoxious outfits!”

Satsuki and Senketsu exchange worried glances.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Senketsu asks.

“I don’t need ya babysitting me!” Ryuko says—well, shouts, more like, which just serves to make Satsuki’s frown become even more intense.

Ryuko sighs, and more quietly, more calmly, she adds, “’Sides, you should be askin’ Satsuki if it’s all right, not me.”

So up Senketsu’s eyes go, to his wearer. “Would you mind if I stayed the night with you?” he asks.

“Not at all,” answers Satsuki. “But—“

Ryuko claps her hands together. “Well, I am just so glad we got that figured out!” she says. Her attention falls to the baggy, ill-fitting ensemble dripping off her body. “I’ll return these mom-clothes to ya when we meet up again.”

Satsuki doesn’t even react to Ryuko’s insults. She says, “Are you sure—“

But Ryuko storms away without waiting to hear the rest, waving a hand behind her.

“You guys just have fun,” she says, even as she hears Senketsu call her name and Satsuki mutter something or other that she can’t especially make out.

And, okay, sure. The walk back from downtown has never seemed so long.

Fine. Ryuko would admit that much.

Slouching and dragging her feet along the sidewalk, Ryuko keeps herself distracted by kicking along pebbles and listening for the click, click, clicks as they hop across the pavement. Whenever she loses a pebble to the grass or the streets, she picks out another on her path to hit along instead. Ryuko never seems to hold on to a stone for more than fifteen sidewalk squares, and maybe another time that’d annoy her, but she’s got more than enough eating at her now.

It’s not that she’s jealous, of course, Ryuko thinks. Satsuki just doesn’t know how to wash Senketsu right and ain’t got a clue about how he likes to be ironed and maybe Satsuki would hurt herself wearing Senketsu for so long in that weird state because Senketsu was designed for her after all and she’s just concerned, okay?

Ryuko loses another pebble on her walk. This one can’t even have lasted five sidewalk squares, and she pauses on her way, groaning, trying to find another.

But it seems this sidewalk is fresh out of pebbles, and Ryuko ain’t got anything even close to the patience or energy or care to go pick out the one she lost to the grass.

So she’ll just deal with it, she thinks. If Senketsu and Satsuki come cryin’ back to her in the morning, then she could at least say that they’d tried.

Ryuko almost-smiles at the thought. Things are gonna be okay. It’s not like Senketsu is gonna…

Well, Ryuko doesn’t get the chance to ponder anymore on that. Seemingly out of nowhere, she’s attacked with a loud, energetic, over-peppy shout from none other than Mako Mankanshoku.

“Lady Satsuki!” the girl cries. She promptly throws down the yellow sponge she’d been using to clean the family car and rushes to where Ryuko stands, her arms outstretched for a hug.

“I didn’t know you’d be coming to visit!” Mako goes on, but her smile quickly falls as she gets a better look at the very not-Satsuki Kiryuin with the too-big, uncomfortable clothes and ordinary eyebrows and wild hair that will never sit flat, no matter how hard you might try.

“Oh, it’s you, Ryuko,” Mako says, frowning a bit. “Why’re you all dressed up like Satsuki? Where’s Senketsu?”

Ryuko feels her stomach churn. She barely even ate that yakisoba-pan, but she might just throw it all up right now.

She doesn’t.

“Oh,” she says, trying very hard to sound casual, but Satsuki’s clothes don’t have pockets or even little pouches like Senketsu does, so she can’t oh-so-nonchalantly fiddle with something as though the conversation they’re having is no big deal at all (which it isn’t, of course, why would it be?).

She ends up rolling up the sleeves of Satsuki’s sweater, like she’s getting ready for a fist fight. “Well, Senketsu n’ Satsuki just decided to hang out a little while longer, that’s all,” she explains.  

And Ryuko smiles, sort of, melting in this horrible sweater more than ever.

And Mako’s mouth falls wide open.

“You mean that Satsuki is wearing Senketsu?!” she bursts out. “Are you sure that’s okay, Ryuko?”

Ryuko flushes, turning her head away from Mako. “Why wouldn’t it be?” she asks. “Senketsu is his own person, you know.”

Mako can’t stop looking at her funny, but eventually nods her head sagely. “Okay, Ryuko,” she says, very matter-of-fact, very knowingly. “Your secret is safe with me!” She winks, offering Ryuko a wide-toothed grin, but now it’s Ryuko’s turn to have her own mouth fall open.

“My what now?” she gasps. “Mako, don’t tell me that you still think that Senketsu n’ me—“

“It’s okay, Ryuko!” Mako repeats, patting Ryuko on the back as they walk towards their home. “You don’t have to hide anything from me!”

Ryuko sighs. It’s still one ear and out the other with this family sometimes, but she supposes she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Why don’t I help you with the car?” Ryuko asks, smiling for real now. “It’s… partly my fault that it’s all covered in blood, after all.” (Only partly, though. It’s not her fault that overpass bridges aren’t nearly as high as they should be.)

Mako nods her head eagerly, handing Ryuko an oversized sponge.

Okay, but maybe there’s still something that’s just kinda-sorta odd as hell about changing into pajamas at night and not hearing a peep from Senketsu.

Ryuko steals a glance at the bathroom mirror before going to wash Satsuki’s clothes. Her hair’s just as all-over-the-place as ever, and, feebly, Ryuko brings a hand to her head to push the wild strands down.

It all just fluffs back up again in moments.

Of course.

It’s not like Ryuko would like her hair all flat and silky and refined like Satsuki, though. No way in hell. She’s not that boring, and it’s not her fault if Senketsu’s so boring that he prefers the boring-boringness of Satsuki Kiryuin over her.

Unlike that sister of hers, Ryuko doesn’t have some stick up her ass and isn’t some lame-old fine lady who drinks tea and acts all proper-like and you can tell that even from her hair and…

She’s not jealous, okay?!

Ryuko rushes out from the bathroom with Satsuki’s clothes clutched too tightly in her hands, her fingers digging into the fabric and threads. She scrambles over to the wash tub and throws the garments down more furiously than she should, and fills the basin more viciously than she should, and adds more of Mrs. Mankanshoku’s laundry detergent than she should, and when she goes to scrub out all her sweat and stench, she scrubs much more aggressively than she should, too.

If it were Senketsu she were washing, he’d be screaming and crying at her to “be gentle!” and to “quit it!,” but these clothes say nothing and Ryuko’s just fine with that!

But when Ryuko hangs Satsuki’s too-big, ugly sweater and prissy, ankle-length skirt to dry on the line, and when she heads to bed, there’s an odd sensation that overtakes her, one that she can’t especially explain. It’s a bit out-of-body, a bit surreal, a bit uncomfortable, and when Ryuko pulls her polka-dotted blanket over herself, a part of her hopes that it has only been a dream, this entire atrocity of a day. She’d wake up in the morning and look to the wardrobe and there wouldn’t be an empty hanger anymore and…

And what the hell is her problem, anyway? She’s not five years old anymore, Ryuko tells herself, calling her dad from her dorm every night and twisting that damn phone wire ‘round and ‘round her fingers as he doesn’t pick up. She’s not fifteen anymore, listening to punk-ass bitches she woulda swore were on her side talking shit about her (and going outta her way to break more noses than anyone probably should).

But when Ryuko pulls her sheets completely over her head, to cover herself in total darkness, to hide away from her family and a shadowed wardrobe and abandoned hanger, sleep still only comes to her in short, nightmarish fragments full of Maiko Ogure and Fight Club and dinners all alone.

On July 8th, long before morning, Ryuko wakes with her heart racing and her body slick with sweat, and she sits up quickly, holding a hand over her mouth.

Her pajamas stick uncomfortably to her skin, but it’s not nearly as uncomfortable as the horrible ache in her stomach. That yakisoba-pan’s getting to her, or maybe it’s the Calpis, or the popcorn, but whatever it is, Ryuko needs the toilet.

Now.

She hurries to her feet, careful to step around her family’s sleeping forms as she hops straight to the bathroom, where she promptly throws on the lights and shoves her head over the toilet bowl.

Her mouth falls open. She coughs and gags, and hardly keeps herself quiet. However selfish it is, nothing else matters right now besides getting this shit out of her.

But nothing comes. Ryuko’s stomach feels ready to explode, but nothing comes.

With a groan, she leans away from the bowl, unsure if she should sit around here and wait for the inevitable vomit flood or try to sleep again, but she pauses as she catches her reflection in the water.

She nearly screams, too, when she sees the white gloves that have covered her hands.

“No…” Ryuko mumbles, shooting up to her feet.

But the cracked, murky bathroom mirror confirms everything. Her hair is even wilder than usual, spiking up unnaturally—so much so that no amount of pressing down or water or hell, even gravity could tame it—and it’s streaked with red and blue, adorned with twisted silver that juts out from her scalp.

And it laughs at her. Her entire appearance laughs at her.

“Come on, Ryuko…” her reflection says. It has the most shit-eating grin on its face, and its eyes are wild and manic, the lids painted scarlet. “Did you really think he would want to stick with you?”

It laughs some more, and Ryuko backs away. She leans against the wall, pulling at the blue-edged collar that brushes uncomfortably against her cheeks, but it’s stuck, stitched on, and this time, no amount of tearing or snapping seems to get it to budge.

The expression in the mirror darkens. “You’re so damn annoying,” it says. “Actin’ all high n’ mighty, like you can jus’ get away with anything you want ‘cause you think you deserve it.”

Ryuko stops struggling. Her reflection glowers. “But here’s the thing, princess. You can’t erase what you did.”

It smiles once more, and Junketsu only seems to hold Ryuko tighter, its fabric pulling her so close that it’s suffocating.

And Ryuko can’t say anything, as her reflection laughs in her face, and Junketsu screams, and the white gloves won’t go away.

And she still can’t say anything, as blood covers the mirror and splatters over her, and she sees in the glass the blurry image of Senketsu drenched in red.

And so it is on July 8th that Ryuko really wakes with Senketsu’s name on her lips.

She only barely manages to keep herself from shouting out, clamping a hand over her mouth before she can make any sound at all.

It’s late—or disgustingly early (Ryuko can’t say she can tell). The house is as quiet as it ever gets, filled with only the distant sounds of the screaming cicadas and the gentle rumble of her family’s snores, and it’s so dark that Ryuko can hardly tell that the hanger perched on the wardrobe is empty.

She pulls her hand away from her mouth, staring down at her blanket, ignoring the uncomfortable, too-hot feeling she has on account of her shit sleep tonight and her shit dreams.

And nervously, twittery, Ryuko bunches and bunches her sheets up in her hands, smiling a little, knowing that any other time, Senketsu would tell her to wear his glove “for protection against the nightmares!” right about now, and she’d say back (like always) that he’s being ridiculous and she doesn’t know where he got it in his head to spout out that kinda crap.

But she’d do what he said anyway. Of course she would. Of course she would.

And of course Senketsu would rather be with someone who never betrayed him and treated him well and Senketsu and Satsuki had even come up with Senjin-Shippu together and that’s something she hadn’t considered and it’s not Senketsu’s fault that she’s terrible and he’s tired of putting up with it, right?

Ryuko shakes her head, falling back into bed. No, no, she thinks, Satsuki and Senketsu can’t possibly get along like she and Senketsu can, of course not, no way, Senketsu was made for her after all, isn’t that right, and after those two spend one night together they’ll realize that—

That what?

Ryuko turns over to her side, facing away from the wardrobe and towards Mako, who sleeps just as heavily as usual. Piles of drool puddle up across Mako’s pillow, and normally, any other day, Ryuko would inch away at the sight of all that spit.

But now, tonight, Ryuko is instead filled with a sense of longing. If only she could get some sleep.

And then she just kinda wants to swear at the top of her lungs at the thought.

What the hell is she sittin’ around moping about? It’s not that she’s jealous or anything petty like that and tomorrow everything will return to how it was anyway and besides there are just ways that things should be and Senketsu being with Satsuki all night isn’t how things should be and Ryuko can’t sleep only ‘cause she’s been horribly amused this whole time ‘cause it’s just so damn funny and there’s a natural order to stuff and—

Okay, maybe that’s not the best way to put it.

She’s just—she’s not jealous, right?

Right?

Ryuko turns over once more, back towards the abandoned hanger glistening in the starlight, and no matter how much she tells herself that it’s nothing and she’s fine and it’s not like that (of course it’s not), she can’t sleep for the rest night, tossing and turning even worse than she did right before she first faced Satsuki all decked out in that piece-of-shit Junketsu.

It’s only when streaks of morning punch her in the face that Ryuko thinks back to her dreams and Junketsu and then Senketsu covered in blood that she knows it’s not jealousy at all, what’s kept her up all night.

But the truth certainly doesn’t make her feel any better, and if she could only get some damn sleep, she’d just stay in bed all day.

Easily.

But at 6:17 AM, Ryuko gives it up. She forces herself out from the warmth and comfort of her sheets—‘cause of course Satsuki would be wide awake at that godawful time in the morning—and she punches in the number of Satsuki’s cell on the phone, pulling the cord with her ‘til both she and the phone are outside.

Cool summer air hits Ryuko’s skin and the sound of ringing hits her ear and she shudders at the thought of figuring out what exactly she’s going to say.

Just seein’ if you survived one night of my obnoxious outfit, she thinks. Just checkin’ up to make sure yer not dead.

The more Ryuko considers, the more ridiculous it all sounds.

The more Ryuko thinks about it, the more uncomfortable everything feels.

But Satsuki picks up before long, gigging incessantly. “This is Satsuki,” she says, still laughing. “Hush, Senketsu! It’s important to keep a proper presence on the phone!”

Well, that certainly doesn’t make Ryuko feel any better. She blanches, clutching the phone wire tight.

“You sound well,” Ryuko says, dully. Faintly, Ryuko hears Senketsu laugh, too, and it takes everything she has to hide the hurt in her voice as she adds, “Senketsu sounds great, too.”

“Oh, yes,” says Satsuki, trying—and failing—to keep her tone level and free of giggles. “We are both doing quite well, Ryuko. And how are you?”

Ryuko doesn’t get a chance to really answer (and it’s not like she would want to, anyway). Satsuki seems to turn her full attention to Senketsu right then, and the phone line is filled with incoherent fuzz and split-off conversations and laughter and Ryuko could really be throwing up now, probably?

But she doesn’t.

“Forgive me, Ryuko,” Satsuki eventually says, after an annoyingly-loud throat clearing. “Senketsu would like to talk to you, but I’m not quite sure about the best way to get him to speak over the phone—“

The line fills up once more with laughter. And fuzz. Tons and tons of fuzz.

Ryuko pulls her head away from the speaker, groaning.

“Okay!” Satsuki says soon enough, very loudly, as though she is far away. “I’ve put the phone against Senketsu. Can you hear him?”

Ryuko scowls. “I can just hear you, actually.”

“Very funny, Ryuko,” comes Senketsu. His voice is still a bit fuzzy, but it’s clear enough that Ryuko can tell that he is in high spirits. There’s a bounce in his tone—the kind he gets when he’s being ironed or when they go flying in Senketsu-Shippu.

And Ryuko didn’t even think it was possible at this point, but her own spirits fall below the ground and straight into the Earth’s core at that. She can’t find anything to say back to Senketsu, standing with the old landline phone held up against her face and her fingers nervously twirling and twirling the coiled wire, her whole body burning hot no matter the chill, early-morning summer breeze that can’t stop hitting her.

Senketsu must notice. Of course he does.

“Are you all right, Ryuko?” he asks, all kindness and worry, and Ryuko can only clench her fist around the phone wire at the sound of it.

“’Course I am,” she says, so loudly that she might-probably be bothering the too-close neighbors whose houses are just about rammed up against her own. “In fact, it was so nice to get a break from your annoying ass!”

Ryuko spits onto the ground, scoffing like she’s about to go fight up against the latest competitor ever. “I think you should stay with Satsuki longer!” she says.

Senketsu is quiet. Ryuko’s heart races in her chest. Well, it is nice to get away from how he can read shit like that so easily.

Not like being distanced really stops him, though, and he says, very Concerned, “Ryuko, are you—“

And Ryuko clutches the phone wire so hard she might just have to invest in a new one again.

“I said you should just stay with Satsuki longer, didn’t I?!”

She doesn’t wait to hear anything more. Ryuko busts back into the house, slamming the phone down with a too-loud huff, her face very red and her heart still beating way too quickly.

If this is the way it’s gonna be, she thinks, it’s completely fine! It’s more than fine! She’s just so incredibly, wonderfully fucking fine!

And maybe Ryuko would just simmer in her complete and total fine-ness, but a knock sounds on the door before she even knows it, startling all her thoughts and leaving her suddenly very aware of the fact that she’s breathing hard and fuming after talking with her clothes on the phone at 6:30 in the morning.

But something tells her that the door is for her, so Ryuko makes her way over, giving absolutely no shits about how her hair must be even worse than usual and giving even less shits about how the strands really oughta be stickin’ up in fifty different directions and she also doesn’t give any shits about how she hasn’t changed out of her pajamas and she definitely, absolutely, 100% doesn’t fucking care about the dark circles that must be drooping off her eyes because she slept worse than garbage and would probably just fall over if she weren’t so fine right about now.

So Ryuko opens the door, looking very much like the trash she slept like, only to see none other than Senketsu and Satsuki themselves.

And she promptly slams the door in their faces.

Satsuki wrenches it right back open. Ryuko scowls.

“You really flew all the way over here?” she asks. She tastes the nasty-ass morning breath in her mouth, and she hopes it smells just as bad as it feels. “What the fuck for?”

Well, that makes Satsuki look quite Exasperated. “What for?” she repeats. “Because of this sight before me!” She gestures up and down at Ryuko, her motions uncharacteristically sloppy and frenzied—but completely-characteristically full of Concern.

Ryuko only feels her irritation grow. “Says the one wearing Senketsu around like that in the middle of the street,” she says, dully.

But neither Satsuki nor Senketsu are really paying any attention to her anymore, quite content with talking among themselves as though Ryuko isn’t even there.

“I told you,” Senketsu is saying, his voice obnoxiously matter-of-fact, like his I’m-only-a-year-old ass really knows more than anyone else, “Ryuko needs someone to keep her in check. It was selfish of me to leave her alone all night.”

Satsuki frowns. Ryuko could spontaneously combust. Mako tells her people have done that at her dad’s “hospital” before. It’s possible.

But she doesn’t.

Satsuki says, “Senketsu, but what if it’s simply the stress of—“

And Ryuko can’t take another word. “I am right fucking here,” she says—well, just-about-screams-to-the-heavens, more like. “You wanna say something about my appearance or whatever the hell else, you can say it to my fucking face! Or blow it out your fucking ass!”

And Satsuki raises one of her giant caterpillar-butt eyebrows at Ryuko at that outburst. “Ryuko, as your older sister, I am just concerned—“

And, well, Ryuko doesn’t wait to any more. She slams the door on the two of them (again), fuming. She would have thought that this patronizing crap was behind Satsuki ever since the two of them had figured out their blood connection, but now she’s half-convinced that this shit has just become even worse: it’s gone from just patronizing to the kind of garbage, over-protective, big-sister, patronizing for your own good crap.

And it’s just made even worse when added on to Senketsu’s already worry-warty self.

And it’s only after Ryuko has stood still for a good few seconds that she notices the entire Mankanshoku family behind her.

“Don’t say anything,” she says, and she storms off into the main room before they even have a chance to stop her, as if she could really get away that easily, grimacing as she catches the sight of Satsuki and Senketsu in the window.

Ryuko slams that shut in their faces, too.

Doesn’t stop them from running their mouths, though.

“Senketsu would like to say that he cares about you very much, Ryuko!” Satsuki shouts, her voice just as loud as it had been when she’d spouted out orders from the top of Honnouji Academy. (Her tone is just as irritatingly commandeering and contentious, too.)

“And Satsuki loves you very much herself!” Senketsu adds.

“We’ll be back in the morning!” they shout together, and though Ryuko doesn’t watch, she hears them fly away, chattering among themselves, and she falls back to her sheets at the sound of it, pulling the covers up ‘til her shoulders.

Well, there’s no way she’s going to school today. No way, no way, no way.

But Mako is in the room in only a moment, peering over at Ryuko with big bug eyes. “Ryuuuuko,” she says, leaning over, her hair brushing up against her neck, “we have to get ready to go or we’ll be late again!”

Ryuko pulls the covers completely over. “I’m sick,” she says. She turns the farthest away she can from Mako, scowling to herself.

“Yeah, heartsick!” Mako cries. With a great huff, she pulls Ryuko’s sheets away and scowls a scowl that could rival Ryuko’s own, refusing to let Ryuko grab back her covers (no matter how much Ryuko’s hands reach over to snatch them back from Mako’s grip).

“Ryuko, you can’t cure your heartache moping around here, so stop it! You’re not gonna win the fight for Senketsu’s heart lying around here on the floor all day!”

Well, that brings Ryuko right up to her feet.

“The what?!” she gasps, hardly keeping herself from falling over.

Mako gets very, very close to Ryuko’s face.

“You heard me!” she shouts. “The. Fight. For. Senketsu’s. Heart!”

Ryuko’s mouth falls open. Her face burns.

Mako can’t stop staring at her with starry eyes.

“Two sisters,” Mako says, dreamily, “torn apart by love! What tragedy! What horror!”

Ryuko could die.

She doesn’t.

“Okay, first of all, there is nothing appealing about that kinda situation,” Ryuko manages to say. “But you’re misunderstandin’ again. It’s not—“

“You don’t have to lie to me, Ryuko!” Mako cries. She drapes a dramatic arm across her forehead, shutting her eyes and leaning over as though the weight of what’s going on is too much to handle.

“I see the way you look at Senketsu!” she says. “I see—“

And Ryuko promptly snatches her blanket back from the distracted Mako and pushes herself right back under them. “I’msickandstayinginbed,” she says, but Mako lifts her up as though she’s nothing, the covers falling away.

“W-what are you doing?!” Ryuko blubbers. She struggles to break free, but Mako’s grip doesn’t let up one bit.

“I’m rooting for you!” Mako declares. “You are going to win this war! I’ll make sure of it!”

Mako brings Ryuko right into the bathroom and plops her flat down onto a chair that seems to have come from nowhere because Ryuko is sure it wasn’t there last night and she’s slept like shit and—

God, all she wants right now is just to sleep.

Ryuko sighs (for what feels like the millionth time in the last 24 hours). “Look,” she starts to say, but she stops pretty abruptly when she catches sight of her reflection in the mirror.

Oh, she thinks. She does look horrible. For real.

Her hair is sticking up in every direction, defying all logic, reason, and, well, that gravity thing. It seems more than impossible to have just woken up like that, but there her hair hangs above her, a frizzy, wild mass of human and Life Fiber and…

Right. Maybe it’s not so weird, being what she is.

Ryuko turns away, quiet. There’s only so much lookin’ at herself that she can stand, especially when her pajamas are crinkled and too tight and falling off at the same time and her face is all red and her eyes are all bloodshot like she’s been crying but she hasn’t been cryin’ not a bit not even a little she hasn’t she—

And Ryuko is quite quickly forced to notice that Mako’s taken a wet brush to her hair. She gasps suddenly, breaking herself away from her thoughts, grimacing as cold water drips down her neck and forehead.

“…and once Senketsu sees how popular you are,” Mako is saying, and Ryuko realizes all at once that she hasn’t heard a word of whatever the heck Mako had been goin’ on about up to this point, “he’ll see just what he’s missing and come running right back! He’ll see that he’s your uniform and only yours!”

“But he’s not,” Ryuko says. The words come out much calmer than she had expected, and even she is surprised by the composed tone she’s taken on. “He’s not mine. He can do whatever he wants…”

Mako pauses in her furious brushing of Ryuko’s hair. “And date anyone he wants?” she asks. “Look deep inside yourself, Ryuko! You don’t want Senketsu with anyone but you and you know it! You have to fight!”

Ryuko feels her hair deflate—and not from Mako’s brushing “Why would I have to do that?” she asks. “It’s his life.”

“But what about your life?!” Mako cries. She stands before Ryuko, placing her hands firmly on Ryuko’s shoulders, squeezing, tight. “Ryuko, you deserve happiness with Senketsu!”

Ryuko pushes Mako’s hands away, her touch gentle. “You’re still misunderstanding,” she says, and then she smiles a little, as much as she can. “Senketsu and I aren’t like that at all.”

“But—“ Mako tries, her eyes very wide, but Ryuko squeezes Mako’s hands now, and the girl quiets.

“We’re not like that,” Ryuko repeats. She stands, and Mako doesn’t try to stop her as she leaves the bathroom, her hair dripping icy water that falls to the floor and across her pajama top, and as she prepares herself for the day.

She’s fine, Ryuko tells herself. There’s no reason to stay in bed. She and Senketsu aren’t anything like that at all, so what reason is there to be upset? To sit around mopin’ all day?

None. No reason at all!

So why is it, Ryuko thinks, as she sits in class that day, and hastily finishes her homework, and unenthusiastically jams food into her mouth at lunch, that she can’t stop thinking of him? Why is it that every classmate that passes her by reminds her of him, and his stupid comfortable fabric, and reminds her of how he isn’t there to talk with her anymore, and to tell her to calm down, and—

Mako’s gasp breaks through Ryuko’s thoughts. It takes Ryuko a moment to realize that the hamburger steak between her chopsticks had fallen right to the ground.

“How horrible!” Mako cries. She frowns at Ryuko, her expression very serious. “Ryuko, you have got to talk to Senketsu!” she pleads. “Otherwise, there will be more unnecessary food death!”

Ryuko scoffs. “Food death?” she repeats. “Aren’t you just going to eat that anyway?”

Mako already has the fallen bit of steak in her hand, and she turns a bit red at Ryuko’s accusation. “T-that doesn’t matter!” she insists, jamming the hamburger steak into her mouth. “You still have to talk to Senketsu!”

“I’m glad to get a break from that obnoxious know-it-all,” Ryuko answers, just as she has been this whole time, poking chopsticks into her smiling tako sausage, but she drops some lettuce and tomato to the ground before lunch is over, and she can’t pay any attention at all to her afternoon classes, no matter how much she knows she ought to be thinking about end-of-term exams.

On July 8th, Mrs. Mankanshoku prepares a bath for Ryuko after dinner, just as she always does.

“Take as long as you like, dear,” she says, extra sweetly, more so than usual, and Ryuko tries very hard to hide her embarrassment.

She just wasn’t hungry, she wants to say. That’s the only reason why she just pecked at her food more than she ate it.

But Ryuko still spends an extra-extra-long time in the bath, drenching herself in the horrible, wonderful stench of cucumber and vanilla, trying to let herself believe that it’d be enough to make her feel better, and to quell her fears, and to allow her to imagine, just for a moment, that she is not alone.

And maybe it would have worked, if Mako hadn’t caught Ryuko returning Mrs. Mankanshoku’s homemade laundry detergent to its proper place.

Mako looks Ryuko up and down then, her eyes catching on Ryuko’s wet hair and the detergent pail still clutched in her hands.

“Ryuko,” she says, very slowly. “What were you doing?”

“Taking a bath,” Ryuko answers. Her grip around the detergent pail tightens. She feels very hot.

Very uncomfortable.

“With Mom’s laundry detergent?” Mako asks. She frowns, only for her eyes to get so big that Ryuko becomes half-convinced that they’ll bug right outta her face.

“Oh. My. God!” Mako cries. She gets very close to Ryuko’s face, that bug-eyed look still very much staying put. “Your love for Senketsu is so strong, you even want to smell like him! How romantic!

Mako’s expression darkens. “How tragic!”

And Ryuko is so exhausted and overwhelmed that she can’t find it in her to even be surprised or offended at Mako’s outburst.

She just stands very still, her hair dripping, her grip on the laundry detergent slipping.

What was she even doing?

Mako takes a hold of Ryuko’s free hand. “Ryuko,” she says, “you have got to fight! Fight for your love!”

Somehow, Ryuko manages to shake her head. “You’ve got it all wrong,” she tells Mako, for what must be the umpteenth time. “It’s just, I’m… I’m part-clothes, right? So who says I even can love, huh? And-and, who says I should even use human stuff in my baths, huh? Maybe I shoulda been usin’ laundry detergent my whole damn—“

And Mako quite abruptly takes Ryuko by the shoulders. “Do you want me to iron you now, too?!” she cries. She’s got a wild, almost manic look to her now, her big brown eyes wider than ever. “Ryuko, listen to yourself! You can’t replace Senketsu by being him! You are Ryuko! You aren’t Senketsu! You have to fight, fight, fight!”

Ryuko looks away. “Fight for what?” she asks.

And Mako looks more than ready to spout on and on about that, but Ryuko’s grip on the laundry detergent just so happens to slip completely right then, and the pail falls to the ground, dumping laundry powder all over the floor.

“Shit,” Ryuko says at the sight, and she groans, and she falls to the ground herself, to pick up the mess she made, but something about that damn tipped-over, rejected laundry detergent pail and the scattered powder brings a sob to her throat, and she clasps a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out.

Mako softens at the sight, not even hesitating to crouch down beside Ryuko, wrapping gentle arms around her.

“Ryuko,” she says, and there is none of the dramatic flair or fighting spirit in her tone any longer, “you have to talk to him.”

Ryuko dully nods her head. She swallows back her tears, calms her breathing. “Yeah,” she says, quietly. “Yeah. You’re right.”

And shyly, she brings her own arms around Mako, and returns the hug.

It’s not until the late evening that Ryuko sums up the courage to call Senketsu, and she stands a long moment before the phone, her hair now dried, the stench of cucumber and vanilla filling her ‘til she feels sick.

Mako gives her two thumbs up. Ryuko takes a deep breath, reaching her hand for the phone…

And the phone promptly rings as soon as her skin makes contact with the cheap plastic.

Ryuko picks it up, hesitantly. Mako scurries away with a grin.

“Hello?”

There’s silence, and then, quietly, “Ryuko.”

Senketsu. Ryuko can’t help herself. She freezes up at the sound, twirling the phone wire in her fingers.

“Senketsu,” she says, “I…”

She doesn’t know what to say. Ryuko swallows, shuts her eyes. It’s so much different over the phone. She just wishes… she just wishes…

“I’m worried about you,” Senketsu says for Ryuko, filling the space. “Satsuki is, too. We’re going to come over in the morning.”

Ryuko manages a laugh. She acts like it’s a surprise, like she hadn’t heard them declare that they were coming back just this morning.

“Again?” she asks. “You were just here!” She tries to force another one of her lies, that she’d hoped they’d stay away a little while longer no matter what they’d said before, because she was just starting to get used to all the peace and quiet she got without his annoying ass around.

But Ryuko can’t do it anymore, and she’s silent, her mouth dry.

“We have… something to tell you,” Senketsu says, and Ryuko doesn’t get any time to react to that as he shouts a hasty, “Goodbye!” and the line goes dead.

Ryuko takes a long moment before she puts down the phone, and when she finally forces herself to, she does it slowly, quietly, standing horribly still.

It’s only when she sees Mako in the corner of her eye that she grits her teeth together, her hands folding into fists.

“Well,” Ryuko says, much more loudly than needed, “if there was a fight here, I sure got my ass handed to me!”

Mako’s smile falls, and she is uncharacteristically quiet, and she stays that way as they prepare themselves for bed—for sleep that Ryuko knows will never come.

Something to tell you, she thinks.

So, it’s true after all.

Morning takes too long to come.

Ryuko rises as soon as she sees the first glimmers of light, stepping quietly outside to watch the sunrise.

She pushes away the thoughts of Senketsu watching the sunrise with her when she couldn’t get any rest.

She pushes away the thoughts of wearing his glove to bed.

She pushes away the thoughts of sleeping with her hand over her heart, to keep that worry wart satisfied with the sound of her heart.

Ryuko absolutely, positively, most-definitely does not think about any of that shit as scarlet and orange and dandelion-yellow light up the sky, so she doesn’t know why her face is wet when she comes back into the house and why her insides are so twisted up with her real issue here that she can barely breathe.

She wipes her face as quickly as she can muster when she sees Mako already awake.

“You’re up early,” she blubbers, as nonchalantly as she can (which is about as “nonchalant” as a Mako ten centimeters away from an all-you-can-eat buffet).

Mako pays Ryuko’s tone no mind, though. “Of course I’m up, silly!” she says. She seems to want to be whispering ‘cause the rest of her family’s still asleep, but there’s a kind of bubbly excitement in her that has it so she’s just-about shouting. “I have to help you get prettied up!”

“Prettied up?” Ryuko repeats.

“Of. Course!” Mako cries. She takes her hands from behind her back, revealing one of the new frilly outfits she’d gotten on one of their shopping trips.

Mako shakes the fabric with a grin, and Ryuko doesn’t have the chance to say or do anything as Mako grabs her by the hand and rushes her to the bathroom with an over-eager, “Come on!”

Ryuko only manages to escape Mako’s makeover to open the door for Satsuki and Senketsu, but by that time, it’s already too late. Her hair is tied back into two girlish pigtails, and to make her even more of an eyesore, they’re all held up by pink ribbons that match the oversized bows on the frilly, ruffly, pink-and-purple dress drenched in lace that Mako had begged her to put on.

Her entire ensemble also matches her bubblegum-pink lipstick.

“You’re going to wear clothes so cute that Senketsu’ll be green with envy!” Mako had said. “And the rest of you will be even cuter! He won’t be able to resist!”

And, well, Ryuko thinks she must actually look like some ridiculous cosplayer who’s lost her way to her convention—and she’s probably a million times more uncomfortable than a girl in that situation, too—but she pulls open the door for Satsuki and Senketsu in the ridiculous get-up all the same. (And tries very hard to ignore their wide-eyed stares.)

“So, what’s so important that you had to come all the way over here to tell me about?” Ryuko asks, as casually as she can muster, but she knows that she can only sound so casual when she’s wearing an outfit and makeup more fit for a magical girl anime than reality.

And she can only be so casual when she knows that Senketsu has decided to leave her for Satsuki.

For good.

She clenches her fist at the thought.

Satsuki can’t stop with the staring. Neither can Senketsu. He’s a navy blue dress today, not too unlike his usual self (though, being on Satsuki, his fabric falls to her ankles, of course), and his eyes rest on a red scarf that Satsuki has tied around her head as a headband.

“Well, Ryuko,” Satsuki eventually manages to say, averting her eyes oddly, “I think… Senketsu would like to sit down, for this.”

“Well, Senketsu can tell me that himself, can’t he?” Ryuko asks in a huff, but she softens a bit as Satsuki holds out a bag for her.

“I know it’s a bit early,” Satsuki says, “but I made these for you earlier this morning. I hope you like them, and that they’re still warm.”

Ryuko takes the gift with a heavy heart. A consolation prize, huh?

Part of Ryuko wants to be angry at the gesture, but she only feels a mixture of guilt and pity and shame when Satsuki explains, “It’s nothing much, but I thought you would like some homemade yakisoba-pan after the other day.”

Ryuko swallows the lump in her throat as she peers inside and sees the neatest fucking yakisoba-pan she has ever seen—with yakisoba so damn perfectly kept inside the bun!—all enclosed in cutesy-pink food storage boxes that Ryuko would have never, ever fathomed her sister having.

“Thanks, Sis,” she manages to say, and she lets them in, prompting an overly-excited Mrs. Mankanshoku to make them all some tea.

But Senketsu is quick to drop the news before any tea arrives and before Ryuko even has a chance to open up the yakisoba-pan, running his mouth almost as soon as they sit at the table.

“Ryuko,” he says, all nervousness and anticipation and quiet enthusiasm, Ryuko trembling horribly at all of it, hardly even able to breathe, “Satsuki and I wanted to tell you that…”

Senketsu looks up at Satsuki before he goes on. Ryuko is so uncomfortable she can barely believe her Life Fiber-infused heart hasn’t just given up by now.

But it clearly hasn’t, and Satsuki nods her head, and together, she and Senketsu look right at Ryuko as they say, quite matter-of-fact, “We’re dating now.”

And, well, Ryuko is quite silent for a long, long moment.

Satsuki’s cheeks flush. Senketsu sweats.

And then, without any warning at all, Ryuko breaks out laughing.

She doesn’t even know how she has it in her to get such a bombastic sound out of herself on account of her shit sleeping for the last two days, but somehow, loud, shrill laughter pours out of Ryuko, and she pounds her hand on the table, blinking tears from her eyes.

“I don’t see what is so funny,” Satsuki says, sounding hurt.

But Ryuko just keeps laughing through it. “Okay,” she says, amidst giggles, “you’re tellin’ me that-that…” She pauses, more and more laughter spilling from her lips, her chest aching as she wheezes and gasps for air.

“You’re tellin’ me that,” she tries again, still spluttering out laughter, still hardly able to breathe, “that-that-that Satsuki Kiryuin—Satsuki motherfucking Kiryuin—is dating—dating—my Senketsu? That Satsuki Kiryuin and—“

But, well, Ryuko can’t quite go on after that.

That’s right, she thinks. Not her Senketsu. Not anymore.

Ryuko grits her teeth together. She laughs again, but it’s no longer the kind that’s for something funny.

“So, it’s true, huh?” she asks. “You’re-you’re really… pushing me out, huh? Don’t wanna be my uniform anymore, huh?”

Somehow, Ryuko gets up to smiling so hard that her face hurts. “Well, it’s about time!” she says. She leans back, crosses her arms as coolly as she can. “Being my uniform must blow! And-and, I was just thinkin’ ‘bout how nice it was—“

“Ryuko.” It’s Senketsu, his voice carrying none of his annoying, know-it-all sassiness, instead full of sappy, feel-good goo that makes Ryuko feel a million, trillion times worse. Senketsu wouldn’t bother to be an asshole when he’s dumping her ass, of all times he should be an asshole?

She’s just about ready to call him the biggest dick in the world, but Senketsu speaks first, his voice far too gentle, too kind.

“Is that what this is all about?” he asks. “You think I would abandon you?” A bit of laughter comes over him. “After all we’ve been through, Ryuko? Why in the world would I leave you now?”

“Because you’re an obnoxious outfit and it took ya this long to get it through yer head that you shouldn’t bother with someone like me,” Ryuko says—mumbles more like—her face very red, her fake-ass smile long gone, and her eyes very sore.

She fiddles with the ends of the pink ribbon on her frilly bodice, keeping her eyes fixed on the stupid thing. “But it still took ya less time than my dad, so I guess you’re not that out of your mind.”

“Ryuko.” Senketsu has gone right into a somber sort of Seriousness, and it makes Ryuko’s stomach turn and turn. “I would never, ever leave you,” he says. “You know that, right?”

Ryuko is silent. Senketsu sighs.

“Ryuko, Satsuki is my girlfriend, but you—you’re my soulmate.”

Ryuko looks up to see Satsuki nodding her head. “I couldn’t keep the two of you apart if I tried,” she says, with a wink. “You’re “two in one,” remember?”

Ryuko looks away, but even she can’t help the small smile coming over her. “Is-is that so?” she asks.

“It is,” says Senketsu. “Now, why don’t you take that ridiculous outfit off and put me on instead? I can be anything you’d like!”

He looks towards the bag Ryuko’s left on the table. “And you should make it quick! Before the yakisoba-pan get cold!”

“This coming from you?” Ryuko wants to say, but she doesn’t, her entire being overwhelmed with something so strange and new and different that she can’t speak.

But it’s not uncomfortable. None of this is uncomfortable at all.

And okay, maybe Ryuko smiles just a bit and is just a bit glad when Satsuki’s scarf comes her way, and she brings him into her arms, and she wraps him around her neck, just like they’d done when she had sworn on everything that she would bring him back if it were the last thing she ever did.

And when Ryuko finally returns her sister’s clothes, and goes to come back into her own, she thinks that someday soon, she will be too old for sailor uniforms, and Senketsu will be too old to be sailor uniforms, too.

But right now, on the brisk, balmy morning of July 9th, Ryuko is still in high school, and still a teenage girl, and she thinks, she’s going to enjoy that for as long as she can.

And she’s glad, and satisfied, and so damn comfortable, that she doesn’t have to say a word to Senketsu about any of it, as he comes to her, and she comes to him, just as they always had.

#Anonymous #kill la kill #ryuko matoi #senketsu #satsuki kiryuin #mako mankanshoku #writing #strings and threads #replies #goop fic #klk fic #i am so sorry this is literally 2 months old #but i was taking 5ever to finish writing this thing ^^; #i tried to write something 'fun' but... #i don't know how well i succeeded at that ^^; #my brother was like #'if you wanted it to be 'fun' you shouldn't have written it from ryuko's pov' #and like #yeahhh #probably... #anyway #i am feeling so sad rn #because i just told my boss to take me off a work assignment because i know i'm not capable of doing it #and i know it was the right thing to do but... #i just feel so bad #especially because i shoved that awful assignment on one of my coworkers now #so here's a 'fun' fic that i hope is maybe-kinda feel-good... #also senketsu and satsuki's comments are taken like directly from neil degrasse tyson tweets lol #also public restrooms in japan have stalls that go -all the way to the floor- #which is why i had to write that scene in the bathroom that way