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lovelyirony · 3 years

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@unfortunatelyevent a late birthday gift for you! special thanks to ava and peachy for giving me this idea :)

When Rhodey got accepted into MIT, he was fifteen, set to turn sixteen when he went there. His family held parties for it, his mama cried, and his dad called about every friend that he’d ever made to tell them the news that his boy was going to MIT.

Outwardly, you couldn’t tell that he was fazed by anything. He got registered for classes, signed up for a random roommate, and kept track of getting his textbooks. His dad bought him a crewneck, told him to start saving up for “the brass rat” ring, and said that he was so excited to help him move in.

Rhodey’s terrified. He doesn’t get sleep, has recurring nightmares about failing out, and he’s much younger than everyone else.

“You’re only two years younger, honey,” Mama says, her hand brushing away flour on his face as he helps her bake cookies. “It’s not gonna be that bad.”

It’s that bad.

Everyone knows more than him, no one talks to him, and he’s nervous as all hell.

He cries for two hours when his parents and his sister leave, telling him to remember to call or write. He thinks that’s the only thing that’ll keep him sane.

He’s one of the younger ones in his engineering class, and someone asked him why he’s taking such hard classes.

“Because this is...my major?” Rhodey answers, confusion written all over him.

“Oh, we thought you played basketball or something,” the other guy says, as if that’s all he can do.

Rhodey doesn’t say anything, doesn’t want them to know how much it burns to hear that, so he just nods and says his coordination is shit.

His roommate also hasn’t moved in yet. Or he has. He has. His name is Anthony, but Rhodey literally never sees him except for when he’s a blanket-burrito in his bed or when he traipses in from spending all night at a frat party or studying at the library.

They say hi to each other. Rhodey asks how things were. “Fine” is the usual response, followed by “I’m gonna go to bed.”

He’s never felt more alone.

He tries not to call his parents often. A lot of people get home-sick, right? But he doesn’t think that anyone else wants to call their parents every single day.

“So, what fun things have you been up to?” Dad asks over the phone. “My boy been partying out all night?”

“I’ve just been focusing on studying,” Rhodey mumbles. “Not a lot of time for parties.”

“Your roommate okay?” Mama asks. “What’s his name again...Anthony?”

“Yeah, he’s alright. I don’t see him much, he stays out late a lot.”

“Even on school nights?”

“Even then, mama,” Rhodey says. “Listen, I gotta head to lunch, but I’ll call you later this week?”

“Be sure it’s not on Friday, we’re headed to Jeanette’s band concert! We love you, Jim!”

“Love you too!” he responds, hoping to god they can’t tell how sad he is when their phone calls cut off. He misses his home, misses waking up to the smell of bacon and eggs in the morning, his mom kissing everyone’s foreheads as they rush out of the house to school or work.

He hates it here.

But he can’t leave.

His chest gets tight when he imagines calling his parents or telling them at a holiday party that he doesn’t want to go there anymore, he’s not ready.

Would his scholarship be guaranteed two years later? No. They would ask him why and he can’t tell them the real reason why. He can keep up with schoolwork no problem. In fact, that’s the least of his worries.

It’s just so goddamned lonely. His roommate isn’t anywhere, no one talks to him, and he doesn’t know anyone in Boston.

He walks back into the room, and Anthony’s sitting on his bed. It’s the first time he’s actually seen him.

His hair is everywhere, he’s looking at Rhodey for the first time and he looks so young. Just like him.

“Are you eighteen?” he blurts out. “You really don’t look like it.”

“I’m, um, sixteen,” Rhodey says. “And you...?”

“Fifteen,” he says quietly.

“You’re fifteen and you’ve been out every night?!”

“I’m mostly at the library!” Anthony defends. “Friday is for the partying, but mostly the library!”

“That’s good to know,” Rhodey says faintly.

“And you’re in college, why aren’t you going to parties with me?” Anthony asks.

“I don’t have time, Anthony!”

“No,” he says. “You are not calling me Anthony, that’s so stupid. Call me Tony, everyone does.”

“You know a lot of people at this school?”

“More like they know me,” Tony says with a shrug.

“How so?”

“What, you haven’t seen my dad on magazine covers or anything?”

“Uh...am I supposed to?” Rhodey asks. “He an actor or something?”

Tony snorts, pulling out a magazine that he’d obviously nabbed earlier on.

On the cover is Howard Stark.

Rhodey looks between Tony and the face on the cover.

“Oh. Shit.”

Tony cackles.

“Rhodey, I think I’m going to like you. How’d you get that nickname?”

“Wouldn’t stop following my older cousins around, they nicknamed me that as word-play off of ‘roadie’.”

Tony snorts.

“That’s so lame. I love it. Hey, listen. I gotta go get a book for one of my projects, you wanna come with me? I know that one of your classes needs a book, right?”

“Yeah, my writing class. Wants some biography.”

“Come on, let’s go.”

Tony...he’s a good conversationalist. For once since he’s gotten here, Rhodey isn’t letting the impending panic of being alone consume him. He walks easily instead of nearly on his toes around campus, and his eyes aren’t darting everywhere as Tony tells him about something stupid that happened in his early morning class.

“You know who you’re doing your biography assignment on?”

“Has to be someone who’s had a profound effect on your life. I don’t know who.”

“Scientist or what? What are you studying?”

“Aerospace engineering.”

“Holy shit, you’re smart,” Tony swears.

“Says the son of a genius billionaire.”

“Yeah but I don’t touch aerospace with a sixty foot pole,” Tony says. “Jesus, you’re incredible. How did you even know you wanted to do this?”

“I’ve always liked the myths and stuff behind space, and I liked how we discovered more and more over time,” Rhodey says. “The moon was cool as shit.”

“Or was it...faked?”

Rhodey shoots him a look, and Tony’s cackling.

“You did not.”

“Who knows? I come from a very rich families. Rich families buy politicians and also cover up every single scandal. Who knows what I know?”

Rhodey looks over at him, eyebrows raised.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Oh my dear,” Tony says, holding a hand to his chest. “You have so much more to learn about your new friend.”

Friend.

That makes him feel better.

He finds a book on Humphrey Bogart.

Bogart has not had a profound effect on his life at all. Ever. He’s never even seen a movie with the guy in it, although it’s the only book that he can find that looks remotely interesting and the library is about to close.

He reads about Bogart quite often. The guy’s...something. Grew up high society, his parents sucked, the typical Hollywood story.

Although he said exactly what was on his mind, which made him popular with the press and unpopular in the business.

It’s intriguing.

It kind of reminds him of Tony, honestly.

The paper itself isn’t due until the semester is over, and the book is over three hundred pages, so he has time to read it.

Tony and him become...closer. Tony hangs around the room more, and Rhodey stops being so lonely, although he still misses Philadelphia badly and calls his parents every week and occasionally talks to his sister.

He always gets a strange look from his roommate, but it never lasts for very long.

Finally, he gets a question from him.

“Why do you always call your parents?”

Rhodey looks at him in surprise.

“I...miss them?”

“Why?”

“They’re my parents. I love them. What, do you not like your parents?”

Tony blinks.

“Uh, no I love them. I guess. They’re just...busy a lot.”

Rhodey doesn’t say anything to that, doesn’t have time as Tony charges forth and asks if he wants to help him present a rocket for one of his clubs.

Halloween comes upon them quickly, and Rhodey has a gigantic test to study for the night of. Tony’s been trying to convince him to come to a costume party with him for the better part of a week, and he was so close until the professor sent out a letter that essentially said, “Surprise! Oops!”

So Tony does something unanticipated: he stays home.

Tony, the life of the party who wouldn’t miss one for the world. Tony, the one who has been talking about how much he loves Halloween parties. He misses it.

“Like you said, I probably don’t need to be at parties all the time,” Tony says. “And I can make you watch Dracula with me. You’re gonna like Lugosi.”

“Who the hell is Lugosi?”

“Oh my god, I’m making you do a monster-movie-marathon. I’ll rent every movie I can find.”

Rhodey shakes his head.

“Okay, but I probably won’t be paying attention tonight. I have to know the difference between a robust and gracile australopithecine.”

“One begins with ‘r’ and one begins with ‘g’, now come on and make the popcorn.”

Tony’s...the best part about him is that he’s himself. He’s loud and sometimes annoying and by god sometimes Rhodey wants to launch him out of a window, but Tony’s also incredibly kind and far more insightful than he ever wants to admit.

They fall asleep surrounded by candy wrappers and a blanket that was definitely too small slung over (mostly) Rhodey.

They get into a good routine, Tony and Rhodey. Rhodey brews the coffee, and Tony doctors it to his heart’s content. It involves a lot of syrups, creams, and sugars. The occasional terrible one, although everyone in Rhodey’s morning lab are jealous when they can smell his coffee.

They go to lunch together, and Rhodey gets the salads and fruits while Tony gets the slices of pizza or hamburgers that they’re so fond of. They argue about philosophy and call each other idiots while stealing the popcorn chicken off of each other’s plates and coexist peacefully.

It’s not until Tony has to leave for some conference that his parents want him at that Rhodey realizes just how much Tony has affected his life. He makes two coffees, almost calls out and asks if they’re still going to get takeout from that should-be-shut-down pizza parlor five blocks off, and realizes he’s all alone.

Again.

So he reads about Humphrey Bogart.

He’s kind of annoying, all things considered. Guy got steady work being the villain/bad-guy type and wants more. It’s steady, what more is there to want?

(His mind whispers that he just views it that way because he has no idea what he’s going to be doing in the future.)

Back to Bogart.

The guy is...kind of interesting. Kind of. He’s still not sure what he has in common with him. He’ll figure it out later. Maybe he can ask Tony for help.

Tony comes back in a whirlwind of emotion, almost all of it rage at his father.

Rhodey sends him a look.

“Shut up about how much your dad sucks and come with me to get food for the week. I had to survive off of hummus.”

“My hummus?!” Tony shrieks. “The garlic?!”

“Yes, I’ll get you more you gigantic baby,” Rhodey says. “Also, what do you think Humphrey Bogart and I have in common?”

“An h, an o, an e, and a y,” Tony answers quickly.

“Besides the letters,” Rhodey scowls.

“Well I’d say you go to different barbers.”

“No shit.”

Tony looks at him, and really looks at him. Rhodey tries to forget how much he loves his eyes, the kindness that’s in them.

"You both like important things,” Tony says. “And you commit to something when you decide you’re going to do it. Just think of the Great Burrito Event of ‘89.”

“We’re still in ‘89, genius.”

“Exactly, still important and still making history as we’re currently living it a day at a time,” Tony says. “Now come on, I need more hummus since you were a monster and attacked the fridge. What, you wanted to be Godzilla for a day?”

"Not Godzilla, just have a power dynamic. Come on, grab the keys. Missed you this weekend.”

“Aw, you do care!” Tony cheers.

“I always care about you,” Rhodey answers.

He misses Tony stilling at the door, feeling the words circle his head like a damned message from Cupid.

(Yeah, he was going to marry Rhodey.)

The holiday season and finals season coexist, which Rhodey thinks is a cruel joke played by God in order to let mortals know where their influence lies.

He’s currently on his fifth cup of coffee in five hours which is most likely dangerous, unsure of if he’s actually seeing the correct numbers on his study guide, and about to blow a gasket if he looks at one more problem. But he has to.

Tony doesn’t study.

He’s of the rare sort that just...remembers, at least when it comes to his important classes. Out of everything he’s had to study, Tony actually had to study something about wine cellars in France, which he hated.

“I’m making you come with me to get ice cream.”

“I don’t have time.”

He’s about to tear his hair out. Everything is riding on these exams, it seems. If he doesn’t do well on these, what are Mama and Dad gonna say when he comes home? What are they going to tell people? He made it to MIT, but he has to make it count.

Tony is looking at him in that way that lets him know that he will get his way.

“You’ve been studying for six hours straight. You’re not gonna learn anything new, and you’re about to cry because you hate stats so much.”

“You’re wrong.”

“You literally have a tear streaming down your face,” Tony deadpans. He crosses the room, wipes it away with his thumb. “Your coat is at the table towards the front, I’m giving you five minutes. And for the love of god, please put on your cologne. You smell like anxiety and anger.”

“Those have scents?”

“Apparently so.”

The cold breeze is a refreshing slap to the face as he walks, hat tugged low.

“It’s cold enough, why do you need ice cream?” Rhodey asks, teeth chattering.

“Never too cold for ice cream.”

“Says the boy who vacations in Malibu for Christmas.”

“Told you that you could come. Not like Howard would notice.”

“I’d rather not take that chance. Besides, I’d miss a Philadelphia Christmas.”

“That a movie or something?”

“No, it’s where I live you son of a bitch,” Rhodey teases.

“I hate you,” Tony says, no real heat clipped to his tone. It’s a back-and-forth they have, all this name-calling and accusatory behavior. “I’m going to request a new roommate next year.”

“Like they’d stick you with anyone else. Or would anyone else cover for the seven fires you’ve nearly started this year?”

“Six out of seven wouldn’t have been fires.”

“They would’ve.”

“Says the man who doesn’t work at all with fire, but with graph paper. Do want your Christmas gift to be a pocket-protector, by the way?”

“Oh fuck you.”

“You wish,” Tony says, winking.

He gets peanut butter chocolate.

When they get home, he makes a bowl for Rhodey.

“Your tests aren’t until noon tomorrow. Get some sleep, babe.”

“And what, you’re going to get some too, honey?”

(Pet names are also a thing. And also more favorable to both, although neither knows the other’s thoughts on this subject.)

Tony grins.

“You want both of us to sleep?”

Rhodey and Tony have figured out a nifty trick: soap operas or Seinfeld. Whichever one is on, they’ll watch that and fall asleep on the futon, which should be as uncomfortable as any futon is.

(They both think the temporary backaches are worth it to be in each other’s arms.)

Tony drifts to sleep, although he makes sure that Rhodey’s first. He pulls him over to his side, head resting on his thigh.

“You this forward with every guy you bring home?”

"Only the cute ones,” Tony grins. “Come on, get comfy. You’re gonna get sleepy.”

“Like hell I am,” Rhodey says. “You’re gonna fall asleep...first.”

Rhodey falls asleep first. Mouth slightly agape, eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks.

“Like hell you are,” Tony murmurs, adjusting the blankets. (They’ve upgraded to fancy hotel ones that Tony may or may not have stolen.)

Rhodey will be okay. He just has to convince himself first.

#i saw a post that was like 'we never get to see rhodey panic about college and so here it is #rhodey #this drew HEAVILY from my freshman year of college #god what an experience #lovelyirony writes #also my dear i am so sorry that this is coming to you so late #time and inspiration got away from me #rhodeytony #tony stark #mit era #rhodey and tony at mit #college au #unfortunatelyevent

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bludhavents · 3 years

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hiii ☺️ whenever you want/can, could you do random/fluff prompt 11 with Cedric?

11. “just trust me on this one” reader x cedric.

omg i loved writing this i’m sorry it took an extra day for me to post, i wanted to make sure i was really proud of it before i sent it out. thank you so much for the request i hope you enjoy reading🤎

Felix Fly-icis: Cedric Diggory x reader

“Bloody hell, y/n i’ve been looking for you everywhere,” you heard Ron yell through the hallway. You turned around with a puzzled look on your face; Don’t be mistaken, Ron was a sweet boy who you’d talked to on occasion, but by no means were the two of you friends. You had no idea why he’d be looking for you, nevermind what could be so important he felt the need to shout it out in the hallway.

“Oh, uh. Sorry, Ron, I didn’t know you were looking for me, what’s going on?” You spoke once he was caught up to you. His eyes opened wide and he took a deep breath and began speaking.

“Well Cedric told Cho who told Luna who told Neville who told Dean who told Harry who told me to tell you,” Ron gasped for air before continuing, “Cedric wants you to meet him at the Quidditch field for lunch. Something about Liquid Luck. Or maybe it was Felix Felicis, I don’t remember,” his eyebrows drew together as he tried to think back to what Harry told him. “Either way, I’m almost positive he said the Quidditch field. Almost. You won’t be mad if I’m wrong, will you?” The expression on his face was nothing short of terror.

You let out a small laugh, “Ron, it’s okay. Liquid Luck and Felix Felicis are the same thing, genius. And I promise I won’t be mad. Thank you for passing the message on, see you later.”

With that, Ron turned around and made his way down the opposite side of the hallway, leaving you to ponder why in Merlin’s name Cedric would choose to meet at the Quidditch field. He knew how you felt about the sport.

Quidditch certainly was not for everyone. Neither was flying in general, for that matter. Despite the countless times Professor Sprout had tried her best to convince you that flying on a broomstick isn’t as terrifying as it seems, you refused to try and had no intention of ever doing so.

Poor Professor Sprout had truly done everything she could think of to help you overcome your fear of heights, but it was no use. The thought of not being able to put your feet on the ground, the possibility of falling, and the rare—but possible owl collisions always instilled the idea that flying was dangerous and had every right to be feared. Quite honestly you were surprised to be the only one in your class who was afraid of heights, in the Muggle world it’s a very common fear, almost every Muggle was some degree of acrophobic, but it’s no surprise that the Wizards werent afraid to defy the laws of nature.

You often didn’t even attend Quidditch matches even though you’d be tucked away safe in the bleachers; Seeing your housemates gliding through the air and trying to knock the opponent off their respective broom made you queasy. You thought Quidditch was a fine sport, in fact you always wished you could overcome your fear and learn to play, but the idea itself was laughable. Everyone at Hogwarts knew that you were afraid of flying.

So to say Cedric’s invitation to meet at the Quidditch field was strange would be the understatement of the century. Not to mention the Liquid Luck, it took six months to brew for goodness sake. Despite his own self-doubt, you were sure Ron got the right potion name. If he could remember the long list of people the message had gone through before it reached you, you were sure he could remember the message itself.

After you pushed your curiosity aside, you were excited to spend time with Cedric. You made your way through the corridor and sat in the back of the DADA classroom replaying the day you became friends with Ced.

You’d properly met him at the beginning of the semester after someone told him about your acrophobia. With this new information, Cedric had taken it upon himself to ask if you wanted him to teach you. He was very kind about it all, and you could tell he genuinely wanted to help you; There was no judgement or teasing in his tone. He was always a very admirable person in your eyes, and was without a doubt the most hufflepuffely Hufflepuff you’d ever met. Being a Hufflepuff yourself, you knew what true loyalty and compassion looked like, and Cedric was a shining example.

Your hesitation was seemingly very clear to Cedric after he proposed the idea of lessons. He spent almost an hour in the Common Room assuring you that he didn’t mind going as slow as you needed to, telling you that he wouldn’t pressure you to do anything you didn’t want to do, and saying that you could quit whenever you pleased. He just wanted to help you and get to know you.

The first lesson was absolutely dreadful. The typical anxiety you felt about flying was now paired with the nervousness that comes with being alone with a very handsome boy. Despite him being as empathetic and careful as possible, Cedric couldn’t get you to even watch him fly for more than sixty seconds at a time. Needless to say the first lesson was also your last. Cedric didn’t want you to quit, but he understood where you were coming from. The two of you got along really well, though, and he was the first person who made you laugh through your anxiety. After the two of you hit it off so well that day, Cedric proposed a lunch at the Black Lake.

So for the past six months you and Cedric spent four days a week eating, laughing, and sometimes even swimming at the Black Lake during lunch hour. It was easy with him. He made you feel comfortable, understood, and carefree, and you did the same for him. The two of you enjoyed each other’s company more than anything else; It was almost addictive. A lot of the moments shared between the two of you could’ve easily been considered romantic, and although neither of you had ever had a conversation about wanting to date, there was a sort of unspoken agreement that you each had feelings for the other. It wasn’t hard to miss, either. Cedric and you had such an intense chemistry that one would have to be a fool to not recognize it as love.

Professor Lupin pulled you out of your thoughts as he dismissed the class and sent you on your way to lunch. You were careful to blend in with the hallway traffic flow, so you headed towards the Dining Hall with the rest of the students before you broke away from the crowd and hurried off into the girl’s quidditch locker room. You knew all of the players would be off to lunch already, but that didn’t stop you from rushing across the room and leaving through the back exit that led straight to the field. When you stepped into the bright sunlight you didn’t see Cedric anywhere, and a quick moment of panic struck you at the thought that maybe Ron had relayed the message wrong and Cedric was waiting for you somewhere else. Your worries quickly dissipated when Cedric seemingly appeared out of thin air. He was barely hovering on his brand new nimbus 2000 over the grass in the middle of the field. His smile was as charming as ever and in his hands he held his old broom and a tiny potion bottle.

“Y/n!” He quickly flew to your side and landed on one knee next to you. Cedric held the potion bottle in his hand like a wedding ring, “Hi.”

You laughed, he surely could be extra cute when he tried, “Hi, Cedric.” You gave him a gentle pat on the top of the head.

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat. “Oh Y/n dearest, I come today to present you with one bottle of liquid luck,” he was talking like Dumbledore, and his dorky grin grew bigger as he kept going. “The day we met you wouldn’t even touch a broom, and I made it my personal duty to have you try. So today, as I present you with the magic potion, you will fly.” By the end of his speech you were so lost in his sparkling eyes it took you a minute to process his words.

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah! Come on, it’ll be okay,” He reached for your hand and you helped him back to his feet.

“I don’t really understand what you mean,” you let out a nervous laugh as he handed you his old broomstick.

“I was thinking, you just have to take some liquid luck and you’ll have no chance of falling!” The excitement was evident across his features.

“Oh, uh-,” you stammered. “I don’t know how i feel about this.” His plan was good, but there was no way you were going to be able to talk yourself up onto the broom. You felt bad, he’d probably been brewing this since the week you met and you didn’t want to let him down.

“I promise I’ll be right there with you. Please, just trust me on this one,” you searched his eyes for any sign of insincerity, and before you could think about it you grabbed the bottle out of his hand and drank the liquid luck.

“Yes!” Cedric threw his arms in the air and hopped back on his broom, flying straight up and doing a backflip in celebration of your sudden boost in confidence.

The potion tasted terrible, but you didn’t have much time to think of your regrets before it took affect. Your whole body felt lighter and you became giddy with excitement before tightening your grip on his old broom. Cedric came back down to the ground and shook your shoulders, you thought he might’ve been more excited than you were.

“Okay, are you ready to try this?” He calmed down a tad and made direct eye contact. You responded without a moment’s hesitation.

“So ready.”

He cheered in excitement before taking both of the brooms and setting them on the ground, just a little bit apart from eachother. He moved to stand over his broom and you did the same to yours. The two of you simultaneously lifted your brooms into the air and shared a look of pure joy.

“On the count of three, okay?” Cedric reached out to hold your hand. “One. Two. Three!”

You let go of his hand as you both took off into the air, laughter ringing in your ears as you experienced the thrill of flying for the first time ever. Luckily you’d known how to fly, so the liquid luck was only calming your nerves, the rest was your talent.

“Cedric I’m doing it!” You looked beside you and saw how much fun he was having, the proudness overcoming his features as you conquered your biggest fear.

“You’re really doing it, you’re flying, y/n!” He shouted back.

The two of you were in the air for hours, forgetting about the rest of your classes and messing with eachother above the quidditch field. When the sun started to set, the two of you headed back down to the field and landed.

“Thank you, Cedric. This was the best day of my life,” you breathed out, wrapping Cedric in a tight hug.

“Mine too,” he said, hugging you back and resting his chin on top of your head. “You know that I have feelings for you right?” Cedric blurted out.

“Yeah, I know,” you spoke into his chest. “I have feelings for you too, Ced.”

#harry potter #cedric imagine #cedric x reader #cedric x y/n #harry potter fanfiction #cedric diggory #cedric diggory fanfiction #cedric diggory x reader #cedric diggory x you #hufflepuff!reader

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gukyi · 4 years

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21st century love | jjk

summary: you and fellow film student jeon jungkook have been clashing heads all semester in your realistic fiction and 21st century film class, because jungkook thinks that rom-coms are meant to express the beauty of love, and you think that they’re ploys by hollywood to tell people that they can achieve love by engaging in consumerism. but when you’re assigned to create your own stereotypical romantic comedy short film, jungkook takes it upon himself to show you just how attainable love can really be.

{enemies to lovers!au, college!au}

pairing: jeon jungkook x reader genre: fluff word count: 1k warnings: none a/n: thank you to @ggukcangetit for commissioning me for this piece!! this is from my fic titles ask game, and honestly if i had the time i would 100% turn this into a full fic. who knows, maybe one day i will!!!

You love your Realistic Fiction and 21st Century Film professor as much as the next student, but she is an evil person. An evil person who paired you up with none other than Jeon Jungkook for the final project—a project worth fifty (fifty!) percent of your grade—on purpose. What on earth was she thinking? Did she think it would be fun for you? Did she think it would be a learning experience? Or maybe she just enjoys watching her students crash and burn, watch them slowly lose their minds as they are forced to endure modern-day hell: a group project.

The fact of the matter is, out of all of the students in your sixty-person lecture, Jeon Jungkook is the last person you’d want to be paired up for this project. You’d even be more willing to work with the sleazy kid in the back who comes to every class hungover as hell and sleeps through the entire ninety-minute period. At least you would find out good places to get drunk.

You don’t even give Jeon Jungkook the satisfaction of entering his contact into your phone—leaving it as a random number because you already see his stupid name as a comment on all of your discussion board posts anyway. As if raising his hand to rebuke you in class on a daily basis isn’t enough.

You didn’t take Realistic Fiction and 21st Century Film just so you could sit around watching 500 Days of Summer and She’s the Man all day long. You took it because 21st century film, at least in your eyes, has become so manufactured, so cookie cutter, the same plotline and carbon copy characters, and you were curious to see if any historians and movie buffs had the same jaded outlook as you. But it seems that you sit on one end of the spectrum, and Jeon Jungkook, hopeless romantic and grossly optimistic, sits on the other.

The safest place for the two of you to meet is a group study room on the second floor of the main library on campus, one where you can lock the door so no eavesdropping ears can hear you, and one where you have a strict time limit of an hour and thirty minutes before another person comes along to kick you out.

You and Jeon Jungkook reach the room at the same time, coming from opposite entrances so you can glare at each other with every step you take.

“So nice to see you,” Jungkook says, too cheerful, as you reach out to open the door.

“Mmm,” you mumble in response as you enter the group study room, flinging your backpack onto the floor by your chair with a thud as you take a seat.

Jungkook, not at all outwardly discouraged by your clear disdain for him, rallies on. “So, what were you thinking for the project? Oh, wait, let me guess: a social commentary on the consumerist ideals that underline every modern movie and encourage the pursuit of an empty dream by abandoning concrete career and personal goals in favor of romantic fulfillment.”

You frown at him, even though that’s exactly what you were thinking of doing.

“You know that romantic comedies are supposed to be fun, right?” Jungkook says with a raise of his eyebrows.

“They’re not that fun to me,” you comment snidely.

“That’s because you’re a stick in the mud who takes everything way too seriously,” Jungkook replies. “Have you ever even been in a relationship?”

“That’s none of your business,” you tell him firmly. “Besides, you asking that is exactly my point. Not everything has to be about finding love and searching for your soulmate or whatever bullshit like that. Some people don’t really care that much.”

“You don’t have to abandon all of your life goals just to find love, you know,” Jungkook says pointedly. “It doesn’t have to be the most important thing in your life for you to even care about it a little.”

“Romantic comedies are propaganda made by modern Hollywood to turn relationships into manufactured goods made specifically for our mass consumption,” you say with a scowl. “They have nothing to do with what love really is.”

“Well,” Jungkook says with his arms crossed over his chest, “then what do you think love really is?”

You frown at him. “Does it matter?”

“Yes,” Jungkook says like it’s obvious. “This project is about filming a short romantic comedy, about people falling in love with each other. How do you expect me to do that if we don’t reach a mutual agreement on what love is?”

You scoff. “There is no way in hell I am going to agree with you on anything concerning love.” Jeon Jungkook flutters from one person to the next like a butterfly desperate for a lasting relationship full of commitment and love. Every week he’s dating somebody new. And yet, still, he keeps looking. Pretty soon he’ll run out of people on campus to talk to. He is the last person you would ever take relationship advice from.

“Then what are we supposed to do, huh?” He says with an eyebrow raised. “We have a month to make a movie that’s fifty percent of our grade.”

“The social commentary is still on the table,” you point out. Sure, it’s not at all a romantic comedy, but it’s about them, which is good enough in your book. Besides, your professor has been teaching you the entire semester, hasn’t she? She should know by now not to expect some cushy lovey-dovey story about two people who were destined to be with each other and can overcome all obstacles with their love.

What on earth she was thinking when she paired you up with Jungkook, you suppose you’ll never know.

“You’re such a Negative Nancy,” Jungkook comments with a roll of his eyes. “All you ever do is talk about how consumerism strips away our personalities and how manufactured Hollywood movies are and how people are just cogs in the wheel of capitalism. You don’t even stop to look around at all the positives of our society. Like true love, like the joy that people bring each other. You’re just filled with gloom and doom.”

“Then what are you going to do about it?” You challenge. Sure, Jungkook hit the nail on the head, but that doesn’t mean that he’s any better. Disillusioned people are dangerous. They dream about things instead of doing them. They block out all of the problems with the world in favor of an impossible utopian society where you want for nothing.

You remember high school literature. The realists and the romanticists never got along.

It doesn’t seem that much has changed.

“Just you wait,” Jungkook says, wringing his hands together before he turns on you, staring you down with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Let’s do something like Love, Actually. A bunch of different love stories weaved together, except less depressing and sexist.” Your brows are furrowed in worry at the look of determination on his face. “And you’re going to see how beautiful love really is. How happy it makes people feel.”

You scoff in disbelief. Your professor has been trying to convince you of the beauty of love ever since you went to her first office hours at the beginning of the semester. What makes Jungkook so sure he can do this in the month you have left?

“Yeah, and how do you plan on doing that?” You prompt him.

Jungkook grins. “One of those love stories will be ours.”

↳ links are broken, but don’t forget i’m still taking commissions!

#jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #bts fluff #bts angst #bts scenario #jungkook scenario #bts imagine #jungkook imagine #bts au #jungkook au #w: 21st century love

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xandriagreat · 3 years

Text

Remy's Night

Author's note: this is from @sleepyvirgilprompts (This post)

Summary: Remy babysit his teacher's six year old son. Everything goes a long smoothly until bedtime.

Warnings (please tell me if I missed anything): shouting, hard past, food mention

▪▪▪

"Are you sure you can watch him?" Patton asked to Remy as he finished adjusted his tie in the hallway mirror. "Because I know that you have a very hard week. With finishing everything for the end of the semester. "

"Yeah, I can watch him, Mr. Foster." said Remy, looking at his teacher in a near by picture and the different outfit that his teacher was wearing. His teacher was wearing a fancy gray and light blue suit instead of his normal dad-like outfit. "Plus, it's spring break now. And you and your husband needed this, Mr. Foster."

"How many times do I have to tell you. You can call me Patton when we're not at the school." sighed Patton with a smile as turned to look at Remy.

Remy shrugged. "Habit, I guess."

Logan came in with little Virgil, in purple pajamas, in his arms. "Are we ready, Patton?" asked Logan, setting Virgil down.

"Yes, Logan." replied Patton, getting his wallet into his pocket. He offer his hand to Logan and Logan took it.

And if Virgil planned it just right, Virgil quickly ran to his parents and hugged their legs. "I'm going to miss you." said Virgil looking up. The both of them chuckled as they hugged their son back.

"We'll be back." said Patton, kissing the top of Virgil's head.

Before they left, Logan reminded Remy that Virgil is to be in bed by 8:00 pm and they'll be back about 11:00 pm.

After waving good bye as they left, Virgil looked up at Remy as Remy looked down at him. "So, what do you want dinner?" Remy asked, kneeling down to be about the same level as Virgil. "Baties nuggeties!" said the six year old, jumping up and down excitedly.

○

They ate dinner, watched a disney movie, and read a story to him.

For most of the night, it went well, until bedtime.

Remy checked the clock and it was 7:55. “Oh! Look at the time!” exclaimed Remy. “It’s almost bedtime.” Virgil looked up at him when he said that.

“Really?”

“Yep!” said Remy, nodding and picking Virgil up to help him to go to bed.

“I'm not tired!” cired the six year old loudly but not loud enough that it would feel like your ears are ringing. “I want to stay up to see my dads!”

‘Oh really?’ thought Remy with a smirk. ‘Well, that’s going to change.’

○

Bedtime had been an hour ago.

An hour.

Sixty minutes.

Remy didn’t know what to do at this point. “What do you want?” he asked.

"Daddy and Dad," said Virgil stubbornly.

“Daddy and Dad aren’t here right now,” said Remy, running a hand through his hair in frustration at the fact that they were going over this again. “You’ve got me instead. What would get you to go to bed? A story? A song?”

Virgil pouted. "No!"

“Come on, kid. Work with me here. Give me something I can do to make you sleep.”

Virgil just pouted while he looked at him. “You don’t know me and my parents' life!” shouted the six year old.

Remy wanted to yell at him about his problems in his personal life but he didn’t.

Virgil was young and he didn’t devser to know too much that the world wasn’t colorful as it is when you see it as a child.

Remy sighed while he got Kitty, a black, white, and gray stuffed toy cat with some lavender oil on it, out from his bag and petted it.

“What’s that?”

Remy looked at Virgil and said, “This?” while showing Kitty to him. Virgil nodded. “This is Kitty.”

“Like what Boo calls the big blue Kitty from Monsters Inc?”

‘Sully’ thought Remy as he said, “Yes.”

He sat on the bed with Virgil. “He’s my buddy,” he said, “he protected and helped me in hard times. Like nightmares.”

Virgil slid over to him and petted the toy.

Remy looked down at him and Virgil smiled.

Remy knew that what he was going to do was a sacrifice. “Here,” Remy said, handing Kitty to Virgil. Virgil stared at him in surprise. “But isn’t he your favorite thing?” Virgil asked, holding Kitty. “He’s going to miss you!”

Remy chuckled. “Yes, but you need her now.”

After getting Virgil under the covers with Kitty, Remy was about to leave but then he felt a tiny hand grabbing his hand. He looked to see Virgil.

“Kitty wants to sleep with you tonight, one last time.”

Remy smiled with tears peeking at his eyes. “Let me text your parents. But when your parents come home, I’m going to go.”

“Okay.”

After texting Patton that he was going to be in Virgil's room, he got on the bed with a blanket that he had.

Then both of them slept.

○

When Remy woke up, he looked at his phone (he had the light of his phone turned down so that it didn’t wake Virgil).

It was 10:58.

‘It’s almost time.’ he thought, getting up. Then he felt something soft touch his hand.

He looked down.

Kitty was on his hand.

He probably grabbed Kitty by accident.

He looked at Virgil. The six year old’s hand was trying to find Kitty with his eyes closed

Remy sighed as he picked the stuffed toy kitten to eye level. “Hey Kitty,” Remy said quietly to Kitty. “It’s going to be okay, I can visit when I can, just promise me this,” shows Kitty to the sleeping six year old. “Protect and help him like you did with me, please.”

He hugged the doll and gave a little kiss on top, and then put Kitty under Virgil’s hand. Virgil smiled as he pulled the doll close to him.

Then Remy got his bag and exited the room.

○

When Patton and Logan came back, Remy was on the couch. “Hi!” he said, looking up at them.

Both parents looked at him in surprise then relaxed when they saw that it was just Remy.

“Oh, hi!” Patton said back while Logan did a wave. “How was he? Was it good?”

Remy shrugged. “Yeah, he was good. Until bedtime.” he said, standing up and walking over to them. “It took an hour to get him in bed, but he’s asleep now and not hurt.”

Logan nodded then bolted to Virgil’s door. Patton and Remy run behind him to stop him. When Logan got to the door, Patton ran into him before Logan could open the door. Both of them fell onto the floor.

Remy flinched when they both crashed.

“KITTY, PROTECT!” cried Virgil, behind the closed door. The crash must have woken him.

Remy opened the door to see Virgil holding Kitty like a weapon.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Remy reashered, walking over to him. Virgil lowered Kitty down. “What happened?” Virgil asked, looking up at him.

“Your parents are home.”

Virgil looked at his clock in his room. “Dad and Daddy! You’re both grounded!” he shouted. “You’re two minutes late!”

“That doesn’t make sense!” Logan said, walking into the room with Patton.

○

After getting Virgil back to sleep and being given the amount of money, Patton was walking with Remy to the door.

“Thanks for watching him, Remy.” Patton said smiling. "You're welcome, Patton." Remy replied. "I mean-"

Patton puts a reassuring hand on Remy's shoulder. "It's okay. It really is."

Remy smiled back. Before he left, he said, "Tell me when you need me to babysit him."

#sanders sides #patton sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #remy sanders #sanders sides fic #logicality

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rjhpandapaws · 3 years

Text

A Cup of Something Better

Ch 10: Down to the Wire

This was it, the week that had been two years in the making, his last finals week as a gen ed student. Assuming he passed all his tests, he would be able to take the nurses exam the following Friday. If he passed that he be enrolled into the nursing program for the fall semester. Five tests over three days, not the worst test load that he'd dealt with. The fact that they were between five and eleven at night was a pain in the ass.

He'd asked for the week off from the cafe so he could have more time to study. Some of the time he spent studying was also spent at the cafe, he preferred the idle chatter over the silence of his apartment.

Connor was spending the morning at the cafe again, going over calculus today. He had an Iced Americano that was helping to keep him concentrated. He'd had a few late nights that he was beginning to feel the effects of. His first set of tests was tonight, calculus and art history. Tomorrow was biology and mythology. The day after being his sociology final. Hank thankfully didn't have a final for his class so Connor had a chance to recuperate before his nurses exam.

He finished the problem he was working on and sat back rubbing at his face to try and wake up more. He needed to focus. He took another drink of his coffee and looked around the cafe, it was almost empty. As one would expect at ten in the morning on a Monday. He finished his coffee and figured he could use the break to order another drink. Hopefully he'd be more awake afterward.

He headed for the counter and ordered his usual before heading back to the table. Refueled and somewhat ready to go again, he sat back down and got back to work.

Connor woke up sometime later to North knocking on the table. He looked up to find that it wasn’t North, but Hank, though the red haired she-devil was behind the counter laughing.

“So, uh, North asked me to bring you this.” Hank said after a moment, setting the bigger of the two cups on the table, “she also said that knocking on the table would wake you up.”

“Thanks.” Connor took the cup and yawned, “you can sit down if you want. I’m just studying.”

Hank chuckled as he took a seat, “planning on learning through osmosis? I was lead to believe you had to be awake in order to study properly.”

Connor rolled his eyes as he took a drink from what turned out to be a large cup filled with just espresso shots, “I’ll do whatever works at this point.” He covered a yawn and leaned forward, “how do you like having the week off? Getting any writing done?”

Hank laughed as Connor got back to work on his calculus, “I’ve gotten a couple of chapters into my manuscript and started a couple of short stories.”

Connor took another drink from his cup, “you’re planning to release another collection then?” He yawned, “how is Sumo doing?”

When Connor looked up Hank was looking at him with a concerned expression. HIs brow was furrowed and his sky blue eyes were clouded over with worry. Connor knew that he looked rough but he was pretty sure he wasn’t bad enough to warrant that level of concern.

“Sumo is doing fine.” Hank leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table, “can you answer something for me Connor?”

“Hmm?” Connor sat up from where he had been slouching into his textbook again, “what’s up?”

“How many days has it been since you’ve gotten a full night’s rest?” Hank watched as he took another drink of his ‘coffee’.

“Today is Monday so...” He counted back on his fingers, muttering the days of the week under his breath, “Saturday, I think. Why?”

Hank sighed, and the sound was pure disappointment, something that if it hadn’t been directed at Connor would have impressed him, “Since you’re the one of us going into nursing, I feel like I shouldn’t have to tell you what’s wrong with that Connor. Do me a favor and get some rest. You can’t keep going like this.”

“I sleep two hours before classes. I’ve increased my calorie intake and added more caffeine into the mix as well.” He stumbled over his words as he yawned again, “five hour energy and espresso have been life savers for me.”

“Connor.” Hank groaned, “I was in college too, so I can’t argue with you, but try and get at least get four hours today alright?” He put a hand up when Connor opened his mouth to argue, “I know your nurses exam is important to you Con, but what happens if you burn out before then? You’ll have to wait a whole semester to take it again.”

In theory Connor knew him to be correct, but he had so many tests and he wanted to make sure that he was ready, “I just don’t want to fail Hank, if I can’t pass these then I won’t even be taking the nurses exam.”

Connor could feel tears pooling behind his eyes from the lack of sleep as well as the stress. The nickname made Connor give a watery smile as he rubbed at his face trying to collect himself.

“Hey now, don’t cry.” Hank reached out and squeezed his wrist reassuringly, “I’ve gotten to see you at work Con, you’ve got these tests in the bag. Go home, get some rest.”

Connor let out a wet laugh and wiped his eyes with his free hand. After another reassuring squeeze Hank let go of his wrist and Connor began packing up his things and putting them back in his bag not quite managing to bite back another yawn. He was starting to think no amount of coffee was gonna help this. With everything packed he sat back and rubbed at his face again hoping to wake up a little more.

“Alright.” Connor said before he drank more of his coffee, “time to go home and nap I guess. Sorry you had to wake me.”

Hank chuckled, “Its no problem. Do you need a ride? The weather looks like its going to take a turn for the worse.”

Connor looked out the windows and despite it being early afternoon apparently, the sky was almost black and the wind was howling through the streets, “thanks, but I’ll just get a cab.”

Hank nodded and stood. They walked out together and parted ways at the parking lot with a wave. Connor hailed a cab and checked his phone which had been vibrating consistently since Hank had stood up. There were several new messages in the coffee shop group chat, probably because he had been crying.

The Coffee Crew:

Northern_Lights: Aww, you two are so cute together

Northern_Lights: Why are you crying?

Northern_Lights: Is it his fault? I’ll kick his ass if I have to

Northern_Lights: Holding hands?

Northern_Lights: You’re good then?

Northern_Lights: Connor?

RunawayArkait: North, everything is fine.

SimonSays: Are you sure? We saw you cry

RunawayArkait: I haven’t been sleeping and the stress from finals got to me

RunawayArkait: Hank kind of gave me a pep talk is all

SimonSays: Aww his name is Hank, that’s fitting

Northern_Lights: That had better been all. Or I will fight him.

RunawayArkait: It’s fine North. I’m gonna get some sleep then get to class

Northern_Lights: Sleep well

SimonSays: You got this!

Connor smiled at his phone as he paid and got out of the cab. He walked up to his apartment and set an alarm for a half hour before he needed to leave. He set his backpack by the door and went to change into pyjamas. Connor was still fighting off the embarrassment from having cried in front of Hank, if he needed to sleep anything off it was that. Hank probably found him to be weak and pathetic for having cried ever a few tests. Whatever chance, if he’d even had one, was gone.

He sighed and rubbed at his face again and climbed into bed, double checking that his alarm was on and also at full volume. He plugged his phone in and rolled over falling asleep almost instantly. When his alarm went off he hadn’t moved. The song blared to life yanking Connor violently back into consciousness. He groaned, sat up, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes He turned off the alarm and checked his phone. He had quite a few messages.

The Family Feud:

Sixty-Second-Set: You’ve got this Connor!

UnluckyNine: You’ll be a nurse in no time

RunawayArkait: Thank you

The Coffee Crew:

Northern_Lights: Good luck college boy!

SimonSays: Don’t worry alright? You’re a genius

What.Josh.Does: See you in calculus. Who ever scores the lowest buys drinks on Friday

RunawayArkait: Thanks guys. You’re on Josh.

Made-By_Markus messaged you!

Made-By_Markus: Good luck Connor!

RunawayArkait: Thank you Markus.

Connor dressed in his day clothes again and made a pot of coffee. Travel mug filled, he grabbed his bag and headed for the door. He pulled up his hood as he got to the parking lot since the storm picked up since his nap. He walked toward the road and caught a cab to head to the university. On the ride over he pulled out the notes he had taken for his calculus class and got in some last minute studying.

He arrived early and made his way to the Math and Science building. Josh was waiting at one of the hallway tables and waved Connor over. There were two paper Hand Brewed Hope cups on the table, when Connor took his seat Josh slid one over to him.

“Figured you could use the pick me up.” Connor took a drink of what turned out to be Chai Tea with cinnamon and nutmeg as Josh spoke, “I know finals week is rough on you.”

Connor gave a dry chuckle, “It’s just stressful, and even more than usual this time because of the nurses exam.” He sighed softly, “You had tow tests earlier today. How do you think you did?”

He was distracting himself, but thankfully Josh let him, “Good. I was more confident for my philosophy exam than I was for chemistry, but it is what it is. Once I finish this up I’ll get to move on to student teaching. Which I’m looking forward to.”

Connor smiled, Josh was excited to becoming a teacher. He was going to be missed at the cafe but he would have more fun as a teacher, “You’ll be great at it. Those kids are going to adore you.”

Josh beamed at him and Connor took another drink from his tea, “I’m gonna miss the cafe though.”

“We’re gonna miss you too.” Connor said kindly, “I’m sorry that I can’t join you guys this weekend but I’m going to be getting ready for my nurses exam.”

“It’s alright Connor. We know how much this means to you, so no one is holding it against you.” Josh responded with a gentle smile.

When it came time to, they grabbed their things and headed for class. Josh gave Connor’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze before he headed for his seat at the back of the class. Connor headed for his as well, letting out a shaky sigh. He had an ‘A’ in this class, he could handle one last test. Probably.

The two hour test block seemed to crawl by. He fell into routine, solving the problems as he went and then checking them over when he had finished. Then, just to be sure, he checked them again. With a half hour left in the test block he grabbed his things, turned in his completed exam, and made his way to building one to study for his art history final. Having found a bench to sit at and go over his notes, he sent a few messages.

The Family Feud:

RunawayArkait: Calculus is done, just Art History left

RunawayArkait: Just finished calculus

UnluckyNine: Good job! You’ve got this one in the bag too

Sixty-Second-Set: Look at you go!

SimonSays: Bet you nailed it

Northern_Lights: Nicely done, you beat Josh

RunawayArkait: Calculus is done

Made-By_Markus: Congratulations Connor!

Connor was smiling as he put his phone away as he put his phone away and began to study, wanting to be as prepared as possible for the final. He packed up when the door to the lecture hall opened. When the class had emptied he took his seat and got ready for his exam.

This two hour block went by a little. Though that was probably because he had the confidence of having finished one already. When he finished this one he could go home and sleep for a couple hours before he got back to studying. This final took him a little longer but he finished it with ten minutes to spare. If he napped in the cab he could spend even more time studying. He probably wouldn’t though, he hated sleeping in cars. He sent messages as he headed out.

The Family Feud:

RunawayArkait: Done for the night

UnluckyNine: Nice. Now you can get some rest

The Coffee Crew:

Sixty-Second-Set: You’ll be a nurse in no time

RunawayArkait: First day of finals is over

What.Josh.Does: Congrats! Meet me at building 27 and I’ll give you a ride home

SimonSays: Three more to go, you’ve got this

Northern_Lights: You’re doing great

@Made-By_Markus

RunawayArkait: Thanks. I’ll be there soon Josh

RunawayArkait: One night down, two to go

Made-By_Markus: Don’t forget to get some rest.

Tuesday morning found him back at the cafe, is biology textbook as well as the semester’s notes spread over the table. He’d been at this since about midnight; rotating between biology, mythology, sociology, and subjects that would be covered on the nurses exam. His travel mug still had some coffee in it so he hadn’t bought a drink yet and he also had a couple of five hour energy shots in his bag if needed them. He figured he would, because despite the extra sleep he had gotten yesterday, Connor could still feel exhaustion hanging off of him.

After a couple hours he switched from biology to mythology when his concentration started to wane. When that didn’t work he grabbed a five hour energy bottle and got in line to order. He tossed the bottle between his hands without looking at it, occasionally tossing it straight up only to catch it and start the cycle over again. He had put it back in his university sweatshirt pocket by the time it was his turn to order. He was ordering a drink that North had made up that wasn’t on the menu, so he said it out loud.

“I’ll take a large Due North, Simon.” Connor said around a yawn and Simon looked at him with concern.

“You do know that drink is basically just straight espresso with a couple pumps of chocolate syrup right?” Simon was typing the drink in anyway, “with how much coffee you drink in a day, I’m worried you might vibrate out of existence.”

“I’ll be fine Simon,” Connor said as he paid for his drink, “I just need a little extra help staying awake today is all.”

“If you’re sure Connor,” Simon said as he handed the cup off to Josh who looked at it with worry.

While he stood in the crowd to wait out his drink he got out his lucky quarter and began to toss it between his hands. He would stop and roll it over is knuckles, toss it straight up, catch it and then start over. On the third pass his drink was called, he pocketed the coin as he walked up to the counter. He thanked Josh and took his drink. When he got back to the table he took the lid off of the cup and added the energy shot, stirring it with the straw so it would mix in. He put the lid on and took a drink when he finished. If the sheer amount of caffeine didn’t keep him awake, the taste probably would.

Connor was surprised that he actually finished the monstrosity that North had created. He’d moved on from mythology to sociology, and despite all of the caffeine pumping through his body, he could still feel himself fading. He knew he couldn’t go up for another coffee so soon after pumping so much espresso into himself, Simon wouldn’t let him. So he would just have to tough it out. He leaned more into his notes, resting his arms on the table.

He woke up to talking, “North, why are you drawing on him?”

“Because, he fell asleep and he knows the rules.” Came North’s reply, and now that Connor was slightly more coherent, he could feel something moving against his face. He opened his eyes with a tired groan and whatever had been on his face was yanked away. North laughed, “Shit.”

“Morning Sunshine.” Hank said with an amused smile as Connor sat up, “how is your studying going? I can see you’re trying that learning by osmosis thing again.”

He gave Hank a tired smile as North laughed, “it seemed to work well enough yesterday.”

“Alright Point Dexter, go wash the dicks off your face. I’ll have another Due North for you when you get back out.” North said as she pulled Connor to his feet.

As Connor made his way to the bathroom to clean his face North retreated back behind the counter. He checked the mirror to find that, yes, North had actually drawn cartoon dicks of various sizes along the left side of his face and a detailed shooting star down the side of his neck, He wet a paper towel and started rubbing at his face, glad that they didn’t use permanent marker to write on the cups.

With all the marker washed off his face and neck Connor went back to the table to find Hank had settled in and gotten to work on his laptop. As promised there was another large Due North beside his sociology notes. He sat down and gave Hank a tired half smile.

“So why was North drawing on your face?” Hank asked as he looked up from his typing, “she said something about rules.”

“Yeah.” Connor laughed rubbing at the back of his neck, “the first time you fall asleep in public is a freebie, after that whoever catches you gets to draw on your face. Either she caught me, or Simon chickened out again.”

“So you fall asleep while out and about pretty often then?” Was Hank’s follow up as he watched Connor get out his biology textbook.

“Sometimes,” he said with a casual shrug, “usually during midterms or finals week when I spend most of my time studying.”

“Your nap yesterday was your freebie then?” Hank’s attention was returning to his work, as was Connor’s.

“Probably, or your timing saved me.” With that the conversation fell away to be replaced with the clicking of a keyboard and the occasional turning pf a page.

It was a few hours later when Hank stood, “I’m gonna go get another drink. Do you want anything?”

Connor looked up from his notes, “A Chai Tea please. Thank you Hank.”

“No problem kid.” He said as he headed for the counter.

Connor put his biology book away and got out what he needed for mythology. He had about two hours until he needed to leave for the university. Time to concentrate on his test subjects. He sat back and stretched, his back popped like a line of fire crackers since this was the first time he had moved in a few hours.

By the time Hank got back with the drinks, Connor was once again absorbed in his work and jumped when a paper cup came into his line of sight. Hank laughed as he sat down.

“Anyone ever tell you that you’ve got tunnel vision Con?” He remarked with a laugh, “I called your name three times before I gave up.”

There was that nickname again and the bubbling warmth that came with it. Connor was fighting not to grin like an idiot when he spoke, “A few times. Sorry though, I wasn’t trying to ignore you.”

Hank chuckled as he got back to work, “I get the same way when I work sometimes too. Don’t worry.”

“After tonight I’ll at least be getting my sleep schedule back,” Connor said as a way of making conversation, “I just have sociology tomorrow and then I can pace myself for the nurses exam.”

“North won’t be able to draw on your face anymore,” Hank laughed, “but honestly, I’m glad you’ll be catching up on your rest.”

“I’m honestly just looking forward to getting back to my normal work schedule.” Hank gaped at him.

“Connor, do you ever take time off?” He asked, worry lining his voice.

“Yeah. When I’m sick, for finals week, and whenever Silas has a performance that’s within travelling distance. Why?” Connor asked with a tilt of his head.

Hank shook his head, “Let me rephrase that. Do you ever take time off for yourself Connor?”

“Well no. But I don’t need to, I’m happy.”

Hank sighed and leaned forward resting his forearms on the table on either side of his laptop, “Connor are you working this weekend?”

“No. I have-”

“Great. You’re gonna meet me here at noon on Saturday. I’m going to bring you to my place and you’re gonna meet Sumo. One day, that’s all I’m asking.” Hank’s tone made it clear that he wasn’t going to be taking no as an answer.

“Alright.” Connor wouldn’t have turned down the offer anyway, not when it came to spending time to Hank.

With that taken care of, they both got back to work. Connor nearly jumped out of his skin when the alarm on his phone went off. From the looks of it, the sound had startled Hank as well. Connor turned it off quickly and began packing his things.

“Well, that’s my cue,” he said with an awkward laugh, “I’m gonna grab a drink for the road, Want me to get you anything?”

When he looked up, Hank was also getting his things together, “how about you get the drinks Saturday. I’ll join you in line though.”

Connor waited for Hank to finish getting his things together and then they joined the line. Now that he was standing, Connor stretched slightly to alleviate some of the stiffness in his back and let out a satisfied sigh when he finished.

“Do you have plans for the night Hank?” He asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Go home, order take out and pend time with my dog.” He replied, “What about you?”

“Take my finals. Then when I get home check to see if I passed the ones I took yesterday and either order victory or pity pizza.” He responded which got a laugh out of Hank.

“How about this. Since I’m so certain it will be victory pizza, I’ll pay for it.”

“But you don’t have my number,” Connor said turning to face Hank.

“You’ll have to give it to me then, won’t you.” He said with a wink and Connor died. Or maybe he was already dead. Adding that energy shot to the Due North probably killed him and this was just a hallucination.

Hank tapped Connor’s shoulder to get his attention and he took the offered phone. He put his number in and set his contact as Connor :). He handed the phone back and by the time he got to the counter he felt his phone vibrate with a message, he could guess who it was from. Josh gave him a suspicious smile.

“Don’t even start.” Connor muttered, cutting him off, “a medium black coffee please.”

Josh put one hand up in mock surrender and used the other to put in the drink order. Connor paid and headed for the end counter, fighting a smile the whole way.

He checked his phone for new messages, and sure enough there were two from a new number.

3132480705: Hello

3132480705: This is Hank :)

Connor: Hello Hank :)

He added the other to his contact list under Hank <3, because he had a crush and couldn’t help himself. He put his phone back in his sweatshirt pocket as Hank joined the group at the end counter.

“So what tests are you taking tonight,” Hank asked, crossing his arms over his chest in a relaxed manner.

“Biology and then mythology. Tomorrow is sociology.” Connor pulled his phone out to double check his calendar, then put it away again, “then assuming I’ve passed those I’m scheduled to take my nurses exam next Friday.”

“It’s good that you gave yourself a week to study,” he said as Connor went up for his drink, when he came back Connor was wearing a sheepish smile.

“I, uh, didn’t plan it like this. The first testing block was full when I applied.” He waved at Hank as he stepped away, “anyway I’ve got to go. I can, um, text you updates if you want.”

“Sure. Good luck Con.” Hank said as Connor left the cafe.

As soon as he got a cab he texted the group chat which had been suspiciously quiet the whole time he had been with Hank.

The Coffee Crew:

RunawayArkait: Hank gave me his number!

RunawayArkait: Also! I am meeting Sumo this weekend.

RunawayArkait: So, progress. I think?

What.Josh.Does: You have his number and you’re meeting his dog. Yet you’re still questioning if you made progress

Northern_Lights: Go get your man!

SimonSays: Be safe please

RunawayArkait: I mean, Saturday is more of a hostage situation

RunawayArkait: I don’t take enough time for myself apparently

Northern_Lights: Oh. So you’ll listen to him on that!

Northern_Lights: What does that make us?

RunawayArkait: Friends who I love dearly

What.Josh.Does: Well either way, congrats

SimonSays: Don’t forget to tell your brothers

RunawayArkait: Thanks

The Family Feud:

RunawayArkait: Guess what?

Sixty-Second-Set: Your finals were cancelled!

UnluckyNine: You passed your exams?

RunawayArkait: Close, but no

RunawayArkait: Hank gave me his number

UnluckyNine: Nice

Sixty-Second-Set: It’s about fucking time

Sixty-Second-Set: If I had to hear you shine about him one more time I was going to pose as you and get it myself

RunawayArkait: Silas!

UnluckyNine: Just be glad it didn’t come to that

Connor rolled his eyes as the cab pulled up to the university. It shouldn’t surprise him that Silas would threaten him with something that extreme, in Silas’s opinion the more dramatic the even the better. Connor was glad it hadn’t needed to come to that, he knew Silas had meant it. He paid for the cab and made his way to building 27 for the last time this week.

He made his way to the second floor and took a seat at one of the hall tables. He took out his biology notes to go over them again before it was time for the test. He had half an hour, he wouldn’t get through everything but it was better than nothing. Science was a bit like math in that following a predetermined procedure would lead to one of a few results.

The half hour passed quickly since he was preoccupied, when students began leaving the lecture hall he began packing up his things. Just like his two previous finals, he didn’t feel like he was ready. He knew his grades by themselves were good enough to get him into the program, but the tests also came with a passing margin and he didn’t want to rely on his grades alone.

HIs father had raised him and his brothers under the belief that it wouldn’t matter how hard they worked toward their goals since there would always be someone out there that could do it better. He had meant for it to encourage them to go to school and help with the business, but Connor had taken it to mean that he needed to be the one working the hardest to get where he wanted in life. Silas had done similarly albeit in a very different way, and Richard had worked to make himself as close to invisible as possible.

He was waiting outside the classroom for the last of the students to leave when his phone vibrated and pulled him from his thoughts. He pulled it out of his hoodie to put it on silent and saw a message from Hank. He had time, so he opened it.

Hank <3: You’ve got this kid

Connor: Thanks :)

Connor smiled and put his phone away. The room was finally empty and the professor allowed them to come in. He took his usual seat and took a moment to mentally prepare. He got drawn into the test into the test and what he needed of the two hour block flew by. He finished with fifteen minutes left after having gone over his answer just to be sure. He texted Hank first as he left the classroom.

Connor: One more then I’m done for the night

Hank <3: You’ll do great, don’t worry

Connor: :)

He waited until he was in building 1 to message everyone else. He sat in the second floor study area and took a break from his notes.

The Family Feud:

RunawayArkait: Just mythology left

UnluckyNine: That should be easy

Sixty-Second-Set: Hopefully there aren’t any essay questions.

The Coffee Crew:

RunawayArkait: Last test for the night is mythology

SimonSays: You’ll be able to get some decent sleep tonight

What.Josh.Does: Good Luck

Northern_Lights: God I hated that class

He spent the hour before his mythology final studying for it. Working his way through all of the lecture and reading notes he had taken during the semester. This particular professor didn’t believe in midterms so the final covered everything they had gone over during the semester. It annoyed Connor slightly, he would rather take two smaller tests than one massive one. They had been told that there would be at least ten questions from each era of mythology they had covered. it was a daunting undertaking and Connor didn’t think he was ready for it. Not that it mattered much, considering as he didn’t have a choice, but the sheer size of the test made his looming anxiety seem heavier. If he didn’t finish in time he would fail automatically and could kiss his shot at the nurses exam goodbye.

Connor did his best to shake those thoughts from his head as he go this things together. Maybe if he got there as the first exam was finishing he could get an early start. He grabbed his bag and made his way to the classroom waiting across the hall for the other exam to let out. He got his quarter out again to calm his nerves. He went through the same motions as the cafe. Rolling the coin over his knuckles before tossing it in the air and catching it. He did all of this without looking. On the fifth toss the door opened and Connor caught his coin putting it away. He waited for a gap in the students so he could enter the classroom. The professor wouldn’t let him start early, but he did gain extra time to study as he waited on his classmates. He hoped it would help him get through the test faster to have some of the information fresh in his mind.

When the exam was handed out Connor silently cursed Silas and came to understand why North had hated the class so much. More than half of the test was made up of short answer or essay questions. This was going to take forever. With a sigh that was just as much annoyed as it was anxious Connor started on the exam. He finished with a little over five minutes left in the test period. He was one of the last students in the room. He turned in the exam and left quickly, letting out a relieved sigh once he was back in the hall.

Connor: Done for the night and about to head home

Hank <3: How are you feeling?

Connor: Stressed and relieved

Connor: Happy that this is almost over

Hank <3: Take a break tonight. Alright?

Hank <3: Try and unwind

Connor: That sounds like a good plan

Connor: When I get home I’ll let you know if you owe me a pizza :p

Hank <3: Cheeky bastard

Connor: That shouldn’t be news to you

Hank <3: Its not ;)

Connor smiled at the conversation and opened discord as he got in the cab. He tapped his apartment address into the terminal before he messaged his brothers.

The Family Feud:

RunawayArkait: Silas you jinxed me

RunawayArkait: More than half the test was short answer or essay questions

Sixty-Second-Set: Oops. But you finished didn’t you?

UnluckyNine: Obviously. Congrats by the way

Sixty-Second-Set: Then everything is fine

RunawayArkait: Anyway, I’m gonna be offline for the night

Sixty-Second-Set: Enjoy talking with Hank

UnluckyNine: Don’t do anything Silas wouldn’t do

RunawayArkait: That leaves me a lot of options

RunawayArkait: Also I hate you both

The Coffee Crew:

RunawayArkait: Done for the night

RunawayArkait: We can compare test scores tomorrow Josh. I’m going to be offline tonight

SimonSays: Tell Hank hello

RunawayArkait: Why is everyone assuming that!

Northern_Lights: Are we wrong

RunawayArkait: Well no

What.Josh.Does: Alright. Tomorrow then. Have a good night Connor

RunawayArkait: Thanks

He opened Canvas in his phone’s web browser to check if the exams from yesterday had been graded. They had been and he had passed them both. He had gotten 100% on his calculus exam and a 95% on his art history exam. Both above the cut off. It was definitely going to be victory pizza. Then he was going to unwind with a glass of wine and a bubble bath. He’d use what was left of his night to catch up on his sleep.

The cab pulled up to his apartment complex, he paid and got out to head up to his unit. Once he was inside and had put his backpack away and sent Hank a screen shot of his test results.

Connor: So, victory pizza?

Hank <3: Victory pizza. You got any place you usually order from

Connor: Nope. You can pick

Connor: Medium with cheese and mushrooms please

Hank <3: I really should have known that your pizza order was going to be fucking weird

Hank <3: I need your complex name and your apartment number

Connor: Ridgewood Apartments building B5 apartment 205-B

Hank <3: Alright. It’ll be there in an hour

Connor: You’re the best

Hank <3: You only say that because I bought you pizza

Connor: And coffee ;)

Hank <3: You’re the worst

Connor: I try my best

He put his phone on full volume and walked into the kitchen and got out a stemless wine glass as well as the bottle of white wine Silas had bough him the last time he came over. He poured himself half a glass and put the bottle away. With the glass in hand he made his way back to the living room sat back on the couch and kicked his socked feet up onto the coffee table. He turned on the tv and turned it to the true crime channel, quickly getting absorbed in what was on. An hour or so later when there was a knock at his door Connor just about jumped out of his skin. He collected himself and answered the door. He took the pizza and tanked the delivery person before heading back to the living room. He opened the box and set it on the coffee table beside his wine glass. He took a picture and sent it to Hank.

Connor: The right way to celebrate finals (almost) being over

He received a picture in return. It was of Hank’s coffee table, there was a half full whiskey glass and Chinese take out. Sumo was sprawled out in the background.

Hank <3: You’ve got the right idea Con

Connor: Glad we can agree

He moved to the floor in the space between the couch and the coffee table so he could use it as a dining table. He had a couple slices of pizza and finished his first glass of wine before he put the left overs away. He poured another glass of wine and made his way to the bathroom. He started the bath added bubbles and let the water run as he went to his room to get pyjamas. He texted Hank again before he got into the bath.

Connor: Now for the best part of the night. Relaxing with a glass of wine.

Hank <3: I’m more of a whiskey guy myself, but that sounds like a good plan.

Connor let out a content sigh as he sank into the water and relaxed into the warmth. He played music from his phone and stayed in the water until it went cold. He rinsed off and got ready for bed and texted Hank as he plugged his phone in for the night.

Connor: Good night Hank

Hank <3: Sleep well Connor

Hank <3: We wouldn’t want North drawing on you again :)

Connor: No we would not

The next day he didn’t wake up until around noon, his body deciding to try and make up for all of his lost sleep in one go. He got up and got ready, taking what he would no longer need out of his backpack and heading for the cafe. Deciding to walk since it was nice out. While he was waiting to cross at a crosswalk he sent the screenshot of his test results to Josh.

What.Josh.Does: Nice! I got a 97%

What.Josh.Does: I’ll cover your first drink as promised

RunawayArkait: You’re the best

What.Josh.Does: You’re only saying that because I’m buying you a coffee

RunawayArkait: See you soon

He tucked his phone away and crossed the street and continued on his way to the cafe, He put his bag at his usual table and went to stand in line. Connor hadn’t been in line long when Hank’s voice sounded from behind him.

“Late start today Con?” Hank asked, the nickname he had given Connor rolled off his tongue like they had known each other for years. The dopey grin it caused to curl over Connor’s lips made him glad that Hank was behind him, “you’re usually passed out at your table by now.”

“That’s only happened like twice this week,” Connor argued, it was weak but it was all he had.

“Connor, its Wednesday,” Hank continued, “two out of three days this week you’ve been asleep at the table. A two-thirds average isn’t that great when you’re on the third day.”

“I don’t think I’ll be doing that today considering as I didn’t wake up until like noon.”

“So you finally made up for your lost sleep.”

“Apparently.” Connor said as he stepped up to the counter, “a large Iced Americano please.”

Josh put the order in and Connor walked to the end counter to wait. He was tempted to pull out his coin but the cafe was pretty busy today and the sound tended to annoy people. So he settled for signing the alphabet in reverse. This would be his last test for the semester, he’d had plenty of time to prepare and yet his anxiety was still eating at him. He finished one cycle of the alphabet and started over.

“So what are you doing with your hand?” Hank asked, scaring the life out of Connor who had retreated into his own thoughts.

“Signing the alphabet backwards.” Connor replied once he had collected himself.

“Why?”

“I need something to keep my hands busy when I’m anxious and I don’t want to annoy anyone with my quarter.”

“Test anxiety? Is that why you’ve been studying so hard?’

“Yeah. I want to do everything in my power to make sure I pass my exams.” His drink was called and he went up to the counter to grab it. He pointed to the table where his bag was and when Hank nodded Connor made his way over.

Connor took his seat and got out his sociology textbook and notes. By the time he had gotten his stuff out Hank was taking his usual seat across the table. He got out his laptop and they both got to work. They passed the time in busy pleasant silence until Hank asked him a question.

“So what do you do with your quarter that annoys people?” Hank asked as he looked up from his work.

“This.” He said as he pulled out the coin rolling it over his knuckles then flicking it up in the air, catching it in his other hand and then showed it off with a ‘tada’ motion.

“That’s a pretty neat trick.” Hank said with a half smile, “but i can see why you wouldn’t want to d it in a crowded place.”

“It annoys some people so I try to avoid doing it if I can.” He said, returning his attention to his notes.

The conversation fell away after that. Hank was the first to leave today, Sumo had a doctors appointment. They said their goodbyes and Connor got back to work. A few hours later when he was on his way to the university he sent Hank a text.

Connor: Last one. Wish me luck

Hank <3: You’ve got this Con, luck or no luck

Hank <3: But good luck

Connor: Thanks Hank. You’re the best

Hank <3: I try to be

Connor was smiling at his phone like a love struck idiot and it took all of his strength not to send a heart back. He didn’t want to make Hank uncomfortable. They were only friends and most friends didn’t do that. He set his phone in his lap and used his hands to cover his blush and matching dopey grin. He knew he had it bad. Going back over the texts, some of them sounded like flirting. Connor took a deep breath trying to collect himself, he needed to focus on his final for the time being.

He was somewhat back to himself when he got to the university. Once this test was done he had four days of what amounted to free time. Thursday, Friday, and Sunday were days he was going to use to study for his nurses exam and Saturday he was going to meet Sumo. Monday it was back to work as usual and then that Friday he was taking his nurses exam. Then it was back to business as usual until the fall semester started, He got out and made his way to building 1 for the last time this semester.

He made his way to the classroom as the previous class left. There wouldn’t be any last minute studying this time. He took his phone out of his pocket to double check that it was on silent then put it away. When the last of the students filed out Connor entered the class and took his usual seat.

Once it started, the testing block seemed to fly by. He finished with half an hour left. Surprisingly this test was the one he felt the most confidence for. When he got in a cab, he messaged Hank first.

Connor: I’m done!

Connor: My finals are finished!

Hank <3: Congratulations! For the next two weeks you’re free

Connor: I’m going home and taking a fucking nap

Hank <3: It’s well earned

Hank <3: Sleep well Con

The Family Feud:

RunawayArkait: I’m done

UnluckyNine: Congratulations

Sixty-Second-Set: Time to celebrate

RunawayArkait: Time to take a nap

UnluckyNine: That works too

Sixty-Second-Set: Boring

The Coffee Crew:

RunawayArkait: I’m free

SimonSays: Nice

What.Josh.Does: Good for you

Northern_Lights: Party time!

RunawayArkait: Sorry to disappoint, but I’ll be taking a nap

Northern_Lights: That’s boring

Connor rolled his eyes as he closed discord going back to his conversation with Hank.

Connor: Apparently I’m boring for wanting to sleep off my finals

Hank <3: They’re your tests. You get to pick how you celebrate

Connor: Exactly. So I’m going to make up for lost sleep

Hank <3: Sounds like a good plan to me

Connor: Thanks

The cab arrived at his apartment and he paid and got out. Exhaustion weighed down on him as he made his way up to his unit. He’d reheat a couple slices of pizza for dinner and then head to bed. He fumbled with his keys for a moment before getting his door unlocked

Once he was inside he dropped his bag by the door and kicked his shoes off. In the morning the mess would probably bother him, but he was tired now so that was future Connor’s problem. He opened the fridge and grabbed two slices of pizza and put them on a paper towel then in the microwave. Tonight was a lazy night. He changed into pyjamas and came back into the kitchen when the microwave went off. For the sake of convenience he ate over the kitchen sink. He rushed through his nightly routine, Before he climbed into bed he pugged in his phone and messaged Hank one last time.

Connor: Good night Hank

Hank <3: Sleep well Connor

Thursday found him awake around eleven. Unlike yesterday there was no sleep hangover, for the first time in a long time he felt well rested. He spent the first part of the day cleaning his apartment and doing laundry. Giving his brain a break from the bookwork, which felt pretty nice.

Around three o’clock he made his way to the cafe. He stood in line and looked around. He found Hank at their usual table, he was absorbed in his work and had earbuds in. Since he had the time, he messaged him to see if he wanted anything.

Connor: I’m in line. Would you like anything

He scanned the menu deciding on a chai tea rather than coffee since he felt well rested for once. He looked down when his phone vibrated.

Hank <3: Fist of all, you scared the ever loving fuck outta

Hank <3: My usual with two shots please

Connor: Got it :)

Connor: And sorry. I just thought I’d ask since I was up here

When it was his turn he noticed one of the new trainees, Echo, he believed, working the register while North worked the bar. He smiled at the blue haired woman, “Could I get a medium Chai Tea with cinnamon and nutmeg as well as a Vanilla Latte with two shots of espresso.”

She seemed to struggle with the first drink and North came to her aid, staying to help with the second and writing on the cups to make things easier. Connor always spoke his orders to the new hires since knowing how to sign wasn’t a requirement and he didn’t want to assume they knew it. Shifts were designed so that at least one person who knew Sign Language was there. Once the drinks were up, he headed for the table.

He sat across from Hank in his usual seat and slid the cup across the table while Hank took out his earbuds, “so manuscript today or short stories?”

“Manuscript surprisingly enough.” Hank said before drinking from his latte and letting out a content hum, “what about you? What book are you rubbing your nose against today?”

“Today I’m going over the notes and study guide Markus gave me to make flashcards to go over on my breaks since I go back to work on Monday,” Connor said as he got out what he would need. Typed out notes, a hand written study guide, a stack of one thousand notecards, and a pencil pouch with that said ‘always look on the bright side’ on the front.

Hank gave an amused chuckle and shook his head, “I still think you should go over the definition of the word break Con.”

Connor drank from his chai tea to cover the involuntary grin that the nickname caused, “I’m taking an ‘actual’ day off on Saturday. Remember?”

Hank rolled his eyes but seemed to accept Connor’s flimsy argument. They lapsed into a companionable silence. Connor was working on his flashcards and Hank was working on his manuscript. Occasionally Connor would catch himself staring at Hank, but would look away before he got caught and forced himself get back to work. Until his luck ran out and Hank met his eyes cracking a smile that lead Connor to believe he hadn’t been nearly as stealthy as he had thought.

“See something you like Connor?” Hank joked, and it had to be a joke. Despite the way some of their messages read there was no way Hank would ever flirt with him. Connor turned into a tomato anyway.

“I was, um, I was just staring off into space...” he trailed off never having been all that great of a liar. He wanted the ground to open up and swallow them whole.

Hank didn’t look like he believed Connor but he didn’t comment on it. They went back to their easy silence until Hank had to leave.

“Sumo is getting groomed tomorrow, so I’m not gonna make it to the cafe,” Hank sounded almost upset that he was going to miss a day. Like he looked forward to these days too.

“That’s alright,” Connor said with a slight shrug, “we’ll see each other on Saturday.”

“See you Saturday then,” Hank responded with a half smile as he turned to leave.

Connor watched him go before getting back to his notecards. It took him a few hours and a couple cups of coffee to get them finished, and once he was done he headed home. He would probably stay home tomorrow too. Take a day to himself and mentally prepare for meeting Sumo and what that would bring.

He finished off the pizza and did the rest of his laundry. With his apartment mostly clean and his laundry done, Connor decided to call it a night. Once again messaging Hank before falling asleep.

Connor: Good night Hank

Hank <3: Night Connor

Hank <3: Don’t work too hard tomorrow

Connor: No promises, but I’ll try my best

He spent most of Friday morning fretting over what to wear. Eventually deciding on a black short sleeve button down that was patterned with gradient grey roses, black jeans and grey converse. It wasn’t a date, but looking nice couldn’t hurt anything. He hung the outfit on his closet door and paced into his living room debating on if it would be better to message his brothers or his friends. Richard hadn’t dated anyone before so seeking him out for romantic advise probably wouldn’t be the wisest. Silas preferred a friends with benefits arrangement over dating so he wouldn’t be any help. North would just make fun of him. That left Josh, Simon, and Markus. Simon and Markus were dating so that would probably be the best bet.

RunawayArkait has started a group chat with Made-By_Markus and SimonSays!

RunawayArkait: I need help

RunawayArkait: What does one do on a not-date visit to their crush’s house to meet their dog

SimonSays: Send their kind and supportive friends pictures of said dog. Obviously

SimonSays: Keep a level head, but pay enough attention to see if he is flirting back

RunawayArkait: Flirting back? That implies that I flirt with him. Which I don’t!

Made-By_Markus: But you do. I’ve heard all about it from Simon

RunawayArkait: Rude!

Made-By_Markus: As cliche as it sounds, just be yourself

SimonSays: Relax. Like you said, it’s not a date

RunawayArkait: Thanks I guess

Made-By_Markus: Anytime. Also Simon, I’m in the lobby

SimonSays: Alright. I’ll be down soon

RunawayArkait: And that’s my cue to leave. Enjoy your date!

Made-By_Markus: Thanks

Connor groaned at the lack of help. Figuring he was stressing too much over something that was decidedly not a date, he decided to spend the rest of his Friday curled up on the couch catching up on all of the true crime shows he had missed on his study binge.

He woke up at eight in the morning on Saturday. He took his time getting ready and once he was satisfied with his appearance he left for the cafe at around eleven-thirty. He decided to walk so he could work off some of the anxiety that was thrumming beneath his skin. He debated cancelling several times, but eventually decided that he deserved to meet a new dog after having worked so hard to pass all of his finals. If it so happened that he was reading too far into this, which was incredibly likely, he would have at least gotten to see a new dog. He would be able to add a Saint Bernard to his mug which he would have to edit and then reorder. He won either way.

Connor arrived to find Hank waiting outside the cafe with one of the biggest and most fluffy dogs he had ever seen. Sumo sat neatly beside Hank looking to be very well trained, which was probably pretty helpful considering the dog’s size. He took a picture of Sumo with is phone before greeting Hank.

“You’re here early.” Connor said in way of a greeting and Hank turned to him with a smile.

“So are you Con,” he said, lifting his free hand in a lazy wave, “but that’s more expected of you than me.”

Connor laughed, “Yeah.”

Hank changed the subject, “So I didn’t find a no pets sign but I just wanted to check if Sumo would be allowed inside.”

“Unfortunately no. We do have a service animal policy tough.” Connor kept himself from gesturing at the door with his free hand by reaching it out toward Sumo so the large dog could sniff at it, “I can go inside and get the drinks then meet you back out here, since I’m covering drinks today anyway. Your usual?”

“Sounds good to me,” Hank said with a thankful smile. “I’ll let you know if we head back to the car.”

“Thanks/” Connor said as he headed inside.

The line was thankfully short and it didn’t take long to place their order. An iced Americano for Connor and a Vanilla Latte with two shots of espresso for Hank. When he exited the cafe, both Hank and Sumo were at the bench.

“Ready?” Hank asked as he got up, Sumo obediently following suit.

“Yup.” He handed the latte off as they walked to the car and Sumo happily snuffled at his free hand as they went.

When they got to the car Connor opened the back door on the passenger side so Hank could get Sumo in. With that taken care of, Connor got in on the passenger side, only to have Sumo lean forward and lick a stripe up his face when he turned to look in the back seat. Hank laughed at the sight.

“Hello to you too Sumo.” Connor said, using his jacket sleeve to wipe the drool off of his face then reaching back to pet him, “its nice to meet you.”

“What kind of dog do you think you’re gonna get once you graduate?” Hank asked as he pulled out of the parking lot and began the drive to his house.

“Either an Australian Shepherd or a Golden Retriever,” Connor replied, “small enough to keep in an apartment but big enough to socially be considered a dog. I hope to be able to put them through search and rescue as well as service training.”

“Why am I not surprised you have all of this planned out.” Hank shook his head with a fond smile.

“I like being organized.”

“I can tell.”

Connor rolled his eyes, “What made you decide on a Saint Bernard?”

“I picked him up from a shelter a few years back.” He paused for a moment, seeming to consider his words, “my fiance and I had split and I didn’t want to be alone in the house. Took about a month to realize i was going to need a bigger yard and then we moved. Whoever had him first had already trained him which has made things a lot easier.” He looked in the rearview mirror at Sumo for a moment, “the big lug even knows a couple of hand signs.”

Hank had a fiance at one point, a few years back apparently. Connor wanted to ask about it, but the rapid change in topic made it clear that Hank didn’t want to, “Really? What commands does he know the signs for?”

“I’ll show you when we get to the house, how about that?” Hank suggested.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

As it turned out, Sumo knew the signs for sit, stay, laydown, and roll over. Connor spent the next few hours teaching him the sign commands for speak, play dead, shake hands, and high five. It didn’t go well, which was fine because hank seemed to get a kick out of it. Once he gave up and settled beside Hank on the couch they ordered take out and talked enjoying each other’s company. It was a few hours later, when they were getting ready to leave that Hank asked him a favor.

“So I kind of had an ulterior motive for asking you over today,” Hank started with a tentative smile. “There’s a writers’ conference next weekend, I was wondering if you would mind stopping by to check on Sumo while I’m away since he seems to like you.”

“Of course I wouldn’t mind,” Connor said as he headed for the door. “He’s well behaved and a sweetheart.”

“Thank you so much.” Hank sounded genuinely relieved. He opened the front door and called over his shoulder to Sumo, “I’ll be back soon. Be good while I take Connor home.”

“I’ll see you next weekend,” Connor called to the dog as he left.

The ride to Connor’s apartment was filled with idle chatter, broken up occasionally by Connor giving Hank directions. It was nice, and his anxiety over today seemed distant and unnecessary. Today had been easy and comfortable. They arrived at his complex about twenty minutes later and Connor wasn’t ready to be done yet.

“Uh, today was nice,” Connor said eloquently. He was pretty sure he couldn’t have been more awkward if he tried.

“Yeah, it was,” Hank said seeming just as nervous, “um, if you want to come by again just let me know I guess.”

“Yeah. Uh, thanks then.” Hank unlocked the door as Connor reached for the handle, “I’ll um, I’ll watch Sumo whenever you need me to.”

“Thanks Con,” he said as Connor opened the door and got out, “have a good night.”

“You too Hank.” Connor gave him a slight wave before he shut the car door and went inside the complex. He had been so awkward. Hank definitely know now and he was probably uncomfortable.

Connor let out a frustrated groan once he was in his apartment. He made himself a cup of tea to help wind down before bed. The best thing he could do would be to act like nothing had changed and maybe they could still be friends. He sighed and finished his tea and got ready for bed. He texted Hank as usual before calling it a night.

Connor: Thanks for today Hank. It was a lot of fun

Connor: Good night

Hank <3: I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. Sleep well Con

Connor smiled at his phone before setting it aside and falling asleep. As long as he could keep his feeling tucked away, things would be fine.

Sunday went by in a blur of studying and self pity. He answered messages as they came, trying to make it seem like things were normal. Like he hadn’t potentially fucked everything up. He was thankful he had today to wallow because come tomorrow he had to be a functioning human being. When he was getting ready for bed, he checked the messages from Hank like he hadn’t been avoiding him all day.

Hank <3: Are you coming to the cafe today?

Hank <3: Is everything alright?

Hank <3: Connor?

Connor: Sorry

Connor: My exhaustion from the week came back with a vengeance

Connor: I didn’t mean to worry you

Hank <3: It’s alright

Hank <3: I’m just glad to see that you’re okay

Connor: I’m going to call it a night

Hank <3: Sleep well

Connor: Thank you

Guilt clung to Connor as he drifted off making his sleep uneasy and restless. He didn’t mean to make Hank worry he just hadn’t known how to face him. When morning rolled around he was exhausted. He went through his morning routine on autopilot. He made coffee and poured it into his travel mug before walking to work. He was almost late, but made up for it by working part of the lunch rush. He didn’t see Hank before he clocked out for the day. He walked back home and took some time to himself before studying.

The rest of the week went similarly. His texts to Hank throughout the day and before bed became the parts of his routine he looked forward to the most. he had Friday off so he could take his nurses exam. Connor didn’t feel like he would be ready, but this was all the time he was going to get. He would deal with it come Friday.

He woke up early on Friday and spent his morning studying. He left for the university around two and messaged Hank first when he got in the cab.

Connor: On my way to the exam

Hank <3: Good luck

Hank <3: Let me know how it goes

Connor: Will do :)

The Family Feud:

RunawayArkait: Time for the exam

Sixty-Second-Set: You’ve got this

UnluckyNine; You’re more than ready

The Coffee Crew

RunawayArkait: Exam day

Northern_Lights: Bet you’ll be in the top half of the class

Echo-Over-The-Water: Good luck Connor!

SimonSays: You’ll do great

What.Josh.Does: Here comes the cafe’s second nursing student

Connor put his [hone on silent and spent the rest of the cab ride going over his notecards. Markus had given him a general idea of what the test would cover, though the specific questions were changed every testing period. The test was a mix of essay, short answer, and multiple choice questions. They would have three hours to finish. Connor wasn’t exactly confident that he would pass, but he was fairly certain he would finish before the testing period ended. The results would be posted on Monday and he would have time to register for the recommended classes and buy books after that. Not to mention a whole weekend with Sumo to help with his worry.

He took his time on the exam, and then more time to go back over and correct some of his answers. He turned in the exam with fifteen minutes left in the period. He ordered a cab and messaged Hank, knowing that the other was on a flight and he wouldn’t get a reply.

Connor: Finished my exam and I’m feeling pretty good about it

Connor: I’ll swing by in a couple hours to check on Sumo and send pictures

The Family Feud:

RunawayArkait: It’s done

UnluckyNine: Congrats

Sixty-Second-Set: Look at you go Mr. Nurse

The Coffee Crew:

RunawayArkait: Finished!

RunawayArkait: I’m gonna be gone for the weekend

SimonSays: Give Sumo lots of love for us!

Echo-Over-The-Water: Congratulations!

Northern_Lights: You did it

What.Josh.Does: Enjoy your weekend

When he got to his apartment he set his bag on the couch and set an alarm on his phone for three hours from now and laid down for a nap. When he woke up he would pack for his weekend with Sumo.

#A Cup of Something Better #dbh #d:bh #hank anderson #d:bh hank #dbh hank #connor rk800 #dbh connor #rk800 #d:bh connor #hank x connor #hankcon #hannor #dbh hannor #d:bh hank x connor

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arch-venus25 · 3 years

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The Head and the Heart, Part 4

Hello everyone,

I submitted this for @just-the-hiddles‘s The Damnit Jim, I’m A Vampire, Not A Landlord Fic Frenzy.

This chapter is less action heavy, but just as important. Thanks for hanging in there and reading!

Series Masterlist: The Head and The Heart

Summary: The twins are taking a night off from their graduate studies-- or at least Tessa is; her twin sister, Antha, is just trying to keep her out of trouble. What starts as a night of good old-fashioned fun and flirting quickly changes as they find themselves at the doorstep of the Hollow House Bed and Breakfast.

Characters: OFCs Antha and Tessa King, original characters/vampires

WARNINGS: 18+ for suggestive themes and violence, cursing, implied drug use, implied rape, stressful/scary situations, vampires, and characters with incredible hair-- you’ve been warned. Read at your own discretion.

Word Count: 3812

Part Four: The Aftermath

The weathered professor seemed very confused but stood her ground and insisted, “Miss King, take the summer off.”

“I just need a week, that’s all—and then I’ll get the methodology section to you—Dr. Watts I just need another week, please!” Antha pushed back. Dr. Watts set her glasses on her desk and then waved her over to a deep-tufted-leather sofa.

“Antha,” her voice lowered, “I’ve known you for what—five years? You don’t become a valedictorian because you don’t like to write. You have been moody these past few weeks, you barely passed the final exam, and you’ve pushed back the thesis methodology three times. Last class, you were so distracted I would have rather you skipped. I know you, talk to me, what’s going on?”

“My sister and I had a Friday night out with some friends and something happened.” Antha murmured, staring down at her feet.

“Friday nights aren’t what they used be; did you hear about the fight that broke out at that dive bar off of—oh, what’s it called? You know the place—well, it was all over the news,” she paused gravely, “you weren’t there were you?”

The twin nodded slowly. She felt overwhelmed in front of her advisor. She pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut before replying. “Tessa’s date got into a fight with an old flame, it was a whole thing. But after…” She couldn’t continue. The advisor took her hand gently.

“Did someone hurt you?”

Antha’s eyes welled and all she could do was stare. As if she said the words out loud, it would become more true than it already was. The doctor’s forehead wrinkled as her brows gathered together. Having lived through the revolutions of the sixties and the proceeding struggle for equality, Dr. Watts knew the dangers women faced. She didn’t need an answer; she just wanted to offer shelter to a young woman. She knew just from looking at her student that whatever happened, it was beyond words.

“You’re taking the summer and fall semester off—or at the very least take the summer off and go to a student counselor; its free, it comes with your tuition, so please use it. If you need anything you know you and your sister can come to me.” She wrote down her personal number and one for the counselors’ office. Antha held the little shred of stationary. She promised she would do just that.

Shortly after, she left her advisor’s office and floated through the campus green and then waited by the bus stop. Her feet told her she was going home, yet her attention was somewhere far away. What can I say to a counselor? Who would understand what we saw at Hollow House? Without realizing, she had retrieved something from her pocket; she stared dumfounded at the pewter-colored iris that gleamed back.

Antha couldn’t get rid of it. But in a moment of frustration, she chucked the marble-like eye into a nearby drain. She returned to her spot and tried to focus on scheduling a counselor. Moving forward, that’s what I need, she figured.

A familiar wheezing crawled up the street. The sluggishness of a muffler that had seen better days filled her ears as she dazed at the phone number-laden scrap paper. “—Antha!” Someone yelled. To her surprise she peered up to see Doug hanging out of his rusty Buick, looking just as timid as ever. He seemed anxious, for what reason she didn’t know. “I’ve been calling your name. You’ve gone deaf ol’ girl—you want a ride?” He asked with forced humor in his voice. She watched him blankly as his expression fell. “You alright?”

Antha thought about it and suddenly felt stupid. All of her gusto about moving forward had evaporated; she lamely shook her head like a weary child. She felt like a little girl in a world that was too big for her. It all just seemed too much.

The July swelter didn’t let up even with the windows down. The two didn’t speak as they made their way to their favorite pizza joint. Thrilled to be out of the unairconditioned Buick’s steel embrace, they collapsed into the far back booth of the pizzeria. All the servers knew it was Doug and Antha’s spot; they habitually kept it clean and empty, knowing they would eventually roll in. They made it to the “golden hour”. The sacred three hours between the lunch and dinner rush. It was their favorite time.

“Whatchas want?” The straggly blue-haired waitress chewed her bubblegum like a goat.

“The usual—uh hold on—when did you eat last?” Doug asked. Antha shrugged and realized she didn’t know. She couldn’t even think that far back. “Can we get a double order of the usual? But make two of them to-go?” The waitress didn’t even answer as she went to get drinks. “You want to talk about it?”

“Nope. I said everything already.” Antha wasn’t mad at him, she was just tired. She was more annoyed that he would ask about the matter and then dispute the realism of what she explained. Doug grumbled when the waitress slopped the pitcher and straws down, vanilla coke-a-cola splashing everywhere.

“—Hey, don’t we get like a punch-card or something? You know, for every hundred pizzas we buy, we get the next one free?” He politely suggested, his way of being confrontational. He was growing exasperated with the women in his life; he didn’t mind taking it from his close friends, Zoey and the twins, but he was having none of this waitress. She paused, chewed her gum, and left again.

“Whoa, cool off killer,” Antha snarked, her spirits lifting with each sip of her fountain soda. She looked him over and thought on their friendship for a moment as he griped about that one particular server.

Doug was a shy, lanky, ginger-bearded young man. He was passionate about things and supportive of the people he loved, but didn’t reserve much attention for the people outside of that parameter. He lived in vintage band t-shirts, had friendly light eyes, and a funny smile. No one could resist his unkempt wolfish hair or his corny sense of humor; he had a way of growing on a person. But he always showed up, his guitar in tow. That’s why Antha didn’t fight him when he asked about that night; she knew he actually cared and was trying his best to understand. He couldn’t help her though. No one could help.

“How about we hang out this weekend, do a barbeque? Nobody grills a burger like you—and Tessa can make her sangria, huh, what do you think?” He tried to turn the conversation to open her up.

“Uhh… I don’t know. I can’t plan that far ahead, I’m real busy.” She declined. The sausage pizzas arrived faster than expected and Doug dropped slices on their plates.

“Busy yeah? Mmm-hmmm,” he bit into his slice, cheese tangling in his five o’clock shadow, “busy not writing your thesis, not eating, and not sleeping? Ant, the last time I saw you eat was a few days ago when I brought pizza over. You gonna talk to me?”

Antha sighed loudly and glared at him. She was worn-through with the people in her life too. I’m too tired for this shit, she thought. She pushed her plate forward and abandoned her half-eaten slice. He saw her mild protest and his cheeks tinged pink. They silently stared each other down, him chewing as loud as he could manage while she obnoxiously slurped her soda in reply.

Before they could hash out their issues a patron burst through the front entrance. “Hey—hic—you seen Ant? Where she at? The back?” Tessa was hiccupping and talking all sorts of loud, like she was in a club on a Saturday night. “Oh hey girls!” She pointed at the staff and sashayed herself to the booth; her bedazzled sandals slapping the linoleum like a jackhammer in the quiet place. The front door jingled again and in rushed Zoey.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized to the front of the house and then chased after Tessa. “I picked her up because she was texting me weird messages—I thought I could calm her down with something to eat.” She explained to the table as she took a seat next to Doug.

“I already ate today.” Tessa insisted, sliding in next to her sister and almost toppling over a pizza.

“Oh yeah, what did you have for lunch?” Doug asked, his patience wearing thin.

“GIN and uh—” she had to think about it but excitedly rebounded, “and uh water ice. Breakfast of champions!” Tessa thought she was quite funny, regardless how everyone else disagreed.

“How about we have a little slice of pi—” Doug pandered but she wasn’t going to hear any of it.

“Now who would put sausage on a pizza? Oh, no. I have enough meat in my life—you know what I’m sayin’ Zo—you feel me?” She howled.

“That’s cute.” Doug’s patience officially went on vacation as of that second. He tore the sausage off some of the pie and then thrust the mangled slice in front of the drunk twin. “There ya’ go, just cheese—And you eat your damn slice too! This has gone on long enough—we’re going to have a barbeque and chill like we always do! It’s Fourth of July this weekend, did you know that?” He directed at the other twin.

“This white boy’s hollering at you, oh lord…” Tessa cackled; her cheese dripped down the side of the table as she reached for some ice chips from an empty cup. Zoey was mortified and motioned to Antha for help, her friend was out of control.

“Yeah—well this boy’s about tired of this foolishness! I don’t know all of what’s happened that night, but neither one of you will talk to me about it! Ant you’ve been practically dead, a walking zombie for three weeks—and Tessa, it’s three o’clock in the afternoon, what the hell has gotten into you?”

“Gin.” She giggled.

“Hey Katy? Can we get all this to go, with some two liters?” He yelled across the full length of the restaurant.

Zoey handled the food transport as Doug buckled the twins into his car. He mumbled to himself, “…goddamn vampires my ass…” as he cleared his fogging glasses. Tessa began to mildly complain about the heat when the car stopped at a red light. They all noticed a young man struggling to get into a car at the gas station across the way.

“Is that José?” She whispered. They witnessed his mother trying to steady him, juggling his crutches and searching for a spot on him that wasn’t bandaged. Adorned in a neck brace, shoulder sling, full posterior elbow splint, and full left leg cast. Poor José appeared like he faced-off with a combine. Doug glared at the girls in his rear-view mirror. The light turned green and not another word was said.

He parked the Buick under the tree closest to the house and got the girls inside. Zoey did the same and brought the provisions to the shaded porch. It was too hot to do anything other than sit around by the fan or stay in the AC. Tessa went to her room when they got in; she felt awful about what she had seen at the gas station.

They worked together to set up the tall pedestal fan on the porch, because the porch fan just couldn’t combat Mother Nature alone. They were in the midst of dawdling about when Antha accidentally fell asleep on the porch swing while Doug played the guitar. Zoey elicited his help inside to leave Antha to nap. The two were shocked with the state of things.

Momma’s house was a frightful mess. They never saw it in its condition before: Dishes with dust, articles of clothing haphazardly dropped, laundry either half started or half done, it was difficult to tell. “Momma would roll over, I swear…” Zoey whispered. They agreed to tidy up while the twins rested, lest Momma rise up and haunt them. That woman was meticulous and was not above coming back from the grave to tell everyone what’s-what.

As if life had been frozen in time from the month prior. The twin’s incident hit like a meteor and their friends now saw the wreckage. While they hadn’t admitted it out loud, they had stopped living too; obsessed with what happened that night at Hollow House. Grasping for a truth that they couldn’t reach.

The overloaded dishwasher whined as it cycled and it reminded Doug of seeing José, busted up and struggling. That’s what really happens after a bar-brawl. There’s always a winner and always a loser. He half-heartedly swept the floor and thought to himself: these are the parts they edit from movies. The aftermath. The guns, the glory, the blood all made the cut; but the estranged motions we go through to try and find the thread leading back to our lives doesn’t. These are the quiet moments without answers, like loose ends dangling.

Zoey crept into the kitchen and signaled for him to follow her to the porch. She had just hung the last load of laundry on the line for the afternoon. They were both beat and sweat through from cleaning. They shimmied the big metal ice bucket to the front, fearing they’d disturb Antha. She was so far gone that an earthquake couldn’t wake her. They popped two well-earned beers and exchanged the bits and pieces of what they learned from the twins over the past few weeks.

“…that’s crazy, right? Like there’s no way what Tessa told me could be real, right? Did someone roofie their drinks?” Zoey asked him as she tied his wavy hair into a top-knot.

“I’m just worried that something happened they won’t say, like they’re traumatized—I mean, Zo, I was driving to the bar and I seen them covered in blood on the side of the road. Tessa was screaming in the ER that a vampire attacked her sister—and then Antha all of a sudden, calms her down and explains to the doctors that they were lost in the woods, came upon the bed and breakfast for help, and that a strange man assaulted them there. Said they used a fireplace poker in defense, bloodied him up real good, and they escaped to the main road.” Doug took a swig of beer to recuperate.

He was getting worked up just relaying the story, “But the cops, they investigated that place and found six bodies—slaughtered—in the basement, two of them the owners. The bodies had been sitting there for days before the twins got to ‘em. I’m scared that maniac’s out there. I mean—I’m scared in my own damn apartment when I think about it. What if they were found in that basement? What if we couldn’t find them?” He shook his head.

“What can we do for them? Are there groups for people like this, who think they’ve seen something supernatural?” Zoey mused aloud as she pinned her jet-black pixie cut hair out of her face. The two pulled fresh beers out of the ice bucket and vowed to do some research after the weekend. They agreed their first goal was to get the twins fed and cared for.

They watched the sun set into folds of purple, pink, and orange over the high grass. The heat of the day receded with the light, but the humidity persisted only to remind them that it was an intermission; the threat remained that the summer’s full force would return at tomorrow’s dawn.

The grasshoppers were summoned as Doug strummed his guitar, not truly playing anything particular. Zoey brought out cards to shuffle, waiting on Tessa to play. The evening began to set in peacefully until a rumble cut through the twilight.

A huge pickup truck barreled down the long drive and parked in front of the house. Out jumped the infamous Flake. His blond hair contrasted against the lavender sky, budding starlight glinting off his aviator sunglasses, and a tooth pick in the corner of his mouth completed his redneck-chic visage. He swaggered up to the porch and was met with a startled Antha; she had jumped up like a viper at the sound of his wheels. He donned a large patch like bandage over half an eye and his hands were wrapped too.

“Tessa around?” Franco didn’t even offer small talk which had Antha go straight from just waking up to furious.

“Not for you.”

“Well, I wanted to check in on her—haven’t been able to call on account of that scuffle at the bar. Them boys got my tires and my phone.”

“Looks like they got your eye too.” She scoffed.

“Yep,” he laughed and pulled his sunglasses down to reveal those piercing big blues, “you should see the other guy.”

“We did.” Her disdain seemed to suck the air out of the whole yard. Franco leaned on the porch banister and pulled a smoke from behind his ear. Her eyes burned so hot on him she could have lit his cigarette.

“I can see you’re not much for visitors, so I’ll just leave this. If you could give it to Tessa, I’d be mighty grateful.” He handed her a number, but she walked away not even considering it. Zoey jumped up and took the note. “Night ya’ll.” Franco flicked his butt into the yard and made his way back to his truck.

Long after he left and the noise of his truck faded Antha sat, her arms crossed, on the porch swing. Her friends idled by, every so often glancing in her direction waiting for her to speak her mind. The disgruntled twin couldn’t connect the pieces of her dislike for Franco. It wasn’t as simple as his jeans were too torn, his truck too loud, or his gaze too heavy; it was the fact that she knew nothing about him. No one did. Where did he come from—and where was he going? It didn’t add up to Antha that he was the first hillbilly she ever met without a tan. What working man doesn’t have a farmer’s tan? Finally, after a good twenty-five minutes of contemplation Antha announced, “I need a drink.” With a flutter of Zoey’s sundress, she presented a liter of honey whiskey, lemon wedges, and shot glasses.

A few shots and some pizza in her stomach, Antha started to feel somewhat whole. The four-hour nap revived her a bit, or least lessened the haze she had been wading through. She could finally take in her surroundings: she was lucky to have her friends. When the mosquitos really started to bite they brought their party inside and relished the cool—and now clean—house. “I don’t know what I’d do without you two, I’m sorry I can’t,” she paused, “I just can’t right now.” Before Antha could work out her sentiment the queen bee descended from her room.

“That’s it! I have decided!” Tessa announced, thumping down the stairs like a sentinel charge. “I’m going to visit José tomorrow—even though it’s not my fault he got his ass beat, I still think it’s only fair to show love.” She waited, her hands on her hips, for their unyielding approval or preferably a round of applause.

“Look at you growing a conscious,” was the general consensus of the other three. Tessa saucily tossed her braids as she dusted her shoulders. They all scooted into the kitchen table and fed her dinner. Just like a heart, she had a way of pulsing life into a room. Before they knew it, they were swapping stories like always.

Tessa was laughing and teasing Doug when she took a shot. She threw her empty glass down on the table as was customary, but when the glass met the table it then clinked as if something had been dropped into it. They all sat forward to see a silvery-gray eye in the bottom.

“Did you just spit that in there?” Doug’s eyes were wide.

The twins beheld each other knowingly.

In the beginning, they initially freaked out over the eyes returning. Now it became a sickening fascination of what they could do to them. The eyes always returned. They burned them, they drowned them, and they threw them away; every time the eyes returned to the twins.

“I tried to tell you, but you’re not listening,” Antha began, “these eyes are following us. Ever since we killed that thing at Hollow House, we’ve had them.” Doug and Zoey’s faces were pained in disbelief.

“Here.” Tessa got up roughly and held the eye over the sink. She turned on the garbage disposal and dropped it in; it made a grotesque metal sound and then after a few rotations, crunched like glass. Antha showed the eye that was always in her back pocket and explained she threw it away in a drain across town earlier that day. She threw hers in too, directly into the disposal.

“Well, how long does it take for them to come back?” Zoey asked.

“They’re not coming back—this is a trick!” Doug looked like an angry leprechaun with his reddened face and stubble. The twins’ faces didn’t even shift with the accusation.

“Sometimes its seconds, sometimes hours, or a day. It doesn’t matter, they’ll be back.” Antha confirmed and the twins took their seats at the table. The room became solemn as Tessa popped another round of beers and poured a flight of shots for them all, knowing the liquid courage was needed. Doug jumped up from his seat and began checking under cushions, searching cupboards, and drawers. The girls sat back and waited as he processed.

He huffed, “…you got back-ups, or hiding ‘em somewhere—I don’t know why you’re playing with me right now…it’s not funny…” But then a loud plop sounded on the kitchen table, like a golf ball dropped from the ceiling. He turned to watch a second oversized marble drop seemingly out of thin air. He returned to the table and gawked at the two eyes sitting in front of the twins. “You got to tell us what happened at Hollow House.” Doug’s voice was hushed as he shakily accepted the whiskey shot from Tessa. In unison they saluted and threw back the shots with beer chasers.

While the four friends went over the sordid events, in gruesome detail, a mysterious figure watched from the unlit porch window. The uninvited guest crept off through the yard, down the dirt-path driveway, and made a phone call:

“They got them eyes,” it reported, “I reckon there’ll be a war.”

Twinning Taglist: If you want to be added or removed just let me know; please share with anyone that might be interested. I would love any and all feedback so I can learn and become a better writer. Thank you! I tagged some people that I thought would be interested in this. @myoxisbroken @just-the-hiddles @vodka-and-some-sass @nildespirandum @yespolkadotkitty @latent-thoughts @emeraldrosequartz @villainousshakespeare @hopelessromanticspoonie @caffiend-queen @poetic-fiasco @lokimostly @dianamolloy @marvelgirlonamarvelworld @brightsunanddarkmidnight2-0 @cateyes315 @mooncat163 @nuggsmum @myraiswack @wolfpawn @plastic-heart @confusednerd09

#landlord vampire fic frenzy #twinning vs vamps #arch-venus25 writes

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raleighcarrera · 4 years

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everywhere we go

ride or die | colt kaneko x mc (ellie wheeler)

everywhere we go / we're the kings and queens and we run this city

ellie comes back to l.a. colt’s been saving a place for her. for @rodappreciationweek day 4 (mc day!)

tags: @choicesarehard, @lovehugsandcandy, @pixeljazzy, @theeccentricbibliophile, @troublemakerinspace, @zigtheeortega, @beccadavenport

~6.1k words | E (18+)

she was ready.

she’d spent a long time running, but all of that was over, now.

ellie was coming home.

truth be told, she’d been itching to come back to l.a. for months. as the date of her graduation loomed she found herself less and less interested in her last semester, unmotivated to finish her assignments and avoiding the college parties that had once seemed so fun.

she found herself blowing off classes, work and club meetings so she could take her car out of the city and push it to its limits on the highway, waiting for the speed to top out. making sure she hadn’t gotten rusty.

before she knew it, the day she’d been waiting four long years for had arrived.

ellie took her car straight to colt’s when she drove back, not even bothering to stop home first and unload the entire contents of her dorm, which were still piled into her backseat. she’d been by enough since he’d opened up to know where she was going without her gps, and took the familiar route across the city with an eager smile on her face.

summers back in l.a. -- trips here and there when she could, when she wasn’t working -- had gotten her intimately acquainted with the new shop. the new crew. when she was back on the west coast, ellie spent more time hanging around with colt than she did at home, though there was nothing new there.

he was waiting for her outside when her car pulled up, and she drove past him into the shop, into the parking space that wasn’t technically hers but that he always left open for her car regardless of what point in the year they were in. a few people she recognized were hanging around working on something, and some of the new crew even called out to her excitedly when she got out of her car, but ellie ignored them, rushing back outside.

she flung herself into colt’s arms with a squeal, burrowing her face into the side of his neck. his arms tightened around her almost to the point of pain and he lifted her up effortlessly, swinging her around before setting her back on her feet and dipping her body low with a searing, knee-weakening kiss.

when he pulled away, the look in his eyes was suspiciously soft. he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “i can’t believe you’re home for good.”

ellie grinned at him. home. she really was. warmth coursed through her slowly, her whole body alight as she basked in the naked affection on his face. “i missed you so much.”

he sighed, sliding his hands down from her arms to her waist and pulling her in closer. “me, too.” then his lips spread into a gleeful smirk. “wait ‘til you see what i did.”

that level of unguarded excitement, coupled with the tone of his voice, certainly spelled danger. she’d gotten very few updates while she’d been away on his progress -- it wasn’t safe to talk about any of it over the phone, so for the most part, when she was in new york she’d been kept in the dark where the new crew was concerned.

except for when she was back in california, and colt spent most of the time she was around trying to impress her. then he let her see everything.

he grabbed her hand and pulled her back inside. the rest of the crew looked up when she entered. one of the boys laughed at her from the floor.

“let’s try this again,” jamie said, “hi, ellie. congrats on graduating.”

she smiled. “thanks. i’m glad to be back.” her eyes fell on a pair of long legs in black jeans poking out from underneath a car. “is that raven? can’t you stop for two seconds to say welcome back?”

a pretty girl with dark hair slid out from under the mclaren she was working on and arched her eyebrows at ellie. “welcome back,” she said obligingly, “but the boss said i have to have this mod done by the end of the day.”

ellie cut colt a questioning look, and he shrugged. “we have a drop tonight. come on, i’ll get you up to speed.”

with one last wave to the rest of the team, she followed colt to his office, eager to get started. though he’d absolutely laugh at her if she said so, being back and seeing everyone felt like the first day of school.

he shut the door behind her, and ellie let go of his hand to take a look around, reacquainting herself with the space she’d absolutely already seen every inch of up close before. but... something was different, and she gasped as soon as she noticed what it was.

since she’d been here last, he’d shifted everything over to make room for a second desk, which was empty, save for a photo of the two of them taped to the side of it. ellie walked over and ran her hand along the smooth surface of the wood. “is this for me?”

colt leaned against his own desk and smiled at her. he looked pretty proud of himself. “yeah. figured you should have your own space in here.”’

she turned around and closed the distance between them swiftly, pushing him into his desk chair. then ellie climbed into his lap and kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his neck. “i love you,” she murmured against his lips, shivering when his hands settled on the small of her back and pushed up underneath her shirt.

colt made a noncommittal noise against her lips, running his fingers reverently over the bare skin of her sides. “i really should tell you about the drop,” he said, though the tone of his voice sounded completely uncaring.

“in a minute.” her hands slid into his hair and angled his head in for another kiss before he could protest; as expected, the second sound he exhaled into her mouth was much more agreeable, a low undercurrent of excitement running through it.

his fingertips grazed over the line of her spine and slipped around to her hips, holding her tightly on top of him. ellie rocked down to meet his movements eagerly, careless of the fact that she’d been driving for six hours straight before she came here and that she’d last slept in some weird hotel in nevada where she’d had to wash her hair with body wash instead of shampoo because that was all she had.

judging by the way he was eyeing her, when their mouths broke apart so she could catch her breath, he hadn’t noticed any of that.

“jesus christ,” he mumbled against her lips, sending a shiver straight down to her toes, “can’t believe we can do this whenever we want forever.”

he had a point. it seemed surreal that she wouldn’t have to drive back to new york in a week, in three months -- ever again. ellie’s face split into a blinding grin. “i know. but we totally can.”

colt lifted one hand to her face, cupping her cheek. she held his gaze as he stroked his thumb softly across her skin, holding still while he studied her. not for the first time, she wondered what he was thinking -- it was always something, when he looked at her like that.

“it’s gonna feel so fuckin’ good to finally fill you in on everything,” he said, his voice low. she nodded. “i can’t wait to see you behind the wheel again.”

“yeah?” she asked playfully, arching her eyebrows, “been thinking a lot about getting me in one of these fancy cars, huh?”

“not so much these,” colt smirked, “but other ones -- definitely. after this drop, there’s a plan i want your opinion on.”

“‘kay,” ellie answered agreeably, already leaning back in to catch his lips in another kiss. colt kept his hand on her steady and met her halfway, his teeth biting down on her bottom lip in a way that was a little sharper than strictly necessary; after so long without the firm pressure of his hands, his mouth, his body -- it felt incredible.

she twisted her fingers in his t-shirt, rocking her hips forward insistently again. the solid weight of him beneath her was, on its own, an out-of-this-world sensory experience; she’d imagined this moment dozens of times. when she was her most homesick and lonely at school, it was the only thing she could think about -- how he would sound when she jumped into his arms, the way he smelled, the sounds he made, the feeling of his lips against hers.

now that it was here it was almost overwhelming, especially since they had to work tonight, and they were short on time again.

the noise level out in the garage was starting to rise, making it harder to ignore. colt sighed heavily as she started inching the hem of his t-shirt up, squeezing her bare thigh in his hand. his head flopped back against his desk chair.

“i want to take you apart,” he said. the focus in his voice made her mouth dry. it was a tone that, before now, had been reserved for the directions he’d give during a late-night striptease over her webcam. now it was something between a threat and a promise, pressing on her raw nerves just right, so that she smiled at him when he groaned and continued, “...after the drop.”

with one last pointed wiggle of her hips, ellie slid out of his lap and extended her hand to pull colt up, too. “come on, let’s see this mod.”

a few members of the crew shot her knowing grins as they both made their way over to the car, ellie tugging her shorts back into place and colt smoothing a hand over his hair. in the corner of the room, raven was standing off to the side of the mclaren, waiting for colt’s approval. he stepped around her to open the driver’s side door for ellie and she slid inside, pretending like she knew what she was looking for.

colt leaned in from where he was standing beside the open door with a grin. “it’s been tuned.”

“i know,” she answered defensively, running her hands along the steering wheel. “how fast is it now?”

raven was looking at her fingernails where she stood next to colt. she sounded almost bored when she shrugged, “zero to sixty in under two seconds. runs quarter miles in eight.”

her eyebrows arched high. “wow.”

“we did the tires, too.” colt’s eyes looked her over where she was sitting in the front seat, his gaze so heavy she could feel it along every inch of her body. “you impressed yet?”

“well...” already her pulse was picking up speed as she imagined getting the car out on the highway, putting it to its limits. “can i test it before i give my final verdict?”

raven beamed at her. “i was hoping you’d say that.” she pushed colt out of her way and ran around to the car’s passenger side.

“hey!” raven paid him absolutely no attention as she slipped into the other seat and buckled her seatbelt. “who said you were going with her?”

“come on, you’ll get to drive it later when you do the drop.” she gestured at herself where she was buckled in, “and i’m already here.”

ellie pulled the door shut, waving at colt through the open window as raven did the same. “we’ll be right back.”

as anticipated, the mclaren was fast enough to make her scream. the highway heading out of the city was empty so late in the day, and she wasted no time testing the engine, exhaling heavily as soon as the speedometer hit one-ten.

finally, it felt like she could breathe again.

there was absolutely nothing in the world that compared to this. away at college, she’d chased the adrenaline high that came with fast cars and danger and found nothing even remotely close -- this was exactly where she was meant to be. out here, with the world racing past her, it felt like she was herself again, instead of the person she had to pretend to be in front of her dad, her classmates at school, her professors.

finally, she was free.

“so?” raven called over to her, the wind from the rolled down windows whipping her hair around her face, “how’d i do?”

“this is incredible,” ellie gushed, her shoulders relaxing back against the fancy leather seat. it seemed surreal to think about how the car they were in was worth more than ten times her college tuition -- so she tried not to. “colt is going to die when he tries it.”

“he’d better, he’s been a fucking tyrant lately.” out of her peripheral vision, she saw raven roll her eyes. ellie took the next exit, swiftly navigating the turn that’d take them back to the shop. “thank god you’re back. dealing with him since you left after spring break has been impossible.”

“come on, he can’t have been that bad.” though there was fondness in her voice, she was absolutely sure he had been that bad. ellie could see it in his eyes every time they spoke over a video call -- he was just as anxious for her to get back as she was to come back.

he’d always handled her being away poorly, but with the end in sight, he’d definitely been... spiraling. like her, things for him only seemed to get worse as the date of her graduation drew closer.

raven snorted. “you don’t even believe yourself. whatever. trust me, we’re all thrilled to have you here full-time.”

everyone was standing around in the shop staring as she parked the mclaren and hopped out. “what’s the verdict?” colt asked when she came closer with the key fob.

“it’s crazy,” ellie praised, shooting him a genuine smile. “so fast. you’re going to love it.”

colt hummed, nodding at raven from over the car. “shame we have to give it to that rich prick grusk.”

a look of shock took over her face. “this car is for devon grusk?”

“yeah.” he sighed. “gotta take it all the way to hidden hills tonight. pain in the ass.”

“what does an old loser like devon grusk want with a car like this one, anyway?” jamie asked, leaning forward to place his elbows on the hood. raven reached over and shoved him off, and ellie watched his arms windmill for a moment before he regained his balance with a smirk. “he’s already married to a supermodel. can’t be about bagging chicks.”

“as long as he pays up, i don’t give a shit what he does with it.” colt wrapped his arm around her waist, and ellie leaned against his shoulder, her eyes still on the car. “good work, raven. ellie and i will do the drop tonight and tomorrow afternoon we’ll start talking about the fillmore job. just keep everything else moving until then.”

there were murmurs of assent as the crew nodded and walked away. ellie watched colt slip the key fob to the mclaren into his pocket, and once they were alone, she said, “you didn’t even check her work.”

he shrugged. his fingers tapped on her hip, pushing up underneath her shirt to get to her bare skin. “if she impressed you, it’s ‘cause it was perfect.” ellie stared at him. “come on. if we leave now we can stop for dinner.”

colt pulled the car back out of the garage, and ellie felt her mind start to wander. something inside of her was undeniably pleased by his trust and approval -- he had let her word on the car be final. in front of everyone.

he’d always promised her, voice low over the phone late at night, half-asleep in his bed at home, that when she came back they’d pick up right where they left off. that nothing between them was ever going to change.

it’d been a worry of hers while she was away at school that’d only worsened with time; ellie had assumed he’d grow tired of waiting or bored of her demands and decide being with her wasn’t worth all of this -- but he never did.

colt had handled her more gently than she’d ever expected him to. when things in new york got so bad she couldn’t stop crying every time she picked up the phone, he’d said ellie, i fucking swear to you you’re the only goddamn thing that’s ever on my mind.

part of her hadn’t let herself believe him. part of her had been convinced she’d have to prove herself to him all over again. part of her felt like she didn’t deserve his trust after she’d left him behind...

but most of her was just really, really happy, warmed by his faith in her.

he noticed. “why are you looking at me like that?”

she rolled onto her side in the passenger seat, wiggling closer. “because i love you.”

colt blinked. she wondered if the words would ever stop surprising him. he shook his head. “i’m so fucking glad you’re going to be here for the fillmore job. there’s no way it won’t be perfect with you driving.”

ellie reached for the hand he had on the gearshift and laced her fingers through his, dragging her thumb across the back of his knuckles. two of them were split but almost all the way healed, making her wonder what he’d punched and when. “delaney’s a good driver. i’m sure it’s not anything she wouldn’t have been able to handle.”

“yeah, but she’s not you.” that, she understood. while the rest of the crew was great in their own right, and certainly full of people they could depend upon, there was something comforting in working with colt -- in knowing that there was another person who had her back from every angle, who’d rather die himself than ever let anything happen to her.

“well, i’m excited to drive again. but -- knowing you, i’m sure you’ve mapped a route that’s difficult for no reason.” the laugh he gave, and the boyish grin that accompanied it, let her know that -- like always -- she had him pegged.

“it’s not that bad.”

“let’s see -- we’re going through fillmore, so i’ll bet i have to... hop train tracks at the very least.” she paused, waiting for his facial expression to give some indication of whether or not she was hot or cold. colt just kept smirking at the road. “detour through the mountains, of course.”

“of course,” he said flatly, and as she narrowed her eyes at him, she saw one corner of his mouth twitch.

“ha!” ellie crowed triumphantly, “i knew it. it’s so cliche.”

he rolled his eyes at her. “whatever. your handle on the turns will be better than delaney’s would have.”

ellie shot him an unimpressed look. "i can’t imagine why. you’re such a good teacher.”

“hey, i showed you the basics,” he shot back defensively, “the rest of it you mastered out of sheer determination to prove me wrong. and if that’s what it takes to motivate them, then i’m all for it.”

“yeah, but i had a crush on you,” she reminded him, pausing to smile down at their joined hands on the gearshift, where colt was squeezing her fingers. “so we were like -- flirting. everyone else probably thinks you’re just being a dick.”

colt scoffed, smoothly pulling them off the road and into an in-n-out parking lot. “it’s not like we’re the girl scouts. i shouldn’t have to coddle them.”

ellie finally dropped his hand so he could shift the car into park, stretching her arms out in front of her as she grinned, “that point would be a lot more effective if you weren’t literally wearing one of the matching bracelets i made everyone last summer.”

“if you don’t shut your mouth, i’m not buying you a cheeseburger,” colt threatened, shaking the sleeve of his jacket down over his wrist.

she laughed, gently closing the car door and stepping outside into the parking lot. from two spaces over, a boy their age gaped at her as ellie pushed her sunglasses up into her hair.

“sick car.” he nodded at her, something condescending lurking in the edges of his crooked smile. “a little girl like you drives that thing?”

“hey, keep your fucking eyes to yourself,” colt said, before she could answer. ellie pressed her lips together to stifle a smile, wrapping her arm around his waist as he drew close.

colt must’ve been in a pretty good mood, because he let her eat most of his fries without much complaining, only shoving her hand away twice before letting her at them, staring fixedly at her from across the booth they’d claimed. one of his hands absently rubbed at her bare calf where her legs were thrown in his lap.

ellie pried the top off her empty soda to fish out an ice cube from inside the cup. “raven said you’ve been a giant asshole all month.”

“i was kind of hoping they’d stop tattling on me to you now that you’re home.”

over the last four years, she’d received a truly impressive number of phone calls complaining about colt. they were always innocently free of specific details -- just in case -- but descriptive enough to make her smile. funnily enough, when everyone started arguing was usually when she got the most homesick.

plus, it was kind of nice that not a single member of the new crew was too afraid of colt to call him a sociopath with unrealistic expectations or a narcissist with a god complex, screeching the words to ellie over the phone with deep exasperation.

“you could always just stop doing things worth tattling over,” she suggested, dragging the last of his fries through the too-large pile of ketchup she’d made before popping them in her mouth.

colt huffed at her from across the table. his thumbs dug into the muscle of her calf, massaging her skin. “i wasn’t that bad. it’s not like i stabbed anyone.”

“okay, that is not a measure we’re going to go by.” as an answer, he pushed her legs out of his lap, waiting for her to stand before grabbing her hand to lead her back outside. “and it’s not like i don’t know how cranky you get when i’m not here.”

“i don’t get cranky,” he said, in a tone that definitely sounded cranky to her. “it’s just easier to work when you’re around. you’re obviously an asset to the team.”

yeah. in between her junior and senior year, when things were really starting to pick up for the new crew, he’d practically begged her not to go back to school. colt had been adamant, and it’d been tempting -- the intensity of his gaze when he’d glared at her in his dark bedroom and said we need you here was permanently burned into the back of her mind.

“what time is it?” she asked abruptly, squinting into the setting sun.

“six-fifteen.”

“and what time is the drop?”

“seven.”

ellie’s hand hovered over the handle of the car door. she looked up and met colt’s eyes where he was standing on the other side of the mclaren by the driver’s side door. then she arched her eyebrows deliberately, a slow smile taking over her face.

he caught on immediately, his reaction time as quick as ever. “we’ll be late,” he said decisively, slamming the door behind him as he ducked back into the car. ellie followed with a giggle, only able to spare a glance at the tinted windows before colt yanked her into his lap, wedging her body between him and the steering wheel.

as soon as her knees hit the seat on either side of his hips, colt’s mouth was on hers, kissing her urgently. ellie fumbled on the side of the seat to push it back, and he bit down on her bottom lip as the back dropped out abruptly, laughing when she pulled away with a hiss. “careful,” she scolded, though she yanked his shirt up just as roughly, pushing the fabric up his chest.

“please.” his mouth kissed across her jaw while his hands worked on the front of her shorts, “i’ve been thinking about this all week. if we didn’t have somewhere to be i’d rip these stupid clothes right off of you.”

ellie shivered where his hands pulled at the front of her shorts, though her mouth curved into a smirk when she heard him say, “but, seriously, a button fly?”

she laughed, reaching one hand out to his cheek and tilting his face up for a kiss. it was only a matter of seconds before she lost herself in the incredible feeling of kissing him again, her breath stuttering when his fingers dipped unceremoniously under the waistband of her underwear.

“shit, el,” colt murmured against her mouth as they pressed up between her legs with practiced ease, “if i’d known you were so hard up for it --”

“oh my god, you’re insufferable,” she gasped, fumbling between their bodies to try to undo his own jeans, “i could kill you.”

“you wouldn’t.” it was dark in the car, though she could still make out the infuriatingly smug slope of his smile when he leaned in closer. “i bet you’ve been wet since you first took the car out, huh?”

her breath caught as his thumb finally found her clit, and ellie grit her teeth, rocking her hips forward desperately. “seriously, they’ll never find your body.”

“such an attitude. i’m literally being so nice to you right now.” as though to punctuate his point, he pressed his thumb in more firmly, rubbing quick circles against her. she could’ve punched the arrogant expression clear off his face.

“we don’t have time for this,” she huffed, each word wavering with a moan, “just fuck me, it’s been --”

“too fucking long,” he agreed, brows pinching together when she reached in his briefs and pulled his cock out. ellie flushed all over as he looked her up and down. “christ, you’re stunning.”

she leaned in to kiss him again, sighing into his mouth. her hips shifted above him and they both groaned in tandem when she started to sink down into his lap, her breath catching as her hands gripped his jacket tightly for purchase.

colt’s hips rose to meet hers and she felt the whole car rock with the movement. a low whine left her throat when they got the angle just right and she shook above him, doing her very best to keep as quiet as possible.

colt had no such qualms about their privacy. “that’s it, baby,” he murmured, his fingers dipping between her legs again, “you don’t wanna let ‘em hear you?”

ellie could feel her whole face burn bright red with a blush. it was taking everything she had to remember to watch her elbows near the steering wheel and the horn behind her back. “colt.”

“this’s every day, now,” he continued, twisting his hips viciously, “just me and you, running the whole city --”

her lips pressed desperately against his to muffle her moans, each heated kiss making her dizzy. what he was describing had felt like a fantasy for so long: the two of them back in l.a., running the operation together with anything and everything they could want at their fingertips...

but it was here, now. it was reality.

everything went fuzzy and quiet as she came with a gasp, her hips stuttering against his. ellie’s fingers twisted in his jacket and pulled him close, only distantly registering the sound of colt cursing and pulling her into him and whispering her name.

when she opened her eyes, he was already staring at her. the look on his face was familiar, and, not for the first time, she felt like he was staring down into her soul -- seeing a part of her that only he had ever noticed.

her lips split with a sweet smile. “you’re amazing.”

colt laughed, shaking his head. then the look was gone, replaced with a more common fondness, though it was still something that only ever came out around her. “you should see what else i have planned.”

“can’t wait,” she sighed, leaving one last gentle kiss on his lips before flopping back into the passenger seat with a groan. “let’s go, i want to unload this thing and get home. i need a shower so bad.”

he cut her a look as he merged back onto the freeway. “if you think they’re not putting together a welcome home party for you right now, you’re out of your mind.”

fuck. he was probably right. “ugh. well -- i guess it’ll be nice to spend some time with everyone.”

the smirk on colt’s face was amused. “the car’s not bugged, you know. they can’t hear you.”

“it will be!” ellie laughed, “i missed all of them, too. and you’re gonna be all about the fillmore job tomorrow, we won’t get to have any fun.”

“we can make time for whatever you want,” he shrugged, glancing down at the directions on his phone before accelerating, shifting the car into the center lane to move around someone else. “you weren’t kidding about this thing, huh?”

she shook her head. “it’s really nice. raven did a great job. hey -- that reminds me. a girl i knew from school said her boyfriend’s been out here scouting for a ride. i told her we’d take a meeting.”

“okay,” colt said easily, “set it up. you can lead.”

again, she was stunned. he said the words effortlessly, and like before, his trust made her stomach squirm happily. she couldn’t remember the last time she’d ever felt so anxious in such a good way, warm all over like she had been the very first time he’d insisted he saw something else in her, in the street outside of riya’s house after he’d kissed the hell out of her.

there was no denying how good it felt to be thought of as capable, especially by him. but colt had always seen her potential and raised the stakes to meet it. he’d trusted her with this piece of him that was so important she sometimes still wondered why, but... for whatever reason, he had.

he still did.

unsurprisingly, devon grusk lived in a gated community. ellie was jolted from her own thoughts as colt slowed the car through a security checkpoint, and while he navigated them smoothly to the waiting mansion at the end of the road she checked her reflection in the mirror, sliding her shirt back into place.

all billionaires were the same. ellie was reminded why they did what they did as soon as colt handed the keys over; devon grusk was a slimy, pompous, arrogant douchebag. she bit her tongue as hard as she could while he inspected the car from every angle, cracking stupid, irritating jokes as he did so.

from behind her fake smile, she thought, i’m glad we had sex in your car, even as she politely took the backpack stuffed with money from his hands.

“god, that guy sucks,” ellie sighed while they waited for their rideshare, leaning her head on colt’s shoulder.

from beside her, he made an agreeable noise, rubbing her side where his arm was slung around her waist. “wanna know a secret?”

it seemed unlikely that whatever followed that question was going to be good, but she still said, “sure.”

colt’s mouth widened into an obnoxious grin. “we’re going to steal twenty million dollars from him next week.”

ellie pulled back to gape at him. “what? is that what the fillmore job is? did you tell everyone else?”

“yes and no. but they’ll be stoked. you know this guy still hunts big game? who does that?”

a black honda civic pulled up to the curb. colt smiled charmingly at her as he reached out to open the backseat door. ellie rolled her eyes back at him and slid inside, murmuring a polite hello to their driver.

“don’t think we’re done talking about this,” she said, as he climbed in next to her and pulled the door shut.

he pulled her closer with a laugh, pressing on her side until she leaned her head on his shoulder again. “wouldn’t dream of it. how was your drive this morning, anyway? you never told me.”

she always called when she got to the hotel, after she was done driving, but today she’d gone straight to colt’s, so he’d missed her hour-long debrief. “it was okay. i didn’t sleep well last night.”

ellie told him all about the hotel in nevada and the long drive back to l.a. without omitting a single detail. before she knew it, they were back at the garage, and it was dark -- the early summer sun had finally set. she yawned as they made their way back toward the side door.

“i can’t wait to wake up with you tomorrow morning,” she sighed, mentally setting a reminder to call her dad at some point, too. “i’ll kill jordan if he wakes us up before ten using that jackhammer again.”

colt grabbed her arm before she could walk inside, halting her steps on the sidewalk outside of the garage. “hey.”

ellie turned, looking up at him with her eyebrows arched. “hi?”

he was staring again. she bit back a shiver as his gaze seemed to reach from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, something unidentifiable in the dark depths of his eyes. “just wanted to get a good look at you here. pretty soon everyone in the city’s gonna know your name.”

she probably shouldn’t have liked that as much as she did. there were definitely... complications she’d put off thinking about for as long as possible that she couldn’t ignore forever, problems she’d have to address sooner or later.

but for now... it was admittedly a little thrilling to think about running the show by colt’s side. something they’d only talked about for so long was finally coming to fruition.

and for the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt like herself again. she felt perfectly at peace -- happy and safe and adored and understood, by someone who knew what she was worth and never assumed any less.

this was exactly where she was supposed to be. ellie shook her hair back off her shoulders, smiling. “well? how do i look?”

“picture perfect.” he leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of her head, squeezing her arm before grabbing her hand again. “come on, before they bust.”

true, everyone inside the garage was practically vibrating with excitement when she threw open the door. “surprise!” they screamed in unison, reenergizing her from her exhaustion while she made the appropriate wide-eyed faces they were all expecting.

“she’s faking,” raven declared, and then everyone went back to talking to each other, the music turned up loud again. ellie relaxed heavily against colt’s chest when he stepped up behind her and pressed his mouth to the dip of her shoulder at the base of her neck.

“welcome home,” he murmured into her ear, shifting to stand beside her, instead.

ellie turned her head and shot him a smile that widened exponentially when she saw how he was looking at her, his eyes soft and fond and impossibly sweet where they met hers. she was finally able to identify the emotions she hadn’t been able to place earlier in the evening: relief, at the fact that she was finally back; pride, at the way she was already doing so well and all his while she did it; and happiness -- no explanation needed.

“it’s really good to be back,” she answered, squeezing his hand.

it’d been less than eight hours, but already, she meant it.

#rodaw #colt kaneko #colt kaneko x ellie wheeler #ellie wheeler #colt kaneko x mc #myfic #long post #lemon #ns*w #k i have a lot of thoughts about this #my favorite part is the group dynamic with them being the mom and dad of the crew #because you know when there's stuff he doesn't want to deal with he's like ask ellie #and they're all like colt said to ask you #i could talk abt this for hours dm me #choices rod #ride or die

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hot-wiings · 4 years

Text

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Edited: 7-28-20

You paced the floor of your dorm room back and forth as you impatiently waited for a knock on your door. You held a stick in one hand, one that displayed two positive lines. In your other hand was your phone, displaying an urgent text to your boyfriend, Inasa Yoarashi.

We need to talk! It's important... [Sent: 2:34 PM]

Your phone displayed that he'd seen and opened your text, but you'd gotten no response from him. From the tone of your text, it sounded like you wanted to break up, but the contents of what you needed to tell him were much more heart wrenching and serious than that.

There was a knock on your door and you knew it was him. After years of dating Inasa, you could recognize the way he knocks on your door.

You walked up to your door and unlocked it for him to come in. You quickly moved the hand holding the stick behind your back. You knew it was stupid, you called him over here to tell him in the first place, but now that it was facing you in the face you were scared.

"Hey, are you okay? I heard you were sent to your dorm and excused from your classes because you were ill."

Your heart ached at the words you had to tell him. He was so worried for you, and you feared the bomb you were dropping on him would ruin the relationship you had, but he is your boyfriend and the father of the baby in your womb. He had to know.

"I'm... I'm pregnant."

The words just tumbled out with a stutter and there was no taking them back. The truth was out there for Inasa to take however he pleased.

"What...?"

"I'm pregnant! There is a baby inside me. Your baby."

"You... You can't be. We were careful! We always used protection."

"Accidents happen, with or without condoms. The only one hundred percent protection is abstinence."

You quietly looked at the floor as you let him process the bomb you dropped on him.

"We can't keep it, you know that right?"

"They're not an it, it's a them... For now at least until I get an ultrasound."

"You're thinking of keeping it? You can't be serious! What about our careers, your career. You won't go to school, you'll never become a hero. You'll spend the rest of your days, picking up trash and waiting tables, your life will be over."

You picked up your eyes from the ground and faced your lover. The hatred and hurt could be seen in your eyes. They were glassy, and tearful, but what Inasa said was too late to take back.

"Six hundred, sixty-four thousand, four hundred, and thirty-five babies are lost to abortion each year. Sure, maybe those women were living in poverty, but I'm not. I have the means to take care of the life growing in my belly. I made the decision to sleep with you, therefore I have to own up to my responsibility."

"No one would blame you if you got rid of it. You have a career to think about. Fuck, you're a Todoroki, your business is everyone's business, you have a reputation to think about."

"I don't give a shit about my Todoroki status! Did you know Steve Jobs was almost aborted? One of the smartest men in the world. Did you know Celine Dion was almost aborted? She was her mother's 14th child and she wasn't sure she could handle it, but she did, and now her daughter inspires people through lyrics. If you don't want this baby, then our hearts will go on fine without you."

"[Y/N]..."

You avoided his eyes and pointed to the door. Maybe you were just being emotional and overreacting to him, but you knew you had to have this child, with or without his help.

"You should leave."

As you watch Inasa walk out your door one thing was for certain in your mind. This baby would grow up without having to worry about financial support from Inasa or Enji. Single mothers all over the world were surviving, so could you.

Inasa stood outside your dorm room. Your door was wide open and there were boxes scattered around. You were scrambling about, folding clothes up and sorting items to boxes and bags.

"Hey..."

Your eyes flashed up to see Inasa. Shock flashed your face before quickly looking down at the box you were trying to fit clothes in.

"Hi... What are you going here?"

"I... I heard you were dropping out of school."

"Well, the school board made it known that I'm not welcome here pregnant."

Instinctively, your hands went to the small but noticeable baby bump. Inasas followed your hands and he stared down at the bump bulging out of your stomach. His child was in there. His child. A literally baby.

"How'd Enji take the news?"

"I cut ties to my father once my pregnancy was leaked to the tabloids. He was angry that I tarnished his name, I couldn't really give a shit."

You taped up the last box and made a movement to pick it up but Inasa swooped in front of you and lifted it before you could. He gave you a very sheepish expression.

"It's bad for the baby."

"Thought they were an it?"

"[Y/N], I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that. It was irresponsible and out of line. You have to understand why I freaked... Babies require a lot of attention and needs. They have to be thought out and planned, that being said I've had time to think."

Inasa placed the box on the ground and knelt in front of you. He grabbed your hand cautious and carefully in case you rejected his display of affection. He placed a ring box in your palm as he started reciting the speech he prepared.

"I want to take responsibility. I want to be in this baby's life. I want to be in your life. I can't imagine doing this with anyone else... We can get a house and other mundane things. You can go back to school afterward. I want to do this together... If you'll have me."

"Inasa... Yes. Yes, I'll have you."

The months leading up to the final trimester of your pregnancy went great. You and Inasa found a three-bedroom apartment for a cheap price, and you even found a school that would take you despite the fact you'd be a teenage mother. UA high said it wouldn't be any issues considering you only had to finish up one semester, and the handwritten recommendation from your brother, Shouto, a stellar top student at UA put you into good graces.

"Do you want any tea?"

You looked up from your book to see your brother peering down at you with a soft smile.

During the process of your pregnancy, your brother really helped out. Shouto was constantly there for you when Inasa was gone. He forced you to be on bed rest while he retrieved things like entertainment and food for you. Truthfully, your mood swings scared him a little bit.

"I'm good Shouto, have a seat you don't have to cater to my every need."

"Tea is good for the baby."

"Your brother is right. When I was pregnant with you I'd drink a cup of chamomile every night."

Your mother walked into the room and took a seat by your feet. Ever since your mother was released from the mental institution she'd been living with you and Inasa. She'd been very supportive and nice over the pregnancy. She'd been very motherly, the kind of motherly you'd missed out in your childhood, but she was making up for lost time now.

You smiled at your mother when you felt a warm trickle at your legs. You grasped the now huge bump on your stomach as you gasped.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Your brother was by your side in a minute, concern and worry displayed on his face as you turned to him with just as much panic.

"My water broke."

"What? But your not due til next week!"

"I don't think she gives a shit, because my water just broke."

Your mother blatantly ignores your brother's freak out and calmly knelt next to you.

"Sweetheart, we're hours away from any hospitals, if your having the baby your gonna have to give birth here."

"This baby wasn't planned in the first place, neither should the delivery. Let's do it."

"Shouto, get me some buckets of water, clean towels, and pillows."

Your mother helped you adjust your body so you were in a birthing position.

"You need to stay in this position until your dilated enough to push. Take deep breaths. I'll have your brother call Inasa."

You started to feel cramps and pain. Immense pain as your mother walked away and talked to your brother. Shortly, she returned with a grim expression.

"Inasa is stuck at his internship. They won't let him leave."

"Okay. It's okay. I have you. I have Shouto. It's okay."

Your mother guided you through the process of birth-giving. She helped you get into positions that would help induce a faster birthing.

"You need to take a deep breath and push. I can see the head nearing. Just give me one more big push."

Exhaustedly, you pushed just as your apartment door swung open.

"Where is she? Is she okay?"

The urgent sound of Inasa resounded throughout the apartment as Shouto directed him to you.

"I'm here. I'm here."

"What about your internship?"

"Screw them, I said I wanted to be in this together! My daughter is being birthed, I'm not missing it."

With one last push, your mother pulled your daughter out of you. She sniped the ambiblical cord and cleaned her up before wrapping the baby in the clean towels and bringing her around for you and Inasa to hold.

As you looked down at your precious bundle of joy you squeezed Inasas hand. Months ago you thought you'd be alone with this, you were scared and frightened but you weren't alone. You had Inasa, your brother, and your mother. They weren't going anywhere.

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atlafan · 4 years

Text

Take it Slow - Part Sixty-Four

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, and the start of smut...

a/n: okay this is short only because the angst made me tired, and it’s late, and I wanna deliver on the smut so....that’s that on that.

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

“Holy shit! Someone got some sun!” Niall says as you get into his car Monday morning. He squints at your neck. “He knows it’s not really scarf weather anymore, right?”

“I’ve lost the energy to care or fight with him about it. Besides, I’m sure it’ll go right up Mark’s ass. What a nice treat for me.” You laugh. “How was it last week, anyways?”

“Good! The three of ‘em actually kept to themselves which was nice. You gave him plenty of work to do.”

“Oh good.”

“How was Harry, happy to see yeh?”

“Of course he was.” You furrow your brows at him. “Is there something you’d like to say to me?”

“I’m not the one who got into a fight.”

“Niall.” You sigh.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry about all of it. It was stupid, and primitive.”

“I appreciate you both looking out for me, but I wish you wouldn’t be angry for me. I feel like I’m really moving on, and it’s hard to do that when the two of you can’t keep your cool.”

“I know, I really am sorry.” He gives your hand a squeeze and you smile at him.

“It’s okay. Wait! How was yours and Sarah’s six month? I haven’t had a chance to ask her yet?” Niall nearly stops short on the drive.

“Um, it was good, really good. I got her a new anklet, and she really liked it. We had a nice dinner out too.”

“Oh that’s great!” He parks the car and you both get out. “Hope you enjoyed what she got for you.” You wink at him and head inside.

“We’re not talkin’ about it!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, have we reached a point where we can’t talk about sex anymore?” You ask facetiously. Niall’s face was beat red.

“Don’t play with me. I know you two went shoppin’ together.”

“She wanted a second opinion.” You shrug.

“Wasn’t it weird for you to go shoppin’ with her?”

“Not really. They went shopping with me earlier in the day to get something for Harry. We’re all very close.”

“What else did you get for him?”

“What do you mean what else?” You cross your arms.

Just as he’s about to speak you both are greeted by Trish.

“We’ll talk later.” He says and you nod as you both go to your separate offices.

You had a meeting right away with Mark that you were dreading. He was waiting for you outside your office.

“Welcome back.” He says with a smile. “See you got some sun.”

“Thanks, and yeah I did.” You unlock your office door and he follows you in. “I just need a minute to get settled.”

“Take your time.” He says sitting down.

You plug your laptop into the docking station and get logged on. You start looking over some of the things Mark worked on, and you actually weren't disappointed.

“Took some time to watch some of those videos on the Adobe site, turns out you were right, it’s not that difficult to learn.

“I’m actually kind of impressed, Mark.” You smile at him.

“Thanks.” He smiles back. He notices your neck, but doesn’t say anything. You’re actually being nice to him and he doesn’t want to ruin it. “So, boss, what do you need me to work on this week?” You smirk at him.

“Well, I’ll have to go over all this and get back to you. Is that alright?”

“Course, I’ll just be with the others in the conference room.”

You weren’t sure what it was, but Mark seemed to have a serious attitude adjustment, and you liked it. Maybe the rest of the time he’d be working with you wouldn’t be so bad. You look over everything, and make up a list of what you’ll need from him. You go into the conference room right before you leave to meet Harry for lunch, it was Monday after all.

“Hey Mark, here’s what I’ll need from you this week.”

“Thanks. We’re all going down the street for lunch, do you wanna join?”

“Can’t, sorry, I go to Harry’s studio on Mondays.” You walk out, and go down to Niall’s office. “Need your keys to meet Harry.” He tosses them to you. “Thanks! Have a good lunch.” You smile.

“You too!”

Harry was having the day from hell. Somehow word got out that Harry and Mariah had become chummy outside of work, and that he set her up with Rachel. Someone must’ve seen a picture of them hanging out last week on Instagram.

“Harry?” Julia asks, coming into his office.

“Yeah?”

“This is sort of non work related, but I was wondering if you could help me with a school thing…”

“I thought you weren’t in any classes this semester.”

“I’m not, but we have a faculty member we’re supposed to pass things in to for the internship to prove that we’re actually doing stuff. I’ve never really put a portfolio together, and I was wondering if you could help me now that I’ve written a few things.”

“Oh…um…”

“I’d ask Myk, but I want it to look really nice and you’re so creative.” If Harry had any faults, it would be that he could be sweet-talked into just about anything.

“Sure, yeah, I’d be happy to help. I’d have to help you at the end of the day though when I have more time.”

“Really?! Thank you so much! Would tomorrow after work be alright?” You had your therapy appointment tomorrow, so it wasn’t like Harry would be missing precious time with you at home.

“Yeah, that works.”

“Thank you Harry, this’ll be such a big help!” Harry turns and sees you walking in.

“No problem, run along now, my lady’s here.” He nods towards you and she walked out of his office. You brush by her as you walk in. “Hey you.” He stands up to hug you, and squish his nose to yours. “Have I told you how happy I am that you’re back?”

“Maybe just a couple times.” You kiss him quick. “It’s nice out, wanna eat outside?”

“Sure.” He grabs his things and heads out with you.

“So, what did Julia want?”

“Oh, she wants me to help her put a portfolio together for school. I’m gonna help her tomorrow while you’re with Dr. Mara, is that alright?”

“Yeah.” You shrug. “Why would I care?”

“You don’t exactly like her.”

“Neither do you.”

“True.” You both chuckle.

Julia purposefully wears a tight dress to work Tuesday. She couldn’t wait to spend time with just Harry in the office alone. She wouldn’t make the same mistake she did last time. She needed to be less obvious, and she genuinely needed his help with her portfolio.

You: babe, want me to bring you dinner after my appointment? Can meet u at the studio

Harry: that’d be great! Pick up whatever u want <3

Julia comes into Harry’s office with her laptop at the end of the day. Everyone slowly starts to leave. He grabs a chair for her so they can both sit at his desk.

“So, I have these pieces that I’ve done, and I really have no idea how to organize any of them. I wanna give my instructor a virtual experience you know? But I don’t wanna just use prezi or screen record.” Harry hums along in understanding.

“With my photos, I’ve sort created these, like, virtual booklets almost. There’s this program, hold on, let me email you.”

Harry sends her the info so she can set up an account.

“I think your prof will be impressed that you’re putting in so much effort.” He smiles.

“It’s not every day we get to basically take a semester off from classes, so I just wanna prove to her, and to all my friends that think I’m not doing anything that I’m actually working really hard.”

“You shouldn’t care what other people think of you, but I get where you’re coming from. Alright, pull up all your articles and I’ll show you how to add them into the program.”

He leans in close and points to where she can drag and drop things. She tries her absolute best to not get distracted by the smell of his cologne. After an hour or so they take a little break.

“So, you have a year left?”

“Mhm.”

“What do you think you’ll do after you graduate?”

“I have no idea.” She sighs. “I think I wanna travel. I could see myself freelancing for a bit before finding something stable.”

“You should definitely travel! I’m glad I did. You learn a lot about yourself, helps you grow up a little bit too.” He smiles at her. “Also, it’s okay to have no idea what you want to do. It’s not like graduating automatically means you’ll have it all figured out. Your passions will change all the time, and you might find you didn’t want what you thought.”

“Was there something you thought you’d be doing but realized you didn’t wanna do?”

“Yes and no. I knew I wanted to be a photographer. I thought for a while I’d end up in marketing with my mate Niall, especially while I was going for my MBA. But the structure was just too rigid. I also didn’t wanna wear a suit every day.”

“That’s too bad, you look so good in a suit.” She jokes nervously.

“True, I do clean up pretty well.” He jokes back. “But I just knew it wasn’t for me. There’s too many people to answer to. Even here there’s a lot of people to answer to, but I feel like my vision gets trusted more and more and I’m able to just do what I want. I think that’s the key. Do something you want, not something that someone else wants for you.”

“That makes so much sense. You really have it all figured out.”

“S’not that I have it all figured it out, but I’ve had a lot of experience to steer me in different directions.”

“I feel like I have a better head on my shoulders than a lot of my friends. This internship alone has been such a big help.”

“Good. Let’s get back to it, shall we?”

He leans back in closer and shows her some other things to make the virtual booklet look more interesting and engaging. He cracks a joke or two and she ends up putting a hand on his shoulder while she laughs.

You were just coming up from the elevator with dinner. You picked up some of his favorite sushi. It was dark in the studio except for Harry’s office. Julia’s hand was still lingering on Harry’s shoulder. She gripped lightly at the material, and his eyes went wide.

“Woah, what are you-“ He starts to stand up.

“Hey!” You say dropping the food to the floor. You grab the back of Julia’s dress and yank her over to the wall in Harry’s office, practically throwing her into the glass. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

“Nothing, I was just-“

“You were just trying to kiss my boyfriend?!” Your hand wraps around her throat and you push her back against the glass again. Harry wraps his arms around your waist to pull your away from her the girl cowering in front of you. You try to break from him, but he’s too strong. “I will end your shit, do you understand me?!”

“Julia, get your shit and go, now.” Harry says, very pissed, but not wanted to add more fuel to the fire.

Her body shakes as she grabs her laptop.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“You didn’t mean to what?! Try to kiss him?! You’re a psycho! He already told you he wasn’t going to step out on me, remember when you tried to fuck him in Florida? He told me everything! I think I’ve been very nice, but I’m done. I am soooo done.” You look back at him. “Let go of me.” Harry cautiously loosens his grip on you and you get in her face. She uses her laptop to shield her. “As god as my witness, if you don’t leave him alone, if I even hear of you looking in his direction, I will end you. Your life will be over. You’ll get fired from this internship, cause guess what, you’ve been sexually harassing him. And don’t look at me like you don’t know that’s exactly what you’ve been doing. You’ll get fired, you won’t have a good enough reference for your next job, and you won’t get hired anywhere. You’ll live in your parent’s basement for the rest of your life all because you couldn’t keep your fucking hands to yourself after he said no.” You look her up and down. “You think you’re special just because he’s nice to you? Just because you wear a tight dress you thought he would get into your pants? Guess what little girl, I used to pull the same shit when I was your age. Grow the fuck up. And I don’t care if you’re the coffee girl. Have Dana do it, or Isaac. I don’t care. It’s not you anymore. Stay the fuck away from him.” You step forward again and she flinches.

You smirk at her, and she slips out of the office, running out of the studio. You turn around to Harry with wild eyes. He was absolutely stunned, and a tad frightened. You were fuming.

“Would you care to explain to me why her hand was on you in the first place?” You ask crossing your arms.

“I know you’re not blaming me for any of this.” He starts packing up his things. “You better hope she doesn’t report you threatening her.”

“She better hope you don’t go to H.R.! She’s lucky you didn’t report her when the thing in Florida happened!”

“You know as well as I do she could’ve turned that around and said I came to her room. It wasn’t worth the headache. I had the situation under control.”

“Did you?! It looked like she was about to kiss you, Harry!”

“You need to calm down! I would’ve never let that happen! I was about to stand up and tell her we were done.”

“Why. Was. She. Touching. You?” You step closer to him.

“I don’t know. I made some joke, she laughed, and then she put her on my shoulder. I noticed she started to grab at the material so I was about to get up. S’not like she grabbed my dick, Y/N.”

He walks out of the office and you follow him. He turns the light off and locks the door. He sighs and picks up the food from the ground.

“This should still be fine, nothin’ came out of the packaging.”

“How could you even eat?! I feel absolutely sick to my stomach!” You both walk over near Isaac’s desk where there’s more light.

“Babe, I-“

“Don’t babe me!” You put a finger in his face. “Only I get to touch you, do you understand? Me, only me!” Your eyes well up with tears and he puts everything down to wrap you in his arms. He hugs you to his chest. You cry into him.

“S’not worth your tears, love.” He strokes the back of your head. “I’m upset too, don’t get me wrong. I don’t like that anyone thinks they could touch me. You’re the only one I want touchin’ me. I only want you, Y/N.” You look up at him and he wipes your tears away.

“I didn’t mean to get so upset. I just came from therapy, and then I walked in and saw that, and I lost it.”

“I thought you were goin’ to throw her through the glass.” He chuckles. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen yeh like that before.”

“Oh, have I never told you that I’m a black belt? All my siblings and I did karate growing up. I could literally end her shit.”

“You’ve been keepin’ something like that from me all this time?” He says with a fake gasp.

“You’re only supposed to use it in certain situations.” He kisses the top of your head. “Shit, are there security cameras here?”

“Yeah, but Isaac’s the one who checks them in the morning. I’ll text him and ask him to not say anything to anyone.”

“Okay.”

You both leave and meet at home. Harry puts the sushi in the fridge, suddenly also not feeling hungry. He texts Isaac, and he tells him Julia is to not interact with him anymore.

“Harrryyyy.” You whine from the bedroom. He comes in to meet you.

“Sorry, I was just…textin…Jesus.” You had changed into the lingerie you hadn’t worn during the photoshoot. You had something behind your back.

“You were texting Jesus?” You giggle.

“How do you get more beautiful each time I see you?” A grin grows over your face.

“I have a lot of adrenaline built up.”

“Do you now?”

“Mhm.”

“What’s that behind your back?”

“I think you already know. I had a little chat with Sarah today. You and Niall tend to gossip more than she and I do.” Harry starts to sweat. You blush and toss the cockring to him. “Wanna have a little fun, baby boy?”

He smirks and nods. He puts the little package on the bed and starts to undress. He had never used one before, all he knew was that they made an erection last longer, so he just figured you wanted to go a few rounds tonight. But you had much more in store for him.

#harry styles #take it slow #harry styles x reader #harry styles y/n #harry styles x y/n #harry styles imagine #harry styles sluff #harry styles smut #harry styles angst #harry styles fic #harry styles fluff fic #harry styles smut fic #harry styles angst fic #yall i laughed when i saw this was under 3k im so sorry #i thought it was longer #i just couldn't write the smut man #tomorrow tho he gone get it #come hang in my ask box!

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qtakesams · 3 years

Text

When Life Goes On, Go with It

Two years ago this month, I moved to Edgewater, Maryland, to complete a summer internship with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. SERC, as we call it, is a branch of the Smithsonian Institution that specializes in climate, coastal, terrestrial, and various other types of sciences. Their campus is an hour east of Washington, D.C. They own hundreds of acres of land, on which they house their laboratories and fields.

It was just after my sophomore year of college ended. As with many underclassmen years, mine was turbulent. I endured a drastic shift in my social circle which had, even if temporarily, left me feeling stranded on a campus I was still learning about. I’d had a rough spring semester, finding a lack of motivation to complete any assignment.

Most undergrads face that year: the one where nothing feels right, and each path feels like a dead-end. I had applied for a SERC internship on a bit of a whim. Entering college, I’d seen myself as a fiction writer and editor, planning to end up in a corporate publishing house. Sophomore had shown me I desired other things, and I applied for SERC’s science writing internship completely unsure if I’d actually like the work. What if I didn’t? What if it felt worse than the previous semester? What would I do if I couldn’t bounce back?

All of this, I decided, would be worth the risk. When I got an email from the internship’s advisor in March, offering me the position, I accepted it. The rest, as some might say, is history.

SERC is a hard place to find until you’ve visited a few times. The brown sign is easily skipped by the eyes. Coming from the west, you approach SERC on the left side of the road. Immediately, you forget that you’re technically in the suburbs, less than thirty miles from the epicenter of political heat in America. After a few turns, you arrive at the gate. When SERC is publicly open, you drive on through. When you’re an intern coming back from the bar at night, you have to swipe your ID card. You drive a few more turns, watching closely for deer, before that final right turn that drops you into the parking lot of the intern dorms and the labs.

I fell in love with SERC within days of my arrival. There were the intimidating factors of the place: fellow interns at Ivy Leagues and respected colleges, scientific labs into which the government itself funded millions, no meal plan, and the stick shift vehicle I would drive all summer. I was terrified when my mom drove away. I explored the floor of my building, admiring the kitchen, perusing the book selection. By eleven, I was in bed. I was tried from traveling, but more so, I didn’t know what to do. I’d briefly interacted with the other intern already on my floor, but I didn’t know him well enough to go say hi. There were four interns moved in below my floor, but I hadn’t seen any of them yet. I suddenly seemed wildly out of my element, though I had felt comfortable at SERC the moment I drove through the gate.

Of course, I grew happier at SERC. The happiest I’d been in years. Within weeks, I made strong friends, adjusted to my job, and began to close my GPS when driving to the store.

My work felt good. The articles I wrote and the media I created reached thousands of people, many of which gave positive comments. My words were reaching people, and the people were responding.

I was raised by a scientist, but more importantly, by well-educated, empathetic people. Loving my planet was part of the gig when I was growing up. In high school, I began to see where my privilege in this education existed. My friends at school didn’t seem to care about the things I’d be taught to care about. Water consumption, electricity, knowing the landscape on which your house is built. I knew important moments in history, and how they affected me. I had early knowledge of politics, to the point where I knew who George Bush was before his presidency ended (when I was 10). Ignorance and empathy tend to go hand-in-hand, mostly because ignorance leads to apathy. We’ve seen this cause-and-effect equation hold catastrophic, deadly consequences in 2020.

When I arrived at SERC, it didn’t slip by me that I suddenly had access to information that most people only dream about. Many of us are ignorant (I remain ignorant to 99.9% of what happens on this Earth) by circumstance, not by choice. Accessibility is one of our biggest problems of a global society attempting to function in a digital, climate change-riddled world. Sixty percent of the globe now has Internet access, but that leaves 3.08 billion people without the knowledge they need to protect themselves from the setbacks of climate change. Most of those people, as it would turn out, are terribly affected most by war, poverty, hunger, climate, social injustice, etc. These things intertwine and cause one another. Not always, but often.

My position at SERC gifted me access to science occurring in real-time. When the Pandemic would hit a year later, it would be surprising but not shocking. On a planet where politics and science are brothers, and the population is soaring too high to properly maintain, containing a spreadable virus is like trying to hold a cup of water in your bare hands. Sooner or later, it’s going to slip between the cracks and go everywhere. If it slips far enough, you’ll never find a towel strong enough to collect it all.

In March of 2020, when I moved home to isolate, I knew the rest of college was trashed. Not my degree, necessarily, but the experience of college. I would lose that experience in its normalcy, and therefore the skills which develop from that normalcy.

I did soon realize, however, that we are not always fortunate enough to do something about mass-casualties or problems. There’s not always an answer, straightforward or not. When there is one, you should grab it with both hands.

That summer of 2020, I decided I wanted to pursue a master’s degree after college. Higher education is not unknown in my family; we boast high degrees from prestigious universities. I am the opposite of a First-Generation student (one of my great-grandparents also had a master’s degree). Graduate school had already been on my mind when I started college, but I didn’t know what for. An MFA in fiction had felt the most logical to my teenage self in 2017, but by 2018, that felt out the window. What I had realized by the summer of 2020 was that, in the midst of the chaos and absurdity, was that I could in fact do something about what was going on. I can’t solve climate change, or house the homeless, or save every polar bear, or even eradicate a virus, but I can help in my own way. On some level, I can do something about the many crises. This, in itself, is “doing something”.

Science writing is a polarizing subject, of this I have been aware my entire life. Unfortunately, we’ve made science political, though politics are generally opinion (with strong empathy) and science is fact. It’s a tough, competitive field, but so is everything else. If you want to “make it” in this world, you have to willingly shed blood, tears, and probably sweat profusely. As I watched the COVID cases skyrocket simultaneously to the people I knew who cared not to stay home, I could tell something was off. People weren’t listening. If they were, it was usually to the ignorant voices on television.

I could feel my cheeks burning as I watched the Johns Hopkins map. It seemed cruel that we, as a society, could do that to ourselves. That we could allow this virus to spread and kill, but also that we had put ourselves in this position. I had already been envisioning myself as a science writer every day since my time at SERC had begun. Finally reckoning with the knowledge that not everybody is a scientist, nor cares to be one, was the icing on the cake. I couldn’t fix it all, but I could offer my help. So, I would.

When I began this blog two years ago, it was solely for abroad purposes. It was a fabulous way to let anybody who cared know what I was experiencing and how I was handling those experiences. Studying abroad, no matter how or where or how long, is difficult. Studying in general, for any length of time on any subject, is mindboggling tedious. I give kudos to my friends and family who have any advanced, foreign, or nontraditional education.

What I discovered after I began writing blog posts and sharing my thoughts is that there’s always more to the story than the words on the page. That’s why I’ve added to this blog in the year and a half since my abroad semester ended; there is always more to tell.

In a few weeks, I begin my master’s degree at Northwestern University in Chicago. My degree is in journalism, with a specialization in Science and Health reporting. I’m nervous to my core, as I am with any new adventure. I just graduated college last weekend, so my emotions are running wild. Yet, I have a feeling I’m about to finally be where I’ve wanted to be for years. I love words. I love messing with them, shaping them, using them to fit whatever project I want. I also love science. I love knowing what is happening around me, and why and how it is. Combining them already feels like a dream come true, so I’m sure the next year will feel magical.

The classes of 2020 and 2021 are probably the most resilient in history. A Pandemic, racial and social injustice, wildfires, remote learning, wifi issues. We’ve seen it all, and it’s made us stronger every day.

I think I’ve worn this blog out for this phase of life. My thoughts on what I’ve talked about here are valid and important, but they don’t exist alone. For somebody who’s pretty much been writing since she could hold a pencil, I hate journaling. I’ve tried so many times, and never succeeded, with the exception of this blog. That said, it gave me an incredibly strong, consistent manner of getting my thoughts on the page, for which I am endlessly grateful. If you’ve kept reading my thoughts and words, you should know I’m endlessly grateful for you, too.

All of this is saying that, whether you’re ready or not, life keeps going. Life can be cruel, it can be challenging, it can be beautiful. No matter what, it keeps going. As my friend Ferris once said, if you don’t stop and look around from time to time, you could miss it. So much changed so drastically in the last year. I’m still processing it. I might always be processing it. Most importantly, I think, is that I’ve learned to flow with it wherever it goes. It’s harder sometimes than other, but the result is usually worth the grind.

You might read my stuff in the Times once day, or (my personal favorite dream) National Geographic. I don’t know honestly know where I’m going, but I’m okay with that because I do know that I’m on my way. I’m still going. When life continues, you should go, too. You never quite know where the climb will lead, but you do know that the view will be great.

#study abroad #science writing #thoughts #media #graduate school #graduate student #class of 2021

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lightwoodsmagic · 4 years

Text

This year was the first time I wrote any fanfiction from the One Direction fandom, and I have loved every single stressful, chaotic, emotional second of it.

To everyone who has ever read my fics, given me support, and left me kudos and comments, thank you so, so much. I can’t even explain how much it means it me, and I’m so incredibly grateful.

Here are all the fics I wrote in 2019.

✨💐 The Lone Hydrangea

E • 77k • Harry/Louis • written for @potterdirectionficexchange

“Thank you again,” he smiled at Harry as he picked up the arrangement and headed towards the door, and Harry quickly realised he didn’t know the man’s name.

“I – wait! Sorry, I just...what’s your name?” At the man’s eyebrow raise, Harry stumbled over his words, “It’s just, if you’re coming back, I thought I should…know.”

As the man looked at Harry, his smile only grew, and Harry’s heart thumped in his chest.

“My name’s Louis. Louis Tomlinson, and it was so lovely to meet you,” he shot one final grin in Harry’s direction, “I’ll see you next week, Harry.” And then he was gone.

“It was lovely to meet you too,” Harry whispered to the empty shop, putting his head on the counter, “Louis”.

Or the post Hogwarts AU where Harry's a florist, Louis' a muggle who edits fantasy books, and they both have no say in how quickly they fall for each other.

🌞📸 Finally Their Time

NR • 4k • Harry/Louis

“I can’t believe you’re wearing this and it’s not just at home. We’re going to the Met Gala, Harry, and you’re wearing your wedding ring.”

Harry’s smile grew as his index finger and thumb twisted to play with the matching band on Louis’ left hand. “So are you.”

“Well, it’s kind of a matching set. Wouldn’t want to make you look foolish,” Louis teased. “Are you ready to see me now? ‘M dying to see you, if I’m honest.”

Harry took one last deep breath and squeezed Louis’ hands, dropping then as he took a step back. “Yeah, Lou. I’m ready.”

Or, Harry and Louis attend the Met Gala together, and suddenly the whole world knows.

🍆🥘 Impress Me

NR • 6k • Harry/Louis, side Zayn/Liam • written for @disneydirectionfest

“Everyone can cook, Harry, you just have to be taught by the right person,” Louis said, and Harry watched as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his arse.

“I don’t think you can teach what you just did, though,” Harry replied with a small laugh, grabbing the bowl and standing as well, “seems like more of a natural talent, if ‘m honest.”

Louis laughed, and Harry’s heart thumped in his chest. It was impossible to ignore how attractive Louis was, but he concentrated on listening when Louis spoke again. “Well if I can ever help somehow, let me know.”

“Maybe you can?” Harry said carefully, studying Louis’ facial expressions as he continued, “could you possibly tell me how to fix this?” He waved the bowl in his hand, chuckling when Louis grinned.

Or, Harry's a new chef who can't cook to save himself, but when he meets Louis, he learns more than he thought possible

🧵🛏 This is Somethin’ Real

NR • 6k • Zayn/Liam • written for Wanker’s Day fic fest

Zayn had felt it before, felt the hope and the possibility of something brewing, but where he usually pushed it down, he let it consume him now, let it take over everything until he was swinging his feet and grinning when Niall finally walked through the door.

“Lads!”

“Nialler!” Louis shouted, wrapping him up in a hug.

“How is everyo – woah, why are you so happy?” he asked Zayn, cackling when Zayn kicked out at him.

“He’s going to tell Payno he’s in love with him tonight, that’s why,” Louis explained, and Zayn saw Harry’s nose scrunch as he smiled.

📒 🦴 This Might Tickle

NR • 4k • Harry/Louis • part one of the Uni AU series • written for @wordplayfics

“You could say that. Oh, by the way, green eyes is staring at you again.”

Louis’ head snapped up so quickly his neck cracked, his fingers freezing where they rested against the keys. His eyes flitted quickly around the room before coming to rest somewhere to his left.

There he was, staring directly at Louis with a straw between his lips. The beautiful man that had happened to seemingly appear everywhere Louis had been for all of last semester until chocolate coloured curls contained by soft buns, bright patterned shirts, and green eyes had seemed to follow Louis even as he slept.

Or, Louis' been admiring Harry from afar until they become study partners for their first year anatomy class.

📕🦉 When You Smile

GA • 2k • Zayn/Liam • part two of the Uni AU series • written for @wordplayfics

Liam shifted his body slightly to get more comfortable, angling towards Zayn just in time to see Zayn duck his head down, his hands still outstretched, the shirt covering his bare skin. He could see the curl of his lips from where he was sitting, the beginnings of a smile, and he bolted upright; it was finally happening. Liam was finally going to get to see Zayn Malik smile.

Death in an aviary. Louis would approve.

Or, Liam’s never seen Zayn smile during classes, but a trip to the zoo for their studies helps him see a lot more.

📗🦓 The Doppler Effect

M • 2k • Harry/Louis • part three of the Uni AU series • written for @wordplayfics

“A...zebra?”

Harry sighed heavily, rolling his eyes upwards as he heard Niall chuckle next to him.

“No no, okay, I’ll - the hint again,” he explained, shaking his head and gesturing, his drink spilling behind him. He ignored the sharp cry that sounded afterwards, the muffled curse that followed as someone shook vodka and some kind of juice out of their hair. He leant forward, smiling widely. “Nyoooooooom.” His head travelled quickly from left to right and he giggled at the sound, images of race tracks and cars running through his head.

Okay, maybe he was a little drunk.

Or, there's only one person who figures out Harry's Halloween costume.

📘🎨 A Work of Art

E • 5k • Zayn/Liam • part four of the Uni AU series • written for @wordplayfics

“I’m sorry, I am, but I really have to go. Will I maybe see you around?” His voice was hesitant, but Liam’s mouth shifted into a soft smile, his eyes crinkling again at the corners. The insane part of Zayn’s brain had already decided that he wanted to see that every morning.

“I hope so.” Liam’s voice was just as soft as the curve of his mouth, and Zayn let out an audible sigh as he lifted his hand in an awkward wave and darted down the hallway.

Or, Zayn meets Liam before he realises he’s the life model for his extra credit class.

📙👓 My Favourite Word

NR • 3k • Harry/Louis • part five of the Uni AU series • written for @wordplayfics

“Nah,” Niall replied, typing on his computer and gracefully ignoring Harry’s embarrassment. The grin remained though. “He has a pretty specific...type. You could go help him out, you know. Pretend to be his boyfriend.”

Harry choked on the water he’d just swigged, his face brighter red still when everyone in the library turned to stare at him.

Or, Louis’ ex boyfriend won’t leave him alone, so Harry steps in.

⚡️🔥 Just As Fast, Twice As Dangerous

E • 47k • Zayn/Liam, side Harry/Louis • written for @1dridicficexchange

When he realised it was only him and Liam in the hallway, he felt safe enough to drop his shield.

Oh. Lovely.

Liam was emanating affection and fondness, his primary emotions filled with warmth and love. Zayn let himself bask in it, how it would feel to be loved by Liam. He knew Liam loved him, but he wasn’t in love with him; Zayn had felt that emotion too many times to count, and this just wasn’t it. He dug slightly deeper, could feel that Liam was excited and nervous, and when he hit a wall Liam had built himself, he dropped back. He wasn’t supposed to know everything.

Or, Zayn's a normal student by day, and a superhero by night. When a mysterious man seems to target him at the same time a natural disaster strikes, Zayn has to figure out a way to save the day, protect his heart, and convince the boys he's not a vigilante all at the same time.

🐈 �� And That Was That

E • 23k • Harry/Louis, Zayn/Liam, Louis/Zayn, Liam/Harry, Zayn/Liam/Louis/Harry • written for @1dpolyficfest

“Okay. When Zayn and I were working on the set yesterday, Liam dropped by and mentioned he had a date. I asked Zayn about it, and he said that they’re ah - poly?”

Harry blinked.

“Oh yeah, I knew that. Li mentioned it when we were playing tennis once.” He ran his hand through Louis’ hair, smiling softly when he nuzzled into the touch. “Is that what’s making you act strange? Because it seems like something that works for them, and I —.”

“Zayn has feelings for me.” A deep breath, and then blue eyes locked on green. “He said he needs distance because he has to get over them.”

Harry hadn’t realised his hand had fallen from Louis’ face until his fingers were being tangled and gripped tightly.

Or, Zayn and Liam have been polyamorous for years, but Harry and Louis are monogamous. When Zayn meets Louis and starts to fall for him, it opens them all up for something they've never experienced before.

⚽️ 🎶Come In and Change My Life

E • 12k • Harry/Louis, side Zayn/Liam • written for @hlmpregficexchange

He’d had the same neighbours since he’d moved into the building, a lovely, wealthy couple in their late sixties who had always invited him around for tea on Sundays. Martha had dropped off homemade biscuits the day he’d moved in, so Harry figured he may as well repeat the sentiment.

He could hear someone getting closer to the door just as a flush ran through his body; oh fuck. His heat was close, too close to be knocking on a potentially unknown alpha’s door, but it was too late. The door swung open, and Harry’s mouth dropped.

He’d never been overly interested in football, couldn’t find the fascination in watching men run around after a ball for hours aside from their uniforms, but he knew who this was.

Louis Tomlinson, alpha, captain of Manchester United, star in a number of Harry’s heat addled fantasies, was his new next-door neighbour.

Or, Harry and Louis become friends when Harry looks after Louis' cat during away games, until one night at a party changes everything between them. It's just a shame Louis' going to be away for the FIFA World Cup for three months.

🎤 🏳️‍🌈 Something Deep Inside

M • 17k • Harry/Louis, side Zayn/Liam • written for FOUR fic fest

He knew what he needed, and it was a harsh realisation to think that maybe he’d never have it again, that maybe he was about to ruin everything by admitting, live to thousands of people, that they’d been right all along.

Well, almost.

Their fans had gotten a substantial amount correct; the relationships that were faked, the two of them being kept apart by their management for being too close, too affectionate, the social media control and all the stories planted in the papers in their attempts to ruin them. Most of all though, there had been people who had always known that the overwhelming feeling of love, passion, commitment, and home was there all along.

They just hadn’t known it was one sided.

Or, the five times Louis had to hold back his feelings, and the one time he didn't.

A canon divergent story inspired by Fireproof.

💍⛳️ So baby, say you’ll always keep me

T • 9k • Harry/Louis, side Zayn/Liam • written for @28proposalsfest

He took a deep breath, and gripped Harry’s hand.

He wasn’t sure what he expected; an electric shock through his system, all of the clouds parting so the sun could shine down on them, or maybe some kind of confirmation that this was it.

What he got was warmth, a gentle grip, and a slight shiver down his spine. He still knew.

Louis and Harry know that they’re meant for each other. When Harry proposes, Louis doesn’t think he’s ever been so happy until he realises Harry’s ex-boyfriend is only a few tables over, and maybe instead of a marriage, it’s time for a breakup.

🎄 📞 A Not So Silent Night

T • 6k • Zayn/Liam • written for @1dchristmasfest

Liam's had a crush on Zayn for months, every time they talk on the phone just making him grow fonder.

He's just never met him in real life.

When he finally gets to meet him, it turns out that he can't take his eyes off him dancing on the table at the bank's Christmas party.

Especially when he starts taking off his sweater.

Can’t wait to share my writing with you in 2020! 💕

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