Tumgik
#I just gotta find out what to do for the pics on the custom deck I built for him
meltingpotimagines · 3 years
Text
Husband!Hawks
Tumblr media
this mans
is not husband material
but!
for the right girl? he may be willing to play the part
listen, mans may not be a simp but he is cHARMING okay? he got potential
besides he’s lowkey a simp for the right girl but whatever
was very romantic when he proposed
managed to rent out an entire park perks of being the #2 hero
decked out a gazebo with fairy lights, candles, and rose petals
considered making a heart with the rose petals but decided just scattering them around would be classier and less cheesy
set up a picnic with a basket f u l l of food
sandwiches, cheese, fruit, desserts, the works
and ofc a bottle of champagne bc tonight you two would be celebrating
or so he hoped
you wouldn’t say no right?
i mean who could say no to that gorgeous face pHEW
pulled out the ring box right as you swallowed the last of the macaron you’d been nibbling on
his heart sped up as your eyes widened, a breathless ‘keigo’ escaping your lips
“i know you might not be ready, but the more i get to know you, the more i realize that i don’t want to live the rest of my life without you. you’re the girl of my dreams, and i never want to wake up. would you marry me?”
“are you s t u p i d? ofc i will!”
his grin has never been as bright as it was at that moment
slipped the ring onto your finger and immediately pulled you into his arms and took off into the air
slowed your assent as you two soared above the clouds and spun around, unable to contain his joy
gazed at your face with those golden eyes, taking in your beauty, before giving you the sweetest, most tender kiss you’ve ever felt
oh boy the wedding
when i tell you this was an e v e n t i mean anyone who was anyone wanted to go to this wedding
but only those that were close to the two of you were invited
haha suckerrrs
somehow got all might to officiate
who knew all might could officiate weddings? 
certainly neither of you
no one really knows how that decision came to be but i mean no one was complaining either so
he let you make all the decisions except for one
the flowers
he h a d to be involved in the flowers
he appreciates pretty flora and if the bouquets and floral arrangements at his wedding weren’t the prettiest possible he would n o t be satisfied
teared up as you walked down the aisle (which he will neither confirm nor deny)
not that he wasn’t lookin’ mighty fine too
just imagine: tan suit with a black button up and a gold tie, gold cufflinks with a ruby set in each
i know those are his costume colors but he looks good in them so y’all can fight me
dipped you for your first kiss as husband and wife to everyone’s amusement
best believe a few different cameras caught that
the timing of the wedding was planned out so the reception was held at night
semi-sheer white tents and custom black ten-feet tall candelabras
the soft glow from the candles combined with the moonlight made for the perfect dreamy vibe 
he managed to find a florist that could dye white roses black and cover them them with a thin layer of gold glitter
was it necessary? no
did it look good? heck yeah
the gold glitter shined beautifully against the black roses
tho
the way your eyes sparkled as you danced with him was far more captivating
you two had flown up into the sky to dance your first dance together
your silhouettes against the bright moon made for a perfect picture
the only reason you ended up coming down was because neither of you had eaten much that day and a guy’s gotta eat
he gonna need stamina later *winky face*
you cannot convince me the man wouldn’t insist on fried chicken
like a whole buffet table of different flavors
but i mean fried chicken is good so can’t blame him
everyone expected him to smear some cake on your face when he fed you that first piece
instead wiped off the frosting that got on your lips with his thumb and licked it off
your best friend caught t h a t one on camera and will never stop teasing you about how flustered you got
he kept up a great image of a polite host but on the inside he was ready to g o
it had been a long day and he was ready love on his wife
heh
wife
he likes the sound of that
peppers your face with kisses on the ride home
yeah yeah i know h o n e y m o o n but where y’all were goin’ was forever away and mans just wants to shower you with affection as soon as possible (esp considering he had to keep his hands off you all day since you two never had a moment alone)
scoops you up the second you’re out of the car and carries you over the threshold
gives you a soft kiss before putting you down
and that’s the last soft kiss you’re gonna get for the night lolllll
definitely the type to make you breakfast in the morning
also the type to cook in nothing but an apron and boxers but anyway
you better be up in time to see that sight bc if not, you’re getting breakfast in bed not that i’d complain
he’s not the best cook but mans can manage some bacon and eggs
plus some fresh fruit bc it makes it more visually appealing and less like he doesn’t really know how to cook
he set the tray on your lap and climbs back into bed, pulling you into his side so your head can rest on his chest as you two munch on breakfast
there’s something so soothing about the sound of his heartbeat
a soft little rhythm that nearly puts you back the sleep
didn’t help that he was unconsciously running his fingertips along your arm, drawing random squiggles and shapes
will tilt your head up by the chin every so often to give you a little peck on the lips
if you do fall asleep, he’ll just gaze at you softly while lightly tracing your features
still can’t process that you’re married
someone actually loved him enough to marry him
there was someone that didn’t just admire or use him bc of his quirk
didn’t give him attention purely bc he’s the number 2 hero
you saw all his flaws and shortcomings and insecurities and loved him regardless
if he’s dreaming, please don’t wake him up
you cleaning him wings for him is something he loves so much
it’s such an intimate task that makes him feel cared for
loved
how much time you take in cleaning them and how tenderly you handle each wing
it’s one of his favorite ways to spend time with you
it’s nice being taken care of for once, esp when he’s always taking care of others
absolutely loves taking you on night flights
will take you in his arms and just soar above the clouds
with the clouds below you and the stars above, it feels like you two are the only people that exist
definitely dances with you during some of those flights
wraps one arm more tightly around your waist and take your hand in his and just… slowly spins in the air
it doesn’t look like much but when you’re just looking into each other’s eyes, it feels like the most romantic and intimate moment you could ask for
your life is quite literally in his hands but you’ve never felt safer
even more so when you wrap your arms around his neck and bury your face in the crook
his arms wound securely around your waist, the comforting smell of his scent, the kisses he presses to your temple every so often
it feels like home
likes startling/scaring you a lot
will sneak into the house after work just so he can tap on your shoulder from behind 
the gasp you let out as you freak out for half a second never fails to amuse him the jerk
will always make it up to you with long, deep kiss
if he gets home late after a long day he’ll just crawl into bed and pull you into his arms before burying his face into your hair
no talking, just breathes in your scent before he crashes
he sleeps really well like that, but, although he won’t admit it, he sleeps best when you hold him, his face buried in your chest
he feels warm and safe, like it’s okay to be vulnerable for once
absolutely flirts with you while at work
probably definitely sends you a few spicy pics or texts
it gives him such smug satisfaction knowing the affect he has on you when he’s not even physically there
picks up take-out when he knows your too tired to or would rather not cook
like to back hug you and wrap you up with his wings
9/10 times will bury his face in your neck and nuzzle
sometimes if he spots you while on patrol, he’ll fly over and flirt with you
“how you doin’, gorgeous? the name’s hawks. what’s a pretty lil’ thing like you doin’ in a neighborhood like this?”
sir, this is one of the safest areas in the city pLS-
but if you actually a r e in danger? oh boy
no one, and i mean no one, touches his girl
honestly i’d rather fight bakugo one on one than deal with keigo’s wrath
he’s one of the chillest people you will ever meet, but when he’s that mad? s c a r y
will keep a close watch on you for a while after that
asks you to always let him know where you’ll be and to text him when you get home
definitely considered installing a tracking app on your phones
he’ll calm down eventually, but for the moment he’s extremely anxious
although he certainly tried his best to hide it
he didn’t want to stress you out too, especially if you had any anxieties from it yourself
he was just afraid to lose you
he doesn’t know what he’d do without you
after all, you’re the most precious thing in the world to him and he loves you more than he could ever put into words
492 notes · View notes
imagine-that-100 · 4 years
Text
Holiday | Part 17 |
Description of Part 1: Alex Turner x Reader (Female) | You’ve been friends with Alex Turner and the other boys from Arctic Monkeys since you were 13. You never for a second thought that Alex would release a song about you though. From late night phone calls and almost constant texting and teasing, you’ve managed to stay close with him over the years. When a pact is established and a holiday is arranged, life seems to be treating you very well. But a month in LA will either make or break you.
Word Count: 13K
Warnings: Divorce (Don’t worry)
A/N: Second to last part. Cries I know!!! But it’s okay, more Alex works in the future. This part is pretty much for Y/B/F so enjoy it! Taglists are always open. Thank you for reading x
STREAM MIST
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
| MASTERLIST IN BIO |
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tumblr media Tumblr media
~*~*~*~ One Year Later ~ 2017 ~*~*~*~
“Shopping in LA is actually my favourite place to shop, anywhere” Y/B/F grins at you as you stand in the queue to pay for your new clothes.  
“Honestly it’s so much better when you’re here” You smile at her.
You were so glad that she was over for the summer again. She’d come the day after your birthday which meant that your birthday celebrations continued on for practically the next week.
“I’m half sure Alex hates me when I make him come clothes shopping. He always tells me I’m making clothes up in my head and that’s why I never find what I want” You tell her as you both take a step closer to the counter.
“To be fair to him, you do that all the time” She scorns you, this time not even having a playful smile. She just shrugs and nods agreeing with what you told her.
“But the clothes exist” You pout at how you were again being bullied by your best friend.
If it wasn’t Alex, it was her. You couldn’t win.
She raised her eyebrows at you, making it blatantly obvious that she didn’t believe you.
“Don’t look at me like that, they do. I’ve seen them on Pinterest” You tell her trying to hold back a smile.
Her giggles echoed through the shop around you at that point. You shook your head at her before nudging her shoulder with your own.
But he laughs were infectious and you ended up having a giggle too, probably much to the dismay of the other customers around you. Thankfully though, you both didn’t appear crazy to everyone else for long as you were then called to the next till where you then paid for your new clothes.
Once back out into the summer heat, you headed right as you were working your way down the street window shopping.
“Right, where to now?” You ask her as you dodge the people who are in too much of a rush to be polite and move themselves out of your way, instead of you having to move out of theirs.
“Oh, I think we’re going in here” Y/B/F says as she points towards the lingerie shop a few stores down.
You smile but shake your head, “Absolutely not”
“Oh come on. I’ve gotta get something for when I go to see Miles anyway and I’ve got to treat Alex. He did pay for my flight after all” Your best friend tried to convince you.
She and Miles didn’t really end up going out with each other, it just ended up being them both having fun with the other when they were both around. You’d say it was a friends with benefits situation which seemed to be treating them both well.
“You’re treating my fiancé to things I wear though, so it makes me feel bad when you won’t let me get you anything” You tell her.
You always tried to treat her when she came over, but she never let you get her anything. Her excuse always being the same thing.
“Y/N, you’re giving me a place to stay for free and you bought my ticket over here. I’m treating the both of you and you’ll both enjoy what comes of it more than you will me buying you a card or something” Y/B/F pointed out.
You actually hold your ground this time and don’t give into her. She then lures you inside the shop though, by saying, “Come on, at least help me find something for Miles”
“Fine” You sigh before you take the hand, she was offering out to you.
She grins when she gets you in the shop, “Right okay good. Now, what’s Miles’ favourite colour?”
After spending half an hour finding something that she wanted, you browsing at all the different material made you buy something too. Something which she tried to purchase on your behalf, but you point blank refused.
She went for an emerald green set which you were a hundred percent certain that Miles would love on her. You, however, didn’t go for something as colourful.
You ended up with a new black set which you simply adored from the second you saw it. It was in the style of a body suit and you hadn’t yet bought a really nice one in this style before.
So, you ended up buying that and some black fluffy handcuffs because you thought they would be cute around either your wrists or Alex’s.
Thankfully when you got back the boys weren’t yet home. They were out at a meeting with various different important people about the Monkeys’ new album that they had all been recording. Nick and Jamie were over too, and they were renting an apartment a bit further into the city.
Miles was also recording another album at the moment which you were excited about for him. Alex had been helping him with it and Lana Del Rey had also had some input in the actual writing of the lyrics to his songs, so you were really excited to hear it when it was closer to being finished.
When both you and Y/B/F got back to your house, you both headed straight upstairs to change into your new purchases. Both of you knew that you would be going straight for the lingerie though and the actual clothes would be being tried on much later.
You weren’t shy about getting changed in front of each other as you’d obviously lived together in the years previous to when you moved out, so you’d both seen everything before.
Her set looked absolutely stunning on her and you couldn’t help but tell her that, “Miles is such a lucky bastard”
She giggled at that but then gestured towards you and the new bodysuit lingerie that you now had on. The lace that connected the bra to the underwear was something you were sceptical about, but now that you’d seen it actually on yourself, you loved it.
You couldn’t stop looking at yourself in the full-length mirror in your walk-in wardrobe.
“Oh my god you have to put these on with it just to add to the look for me” Your best friend instructs you after seeing a mess of shoes in the room.
She hands you some black heels.
“I like your thinking” You giggle as you take the large heels off her.
They were pretty high ones and if you wore them out, which you rarely did, you’d probably be taller than Alex in them. They were black ones, that were practically stilettos, that were red underneath and they tied up around your ankle.
You sat on the little stool you had in room and put them on as your best friend adjusted her bra to fit her properly. You made sure to compliment her, when she span around to check her angles, by wolf whistled her to give her another ego boost.
When the strap of on your heels were securely attached around your ankles, you stand yourself up and look into the mirror again with Y/B/F stood just behind you looking at your reflection also.
Of course, she was right, the heels really did bring everything together.
She marvels at your appearance, “Wow I actually love it”
“I love it too, I won’t lie” You say with a smile as you run a hand over the material.
“I’m sure your fiancé will love it even more” Your best friend grins at you as she shifts through your clothes to find something sexy to put on over her new underwear.
You point out a black sundress that you’d let her have as it looks sexy, yet it easy enough to get off quickly when things got heated.
You watch as she puts the dress on as you say, “Yeah well Alex can wait till a special occasion to see this piece”
“We look hot” You can’t help but express as you look at the both of you in the mirror.
She grinned and posed standing next to you, like you were both in a photoshoot. She stuck her tongue out in a teasing manner after she said, “Hell yeah we do”
“Mirror selfie for the private Insta?” She asked you, putting the dress down for a minute before grabbing your phone as it was closest.
“Course” You grin quickly double checking that nothing was showing that shouldn’t be.
After a few selfies, you made her try the dress on that you pulled out for her, and she looked gorgeous. It was short enough to attract some attention, yet innocent enough to not fully tell everyone exactly what she was after. She looked stunning.
“Oh my god, I’ve got an idea. Where are those handcuffs you have?” Your best friend asks you as she looked at the material that covered your body.
You stand up and head to a draw that was hidden away in your wardrobe, where you kept all your fun toys. You find the leather ones quickly and pull them out before closing the draw back up.
“Got these ones that you sent us the other year, but I put the new ones on the bed” You tell her, showing her the leather ones.
She smiled at you and hooked her finger in the other cuff before pulling you into your bedroom with it. You laughed and followed her with no resistance, making sure you didn’t deck it in your heels.
“What evil plan have you thought up?” You ask her as she lets go of the cuffs you had in your hand and picks up the new fluffy ones and removes the packaging off them.
“I think you should send your boyfriend some pictures on what he’s missing out on” Your best friend smirked at you.
You let out a giggle at her little plan, but you were fully on board with it.
“He’s gunna go insane” You laugh as you sit down on your bed.
Y/B/F laughs too, “Isn’t that the plan with every sexy pic? To make your man go insane?”
“You’re a bad influence” You shake your head at her.
“But you love it. And he’ll love it”
You smile, “Okay, what you thinking?”
She suggests that you attach one set of handcuffs to the post of the bed and have your wrist in that one. Which you do. And then she suggests putting the new fluffy one around your other wrist and leave that dangling to show it off.
She takes a few pictures of you lying on the bed like that and you’re both just giggling the whole time. It had been so long since she’d helped you take pictures like this, so it was just comical that you were both doing it again now.
And the fact that she kept on making jokes to you about how lucky Alex was.
After she took a few more photos, she instructed you to hold the other side of the bed with your free hand, so it made it look like you were tied up with both. You do as instructed, and again you’re both laughing too much to take it seriously, yet she still thinks that Alex will be drooling at his phone when he eventually looked at them.
Which you knew he would be.
She paused herself after taking one picture of you and looked at your phone screen intently, and you laughed at her. A grin made its way to her face before she looked back up to your before giggling a little when she said, “His jaw will be on the fucking ground”
You just laugh and when she walks around the bed, you thought she was coming to show you the photos, but no. She completely betrayed you.
You best friend quickly grabbed your hand that had the loose cuff around it and then proceeded to attach the free one to the other post of the bed. So, your arms were completely separate and cuffed to either side of the bed.
“What are you doing?” You chuckle nervously.
She just lets out a little playful giggle before heading back into your wardrobe before coming back out with her shopping bags in her hands.
“Y/B/F let me out” You say still a little shocked at her actions.
Your best friend has a shit eating grin on her face as she shakes her head. She smirks at you as she says, “No, I don’t think I will”
“Y/B/F come on; I’m being serious” You say sitting yourself up a little bit as best you could.
She grins at you, “I’m being serious too. And I think Alex is going to love his surprise when he gets home and finds you like this”
“Don’t you fucking dare leave me like this, he’s not home for another two hours” You say seriously, still completely shocked that you were now bound to your bed with no escape.
You couldn’t even kick your shoes off at her because they were strapped round your ankle.
“You can get yourself in the mood in that time, can’t you?” She playfully smiles at you.
She puts her other shopping bags on the ground as she teases, “Shall I put AM on for you? Get you in the right headspace?”
“Y/B/F” You shake your head at her as she makes the way to the vinyl on the shelves and she spots the record instantly.
“Hey, come on what about the plan. Teasing Al is funnier than this” You try and change her mind, but she just continues to put the record on the turntable.
She turns to look to you for a second before saying, “I think Alex is gunna like this plan a lot better”
You sigh and try and think of another excuse to get yourself out of your current situation. However, your mind draws a blank when Do I Wanna Know starts to play.
“Oh shit, Knee Socks is on the other side one sec” Your best friend plays dumb, loving that you were hating this.
But as your best friend, she knew she was doing you a favour and treating Alex at the same time. After all, she knew the actual truth of what time Alex was coming home, as the text had come through whilst she was taking pictures of you.
“You’re a bitch” You say but can’t help but laugh.
She too giggles before shaking her head, “Nah, you love me, and you’ll love me a lot more when you’ve impatiently waited for Alex to come home which will make the shag all the more interesting for you”
“I hate you” You say as she turns the music up louder.
“Love you too Sweetie” She blows a kiss at you before grabbing her stuff again and exiting your bedroom.
As she closes the door behind her, she can hear you shouting her name over the music and through the door. She has a little giggle to herself before entering her room (your old room) to grab a different pair of shoes to match the dress that she was borrowing from you.
About 5 minutes later, Y/B/F is waiting patiently downstairs for the front door to open as she knew that the guys would be home soon.
The text that came through on your phone, which your best friend still had in her hand, said both Alex and Miles would be coming back to the house in the next 10 minutes.
Something which Y/B/F was pleased about, because that meant she could escape to Miles’ sooner rather than later. And you being upstairs in the state that you were, would mean you wouldn’t judge her for it. Not that you would have done anyway, but she wanted to make it a fun evening for you too.
That was the only reason why she’d left you there.
She’d zoned out whilst watching TV thinking of all the dirty things that her and Miles could get up to, when she heard footsteps behind her.
“Hey, how was your day?” Alex asks his fiancés’ best friend.
She smiles round at the two men before saying, “Yeah, it was good thanks. How was the both of yours?”
“Pretty boring really” Alex replied before perching on the arm of the settee.
In the cheeky mood that she was in, Y/B/F thought she would tease, “Well I doubt that if your music is involved Al”
“You really are the flatterer, aren’t you?” Miles chuckles down at her, as he hadn’t decided to sit yet.
“Well you know me and my best friend… Suckers for both your music” Y/B/F said with a hint of mischief coming out.
Something that Alex picked up on straight away.
“Where is your best friend?” Alex asks, not wanting to be alone whilst shameless flirting took place.  
Y/B/F diverts her gaze back to Alex and she smiles, “Oh, she’s got herself a bit tied up upstairs. Got a call or something from work whilst we were out so she’s in your room trying to sort out the problem on her laptop”
“She alright?” Alex asks.
“She seemed a bit stressed out actually. She could probably do with a good relax” Y/B/F tells him as innocently as possible.
Y/B/F stands up and heads towards Alex to hand him your phone. “She’s left her phone down here. You alright taking it to her” You asked him, putting it in his hand.
“Yeah sure” Alex says before heading towards the stairs
“Miles whilst I’ve got you here. How about you take me and show me the view from your new neck of the woods?” Y/B/F shamelessly flirts.
Miles seems to be just as eager when he smirks and wraps an arm around her saying, “Sure”
“Why is something telling me that she’s not stressed up there?” Alex asks looking back to Y/B/F with a hint of suspicion.
“Oh, believe me she’s stressed” Y/B/F says before she grabs Miles’ hand and pulls him towards the front door.
Alex pays her no attention, just thinking she’s horny for his mate, before climbing up the stairs.  
He looks to your phone in his hand and smiles at your lock screen, which was a picture of the two of you at Matt and Breana’s wedding from last year. It was such a good day, it made him excited to eventually be able to marry you.
When Alex reaches the top of the stairs, he heads to the bedroom and is slightly confused as to why he can hear AM playing really loud. Weren’t you meant to be on a work call?
When he gets closer to the door, he can hear you shouting through it.
“Y/B/F get the fuck back up here now!”
“Y/B/F!”
Alex then opens the door confused, until he saw you lay on the bed wearing next to nothing, with your hands bound to the headboard. He was certainly not expecting the sight that he walked into.
Both of your words die in your mouths as you understand what’s happening. You both just stare at each other for a second.
Alex then clears his throat before he lets the bedroom door shut behind him. You watch as he goes and turns down the volume on the turntable before looking back towards you.
“Okay, so I’m fairly certain you shouldn’t be shouting your best friend’s name when you’re lying on our bed. Looking like that. Listening to me sing. And you know. You’re engaged to me” Alex tells her with an amused smile before he heads closer to the bed.
Your brain then kicks back into gear then, “Al, thank god you’re home… Please let me out”
“How long have you been like this?” Alex asks with a little chuckle before taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
“I don’t know” You shrug as best you can “Like ten minutes or something thankfully”
“Why are you even like this at four pm?… Is this new?” Alex asks as he examines you, then the fluffy handcuffs.
You nod confirming that everything was new, and he quickly pecked your lips. Alex’s hands then go to working his way around the new handcuffs and where the safety latch on the side was. The fluff made it difficult to distinguish though, so you explained yourself as he worked.
“I was trying it on when Y/B/F suggested that I take a few pictures for you” You tell him honestly. “So, I was going to send them to tease you a bit, before you got home but she left me tied up”
Alex hands stilled on the cuffs when you started your second sentence.
“You were what?” Alex drops his hands and asks you, looking into your Y/E/C eyes.
You tell him quickly, desperation to be out of the cuffs seeping into your voice as you told him, “I was going to send you the pictures”
“Whilst I was at work?” Alex asks, double checking before he did anything.
“Yeah” You nod.
You certainly weren’t going to be sending them Miles.
“To tease me?” Alex then asks you with raised eyebrows.
And that was when you realised your mistake.
You immediately backtrack, “No”
“I think that’s what you just said” Alex said cocking his head to the side.
“No Alex, please let me out” You plead.
“Oh love love love” He says slowly before standing himself back up. “If you were going to send me pictures of you looking like this, you know what it would have done to me, don’t you?”
“Yeah but Alex i-“ You start to defend yourself, but you’re interrupted.  
“Don’t ‘but Alex’ me” He said before he shed off his denim jacket, leaving it on the back of the chair by the desk.
He comes back over and undoes a few more buttons on the white shirt that he wore before untucking it from his pants. You can’t help but gulp as you watch him.
God he was fucking sexy. Especially when he got like this.  
“You were trying to get me rock hard at work, weren’t you?” Alex calls you out on your actions.
You try and steer away from the subject again, “Al”
“Weren’t you?” He persists sternly.
You nod guilty at him and watch as he rolls up the sleeves to his shirt. God, why were his arms so sexy, with or without a shirt on?
“You know you’re not allowed to do that” Alex reminded you with a pointed look as he ate up how you looked.
“It was just going to be a bit of fun” You weakly defend yourself.
Alex nodded at you, but it was clear to see that he was not impressed by your defence.
“Just a bit of fun” He repeats to himself before his lustful gaze met yours, “Oh right… Well”
Alex that kneels on the end of the bed before separating your legs so he can crawl up your body between them.
“It’s just going to be a bit of fun playing with you for the two hours I was meant to be in that meeting for then, isn’t it?” He says as he makes his way up your body. His gaze feels like it’s burning your skin as he takes in every detail of your new attire.
“Alex” You shake your head at him. You truly didn’t plan on doing this today.
“Y/N” He says, looking up at you after placing a kiss to your lace covered stomach.  
“Alex, don’t you fucking dare” You warn him, pulling against your restraints a bit.
“Sweetheart…” He coos as his face now hovers over yours.
He kisses your lips once before pointing out, “I don’t think you’re in any position to be making demands”
“Al” You change your tactics to pleading again, but he cuts you off by putting his finger over your soft lips.
You liked it when you were the one doing this to him. You wanted to be on top of him. Not the other way around.
“Ah no” Alex shushes you. “I think you’ll find it’s Mr Turner as of right now”
You gulp. You were in for a long night.
~*~*~*~ Summer 2018 ~*~*~*~
A lot had changed for you over the last few years and to be honest, a lot had changed for Alex too.
Not everything was a good or happy change though. As a few days Alex’s 32nd birthday earlier in the year, both you and him found out some rather upsetting news.
Matt had come around to your house one evening, not looking so good, with some news that you didn’t expect to ever hear fall from his mouth.
“Me and Bre are getting a divorce”
Needless to say, that shocked you and Alex completely. You both weren’t expecting it at all as they had kept their problems very hidden which probably wasn’t healthy for either of them to do in hindsight. But when Alex softly questioned him about it after he asked if he was alright, Matt started to open up to the both of you.
Matt had a good cry and got his emotions out and seeing your very close friend so upset like he was, it really got to you as well. So, you and Matt ended up having a little cry together as you all spoke about everything and Alex was the strong one for the evening.
When you were with Matt, you only let a few stray tears fall down your face, which you quickly brushed away because you felt like you needed to be strong for him. Alex could obviously tell it was affecting you more than you were letting on, but he would talk to you later when Matt wasn’t around to see you get upset.
You felt so bad for crying, even the smallest of tears in front of him, but you couldn’t help it. Both of your friends were hurting and every time you thought about Amelia you cried.
When you gave Matt sometime alone with Alex, you went upstairs and composed yourself before you called Breana. You had to check that she was okay, because she had become such an amazing friend to you whilst you were living out here.
You would obviously always have Matt’s back, but you couldn’t not check up on her, when she now meant so much to you too. You’d called her and you talked for about an hour on the phone making sure she was okay.
Thankfully she seemed to be, and her story matched up to Matt’s completely. They hadn’t been happy for about 6 months and it was unfortunate that they had fell out of love. It broke your heart listening to the story being told again.
But of course, you understood. They had to and would do right by Amelia.
Nothing had changed there. They were both still grateful that they had their little angel, and they knew that the best way to ensure she had a happy childhood would be for the two to part ways on good terms.
And you couldn’t fault the pair for that. Doing right by themselves and their daughter was very amicable.
Matt had told both you and Alex downstairs that he would be moving out of their house and he was going to find somewhere relatively close by. So, he could both give Breana her space, but he would be still be close to Amelia.
Alex had offered for him to stay in your house for a while which matt seemed very grateful for, which when she told Breana about it, she also thanked you for doing.
You made a point of telling her though, that just because Matt was your childhood friend didn’t for a second mean that you were never going to speak to her again. You told her point blank that she meant a lot to you and that she couldn’t get rid of you easily so she shouldn’t try to.
Something which made her laugh and you were glad the call ended on a happy note.
After you discarded your phone though, you just sat and thought for a few minutes as you continued to wipe the stay tears away. But the more you thought about it, the more the whole thing upset you.
Never for a second would you have thought that Matt and Breana would get a divorce. They were such a loved-up couple and seemed truly happy with each other.
And that scared you to death.
Because you didn’t ever want to fall out of love with Alex. And the possibility of that happening to you truly terrified you.
So, with your mind going on overdrive about that, you got yourself quite worked up. Thankfully, your bedroom was like a safe haven though so you could cry as much as you liked in there.
Alex walked into your bedroom to find you sat at the desk, weeping into your hands.
“Y/N/N” He said softly to get your attention, once he’d closed the bedroom door.
You pick your head up out of your hands, and Alex saw how puffy your eyes had become. It hurt his heart seeing you like that.
You got up out of your seat wiping your tears away as you walked towards him, craving to be held by him.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t stop crying” you said to Alex feeling bad.
“It’s okay. Come here” Alex said stretching his arms out towards you.
You walked into them and Alex kissed you on your head as you cried into his chest as you hold onto him tightly. After crying for a good few minutes, Alex sat himself down on the bed and pulled you onto him, so you were straddling his lap.
“Hey hey hey” Alex softly says trying to get your attention and getting your messy hair out of your face.
Both his palms rested on your cheeks and his thumbs were wiping away your tears as he looked into your glossy eyes.
“Breathe” Alex told you and you nodded closing your eyes and started taking in long shaky breaths.
Once you were slightly calmer and the tears started falling less frequently, you tried to speak to him. You were face to face and you were looking in Alex’s lovely chocolate eyes.
“I’m sorry” You said in a squeaky voice, trying to swallow the lump in your throat.
“Hey shh” Alex calmed you, wiping another tear that fell.
Your eyes looked gorgeous right now, but he wished you weren’t upset. He just wanted to make your pain go away. He wanted you to be crying happy tears to make your eyes sparkle like they were doing.
“You don’t need to apologise” Alex said softly, and you took another shaky breath.
“I do, because you should be looking after Matt right now, but instead you’re in here looking after me” You said in a strangled voice and a few more tears fell.
“Ey no. You’re my girl, taking care of you is my job. And Matt’s asleep downstairs, it’s okay” He tells you and you nod, pressing your lips together to hold back a sob.
Alex could feel your lip threatening to tremble and it broke his heart.
He’d never seen you this upset. Ever.
In the 18 years that he’d been your friend he’d never seen you like this.
He could tell you wanted to say something, but he could somehow feel that you were holding it back.
“What you thinking?” Alex almost pleaded with you to tell him.
His hands fell from your face and rested on your hips to give you a bit of space, if you needed it, but he made sure to keep you close. He didn’t want you upset like this feeling alone.
“I’m gunna sound like a right bitch now but please don’t take it that way Al” You start by saying as you wipe your face with your sleeve.
“What is it love” he asked you, letting you take your time with your words.
You look another shaky breath before asking him, “Are you happy? With me?”
Alex didn’t even need a second to answer you.
He looked you straight in your eyes and said, “Yes. Y/N you make me the happiest man on the planet every day. Do you think you don’t make me happy? Do I not make you happy?”
“No Al, that’s not what I meant by it. You make me the happiest I’ve ever been, I swear” You tell him panicking a bit.
You loved him completely. He had your heart.
“What do you mean baby? Why did you think I wasn’t happy?” Alex asks you as you wipe some more tears away.
You took a moment to make yourself stop crying. You took a shaky breath and told him in a strained voice looking anywhere other than his face “I don’t, I just don’t wanna go through that Al”
“Go through what?”
“A divorce like that. And I know we aren’t married or whatever, but the thought of not being with you makes me feel sick” You tell him with tears spilling again.
“And I know that sounds really selfish right now, but I just want you to know that I see a future with you and the thought of ever going through what Matt’s going though, with you, makes me feel ill” You begin to tell him.
You continue on to bare your heart to him, “I love you. More than I’ve ever loved anyone and I’m so happy with you… I wanna be happy like we are for the rest of our lives Alex so just please… If I piss you off, or if you ever hate me for anything, or you have something in your mind telling you something’s wrong... Please just tell me because I love you with all of my heart… And I’ll do anything to keep us this happy”
You take a shaky breath when you finish your declaration of love to him and throughout it you didn’t stop wiping your tears away. You wanted him to know you were deadly serious and the eye contact that you maintained with him as you said it, told him that that you were being 100% genuine.
He already knew that anyway as you’d never lie to him.
“Y/N/N” Alex sighs with a soft smile, before he cups your face again and pulls you in for a soft but stern kiss. His kisses you a few times and he can taste your tears, but he knows the kiss will help you in a way that his words can’t.
When Alex pulls away, he looks you in the eye before he speaks from the heart.
“Y/N, I love you so fucking much… It actually hurts me to not be able to explain how much I actually love you. Like my heart hurts right now because I can’t tell you how much you physically mean to me” Alex tells you feeling the ache in his chest.
His eyes had also started to slowly gather water as he continued to tell you his feelings.
“You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I don’t ever, ever want to let you go. You don’t have to worry about another messy break up or even a divorce because I’m here for good. I don’t want another heartbreak and by the sounds of it you don’t either”
You smile at him and shake your head, “No I really don’t. I just wanna be with you and be as happy as we have been”
“So do I, baby. I swear” Alex also smiles.
“Please promise me that well just talk to each other about everything… Because, we’re not stupid, we know will have arguments over stupid stuff and probably some big stuff too, but I can’t ever think of not loving you anymore. I wanna be and I will be in love with you for the rest of my life. So please just promise you’ll talk to me?” You pretty much beg him.
“I promise you Y/N/N, because that’s how I want it to be. I wanna marry you one day and I want you to be mine forever. I want you to know I’m yours forever” Alex tells you as tears trickle down his face to.
And this time it’s your turn to wipe them away. “I love you” You tell him with a smile.
“I love you too baby” He smiles and brings your lips back to his.
This time you can taste his tears too and your fairly certain yours are still running down your face. The kisses last a long while. They aren’t heated, they all just hold so much passion within them that you don’t want them to stop.
You both knew they weren’t leading to anything sexual because neither of you were in the mood for that today. You were just both emotionally drained and just needed something to keep the other going for a bit longer.
When you both pulled away you were completely drained. Of both energy and tears. Your lips were swollen, as well as your eyes from crying all day and Alex’s eyes were red too now.
“I love you” You croak out again, but Alex shushes you with his finger on your lips.
“No more crying today” He smiles, which made you chuckle.
“Okay” You whisper with a smile and a nod.
“I wanna go shower” You say to him after a second, feeling completely disgusting. You could feel the dried tears on your cheeks and you just felt like you needed to relax.
“Okay love” Alex smiled at you before pecking your lips once more. “I love you too” He tells you and you smile.
The both of you stand up and you give Alex the biggest hug and he hugs you back the tightest he ever had. The last 15 minutes had been emotional for you both and you think that you both couldn’t wait for night-time to fall.
The rest that you both craved would soon be there but you both needed to be there for Matt. In every way that you could.
You let go of Alex and release a deep breath. “Right. I’ll be down in twenty minutes” You tell him, and Alex doesn’t question you.
He nods before kissing you again and afterwards he reiterates, “I love you”
“I love you too” You smile at him and giggle as he pushes you towards the bathroom.
“I’ll be in the lounge when you’re ready” Alex tells you and you nod before you enter the bathroom.
You blow him a like kiss and say, “We’ll get him back to being Matt” You promise both yourself and Alex.
You both could see that he wasn’t himself earlier. Not that you expected him to be, but you would both do everything in your power to make it, so he was his old cheerful self again.
“We will” Alex nods to you before you both head in separate directions.
And you both did get Matt back to his usual self. It took a long while and it wasn’t easy but by Summertime he was doing well. Apparently, the couple hadn’t been in love with each other for a long while before they told anyone which meant that getting them both back out there when the time was right was a little easier.
So, when it came to Matt and Breana seeing other people it didn’t take as long as it usually would have. But in every relationship, it took different people different times to bounce back.
And they had both gone around it the right way and there was no cheating taking place because they were again single now. Lies and deception always hurt people more than the truth usually, so you were glad they had gone about everything in the right way.
Breana had been wanting to go out with you a bit whilst Matt and Alex were away in the spring on their first leg of the Tranquillity Base Hotel and Casino tour, which you happy joined her doing so. You were quite the wing woman for her as you were sure Alex was being for Matt whilst they were away.
In fact, by the time the boys were home for a break between legs of the tour, Breana was speaking to someone who was making her really happy. And you were thrilled to see her like that, as you were thrilled to see Matt who looked amazing when he’d come back home.
Matt stayed with you for two months before he found himself a decent sized apartment that was slightly further into the city. The place was really nice and you, Alex, and Miles had all helped him move in and did the place up for him.
So, you were sure that he would have no issues taking ladies he would meet back there with him now he’d slept about a bit on tour. Something which wasn’t particularly uncommon for people to do after breakups, so you encouraged him with whatever he chose to do.
Alex seemed to tell you though that nearer the end of the tour the women leaving various hotel rooms became less frequent which you guessed was good. At least he’d got it out of his system whilst he’d been away.
So, by the time Y/B/F came over for her annual summer visit, everything was pretty settled. The divorce announcement went out around march which of course drew some attention to the band, but most people were just excited for the new album.
Which you and Y/B/F were obviously over the moon about. You’d heart Alex play about with some of the songs on the piano upstairs a few times when he wanted your opinion on it, and you loved it.
Your man was very very clever at writing lyrics and creating the most amazing music. You truly loved the new album, you thought it was the cleverest one yet lyrically and you could tell Alex and all the other boys were really proud of it too.
You were also really proud of Miles. Not only because his new album was out, but also because he had recently just made things official with his new girlfriend.
Unfortunately, Y/B/F and Miles never became anything serious, but they were still good friends and she was really happy for him when he told her that he was seeing someone. You were surprised she took it so well but then she said that she was truly okay after it.
Currently, Miles was back home in the UK doing his tour, before the festivals kicked off properly, which both him and the Monkeys were doing pretty much the same ones together. You were excited to go around with them to some of the new places that you hadn’t yet been when you got the time off work.
Breana had just taken Amelia away to her Mum’s for a month, meaning that Matt was around your place a lot again because he was bored (he usually stayed over a lot too). Breana in herself was doing really well and she introduced Matt to the guy she was seeing before she went away (not that the guy went to her Mums with her) but it was nice to see that they were both respecting each other.
You didn’t think that the guy she was seeing had got as far as to meet Amelia yet, but afterwards when Matt talked with her about him, he apparently said that he seems nice and if she wanted to let Amelia meet him, she could.
Y/B/F once again back staying in your old bedroom, so your days were kept busy either working from home or entertaining her, which was great. You were glad your job was a more relaxed one and if you wanted to you could do bits from home. So when she came over, it made life a lot easier because you didn’t want to abandon her.
You truly loved it when she came over. Every time she came, she brought a new dynamic with her.
And as it turned out, this time seemed to be the most memorable of her coming over.
You, Alex, Matt and Y/B/F were all sat in the lounge having a few drinks, after just finishing off a Chinese takeout. You were all chatting away about a load of different topics that came into people’s minds.
The topics ranged from the tour, to new music, to Y/B/F wanting to move out here (something that she was seriously considering doing), to Matt’s new apartment, to Matt’s relationship status.
“Come on Matt, you’re such a Dilf! You need to get back out there” You tell him truthfully.
Matt chuckles at that comment, just double checking with you though, “Did you just call me a Dilf?”
Y/B/F was hysterically laughing next to him on the other sofa as Alex was sat next to you on the other one. You’d won the spot on the settee tonight, so you were very happy.
“What does that even mean?” Alex looked to you and ask.
You glanced at your, so behind the times, fiancé and shook your head. You pressed your lips together to try and control the big smile that wanted to make its way onto your face.
You cooed him, “Oh Hunny, you don’t wanna know”
He just gave you a confused look before your attention moved back to your friends on the other settee.
“She’s right though” Y/B/F tells Matt, agreeing with your comment and nudges Matt.  
You gesture to your best friend and nod to her as a thank you for the back up, “See Matt… It’s not just me. You need to get back out there”
“I’ve been back out there” Matt tells you, even though he knew full well that you’d been checking up on him throughout the tour.
“You know I don’t just mean like a night thing Matt. You were so goo-“ You begin tell him before you’re rudely interrupted.
Alex pulls you down onto his lap, so your top half is lay across his lap as he playfully says, “Why do you wanna fuck my best friend when your engaged to me?”
You burst out laughing seeing his phone in his hand and seeing urban dictionary page open on it. You laugh so loudly you can only just get your words out in between your laughs, “I can’t believe… You just googled… What Dilf just meant”
“I can’t believe you wanna fuck Matthew when your meant to be marrying me” Alex chuckles down at you, as you still giggle away in his lap.
Matt and Y/B/F laugh at the scene playing out in front of them too.
“I’ve always wanted to fuck Matthew but thought it may have risked something ever starting between us, so I didn’t, because I fancied you more” You sit up and tell your boyfriend honestly.
Alex looks towards you with a playful glint in his eyes but to the onlookers in the room it appears to be a look of betrayal. Alex scoffs at you and you grin and kiss his cheek, missing his goatee, before you turn back to the other people in the room to reiterate your point.
“But no, Matt, I’m being serious. You used to be so good at chatting up girls back home. If you would have chatted me up back then I definitely would have said yes so just do what you did back then” You encourage him.
“Matt, do you want her because I think she wants you more than me mate” Alex says from your side and you chuckle.
You look to your fiancé, who looks completely done with you, and tell him, “Al, if you would’ve tried to seduce me back then, I’m sure we would be long married by now”
“Well it worked didn’t it? Because you’re here now” Alex said rather cockily.
You raised your eyebrows at him, “You didn’t seduce me Alex, I missed out on that part”
“What do you mean ‘I didn’t seduce you’? I literally got you to be my girlfriend after two weeks of you staying with me” He practically scoffed, as if it was obvious.
“Please” You roll your eyes a bit, “We only made it official whilst I was still on holiday because we were both drunk and horny as fuck, so we just shagged”
His jaw drops at that. He couldn’t believe you were denying his attempts at seducing you.
You’re having none of his lies though. So you get back up, “Even Matt can vouch for that, because we didn’t put each other down the night we shagged”
“It was revolting” Matt told Y/B/F and you looked towards him with furrowed eyebrows.
“Oh shush, you enjoyed it” You play before you look back towards your man, “And we definitely wouldn’t have made it official that quickly if that didn’t happen”
“But I’d asked you on the date the day before that happened, so it was gunna happen” Alex tries to maintain an argument.
“Yeah but I wasn’t going to shag you straight away Alex” You say seriously, and he raises his eyebrows at you, giving a look of complete disbelief.
“Y/B/F tell him” You say before turning to look back at her, “When I actually liked someone, I didn’t just sleep with them straight away did I?”
“Never on the first date” She grins and Alex chuckles beside you.
“Don’t even suggest it was on the second because it wasn’t” You say sternly.
Y/B/F smiled, “No, you were good, to be fair. If it was someone you actually liked, and it wasn’t just a rebound thing, it was a good month or so before penetration happened”
Matt burst out laughing at the way she put it. You just released a little embarrassed laugh before you hid behind your hair a little bit.
“Awh Y/N/N, you’re so cute” Alex said hugging you into his side.
“I know I am” You say before looking around at him again, his arm still remained around you though.
“You don’t even know how nervous I was the morning after though. I thought you were just going to be like ‘That was alright now bye, see you when I never come back to Sheffield’” You tell him honestly.
Until he actually said that he liked you too, you were really nervous about that happening.
“How could you even think that?” Matt says dramatically, making you and Alex look back towards him, “He’s been obsessed with you since we were sixteen”
“Well how was I meant to know that Matthew?” You give him a pointed look.
Matt then sighs before putting his bottle of beer between his legs so he could start counting up on his fingers, “The fact that you were always invited around maybe? Invited to every gig? He always walked you back home? That all of us lads made every excuse that it was your house we would go around to when it was raining? And you were even invited on the first official tour?”
“Oh yeah and at the end of that tour when you came back from America and he’d started seeing Alexa, it really seemed like he wanted me then” You say defending your past self for being oblivious.
“Don’t be bitter about Alexa. Yeah, she was sly about you, but it wasn’t her fault Alex was a pussy” Y/B/F jokes and you laugh when you see Alex stick two fingers up at her.
She and Matt just giggle before you lean back into your fiancé a bit more, getting yourself comfy. You felt his beard prickle the top of your head as he pressed a kiss against it.
“I’m not bitter about her at all, I really liked her at the time. And she inspired some banging tunes… I’m glad I didn’t go out with him until now” You say before leaning the top of your head against Alex’s jaw before you pat his cheek from your awkward position on the settee.
“Yeah that’s true. We wouldn’t have Secret Door or Arabella” Y/B/F reiterates.
“You are aware Arabella was about Arielle, not Alexa, right?” Matt grins beside your best friend and she playfully shoves his shoulder.
Your best friend grins at him whilst pretending to be annoyed saying, “Right Matt, how about I tell you things about the four of you that you don’t even know?”
Matt grins back at her saying, “Try your best darling, your sources won’t be fact checked”
“When she’s my source?” She confidently says back before pointing at you and taking a sip of her wine.
“Y/NNN” Matt draws your name out as he looks back towards you. You smile to show him your listening, and it prompts him to continue, “You know that conversation we had way back when, that what happens on tour stays on tour, did you stick to that?”
You change the subject right back to what it was immediately. “So yeah Alex, I’m glad I go with you later, because if not, they wouldn’t have had that fitting song on Love Island if it wasn’t for you writing that song about Arielle”
The other three people in the room laughed at your attempt at distraction and thankfully Y/B/F helps you out at keeping Matt off that other topic.
“Yeah but you wouldn’t have got the rest of AM if it wasn’t for you so” Y/B/F pointed out with a grin.
“Stop itttt” You whine before hiding yourself into Alex’s body.
He just sat there and chuckled, letting you hide into him like an embarrassed schoolgirl who’d just been caught kissing someone.
You didn’t like to be reminded your favourite songs were about you. You’d told no one that Cornerstone was about you. Not even Y/B/F and you were certain Alex hadn’t told any of the lads.
And things would be remaining that way.
The rest of the night was spent making jokes and chatting each other’s ears off until Alex fell tired. Of course, you weren’t surprised by this.
A combination of an early morning and alcohol in Alex’s body made him more susceptible to falling asleep on the settee. Something which you hated because it was always a ball ache to wake him up and get him to come up the stairs with you.
So, before he fell properly asleep you sent him to bed.
“Get some rest, I hear it’s your day to make food tomorrow” Y/B/F smirks as Alex tiredly walks towards the stairs.
“I fucking hate that we made that weekday rule” Alex mumbles to himself but you just giggle.
“Goodnight my love” You say before blowing him a kiss which he doesn’t attempt to catch, he just smiles before blowing one back at you and heading up the stairs.
You’d take that.
About an hour later when you and Y/B/F had finished off your shared bottle of wine you said retired up to bed too. You weren’t really tired yet, but you were getting there.
So, you left the other two downstairs after asking Matt which bedroom he was staying in tonight, just so you knew. It wasn’t uncommon for him to stay over so he always ended up picking the same room that was pretty much on the opposite side of the house, compared to your’s and Alex’s.
You said goodnight to them before making your way up the stairs and as silently as you could you made your way into your bedroom. Alex was lightly snoring away when you got in there and you could tell he was really tired.
Usually when you both went to bed you would chat for a while, but it wasn’t so bad seeing Alex like this either. He looked so cute these days, despite having his new goatee which made him look a little older.
You’d grown to love it as much as you loved the hair on the top of his head. You hated that he pulled off every single style he went for, and it was completely effortless.
You get yourself changed into your pyjamas silently, assuring you didn’t disturb your sleeping beauty and once you’d been to the bathroom, you got yourself into bed. Something which you thought you managed to do without waking Alex up, but as soon as you settled yourself on your side, you felt him roll onto his side before pulling you back into his chest.
You smiled him being cute and you carried on reading the book you had bought on your phone. You would say you did that for around an hour, until you felt the need for a drink of water.
The alcohol you’d previously had made your throat a little dry, so you unfortunately had to get yourself up. You picked up Alex’s hand, that was hugging you to him, placed a kiss on the back of it before gently moving it from around you.
When you got yourself up you did a little stretch before you made your way out of the room, once Alex had settled himself again. This time he’d rolled onto his back again and was back lightly snoring away quickly.
You’d forgot to stock up the little mini fridge with water bottles, so you headed downstairs to get yourself one.
You silently walked down the hall to the stairs until you stopped dead in your tracks to make sure you weren’t hearing things. You’d just made it to the top of the stairs and was about to descend until you heard a bed creaking and Y/B/F’s muffled moans.
Your jaw dropped to the ground.
For a split second, you thought that she’d called up Miles to come over, but you remembered that he now had a girlfriend and he was back in Liverpool. Which meant that the only guy Y/B/F actually knew over here was Matt.
Y/B/F and Matt were shagging in your old bedroom.
You abandoned your plan for a drink before hastily running back to your room, silently screaming. You were so happy that this was happening, you couldn’t even lie.
You shut your bedroom door quietly before you let out the tiniest squeal and jumped over Alex on the bed.
Alex jumped awake and you felt the sleep actually jolt out of him and his tired eyes were now wide looking at you like you were crazy. To be honest, you didn’t blame him, you must have looked like a right freak, but you were too excited to care.
Once Alex realised that everything was fine, he blinked a few times before he tiredly rubbed his eyes as he said, “Right if you’re waking me up for sex Y/N/N, I thought we agreed the best way to do that would be with your mouth, not you actually jumping on my body. That’s not what ‘jump your bones’ means”
Despite him saying that he raised his hands, so they landed on your hips and he made an effort to begin to lift up your top. You quickly swatted his hands away though and he gave you a look of confusion.
“What’s up with you?” Alex chuckled looking at you above him.
“Matt and Y/B/F. They are shagging” You told him before covering your mouth and squealing slightly.
“No” Alex said with wide eyes. Very clearly shocked.
You nodded down at him before you covered your mouth and lent down against his chest and squealed into him like he was your pillow. This was actually mad, you never expected this.
“How do you know?” Alex asked you and you sat back up.
“I could hear them near the stairs” You told him.
His eyes were wide, probably in both shock and because he’d been woken up by a jump scare.
“I did not see that one coming” Alex told you and you could see that he truly never expected this to happen either.
“Same, but I’m happy about it. Aren’t you?” You asked him.
You were happy for Y/B/F but, by god, you were extremely happy for Matt.
Alex nodded up to you with a smile, but you could see it grew tired again. You felt the need to call him out on something then.
“Did you literally only wake yourself up at bit then because you thought we were going to have sex?” You playfully grin.
Alex then gave you a half dirty look before defending himself, “Don’t want to disappoint you my love, the twice a day thing lasted a solid year, but it’s been a minute”
To be fair it had been a little while since you’d had sex twice in one day. You just were never really alone anymore, partly because of Matt staying and now Y/B/F. You still got your morning sex though, so it wasn’t so bad.
“Because you’re old now” You say in jest, with a teasing smile
“It was your birthday last week, you’re just as old as me darling” Alex plays back, a smirk now on those lips.
You decide to play a bit more, “I don’t look older than I actually am though” You even have the air on his chin a little scratch just so his tired mind didn’t have to work so hard to understand the point you were making.
“You love my beard” Alex says furrowing his eyes.
You shrug at him before you peck his lips, “I can live with or without it”
You then climb off it to lie yourself down next to him again. You turned yourself onto your side, so your back was once again facing him, and you heard him scoff.
“Didn’t hear you complaining about it this morning when it was between your legs” Alex said, and you felt him turn himself over, so he was facing your back.
You grin a little at that. You knew exactly what was about to happen now. Y/B/F wasn’t going to be the only one getting some tonight.
You just shrug again before saying, “I don’t recall complaining when it wasn’t there either”
Faking your disinterest seemed to work a treat, because the next thing you knew you were biting back moans and desperately pulling on your fiancés hair as he made a point of showing you how good his beard actually was.
~*~*~*~
The next evening you walked into the kitchen, leaving Matt and Y/B/F in the lounge, and wrapped your arms around Alex’s waist as he cooked dinner for you all.
“You okay?” He asks you.
You nod against his back and say, “Yep” before you release him and jump up on the counter so you could watch him cook.
After a minute, you ask him in a hushed tone, “Has Matt mentioned anything to you?”
Alex looked up to you and smiled before shaking his head.
“Nothing” He told you and you shook your own head in disappointment.
You couldn’t believe they were keeping it a secret. You’d literally been tiptoeing around the subject all day hoping she’d tell you, but you’d got nothing.
“Has Y/B/F said anything?” Alex asked you and you shook your head.
“Nah nothing, I’ve literally been pushing for the conversation about it but she’s not saying anything” You tell him, pouting your lip a little.
“Don’t look all upset. They might just wanna keep it to themselves for a bit” Alex said, and you understood but you sighed.
You try and not see it that way, but your best friend told you everything. Sometimes even before things happened with someone, she would say that she thought it was going too.
She was never shy about her feelings; you didn’t understand why she was being secretive about what she was up to now.
You sigh, “But I told her literally the next day about us… Why keep it a secret? We didn’t and we were fine”
“Y/N, it would have been a bit hard for us to keep it a secret. We were literally getting off with each other all night and they all knew it was gunna happen” Alex fairly pointed out as he stirred the pasta.
“Yeah but even so, we wouldn’t have hidden it… I could have waited till I was back home to tell her about us, but I didn’t, I told her the next day. And there’s no way you wouldn’t have told Matt, or Miles” You say and raise your eyebrows for the last point.
He liked to think he wasn’t a gossiper, but there was no way he wouldn’t have told those two.
“I’d of liked to keep us locked in this house for days alone Y/N/N you know that” Alex tells you and you do believe it was true.
You smirk as you say, “Yeah but you gave your friends keys so they could come and tease us every five seconds”
Alex just laughed at that, before abandoning the food for a minute so he could come and talk to you. You through your arms around his neck as he spoke to you.
“I don’t know why they’re hiding it love… Maybe they aren’t like us. Maybe they regret it and want to forget” Alex said whilst he stood between your legs and his arms went around your waist.
“Why would she regret shagging Matt?” You said and you giggled as Alex raised his eyebrows at you.
“Oh shut it. You know what I mean… He’s nice he’s good looking, he’s talented, and he’s apparently a good shag. Why would she regret that?” You say.
Breana had been pretty open with you about hers and Matt’s sex life, and it seemed pretty good
“I’m sorry do you want me to get him to be your fiancé instead” Alex asked you before he looked over his shoulder and half shouted, “Hey matt”
“Shut up” You giggle, slapping Alex’s shoulder and he laughed turning back to you.
“You know I love you” You tell him.
“I’m just saying I don’t see a reason why either of them would regret it. And I know you know Y/B/F is a good shag too. I even heard Miles tell you that” You laugh, and Alex laughs too.
“I don’t know. Why don’t we just see how long they keep it a secret for? Could place a bet, make it fun” Alex suggested, and you laughed.
“You’re on. I’ll have it out of her in less than a week” You grin.
“I feel like you’ve forgot how private Matt is” Alex says giving you a questioning look.
You sigh before laying out the stakes, “Fine then, less than a week I win and more than a week you win”
“What do I win?” Alex asked with raised eyebrows.
“You can win whatever you want because it’s not gunna happen” You giggle.
“Oh good. I’m gunna make you do something dirty” Alex said, and you shook your head with a giggle.
You smile as you say, “We have been together three years Alex. What else can you possibly come up with?”
“I’ll have a google don’t worry” He grins, and you laugh before kissing his lips a few times.
~*~*~*~
2 weeks had passed. And nothing had come out yet. Much to your disappointment.
Alex was buzzing though, but you’d told him that he couldn’t claim his winnings until the truth was out.
You still didn’t understand why it wasn’t out though, as the couple was still getting at it when they thought the two of you wouldn’t notice. They had also started going out together but making up shitty excuses.
Like right now, you Alex and Matt were sat on the settee’s and Y/B/F walked into the room now wearing a cute navy dress that reached her mid-thigh. Much different than the shorts and baggy top she was wearing earlier before she’d gone and showered.
“You ready?” Matt asked her and she nodded with an innocent smile.
You probably would have believed it if you didn’t know what was going on.
“Where are you going?” Alex asks them as innocently as possible.
You had a good pokerface in these kinds of situations, but Alex had to do the digging for you in this situation. It was leaving you too shocked.
“I’m gunna show her around the city. See where we end up” Matt said before grabbing his and standing up.
They both started walking towards the front door of your house when Alex replied.
“Okay, have fun” Alex said from the other settee and your jaw was hanging open. Thankfully hidden behind the back of the sofa you were on.
“See you later” Y/B/F called from near the front door and Matt hastily opened the door and closed it with a thud behind him.
You turned, with your jaw still agape, to look at Alex and he smiled at you.
“I can’t believe it. They just left to go on a fucking date and she’s still not fucking told me” You say feeling yourself get yourself but annoyed and slightly hurt by it.
“Y/N/N don’t be stupid. They are going for a drive and probably dogging” Alex says in hopes to make you laugh but he can already tell that you weren’t amused.
You pout, “I’m sick of it”
“Don’t be… Do you realise what this means?” Alex asks you with a playful smile.
But you didn’t pick up on it as you sighed, “That my best friend hates me and doesn’t trust me enough to tell me she’s shagging my other mate?”
“No Y/N/N. It means we have the house to ourselves”
You look to him at that point and see exactly what he’d hinting at. “Alex don’t even play”
“I’m not playing” He shakes his head. He’d deadly serious.
“Good” You say as you get yourself up off your sofa and move over to him so you can straddle his lap.
Hopefully he could distract you from this too.
~*~*~*~
After another week had passed, you completely lost your patience.
Alex could see it had been coming for a few days, as you were getting more hurt by the fact it was being kept a secret each day.
So, when you blew up in front of everyone, Alex was the only one not surprised by it.
You were all in the lounge, like usual, and you stood up and started pacing. So, Alex knew exactly what was coming.
Both Matt and Y/B/F looked to each other confused by your actions before Y/B/F asked, “Are you alright Y/N/N?”
You shook your head before you stopped pacing and asked her, “Do you not trust me or something?”
Your best friend looked at you like you’d gone crazy, obviously not understanding why you were having a mini meltdown.
So, you continue, “Do you have a new best friend that you tell your secrets to?”
“Woah Y/N, what are you on about?” She asks you defensively.
“I’m on about you and Matt shagging and not telling me” You say gesturing between them.
Both of their eyes widen at that fact that you just said it outright and Alex just smiled to himself before taking a sip of his tea. He knew how fuming you were, so he was just watching this play out like it was a scene in a bad teen drama. 

“Why are you both looking at me like that?” You asked, shocked by their own shock.
“You aren’t very subtle about it. You go out together all the time, which I bet are dates, but Alex thinks you’re dogging” You say pointing to your fiancé who was just keeping his amusement to himself, “And Y/B/F I lived in the next room from you for a solid five years. I know when your shagging someone”
You let out a breath, before letting all your anger about the situation dissipate.
“I just really wanted to talk to my friend about her shagging someone who she’s fancied since she was twenty-two” You say honestly, and Y/B/F could see the hurt in your eyes over the situation.
You just wanted to hug your best friend and have a good catch up like you used to when she started seeing someone.
Y/B/F was about to say something when Matt turned to her and ask her, “You’ve fancied me since you were twenty-two?”
“Matt I’d be quiet” Alex warns him.
Y/B/F ignores Matt’s question and  “I’m sorry I just didn’t want you to hate me because I’m seeing another one of your friends. And I didn’t want you to throw me out of your house”
“Are you joking?” You say a little hurt that she would think you wouldn’t support her decisions. You look to your fiancé, “Alex tell her how excited I was”
“She jumped on me and woke me up” Alex tells them truthfully.
“Bet you were pleased” Matt grins at his best mate.
Alex shakes his head before telling him, “You owe me a bottle of whisky”
“Why?” Matt asks completely confused, whilst Y/B/F gets up to go and hug her best friend.
“Because I need alcohol when I have to deal with her being mard” Alex says gesturing towards you.
As you hug your best friend, you turn a bit so you can glare at your boyfriend, “Call me mard again, and you won’t see your thirty third birthday”
“See what I mean” You heard him mumble before he took another sip of his tea.
You and Y/B/F pull out of the hug to look at each other and you assure her, “I’m just happy for the both of you and I wanted to chat to you about it”
“Well how about we go and chat now and leaves them idiot to prepare us some alcohol for when we come back” She suggests with a smile and you laugh, agreeing to her proposal.
~*~*~*~
The next day, Alex walks into the home office, that over the years, you had slightly taken over, with a smile on his face and his phone pressed to his ear. You were answering some emails and approving designs at the desk when he came and sat down in the chair opposite you.
“Thank you mate. Thanks. Bye” Alex finished off his phone call with a big smile on his face.
It got you intrigued, so you questioned, “Who was that?”
“That was our dear Roberto” He smiled at you before pulling his phone on the desk in front of you.
“We’re going to dinner?” You ask with a surprised look on your face.
Alex informs you of the plan “Matt has arranged a double date at our restaurant tonight”
“Awh that’s going to be lovely. I hope Roberto’s there all day” You say.
You still loved going out to that restaurant. Purely because of Roberto.
Yeah, the food was good, but Roberto was the one who made the place special.
“He is, but we won’t be seeing him” Alex tells you, which caused you to become confused.
“Why?” You ask, not understanding his logic.
“Because we aren’t going. Matt and Y/B/F just think we are” Alex tells you with a mischievous grin. 

After last night, Matt asked outright if he could steal your best friend to have a night in his apartment and she agreed so she’d been there all day.
“What?” You asked him, still not fully understanding.
“We’re gunna leave them to have a proper cute dinner date. That’s why I was on the phone to Roberto, I was getting the table changed from four people to two and he’s promised me he’ll work his magic on them two like he did for us”
“You’re cute” You smile at your fiancé.
Alex flutters his eyelashes a little before saying a soft, “I know”
You giggle a little and ask, “Can we have a takeout instead then?”
“Sure” Alex smiled, and you couldn’t wait.
Later in the day, the time came when Alex got the phone call from Matt to ask where you both were and you left him too it and you grabbed yours and Alex’s now empty plate, so you could wash it in the kitchen.
You listened in as best you could as you washed up and giggled when you could hear Alex laugh from the other room. After a few minutes you could hear his footsteps coming closer to you, so you put your plates on the draining board to dry and turned to look at your man.
“Well that’s what you’ll tell her, that we put petrol instead of diesel in the car”
Alex grinned at you as he said down the phone. “Bye, have fun on your date”
He then put his phone in his pocket before walking towards you. He stopped when he was just in front of you and his grin stayed on his cute face.
“Why are you looking so smug?” You asked, looking up at him with a big smile.
“Just getting my best friend back for something” Alex said before wrapping you up into a big hug.
He was looking so cheery. It was really cute.
Alex nuzzled his nose into your neck, and you smiled at how cute he was being.
You should have known it wouldn’t last long.
He looked up to you and smirks, “Now about that bet that I won” before attaching his lips to yours.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Taglist: @the-girl-before @murderousginger @minigranger @turnertable @bastillewolf @slothgiirl @billskarsgard-is-gorgeous @watashi-no-namae-wo-yonde @fookingsummertime @marvel-avengers01 @shibuikelsi @toolateformcrtooearlytoleaveemo @gretavanbobatea @chocolatecig @iamnotjesha @rachaeljayne15 @edgythought @marveious @liviasaugusta​ @boysinskirts​ @musicmania100​ @he4rtbre4khotel​ @innocte​ @beckauhhh​ @whoknowswhatimeant​ @tony-starks-ego​ @tobarmaidswhodontcount​ @elektranxtchiios​ @bettyschwallocksyee​ @alexsvacuumcleaner​ @cornerstqne​ @halfofwhatisayismeaningless​ @juicebox-baby​ @yousuck-marina​ @nrldswita​ @dot-writes​ @skullag​ @b-monkeys​ @babyhoneystvles​ @timchalamxt​ @writingismybiggestlove​
Other parts in Masterlist in bio x
163 notes · View notes
dreams-a-plethora · 5 years
Text
We open on an establishing shot, as the camera pans down we see the name of a store, Game Sensations. The date pops up on the screen, May 10th, 1997. we hear the doorbell chime as we cut to three late middle-school to early high-school aged kids looking around the shop. A group of boys between the ages of 12-15. They’re sneaking about the card game part of the store looking at the new games, when we here generic dialog.
“Dude, do you ever think we’ll get a Lotus? I’ve been talking to Bobby, and he says that card is legit.” A tall kid asks.
“I don’t know man, but I really don’t see the game going anywhere. Now this Porybon game, that has legs.” A smaller chubby kid responds
These two kids look like your average 90’s nerds. One is taller and lanky, while the other shorter and a bit of noticeable chub. Both of them wearing glasses. Labels pop up labeling the tall one “George” and the chubby one ‘Billy”
“You dickweasles wouldn’t know good cards games if it bit you on the ass, now this one,” the third kid pulls a pack off of the shelf of what looks to be a post-apocalyptic game. “This game is legit.”
“You can’t use the same adjective that George used, be original” Billy chimes in.
“Also, your mother would be very disappointed hearing her little Gordo talking that way.” George says, mockingly.
This one is a shorter and fatter than Billy, his label pops up and we catch his name, “Gordo”
“Ahh, fuck you guys.” Gordo says, shuffling away.
“You kids gonna buy something or just stand around devaluing my merchandise?” The shopkeeper yells from behind a counter.
“Sorry Steve.” George walks up to the counter and lays down two packs of Tragic cards.
The shopkeeper rings up the cards and puts them in a bag, “Hey kid, you coming to this tournament I’m doing? First prize is an entire box of Tragic cards.” Steve hands the kid a flier.
“I mean, I can try. But I can’t prom...” The word trails off as we hear the doorbell chime once again. In walks your average nerds definition of a perfect woman, about 16, tall, pretty, and wearing a Porybon t-shirt. She also appears to be of Asian decent.
“Hey Haruki,” The shopkeeper addresses her, “The usual I presume?”
“Eventually,” Haruki responds, as her label pops up on the screen. “But I’m mostly here to blow some time before my parents find me.”
Haruki makes her way to the back of the store and pulls out a deck of cards. She then starts idly flipping through them.
George grabs the shopkeepers collar and almost shouts in his face. “You need to tell me everything you know about her.”
The shopkeeper pulls himself away and straightens his shirt, “Easy Casanova, all I know is her name is Haruki Yumi, and she plays Porybon. She’s quite good at it too, one of the top players in this store.”
“I will give you a hundred dollars for a phone number or an e-mail address.” George says pulling out his wallet.
“Kid, look. I know you’re in love or whatever, but I can’t be giving out a customer’s information like that.” The shopkeeper responds.
“Two hundred, and I’ll sign up for your tournament.” George counters.
“Deal”
Quick succession of shots, handshake, cash register (With sound), paperbag, then a smash cut into George’s room. Gordo and Billy are playing some card game on his bed, while George has his eyes glued to the monitor.
“She didn’t look all that impressive to me.” Gordo pipes in, “I hit you with this guy.”
“That’s because you’re racist Gordo,” Billy responds, “Blocking it.”
“I’m not racist. I’m picky.” Gordo pouts, folding his arms.
“You just don’t get it,” George finally replies, “this girl is my dream. I searched the email that Steve gave me and it turns out she’s got her own Demonfire fan page. All about her, and her love of card games.” George turns the monitor to face the bed. “She’s also only a year older than me. I think this is my soulmate.”
“Ten bucks says she made it herself.” Gordo says.
“Slow your rolls there Casanova,” Billy replies.
“That’s the same thing the shopkeeper called him” Gordo responds”
“Whatever, the point is, she probably has no idea you exist. You don’t want to go full stalker dude.” Billy finishes his thought.
“I’m not stalking her...” George starts.
“You did just pay the shopkeeper two hundred dollars for her e-mail,” Billy interrupts.
“...I’m just trying to get some base knowledge before I approach her.” George continues.
“Whatever man, but if you end up in juvy, I’m not visiting.” Billy turns back to Gordo, “Have you finished your turn? I need to kill you and head home.”
As we fade to black we hear George under his breath say Haruki’s name.
The lights come back on, as we see George sitting in front of his computer again. On his screen an open instant message window sits. Completely empty. The camera pans to the time and date, 10:31 AM, May 24th 1997. George sighs and sits up straight. He starts typing.
“Hello Haruki! I got this email from a mutual friend. You’re into Porybon? That’s sweet, I’m a Tragic player myself. If you want we could teach each other our respective games. I’ve never played Porybon but I’ve heard it’s fun. If you ever want to, just let me know.”
George stares at the message, closes his eyes and presses enter. The computer beeps announcing this lapse in judgment. He looks at the screen again and realizes something. He quickly types up a follow up.
“My name is George, by the way.” He presses enter and sighs a little in relief.
“Now all I need to do is wait for a response.” Enter time lapse of George just shuffling around his chair. As we come out of lapse we hear George yell, “Why hasn’t she gotten back to me!” George slams his fists on his desk and we hear faintly in the background “Hey, knock that shit off!”
“Sorry dad.”
Then out of the blue the computer makes another sound. George turns to look at it as words pop onto the screen.
“im sorry, who are you?”
George’s heart skips a beat as he reads and re-reads the words on the screen. He quickly types out a response.
“I’m George, like I said.”
“and you got this email how?”
“A mutual friend?”
“which friend?”
“Shit,” George whispers to himself.
“Pamela?” He types, cringing to himself.
“i dont know a pamela. wait, hold on. your profile pic. i know who you are.”
“What?”
“youre the dude who always stares at me at sensations.”
A montage of moments where George is staring at Haruki plays, and every time she makes eye contact with him, he looks away quite obviously.
“is that how you knew i play porybon? wow thats creepy.”
“Wait, no.”
“who really gave you my email? were you searching for it? are you you some sort of stalker? if i see you coming anywhere near me im going to call steve over and get you banned, you hear me?”
“No, but...”
“but what?”
“I just thought, we could be friends.”
“and this is how you introduce yourself? after staring at me for weeks? nah man, youre weird. i dont want anything to do with this. hope to never see your face again.”
Yumi-chan has gone offline.
George looks at the screen, dumbfounded. “What just happened?” he manages to squeak out.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” we hear Billy’s voice say, the camera pans to George’s bed as the day changes. Billy and Gordo are sitting on George’s bed, while George rummages through his closet.
“Take me through this plan one more time?” Gordo asks.
George still rummaging responds, “Look, she said she never wanted to see my face again, right? So I just have to re-introduce myself without showing her my face.” He pulls out a Samus Aran costume and throws it at Billy.
“George, I gotta say, this is pathetic even by my standards.” Billy says, as we see Gordo trying to put the helmet on in the background.
“I’ve got to try, this girl is my soulmate, and I can’t let it end on such a sour note.”
“Dude, listen to yourself. She already thinks you’re a stalker. You need to be less of a stalker. This isn’t going to do anything but creep her out more. You’re going to get a retraining order against you, and you’re going to get us kicked out of Sensations. And I like Sensations.”
“So then what am I going to do, Billy?” George sighs.
“You could shoot Ronald Reagan” Gordo chimed in.
“Ooorrrr, you could man the hell up and apologize.” Billy retorts.
“But I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You fucking payed a guy two hundred dollars for her e-mail address, you dipshit. You stared at her for hours freaking her the hell out, instead of just introducing yourself like a normal person. And even now, even after she made it clear she doesn’t want you to bother her, instead of being like ‘Alright, I’m sorry about my behavior’ you’re ‘I’m going to dress up in a costume to trick her into talking to me.’” Billy nearly screams, finger pressing against the bridge of his nose.
“Well, if you say it like that.” George pouts, he sits down and slouches in his computer chair.
“Look, George, you’re my friend. So I’m going to say this as plainly as I can. You’re a complete dumbass. There’s a Porybon tournament going on today, and I’m sure she’s going to be there. All you need to do is apologize. And if she still says ‘go to hell’ well at least you can stop obsessing.”
“And no Samus costume?”
“If that’s a real question, I’m going to kick your ass.”
“And I’ll film it.” Gordo adds.
George closes he eyes and sighs again, he does that a lot, it’s a personality trait. When he opens his eyes, we’re transported to the outside of Game Sensations. Almost instinctively, he goes towards the Tragic cards and pulls a pack of the latest set. He eyes flick to the play area and tries to find the face of Haruki. Then we hear the door chimes, and then off camera.
“Oh, hell no. Steve!”
George turns around and see’s Haruki, who just walked in. Steve seemingly glides into frame and places his hand onto George’s shoulder.
“Unless you’re playing in the tournament, you’ve got to leave.” Steve says, tightening his grip.
“Wait, before I do, I just wanted to apologize. I know it won’t mean much, but I’m sorry about how I was, and am. I just thought you were really pretty, and cool and I’m a dweeb. So I had no idea how to actually approach you. And while that doesn’t excuse my behavior, I hope it does at least explain it. If I could, I’d wish to start fresh from the introductions. But if you still want nothing to do with me, I can understand that.” George says with a bow.
After a few seconds of thought, Haruki responds. “If we do, you’re going to be on real thin ice.”
“I think I can deal with that.” George says, smiling.
And then I woke up.
Or so I thought, Dream within a dream. But the layer two was me trying to write down the dream I just had. Getting frustrated, realizing I was still sleeping.
And then I woke up, in actuality this time.
0 notes
ronaldmrashid · 7 years
Text
Landscaping As An Investment: Focus On Aesthetics And Functionality
Gardens of Versailles
One of the most gratifying investments I’ve made this year is landscaping a fixer I bought in 2014. Investing in various real estate crowdfunding projects around the country for a potential 8% – 15% return is nice. But there’s something wonderful about coming up with a design and making it come true to improve an asset’s value.
Here are some things I’ve done to the fixer:
Ripped out the green shag carpet and refinished the original hardwood floors.
Changed the knob and tube wiring for the latest TR compliant electrical wiring.
Gutted the kitchen and opened it up to flow into the dining room.
Replaced the roof.
Replaced all windows.
Painted the interior and exterior.
Built a 175 sqft luxury master bathroom (before and after pics).
Installed sliding doors from the master bedroom that open out onto a 260 sqft composite deck (before and after pics) with custom boards and railings.
Built a new retaining wall to hold up my foundation.
Once all of these essential renovations were out of the way, the next step was to landscape! 
Landscaping For The Win
I don’t have a big house (~1,910 sqft) because I’ve purposefully decided to keep my housing expenses to under 10% of my gross income, but I do have a relatively large lot for San Francisco (5,000 sqft with a front yard, side yard, and backyard). My house sits on roughly 40% of the lot, leaving me with 3,000 sqft to manage. Since I’m on a hill, the back half of my lot slopes downward, making it non-user friendly.
The key to any successful landscaping project is to implement aesthetics with functionality. You want to maximize use of your land while also making it look easy on the eyes. My backyard was a jungle that needed to be cleaned up. At the same time, I wanted to turn the hill into some flat, useable space. Therefore, the ultimate solution was to create large tiers.
With this idea in mind, I solicited some bids from various landscaping companies around the Bay Area. One guy quoted me $75,000. Another guy quoted me $60,000 – $80,000. And another guy who was working on a similar type project across the street for three months said his company originally quoted that client $125,000, but the project ended up costing $160,000! WTH?
I’ve hired fellas for small landscaping jobs before, but I’ve never hired anybody for a project this large. Not wanting to spend close to six figures on a backyard, I decided to sit on the project for a couple months. After all, I’m addicted to investing and felt putting some money into stocks and bonds post presidential election was a good idea.
Then I had an epiphany. Why not just go to the neighbor’s house and hire one of their workers directly! Every hardworking person is looking for a side hustle. Even if he said no, at least I could find out more about the landscaping business and get some design ideas.
Luis popped by during his lunch break, surveyed my backyard, and told me he would have no problems creating tiers like he did for my neighbor. He never gave me a quote, but he just said he’d be in touch whenever he had some free time.
Months went by without hearing a word from Luis. Then he texted me on a random Thursday afternoon while I was coaching tennis and said he was ready to work that weekend. He asked me whether I was still interested, and I told him absolutely without even knowing the cost. When there is someone eager and able to do remodeling/landscaping work for you in a tight labor market, you say YES!
Given the neighbor was paying $125,000+ for their landscaping job (including materials), I figured Luis would come back to me with a quote of around $50,000 + materials. After all, the neighbor was paying the general contractor who then paid Luis and his crew. Surely there was fat to cut.
After spending roughly 15 minutes climbing up and down my hill, Luis came back with a labor quote of $10,000 for all four levels! Not only would he create all four levels, he’d also de-weed everything, create steps with pebbles, construct a fence around a playground level, roll out black tarp and gopher netting, mulch everything, and create a 4″ thick hot tub platform with rebar that I’d also been meaning to get done!
Even though the price was much less than expected, I negotiated him down to $9,500 and told him I would pay cash if he wanted. He accepted. Luis finished the project over 3.5 weekends with a crew of 5 – 6 people working eight hours a day. It turns out his employer is highly reputable and worked on Softbank billionaire Masayoshi Son’s $120M house for three years recently.
My total cost for this project came out to $17,000 as I ended up paying $7,500 for materials. This is a huge win because I was seriously expecting to spend at least $50,000 after all the quotes I was given.
Now for the before and after pics!
Before And After Pics
Capturing the steepness of the backyard
Meticulously measured each level
Dug 10 feet deep and pour cement in each post hole
Filled the steps with black tarp and pebbles, while each step had two rebar rods screwed six feet deep for stability.
Used the thickest black tarp and gopher netting available to prevent animals and roots from disrupting.
Poured 4 inches worth of concrete over rebar to create a level hot tub platform underneath the 11 foot high deck
Reinforced the redwood fence with brackets so the little ones and adults don’t fall out.
A 20 gallon agave plants costs $275+! Gotta take my time planting
300 sqft playground for kids
How about them apples! I’ve now got a clean backyard with roughly 1,000 square feet of flat useable space on the first three tiers and 600 square feet of slightly sloped space on the last two tiers. All for the price of less than my Honda Fit.
For functionality, the 300 sqft first tier playground is key. One day there may also be a playground set with slides and swings. The mulch is actually called “playground mulch” because it’s splinter free. The ground is also nice and cushiony because Luis and his team piled on three inches of mulch throughout.
Another idea for functionality is making the second flat tier a putting green or a been bag toss field. Can you see it? I definitely can. The top tier right above the playground and below the 11 foot high deck is where the adults will hang around the hot tub. The final functionality is now I have my own private steps to climb when I feel like getting my four-pack back.
Got Mulch?
For aesthetics, I’ve planted two agave plants and a cabbage patch succulent on the third tier that’s unobstructed by the playground fence. I plan to slowly plant more succulents to fill out the spaces.
I chose cordovan brown staining throughout to contrast the golden colored mulch. I was thinking of using chopped rubber or synthetic grass at first, but after reading there may be potential negative health risks with those materials, I decided to use mulch and stay green for the children playing back there someday.
Some of you living in less expensive areas of the world might be shaking your head at the cost. But San Francisco land is expensive. A vacant lot similar in topography to mine, but 20% smaller with NO house sold two years ago for $1,000,000. Add on the fact that every single tier in my backyard has some sort of view of the ocean and spending $100,000, let alone $17,000 to make it useable is quite reasonable.
Single Family Home All Day
The older I get, the more I love owning a single family home over a condo. First, I don’t need to get permission from the Homeowners Association Board to do any remodeling. Second, I’m not afraid of disrupting my neighbors as much. Finally, it’s a home run to be able to create more functionality and resale value at the same time.
If I was working a full-time job, it would be unlikely that I’d have the time to find Luis and manage a project like this. If I really wanted a landscaped backyard, I would have done what my neighbors did and hire an expensive contractor for $100,000+ to do all the work. So in a way, being an early retiree saved me $50,000 – $80,000. Or an investor could say a $17,000 investment created a 200%+ return.
Luis and his team ended up doing such a great job on my backyard that I asked him to do the front part of my house as well. It turned out more beautiful than I imagined. This is where picking the plants, the stain color, the material, and the flooring really counts since curb appeal is key for resale value.
After 2.5 years, I’m now done with all my home remodeling work. All I’ve got to do now is wait for the 6-person hot tub to arrive and then it’s party time!
Related:
Should I Buy A Fixer Upper?
To Make Money In Real Estate Focus On Expansion
Readers, have you done any landscaping work? If so, I’d love to see some before and after pictures and hear about it. 
from http://www.financialsamurai.com/landscaping-as-an-investment/
0 notes